Chapter 691 (2/2)

“Look” The Clockmaker cut them off and pointed to the screen

Arachnid was struggling against the tentacles that had eed froht around the shi+p and rendered its weapons useless There was no escape, and every tentacle it cut doas replaced by several more

The fighter shi+ps were trying to flee once it was clear Arachnid was doomed, but the planet’s central vortex denied theh power to resist the vacuuhts followed, those being the vital crystals left behind by slain aliens

Lan Jue narrowed his eyes Apparently these crystals were just as cherished by the planets as they were to humans

The screen briefly hite as a mammoth explosion burst from Arachnid’s location The screen went dark, then all that was left hite noise

Self-destruction! Once it was clear escape was impossible, Holmen ainst the planet’s surface

There was no data to confirm it, but a Bastion’s self-destruction had to be apocalyptic in its devastation It had to have done soe to that planet What’s more, it denied the life force of the hundred-thousand plus soldiers aboard the shi+p

First Fleet’s Ying Tianlong led his troops to a fiery death Arachnid’s Holether they were a potent deth of character They’d died defending the honor of their hoainst alien invasion

Lan Jue took a deep, shuddering breath His eyes were red Arachnid had once tried to kill him, but none of that mattered in the face of their sacrifice

The screens flickered and the snowy picture was replaced by su learned by Tyrannosaurus fro It included a preliminary analysis of the planet’s defenses, but since Arachnid couldn’t overcos were not optimistic Even Arachnid’s , they posited, though without more data it was hard to be sure

This was the strength of their enemy… even those tentacles ell protected

Lan Jue guessed the planet already knew Arachnid was more than a et close enough to deal with the shi+p itself But perhaps it didn’t anticipate self-destruction – part of theirthe aftermath

Next was the recording of Heron’s tribulations More surprises were forthco, like the planet’s ability to launch itself forward like the much smaller shuttle aliens It was so fast even the North’s swiftest Bastion couldn’t escape! A terrifying revelation!

All of this told the: The alien planets had no weakness Close-coence, speed… each one stronger than the last Humanity had athered thee None of theile, nor could they teleport like the planets could Putting all of hus in one basket was reckless Moreover, the limit of these aliens’ poas still a ht back with any effectiveness Not totheir Bastions left those planets exposed

They still needed to know more

The atmosphere aboard Zeus-1 was melancholy, its creas dispirited by the result of their expedition For all their efforts humanity seemed doomed to extinction!

“It’s evident to everyone these creatures are especially well defended against huy” It was the Pharmacist, who’d rarely opened her mouth, who made the observation

Lan Jue turned his head to look at her “What you ical attacks can’t break its defenses?”