Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: Fallout from the Failed Purification
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Orbital bombardment on the 'holy sites' designated by the Cults' priests and prophets.
It's not impossible, but it's not something that's generally done.
No, to be blunt, it's extremely rare.
And for good reason. Holy sites are planets chosen by the prophets after spending vast amounts of time interpreting passages from the 'Providence' that the Cults hold sacred.
The Providence is like a scripture and code of conduct encompassing the Cults' past, present, and future.
That's why no one dares touch the holy sites mentioned in the Providence.
Not even if they pose a potential threat to the Empire.
'That was the case originally.'
Even the most devout believers sometimes have to compromise between faith and reality. The Cults are no different.
In extremely exceptional cases, they take special measures against holy sites—one of which is when the entire planet is being eroded by contaminants.
That's what Jason had aimed for, pressuring the Cult Council and the Elder Council to authorize the purification mission. Cynthia, from the Prophets' Assembly, backed him up by arguing that prior interpretations of the Providence contained errors.
With all three major power structures of the Cult Empire—the Council, the Elders, and the Prophets' Assembly—in motion, the purification order could proceed despite contradicting the Providence.
If the purification had gone off without a hitch, it wouldn't be this much of an issue now. Removing the Empire's most dangerous contaminant would have stripped Jason's opponents of any grounds to criticize him.
But the mission failed, and the Mothership Squadron was annihilated.
With the massive losses to the Empire, Jason and Cynthia—who had pushed for the mission in defiance of the Providence—found themselves in a precarious position.
Even if things somehow worked out and the pressure on Jason eased, regaining his former power was next to impossible.
Cults, with their long lifespans, are inherently conservative by nature—most of them, excluding those who've migrated to other factions. They wouldn't forget Jason's mistake anytime soon.
'And the real big problem is something else.'
Cynthia had said Jason was in seclusion to avoid a Council summons, but Chloe could easily guess what he was actually up to.
'Seclusion, my ass. He's preparing to run.'
Anyone who's survived Space Survival for a while knows.
Sending an Imperial Mothership to a holy site is the kind of thing a player, not a Cult, would do.
The #5 Aimorph ranker either already knew who attacked it or would find out soon enough.
In other words, that infamous morph bastard's next target was Jason himself.
'That guy's the type to chase you to the edge of the universe.'
Chloe knew from personal experience. She'd messed with its evolution without realizing it was #5, and nearly quit the game from the retaliation.
Jason had apparently gone through something similar. He'd even posted an apology on the community forums, so it must've hit him harder than her.
'...Should I run too?'
As Chloe sank into thought, one of the silent stones began to glow.
It was Jubaka's stone.
｢If the fleet was wiped out, what about the related records?｣
｢Records, you say?｣
｢Wiped out doesn't mean every last one was killed, does it?｣
"What are you getting at?"
｢Militarily speaking, 'annihilation' refers to losing combat capability to the point where the mission can't continue. It's hard to assume there were zero survivors just because the Mothership Squadron was completely destroyed.｣
Of everyone present, Jubaka was the only one with military experience. As the Grand Chieftain of the Star Union and Supreme Commander of the Machine Fleet, he grasped exactly what Cynthia meant.
Cynthia responded to Jubaka.
｢Of the 50 ships in the Mothership Squadron, only 1 returned. It was half-wrecked, with 80% of the crew dead, and came back on autopilot. The captain of the Imperial Mothership 'Judger of Damus 08' was KIA, and only 20 survivors made it out on escape pods.｣
｢What caused the half-destruction?｣
｢Investigations showed an unidentified energy projectile caused the cosmic bolt's dark matter to backfire and explode.｣
"What do the surviving crew say?"
｢.......｣
Cynthia suddenly went silent at Chloe's question—the first time she'd hesitated after answering everything so smoothly.
"What'd they say?"
｢...A three-headed demon that wields lightning.｣
"Uh... no way?"
｢Пиздец (fuck)!｣
A three-headed demon. Chloe knew exactly what that nickname meant.
"That thing already evolved to Adult form?"
｢If it's an Adult Aimorph, that explains the squadron's annihilation.｣
Aimorphs grow incredibly powerful the later their stages, true to their late-bloomer nature. An Adult Aimorph takes elite troops and fleets to subdue.
And given that it wiped out an Imperial Mothership and its squadron, it probably had multiple unique traits too.
｢An Adult Aimorph puts us in danger too. You know that, right?｣
"Tch, I'll contact the old man."
｢And Cynthia. Can you pull up the footage of it now?｣
｢The quality isn't great.｣
｢This doesn't seem like the time to worry about quality.｣
｢Understood. Give me a moment... Huh?｣
"What's wrong... Huh?"
In the middle of their talk, one of the stones on the floor floated into the air.
Soon, it glowed, and an elderly man's voice echoed through the dark chamber.
