Thick smoke lingered in the air.
Beneath it, research facilities and laboratories lay in ruins. Their once masterfully hidden designs were now rcilessly ravaged, only to be lit ablaze by a powerful inferno.
Corpses littered the ground, differing in their ages, genders, and the spiritual energy they emitted... Yet united by the sa tattoo of a severed tail etched into their palms along with their expressions twisted into pure terror monts before their demise.
Vehicles traversed the hollow valley, transporting recently rescued felines.
Along their path, Hreh’tar aliens, ants, and even groups of cultists had tried to halt them, only to all fall in the end.
At the lead, a male figure soared forward, cold eyes scanning the surroundings, paying special attention to any traces of a potential ambush and observing the Monarch in the far distance.
Michael let out a deep sigh. At the very least, it seed that regardless of how many people gathered in one place, the alien’s focus was not going to be directed at them unless provoked or told otherwise.
Turning, he gazed at the felines behind him.
"A thousand..." He murmured, both in awe and disgust.
It had certainly taken a while, but in the end, with the help of the crew, he had managed to locate what they believed to be every laboratory hidden in the depths.
The reason the crew traveled with the rescues rather than escorting them back to the camp was because with each journey they would lose valuable ti, and more felines would end up dying.
The numbers were approximate, of course. In the chaos, keeping track of numbers had been a luxury they couldn’t afford.
But if Michael counted the felines currently following him, added the thousand waiting back at the camp, and included the thousand who hadn’t survived the experints, the total ca to roughly 3,000 felines having been abducted from the surface.
If compared to the losses in humanity’s battles, the number would not seem that staggeringly high. Case in point, Michael had witnessed a city of around a million civilians being reduced to ruin back on Neptune.
However, it had to be acknowledged that while regular humans numbered in the billions, the felines had numbered just about 100,000 when rescued from the tunnels where the rogue AIs had kept them as their creations.
In other words, 3% of the total feline population had been abducted and transported underground... and successfully kept under wraps.
For comparison... Earth, completely built over on the surface, with underground cities beneath the crust allowing for an even larger population, housed a total of twenty billion humans.
If 3% of them disappeared, that would be equivalent to 600 million people vanishing.
Suddenly, the discrepancy and hardships the felines had been forced to endure because of their altered nature beca clearer.
Who knew how things would have proceeded if Michael and the crew hadn’t intervened?
Nevertheless, with the rescue campaign finished, the crew escorted the felines back to the camp, raising the population of the establishnt to two thousand.
"Thank you!"
"Bless your kind souls!"
"We are indebted for life!"
Nurous words of gratitude were directed toward Michael and the crew.
However, even if theoretically the lower branches of the cultists had been dismantled, there was still more work to be done.
There was the issue of transporting everyone to the surface. It would either require digging a wider tunnel or using the current one, which would take a significant amount of ti.
Yet another issue still arose... Even if the felines were to return to Venus’ surface, they would only fall victim to the plague that still lingered. Was there any point in leading the rescued felines toward an illness specifically designed to hinder them?
And lastly, there was Eleanora, the ant queen, and the Monarch.
Unless they were dealt with, all of this was bound to endlessly repeat itself.
"Everyone!"
Rejoicing at their return, Nyla greeted them with a radiant smile. The corpses Michael had given them had clearly done wonders. She now emitted the presence of a Late Master. Given that she had been an Early Master until recently, it was certainly a wonderful improvent.
The other locals of the camp also bore respectable presences, clearly capable of holding their own in battle.
Though they hadn’t been the only ones advancing, as Ruby had recently reached the Middle Grandmaster realm, thanks to all the Overlord aliens they had recently slain.
With the rise in numbers, the camp’s fortifications had also improved.
Once, the hollow valley had looked like hostile terrain dominated by aliens and ants. Now, with the felines’ rise and everyone united, a new player had entered the grand board.
All things considered, the process had been rushed. Michael and the others had to admit that. Yet they were left with little choice, especially due to Eleanora’s actions.
