After five days of no progress, the flagship moved again. The original system went dormant, and the new magic stone navigation system, unaffected by the magnetic field, allowed the alarms to remain silent as the flagship smoothly navigated through the magnetic field zone.
Seeing everything going smoothly, everyone in the command room breathed a sigh of relief. Their gazes fell on Chu Rong and Qiao Zhiya, who stood side by side, one navigating and the other guiding. Their cooperation was seamless, and smiles appeared on the faces of those watching.
Qiao Yi and Mi Lai exchanged glances and held hands.
After traveling for more than an hour, the chaotic mass of asteroids gradually revealed a clear area ahead.
Everyone became more alert, and Chu Rong instructed, “The asteroid belt is about to clear. Accelerate our course.”
Qiao Zhiya immediately increased the magic output, carefully maneuvering to avoid the asteroids in their path.
Suddenly, as they emerged from the surrounding asteroids, a beam of golden light burst from the magic stone, and the flagship seemed to be enveloped by something, surging forward rapidly. A normal sky unfolded before their eyes.
“It’s a planet! We made it!” Yuan Lie couldn’t contain his excitement, shouting as he saw the gray-brown planet displayed on the screen.
Everyone in the command room breathed a collective sigh of relief, their expressions a mix of emotion and excitement.
After a month of searching, being led around in circles and toyed with by the monster, they had finally found the monster’s lair. It wasn’t easy.
Qiao Zhiya also relaxed, and as soon as his shoulders loosened, a hand holding a piece of jade reached out, accompanied by a familiar presence.
“You did great.” Chu Rong embraced him with one arm, kissed his forehead, and said with satisfaction and pride, “You did very well.”
Qiao Zhiya looked up at him, unable to suppress a smile. He reached out to grasp Chu Rong’s hand, along with the jade, and leaned his head against Chu Rong’s chest, completely relaxing.
Upon reaching their destination, Chu Rong didn’t immediately land to search for the monster. Instead, he instructed Yuan Lie and Neitaxi to take their respective flagships and troops back to the ship for rest, planning to survey the situation first. The planet below, being the monster’s lair, was likely fraught with dangers, and rushing in would be unwise.
The three flagships, after some rest, resumed their formation. Chu Rong led the descent, hovering at a height sufficient to observe the planet, and began scanning the surface with high-intensity detection equipment. The results left everyone gasping.
The surface was covered in a slimy substance, all from the Zerg’s mucus. The planet was barren, with exposed gray-brown soil covered in Zerg slime.
There were no mutated yellow leaf trees, no forests, no water sources — just a barren, desolate landscape.
“The monster destroyed this planet,” Lin Zhen observed without emotion as he looked at the scene below. “There are numerous biological signals. Beneath this slime and soil, it’s likely not normal ground, but countless Zerg.”
The thought of digging into the soil to find it filled with Zerg sent shivers through everyone, their brows deeply furrowed.
The situation was worse than they had anticipated. Finding a monster the size of a small mecha amidst countless Zerg on a planetary scale was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Chu Rong, looking at the mucus-covered ground, paused his finger on the control panel and ordered, “Spray fuel, burn them all down.”
Given the unknown and dangerous situation, sending soldiers down to clear out the Zerg was not an option. With no native vegetation to consider, the simplest and most brutal method was the most effective.
The crew, after exchanging glances and then looking at the mucus-covered ground, quickly set to work.
The three flagships soon lined up together, flying steadily over the planet while spraying fuel and dropping incendiary bombs. Flames spread across the surface, the stench of burning Zerg rising, and the ground began to writhe as the Zerg screeched.
The sight of the planet seemingly riddled with malignant growths was hair-raising. Mi Lai, unable to bear it, left for the adjoining conference room. Qiao Zhiya, also uncomfortable, furrowed his brow but stayed, standing by Chu Rong’s side.
Chu Rong felt a warmth in his heart and, holding Qiao Zhiya’s hand reassuringly, observed the ground below. “Prepare for an attack. The Zerg under the ground are about to retaliate.”
Fan Xiangnan responded promptly, and Lin Zhen went to inform Yuan Lie and Neitaxi to be ready for combat.
As the flames spread, the previously dormant Zerg beneath the ground finally reacted, bursting through the surface and converging towards the flagships. The flagships responded with bombardments, continuing to spray fuel.
The sky above the planet soon filled with smoke and swarms of Zerg, turning the sky a dark, apocalyptic gray.
Despite the Zerg’s ferocious assault, the three flagships maintained their steady flight, dropping incendiary bombs one after another. When the Zerg’s attack became overwhelming, Qiao Yi and Qiao Zhiya occasionally released wood-elemental magic to feed the firepower of the flagship’s cannons, easing the pressure on the ships.
Soldiers also went out in mechas to fight off waves of Zerg, but they stayed close to the flagships, not landing on the ground.
A day passed, and thanks to the wood-elemental magic’s enhancement, a large part of the Zerg-infested planet was engulfed in flames. The stench of burning Zerg permeated the flagships.
