Benua Andrea, pernah menjadi wilayah Organisasi Germinal, menanggung dampak mayoritas perang Era Lama. Ekspedisi Enam Negara ke tanah ini membuat kondisi sekitar semakin memburuk, dengan tingkat radiasi melonjak melewati garis peringatan. Tanah menghitam, lingkungan gersang, dan semua pengembara yang sebelumnya tinggal di area ini dipindahkan ke tiga benua lain. Andrea menjadi sebagian besar tidak dihuni, hanya beberapa binatang mutan yang masih bertahan di dalamnya.
Reruntuhan Organisasi Germinal terletak di benua itu, markas yang pernah megah berubah menjadi tumpukan tanah terbakar hitam pekat. Markas pusat juga lenyap, hanya menyisakan lubang hitam, dan markas bawah tanah dihancurkan total. Di sisi lingkaran ada garis hitam yang memancar ke luar, memanjang hingga ratusan mil.
Akibat konsentrasi radiasi nuklir yang berlebihan, Enam Negara hanya mengirim beberapa drone untuk mengeksplorasi reruntuhan setelah ledakan. Tidak ada barang berharga yang tersisa, dan tidak ada tanda-tanda kehidupan. Semuanya mati di bawah rangkaian serangan nuklir yang menggelegar.
Oleh karena itu, Enam Negara tidak repot-repot menghabiskan sumber daya untuk membersihkan kekacauan. Selama beberapa tahun terakhir, markas asli Organisasi Germinal dipenuhi abu dan debu tebal, dan pecahan-pecahan kecil yang tertembak saat ledakan menunjukkan tanda erosi. Kematian dan kekalahan terasa berat di atmosfer.
Namun, di area yang bahkan binatang mutan tidak bisa bertahan, sebuah siluet berdiri tepat di tengah reruntuhan Organisasi Germinal. Meskipun digambarkan sebagai 'siluet', sebenarnya hanyalah kerangka hitam pekat. Seolah daging dan darah seperti baja orang itu terbakar dalam ledakan beberapa tahun lalu, tapi kerangka hangusnya tetap utuh, tidak berubah jadi debu. Bahkan setelah begitu lama, ia tidak terurai jadi abu. Hanya tubuh Super yang memiliki ketahanan semacam ini, jauh melampaui manusia biasa.
Jelas bahwa tanda-tanda kehidupan di mayat ini sudah lama hilang, dan debu abu yang melayang di udara masuk keluar dari rongga mata yang kosong.
Mayat itulah yang perlahan kembali hidup. Ia melangkah satu demi satu, menggendong gumpalan zat gelatin hitam yang melekat di tulang leher. Zat itu mengeluarkan benang-benang seperti akar, melilit anggota badan di sepanjang tulang seolah dalang, menggunakan mayat untuk berlatih seperti boneka.
Zat gelatin hitam ini adalah sumber mutasi. Ia sudah melewati 'tahap bayi' hanya bisa mengekstrak energi pasif. Sekarang ia bisa mengejar energi secara aktif, serta terus berganti inang, saat melintasi gunung dan menyeberangi lautan untuk akhirnya sampai di benua Andrea, berkat indera kehidupan tak terhitung yang ia huni. Energi di sana tidak hanya besar, tapi juga mengandung radiasi tertinggi yang mudah diserapnya.
Reruntuhan Organisasi Germinal adalah zona kematian, semua inang sebelumnya sumber mutasi mati di dalamnya. Ia tidak punya pilihan lain selain terus menyeret tubuh sekarang ke reruntuhan. Kerangka yang dikendalikan adalah satu-satunya mayat tersisa di reruntuhan Organisasi Germinal, milik Pemimpin Organisasi Germinal. Saat ledakan, karena Pemimpin berada di markas bawah tanah, berbagai lapisan melindunginya dari sebagian besar dampak. Ditambah kekuatan tubuhnya, tulangnya terjaga, sementara sisanya sudah lama jadi debu.
Di tingkat molekuler, radiasi nuklir di reruntuhan Organisasi Germinal terus diserap sumber mutasi. Di tingkat mikroskopis, kecepatan pembelahan sel meningkat lebih dari seratus kali, dan sel-sel yang berkembang biak terus terintegrasi ke tubuhnya, memperbaiki kendalinya. Energi terus ditransformasi dan disintesis.
