Planet Master

“Alright, the next operation is in tandem with the Third Division.” Tatsumi had to brief his group about their next move.

He continued, “The Third Division is known to be the artillery experts and this time we are needed to cover them. Preventing the enemy from approaching their position, we will form a protective wall around the artillery positions.

“Remember, this is a defensive mission. You can attack any incoming Lizardfolk, whether it was soldiers or transcendents but don’t leave your designated position. We are also equipped with some long-range capability, but as usual the bullets are limited. Do you all understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Good, now we go and don’t forget to bring your spatial pouch.”

-

Durin Valley was one of the locations that the map from the Lizardfolk had been revealed. The Third Division had placed numerous artillery on the top of the valley, pointing toward the plain beyond the valley.

“The Lizardfolk are sighted!” Ame said. Her eyes could see things far away thanks to her skillful use of transcendent energy and mental power, causing her eyesight to reach the same level as Pterosaur.

Tatsumi then used his wristwatch to contact the members of the transcendent strike group.

“We’ve got company! Beware that they may use any means to drive you away.”

There were Lizardfolk who rode on the two-legged large birds, forming a cavalry with the Lizardfolk wielding a rifle to machine gun and pointing the muzzle toward Tatsumi’s group.

But the transcendent group was also ready with their magic-engineered rifle and machine guns.

Both sides then fired their weapons, causing damage to their environment. The cavalry was shot by the incessant fired by the transcendents. The transcendents were skillfully using the fortifications to better protect themselves.

In the case that they were hit, a protective layer would block the bullets so their safety was high.

Then from the Lizardfolk’s cavalry came a transcendent energy that gathered the surrounding air to form a big globe of wind.

Tatsumi saw it and decided to interfere to kill the scheme in the cradle. He willed using his mind power that connected to the surrounding air, causing a disturbance.

Tatsumi’s control of the air was proven to be superior as the air burst among the charging Lizardfolk’s cavalry, causing their formation to be broken.

Worse, the artillery behind him had already fired their shells and rockets to the cavalry, causing additional casualties.

Explosions and fire spread along the battlefield and both sides were now locked in a heated battle.

“There is a strong one among the Lizardfolk.” Ame sent her mind transmission to Tatsumi.

“I’ll head there. I need to test my strength after all.” Tatsumi replied in the same manner.

Then Tatsumi used Lightness Movement Skill to move fast along the valley. He could perceive which ones among the Lizardfolk were the strongest so he went in that direction.

His eyes glinted as he found the target.

The target was using a bone spear which was used to sweep around him from the members of the transcendent strike group. His men were having a tough time dealing with him, threatening to have casualties at the rate the current situation was going.

Then Tatsumi used the movement skill that caused afterimages and attacked the Lizardfolk in question.

The target seemed to have good battle instinct as he swept the spear to his right side, where Tatsumi’s blade met with the strong bone spear.

The clash between the weapon as well as transcendent energy caused a small crater to form. The bird, the target was on cried pitifully as the bird had to endure the pressure from Tatsumi’s attack and buckled up.

The Lizard then jumped and landed on the ground and glared at Tatsumi.

Tatsumi also looked at his target, his whole body so that he could see the flow of the transcendent energy.

He did not even use transcendent energy, just pure physical force from his body. The Lizardfolk on the other hand, had to channel the transcendent energy to contend with Tatsumi.

‘Why do I feel restless?’ The Lizardfolk thought while suppressing a small tremble that appeared in his grip on the spear.

‘He is really a potential threat to us. His energy flow is steady and he could even suppress something that should be casual pressure. I don’t even use Primal Fear yet he detected something from me. Interesting.’ Tatsumi thought as he held the hilt of his blade with two hands.

The two were in a deadlock as they only stared at each other.

Tatsumi then moved closer, each step echoed in the Lizardfolk’s mind. As Tatsumi reached a certain distance, the Lizardfolk then used the spear to form a quick and precise thrust but Tatsumi who was a battle-hardened warrior, could see that clearly and moved forward while stepping diagonally, barely missing the spear’s sharp tip.

Tatsumi then used the blade to deflect the spear to his right side, this time with transcendent energy, causing the Lizardfolk to miscalculate the force needed and almost let go of the grip from the shaft of the spear.

During the moment to stabilize the grip on the shaft of the spear, Tatsumi finally had an opportunity to move closer.

But the Lizardfolk just need to use his tail to intercept and Tatsumi would be repelled. Although that was what he did, Tatsumi was a step faster as he accelerated and swung his blade at the Lizardfolk. The Lizardfolk tilted his head slightly behind and avoided being cut off from the neck.

But the injury to the neck was there as a shallow cut appeared and he already gripped the shaft of the spear to sweep where Tatsumi was.

Tatsumi had already moved backward the moment the Lizardfolk tried to counter his move.

‘I don’t open the gate and the power I produce is equal to someone with an open gate. Amazing!’ Tatsumi thought while evaluating his own strength.

