Chaos' Heir

Chapter 957: Affection



Khan looked at Lieutenant Dyester, but the latter remained unaffected by the blue light illuminating his figure. He kept inspecting the holograms, seemingly unaware of Khan's attention.

Theoretically, Lieutenant Dyester was Khan's most capable soldier. He also had a wide range of abilities, and his fire almost matched Khan's chaos. The two also were at the same level, but that had little meaning when Khan was involved.

Khan didn't doubt Lieutenant Dyester's ability to survive the battlefield. The old soldier could probably deal with monsters as strong as fifth-level warriors. Khan simply didn't like to put his life in danger when he could handle everything alone, but clearly, the decision had deeper reasons.

"Leave," Khan ordered, and everyone understood his hidden meaning. Moses, Prince Richard, Garret, and Bruno entered the elevator, returning to the surface to give Khan and Lieutenant Dyester privacy.

"What are you doing?" Khan asked once he felt the elevator reaching the surface.

"Learning through imitation," Lieutenant Dyester responded, his eyes still on the holograms.

"No one should learn from me," Khan declared.

"Then you shouldn't do it, either," Lieutenant Dyester exclaimed, finally meeting Khan's bright gaze.

That challenge to Khan's authority was nothing new for him. Lieutenant Dyester was actually the only one in the entire army who could question Khan's decisions. Still, the matter had long since grown annoying, and Khan only allowed it due to the deep concern at its foundation.

"Why do you keep doing this?" Khan asked. "It's safer for everyone if I'm the only one out there."

"This alpha has unknown abilities," Lieutenant Dyester pointed out. "The safer strategy would be to draw it out, but I knew you would have jumped into the fray."

"It doesn't explain why you would join me," Khan pointed out.

"I felt like getting a piece of the action," Lieutenant Dyester groaned. "I'll get rusty if I keep fighting on the frontline."

"How does that make any sense?" Khan chuckled, waiting for Lieutenant Dyester to drop the jokes. Luckily, the Lieutenant understood Khan's intention and didn't make him wait too long.

"I once told you to figure out how Generals think," Lieutenant Dyester explained. "Your method is unusual, but it works. I figured I should imitate it since I'm covering the same role."

"You know I can do what I do because I'm me," Khan stated.

"And I'm supposed to lead your troops," Lieutenant Dyester announced. "I should at least be able to follow part of your example."

The staring competition grew more intense, but Lieutenant Dyester eventually diverted his gaze, heaving a helpless sigh. His hands went to the interactive table, messing with the menus to inspect the holograms from different angles, but his mind barely recorded those images.

"Are you worried about this old soldier?" Lieutenant Dyester asked.

"Of course," Khan confirmed.

"Good," Lieutenant Dyester uttered. "At least you'll know how we feel."

Khan couldn't help but smile and lower his gaze. He knew what Lieutenant Dyester was doing. Khan had tasked him with that job when he recruited him. Sadly, those good intentions were bound to work against the Lieutenant.

Master Carl wanted to keep Khan grounded, using himself as the perfect mirror for everyone's emotions. Khan couldn't cut himself off when someone made him experience what his loved ones felt toward him. Khan's moral compass couldn't go astray before that deep affection. That plot was heartwarming for Khan. He was truly loved, and that feeling wasn't one-sided. However, that only bolstered his determination. Those few affections were what made him decide to save the universe, and doing so required power far beyond what humans could achieve.

"Just don't die on me, old man," Khan scoffed.

"I plan on living forever," Lieutenant Dyester joked, making a beckoning gesture toward the bottle in Khan's hands.

Khan handed the bottle over while remaining silent. Lieutenant Dyester took the lack of rebukes as agreement, which was partially true. Yet, he failed to read Khan's real thoughts.

'You must stay alive, old man,' Khan thought. 'I need you to be there if I ever were to leave.'

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The relative understanding reached between Lieutenant Dyester and Khan allowed the war council to finalize the battle strategy and prepare accordingly.

New trenches appeared behind the old ones, and turrets joined their ranks, reinforcing those defensive perimeters.

Platoons of Scalqa occupied the trenches, aiming their rifles and chaos-enhanced spears forward. The army planned to funnel the pack through those grooves, using the turrets to protect their sides. The monsters were bound to suffer heavy losses in the initial assault, but no one believed simple weapons would be enough.

Bruno was somewhere behind the trenches with the rest of the army, Prince Richard, Moses, and Roger. Further behind, the scientists were ready to unleash the strongest version yet of the pheromone. The pack would go crazy after catching its scent, which worked perfectly for

Khan.

As for Khan, he sat at the edge of the first trench, with Lieutenant Dyester peeking at the horizon from the hole behind him. The two would jump into the middle of the pack after sizing the situation, and their presence alone bolstered their companions' morale. The Scalqa at their sides would charge forward if it weren't for Khan's direct orders.

"Don't fly off by yourself," Lieutenant Dyester reminded. "Remember, we must flush out the leaders first."

"I'll see them as soon as the pack arrives," Khan reassured. "Be ready to be thrown off into the battlefield."

"I can't wait," Lieutenant Dyester snorted.

"Don't tell me you like flying with me now?" Khan teased. "I'm afraid you are not my type."

"Brat," Lieutenant Dyester cursed. "I'm just happy we can finally leave this planet."

"Yes," Khan agreed. "It's about time."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Khan drew his phone from his trousers and sent a message. A confirmation reached his device almost immediately, and something changed in the symphony. A smell humans couldn't perceive invaded the quadrant and spread into its surroundings, attracting specific

specimens.

For a while, everything remained silent, but Khan kept his eyes on the white horizon, seeing far past the scanners' range. Still, he remained silent. He didn't need to give warnings since the ground soon began to shake.