Lord of Annihilation

Looking at the hundreds of corpses surrounding him, some belonging to humans and others belonging to the treants, Alex sighed in dismay. His heart was filled with anger, regret, and mostly helplessness.

He had arrived too late and the people inhabiting this planet had died, there was nothing he could do to change that.

Knowing this, Alex did not spend any more time mourning. Withdrawing the fire covering his body, he slowly controlled it to form a floating sphere of flames.

"[Heat Wave]" reciting the name of the spell, Alex burnt the corpses of all the humans.

The flames burned silently in the mid-day sun. After a couple of minutes, the bodies had turned into ashes and dispersed along with the wind.

"Rest in peace." Alex gently spoke.

Turning around he started to head back to the area with the densely packed spaceships, floating in the sky. It was the Alliance forces, with which Alex had arrived at this planet.

----------------

After being appointed as the new 'Head of Military' of the Earth Alliance, a position which no one had expected to be given to a nineteen-year-old youth, Alex was faced with a lot of challenges.

Firstly, he had faced overwhelming opposition and dissatisfaction of the various Family Heads and dignitaries, mainly from the Alliance People's Front. They requested the Alliance Head to reconsider his decision and appoint a different, more experienced person.

While Alex stood dazed on the stage unable to comprehend the ongoing events, the High Commanders and the families belonging to the Hellwig faction, rose to suppress the dissidents. However, they themselves were also unconfident and hesitant about the Alliance Head's choice.

After all, Head of Military was a very important position, especially during such a time when the authority of this role was significantly greater since mankind was facing an unknown enemy. It wouldn't be wrong to say that currently, 'Head of Military' was a position that was equal in standing with the 'Alliance Head', with power to move and control the entirety of Earth Alliance's resources at will, during this period of war.

What came as a great surprise to all the parties, including Alex himself, was that the Alliance Head was incredibly firm in his decision. He was unmoved by the opposition and refused to relent, going as far as using the Roseberg family's power to threaten the opposition.

Facing such a response, the others had no choice but to withdraw and agree with his decision. Inwardly, however, they were cursing Alex to make a large blunder, which would then provide them with sufficient reason to forcibly evict him from this position.

With the Alliance Head's support, Alex had somehow managed to tide past these calamities and managed to keep his new position. However, he was inwardly wary and confused about why the Alliance Head was so supportive of him and was helping him to such an extent. 

One had to know that the relationships between the Three Great Families (Hellwig, White, and Roseberg), wasn't that close. Each of them cooperated minimally with the other and never joined together to publicly support the other party. From a certain view, they were in fact opponents competing for maximum benefits.

The fact that the Alliance Head was willing to support Alex, to the point of involving the influence of both families, made Alex uneasy and suspicious. He simply could not comprehend the Alliance Head's actions.

What, he was the current strongest person amongst the humans?

Well, excluding the fact that a monster like Lucius existed, Alex was still a mere human in the end. A single plasma shot would be sufficient to utterly annihilate him.

What, he was the only one amongst the World Council who had personally experienced the Ascension and truly understood the might of the Ordeal?

Alex did not hide any information while sharing his experiences on Deatov. He had provided sufficient information on 'soul power' coupled with the bodies of the alien species for research. Alex was sure that there were hundreds of people much more experienced than him, who would suit the position better.

What, because he was the only son of the Supreme General and belonged to the Hellwig family?

While it was true that the Hellwig family controlled the majority of the military and held the most influence on the military, this was no grounds for the Alliance Head's involvement. In fact, a smart person would use this opportunity to weaken the strong influence of the Hellwig family and secure some benefits for himself.

However, the Alliance Head had not done so. Therefore, Alex was sure that the Alliance Heads' goals weren't so simple and that a deeper ploy was hidden underneath his actions.

Alas, Alex was still inexperienced and could not count on the opinions of others. He helpless in the face of this situation and had to simply go along with the flow.

After securing his position, Alex then proceeded to assume authority over the soldiers and the military forces. 

