Planet Master

Red-colored streaks were coming from the heaven above Zenollium. Those were the drop pods that were dropping like crazy. The form did not matter. What mattered was the safety of the people inside the pod.

Surface-to-air weapons were trying to intercept the drop pods but the drop pods were also doing evasive maneuvers as much as possible, trying to reduce the damage done by the surface-to-air weapons.

Then Long Wu infused the drop pod with his transcendent energy, forming a protective shield that the defense weapon system was unable to scratch, much less damage it.

The drop pod slightly trembled but Long Wu’s expression was normal.

‘Some of the defensive weapons hit my drop pod. Fortunately, I timed it right and formed a shield when entering the kill zone.’ Long Wu focused his senses and mental scan outside the drop pod.

Outside, it looked like the flaks and the missiles were aiming at the drop pods and the drop pods were moving slightly, but it made the landing deviate from the initial estimate. It did not matter since landing was the first priority before anything else.

Soon, the first group finally landed on the Zenollium. But that also meant that they were marked by the Rodents’ military since their landing points were known and could be traced.

Even Long Wu had already circulated his energy to the maximum when he crash-landed on the soil of Zenollium.

Zenollium was a planet with a singular weather condition without an abundance of water. The only water was frozen on the north and south poles while the rest of the planet looked like red sand with some red stone mountains.

That was why the landing could be bolder.

Long Wu used his mental scan to sense his surroundings and found that several drone swarms were going to his location.

“Heh, they knew that sending living beings would just feed us, so they sent mechanical units.” Long Wu did not care about it as he used his transcendent energy to form a flying slash and hit the drone swarm, almost eliminating all of the drones sent to his location.

Then Long Wu just used his long-range weapon to shoot down the rest of the drone from far. After that, he collected the drone's remains for study and reverse engineering. He knew that the scientists of the Federation would be interested in it.

After making sure no more units were coming in his direction, it was time for him to backtrack the direction the drone swarm came from. Long Wu went in that direction and used his mental scan to sense the way forward.

He also used the undead element to hide himself. This was not like the normal stealth technique since this hid even the fluctuation of the transcendent energy, presence and even traces.

‘There should be a base in this direction.’ Long Wu knew that the drone was sent as a first response to the intruder.

While Long Wu went in the direction of the supposedly base, the others also landed and dealt with whatever was coming to them.

“Whoa, they really welcomed us. I am honored.” A transcendent exclaimed when he eliminated the drone swarm.

In another part of Zenollium, an Undead Race rose from its landing position as its drop pod turned into part of his armament.

“Annihilate the enemy. For the Undead!” The undead flickered its undead flame as it felt the presence of the living beings near it and went in that direction as soon as possible.

More and more units of the undead element landed on Zenollium while the last of the spaceship fleets decided to perform a self-destruct sequence to halt the tide of undead coming from heaven.

Explosions as large as the Interplanetary Missiles filled with nuclear warheads ensued, damaging the spaceships of the undead so severely. But those who were left in the spaceships knew that this was going to happen and slightly adjusted their position, most of the spaceships suffered serious damage but none were destroyed.

Even the converted units, some suffered serious damage, but none truly perished.

“Get into the position for orbital bombardment!” Zhask was the leader of the Undead Race so he needed to oversee the entire battlefield theater.

Currently, he could share senses with any undead race, whether it was near or far. Distance was not a problem as long as there was no restriction that prevented him from doing this.

He coordinated several units that landed on Zenollium, trying to support the transcendents that were also on the planet.

Long Wu then saw a large base in front of him. The size was as large as the biggest city on the Cerulean Planet so he knew that this could be the headquarters of the Rodents.

He also felt that he was not alone, as two other undead were on the north and the east, while he was positioned in the south.

“Are you ready?” A mental transmission was sent to Long Wu’s mind. He knew that it was Zhask, and he replied.

“Anytime.”

“Good. Let’s do this.”

Then the three positions were engulfed in the darkness since the undead element’s color was black and dark.

This was the standard operation when dealing with numbers beyond them. By spreading the undead element, they created a suitable environment for themselves. Seeing that there was no more anti-undead measure in place, they felt that the rest would become easier.

Long Wu then dashed to the enemy headquarters, and the two undead soon followed his lead.

But Long Wu felt a strong presence at the headquarters’ base coming in his direction.

Long Wu grabbed his dagger and swiftly moved his hand to parry whatever was coming in his direction.

*clang*

A metal ringing against each other could be heard as Long Wu tested the enemy weapon without the enhancement of the transcendent energy. From his preliminary assessment, it could be said that the strong enemy possessed similar weapon metal as his dagger.

Long Wu could see a capybara in front of him wearing a formal military dress that was unique to the Rodents’ nobility.