The Lizardfolk, however, had a grim expression on his face. He was the very number one champion of the entire civilization. He carried with him the hopes and dreams of his family, the closest ones and the civilization on his shoulders.

‘This race has a method to explode with great power and yet his slash felt like one. He is the most dangerous person to be met.’

Amidst the fire from guns, the two were in a melee deadlock.

Then the Lizardfolk used not only the spear but also the handgun to fire at Tatsumi. Tatsumi too, revealed his own handgun and shot at the Lizardfolk.

Now, they not only exchange moves but also exchange fire against each other. Gunshots reverberated as the two moved closer to each other, trying to do a melee.

The Lizardfolk had an advantage in range since the spear was made longer than the sword and blade but Tatsumi made that advantage almost disappear.

The two then danced in the line between life and death. Sometimes the blade clashed, sometimes it was bullets barely passed the cheeks and sometimes it was the clash between transcendent energy.

What the Lizardfolk realized was that Tatsumi used him as a whetting stone, learning and adapting to his spearmanship and marksmanship. Even Tatsumi combined it with ease, causing a combo of bullets and a swing of his blade.

*click*click*click

When they realized that their handgun were out of bullets, the two then stored their handguns and fought in a proper melee.

While the two were fighting, the others did not idle away. The transcendent strike group which consisted of only the finest transcendents, was acting to eliminate the charging cavalry. They formed a wall and shot their guns at the cavalry while the cavalry shot at the transcendents.

It was quite a sight to see that the two sides exchanged fire and for the transcendent group, they could kill more Lizardfolk than the cavalry from the Lizardfolk could eliminate them.

Silently but effectively, Ame moved like a ghost, eliminating her target one by one. Using the Myriad Manifestation Umbrella, she could adapt to most situations.

She could shoot at her target or opt to close the distance for the kill. Whatever the case, she was a thorn in the Lizardfolk’s side.

But the cavalry of the Lizardfolk could not catch her. It was because Ame kept moving from one place to another, never stopping.

This was her method of sowing chaos amidst the enemy ranks.

Then she glanced at the battle between Tatsumi and the leader of the cavalry Lizardfolk. She could see transcendent energy clashing and causing shockwaves that covered one-third of the current battlefield. Even the artillery behind was slightly affected.

Fortunately, there were transcendents there to dampen the damage from the shockwave.

Ame could also see that Tatsumi was winning as he had already assimilated the style from the Lizardfolk cavalry leader and was ready for the execution.

Tatsumi went closer as the Lizardfolk thrusted his spear toward Tatsumi in quick succession. Tatsumi had to deflect with his blade but the Lizardfolk gained a certain distance from Tatsumi. Tatsumi moved faster to get closer before launching Primal Fear.

The Lizardfolk was hit and his mind went blank for a moment and his stance was faltering. Tatsumi used this opportunity to swing his blade and draw blood from the Lizardfolk leader.

The head of the Lizardfolk leader was separated from his body but Tatsumi knew that was not enough, so he bisected the torso and made the corpse divided into three.

As the Lizardfolk realized too late that his head was separated from his body, he realized one truth.

‘The one I’m fighting against…is he the Eminent Dragon Slayer?’

Unfortunately, no one was going to answer him; rather, the deceased in the Afterlife would answer that for him.

Tatsumi breathed out as he assimilated the style of spearmanship from the enemy before slaying him. Whatever the case, he had managed to learn another good style for his martial technique.

It could be used as a reference when he needed it.

“For now, let’s win this battle!” Tatsumi then swept his sword to clean it from the blood being shed.

He then commanded his transcendent group to eliminate the enemy.

The cavalry was shocked to find that their leader had been slain and their formation was completely broken. Tatsumi used the leader’s spear to hang on the leader’s head and raised it high.

His looks became intimidating, challenging anyone who could not discern the situation. Then the cavalry which had suffered considerable damage, had to reconsider their current situation.

“The chain of command cannot be broken! I am the appointed leader if the previous one died! Follow me!” one Lizardfolk stood on the bird he rode and shouted with the transcendent energy to relay his order.

Tatsumi saw that the cavalry charge continued and snorted. Then he used Violet Sun Blade Intent, changing his transcendent energy color to bright violet before launching a slash attack, aiming at the charging cavalry.

Along with the slash was the spatial scar which caused more damage to the cavalry since they moved forward. The trench went as far as a kilometer wide, covering the middle of the battlefield.

The other transcendent reacted but a bit too late, as their birds and their limbs were slashed, and some lost their limbs.

Tatsumi’s transcendent strike group was surprised to see that their leader managed to do that on his own.

Even Ame, who went to his side, was as surprised. Despite being covered by some of her victims' blood, she was more concerned when Tatsumi used the Violet Sun Blade Intent. Because she heard from the user himself that the Violet Sun Blade Intent eroded his emotions, causing him to only focus on his current objective.

‘I don’t want him to lose his emotion. I may sound selfish but I want him to have his emotions whole.’ Ame thought as she arrived at his side.

