Xelthar's POV

  The arms bred furiously, casting the and room in a lurid red glow. Xelthar stood in the ter, his t frame rigid with fury as he gred at the frantic figures around him. Lieutenants and officers darted from sole to sole, voices rising in a cacophony of panicked reports and g keyboards as they struggled to assess the damage from the intruders' attack.

  Xelthar's eyes narrowed. He had fortified this base with the syndicate's fieology, bolstered every oint with elite guards, and ehat his operations were undisrupted by local threats. Yet here he was, listening to the pathetic reports from his officers, watg them scramble as if they'd rained a day in their lives.

  "Enough!" His voice cut through the noise, and the room fell silent, all eyes on him. His gaze swept over the assembled men, narrowing as it nded on a nervous-looking lieutenant who had been in charge of monit the perimeter. Xelthar raised a single, demanding eyebrow.

  The lieutenant took a shaky step forward, trying to meet Xelthar's gaze but faltering uhe weight of it. "My lord, there has been… a breach. Two intruders have infiltrated the perimeter," he stammered, swallowing hard. "It appears that they mao exploit a templit the security systems, allowing them to ehe pound ued."

  Xelthar's jaw ched as he absorbed the news. "A glitch? You're tellihat a mere malfun allowed them to bypass our defenses?"

  The lieutenant paled, his lips quivering as he struggled to find his words. "Yes, sir. I-it appears that the ret security system up-upgrade didn't synize fully with the surveilnce systems. They slipped through ued and are moving deeper into the base."

  A thick silence fell over the room as Xelthar's expression darkened, his rage bubblih the surface. He stepped forward slowly, his gaze never leaving the lieutenant. The man backed away, his face stri with fear, until he ressed against the wall, nowhere left to run.

  "I put you in charge of seg this base, Lieutenant," Xelthar said softly, though his tone was ced with venom. "I trusted you to ehat nothing like this could ever happen."

  The lieutenant trembled. "My lord, please, I-i-i did everything I could. If-if we could just reinforce the—"

  With a sudden, fluid motiohar drew his psma pistol and fired, sileng the lieutenant mid-sentehe man's body slumped to the floor, and the smell of charred flesh filled the air, mingling with the tension that had thied the room. Xelthar holstered his on and turned his gaze back to the remaining officers, his message clear: failure would not be tolerated.

  "Anyone else care to expin why intruders are roaming freely in my base?" he demanded, his voice low and menag.

  The remaining lieutenants exged nervous gnces, none of them daring to meet his eye. One finally stepped forward, his face pale but his voice steady as he delivered the round of bad news. "Sir, the elite forces you dispatched to intercept the intruders… they've also beeralized."

  Xelthar felt a fsh of shock break through his ahe elite forces were the best fighters he had, warriors traio protect the base from precisely this kind of threat. Yet now, even they had fallen. A flicker of uirred ihar's gut, though he suppressed it quickly.

  "What are we dealing with here?" he hissed, pag in front of his remaining officers. "How have two intruders mao dismantle my defenses like this?"

  No one dared respond, and the silence grew heavier, thick with tension and fear. Xelthar felt his frustration building, his anger fring again as he sed the panicked faces around him. These intruders weren't just here to sabotage his operations, they were systematically dismantling his forces. This was more than a random attack; it was a calcuted invasion, and they were closing in.

  Desperation began to creep in, gnawing at the edge of his mind. He'd heard rumors cirg within the Bck Sun Syndicate of a ret scuffle between one of their high-ranking officers, Raeth, and an exceptionally skilled merary. The possibility that these intruders could be affiliated with that same merary sent an unwele chill through his veins.

  Realizing he needed backup, he turo the s sole and initiated a call to his Bck Sun Syndicate hahe s flickered, and a sharp, distorted voice crackled through the speakers before the image resolved, revealing a familiar, imposing face: Raeth himself. The syndicate officer stared back at him, his expression unreadable, though a flicker of disdain darkened his gaze.

  Xelthar swallowed hard, feeling the weight of Raeth's presehrough the s. "ander Raeth, I request immediate reinforts. My base is utack by two highly skilled intruders who've ralized our security measures and wiped out multiple squads, including my elite forces."

