Planet Master

174- Last Stand (2)

Then the leader finally reached the control room. He quickly inserted the multipurpose tool to download all the available data.While he waited for the download to complete, he also saw the configuration of the spaceship.

‘This spaceship is different from the ones used to carry living people.’ The leader thought while finally, he saw red numbers counting down.

‘Damn, so it is true that the spaceship will detonate if there is no response from the robots. After the download I completed, I’d sever the connection and flee from the vicinity of the spaceship.’ The leader clicked his tongue as he saw the progress of the download and the countdown.

‘Enough time for me to get out.’ The leader thought.

After he was done with the downloaded data, he pulled back the multipurpose tool and got out of there as fast as possible.

Then when he arrived at the connector, he severed the connector and told the others and the captain that he had received the enemy spaceship’s data before telling them to get away from the spaceship. The connector then finally separated from the spaceship and the emergency procedure caused the hole from the connector to be closed.

-

This was only one of the spaceships that faced the enemy spaceship. The others too were facing these robotic forces. The robots were broken down before they were brought back to the scientific spaceship to be studied.

There were casualties, there were gains. Whatever it was, the other fleets could not help them due to the separation of the battlefield by the space-based weapon.

“It turned out that the space-based weapon is to isolate the local area.” Ame looked at the map of the star chart and saw a spherical-shaped barrier that separated the center of the fleet where Adrian Spacecraft Carrier was located.

“The matter of the invading robots has been dealt with. Now, we just need to break this shell.” Tatsumi said before he moved toward one side of the sphere.

He opened the second gate, used his dragon’s blood as well as his Dragonsbane to channel his blade intent. A violet light appeared on the edge of his blade and the raging energy was read on the spaceships as something beyond the scope of the sensors. The Revolutionary realm power surged out, a force field caused Tatsumi’s hair to flow despite in the vacuum.

“Break!” Tatsumi slashed his Dragonsbane at the sphere that separated the spaceships from the other fleets.

The space was cut as Tatsumi realized the power of space. With enough force, even space could be cut. Add his Violet Sun Blade Intent and he could cut through even space barrier.

The barrier melted like ice in the summer before it dissipated.

“Looks like this is a decapitation operation by the Yul Municipality before their last stand. Good, they’d better entertain us more.” Tatsumi floated in the void for a while, murmuring this before he went back into the spacecraft carrier.

“Calculate the time for the Ambassador to arrive. We need to reorganize before we go.” Tatsumi quickly said this to Ame.

He did not want anything to mess things up and this decapitation attack was clearly one of them.

“On it.” Ame quickly did a calculation based on the last information about the spaceship containing the Ambassador.

“Captain, you can now reorganize the fleet. Make sure to guard against the space-based weapon of the Rodents.” Tatsumi said to the captain. His face was serious, so everyone on the bridge knew that this matter was not over.

‘Fortunately, he is not near here. Otherwise, the matter will become complicated.’ Tatsumi thought. This matter to him was severe so he needed to be careful not to let similar things happen.

He could feel that some life signs were gone for good. These were the marines who sacrificed themselves in the Star Battle, so Tatsumi also paid attention to them to gain on-site information.

While Tatsumi was detecting the surroundings, even tried to comprehend the workings of the space-based weapon, Ame connected to her Assassin Guild’s member to check for safety.

“All clear, no more hostile factor.”

“The robots have been neutralized and its remnant can be brought to the scientific spaceship for study.”

Ame then replied, “Good, please escort these materials until they entered the scientific spaceships.”

Then Ame connected to Ivana.

“Mother Ame, what can I do for you? I am a bit busy since I need to track Ambassador Chen Fei.” Ivana’s appearance appeared in the hologram with only her upper body shown.

“Exactly that. Can you calculate where the Ambassador is right now?” Ame asked.

“Wait a moment.” Ivana said while she operated several keyboards and looked at several screens showing the position of the escort spaceships.

“Estimated Time Arrival, 5 hours.” Ivana replied after some time.

“5 hours? That’s plenty.” Tatsumi came back and looked at the projection.

“Ah, Father.” Ivana blinked her eyes.

“Did he already near the Rift?” Tatsumi asked.

“Yes. Just now, the escort spaceships, along with the ship containing the Ambassador have entered the Rift.”

Ame nodded at Tatsumi.

“Okay. Thank you for informing us. We have been attacked by the Rodents just now, you see. I am just making sure that the Ambassador is safe.” Tatsumi said with his heartfelt feeling.

“A communication attempt has been detected. Do you want to connect?”

Then a reminder from Tatsumi’s wristwatch could be heard. Seeing the one who tried to connect to him, Tatsumi felt glad since Chen Fei finally decided to connect to him.

“Hello, there. Have you been well?” Chen Fei’s face showed up on the hologram projection.

Tatsumi snorted but replied, “Except for a sudden decapitation attack by the Rodents, we are fine and well.”

“Decapitation attack? They are truly desperate, then.” Chen Fei could conclude that the decapitation attack was one of the most effective ways to cripple a force if successful.

