Legend of the Supreme Soldier

Chapter 425: Mayday! Mayday!

nside the cabin of Han Jia, Ye Chong was having cold sweats all over his body. His face was pale as he stared at the flickering digital snow on the hologram.

He could not see a thing out there.

Such electromagnetic interference! Han Jia’s detection system had been impaired… Ye Chong briskly changed to Photon detection optic. Although such mode offered a narrower scope of vision projected in a lower resolution, at least he could discern something at the outside! It was his only choice!

“Can you see them?” asked Ye Chong in the channel.

“I can… but…,” Rui Bing responded, “It looks foreign to me. There are many lines… in different directions and the mech with a tail has the most lines…,” she said slowly as she tried making out the strange view she got.

Ye Chong shifted the camera to Huang Jiming’s mech.

So that is what those engravings are for!

Ye Chong was shocked while also finally recognizing the situation upon view.

Meanwhile, the opponents were similarly surprised.

Skeleton mech? Miniature mech? Those were certainly not the standard models both Ye Yin and Huang Jiming could see everyday. They were well-informed of the capability of a skeleton mech, but the miniature mech… “So the mech was with the boy the whole time…,” whispered Huang Jiming. They knew the origin of this technological masterpiece by Gu Shaoze. All aristocrats were intrigued by his newest craft as they set up strong surveillance around him, but Mu made a lucky crash. Eventually, every member of the aristocrats died. Nobody survived other than Gu Shaoze and Number Two.

But after they left Ye Chong, the pair of misfortune still encountered their second crisis, the MPA. In the battle, Number Two met her demise from protecting Gu Shaoze who showed strong resistance in handing over the mech.

The MPA intended to take him back to the base under escort, but they bumped into the spaceship of Fred the Great. Under the conflict, Ye Chong forced himself into the warship and discovered the fainted brilliance. Gu Shaoze, breathing the final few bit of his soul, passed the Guardian to him at last.

The aristocrats acknowledged the existence of the Guardian, even the specifications of it, as they would receive reports of the mech from time to time. And after the few escapes Ye Chong made using the Guardian, they were convinced and started to reevaluate its capabilities.

The anti-detection ability of both skeleton mech and the Guardian was a shocker to the 3 legends.

They had also switched to Photon mode detection.

The 5 mechs hovered in the air, anticipating the big battle.

But no one dared to make the first move.

It was a landmine, silent yet lethal, blowing up upon touch.

Huang Jiming, Ye Yin and Brahmara knew each other well. They were at a similar level in battle and would only wound each other in the end if they fought.

In addition, there was a skeleton mech with unknown skills and an unforeseeable Guardian mech. They could not imagine how both of them would make a joint attack and how strong the attack would be.

The 3 legends might be the top pilots from their respective families, but certainly they would not be initiating a war on a whim.

Any move from the mech would trigger something major now, not even the slightest gesture should be allowed.

It would be a pure disastrous chaos once a bullet got fired.

Sigh…

Huang Jiming and Ye Yin were feeling dull, since they presumed a quick and fearless fight against each other at first but the sudden participation of Brahmara killed the fun, not to mention the other 2 mechs hovering nearby.

They discarded the thoughts of an one-on-one at last. This was because anyone who initiated the fight would clearly be the punching bag for the others. Literally, nobody in He Yue galaxy could ever survive the chained attack by any four of those mechs. The first to move would be the first to go.

None of them dared to flee too. Their back would probably be shot if any of them decided to turn back and run away.

The 5 mechs remained still.

“Brah, let’s team up with Sister Bing and Brother Ye,” said the little boy childishly.

“Identity: Unknown. Judgement: Not Possible.” The machine beeped emotionlessly.

“It’s alright. They are good friends. How about you try connecting them… I can talk,” said the little boy to the projection.

“Negative. Proposition: Rejected as unreasonable.”

“It would really work! Come on!” said the little boy in agitation.

“Order from the leader: Your safety is the priority,” said Brahmara firmly.

“Leader, the tribe leader, you always throw this excuse to me! Who care about the leader! Brah you sometimes are just bad!” muttered the boy in an unsatisfied tone. He got up but he sat back obediently at last.

If only Ye Chong could see the setup in the cabin, he would be jumping in amazement. The hydraulic suspension system was of royalty. Probably that was the reason why Brahmara would have the little boy inside the body.

“This is getting boring. Keep standing there guys, I’m taking a nap,” mumbled the little boy with a disappointed look, as he lay down. The seat was large and as comfy as a bed.

The hologram dimmed slowly as a soft lullaby played inside the cabin. In no time the boy began snoring as joining the sheeps at the ranch in his dream.

Well, meanwhile, nobody was enjoying the same leisure he had.

They remained still for the next 3 hours.

It surely was consuming for them to remain at high alarms for such a long time. Brahmara had the advantages of automatic judgement intelligence but it would consume much more energy than the other models.

The guests on the ground were finding the giant crafts strange in the air. Being naturally the residents of the free space zone, the foreign mechs were enough to distress the alarm and summon the army to kill the outsiders. These outsiders were in the sky now nonetheless, so these Jie experts could only watch them.

The guests were not the least entertained few. Ye Luo and Feng Su were feeling worse as their respective families would be having a massive war in no time and all they could do was exchanging glances since their mechs were not with them.

Staring at the projection with full focus, Ye Chong felt his stamina draining quickly.

Out of the blue, the dimensional keystone of Moon King vibrated on his wrist.

The vibration, again? He received the same vibration when Ye family sent Ye Luo the order to escort him home.

What kind of order had arrived this time?

Ye Chong gave a quick glance at other mechs. He prompted the keystone interface after making sure that there would not be any move for the next few seconds.

“Mayday! Mayday! The pathway to free space zone is under attack by unknown force! I repeat the pathway is under attack! All battle units are required to head for assistance! All battle units are required to head for assistance! Coordination would be given! Emergency! Emergency!”

Ye Chong quickly switched the interface off after viewing the distress call.

Little did he know that, the other pilots had received a similar call as well. Unlike Ye Chong’s indifference, their faces paled right away. Even Brahmara had turned on the alarm to wake the boy up in shock.

Unlike Ye Chong, they all knew the message behind this call!

The pathway was specifically the connection between He Yue and the free space zone. There were 3 pathways in general, under the ownership of the three aristocrats respectively, while these pathways were the only connection to the world outside. One may argue that Ye Chong had walked a different way before and the galaxy was boundless, but Ye Chong managed to survive only because of his protagonist’s luck, any folk could have died walking down his way.

