The visuals in the live broadcast room were very clear.
The audience watched helplessly as the barebones defense line of the base was built. Then a smaller king insect was taken to the open space of the base. It was locked in a cage and its limbs were tied with ropes. The livestream had explained that this was a semi-finished experimental product.
[Why are they studying this? The insects?]
[Don’t be so surprised. There are many research institutes with a focus on insects. Plenty of weapons are designed based on the data they provide.]
[I still don’t believe the things they said. The insect plague happened before my country was even established.]
[Actually, I can kind of understand them if the insect plague really is coming. This is the galactic boundary, so the fallout would be less significant if it’s real. It can also let other nations prepare ahead of time. As for these people, well…they’re just a necessary sacrifice.]
[? What do you mean by necessary sacrifice? What if it was you down there, or your family and friends? Can you accept it so calmly then?]
[Need I remind you guys of the former Exile Sectors, the homeland of the Grantz? They were also considered sacrifices for ‘humanity’s greater good’.]
The broadcast immediately fell silent.
03, who was casually watching the discussion take place, sneered and closed his holomind, exiting the stream.
He was also once casually dismissed as a ‘necessary sacrifice’.
Looking out the warship window, 03 saw a much clearer scene than those viewers.
The king insect outside had matured and its size was around average.
It had been injected with catalysts to force it into heat. Now all they had to do was wait. Sure enough, signals indicating approaching insects were detected just now.
The warship they were on was also ready to leave.
Faceless pushed open the door and walked to 03’s side. “It’s time to go.”
03 casually let out a hum. A bunch of insects would be attracted here after they left. They would breed and lay even more eggs, more than enough to overrun any nearby planets.
All of this was to inform the world that the insects were coming and force them to prepare.
“How noble.” thought 03 sarcastically.
Meanwhile…
The route towards the galactic boundary was empty, and even nearby or intersecting routs were deserted. The occasional starship they saw were all heading towards civilization.
Survival was imperative to all life, meaning they were sensitive to danger.
Thanks to this, Bert and his team arrived two hours ahead of schedule, when everything was just going down.
Aria was the first to offer a suggestion, “Why not split up? We can handle Arachnid and the situation over there at the same time.”
Bert readily agreed, “Alright. I’ll go pay Arachnid a visit while the rest of you go over there.”
Helene immediately snapped back, “Are you looking down on us, old man?”
Bert spread his hands innocently. “Was it that obvious?”
Jacob habitually stopped Helene from rolling up her sleeves. “Why don’t I go with Father while you stay with Aria?”
Aria had no objections.
Helene: “No! I’m going with him!”
Jacob sighed, “As long as you promise not to fight.”
Aria repeated, “Big brother will be angry.”
“Remember last time when Dylan got into a fight with Father?”
In the end, they went with the groups Jacob suggested.
The adjutant had already pulled up the topographic map on the main screen. He mustered up the courage to remind them, “His Majesty said to let Princesses Helene and Aria handle Arachnid.”
He added, “Mainly because we need to let the third starship escape. Our spies are on board.”
What Norton actually said was: [I don’t want the spies reduced to ash. Don’t let Bert deal with Arachnid.]
Helene immediately guffawed loudly.
Bert clicked his tongue at the same time.
The adjutant coughed, “It’s time to depart.”
Helene glanced at the map and saw that the distance between the two places was not too far. It would only take ten or so minutes via a starship cruising at top speed, but that was already enough for the insects to raze that paper-thin base to the ground. Thank goodness they came as a group, or else they might be stretched too thin.
Bert stood up. “Let’s go, Jacob.”
The fleet split in two, traveling in different directions.
Back in the livestream, everyone’s attention was split between two places in the vast visible area. One was the Arachnid base, and the other was the base of the research teams.
The number of viewers continued to increase.
They saw countless insect swarms rushing in. Not king insects, but their vassals.
They wouldn’t move so quickly under normal circumstances, instead choosing to stay around their king. If they had to move, they would slowly dig out tunnels to transfer their king first. As the key to their entire population, king insects almost never left their nest.
Insects also rarely traversed long interplanetary distances. Even though they were capable of such a feat, it was a costly exercise even for the insects.
That was, until the breeding period. Then, the king insects would instinctively command their swarm to constantly stay on the move and leave their established territories.
