Ambrose stood before a building in the urban district, the administrative center of the entire planet. Arval stood by his side.
Ambrose pulled off his gloves, tossing them carelessly onto the ground. He rolled his wrists, regripped his sword, and headed straight inside, his psychic power flooding the entire building as he moved.
A guard further down the hallway raised his gun. Before he could close the distance, Alanson, just a step behind, took him down with a single thrown dagger.
Ambrose didn’t even pause. He strode forward without resistance towards a mid-level floor. That was where the heart of the administrative center, the place where all the orders came from, lay.
While they were still some distance from the doors, Arval surged ahead and slammed them open. Ambrose stepped inside without missing a beat. Inside was a spacious conference room…actually, it was less a room and more of a grand hall. The table in the middle of the hall was fully occupied.
Everyone’s head turned to the doorway as As Ambrose stepped inside. It was deathly silent for a moment, with only data flowing across the holographic screens in front of each attendee.
The guards reacted at a breakneck speed, leveling their guns at Ambrose.
One person at the conference table shot to his feet, his face twisted in rage. He didn’t even deign to look at Ambrose, instead barking at the soldier beside him, “Get your commanding officer over h–”
He wasn’t able to finish that sentence.
Countless men poured in from behind Ambrose, guns in hand. They completely surrounded the conference table, training dark muzzles on everyone present. The guards, outnumbered, hesitated before eventually lowering their weapons.
Ambrose scanned the hall. It was set up beautifully, with high, vaulted ceilings and row on row of bookshelves. He casually placed his sword on the right next to the head of the table, though his hand remained rested on the hilt.
The person sitting there flinched as Ambrose set his sword down. He got up to join the guards instead.
Ambrose let out a small chuckle. “I’d prefer not to get rough with the elderly.”
Despite his words, his hand stayed firmly on his sword as he sat down in the now vacant seat with utmost composure. As soon as he did, everyone else at the table stood up with visible hesitation.
Arval gestured towards the exit from where he was standing beside Ambrose. His tone was somewhat stiff, “You may leave.”
A middle-aged man mustered up the courage to ask, “What is the meaning of this?”
Arval just stared back coldly. He offered no further explanation.
It was Alanson who patiently answered, “This conference room, as well as this planet, now belong to us. But rest assured, we have no plans to kill anyone, provided you don’t resist.”
That final part was spoken very softly.
Alanson raised his voice slightly, “Alright, you may go. The path to the port is open to you, but I advise you not to loiter along the way.”
……
Ye Muo saw traces of blood everywhere as he headed forward. There were people slumped in the streets and alleys and countless scrapped security robots. The battle seemed to have reached its conclusion.
There were quite a few ordinary residents on the logistics planet right now. Most of the people he encountered fled in a panic the moment they saw him. Only a handful pointed weapons at him, though they just fired blindly for the most part before running away.
Ye Muo felt somewhat out of place. He felt like a beast whose hide smelled of bloodshed intruding on a civilized world.
Everyone was watching him. Everyone was afraid of him.
The location marked by the flares was right in front of the planet’s administrative center. Ye Muo stopped atop a nearby high-rise and crouched down to survey the area. The administrative center looked quiet. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary aside from the lack of guards at the doorway.
He hopped down to a lower windowsill. Just as Ye Muo was about to keep watching, the planetwide alarms that had been blaring since they arrived suddenly stopped, replaced by a synthesized electronic voice:
[Please lay down your weapons and cease all resistance. Port access has been restored. This planet is now under our control. Everyone is free to leave, but we cannot guarantee the safety of those who resist.]
The announcement repeated on an endless loop.
A new insignia appeared on billboards and holographic screens throughout the city: one of intertwining sword and fire.
Ye Muo looked up in slight surprise. “It’s over?”
Theodore: [Yes, at least here it is. There may still be small-scale skirmishes going on elsewhere.]
But the operation was essentially over. The fall of the administrative center meant the planet had officially changed hands.
Theodore didn’t find the speed of their victory particularly surprising, what with so many Grantz deployed to a single planet. Otherwise, he would’ve never agreed to let Ye Muo tag along.
In his analysis, Ye Muo was actually safer here than if he had remained in Old Grantz. The greatest threat was being discovered during the journey, and Theodore was an expert at forging data to deceive warships.
The data didn’t lie. How could this place be more dangerous than the Rift?
If the Grantz hadn’t been worn down by the incessant insect tides and the lack of aircraft, they would never have been trapped in the Old Lands for so long.
The camera drone that had been tailing Ye Muo came to hover by his side. Its round body tilted slightly, somehow managing to convey a feeling of utter disbelief despite its mechanical exterior.
[? Stop joking around. The admin center is right over there and it’s perfectly fine. They must have just hacked the communication system.]
