The Empire's 123rd Fleet surrounded the entire Black Wood Star System. In all the seven planets occupied by the Fer race, thousands of ships could be seen surrounding them. When the Fer people raised their heads, they could see the ships that covered the sky.

Then, the communication system of these planets was hacked, showing a video of the Commander of the fleet.

"My name is Cisco Fernandez Delacruz, commander of the 123rd Fleet of the Arcane Empire."

As he said these words, all the channels on these planets translated his words into the language of the Fer race.

"As you can see, you are now surrounded and outmatched. As such, resistance is futile. Please surrender to ensure that no unnecessary casualties on your part.

"You have five hours to make a decision."

After Commander Cisco made his declaration, the Worldwide broadcast ended. Then, the Fer people as a whole panicked. The ordinary people worry about the future, meanwhile, the people in power began to quickly assess the situation.

They discovered that the web along with all the weapon systems on each planet was out of their control. So, a meeting of the highest caliber was upheld.

Inside of the Empire's spaceships, Cisco was looking at the meeting of the Fer council with a screen in front of him.

"Sir, do you think that they will surrender?" asked the Vice-Commander.

"It does not matter."

"What do you mean?"

"The choice was never theirs to make," replied Cisco calmly. Immediately, the vice-commander seemed to have thought of something and a look of fear appeared on his face before returning to calm.

As the commander, Cisco was privy to some private information. For example, the majority of the Fer Council has been controlled through Imperius to vote against surrendering.

As for the reason?

There are many. The Fer race is very militant by nature. This can be seen by how many other races they have wiped out or enslaved when they conquer the Black Wood Star System.

So, even if they surrendered, it will most likely be temporary; they will become an unstable factor in the future. For them to properly surrender, they first need to be properly defeated, then instill great fear in them.

This is one of the missions that Cisco was entrusted with. Of course, there are other reasons at play.

The skin of the Fer race is harder than metals while also very malleable and flexible. It is very cheap, a great conductor of mana, and is very abundant. Not to mention that is easy to acquire.

The Empire has already developed spells for them to shed their skin like snakes, then regrow them. A process that is quick, easy, and does not require much money.

With their skin, more spaceships can be created, at a faster rate and cheaper price.

And this is not all the value of their race. According to a recent study, although the Fer race has a very poor talent for magic, they are superb Arcane Master.

With their powerful defense, they would make great soldiers. As such, the Empire has decided to not only use them to mine their skin but to incorporate them into the Empire and served as soldiers.

After all, the Arcane Empire can be considered a multi-racial country with many intelligent creatures that are not humans. However, before that, the militant nature of the Fer race has to be controlled, subdued.

…

Five hours later, as Cisco predicted, the council refused to surrender. The Fer King made a passionate speech to the public that their race was a race of conquerors, not the conquered.

That even if they could not control their fleet, their soldiers can still fight to their last breath.

Not long after the speech, Commander Cisco once again took control of the communication system. He showed a live broadcast of a Fer planet called Ironal.

Many ships surrounded the planet with a humongous one that was a few dozen kilometers in length and width. Inside that ship, Commander Cisco sat in his command sit with a calm look on his face as he said: "Commence the attack. Use the Fire Elemental Canon at full capacity."

The Vice-Commander paused for a brief moment, "Sir, which mode?"

"Use the First Mode first follow by the second."

"As you commend."

All the Fer people watched as a massive gun suddenly appeared under the humongous ship. Then, a red projectile was shot from it. With rapid speed, the projectile broke through planet Ironal's atmosphere and landed in a deserted place.

Then, something that this race will never forget in their lives occurred. The memory of what happened that day will forever be ingrained into their souls, their bloodlines and passed down from generation to generation.

The projectile that landed on the planet contained a large pocket dimension. And inside that dimension was a large quantity of Fire Element. The moment the projectile landed, the pocket dimension opened.

A flame wave came out and traveled in all directions. Wherever the flame passed by, everything was burned to ash. Buildings were instantly incinerated.

People were burned alive, with only their charred bodies showing that they once existed. Whether it was men, children, women, animals, or the elderly, no one was spared

Luckily for them, the pain was only a moment before they lost consciousness, sent into the eternal void that is death, with only a slight scream left as proof of their previous existence.

The only ocean that existed on the planet was instantly boiled, killing all the fishes, plants, fungi, and all the different species living there.

Mountains, glaciers, forests, plains, farms, historical monuments, libraries, museums, etc. Everything was instantly incinerated, turned into ashes. In just a few minutes, this planet full of wonders, cultures, history, and life was rendered into nothing, leaving only a scarlet world full of desolation.

And this was not the end.

"U-U-Use the second mode of the canon," said the Vice-Commander with a hoarse voice.

The ship fired a second shot. This time, the projectile was much faster and did not land on the planet but penetrated the core. Then, the dimension inside exploded which led to another reaction with the core of the planet.

Boom!

Planet Ironal exploded into thousands of pieces that floated into space. The Fer race watched in horror, feeling intense grief and despair. Today, they finally understood the cruelty of the universe.

They learned a very important truth: higher civilizations prey on weaker ones. Just like they used brute force and their advanced technology to conquer and annihilate other races in this star system, it was now their turn to share the same fate.