While the others could block out the smell with basic hygiene measures, the dwarves and elves, with their sensitive senses, suffered greatly. The stench clung to Qiao Zhiya’s family, making them feel faint.
In the end, Qiao Yi drew an isolation array and released some plant essences to improve the surrounding air, making Mi Lai and Qiao Zhiya feel a bit better.
Chu Rong looked at Qiao Zhiya’s reddened nose, which he had rubbed himself, with concern. He gently patted his head and comforted him, saying softly, “Just one more round of burning, and it will be over. The number of Zergs has already decreased.”
Qiao Zhiya tilted his head to rub against Chu Rong’s hand and said, “It’s okay. The soldiers fighting outside have it worse than I do. Next time, I’ll add an anti-toxin program when designing the mechas. I overlooked it this time.”
The gas released from burning Zerg mucus caused headaches and nausea if inhaled for too long, definitely classifying it as toxic gas.
Another two days passed, and the planet beneath them turned into a fireball, with fewer and fewer Zerg attacking.
Chu Rong ordered the flagship to ascend as high as possible and hover to rest while waiting for the fires below to subside.
The fires burned for three days. When they finally extinguished, the originally gray-brown planet had turned gray-black, with floating ash and dust giving the illusion that the planet might be on the verge of disintegration.
“Descend and conduct another scan,” Chu Rong commanded. Everyone immediately got to work, and the flagship began to descend.
The new round of scanning quickly returned data—there were no longer any biological signals below. In other words, the Zerg surrounding the planet had all been incinerated.
Chu Rong then ordered the flagship to land, and as it neared the ground, he directed several volleys of cannon fire at the gray-black surface, causing ashes to explode and revealing a brown crater below.
“It’s the ground,” Fan Xiangnan sighed in relief, glad it wasn’t more Zerg.
Chu Rong’s tense expression relaxed slightly as he instructed, “Clear away the ashes in this area and prepare to land.”
Everyone responded, dispersing to their tasks.
The ash layer was thick, about several dozen meters deep, mixed with soil, making it a laborious job to clear. By the time the flagship touched down on solid ground, another day had passed.
Chu Rong, Fan Xiangnan, and others donned protective suits and were the first to disembark. Yuan Lie and Neitaxi also led teams down from their respective flagships.
The brown soil beneath their feet had a distinct earthy smell. Chu Rong squatted down, picked up a handful, and noticed traces of burnt plant roots, suggesting that there was life here before. This realization struck him as he looked over the cleared safe area and the distant heaps of ash. “This is the real surface. The Zerg layer we burned was just a disguise covering the planet.”
The planet wasn’t dead – it had been encased by the Zerg. Or rather, the monster, upon detecting their arrival, hastily covered the planet’s surface with Zerg, erasing signs of life to create the illusion that the planet had been overrun by Zerg, hoping to scare them away.
“They have nowhere left to run, resorting to desperate measures to delay us,” Yuan Lie added, looking at the devastated planet with sorrow. Any living planet was worth cherishing, but this one had been reduced to a lifeless state.
Neitaxi frowned, looking at the ground beneath them. “We need to dig out the monster.”
Chu Rong didn’t respond, instead kneeling down and placing his hand on the ground, releasing his spiritual power.
The others, understanding, spread out around him, guarding him and staying alert.
Seeing this from the ship, Qiao Zhiya wanted to go down to help but hesitated, glancing at his worried parents before stopping.
Chu Rong’s spiritual power penetrated the ground, spreading deeper until it reached about a hundred meters down, where dense biological signals began to return — indicating the presence of numerous Zerg beneath the real soil.
Frowning, Chu Rong transformed his spiritual power into thin blades, slicing further down until they touched true soil again, then he detonated his spiritual power, quickly withdrawing it back to the surface.
The ground began to tremble, and everyone tensed up, alert. A muffled rumble was followed by a massive crack in the ground, spewing out soil and Zerg corpses. Chu Rong stood up and ordered, “Retreat to the flagship, quickly.”
Everyone started retreating to the flagship as Zerg cries filled the air. The hatch doors closed urgently, while the surviving Zergs swarmed out, agitated by the ashes of their kin, and charged aggressively at the flagship.
Chu Rong quickly returned to the command room, removing his protective gloves, and ordered, “Continue burning, target the crevice’s depths!”
‘Burn more?’
After a moment’s hesitation, everyone quickly followed the order. The flagship ascended, pouring fuel into the crevice and dropping incendiary bombs like rain. Flames rose again, black smoke billowing from the crevice, and a foul odor filled the air.
The flagship began bombarding the approaching Zerg, and soldiers prepared for battle.
As the intense burning continued, the planet’s surface seemed to tremble slightly, visible even on the monitors.
After the flames rose, the number of Zergs emerging gradually decreased until there were none.
With the situation stabilized, Chu Rong relaxed his tense nerves and began arranging shifts for everyone to rest. This task of clearing the Zerg from the planet’s depths would be a long and arduous one, and staying on guard was a waste of energy.
Qiao Zhiya once again found himself sleeping on the long sofa in the command room, keeping watch over the crevice with Chu Rong.
