Chapter 183: Chapter 179: Thanatophage Vs. Necrophage (1)
After experimenting around with his newfound traits, Blaze returned to the lair, perhaps for the last time. Plans for his departure were in place.
As long as they dealt with the incoming forces, his journey to space should be smooth. However, there were a few things left to do before that.
The rotten rain had stopped, replaced by a thick fog. It was the effect of the flat spire. The fog wasn’t anchored to one spot and, mixed with blightspores, it made a natural deterrent to any landing party the Collective might have.
But that wasn’t the primary reason Blaze dismantled and repurposed the spires. The tall spires could be taken out from a distance, taking his control away from Blightspores and the extended horde.
The flat spires negated such a possibility. Besides, with the thick fog, they might not even find the spires to attack in the first place.
After that came the cult. He had emptied their reserve of strange scrolls that gave secondary abilities to the chosen. He had used those to give special abilities to grade-3 zombies and above.
With preparations complete, Blaze sat on his throne, waiting for the ships to appear.
"My lord, it is really alright for us to be this... lax?" Marrow asked, clearly worried.
"It’s not something we haven’t faced already," Blaze replied, leaning on his left hand. "It’ll be the same fleet as before, only seven times larger."
It was the intel Anur had given him. The Motherships wouldn’t be attacking him, only the remaining flagships on Earth. He had a feeling she had something to do with it, but he never asked, and she didn’t admit it.
With the difficulty severely lowered, Blaze was confident of his victory this time as well. Obviously, defeat didn’t necessarily mean death.
Despite being immortal in more ways than one, Blaze knew going against the Collective wasn’t easy. They couldn’t kill or trap him, but what if they blew up the entire planet?
He’d float in the endless space for all eternity. Perhaps they would even keep watch over him. Every time he assembled his body, it would be blown up again.
Wouldn’t it be akin to a prison itself?
It was just one of many ideas Anur came up with for the Collective to control him. Though the first plan was to just dump him into a Blackhole. That would be the end of all their worries.
These aliens can be really terrifying if they want to be. Thankfully, Soul Transcendence ensures my reincarnation, or else I’ll be at my wits’ end.
Blaze’s mouth twitched with excitement. He couldn’t wait to have more of those ships under his command.
Just then, shadows appeared above them. The fog turned dark because of the blocked light. However, the ships didn’t fire away, nor did they enter the range of attack of the ships Blaze possessed.
"They aren’t drunk on power," he said, getting off his comfortable throne.
The Collective, in an unusual fashion, was being careful for once. Blaze could only imagine how humiliating it would have been for them to acknowledge a backwater planet, all because of him.
Just then, something pierced through the fog, landing in front of Blaze with a loud thud. Marrow jumped in between them, only for Blaze to pull her back.
The presence he felt from within wasn’t that of an alien, but a human. It made him wonder what was going on.
The drop pod burst open. Its shell flew towards Blaze, but he swiped it away with one of his twelve tendrils.
"I have heard a lot about you," the woman said in perfect English. "I had hoped that you’d retain some human qualities, but looking at you, that doesn’t seem to be the case."
The woman said, swinging her spear, "That will make things easier for my conscience."
Blaze immediately recognized the spear... Thanatophage.
The weapons that had torn his arm and given him Necrophage instead. Moreover, she was dressed in a battle suit much more complex than his own. She also had respirators on, protecting her from the blightspore.
It seemed the collective didn’t want to confront him, so they sent the first human to enter Grade 6 by herself to kill him.
"And here I thought I’d be bored to death," Blaze chuckled, flexing Necrophage. "Perhaps I should thank them for handing me the pleasure of toying with you?"
Xiao Lian didn’t take him seriously at all. During her time in China, she had seen multiple zombies capable of speech. Back then, she thought she was the strongest one could be.
However, that thought was shattered when the Collective arrived. They were far stronger than her, so she readily accepted the deal of servitude.
As long as she joined them, they would protect her nation, on the condition that she proved her worth.
How would she do that?
By killing Blaze, of course.
Unfortunately, to get to him, she should have started from the gate like any other survivor would. A drop via a space pod was cheating, and cheaters... get punished.
In the blink of an eye, countless zombies surrounded her, while the elites formed a protective layer around Blaze. However, Lian wasn’t flustered. She casually tied her hair in a ponytail, her eyes never leaving her target.
"Pathetic."
That’s all she said as a grade-3 zombie lunged at her. She ducked faster than even Chimera and with one swing, sliced the zombie in half... vertically.
The split zombie crashed into two others. They stumbled and fell, only to have their heads crushed under her feet.
Another one jumped at her from the side. Without even turning, she spun the spear once and jabbed backward, impaling it through the chest like a skewer, before tossing it away.
No one attacked her after. At least not like they had been before. The entire horde charged at her at once.
"Finally," she smirked. "You should have done this from the start!"
Heads went flying, blood drenched the ground, but she wasn’t slowing down. However, the more she fought, the less interested Blaze became in her.
What a fool.