Chapter 71: 69 Ai Ran Cheng Joins the Battle

“King Tortoise, Queen Tortoise, fall back quickly!”

Qi Ming saw the Chaos Virus twitch and shouted a warning.

The King and Queen Tortoises also realized the glowing orb was no benign presence; they tried to flee, but it was too late.

“Boom!” The orb slammed down, the Chaos Virus entering the bodies of the King and Queen Tortoises, beginning to transform their bodies.

Bogaaru seized the instant Qi Ming was distracted, forcefully shoved down Gaia’s arms, leaned right to break free, then lashed out with its tail straight at Gaia’s head.

Qi Ming snapped back and raised his left arm to block; Bogaaru’s left claw followed with a strike to Gaia’s right side.

In the moment Qi Ming sidestepped, he seized Bogaaru’s opening and swung his right fist hard—a heavy blow that left Bogaaru reeling and locked in stiffness.

If it were one-on-one, the battle would already be over; Qi Ming could finish Bogaaru now with a Quantum Ice Blade.

But the arrival of the Chaos Virus complicated the situation.

The eyes of the King and Queen Tortoises glowed crimson, and sharp spines sprouted across their bodies, appearing ferocious beyond measure.

“Chaos-converted…?” Qi Ming’s heart sank slightly.

“Roar!” Both let out furious growls, intent on tearing apart the target ahead, charging straight at Gaia.

Qi Ming dodged right; Bogaaru, recovered, fired a purple destruction beam that struck Gaia’s back.

“That stings…” Qi Ming stabilized his stance and pulled back to a safe distance.

Three-on-one again, but this time it was trickier.

In the original Ultraman Taro series, the King and Queen Tortoises defeated Taro head-on; now, after Chaos-conversion, their power has climbed another level.

Moreover, they are Earth monsters—Qi Ming couldn’t truly go all out to kill them; he had to find an opportunity to “reform” them, restoring them from Chaos-conversion.

But Bogaaru, watching closely, would never give him that chance. He was outnumbered—when would that guy arrive…?

“Shhh!” The next moment, Bogaaru fired another purple destruction beam at Gaia.

“Shhh!” Seijiro immediately opened fire; a green Spire Cannon shot clashed with the purple beam, canceling it out.

Qi Ming’s earlier combo against Bogaaru had been too fluid for him to intervene, but now he could join the fight.

“Roar!” The King Tortoise launched into the air again, hurtling toward Gaia.

Another Spire Cannon struck the King Tortoise’s shell, but with minimal effect—no damage, only a brief halt.

Yamaguchi and Kishida, chasing the Chaos Virus, arrived in another Hibari-1.

Kishida: “Captain, weren’t the giant tortoises usually docile? How did they become like this?”

Seijiro: “Later. Focus fire on Bogaaru—ease the pressure on Ultraman!”

Seeing the two Hibari-1s slightly delay Bogaaru’s assault, Qi Ming launched a fierce attack, aiming to stun the two giant tortoises and use [Gaia Heal] to restore them.

But the King and Queen Tortoises had extremely high defense; their non-humanoid forms made Qi Ming’s techniques hard to adapt to, yielding little benefit after a full combo.

“Shhh!” The Chaos-converted King and Queen Tortoises grew even more ferocious, soaring into the air and spinning at high speed to form a vacuum vortex.

This technique is called “Magnetic Vortex”—in the original Ultraman Taro series, they used it to defeat Taro.

“Looking at this, it’s just like the ‘Combined Technique—Feathered Dragon Slaying Dance’ from ‘Luo Luo’s Adventure,’” Qi Ming thought.

He remained calm, activated Diamond Mountain Sea Fist, and nullified the technique.

Bogaaru seized the chance, braving the bombardment from the two Hibari-1s, closing in on Gaia and wrapping its tail, crackling with paralyzing electricity, around him.

At that moment, another figure entered the battlefield.

It streaked across the sky, casting a vast shadow over the ground.

“Demon Beast Maga Basa ? No—its feathers are red and white; it’s Maga Basa ’s kin, [Gue Basa ]!” Qi Ming recognized the newcomer.

It first appeared in Ultraman R/B, summoned by Ai Ran Cheng.

“What’s going on?!” Ai Ran Cheng, having transformed into Gue Basa via Spin Flash and flown here in desperation, stared at the scene, stunned.

He recognized Bogaaru—he knew it was a monster-eating terrorist.

But what were those two giant tortoises, destined for the Monster Conservation Zone, doing here?

How had they become so monstrous? Could this appearance still win public sympathy?

Qi Ming looked at Gue Basa and feigned ignorance: “Did Ren Long send you to help? Block Bogaaru first—I’ll restore the two giant tortoises to normal right away.”

Hearing his beloved monster could be restored, Ai Ran Cheng instantly relaxed.

This Ultraman warrior thinks I’m an Earth monster? Perfect.

Ai Ran Cheng immediately put on an act, playing the clumsy Earth monster, controlling Gue Basa to charge at Bogaaru—soon they were evenly matched.

Kishida inside the Hibari-1 saw this: “Team Leader Qi Ming’s hypothesis was correct—Earth monsters really do help each other.”

Seijiro: “Focus fire on Bogaaru!”

The two Hibari-1s and Gue Basa simultaneously suppressed Bogaaru; Qi Ming could now fully focus on the two giant tortoises.

After their earlier clash, he noticed that even Chaos-converted, the two tortoises instinctively protected the nearby eggs, preventing outsiders from approaching.

Qi Ming exploited this trait to disrupt their rhythm, then reactivated Diamond Mountain Sea Fist to stun them.

“Too bad I don’t have a professional Gaus—let’s see if this works.”

Qi Ming activated [Gaia Heal], converting the energy of his photon blade into healing energy, enveloping the two giant tortoises.

In episode 24 of the original Gaia series, this technique calmed the agitated emotions and combat instincts of the monster Zhong Nai Er, allowing it to retreat peacefully underground.

Both are reform techniques—surely it would have some effect…

Struck by [Gaia Heal], the two giant tortoises ceased their frenzy and calmed down.

After struggling, they successfully expelled the Chaos Virus from their bodies.

Unfortunately, [Gaia Heal] lacked the power of Gaus’s [Full Moon Light Wave]; the expelled Chaos Virus spun once and vanished into the sky.

Qi Ming had no way to stop it now—he could only watch helplessly as it caused chaos and departed.

On the other side, Bogaaru’s back pattern released a powerful shockwave, blasting Gue Basa away.

Seeing defeat was inevitable, it flickered and vanished from its spot.

Thus, the matter ended.

The Defense Force’s ships were all sunk; the Chaos Virus and Bogaaru had retreated.

The King and Queen Tortoises were alive; all four eggs remained intact.

“Ding-dong—ding-dong—ding-dong.” After the battle, Gaia’s Color Timer began flashing.

This only indicated low energy—not a warning that time was running out.

“Follow me.” Qi Ming picked up the four eggs and flew toward the Kariya Archipelago.

The two giant tortoises understood Gaia meant no harm and followed slowly.

Ai Ran Cheng’s heart swelled with joy, and he trailed far behind.

Thus, under the amazed gazes of Yamaguchi and Kishida, the two giant tortoises successfully relocated to their new home.

With Ai Ran Cheng watching over them, they would live undisturbed, in a safe environment, awaiting the birth of new life.

(End of Chapter)