Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Chapter 47: Escaping the Hammer

After a series of intense drum rolls, an ox-headed individual stepped through one of the doors. He was wearing an iron helmet and wielding a pair of hammers. He wasn't too tall, but his body was sturdy.

"Let us welcome Lidu's Pulverizer, a descendant of the Wargod racethe undefeated Violent Steel!" yelled an announcer with a big square head and a small round body.

'Is this a member of the Wargod race? But his physique looks very different from Adoka's,' I thought to myself.

"Violent Steel! Violent Steel!" the spectators chanted his name.

Violent Steel nodded at his worshiping audience with a pleased smile. He spun his massive hammers around, spinning them so fast that a whistling sound could be heard, demonstrating his powerful arms.

After allowing the clamor to last over ten minutes, the square-headed announcer yelled at the top of his lungs, "Next, let us welcome our heavyweight contestant of the night, the noble prince of Akko, the imposingly oppressive Prince Toruse!"

An even louder cheer erupted from the crowd when they heard that a prince was going to enter the pit. The same intense drumroll rang out.

We all waited expectantly to witness the grace of a prince. Even after about 20 minutes of clamor, the door to the right was still shut. The prince was nowhere to be seen, and the crowd's cheers turned into insults.

"Why is the prince taking so long?" asked Dondon from my shoulder.

"He must have escaped because he wasn't ready to fight," I said. "Look at that Wargod fellow, he looks so vicious. I don't think his opponent will have a very good time at all."

The square-headed announcer seemed to have realized that something was amiss. He gestured at two armed, burly, long-haired individuals beside him to go take a look. The sounds of insults gradually turned into sounds of discussion about the mysterious Prince Toruse.

After a short while, the cheers resumed. When we looked over, we saw Prince Toruse being forced into the pit by the two long-haired individuals.

"What a surprise. This is a very young prince," said Zhang Bao'er.

The prince greatly resembled a Blueling except for his azure eyes and long blue hair. He looked young, about 14 or 15 years old in appearance. He also had a thin and frail body. The two long-haired individuals shut the door after the prince entered the pit.

"Prince Toruse, please accept Planet Lidu's grand wrestling challenge. The victor will be granted the right to free movement," said the announcer.

"I reject the usage of such a barbaric method to regain my freedom. This is a criminally violent form of punishment! I, as a prince of Akko, reject this treatment!" declared the frail prince haughtily.

"Hehe. Honored Prince Toruse, I might be addressing you as a prince, but you need to understand that you're no longer a prince. On Lidu, you must follow the laws here," said the announcer.

"Looks like this prince was forced to participate," said Dondon.

"That's clear. The prince must have been subjected to unfair punishment," I said.

"Fando, what the hell are you doing? Why are you having a Wargod's descendant like me fight a little kid? This is an insult to my race. I refuse to fight trash like this," Violent Steel suddenly yelled.

"Violent Steel, feel free to concede if you do not wish to participate. You will then lose your right for free movement. Your hard labor will be reinstated," said the announcer.

Violent Steel shut his mouth the moment hard labor was mentioned.

The spectators started discussing spiritedly amongst themselves. They were here for a good show, but this one-sided fight had clearly extinguished their interest.

Old Du suddenly came up beside me and asked, "Canyue, can we save that prince?"

"Old Du, we're new here but we're already going to make a name for ourselves? I'll be looking forward to that! Come on, let's do it!" Zhang Bao'er said in excitement the moment he heard the request.

"The prince looks like someone kind and honest. I think we should think of a way to save him," I said.

"Everyone agrees, then. I'll go ask the major," said Old Du.

"Old Du, you've asked everyone so quickly?" Zhang Bao'er said in astonishment.

'Looks like Old Du was planning this the moment the prince appeared. After all, they're both nobles. Perhaps he found himself emphasizing with the prince,' I thought.

"Canyue, draw up the plan. Get ready, everyone," said Zhang Xingxing as she approached us. Old Du was following behind her, having finished his request.

At this time, a loud roar sounded. Violent Steel was swinging his massive hammer at Toruse. With a loud thud and an outburst of cheers from the crowd, the hammer struck the ground beside the prince, creating a miniature crater.

"The prince remained still even when the hammer was coming. He does not seem to know how to fight," said Old Du.