｢It's been a while.｣
Speak of the devil, the new participant was the one Chloe called "old man."
｢It's been too long. I hope you've been well, Akira Yujin.｣
The CEO of Mega Corp and Earth's ancient king, Akira Yujin.
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'Finally feeling alive again.'
Two days after fending off the Imperial Mothership's assault, I'd recovered enough to move like normal.
The first day, I just slept without moving a muscle. I'd wake occasionally to eat the food that 26, Adhai, and Mother of the Sky brought, easing my hunger before crashing again.
Resting like a flu patient had finally let me get back on my feet.
26 and Adhai—who'd nursed me devotedly—collapsed the moment they confirmed I was okay.
26 was just exhausted, but Adhai was truly in critical condition. Despite cracked ribs and a broken wing from the last Hond Grant attack, it had kept hauling food.
I hurriedly applied symbiotic spores to them and moved them to the underground nest. Over 80% had collapsed from the Mothership fight, but enough space remained for them to lie down.
I'd stocked it with food to sate their hunger upon waking. Now, Mother of the Sky and I were on the move.
｢Of the crashed ships, this one's the closest.｣
"Seems that way."
She was right. Beyond that forest, a faint scorched alloy smell wafted from a sub-engine.
We were tracking the Cult ships I'd hit with my psychic breath.
Most had crashed into oceans or other continents, but a few had fallen on our continent, Saintopia 02.
'Got something to experiment with.'
Whether heavily damaged, crashed ships could still be dominated. If so, they'd make fine erosion targets.
'Originally planned to head out on the deep-sea research base.'
The base was made of black silver and enormous. If the black silver effect persisted after erosion, it'd be a huge asset against any Cults we might face in space. Its massive size would make toying with boarders far easier.
'Of course, there are downsides.'
Bigger size meant larger hit area. In fleet battles, that was more liability than asset.
I could reinforce its durability, but it wouldn't make it invincible.
Plus, black silver was a double-edged sword. Unknown how it'd affect my psychic breath.
'Cult ships are better suited for combat anyway.'
I'd experienced it stealing the Space Dogs' ship.
Defending against Metallic Gremlins while actively using its weapons.
And that was a freighter, not a warship. Eroding and dominating a Cult military vessel would be even stronger.
'Still don't know the damage extent or if erosion's possible.'
Mother of the Sky's eyesight was sharper than mine. She might already see the wreck.
"Can you make out the ship's condition?"
｢It's half-buried from the crash, so only a bit's visible. The exposed part doesn't look too damaged.｣
"Good."
I glanced at Mother of the Sky running beside me.
Her golden fur evoked ripe barley fields—now sleek and glossy, but I remembered it caked in soot from nursing me.
Like 26 and Adhai, she'd given her all for my survival.
'Gotta repay her someday.'
I knew it stemmed from our contract, but that didn't erase her care.
Given the chance later, I'd reward her properly.
'Come to think of it, haven't apologized yet.'
I'd nearly eaten her over failing to protect Adhai, but it was a misunderstanding.
Adhai had acted out from feeling left behind by 26 and her—not her fault.
Meant to apologize, but back-to-back crises had delayed it.
｢Ship's up ahead. You sense it too—some survivors.｣
"Hold up. Got something to say first."
｢What?｣
I halted my sprint. She stopped too.
Her elegant eagle head tilted. Looking into her amber eyes, I spoke.
"About the Adhai incident last time."
｢Huh?｣
"I misunderstood. Sorry."
｢Wha... what?｣
She blinked at my apology, then asked as if she hadn't heard right.
｢What'd you say? Say it again.｣
"Sorry I didn't trust you."
Her mouth gaped at my second apology.
"I judged rashly. Won't happen again."
｢Honestly, I can't believe it. Say it once more.｣
"...Sorry. I'll be careful from now on."
Realizing my sincerity, she stopped teasing. Her eyes met mine seriously.
｢Got it. Not sure I deserve it, but Adhai was left unprotected. So, sorry from me too.｣
"Understood."
｢Then we're square.｣
"Agreed."
I nodded, and she sighed.
｢Wow. Never thought I'd hear the morph bastard apologize—in a game or anywhere. Unbelievable.｣
She shook her head, tone a mix of awe and mockery.
I considered pointing out I'd never done anything apology-worthy to her in-game but let it go.
'Tch. I was in the wrong.'
Then, movement from the sub-engine: rhythmic footsteps, tense heartbeat, sweat-mixed-metal scent.
Easy to identify the enemy.
[Zuzuzu (Enemy)]
｢Yeah.｣
She noticed a beat later, eyes on the trees.
｢Cult survivors. Numbers...｣
[Zu (Six)]
｢Armed with purple spray guns at best—pretty primitive otherwise.｣
[Zuzuzu zuzu (Not a challenge)]
Perfect opponents to shake off the rust after a day of rest.