  Raeth's expression hardened, his eyes narrowing with irritation. "You're callio ask for help? You, Xelthar, the warlord with the so-called title 'The Desert Tyrant '?"

  Xelthar's fidence wavered, his voice faltering. "These intruders are unlike any I've faced before. They're dismantling my defenses with arming speed."

  Raeth sneered, leaning closer to the s as his voice dropped to a cold, mog tone. "And you thought that whining to me would ge anything? Do you really think the syndicate has time to rescue every inpetent who fails to protect his own assets?"

  Xelthar flinched, his desperation mounting as he scrambled to maintain his posure. "ander, please. This operation is critical for our trol of the territory. If these intruders aren't stopped, the syndicate's influence will weaken-"

  "Spare me your excuses," Raeth interrupted, his tone venomous. "The only thing that's weakening the syndicate's influence here is you. I didn't hand you this position so you could cry for help the moment things got difficult."

  Xelthar gritted his teeth, swallowing the indignation that fred within him. He knew better than tue with Raeth, especially when he was in such a precarious position. Instead, he forced himself to bow his head, adopting a tone of forced deference. "Uood, ander. I will do everything in my power to taiuation."

  Raeth's lips curled into a sneer. "Good. Reinforts will only arrive if you prove you're capable of holding your territory. Until then, defend the base by any means necessary. Don't waste my time again."

  With that, Raeth ehe transmission, leaving the s bnk and the room filled with a tense, oppressive silence.

  Xelthar's hands tightened into fists, his jaw ched as he struggled to tain the fury and humiliation roiling inside him. Raeth's words stung, eae a reminder of the power the syndicate held over him. He had cwed his way to this position, secured his owory, and built this pound to protect his iments. Now he was at risk of losing it all because of two intruders.

  He turned back to his remaining lieutenants, his expression hardening. "Summon the guards and fortify every corridor leading to the aer. I want these intruders slowed down, whatever it takes."

  His lieutenants scrambled to obey, hurriedly reying his orders to the remaining forces. But even as they scurried about, Xelthar khat standard measures wouldn't be enough. The intruders had already dispatched his elite forces. They would need more than brute strength to stop them.

  Gritting his teeth, Xelthar made his decision. There was one final option, a st-resort on that he had kept hidden in case of an emergency. It was an experimental project he'd been developing, a on that bihe mind-trol alloy with a votile energy matrix. The on was unfinished, unstable, and dangerous but it was also his best shot at defending the base until reinforts arrived.

  He turo one of his trusted operatives, a grizzled soldier who had been with him sihe early days. "Prepare the on. I don't care if it's unstable, activate it and deploy it in the pound."

  The operative hesitated, his eyes widening with shock. "Sir, the on isn't fully tested. We don't know if-"

  "I don't care!" Xelthar roared, his patienapping. "Those intruders are tearing through my base, and we don't have time to debate! Deploy the on now, or I'll sider you as expendable as the others."

  The operative swallowed hard, nodding as he hurried out to carry out the order. Xelthar watched him go, his mind rag as he sidered the risks. The on had only beeed in limited trials, and the results had been… uable. But if it worked, it would turruders' minds against them, making them vulnerable to his forces. And if it failed… well, he'd deal with that wheime came.

  He turned back to his remaining lieutenants, his face a mask of cold resolve. "Hold your positions, and be prepared for anything. We are defending this base with everything we have, and failure is not an option."

  The lieutenants hough fear lingered in their eyes as they moved to reinforce their posts. Xelthar khey were just as aware of the risks as he was. But he had no choice, he would either defend this territory or die trying.

  As he watched his men scramble into position, the sense of desperation g him, a cold, bitter reminder of his vulnerable position. He had built this base, fortified it, a now he was reduced to relying on an ued, dangerous on to save it.

  His gaze drifted to the monitors, each s dispying a live feed from different parts of the pound. The intruders were out there, closing in. But Xelthar was ready. He would make them regret stepping into his territory.

  As the arms tio wail and the lights fshed red, he took a deep, steadying breath. He had itted to this st stand, and there was no going back.