Skyfire Avenue

Chapter 763: Separate Action

An enormous purple hand a thousand meters across came down from above to try and swat the Pharmacist from the sky. She fearlessly advanced with her weapon leading the way. There was a flash of white, a pained scream, and suddenly the Pharmacist was through the hand like it was nothing.

Lan Jue, holding tight to Qianlin"s hand, lifted into the air as well. They were almost immediately surrounded by the light of their swords; Captus red, and Demortus blue. They were both inspired by the power of their brother Occisus, and pulsed with stifling power. With their swords held high they joined the Pharmacist in her charge toward the Monarch"s doppelganger.

Waves of energy surged from the alien like an angry tide. It punched at the Pharmacist, forcing her to retreat before turning on Lan Jue and Qianlin. It reached out to grab them.

It was Lan Jue"s first time fighting a creature like this. All of a sudden he felt as though everything around them was their enemy. The world wanted them dead. An unspeakable pressure pressed in from all sides, pure energy suppression - the same method he"d used to seal the Wine Master"s Domain.

He leapt to the side to block Qianlin. With a flick of the wrist he carved out an angry red circle with Captus and everything within it imploded. A burst of energy shot out with enough force to catapult Lan Jue and Qianlin from the battlefield. They were gone, the pressure that a.s.sailed them collapsed on empty s.p.a.ce.

This was the joining of Captus and Taiji.

In the next instant Qianlin sprang up from behind Lan Jue. She swiped her weapon, birthing a hail of blue barbs that filled the air. A hundred thousand bursts of Demortus" cutting bite raced for their target. Lan Jue was not idle and thrust his sword into the circular patch he"d carved in the sky. Though the movement was simple, the strength of the power it exuded had the weight of a thousand pounds behind it. Like roaring waves it burst forth, sweeping through the pressure that had threatened to crush them.

A column of white light descended from above them, bearing the murderous aura of Occisus. Through the aid of her Righteous Slaughter Domain the woman had never encountered a battle she couldn"t overcome. She was harder to fight the longer it took. Now that she was a Paragon the power of her sword was amplified greatly, and even the doppelganger"s mighty capabilities couldn"t deny her. For every onslaught that was rebuffed she returned with something stronger.

All of a sudden the alien shrunk, dramatically reduced to the size of a normal man once again. It stretched out its right hand to brazenly deflect the Pharmacist.

It was going to use its own body to contend against Occisus?

Ting! The Harbinger Fairy was violently thrust backward, the monster"s puissance was simply too great. Yet it did not escape unscathed. A deep cleft had been cut into its fist which leaked poison vapor.

Occisus was truly a legendary weapon! It was foolish for any living thing to try and stand in its path.

Lan Jue and Qianlin linked hands and advanced. He cut toward the beast, focused flow! Behind him another river of blue power emerged - ten thousand blades as one!

Though the two lovers could employ the Harmonious Swords, their individual styles still complimented each other. Calm, graceful, strong. The emulsions from the two Banis.h.i.+ng Blades flickered as they surrounded the Monarch"s copy.

"Be careful!" The Wine Master shouted. Lan Jue had no time to react before an inexplicable power rammed into him, sending both he and Qianlin several kilometers away. As he flailed through the air he saw the spot they"d just occupied collapsed into a void of purple energy. IF the Wine Master hadn"t acted they would have been killed.

He scowled. Impotence in this crucial fight was unacceptable. He decided it was time.

Though he commanded the power of a Paragon, he was not one. It put him at an insurmountable disadvantage against a foe this powerful, he simply didn"t have the energy to face him! They were worlds apart and no special weapon or substance could close that gap. After all, the enemy they faced was at least equivalent to Nirvana.

Comparatively the Pharmacist was doing much better, relying on none but herself and the strength of her weapon. Despite the alien"s superior abilities it feared Occisus and had learned the dangers of getting too close. The Pharmacist and the blade were as one, and together they restrained the destructive power of the doppelganger to where his advantages could not overcome her.

The Wine Master leapt into action, joining her in the life or death struggle.

All of the humans together couldn"t equal the strength of the alien. For this moment their focus was to restrain the beast. To this end the natural constraints of human vitality, and Occisus power, created a stalemate.

"We"ve got this handled, continue with the mission. I"ll get us out when you"re finished." The Wine Master"s voice spoke directly into Lan Jue"s ear.

"Alright." Lan Jue made the decision, following the Wine Master"s suggestion. Right now they served no purpose here, and would only get in the way. They could use the Harmonious Sword technique, but it would be draining and best saved as a last resort.

Lan Jue and Qianlin disappeared into Thor"s c.o.c.kpit once more. The mecha lurched forward at incredible speed. The doppelganger turned as though to follow but was quickly cut off by the Pharmacist. Indeed she was becoming harder to manage as the fight continued, and the light from her and her weapon was unlike anything they"d seen before. Every strike was possessed of indomitable power and righteous intent, leaving the beast with no chance to catch its breath. Frightening as the sword was, the Monarch"s copy didn"t dare disregard its lethality. If the human bearer struck it in the vital crystal, it would be no more.

