What was a lightning tribulation?
Ves had been wondering about this mysterious phenonon for years on an intermittent basis.
He had two vivid mories about his experiences with this powerful force. Both of them had a profound influence over his life, his work and his views on how reality worked.
Frankly speaking, Ves lacked a thorough understanding of this powerful and far-reaching phenonon. He knew that it popped up in tis when a cultivator was about to make an amazing breakthrough. It also appeared to pop up when a creator attempted to make an exceptional product.
Ves had done both over his career, so he had at least a bit of personal experience of what it was like to trigger a lightning tribulation.
The first ti he caused a lightning tribulation was when he attempted to make the Superior Mother.
With the knowledge that he possessed today, he understood that the ritual that he had devised around the birth of the Superior Mother was not that big of a deal.
What truly caused her birth to go to the next level was the use of extraordinary ingredients and the ambitious scope of her creation!
However, witnessing a lightning tribulation from afar paled in comparison to becoming subjected to it himself!
Ves could never forget the mont where his attempt to create Veronica caused a lightning tribulation to barge into the System Space like it was nothing and directly rain down lightning bolts onto his body!
Strangely enough, the punishnt he induced due to his excessively negative karma turned out to be a lot more manageable than he thought.
The quantity of lightning bolts was unimaginably high, but even if they ramped up over ti, their individual power never exceeded his body tolerance and the defensive properties of his Unending Regalia.
It was at that ti that he personally experienced the other side of the coin.
The power of heaven's punishnt was not only a force of destruction, but could also serve as a force of creation!
The premise was that the target of heaven's wrath possessed the strength to weather the storm and survive long enough to allow the creation force to do its job!
Having benefited enormously from the accidental circumstances that led him to sublimate his entire being to a higher level, Ves understood that lightning tribulations represented both danger and opportunity.
Ves initially thought that his new five elents ch had a good chance of resisting this lightning tribulations.
Based on his previous experiences, he thought that they were quite ta. It was as if the heavens were just going through the motions and never truly showed that much animosity to their targets.
He quickly had to change that impression at this ti when he saw and felt the size and scope of this lightning storm exceed anything he had ever experienced in the past!
This was not the weak tribulation lightning that seed to do Cynthia a massive favor by strengthening and transforming the Superior Mother's foundation for the better.
It was also not the relatively ta and 'friendly' sequence of lightning bolts that not only healed him and strengthened his foundation to the point where he developed a glow, but also gave him a freebie and turned him into a phase lord!
Ves did not forget about the weird hallucinations either. Not only did several ghosts of the past, present and the future confront him about his alleged deeds and misdeeds, he also beca introduced to what truly passed as the heavenly authorities of the Milky Way and Red Ocean!
According to the theory that he devised back then, the two galaxies could actually be regarded as living entities on an unprecedented scale!
Just the notion that the two galaxies were alive and sentient would cause almost every human to call him nuts before forcing him to undergo ntal health treatnt!
Though Ves only had vague impressions of what it was like to get into contact with those powerful sentient galaxies, he rembered that they had shown a considerable amount of goodwill towards him. He was unclear as to the reason why, but he wasn't in the habit of looking at a gift horse in the mouth.
However, at this ti, Ves did not sense any of that goodwill or benevolence from the current lightning storm!
CRACK!
A golden bolt of lightning struck the exterior of the five elents ch, causing its surface components to look a little fried!
The ch had never been rated to withstand so much electrical violence, particularly when it was also empowered by E energy and other mysterious forces!
Although lightning tribulations were unfathomably deep to the likes of Ves, he instinctively felt that this storm was not trying to go easy on Ves and his work this ti.
Ves could sense an overwhelming amount of ruthlessness and malice from the dark and surging clouds that were blackening the skies!
It was as if the authority responsible for dispatching this storm was hellbent on destroying an abomination that should not exist!
This was incredibly bad for Ves. He never designed his modified Fey Project to resist such an inexplicable force. How could he have known that the product of his inspiration would violate a rule that he was not aware of and provoke heavy punishnt upon its creation?
Ves was not prepared, and neither was his work!
If his five elents ch wanted to have any chance of surviving this unavoidable tribulation, then it needed to be piloted right away!
"We need a pilot inside that cockpit now!" Ves urged.
"Are you certain you wish to do so, sir?" Alexa asked with obvious concern. "If this lightning storm continues to grow stronger, the risks to both the ch and its occupant will beco considerable."
"We have to try!"
Ves did not want to give up on his product! He was willing to take the chance and let his ch fight for its right to exist, even if it risked the life of a ch pilot!
However, the next difficult decision he had to make was who he should put inside the cockpit of his new work.
When Ves moved to the Premier Branch, he had only brought a small amount of personnel from the expeditionary fleet.
He had dispensed with bringing any Larkinson ch pilots because they were completely useless in a first-class environnt. It was better to rely on other specialists to man the powerful turrets and other defensive installations of Diandi Base.
The only chs assigned to defend Diandi Base were the units dispatched from the 306th Bluejay Fleet.
