Lan Jue flew back to the Gourmet and the Pharmacist. The Pharmacist had already returned to her mecha.
The Seven Star Sword dissolved into a stream of light and disappeared without a trace.
Cheers erupted, filled with fervor. The sight of the Pharmacist's greatsword had been stunning. Star Division's soldiers cheered deafeningly when they saw their enemy vanquished.
Lan Jue called out to everyone. "An alien progenitor has been slain. A vital crystal has been awarded to Star Division!"
As he spoke, Thor lifted his hand high into the air. Beneath the bright sunlight they could see a crystal about thirty centimeters in diameter. It glowed with a purple light.
A vital crystal!
This was only their second battle, and they'd already found a vital crystal. How could they not be excited?
The exuvium process was just around the corner!
However, not everyone was so excited. At least not Lan Jue, the Pharmacist, or the Gourmet.
The progenitor didn't look particularly strong. It didn't stand a chance against the Pharmacist's full power.
They knew, however, that even the Pharmacist had to use all her power to defeat it. Compared to a human Adept, this progenitor was close to the peak of ninth level.
"I had a feeling it was being nurtured." Lan Jue's voice was only audible to the Pharmacist and Gourmet.
"I felt it too," the Pharmacist said. "Assuming the veins were extracting the life force of the planet, then that flower bud is the ovary. That amethyst beast … it must have been a monster.
That purple crystal beast must have been born from it.
In other words.
It's strong.
But it's not a real progenitor. It's a child, and it hasn't finished evolving.
If an unevolved progenitor is so strong, what about a real one? "
This was the first time she'd ever faced an alien. Her heart sank.
The progenitor had only been fighting on a planet, but the aliens the North's Seventh Fleet had encountered could fight in space. They were far stronger than the progenitor.
So.
How powerful were the true leaders of the Marauders?
From the Seventh Fleet's video feed, it was clear the home worlds were alive.
How terrifying would a life form the size of a planet be?
The Gourmet's voice was low. "We have to report this to Skyfire Avenue immediately. We have to record everything.
Since there are planets being robbed of life, I believe that this is not the only one.
The Shattered Starfields are at the heart of human territory. If they can come here, then they can come anywhere. That's the scariest part! "
Lan Jue: "Exactly.
Let's continue our search and see if there are any other aliens on Tempest.
This was the third time I'd fought these marauders.
I have a vague feeling.
The monsters they'd seen earlier didn't seem to be real aliens, but something they'd created by devouring the life force of a planet.
The prototypes of these lifeforms were most likely the original creatures on this planet.
But their genes have been amplified by the energy of life.
That's why you should have noticed that these monsters only had fighting instincts. They didn't have any intelligence. On the surface they looked different, but in reality they were all the same.
It was very likely that they were not real living beings, but puppet-like existences.
That's why they don't have a vital crystal. "
"The situation on Taihua was similar. I killed a lot of them, but none of them had a vital crystal. It was only after I killed the progenitor that I noticed.
The monsters on Taihua were much stronger than they were today. Perhaps it was because Taihua had more life force, which made it easier for the progenitor to evolve.
After the progenitor entered the planet, it used its genes to create creatures of its own kind. Then it used them as a base to devour life and create puppets. That's how it took over the planet.
I can't be sure, but it's very likely they're using it to take the planet's life force. "
The Gourmet's voice was low. "Your guess is reasonable. We haven't had a lot of contact with these aliens yet. We'll have more to discover in the future.
Send your ideas back to Skyfire Avenue and have them analyze them.
We'll bring back as many specimens as we can.
Third Brigade has already started. "
"Yeah." Lan Jue nodded.
Zeus -1 sent a signal.
"Boss." Mika's voice answered.
"Yeah, go ahead." Lan Jue replied.
"The area is beginning to shrink," Mika said. "I've done a simple analysis. Once the magenta is gone, it's become barren land. At this rate, it won't take more than a day for all the magenta to disappear."