He could also sense that the Wine Master and Pharmacist were beginning to flag. They were relying on their strongest abilities to defend themselves, but that could not be maintained for long. Soon they would tire.

Once it fled the battle, Thor darted through the sky like a fish in a stream. In a blink it was moving at top speed. The violet royal"s appearance had scared off the other aliens giving it s.p.a.ce to maneuver. A clash of Paragons was destructive enough to cause real danger simply by getting too close.

This was their chance. With Lan Jue at the controls Thor quickly covered ground toward the far side of the planet. With every kilometer that pa.s.sed he was more astonished by what he saw; ground nearly black from poison and buildings on the verge of collapse. Not a single living human was anywhere within radar range.

More striking were the thick tentacles that served as the progenitor"s arteries. They were writhing and prominent like varicose veins that all pointed in the same directions. If he didn"t know better he could confuse them for the meridians of the planet itself.

Of course a planet didn"t have meridians. It was obvious what these arteries belonged to.

He continued to race forward, eventually crossing over to the back side of the former human world. Immediately he saw that it was dark and gloomy, and his mind was invaded with a strange sensation.

Something, he didn"t know what, wasn"t right. Something he should be noticing but wasn"t.

The gloom was an unnatural violet in color that hung over everything like a mist. He could feel within it a lurking presence, potent and all-pervasive.

Ah! Suddenly he understood. Something felt off ever since he"d come to the planet but he hadn"t been able to put his finger on it until this moment. This planet wasn"t rotating.

Every cosmic body had its own rotational properties, even stars. Something that had no rotation whatsoever was exceedingly odd. Because some planets were slower than others to make one circuit it was sometimes hard to tell.

"Thor, access planetary data. Check to see if any of the other planets we"ve encountered have a rotation." Lan Jue ordered the on-board AI to check the scouting data they"d acc.u.mulated up to this point.

"Yes," the suit responded.

A few moments later Thor confirmed Lan Jue"s guess, none of the planets were moving. They were perfectly still.

One of the dangers of a planet losing its rotation was forcing it out of orbit. It would go from a stable path to an enormous asteroid. That was a disaster both for the planet itself and all of its neighbors.

The aliens were capable of more than just destroying planets, they could stop them dead in their tracks. But why?

Thor continued on, and when it reached the far side of the planet, in that world of gloom and violet, Lan Jue could see far into the distance. His mouth fell open.

What he saw, he would remember for the rest of his life.

What was it?

The veins that slithered across the planet"s surface gathered all together at a single point, and rose into the sky as a single column. It was similar to what they"d witnessed on Monteux, but this artery was at least a hundred times larger! It was like a straw rising from the world out into s.p.a.ce that squirmed and wriggled. 1

"Thor, rise!" Lan Jue shouted the order and Thor reacted immediately. He ascended with no concern for hiding, and no concern for the myriad aliens that waited in s.p.a.ce. He was somewhat surprised that he didn"t encounter any of the beasts as he rose. Soon he peaked over the clouds, through the atmosphere, and into s.p.a.ce.

Chapter 764: Predicted and Unexpected

The s.p.a.ce above the planet was still without any alien defenders. It appeared as though they were all focused on the front-facing side. Now that Lan Jue was through the atmosphere his sights were un.o.bstructed, he could see the violet artery stretch into the distance and disappear.

Incredible!

Lan Jue had guessed it, but seeing this umbilicus disappear into the distance with his own eyes was another matter entirely. He was filled with dread. What was it? If it connected to the alien home worlds that would explain a lot. But why, on Monteux, was vital energy siphoned into a single creature while here it flowed through the artery directly? What did it mean? The energies from a planet were enormous, it seemed obvious what they were being used for.

This was only one of seven planets. If conditions were the same on the others, Lan Jue was confident in his a.n.a.lysis. But what about Europa?

Lan Jue fought the urge to follow the artery to its source. Now wasn"t the time, and stealing into the tiger"s den had an uncomfortably high possibility of never coming out. What they had learned here was enough to call their mission a success, but he wasn"t happy with it. It wasn"t that the information was insufficient. On the contrary, it proved how dangerous their situation had become.

Thor turned around and began to head back. Lan Jue"s eyes flashed and his breath quickened. They had to move in for the final a.s.sault soon, otherwise their alien aggressors would be triumphant. Humanity would be lost.

He retraced his steps, following the same path he"d taken. Radar was unnecessary, he just needed to follow the bursts of energy from the distance battle. He could see violet, silver and white clashes in the horizon. From what he could see the violet was getting stronger, and the white was fading.

The Pharmacist had expended a lot of energy before this fight, yet still threw herself into it without restraint. Her will was indomitable but she was still just a Paragon of the Realm of Protogenia. Once the limits of her energy was reached she would no longer be able to summon the deadly power of Occisus.

Comparatively the Wine Master was faring better. He was a Reflection of Heaven and Earth and thus had more potency to draw upon. He was the primary threat to the doppelganger and the Pharmacist served as his weapon. Her aid helped even the playing field.

There was a flash, and a brilliant rainbow burst into existence.

