Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1267: Forward

Hands in his pockets, Sylas took a step out of a teleportation portal. Jala and Alex weren’t far behind, but the sickness on their faces couldn’t be hidden. It seemed that they still hadn’t gotten used to long-distance teleportation at all.

Not far behind them was Old Brama, still as silent and respectful as ever. One wouldn’t expect that this sort of man would be capable of such a quiet side at all. It made him harder to read, but Sylas didn’t mind it.

”This is Planet Vortan. It’s on the outer reaches of the Beast Warlord Sanctum’s territory,” Old Brama introduced.

Sylas nodded slowly. In truth, he had already memorized all the star maps of this Sector that he could. The problem was that for galaxy-owned territories like this one, maps were too precious to just allow to appear anywhere.

For a power as strong as the Beast Warlord Sanctum, the only way to get maps of their star systems was to get them through an underhanded means, like through the Petals of the Seeing Thorn, for example.

Of course, any organization worth their salt would hunt down anyone casually passing around star maps of their territory. It was too much of a strategic advantage for an enemy’s attack.

In a world as wide in scope as this one, a large part of the so-called home field advantage was knowing your stars better than anyone else did, as well as being able to move around them as you pleased.

Unfortunately, that left Sylas in a bit of a... situation.

This was the only location that he could conveniently teleport to. The rest of the way had to be taken by star ship manned by trusted parties of the Beast Warlord Sanctum.

These star ships also wouldn’t be taking any of the prime hyper highways, so it might very well take months to reach his destination.

The odds that there wouldn’t be any danger along the way were next to zero as well.

”With the financial backing of the Golden Grove, it isn’t impossible to make it to the Beast Warlord Sanctum in about a month or so. But I’m not sure if that would be the smartest decision to make,” Old Brama finished.

”And why’s that?” Sylas asked.

”Money attracts attention. I don’t know much about the Beast Warlord Galaxy, but what I do know has never been good. The population of beasts to humanoids in this galaxy is very skewed, and those humanoids that do make the choice to frequent this galaxy often have ulterior motives.

”It’s in the best interest of the Beast Warlord Sanctum, due to their unique paths, that the concentration of ’wild’ territories is quite high, but that leaves large swaths of their galaxies unmanned and unpatrolled.

”Nature itself becomes their personal guard in most cases—that and various outposts and dangerous stations they usually end up using as training grounds for their disciples. But there are a lot of pirates that slip through the cracks, taking advantage of the chaos.

”There are at least three renowned pirate groups here that have C-tiers amongst their highest echelon, and those C-tiers are most likely to appear to target the sort of star ships that could get you there in a month’s time.”

Sylas listened without interrupting, taking a look around the city before him.

For one of the prime choice destinations for anyone wanting to make it to the Beast Warlord Sanctum... it was certainly quite bland. But Old Brama’s explanations made it more obvious as to why.

People didn’t really frequent this place at all. The Beast Warlord Sanctum wasn’t a vacation destination. It was half akin to being thrown back to primitive times.

The roads were only somewhat paved, stony paths chipped by age and worn by hooves leading out into the town of stores and homes that looked to be little better than thatched huts.

Though, the architecture was still quite interesting, even a bit beautiful in a bestial sort of way. But maybe that was the sort of ambience one could expect here at the core of Beast Warlord Sanctum territory.

”We’ll take the shortest path,” Sylas said calmly. After all, wasn’t that why he had brought the likes of Old Brama in the first place? He didn’t have the time to waste.

Plus, it wasn’t a foolish decision. If those speedy paths existed, presumably the ones manning them would be quite used to it as well. They would be prepared for attacks. With Old Brama, Sylas was more confident in protecting himself and dealing with the situation.

”Pirates aren’t exactly the only problem,” Old Brama continued as though unbothered. It seemed he had already expected Sylas’ decision.

”Mm.” Sylas nodded, beginning to walk into the town.

”Those that take the shortest path are most likely those that both come from strong backgrounds and are likewise aiming for the Beast Warlord Sanctum. I don’t really pay attention to the cycles much, but if it happens to be near to a recruitment cycle—even if it won’t be in a month’s time exactly—I’ve heard that those aiming to enter the Beast Warlord Sanctum will come early and spend the approaching months steeped in the territory’s ambience to acclimate themselves to the Beast Path they want to take.”

”And that’s trouble because?” Sylas asked.

”If your identity is uncovered, the strongest of them will want to fight you. No, rather, they’d want to kill you to replace you.”

”Is that so?”

Sylas replied absentmindedly, his trench coat waving in the wind. Slowly, his steps came to a stop as he looked ahead to a massive fleet of star ships.

They didn’t need to travel far at all to reach the docking station, but it was quite the sight to behold nonetheless.

It didn’t take a genius to know that star ships weren’t like normal cargo ships. Rather than an expanse of sea, the star ships were docked in large basins of what looked like stainless steel but was certainly not. It was most definitely the most futuristic-looking place they had been to.

Sylas took out a familiar badge and spun it on his finger, the light of the sun bouncing off the reflective violet gold.

”I look forward to it.”

He didn’t plan to hide his identity. In fact, he had every intention of letting them know right here and now.