At this time, Osmond felt that his limb went numb while being parried by the primary enemy race.

‘So this is our primary enemy, a human.’ Osmond looked at Long Wu with a serious look despite his laid-back expression.

‘Despite looking laid back, he has a serious feeling looking at me.’ Long Wu commented mentally as he prepared for battle.

He opened the Gate of Opening and the undead element went berserk around him, no longer just corrosive to the living beings but also aggressive.

Since becoming a Revolutionary Realm transcendent, Long Wu felt that permanently opening the first gate was feasible and he could do that. But closing it when in stealth was a must if he wanted to rein in the undead element.

Osmond’s eyes narrowed as the transcendent energy inside him felt the overwhelming power coming from Long Wu. He also let out his transcendent energy which was actually slightly weaker than Long Wu but more robust in ‘form’.

Long Wu’s eyes widened as he realized from this encounter that the Rodent in front of him was actually a Star Child.

‘This is going to be difficult. I knew it!’ Long Wu sighed inwardly at his luck. Fighting a Star Child was undoubtedly harder due to the tricky nature of that position.

That position was something that Long Wu could only comprehend from its superficial layer and not its intricate inner layer. But one thing he knew was that from his disciple.

“Star Child is essentially a combination of the fortune of a planet and the seed of the destiny of the civilization. So…what happens if you fight them? You will be at a great disadvantage if you prolong it. Defeat them as soon as possible to prevent a variable from entering. I believe Teacher also realized this point.”

He remembered that he had defeated the Star Child that way and even his disciple expounded on that a bit more. But to defeat someone instantly was difficult.

Long Wu then breathed in the undead element. All he needed was one decisive strike where he could defeat the Rodent in front of him.

But Osmond suddenly moved and in his hand was a hammer whose height surpassed Osmond’s height and the blunt part of the hammer headed straight toward Long Wu’s head.

Long Wu did not dodge nor even raise his hand. Instead, he concentrated the undead element into his forehead and used it like a weapon.

This was turning his body into a weapon. Making your body as sturdy as a weapon was something that the Body Refining Technique explained in detail. Even though Osmond’s hammer was also imbued with transcendent energy but it still lost out to Long Wu’s mastery over his own body and transcendent energy circulation.

Both the forehead and the hammer hit each other, causing a shockwave to be generated and separating the two.

Long Wu could say for sure that the Rodent was not as thorough in body refining. Well, they were numerous and reproduced at a high speed so he knew that raising power as quick as possible was the most optimal part in their way of survival.

Then Osmond blew a whistle which summoned so many of the soldiers.

They shot at Long Wu repeatedly since they did not dare to fight him head-on. Long Wu could not even bother to cover himself since his body was strong enough to even withstand a shot from a Gauss Rifle so this shot from the Rodents’ assault rifle amounted to nothing.

But the two undead were intertwined in the battle against the other Rodent transcendent.

Long Wu then slashed his dagger and a flying slash with black-colored undead element went toward Osmond. Osmond naturally dodged to the side while letting out something like a cry.

Long Wu actually tested Osmond while Osmond also tested Long Wu. The two were now locked in a battle that would determine the winner.

Long Wu unleashed several tricky moves while also dodging some attacks from Osmond since he discovered that with each swing of the hammer, the force behind the swing became stronger.

But the two found out that they still managed to injure each other although it was light.

Long Wu sometimes used his dagger in an attack that Osmond could not dodge and some undead element started to interfere with the energy circulation. But Long Wu also realized that his own circulation was affected and studied it in the midst of battle.

‘This is like tonic to the undead element. If I can absorb it and assimilate its essence…the whole element will be born anew!’ Long Wu thought as Osmond finally used one of his signature moves.

Osmond spun around at high speed, his hammer being spun so that the momentum could result in kinetic damage when hit. The spinning caused a small tornado to form around him, and Long Wu knew the attack was directed at him because Osmond moved closer.

“Should’ve known better.” Long Wu focused his attention to every move that Osmond did. The trajectory of the spin, the wind that became the temporary shield for Osmond as well as the transcendent energy flowing from Osmond’s body, all of it were visible to Long Wu.

But one thing that surprised Long Wu was the absence of the mental scan from the enemy.

‘Is it just me or do the enemy not know about mental power?’ Long Wu had fully expected the enemy to know this simple fact since the best transcendent from the Federation could do that but from the battle between them so far, Osmond did not even gauge Long Wu’s strength through mental scan.

Instead, it was Long Wu who could estimate Osmond’s strength with his mental scan.

‘Is it because they hide it or they are incapable of reaching the mental realm?’ Long Wu asked himself these questions.

