Chapter 256: What the Future Holds (2/2)

Ye Chong looked up. Some tens of mechs were already breaking away, flying off into the distance, probably wanting to outflank Coxcomb.

There were 13 of them, by Ye Chong’s count.

These 13 mechs flew surprisingly fast. Two of them were even faster than Zhu Ling’s Overwing. The rest of them were at least on par with Guardian. These 13 mechs were all aggressive and ready to kill.

If Qiu Man was awake, she would have recognised all 13 mechs. 11 of them were the Freedom Alliance’s celebrated Contingent Leads, out of 13 in total. The other two were even stronger, but known by fewer. Qiu Man was one of the few. They were the Alliance’s rarely deployed Vanguards. The Vanguards of the Freedom Alliance were the equivalent of the Trump Cards of the Three Forces. Now that the Freedom Alliance had sent out all of their best, it would be humiliating if they could not capture Coxcomb.

One of the two mechs was a non-humanoid mech, shaped like a scorpion, but much more powerful than Ye Chong’s Sand Scorpio. These two mechs flew the fastest, leading the rest of the mechs.

However, these 13 mechs were wary of Coxcomb’s laser beam attack, and had to make a huge detour around the warship.

”Everyone, please fasten your seatbelts, we’re going to make a warp jump,” Mu declared calmly.

Ye Chong was surprised. A warp jump? A warp jump required a long distance to accelerate, and the ship cannot be disturbed throughout the jump if the passengers were to remain safe.

However, Ye Chong quickly calmed himself. Mu’s decisions were always the best results derived from his computations.

Zhu Ling was also surprised. She looked over to Little Rock, and calmed down as well. Little Rock seemed calm; he must have arrived at the same computation result as Mu. Only Lian Yue was as white as a sheet, putting his hands together in a prayer, muttering under his breath.

When they first arrived on Rainbow planet, Mu had already chosen a few points for warp jumps as their retreat options. Now, they were heading for one of those points.

Suddenly, Ye Chong recalled the time when he sat in Mu’s pilot cabin as they escaped from the trash planet. They were facing a similarly unknown future, full of potential disasters. However, Ye Chong was feeling very much at peace. There was no panic or fear. After the initial surprise, Ye Chong quickly accepted his situation.

From his many close encounters with death, Ye Chong learned not only to appreciate life, but also to not fear death.

The war jump point would bring them to a place in the Csebesini Galaxy. Once they made this warp jump, they would be safe.

No one would make a warp jump without careful computations. A tiny mistake might send you to a far off and unfamiliar territory. You may never find your way back.

The universe is vast, and humanity will never reach its ends. The Five Galaxies may be large, but compared to the size of the universe, it was just a speck of dust.

Hence, calculations for warp jumps were made with extra care. People who could calculate the warp jump points of others quickly like Little Rock were exceptional geniuses.

Time seemed to slow down. Seconds felt like minutes. Everyone in the warship could feel the suffocating tension.

They all prayed that the enemy’s mechs did not discover Coxcomb’s intention. Everyone stared at the holographic screen unblinkingly. The 13 mechs were still flying outwards, taking their huge detour. For the moment, none of them seemed aware of what Coxcomb was up to.

Time passed. The warp jump point was getting closer. Everyone could feel the tension rising. Little Rock balled up his fists, his face turning red. Even Zhu Ling was breathing heavily. Lian Yue was even worse off, sweat covering all over him, but he did not care to wipe them off.

Almost … Almost … Almost there …

”What?!” Everyone except Ye Chong gasped almost simultaneously, their faces betraying fear and surprise.

The scorpion-shaped mech had a dark brown tail, the tip of which was now shining bright red. The sight was familiar to Ye Chong. He immediately thought of the faint blue light visible when an electromagnetic cannon was charging for an attack.

Now, even Ye Chong felt a sense of foreboding.

A dark red beam hit Coxcomb.