Chapter 212 - In Pursuit Of A Shadow (2/2)

If there was one thing to thank, though, it was these pesky Watchers required an enormous amount of energy to fire their wretched beams, which meant that they were dependent on the only energy source the Infestation had on the planet, the Anchor-Root.

The only other thing they had discovered thus far was that most of the places they had doc.u.mented were virtually empty. Besides the Anchor-Root that had spread across the planet, the Infestation's main forces could only be found in cities. Suspended in fetid cocoons that were connected to the Anchor-Root for sustenance, they were reserve forces that had been put in stasis after the Great War.

”I hate to say, but the... environmental policies your people embraced have ended up strangely helping us,” said Reed ambivalently. Because of their great love of nature, the Ancient Mulians had turned an overwhelming majority of Mu into a planet-wide wildlife refuge. Over 99% of Mu had been left for Mother Nature, and the other 1% had been allocated for the Ancient Mulians to utilize.

”Had you lot not been so invested in keeping the planet nice and green, the Anchor-Root would not have grown so extensively, I wager. Still, it's a bit ironic how the very thing we are striving to protect might end up proving critical to our success. Their real forces are only concentrated in certain areas, mainly the major cities, so that's one element we won't have to worry too much about...”

The Ancient Mulian's eco-friendly philosophy had created a situation where the main resistance — in the form of combat-duty Infested — was not as high as anticipated. Still, the number of Infested that they would have to face numbered in the hundreds of millions, at a minimum. According to old records, over 680 million Ancient Mulians and other alien refugees were present for Mu's final stand against the Infestation.

This was, of course, not counting the original invasion force that had initially seized the planet during its last days. And that was what worried Reed and Lu'um. Over twelve and a half billion Infested, the original hordefleet that invaded the planet were...

Missing.

The detailed scans they conducted had brought into light something of a mystery. Of the four continents that were on Mu — the fifth and final continent, Mulia, not included — they had successfully surveyed two of the four lost continents over the course of the last two months.

But their numbers were not adding up to the hard facts. They found that the continents of Iuho and Lahtal only contained about 290 million Infested in total. And they knew two remaining continents, Miral and Qudo, did not have enough cities or population centers to make up for the missing headcount.

According to Lu'um, there shouldn't have been anything of interest that could have motivated the Infestation to move the brunt of their forces to those continents, either.

Something was clearly off, and it unsettled them deeply. Where had this missing force gone off to? There wasn't much left of anything out in the wider universe, as the Infestation had stripped to everything down the bone. Planets had been sterilized, stars had been snuffed of their light, and anything that had a pulse was killed and enslaved by the Infestation.

They would have to solve that mystery before going back home; otherwise, their plan would never come to fruition. It was absolutely unacceptable not knowing where the other 12.9 billion Infested were hibernating. But that would have to be postponed for the time being, as Reed and Lu'um had a bigger matter to attend to.

Their destination was Talfano City, formerly a beautiful metropolis situated in the heart of Mu's hottest and driest desert. It was a world-reknown oasis once called the Heart of the Emperor, for it was his original birthplace...

Reed pulled out a small, silver-looking key made of some type of dull crystal. It was the first heirloom he had been given by the peculiar restaurant owner called 'Uncle Bernard.' The man had advised him to head towards Talfano City to seek out what his Father had left for him, but Reed never got around to doing that for good reason — much had happened in Mulia, after all...

The first heirloom that had been given to him by Uncle Bernard was still in his possession, kept tightly secured within a small, metallic canister inside his cloak, and had never left his side after he reclaimed it. Reed had still not forgotten about her and how much he owed her.

If there was a way to save her, Reed was resolved to find it. He'd do anything short of selling his soul to the devil to undo the pain that his actions had caused. However, his options were running out. And in his desperation, Reed remembered something very curious that he had been told a long time ago.

”The cloak's an old keepsake of your pops, lad.”

There was no other way. In order to bring her back, Reed would need to find its first owner and ask him for help.

He needed to find the former Emperor of the Mulian Empire. The same man who had once ruled the Multiverse and forsaken it when it needed him the most and...

Joined hands with the enemy.