Tatsumi even opened the Gate of Opening during his attack and incorporated the Primal Fear into his attack, causing the cavalry to stop their charge and disperse.

His transcendent strike group then handled the rest, either killing them or taking them to become prisoners.

Tatsumi let out a breath as he stopped opening the gate and stopped the intent from eroding his emotion. His eyes looked cold at one moment before a human emotion appeared in them, although slightly clouded.

“I can control it better.” Tatsumi murmured while also realizing that Ame had come to his side.

Both of them were covered in blood from mostly their enemies so it looked a bit dirty. They were used to it, so there was nothing much to say in that regard.

“Can you please not use it?” Ame asked softly.

“No can do. This can be the most useful thing for a transcendent.” Tatsumi shook his head as he looked at Ame’s worried expression before he looked at the line he had drawn that had stopped the cavalry charge.

“Just look at this. The force I can unleash increases so much with the blade intent. Of course, I have a method to lessen the side effects, and I believe that in the future, everyone with a bit of effort can use it.” Tatsumi relayed what was on his mind.

“That is true, but if the cost is your emotion, you will turn into something without feelings. Wouldn’t that make you closer to a machine?” Ame protested.

Tatsumi looked deeply into Ame’s eyes and replied.

“Actually, I think I know a way not to be affected by the intent. Do you want to know?”

“Certainly.” Ame nodded.

-

With the Third Division free from interruption, they could shell the designated location from the infantry on the frontline.

Rockets and shells were raining on those locations, causing damage and casualties on the Lizardfolk’s side.

The Battle at Durin Valley was won by the humans’ side, along with the other races. This time, most of the races under the human race participated in this Star Battle.

And this battle shifted the tide and momentum of one side while the opponent lost the tide and momentum significantly.

-

“What do you mean we lost at Durin Valley!?” the Lizardfolk general was shouting with indignation at the news that came from the frontline.

“General, it looks like the cavalry we sent to their rear has met fierce resistance. I am afraid that the cavalry has met with a stronger opponent.” The adjutant said.

“What could possibly stop them!? Tell me!” the general shouted, wanting to get some clarification.

“I have seen the battle from afar and I can only conclude that there is a strong enemy transcendent to protect the enemy’s artillery position.” The adjutant gulped before replying with a firm tone.

“Strong transcendent? Don’t tell me…” the general thought about the strong transcendent the enemy had but one dreadful possibility that caused him to recoil in fear.

“Is he perhaps the Eminent Dragon Slayer?” the general bit his claw as he felt fear. Someone who could slay a dragon would definitely be strong without question.

“That is…possible but what were the chances?” The adjutant tried to stay optimistic and rational.

Although there was that possibility, there was also a possibility that the strong transcendent was just a strong transcendent like the ‘Ghost’.

‘Ghost’ was what the Lizardfolk referred to a certain transcendent who could go to their rear and assassinate their commanders.

From their perspective, he was a formidable opponent which caused significant damage to their forces. Now, there was a confirmation that there was another formidable transcendent in the enemy’s ranks. How could the general not be afraid?

“Not zero at least.” The general then fixed his cap and a glint appeared in his eyes. Although this decision would make him questioned by the Marshal, he would not regret it.

“That is why we retreat. Leave the area and fortify our rear. I believe that the Eminent Dragon Slayer is among the enemy’s ranks and I don’t want to risk losing more men and transcendents over him.” The general said decisively to the adjutant.

The adjutant was shocked to hear such an order. Because the general was usually not issuing such an order in most battlefields. But since he did, then as an adjutant, he had to obey the order.

“Your order has been received!” The adjutant saluted the general before contacting every commander on the battlefield to issue a retreat.

Slowly, the Lizardfolk’s soldiers and transcendent retreated to their rear which was still in the middle of fortifying the position.

The Cerulean Defense Force was a bit surprised by the movement but soon understood why.

“Looks like the one who slew the dragon is among those who are on the Durin Valley defense.” Marshal Teach looked at the digital reports and realized that the Dragon Slayer was present and knew where he was.

General Wazowski was connecting to the Marshal to report on this matter.

“Marshal. He is an invaluable asset to us. How about forming an attack based on him at the center?” Wazowski suggested.

The hologram of the Marshal was flickering but then Wazowski could see a smile on Teach’s face.

“Sure. But we need to move quickly to capture those important hubs of the Lizardfolk. They could only assume that the Dragon Slayer is in our midst but don’t know specifically who. That is why I want to give him an important task along with the medal.” Marshal Teach said.

“What medal specifically?” Wazowski asked for clarity.

Everyone knew that Smagenrog, the Dragon of Ruin, had ruined their advance toward the land of the Lizardfolk and stalled the progress of the Star Battle.

The fact that someone could slay such a being was good news and should be celebrated. But his family did not want that and instead chose to lie low.

“Medal of Honor!” Marshal Teach decided on the medal that he would give to Tatsumi.

Wazoswki’s eyes widened at the name.