"This is Zeus -1."
Mika's voice came from the other side. Zeus' Amazons were the most familiar with Zeus -1, so they were the ones to pilot it.
"Zeus -1 will land in the water," Xiaosu said. "Once we're there, we'll scan the planet's biota."
"Zeus -1 understands." Mika wasn't about to get into a fight with Xiaosu.
Majesty's propulsion systems had been shut down, and it hovered in space. They wouldn't approach Tempest until they had more information.
Suddenly, Lan Jue's eyes focused on the Tempest planet. "Quick, call Zeus -1," he said urgently.
Tell them to stop approaching the planet and return immediately. "
Xiaosu paused for a moment, then called out to Zeus -1.
"Zeus -1, return immediately, return immediately!"
Mika's voice came from the other side. "What is it?
We're getting close to Tempest's atmosphere. "
Lan Jue's response was immediate. "Mika, get back here, quick!"
His deep voice was urgent and urgent. Mika didn't dare tarry. "Yes, boss," he said.
Star Division's commanders in the control room had sensed something was amiss. They rushed over to see what was going on.
The Gourmet turned to Lan Jue. "What's wrong?"
Lan Jue's brows furrowed. "I'm afraid there's trouble.
Look.
Zoom in on the planet's surface. "As he spoke, he pointed at the planet.
They couldn't use radar to avoid detection, but they could use the telescopic system to zoom in.
Planet Storm was enlarged on the giant screen based on the porthole, and it immediately became much clearer. One could clearly see that on Planet Storm.
There were patches of purple on the planet.
There weren't many of them, and they were spread out.
Magenta?
The Gourmet's heart skipped a beat. He looked at Lan Jue. "That's …"
Lan Jue shook her head. "I'm not sure yet, but I think it's possible."
"Aliens?" Su Xiaosu gasped.
Lan Jue turned to the others. "Recon. I'll lead First and Second Brigade Ace Squads. Majesty, get ready for battle."
He was here to train his troops.
He absolutely could not take the risk.
"You're the captain. I'll do the scouting," the Driver said.
Lan Jue shook her head and said, "No, I'll go.
I'm familiar with them, and with the Gourmet and the Pharmacist with me, there shouldn't be any problems.
For now, Little Su was in charge of Majesty.
We'll keep in touch. "
Now wasn't the time to think about it, so the Driver didn't say anything more. He only reminded him to be careful.
It didn't take long for Zeus -1 to dock with Majesty.
Lan Jue and the other two Ace Squads boarded Zeus-1. The scouts who'd been preparing to carry out the reconnaissance mission were withdrawn.
Lan Jue had seen the aliens' strength with his own eyes. It wasn't that he didn't trust the scouts from Fourth Brigade.
It was that they didn't want casualties.
He was more familiar with the aliens than anyone else, so he'd be able to get a clearer picture of what was going on.
Like a ghost, Zeus-1 flew toward Tempest Planet. It didn't fly toward the water, but rather toward the purplish-red areas they'd seen earlier. They had to first determine if these were aliens, or if they were native to Tempest Planet.
If it was the latter, then.
Everything would go according to plan. If it was the former, they'd have to wait and see.
It wasn't long before Zeus-1 reached the surface of the tempest planet.
As they passed through the atmosphere, Lan Jue sucked in a breath.
On the ground, large patches of purplish-red could be clearly seen.
In these purplish-red areas, there used to be some vegetation, but now they had completely withered.
Everywhere the purplish-red color went, there was only dead silence.
The purplish-red color was like a swamp.
"Majesty.
This is Zeus -1, according to our scouts.
Aliens, most likely. Prepare for battle. "Lan Jue immediately contacted Majesty and relayed the results of their investigation.
He'd fought the aliens in close quarters on Taihua. He'd seen their power spread like a plague, taking the life force of all living things. What he was seeing now was no different.
"Should we go out?" The Pharmacist asked.
Lan Jue shook her head. "No rush. Let's see if anyone from the Desert Tempest is still here."
His heart was heavy. The Shattered Starfields was a world of pirates, but they were at the intersection of all three Major League territories. It was the heart of all three Major League territories. If the aliens were here, it meant they could appear on any planet.