Assuming all top pilots received the similar call, viewing from a bigger picture, all three pathways were under attack. The aristocrats valued these pathways so they were under great guard by the families’ own men. It should not have a problem but the pilots were receiving the distress signal. The guardsmen were losing! What else would that mean?

They could already imagine how furious the invasion was!

Once they lost the pathway, they lost the way home!

Something strange then happened in the free space zone.

Countless mechs were seen launching into the sky one after another. In less than 3 minutes, the entire sky above Flying Moon City had been crowded by over 300 mechs. The experts on the ground were looking pale, as no one would have expected such an enormous technological force hiding in the dark.

The 300 mechs soon moved into their respective team.

“I would assume that all of you have heard the call. We’ll hold this fight at the moment. It’s time to go, it’s an emergency after all. Now if you would excuse me,” initiated Huang Jiming. His friendly tone now sounded hectic as he piloted his mech zooming into Xi Feng’s team.

Ye Yin and Brahmara said nothing as they flew to their respective team.

The ground began shaking, the ground shattered as three spaceships emerged! They flew and joined the hovering team accordingly.

To face the unknown danger, the three aristocrats had summoned all forces they had hidden within the free space zone over the years.

And on other planets in free space zone, countless mechs had blasted off into the air too. They went into the giant spaceship, left the planet and came to the main army in intense acceleration.

All bit of strength was collecting gradually.

And Ye Chong was seeing an empty sky before him.

He was bewildered. Something did seem to have happened… should he move?

On second thought, maybe not. Whatever that was happening to the three aristocrats had nothing to do with him.

But then, while everyone was being unaware, the change had come.

It really had come without forewarning.

Chapter 426: Disorder

oor Feng Su. Huang Jiming had left in a hurry, and did not seem to consider her situation. Without her mech, she did not know what was happening. However, seeing so many mechs rising into the sky, she knew that something important must have happened. Ye Luo was also in a similar position as her.

The sudden departure of the Three Aces allowed Ye Chong to finally relax. He did not know what had happened, but it had served to defuse the current situation. These three mechs must be the most advanced mechs in the universe, and they left a very deep impression in Ye Chong. He was still awed by the machines. Compared to those three mechs, Han Jia was like a glorified piece of trash. Aside from the skeletal material and engine, Han Jia was surpassed by the three mechs in all respects.

For the first time ever, Ye Chong felt a sense of jealousy. No mech pilot would be exempted from this reaction upon seeing those three mechs.

However, this was obviously not the time to stare into space. Ye Chong took a glance at the fierce looking Congregation experts below, and began to think about how to leave the place.

Feng Su was about to leave when Han Jia, carrying Guardian, swooped down to met Ye Luo and Feng Su. Without time to properly introduce each other, the two mechs carried one person each and went back into the skies.

In fact, Ye Chong had took everyone along a huge turnaround and returned to Flying Moon City. They quietly slipped into Rui Bing’s place. When Old Jalopy, Fei Si and the rest saw Ye Chong and Rui Bing, they were pleasantly surprised.

After the initial joy of reunion, Ye Chong quickly asked Ye Luo about the emergency beacon he received.

Ye Luo and Feng Su finally realized what had happened. Both of them paled instantly.

“How’s that possible?” Ye Luo looked distressed and in disbelief. “How’s that possible? The military strength at the Gateway is formidable!”

Feng Su was quiet, but also looked like she could not quite believe what had happened.

Seeing the lack of reaction in Ye Chong, Ye Luo explained, “You probably don’t know about this, but the defense in place at the Gateway is very strong. If something happened to the Gateway, the Tribes people in the free space zone will be unable to go back. That’s why the Gateway was guarded heavily ever since it was created. Emergency beacons are only released when the situation is very dire. Once the beacon is received, any and all personnel must rush to the Gateway as soon as possible. Heavens! What could possibly have happened?”

Ye Luo’s explanation cleared away the mysteriousness of the situation for everyone else not in the know.

“Who did this?” Ye Luo thought hard about it, knitting his brows together. “Who would have such power? Could it be Gray Valley?” In He Yue Galaxy, the only force that would dare to challenge the prowess of the Three Aristocratic Families is the mysterious Gray Valley.

“Impossible,” Feng Su replied plainly but sure of herself. As everyone looked to her, she continued, “The Gateway is too narrow, and cannot support large troop deployment. Besides, a great number of combat units are assigned to guard the Gateway, with a huge number of support units nearby. Even if it’s Gray Valley, they can’t possibly enter the Gateway.”

“That’s right. The entrance is so narrow, you can’t have large troops going in. How did they arrive here?” Ye Luo agreed upon hearing her analysis.

“Are there other ways to enter the Gateway?” Ye Chong interrupted.

Ye Luo and Feng Su exchanged a glance and replied in unison, “There are none!”

Ye Luo added, “To create the Gateway in the first place, the Three Aristocratic Families had each exhausted a huge amount of manpower and resources. The space around the Gateway is unstable, and dangerous to travel. All these years, this area around the Gateway is still largely understudied.”

Feng Su suddenly had a terrible realization. She looked horrified as she said, “We’ve forgotten something! The Gateway is too small for large troop mobilization. That means we cannot hope to receive support from He Yue.”

As she finished her sentence, everyone looked even more distressed.

Sensing the growing tension around them, Ye Luo managed a laugh and said, “Don’t worry, our forces in the free space zone are powerful. Besides, the Three Aces are all here. It shouldn’t be a problem to secure the Gateway.”

Ye Luo’s words comforted them all to a certain degree. It was true that the Three Aces were all here, so there was nothing to worry about. Ye Chong was still pondering on what Ye Luo and Feng Su had both said, and felt that the situation might not be so simple.

He Yue Galaxy was truly plunged into a state of disorder.

News of the attack on the Gateway had reached the Three Aristocratic Families as fast as physically possible. Now, all three families were in a panic! Not only were the Three Aces all in the free space zone, Xue Lai Clan’s only son and the Ye Family’s son, Ye Luo were also there. Besides, there were many other of their own people in the free space zone. If they really met an unfortunate fate, it would be a loss that the Three Aristocratic Families cannot possibly recover from!

The sudden attack brought about a sense of danger that the Three Aristocratic Families had never felt before.

Emergency rescue efforts were immediately made!

All three Families deployed their military forces in a scale that was unprecedented. All their bases of operations also received orders to operate in their highest alert level.

