Little Chu Zao set down what he was holding.
There hadn’t been any such bizarre gathering of aberrant beasts along the way, so something must have happened over there.
“This way.”
Chu Zao stood up, directing Yu Ye and the others.
As they drew closer—within the mechs’ observation range—they gradually saw those lizard-type aberrant beasts frantically besieging a mountain cave.
And within the cave, indistinct shadows of mechs could be seen.
“Is… is that Lai and the others?”
“Still too far—”
“That’s Lai! It’s Lai! Hurry! Hurry! Looks like they can’t hold out!!”
Yes, it was still too far.
Even with all their energy used for the dash, it was still a bit too far.
“Zao Zao.”
Feeney called.
Little Chu Zao answered.
Chao Huangmu automatically stepped aside.
They heard the boy speak softly: “I’ll handle it.”
Although they’d kept a low profile until now, at this distance—even the Crown Clan’s speed would hardly make it in time.
Not to mention so many aberrant beasts.
But—
By sheer coincidence, the spatially-warped Crown Clan here happened to contain the only two standard long-range specialists of their clan.
Thus, Yu Ye and the others, still rushing over, noticed a sudden burst of light.
They turned in their mechs, puzzled.
On the other side—
Though trapped in this stone cave, the aberrant beasts outside neither exhausted themselves nor managed to break through.
Time ticked by, and their stamina was wearing thin.
At the front, Lai Te gritted his teeth and activated recording—simultaneous feed from inside and outside the mech. He knew the third batch was surely looking for them; he wanted to leave something behind—a trace he had existed.
If, before he died, he could one day see that long-heard-of but never-seen homeland—it would be enough.
Suddenly, a flash of light erupted before his eyes, like fireworks exploding in the night. That brilliance raced forth, warping space, carving an arc of radiance; firelight shifted from gold to leaping black, scattering and descending, like a rain of black flame that somehow spared them.
A boy holding a longbow stood at a distance, flames coiling around him.
As Lai Te stared, collapsing to the ground, whether in the recording or his own eyes, the image of that fleeting figure was reflected—
The coronet’s brilliance and the wings on his back, unfurled with the flight of arrows, and recalled in an instant, like an illusion.
Though those wings weren’t quite what legend described—
But, what was that?
What was that…?
How could it look so much like—the old legends passed down through the generations, of a mighty and gentle race who would uplift them, brush away their dust, and, in the end, fortify the will of every indomitable Holy Cas soul—the story of the sacred coronet?
Unnoticed, tears rolled down—where moments ago the comms were noisy, now there was only silence.
Was it—an illusion?
But after years of tempering, their psionics precisely struck down those aberrant beasts, nailing them hard into rock and rubble.
Although there was no live broadcast here,
The roaring sounds still inevitably drew attention from those nearby.
Naturally, the first to realize something was wrong were the high-ranking Aberrant Beast Commanders, watching everything from above.
“What happened?”
“This coordinate—could it be the Sanctuary?”
These high-ranking commanders clearly understood the Gesen Empire’s scheme, and most welcomed it.
Until now.
“Send the live drones over to check—”
After the thunderous din, countless drones fanned out toward the source.
Before long, the live feeds transmitted back—
The Sanctuary’s third batch had found the seriously wounded first batch, along with Lai Te and the rest, who had been holding back for one last desperate effort.
On the tiny live screen, you couldn’t truly grasp the scale of the slain lizard beasts.
Still, the livestream audience was baffled.
Were these really the Sanctuary’s previous entrants?
Weren’t they already dead??
Yet not only had they survived—they’d even managed to kill so many aberrant beasts?
The stream went strangely silent for a moment, but soon the chorus of “Sanctuary is finished” blared ever louder.
But as every stream across the stars was cut off at once, the little footage spread. Most who had seen the scene in this stream kept silent and never spoke of it again.
But the beast commanders saw it clearly.
“…So what actually happened?”
“Not sure. This type of aberrant beast hasn’t evolved to commander class yet. Before the live drone arrived, whatever happened at the Sanctuary’s location—we don’t know.”
“Was it because of the Sanctuary’s third squad?”
