After about an hour of preparation through the Nexus space station’s schematics and the infiltration plan, Emery together with Julian, Stildar, Bardock, and Minister Otto took the ship and flew up toward the space station.
“We are just about to exit the atmosphere. Our current position is 420 miles to the space station,” said Bardock, who was currently fiddling with the control panel piloting the ship.
It was going to be a one hour flight and in the meantime, Julian was busy trying out the Solar Suit that he took from Magus Rodric.
He needed to do everything he could to increase their chances of success. Since he had proficiency in the fire element, the suit would definitely increase his power even further.
After making sure the suit was attached to his body, Julian started to tested it by powering it up with a Solar Stone
[Your battle power increased]
[Your spirit force increased]
[Julian Kaesar]
[Acolyte rank 9 – High stage 8 pillar]
[Battle power 138 (158)]
[Spirit force 920 (970)]
[Earth – 3 pillars]
[Fire – 3 pillars]
[Metal – 2 pillars]
A shocked yet impressed expression appeared on the Romans face when he saw the advantage the suit gave. How could he not? Just at the cost of a single Solar Stone, the wearer would obtain an additional 20 battle power and 50 spirit force!
“This suit is amazing!”
“That much is nothing. In fact, it will provide even better enhancement if you are a magus.”
The Minister of Science had a proud look on his face as he said those words. He went on to say that the hardest part of creating the suit was the energy converter.
Only after years of countless trials and failures did he finally find a way to convert the thermal energy of the Solar Stone into energy that was beneficial to the fire element users.
Joining the conversation, Stildar said how the three flaming brothers were very eager to have one, but never had the chance to do so because the suit itself was something exclusive for the Nexus magus.
Hearing such words, Julian fell into deep contemplation. He had his suspicions that Otto was someone extraordinary, and it only grew when the Nexus dispatched three magus to just rescue him.
“I still don’t understand why you betray your own race? I’m quite sure that the Magus Alliance has much need for someone like you.”
Otto fell silent at the question. A while later, he finally spoke about the dilemma he was facing. Apparently, the man was stuck between a rock and a hard place; one was betraying the faction, and the other was betraying the magus alliance, or rather, the human race.
“My grandfather, and then my father, was also a Nexus scientist. It took three entire generations of my family to finally bring about the miracle that is now called the Replicator. I simply can not leave behind such a legacy.” The man said with a downfall tone.
Emery looked thoughtful when he heard such a story. A hesitant look appeared on his face for a moment before he said, “Still, Mister Otto, I wonder if they wish their legacy would involve the deaths of 30 million people.”
Silence fell at those words, before Bardock’s voice shattered the atmosphere.
“We’ve got company!”
Everyone quickly walked over to Bardock, their attention fixed on the screen on the control panel. It was shown that dozens of objects, most likely mechanized drones, have approached their ship from the space station.
This was just as expected, with them using the ship that the three mages had previously boarded, the Nexus faction would quickly find their arrival.
As the mechanical drones approached their ship like a swarm of furious bees, Bardock quickly controlled the ship to maneuver past them, finding the shortest yet safest path to the space station.
With them being in space, the drones did not use the explosive tubes they used to wreak havoc in the previous battle. Instead, they used energy lasers as means of attack, which had the same destructive power but could only be fired once every several seconds. Still, with the number of drones present, Bardock’s piloting skill was put to a great test.
BAMMM!!!
Everyone could clearly feel the ship shaking violently every time the laser hit it, but as expected of something worthy of three magus to use, it was still going strong even under such bombardment.
“How far are we from the space station now?!”
“85 more miles!”
Hearing the distance, Julian turned to look at Emery who had his eyes closed. This entire time he had been concentrating his mind to lock his [Spatial Gate]’s coordinate on the space station. Unfortunately, with them in space, it was ten times more difficult to perform the task than usual.
BAM! Another laser struck the ship, and it shook even more violently.
“I’m not much of a pilot, guys!” shouted Burdock who had sweat all over his face. “Whatever it is you guys are trying to do, the sooner the better!”
“We are still too far away! We have to be 10 or at least 20 miles from the station!”
“WHAT?! That’s just impossible!!”
****
From the bridge where the Nexus space station command center was located, three dozen men in uniforms could be seen focusing their attention on the nearby screen, watching moving images of a certain ship being chased by dozens of drones.
“Target is currently within 50 miles!”
“Sir, the fighter ships have been deployed!”
Answering the report was a middle-aged man who exudes an oppressive and imposing aura. It was the Royal Commander of the Nexus faction.
“Good! Do not let the ship come any closer!”
“Yes, Sir!” replied the officer who reported earlier.
At this moment, someone who seemed to be an advisor leaned closer to the commander saying, “Should we use the Star Blaster, Sir?”
The commander seemed to think about the idea for a while before shaking his head.
“No, it’s just one ship. It will be a waste of solar pow–”
“Sir, the ship got past our drones and fighter ships!”
“What!?” the commander quickly shifted his eyes to the nearby screen, his voice raised. “How could it be possible? You all are morons! Activate the turret cannons now! Blast them into smithereens!!”
Space station exterior, the muzzle of the dozens of turret cannons installed quickly moved aiming towards the approaching sole ship. When they were all in position, a blinding light appeared at the tips of their muzzles before the dark space flared up like fireworks.
When all the light died down, the only thing left in space was the wrecked remains of a ship that drifted aimlessly in the void. Seeing the live transmission on the screen in the command center, all the uniformed people including the commander breathed a sigh of relief. They were glad that they succeeded.
However, the authoritative voice of the commander quickly sounded in the air again.
“There is a magus among them. Scan for any sign of life.”
The military officers quickly proceeded exactly as instructed. A few moments later, the results came out.
“Sir, the scan is complete. There is no sign of life, all dead.”
However, the commander didn’t seem happy with the outcome. He knew that a magus wouldn’t die so easily, so he couldn’t help but suspect that something was wrong.
It was at this time that the door to the command center suddenly opened and five figures walked in. They all wore distinctive blue cloaks, which made even the commander of Nexus, the one with the highest authority present silent out of respect.
The man standing in the center of the five opened his mouth saying, “They have a space magic caster among them. Check if there are any magus level individuals inside the space station instead.”
The commander nodded and quickly ordered his men to do as asked. It didn’t take long for the result to appear. “It’s done, Sir! Other than the five signatures present in this room, there’s one detected in Deck 5.”
“Good!” The man then turned and spoke to his four companions. “Come on, comrades. This Is why the principal called us back.”