Chapter 401: A Mysterious Creature — Friend or Foe? You're Tickling Me

At this moment, on the starry battlefield where cannon fire had been raging, there was utter silence.

Only the long-destroyed warships silently bloomed into beautiful fireworks, and the corpses of the slain insectoids silently dripped strange-colored fresh blood.

Yet by now, no one—no insect—paid any heed to those fallen comrades, and all, as if by unspoken agreement, turned their gaze toward the center of the battlefield.

For no apparent reason, at some unknown moment, a mysterious creature had appeared at the very center of the battlefield!

Its body resembled that of a human of the Star Sea Federation, standing on two legs, yet behind it swayed a long, razor-sharp tail that sent chills down the spine at a mere glance; atop its dignified, sacred, and ethereal head, no living being present dared meet its gaze.

Clearly, its body was smaller than even the weakest cannon-fodder among the insectoids. Yet merely by standing there, its overwhelming presence made every living being unable to ignore it, as though it were the very focus of all eyes.

"Captain, what should we do?"

Not far away, after retreating in tacit coordination with a Blade Insect of the insectoids, a young man piloting a tall, orange-red humanoid mecha named "Battle Armor" (Gundam-like in form) asked over comms for instructions, his face marked with uncertainty.

But even as he sought orders, his sharp, spirited eyes remained fixed on the grotesque insectoid opposite him—its belly bearing four pairs of blades that could easily slice open warship hulls.

That was one of the insectoids' most renowned elite frontline killing-machine breeds, a monster specially evolved to breach all manner of sturdy defenses!

"Hold position for now, keep a close eye on those damned bugs… I'll relay the situation here to the commander aboard the flagship."

At the center of the gathered Battle Armors, the young woman piloting a silver-white mech as dazzling as the stars—called captain—furrowed her brow; a warrior's keen intuition told her that the moment they struck that unknown creature nearby, they would surely encounter unimaginable turns of events.

It was precisely this keen intuition that held her impulsive instincts in check.

At the same time, the Blade Insects, having retreated with a certain measure of intelligence, exchanged glances with one another, continuously emitting hissing sounds from their mouths, seemingly communicating.

Finally, a Blade Queen—its body a deep, inky black, as though encased in hard metal, its upper half a young human female, its lower half a four-bladed insectoid torso—retreated to the rear guarded by the swarm, emitting a strange, soundless hiss, apparently using some special information channel to contact the Mother Insect of this insectoid horde.

For a time, the two elite forces clashing at the center of the battlefield maintained a bizarre, tacit understanding, and one after another ceased fighting.

After all, no one knew which side that mysterious creature belonged to…

"Report! A mysterious, unknown creature has suddenly appeared at the center of the battlefield… its allegiance is unknown; we await orders!"

"What?"

"What on earth is that creature?"

"How did IT even appear there…"

"Friend or foe?"

Aboard the flagship behind the fleet, as a clear image and report came in from the front lines, everyone was shocked; they rose as one, leaning forward in disbelief to stare at the mysterious yet noble and dignified creature on the screen.

"A flesh body! It—it can survive in the starry sky without any protection, by flesh alone—could this be the insectoids' secret weapon?"

A middle-aged man in a blue military uniform with four bars on his shoulder guessed in shock.

"No! That's not right—look at those elite Blade Insects on the other side; it should have nothing to do with those damned bugs."

Before long, another middle-aged commander shook his head and rejected the former's guess.

"Exactly. If it were those bugs' secret weapon, we wouldn't be seeing this strange ceasefire right now."

Someone agreed in response.

"In other words, that creature belongs to neither side?"

"But then, how did it appear?"

"You must realize, this is the very center of the battlefield, surrounded by endless starships and the swarm!"

"Just how did IT slip past our defenses and appear at the center of the battlefield without a sound?"

Someone noticed the suspicious point and spoke softly in thought.

"Moreover, what is the purpose of its appearance? Friend or foe? Battlefield opportunities are fleeting; we must quickly decide how to treat this mysterious creature."

"I say it's an enemy. To cross the starry sky in flesh alone without a shred of protection, its body must be extraordinarily powerful—remarkably similar to those damned bugs. It absolutely cannot be a friendly force!"