Although the slain aberrant beasts were low-ranked, to these domineering beast commanders, an unease crept in.
Aberrant beasts felt no kinship, like the commanders gathered here—if hurt, they’d kill one another without hesitation.
They had only two instincts: a hunger for flesh and despair, and terror of anything threatening.
So, one commander spoke out instinctively.
“Is there still some time left? No matter the cause, anything threatening our kind must be eliminated immediately—”
“We don’t have time, the preliminary is ending soon.”
“I said long ago, these high-psionic types should be dealt with at once, not left for their flesh to tempt us and cause future trouble.”
“Hold it, hold it, everyone.”
An insectoid commander, arm slung casually over his chair, tentacles waving atop his head, let his lidless eyes narrow, compound pupils sickeningly packed together.
He let out a cold laugh, stinking of blood—he’d only recently eaten, and was still licking his lips.
“I say, aren’t you all unduly terrified of psionics? There’s no need to be. If the Sanctuary were really that powerful, they wouldn’t have lost so many tribe members. Can you believe that in just one year, they’ve grown this much? I bet that mutant beasts evolved with some fatal flaw that got caught, is all.”
At the center, the apparent oldest and most senior beast commander opened his eyes, white lashes feathery as down, gazing at the speaker.
“Flashfire, you haven’t evolved long, you don’t know about the Forbidden Zone. We must always be wary of psionics—psionics opposed to us.”
Till today, Stormdrain recalled: before even this galaxy emerged, such terrifying psionics had slaughtered countless Aberrant Beasts, their remains scattered across a planet.
Even now, that planet was taboo for aberrant beasts everywhere—even if few now remembered, even if only a handful survived, still none dared approach. As if the terror was branded into their bones from birth, instinctively avoided, lest fear consume all they had.
“Who knows if the Forbidden Zone is real or not.”
Flashfire’s tentacles twitched, legs crossed, staring at the last frame of the feed.
“No matter. I’ll send a small bug force to check out the Sanctuary afterward—besides, the corruption tide is coming. Once the Sanctuary gets driven into the hunting ground—I want that one. The young one. Looks so fragrant… must taste wonderful.”
*
Meanwhile, in the preliminary, Chu Zao and his group had reached Lai Te’s side without trouble.
After struggling so long, all were heavily wounded.
But it was quiet all around.
“These are your people, right?”
Chu Zao asked.
But found all the Sanctuary members staring blankly at them, especially him. Unconsciously, their eyes wandered to the top of little Chu Zao’s head.
“Ah, yes—yes—”
Only after a beat did they snap awake, discomfited.
Feeney paused, too, grabbing his cub’s face to inspect it carefully.
Chu Zao: ?
“Looks fine, adorable, no dirt at all, all cleaned up.”
What are they looking at?
Chu Zao: …
Chu Zao pushed Feeney aside.
“Uncle.”
Feeney stuck to his cub, grinning: “Hmm?”
“Don’t be so childish.”
Feeney: …
Zao Zao called me childish…?
Zao Zao called me childish?!
Chu Zao looked around at all the gravely injured people.
He sighed inwardly—so many wounded. Human recovery ability was too weak. Even the Holy Cas people took a lot of effort to nurse back to health.
So—
Chu Zao blinked his big eyes, a bit confused.
“Why are you all looking at me?”
“That—”
Someone wanted to ask, but the words stuck.
Too unfamiliar—too unreal.
All seemed like a dream.
And whether crown or wings—had vanished.
So why weren’t they visible?
Was it because their identities were secret?
Was it because they were too weak?
They wanted to—
Wounds covering his body, just out from his mech and bandaged, Lai Te considered this seriously and spoke.
“I think we can still fight; there’s a little time left in the preliminary, maybe we can earn a better slot or more points for the actual survival tournament…”
What? Already so badly hurt and still want to push yourself?
Chu Zao hesitated before speaking.
“I suggest you don’t move around.”
Of course, it was just advice. If they insisted, Holy Cas would respect their partners’ choices and help accordingly.
Chu Zao spent a moment wondering how to explain that their injuries were severe and they shouldn’t be stubborn or they would die, still struggling to organize his words,
When Lai Te began nodding vigorously.
