Chapter 756 Stranded
The bullets detonated on Khan, further burning his skin. Still, the [Blood Shield] endured the blows, protecting his organs and other vital parts. The rage in his aura also dispersed any trace of smoke that tried to rise from him or his surroundings, quickly clearing the area.
The bullets and Khan's aura had changed the ground beyond recognition. His spot and surroundings had turned into a vast, crackling crater full of expanding fissures. The surface seemed about to give in, but the ship had also suffered a fair share of damage.
Khan had aimed the spear at the hole dug by his first attack, but the spell had hit the intact canopy. That was still a decent achievement, but the team had lifted mana shields after the first exchange. The reinforced glass remained intact, but strands of destructive energy had leaked through the gap, damaging the main deck.
The outcome came in the shape of a fuming canopy. Most of the smoke was on the outside, caused by the spear's explosion. However, a part originated from the main deck, indicating consistent damage.
Khan had kept his right arm lifted while enduring the rifles' bullets, and a strand of mana quickly materialized between his thumb and forefinger. He was ready to continue his assault on the fuming ship, but the latter had different plans. He prepared his shot only to see the vehicle turning and flying farther into the sky.
The ship flew away, rising until it became nothing more than a dot in Baoway's azure atmosphere. Eventually, it disappeared, leaving only traces of its existence in the symphony. Khan couldn't confirm where it had gone, but the battle seemed over for now.
Khan stared at the sky, unsure of what to expect. He had landed close enough to the original HQ to sense that the second ship had vanished, too, but nothing else flew in his direction. Everyone had departed, leaving him alone with his pain.
'What are they planning?' Khan wondered.
It made sense for the second ship to leave the planet altogether. The lab had a blue plant and multiple Scalqa corpses. Those samples could provide enough data to finance a new mission. Also, the special bush might survive the trip if luck was on the Global Army's side.
'Wait,' Khan suddenly realized. 'Fergus might have lied to me about that.'
The general betrayal and discovery of the black device inside Fergus forced Khan to reconsider everything. All about the past months could be a lie. The lab could very well have something capable of keeping the blue plant alive, and the same went for the Scalqa corpses. Maybe Margaret already had everything she needed to attempt to create artificial organic mana cores.
Instead, things with the first ship were different. Clearly, taking out Khan was one of the envoy's main goals, but the latter probably didn't expect to suffer so much damage during the hunt. Temporarily giving up could be a wise choice, especially when the only means of returning home was at stake.
Of course, those were mere guesses. Both ships could have simply returned to orbit to wait for additional orders. They might have even flown to a different quadrant included in the negotiations with the Empire. Khan couldn't confirm any of that. He only knew he was stranded on Baoway.
Khan checked himself only to discover that he was virtually naked. Even his sheath had fallen, leaving the cursed knife in the middle of the crater. Still, his interest was on something else, and finding it intensified his anger.
The bullets had burned Khan's clothes to a crisp, including anything they contained. He found his phone, or, more precisely, what was left of it. The device had split into three different parts, and none of them even tried to work.
Khan's mind instinctively made the point of the situation. He had been betrayed, left behind, and deprived of his only hope of contacting help. He had even lost the folder with Monica's albums. The future looked grim, and things worsened.
Movements invaded the nearby forest. Stomping noises resounded through the trunks as the ground began to tremble. Something big was coming, and Khan didn't need to turn to understand its nature.
Scalqa from different tribes walked past the forest's edge, gathering on the barren ground in various groups. Most aliens came from nomadic parties and had met Khan only during his night trips. Yet, the Bone Tribe was also there, and its stance was unclear.
Kru-Zi and other familiar faces from the Bone Tribe had arrived in the area wielding rifles. They might have brought those weapons due to the mess caused by the battle, but Khan sensed some hesitation in their auras. A couple of Scalqa even inspected Kru-Zi, seemingly awaiting further orders.
'Do they want to take me out, too?' Khan almost mocked himself. He had yet to face the crowd of aliens, but lowering his eyes made him acknowledge their intentions.
