The Almighty Ring

Jiang Fei sat down with the rest of the “committee”, and only after thirty minutes of waiting did Bargh arrive.

What took Jiang Fei by surprise was the fact that Bargh was not a Valsalrian, but a being that was very similar to humans. From afar, one would identify him as a European man; he had a tall rugged figure, a slightly larger nose with a tall bridge, blue eyes, and shiny blonde hair that extended down to his neck. Upon closer inspection, Jiang Fei noticed one feature that differentiated him from, what spacenoids would call Terrans. It was a tiny, three-centimeter-long scar right in the middle of his forehead, above and between his eyes.

Bjolnian

Combat Level: 11,000,000

Note: A powerful race native to the planet Bjolnir. Possesses two extreme polar consciousness. When their third eye is closed, a Bjolnian is deemed as the most sincere and kind race that would not hesitate to assist others. When their third eye is opened and active, their extremely vicious and violent nature is released.

Shocked, Jiang Fei found it hard to believe that a man such as Bargh could be vicious. He walked with a limp the entire way from the entrance to the front-most seat, plus he looked sickly and pasty like a Stage 4 cancer patient. How could such a man be violent? His two eyes reflected nothing more than the kind person that he was. If one were to exaggerate, he might even be the famous Mother Theresa, just… in an alien body.

“I suppose he opens his third eye on Judgment Day,” said Jiang Fei to himself based on what Kaa’lna had informed him earlier.

“My apologies, fellow respected men and women,” Bargh addressed the committee with the utmost respect before he took a seat.

“Sir Bargh, your excessive humility is too much for us to bear. We’ve only just arrived ourselves. Please, take no offense in tardiness,” said the other leaders from planet Teardarth. It mattered not how Bargh behaved. As long as Bargh remained the strongest entity in all of Tallgeese, everyone would bow their heads to respect the man.

“Thank you for such kinds words. Ah, what a delight. There are so many new faces here. It is a blessing to have you attend this meeting for your mere presence brings new hope to my gloomy world,” Bargh said. The conversation shifted from greetings to mundane exchanges of status updates, and finally, Judgement Day.

“Now… to the main issue at hand. Judgement Day is fast approaching, and everyone knows the importance of this day. I propose we assist each other in understanding everyone’s strengths and weaknesses in hopes that we can all help each other survive the dreaded event,” said Bargh, furrowing his eyebrows to show his seriousness.

“Well said, Mr. Bargh. We would all like to survive and die of old age. However, we do not know about Judgement Day and what will befall us. I’ve heard about the great Mr. Bargh and how he was able to survive multiple accounts. What is your secret for survival?” one of the leaders asked.

“There is no secret. I survive with strength and luck. The latter plays a bigger role than I’d like to admit. Nevertheless, I shall brief everyone on the upcoming day,” said Bargh, lowering his head and playing down his status. He then proceeded to explain the nature of Judgement Day.

“Judgement Day, or the apocalypse, or the Culling, or whatever name it has, is the mass gathering of Ultralisks. Every three years, give or take a few months, Ultralisks perform their mating ritual to propagate their kind. As everyone knows, for any race to procreate and give birth to future generations, various resources pertaining to their own nature are required. Ultralisks need food… Energy, to be blunt. Hence, a month before the mating ritual takes place, they will, hunt en masse and feed as much as they can. Hence, we need to survive the hunting period, and after a certain period, they will leave us alone.”

Everyone kept quiet but some took down notes.

“What should we be wary about?” someone asked.

“If you mean what we should fear the most, that would be the overwhelming number of Ultralisks participating in this bloodbath.” He paused a bit before he added, “My apologies, that’s the least of our problems as, in rare cases, a Galactic-type Ultralisk will appear. I was lucky enough to never encounter such a beast or else… I wouldn’t be sitting here talking with all of you,” Bargh said.

“Do you have any advice for us?” someone else asked since Bargh was the only person, generally speaking—without a valid consensus—who had survived three world-ending events. His past achievements lent credence to any advice he had on surviving Judgement Day.

“I’d suggest sticking with guerrilla tactics and avoid fighting directly with one. Due to the sheer number of Ultralisks, no matter how strong you are alone or in a group, it’s impossible to fight against thousands of Ultralisks at the same time. That being said, one must have a certain level of strength to engage an Ultralisk. If you aren’t confident in your own strength, it’s best for you to just partner with another fighter.”

While everyone was busy soaking in all the knowledge that Bargh was giving away, Jiang Fei raised his hand to interrupt him.

“What do you plan on doing during Judgement Day?” Jiang Fei asked.

“Me?” Bargh replied, turning to look at the source of the question before saying, “Honestly, I am one who will go with the flow. However, my priorities will always be tending to my children. They are still young and have much to learn.”

Jiang Fei nodded, displaying a reaction that was not out of the ordinary. However, despite Bargh’s sincere explanation of his actions, Jiang Fei managed to find a flaw in his reasoning.

Bargh was explaining what he would do like everything was according to plan. It was as if Bargh had zero doubts about surviving Judgement Day and was placing his effort in helping others. It would seem that Kaa’lna’s advice was not for naught after all. Unless one was as strong as Theon, how else could a single person hold so much confidence in facing thousands of Ultralisks?

The rest of the meeting was simply a Q&A session with Bargh. Jiang Fei was not interested in that as he continuously poured his attention into observing Bargh’s every action. Due to that, Jiang Fei may have missed some details about the meeting, but he noticed one glaring feature about Bargh. While the others were still conducting the Q&A session normally, Bargh had been consciously asking about their defenses, masking it by providing suggestions to improve their formation and troops.

“Brother Jiang Fei, what plans do you have to survive Judgement Day? Perhaps I could advise you on how to improve them?” Bargh asked when he noticed that Jiang Fei had not spoken since his last question.

Truth be told, Bargh was intrigued by Jiang Fei’s existence. He was too young in the cosmic scale, yet he managed to wrestle over the throne of Dhiras. That alone spoke volumes of his capabilities. Not to mention, he had been noticing a certain glare and found that Jiang Fei had been observing him since the start of the meeting. It was not the same kind of look that the others were giving him while they paid attention to his words and advice. Jiang Fei was different. The look in that young Terran’s eyes was not the same as the others, and it was a cause to be wary.

“Well… I don’t have plans at the moment. At most, I’ll simply run when I’m in danger,” Jiang Fei answered vaguely. He had his own personal shuttle. If Theon was not there to save him at the last minute, he could escape easily.

“Run? Do you have the means to escape the Ausvia System?” Someone noticed Jiang Fei’s words and quickly focused on him. At that instant, Jiang Fei became the center of attention. If there was a way to leave the entire system, they would not have to worry about an Ultralisk Uprising.

“Crap,” Jiang Fei murmured to himself when he accidentally ignited the flame of curiosity in the others. They were clearly dying to know how Jiang Fei was going to run.

Just as Jiang Fei racked his brain, thinking of a way to clear the “misunderstanding”, a bright light flashed in front of him, and a small, metallic box teleported in.

The box whirled a bit and revealed a small orifice, which projected a hologram of a Valsalrian army official.

“In accordance with the will of Lord Aino, Officer Jiang Fei and Officer Sarila are hereby summoned to return to the Carldish Fort. Please be ready to be teleported,” said the Valsalrian officer.