Tension spread across the entire He Yue Galaxy like wildfire. As the military forces of the Three Aristocratic Families were mobilized, the other forces in He Yue reacted accordingly. For the moment, He Yue Galaxy was in a state of chaos.

The Ye Family’s Patriarch read the reports of the battlefield with a look of distress. The Gateway was too narrow, and could not fit in their large troops. As they mobilized squadron by squadron into the Gateway, none of them returned. Until now, they had no idea who was inside. The Gateway was like a black hole, swallowing anything that entered it.

Xi Feng Tribe’s Chieftain and Xue Lai Clan’s Clan Leader received the same reports. Of course, they were also similarly distressed by it.

Ye Chong and his company left Flying Moon City as soon as they could manage. Since their identities as outsiders were uncovered, it would be dangerous to stay any longer.

The group reached a valley not far from Flying Moon City.

Ye Luo led the group and explained quietly to Ye Chong, “This is one of the Ye Family’s base of operations. I’ve been here before. The local combat troops must have all been deployed, but the transport division is probably still here. We’ll tag along with the transport division and meet up with Ye Yin. That way, we’ll find out what’s going on. Hmm, don’t worry, he won’t recognize you from your looks right now. I won’t tell on you. It’s safer to return to He Yue Galaxy. The free space zone is a good place, but not one that’s suitable for you.”

Ye Chong nodded in assent. If Ye Luo wanted to expose his disguise, he would have done so long ago. While he only knew Ye Luo for a short while, Ye Chong found himself oddly trusting of the man. The two of them were ahead of the group, and their exchanged whispers were not noticed by the people at the back.

Ye Luo had been here before, so the people at the base recognized him. Ye Luo’s position in the Ye Family was high, and since his father was the Patriarch, people here paid him respect. With his presence, Ye Chong and company were not questioned, but were instead cordially received.

The base was full of activity. Various engineering mechs made their ways across the base, moving energy cells and other combat resources, or doing final checks on their starship.

“Luo!” The person in charge of the base, Ye Pang, was a childhood friend of Ye Luo’s. Ye Pang looked like a refined man. He wore frameless spectacles and well ironed clothing, looking like a gentleman. He was relieved to see Ye Luo. “Wonderful! You’re alright! I was worried about you, that something might have happened to you.”

Ye Luo laughed. “Hehe, what could possibly happen to me, no one’s a match for me! It’s not easy to get rid of me!”

Ye Pang raised his brows at him and said, “With your lousy mech piloting skills, you won’t need an enemy to defeat you, you’ll probably just crash into a wall all by yourself.”

Ye Luo had nothing to say to that.

Ye Pang took a sweeping glance at the people around Ye Luo, and did not ask him about them. He understood his childhood friend well. Ye Luo may seem like a careless fool, but he was actually smart and sensible.

“What’s the situation?” Ye Luo asked. Everyone looked to Ye Pang, for this was the question that was on the top of their minds.

Ye Pang shook his head. “Don’t know yet. We just received the emergency beacon here. I don’t know what’s going on too. We are packing up as fast as we can, and will be ready to leave in another five hours.”

“Pang, you’re always the smartest of us all. What do you think of the situation?” Ye Luo looked at Ye Pang with concern.

Ye Pang pushed his spectacles up with his index finger and said lowly, “That truth is, I’m not very optimistic about the situation. Our forces in the free space zone are too scattered, and it takes time to gather them together. What we need the most now is time. I don’t know what happened at the Gateway, but the situation must have reached a critical level. I fear …” Ye Pang did not continue.

“Fear what?” Ye Luo asked quickly.

Ye Pang looked pained. “I fear that by the time we arrived, it will already be too late!”

Everyone went silent at that.

Ye Luo managed a smile and said, “You exaggerate, Pang. You must be wrong this time. The Gateway is guarded by six mech squads in total, how could they be beaten so quickly?”

“Well, I hope so.” Ye Pang said softly.

“Pang, who do you think is attacking us? I can’t make head nor tails of it.” Ye Luo scratched his head in puzzlement.

Ye Pang shook his head. “I don’t know that as well. But I’m certain that it’s not someone from He Yue or the free space zone. I’ve done the math. Taking the Gateway by force will require at least the strength of 20 mech squads. Besides, I still haven’t figured out how they managed to enter the Gateway without being noticed.”

Everyone went silent again.

Ye Pang finally broke the silence. “Everyone, please follow Luo onto the starship for now. I have my duties to attend to, and cannot accompany you all, please forgive me!”

The group thanked him profusely. Ye Pang smiled gently at them and turned away, his eyes lingering on Feng Su only for a moment longer before he returned to his duties.

Chapter 427: Attack

ive hours later, the starship was ready to leave. Ye Chong and his company were on Darvill, the same ship that Ye Pang was on. Darvill was loaded with plenty of energy cells and other war resources.

Ye Pang invited everyone to the bridge. Since this was a transport ship, the bridge was quite spacious. As the starship began its steady flight, most of the crew could now leave to rest, leaving behind only a skeleton crew to operate the ship. However, no one was in the mood to sleep. This was the first time since the Gateway was opened for an emergency beacon to be received. Everyone was nervous, and people could be seen gathering everywhere around the ship, discussing the incident with worried looks.

Ye Pang looked completely different from earlier. He wore a smart looking black uniform, with a leaf emblem sewn on the collar and on each sleeve. The beret on his head made him look like a military officer.

“Why’d you wear this?” Ye Luo could not help but ask as he saw Ye Pang, and even commented, “You look ridiculous!”

Ye Pang took off his beret and threw it onto his desk. He glanced at Ye Luo and said, “You’re still as ignorant as before! It is a rule of the Family for any division to be combat ready whenever an emergency beacon is received. We are now combat ready! Do you understand? It’s going to be a waste of time explaining this to you, you probably don’t remember any of the rules anymore.”

Ye Luo was speechless at that.

“What would all of you like to have?” Ye Pang smiled at the rest and said, “Make yourselves at home. I’m from the logistics division, so we still have the good stuff here.”

Ye Luo grinned at Ye Chong and said, “The man’s got everything. Just let him know what you’d like to eat and drink.”

However, no one was in the mood to consider their meal preferences, and simply asked for the host to decide for them.

Ye Pang noticed their mood. He summoned a subordinate and whispered a few orders. The subordinate left quickly, and soon returned with a tray of snow white cups. The golden liquid in the cups had a very strong and pleasant aroma. Everyone felt refreshed by the smell.

“Solarnimbus Soup! You sure know how to indulge!” Ye Luo took one of the cups eagerly and downed it all in one gulp.

