Ambrose poured a glass of strong liquor for Norton and slid it across the table to him. Instead of bothering with a glass, he set the entire bottle down beside him. Joyous occasions worth celebrating like this were rare.
Norton had no objections. He neither minded nor was particularly enthusiastic about it. He never succumbed to excess even during momentary indulgences.
“Have you thought about when you’ll be leaving? Crossing through time is no easy feat.”
“Our best chance might be when the Moon Glow appears.”
“That’s the method those two little fellows came up with as well. They even snuck into my room before, trying to find that sword.”
Norton lowered his gaze. It seemed like they were mostly on the same page.
However, many little pieces of history were known only to a few Grantz. Yinghui was a unique broadsword, though it was little known and forged from average materials. What made it special was that it was one of the few swords that could be passed down and used by any Grantz without requiring tuning or a long period of psychic power adaptation.
Most of the swords handed down through the Grantz family would never be activated again, instead being kept in a dead state. However, certain swords with immense significance or those forged from irreplaceable materials would still be put to use from time to time.
The tuning process was very tedious and dependent on the compatibility between users as well. It would go smoother if the previous user was still alive to help out, otherwise it was a slog to grind through.
Most Grantz lacked that kind of patience. As eras passed, forging techniques continued to advance and materials were no longer in short supply. Thus, most Grantz chose to wield new swords for daily use and reserved those relics for certain occasions.
Therefore, Yinghui stood a cut above the rest. It had the remarkable ability to accept the psychic power of any Grantz, giving it a high utilization rate despite not being considered particularly renowned.
It was strange considering the gemstone embedded in its hilt was the Moon Glow, the centerpiece of Tanzar’s treasury. The significance behind such a gemstone being presented to Grantz went without saying.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Yinghui’s emergence marked the birth of Grantz as a nation.
Yet such a sword remained barely a blip in the annals of history. Even if the Grantz were not very fond of displaying trophies, it still should have made some waves whenever it was taken out.
Ambrose interrupted Norton’s contemplation. “Don’t overthink it. Just enjoy yourself here for now. Chances like this don’t come every day.”
Norton shot him a look and stood up.
“What is it? Where are you going? Won’t you drink with me a while longer? Drinking alone is so boring.”
“I’m going to enjoy myself.”
He knew Ambrose had a point. Overthinking at this point was useless. It was also possible that Yinghui itself wasn’t the key, rather they had to wait for the moment it made an appearance. Perhaps witnessing the birth of their nation was the purpose behind their trip this time.
Norton strode into the corridor. No matter what time or space they found themselves in, they would be alright with their sword in hand.
Ambrose glanced at the untouched wine glass on the table. “What a straightlaced brat.”
He grumbled for once, “He even denies people the sense of achievement that comes with being an elder.”
The thought that such a straightlaced brat belonged to his family chased away much of the blues. “That Norton really brings people peace of mind, ah.”
Ambrose stood up as well and stretched. “I think I’ll head over and take a look as well.”
Ambrose, who just a few days ago had stayed alone in the command hall for the longest time, keeping the entire planet under surveillance using psychic power, muttered to himself, “The loneliness is getting unbearable for this old man.”
……
Ye Muo was still sunbathing. He had spread his jacket out on the ground and lay down on top of it. Ethan followed his example and was sunbathing as well. He found this rare experience rather novel.
Theodore crouched down to dutifully provide shade for Ye Muo’s eyes. “It’ll be easier to fall asleep this way.”
“I don’t feel sleepy at all. Do you want to lay down too, Theodore?” Ye Muo rolled over to make room on his jacket. “You can lie here.”
Theodore hesitated only a beat before laying down beside him. He was very stiff and proper, with his hands folded on his stomach, only to be lightly kicked a moment later by a mischievous Ye Muo. He looked over in mild confusion.
Ano sat to the side and acted picky, “It would be more comfortable to lay on the lawn. The ground’s too hard.”
Ethan tossed his cloak over from Theodore and Ye Muo’s other side. “Here, use this.”
“It’s too thin. I have a jacket too, you know. It’s still not enough. Xavier, you can use my jacket too.”
“I’m not getting up again. This is fine, Ano.”
“Alright then.”
Ano said, spreading the cloak out nicely before adding his jacket and laying down.
They sunbathed in peace from then on.
Only Ethan raised his head to look when Norton arrived. He laid back down as soon as he noticed it was him and Ambrose in the distance.
Norton paused by Ano, who made some space for him– on the side further from Ye Muo. “Want to sunbathe, Big Brother?”
Ambrose huffed in amusement before accepting on Norton’s behalf, “Sure.”
Interested, he stepped over Ano and stopped next to Ye Muo at just the right angle to block out the sun.
In response, Ye Muo cracked one eye open and loudly stated, “Ambrose was drinking in the morning again! I’m going to tell Fiona and Salem.”
The sunlight returned, and a piece of candy was tossed onto his chest as well. “Your father indulged too, Little Bloodhound.”