Dalam alur cerita lama, Tyne jadi inang asli sumber mutasi saat pertama kali lolos dari penjara. Tapi karena ditangkap Han Xiao untuk direformasi, tanpa 'alat' kuat ini, sumber mutasi menyia-nyiakan banyak waktu di jalan.
Namun, di alur lama, ia juga tidak memiliki 'tempat pengasuhan' seindah reruntuhan Organisasi Germinal.
Kerangka itu berjalan goyang perlahan saat sumber mutasi menyerap energi sepenuhnya seperti orang yang mati kelaparan dan kehausan. Tingkat radiasi, dengan demikian, perlahan menurun pada tingkat tak terlihat mata telanjang.
...
Armada Nakapu mengambang di belakang planet gersang. Jaraknya ke Planet Aquamarine sangat dekat, hanya butuh satu lompatan jarak pendek. Ini sektor terdekat yang bisa dicapai mode sembunyi. Lebih dekat lagi, sistem stealth tidak bisa lagi menyembunyikan dari radar militer Godora. Armada akan terpapar lokasinya.
Area ini mirip di lautan dalam. Pandangan hanya kegelapan, hanya arus air yang bisa dipakai menentukan apakah musuh mendekat. Semakin dekat jaraknya, semakin jelas gangguan airnya. Gravitasi tak beda dengan arus air; terlalu dekat, stealth kehilangan efektivitas. Ini bergantung pada kemampuan rekonans radar kapal yang terpasang.
Sebagai musuh lama, DarkStar jelas soal kemampuan peralatan militer Godora sambil terus naikkan standar kemampuan stealth mereka sendiri.
Interior kapal komando sibuk, semua orang bergegas menyiapkan serangan akhir. Nakapu memverifikasi berbagai intelijen dari pengintai yang dikirim.
"Berapa jumlah pasukan pertahanan yang dimiliki Planet Aquamarine saat ini?"
"Ada seratus dua puluh fregat Godora reguler di luar angkasa. Ini armada ukuran sedang. Seharusnya pasukan dari pangkalan militer Nadban."
"Ada intelijen dari pasukan jerat?"
"Ada, mereka bilang selain armada pengawal, ada lebih dari selusin komando antariksa tim penanggulangan bencana Godora. Tim terdepan adalah perwira senior biro perang, Nagakin, seorang pugilist tingkat Bencana."
Nakapu datar ekspresinya. "Super tingkat Bencana, ini agak merepotkan. Kita tidak punya tempur tingkat tinggi di sini, jadi opsi menembus dengan kapal perang langsung dibuang. Untungnya cuma pugilist. Berita lain?"
"Selain Godoran, ada pasukan lain di Planet Aquamarine, Kelompok Tentara Bayaran Black Star Tim Lapangan Naga Melayang. Mereka juga punya lebih dari sepuluh kapal antariksa."
"Black Star..." Nakapu tidak bergeming. "Mereka tentara bayaran yang menjebak kita di Noriosse kan? Bunch merepotkan juga. Kelihatannya Planet Aquamarine agak spesial, pertahanan jauh di atas dua planet sebelumnya. Ini agak berduri. Jalankan Rencana 4."
Mendengar Black Star di Planet Aquamarine, Nakapu tidak terkejut. Baginya, cuma musuh lain yang harus dihadapi. Tidak perlu buat keributan besar.
Bukan berarti Nakapu meremehkan mereka. Setelah menghitung kontras kekuatan tempur kedua belah pihak, ia putuskan lanjutkan eksekusi serangan.
Singkatnya, penambahan Korps Tentara Bayaran Black Star cuma bikin dia agak lebih pusing, dan itu saja.
...
"DarkStar bisa muncul kapan saja. Aku butuh kalian semua bereaksi di tanda pertama, jadi matakan mata lebar-lebar dan bangunkan semangat!"
Di orbit Planet Aquaquamarine, komandan eskadron kapal perang pasukan Godoran, Barette, berteriak keras lewat saluran kom. Dia Godoran pendek dengan temperamen ledak. Suaranya bergema seperti guntur, bergema di penerima.