Ye Pang was horrified to see the way Ye Luo finished his drink. “Drink it slowly, this isn’t plain water! What a waste to offer you this!”

Ye Chong took a cup and sipped. A strong taste permeated every corner in his mouth, with a slight sharpness that was refreshing. His stomach warmed up, and he felt as though all the hair follicles on his skin were stimulated. It was so comfortable that it made him want to sigh in pleasure.

Solarnimbus Soup was one of Risserd’s cuisine specialty. It was a rare product, and only people like the Yan Family and Huang Family could afford to have a bit of them every year. Who knew how Ye Pang got his!

For the moment, everyone indulged in their drinks quietly, and the bridge fell silent.

Ye Pang rested his chin on his hands, his head lowered in thought.

“Our journey will take approximately six days. However, I believe that the combat troops ahead of us would reach the Gateway about three days ahead of us. That means we will receive news of the situation in three days. By then, I believe we will have a better understanding of what’s happening,” Ye Pang explained slowly.

Later events proved that Ye Pang’s estimations were accurate.

On the third day, they received news from the frontlines.

However, the news brought a gloom over everyone’s mood. More precisely, they had received an order from the people ahead of them, directing all transport ships to a specified rendezvous point. Nevertheless, together with the order was a summary of the events that unfolded these last few days, the one thing that everyone was worried about.

Ye Yin and the others were defeated in their first wave of attack! Everyone was shocked by the news. Ye Yin was almost like a God to many in the Ye Family. No one expected him to ever lose!

However, the attacker of the Gateway was also identified.

It was a kind of unknown lifeform, and they came in large numbers. They attacked viciously, and were terribly aggressive. From the reports, it was still difficult to ascertain the nature of this lifeform.

In their first contact, the attack of the unknown lifeforms had surprised all those present. If Ye Yin had not grasped the situation quickly and ordered for a swift retreat, they would have suffered a lot more casualties. Nevertheless, in their brief first encounter, the Ye Family had lost 300 mechs, a total of 300 mech pilots.

Every Ye Family member on the transport ship was scared and concerned. How could the Ye Family be so defenseless? When was the last time the Ye Family had suffered so many casualties? 300 staff mech pilots were a formidable force, no matter how one looked at it.

Ye Yin had decided to retreat for the moment, consolidate all their combat forces, and prepare for the next attack. Hence, he had ordered for all combatants and transport ships to rendezvous at the specified location.

“Ye Yin you useless fool!” Ye Luo cried out loud. 300 Ye Family members were dead, just like that. As a Ye Family member himself, how could he not feel pained?

Ye Pang took a long exhale, opened his eyes, and shook his head, disagreeing with Ye Luo. “Ye Yin made the right decision. This unknown lifeform must be very powerful for Ye Yin to act so passively.”

Just then, a sharp alarm came on in the ship!

“All crew members at your stations, all crew members at your stations! Unknown lifeform detected approaching the ship at high speed!” The monitoring officer’s voice came through, trembling with fear.

Everyone was caught off guard. It was like a bomb was set off in the ship.

Ye Pang stood up quickly and headed for the bridge. Ye Chong and the others followed him.

In the bridge, Ye Pang looked calm and steady. This managed to soothe the panicking atmosphere in the bridge.

“What happened?” Ye Pang asked in a low voice.

“Captain, please … please look at this!” The monitoring officer put on a video feed on the largest holographic screen in the bridge.

On the holographic screen, against the dark background of outer space, a small swarm of unknown lifeforms were heading towards them.

Ye Chong had never seen them before. Each of them was like a sphere, enclosed with purplish black armor plates, with an eye on each plate. It was an eerie looking lifeform. The eight purplish black spheres flew in a straight line across the dark space at high speed.

Just then, the unknown lifeforms seemed to have noticed their starship as well. On the holographic screen, each sphere extended its body from its balled up state, revealing a long, flat body. The sides of the body were lined with horrific looking blades. On the head of each creature were two large feelers.

These lifeforms directed their course towards the ship.

Ye Pang suddenly frowned . “Check their speed!”

“They’re … They’re at Mach 15!” The monitoring officer stuttered. Ye Pang’s expression turned grim instantly. The rest of them were all still finding it hard to believe.

How fast was Mach 15? Shockingly, terrifyingly fast! In fact, there were hardly any mechs that could achieve this speed. Starships, on the other hand, fared much worse, especially one like their transport ship.

These unknown lifeforms were rapidly approaching their starship.

On the holographic screen, it was even possible for everyone to see the slight vibrations of the two feelers on the foreheads of these creatures.

“Could it be?” Ye Pang muttered to no one in particular.

The seven creatures stopped their approach about 20 kilometers away from Darvill, and began to circle around the ship.

Ye Pang could no longer keep his composure, looking even more grim. “This is bad! They must be scouts of some kind!”

“What do we do?” Ye Luo was already panicking like mad.

“Sigh, we can do nothing. We have no combatants onboard this ship. All combatants were already deployed to assist Ye Yin. This ship is also not a warship. I can do nothing to them!” Ye Pang sounded profoundly helpless.

“Do we need them gone?” Ye Chong finally broke his silence.

Ye Pang took a glance at Ye Chong, and nodded. “If they are scouts for a larger swarm of creatures, we’ll be in big trouble if we don’t get rid of them! The rest of the swarm might come down on us!”

“Alright! Then I’m heading out!”

Ye Chong took out Feng Su’s dimension keystone from his bag and passed it Feng Su. He said to her with an undefiable voice, “You’re going with me.”

Feng Su accepted her dimension keystone and quietly agreed. She knew that the only ones with real battle experience on this ship were this cold, apathetic young man and herself. Guardian might be a powerful mech, but it could hardly travel in outer space.

Ye Pang felt a glimpse of hope, but felt worried as well. “We don’t know how dangerous these creatures are, you …”

“We’re heading off to prepare ourselves.” Ye Chong cut him off and turned away to leave the bridge. Feng Su immediately followed him.

Rui Bing bit her lips, watching Ye Chong leave without stopping him. She understood that Guardian would only be a burden in outer space.

Ye Chong and Feng Su were weathered combatants, and they were quickly done with preparations.

“A Phoenix class mech!” Everyone in the bridge was surprised. No one imagined that such a fragile looking beauty would be one of the elites of their enemy, the Xi Feng Tribe! Ye Pang, however, looked like he had guessed as much.

When Han Jia appeared before them, everyone gasped again in admiration! Han Jia’s beauty was a marvel to behold!

