The aftermath of the incident at Central Plains City made it out to the rest of the civilization. The people were shocked to find out that there were enemies on their own soil, their own planet.
But the unrest was quickly put down due to the victory gained in that incident, causing hope to be spread among the people.
The next day after the incident, the Cerulean Defense Force stabilized the supply line and made haste to the frontline due to the necessary condition. The frontline was starting to fall in terms of morale.
The second thing the Cerulean Defense Force had to announce to the people was that the Red Moon in the sky would not affect the daily life of the people and the civilization.
But some people called the Red Moon a sign of ill omen. Because of its appearance during the Star Battle, it could not be helped that people thought so.
Ultimately, a split emerged regarding the Red Moon, dividing people into two camps. Those who treat the Red Moon as another celestial object in the sky and those who treat it as an ill omen. Whatever the case, it would not do anything to them.
However, the appearance of the Red Moon prompted Dian, Leif, and Ghylea to adjust the ecosystem so that it could manage the change, particularly in the sea and ocean.
As for the Cerulean Defense Force itself, they had issued the new order for the Hunters to assist the frontline while leaving the rest to the logistics and Reservists.
The current concern the forces had after the incident was actually the sighting of the Elite Elven who operated during the Gling Tide that simultaneously attacked during the incident. General Wazowski knew that it was the arrangement of the Queen but the Elite Elven Team who operated became a slight concern.
Because the direction they came from was actually from one of the large trees that the scout could see in the far horizon. According to some transcendent scientists, the new transcendent energy was being generated by the trees as the source of the transcendent energy was reverse-tracked.
All the units, soldiers and even the officers on the field were given the intelligence regarding the Sacred Tree of the Elves. At least the general idea about it, since it was through Tatsumi that the Strategic Intelligence Division knew about this.
The moment Long Wu returned to the periphery of the Rift, he could not help but feel that it was a long time since he stepped into it.
“Imperial Tutor!” Peng Huai was tasked to secure the Rift on the Cerulean Planet’s side and he was the most suitable for that. That was the reason why he was the one who welcomed the Hunters and also Long Wu.
“It’s been two months since I last saw you. How is the frontline going?” Long Wu asked for the current situation.
Peng Huai sighed with helplessness, “There are some casualties during the Gling Tide. There was even the sighting of the Elite Elven Team operating near our territory which made things harder. There will be an operation against the Sacred Tree of the Elves but I don’t know with what we will fight them.”
Long Wu could infer that the casualties were largely due to the Elite Elven Team. But acting on their Sacred Tree was something that he did not understand yet.
“How about you? Is the environment good?” This time Long Wu asked something about Peng Huai. It was because he was a decent person that Long Wu wanted to know slightly more about him. He could see that Peng Huai was someone who cared about the future of the Qin Empire and human civilization.
Peng Huai looked at Long Wu with a surprised look as his eyes slightly widened, his brow raised in an arc while his mouth was slightly agape.
“I am fine, thriving even. Imperial Tutor, you should not concern yourself with me as there are things that you should do.” Peng Huai’s tone was one of happiness but also wary of the time spent by talking.
“Spending some time with you is not a waste.” Long Wu replied.
“That is why you don’t need to worry about me. Give your concern to those who are having a hard time. That is the best way to support the frontline.” Long Wu added before he and the Hunters moved deeper into Base Zero and went into the Rift.
The situation was more hectic than Peng Huai said. Long Wu could see that the people were running from one point to another, in haste.
The Hunters behind him were also surprised to see the change in the frontline but they realized that this was probably those people dealing with the aftermath of another attack.
“Can you tell me about the situation, briefly?” Long Wu grabbed one of the soldiers who was running near him.
The man explained that things had become a mess due to the scientist discovering the Sacred Tree near the territory and planned to do an expedition there. But the aftermath of the attack by the Gling and the short supply made them search for alternatives.
“Thank you.” Long Wu let the man do what he was supposed to do while guiding the Hunters to their post near the command center. They then separated into transcendents or ordinary people before they merged with the Cerulean Defense Force.
“I know that this might be the end for the Hunters. Can’t be helped, the orders from the General himself but know that we are still brothers and sisters in the Cerulean Defense Force as well as the three races.” Long Wu prepared a small speech before they were disbanded and distributed to the entire frontline.
“Leader, we are the Qin Empire’s people. Having you with us is our greatest honor. The emperor must be proud of you.” One of the members said.
“Please contribute more to the Star Battle, Leader.” Another chimed.