"Komandan Barette, radar menemukan sasaran kita. Armada mendekat dengan cepat... Mereka berhenti! Koordinat C-02-07!"
Barette segera menatap layar radar, melihat lebih dari seratus titik terpampang. Ini armada DarkStar. Lalu dia melihat ke jendela, tapi tidak ada tanda pasukan DarkStar mendekat. Jarak keduanya mendekat cepat, mencapai batas ekstrem jangkauan meriam kedua belah pihak.
Ohm!
Saat itu, alarm di ruang komando tiba-tiba berbunyi nyaring, berkedip merah.
"Peringatan! Terdeteksi respons energi indeks tinggi mendekat dengan cepat! Tabrakan akan datang!"
Di luar jendela, kegelapan angkasa tiba-tiba terang ribuan sinar hijau saat senapan ion yang padat menembak dari jauh.
Armada Nakapu melancarkan serangan over-the-horizon!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The Andrea Continent, once the territory of the Germinal Organization, had borne the majority of aftermath of the war of the old era. The expedition of the Six Nations to this land had caused the surroundings to deteriorate further, with the radiation level shooting past the warning line. The lands were blackened, the surroundings were desolate, and all the wanderers that had previously been living in this area were shifted to the other three continents. Andrea had become largely uninhabited, with only a few mutant beasts still surviving within.
The ruins of the Germinal Organization lay on that continent, the once magnificent base having turned into a black pile of scorched earth. The central base had also vanished, leaving only a black hole, and the underground base had been completely obliterated. By the side of the circle was a black line radiating outward, extending over hundreds of miles.
Due to the excessive concentration of nuclear radiation, the Six Nations had only sent some drones to explore the ruins after the explosions. Nothing valuable was left, and there were no signs of life. Everyone had died under the frenzied series of nuclear strikes.
As such, the Six Nations did not bother wasting their resources to clean up the mess. Over the past couple of years, the original base of the Germinal Organization had become filled with thick ash and dust, and the little shrapnel that had been shot out during the explosion bore signs of erosion. Death and defeat hung heavily in the atmosphere.
Yet, in that area where even mutant beasts could not survive, a silhouette stood in the very center of the Germinal Organization ruins. While it could be described as a ‘silhouette’, it was actually merely a blackened skeleton. It was as though the steel-like flesh and blood of the person had been incinerated in the explosion a few years ago, but the charred skeleton remained somehow, not turning into powder. Even after such a long time, it did not decompose into ash. Only the body of a Super had this sort of toughness, far beyond that of ordinary humans.
It was obvious that the signs of life in this corpse had long since disappeared, and the gray dust floating in the air drifted in and out of its hollow eye sockets.
It was such a corpse that was slowly coming back to life. It gradually took one step after another, limping with a lump of black gelatinous substance attached at the cervical vertebrae. It extended out threads akin to roots, entwining the limbs along the bones as if it was a puppeteer, using the corpse to practice like a marionette.
This black gelatinous substance was the mutation source. It had already passed through its ‘infant stage’ of only being able to passively extract energy. It could now actively pursue energy, as well as constantly swap its hosts, as it crossed mountains and waded through the oceans to finally reach the Andrea continent, benefitting from the senses of the countless lives it occupied. The energy present there was not only huge, it also contained the highest amount of radiation energy present that could be easily absorbed by it.
The Germinal Organization’s ruins were a death zone, with all the previous hosts of the Mutation Source dying within. It had no other alternative except to continuously drag its current body over to the ruins. The skeleton that it was controlling had been the only corpse left in the Germinal Organization ruins, that of the Germinal Organization’s Leader. During the explosion, because the Leader had been situated in the underground base, the various layers had shielded him from most of the impact. In addition to the strength of his body, his bones had been preserved, while the rest had long turned to dust.
At a molecular level, the nuclear radiation in the Germinal Organization ruins was continuously being absorbed by the Mutation Source. On the microscopic level, one could see that the speed of cell division had increased by over a hundred times, and the proliferating cells were constantly being integrated into its body, improving its control. Energy was constantly being transformed and synthesized.
