He Became A Monstrous Genius After Obtaining A Time Dilation Artifact-Chapter 495. Aftermath

What happened at HQ base 323 spread like wildfire. However, something more shocking rocked the citizens of various low-tier civilizations.

The Astral Empire was not the only empire that experienced this event. Other empires had some of their Frontline bases attacked by the Vimodial contractors.

HQ base 323 of the Astral Empire was quite fortunate that their base had not been claimed and taken by the Vimodial contractors.

The same did not apply for some attacked bases of other empires. The Vimodial contractors not only slaughtered everyone at these bases, they made the bases theirs.

Their aim was to use these claimed bases as strategic points to strike deeper into enemy territory.

The news did not arrive all at once.

It came in fragments and broken transmissions.

Emergency transmissions were abruptly cut out. Some visual feeds were filled with strange interruptions, followed by silence. Entire sectors went dark without warning.

Some bases managed to transmit partial reports before their signals went off. Their last images showed chaos, collapsed defenses, unfamiliar figures draining the life force of operatives, and launching lethal attacks.

For many low-tier civilizations, this was the first time they had ever seen what a true interstellar war looked like.

The word invasion was no longer theoretical.

It was happening.

Across multiple star systems, command centers were thrown into turmoil, and emergency councils were convened.

Military analysts worked without rest, replaying the same battle footage over and over, attempting to extract patterns before it was too late. And patterns were emerging.

The Vimodial contractors did not attack randomly.

They did not overwhelm every base with brute force.

They struck selectively.

Every base that fell shared similar characteristics—isolated locations, stretched supply lines, insufficient reinforcement capacity, or delayed response times.

Some were newer outposts still undergoing expansion.

Others were older bases whose defensive systems had not been fully updated.

It was precise. Cold. Calculated. This was not a test. This was a coordinated campaign.

***

Within the Astral Empire, the reaction was swift—but not calm.

High command immediately issued a Level Red alert across all Frontline regions. Reinforcement fleets were mobilized, but the distances involved made rapid response difficult. By the time some fleets arrived, there was nothing left to reinforce.

Some bases had vanished from the star maps.

At HQ, military briefings continued without pause. Strategic holograms filled vast chambers, showing flashing red markers where bases had fallen or gone silent. HQ base 323 pulsed in yellow. It was damaged, but still standing. That alone made it an anomaly.

Several analysts replayed the same footage repeatedly, their attention drawn to a particular segment.

A battlefield already on the brink of collapse.

And then—order abruptly restored.

The Vimodial advance halted and their momentum shattered. Not by an empire-wide counteroffensive. Not by a prepared ambush.

Not just by the appearance of the reinforcements from HQ base 323. But by the appearance of a particular captain. He may not have been the one to weaken the Vimodial contractor that led the invasion. He was not a Colonel, not even a major who wounded, held back, and slaughtered intermediate stage galactic level Vimodial contractors.

But he had played an extremely important role in the outcome of events at HQ base 323.

This name surfaced again and again during these reviews.

Kailen Darkhaven.

The footage did not portray him as a savior.

There were no dramatic speeches. No desperate last stand.

He arrived.

He intervened.

He withdrew.

That was all.

Yet the effect of his presence was undeniable.

Kill zones were erased.

Vimodial contractors were slaughtered in moments.

Enemy lines weakened and lost serious cohesion.

And retreated. Their commander had been weakened seriously by Colonel Floyd Harker. And they had lost too many, thanks to Kailen Darkhaven.

That fact alone sent ripples through the command structure.

While the higher-ups debated, the soldiers who had survived HQ base 323 were being treated, interrogated, and debriefed.

Temporary medical facilities had been erected around the ruined base. Healers moved constantly. Exhaustion was etched into their faces as they prioritized who could be saved and who could not.

The wounded were everywhere.

Some lay unconscious, bodies covered in white forever. Some were unconscious, being nursed back to life.

Others sat in silence with lifeless expressions in their eyes, as if staring at nothing. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

A few cried quietly, and others did not make a sound at all.

The battlefield had ended. But the consequences had not ended. It remained.

Kailen Darkhaven neither offered comfort nor sought acknowledgment.

As a matter of fact, Kailen Darkhaven had disappeared.

The mission was complete. He withdrew with Jackson and company back to HQ base 322.

And there, to his surprise, he encountered several of his friends whose safety he had been worried about. It was a relief they were alive.

They had just returned from their missions, only to find their bases completely destroyed. After that, they were sent to HQ base 322, alongside other operatives, to not only stay there but serve as reinforcements in case of a sudden assault on the base.

***

Colonel Floyd stood amidst the ruins, surveying what remained of HQ base 323.

What had once been a fortified military base was now full of rubble, collapsed metal, and the lingering scent of corpses and blood.

AI bots worked tirelessly to clear debris and recover bodies. Too many bodies.

Floyd clenched his jaw. He had won.

Yet it did not feel like victory.

The base still stood, yes. The Vimodial contractors had retreated, yes.

But the cost was heavy. Far heavier than anticipated.

They were not prepared for this. Jackson Bloodfallen’s report to HQ base 322 concerning what the Vimodial contractor he killed on a mission had said rang an alarm of urgency: the Vimodial contractors were plotting something lethal.

But HQ didn’t think the enemy would strike this fast, and decisively.

Reports continued to flood in from other frontlines.

Some empires had already lost more than three Frontline bases at the same time.

In one particularly brutal incident, a low-tier civilization lost an entire defensive ring in under an hour.

No survivors. No retreat. Just silence.

The message was clear.

The Vimodial contractors were escalating.

And they were no longer content with skirmishes.

****

At one of the military sectors of the Astral Empire claimed by Vimodial contractors, the Vimodial contractors had rebuilt everything for their use.

Several Vimodial contractors patrolled the perimeter with uncanny precision and alertness.

Inside one of the structures, figures moved through vast command chambers.

They did not celebrate.

They did not argue.

They observed.

Data streams flew across massive displays, showing battle outcomes, casualty reports, and projections of future engagements.

The failure at HQ base 323 was reviewed carefully, not with anger, but with interest.

One particular feed was replayed more than the others.

The arrival of Kailen Darkhaven.

His methods.

His timing.

His restraint.

Silence followed the analysis.

Then, a single directive was issued.

No emotion accompanied it.

Only intent.

****

Back at HQ base 323, fires had been extinguished and emergency runes and systems stabilized the area.

The wounded who could be transported had already been moved to safer locations deeper within other still-standing HQ bases, HQ base 322 included.

The base would be rebuilt. But it would never be the same.

Soldiers spoke in hushed tones, recounting what they had seen. Some spoke of the Vimodial contractors with fear. Others spoke of the power of Colonel Floyd Harker displayed on the battlefield. Some discussed Jackson Bloodfallen and his unit.

But others spoke of Kailen Darkhaven with something closer to reverence—or unease.

The thought of what he had pulled off on the battlefield unsettled many.

The celestial bodies and the stars, far above the base, continued to burn endlessly.

The war had not begun today.

But today marked the moment when everyone understood it would not end quickly.

Across empires and civilizations alike, one truth became impossible to ignore.

The Vimodial contractors were no longer probing defenses.

They were choosing targets.

And the next wave would not be smaller.

And this time, they had to be prepared to strike back.