“Yes, yes, you’re right.”
Chu Zao: ?
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Captain, you’re too hurt to be stubborn.”
“Right, right, we’ll stay put and wait for the preliminary to end—there’s less than half an hour.”
The chorus of agreement instantly shattered the silence.
It was a bit hard to get used to.
Chu Zao: …Eh?
Weirdly familiar, somehow.
Chu Zao glanced at Chao Huangmu beside him.
Chao Huangmu paid none of them any mind.
Once an improvising outdoorsman, now a certified stellar chef, Chao Huangmu had somehow built a small fire, grilling potatoes and some marinated meat for Chu Zao.
Feeney sat beside him, baby-faced but grave, looking between the fire and Chao Huangmu, unclear.
Chu Zao couldn’t figure it out, either.
He found this corner of the stars a bit odd.
Dad—where are you? Zao Zao doesn’t get it.
In any case, that’s all for now—time to eat.
Chu Zao sat, accepted a meal from Chao Huangmu, glanced at the nearly ended preliminary timer, then looked at the ground.
After the pollution, most planets’ soil was too charged with energy, unfit for plants—seeking more cultivatable land and varieties was a major Holy Cas goal for interstellar stability. Agronomist Zhong Zhiyi was always researching.
Zao Zao’s potatoes had benefited from several generations of her improvements.
That made little Chu Zao quite sensitive to what soils worked for potatoes.
He took a bite of meat, sipped nutrient fluid, lowered his head, and muttered.
“This place is great—good for growing potatoes.”
No sooner had he muttered it than—
Behind him came a chorus—“Yes, yes—”
“This place is perfect for potatoes.”
“Not growing potatoes here would be a shame.”
Only Yu Ye still couldn’t snap out of it—he’d just been closest, and seen it most clearly.
Chu Zao: ?????
Is something wrong with you all?
With bewilderment toward the Sanctuary, the preliminary ended.
Though they placed poorly in the end, at least all the Sanctuary dwellers survived.
They boarded the shuttle back to the Sanctuary.
A day passed, and still no sign from Amos.
Coupled with the Sanctuary’s odd reactions, no one asked anything.
Since they returned directly, nobody came to hassle them on the way.
Chu Zao had never experienced anything like this, Chao Huangmu paid no heed to such matters, Feeney wasn’t cut out for diplomacy, and so, even once they arrived at the Sanctuary, Chu Zao still couldn’t fathom the reason behind all this.
But for this response, this attitude, this name—
Could they have anything to do with Holy Cas?
Chu Zao couldn’t get any information, nor could he be certain.
By logic, when the corruption descended, Holy Casians should have all been safely evacuated, except Ebinino and the First Army, who perished entirely. There shouldn’t have been any trace of Holy Cas left here.
Arriving at the Sanctuary, they didn’t go see Speaker Lai Qing directly, but instead looked around the territory.
Since each year the whole population would be driven away—except the big empires and alliances who collaborated with aberrant beasts—places like the Sanctuary lived on huge mobile ships.
So they could always leave at a moment’s notice.
Feeney took Chu Zao and Chao Huangmu to look around.
Meanwhile, still recuperating, Lai Te reviewed the footage over and over, finally bringing it to the Sanctuary’s council chamber.
Soon after the preliminary ended, the chamber was full of grave faces.
“Although we didn’t lose many this time, our main fighters suffered grave wounds—unlikely to join the tournament at all.”
“Yeah, this might be our toughest year. Gesen Empire is openly targeting us.”
“We must prepare to resist being sent to the hunting zone, preserve a seed, for the homeland—”
“Speaking of which, Speaker, what’s with those three?”
“Yes, Speaker, now that everyone’s against us, should we trust any outsider—even the Eastern Alliance? For survival, they play both sides, maybe they’d even betray us.”
Lai Qing stayed silent.
He pondered what his youngest had told him—
“Lai Te said—”
After a pause, he spoke at last.
“He saw the sacred coronet, among those three.”
Suddenly the room fell silent.
“What do you mean?”