“Configure your comms!”

“Comms configured!”

“Begin mech assessment!”

“Mech assessment complete!”

“All the best. Prepare for launching. In five, four, three, two, one. Launch!”

Two hatches slid open.

As all eyes watched nervously on the holographic screen, two mechs with their engines ready dived into the vast outer space like two brilliant comets!

Chapter 428: The Perfect Kill

even unknown lifeforms formed a straight line, like a snake, as they continued circling around the starship. Compared to these agile little creatures, the starship was like a slow and dumb old cow.

All seven creatures were clearly displayed on Han Jia’s holographic screen. What agility! Ye Chong was quietly surprised. These unknown lifeforms were flying about smoothly in space with astonishing grace. Ye Chong believed that even the best mechs could not achieve this level of agility.

It was unfortunate that he was a bad shot. If they had a sharpshooter like Mu or Shang right now, they would only need seven shots to end the battle. As a close range mech, Han Jia’s attack range was much smaller. The only thing that Ye Chong could only rely on was Han Jia’s speed.

Han Jia could go up to a jaw-dropping Mach 20!

Aside that, he had Feng Su behind him. While he did not know how well Feng Su could fight with a Phoenix class mech, her strength when using Wings of Nirvana long ago had left a deep impression in him. Ye Chong would never doubt the power of advanced level mechs from the Three Aristocratic Families. Of course, the likelihood of someone as useless as Ye Luo having a mech as powerful as Moon King was just about nil.

Ye Chong and Feng Su did not exchange a word, but Ye Chong believed that Feng Su would know what to do. This was the power of coordination between experts!

Ye Chong’s hands flew across Han Jia’s controls in a blur.

Han Jia accelerated abruptly!

No matter the time and location, speed could always make one’s blood boil in excitement.

While the crew members of Darvill were not combatants, almost everyone in modern society would know a thing or two about mechs.

“Wow!” The surprised gasps lightened the mood in the starship. The holographic screen was like an eye magnet, demanding the attention of everyone onboard the ship. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the holographic screen, astounded, including Ye Pang. At the beginning, the starship’s holographic scanning system could not pick up the two mechs. It was only when they switched to optical mode that they were able to see the two mechs on the holographic screen. The impressive anti scanning abilities of the two mechs inspired hope from the crew members in them.

The Phoenix class mech had not done anything just yet, but the mysterious and beautiful mech was also making everyone feel excited.

Mach 20! After Lian Yue’s modifications and the use of teardrop mineralite, Han Jia could now reach stunning velocities!

Han Jia’s speed also left Feng Su with feelings of fear and awe. She had never seen a mech at such terrifying speed! Han Jia’s abrupt acceleration also disrupted her rhythm. However, she was a weathered combatant, a true veteran, and she immediately adjusted herself. All her hidden shooting chambers were activated.

The holographic screen’s combat locking system was initiated. To ensure perfect accuracy, she did not lock on to all the targets, but chose to focus on only two of them. She had never seen these creatures before, and had no idea of their defense systems.

She did not fire yet, but waited calmly for the right timing.

At Mach 20, 20 kilometers were covered in a breeze.

Back on the starship, everyone watched the holographic screen attentively. Mach 20 would put a very huge pressure on the human body. Piloting the mech would also be much more difficult. At this speed, there would not be much time for the mech pilot to think before acting.

Ye Chong fixed his gaze at the unknown lifeforms. As they grew larger and larger on the holographic screen, he maintained his calm. Unlike other mech pilots, he had been to Archipelago before, and had encountered all sorts of weird creatures. He was not troubled by the fact that his targets were still unknown to them.

At Mach 20, he did not have time to even consider these things. He was exceptionally focused right now, his hands resting slightly on the controls, ready to move.

The unknown lifeforms were very sensitive. The feelers on their foreheads twitched. They were about to get away! Han Jia’s astonishing speed had made them nervous.

Just when they were about to leave, dozens of purple colored laser beams shot across the dark sky of outer space!

These dozens of laser beams directly hit two of those creatures! None of the lasers missed. The two creatures were full of holes in an instant.

All the crew members watching the holographic screen on the starship cheered jubilantly!

The sudden attack made the nervous unknown lifeforms go into full blown panic!

The momentary pause in their motions just as they were about to leave was key. They were now in a mess, but still close to each other.

The two dozen tentacles on Han Jia’s wings were released abruptly. Han Jia’s hands were now holding two daggers.

Han Jia charged into the panicking creatures like a shooting rainbow!

Inside the pilot cabin, Ye Chong’s eyes widened, and his hands began to fly across the controls!

Ye Chong did not know how fast his hands were moving right then, but he knew that he was giving all he got. This was because he knew that, at Mach 20, he would fly past the creatures in an instant, in less than a hundredth of a second, and he would need to attack them in this short time frame.

Is this the limit of the human body?

He did not know about that, but he did know that this was a golden opportunity!

The arching tentacles shot out like a snake uncurling itself, straight towards it victims! The greyish daggers were hard to see in the darkness of outer space, and only Ye Chong in his mech could see its dim glimmer briefly pass through his vision.

Two unknown lifeforms were thoroughly destroyed by the tentacles. At Mach 20, even a tiny rock could be devastating, much less with these strong tentacles!

Han Jia flew right into one of the creatures.

It’s a homerun! The creature was sliced open like it just flew into the sharp edge of a knife, its body split into two as black colored blood oozed out of its remains. Its two body parts flew rapidly outwards. Ye Chong’s eyes were burning with a desire to fight. He had waited for this moment. At the instant he flew into the creature, his hands began to move again.

Under the disbelieving gazes of everyone on the ship, the mysterious and beautiful mech made a very slight course adjustment! It was like a beam of light reflecting off a mirror at a very small angle.

This abrupt directional shift was packed with much more power than Ye Chong had anticipated at Mach 2. The momentum change was enough to make someone as strong as Ye Chong felt instant dizziness and nausea.

The course correction was so small that it was almost impossible to notice.

To Ye Chong, however, it was enough.

Ye Chong held back his discomfort and activated his final attack command that was set up earlier.

One of the tentacles reached out and tore through one of the unknown lifeforms, its sharp tip ripping a straight tear through the soft body of the unknown lifeform at Mach 20. By the time the black colored blood and intestines began to pour out, Han Jia was already far away.

Han Jia was like an unhindered arrow, shooting past the weak formation of the unknown lifeforms. In that short instant, it had achieved its most important objective.

It had killed four of the creatures. The one creature that Han Jia flew into was in fact already cut into two by its dagger.

