Allen watched the humongous insect toppled over. Ye Muo, who stood on it, also dropped down and was soon obscured by the dust cloud rising everywhere.
The squad channel was quiet for a long time.
Allen and Sader had provided high altitude aerial support during previous insect tides. They had seen how the denizens of this planet fought against the insects with nothing but their own bodies. However, it was their first time witnessing such one-sided slaughter.
He swallowed dryly. [Is…is he one of those elite warriors gathered at the Rift people were talking about?]
Everyone deployed here had signed strict confidentiality agreements. Even different fleets were unable to share the details of what they saw here. However, there had always been a rumour going around that the battlefield immediately around the Rift was on a completely different level than anywhere else.
Allen thought it was just another way of saying the people of this planet gathered their elite warriors at the Rift to relieve the pressure on the other regions, not…
Sader hasn’t said a word in a long while.
Allen let out a long sigh: [That child was heading towards the Rift, right? His psychic power has to have exceeded Level A, A+? Maybe even Level S after he grows up…]
What a shame. If only he had been born anywhere but here, even on a minor planet embroiled in civil war, this child would have had a bright future. With his psychic power, he would at least become a major general in the military.
The dust was still settling below.
Ye Muo spat out the dirt that had gotten in his mouth. Theodore, who he had tossed aside earlier, immediately came back and curled around his neck like a natural scarf.
Ye Muo raised his head.
……
Elias stared intently at the evershifting data points. “Oh! We did it…we did it! Tell Ambrose and the others to stop!”
He muttered to himself under his breath like a mantra, “They still haven’t notice. Now we’ll need to see if those warships can pass through the port…”
The back of Elias’ shirt was soaked through with sweat, but he was none the wiser. If someone could see the look in his eyes now, they might think he was going insane. “Maybe…possibly..!”
Elias mentally simulated all the possibilities again. They had made many contingencies about what to do if they were discovered at each step of the plan.
But they had somehow flown under the radar, all the way from capturing warships to rejoining the fleets with their men aboard instead.
This meant their intel was good. Much of it had been from Theodore.
Rejoining the fleets with their men on board was an especially sensitive step. Every detail had to be rehearsed, from the operation of the warships to the communication with the fleet and beyond. Any misstep here risked discovery.
However, they had somehow succeeded. Did that inconceivable, miraculous plan actually have a chance of succeeding?
Elias’ hands were subconsciously trembling, not due to pressure or fear, but excitement.
Before this, Elias and even Ambrose had dared to expect the plan to unfold so smoothly. They told Ye Muo they were staking everything on the line regardless because success meant everyone walking out of here together while failure meant nothing more than stricter oversight.
Ambrose made it sound easy, but they couldn’t afford to fail. Every drop of blood had to be worth the cost, which is why they had never really believed everyone would be able to leave this place together.
Taking advantage of the chaos to seize some warships and force their way out while the enemy was shorthanded, then bare their fangs and announce their presence to the world.
That was their true objective.
In blood, in lives, they would pay such a heavy cost just to draw the world’s notice.
Why should they be slaughtered in secret like lambs when even the galactic pirates were granted human rights?
It was time for the world to reckon with the beast they had wrought.
Each warrior had the coordinates to this place tattooed on their body, painted across their face so no one could pretend to turn a blind eye anymore.
But now, it seemed that maybe they could actually capture a planet to call their own. One unmarred by the Rift, with a port and rudimentary infrastructure.
No, Elias forcibly suppressed his excitement. Get a grip, Elias, he told himself over and over again.
That outcome is far too idealistic. Even if we managed to reach that goal one day, it would be paid for with a staggering toll of blood. That is no victory worth celebrating, Elias.
……
Meanwhile, Ambrose stopped as soon as he received word.
The others quickly went into hiding. Some headed deeper into the woods while the rest rejoined the masses and started dealing with the insects in earnest.
Ambrose withdrew his psychic power from the entire planet and kept a low profile. His eyes tracked the skies as he slowly walked around.
When a warship skimmed past, he lunged again, latching lightly onto its landing gear before concealing himself on the bottom of the ship.
Then, he covered himself and the warship with psychic power and patiently waited for it to return to port.
The astounding physique and psychic power of the Grantz meant they could survive in space sans equipment for a while.
……
Ye Muo sensed Ambrose retracting his psychic power.
Theodore’s claws came out as he latched on tight to Ye Muo’s shirt.
“Here we go, Theodore.”
Theodore’s furry face was sombre. “Are you sure you want to go, Xavier?”
“Yes, I am.”
Theodore made himself a little smaller before biting down on Ye Muo’s shirt uneasily. He mumbled, “Ethan will be furious.”
Ye Muo stiffened for a moment.