“Don’t forget us like you said, Leader.”
Long Wu looked at the faces of the people under him one by one. During the two months looking for the infiltrators, they were the most passionate and also the ones who shouldered the responsibility of tracking the infiltrators. That was a dangerous affair and he wanted them to be properly rewarded.
“Let’s put my words behind us and see for yourself your reward for contributing to the Cerulean Defense Force.” Long Wu pointed to the communication device available in their current place.
It was something that connected to the Strategic Intelligence Division’s channel and it could tell people about their current reward for their contribution. One by one, people were lined up to hear what kind of reward they would receive.
Long Wu did not need to hear his reward since he had already reached self-sufficiency.
With this, the Hunters were finally disbanded and they had to separate to do their own respective duty.
Long Wu naturally went to the transcendent group to join them again. If not for the circumstances, he would likely not be separated.
“You are back!” one of the transcendent recognized Long Wu and Long Wu also recognized him. It was because they were close during the absorption of the undead element from the corpses of the Glings as well as the structures that the scientist called biological structures that Glings specialized in.
“There will be no more threat at our rear. That is why I am returning here.” Long Wu replied.
“Of course, you will be the one to end the crisis. I believe you.”
Long Wu saw the bright smile this person directed at him and he could not help but think about his achievements.
He felt that he was doing what was expected of him. To hear that his achievement was that great made him feel like he was trying to save the world or something.
‘No, I'm just trying to help as much as I can. There is no way I am that great.’ Long Wu mused internally.
“Thank you for believing in me.” Long Wu said, patting the shoulder of the transcendent before he went deeper to meet with Hecates.
As far as he knew, the command of the Transcendent Group was still in the hands of that man. Soon after seeing dozens of transcendent resting in their place, Long Wu finally saw Hecates sharpening the blade of his axe.
“You’ve returned here after so long. I am starting to miss you.” Hecates raised his head to see Long Wu clearly. He had known about Long Wu and was familiar with his movements, so he was not surprised to sense him here.
“The Hunters were disbanded since they had fulfilled their purpose. Now I need you to tell me about the future plans that the Cerulean Defense Force has made.” Long Wu said while staring at Hecates who were almost completing the sharpening process.
“What do you want to do? Improve the plan?” Hecates asked before he continued, “There is a message coming from the Headquarters telling us to investigate the Sacred Tree of the Elves. Since you are back, I think we can do with this angle and try to see for ourselves what kind of trees the Elves have.”
Long Wu had also heard about the plan to attack the Sacred Tree of the Elves but to think it was actually the order from the Headquarters directly made things simple.
“For what reason are they doing this? Coming to the enemy territory means we will be at a disadvantage.” Long Wu explained.
“I know that and those at the Headquarters also knew but there is a Sacred Tree near our territory and there was an Elite Elven Team that kept harassing us every time the opportunity came. That makes the advancement of our unit more difficult.” Hecates said while swinging his axe.
Long Wu sighed as he realized the issue. The Cerulean Defense Force wanted to take the initiative, not being pummeled into a passive position.
“Worse still, the Red Moon has affected the Glings so we need more time to defeat them. Fortunately, we are learning something from what you gave a bit and that helped us during the Gling Tide attack.” Hecates added.
“We have successfully dealt with all the infiltrators that the Gling had. We also have dealt with some traitors who sided with them.” Long Wu said with a heavy tone.
Hecates knew that dealing with the traitors was the hardest since even he wanted to know the minds of the traitors. What were they thinking when they sided with the enemy during the Star Battle?
But hearing that all the infiltrators were eliminated was good news for the Cerulean Defense Force. It meant they did not have to worry about an enemy attack on their supply line.
“Alright, welcome back to the group!”
-
Preparation took time as the aircraft from the aircraft carriers were sent to the Rift to explore every time they had the chance. This caused the fog of war in Dian’s perspective to be uncovered slowly but steadily.
The moment the Cerulean Defense Force discovered the Sacred Tree of the Elves marked another plan in the making.
Dian finally could see the scene that was previously hidden but it was still the periphery of the enemy territory. He could see that there was an Elite Elven Team that was returning to the Sacred Tree near the Rift.
He also saw that Long Wu disbanded the Hunters and returned to the Transcendent Group for effectiveness as well as enhancing their prowess.
“If eliminating the infiltrators is one turning point, then the way the three races deal with the Elves will show me their stance in this slightly different Star Battle. They even discovered that there is no language barrier and tried to communicate with the enemies.” Dian looked at every action that the three races had made and felt like this became more interesting for his observation.
