Meanwhile.
Felix was still as busy as before. He quickly browsed through the documents brought by his secretary before telling the person next to him, “Prepare a hovercar. I’m going to the city entrance now. The sooner the better. The longer we delay, the more the swarm will consume, and the more difficult it will be to eliminate the king insect.”
The secretary brought him a tie and other accessories. As the governor, making an appearance at a time like this could be comforting to others, which is why some care still had to be devoted to how he presented himself.
The secretary laid out the tie and other items on the desk. “There’s a non-military individual on the list who once participated in a resource tournament. They’re here on a family trip. We should pay special attention to them.”
Felix nodded, his hands in constant motion even as he walked out. He continued reviewing the list and making a mental note of a few suitable candidates.
However, he had little confidence in the outcome of this matter.
As he was about to board the hovercar, a staff member ran over, “Sir! Sir–”
Felix cut him off with one foot in the vehicle, “Speak.”
The staff member quickly replied, “We’ve received word that Xavier of Grantz is here.”
The staff member swiped frantically on his holomind screen before showing it to Felix.
Felix stared at the picture. Ye Muo was looking up. The person beside him was obscured, so Felix couldn’t see their face. He didn’t know who it was, but both of them were wearing the same kind of cloak. They were clearly travelling together.
The staff member grew impatient, “This has to be Xavier! The participant in the resource tour–”
Felix withdrew his gaze and interrupted him again, “I know.”
He wasn’t overly enthusiastic about the resource tournament, but he did keep an eye on it. Naturally, he knew about Xavier.
Xavier wasn’t an adult yet. Felix couldn’t quite pinpoint how he was feeling– whether it was happiness or something else.
However, a tangible glimmer of hope had just appeared.
Felix spoke up, “Notify the people at the entrance to seek out Xavier.”
He boarded the hovercar, which sped toward the city entrance at well above the speed limit.
An small, elite squad was needed to enter the insect hive and kill the king insect. The path into the hive would be cleared by the motherships and other personnel, creating an opening for the elite squad to enter the hive proper.
Could they pull it off? And even if they succeed, could they safely get out?
……
The camera remained focused on Ye Muo and his companion. The AI detected that a significant number of viewers were focusing on them, so it even zoomed in slightly and adjusted to center them in frame.
As they approached the exit, an individual in military uniform walked towards them, flanked by soldiers.
The crowd parted to make way for them.
Ye Muo automatically drew closer to Norton. The group across from them seemed to be looking at him. Norton let Ye Muo hide behind him. He observed the group in front of them with some displeasure.
The person leading the group wisely turned to look at Norton. He paused for a moment before saluting solemnly, “Good day, Your Majesty.”
Norton made a sound of acknowledgment.
Lakely sighed slightly in relief. Having witnessed the Grantz interact with one another at Grantz base, even though Norton had never actually demonstrated his capabilities, Lakely always felt that as long as he was around, everything would be fine.
[So it’s actually Norton? Pan down already, camera– I want to take a good look for myself!]
[Norton’s the only one by Xavier’s side? How could Grantz let him out like this?]
[I’m also shocked that Norton is by Xavier’s side. He’s the literal emperor of Grantz! And it seems like he’s the one in power too. Isn’t Grantz afraid of something happening to them?? They actually seem to be alone.]
Ye Muo quietly pulled down the hood of his cloak. He could feel the eyes digging into him.
Felix hurriedly arrived at that moment. He rushed to the front and bowed as well. “Greetings, Your Majesty and Your Highness Xavier.”
Felix mentally sighed. He had forgotten Xavier’s status earlier. Even in the best-case scenario, where everything went smoothly and Xavier remained unharmed, Grantz would likely not let the matter rest.
He paid little attention to the resource tournament, but that stalwart nation had still left a strong impression on him.
Moreover, the boy’s father was right here. No father would agree to such risks.
“Forgive my lack of hospitality, but please come this way.”
Ye Muo poked his head out, “We still have matters to attend to.”
“Outside the city limits,” he added.
Felix paused before calmly replying, “I’m afraid the entrance cannot be easily opened now. Insects are running rampant outside. All the roads are blocked. We’re still trying to figure out a solution.”
“They’re blocked because of the insects?”
“Yes, we’re trying to figure out how to deal with them. Actually, I have a rather bold request to make of you.”
As Ye Muo spoke, Norton’s gaze was fixed to the side on the exit. He looked beyond the walls of the city towards the distant sky. Upon hearing this, he turned to face Felix.
Felix could obviously sense Norton’s gaze, but he determinedly kept his eyes on Ye Muo. “In exchange, I will give you my life. How about it?”
Ye Muo, who had been slightly curious, furrowed his brows. It sounded serious. He cautiously replied, “You can tell me about it.”
“Please enter the insect hive and kill the king insect.”
Felix knew his offer wasn’t very appealing. This was obviously not an equal exchange.
But he had nothing to offer besides his life at this point. If it were before, he might have had some savings to sweeten the deal. Even if his life, under normal circumstances, should have ended at the hands of the insects.
