Chapter 341: Firmaments Edge (1/2)

Zac wasn’t too surprised that the alien could identify his origins. He hadn’t worn his mask during his time in the cave, which exposed his pallid skin and signature pitch-black eyes.

“Technocrat is imprecise and reductionist. I am a member of Firmament’s Edge, something greater than what a miscreation like you can ever imagine,” the alien arrogantly exclaimed. “Were you the one that ruined my experiment? More importantly, how did you get here?”

Zac mutely stared at the arrogant little alien, unsure of what to make of the situation. He had never heard of Technocrats participating in invading newly integrated planets, yet a member of them stood in front of him. He had no idea what Firmament’s Edge was, but he guessed it was one of the many factions within the Technocrat Alliance.

The appearance of a true Technocrat caused a storm in Zac’s heart as it dragged up the subject of his mother. Was the appearance of this thing linked to her? Or even worse, was it linked to the item in Kenzie’s mind? But Zac forcefully calmed down his fraying emotions and gave the alien an impervious stare. He needed to act the part if he wanted to get some information.

“The Undead Empire goes where it pleases,” Zac said with matching arrogance. “I’m here because there were a lot of things to kill.”

“You! My poor roach. I spent so much money to infuse it with the genes for energy control! It might have caused an unseen evolution with the help of the Amanita, but you ruined it all!” the alien said with gnashing teeth.

Zac shrugged his shoulders without a care, though he was internally boiling with rage. Was this little prick the reason that the battleroach king had such annoying skills like the energy wings and the defensive shield? It made his life a lot harder than it needed to be. But he pushed down his annoyance since he truly needed to know what was going on.

“Your kind should know better than to encroach a planet under the Undead Empire. What are you doing here?” Zac said.

“Pah, Firmament’s Edge doesn’t fear you. Even if a few of your old undyings crawl out of their sealed cultivation graves we have people to meet them head-on,” the alien snorted, but he suddenly froze in alarm. “Wait, what do you mean under your control?”

“We came to this baby planet through the Incursion, so naturally the planet belongs to The Undead Empire from now on,” Zac snorted, stilling his fraying nerves.

The fact that the Technocrat wasn’t backing down against a monstrous existence as the Undead Empire was pretty telling that Firmament’s Edge wasn’t some backwater faction. His thoughts went to the story that Karunthel told about the Technocrat who had no problem blowing up planets. Even Earth had the technology to ruin their world before the integration. What about a faction of hyper-advanced aliens?

“Shit, have you lunatics already started the terraforming?!” the alien gasped. “We need to speak with your leaders immediately. And how the hell did your people find your way down here so quickly? We have been drilling for months.”

“Why would I arrange a meeting like that?” Zac asked with feigned disinterest, ignoring the question of how he got down to the Underworld.

“We have no interest in the planet, kill all the natives for all I care. But we need to do a quick sweep of the planet before you terraform it,” the alien said. “We are even willing to compensate you for the trouble.”

“What’s so important that you came all the way here?” Zac probed.

“That’s private,” the alien immediately responded with a frown.

“Well, if you don't tell me what it is you're looking for, I don't see a reas-,” Zac pushed the alien, but he was suddenly interrupted mid-sentence.

For some reason his Cosmos Sack had started to vibrate, making Zac look down with confusion. When he infused his mind into the sack he was horrified to see that it was his mother’s necklace that was moving around in the bag’s subspace, something Zac thought was impossible.

He quickly looked up at the alien again, since what happened clearly wasn’t a coincidence. The amulet had been completely inert until now, and it only started to act up the moment he got close to a Technocrat. And as he expected the little alien had taken out some ball that emitted out a barely discernible wave at regular intervals.

“You have it! It’s on this planet! We actually found it!” the Alien screamed in shock and excitement as his eyes were glued to the ball. “The traitor has been found!”

A towering killing intent suffused Zac’s mind as he glared at the exhilarated alien. He had been wary of the Technocrat’s stance since he learned of his mother’s origin, but the alien’s last comment seemed to cement a disappointing reality that he had been dreading for months.

The Technocrats were enemies.

If his mother had been branded a traitor there was no way that things would end well if his and his sister’s origins were exposed. They were barely holding on as it was when the largest threat only was a vagrant D-Grade cultivator. They couldn’t handle being in the crosshairs of one of the universe’s most powerful factions.

This alien could under no circumstance be allowed to live. The danger to his sister was just too big.

A storm of energy swirled around Zac as he immediately activated almost every skill in his repertoire. He wouldn’t take any risks against the Technocrats, especially not when his sister’s safety was at risk. A large swathe of miasma billowed out from him in an instant as [Fields of Despair] activated, but Zac held off on summoning the large barrier.