Or rather... her inaction.
After the first attack, she had not sent a single ant soldier to test them or to scout.
The entire ti, the ants had minded their own business, continuing as before, only searching for spiritual energy around the queen’s nest.
And that silence was the most unsettling of all...
Sure, Michael had managed to capitalize on it, rescuing the felines and reducing the ways they could be forced into action in the future.
But still, sothing felt fundantally wrong.
Unfortunately, a day after all the felines had grouped together, everybody’s paranoia was proven correct.
Perhaps Eleanora had waited for all of them to gather in one place before crushing them, or it was a simple twist of fate. Regardless, an army now crept toward the feline camp, eager to eliminate them before they could reach the surface.
The felines, stronger and larger in number, should not have had a problem driving them back as they had done before...
However, then the real problem arose.
BZZZZZ!
These were not the ants bearing the auras of simple Masters who had attacked before.
These ones were the sa ones Eleanora had ridden on when confronting Michael... those he had nad Royal Champions, each carrying the aura of Grandmasters.
At the ti, the na had seed fitting. They must have been the most powerful force they had, not counting the queen and the Monarch, clearly too valuable to sacrifice.
Sadly, that no longer appeared to be the case. With the latest batch of young larvae having hatched, a thousand golden ants now flew toward the camp. Their thin, almost translucent wings marked the beginning of what was about to be a painful battle.
"..."
For a few seconds, a deadly silence hung in the air.
A thousand Grandmasters was basically the equivalent of how many cultivators of the sa realm the Golden Vanguard, the strongest faction, held at their disposal.
The Indomitable Alliance might have beaten them in the faction wars, but that had only been possible by exploiting the rules and not being taken seriously until the very end... The current situation was vastly different.
Michael took a deep breath.
"Get out of here."
His voice was void of any emotion.
Victoria’s face twisted into a deep grimace, frustrated at their circumstances. "Are we evacuating?"
He nodded firmly.
"No matter how strong the felines are, against such numbers they will all die. The tunnel from which we ca here is narrow, but it will have to do. Load the felines into the vehicles and ensure that nothing interferes with your path. Given that the ants have limited intelligence, I should be able to distract them enough to give you a head start—"
Abruptly, he was interrupted by Ruby’s tail, which wrapped around his mouth.
"What is it?" He asked with a slight frown.
"Wasn’t I supposed to be the airhead?" Ruby wrapped around him. "Do you seriously think that we will let you hold them off on your own while we run?"
The words didn’t make sense to him. Especially Ruby should have been the most in favor of the idea. After all, these were her people, the ones she so deeply wanted to protect. Him staying here while the rest evacuated was the safest option.
Claire agreed with Ruby. "You promised that you would try not to endanger your life so casually. Rember?"
Michael’s gaze remained on the oncoming Royal Champions.
"I am the only Lord here. Robert doesn’t count since he is engaged. I have the best chances of acting as bait while you retreat. Soone has to keep these ants here lest they follow you towards the surface and cause more havoc."
"Or..." Victoria interrupted. "We stay here and fight."
Michael’s eyes narrowed.
"And risk the felines and... you dying?" His voice turned cold. "No."
At the end of the day, he alone was the Regressor, the one with experience and knowledge from the future. For better or worse, he would not die...
No matter how broken Michael’s body could get, he always lived while those he cared about died.
Always.
He wasn’t willing to risk it.
Not after all the ti they spent together.
Not after all the joy they shared.
"Weren’t you the one who almost t his end from Eleanora’s soul weapon?" Ava retorted. "No, you are not invincible, and no, we are not leaving you alone."
Silently, Michael gazed at the crew individually.
Each one held his gaze, unwilling to part.
"..."
Looking back, he saw that the felines had already sprung into motion, ready to defend their camp, even knowing most of them would fall today.
Strangely, they weren’t scared but determined to get revenge for what their kin had endured.
Finally, Michael let out a reluctant sigh.
"Alright, so be it... we fight."
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