“The sacred… coronet? As in, the one I think? The homeland we’re not even sure exists, dreamed of by Sanctuary folk, called Holy Cas…?”
The room exploded in whispers.
Lai Qing wasn’t sure himself.
Was it true?
Could it be possible?
After all their years drifting here, with homeland nothing but obsession and legend—had they really seen the sacred coronet of Holy Cas?
Until the door opened with resolve.
“Father.”
Lai Te coughed softly.
But his eyes shone as he gazed at Lai Qing.
“No mistake, none at all—”
“Cousin, you really saw the sacred coronet?”
“No way, you sure it wasn’t something else?”
“I recorded it.”
Lai Qing indicated, as Yu Ye and others supported Lai Te and handed over the footage.
The video showed a surge of brilliance, the screen jolted; for an instant a golden, fire-tinged coronet flickered by—everyone fell silent.
“Is it truly… real?”
“But only for a moment—why? Why was it so brief?”
“Are we just too weak now? Not as before in Holy Cas—”
“If we tell them outright we’re from Holy Cas, would… would they…no, we’re too wretched.”
The Sanctuary dwellers, having never truly encountered outsiders, were suddenly at a loss.
All composure gone from a moment ago.
“Where are these three now?”
“What should we call them?”
“If I remember, it should be—should be, Your Highness?”
They whispered, and finally stood, looking at Lai Te.
Lai Te met their gaze.
“They said they wanted to look around, so I didn’t stop them. I couldn’t access my recording until I got back to the Sanctuary—I’m sure, they’re from Holy Cas, they’re the sacred coronet we’ve chased all this time.”
“This—”
“So we should prepare…what, then?”
Now the Sanctuary was so battered, they had nothing and could do nothing.
Having yearned all their lives for home—now, they had truly met messengers from there.
And that just worried them all the more—if they hadn’t shamed Holy Cas, might their homeland accept them?
Maybe, after being away so long, such worries are inevitable.
Just then, an alarm blared.
“It’s the corruption tide!”
Lai Qing jumped up.
“Prepare to resist! All ships, close hatches, begin defense, and—”
Suddenly recalling something, Lai Qing looked anxiously towards the doors—
“Find them—no, quickly find the young lord’s whereabouts.”
Too wretched, just too wretched—
How could they be so lacking in dignity?
“Why are there still so many aberrant beasts?!”
Someone else exclaimed.
Yu Ye gritted his teeth, rising in fury: “I’ll organize the defenses—”
Meanwhile, atop a mound outside the Sanctuary—
“Right? Their behavior’s odd,” said Chu Zao, propping up his chin.
“Uncle, you feel it too?”
Feeney’s baby face wore a smile, gentler in appearance than temper, but his hands still shattered the rocks nearby—a parent’s nerves when left to mind a cub alone: “A bit… like seeing a phantom of Holy Cas?”
Chao Huangmu’s eyes lit up: “No wonder I felt something off all along.”
“Uncle, look at the barrier of First Army—we talked before about how they pushed too deep. Isn’t it possible, after realizing there’s no going back, some of First Army pushed even farther in, and some units made it here? Then—aren’t they Holy Cas people?”
Chu Zao crouched, stick in hand, curly hair flicking as he traced the area of the barrier on the ground.
Feeney stood, a gleam of brilliance in his hand, an indistinct coronet above his head, eyes narrowed as he gazed at the distant sky, wings unfurling: “Why wonder so much? Just go ask.”
Chu Zao looked up as well. Behind them, the corrupted tide surged in, swarms of insectoid aberrant beasts rolling towards the Sanctuary.
After this battered preliminary, only a few mechs managed to fly out from the Sanctuary in hurried defense.
Inside his mech, Yu Ye heard the buzzing in his ears—
He tried to block the advancing beasts, trying to hold out till the corruption tide passed.
He thought—Holy Cas, actually existed—
And the sacred coronet—their Emperor and their Highnesses.
It wasn’t just raw power—Yu Ye remembered the awe Chu Zao had inspired in him.
He had to do something.
Yes, he had to act—only with real deeds could he pluck up the courage to ask once more—after waiting so long, after falling so low… Holy Cas, homeland… will you still take us back?