Lan Jue. "Alright."
After ending the call with Mika, Lan Jue contacted Majesty. "Xiaosu, take Majesty and send it around the world. See if there are any more purple zones. Search the water as well. We can't afford to miss anything."
"Yes, sir." Xiaosu's voice answered.
Majesty's radar was much more powerful and covered a wider area, making it the most suitable for searching.
First, Second, and Fourth Brigades scoured the area for anything that might have escaped their net. Third Brigade was responsible for bringing back as many specimens as they could.
But it didn't take long for Third Brigade to figure out where the problem lay.
As soon as the purple substance was removed, it turned to dust. Then it became ordinary dirt without any energy or nutrients.
In the end, the only thing that could be collected were the black vein-like objects left behind by the amethyst monster. Everything else was quickly disappearing.
According to the Adepts of the Third Brigade who specialized in the study of plants and animals, this situation was likely due to the alien's secretion of a substance that combined with life force to form a swampy area. After the alien's death, the area would return to normal for a short period of time.
They had no choice but to take what they could with them. The more clues they had, the better.
Two hours later, Majesty ran its second search. There were no more aliens on the planet, and the Desert Tempest was clear.
The Desert Tempest pirates had also disappeared as if they had evaporated into thin air. Strangely, their battleship had also disappeared, and several patrol ships had also been corroded into tatters.
To Star Division's surprise, however, they found the Desert Tempest's treasure vault after a thorough search.
The treasury was underground. It was a huge underground warehouse that was covered with a thick alloy.
The alloy itself was corroded, but not deep enough to penetrate.
According to Star Division's assessment, the warehouse was strong enough to withstand a bombardment from a battleship. It would take at least ten hits to destroy it.
Even if it wasn't open, they could guess there was something good inside.
What happened next was simple. Although the Immortal Culling Sword was not the sharpest of the four Immortal Exterminating Swords, it was not a problem to use it to open this kind of treasure vault.
The treasury was forcefully broken open, and the Desert Tempest Pirates' collection was revealed to everyone.
Since Tang Xiao was Lan Jue's disciple and a squad leader of the First Brigade, he was fortunate enough to be here. When he saw the interior of the treasure vault that had been opened, his first reaction was to say, "Interstellar Piracy is such a promising career!"
As soon as he said that, he immediately attracted the attention of the people around him. However, everyone only glanced at him for a moment before their attention was drawn back to the treasures in the treasury.
This treasury was at least dozens of times larger than the Poison Wasp Pirates'. As a veteran pirate group, Desert Storm's collection was clearly much larger.
The first thing that caught his eyes were at least 500 well-maintained mechas.
To Star Division, these mechas weren't much of a threat.
However, it was still considered to be of good quality.
There was also a large stockpile of weapons.
Lan Jue couldn't help but sigh to herself. The Desert Tempest Pirates weren't weak, but the alien attack had been too sudden. An alien progenitor could hide very well on a planet, and when it attacked, there was no warning.
By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late to fight back.
The entire planet belonged to the Desert Tempest Pirates, and their defenses were always on the lookout for enemies lurking in outer space. Their defenses weren't tight enough, and that was why they were destroyed.
However, Lan Jue still had questions. For a mid-sized pirate clan, the Desert Tempest Pirates were a little too weak.
Under normal circumstances they wouldn't have fewer than five hundred mecha pilots.
If they could hold out until a patrol ship or even a battleship took to the skies, would a single progenitor really be enough to wipe them out?
As she pondered this question, Lan Jue led the way into the treasury.
On one side of the treasury, a large number of energy crystals were neatly arranged. These energy crystals were all filled with energy, and each fist-sized energy crystal could sustain a normal mecha for more than three hours of combat.
There were at least twenty thousand of them here.
This was not a small amount of wealth.
Monthly votes, recommendation votes!
(To be continued …)