The [Blood Shield] had protected Khan's vital parts, but his state wasn't even close to decent. His chest had a gory hole, most of his skin had turned dark and red due to the many burns, and his heart felt heavy after abusing the defensive alien technique.
Anyone could see that Khan was weak, and his awful appearance had a deeper impact on that primitive species. Kru-Zi and the others knew how strong Khan was, but that could be their chance to eliminate him. After all, he remained an invader, a variable who had just lost support from his allies.
Kru-Zi had yet to make a decision, giving Khan time to think. He turned, running his cold but intense eyes on the crowd of Scalqa. Then, he looked at the sky. His problems went far beyond injuries and lack of ships. He had a target on his back issued by organizations that could move entire planets.
Khan had expected a ploy, but the betrayal had surpassed his wildest dreams. His enemies didn't only surround him with assassins. They had also provided devices that could counter his greatest advantages. He guessed everyone in his team had those black machines inside their bodies, and thinking about the timeline sent a chill down his spine.
Those unknown parties had developed effective countermeasures for Khan during the four months of his lessons. They had probably been at work at that for far longer, but Khan's teachings had to have played a key role in completing the project. He had revealed some of his secrets, and his enemies had exploited that.
Tuning multiple devices in that short period must have required immense wealth and manpower. Specialists had to have worked day and night to finish those tools before the departure to Baoway, and few parties inside the Global Army had that kind of influence. Obviously, all of them were far above Khan in every field.
Moreover, the mission was incomplete. Khan was still alive, so those parties might send additional assassins to deal with him before the Thilku Empire noticed anything. Baoway's unique political environment probably protected him from missiles fired from orbit, but nothing could stop more enemies from landing and hunting him down.
Until now, Khan's mindset would have pushed him to focus on himself. The stronger he was, the higher his chances of survival against unknown threats would be. In theory, his current situation also required that since he was forced to wait for rescue parties, more assassins, or Empire's representatives.
However, Khan didn't survive the ploy on his own. He wasn't alive thanks to his strength, and his eyes slowly fell on the maimed corpse nearby. Khan owed his life to Zu-Gru, an unexpected ally who had sacrificed himself in a moment of need.
'Strength didn't save me,' Khan concluded. 'Allies did.'
Khan's eyes lit up as he glanced at Kru-Zi. His aura intensified as mana escaped his right palm, giving birth to a mass of energy that released an angry cry. The cloud spell appeared in the open, echoing the fury inside Khan's mind.
"[Kru-gru-xa]," Khan muttered, keeping the cloud down but wielding it in his grasp.
The cloud screamed, raging against Khan's restraint. It wanted to fly forward and unleash the anger caused by the recent events. Yet, Khan kept it still, burning his own fingers in the process.
The Scalqa had never seen the Cloud spell, but their primitive instincts warned them about its danger. That was no common attack. That mass of energy was a wild, raging beast created by a far scarier creature.
The charred ground continued to break under the joint pressure of Khan and the cloud. He even stepped forward, slowly approaching Kru-Zi. His bright eyes carried no mercy or affection. He was ready to wage a solitary war to obtain what he needed.
The Scalqa in Kru-Zi's team thought about lifting their rifles, but strength vanished from their thick arms. They knew nothing could stop Khan, and the slightest trace of hostility would release that purple-red monster in his hand.
Kru-Zi knew fear could lead to dumb and reckless decisions. He began to feel scared about what his companions could do, but those thoughts disappeared in the back of his mind. Truth be told, his battle experience had already told him what to do, and his hands opened to release the rifle.
The fall of the rifles attracted the alien crowd's attention, but Kru-Zi took things one step further. His knees also went to the ground as he lifted his palms to the sky. He offered himself to Khan, making a traditional gesture all the Scalqa recognized.
Kru-Zi's companions didn't hesitate to imitate him once they noticed the gesture. They kneeled to Khan, begging for mercy and more.
Khan inspected the group of Scalqa before glancing at his surroundings. The other factions and tribes were still standing, but his face said enough. Soon, everyone kneeled, lifting their hands to the sky.