Skyfire Avenue - Chapter 729

Chapter 729

Chapter 729: Enemy Objectives

Lan Jue was overjoyed . “That’s excellent! Figuring out their motive has been the biggest headache . ”

“Mh . ” The Pharmacist nodded . “He was dispatched with earlier scout teams, lured in by the fact that they looked like normal planets . They approached with their guard down, and made curious by the strange energy readings . None of them expected it would be their last journey . ”

“When they got close they found the lesser aliens . His squad was elite, and after a bitter fight they put the enemy down . That’s when they found the vital crystals . But, just as they were preparing to leave with the information another beast appeared . It was the one we now call Monarch . The leader of these evil creatures . ”

“My husband didn’t tell me what he looked like . Only that he was strong… so strong . They had no way to fight back . He and his compatriots were captured . They weren’t killed, but rather imprisoned . My husband is a smart man, so he didn’t use Ultus in the fight against the Monarch . He couldn’t fully control the blade, and he wanted to give himself a chance to escape . ”

“Once they were captures the aliens used some alien method to drain their life force . Then they used psychic force to probe their minds . My husband realized that hiding Ultus held no more purpose . Once his life force was entirely drained they would kill him, so he chose to risk his life for his fellows . But, even with the Banishing Blade Monarch was too strong, and they were recaptured . ”

Here the Pharmacist paused . Her face was pained, as though she were drawing on her own memories . She deeply understood the helplessness he’d felt, the pointlessness of his fight . No one would come to save them . He was facing death .

“After their failed escape the aliens began to dissect them to learn what they could from their bodies . ” She growled the words, a flash of anger in her eyes . “My husband had to watch as they were killed one by one . He knew eventually his turn would come . But before it came to him the Monarch called its Queen . She devoured his team leader, absorbed her DNA, and took on her likeness . She wanted to use my husband to…”

Her face reddened and she paused .

Lan Jue nodded . “I understand . Go on . ”

“That was the situation he faced,” she continued . “He loved me, and how could he even consider being defiled by such a loathsome creature? He summoned all of his energy from his Core . When he and I joined with our weapons we were inexorably tied to them . However, as my husband’s mind and body burned from the effort, a portion of his will was seared into Ultus . It became something like a sword spirit . He tried to call all of that power to take him and Ultus away from Monarch, but somehow the alien master was able to seal him away . So in a way he is did, but he is also alive . If we can get Ultus then I can see him again, the same way we see Jun Yongye . ”

The pain in her features gave way to burning hope . The chance of seeing her long-lost husband again was the only thing keeping her going .

Lan Jue sighed and took the Pharmacist’s hand into his own . “We will do everything we can to get that sword back . ”

“I know . ” She said, nodding her head gently . She continued . “The Violet Monarch is very interested in Ultus . He must have felt its power . But he is not human and can’t use it . So my husband decided to use that to his advantage . He pretended to capitulate so the sword would remain whole and unsealed . If the Monarch locked the sword away he would have no chance to flee . So, he controlled the sword so that the Monarch might use it and bided his time . We were accidentally the chance he’s been waiting for . ”

As he listened Lan Jue couldn’t help but be filled with admiration for this man he’d never met . He endured the unendurable for years, waiting for his chance . It wasn’t for himself – his body was gone – he suffered unimaginably for the future of humanity! So that mankind could survive the alien threat!

No wonder he could impart his knowledge to the Pharmacist in such detail . He was never fully under the Monarch’s control . After all, the Banishing Blades were legendary weapons created by humans, how could an alien creature master it? Even the mightiest immortals feared facing them . No matter how strong the alien planets became, they could never surpass the power of the immortals of old .

The Pharmacist went on . “He told me that the planets are living things, the source of the alien horde . In many ways the other aliens are like cells from a host . Already they have evolved to their apex, any further would call the wrath of universal protogenia . They rely on tricks and other methods to hide themselves from notice . ”

Lan Jue’s eyes sparkled as he listened . No one understood the aliens better than the Pharmacist lost love . Anything he shared with them was priceless .

“They’ve come up with many ways to protect themselves,” she continued . “Hiding as planets is one . The resonating power of a planet veils them from universal retribution and slows down the cost in loss of lifespan . Constantly stealing vital energy also restores that which universal protogenia consumes . We’ve guessed all of this, and my husband confirms it . He also told me that teleportation comes at a great cost in life force, so it isn’t something they can perform often . They must first accumulate enough power before they can attempt it, and to do this they shed ‘cells’ to gather what they can . Those are the lesser aliens we see . ”

Lan Jue blinked . “So those aliens are actually part of the bigger ones? Actual cells?”

She nodded . “Yes . They all look differently, but they all have something in common and that is their vital crystals . They are the cells of the alien worlds . What accounts for their outward appearance is the DNA they absorb from the creatures they kill . Put another way, the smaller aliens are cells wrapped in the best traits of their victims . Even creatures like the Violet Prince and Princess are inexorable parts of the planets they come from . ”

It was the first time the thought occurred to him . Obviously it was an important piece of information for their struggle . The Pharmacist kept going .

“Their evolutionary process has been long and full of struggle . When they discovered humanity and the potential our DNA possesses, they found a way to evade universal protogenia . The Prince and Princess are their first trials, as well as the Monarch himself . ”

“While experimenting on their human captives, the aliens also may have discovered a way to create a new realm of their own, like the Heavens of the ancient days where immortals resided . But to do so they need more ancient genes from our people . If they get enough it can help them research the methods needed to build their paradise . What this means for us is that their search will never stop until we’re all dead . They’ll slaughter every one of us to find what they need . ”

Lan Jue was stunned . “That’s their ultimate goal? To create their own immortal realm?”

“No!” The Pharmacist shook her head . “Ultimately their goal is evolution – forever adapting and growing . A realm of their own is a manifestation of that singular purpose, so that they have a place to continuing getting stronger . They believe that eventually they can develop the ability to face and overcome universal protogenia . When that happens they can make their own . In essence, rule the laws of the universe, and thus the universe itself . That is their goal, in fact the goal of any intelligent race, humans included . The only thing that makes us different is we aren’t willing to commit genocide to achieve it . ”