Chapter 174: Deploying to Haven
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Around the Whispering Chapel, no weapons were laid out capable of killing an A-Class Zerg. The moment Lin Xu spotted the shadow of the Zerg outside the chapel, he tore open a rift in spacetime and sped toward Haven.
He was almost too late. The mantis Zerg’s scythe was mere centimeters from Ika’s face. With a sudden surge, Lin Xu sprouted mermaid claws, leapt upward, and sliced clean through the mantis’s forelimb.
The collision sounded like two steel blades grinding together, producing a piercing cut that raised goosebumps on anyone who heard it. The severed mantis limb fell to the ground, oozing a sticky, nauseating green-white fluid. Ika, thrown aside by Lin Xu, seemed frozen in shock.
The giant mantis reeled back in pain, temporarily refraining from attacking. But Lin Xu knew this strike had enraged the beast completely — a storm of fury was coming.
Lin Xu shouted at the others to move quickly. Brumer was the first to react, grabbing Ika and pulling him toward the chapel’s side door — the entrance to an underground air-raid shelter, strong enough to withstand nuclear strikes. A howling wind swept through the shattered windows.
The colossal mantis vibrated its mandibles, issuing a low, angry growl. Its gaze fixed on Lin Xu as its severed forelimb began to regenerate, while the other intact limb slashed toward him.
Lin Xu flipped to dodge just in time, but the mantis’s forelimb smashed through everything in its path — shattering windows, steel beams, and debris crashing down like a sharp hailstorm. But this was far harsher than any hail.
Lin Xu twisted to evade another sweep. A steel beam grazed his waist and embedded itself in the ground with a low, vibrating hum. His gaze sharpened. He couldn’t keep playing hide-and-seek with this massive Zerg here.
The mantis Zerg, frustrated by its inability to catch him, bent forward and rammed through the chapel’s outer wall. Chunks of stone cascaded down. The roaring landslide threatened to bury the embedded steel beam. Lin Xu dove, grabbing the beam and rolling atop the rubble just in time to avoid the freshly regrown scythe.
The fallen stones piled up to nearly half the Zerg’s height — a perfect springboard for Lin Xu’s leap toward the monster’s head. As he surged upward, the mantis’s scythe swung again.
Lin Xu thrust the steel beam at the mantis, but it bent under the force, the tip scraping the outer shell and leaving a deep scratch — not enough to pierce the flesh. Gritting his teeth, Lin Xu pressed onward.
He turned his thrust into a defensive block, fiercely pushing away the mantis’s weaponized limbs as his arms tingled with fatigue. The mantis hissed, probing forward with its mandibles. Lin Xu locked eyes with the creature’s unfeeling gaze.
He could hear his own heart pounding wildly, pumping blood to every limb and muscle. His breath was long and heavy, but his mind remained razor-sharp. In the next instant, his figure vanished.
The mantis recoiled in confusion — then suddenly, Lin Xu reappeared behind its neck, wrapping a powerful grip around the thick, football-sized appendage. He rammed a rod deep into both of the mantis’s eyes.
The creature screamed madly, thrashing its wings and violently shaking its body, trying to throw Lin Xu off. But Lin Xu held on tight, binding himself to the Zerg’s back. Simultaneously, he unleashed his fire manipulation — scorching the armored shell on the mantis’s neck until it glowed red-hot.
Then he switched to his freezing power, frost rapidly crawling over the fiery shell like white vines. Drawing the rod from the mantis’s eyes, Lin Xu watched as the creature gasped, preparing to stab its forelimb into his torso.
In a flash, Lin Xu plunged the steel rod into the now brittle shell, weakened by fire and frost. Countless cracks spiderwebbed over the shell, shattering into fragments under the impact. Before the Zerg’s green fluid could spill, the rod severed its nerves.
Lin Xu gripped the rod, powered by his core to leap backward, kicking away the attacking limb. He drove the rod in deeper, watching the toxic liquid seep from the cracks. The giant mantis twitched violently before crashing down, sending up a cloud of dust.
Lin Xu hammered the rod all the way in, ensuring the Zerg was truly dead. After confirming the creature’s breath and heartbeat ceased, he leapt off and stepped into the rubble. Half a minute later, the chapel’s unstable structure finished collapsing, silence settling inside. But outside, the battle raged.
The buzzing of flying machines filled the air in rapid succession. Explosions thundered from the distant industrial zone. Swarming black Zerg descended like a storm, attacking Haven’s people and buildings.
Haven’s defense turrets fired skyward at the empty void above, but the salvoes were far too few to stop the tornado-like Zerg waves. Each explosion in the air rippled the clouds, shaking ears like thunder.
Around the chapel stretched green fields and forests, far from the crowded tech park — yet the screams of people didn’t reach Lin Xu’s ears. He could only stare at the thick smoke billowing over the industrial zone, brows tightly furrowed.
“Zerg have attacked Haven!”
“Zerg sightings reported on Alexandria!”
“The Shuiyue Planet is under Zerg assault!”
…
One after another, urgent messages flooded into the Alliance Council. Representatives from the fleets erupted into heated debates.
“Why are Zerg appearing in the Long Whale Region?”
“Haven has defense systems, and the Alexandria magnates aren’t short on firepower either.”
“But look at the number of Zerg on the scanners — Haven’s defenses are overwhelmed. Even if the Crescent District reinforcements arrive, they won’t hold!”
“What do you propose then?”
“Attack — fight the Zerg!”
“Fight? To get to Haven, we have to break through Michael’s Sword first!”
“Are we just going to let them die?”
“First, let’s figure out how the Zerg got into Haven! Are the Imperial First Legion soldiers just eating their rations? How did they allow so many Zerg in?”
