Chapter 498: Battle! (1/2)
Chapter 498: Battle!
Lan Jue and the monstrous alien were already close, and the ship’s main cannon had a total lock. It wouldn’t miss.
It didn’t, but the result was not what he expected. The beam of empowered electric light struck the alien straight on, but instead of obliterating it, the beast instead grew larger. Its seed-like shape morphed before his eyes until it splayed out like an umbrella. It flattened itself out to give the blast more surface area. The only lasting effect seemed to be a halo of blue light that hung over the creature.
His attack was completely useless. The rapidly advancing monster stopped, and only continued to advance through inertia. Lan Jue urged Zeus-2 to the side, veering out in a graceful arc so he could flank it.
Clearly this was a monster and not a machine. If it were a construct, then how could it change shape like that? It relied on its physical abilities for defense, not shields or anything else. All of this only confirmed Lan Jue’s suspicions.
The monster swung around as graceful as a flying saucer, picking up speed as it did. It was getting closer.
Lan Jue kept his eyes on the sensor read-outs. He could now clearly see the scales that ran up and down the length of its body. They appeared to release some kind of strange purple light that hung around them like an atmosphere. Lan Jue figured it must be that light that somehow managed to neutralize his attack. It must be unthinkably strong! The saucer-shaped beast was coming in horizontally, and he could see that its edges were as sharp as the edge of a knife. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen if they crashed.
The ship’s engines roared as he picked up speed. It lurched and pitched as the ship changed direction, burning for an escape trajectory. Relatively speaking, Zeus-2 wasn’t the most heavily armed ship. However, what it lacked in fire power, it more than made up for in maneuverability.
Of course, Lan Jue wasn’t running. He needed some distance so continue the assault. But even though he looked to be retreating, the monster never stopped. Its body collapsed and returned to its former shape, while plumes of purple light were blasted out from behind. Soon it was racing toward him at the speed of light 1.
The distance between them was closing. Things were beginning to look bad for the lone blue ship.
Damn things are so hard to deal with! His was the first thought that raced through Lan Jue’s mind. These things were even meaner than he remembered. Running wasn’t an option. There was only one thing to do!
He jabbed at the keyboard, and the ship gained speed. A shell of protective light appeared around him.
“Zeus-2 has entered in to cruise control. Human Delivery Ordinance, stage one, commencing.” The calm, digital voice rang through the cockpit. An electric blue light sprang up around Lan Jue, and warped around him to become a glimmering golden flight suit. Fighting in space was different from fighting in atmosphere, and he had to be ready. Even his head was covered.
“HuDO, stage two commencing!.” Lan Jue’s seat retracted and went flat. Behind him, the wall slowly spread apart and Lan Jue was delivered in to the ordinance room like a torpedo being fit in to a tube.
“HuDO, stage three commencing!” A square-shaped protrusion appeared on the surface of Zeus-2.
“Firing.”
A piercing blue light blasted from the ship and back toward the chasing monster. Zeus-2 continued on its course. An egg-shaped orb had been spat out from it like a cannon shot, and within it was Lan Jue. An imposing shadow followed in his wake. Thor!
Zeus-2 wasn’t a combat ship, and it didn’t have the tools necessary to fully express Lan Jue’s abilities. Thor didn’t have that problem.
There was a flash against Thor’s breastplate, and Lan Jue vanished in to the mecha. The war machine’s eyes flared to life. Immediately, waves of energy began to emanate from it.
Thor remained in the pocket of light as it barreled toward the encroaching foe. Lan Jue furiously integrated his Discipline with the mecha in preparation. A golden sword of energy coalesced in its metallic hands. He’d chosen the sword as his weapon, so he and his mecha needed to adapt.
The beast continued at top speed toward Zeus-2. It of course could sense Lan Jue’s approach, but paid little mind to the irritating speck. It spread open its mouth to reveal four rows of jagged teeth like mountain ranges, ready to swallow the blue light up.
Except that Lan Jue was a smart one. His speed bled to zero, maintaining a safe distance from his target. He then fired thrusters and shot the mecha upward. This both prevented impact damage and cut down on unpredictable outcomes.