54 Foolish Alien

Without hesitation, everyone rushed to their ships; none of them were naive enough to believe they could face those monsters solely with standard combat armors.

The Astrylite near Kraynnor's ship also turned around, ready to return to his own spaceship.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

"!?"

But before he could take a couple of steps, he felt something firmly gripping his arms, legs, torso, and neck. As he looked down, unable to move his head, he discovered strange green tentacles. In that moment, he recalled information about the enemy they were pursuing, especially the detail about androids with the advanced ability to manipulate biomass!

"What an interesting situation. I almost feel like it's my birthday, receiving gifts non-stop."

The Astrylite heard a male voice in a language he didn't understand, approaching closer and closer. Finally, he could see a massive figure, and in a second, he recognized that it was a Xenotech armor.

In one of his huge metallic hands, he held a massive BlasterX!

Confusion overcame him, although it quickly faded; this was definitely the enemy that Sergeant Horium was seeking.

"Hel-" but before he could convey any word through his HoloSync, the huge hand grabbed his head. Kraynnor looked at that alien with a cold killing intent: "I'd like to play with you a bit, but there's no time..."

Crack!

With a crunchy sound, his head was twisted in an unnatural direction!

"U-uhg..."

Despite this, he remained alive, but oxygen wasn't flowing, causing his ability to speak to be cut off. The spinal cord was completely damaged, severely compromising the ability to move vocal cords and articulate words.

Under his helmet, his expression reflected desperation. Despite his healing ability, the unnatural position of his head showed no signs of improvement.

To regain the ability to speak, his only option was to realign his head.

"!"

Swooosh!

The tentacles dragged this Astrylite towards the ship, while Kraynnor watched as those huge bioluminescent creatures began attacking the ships with luminous pulses, causing the vessels to hang in the air, unable to move as all systems inside were going haywire.

This emitted energy from the creatures was genuinely unique, something that even spaceships capable of navigating through space and resisting extreme conditions could not endure.

After all, those ships were nothing more than castoffs from a civilization surpassing the Astrylites, discarded and sold as worthless spoils.

"What do you think could compose this strange energy?" Kraynnor asked from inside the Xenotech armor. The fact that he could use this alien armor was all thanks to Cognitron X-12, which, due to the enhancements it had, found hacking the recognition systems of this armor quite easy.

[It's a difficult energy to describe. From my perspective, it's like it has a unique resonant frequency that interacts specifically with matter, taking it to temporal quantum states. This could explain why it affects both advanced technology and life forms so much. But at the same time, it's quite unstable; you could say it's a glass cannon.]

Kraynnor muttered to himself, "Temporal quantum state... I knew that energy capable of such astonishing feats, like almost infinitely prolonging life, was subject to too many risks; it could even be compared to the vulnerability of someone with severe combined immunodeficiency."

To understand it more deeply, it was akin to nuclear fission energy, where any mishandling was destined to unleash total chaos.

While immersed in his thoughts, the ships gradually managed to break free from the attacks of the bioluminescent creatures.

There were dozens of these creatures, and though their appearance suggested violence, they were actually deeply confused. Until recently, they had inhabited their natural environment, their paradise, but now they faced strange life forms in a cold, low-pressure environment, generating palpable discomfort.

This state of confusion led them to attack indiscriminately, but upon spotting the hole they entered through, they stopped their energy release and headed toward their home.

Zzshheww! Zzshheww! Zzshheww!

Unfortunately, the soldiers misunderstood that these creatures were approaching them, and without hesitation, they fired plasma rays.

"Grraaaarrrgh!"

Roars of pain shook the water, causing large amounts of energy to be released from inside their bodies. The surrounding temperature instantly increased by hundreds of degrees and kept rising. Simultaneously, Horium finally emerged from the depths of the mining tower, and what he saw was the horrifying scene of his soldiers' ships being attacked by terrifying amounts of energy, causing some to be dangerously close to destruction.

His eyes radiated fury and madness; his anger was palpable and overflowing!

Meanwhile, Kraynnor focused his gaze on that Astrylite clad in golden armor, with clear intent to end its life.

He remembered the guy who had attacked him when leaving Caelum and seeing that he also had a similar armor, he knew it was someone important from that filthy invading race.

For a brief moment, everything remained in a strange balance...