“Part of the First Legion was sent to quell the rebellion on Dionysus. The defenses must be weaker.”
“And Michael’s Sword forces are busy fighting us, not Zerg.”
At this moment, Largo spoke up: “The Michael’s Sword defense line was never designed to counter Zerg. The Zerg have never appeared in this sector before.”
“Then even if Michael’s Sword engages, they can’t control the situation on Haven,” another voice said. “Besides, they’re fighting us — no way they can lower their guard to fight the Zerg.”
“So we just ignore the killing Zerg?”
“I agree — even if we can’t intervene inside the Long Whale Region, we at least have to save Haven. This many Zerg can obliterate an entire planet’s civilization.”
“That’s too risky,” one cautious voice warned. “This means we’re no longer in a localized war with the Imperial — this is full-scale conflict.”
“Risk or no risk, we can absolutely handle it!”
“Enough, enough.” Ashelan rubbed his temples and raised his voice to end the argument. He turned to the silent Marshal Meng Zhenhua, “Marshal, what is your opinion?”
Meng Zhenhua was silent for a moment. Among the genetically enhanced interstellar humans, his aged face stood out — emaciated from time but as immovable as a mountain. The noisy arguments instantly hushed. He lifted his clouded eyes, sweeping across the room before resting on Heinrich, also present at the meeting. “Mr. Chu, you have experience fighting Zerg. What would you advise?”
“To fight Zerg, specialized weapons are essential. Otherwise, you need three times the firepower and a large number of mecha soldiers.” Heinrich gave data without interfering in Alliance politics.
Not everyone trusted him. Few believed an Imperial visitor could gain a seat at the Council within half a month of arrival. Heinrich was well aware of the subtle intrigue beneath the table.
“As Imperial claims to fend off all Zerg assaults alone are propaganda,” Ashelan said to Heinrich, “we have not been idle. Fighting the Zerg is humanity’s mission. We possess autonomous, specialized weapons developed for Zerg — stored in warehouses, still functional and ready.”
Since the Ark Fleet split, the Alliance founders knew they could not rely on Imperial’s predator-like protectors. Imperial’s humans believed those false promises but now face oblivion brought on by their leadership’s cold disregard for life.
Some cautious representatives were right: saving their people should be Imperial’s responsibility. The Alliance need not sacrifice itself. But Imperial is too distracted to care. Countless lives are on the line. The Alliance cannot watch coldly — neither out of morality nor strategic foresight.
Meng Zhenhua nodded and turned his gaze to the entire council. He issued the order, “Prepare to deploy to Haven. Let the vanguard fleet take down the jump disruptors on the Sword of Michael’s defense line within eight hours. We will enter Haven through the jump.”
He possessed unquestionable authority. Moreover, this was a life-saving mission. After the decision was made, no one present voiced any objections.
After the meeting adjourned, the fleet representatives of the council each hurried off, relaying information and battle arrangements to their respective fleets.
Ashelan asked Heinrich to stay behind and inquired if he was willing to join the operation. After all, aside from the initial escape and battle against the Zerg, the Alliance hadn’t faced Zerg in their territory for hundreds of years. Though armed, the soldiers hadn’t had the chance to fight. Heinrich, however, had ample experience battling the Zerg.
“All right,” Heinrich said. He had no reason to refuse. “I need to see Lin Xu first.”
“No problem. I’ll go with you. We might as well ask Dr. Lin’s intentions. I heard Blizzard is a two-man mecha, and Mr. Chu and Dr. Lin coordinate their combat perfectly.”
Heinrich glanced at him, then walked a few steps before realizing how Ashelan knew Lin Xu had once piloted the Blizzard with him. It was probably because Ika had seen the Blizzard destroy a Zerg nest on the desert planet and talked with Godric about it. Godric then relayed everything to the Alliance.
At the door, Heinrich used facial recognition to open it. The Alliance had arranged for him and Lin Xu to share the same room.
But upon entering, they saw no sign of Lin Xu.
“Has Dr. Lin gone out?”
“Perhaps.”
Heinrich recalled that when he left, Lin Xu had said he planned to contact Ika to check on the palace situation. Heinrich had received news of a Zerg invasion in the Long Whale Region halfway through and had been summoned by Meng Zhenhua to the council meeting.
He opened his terminal and tried to contact Lin Xu, but it showed Lin Xu was out of signal range. Ashelan frowned. “The entire Alliance area is covered by signal, except for specially required labs. Those labs aren’t located in the central shipyard.”
“Alice, show the room’s surveillance,” Heinrich instructed, using his guest privileges to summon the AI of the central shipyard to check on Lin Xu.
“Okay, retrieving footage for you now.”
The surveillance footage projected onto the screen before them. Heinrich dragged the progress bar to the time after he had left. He saw Lin Xu talking with Ika. Fast-forwarding, the images flickered rapidly.
At one moment, Lin Xu suddenly vanished from the frame.
Heinrich slowed the video, watching clearly as Lin Xu tore open a spatial-temporal rift and hurriedly left. It was the first time Ashelan had witnessed temporal spatial powers firsthand; she was too stunned to speak.
Heinrich furrowed his brow and pushed the progress bar forward. Watching the video at normal speed, he carefully examined the content of Lin Xu’s call with Ika. Lin Xu wouldn’t leave without reason.
Then Heinrich saw the familiar sharp forelegs of a scythe mantis appear in the background of Ika’s video. His pupils contracted. The next second, Lin Xu’s figure disappeared from the screen.
“He went to Haven,” Heinrich said. Ashelan blinked in confusion. “?”
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