Planet Master

For the first stage of the all-out assault on Noza Fortress, the Air Force would be deployed along with the Ground Forces.

That included the transcendent strike group that Tatsumi led. Now, he could see the fortress from his current position and he had to admit that the fortress was well-built and it was so strategic that breaking through it with conventional means would be difficult.

“Especially the slope. That might cause our ordinary soldiers to face some difficulties.” Tatsumi pointed to the slope in front of the fortress’s gate. It was a grueling sight to see that corpses from their side accumulate.

“Their sacrifices will be our springboard to conquer the fortress.” General Klaas said.

Noza Fortress was the very key of the entire Star Battle since paratroopers could not be sent lightly. To truly conquer Salamander, the capital of the Lizardfolk, they first needed to conquer Noza Fortress.

“Speaking of which, what’s with your weapon?” Klaas asked.

“Oh, you mean my blade?” Tatsumi grabbed the hilt of his blade and unsheathed it. Then he continued, “Since it has been bathed in the dragon’s essence blood, it has transformed. I believe that the transcendents I killed fueled its growth. I can feel a slaying spirit in it.”

Ame was lost in thought when Tatsumi said that.

‘It is dormant but soon it will have something that our civilization has never recorded before.’

General Klaas, however, was interested in the topic, not the blade itself.

“You’ve changed so much ever since you have been bathed in that dragon’s blood, that’s what I can say for sure.” General Klaas sighed and shook his head but he looked at Tatsumi and knew that Tatsumi would do what he set out to do.

“If your strength increased so much that you can overwhelm the enemy’s transcendent peak strength, then I can immediately order the rest of my Division to launch an attack.” General Klaas said.

“Just proceed with the plan. I will spearhead the assault so that there will be fewer casualties.” Tatsumi said with conviction.

-

The set time for the all-out assault was right at noon, when the sun was at its highest and the shadow at its shortest.

Several fighter escorts and bombers were underway from the airfield near the Rift. They had encountered some of the Lizardfolk’s aircraft and managed to shoot them down.

Although that actually exposed their activity but it was already too late for the Lizardfolk at the Noza Fortress.

The bombers then opened their bomb bay before dropping the bombs near the fortress while the fighter escorts suppressed the anti-air gun. They did it to make sure that the bombers’ operation remained smooth.

A carpet bombing was underway, causing explosions when the bombs hit the ground or the defensive structure of the fortress.

“Go! Go! Go!” A company leader spun his arm and gestured for his subordinates to storm the slope that headed toward the gate of the Noza Fortress.

“Let’s go!” Tatsumi also went with the signal that the first bomb that landed became the signal for them to storm the gate, open it and enter the fortress.

Tatsumi and his transcendent strike group surpassed the ordinary soldiers in speed so his group became the spearhead that went into the gate of the fortress.

Of course, the fortress was guarded by capable Lizardfolk transcendents.

“Pour the burning oil first!” From the top of the fortress wall, several large containers stored oil that was burned. The Lizardfolk soldiers then poured them into the front of the gate and went up the slope.

Tatsumi realized that the oil was special as it negated the effect of most transcendent energy. Meaning, they had to use other means to negate the effect.

‘Well, it is actually quite simple.’ Tatsumi then used his transcendent energy to raise the ground and made the platform out of the clean soil.

His action was then followed by the members of his strike group as they bypassed the special oil that poured into the slope.

It burned the oil as well as any corpses that touched it, causing the smell of burning meat to waft through the nearby area.

‘Wait…that is not all they have!’ Tatsumi realized that this move was often done whenever there was a new invader.

But from General Klaas, he had obtained certain information about the working of the Gatekeeper.

It was the codeword for the being who guarded the gate of Noza Fortress and so far, no one could hope to pass it.

Worse, the Gatekeeper fed on the life force of any invader who came. So when Tatsumi and his transcendent strike group came to the end of the slope, the Gatekeeper appeared.

“The Gatekeeper…” Tatsumi, already experienced in dealing with numerous enemies, began to look carefully at the Gatekeeper. He used mental power to scan the details of the Gatekeeper.

The Gatekeeper was like a combination of metal and flesh. It had no head but a big torso and limbs.

‘It seems like it is made from material that can withstand physical forces as well as transcendent energy. And that is its outer layer, its inner layer is intricate and connected to the gate of the Noza Fortress itself.’

Tatsumi thought quickly of a countermeasure. He had the idea of using Primal Fear as an offensive move but it was still in the experimental stage.

But he had already known a bit about how the Primal Fear worked. It was actually the very manifestation of mental power projecting a certain pressure that overrides the fear instinct in a living being.

Alternatively, it was also the way the mental power was utilized. Now, Tatsumi had to find a way to utilize the mental power in the physical world.

‘Focus on your mental power, like when I usually used Primal Fear. But this time, let it flow to my limbs and to the blade by extension.’ Tatsumi quickly did as he thought and willed.

Then he found that the pressure from his blade was several times stronger than before. He had a feeling that this blade could cut through almost anything.