The destructive power of both Ye Chong and Han Jia were fully demonstrated in this extremely short moment!

For the last part of the battle, Ye Chong believed that Feng Su would be able to deliver flawlessly. Feng Su’s first shots had been perfectly timed, and even the most critical mech pilot would be satisfied with them. It was her perfect shots that allowed Ye Chong to achieve his glorious body count. Xi Feng Tribe’s mech pilots had always been known for their excellent timing.

Ye Chong tried to regulate his own body as Han Jia slowed down. The dizziness had put him into a very vulnerable position.

Mach 20 was truly very stressful for the body! Ye Chong laughed ironically inside. If this was a fight against another mech, his situation would have been very dangerous.

Right now, Han Jia was like a comet that was flying out of control, drifting off into space along its inertial trajectory.

Ye Chong was right. The last unknown lifeform was swiftly dealt with by Feng Su. She had even taken another shot at the creature which Ye Chong had torn open its abdomen, just to be safe.

Ye Chong finally gathered himself and flew Han Jia slowly back to the starship.

When Ye Chong and Feng Su were back on Darvill, they were welcomed warmly like heroes.

Everyone looked at them with eyes filled with the fire of hope. In this age, a strong mech pilot could easily win the admiration of others. Everyone was still basking in the afterglow of the glorious and perfect victory. Ye Family’s people had a higher standard, of course, but they still thought that the battle just now was just extraordinary.

Feng Su’s perfect timing, Ye Chong’s brute strength and Han Jia’s Mach 20 speed had become an unforgettable memory for each of them.

This battle had greatly raised the morale of everyone onboard the ship.

However, Ye Chong was unmoved by the looks of admiration shot at him throughout. He was now focused on the bodies of the two unknown lifeforms that they had carried onboard.

Chapter 429: Strength in Numbers

f all the dead creatures, only the two that were stabbed with Han Jia’s tentacles were mostly preserved. Ye Chong was left with only these two bodies to bring back with him. It was the first time humanity had seen this lifeform, and it was important to study it.

“I hope that this unknown lifeform is different from the ones Ye Yin and the others encountered. If they are the same species, then we’re in trouble!” Ye Pang looked solemn as he said with a sarcastic smile.

Ye Luo asked, “Why?”

“There are only two possibilities if they’re one and the same. One, these unknown lifeforms are spread across a very large area; two, they are already very close to us! Which one would you choose?” Ye Pang could not help being scornful towards him.

“Neither!” Ye Luo shook his head frankly.

Ye Chong ignored as he lowered himself down to study the two dead bodies. Once, in order to solve a problem that was particularly awkward in nature, Ye Chong had dedicated some time in biology. Nevertheless, his meager understanding could not help him much. What would really do him good was experience.

The purplish black shell was very hard, but not thick, else Han Jia’s tentacles would not have been able to pierce through them. The creature’s belly was soft, without the shell to protect it. The sharp blades on its sides were dangerous. The eye on each armor plate now looked lifeless. Ye Chong was beginning to believe Ye Pang’s theory that these mysterious creatures were actually scouts of some kind.

From their battle earlier, it seemed that these creatures could move very fast, but their attack and defense were weak, typical of scouting type organisms.

Ye Pang did not want to invoke more panic in the crew, so their discussions were held in the medical bay. The technical side of things will have to be left to the ship’s professional medical officer, and see if they could get anything useful out of the bodies.

As the group left the medical bay, they passed by excited faces discussing the battle earlier as they walked along the ship’s corridors. When they saw Ye Chong, the devotion in their eyes was like that of his number one fans. Ye Pang and Ye Luo were mostly ignored, and this annoyed Ye Luo. As for Feng Su, the crew members treated her more carefully, since she was from the Xi Feng Tribe.

Rui Bing trailed along behind Ye Chong, never leaving his side.

After dinner, Ye Pang invited Ye Luo to his room.

“Who are those people?” Ye Pang asked in a whisper.

Ye Luo scratched his head and said, “Err, that’s a difficult one.”

Ye Pang sniffed at him. “What’s so difficult about it? Even without you telling me, I know. Isn’t that the one that the Family is searching for?”

Ye Luo was surprised, “Huh, how did you know?”

“What’s so hard about this simple deduction? Look at you, so trusting in him. I know you like the back of my hand. Without researching his background thoroughly, would you have brought him here? Where are we heading to right now? To He Yue Galaxy. If he’s a friend of yours from the free space zone, would you have brought him along to He Yue Galaxy? Err, of course, if it’s your girl I suppose that’s possible.” Ye Pang last comment made Ye Luo blush.

“The mech that he deployed, I know instantly that it’s the goods. A full-skeleton mech! I may have served for a long time in logistics, but I can still tell. He’s very strong. I think he’ll even be ranked in the single digits in the Family. If I remember correctly, the man that’s very similar to one of our own is also a very capable mech pilot. So, I made a guess. But you, oh so gullible, admitted it straight away, you’re so useless!” Ye Pang looked at Ye Luo with disdain.

Ye Luo was offended now. He curled his hands into fists, cracking his finger joints to intimidate Ye Pang. “Small Fry, I’ll let you know, don’t you go showing off in front of me. Hehe, I can bring you down with just one hand.”

Ye Pang was unfazed by his show. He looked at Ye Luo meaningfully and sighed. “Boorish Luo, I can’t figure you out. Why’re you helping him? You’re dead if your father finds out!”

Ye Lu’s expression was unreadable. “I don’t know either. I just know that he won’t want to return to the Ye Family. Even I am not fond of the Family. Besides, what right do we have to order him back? I despise people who like to force their will onto others. On the other hand, I actually enjoy his company. Had I realized the situation earlier, I would’ve never reported back about him.”

“Sigh, Boorish Luo, recognize the reality of things. He is just a single person, and can never defeat the Ye Family. In the end, he will be subdued.” Ye Pang could not help a sigh.

“Small Fry, it’s this part of you that I cannot stand! Reality? F*ck reality! Just look at me, hehe, hasn’t the Family been asking me to go back since forever? Humph, I won’t. See, they can’t do nothing to me. Besides, I do what I think is right, and I have no regrets! I know exactly how the Family is like. Small Fry, with your level of abilities, you shouldn’t have needed to stay in this run down place and be some no-good Chief of Logistics.”

Ye Pang could only smile bitterly at that. “Logistics isn’t too bad, suitable for someone lazy like me!”

