Ethan led the squad away from the Rift Valley. They kept this pace from the dead of night until the sun rose.
Ethan finally stopped once they were a little ways inside a forest. He methodically combed the area with the others until they found a few wooden cabins. Supply crates that had been brought over in advance were stacked high in the clearing nearby.
The entire squad dispersed at a gesture from the man. Most began installing communication equipment while the rest set up the temporary base.
Meanwhile, Ethan patrolled the area to make sure the coast was clear of insects or anything else.
Ye Muo immediately headed to Elias after they stopped. Elias had been set down already. He and a few other support staff were clustered by the trees. He was bracing himself against the trunk of one while tightly clutching his mouth with a pained expression.
Ye Muo draped one of Elias’ arms across his shoulders as he approached.
The displaced Theodore hopped onto a low-hanging branch nearby and huffed unhappily at Elias.
Ye Muo patted him on the back. “Do you want some nutrient solution?”
It took Elias a while to recover enough to straighten up. “Thanks, but–“
Ye Muo quickly caught him before his knees gave out.
Elias was a bit embarrassed to be leaning on Ye Muo again. “…Maybe a few sips then.”
Ye Muo brought Elias down to sit at the base of a tree before rummaging through his pockets.
Elias sat for a bit after drinking the nutrient solution. The first thing he did after recovering was retrieving his bag and taking out a stack of documents.
Ye Muo watched him scramble around, picking up the bundle when the man inevitably dropped it. “You’re so nervous, Elias.”
Elias nodded as he flipped through the pages. “This is the last opportunity that’ll happen within my lifetime. Based on the intel we’ve gathered, this place will be locked down completely after this insect tide. Then, not even the galactic pirates will be able to steal from us.”
Ye Muo made a sound of acknowledgement. He watched as Elias stared intently at the data.
Elias seemed to sense his gaze. He told Ye Muo without even looking up, “If even the galactic pirates are barred from coming here, our next chance won’t be until the following insect tide.”
Ethan strode over, having finished his patrol. “Everything’s set up, Elias. I’ll be leaving according to plan after sundown. Take good care of Ye Muo.”
Elias paused from reading the documents for a few seconds before making a sound of acknowledgement.
Ethan hesitated still. He glanced at Ye Muo, tentatively releasing a bit of psychic power. In the end, he crouched down like Ye Muo and lightly tapped his forehead. Their psychic power connected in an instant.
After making sure Ye Muo was unaffected, Ethan transferred some of his memories over. “These are the locations of all the strongholds and hideouts. You can head to those if you have to leave this place.”
With that, he got up and went to help set up the base.
Ye Muo watched him leave until he was completely out of sight. Then he looked around at all the people hurrying to and fro. Was this all a dream? What was he doing?
It wasn’t until Theodore wrapped his tail around his wrist that Ye Muo came back to his senses a little. “I’m going to take a look around, Xavier.”
After Ye Muo nodded, Cat Theodore strode into the shrubbery without hesitation and soon disappeared.
Ye Muo sat down beside Elias. He drew his sword from its scabbard and casually jammed it into the ground but still within reach. Only then did he feel more at ease.
……
Ambrose sat by the door, his broadsword jammed into the ground before him. He slowly, methodically wiped down the blade until all the bloodstains were gone and it shone like new again. As he examined the sword, he could see several vague reflections on its surface.
With an amused huff, Ambrose used the sword as leverage to stand up. He glanced back at the people in the room.
The room was crowded. The Grantz were at the forefront, with Brian and the others behind them. They were all in full combat gear with swords in hand.
Ambrose straightened. “Looks like everyone’s ready.”
His gaze swept over each of them before landing on Rika and Casper.
“I’m sorry, kids.”
Casper simply cut him off, “I thought we went over this, Father. I’m not up to Ethan’s task.”
Rika looked down at his sword. “The only things I know how to do are eat, sleep and wield a sword.”
Ethan had been chosen by them in secret long, long ago across countless discussions.
Ambrose left it at that. He inclined his head to look at the other people assembled before him. With his usual expression, he told them plainly, “This may be the closest any of us will come to freedom. Prepare to draw your swords.”