Simply having the position of a leader, did not mean that your people would necessarily follow your words. One needed influence and sufficient charisma to win the hearts of the people. This step which seemed to be the toughest obstacle on Alex's path and would prove to be his most difficult challenge actually ended up being very easy.

By simply using the fact that he was the Supreme General's son, coupled with the testimony and heroic story of the surviving soldiers of Deatov, Alex managed to establish his authority over the soldiers. Clearly, he had underestimated his father's and his family's influence within the military.

Having successfully gained authority and having united the troops, Alex then proceeded to head towards the various frontier planets to assess the situation and provide support.

Just as he had feared, the various frontier planets on multiple fronts were also undergoing their Ascension. The common theme between all Ordeals was a fight to the death with a foreign species. Survival meant awakening their soul power while failure meant total death.

Some managed to achieve a pyrrhic victory.

Some managed to hold on until Alex's reinforcement arrived

And some were regrettably defeated in the struggle.

Fortun was such a case. 

The people of Fortun managed to hold on for two months against the alien plant species. However, the evolution of the plant into 'treants' had proved to be the deciding factor and had resulted in mankind's loss.

Alex having arrived only a single day late was naturally filled with remorse.

---------------

Having entered the mothership of the human fleet, Alex entered the office room provided to him. Walking up to the beige-colored leather sofa, that was placed on the right side of the large room, Alex fell into its soft cushions and sprawled there silently.

His mind recalled the scene of him slaughtering the treants and the anger he had felt within him when he first arrived on this planet. The torn bodies of humans, the stench of dried blood, all these scenes replayed countless times within his head.

'Ah...if only I had arrived sooner. I could have saved the survivors.'

It was then that the door to the office opened up and a tall, sharply dressed young woman walked in.

She had short, black hair and a pair of sharp, black eyes. A pair of thick eyebrows, adorned her beautiful face, giving her an awe-inspiring heroic aura. Her slender arms and long, toned legs showed her martial prowess and the fact that she wasn't simply a beautiful but frail flower.

With tanned skin and a cold-looking face, coupled with the military uniform that she was wearing, this young woman completed the image of a model-soldier.

Having entered the office room of the 'Head of Military', she gazed around before her eyes landed on the leather sofa, with Alex lying on top of it. Her brows furrowed in dissatisfaction and she spoke in a serious tone.

"Stop lazing around and get up. We have received our next orders." she spoke in a 'no-nonsense' tone.

This was Anya Balliol, age 24, and heir of the Balliol family. She is the youngest High Commander in the history of the Earth Alliance military and the Captain of the Longinus battalion, one of the four ace forces of the military.

She had also awakened her soul [Wind Rider], after undergoing Ascension in one of the frontier planets and was a Mid-Level Stage 1 being.

Unlike Alex who was given the position of Head of Military, she had earned her current position, having climbed from the very bottom. She was a person with fearsome martial prowess and an incredibly sharp mind.

In order to assist Alex in his position as the Head of Military, Anya was chosen to be his personal secretary and as a mentor of sorts.

Having heard her voice, Alex awoke from his thoughts and cursed within his mind.

'Ah, this devil is back!' 

If Alex had to make a list of people he disliked the most, Lucius would occupy the first position and Anya would come a close second. As for the reason behind this assessment, simply put Anya was a very cruel mentor. 

She repeatedly cursed and beat Alex up, in the name of 'training'. She refused to address him as her superior and blatantly looked down upon him. 

Of course, Alex being a naturally arrogant person, could not tolerate such behavior and repeatedly challenged her to a duel. As a result of which... he ended up getting beat up more often.

Due to his prideful nature, he refused to complain to the Alliance Head about her actions and swore to himself that he would defeat her one day. Unfortunately, such a day hadn't arrived yet. 

Needless to say, other than bullying her superior (him), Anya was an excellent secretary and a capable subordinate. She was serious in training him and tolerated him due to the respect she held for his father.

Grumbling within his mind, Alex got up from the sofa and walked towards the large wooden desk.

"What are the orders?" he asked.