The Martial Unity

Eventually, once Ria sensed that the macrobes had left, they made preparations to leave, quickly packing up once their brief break ended.

”Traveling through these mountains will not be easy, but I think we can reach the entropy anomaly in one direct tread this time. It should be within reach even at our jogging pace,” Ria remarked, wearing her little backpack. ”Alright, is everybody ready?”

The four of them nodded at her. Ria turned towards Siliscia with a nod. ”Undo the canopy. Can you ensure that it is destroyed completely?”

”I can have it completely disintegrated with the self-destruct option,” Siliscia muttered with a regretful tone. ”It will disappear into thin air. It’s just unfortunate that I have to kill a life every time they serve us on these operations.”

Everybody had the better sense not to try and cheer her up by telling her ’it’s just a tree.’ To elves, trees were sacred, and they didn’t undertake such measures unless they had absolutely no choice, such as allowing there to be a trace that could potentially be used to track them.

Soon enough, they exited the cave and began traveling through the mountains. Ordinarily, such a journey would take months, if not years, for ordinary people, but the pathwalkers breezed through mountains like it was effortless. The terrain wasn’t ideal compared to a smooth run, but it wasn’t that big a deal for them with their capability. Crossing mountains took minutes, even when they were trying to be discreet. Ordinarily, rank-four cultivators like themselves would be able to zoom through them much faster if they didn’t have to care about stealth.

The mountains also offered them an elevated view of much of the surrounding land, allowing them to also have good reconnaissance of any macrobes that were potentially moving towards them. With Ria’s incredible senses, she could detect virtually any threat long before it arrived. She was the reason that they hadn’t needed to bring more cumbersome reconnaissance technological apparatuses, for her Martial Body was the most powerful sensor that they could ever hope to get their hands on.

”Let’s go,” Ria remarked with a tone of certainty. ”I don’t sense any microbes for kilometers.”

***

VMM MM MMM

”We-have-not-detected-the-aliens-anywhere-near-the-southern-base-of-the-Frenech-Mountain-Range.”

At the gathering of the highest authorities of the Ser Colony, several macrobes reported of how they conducted a deep sweep across the mountains, meticulously scanning every nook and crevice of the mountain range, trying to search for the alien invaders that they had detected entering the planet.

”We-have-not-only-detected-no-direct-evidence, but-also-no-indirect-evidence-of-there-presence-in-the-wind.”

It was a shocking revelation to each of the macrobes who had long lived with the assumption that even if one could hide from one’s eyes, one could not hide from the organ that they used to study the composition of the air. Everything left behind a scent trail that could be tracked as long as the weather hadn’t completely dispelled it and enough time hadn’t passed.

Now, they had come across entities that could cover the trail of scent that they left behind. It was a capability that they didn’t even know was possible. And the fact that the aliens could do that was utterly terrifying.

”…Are-we-even-sure-they-exist-if-they-didn’t-leave-behind-a-scent-trail?” One macrobe asked with a skeptical expression, floating in the air as it communicated with multi-faceted ultrasonic sounds.

It would rather have believed that there were no such things as aliens than believe that scent trails could be avoided.

”There-is-no-question-that-they-exist. We-have-the-proof,” the largest and the most powerful among the floating macrobes declared with a definitive statement. ”The-fact-that-they-can-hide-themselves-from-us-to-this-extent-is-truly-troubling.”

”If-I-may, chieftain. I-would-like-to-propose-an-idea.”

One macrobe, a comparatively smaller macrobe, drew attention from the gathering of the macrobes around it.

”…Go-on, Sreven”

”I-believe-that…” The macrobe vibrated, releasing multiple ultrasonic auditory signals. ”…their-goal-is-to-get-to-the-firestorm-while-evading-any-engagement-with-us. That-is-why…”

The macrobe pointed at the region where the aliens were suspected of having landed. ”…They-chose-such-a-remote-spot. Our-iron-forest-has-not-detected-them-after-the-initial-detection-most-likely-because-they-have-chosen-to-travel-through-the-mountains.”

”We-have-scanned-the-mountains. We-have-not-detected-anything-yet,” one macrobe argued.

”We-already-know-they-possess-high-alien-technology-that-vastly-exceeds-ours,” Sreven continued. ”If-they-are-traveling-through-the-mountains-and-are-reaching-for-the-firestorm, then-we-can-intercept-them-here.”

The macrobe pointed at a specific region on the map.

It was a valley between the end of the mountain range and the firestorm.

”We-have-enough-of-an-iron-forest-to-set-up-an-active-surveillance-net, we-can-detect-an-ambush-them-before-they-reach-the-firestorm.”

It was a sensible idea that was built on top of substantial premises. It was the best chance that they had at intercepting the alien invaders and capturing or outright killing them.

”Very-well-then, we-shall-go-for-this, if-nobody-has-a-better-chance-at-dealing-with-the-outsiders.”

***

The five pathwalkers made their way towards the firestorm in an alert manner, entirely unaware of the danger. Although Ria kept a lookout, there was a range limit to how far she could sense, especially on an exoplanet with an entirely different environment. The blue sun lighting up the entire sky began setting, causing the intense blue of the sky to slowly fade away in time.

It made the world darker and feel more ominous.

They maintained a solid pace, covering distance rapidly while ensuring that it didn’t exceed their stamina. Speed was less important than having the energy to defend themselves. They also wanted to avoid consuming stamina potions if they could avoid it. Potions were precious resources that were meant only to be used when there was imminent danger.

STEP

Ria arrived at the top of a mountain in one step, gazing into the distance.

”There it is.”

In the distance, she could see the firestorm over the horizon, covering a massive amount of area.

RUMBLE…

It illuminated the darkening world with the sheer amount of light that the fire generated. It covered such a vast area that even for them, crossing it would not be easy.

”Do you think we should stop to take another break?” Sternon asked with a hint of concern.

”No, I don’t want to spend any more time outside the manifold,” Ria replied. ”We go straight in, and hopefully we run into a vent. Let’s go.”

WHOOSH

She jumped off the mountain. It was among the last in the long mountain range that they had crossed. The other four immediately followed after her as they headed towards the firestorm, drawing closer and closer. The only problem with this plan was that they would inevitably draw closer to macrobe presence, but that was a risk that Ria knew that they would have to take.