A constant rotation of at least two ch squads descended from orbit and patrolled the base.
Additional chs also shadowed his children whenever they traveled to school and back.
Though Ves had been depending on the protection of the chers assigned as his security detail for months, he never really put too much effort into befriending them. He hardly knew them on a personal level and pretty much treated them as background elents.
Right now, he was regretting the fact that he had neglected to bring any reliable ch pilots to his side.
He even sent away Saintess Ulrika Vraken by requesting her to escort Gloriana to the planet where his wife was about to receive her new cranial implant!
Ves wished that he had brought a trustworthy champion such as Venerable Joshua to his side. His favorite expert pilot would undoubtedly be able to get along well with his new living ch!
Still, the ch pilots of the Red Association were highly competent in their own right. They were used to piloting much more complex and difficult machines.
A drone ch such as his modified Fey Project shouldn't be too difficult for them to control. The only major challenge that was outside of their realm of experience was the usage and combinations of the five elents.
However, that was what the living ch was for. Ves believed that the combination between a highly trained ch pilot and a living ch that possessed an inherent talent in manipulating the five elents might be just enough to survive this violent storm!
"Jovy!" He transmitted over a spotty communication channel. "I know this is a difficult request, but can I ask you to volunteer one of your pilots to take charge of my new Fey Project?"
"The pilot is already on his way. I have already anticipated your demand. Trust , we are just as invested in seeing your work prevail against this force."
A first-class multipurpose ch was already approaching from a distance at high speed.
From the trajectory of the incoming ch, Ves deduced that it had launched from the Orden Hamr.
"I am at your service, Professor Larkinson." A reassuring male voice transmitted over another channel.
Ves' eyes lit up when he recognized the newcor. "Major Jankowski! I did not expect you to be the volunteer."
"This is an anomalous incident that is of great interest to the ch designers and researchers of the Red Association. We have received direct orders to send in our best. My piloting qualifications are the highest out of our entire ch company. I have a moderate experience in handling exotic or alien technologies, though my exposure to E energy phenona is admittedly shallow." Major Jankowski factually explained.
That sounded good enough for Ves. That was exactly the kind of pilot profile that could complent his five elents ch.
"Alright, 1 will transmit a very short instructional manual to you. There is a lot of depth to using its fey in combination. This will be the key to resist the forces of destruction. Can you teleport directly inside the cockpit of my new ch or do I have to open up an entrance?"
"Stable teleportation has beco untenable in this hostile environnt. Once my first-class multipurpose ch has arrived beside your work, I will need you to open up an entrance to the cockpit at the right ti. We will need to ti this transfer between the lightning strikes to avoid any accidents."
"Understood! We have it under control. The frequency of lightning strikes is not that high, fortunately."
CRACK!
The bolts did not co down as quickly as expected, but their power was definitely escalating at a rate where they did more than minor surface and electrical damage to a quasi-first-class ch!
What was worse was that the storm clouds showed no signs of abating. They were growing stronger with each passing minute, making it seem as if it was trying to gather more power in order to rule out any chance that his five elents ch would make it past this event!
As Major Jankowski's ch was closing in at rapid speed, Ves stared back at his unique work.
Was this enough to save his machine from destruction?
He was not so sure about that. He still had an awful feeling about this lightning tribulation. Its character was too hostile.
Nonetheless, the greater the danger, the greater the reward.
The power of a lightning tribulation was split into two opposing forces. The force of destruction wa the most obvious one, but the force of creation was equally as strong!
When Ves stared up into the violent storm again, he did not only regard it as a threat this ti.
In his eyes, the huge and expansive storm clouds also served as a resource!
An imnse amount of creation power was hiding in those dark and ominous clouds. If Ves could leech just a fraction of it, he could use the potent creation energy for all kinds of high-end purposes!
His eyes sparked all of a sudden as a crazy idea ca to mind.
Desire welled up inside his mind as he recognized what an amazing opportunity this lightning tribulation had brought! He would be a fool if he did not try to take advantage of the circumstances!
"Sir, where are you going?!"
"I am going on a trip!" Ves dismissively waved his hand as he turned around and summoned his Unending Regalia on the spot. "You should stay and coordinate with the chers. Make sure you are ready to command the new Fey Project to open up its cockpit when the ti has co."
He did not even care about exposing the fact that he was able to hide his relic armor inside his own exclusive pocket space. As soon as his Unending Regalia appeared, it opened up and wrapped around his body, cladding him in armor that had already resisted a lighting tribulation in the past!
Alexa Streon was not stupid. She quickly deduced his radical plan!
"Professor Larkinson, do not do this! You are about to take an unacceptably high risk! Your life is not worth endangering!"
"Hahahaha! You are wrong, Alexa! This is exactly the ti where a ch designer like myself needs to stick up for his own work! I have faith in my own work!"
To Ves, the lightning tribulation was not just about taking advantage of its power, but also a mont where he needed to prove with his actions that he was willing to stand by his own works.
He would not be able to take pride in his craftsmanship if he abandoned his works to their lot!
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