Meanwhile, Ye Muo secretly sighed in relief. He relaxed his brows. They were going to enter the insect hive anyway. And once inside, they would inevitably have to take care of the king insect. He had been wondering if it was some sort of faux pas to kill the king insect on someone else’s territory.
“It’s possible, but–”
There was no need for this man to put his life on the line. Also, although Grantz was an empire, it did not condone slavery. That was illegal.
Norton placed a hand on Ye Muo’s shoulder and intervened, “Deal.”
Felix looked up in shock. Norton’s attitude came completely out of left field. If he hadn’t misjudged, Norton must have an extraordinary protective instinct towards Ye Muo, which was why Felix chose to bypass Norton and speak directly to Ye Muo from the start. If he was in Norton’s place, he would never allow Ye Muo to be in any danger.
The same sentiment seemed to be shared among all the Grantz. Felix had been keenly aware of this sense of indulgence and protectiveness even from Bert while watching the tournament.
“Let’s go.”
Norton continued forward with Ye Muo by his side.
Felix trailed behind. “Please wait a moment. I’ll go make the necessary preparations at once.”
Norton and Ye Muo stopped at the clearing near the entrance. Ye Muo tilted his head to say something to Norton.
[Norton actually agreed? Even though he clearly looks like the type of father to overly dote on his child?]
[It seems like he’s going with Ye Muo.]
[Grantz is heading this way. Someone on the Central Planet saw motherships with the Grantz insignia leaving the port and sailing towards here.]
[That was fast. Did the Alliance notify them in advance?]
[How could they not be fast? If something goes wrong, Grantz will probably be in turmoil for a while.]
Meanwhile, Felix quickly made arrangements on his end. He glanced at the officer beside him, “As per the previous plan, you are responsible for clearing the way for the elite squad.”
The officer nodded. “Understood.”
Then he looked at the handful of people standing in the corner, who were dressed differently from the soldiers in the room. They were galactic pirates. Only a few of them had disembarked. The rest were still circling above head in the mothership near the city.
The leader was fine, but his subordinates have already tried to sneak glances at Norton and Xavier up ahead.
Felix stepped to the side just enough to block their view, which drew a chorus of complaints.
“This is my first time seeing such big names, and I didn’t even get to see their faces.”
“I thought people like you wouldn’t care about the resource tournament.”
“Hey, what do you mean by ‘people like us’? And what does that have to do with the resource tournament?”
The young man who answered looked regretful. “I just heard someone mention that that’s the emperor of a country over there. If we kidnap him…”
“You’ll be provoking an entire nation.”
“So? I was just thinking about it. Is that a crime now? I promise I won’t steal a single thing if we get to leave after this.”
Felix cut off the conversation, “You guys can handle clearing the way.”
“Oh, okay.”
The leader spoke up, “We can handle the king insect later on as well. That is, if you trust us enough to let us join the squad.”
Felix glanced at them, weighing his options. “Alright.”
A head popped up behind the leader. “Hey, aren’t you going to even thank us? We’re literally putting our lives on the line here!”
“Exactly! There’s no pay either. My last meal was nutrient solution. Even as a ghost, I’d be a hungry ghost.”
Felix ignored them and turned to the two rows of people standing on the side of the road.
“As members of this elite squad, you will follow Xavier and his companion from now on.”
He met each of their eyes. “I don’t want to spout empty words about honour and responsibility at this time, but that’s all I can promise you, ladies and gentlemen.”
Then, Felix approached Norton and Ye Muo.
More grumbles came from the galactic pirates, “He never treated us like that. Man, he was nicer when he was pretending to communicate with us before.”
……
“We’re ready.”
Felix walked over to Norton and bowed. “The gates can be opened at your command.”
Norton nodded slightly.
Felix continued, “A mothership is also ready to take off from the city and search for the entrance to the insect hive.”
‘No need. Just open the door.”
“But–”
Norton’s gaze swept over him without much emotion, “It’s close.”
Close? What’s close? But Felix could sense that asking Norton again might draw his ire. Instead, he swallowed his words and replied after a few seconds, “Understood.”
With a gesture from him, the heavy gates in front of them began to retract. The military surrounded the entranceway.
The city gates were of a simpler design, made from a mixture of minerals and insect crystals that repulsed most insects.
Once the gates were fully open, the scene outside was revealed to all.
The dark swarm outside was almost visible to the naked eye.
The crowd behind began to buzz with alarm. The troops at the rear began to don their mecha, and the motherships circling above prepared to fire.
Norton walked towards the entrance, with Ye Muo following closely behind.
The camera automatically tracked their movements.
[I know Grantz always goes straight at the insects, but there are just too many of them outside. We also need to kill the king insect. Norton’s strength is unknown. He never participated once in the entire tournament. Surely Xavier won’t shoulder the entire burden, right? Why not wait until the Grantz military gets here? Their fleet is zooming over right now.]
[Even if the military gets here, the planet’s under lockdown. It won’t change anything. The people inside have to save themselves.]
