Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Arrival on Yuma Planet
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We arrived at Yuma Planet.
The battleship snapped into combat readiness the instant it dropped out of drive, swiveling its secondary batteries toward the planet.
"Approximately thirty ships in planetary orbit."
"Incoming transmission."
A man's hologram flickered to life.
The first thing that caught the eye was hair as white as Merdi's.
-Greetings. I am Chairman Asana, head of the Yuma Planet government.
"I'm Colonel Kabaski, commander of the Union fleet."
-Welcome. Might I ask what brings the Union to our planet? We have no further business with you.
"Bold."
-Pardon? Bold? I'm afraid I don't follow.
Asana, the man who'd introduced himself, played innocent.
"Five days and fourteen hours ago, hostile action against a superhuman was detected from Yuma Planet. That's why I'm here—to punish it."
-When did this superhuman ever come to our planet?
"Given the scale of the military action at the time, the only ones capable are you lot, calling yourselves the planetary government."
The captain didn't blink, pressing on steadily.
But Asana was no slouch either.
He kept denying any involvement, feigning utter confusion.
-Yuma Planet lost Union protection long ago. Pirates who have it out for us drop by now and then. We've run defensive ops against them, sure, but we've never attacked any superhuman.
"That's unconvincing."
-It's true. Maybe that superhuman got hit by pirates.
The captain glanced my way.
I shook my head, face grim.
'No.'
Asana's play was smart.
Best move he could make in this spot.
But if he truly grasped how aggressive the Union punitive force could be, he wouldn't look so calm.
'They wouldn't even hear him out—they'd open fire first.'
We'd already gathered enough intel to peg the other side as a criminal outfit.
Even if Asana was telling the truth and pirates did it, without ironclad proof right now, we'd treat them as accomplices and hit them anyway.
Crimes against superhumans were that serious.
Luckily, my prior persuasion had sunk in, and the captain offered a delay tactic.
"Prove within forty-eight hours that you're not involved in the hostile action against the superhuman."
-Why should we have to...
"If evidence is insufficient or flight is suspected, I'll issue attack orders immediately."
-That's...
"Also, we'll dispatch investigators during this grace period."
-Investigators too?
"This is a notification. Refuse, and we'll deem it admission or cover-up and commence punishment at once."
Asana's face twitched.
You could almost see the gears turning inside.
But lacking the guts to refuse outright, he nodded.
"...Understood. Just don't expect our cooperation. Getting hit with this ridiculous misunderstanding is bad enough."
Asana cut the comms first, reeking of irritation.
The captain eyed the empty hologram space for a beat, then approached me.
"You heard? Forty-eight hours."
"Plenty."
No plans to drag this out.
Asana's side wouldn't waste the time proving innocence either.
They'd scheme something else.
With our forces here stretched thin, they might figure they could distract us and bolt.
'By tomorrow, that won't even be an option.'
We'd rushed here, so right now it was just one battleship—but reinforcements would land in a day.
And the planetary government's real muscle was all ground forces.
Plenty of ships, sure, but most packed just one or two turrets.
Staying put in orbit would pressure them plenty.
"This the spot for sure?"
-Beep! Based on collected data, crash probability within 10km radius of target: over 93%.
I set out on the search with a handful of soldiers the captain assigned.
Pinpointing the crash site was key, and R3D3's computing power nailed it fast.
'Good.'
Nailing the crash site meant high odds those two survived.
The area around the projected crash was a mess.
Forest shredded, blast marks scarring a wide swath.
"They didn't even hide the traces properly."
-The planetary government lacks capacity to erase traces like this quickly.
"Not even trying?"
-Beep! Master. Weak signal jamming detected.
"From where?"
I fired back at R3D3's alert.
In this situation, jamming could be a big clue.
Cut it, and we might reach the two.
But at the spot R3D3 led us to, disappointment set in.
*......It's an installation."
The jamming pulsed from pillars stabbed into the ground.
Nothing on them linked to any group.
'They'll play dumb again.'
Not just one.
Dotted thick around at intervals, by the look.
I gritted my teeth.
"Remove these first, all of them."
No point planting them randomly.
They did it because the two were close.
Better stick to the direct approach over fancy tricks.
"We'll help too."
The soldiers with me stepped up.
I nodded quick.