"Looking at its form, I even suspect this is very likely a powerful new breed the bugs have just spawned; its appearance here is meant to catch us off guard and crush our Xuanbei Star System!"

"Commander-in-Chief, give the order! Let the warriors of the Battle Armor Corps attack!"

From his seat, an aggressive hawkish commander decided thus—a dignified man with a handlebar mustache and a hooked nose.

"No! Sir, we cannot jump to conclusions so rashly! Judging by the bugs' behavior, that creature should have nothing to do with the insectoids; and although it is not of our human race, its form is humanoid—perhaps it is the planetary deity of some civilization, or perhaps a cultivation civilization…"

"Therefore, we might be able to use this excellent opportunity to win it over…"

Before the Commander-in-Chief above could speak, another commander on the other side rose, bowed, and spoke in persuasion—a dove, at odds with the hawks.

For a time, the entire command room resounded with fierce debate between the two factions' commanders; each side had its own reasoning, and in the end—

"There's no time to think it over, Commander-in-Chief—give the order!"

In the upper seat, listening to the two factions arguing again, a blue-haired girl with an icy expression could not help but furrow her brow; staring at the mysterious creature on the screen—surrounded by two opposing forces and looking somewhat "lonely and helpless"—she reached a decision in her heart, and slowly parted her pink lips: "Then…"

"Wait! Those bugs are moving!"

Just then, someone suddenly rose and cried out in alarm.

On the screen, the synced live feed from a certain Battle Armor squad captain's mech suddenly changed; the insectoids, who had been communicating moments before, suddenly ordered the squad of ferocious Blade Insects behind them to spew lethal flame streams, and together with the massive, terrifying Blade Queen, charged at the mysterious creature!

And not only that—at this moment, all the surrounding insectoids went berserk as if mad, ignoring the targets around them and rushing en masse toward that single mysterious creature; at the very center of the swarm, an exaggerated disturbance arose, as though something even more powerful than an elite breed like the Blade Queen was about to descend.

As though that mysterious creature were some extraordinarily delicious food, or as though some hidden instinct within them was driving them on—like moths to a flame, like fish leaping into a net…

The truth was that while the people aboard the flagship were debating, on the other side, a certain Blade Queen's special hiss connected to a powerful, chaotic, ancient consciousness; at that moment, that ancient consciousness, through the special link among the insectoids, finally sensed the aura of the mysterious creature, and abruptly stirred up a violent wave of consciousness in the ocean of minds, driving all the insectoids into a frenzy.

"Quick, notify everyone—intercept the insectoid assault; we absolutely cannot let them get close to that creature!"

The sudden turn of events abruptly cut off everyone's fierce debate; for the moment, all objectives aligned as one—intercept the insectoids!

Countless wars against the insectoids had taught all humanity of the Star Sea Federation one thing: anything tied to the insectoids must never be allowed to succeed, no matter what!

"Copy!"

"Everyone, follow me—intercept the insectoids!"

With the order issued, the Battle Armor squad captain, who had long been somewhat impatient to act, also lit up at the prospect and answered heartily.

The next instant, her silver-white mech, radiant as moonlight, charged out bravely at the forefront, a spear of pure white radiating an eerie chill gripped in hand.

But does Baichuan need help?

He had just been roused from his reverie when he saw the entire battlefield shift in an instant from utter silence to fierce action—countless grotesque insects rushing toward him.

And on one side, one after another, mechs brimming with cold metal and technological beauty charged out, seemingly trying to block the incoming swarm of strange insects.

And at the same moment, a special fluctuation carrying meaning was the first to be transmitted toward him, sent out by the foremost mech, its gist roughly: The swarm is dangerous! You up ahead, retreat!

This was a universal cosmic language used for communication between the various races of Xingkong; of course, calling it a language was one thing—in substance it was more akin to the special fluctuation Baichuan had first obtained to communicate with all things.

No need to worry about the communication gaps between different races; it directly conveyed the most essential intended meaning in a way the other party could understand.

"What a lively star battle…"

Watching this scene, Baichuan even had the leisure to chuckle softly. Sure enough, this was what he had imagined Xingkong to be like—stepping out of a planet only to encounter either a lonely, cold, lifeless dead silence of space, or some strange special environment that trapped him, or being targeted and hunted by terrifying creatures. What kind of business was that?

