Battle Of Planets

Chapter 120: Sand monster
Edward and the others watched silently from the battle room. The screen displayed the unfolding chaos inside the sand desert.Mills was puzzled. He had heard about the Rangers’ usual battle simulation drills—the specialized pods designed to train them for combat. He had even stolen one himself, curious about its potential. It had, in fact, enhanced his combat skills and helped him grow stronger.

But what he saw now shocked him. The creatures he had always believed to be weak were regenerating. Unlike in the simulations, where they vanished upon contact with weapons, but these monsters reassembled themselves using the sand beneath their feet.

He looked toward the Rangers’ side. They appeared just as shocked. They had no idea that what they had trained for was only the easiest mode. Now, those same monsters they used to slay without a second thought were alive—and healing.

”What monstrosity is this?” Mills asked, turning to Edward. ”Has it always been like this? Then why was the simulation so easy? Why wasn’t there any mention of this?”

”So people wouldn’t be scared,” Edward replied calmly, his eyes fixed on his sons as they finally joined the fight. ”Humans are fragile. They scare easily, fall into despair, lose hope. We didn’t want to give them another reason to break. We couldn’t afford more rogues.”

Mills gritted his teeth. ”See? Hear it from your own leader. They’ve been lying all along—fooling you... and us.”

Edward didn’t respond, but the Rangers beside him looked uneasy.

”Watch your mouth,” a General-ranked Ranger warned. ”We did what was best for all of us.”

”And who gave you that right?” a rogue shouted from behind Mills. ”Don’t decide for us! We can make our own choices!”

”Your choice?” He scoffed. ”Was it your choice to be here? Was it our choice to be here? No, right? And yet, here we are—fucking trapped on some godforsaken floating ship in the middle of space!”

Everyone fell silent.

Ryuk turned to stare out of the window, avoiding the rising tension in the room—yet he knew, deep down, things were not looking good.

Edward stepped forward, placing his hand on the floating orb. His voice was calm but firm.

”Tyson. Their heads—there’s a core inside. Destroy it, and they’ll die.”

----

Back on Earth

Nancy paced restlessly in the hallway, anxiety written all over her face. She had been watching the broadcast of Tyson’s battle. The monsters seemed too strong, and he appeared completely clueless. No matter how hard he tried, every time he cut one down, the sand beneath their feet simply restored them.

It was worse than she feared. If it continued like this, they would exhaust themselves and die before even clearing the first map.

”The desert monsters are tricky,” Mrs. Winter said, seated calmly nearby. ”I remember seeing it last time... but that time, they did something to their heads.”

”Heads?” Nancy whispered, suddenly alert. ”Does Tyson know? He needs to know.”

She leaned on the sofa, her heart pounding. But how? She was helpless—unable to warn him, unable to do anything.

”Don’t worry, honey,” Mrs. Winter said, gently patting Nancy’s hand. ”He has his father by his side.”

That gave Nancy a sigh of relief... just a little.

Seraphina watched the battle unfold.

Her husband was locked in a hopeless struggle, swinging against monsters that refused to die. Her brother-in-law was trying to coordinate with a rogue to bring them down, but even that wasn’t working.

None of it was working.

But it wasn’t just Nancy and Sera who were worried about their men.

There was someone else—Emily—watching silently, hands clenched in quiet prayer, hoping all three of them would return safely.

”Blue,” she whispered, ”please be safe, idiot.”

---

Sand Desert

”You’re telling me—” Blue shouted as he jumped back, barely dodging a massive punch that slammed into the ground, sending dust flying. ”These monsters are supposed to be the weakest?!”

Tyson groaned as another golem’s fist pounded his shield. ”Heck if I know!”

”I’ll kill each one of you until you vanish!” Alex growled, slashing wildly through the sand creatures. Then—by chance—his blade sliced cleanly through a golem’s head.

The creature crumbled instantly into a pile of sand.

Alex blinked, stunned.

[ Ding! 1 Point Gained ]

[ 5 Points ]

A notification lit up on Tyson’s helmet HUD.

Blue and Tyson turned to look at Alex.

”How did you do that?” Tyson asked.

Alex gave a casual shrug. ”Ah, I’m a genius?”

Blue rolled his eyes beneath the helmet. ”Of course you are.”

Then a voice echoed through Tyson’s comms. Edward.

”Tyson. Their heads—there’s a core inside. Destroy it, and they’ll die.”

