The psychic power presiding above soon calmed.
So Ethan stopped paying attention to it. He shrugged and reassured Ye Muo. “It’s fine. Big Brother is getting old, but his temper’s only gotten better. He’ll calm down soon enough. It’s probably just pent up stress from holding it in too long.”
“I’m telling Ambrose what you said, Ethan.” Casper’s voice came from behind.
Rika was right by his side. The two of them looked like they had just arrived and didn’t have time to clean up yet.
Ethan didn’t back down, “Tell him what, that you referred to your father by name? Also, I’m your elder, you know.”
Still, he readily changed the subject, “What are you guys doing here? Does that mean I can leave?”
Fiona and the others rarely swapped shifts, but Ambrose kept calling him, Rika and Casper back for that very reason. Although he liked to spend more time with Ye Muo, Ethan bristled at being treated the same as the younger generation.
Rika was as silent as ever. Casper wrinkled his nose. He obviously wasn’t a fan of this arrangement either, but he was used to keeping his opinions to himself. Being a younger Grantz meant you had to take some on the chin.
“Not sure, but the situation at the Rift’s calmed down. Maybe they don’t need as many hands now that the insects have dispersed.”
Ethan scoffed. This was the first time they had lost control of the Rift, and they had suffered the least amount of casualties as well.
Casper: “Looks like things are peaceful for once. Maybe that’s why we aren’t needed as much.”
Ye Muo, who had been keeping quiet on the side, blinked. “Peaceful?”
To him, failing to suppress the insect tide was a serious matter. The insects would take over resource planets and attack humans. Whenever even a trace of insect activity was detected on a planet, all business and industry came to a halt and everyone was forced to evacuate, huddling together in fear as they were ripped away from their normal lives. Those in neighbouring areas would also be monitoring the situation online, worriedly discussing what to do until the insects were completely eradicated.
However, Casper just smiled faintly. “These can be considered peaceful times, albeit a bit busy. We even have several resource planets now with readymade urban infrastructure like you’ve never seen. Not this kind of defensive structure, but actual liveable cities. I’ll take you to have a look someday. If only we had more people, we could’ve had even more…”
It’s not like they don’t run into insects anymore, but it was better than being cooped up on a single planet. After experiencing so many insect tides, their lives now could be considered peaceful compared to the days spent by the Rift.
Capser wasn’t actually that dissatisfied with being called back. After all, there was an even younger Grantz detained right by Ambrose’s side, and Ethan and Big Brother were being treated the same way as him.
Ye Muo was both curious and worried. “What about the people living on those planets? Can we really take their homes?”
“Why not? We protected them from the swarm. Without us, those planets wouldn’t be habitable in the first place.”
Casper also hopped onto the windowsill and scooted behind Ye Muo. “We’re doing a good deed, Little Gem.”
Beside Ye Muo was Cat Theodore.
Who whirled around indignantly and batted at Casper when he tugged on his tail teasingly. Casper took the blows without batting an eye. He took the opportunity to draw even closer to Ye Muo, until he could rest his elbow on the child’s shoulder.
Theodore paused before tearing into his other hand.
Ye Muo had to intervene and play mediator. He tried scooping Theodore up, only for Casper to poke his paw again. Theodore immediately hissed in response before quickly turning to nuzzle Ye Muo. After waiting for Ye Muo to comfort him, he squirmed free of his arms and continued fighting Casper.
Casper was more than willing to play along.
Ye Muo lowered his arms and watched Theodore’s antics. He had this nagging feeling that Theodore had become more animated as of late. He brought up data points and optimal course of action less and went along with the flow more.
Thinking of, he glanced up at the sky. Just why had Ambrose flown into a rage earlier?
Rika came over as well at some point. He put one hand on Ye Muo’s head and pressed down briefly, as if to comfort him in his own, awkward way. “Don’t mind him.”
Ethan chimed in, “Ambrose’s anger comes and goes quickly. I told you, he’s not young anymore.”
“En.”
However, Ye Muo couldn’t shake that last bit of unease.
He could tell somehow that Ambrose’s anger had not subsided. Instead, it continued to broil and seethe, having been suppressed. Irritability was not a good sign when it came to the Grantz.
The windowsill, which was relatively spacious, became crowded due to all the people perched on it. Casper’s constant shifting didn’t help matters.
Rika eventually got fed up and kicked him, bringing an end to his and Theodore’s game.
Thus, with all his fur ruffled out of place, Theodore returned to Ye Muo’s lap and purred triumphantly.
……
A small warship fleet travelled at top speed through the cosmos.