Then he looked closer. The way the transcendent energy from Osmond actually let it follow a certain movement showed that their mastery of the transcendent energy was a bit lacking.

For Long Wu, the transcendent energy should be the extension of one’s own limbs, able to carry out one’s will and even instinct.

Then…

He used the most basic mental attack. Mental Shock.

His mind then formed a certain pattern before being launched and hitting Osmond. Osmond, who was spinning so fast that he formed a little tornado, was stunned, and his movement was interrupted, causing his hold of the hammer to loosen and coincidentally, the direction of the thrown hammer was at Long Wu.

“Damn Luck.” Long Wu seized the opportunity to go to kill Osmond but was surprised to see that the hammer was thrown at him. Although he kind of expected it, to see it really worked made him think about the fortune of the Star Child in front of him.

Osmond then awakened from his stunned state. His mind went blank for a moment and knew that something was wrong.

Long Wu narrowed his eyes. He could not believe that the enemy he had severed the head off to regenerate his head.

“Did he just behead me?” Osmond wore a terrified expression on his face. The efficiency of the enemy at killing was undeniable. He had been killed in a moment where his defense was nonexistent.

“Doesn’t matter. Your regeneration has a limit ultimately. Might as well study this.” Long Wu knew that this regeneration even devoured the undead element and used it as fuel for the mechanism. So he used his movement technique and attacked Osmond once again.

Osmond then smashed the ground with his hammer, causing a shockwave to spread around and slightly interrupt Long Wu’s movement. Osmond then took a deep breath before he circulated his transcendent energy in full.

Then a domain suddenly formed around him. Long Wu felt that his movement had been hindered but he kept going since he could not let whatever came next happen. This was his instinct as a transcendent who danced on the life and death told him.

He then executed another attack. This time, it was a pierce attack empowered by his transcendent energy. The black-colored blade formed from the undead element then thrusted toward Osmond.

The domain helped Osmond in reducing the lethality of the attack, but still, the attack was deadly. Osmond raised his hammer and met the black-colored attack with his own hammer, imbued with his own transcendent energy.

The two forces clashed, causing the ground to crack and tremble. Red sand billowed out from their clash and the wind carried the sand up high into the air.

Long Wu felt his hand go numb as his fingerweb was broken, but Osmond’s situation was worse. His hands were fractured, as the claws were broken, and he even coughed up blood.

But Long Wu once again did not waste time and used his other hand to throw the dagger and the dagger hit Osmond’s left eye and penetrated into his skull.

Osmond went mad due to the pain he had suffered as he suddenly swung his hammer once again, making Long Wu retreat from his position.

Long Wu then popped a pill which was actually a recovery item. Then his broken fingerweb recovered slowly.

Osmond then dropped his hammer and grabbed the hilt of the dagger, pulling it out as if it did not affect him. Osmond threw the dagger and Long Wu recalled it, then the dagger was now in his hand once again. Osmond then recovered from such wounds but his eyes showed fear toward Long Wu.

-

The overall situation of the Zenollium was getting worse, at least for the Rodents and their subordinate races.

Because the black tide of undead element started to engulf the entire planet, trying to get as much undead element as possible to be refined and propagated.

The orbital bombardment carried a trace of the undead element which was already refined and resistance against the anti-undead measure increased dramatically. Basically, the means to suppress the undead element became ineffective.

Slowly, the Zenollium started to be covered with the black-colored sand. The undead element started to propagate on the ground where there were even microorganisms. Then they spread to the living Rodents and their subordinate races, infecting them like usual since the measures against it were neutralized.

“This is the Fifth Base in Sector A5! Undead element propagated so quickly it swept toward us-“

“Sector C4 also sees the rising of the undead element! Aren’t they the races that we have defeated before? How could this happen!?”

Communication channels were filled with exclamation, disbelief, curses as well as helplessness as the undead which they looked down on slowly gained more advantage. They could not believe that the lowly undead could cause so much losses on their side even with the measures against them were in place.

“The undead element we have on our sensors acts differently from what we know!”

Even if they found out the cause of the changed undead element, they did not have time to research it, let alone to survive in such an environment.

“Argh-“

Slowly but surely, the undead element started to fill the atmosphere of the Zenollium. Then in engulfed the whole world. The world where barely anything was alive now was changed into a place where the undead thrived.

Even the artificial dome which was used to be the residential location was also contaminated by the undead element. The undead element did not discriminate the soldiers that lived there. Any other being other than the undead were slowly corroded and changed into one suitable for the undead.

Then the whole planet turned black and the planet for the undead was formed.

It took the entire event sixty hours to happen from initial contact at geostationary orbit to the landing of the units and the orbital bombardment filled with undead elements.

At this point, the entire Zenollium military planet was annihilated, not leaving a single one alive.