55 Exploitation of labor? What was that?
Swooosh!
Kraynnor tried to dodge the plasma shots, pushing his brain to the limit to calculate the trajectory before they were even fired.
Chzzz! Chzzz!
Unfortunately, even with this effort, he couldn't avoid some shots grazing his armor, causing certain damage. It was inevitable; after all, his mobility in the water was extremely limited.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Despite enemy shots, that didn't stop Kraynnor from firing back with the BlasterX.
With the same precision he anticipated the trajectory of enemy shots, Kraynnor masterfully predicted the next location of the ship. Plasma bullets pierced through the water at high speed, leaving a trail of bubbles generated by the high temperature. Horium, confused, noticed that his enemy seemed to be shooting aimlessly towards other places.
"Eh?"
However, he soon realized that the truly perplexed one was him, as he failed to notice he was heading directly into the path of the shots!
Even when he tried to dodge them, it seemed as if his enemy had already anticipated the path he would try to evade. This, undoubtedly, was the most annoying opponent he had faced. For a few minutes, they engaged in a dance of exchanging shots.
During this exchange, his ship suffered some damage, although nothing critical.
The most frustrating thing for Horium was that he always ended up being the one taking hits, while the other bastard in the Xenotech armor evaded with surprising ease.
It was as if he was rubbing it in his face that he was superior!
Zzshheww! Zzshheww!
However, this confrontation was abruptly interrupted by the intervention of the other ships. The creatures, no longer the target of more attacks, began to retreat, feeling uncomfortable in these depths where the water was simply too cold.
Of course, one of their own had been killed, but their lack of intelligence led them to quickly forget the incident...
Kraynnor frowned as he dodged more plasma rays.
Nevertheless, he wasn't intimidated, as what he had been waiting for finally emerged from the mining tower. It was the mining robot controlled by Cognitron X-12, accompanied by dozens of bioluminescent creatures. These encountered the other creatures, confusedly looking at the tower, trying to return through the hole they had come from. But for some reason, they couldn't pass through it, colliding with something solid.
Their small minds couldn't comprehend what was happening, but seeing how others of their kind climbed the tower and finally shot out the other end, they understood that if they wanted to go back, this tower had to disappear!
Using the energy encapsulated in the Verdantia crystals inside, they shot luminous pulses at the tower. It was a slow process, but gradually cracks began to appear in its structure.
Repair drones descending to fix the damage were pulverized instantly as they approached.
Simultaneously, the robot controlled by Cognitron X-12 didn't hesitate to attack one of the Astrylite ships with a plasma beam. This prompted the other creatures following it to imitate the attack. The unfortunate soldier could only watch in astonishment as he was besieged by dozens of mutants until his ship could no longer withstand and finally exploded into a fireball shining in the darkness.
"What the hell...?"
Horium, focused on shooting at Kraynnor, watched in astonishment as one of his soldiers' ships exploded.
The other Astrylites also witnessed the event in terror.
Many of them considered the possibility of fleeing, but they knew that doing so would go against their leader, so they could only wait for orders.
Seizing the distraction on the other side, Kraynnor escaped to his ship. It wasn't difficult for him, as his friend was waiting for the perfect moment to pick him up, and so it happened. In an instant, the ship approached his side, allowing him to enter through a small hatch that closed in a blink.
"Finally, that was really dangerous but exciting," he said as he emerged from the Xenotech armor.
He wore his white lab coat, with the Stealth Exoskeleton underneath. Although it was deactivated at the moment, he waited for the right moment to use it in case of an emergency.
Inside the ship, a group of androids picked up the armor and the weapon, offering Kraynnor a hot drink at the same time. He sat with a relaxed smile, contemplating the holographic screens displaying the battle between the mutant creatures and the Astrylites. He regretted the loss of a potential High Human, but in that situation, it was impossible to capture all those aliens. If he couldn't capture them, then his second option was to kill them.
After all, he had discovered this tower by pure chance; to him, it was like being given an additional gift after the gains in Caelum.
He had acquired several interesting things on this brief journey.
His AI had undergone several significant improvements. Now he understood the basics of the Astrylite language, captured another alien, and even killed one. The highlight of it all was the discovery of the existence of the Verdantia crystals. He couldn't give them a proper economic use until reaching level ten, but those crystals weren't going anywhere for the time being.
