Chapter 486: Preparation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Bach was the top person in charge of the maintenance department in Haskel. He was known for his giant, glaring, bloodshot eyes as well as his thundering, eardrum-rupturing mortal howl, "Move harder, punks! The captain did not pay for you sissies to tell me things won't work! Hurry up! We have a long pier of reinforcement to do, yes? What, impossible? What did I say just now?" The scowl was twitching, "Make it possible!" Father Bach, or maybe more fashionably, Daddy Bach, was in his blue collared uniform tainted by the last few continuous days of work, he had not been sleeping ever since. Stain of oils were over his body, his hair was tussling, the red eyes intensified.

This was the third day in a row.

It almost felt like a dream, of an endless war.

Everything felt so unreal to him but the senses had convinced him. For starters, the ship which he had been serving for almost five years got hijacked, without a single forewarning. It felt as if the hijacker hacked in and assassinated everyone. The following news was utterly earth-shattering even for an experienced sailor like him - the frontline had failed, the army had been defeated. He believed nobody on the ship would buy the news if it was not the broadcast by the new captain. They would not be foolish enough to even approach Henna if they ever foresaw this.

It did not make sense however. How would it be possible for the frontline to crumble simply without a sign? There were a large flock of pilots, in their formidable mechs guarding the galactic boundary, "Or we are indeed fighting against monstrosity this time, that we could not hold it back?" he muttered in bewilderment.

He was at loss of hope upon hearing the news. Disbelief, confusion, frustration flooded his mind, till the hijacker voiced motivation which flushed all those away, that he realized, "Yes, he is right, I could not just stop here. I have things I would fight for." Thought he, reminiscing the mischievous, innocent giggle and smile of his granddaughter. "I am not saying goodbye to my granddaughter." And the old workman felt all pumped again, "Not just yet."

As ordered he sprinted back to his work station, only to receive a detailed proposal of heavy modification from the new "captain".

Certainly, Father Bach recognized the entire purpose of this modification at first glance. He had been in lead of ship maintenances since 20 years ago. "Alright sir." And he accepted the proposal promptly, without hesitation and paying attention to the hideous deadline creeping behind the page.

"All workmen, gather up!" He called upon all members and made the arrangement right away. His charisma had won over the respect of his men and they were fairly informed of how this operation could determine their survival, thus the hard work, the overwork. Father Bach could not remember the last time he had even a forty winks, the corners of his lips were getting blisters from the constant friction out of restlessness.

"Hurry! Right there, strengthening."

"Someone, I want something welded here right now. It's not sturdy enough."

The hoarse voice echoed within the spaceship.

...(Meanwhile)...

Ye Chong was as busy as a bee too. He was racing with time as he had to gather up as many pilots as possible and he managed to get 177 of them eventually. It was a figure within his expectation but he was not entirely confident of this force. Only if he had the Sangs, then he probably would need a mere 50 of them to keep the journey safe.

Well it was not the time for him to sigh over his bad luck. He had works to do. He had to train these pilots, which a majority of them was ranged attackers.

He did not intend to shuffle the whole force with his 20 trainees. The trainees had founded a considerably impeccable rapport with each other. It would only weaken his trainees if he broke them up. They should not impose a major issue, unlike these new pilots. He did not expect much from these pilots.

But he had to recognize the fact that these pilots were far more experienced than his trainees, at least they had fought in a war field, not inside a classroom. Similar to the trainees, these pilots had a kind of bond among themselves, so a formation could be discerned whenever they engaged in battles. Well, that left Ye Chong with the basic patch works then. It sounded easy but not as effortless as one imagined. These pilots had a formation and the formation was probably drilled deep into their head. It would be a chore to alter it.

He needed assistance. So he called Shang. His plan was simple. He would first torture them with hands-on fights again and again, then Shang would point out their mistakes in replays of various angles. It was rather fortunate that these pilots were very much aware of their life-dead situation, so they worked diligently. They were changing. Their attack patterns were changing, but not up to Ye Chong's standard. No doubt these pilots would defeat his trainees in a one-on-one, but it would be a different story if they were in a five-on-five.

...

"Captain. We have received an alliance request from ships nearby," announced a crewman, as in the projection several spaceships had just left Henna clumsily. The crewman was not clear of the new captain's identity. He seemed... pretty mysterious since the crew members had never seen him in person, not even in corridors but somehow he seemingly knew everything that happened in the ship. It felt creepy at first, since it almost felt like there was a pair of eyes following them everywhere, watching them all the time. However it was only a matter of time till they got used of being monitored. The new captain was very charismatic, as well as capable. Well, sailors were simple beings, as long as one could provide them the safety, the identity and creepiness were no longer an issue.

