Chapter 295 – Commander
With such a powerful weapon in her hands, Tu Ran became even more assertive. This weapon was particularly impressive because there were two of them, one in each hand, allowing her to slay two beasts at the same time, effectively doubling her progress. She moved through the horde of alien beasts like a whirlwind, nearly unstoppable.
One red energy screen after another flashed continuously.
Her mental power soared, and her accumulation rate reached 56%, surpassing the level she had before using her abilities.
Tu Ran hadn’t forgotten Ye Hongci’s reminder that there might be a commander among the beasts.
She speculated that the beast skilled in earth-burrowing had switched from attacking Ye Hongci to targeting her, likely due to the influence of this commander.
She wondered how this commander would react when it saw its elite fighter die by her hand and pondered what stronger beast it might send her way next.
She was curious about the intelligence level of the beasts in the Haenden star system. Could they surpass the ones within the Threshold?
Rather than waiting passively, Tu Ran preferred to go on the offensive.
She casually grabbed a nearby beast, pulling it close and gripping it by the back of the neck.
“Who is your commander?” she whispered near the back of the beast’s head.
A few disjointed fragments flashed through her mind.
A particular beast appeared repeatedly in these fragments—a brown-furred, round-faced, bear-like creature.
After receiving her answer, Tu Ran slashed the beast’s neck with her claws and tossed it aside, knocking down a row of advancing beasts in the process.
Tu Ran looked around, searching for the target creature.
She didn’t see it in the front row. Some of the beasts were too tall, blocking her view of the back.
“General, I need to get a higher vantage point,” Tu Ran communicated directly to Ye Hongci.
Without hesitation, Ye Hongci arranged a flying mecha for her.
A black flying mecha received the order, flew over Tu Ran, and lifted her by her shoulders.
Ye Hongci temporarily took her place at the front of the team.
The mecha in the air had its own challenges as well, constantly dodging bird-like beasts diving at it. The mecha held Tu Ran and maneuvered nimbly to avoid attacks.
Tu Ran kept her gaze fixed below, scanning for any suspicious beasts.
Finally, she spotted it at the rear of the beast horde.
Smart indeed—directing the other beasts to charge forward while it hid in the back.
At the same moment Tu Ran looked at the bear-like beast, it lifted its head.
It had heterochromatic eyes: one blood-red, the other deep green. The instant it saw Tu Ran, it bared its teeth in a threatening display and then turned to retreat, running away.
“That bear! Catch it!” Tu Ran shouted, pointing at the bear.
The mecha above her immediately flapped its wings, accelerating in a dive toward the bear.
All the bird-like beasts in the sky swarmed in response, abandoning other flying mechas and targeting the two mechas, forcing them into evasive maneuvers and destabilizing them.
The birds were clearly trying to prevent their escape.
This only solidified Tu Ran’s suspicion: that bear was indeed the commander.
Ye Hongci ordered other airborne mechas to help free Tu Ran from the onslaught, while drones were dispatched to track the bear’s position.
Now, Tu Ran’s only job was to find a way to break free.
She grabbed the two arms strapped around the mecha’s waist for easier lift-off.
“You just focus on flying; leave the beasts to me,” she shouted.
“Understood,” came the reply from above, as the mecha gripped her mecha’s shoulders and flew straight toward the bird-like beasts.
Tu Ran sighed to herself…no need to fly right into them.
Left with no choice, she braced herself for action.
Gripping the two severed arms tightly, she swung them together at the head of a bird in the center. The bird-like beast, speeding toward her, seemed to hit an invisible wall as its body came to a halt mid-air, its head crushed between two claws that pierced through its skull from both sides.
The bird-like beast didn’t even have time to scream before it died.
Tu Ran spread her arms, pulling the claws out of the beast’s skull, bringing with them a string of sticky blood droplets. The beast’s body plummeted straight down from the high sky.
Their current position was directly above a swarm of beasts, so when this bird-like creature fell, its large size and weight caused it to smash into and knock out a group of its own kind.
Tu Ran didn’t have time to observe the chaos below, as more bird-like beasts were coming for her.
She repeated her previous actions, striking the birds’ heads like nails being hammered into wood, one after another, swiftly and efficiently.
The bird-like beasts rained down, causing significant indirect damage to the horde below as well.
Not all the birds were so cooperative, lining up in front of her to be struck. Some tried to sneak in from the sides.
Tu Ran adjusted her strategy, using the severed arms like flyswatters, swatting at the attackers.
While less powerful than her claws, these severed limbs couldn’t kill the beasts outright, but they still left deep gashes on the creatures’ bodies.
Most of the beasts, in pain, lost their balance and fell.
Suspended in mid-air, Tu Ran swung the two severed claws she’d taken from the alien beast, dispatching every creature that came at her.
She seemed like an insulated force in the air; any beast that got too close was immediately knocked away, leaving a near vacuum around her.
The bird-like beasts in the sky were completely powerless to retaliate.
…
On the main star, Zhou Ming watched the live broadcast, instinctively touching his head as he took in the scene.
His head was starting to ache.
Zhou Ming was seated far from Qi Tongda.
At this moment, they both instinctively glanced toward each other.
The two sets of eyes met from a distance, silently communicating.
Young Master Qi: This scene feels a bit familiar.
Zhou Ming: Last time we were beaten like this…
Young Master Qi: …Is it really her?
Zhou Ming: …Unless something goes wrong… it’s her.
With teary eyes, Young Master Qi turned his gaze away.
Damn, how embarrassing. He had just treated Tu Ran like an idol and had nearly performed a sliding knee in excitement.
…
Tu Ran blasted through the swarm of bird-like beasts with sparks flying, a mecha carrying her as it chased the retreating brown bear.
The brown bear wasn’t running fast. After so much time, it had only covered about five or six kilometers, and Tu Ran soon spotted its shadow in a rocky forest.
“Land.” Tu Ran instructed, tightening her grip on her claws.
The mecha above her immediately reduced its speed, and when it was only about twenty meters from the ground, it dropped Tu Ran.
As the mecha’s feet touched the ground, Tu Ran swiftly maneuvered it forward, chasing after the bear.
The flying mecha didn’t leave immediately but instead circled in the air, guarding her against any other beasts trying to ambush.
Tu Ran quickly caught up to the brown bear and swung her claws at its back.
The brown bear deftly swished its tail, evading the strike, then locked its heterochromatic eyes onto Tu Ran, growling low in anger from its chest.
At this close range, Tu Ran could clearly see its eyes. It wasn’t actually heterochromatic. The red eye on the right had been damaged, blood seeping into it, making it appear red.
Tu Ran aimed for its right eye.
The brown bear immediately retreated, trying to avoid her, but Tu Ran relentlessly pursued, her claws switching in turns as she latched onto its right eye, not letting go.