Theodore continued, “Ambrose as well.”
Ye Muo patted his tail. “Then I’ll tell Ambrose it was Theodore’s idea.”
Theodore pressed down on Ye Muo’s shoulder with a paw and grumbled, “Sneaky Xavier…”
Ambrose emphasized to Theodore that Xavier and Ethan mustn’t learn of the plan. Ethan was one thing, but how could he lie to Xavier? Xavier held the highest level of authorization in his systems, ones that superceded even his own.
Theodore fell silent. He possessed enough data on Ye Mo to know that persuading him now was impossible. No matter what he said, the probability of success approached zero. It was a waste of processing power, yet Theodore had long stopped calculating the sheer volume of irrational actions he performed when Ye Muo was involved.
Besides, Theodore also wanted to take Xavier off-planet. He could better provide for him out there, even if this development deviated from his original projections.
With Xavier’s abilities, as long as they were able to leave here and get to another planet, Theodore would be able to craft a legal identity for him and ensure no one ever found Xavier again.
Theodore cheated by lengthening his tail a little to tightly wrap it around Ye Muo’s arm. As long as Xavier was still with him.
The two warships continued to hover overhead.
Ye Muo watched them. They were at a low enough altitude, but there was two of them. He had to make sure he wasn’t seen.
So he set his sights on their blindspot.
With that, he got to work.
Sader watched as Ye Muo flitted across his screen in the blink of an eye.
He quickly adjusted the viewing angle based on Ye Muo’s trajectory, but all that was there was a plume of dust.
Sader had a feeling something was off here. Ye Muo’s actions just now seemed unnecessary. With a frown, he descended a bit more to try and locate the child.
Allen trailed behind him with a reminder: [You’re getting too close to the ground, Sader.]
Sader made a sound of acknowledgement as he continued searching for Ye Muo. The dust from earlier was settling, and this was a wide open area far from any structures. Where could he have gone?
He was prepared to wait a little longer when a new order came from command: [Captain Sader, half of your fleet has depleted their ammunition. Please return to port.]
Hiding beneath Allen’s warship, Ye Muo carefully coated the ship with psychic power. Meanwhile, Theodore used this as a medium to connect to the ship’s control console.
“They’re heading back to port, Xavier. Let’s pick another ship. You might be among the first batch or even the first one to arrive.”
Ye Muo shook his head. “Someone has to be first. Why not me?”
He said, biting his thumb to draw blood before scribbling the coordinates of Old Grantz on his face.
“Is that legible?”
Theodore’s eyes widened. He stared at Ye Muo’s finger before falling silent. He was always at a loss when it came to Ye Muo. He quietly lapped at the tiny wound while simultaneously routing his data through the warship’s console to interface with central command.
He calculated the warships Ambrose was most likely stowing away on and covertly issued return orders to them. While he was at it, he also suppressed any reports that might clue central command off.
Ye Muo belatedly realized what was going on when Theodore didn’t respond. “Don’t be mad, Theodore. It doesn’t hurt.”
“I’m not mad at Xavier.”
Theodore gently held Ye Muo’s thumb in his mouth and whispered, “I should’ve known to prepare some paint for you in advance.”
The altitude was getting a bit high. Ye Muo covered himself and Theodore in psychic power to stave off the strong winds. He couldn’t help but giggle at Theodore’s words. “You’re like my mom sometimes, Theodore.”
“But I’m not your mom. Under Grantz law, your mother is–”
Ye Muo tapped him on the head. “I know. You’re family.”
Theodore froze for a moment before giving up on things like definitions. He touched his head to Ye Muo’s cheek and made a sound of acknowledgement. “Yes, we’re family.”
……
Elias had been staring at the port in the sky, barely even blinking. He was rather close to the port, but the weather wasn’t good today and he could only see its outline.
One of his subordinates was reporting to him.
“The first batch of our warships have left the port.”
“About 20 have already made it through, with the rest nearing the port.”
“There has been no change in the trajectory of infiltrated fleets thus far. They haven’t caught on yet.”
The subordinate suddenly paused, as if realizing what that meant. “We’re halfway there.”
Everyone else seemed equally moved. “That’s right. If this goes on, maybe we’ll actually be able to seize a planet and get out of here.”
Elias looked up, his tone as steady as before, “But that’s only a possibility. There are many supply planets, so our forces could easily be split up. Even with the Grantz, we remain in the dark about the enemy’s numbers and defenses on those planets…”
He added, perhaps to himself as much as the others “Stay calm. Focus on the tasks at hand.”
Elias paused, “And prepare yourselves for the possibility of failure.”
They had to be prepared to fail, and lose their precious Grantz along with the better part of their brave warriors!