In the past plot, Tyne had become the original carrier of the Mutation Source when he first escaped from prison. However, because he had been captured by Han Xiao to be reformed, without this powerful ‘tool’, the Mutation Source had wasted a lot of time on the road.
However, in the past plot, it had also not possessed as wonderful a ‘nurturing cradle’ as the ruins of the Germinal Organization.
The skeleton slowly staggered as the Mutation Source absorbed as much energy as it could like a man dying of hunger and thirst. The radiation levels, thus, slowly decreased at a level unseen to the naked eye.
...
Nakapu’s fleet was suspended at the rear of a barren planet. The distance from there to Planet Aquamarine was extremely short, with only one short-range jump needed. This was the closest sector one could go in stealth mode. Any nearer, and the stealth system would no longer be able to hide from the military radar of Godora. The fleet would also expose its location.
This area was similar to being in the deep sea. With one’s field of vision comprising only of darkness, only the flow of water could be used to determine if enemies were approaching. The closer the distance, the more obvious the disturbance in water would be. Gravity was not unlike the flow of water; get too close, and stealth would lose its effectiveness. This was dependent on the reconnaissance capabilities of the spaceship’s equipped radar.
As longtime enemies, DarkStar was clear of the capabilities of Godora’s military equipment while constantly raising the bar for their own stealth cloaking abilities.
The interior of the command ship was bustling, as everyone scurried to perform final preparations for the attack. Nakapu was confirming various intel from the scouts sent out.
“What is the number of defense forces that Planet Aquamarine currently possesses?”
“There are a hundred and twenty regular Godora frigates in outer space. This is a medium-sized fleet. It should be a force sent from the Nadban military base.”
“Any intel from the ambush troops?”
“Yes, they said that in addition to the escort fleet, there are more than a dozen space shuttles of the Godora disaster relief team. The leading team is a senior officer of the war bureau, Nagakin, a pugilist at the Calamity Grade.”
Nakapu remained expressionless. “A Calamity Grade Super, this is slightly troublesome. We don’t have any high levelled combatants here, so we can immediately rule out the option of fighting through our warships. Luckily, it’s just a pugilist. Any other news?”
“Other than the Godorans, there’s another force that is on Planet Aquamarine, the Floating Dragon Field Team’s Black Star Mercenary Group. They too own over ten spaceships.”
“Black Star...” Nakapu remained unmoved. “They’re the mercenaries who ambushed us on Noriosse, right? They’re also a bunch of annoying fellows. Seems like Planet Aquamarine is slightly more special, with a defense far above that of the previous two planets. This will be a little thorny. Let’s go with Plan 4.”
Even after hearing that Black Star was on Planet Aquamarine, Nakapu was not surprised. To him, it was merely another enemy that they needed to deal with. There was no need to kick up a big fuss.
It was not that Nakapu was looking down on them. After calculating the contrast of combat power between both parties, he had decided to carry on with the execution of the attack.
In other words, the addition of a Black Star Mercenary Corps just made him feel slightly more troubled, and that was it.
...
“DarkStar may appear at any time. I need all of you to react at the first sign, so all of you had better keep your eyes wide open for me and raise your spirits!”
In Planet Aquamarine’s orbit, the warship squadron commander of the Godoran troops, Barette, was shouting loudly through the comms channel. He was a short Godoran with an explosive temper. His voice boomed like thunder, echoing through the receivers.
“Commander Barette, the radar has discovered our objective. A fleet is approaching us at a fast speed... They’ve stopped! The coordinates are C-02-07!”
Barette immediately gazed at the radar screen, seeing more than a hundred blips being displayed on it. This was the DarkStar fleet. He then looked out of the porthole, but there was no sign of the DarkStar troops approaching. The distance between the two was closing fast, reaching the extreme limits of both parties’ cannon range.
Ohm!
At this time, the alarm in the command room suddenly blared, flashing with a red light.
“Warning! Detected a high index energy response rapidly approaching! Impending collision!”
Outside the porthole, the inky darkness of the universe was suddenly lit up with thousands of green light rays as the densely clustered ion guns shot from afar.
Nakapu’s fleet was employing over-the-horizon strikes!
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