[I hope nobody falls for it.]
[I don’t think these galactic pirates have access to that kind of tech. Haven’t they always lacked technical talent and education? Even when they buy the best equipment, it’s just for show.]
[So what if the takeover’s real? They may try to extort us, but they wouldn’t dare kill any of our people. Galactic pirates have never openly killed citizens of major superpowers. They only dare to hurt them in secret. Nothing’s going to happen with all the eyes on this place.]
Theodore extended tendrils of psychic power and seized control of the rotund camera drone. Then he gradually transformed back into a long-haired white cat perched on Ye Muo’s shoulder. He curled around Ye Muo’s neck and licked his cheek. “We did it.”
In truth, Theodore found those people incomprehensible. Did they actually believe beasts capable of mauling tigers were domestic hounds to be commanded at will?
Especially when not a single Grantz has ever died due to the Rift Valley or king insects.
One should either not make an enemy of the Grantz, or use the most ruthless means to cage these beasts, never allowing them even the slightest chance to face their masters. If it were up to Theodore, he would keep any alloy that could be used to fashion warships far, far away from Old Grantz.
Guilt soon began gnawing at Ye Muo again. “Ethan must be really busy right now…”
Had he known how smoothly things would go, he would’ve stayed behind to help. Ye Muo felt a twinge of regret. He had rushed over only to be of little help.
……
Fiona was guarding the port, which was the area she was responsible for seizing control of in the operation. When she heard the announcement echoing across the entire planet, she was confused rather than excited. “Isn’t this a bit too easy?”
Everything had gone far too smoothly since the moment they set foot on this planet. Berlinda wiped a trace of blood from the side of her face. “It was only ever the sky that hindered our progress.”
Fiona simply gave a small smile in response. She could sense Ambrose’s psychic power spreading across the planet.
Then came a thunderous crash. They all looked up simultaneously to see a massive insect slowly descending towards them, countless smaller counterparts breaking off from its body every second.
“The swarm has even begun to propagate. Looks like the Rift defense line has finally fallen.” Fiona drew her sword while keeping her eyes fixed on the gargantuan creature drifting towards the planet surface. “I’ll go clear them out. Salem, you stay here and keep watch.”
Before he could respond, Fiona’s sword had already hurtled through the window, shattering the glass. She dove after it, leaping from the high-rise and vanishing into the distance.
Salem seemed accustomed to this and offered no objection to her orders. The Grantz had long established a strict hierarchy between themselves through countless battles. Otherwise, the incompatibility of their psychic power would have led to endless infighting just to decide who would be able to occupy a given area.
He had other matters on his mind. Turning to Berlinda, he ordered, “Go mobilize the warships and bring the others over. Things aren’t looking good on Xavier’s end. Ethan’s likely realized what’s happening. If we don’t head back soon, he’s going to be furious. I wonder how Xavier is doing in his care…is Brian there as well?”
Someone nearby chimed in, “He is. If Brian finds out, there’s a good chance he’ll let something slip. He’s always been rather spineless when it comes to you and Ethan, sir.”
Berlinda scoffed, “Stupid boys. I’ll head over now with some people. Hopefully they can at least keep an eye on one child.”
Salem just looked out at the sky, feeling a rare surge of worry.
……
Out on the square, the crowd that hadn’t been particularly bothered by the initial attack or the occupation of the planet began to flee in abject terror. The behemoth was covered in a swarming mass of smaller creatures. It was the transport vessel of the swarm, its appearance heralding the arrival of an entire colony, including a king insect. It would come to rest on any planet that the king insect deemed suitable for habitation.
At this moment, its gargantuan body nearly blotted out the sun. Yet, as massive as this insect was, the creature itself was not the most terrifying part. The real trouble lay with the smaller insects and the king insect hitching a ride on it.
Its massive frame would eventually be devoured until nothing remained by its smaller brethren.
Casper spotted it as he rushed through the streets below. He stopped and looked up. “Sure enough, the situation at the Rift spiraled out of control since we all came here. Ethan’s going to be in for it this time. Thank goodness I wasn’t the one left behind.”
A beat later, he looked up again with a touch of panic before turning to Rika. “Isn’t Xavier with him? Will he be okay??”
Rika frowned and finally spoke up, “I’ve never seen a Grantz fall to the swarm.”
Casper didn’t quite buy that logic. “But you’ve barely been alive longer than me, Big Brother. What if there’s a first time for everything?”
Rika fell silent, his frown deepening. Casper pinned a lunging insect to the wall while lamenting, “I should have brought Xavier along. I definitely could’ve looked after him…”
Meanwhile.
Ye Muo felt a lingering sense of guilt as he crouched on a corner windowsill.
