Infinite Wealth System: Crazy Tasks, Insane Rewards!-Chapter 224: Real Sovereign War (IV)

Long before the skies above Dominion City erupted into fire and metal, long before Royce’s airship tore through the clouds like a blade aimed at the Sovereign Protocols’ throat, the seed of resistance had already taken root deep within Nexus, in places where obedience was law and curiosity was a death sentence.

Esta had known from the very beginning that Nexus was never meant to be a home. It was a cage disguised as enlightenment, a paradise built on absolute surveillance, and every corridor she walked through, every council hall she stood in, reminded her that brilliance without freedom was nothing more than slow suffocation.

While others bowed to the Grandmaster’s will, Esta learned how to smile, how to lower her gaze, how to appear obedient enough to survive, even as her mind worked endlessly in directions that would have gotten her executed on the spot if discovered.

It started as sketches. Crude, imperfect drawings hidden between legitimate research schematics, lines that looked meaningless unless someone knew exactly what to look for.

She designed aircrafts that did not rely on Sovereign Protocol energy cores, vessels that could operate independently, adapt to Earth’s atmosphere, and most importantly, function without being traced back to Nexus’ central command systems.

Every night, she refined them further, correcting flaws, strengthening weak points, building something that could actually survive combat instead of being ceremonial tools of domination.

Finding help had been the hardest part. Nexus engineers were loyal because they were afraid, not because they believed, and fear was a difficult wall to break. But Esta understood something the Grandmaster underestimated, desperation. She spoke in whispers, never asking directly, never revealing the full plan at once.

She talked about Earth as if it were a lost story, about people who fought not because they were ordered to, but because they chose to. Some laughed nervously and walked away. Some pretended not to hear her at all. And a very small number, fewer than she hoped but more than she feared, stayed silent just long enough for her to know they were listening.

They worked in fragments, never in one place, never at the same time. Components were built under false projects, engines labeled as experimental scrap, weapon systems disguised as theoretical failures.

Every step forward was paired with the constant dread that someone was watching too closely, that a single misplaced word would doom all of them. Engineers disappeared during those months, reassigned, punished, erased, and each time it happened, Esta wondered if she was next. Yet she never stopped.

By the time the aircrafts were complete, by the time they stood hidden in forgotten docks beyond Nexus’ primary sectors, she knew there was no turning back. The plan had grown too large, too dangerous, too real.

Royce learned the truth at the worst possible moment.

It was supposed to be their final preparation before returning to Earth, a moment of quiet between them after a long and exhausting exchange. He had expected strategy talk, maybe one of Esta’s usual cryptic warnings, but instead she looked at him differently that day, her expression tight with something close to fear and something stronger than courage.

"Royce," she said quietly, ensuring no surveillance drones were close enough to overhear them, "if I tell you something right now, you don’t get to hesitate."

He frowned slightly. "That doesn’t sound like you asking permission."

"I’m not," she replied, her voice steady but low. "I’m asking you not to stop me."

That was when she told him everything. About the aircrafts. About the engineers. About how long she had been preparing, not just for this war, but for the moment Earth would need help it did not know how to ask for. Royce had stared at her in stunned silence, the weight of it sinking in slowly, painfully.

"You realize," he finally said, voice tense, "that this is treason on a level that gets entire bloodlines erased."

"I know," Esta answered without hesitation. "That’s why I didn’t tell you sooner."

He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "You’re insane."

She met his eyes. "And you’re still here."

The route to Earth turned out to be easier than expected. The shield that once protected the planet had already been fractured by the Sovereign Protocols’ earlier assaults, leaving vulnerabilities that Nexus never anticipated being exploited from the inside. Esta rerouted their aircrafts through blind zones, paths Sovereign scanners had been trained to ignore, and when they finally broke into Earth’s skies, there was no turning back.

Now, those same aircrafts tore through the ranks of the Sovereign Protocols, their unfamiliar designs and unpredictable maneuvers throwing Kael and his men into disarray. Sovereign airships that had dominated countless worlds suddenly found themselves outmatched, their formations collapsing under pressure they had never trained for.

Kael watched the chaos unfold from his command vessel, his jaw tightening as reports flooded in.

"These are not Earth-made crafts," one officer said quickly. "Their movement patterns don’t match any known resistance."

Kael’s eyes narrowed. "Then where did they come from?"

The answer came seconds later, and it shattered his composure completely.

On the main display, one of the enemy aircrafts veered closer, its external markings briefly visible before weapons fire lit up the screen. Kael froze, recognition striking him like a physical blow.

"No," he muttered. "That’s impossible." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

His voice rose into a roar. "ROYCE!"

Rage consumed him as he launched his own airship forward, weapons charging aggressively. "You traitor! After everything Nexus gave you, you choose this?"

Royce’s response was grim and focused as his aircraft took heavy fire, alarms blaring violently around him. Hull plating cracked under repeated hits, sparks flying as systems struggled to compensate.

"I didn’t choose them," Royce said through clenched teeth, dodging another barrage. "I chose what was right."

Kael pressed the attack mercilessly, his experience evident as he cornered Royce’s craft, landing devastating shots that sent the aircraft spiraling dangerously close to failure. For a moment, it looked like Royce would lose, his movements slowing, his systems failing one by one.

Then a streak of light cut across the battlefield.

Esta’s aircraft slammed into Kael’s from the side with brutal precision, unleashing a concentrated blast that tore through his defenses and sent his vessel crashing downward in flames. The explosion lit the sky, and for a brief moment, the battle seemed to pause in stunned silence.

Royce steadied his craft, breathing heavily. "Kael’s down."

"I know," Esta replied calmly, already rerouting power. "And I’m going to make sure he stays that way."

"I should go after him," Royce said instinctively.

She shook her head. "No. Leave him to me. I’ve got unfinished business, and besides," she added with a faint, dangerous smile, "I’ve always wanted to meet the women running the ground war."

Royce understood immediately. Harper and Paula. The Core. Jayden Cole’s most trusted pillars. He exhaled slowly, tension easing just enough for him to refocus.

"With Harper watching your back," he said quietly, "you’ll be safe."

"I know," Esta replied. "That’s why I came."

As she descended toward the city below, Royce turned his attention back to the battlefield, rallying his men, pushing forward with renewed ferocity. Yet even as Sovereign airships fell one after another, a question lingered heavily in his mind, one that made his grip tighten on the controls.

Where did these fighters come from, and how many more secrets had this war yet to reveal?