Skyfire Avenue - Chapter 724

Chapter 724

Chapter 724: Teleportation, Ultus!

Thor’s Promise shimmered with an internal light . Then, in a flash, an enormous sapphire figure appeared suspended in space . Lan Jue placed the psionic generator and Blinding Stone within Thor’s central gem lattice then boarded the mecha to calibrate .

Thor had been upgraded along with Zeus-1 when Lan Jue had gone to visit his father . Jue Di had fitted the mecha with an important assembly unit called a focal pool . It could accommodate all sorts of power gems in such a way as to have them work seamlessly together .

With the Blinding Stone equipped Thor could cloak itself from view as Zeus-1 had . The psionic generator was more complicated, but after some modifications to the operating procedures Lan Jue made it compatible with Thor . Concealing the mecha would be easier than a whole ship, and safer .

Seated within the mecha’s cockpit, Lan Jue felt at home . It was like a piece of him was returned . He carefully flooded the suit with All-Heaven Lightning .

Thor was constructed with a slew of rare materials that either resisted or amplified electric conduction . It’d cost Lan Jue dearly in both effort and funds to construct . His Discipline was different now, stronger, so he wasn’t sure the suit could support it . He stole a moment in his rescue mission to make sure it could .

All-Heaven Lightning wasn’t just destruction, for within pure destruction was the seeds of life . Thunder essence was an example, where the tremendous power of Tribulation Lightning struck the most powerful lifeforms down or lifted them up .

Thor started to shimmer with a strange dark blue light . In the dim expanse of space it looked black, but when a star’s light bathed it the machine sparkled like a sapphire .

He shot off into space . Lan Jue’s hands immediately fell into a familiar rhythm as they danced over Thor’s controls . Under the cover of Zeus-1’s equipment he was as invisible as space dust, and slipped through the Starfields silent as a specter .

His target was the alien planets . A mecha suit could not compare to a spaceship in regards to speed, but Lan Jue was an important factor . Thor’s current pilot was a different man than he had been, time had moulded him into something better . He was nearly a Paragon, and with the benefit of Qianlin’s help he could fill the suit with enough energy to maintain light-speed travel for long periods .

So far everything was going his way . His only hoped the Pharmacist hadn’t reached those evil worlds yet . He’d gotten a late start, but he was fast and taking a direct route .

As he neared the planets, alien patrols began to appear . Thor’s radar was extended as far as it would go to give its pilot time to react . When a creature appeared Lan Jue kept his distance . At range the psionic generator might fool his enemies, but its efficacy was greatly reduced the closer he came . In the end it came down to how well Lan Jue could fly .

Thankfully space was a big place, and the aliens were few and far between . He maintained lengthy separation but pressed ever inward toward his target .

He leaned upon his knowledge and experience fighting the beasts to know which ones were the most dangerous . As he came upon one kind of alien or another he knew what measures to take in order to remain hidden . After some time the alien worlds appeared in the distance .

He’d lost count how many times he’d seen these planets, but each time he was filled with a pervading sense of dread .

He spotted Queen first, fully recovered from the damage Arachnid had wrought . She and the other two seemed smaller than they had been . All of them were surrounded in a hazy purple atmosphere, and a sense of stillness prevailed . They seemed dormant .

Lan Jue found a sizeable asteroid and settled Thor atop it . He didn’t dare get close to the planets now . Instead he would use his mecha’s remote monitoring equipment to learn what he could .

Where they hibernating? He couldn’t tell, know did he know if the Pharmacist had arrived or not . Lan Jue watched his screens with a frown .

He wanted to save the Pharmacist, but he wouldn’t foolishly throw himself into the enemy’s net if she were already captured or killed . He’d stop her only if he had the chance, otherwise it would be a pointless sacrifice .

You’re not here yet, sis… I know you haven’t gotten here yet!

Communicators were useless out here because of the interference and weak signal, even for Zeus-1 . For Thor, radio silence was the only option . He’d tried to reach the Pharmacist several times before entering the Starfields, but she must have had her communications system disabled .