“You! Sigh …” Ye Luo seemed to remember something, and lost his initial excitement. He sat down in dejection, and it was a long moment before he spoke again. “What’re you going to do with him?”

“Do? I’ll do nothing, since it’s none of my business!” Ye Pang looked like his lazy old self again. However, he could not help but asked, “I can guess about the young man, but what about the woman? A member of the Xi Feng Tribe? What’s their relationship? What about the rest in the group?”

Ye Luo shrugged evasively and said, “I don’t know, you ask them.”

Ye Pang was speechless.

The ship did not encounter any more of those unknown lifeforms later on. This was a great relief for the crew members. Another piece of good news was that they had met another transport ship along the way. The meeting between the two ships brought a joyful cheer to their crews.

In the infinity of outer space, loneliness was frightening. Hence, having company along was undoubtedly the most joyful thing to happen to them.

As they approached the rendezvous point, they met more and more transport ships. Soon, almost every hour brought about a new ship of the Ye Family to join them. This managed to soothe the nerves of the crew and its passengers.

The rendezvous point was on a small planet not far from the Gateway entrance.

The planet was not large. Its surface was now covered with all sorts of starships, with mechs flying in and out of them constantly. The planet had become a busy military base.

With coordination from the ground, Darvill finally landed on the small planet. Here was all the military power of the Ye Family in the free space zone, converged on this planet. After receiving the emergency beacon, all combat units had went straight towards the rendezvous point as soon as they could.

Ye Pang was not invited to the operations meeting. On Darvill, the only one entitled to attending the meeting was Ye Luo, but of course the man did not care to join the others. He declined to attend the meeting.

Nevertheless, Ye Pang still managed to uncover some information through other means.

In the bridge, only Ye Luo, Ye Pang, Ye Chong, Rui Bing and Feng Su were there.

Their expressions were not encouraging.

Darvill’s encounter with the unknown lifeforms was reported to Ye Yin’s subordinates, so the two bodies of the creatures were taken away from them. They had already ascertained that these unknown lifeforms were one of a few kinds that were attacking the Gateway.

The situation was more serious than expected.

When Ye Yin and his men arrived for backup, it was already too late. The entire Gateway was swarmed with a few different kinds of unknown lifeforms.

This was the worst situation that everyone had hoped to avoid! Once the Gateway was lost, they would have to clear it should they ever want to return to their homes.

After many days of contact, they now finally had some understanding of these mysterious creatures.

The creatures may not look alike, but they all had some common features – high aggression, and a strong propensity to devour anything that was made of metal or pure energy.

There was not much left of the mechs that were destroyed in their first wave of attack. The creatures had swallowed up most of the metal pieces like hungry ants.

Just thinking about it make one’s flesh creep.

Clearing up the Gateway was now the main problem.

“Small Fry, you got any good ideas?” Ye Luo looked to Ye Pang.

Ye Pang shook his head. “None. However, I think that the most important thing we should do now is to understand more about these creatures. It’s all we can do for now. We know next to nothing about these creatures, much less their weaknesses.”

Ye Luo seemed to be disappointed with Ye Pang’s lack of ideas. Ye Chong, Rui Bing and Feng Su did not speak, only observing the two of them.

Though he usually stayed quiet, Ye Chong spoke up this time. “What of the Xue Lai Clan and Xi Feng Tribe?”

Everyone paused to absorb his words.

“That’s right! I wonder what happened to them?” Ye Pang seemed to give it some thought. If they had also encountered the same unknown lifeforms, they would probably not fare any better. The thought of the Three Aces being stuck in the free space zone was almost ridiculous to even consider for Ye Pang.

Soon, however, they had no time to consider how the other two Families were doing.

After resupplying, the Ye Family’s combat division was ready to move out.

Chapter 430: Back to the Wall

e Chong spent most of his time watching the many, many battles that unfolded on the holographic screen on the starship. There were not many mechs and starships in the free space zone, hence there was not a lot of energy cells in storage. Ye Pang had already brought along all the energy cells from Serbe. Now, they could only watch as the war waged on.

The war was shockingly violent!

The Gateway’s entrance was very narrow, a natural landscape for defense. That was why they were able to hold the line so far.

From the narrow entrance, swarms of the unknown lifeforms would emerge from time to time. They never came in large numbers, they never seemed to stop coming either. From the beginning, the number of unknown lifeforms that had emerged from the entrance had never diminished, showing no signs of exhaustion from the other side. This was a constant worry for everyone around, afraid of what would happen in the long run.

Their own forces were weakening as the days passed by. Heavy casualties would follow every time enemies were successfully terminated. However, no one backed down. Everyone knew that the narrow Gateway was the only reason they were still alive, and not consumed by the unknown lifeforms.

There was nothing else to do but fight on. Ye Yin looked terribly grim. He could not find a way out of their predicament.

Jenny Ye looked at Ye Yin’s grim expression beneath his long hair, sympathizing his situation. She consoled him softly, “Look at you, you look so gloomy that it’s going to rain soon. Don’t worry too much. Here, drink this.” She passed a thermos over to Ye Yin.

Ye Yin saw that it was Jenny, and his eyes flickered warmly. He agreed and took the thermos from Jenny, finishing all the soup in it.

Jenny Ye watched lovingly as Ye Yin drank his soup with concentration, but her heart ached for him. This man whom she loved, he was shouldering to much unwanted burden! Beneath his handsome but cold exterior was a heart that was only human.

“What’re you thinking?” Ye Yin asked suddenly. Now that the soup was finished, he watched her closely.

Jenny blushed slightly. She pulled the thermos out of his hands and feigned nonchalance as she said, “Nothing much. Yin, don’t give yourself too much pressure! You’re doing your best, no one will blame you.”

Ye Yin said nothing, only watching Jenny Ye quietly.

“What is it?” Jenny Ye saw that Ye Yin was in a faze. She shook her tiny hand before his eyes a few times, saying with mock anger, “What are you thinking? How could your mind go wandering while talking to me?”

“Oh. I’m thinking, I will definitely bring you home! Definitely!” Ye Yin said this with unyielding resolution.

Anyone could see that the war was not favoring the Ye Family. Their combat forces continued to diminish. Almost every round of battle would end in deaths on their side. Seeing their own die before them continuously was a heavy blow to their morale. One could frequently hear people sobbing in the middle of the night. They were at their lowest point in spirit.

Nonetheless, the immediate problem presented to them was a practical one – energy cells! The free space zone did not have production factories for energy cells. Their energy cells were running out. Once they used them up, all the mechs and starships would turn into useless metal bulks, and the war would be over.