Poles every 500m at least, hundreds probably.
No way to turn down extra hands.
With R3D3 guiding, we started yanking the nearest ones.
Simple build, easy to pull despite the numbers.
Then, mid-job, we hit a key find.
"Blood...?"
Dark stains on the ground.
Not animal.
R3D3 sampled and spat out gene results on the spot.
-Beep! Merdi-nim's blood.
"How old?"
-Traces from about two days ago.
"Show the map."
I drew a line from crash site to here.
Not a straight flee, but blood and other signs could map a rough path.
Plus, Merdi was still hurt, likely.
Meaning Roze carried her—straight and efficient, not zigzags.
'...Wouldn't go far with an injured person.'
"Scout extra traces with spy drones. No missing footprints."
-Beep!
A leg detached, splitting into r3 and d3.
The two spy drones fanned out, hunting blast-cut trails wide.
Footprints popped soon after.
"Let's move!"
The chase picked up speed.
Just seven hours since landing on Yuma Planet.
Might find them faster than planned.
We tracked to a cave—prime hideout for the pair.
"...Too late?"
-Traces cut off completely.
Sadly, the cave was empty.
Floor held spilled food scraps, proof they'd holed up awhile.
I brushed the spot where Merdi must've lain.
Still felt warm, somehow.
'They were definitely here.' Where to now?
Traces showed three people's worth.
A third party visitor.
No fight signs, so the two went willingly.
"Superhuman-nim!"
A soldier on watch outside rushed in.
I sensed trouble and bolted out.
Rumble!
Thunder-like roar from the sky.
"That...?"
Too far to see clear, but a swarm hitting one target.
The target under fire? Our Union's battleship.
'Who?'
Not planetary government.
Those weak ships launching first strike?
It'd be over quick, not this back-and-forth.
"Pirates!"
The soldier cleared it up.
He'd gotten word ahead, briefing me.
"...Pirates."
A pirate flotilla of small fighters.
I sighed inwardly.
Didn't see this coming.
Since attacking the superhuman, they'd been all-in.
Knew we'd send punishers quick.
No way they'd sit and wait to die.
As expected, ground attacks on the battleship kicked off too—linked to the government?
"Superhuman-nim! What do we do?"
The soldier's face shook with panic.
Before I could answer, things worsened.
-Beep! Strong jamming signal detected.
With R3D3's ping, something streaked my way.
I shoved the soldier back reflexively, batting it aside.
Boom!
Tank round, by the look.
"Intercept!"
Barrage kept coming.
I tasked R3D3 with some defense, hunting launch points.
'Far...!' Attacks from 20km-plus out.
Multiple sites, not one cluster.
Could close and smash a bunch, but scattered? Too long.
'They prepped this.' No interference earlier? Planned from jump.
Watch my moves, then hit battleship and me together when it popped off.
"Move!"
"...Y-Yes sir!"
The soldier snapped out of it, tailing my lead.
The jammer teams I'd split off? Probably wiped already.
"Can you take those out?"
-Beep! Spy drones en route.
I glanced skyward.
'Please...!' Prayed the captain chose retreat over rash rescue.
One battleship couldn't tank a pirate swarm long.
Slim odds on saving me anyway—better pull back, link with incoming Union forces, crush fast.
Mercifully, Kabaski reversed thrust next instant, pulling away from the planet—like he'd heard me.
"Ahh...!"
The soldier groaned in dismay.
Captain's call was best here, but losing the lone lifeline stung—I got it.
I hauled the soldier along anyway, pushing on.
-Spy drones destroyed two tanks!
"Good!
-Don't relax. Twenty left, reinforcements incoming.
Bad shape.
I checked the sky again.
'Hide quick.' Miss the retreating ship, fire turns to me.
Even my tricks might not hold.
Best bet: Hide like Roze and Merdi did.
Tag for two hours, cat-and-mouse.
Soldier near collapse from exhaustion, but alive—we'd half-broken the net.
Spy drones shone.
Both wrecked, but downed eight tanks, sowed chaos.
Carrying the soldier piggyback, I moved silent, breath steady.
No more space battle flashes up top.
'Battleship escaped.'
Worst case, we pulled best possible.
Lifted my head thinking that—then massive fireball bloomed far in space.
"Ah...!"
Drive gate explosion.