”The head?” Tyson repeated. ”Hit their heads!”

”Do they even have heads?” Blue asked, eyeing a nearby golem. Sand twisted unnaturally across its body, limbs forming as it lumbered closer. ”Yuck.”

Blue aimed and blasted its head clean off. The creature collapsed immediately.

”...Was it really that easy?” Blue turned to the others. ”Ha! We’re idiots.”

[ Ding! 1 Point Gained ]

Tyson’s helmet began displaying new data: the Meta-bot Forced Summon List. It showed other users below six power points—potential reinforcements.

A familiar face appeared among them. Bee.

Tyson exhaled sharply, staring at the list.

Should I summon him?

They were clearly shorthanded. Any help could tip the balance. But... forcing a teammate into what could be a deathtrap?

He looked over at Blue and Alex. The two were fired up, energized by their success. A golem, now wary, raised its arms to shield its head from Blue’s blasts—but that didn’t stop Blue from charging in again, undeterred.

Tyson’s thoughts were interrupted as another golem lunged at him. He ducked under the wild swing and slashed at its sandy head. For a split second, he saw it—a glowing yellow core inside—before the sand rushed to conceal it again.

The golem came at him harder this time, blowing dust in every direction.

”There’s definitely a core inside,” Tyson murmured. ”Why didn’t Dad just tell me that from the start?”

He twisted away from another attack and drove his blade straight through the creature’s head. The core shattered, and the monster collapsed in a heap of sand.

[ Ding! 1 Point Gained ]

Tyson shook his head. ”Man... he’s so annoying. Still wants us to learn and adapt on our own.”

In the distance, Blue got launched through the air by a massive hit.

Tyson paused and smirked. ”Yeah... he’s enjoying himself, I guess.”

Fifteen Minutes Later...

[ Ding! 1 Point Gained ][ Current Points: 23 ]

Alex finally struck down the last golem. The trio stood in triumph, breathing heavily... A short while ago, the sand monsters seemed nearly unkillable.

”We won... right?” Blue asked, grinning sitting down on a pile of sand.

Tyson didn’t respond. His eyes were fixed on the forced summon interface. The list displayed no notification of stage clearance, no indicator that the mission had been completed. And worst of all, there was still no sign of the boss monster—wherever it was hiding.

”Maybe,” Alex muttered, retracted his helmet after he checked his nanoparticle reserves. 83%. ”Honestly, it felt too easy.”

[ First Wave Cleared ]

[ The Second Wave Will Start At Any Moment... ]

The words appeared in the sky, glowing across a massive floating screen—visible to all of them.

Tyson stared at it. ”...Damn it.”

”You had to jinx it,” Blue groaned, glaring at Alex. ”Fuck.”

There were two interfaces in front of Tyson.

One was the personal summon panel, linked to the mysterious key he’d obtained—allowing him to forcibly summon others from the battle room using earned points.

The other was a universal system display, accessible to everyone. Before anyone could react further, the sand beneath their feet began to tremble.

Dozens of sand golems emerged less than before But this time, larger figures began to form... their size towering, their movement more fluid, more dangerous.

Blue checked his suit reserves. ”65%... seriously?”

Tyson rose to his feet, watching the sand giants forming... He glanced at Alex and Blue. His own reserves sat at 71%. At this rate, they wouldn’t make it to the boss round. They might not even survive this wave.

”We need reinforcements,” Tyson muttered.

Blue clenched his jaw, nodding. ”Good luck convincing anyone...”

Tyson knew what he meant. He’d seen the list. Despite the urgency, no volunteers had stepped forward—not even from the Rangers. Most were afraid. they had no idea what was going on the battle room neither they knew if anyone will be stepping in or not....

”I don’t need anyone!” Alex snapped, kicking a pile of sand, his katana trembling in his hand. ”I’m enough!”

Blue ignored him. ”Tyson,” he said calmly, ”you have to make a choice. Again.”

Tyson hesitated. ”But... they don’t want to come.”

Blue’s voice rose with frustration. ”Then why the fuck did you summon me, asshole?”

Tyson turned, ”Because you’re a friend from far... I knew I could count on you.”

”...My bad,” Blue muttered, cracking his neck as he rearmed himself. ”Remind me to kill you if we survive this shithole.”

[ Ding! 5 Volunteers Detected... Below 23 Points ]

Tyson’s gaze flicked back to the screen, the system blinking with a new alert.Five names. Five willing fighters. Help... was finally coming.