The ships fired as they resisted the luminous pulses from the creatures, just as the creatures resisted the plasma rays while attacking fiercely. However, this balance crumbled when Horium was ejected from the mining tower by the strong water current. With his plasma broadsword in both hands, he began to spin in the air until diving into the water.

"Die!"

As if he had transformed into a spinning blade of light, he advanced at a dizzying speed until colliding with a creature, instantly splitting its form in two!

Horium was like a flash of uncontrollable power that shattered the momentary harmony of the chaotic confrontation!

This event generated such intense hostility among the surrounding bioluminescent creatures that the water began to bubble, raising the temperature due to the energy released by their bodies. The roars of anger, triggered by the loss of one of their own, resonated so strongly that even Kraynnor, with his Xenotech armor, experienced pain in his ears.

To further complicate the situation, the creatures chasing Horium finally emerged from the tower, propelled by the water current. Upon spotting the corpse of one of their own, without hesitation, they opened fire towards the golden-colored enemy, as he was the closest to the body.

However, where the Astrylites perceived despair, Kraynnor glimpsed an opportunity. It was the chance to annihilate all these aliens and claim their heads.

"Prepare the ship to depart at any moment, I'll be right back!"

With these words directed to Cognitron X-12, he activated the thruster on the back of his armor, propelling his body at high speed towards the golden-armored alien.

A fierce flash illuminated Horium's face as he contemplated the entrails of the creature floating around him. However, that expression of satisfaction gradually faded when luminous pulses began to impact incessantly on his body. He tried to dodge them, but there were simply too many: "What are they doing!? Hurry up and shoot!" he shouted to the soldiers who were impassively watching, even though they were no longer being attacked.

Zzshheww! Zzshheww!

"Yes, sir!" instantly, the ships fired at the creatures, which roared in pain.

Meanwhile, Kraynnor was just a few meters away from the golden-armored alien, something Horium also noticed. He didn't understand why there was a soldier in Xenotech armor, but he didn't hesitate and shouted, "What are you waiting for? Shoot!"

A big smile formed on Kraynnor's lips, and he gladly said, "At your command!" instantly firing the rocket launcher in his hands.

Booom! Booom! Booom!

Horium was astonished to receive several shots from the Xenotech-armored soldier's BlasterX. His own armor, already damaged by the luminous pulses of the creatures, began to crack. This frightened him a lot because if his armor broke in that spot, he was sure he would be crushed by the pressure.

Without a doubt, he didn't aspire to meet his end in such a pathetic way!

His mind was in total chaos, but this situation caused his killing intent to fade, allowing his mind to refresh and think clearly.

"You're the bastard Major Zarok is looking for!" he shouted in anger.

How could he be so stupid? It was impossible for a soldier in Xenotech armor to appear in that place. How foolish!

Kraynnor just smiled at the words of the foolish alien, continued firing, watching as the armor of his enemy cracked more and more. Unfortunately, his amusement was interrupted by the alerts of his armor, as the other Astrylites were attacking him.

Tsk!

Reluctantly, he stopped shooting and skillfully dodged the plasma rays.

Horium frowned, looking for an escape until he finally remembered that his ship was also nearby. With a simple command, the ship next to the tower ignited and swiftly moved towards him, opening up and engulfing him in an instant before closing.

This happened literally in a few seconds, leaving the creatures completely astonished.

Kraynnor frowned at witnessing Horium's quick retreat. Obtaining that bastard's head seemed impossible now, so he swiftly retreated amidst the reigning chaos. The ship had been on standby, so he only had to move a few meters.

As he withdrew, a spark of cunning ignited in Kraynnor's mind. He remembered the hostility of those creatures when one of their kind was killed and also remembered the robot that was still operational: "Bring the robot that's still operational to the surface, stimulate the rage in those mutant creatures. The goal: shoot down as many ships as you can!"

[Understood, joining the fun!] responded Cognitron X-12, enthusiastically joining the strategy.

The robot with the hologram resembling a bioluminescent creature around it, located in the depths of the mining tower, instantly began ascending the structure. As if the skies were aiding it, the creatures that still remained in this place followed it, causing an army of dozens of mutants to head to the surface.

Meanwhile, Horium, aboard the ship, looked at Kraynnor and mercilessly began to shoot. His expression was one of happiness; the enemy who had caused so many problems for Zarok was finally going to disappear!