But if it failed, then the decapitation group would be surrounded and killed.

“They are actually functional robots.” Tatsumi stated the enemy the fleets had to face.

“Robots? The Rodents?” Chen Fei was confused but soon rationalized it in the way of simplicity.

Then Tatsumi explained the robot's attack in detail. Chen Fei also agreed that the robots may have been something the Rodents developed but only now had a breakthrough.

“So there are several trump cards the Rodents have, but now they all are deployed.” Chen Fei summarized it.

“Well, now there should be no more attacks from them. It is time for us to counterattack.” Tatsumi said.

“What are you going to do to me now?” Chen Fei asked.

“You need to wait on the Solont planet first. Their last stand won’t be pretty and I need to settle something with them.” Tatsumi said while his eyes flickered. He had thought about it and decided to do something for his own conscience.

“Ha, that waiting will be torture. Hey, can you broadcast your battle to me?” Chen Fei suddenly had an idea, a daring idea.

“Really? Do you want to see me battling those Rodents?” Tatsumi asked for confirmation since he was sure he could not just eliminate all the Rodents. He just needed to eliminate their regular forces. Those Accelerated Growth children were counted as children, as their minds were not developed well.

“Well, I can feel that you are thinking about something but you need to be firm on your battle. Don’t be distracted and keep your original intention, alright.” Chen Fei smirked as he said this, a smug face to show that he knew Tatsumi’s state of mind.

“Looks like I can’t hide things from you. Don’t worry, I will be fine.” Tatsumi replied with a smile.

“Well, Sister-in-law, make sure he really means it, okay.” Chen Fei gave one more word before closing.

“Don’t worry. With me here, he will be safe and sound.” Ame nodded gracefully.

“Alright. Since there is nothing more to say, see you later.” Chen Fei terminated the communication.

“Hah, another person who needs to be escorted.” Tatsumi protested but he could not hide the elation at his brother’s success in his career.

“You look happy. Do you want him to rise to the occasion and become someone of high status?” Ame also felt happy seeing that Tatsumi was elated.

“Of course. It is rare for him to be appointed to any task, especially in the Star Battle.” Tatsumi said that but he had his worries too.

‘The Star Battle only truly ends when the conditions for it are fulfilled. We only know that encroaching on enemy territory is one of them. As for the other, the people in the Afterlife are giving out ideas but one that makes the most sense is that the God of one side had to give up. That is the most likely conclusion.’ Tatsumi knew that with this requirement, the races would fight hard and dirty just to win.

“Crush them thoroughly. Reduce their morale until all they feel is despair. Show them that their desperate attempt will only result in nothing but loss.”

-

The Federation fleets, as expected, launched an attack after they were fully prepared. A week after their last attack on Rodentia, they were now fully intended to occupy the last territory of the Yul Municipality.

Spacecraft Carrier, Assault Ship, Frigate, even Destroyer, the fleets were filled with various types of ships.

Hatten was once again deployed to the battlefield inside his Silpheed. This time, he was tasked to attack the small drone appearing from the enemy carrier. The Spacecraft Carrier Adrian also unleashed the drone swarm to counteract it, making the geostationary orbit of Rodentia a massive battlefield.

He looked around and could see explosions caused by the plasma cannon hitting the spaceships or the drone swarms being hit by the close-in weapon systems.

His task was paramount so he attacked the drone swarm along with the other spacecraft. The drones were easy since they had sets of movement in most situations, making them easy to shoot down.

But the enemy spacecraft was another matter. They provided unpredictability; sometimes it was easy and sometimes it was hard.

Whatever the case, Hatten was gaining more experience in shooting down the harder target with his Vulcan gun.

“Happy Four, warning, large craft approaching, attack and destroy!” the squad leader warned Hatten about something larger than his Silpheed.

Hatten became alert and then tilted the Silpheed to the right. Just after he did that, a large spacecraft was passing by him and maintaining the speed in front of him.

After that, the spacecraft activated something and its close-in weapon system was out, presenting Hatten with quite a lot of turrets and weapon platforms. Various weapons to combat a small spacecraft was appearing and Hatten quickly fired some missiles at the turret, destroying some of them.

But the number of the weapon platforms and the close-in weapon system were large and now they fired at him. Hatten’s heart beat faster and the adrenaline kicked in.

Hatten then did an evasive maneuver before he fired of his Vulcan gun at one of the weapon platforms, destroying it. But he needed to do this several times. Fortunately, the hardest was always at the beginning since he chipped at the weapons slightly but surely, reducing the weapon platforms’ fire at him while also making counterattack easier.

Then when the final weapon platform was destroyed, suddenly the large spacecraft let out a big bow cannon and fired at Hatten. Hatten was a bit surprised but dodged to the side, almost being hit by the plasma cannon.

Then it was time to destroy the large spacecraft. Fortunately, nothing seemed to interrupt Hatten during his entire battle with the large spacecraft.

Hatten then attack the engine first so that the spacecraft slowed down or stopped completely. After hearing the explosions from the engine, he then proceeded to destroy the armory and the energy core of the spacecraft.