These mecha-type warships were known for their superior flexibility and concealment. The specs of the latest model, which was for the exclusive use of Tanzar’s secret service, had not been made public yet.
However, the markings on these ships indicated they masquerading as a publically available model.
The joint insignias of Tanzar and Parodes on their hulls showed this fleet wasn’t operating under Tanzar’s authority alone.
Conversations over the comms were few and in between.
[We are nearing His Highness Karya’s planetary coordinates. However, patrolling fleets have been detected along the most direct path. Should we wait for them to pass?]
[Take the first alternate pathing. We can land in the desert afterwards.]
The other person spoke again after a beat of hesitation.
[Are we going to detour around that planet that doesn’t exist? The situation over there is unclear right now. Is stealth mode alone enough to elude the patrol?]
[The insects have already left their hatching grounds. With the insect density over there, stealth mode should be foolproof. I hope I won’t have to address this issue again.]
Before the conversation could end, a third person interjected in a tense tone: [Sir, there are insects approaching. Propagating ones.]
[Perfect. Activate stealth mode and bypass them. Just watch and learn, youngsters.]
The entire fleet soon disappeared from sight.
The captain chose to only deviate a fraction from the original route, barely putting any distance between them and the recently identified swarm.
A sudden hush fell over the comms as a result. Only after there was a great distance between them and the gigantic vessel did gasps erupt over the connection.
The officer exchanged a look with his adjutant and shook his head. “Youngsters.”
The adjutant gave an amused huff. “They’re from Parodes, after all. Even the most talented among them have no way of accessing cutting-edge technology.”
Then his expressions sobered as he sighed, “There’s no time to get to know each other. Hopefully our rescue operation goes off without a hitch. We still don’t know how His Highness Karya is faring…since it’s him we’re here for, perhaps we should send out thatsquad.”
The officer shrugged. “This is already enough considering the urgency of the situation. There’s no need for Tanzar to go to such lengths.”
……
After confirming Ye Muo wasn’t in the mausoleum.
Ano’s mood brightened significantly. He couldn’t wait to leave this place.
However, both him and Norton were running on fumes in terms of psychic power. There were no Grantz warships around right now either. Leaving the Rift would be a troublesome affair.
At first, they could quickly scale the rock faces. However, after their psychic power was exhausted, they could only climb the last leg of the journey under their own power. Ano repeated for the umpteenth time as he climbed, “Xavier must have escaped.”
He looked up at the seemingly endless expanse of rock above with glittering eyes. “He’s a smart kid.”
Norton didn’t respond. He knew Ano didn’t need one.
Still, his thoughts were inevitably influenced by Ano’s words. Norton recalled Ye Muo’s lessons as he climbed. Were there enough stealth classes? Did he know where to hide? Did I teach him what to do when faced with danger?
No, there was only combat.
All he could recall from what he taught Ye Muo was combat-related. The Grantz would never retreat, it was almost carved into their bones. That was what Norton had imparted to Ye Muo as well. He believed the best defense was their own offensive capabilities.
However, if even his psychic power was exhausted, wouldn’t Ye Muo be in a similar situation?
Norton began to grow anxious once more. Perhaps what he should have prioritized teaching after all was how to flee. As much as he lambasted Bert for being an idiot, it seemed like he was not different.
Why did he only teach a lion cub how to hunt instead of how to take shelter in a rocky crevice? Did he expect the cub to go out and hunt its own food?
Norton’s momentary inattention caused him to use too much force in his next step, crushing the foothold and sending chunks raining down below.
Ano, who was right behind Norton, closed his eyes and let the debris bounce off him before falling into the abyss.
Norton took a deep breath. “Sorry.”
As he propelled himself up by the power of his arms alone, his thoughts idly turned to Ye Muo once more.
Ano was about to respond but froze in place. Moments later, he called out, “Big Brother! There’s movement right above us!”
He had expended less psychic power than Norton in the first place. Just now, with Norton’s tacit permission, he had let some out to scout out the area.
Norton paused as well. They exchanged a look. Then, Norton dug his fingers deep into the rock face with one hand as he let go with the other. He extended a hand to Ano, who simultaneously reached up as well. They firmly clasped each other’s wrist.
As Norton mobilized what little psychic power he had recovered, he hurled Ano upwards.
They weren’t far from the surface at this point, judging by the visible rays of light shining down. Ano drew his sword in midair. Norton had used just enough force to propel him the rest of the way up.
The sudden change in lighting caused him to squint. He adjusted his position along the way and landed right on the edge of the Rift.