"Violent Steel, if you don't fight seriously, we'll send you back to hard labor today!" said Fando.

Threatened by Fando, Violent Steel could no longer hold himself back. His hammers lashed out rapidly, swinging at the prince's head. Some spectators shut their eyes due to the expected gruesome scene, while a smug smile formed on Fando's face.

With a clang, an energy barrier blocked the attack. The massive impact even bounced the hammers away. Old Du had activated his morph-capable shield during the critical moment and blocked the fatal attack for the prince. A bright light erupted amid the crowd, followed by a burst of smoke from Zhang Bao'er's smoke bomb. Taking the opportunity, Old Du and I leaped into the pit.

"Prince, come with us. We'll take you out of here," said Old Du.

"Who're you? Why help me?" asked the prince.

"We're vagabonds, not criminals. There's no time to explain. Leave first," I said urgently.

We worked together and pushed the prince up the pit. Then, we leaped out of the pit as well.

"Capture the prince! Do not allow the prisoner to escape!" Fando's voice rang out behind us.

The two long-haired enforces obeyed and lifted their energy guns, aiming their weapons at us.

"Screw you!" Zhang Bao'er and Titan each delivered a to the enforcers, sending them flying away. Titan, especially, appeared hateful of the long-haired enforcers, and he followed up with even more attacks, beating the two so badly they dropped their weapons.

Zhang Bao'er placed the two weapons together and installed a small-scale cluster bomb on them, blasting the two weapons apart with a burst of smoke. Urgent whistling sounds rang out outside the restaurant. The commotion and explosion had attracted the patrol.

"Bao'er, Titan, retreat immediately. The patrol is here!" I said.

With the presence of law, the people in the restaurant scattered in all directions, rushing out the door like a swarm of bees. We took the chance to cover the prince and rushed out amid the crowd before the officers could control the chaos. Our rich combat experience allowed us to avoid the search and reach an alley.

Meanwhile, the situation was still chaotic in the restaurant. Numerous individuals were arrested by the officers, and I could see Fando gesturing and talking to the leader of the patrol in an agitated manner.

"This place is dangerous. We need to leave as quickly as possible," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Do you have a place to hide?" asked the prince.

We all looked at each other in dismay.

"We have been here for less than two hours. We don't have any shelter yet," I replied.

"Come with me, then," said the prince.

The whistling sounds continued ringing from the restaurant's direction as the officers searched for the prince. With the prince leading the way, we traversed numerous alleys. Before long, we stood before a manhole cover. The prince lifted the cover in a well-practiced manner and jumped down.

"We're going to enter the sewer so soon after arriving? This bodes ill," said Zhang Bao'er as he covered his nose.

"Stop complaining. Hurry, go," I said as I kicked him into the hole.

As we entered, the hole opened up to a medium-sized tunnel flowing with sewage. After walking for about ten minutes in the sewer, we arrived before a ladder. The ladder led to a closed cover. The prince climbed up and opened the cover before telling us to follow him.

Above the cover was some sort of intersection with eight exits. The prince selected the third exit from the left and entered. We followed him for about ten minutes. After two turns, we reached a shut iron door. The prince took out a key and opened the door. When we entered, we found ourselves in an enclosed room.

"We're here. This place is safe," said the prince.

"The route here is way too complicated. Who would follow you into the sewers?" said Zhang Bao'er.

"The imperial patrol is equipped with robotic scouts. They can search for escaped criminals by tracking one's genetic signature. They are very capable. Only by traveling through water can we mask our path," said the prince.

I looked around and saw that this was actually a three-storey building. All the windows and doors were sealed shut, and only a single window on the top floor could be opened to keep watch.

"Dondon, go up there. You'll be in charge of keeping watch," I said as I offered Dondon a canned space ration.

"We didn't even manage to eat anything. Come on, let's have some rations. I'm starving," complained Zhang Bao'er.

Everyone sat down on the floor and started eating our personal rations. I handed the prince a pack of space crackers and a space can. The prince then ate hungrily. Zhang Bao'er also finished one can after another. Meanwhile, Titan and Amethyst appeared somewhat shy, each stopping after a single can.

'Sigh, Bao'er has such terrible table manners,' I thought.

After allaying our hunger, everyone rested.

"Where are you from? Why did you come to save me?" asked the prince.