Then he did not forget to open the Gate of Opening, increasing his core in volume as the berserk transcendent energy flowed before he used Violet Sun Blade Intent to its fullest.

When he used Violet Sun Blade Intent, his thoughts were filled with one thing and one thing only: to cut the Gatekeeper. This time, he could feel the emotion that usually disappeared when using this.

He could feel that Ame was looking at him before she changed the Myriad Manifestation Umbrella to the Anti-Material Sniper Rifle and took aim.

The Lizardfolk inside the Noza Fortress believed that with the Gatekeeper, their fortress would be impregnable!

It could not be cut nor affected by transcendent energy. It truly was a gatekeeper to its core.

Tatsumi then saw something strange for the first time.

He saw something flashing as if inviting him to hit that part of the Gatekeeper.

‘What does that flash of light mean?’ Tatsumi thought but decided to try since it wouldn’t hurt.

Gripping his blade, Tatsumi then thrust his blade toward the flash of light. The other transcendents also attacked the Gatekeeper so that the Lizardfolk would not perceive what their leader had done.

Violet light burst forth in the front of Noza Fortress as Tatsumi realized something as he penetrated the Gatekeeper easily and even destroying its crystal core.

‘Does that mean the flashing light is actually what I perceive as the weakness of the Gatekeeper?’

Ame on the other hand had to deal with the Lizardfolk who were interfering with the transcendent strike group.

Her attack speed was decent and her attack was quite deadly even for a Lizardfolk transcendent. Several of the Lizardfolk’s soldiers' heads turned into bloody mist when her attack landed.

Then she changed her weapon into a dagger as the Lizardfolk atop the wall of the fortress came down since they realized something was wrong.

Ame used her stealth skill on the incoming Lizardfolk.

With the crystal core of the Gatekeeper destroyed, the gate that was standing between the Lizardfolk and the transcendent strike group slowly cracked before being shattered.

With that, the gate was opened and the Lizardfolk who witnessed that had their snout opened wide with disbelief.

But the bombing continued and the air raid also assisted the forces that went into the Noza Fortress.

“Everyone, follow the spearhead!” General Klaas said in his communicator which was set to relay to every unit commander.

Armored vehicles were moving along with the soldiers of the Cerulean Defense Force.

“Stop them! Don’t let them enter the fortress!”

The Lizardfolk commander swung his tail and pointed toward the breached gate and shouted loudly. He was a transcendent equal to the Ninth heavenstage of the Core Formation Realm and he was not afraid of the incoming enemies.

But when he saw and perceived the violet light, something deep within him told him that the apex being was there.

“Enter you all to the Noza Fortress! Don’t let the airstrike go to waste!” Tatsumi screamed as he unleashed another slash at the surrounding Lizardfolk and managed to slay dozens of them at once.

His power surpassed the Ninth heavenstage of the Core Formation Realm so eliminating a few transcendents from Lizardfolk seemed easy.

But for the others, they needed some time to eliminate just one. Ame switched to a sword as the enemies became aware of her presence. Still, she managed to get one beheaded before bisecting another.

Blood flowed through the gate of the fortress all the way inside.

Tatsumi was the first one to enter the fortress and was met with heavy resistance. For him, it was a usual occurrence so he kept swinging and slashing his blade, making the blade taste the blood from the Lizardfolk transcendents and feeling that his blade was about to awaken something.

‘Let’s kill more to see whether it is the requirement to awaken something in my blade or not.’

Tatsumi then executed another sword technique, Blade Storm.

It was a multiple slashing toward the front in a 180-degree direction. The sword light appeared in violet color as it passed through several Lizardfolk, heavily injuring them, if not straight up killing them.

But the heavily injured ones were finished by Ame’s dagger that suddenly lunged at their vitals or the other transcendents from the strike group, finishing them off.

Slowly but surely, the breached gate then became the entry point for the Cerulean Defense Force.

While Tatsumi and Ame went to the central position of the Noza Fortress, the others went onto the walls of the fortress to eliminate the rest of the Lizardfolk.

They were this ruthless because this place was purely military in utility, so there would not be civilian casualties.

Tatsumi breathed in and could even smell the transcendent energy mixed with the smell of blood. It meant that the casualties were quite high.

Tatsumi kept swinging his blade every time he encountered Lizardfolk, trying to kill them in one slash.

Or if he wanted to be more efficient, using the assault rifle to shoot at the weaker Lizardfolk transcendent. That was how he mowed down the Lizardfolk that he encountered.

The ground shook as another bomb hit the supply depot and caused a chain of explosions.

“Yep, this fortress belongs to us!” Tatsumi said as he chased the Lizardfolk who were retreating since the chain of command on their side was broken. He chased them until they were outside the fortress through the other gate, which was already open for them to escape.

Then the flag of the Lizardfolk was taken down and replaced with the flag of the Cerulean Defense Force.

After that was done and the battle to take the fortress was finally over, it was time to get the loot from the battle.

Tatsumi went directly into the breached gate and found the remnants of the Gatekeeper. If not for his physical strength enhanced by the dragon’s blood, he would not be able to destroy the Gatekeeper as easily as flipping his hand.