The Wine Master and Pharmacist sensed it, and together their attention went to the rainbow. What they saw was a smear of color that seemed to split the sky. It cleansed everything in its path, wiping away the foul power of the alien horde.

The Monarch"s doppelganger stared wide eyed at the phenomenon. It felt its body grow sluggish and an ineffable fear gripped its chest. It frightening it so completely that it made the immediately decision to flee, dissolving into a purple light and vanis.h.i.+ng. Whatever that light was, it contained enough power to end its life.

The light did not chase the monster but rather swept up the two humans on its trek through the atmosphere. In a flash they were out in s.p.a.ce and any aliens not fast enough to move out of the way were obliterated in the rainbow"s pa.s.sage.

The beam of light flew on far into the distance before eventually slowing.

"Go!" Lan Jue"s weak voice urged.

The Wine Master didn"t need to be told twice. Two humans vanished from alien territory in a spark of silver light.

The power of the Harmonious Swords was a real danger to the Monarch"s doppelganger. It had the potential to wound it grievously, but to kill the beast would be very difficult. After all, neither Lan Jue nor Qianlin yet had the strength to summon the power of their swords. Instead Lan Jue chose to use the technique to abscond with his friends and bring them to safety. Their mission was complete and the information had to be brought back as soon as possible.

Three quick successive teleports took the scouting party out of the enemy"s reach. The Wine Master called Zeus-1 for exfiltration and after a few moments they were safely back on board.

Lan Jue and Qianlin both were completely drained. The Harmonious Swords had taken more than they could handle. The Pharmacist gave them pills to sh.o.r.e up their yuan qi 1 and stabilize their condition.

Zeus-1 pushed its engines to their limit, heading back to where the human armada waited.

Lan Jue"s faculties were returning, though he looked pale and exhausted. He grinned to himself and his expectations. Being so close to Paragon, he a.s.sumed he would have some energy left over after employing the Harmonious Swords, but he was wrong. The moment Lan Jue and Qianlin"s hearts joined, Captus drank him dry. Not a drop was left.

Of course he could sense the strength of their technique had increased as well. In fact he"d hesitated, wondering for a moment whether it was a good idea to chase after the Monarch"s copy and try to put it down. In the end he didn"t want to risk it.

"What did you discover?" Jue Di looked his son over before asking.

Lan Jue had simply overtaxed himself, there was no harm done. Jue Di had watched them the whole time, but hadn"t gotten involved because he knew the doppelganger didn"t threaten their lives. Certainly the crystal that monster carried would be a grand prize, but Jue Di"s presence would have captured a lot of attention. It wasn"t certain he would be able to quickly slay the monster, either, so safety had to be their first concern.

"Predicted and unexpected." Lan Jue enigmatically replied.

"Huh?" Jue Di looked at him, confused. The others had gathered round.

With Xiuxiu"s help he sat up. He then shared everything they discovered on the far side of the planet.

"So the world has stopped rotating and it funneling energy somewhere?" Jue Di scowled as he thought of the implications.

The Wine Master was stern and irritated. "What are these creatures planning? What"s their purpose?"

Lan Jue explained. "Our guess was right, it"s plain as day. The alien planet have decided to begin the process of evolution. That"s the only reason they would need so much energy all at once. These arteries must be piping vital energy directly to the planets themselves so they couldn"t dare leave them undefended. This is the most important goal of their species, so they won"t delay in completing the process."

"They will want to evolve in the shortest amount of time possible and would be willing to sacrifice a lot to make it happen. All the humans they took from these planets would give them the DNA required as well. We need to attack right away before they have a chance to succeed."

The Wine Master nodded. "I agree with Lan Jue. They can"t afford to feign an attack. By destroying the planets and two bastions they put the fear of death in everyone"s heart, giving them an advantage. They fled the North because it is the strongest Alliance, but not before striking a blow at its confidence and thirst for war. It bought them time, and then they chose the West because these eight planets are in such close proximity. Eastern systems are more spread out."

Everyone felt a sort of guilt-ridden relief. If the aliens had chosen the East instead, would it have survived where the West fell? The answer was unsettling.

"We need to bring what we"ve learned to Admiral Lan as quickly as we can. Everything needs to be prepared." The Driver said.

The success of their mission filled everyone with a sense of dire urgency. Their next fight could very well decide the fate of their species! There was no convincing the North after the horror they experienced, otherwise they would have sent their forces already. All they had were the troops at their disposal for a final, life-or-death struggle against the enemy.

But would it be enough against a foe that had bested them at every turn? Their only chance was now, while their strength and attention was focused on evolving. But if this was a ruse and the alien home worlds were laying in wait, even Lan Qing"s brilliance could not save them. Their chances of surviving would be close to zero.

ζ

Tyrannosaurus-Cla.s.s Bastion.

"Your Majesty." Kang Hui respectfully saluted the Terminator.

The North"s mightiest Paragon regarded him with a small smile. "Kang Hui. Things have been difficult for you."

He smiled. "The choices have all been mine. I"ve made them, and I"m ready to bear the consequences of my decision."

Part of his decision had been to rashly steal away from the North with its mightiest bastion, defying direct orders. It was a tremendous risk, which would invariably end with him standing before a military tribunal.