章節 16: Chapter 16 - Unexpected
"No, even if the Zerg altar cores are destroyed, they will inevitably reform elsewhere in Space,"
Nebryx explained, her voice tinged with caution.
It wasn't as though the people of the White Night Clan hadn't tried to obliterate these Zerg altar cores before.
On the contrary, they had made numerous attempts.
However, the heart of a Zerg altar was not an artifact; it was an evil creature from the deep warp.
Challenging them to destroy it outright was utterly out of their reach with their current technology and power.
Hearing Nebryx's story, Rodgraim felt an unease growing deeper in his heart, as if some eye had opened within, looking into an ominous future.
The revelation was unexpected but utterly believable: the Zerg still had it in them to rise again.
If left unchecked, it would be disastrous even for someone as powerful as Rodgraim himself.
The historical records had made this very clear: the Zerg should never be underthought.
With unimaginable reproductive power, they could infect and corrupt entire planets with a little reformation that transforms them into grotesque pulsing fleshy soil landscapes.
It has taken thousands of years for the united forces of all the Star Sea races to seal the Zerg into subspace. If they are able to emerge again now, it will be the worst calamity of all time.
Endless wars would devastate the Star Sea, and all living things would be thrown into chaos and destruction.
Rodgraim considered this dismal prospect as he decided to defend the heart of the Zerg altar.
"Counterintuitive as it seemed, he knew the stakes. If the center fell into the wrong hands or was simply left unguarded, catastrophe was likely to follow.".
At the same time, Rodgraim planned, thinking what to do next, the ground of White Night started suddenly shaking violently.
[Warning, the White Night is under attack!]
The alarm continued to wail from the automated system on the ship.
Rodgraim's technology watch flashed up a warning notification that drew him to the matter at hand.
Hesitation wasn't an option; he ran back to the White Night and activated its ship-scanning systems.
The scan revealed a hostile vessel—a C-class firepower ship—circling ominously above the White Night.
The ship was unleashing an indiscriminate bombing assault on the area.
Rodgraim furrowed his brow deeply, allowing this information to sink in slowly.
Their ship was being ambushed? He turned his head to cast a glance at the ship's view screen.
The markings on the enemy vessel indicated its insignia belonged to the Treasure Mercenary Group.
Rodgraim's face turned black.
So Birdman Raynor hasn't left yet? he murmured to himself, saying this in a cold voice with disdain.
On "Thunder," the enemy ship, Birdman Raynor stood, fuming mad.
Bandages had wrapped his body to prevent any remaining scorch and burned inside, a fire that came nowhere near to ever being quenched.
"Damn human monkey!" Raynor spat venomously.
"How dare he threaten me? But I was prepared. Luckily, I had a teleportation stone!" His voice dripped with malice as he issued orders to his crew.
"Aim for the ruins and raze everything to the ground! I want full firepower! Let's see how powerful that guy really is.
Can he survive missiles?
He was desperation incarnate.
He didn't give a damn about saving the ruins or what could be inside them.
Revenge was all that mattered-to destroy Rodgraim at any cost. Missiles rained down on the Thunder's arsenal and set walls aflame with fiery explosions as fragments hurled everywhere.
The earth trembled violently as the bombardment reached crescendo.
With the bombardment building to its crescendo, Raynor broke out in maniacal laughter.
"No matter how strong you are, you're just a human monkey! You'll fall under my firepower, like everyone else!"
But his mirth was short-lived.
Amidst the wreckage and rubble, the unmistakable glint of metallic armor started to emerge.
Slowly, the shell of White Night came into view, unmarred and unwavering.
Raynor's face contorted in dismay.
"An A-class ship?" he stammered, his voice quivering.
The light had just dawned in his head. It was as if his heart was flowing with blood.
The debris had only covered an A-class ship under the ruins.
Rising with an earth-shaking roar, the White Night.
And in contrast, it was Raynor's continued assault that had helped clear the piles of debris off, allowing a flawless takeoff.
As he saw the White Night rise up, Raynor's face turned into that of an animal.
"What are you waiting for? Destroy it! If I can't have it, no one else will! "
The mercenary crew obliged, flipping the Thunder to its full firepower mode.
A Barrage of missiles and turret fire was unleashed, each projectile hurtling toward the White Night with deadly intent.
Even though classified as a C-class ship, the Thunder's firepower had been significantly modified at the behest of Raynor to make it equal to a B-class vessel.
Inside the White Night, Seraphina hid in the corner, with her arms wrapped around her knees. Her voice trembled with fear.
"It's over! We're doomed! I don't want to die! I'm too young to die!" she wailed.
Rodgraim looked at her and did not change his expression.
His tone remained even as he said, "It's not over yet. Let's wait and see who the real winner will be."
Just in time, the lights inside the White Night dimmed.
Outside, the Thunder stopped its attack at once.
The eyes of all on the enemy ship fixed on the gigantic figure now emerging from the darkness.
It was an S-class ship—a behemoth of the skies.
Raynor's arrogance crumbled in a split second.
Fears filled his heart with his realization.
"An S-class ship? Here?" he breathed, disbelief etching lines on his face.
He could feel the spores settling over him.
Rodgraim worked the controls of the Aether Dominion with the technology watch on his arm.
The bowars of the big vessel roared to life as energy radiance from the Yamato Cannon at its bow bathed the battlefield in a faintly otherworldly illumination.
"Run! Run now!" Raynor yelled, panic overwhelming him.
The mercenaries' crew scrambling to maneuver the Thunder to safe positions as sweat dripped down their faces with the bitter reality of their situation.
Rodgraim, though, didn't look like he had a care in the world-his lips curled up into a faint smile. "Yamato Cannon, fire."
Blinding, the ray of energy that burst from the Aether Dominion's Yamato Cannon.
Out it streaked, razing the Thunder in a microsecond and continuing on without pause, cutting mountain peaks before leveling into an explosion at the distance, sending up a great mushroom of smoke to the heavens.
Nebryx and Seraphina are dumbfounded inside the White Night. Nebryx's blue eyes shone brightly with admiration.
Such awful power, she breathed.
Even when her clan was at its height, they had had only a handful of ships that could do such destruction.
Seraphina, on the other hand, was visibly elated.
"This is amazing!" she said. "I thought it was just some big ship, but this."
Rodgraim shook his head, his voice filled with humility.
"The Aether Dominion a masterpiece of Archadian Empire technology, but this is only a fraction of its true potential. At its best, its power was miles beyond that."
He inserted the White Night into the Aether Dominion escort system, sealing its place in his growing fleet.
Rodgraim smiled, gazing out at theThunder's wreckage.
Not a bad haul, he growled.
A-class ship, psychic crew, and victory over Raynor-this mission had really paid in spades.
He looked over at Seraphina whose secrets were well beyond his own.
Rodgraim had a mischievous grin on his face.
I'm bound to find out all her secrets sooner or later.
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