"I see. Ignore them. We are at a different course anyway," rang the voice of Shang next to the crewman's ears.

Regarding their big runaway with children, both Ye Chong and Shang had a long discussion. With reference to Shang's collection of information he detected in the surrounding, they eventually came into an agreement to land on Duodania, a planet near the pathway to He Yue galaxy. A few factors came into their consideration. First off, stability. The pathway was obviously guarded by a large troop which could provide them security. Compared to the red-tailed monsters from another dimension, humans were at least something whom Shang and Ye Chong could reason with words. Second and most importantly, opportunity. Assuming one day the red-tailed beasts had invaded the area, the guard would be dispersed and that would be when they got the best opportunity to run all the way back to He Yue galaxy again.

"Course change! According to new coordinate!"

Haskel made a turn and exited the orbit that those spaceships travelled, heading to Duodania.

On their way there, they could sometimes see spaceships of various sizes, coming from behind, frantically heading towards all sorts of directions at full speed. Within only a few days, the news of the crumbled frontline had reached the entire Gray Valley, stirring up fright in people. Haskel was advancing at highest velocity too. No one other than Ye Chong and Shang knew how fast those terrifying monsters would reach the ship, so their blood was boiling the whole time, fearing of missing that one important split second of their life.

"W...we are finally done." Whispered Bach, with his reddened eyes looking at the fully transfigured spaceship in relief. It took the team days and nights to finish the modification. Luckily they were supplied with sufficient materials as well as masterly craftsmen.

"T-tell the cap-" And Father Bach had fallen into slumber. "Father Bach!" Shouted one man as he quickly went to grab the collapsing old man with the others.

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

"Emergency. Emergency. All combat units into position now. All combat units into position now. Non-combat units please evacuate to safety. Non-combat units please evacuate to safety." Wailed the alarm.

Ye Chong had returned to the captain's room, where a giant holographic screen was there, displaying 28 red-tailed beasts charging towards them.

The crew members were shaking in the captain's room. Their faces were pale. They had heard of the monster before, and they once thought they were mentally prepared for it, but the stress was too overwhelming in actuality.

"Everything's done?" asked Ye Chong to Shang.

"Jajajaja, we just finished, Ye. Looks like the Lady Luck is on our side today."

"Mhm, okay, I'll be going. Ask the crewman to send the things to Exit No.13," said Ye Chong as he left the room.

All combat units were already in their respective position, with anticipation searing their patience.

Ye Chong walked up to these pilots, with his eternal indifference in his staring eyes, he said, "I know all of you are probably afraid of what is ahead. But it is pointless to be afraid. There is no time to act afraid. There is no way back now." A moment of silence lapsed, as if he was building up for the ultimate command, "Either we or the monsters are going down today."

Ye Chong was not a born motivator but he did feel a need to say something. So he did.

Well, contrary to his expectation, that one random line worked pretty well among the pilots, as he could see the worries fading on their faces. They looked steadier by then.

"Follow me," said Ye Chong, heading towards Exit No.1.

The 13th exit was the smallest pathway of the entire ship, with a mere diameter of 30 meters, initially meat for the safe boats.

But the exit looked totally different to the folks today, as they were welcomed by broad, reinforced metallic bars, a dense arrangement of them. These bars looked so sturdy that it should not bulge even when a mech crashed into it at full speed. The exit had appeared much narrower than before. Well it took an expanding design, where the point where they were standing was the narrowest and the pathway would open up as they travel.

"This, would be our battlefield," said Ye Chong, which confused the folks.

"What did he say?" There were whispers.

"Group of 5. On shifts. Watch on your formation and strategies." That was when they realized the meaning of the design. With such space, only 5 mechs could fight at the same time. And the narrowing pathway would help "filter" the raiding beasts to a more manageable amount. That explained all the reinforced metallic bars.

So that was Ye Chong's plan.

The catch was... how Ye Chong would be keeping the beasts busy here? How would he ensure that the beasts would only be intruding from here? Given that the beasts could be smart enough to launch a full attack over every corner of the ship, the plan would fail immediately.

"R-r-r-reporting. The batteries are here, s-sir," said one crew member, his voice trembling in anxiety.

Ye Chong responded with a nod, gesturing them to leave. It felt like amnesty for the members that they fled the scene like a free bird.

So there were over hundred fully charged batteries piling up behind them.

"Battle station," said their leader, in a firm voice.