The Arachnid warship was already preparing for liftoff. They were abandoning this base that had almost been overrun with insects.
Meanwhile, the insects advanced on the temporary base of the research teams.
The researchers had detected something was wrong at this point. The alarms in their starships blared nonstop. It wasn’t hard to conclude that the insects were almost here.
Someone sighed and said, “This is all we have in terms of weapons now.”
“On the bright side, at least we can kill ourselves with them. It’s better than being devoured by the insects.”
Any research teams coming here would receive special permission to carry some weapons, all of which was laid out in front of them right now.
There wasn’t much. Just six mechas and two psychic powered weapons. Still, that was enough. Aside from the escort team that accompanied them on arrival and departure, most of them didn’t know how to pilot mecha.
Someone couldn’t help but say, “Maybe they’ll just gather around that king insect. Maybe they won’t come over.”
As soon as those words fell, there was a loud thump from outside the starship. They instinctively glanced over and saw nothing. Yet immediately afterwards, an insect mouthpiece appeared outside the window as high-frequency screeches rang out.
It stared at the people inside before opening its mouthpiece. They could even see the twisted organs inside.
Someone shouted, “Grab your weapons! Fall back inside the warship! We have to hold on for as long as we can!”
The researchers scrambled to take the closest weapon before sprinting down the hallway.
Most of the viewers didn’t think they would make it.
[Their weapons are all from the escort team and meant for fending off galactic pirates. It’s best to use psychic weaponry against the insects.]
[There goes the base. Its defences are paper-thin.]
[Wait a second…is that a warship approaching? Quick, look outside, guys!]
The Grantz warships prioritized speed over stealth as they approached. When they were within range, the viewers noticed them at once.
[Why are there still starships going over there at this time? Do they live under a rock? Even so, surely they see the insects rushing over there, right?]
[There’s no identification on their hulls…]
[Could they be galactic pirates?]
[Probably not. Those warships are clearly moving in organized formation. It’s unlikely they’re mercenaries.]
The warship headed straight for the planet the base was on and stopped at the right altitude.
The hatch opened, revealing Jacob and Bert.
The bullet chat instantly exploded.
[It’s His Majesty Bert! And His Highness Jacob! It’s the Grantz!]
“Oh my goodness! Please tell me I’m not dreaming… I won’t be surprised no matter what happens from now on.]
Bert lifted his sword and lightly commented, “Looks like we’re right on time.”
He followed the insects below like a hawk with his gaze.
Bert was getting excited already.
Jacob had to remind him, “There are still people below, so please restrain yourself.”
Bert was already jumping out the warship as his words fell.
Jacob had no choice but to follow close behind.
Bert landed on a starship with a muffled thud.
At the same time, he skewered an insect with his sword and channeled countless invisible psychic blades through its length.
From the side, you could see countless invisible blades. From another angle, they seemed to rip through the insects at once, sending their blue blood and viscera flying everywhere.
Bert’s necklace flew out of his collar due to the movement, showing off a beautiful storage crystal and an incongruous little cartoon lion.
Jacob followed close to Bert’s side. He relaxed since Bert had the decency to hold back enough to not damage the starship.
Almost half the insects were gone thanks to this one blow. At least, there were no living insects on the starships of the research teams.
Grantz soldiers followed close behind and began cleaning up the surrounding area.
Bert suddenly lost interest. He flicked his sword and watched as the others took over. “There are no king insects here.”
Jacob didn’t mind. “They’re probably on Helene’s side then.”
Inside the starships, a group of people hid while nervously bracing various weapons.
They all heard a loud bang just now.
One young man couldn’t help but cry, “I’m just a clerk, ah. I still have a girlfriend I haven’t said goodbye to…”
“Say it now, ah. She can even see your crying expression clearly.”
The room went silent as the door was smashed in.
They huddled in fear in the corner like a group of small animals.
The next second, the door was violently throw open. It wasn’t the insects who found them as they feared, but fully armed Grantz soldiers.
They cleared the area with weapons primed and ready.
Then an officer walked in and asked, “Has anyone been injured?”
The researchers, whose expressions were still filled with fear, froze for a moment before sobbing in relief. Quite a few tried to hug the soldiers, only to be repelled by their cold eyes. Some of them disregarded that and succeeded.