With that, he turn around and stepped outside, his cloak flaring out behind him. The others followed suit.
……
Sader watched the screen before him. Several potential routes as well as nearby warships were highlighted.
A comms request from Allen came right after he chose a route and adjusted the controls.
“Something’s off. This is the first time our predictions have been wrong. Even if the insect tide is happening ahead of time, it shouldn’t be by this much.”
Each insect tide was treated with the utmost caution. The situation at the Rift indicated that the insect tide wouldn’t officially start for several months up to a year, which is why the amount of food they had dropped off was far less than the amount needed.
Before Sader could respond, Allen kept rambling on, “But I think it’s nothing. Just a blip on the radar before the main event. With how little food has been deposited, those insects will have a hard time growing to maturity. The only thing is how many newbies we have this time. Just their luck to be stuck with a mission like this during their first deployment. Hopefully things look up for them from here.”
Sader made a sound of acknowledgement. Then, an order from command popped up in the completely still squad channel.
[Please find and exterminate any insects at the marked coordinates and prevent them from propagating to other planets.]
Sader remained silent, as did the channel.
It was Allen who spoke first, “A spot near the rear at the beginning of the insect tide…not a particularly hard mission. Looks like command must’ve taken the amount of newbies we have into consideration. Eyes up, kids. This is no joke.”
Captain Sader still remained silent. A sense of peace seemed to come over him as they drew closer and closer to their destination.
……
Ambrose stood on the edge of the Rift Valley. The sun was already up, but no light would pierce the depths of this Rift even under the best conditions. No matter the time, all you could see from up here was an endless darkness.
As he raised his hand, the people behind him immediately started pushing supply crates forward, dropping them and the food they contained into the Rift.
Fiona and Salem were just behind him. “That’s the last batch. A good meal for them will really stir up the hornet’s nest.”
Ambrose glanced at Salem. “Have interception efforts ceased?”
“Yes, only insects congregating near the settlements were dealt with. All other insects that climbed out were spared starting last night. Activity at the port has picked up too. The foreign warships are busy chasing those insects around. They seem deathly afraid of the insect gathering and propagating off-planet. They’re also appalled by our inadequate defenses.”
Fiona continued, “Only this time, none of the settlements have had time to strengthen their refuge sites. Some haven’t even built towers yet. Bloodshed seems inevitable.”
She paused, “Regardless, all of them are greatly looking forward to this operation.”
Ambrose stared at the Rift Valley. When he opened his right hand, Salem handed him a sword.
He hefted the blade a few times. “What a waste of a good sword.”
With that, Ambrose imbued the blade with psychic power and threw it down like a javelin.
After a lengthy pause, Ambrose’s psychic power emanated from the sword in all directions, quickly spreading to all parts of the bottom of the Rift. Waves of shrill screams and screeches answered from below.
His psychic power persisted for a long, long time.
The psychic power of the Grantz could be considered a specialized anti-insect weapon by themselves. The insects at the very bottom writhed like the ground was electrocuting them.
The behemoths who would’ve preferred to stay down there a while longer, gorging themselves on food and their bretheren alike, were forced to emerge early.
Ambrose looked skyward as he retreated from the immediate vicinity of the Rift. “And so it starts. Let’s go.”
……
Meanwhile, Ethan came to sit by Ye Muo once he was done arranging the temporary base. He leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes. According to the plan, he would set off by nightfall and reconvene with Ambrose and the others.
Ye Muo looked up at the sky, confused. He mentioned a while later, “Is it just me or are there more warships over there than before?”
Elias shot Ethan a panicked glance as he made an unsure sound of acknowledgement.
Ye Muo scrutinized the ships in the sky. “They seem to be flying at a much lower altitude as well.”
“I-is that so?” Elias stammered.
Ethan’s eyes finally cracked open. He first shot Elias a suspicious look before looking skyward as well. He closed his eyes a few seconds later and snorted coldly, “Those guys are jumping to conclusions. We haven’t even started for real yet.”
“Uh-huh.”
Elias nodded along, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
