Chapter 999 - Return, Accepting the Battle (1/2)
A small spaceship was flying through the universe at warp speed, resembling a gleam of white light against the dark backdrop.
The spaceship was on autopilot, with only two people in the cabin. They were Ames and Hila.
Hila sat in a precarious position, her eyes closed and her hands flat on her knees. Her fingers were continuously moving as she controlled wisps of death energy to flexibly swim between her fingers, training her control over her power.
Opposite her, Ames reclined on the sofa with a hand on her head and the other on her waist.
Watching the death energy move, Ames could not help but sigh. “You’re really working yourself to the bone. Even at the Beyond Grade A realm, you’re continuously training.”
Hila opened her eyes, her tone indifferent. “Beyond Grade A is not the endpoint, and there’s no limit to my path ahead of me. I cannot be satisfied with just this.”
“I feel that you should still rest a little though. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
Ames shook her head in resignation. She was very satisfied with this disciple of hers, but her desire to grow stronger was so intense that it made her, as the teacher, seem like a lazy bum.
“I’ll always have time to rest in the future.” Hila shook her head. “When I return, I will definitely spar with Han Xiao once and test out my current strength. Thus, I cannot rest now. However little I can improve, it’s better than nothing.”
“Relax, based on what I know of Black Star, he will definitely not let you lose too badly and damage your self confidence.” Ames laughed. With a flick of her finger, she opened the star map. “We only need two more days to arrive at the Inter-Star Field Stargate of the Ancient Star Desert, then we’ll arrive directly at the Constellation Corridor. We can use Black Star’s identity to borrow the dynasty’s channels, which will save us a lot of time…”
Before she could finish her words, the communicator beside her started to ring.
“It’s Black… eh? It’s actually old man Aesop.” Ames was surprised after giving it a look. She originally thought that it was one of Han Xiao’s desperate serial calls, but it turned out that it was her teacher on the line.
Sitting up, Ames activated her force field to bring her communicator over before answering, and Aesop’s face appeared.
“What do you want?”
“Where are you guys now? When are you returning to Floating Dragon?” Aesop asked.
“We’re still at the Ancient Star Desert, almost reaching the stargate.”
“You should still make it on time.” Aesop relaxed. “Try to hurry. I’ve foreseen that, in a while, the new Beyond Grade A of the Arcane Church will come over to challenge you, and you need to step forward.”
This was really insane. Tolaen only had the thought, and Aesop had already sensed the changes in the world. The powerful ability of this old man surfaced once again.
A flicker passed through Ames eyes, and she laughed harshly. “A new Beyond Grade A challenging me? I know, that person is probably looking to gain a battle record. Hehe, to pick me when there’s five of us within the Shattered Star Ring, does he think I’m that easy to bully?”
While Floating Dragon was stationed by Planet Aquamarine, allowing the Black Star Army to aid them, this was a battle between Beyond Grade As. Since the other party was targeting Floating Dragon, the Black Star Army had to receive the permission of Ames before they could help. But such a small matter could be settled on her own, and she did not intend for Black Star to step in.
After hanging up, Ames found Hila staring at her.
Ames looked at her and immediately understood what she wanted. “What, are you interested?”
“You’re my teacher, so this time, let me help.” Hila nodded, and a cold gaze flashed across her eyes.
She had originally intended to directly head toward the army to give Han Xiao the good news after arriving at Shattered Star Ring, but with such a situation, she changed her mind.
The other party was also a new Beyond Grade A, and such an opponent was not commonly found.
It was a good time for her to test out how much she had grown.
…
On one of the islands around Floating Dragon, a group of newly recruited Supers were practicing in the square, and the current commander of the Floating Dragon Island Field Team, Vilna, was supervising them.
It had been more than twenty years since Floating Dragon Island anchored itself to Planet Aquamarine. The main island continuously expanded, along with its subordinates and troops. While they could not compare to the scale of the Black Star Army or Bloodshed Land, they could be considered a passable Beyond Grade A organization.
Correspondingly, the scale of Floating Dragon’s officers also expanded, and the work for everyone was becoming more and more arduous. Vilna had taken over Han Xiao’s post and helped manage Floating Dragon to the best of her abilities.
While her temperament was mild, she could be fierce and strict when needed, so this batch of new recruits did not dare slack off, fully engrossing themselves in exercise.
Beep beep!
At this moment, the communicator on Vilna’s wrist rang. It was Aesop.
The moment she picked up, Aesop did not even greet her, immediately shooting out commands.
“Gather the fleet and set down a defensive formation.”
“So fast‽” Vilna stuttered but did not hesitate, immediately calling out all her subordinates to assemble the fleet.
Ames had specifically instructed earlier on that if she were not present, Aesop would be the highest in command.
Thus, under Vilna’s instructions, Floating Dragon’s armed forces finished assembling, surrounding Floating Dragon in a tight defensive array.
There were a lot of people thinking that something serious had happened, but after a long while, everything was still calm, with no new orders.
“There’s nothing. What are we going to do now?”
“Was it just a drill?”
Just as everyone was getting confused, an abrupt change took place.
Ohm!
All the spaceships within the fleet let out warning alarms as a humongous fleet appeared on their radars, rapidly drawing closer to them!
The next moment, streams of light could be seen from the distance, and an armed fleet appeared on the outer space of Planet Aquamarine, each marked with the insignia of the Arcane Church.
“Arcane Church‽”
Vilna’s expression changed as she jumped.
Her reaction was mild, as the other Floating Dragon members were showing even more exaggerated reactions. All of them panicked, as though facing their mortal enemy.
Floating Dragon was different from the other organizations like Black Star Army, which regularly had dealings in the universe. Thus, seeing such a scene would easily ruffle them.
However, it was not just Floating Dragon. Even the observatory post on Planet Aquamarine was also alarmed!
The observers scrambled to send the news back to their headquarters, and this information was quickly uploaded, skipping through all the layers of authority, directly to the decision makers where Bennett was.
“The Arcane Church have come?”
In the administration building at Planet Aquamarine, Bennett also received a shock.
As the leader of a civilization protected by the Peace Treaty, the Black Star Army, the Crimson Dynasty, and Floating Dragon Island, he was not afraid that the Arcane Church had any malicious intentions. However, such an abrupt visit left him with a bitter taste in the mouth, and the lack of a diplomatic etiquette showed that the other party did not have any good intentions.
Thinking about this, Bennett immediately sent an order.
“Invite Black Star’s avatar!”
His voice had just sounded, and he found out two figures had suddenly accelerated quickly toward the sky. Raising his head, he saw Nero and Mia shooting up toward the sky, taking the first step to check on the situation.
At the same time, Tolaen was staring down at the defensive troops from his main flagship, pouting.
“Sigh, I thought I could scare them a little and look at them scramble and panic… but they seem to have already known that I would come. Was the stealth function rendered invalid, or is it the legendary Aesop’s ability?”
Shaking his head, Tolaen did not bother to think so much. This sudden appearance was just a passing evil thought of his. After all, he still had to publicly declare his challenge.
Turning to the commander, he said, “Send out the broadcast; announce my intention.”
The commander nodded before moving on to carry out the tasks.
…