CH 49

Ambush (3)

The second he looked eye to eye with the toads, all the fine hairs on Jiang Jianming’s body stood on end.

He pulled out the Wing of Venus from his waist out of conditioned reflex, raised the muzzle and took aim, but resisted the impulse to shoot on the spot.

Just now, there was a mecha jamming wave transmitter that was hidden in the belly, and it was from the one at the rear end that was last to escape. Obviously, it was luring Garcia to cleave it……..

Jiang Jianming was deeply concentrating on the surface, and thought secretly: I don’t know what tricks there are on these four.

Suddenly, his shoulder sank, and Garcia’s palm pushed him back, “Don’t shoot, go behind me.”

“Your Highness.” Jiang Jianming turned his head to the side.

The prince looked above, and held his wrist as he passed him.

The mountain wind blew, and several fine pieces of snow were blown off from the branches and leaves.

The four alien creatures were still lying on the trunk, and stared at the two below, their bulging bellies slowly undulating, as the forest remained silent.

An eerie silence.

“There is a sound.” Garcia suddenly squinted, “Mecha………………..a folding mecha, one.”

Jiang Jianming held his breath.

Soon he heard it too, the buzzing sound of a mecha that was coming from far to near.

Flapflap…!!

The sound of flapping wings sounded next.

Numerous birds in the forest were startled, cawed and flew haphazardly!

Immediately afterwards, there was a loud noise, a red mecha rose from the mountains and forests. The airflow swept the four directions, and its steel crushed the countless branches and leaves! 

Bright red wings spreaded to both sides, and casted a huge shadow on the surface. A totem that looked like flowing magma and a grinning devil was printed on its fuselage

“Space pirates?” Jiang Jianming’s pupil shrank, and quickly looked at Garcia.

They recognized this mecha……………..No, it should be said that this mecha, no one wouldn’t be able to recognize it.

Named after the god of fire and the patron of craftsmen in ancient mythology, was the only existing S-Class mecha of the Lava Space Pirates. The “L-Hephaestus” and now it was the exclusive mecha of the infamous “little devil” of the Lava Space Pirates–the exclusive mecha of the Young Chief Chilong.

Who would have thought that behind this game with weird layout, the enemy turned out to be this group of bandits who had not been completely wiped out by the Empire for many years?

In a blink of an eye, the red Hephaestus hovered above the mountain forest.

Garcia raised his arm to block Jiang Jianming behind him. The strong wind brought by the mecha made the two men’s clothes fluttered, then they looked up——

Unexpectedly, the cockpit of the mecha opened and a young man of 14 years old sat inside it. His eyes looked down from a height and his red hair danced in the wind like flames.

“Hmm, we meet again, Your Royal Highness, Prince Garcia.”

The red-haired boy supported his forehead with one hand and looked down at the two people on the surface. The proud eyes were interwoven with innocence and cruelty.

As soon as his eyes shifted, it fell on Jiang Jianming’s body, then he grinned, “As well as……….this Sir. The Beta Alien Star parting, I missed it terribly.”

Jiang Jianming kept silent. He rubbed the cold gun handle with his thumb and his mind whirled quickly: No, it was not just the bandits. Where did this group of bandits get enough technology to blackout an imperial mecha?

Also, did this child come alone?

But Garcia is here, even if the mecha is lost, one-on-one, he will not let him take the advantage. What can he do alone?

Chilong crooked his head and continued to tease Jiang Jianming. “However, today your mecha seems to be not very obedient. Ha, ignoring me, are you angry because of this?”

Before the words could fall, and a strange fluctuation came from the air.

Chilong’s playful look sank, and he suddenly threw two fists into the void. The crystal bone jutted from the wrist was like two iron whips, which crushed a row of sharp real crystals that stabbed in an instant!

“Tsk, Your highness, how can you do it as soon as you meet me? You are less polite than a space pirate like me.”

“For those who were defeated,” Garcia lowered his raised right hand, and the shattered real crystals disappeared. “I don’t like nonsense very much.”

“It’s a pity.” Chilong in the air was not angry, instead, he had a grim smile then clapped his hands and said, “To thank you for the consideration of coming all the way here, I prepared a meeting gift for you.”

Suddenly, the four eight-legged toads lying on the tall trunk moved, they raised their heads at the same time, and made a series of gurgling-like-crying screams in their mouths.

No, this is not right. Jiang Jianming felt cold behind him, and when he looked up suddenly, his heart beated faster and faster.

What is wrong, these alien creatures………..

“!!”

They started inhaling large mouthfuls, and raised their bellies. It seemed that there was something sharp in there, which grew bigger and bigger.

Soon, the toad’s belly swelled with blue veins, there was an overwhelming bloodshot on its flesh, then finally–

ChiiiChiii !!

A creepy tearing noise sounded, the alien creatures pierced their bellies themselves, and blood splashed down from the tall tree.

At the same time, a colorless crystal flashed with light, and along with the sticky blood of the big toads, it rolled out, and fell on the snow-covered dry grass.

The bulging bellies of these alien creatures were actually filled with high-grade real crystal ores!