It was because destroying them would make a chain explosion that Hatten targeted those two areas. Then the large spacecraft had a chain explosion as expected. They initially wanted to escape but Hatten hit the engine which caused them to be unable to go away anymore.

Hatten then hit the bridge where everyone was on and then saw that the spacecraft was destroyed due to the chain reaction of explosion happening.

“Ha…ha…what a big spacecraft.” Hatten commented.

“Large spacecraft destroyed.” Hatten added.

“It is not a waste of my effort shielding you during the battle. Continue to support the Silpheeds, please.” The squad leader said with joy.

“Affirmative. Happy Four helping the other Silpheed.” Hatten then went toward the nearest Silpheed unit that needed some help.

While the battle was raging and the heaven above Rodentia was filled with explosions, Tatsumi and Ame moved to the place where the Accelerated Growth people were gathering. Their objective was to detain them and they were prepared for a struggle.

Along the way, if they saw a formal military unit from the Rodents, they would eliminate it as soon as possible.

As long as they were adults and participate in the battle, they would not hesitate to kill them. At least they would not be pressured by their conscience since the Star Battle was like that.

“But to involve the children…I can understand their desperation but this is something not to be done.” Tatsumi murmured even though no one could hear what he said.

With a protective layer when traveling through the vacuum, the two arrived at the spaceship where the children who had undergone the Accelerate Growth had gathered. Tatsumi could feel that familiar aura belonging to Bore and then used intangibility to enter the spaceship along with Ame.

Tatsumi saw a Rodent and then slammed the Rodent head to the ground, causing the Rodent to be unconscious. He could feel the disproportion between the mental age and the body.

‘One down.’ Then he tied the Rodent with a blue rope before he continued deeper into the interior of the spaceship.

Ame did not lose in terms of speed as she also managed to get one down too. The Rodents inside the spaceship was almost exclusively the Rodents or the races who had undergone Accelerated Growth. That was why Tatsumi and Ame captured them and not killing them.

The footsteps of the two echoed out in the interior but soon an alarm was sounded.

Their infiltration was discovered. Then when Tatsumi wanted to take a turn, he used the blue rope to capture and tie other people. With his mental scan, he could find the children who had undergone the Accelerated Growth easily.

Tatsumi and Ame were sweeping the interior of the spaceship so they separated and decided to meet at the bridge.

Seeing that only two individuals were entering the spaceship caused the captain to be furious.

“Capture or kill those two!” the captain ordered.

Bore and his Marine Corps had to be divided into two. Bore would go into Tatsumi’s place since the last time he had met Tatsumi, he did not know the exact chasm between them.

As for the others, they would intercept Ame.

“There are so many children here. This worries me.” Tatsumi started to be concerned since the number of children participating in the Star Battle was so many in one spaceship.

“You, raise your hand!” another individual tried to intimidate Tatsumi but it was useless. He used the movement technique that caused the individual to see multiple image of Tatsumi.

The individual shot at one and there was no blood mist; instead, the bullet passed through and Tatsumi then just dashed forward and engaged in close-quarter combat, disarming the individual before subduing him with the blue rope.

Ame also did a similar thing, she disarmed another Rodent and then subduing him using the blue rope and tied him so that he could not mount a resistance.

While the two was wreaking chaos, the captain realized that the two were not killing the people inside the spaceship.

“They know that this is the Accelerated Growth division.” The captain murmured before he slumped on his chair. His only hope was for Chief Bore to solve this intruder once and for all.

When the two’s progress reached fifty percent of the exploration, the two sides finally met.

“Oh, it’s you. Are you trying to get in my way?” Tatsumi tilted his head, his face pondered but he expected it.

“I am not like before. I am stronger now.” Bore replied.

“Show me, then! Talking about it means nothing, you know.” Tatsumi then stood straight while his eyes on Bore, focused completely on him.

Bore knew that his instinct screamed at him that a stronger opponent was in front of him but he could not retreat.

He lunged at Tatsumi, using his forelimbs to scratch Tatsumi in the face. Tatsumi moved to the side so slightly, barely dodging the attack, before he twisted his body, his leg raised and kicked Bore.

Bore then used his fore limbs to defend, being hit by the kick and stepped back ten steps. Tatsumi’s stance was slightly affected but the two were only colliding using their physical body.

Despite wearing an exoskeleton, Bore was still kicked ten steps, which showed how much power Tatsumi had in his physical body.

“If this is all your strength, then I will be disappointed in you.” Tatsumi provoked Bore and Bore had to admit that his strength was still insufficient.

“Again!” Bore then moved in, this time with all his might.

Bore then exchanged moves with Tatsumi. Tatsumi analyzed the move that Bore used and realized that it resembled the move that Ame used.

“You are learning from even your enemies. Good but this is still lacking.” Tatsumi commented as he also used his arms to exchange moves. Their legs were moving to make sure that the center of gravity and their stance were solid while their upper bodies were moving to attack each other.