Chapter 482: A Heroic Tale (1/2)

Chapter 482: A Heroic Tale

“The secret to the blue mechas success wasn’t equipment, and it wasn’t skill. The power he had that day was from an entire bottle of Fantascia Genetica the pilot drank before the fight.”

“Some of you might not know what Fantascia Genetica is. I’ll tell you. It is the greatest DNA-altering substance the West has produced. Taking any amount will help one’s Discipline. The most important question is; can one handle the strength of the medicine? The single exception to this are ninth-level Adepts. Popular knowledge holds that a ninth-level who takes a bottle of Genetica will outright explode. His powers would be too strong for him or her to control.”

“The pilot of this majestic war machine is indeed a ninth-level Adept. He knew the risks, and yet he drank that decoction, so that he could save more lives. He burned away his body for his people, burned away his life until only the faintest spark was left. If the Cosmagus hadn’t had arrived just then, that hero would be lost to us. We would never have the opportunity to know them. But now you do!”

Poseidon stopped, grabbed Lan Jue’s left hand, and thrust it into the air!

“A-Jue, let the people learn who Zeus really is.” Poseidon’s eyes were alive with excitement, burning with it. His fervor had infected the crowd who shouted down at them.

Lan Jue returned his look with a serious one of his own. His brother wasn’t doing this to turn him into a hero.

Chu Cheng had used his own methods to alert Lan Jue of the potential dangers surrounding him. Hua Li was giving him another tool to protect him. None of this was part of the earlier rehearsals. The only purpose was to protect his friend.

Lan Jue heaved a deep sigh. Silent as a statue, he simply extended his pinky finger. Thor’s promise glimmered in the floodlights. A flash, and a towering figure appeared before Lan Jue and Hua Li.

Thor! It was, Thor!

The mecha slowly descended from the sky, encased in blue light. The sleek, metallic surface cast of blinding rays of refracted light. The air around it writhed with images of the battle on Taihua.

Thor, Zeus, Thunderbolt Discipline… it all added up. Now they understood. That mysterious hero, who had saved so many lives, was Zeus. That Sapphire guardian angel had been Thor. And although this Thor wasn’t exactly like the Thor in DreamNet, it was close enough for the audience to connect the dots. There was a single word bouncing through the collective consciousness; heroic!

This was the hero of Taihua, before their eyes. Short though the crowd’s memory was, several still remembered Zeus’ rise. He was an Easterner, an outsider, who had belittled a woman on interstellar television. They couldn’t understand why a woman like the Pharmacist would consent to be seen with him.

Now they knew. Or so they thought.

Shock wasn’t reserved for the audience alone. Many of the tournament competitors were just as stunned by the revelation. They were Adepts, they all understood the risks of a ninth level using the Fantascia Genetica. Yet, somehow, this man had done it and survived. Now he was the tournament Champion – hero and victor! Despite all that had come before, that was how the crowd saw him now.

His Eastern Alliance companions were no less impressed. With the Gourmet first among them, the Avenue delegation looked upon him with profound respect. Jun’er was the only one not struck dumb by the news. “That’s my daddy!” She cried, never looking away from him. “That’s my daddy!”

The Pharmacist’s eyes welled with tears to hear her little girl’s happy cries. Her face revealed appreciation. His efforts gave Jun’er the complete childhood she so desperately needed.

Jun Yongye stood a few meters behind the tournament champion. His face was a mask of shifting emotion.

“Can we give our hero some cheers and applause?!” Hua LI’s excited voice cried out to the masses. Their response was thunderous. It sounded like a bomb went off in the stands, shaking its foundation.

No… not just the Great Adept Arena. This was being streamed to every household on every planet throughout human civilization. What they were hearing now was echoed on Luo, Lyr, Skyfire, and everywhere else humans inhabited. In the East, spectators stoically faced the projection of their hero, and bowed.