Ever since the appearance of the human race, Dian kept an eye on them in general but kept some individuals as observation targets.
The more he learned about them, the more he was influenced in return.
Dian knew that the biggest hurdle to this Star Battle had passed and what awaited him was the finish line in front of him. He just needed to make sure that he would not fumble at the finish line.
He then looked at Ghylea and Leif at his side before shifting his gaze to the opponents in front of him. Despite sitting on the throne, he could still see the glimpse of Chikara made a funny expression on her face.
“What do you mean the entire units were eliminated!? With the Red Moon of the Rage enhancement, there should be no one who could rival the assimilated Gling, even if it were a Transcendent from the opponents, so how?” Chikara looked at the entire process and could not gain an explanation as to what was happening.
What she knew, however, was that a certain individual from her opponent’s race had a way to become powerful enough to defeat her strongest unit under enhancement.
[“I apologize, my god. I didn’t know either that the result would be this devastating. The instinct that my creatures felt before he died was that of certain death and despite blocking the blow, it was in vain.”] The one who replied was the Queen of the Gling Swarm herself.
She was the only one with a direct connection to the Metamorphic God so she knew that this was an unforgivable result but reality told her that it was the case and there was no way to change it.
“No need to apologize. This is all my misjudgment and lack of information. Just produce as many units as possible and stack them up to be ready for deployment.” Chikara could only swallow the bitter loss she had made.
The Elf beside her, however, was thinking about the elite Elven Team that operated near the established territory of the three races.
They even managed to defeat the new units which were the strongest, enhanced with the Active Card. This is not good!
The Elf then looked at her race and knew that the next target of the three races fell on the nearest Sacred Tree. She was sure because there had been a flying object that went past the territory at high speed and altitude.
“Frie, do you have a good idea?” Chikara asked but this time her tone went from condescending to pleading. It was as if the entire card Chikara had was of no use against the three races, especially the unknown race that called themselves human.
Frie, the Mother Nature of the Elves, could only think of utilizing the Sacred Tree as a last resort. The Sacred Tree was a special plant that was also the origin of the Elves. Utilizing it meant using the Ether stored in its body to do something dramatic.
“Master, the only thing we can do is to utilize the Sacred Tree. But there is only one who is near the Rift. The others are far away. Even if I told the Elves to use the transportation channel underground to transfer the units to near the Rift, it would change little.” Frie said with a pessimistic tone.
She knew that all hope was lost the moment Chikara could not turn the tide. The transcendents and the Undead Race used the remains of the Glings as nutrients for their own growth and energy supply so the swarm tactic became like feeding her enemies.
Furthermore, they had found out that the humans were experimenting on their race using numerous things.
This was the moment they realized that the three races were toying with them despite their rear was threatened. But the Queen had failed in delivering a lethal blow, only making it a surprising blow without the lethality.
The supplies depot were indeed destroyed with the help of the traitors but ultimately they did not achieve their major success by eliminating the officers of the Cerulean Defense Force. That became the one thing that sealed their defeat, changing it from probability into certainty.
In the end, they refused to admit defeat and kept struggling.
“Then do it!” Chikara gave the order. Frie nodded and transmitted the order to the Elf King.
I shouldn’t lose! If I lose, I will be humiliated!
That was what Chikara thought, while for Frie, she knew that she could only do her best to help. Despite the apparent loss, she still supported Chikara.
Chikara then glanced upward and saw the Master of the three races on his throne. His appearance was exactly like the human race under him, with black and brown hair intertwined, a bit of yellow skin as well as wearing black clothes that she barely recognized as a suit and long black pants.
Dian also raised his head and their gazes met. Dian knew that Chikara was thinking something gloomy and he did not do anything but keep his eyes on her.
Chikara, on the other hand, caught a glimpse of the experienced individual through Dian’s eyes. She realized that Dian had prepared many countermeasures against many potential enemies. Even without the undead element, the Bio Weapon the human possessed would be sufficient for fighting against the Gling Swarm.
Maybe the reason I am becoming like this is because I grew overconfident in my race. After a series of victories, I started to become arrogant…
Chikara could only reflect on herself and realized that her downfall stemmed from herself. She should not become arrogant just because her previous opponents were weaklings. Now that she was faced with the unknown race and their capabilities, she realized that she lacked the proper measure to counter them or at least entangle them for a long time.