The mothership fleet travelled at extremely high speed towards its destination. When arrival was imminent, Norton’s psychic power led Ye Muo’s to cover the entire battlefield.
Countless pieces of information came flooding in from every inch of land and every corner under the cover of psychic power. The info ranged from the movement of the insects all the way down to individual grains of sand.
Yet Ye Muo did not feel like he was losing control this time. Norton filtered out the vast stream of information down to a speed manageable for him.
Norton turned to Ye Muo, who had closed his eyes. He didn’t need to speak for Ye Muo to hear his voice.
[Did you see it?]
[Yes, I did.]
Norton linked him to the main command centre.
[When necessary, this information should be sent back to the main command centre. They’ll handle it from there.]
Norton selected certain pieces of information and sent them over.
Ye Muo made a sound of acknowledgement. Unsure of what to send, he ended up using psychic power to leave an imprint. Everyone’s psychic power was different just like fingerprints. Ye Muo’s psychic power signature had already been recorded in the system and was generally known among the Grantz command.
Staff at the command centre exchanged covert looks after receiving the transmission. “It’s His Little Highness.”
“Did he not leave any orders?”
“No, just a psychic imprint.”
It was almost like leaving a paw print to indicate that you were here.
Then Ye Muo felt his psychic power safely returning to his psychic domain under Norton’s guidance. They were as obedient in front of Norton as Norton’s own psychic power.
Ye Muo opened his eyes and looked up to meet Norton’s gaze.
The tips of Norton’s hair floated slightly as if submerged in water.
Ye Muo touched his own hair and found the same thing was happening to him. When strong currents of psychic power overlapped, it caused some objects to become weightless. Hair, which was light and close to the human body, was one of the first to react.
The Grantz basically never used psychic power to this extent. Even if there was an effect on the environment, it was brief and limited. The only exception was when Father was very focused.
Norton noticed when Ye Muo went to touch his hair. Their hair fell back down.
Ye Muo secretly found it quite interesting. If only he could do this too. He wasn’t there yet. On the other hand, when he lost control of his psychic power during his cocooning period, everything in the room would start floating.
No one was prepared the first time because it happened so suddenly. At that time, Adlet had set Ye Muo down on the bed as he went to fetch some clothes from the closet. Everything in the room floated up and dropped down before he could even react.
Ye Muo had no control over it. His psychic power suddenly burst out and withdrew. Items crashed to the floor, including a plush that knocked Ye Muo off the bed. It didn’t hurt, but the shock made him start crying and almost gave Adlet a heart attack.
Ye Muo was embarrassed just thinking about it.
This kind of thing only happened once. From then on, Norton kept an eye on him and stopped it before it even happened.
Secretary-General Lin approached. “Your Majesty, we are almost in place.”
Norton nodded. “Let’s get started.”
The Grantz motherships arrived accompanied by fully AI-manned Alliance starships that diligently transmitted intel back to Alliance HQ. In order not to hinder combat, they were much smaller than motherships.
[The feed is so clear this time. One of the benefits of being so close to the Alliance.]
[Well that was quick. I’m not ready yet, and it’s already starting. I thought they would rest and prepare for a few days according to the usual procedure?]
[Regardless of when they start, the whole operation is going to take a few days. I’m going to head back and check the results in a few days. Man, this is even more tedious than the tournament. The tournament is long winded, but at least you can listen to the Alliance host and commentator’s talk.]
[Generally speaking, it won’t necessarily end in a few days. It might take weeks with Grantz at the helm. To be honest, I don’t think they can handle being the main force.]
[Hey, they’re out there dealing with the insects. Stop nitpicking and focus on the situation at hand.]
[What, we’re not allowed to be realistic now? Grantz may have a few exceptional individual combatants, but they can’t cover the entire battlefield. They just started using motherships, right? And their methods of fighting the insects are still unclear. They took down the mecha from before just because they happened to be a good matchup.]
[I agree. Can they really deal with the insects in the same way? Mecha are piloted by humans, not to mention everyone holding back due to the competition rules. Their method of fighting happened to work especially well on mecha because they both use psychic power. It’s fine if they don’t have mecha themselves, they can just send a few more high level psychics. But this is the insects we’re talking about.
I admit that Xavier is very strong. He did an outstanding job of holding the insects back. However, wasn’t everyone around him just dead weight? Xavier made a point of clearing any areas of high infestation before letting his subordinates head over. The insects had just invaded at the time and weren’t at peak density. I don’t think that strategy will work on a real battlefield.]
[‘A good matchup’? You make it sound so easy. ‘Send a few more high level psychics’? Why don’t you take a look at how many people managed to replicate those feats offline?]
[To be honest, people have been trying to replicate Grantz’s fighting style as soon as it was broadcasted. Not many could do it even if the mech was stationary, and those who managed it did it in a simulation game with characters on Orca’s level. The individuals surnamed Grantz are undoubtedly strong, but the overall quality of Grantz’s forces is definitely impeccable as well.]
[Blah blah blah. The answer will become clear if you just keep watching.]
……
Meanwhile, the auxiliary forces in the rear base were also watching the motherships on the holographic screens.
Basically all the captains and other team members from various countries were here. Their motherships were parked at the dock, ready to depart at once. The auxiliary forces were to wait for the main force to suppress the insects. Although they technically could be ordered to set off at any time, they were in no particular hurry yet.