“I believe that the remnants are more than enough to be of use to the scientists back home. Well, I hope that I can get a share so that I can give it to Charlene.” Tatsumi spoke as he moved directly and touched the metal parts since he felt reluctant to touch the flesh parts.

“Here you are, salvaging the Gatekeeper. I also believe that the research value of this thing is high. We have never seen this kind of hybrid development.” Ame was the second to arrive since she tracked Tatsumi’s movement everywhere he went.

“I hope I can be permitted to bring this thing back for Charlene. You know that she can probably even find a way to make similar things from the remnants.” Tatsumi turned to look at Ame and also at General Klaas, who was nearby.

Of course, for a general on the frontline, it was of utmost importance to split the share of the loot in the aftermath of the battle.

“According to my intel, this thing is supposed to be super tough even for a peak Core Formation Realm transcendent. You are truly worthy of your title and medal.” General Klaas said while looking between the remnants of the Gatekeeper and Tatsumi, who felled the Gatekeeper.

“This thing is literally the Lizardfolk’s pride of their chemical prowess.” Ame added.

She focused her gaze on the remnants and found that the small and almost imperceptible energy flow was slowly dissipating. They did not disappear but went dormant in their pathway.

‘The power needed to break it is probably something like a dragon’s power.’ Ame thoughtfully looked at Tatsumi and his sheathed blade.

“Is that so?” Tatsumi put his hand on his chin as he looked at the now inoperable Gatekeeper.

But in his mind, he was stunned. It was because he felt something was brewing inside his blade and it called for him to give it a name.

‘What is a suitable name for my blade? I know I keep postponing naming it due to my indecisiveness and long consideration but it is finally time to give it a name. What’s a good name for it?’ Tatsumi turned to the deceased in the Afterlife for advice.

‘I have an idea. Your blade is the one who, along with you, felled the Dragon of Ruin Smagenrog. So I propose to call it Dragonsbane.’ Chi You gave his opinion.

‘That’s quite good. I like it.’ Kudungga agreed with the name immediately.

‘Yep, that is what I want for my weapon. A good name. The question is whether our young friend will agree to that.’ Goto added.

Tatsumi smiled when he heard what the three forefathers had to say.

“Dragonsbane…you will be known as such.” Tatsumi said while gripping the hilt of the blade and unsheathing it.

The blade now had a crimson striation as if telling him that this was a weapon that had felled Dragon along with its wielder.

“Hmm…” Ame was surprised that Tatsumi suddenly gave his blade a name out of nowhere after withholding from naming his blade.

“Oh, that’s a good name. You are the Dragon Slayer, and wielding Dragonsbane makes sense.” General Klaas nodded in agreement.

“Just an opinion from an old mentor. I managed to give it a name and now it reacted happily.” Tatsumi said as he felt the blade tremble for a moment before returning to its static state.

With his heightened senses, Tatsumi could feel the strike from the artillery to the retreating Lizardfolk from the ground which was slightly trembled. It was so minuscule that one had to focus one’s senses to feel it.

But Tatsumi was focused on the energy pathway of the Gatekeeper, memorizing its theoretical structure when it had been functioning.

‘It resembles the human transcendent energy pathway but is slightly different. Is it because this was modeled after the Lizardfolk’s body?’ Tatsumi thought while looking closer at the structure.

The material to make the Gatekeeper was surely precious, durable and malleable.

Why did he figure this one out? It was because the joints needed to be flexible to do some simple and slightly complex moves.

“General, can you order some of your men to pick this one up?” After analyzing the destroyed Gatekeeper, Tatsumi asked General Klaas for some manpower.

Clearly, he could not do this alone and needed some assistance.

General Klaas’s eyes brightened at the request. It was a rare chance to curry favor with the Dragon Slayer, so he agreed to it.

“I will send some people to help you pick this loot up.” He said with a thumbs up.

“Thank you.” Tatsumi said reflexively, seemingly without much thought given.

“No need for that. I want to help you because it is also helping me.” General Klaas explained.

“I like that about you.” Tatsumi honestly said what was on his mind and relaxed.

Although Tatsumi knew that General Klaas wanted to curry favor with him, his forthright words made Tatsumi want to get to know him better.

After that, it was time to seize and distribute the loots from the taking of Noza Fortress. Tatsumi and Ame decided to take the remains of the Gatekeeper and some transcendent resources back while the rest was for General Klaas to decide among his men.

“All done!” Tatsumi said while placing all the parts of the Gatekeeper into the big truck which would carry it in the back.

“Thank you for the hard lifting.” Ame said to the soldiers who worked hard to lift and disassemble the Gatekeeper’s remains.

“No need for that. This is our biggest gain from the assault on this damned fortress. Helping you is repaying our helper.” The soldiers who were ordered by General Klaas were happily replying to Ame with a hearty smile.

Besides, seeing such a beauty on the frontline was a cleansing to the soldiers' eyes. But they knew that she was already taken so they kept their respective distance.