Thor stood on the surface of the asteroid, still like it was just another feature of its topography . Lan Jue continued to watch his equipment and hope . As he looked on aliens continued to come and go from the planets and everything seemed normal .

He spotted a few breeds he’d never seen before, which he carefully recorded in the event he made it back . If he wasn’t able to stop the Pharmacist he didn’t want the trip to be a total waste .

Twenty four hours passed quickly, with Lan Jue vigilantly scanning for any trace of his friend . He was beginning to feel restless . If the Pharmacist had already arrived and the planets were this quiet, it meant he’d missed his chance . Each of these worlds were stronger than his father – stronger than the greatest human alive . What chance did he have if the Pharmacist was in their grasp? The minute he got in close he would be captured and slain .

But it would likely be worse . Lan Jue thought about the Violet Princess’ desire to couple with him and steal his DNA . The thought made him shudder, it was too frightening to ponder what would happen if he were caught .

His mind turned to Zhou Qianlin . Her spirit had stirred from its meditations, she was now at the peak of ninth rank just like him . Perhaps when they returned to Skyfire they would isolate and prepare for the next step . Once they broke through and mastered their Banishing Blades, perhaps they could find some means to come to grip with the alien menace .

Seventy-two hours . Lan Jue decided that was the cut-off, if no trace of the Pharmacist was found by then it meant she was likely already dead . He would have to leave .

Time marched on, and Lan Jue’s heart sank with each passing minute .

Sis, have you already…

Thirty-seven hours passed . She should have arrived by now, if his guesses of her speed and trajectory had been correct . But there was no sign of her .

Wait .  Lan Jue’s heart was heavy .

Suddenly his pupils dilated as he stared into the distance . His mind snapped to laser focus – something was happening with the planets .

They stirred from their slumber and began to swell . The stagnant purple atmosphere roiled and became an ominous violet like the planet was coming back to life .

It’s awake? What’s it doing?

Lan Jue poured Thor’s processing power into the psionic generator . At the same time he focused inward to slow his breathing and heartrate . Thor’s secondary systems quieted, leaving only the generator and Blinding Stone running . Lan Jue did all he could to make himself part of the rock that surrounded him .

In the black cockpit of the mecha Lan Jue watched as the alien raiders poured toward the expanding planets . A dark premonition filled his mind .

At first the number of aliens returning to the planets were relatively small . An hour later they’d become a flood of writhing purple bodies, more than he could count .

As the beasts returned the worlds they disappeared into continued to grow . That familiar vortex arose at their center, rotating like a perpetual tempest . However, there was no traction as he expected . Instead light around the planets started to warp and shift .

They were going to teleport!

Lan Jue knew where his premonition had come from . These alien worlds were getting ready to move! Damn! Where they ready for their invasion?

He stared at them, wide-eyed and in shock . He couldn’t warn anyone, not even if he got back to his ship . If the alien worlds were headed for the human territories, then where? Even if he could warn the others, who would he warn? It was already too late .

Lan Jue didn’t anticipate this, the trip was supposed to be a rescue mission . He didn’t know he would be here to witness the start of an invasion .

Suddenly his dark thoughts were interrupted by a streak of white in the distance .

It began as a single point of light which gradually became brighter until it blazed like a star . Where its light fell, a murderous sensation followed .

Sis! Lan Jue almost shouted .

That unbridled thirst for slaughter had to come from the Pharmacist’s sword, Occisus – the deadliest of the Banishing Blades!

She must have seen the planets preparing to leave and chose this moment to strike . It was the first time Lan Jue saw a Banishing Blade wielded by a Paragon, as a conduit to one’s power . When he looked closer he saw what the light was coming from; a sword over ten thousand meters long that forced reality around it to crack . Black streaks energy crackled like dark lightning through the canvas of white light . They were undiluted blasts of murderous intent . The terrifying flood of power was difficult to describe .

Aliens continued to return at the planet’s call, but those unfortunate enough to bear near the white light were instantly eliminated . He shuddered as he watched, for their destruction was as cruel as the bloodlust that white light contained . All-Heaven Lightning swept his foes away beneath a flood of overwhelming power . But Occisus did not kill that way .