Orca exchanged a look with his teammate as he watched the screens.
His teammate whispered back, “I’m not sure.”
On the other hand, Zenir was glowering at Aize from beside his team. He just noticed this guy who bullied Ye Muo before was here.
But soon, his attention was drawn to the screens as well. Zenir forgot everything else as his nerves got the best of him. He lightly nudged Ressa’s back and whispered, “Are they going to be okay, Captain? Is Ye Muo going to be okay?”
Ressa glanced at him but didn’t answer directly. He just tapped Zenir on the forehead and whispered, “Go back to your spot and stand properly.”
Anxious, Zenir nudged Ressa a few more times to no avail. He had to go back to his spot and continue watching the large holographic screens in front of him.
The Grantz motherships ignored the scattered, migrating insects. As long as they didn’t approach a planet, they had nowhere to hide and posed little threat. The motherships could temporarily shake them off as well, so it didn’t matter if they were left a while longer.
Most of the insects were gathered on the planets that had already been infested. That was their main objective today.
Bert threw open the hatch to his mothership once it descended to an appropriate height. His adjutant scanned the holographic screen in front of him, checking over Bert’s equipment for the final time.
Bert worked out the kinks in his shoulder. “Norton is making a mountain out of a molehill. Xavier isn’t even heading out for real.”
He squatted down to survey the ground below, grumbling, “All these layers are really cramping my style.”
The Grantz weren’t strongly repulsed by each other’s psychic power anymore, but it was still uncomfortable when one party was too dominant.
This was why Norton reduced the frequency at which he covered the Grantz palace with psychic power. Even when it was covered, he would leave the others some space. It’s been a long time since a full fledge response like today has happened.
After confirming that each piece of equipment was functioning properly, the adjutant turned to Bert. “Everything is normal. We can start at any time.”
Bert touched the small communication device attached to his ear. The researchers back home have already optimized the thinness and weight of these devices due to the Grantz’s picky nature. You could barely feel that it was there.
“Let’s get started then.” Bert said lightly as he jumped out.
Followed closely behind by Grantz soldiers.
Zenir subconsciously took a step forward. Even though he had watched similar incidents many times, something about the direct, exhilarating landing method used by Grantz captivated him.
The perspective on screen also shifted downwards with Bert and his squad.
The surface of the planet seemed dark. Perhaps it was mineral-rich or laden with ore? That wasn’t uncommon.
Zenir paid more attention. As they swiftly descended towards the ground scene below came into focus.
Zenir’s eyes widened. The dark area below was swarming with insects.
He inhaled sharply. “Captain!”
Zenir realized he had been too loud and covered his mouth, but no one noticed his loss of composure.
The insects have already started building hives on the planet from the moment they touched down.
There was a noticeable increase in hushed conversation and whispering in the room. “There are resources on the planet? How could there be so many already…”
“There may have been some left during the retreat. The Alliance did reserve resources to support the resource tournament.”
Orca’s brows also furrowed. The best time to expel the insects was right after they invaded. The density would be lower at that time and they would be exhausted from the migration. The king insects also had a certain degree of intelligence. If they felt that the cost of occupying an area was greater than finding another spot, they would retreat.
If they had all come together to resist the invasion in its initial stages instead of continuing with the tournament, things would have never spiraled so out of hand.
Bert looked down through the windproof visor that had automatically extended. It also provided a rough estimate of the number and distribution of the insects below.
Bert didn’t have the patience of gadgets like this. He retracted the visor and released his psychic power to cover the entire battlefield instead.
“Looks like it’ll be a lot easier this time.”
Touchdown was imminent.
He drew his sword. “Did you guys not eat well?”
The insects all looked rather thin and small.
Bert landed on the largest of the insects.
The overwhelming force drove its head into the ground, sending plumes of dust into the air.
Bert has arrived.
He immediately sprinted away without a second glance, as if he was certain that the insects behind him were in good hands.
The soldiers soon landed as well.
Meanwhile, Ye Muo stood next to Secretary General Lin, watching the screens with him. He asked again, “Is it really alright for me not to go?”
Secretary General Lin adjusted his glasses. “It shouldn’t be necessary, Your Little Highness. We are already taking the situation very seriously by sending the other princes and princesses.”
There’s only so much to resisting insect tides.
Ye Muo stared at the screen. “It seems like we aren’t using the mecha, but Big Brother Ye He told me otherwise.”
“En, they’ve already been distributed, but the training hasn’t been scheduled yet. Everyone chose to stick with the equipment they are familiar with for now, but the soldiers are wearing mecha suits that will automatically activate in case of injury. This has been verified through testing. Even if the mecha doesn’t activate, it can still withstand a great deal of force for some time.”
The command centre closely monitored the status of the soldiers and were ready to mobilize troops to provide assistance at once.
And they weren’t even dealing with an insect tide this time, there were a finite number of insects to clean up. The intel coming back from the scouting teams was also very optimistic. There were not particularly powerful insect variants present.
Secretary General Lin showed a rare smile. “Mecha really are useful. With this layer of insurance, this operation will most likely go smoothly.”
They could just treat it as a training session to test out new combat techniques.
That was the reason Secretary-General Lin thought the conditions offered by the Alliance were so amenable.
Once again, Secretary-General Lin’s heart ached.