Perhaps it was because Baichuan had finally broken through to the Ancient Immortal realm and no longer feared his former great enemy, Zishu; having regained a heavy sense of security, he was no longer the slightest bit impatient, and began trying to appreciate the beauty of Xingkong, savoring every bit of "loveliness" encountered along the way.

'H-He… He actually smiled? …'

And this scene happened to be seen by the young woman piloting the silver-white mech as she charged out. For a moment, even she, who was usually known for being as calm as a killing machine, could not help but have her expression freeze.

One must know that what He was about to face now was the most terrifying insect race assault! Being targeted by countless insects and set into a frenzy, they charged over without caring about anything.

This terrifying honor—even those great figures behind her Federation, those whose status was lofty and heavily guarded, or those whose strength was the strongest and could traverse Xingkong—facing such a situation would be so afraid they couldn't sleep or eat well; where would they find the mood to laugh?

Was it ignorance? Or was it because…

The next moment, she understood!

In the void, a shadow abruptly appeared. A special creature, its entire body seemingly gathered from shadows, actually leapt up, tearing open the special space, and from above swung down the razor-sharp forelimb blades at its front!

The target was precisely that mysterious creature in her eyes!

It was an extremely dangerous creature. Its body was slender like a mantis, yet its entire body was jet-black with a shadow-like sheen. The pair of scythe-sharp forelimbs at its front were now spread wide, flashing with a deadly black-red light.

Its name—Shadow Mantis!

One of the most terrifyingly renowned soldier-types among the insect race. It moved stealthily through the void, traceless, specializing in decapitation tactics, strangling various promising death-heralds. The Star Sea Federation had no idea how many powerful figures and great personages had died under its assassination. What spread its fame across the entire Star Sea Federation was that it had once successfully assassinated a super-powerful expert capable of traversing Xingkong and defeating mechs in combat!

Now, on the battlefield, the mother insect of this insect swarm actually valued the creature before it so highly that it even deployed such a terrifying soldier-type!

"Danger!"

No time to think—the Commander and the others had just said they must prevent the insect race's objective from succeeding.

In that instant, she directly followed her instinct and activated 【Thought Overclock】. This was one of the most important abilities the humans of the Star Sea Federation used against the insect race, and also one of the hard requirements for piloting a mech and joining the mech corps. It could make one's own thoughts surpass the ordinary by several times or even dozens of times, entering a space akin to bullet-time and high-speed thought, in order to complete various operations normally hard to imagine.

In an instant, as the world in her eyes began to slow down, she stared fixedly at the Shadow Mantis falling from above, drew a strangely shaped weapon from one side of the "Yueguang Nüshen," and then sharply pulled the trigger,

"Bang bang bang…"

After a string of crisp sounds only she could hear through vibration, she even flung the weapon in her hand, transforming it into a spinning boomerang-like object that flew out, trying to block the Shadow Mantis for a moment.

However, facing the several attacks, the Shadow Mantis paid them no heed, remaining utterly unshaken as it fell toward the target below; those several attacks could only splash a few faint sparks on its body.

"It's over!"

In an instant, knowing she was already a step too late, a trace of unbearable sorrow surfaced in the young woman's eyes. Because to face a Shadow Mantis and not die, one had to either discover it in advance, dodge that terrifying attack as it leapt out of the void, or, like her, pilot a mech with extremely strong defense.

No creature could take the Shadow Mantis's death-scythe-like forelimb head-on!

Even the super-powerful experts of the Star Sea Federation who could traverse the void were the same. That deceased super-powerful expert had the misfortune of being slightly slow to react after drinking, failing to dodge and having his head cut off!

"Clang~~~!"

A strange fluctuation rippled out from Xingkong, clearly transmitted into the eyes of the young woman who had just shown that unbearable expression.

Normally, it was almost impossible for sound to be transmitted in Xingkong, but at this moment this sound clearly reached her ears, because it was not merely a physical-level attack, but also a slash from the spiritual level!

This was the true terror of the Shadow Mantis!

The next moment, a gentle voice tinged with a hint of confusion rang out.

"Are you tickling me?"

……

(End of this chapter)