Suddenly, Garcia’s eyes turned cold. A crystal bone suddenly tore through the mountain wind, and stabbed in the direction of the real crystal ores like lightning.

“Haha, it’s too late, Your Royal Highness.”

Chilong laughed, and a pair of hideous crystal bones extended behind the young man. Its color was as hot and as red as his hair.

He was one step ahead of the prince. His crystal bone rolled up some kind of nifty crystal particle fluctuations, and shattered the real crystal ores amidst the blood!

Jiang Jinagming’s eyes trembled.

He took a step back subconsciously, and the crushing of snow under his feet was heard.

Real crystal ore…………..

It is the product of a large amount of condensed crystal particles.

And if the energy in that real crystal ore is induced by a crystal bone of a new human, the consequences will be–

Suddenly, the crystal particles turned into a storm and soared to the sky, the whirlwind rolled up and directly reached the clouds!

The branches and leaves of the vegetation were rustling, the snow was swept down due to the turbulent wind. In front of the mountain forest, on the cliff, the crystal particle concentration of this area was increasing crazily.

Garcia’s countenance changed, he turned to his back and shouted, “Jiang!!”

…Jiang Jianming just stood there, three or four steps away from the prince, with empty eyes.

However, in less than a second, his face lost its color, it seemed as if his vitality had been emptied out by some terrible giant claws.

He seemed to want to move, but the body only shook slightly twice, and then lost its balance.

The remnant crystal human was like a withered leaf, that silently fell towards the soft ground.

The world became dark.

*****

In the era where the world was still dark.

In the Old Empire, that was, the early days of the establishment of the Holy Human Empire.

Crystal tranquilizers had not yet been developed.

At that time, whether it was the new humans or the remnant crystal humans, once the crystal particles in the body were out of control, it would be an incurable disease. This symptom was called “crystal disorder”.

Acute crystal disorder caused by sudden exposure to extremely high concentration of crystal particles would cause people to die on the spot; while chronic crystal disorder caused by staying in an environment with low and medium concentration of crystal particles for a long time would eat away people’s lives year after year.

Patients either died gradually, or until the chronic crystal disorder turned into acute one day. In short, there was no escaping from the word “death”.

Today’s new empire medical treatment was developed, and crystal particle tranquilizers had been invented to the second generation, which could ensure the safety of the imperial people in most cases. However, once the concentration of the crystal particles exceeded the limit of what the human body could bear, and beyond the scope where the tranquilizers could work….

“Crystal Disorder” was still a deadly poison that equated with death.

****

In the corner of Alpha Alien Star, on the cliffs of a snow forest, chaotic crystal particles collided everywhere, and the degree of its violence was getting higher and higher!

“Ah ha ha ha…”

Chilong raised his head exaggeratedly, and gave out a burst of mad laughter. L-Hephaestus quickly flew up and took him away from the frantic and deadly crystal particles. “How about that, how about that, this so many real crystal ores is the big gift. I also even helped you open it with my own hands, aren’t you happy!”

“Come on, come on, thank me quickly! Eh, why is no one talking? Aren’t you surprised? Hahaha…”

It….hurts.

Jiang Jianming’s consciousness was deeply trapped in chaos.

It’s so hot….No, it’s cold…….is it hot or cold. The body can no longer distinguish.

It seemed that every organ and cells on the whole body were torn, they were torn and then were stuck together, and then was torn again. Blood, darkness, and the mind were disintegrating. The walls were covered with mottled colors, maggots ate rotten meat, flames burned the wings of moths, and in the sunset, a group of crazy children laughed and tore the straw.

–No!

Jiang Jianming bit the tip of his tongue. He broke free from the hallucinations of semi-consciousness and insanity, dripping with cold sweat! 

His blurred vision cleared, the mountain wind blew through, and the back soaked in cold sweat shivered.

In front was still the snowy cliff, the broken Slash Comet mecha, burnt marks between the mountains and forests……..the marks left by His Highness when he stopped the out-of-control mecha.

….By the way, His Royal Highness….

Jiang Jianming’s perception had become extremely slow, and only later did he realize that he was held in his arms. Garcia hugged him on his knees, his body bent down. Crystal bone appeared again on the back of the prince, which was deeply pierced to the surface.

With two people in the center, the red gold crystals extended like lightning, on rocks, on the snow, on the trunk, branches and leaves…..the crystals crowded together into clusters. Crackle! Snap! Huge crystal pillars also rose one by one from the ground like treacherous sorcery and soil and ice splashed into an arch.

Jiang Jianming suddenly realized: Garcia was condensing the excessive crystal particles in the air into  solid crystals!

Rich and violent crystal particles filled the whole space. In the case of the mecha failure, small humans would seem as if they were at the bottom of the deep sea. Even if they knew they would die of suffocation, there was nowhere to hide.

However, the prince tried to shake the sea with manpower, set off heavy waves, and stubbornly wanted to give the disabled man in his arms a glimmer of life.

In the distance of the mountain forests, a frame of a mecha lifted off, and the wings of the mecha were painted with the logo of the Lava Pirates.

