Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Chapter 348: A Warrior's Growth

The divine bird looked incredibly murderous with its eyes open. It was clearly stronger than before, and gold light was coming from both its eyes. King Nichnawa stepped forth while chanting. Before long, the chant helped the divine bird stand up. It spread its wings, flapped a few times, and took off into the sky. It started flying above Gero City.

"The divine bird was saved by King Nichnawa from death and was even upgraded. To thank the king, the divine bird became Gero City's guardian," I concluded.

Right at that moment, the scene stopped. The divine bird shrieked loudly and dove down with me in tow. It only took the divine bird a short while to reach an altitude of one kilometer above the surface. There, it started flying straight ahead.

"Canyue, can you hear me? We can see you from down here," Zhang Bao'er was calling out to me.

"Yes, I can hear you. Are you still at the chimney? I don't know where the divine bird is taking me," I said. I felt very happy to hear Zhang Bao'er's voice once again.

"We're safe here. When we lost contact with you, I almost turned on the regular frequencies," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Be patient. Don't disobey the commander's order. If I encounter any trouble, I will send you an emergency signal. It won't be too late to turn on the regular frequencies then," I said.

The divine bird continued flying, and gradually, my call with Zhang Bao'er became unclear before fully cutting off. I tightly held onto the divine bird's claw, afraid that I would fall down if I was careless.

The terrain below kept changing rapidly. Although I was a kilometer in the sky, I could still hear the planet's loud rumbles. After I spent about an hour flying and crossing numerous different landscapes, a familiar mountain peak appeared ahead of me.

I did not stay shocked for long. The mountain peak ahead of me was none other than the mountain peak I saw in the scene shown by the divine bird, the place where it was nearly killed.

"Why did the divine bird bring me here?" I asked doubtfully.

The mountain peak was still as steep as ever. The divine bird dove down from the sky. Before long, we landed on a relatively flat meadow in a valley. All around the meadow were towering trees, and sounds of numerous different animals could be heard in the background. Suddenly, I felt a massive strength lift me up. When I turned around, I saw that it was the divine bird lifting me with its beak. It placed me on the ground.

"I have King Carter's highest authority. Why are you leaving me here?" I questioned.

However, the divine bird ignored me and soared into the sky, vanishing into the darkness. That left me completely confused, not understanding why the divine bird had left me there. The numerous sounds coming from the darkness around me made me uneasy. At that point, I only had an hour left until Zhang Xingxing's appointed withdrawal time.

I gripped my gun instinctively and placed my back on a boulder. With my laser probe, I started scanning my surroundings. Oddly, this valley seemed to have a natural concealment effect. My laser scans could not reach more than three meters away. Any electromagnetic wave I released would be absorbed by the valley itself, and even my naked eyes were more reliable than my laser probe. Thus, I unhesitatingly stopped scanning.

Numerous movements could be heard from the bush around me. At that time, I recalled the massive mechanical beast I saw in the scene shown by the divine bird. This valley was probably the beast's home. I couldn't understand the reason for the divine bird to leave a new king here. At that time, a meteor could be seen streaking across the sky. The meteor looked rather large, leaving a long tail behind it as it moved.

Suddenly, I understood why the divine bird had brought me here. King Carter had handed me the highest authority and the throne. If I was to take the throne, I had to prove my strength in the valley. At that thought, I calmed down. Since ancient times, those who wanted to become a king would have to undergo difficult trials. This was perfectly normal.

Since there was a reason for me to be here, I stopped worrying. Rather, I placed all my focus on my surroundings. All around me, the movements of other creatures could be heard. I knew that I had been discovered.

"I wonder if the mechanical beast is still alive. If the divine bird can live this long, that mechanical beast might be able to live this long as well," I mused.

Suddenly, a bright flash appeared in the darkness before vanishing. An odd sound came from the bush ahead of me. I understood that the mechanical creatures were going to make their move soon. Immediately, a loud howl sounded. A dark silhouette leaped out of the bush and jumped straight at me.

'This fellow sure doesn't hesitate when attacking,' I thought as I turned on my morph-capable shield and rolled on the ground, avoiding the attack.

Having missed its attack, the mechanical beast slowly turned around before roaring at me. The mechanical beast in front of me was fully black. It looked like a delicate machine, and from its size, it was probably still a young beast. In that case, the mother was probably hiding in the darkness, observing me. I reminded myself to be extremely careful.

The young mechanical beast continued roaring while staring at me with its yellow eyes. It moved its limbs in preparation for another attack. I was worried about Zhang Xingxing and Blue, and I knew I couldn't afford to waste too much time here. Thus, I turned on my gun's taser mode and attacked the young beast before it could leap at me again.

The powerful blast shot toward the young beast. Displaying an impressive reaction speed, the beast jumped to the right and avoided the shot. However, the powerful electric blast struck the bush behind the young beast, shocking the numerous small creatures inside and causing them to jump. This created huge chaos in the area.

The young beast was much faster than I had expected. During the momentary pause after I fired my shot, it pounced on me again. I instinctively moved to the side, but a rock was on the ground, and it tripped me.

'Now it's getting troublesome,' I thought.

Although my suit had prevented me from completely falling, I was still forced to raise my hand to protect myself before fully recovering balance. The dark silhouette landed on me like a collapsing mountain. Fortunately, my morph-capable shield had diverted most of the impact. However, the beast managed to slap my gun away, sending it flying from my hand.

I borrowed the impact to roll on the ground, moving away from the beast. A smile actually formed on the mechanical beast's face upon seeing how sorry I looked, and that I had even lost my weapon.

I was doubting my eyes. The impact must have caused me to see things. How could a mechanical beast smile? That was something I couldn't believe was happening. The young beast grew more confident and started roaring while strutting toward me aggressively. It clearly believed that I was no longer a threat.

One would always pay for underestimating one's enemy. I stealthily reached for the laser pistol, strapped to my thigh and waited for the young beast to approach me. Slowly, the young beast walked up to me. Oddly, it was not attacking anymore. Rather, its eyes turned curious as it walked past me. Something else had attracted its attention.

I turned around and saw that during my evasive movement earlier, my backpack had opened and Bulu had rolled out of it. The little fellow was glowing in red, attracting the young mechanical beast's attention.

That was the perfect opportunity for me to attack. I was about to draw my pistol and shoot the young beast, but at that moment, a different thought appeared in my mind. I released my grip on my pistol and snapped my fingers at Bulu before whistling at it.

That was an extremely important gesture with my life on the line. I hoped that Bulu could work with me and behave in a manner that showcased how close we were. The young beast immediately growled after hearing my snap.

It changed its stance into an attacking stance, preparing to pounce on me again. Instantly, a miracle appeared. While still shining brightly, Bulu bounced toward me. When the young beast saw that, it hurriedly retreated in alarm.

'Well done, Bulu. A creature as smart as the mechanical beast is definitely capable of sensing that you're a superior life form. That was what I gambled on,' I started praising Bulu inwardly.