“I’m not a bloodhound and bribery won’t work either.”
Yet Ye Muo’s righteous tone was already softening. He snuck a look at Norton as he stuffed the candy in his mouth. After mindlessly snacking on many of the round candies from before, they too had been confiscated and strictly rationed.
Only after it was in his mouth did he retort in a muffled tone, “Dad didn’t have any. There’s no scent on him.”
Ambrose stopped near Ethan, who let out a snort but still gave up half his spot.
As Ambrose lay down, Norton sat down on the other side.
Ambrose spread his arms to really take in the sun. He bypassed Ethan and spoke with Ye Muo, “Maybe I remembered wrong then. However, I do smell something sweet. I wonder what that’s about?”
Ye Muo fell silent and rolled over, only to meet the eyes of the sitting Norton. He closed his eyes and rolled right back.
Theodore immediately began patting his back. “Xavier’s asleep. He didn’t see nor hear a thing.”
Ambrose couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t even restrain himself after Norton shot him a look.
Once he finished laughing, he said, “Alright, alright. Let’s take a small nap then.”
He slowly closed his eyes as well.
It was only morning right now. There was plenty of time to soak up the sun.
……
A Tanzanian border planet.
Alarms blared without pause throughout the city as people gathered in designated areas according to past drills. Rather than fear, most were feeling utterly bewildered. “What’s going on? It must be a false alarm, right? It’s impossible for anything to happen here with Tanzar’s proximity.”
“A livestream has already been pinned to the wartime response website. The fallout will probably be massive if this is a false alarm…so could it be real?”
The wartime response website displayed all active combat zones on a map. Once a planet lit up, it meant that all recording and surveillance equipment there would be mobilized to broadcast the situation without editing or effects. It was possible to replay the footage. Deleting any during the state of emergency was strictly forbidden.
Later on, many people would go through and compile these materials to evaluate how well the relevant military personnel and officials handled the situation.
The star representing this planet was lit at this moment. Such operations were under the direct control of the planet’s Special Emergency Office.
“That doesn’t really prove anything. It’s not like there haven’t been false alarms before. Thanks to our proximity to Tanzar, we haven’t been invaded by insects for many years even as a border planet. We even have the leisure of sending our forces to constantly provide aid to other nations.”
“Alright, alright. Even if it’s real, I trust in the top-tier talents and warships in our military. Surely three days is plenty to clear out a standard insect swarm, right?”
Meanwhile, at the Special Emergency Office.
This was a department temporarily established during every insect tide specifically tasked to respond to all situations arising on the planet during that period. Though it was a temporary department, it possessed absolute authority over the entire planet during wartime.
Right now, the entire office was a bustling blur of people rushing in and out.
“We hadn’t detected any propagating insects until now. There is a possibility it may be a cluster of smaller insects propagating based on the size of the first located individual. The responding fleet, including a squadron of mecha-type warships, is already in position and awaiting orders.”
Typically, common propagating insects would rely on a few massive carrier specimens directed by a king insect for interplanetary travel, with the rest of the swarm hiding inside them or latching on for a ride. Only in rare, extreme circumstances would a king insect risk crossing such distances on its own.
“That should be easy to deal with. What’s the hold up on exact coordinates? There will be great losses if they reproduce enough to rear their ugly heads. Our entire office is going to be bashed by netizens for ages.”
“We’re still searching for them. The area around the initial sighting has already been thoroughly investigated to no avail. Perhaps it’s just the one?”
“What nonsense are you on? Not many insects can withstand the journey, so they always appear in groups unless it’s a king insect we’re talking about. Does that look like a king insect to you? It got blasted to smithereens as soon as it popped out.”
The speaker pointed to a window on screen displaying a mutilated insect. It was still alive in captivity, inside a fully sealed off room.
It was left alive as an undocumented variant that was easily subdued. There was already an entire team of people running tests on it. Insects of a single species always shared some similarities. Identifying those would be of great help in later campaigns.
The others also subconsciously turned to look. The insect on screen was slowly feeding.
“New intel’s come in.”
Most of the people in the office crowded around, including the group watching the surveillance window. Soon, there was only one young man still watching that insect. He kept his eyes on it even as he felt around on the floor for a pen that had rolled under the desk.
Eventually, he snapped out of it and slapped his own cheeks. “I should go take a look at that intel too–”
His voice abruptly cut off as he happened to glance at the surveillance window again. It was quite a while before he found his voice again, “I-i-it’s gone.”
“What’s gone?” His superior asked impatiently, “This isn’t the time to fool around. I wouldn’t normally call you out for liking to observe insects, but you’re still at it now? Careful or you might get to see one a lot closer than you’d like one day. Now help me bring over the documents.”
“T-that, that insect. It’s disappeared from the surveillance footage. Its identifying trait isn’t its size, but the rare ability of concealment.”
Author’s Corner
The Grantz: sunbathing
Everyone else: where did those damn insects go!!!