“Chief!” 

“Did you succeed!?”

The bandits gathered and surrounded the red Hephaestus in the middle.

Someone saw the criss-crossed red golden crystals between the cliffs and the jungle, and shrank his neck in horror, “Hiss, this fucker is too terrible….. “

Chilong sat lazily in the driver’s seat of Hephaestus, and smiled with drooping eyes, “It’s useless, that disabled human can no longer be saved, with the sudden exposure to such environment with rich crystal particles, even if he’s given a tranquilizer, he will still surely die.”

“Within a minute, the chaotic crystal particles in his body will stir his internal organs into a mass of blood mud.”

Chilong lifted his hair, supported his face and laughed, “How pathetic, I think His Royal Highness seems to care about him?”

“Hmph, people like Garcia probably have never tasted failure and loss. I guess, we can see the tears of His Royal Highness today.”

In front of the cliff, real crystals were constantly condensing, but were also constantly escaping, growing and dissipating were repeated like an infinite loop.

“Your Highness…”

Jiang Jianming’s voice sounded hoarse, and every time he uttered a word, it was like his six internal organs were being torn again.

His vision darkened, and pain pierced all the nerves all over the body. He could only rely on willpower to keep his mind clear and looked at Garcia.

Just like a moment ago, fine-sized red gold condensed crystals climbed up to the prince’s cheeks again.

Garcia seemed to have entered a certain state of abnormality. The pair of red gold-filled eyes were lax, and he didn’t even notice that the person in his arms had opened their eyes.

Jiang Jianming was filled with all sensory pains, unexpectedly, with a little bit more effort, he felt the emotions of being frightened and furious at the same time.

…………..What is this man doing? If he continues to consume forcefully, even he will be in danger of crystal disorder.

He raised his hand laboriously, and his pale fingers tightened on the prince’s arm.

“Your Highness……Your Highness,” Jiang Jianming raised his eyes with difficulty, opened his mouth, wheezing, and strived to speak, “Your Highness….wake up.”

After a few seconds of delay, the red gold in Garcia’s eyes faded a little, and his blank stare fell on the pale face of the disabled human being in his arms.

Jiang Jianming struggled to raise his wrist, then touched Garcia with the white bracelet with the folded Snow Dove.

“Leave………here, drive Snow Dove away.”

Garcia trembled abnormally, and showed a helpless look on his face.

“No.” He held Jiang Jianming tighter, “Don’t talk.”

Garcia lowered his eyes in panic, and his cold and elegant voice had subtle tremors, then he murmured in a whisper, “Don’t be afraid…..endure, it will not hurt soon.”

“After the crystal particles are solidified, I’ll take you away, soon, look at me.”

—This stubborn!

Jiang Jianming was so angry that his heart throbbed, and started to see dark spots in his vision. However, he didn’t know where it came from, but a force came and forcibly washed away that feeling of weakness.

He gritted his teeth and pushed away Garcia’s arm, he straightened his back and shouted out, “It only takes one second for the Snow Dove to unfold, I can hold on, quickly!!”

****

In the cockpit of L-Hephaestus.

“No crystal disorder?”

Chilong straightened his upper body with an uneasy face.

He murmured to himself, “How is it possible,  according to the information, he is indeed a remnant crystal human being, unless………….”

–He couldn’t speak a word.

Strong wind rose from below, and the S-Snow Dove soared above!

The bottom of Chilong’s eyes were grim, and  he was rendered speechless, “Ah, there was a folding mecha!?”

Snow Dove’s attack power was not strong, but the people manipulating the mecha at the moment was stronger than any mecha.

Withered grass and broken branches rolled up, and the folding mecha flew away from the cliff at  full speed, leaving snow-white afterimages.

Garcia stepped on the outer edge of the cockpit, looking cold and violent. He kept a stable and semi-suspended position, as his crystal bone extended backwards on the mecha’s control panel. A crystal bone was protecting the mecha.

He regarded the mechas of the Lava Space Pirates in mid air as nothing, and real crystals and crystal bones started its indiscriminate bombing. For a while, the space bandits screamed in fright, and the sound of the explosion and the whistling in the wind came one after another.

“…………..Fuck, this empire monster!” Chilong whispered a curse, then his mecha spun an arc in the air, and withdrew backwards, “Retreat towards me, boys, don’t confront him head-on!!”

The S-Snow Dove then rushed to the snow mountain on the other side of the cliff!

In the cockpit, the intelligence Seth Henry manipulated the safety belt and automatically fastened the body to the driver’s seat.

Bit by bit, blood dripped from the corner of Jiang Jianming’s lips, his head was tilted and his eyes were hazy.

The mecha flew far away, and the snowy forest was gradually becoming smaller.

In his field of vision that had gradually darkened, Jiang Jianming struggled to see the “culprits” who brought real crystal ores.

Ruptured their chest and abdomen, and that crazy blood loss. Four alien creatures quickly lost their lives. They did not struggle or scream, and only died happily.

Before death, the mouth of the four toads curled up in a strange manner ——

Like a clown from a circus, with that big, funny smile.