Dozens of unknown lifeforms emerged again from the Gateway’s entrance.

The mechs that were guarding the entrance immediately went forward to fight them.

30 mechs formed a standard combat squad. Five mechs accelerated abruptly, leaving formation and heading towards the unknown lifeforms. When they were close enough, they suddenly split up and headed off into five different directions.

The creatures immediately pursued the five mechs like they were hunting their favourite prey, splitting off into five groups. The decoy mechs were all flown by the best mech pilots. They traced five beautiful arches across the starry sky like the stamen of a flower. Then, they each flew past a group of five mechs, and the creatures plunged straight into the surrounding formation of the five mechs.

The suspenseful close range battle began!

The strength of the Ye Family’s mech pilots were thus fully demonstrated. Mechs and creatures rushed towards each other like medieval knights in a joust. When the moment of impact arrived, however, the mech pilots of the Ye Family could always execute the appropriate evasion moves and deliver the fatal blow to these unknown lifeforms.

However, the creatures were also terribly capable of retaliating. Despite bearing audience to similar fights for numerous times, Ye Chong still find them shocking. The creatures could move their heads deftly, and their strong teeth would always leave deep bite marks on mechs.

These creatures, which they had called crustalades, had very strong exoskeletons. The purplish black shell plates on them shone with a metallic glimmer. They had six pairs of wings. Their bodies were flat and short, measuring about three meters long. Their heads could move around flexibly, and their teeth were strong enough to bite through certain kinds of metal. The crustalades were very sensitive to metals. According to research, their hard armor plates had a high metal content. Hence, their armor plates were very strong, and well suited for self defense. Their shell plates would change, and even evolve significantly, according to the types of metal ingested.

Crustalades would fly up to Mach 12, about the same as the Ye Family’s mechs in the main battle force. Since the creatures could also fly well, they were difficult opponents to fight against.

Now, most if not all of the creatures that came out of the Gateway entrance were this type of lifeform. The ones that Ye Chong and his group had encountered were never seen again.

The Ye Family’s mechs lacked long range weapons, so they were forced to fight at close range.

Ye Chong pondered on their situation. Of the Three Aristocratic Families, the Xue Lai Clan must be best equipped to fight against these crustalades.

Rui Bing sat quietly beside Ye Chong. She would accompany him and watch the battle on the holographic screen every day. She did not say anything, but only sat quietly with him. Her snow white training garb looked as graceful on her as before. Her eyes were calm and resolute.

“What? The Three Families are ready for an alliance?” Ye Pang gasped in surprise.

Ye Luo noded. “Yes. I just got the news. Looks like the other Families have also suffered heavily, so they are hoping to form an alliance now. Oh, by the way, Ye Yin has agreed.”

Ye Pang stroked his chin as he mused, “An Alliance of the Three Families. It’s not a bad idea. To think that we, the Three Families, long time enemies with each other, will agree to an alliance in the face of a disaster. Hehe, it sure is interesting.” He thought of something then, and asked, “What about the Gateway?”

“Seal the entrance. Ye Yin has decided to seal the entrance,” Ye Luo replied.

Space around the Gateway entrance was extremely unstable. It was engulfed in a light yellow nebula. Within the nebula were strong electromagnetic radiations that covered a wide spectrum. The magnetic fields in the nebula were also constantly realigning. This made the area dangerous. Even the tough lifeforms were cautious of the space around the entrance.

300 energy cells were bundled together. They now floated before the Gateway entrance.

All of Ye Family’s starships had pulled away, giving a wide berth.

Everyone onboard Darvill focused on the holographic screen.

Dozens of crustalades emerged threateningly from the Gateway entrance. They noticed the energy cells immediately and flew towards them.

Just then, a red beam shot at the energy cells!

The holographic screen lit up, and everyone had to shade their eyes for the moment. When their vision cleared up, the Gateway entrance was no longer on the holographic screen. Instead, they were looking at an endless stretch of light yellow nebula.

The massive starship fleet carried the hopes of its passengers, heading towards the Xue Lai Clan’s Gateway entrance as fast as it could.

Ye Pang looked at the dense presence of starships from his window and smiled. “We’ll probably never see something like this again. Isn’t it magnificent?” After the rendezvous, the starships from all the Three Aristocratic Families were huddled together without order. Darvill was now right beside one of the Xi Feng Tribe’s starships.

“I want to return to my Tribe,” Feng Su looked at Ye Chong and pronounced her every word clearly. Every combat personnel was precious in their situation.

Ye Chong thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement. “Alright.”

Feng Su looked around and nodded to the people around her. “I wish you all the best! Farewell!” Everyone watched silently as Feng Su left. Given the circumstances, whatever personal conflicts they had with her were relatively insignificant. Besides, Ye Chong had never really developed a grudge against her.

The Three Aces from the Three Aristocratic Families gathered together.

“Hehe, fate is truly mysterious. To think that we would actually fight side by side!” Huang Jiming smiled warmly.

Ye Yin ignored him and turned to Siva. “Why don’t you explain the situation here.”

In the operations room, two humans and one mech discussed their predicament. It was an uncanny sight.

Siva’s bionic eyes flashed intermittently. “Our initial battles were successful. The crustalades could not harm us. However, once we enter the Gateway, we suffer heavily.”

An image appeared on the holographic screen in the operations room. The massive being in the image caused the two humans to inhale sharply.

“This is a new kind of unknown lifeform. We call them mollusc bristleworms. They looked like large caterpillars, but covered with sharp spikes on them. Each spike was about seven to eight meters long, and many crustalades were hanging from it.

Siva’s electronic voice reverberated in the operations room. “The interesting thing about these mollusc bristleworms is they could absorb energy weapon attacks, the mechanism for this is unknown. They move slowly, reaching up to Mach 6. Their bodies are covered with pores that could spew out a grayish green gas. This gas has been shown to weaken metal structures. After computations, we’ve determined that the massive being in the image is formed by about six thousand five hundred mollusc bristleworms.”

The number was enough to trigger another sharp inhale from the two listeners. Six thousand five hundred mollusc bristleworms with slight variations in colour intensity formed a massive dragon-like colourful being. It was a terrifying beast.

“We have ascertained that the entire Gateway had only these six thousand and five hundred mollusc bristleworms. We have killed most of the crustalades. The rest of the crustalades can also be handled by our side. Your forces must deal with these mollusc bristleworms. Be aware that we have energy to only supply one final attack!”

Siva’s electronic voice never wavered.