[Shall we retreat?] Cognitron X-12 asked.
Kraynnor hesitated for a couple of seconds before nodding, "Yes, we can't get anything more. Besides, it would be dangerous if those idiots found us..."
He paused for a moment, considering something else: "Prevent them from destroying that mining robot. Let's see if we can tame those creatures to be the best miners," as he spoke, his eyes reflected the scene of those mutants working for him without needing to pay them.
[Understood, I will continue our course towards dry land.]
Exploitation of labor? What was that?
Mentioning unpaid workers reminded him of Xylo, who was on top of the ship waiting to see more of the world.
He needed to find creatures to feed it and increase its strength. If he could bring it to its maximum power, it could be of great help in his war against the Astrylites.
Kraynnor wasn't very optimistic; he doubted he could remain hidden forever. He didn't believe that a civilization capable of traveling between planetary systems didn't have superior technology capable of eluding his detection systems.
It was just a matter of time, and he had to make the most of every second to strengthen himself!
Kraynnor's ship moved until it disappeared into the distance of the ocean, heading towards the nearest continent.
Cognitron X-12 deactivated the DataNexo nanobots and left a minor copy of itself inside the mining robot to handle the mission of taming the bioluminescent creatures.
Zzshheww! Zzshheww! Zzshheww!
Horium shot at all the creatures trying to destroy his soldiers' ships. Thanks to his intervention, he prevented more of his men from dying, but at the same time, he noticed that he had lost the enemy of Major Zarok. Even when he tried to search for him everywhere or feel him with the ship's radars, it was all in vain.
Clang!
"Damn it. It's all because of these pests and those traitorous AIs," his fist struck the ship, causing a dent.
He was really angry, thought about Zarok's disappointed face, and felt like his world was crumbling. To release his anger, he decided to massacre all those creatures, but first, he would get rid of the one he was sure was one of those AIs, as he shot plasma instead of light pulses.
"Huh?"
Horium had him right in his sights, but suddenly, he disappeared, as if he had teleported all at once!
He tried to find him, even ordered his men to help, but it was as if he had truly disappeared. Of course, all of this was the work of Cognitron X-12, or rather its copy, who had activated the 'SSF' algorithm, disappearing from the view of any nearby devices. Taking advantage of this moment of invisibility, he looked at the mining tower and, without hesitation, shot at the cracked spot. As a final blow, he destroyed a part of the tower, leaving it unsupported on the ground.
Splaash!
The tower began to shake, losing part of its structure, tilting until it collapsed sideways and generating massive waves around it. The ships, powerless against the force of the current, were dragged in its wake.
Meanwhile, the creatures and the mining robot submerged through the hole on the other side of the tower, and in an instant, they all retreated into the depths. The only annoyance was having to swim against the current, but it was only a matter of time before they reached their destination.
"S-Sir, do we request reinforcements?" one of the soldiers asked through his HoloSync.
The other Astrylites, who were out of the water, gathered around Horium, looking at the soldier's ship as if he were a fool.
Horium's flaming eyes focused on the one who asked, and with a dark voice, he said, "Reinforcements? Are you trying to report to the Major what happened here? Listen well, if a word of what happened leaks to Zarok, I'll make sure you never utter a word again in your life!"
He directed his gaze to the other soldiers around him and shouted, "Did you understand!? None of you will say anything. I'll think of an excuse for the loss of this mining tower..."
...
Kraynnor contemplated a three-dimensional map of the Pacific Ocean and the nearby continents.
"We're closer to the Asian continent, but we're not too far from Oceania and America either," he stroked his chin, reflecting on which would be the best choice for his plans to hide while killing any alien creatures that crossed his path.
Finally, after a few seconds pondering the pros and cons of each continent, Kraynnor made the decision to head to the American continent, more precisely to South America, where the Amazon rainforest was located.
"Change course to the American continent. Let's explore the Amazon. Don't you find that an interesting journey?" he commented jokingly.
Kraynnor was convinced that there should be an abundance of alien creatures in that place, and being surrounded by huge trees would make it much easier to hide!