Space was vast, and it was impossible to lock it all down. But from what they'd heard so far, no alien presence had been detected on any of the planets in the Three Alliances' territories. This meant the aliens were highly intelligent creatures, far more intelligent than they'd been led to believe. They even had a certain level of understanding of the human world, and knew how to take advantage of advantages and avoid disadvantages in order to infiltrate slowly.
No one knew exactly where the alien home worlds were.
That was what worried Lan Jue the most. A strong opponent wasn't scary. What was scary was that the opponent wasn't just strong, but also intelligent and cunning.
To these aliens, all life force was their nourishment. The more they absorbed, the stronger they would become, and the harder it would be to fight them in the future.
Zeus -1 flew around Tempest, searching for the Desert Tempest's base. Although they slowed down, it didn't take long for them to find it.
Large swathes of buildings came into view. It seemed the Desert Tempest was stronger than they'd expected. After all, Su Xiaosu's information was from a long time ago. It was clear the Desert Tempest had done well in the last few years.
However, this place had already become a dead zone. The purplish-red color had spread to all the places with buildings. Even many of the buildings had turned purplish-red. This terrifying purplish-red color seemed to have an extremely strong corrosive effect. Many of the buildings had already become mottled and incomplete.
Not a single human remained. Not even a corpse, not even a skeleton.
The purplish-red color was still slowly spreading into the distance, and all the plants that had the aura of life were also its targets.
On one of the tallest buildings, Lan Jue caught sight of a gargantuan purple creature.
It was an existence that looked like a flower bud, and there was a faint purple glow inside. From its body, purplish-black blood vessels that looked like roots pierced into the ground. As it expanded and changed, it seemed like something was being drawn into its body from these purplish-black blood vessels.
It was devouring the life force of the planet.
With the exception of Lan Jue, this was the first time Zeus -1 and the others had ever seen an alien. Their faces changed.
Lan Jue's voice was low. "Mika, when we leave Zeus -1, you take Zeus -1 to the skies and bring Majesty over. Tell Su Xiaosu that Star Division's mechas are not to touch the ground or touch the purple hue.
Be on the lookout for anything that looks like it. Prepare for battle in small groups. "
"Yes, sir." Mika answered.
Lan Jue turned to the Gourmet and the Pharmacist. "We're heading out. Everyone prepare for battle.
This thing is probably a progenitor. It's very strong, and there are bound to be other aliens nearby. We just don't know where they're hiding.
Don't split up. "
Zeus -1's hatch slowly opened, and a host of figures leaped out. Only ninth level Adepts were able to join First and Second Brigade's Ace Squads.
All of them could fly.
After flying out of the hatch, streaks of light lit up one after another, and a series of massive mechas appeared in mid-air.
Lan Jue quietly melded into Thor. Thor looked different than before.
It was about the same size as before, but the bluish-purple hue was now a deep blue. There was a hint of golden light around it.
A greatsword was strapped to its back. It was different from when it was unarmed.
Its arms were thicker and more muscular than before.
The whole thing looked like a single entity, and all the original seams had disappeared.
As soon as Lan Jue was inside, Thor's body seemed to be filled with energy. There was a flash of dark-gold light, and with a twist of its body came to a stop in the air. It drew the greatsword from its back.
In addition to Lan Jue, the twenty members of the Ace Squads spread out behind him. Each of them melded into their own mechas.
Only the Pharmacist and the Gourmet were qualified to join the Ace Squads. Only the best of the best, like them.
Zeus -1 was invisible, but their mechas weren't. Lan Jue flew Thor in front. Thor waved his greatsword, and a bolt of golden lightning fell from the sky. It didn't strike the progenitor, but the ground not far away.
"Boom!" Amidst the violent explosion, the purplish-red ground seemed to be filled with flesh and blood. For a moment, flesh and blood splattered everywhere, and a large amount of purplish-red liquid gushed out.
Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. For the earth to be corroded to such an extent, and for the magenta to be a part of the marauders, it was even more frightening than they had imagined.
— —
There will be an update at twelve tonight.
Asking for monthly votes, recommendation votes, tomorrow at three.
(To be continued.)