Chapter 182: Welcome Home
"Silence!!"
Casey turned, her gaze cold as she walked toward Arthur. "You almost got us killed!" she hissed, the memory of the near-miss still sharp and painful.
Their survival on this harsh, desolate planet was a daily struggle against the Wendigos, and Arthur’s recklessness had almost jeopardized everything.
"Hmm... But I didn’t," Arthur stammered, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew she was right, but his pride stung.
"When I saw the ship, I just attacked... Sorry, I should have been careful."
Casey stared at him for a long moment, the anger slowly draining from her face, replaced by a weary resolve. She knew his heart was in the right place, but his actions were a liability they couldn’t afford. She exhaled, a visible cloud of vapor in the cold air:
"Get ready, everyone. Tomorrow, we are leaving this planet."
She walked past him, heading toward her dwelling. The eleven nodded, turning their heads to the wide expanse of land before them, their fate hanging on the horizon. Tomorrow would decide their fate.
___
[Back To Sunny.]
"Dad, why are we helping them? I don’t see any gain from it," Ellen asked, her young face a mask of confusion as they stood before their battleship.
"There is," Sunny smirked, his eyes on the distant, primitive camp:
"That girl is the only daughter of Matilda, the Empress of the Star Empire." He turned to face his daughter:
"I promised our people that our nation will be the strongest. I can’t achieve that without taking down the current strongest nation. That girl is strong, and she has a huge ego. Even if I help her, she will never help me against her mother. So, I will have to use her, and take down her mother."
"Huh?" Ellen was even more confused.
"Haha! Just watch and see, dear," he said with a smile, a flicker of ambition in his eyes.
"Let’s pay a visit to the pawns of my plan." He opened a swirling gateway, held her hand, walking inside.
____
[Wendigos’ Outpost.]
Sunny and Ellen appeared in front of a colossal gate. Sunny’s gaze swept over the huge, fortified walls, and nodded:
"This outpost is five times bigger than the one we destroyed," he muttered, impressed by the scale of the Wendigo Horde.
"How many are inside, with the captives?" he asked.
Ellen raised her right hand and placed her index finger on her forehead.
WHOOSH!
A huge white eye materialized in the sky, a silent, all-seeing oracle, before it vanished.
"Twenty-six thousand, five hundred and sixty-nine," she said.
"Forty-nine are under the main building, maybe an underground prison. The rest are Wendigos."
Sunny nodded, but before he could move, the sky above the outpost tore open with a sound like tearing silk. A huge, black, eerie gateway opened, a portal unlike any he had ever seen.
"...?!"
He quickly grabbed Ellen, his instincts screaming danger, and teleported miles away, appearing behind a massive boulder.
The two watched as two figures descended from the gateway. One was clad in the legendary God-rank armor. The other was a lithe figure in a ninja outfit. The equipment and gateway didn’t shock Sunny as much as the sheer power radiating from the newcomers.
"This... Two God-rank, both in the 20th stage!" Sunny exclaimed in shock.
WHOOSH!!!
"Dad... Look," Ellen pointed, her voice trembling slightly.
Sunny watched as hundreds of Wendigos, all in black Grand Class armors, followed behind the two. But these were no ordinary Wendigos; they had wings of different races—angelic, draconic, and more.
"Something isn’t right," Sunny muttered.
He quickly checked their profiles with his system.
{Name: Shadow Eyes.}
{Bloodline: Eyes of Hell - Legendary rank.}
{Rank: God rank. Stage 20.}
{Strength: 2,700,000.}
{Agility: 2,500,000.}
{Stamina: 2,000,000.}
{Defense: 1,500,000.}
{Attack: 2,000,000.}
{Spirit energy: 4,000,000.}
{Note: Stats will change when Target puts on armor.}
’What the fuck!! She isn’t even in armor!!’ Sunny’s mind screamed.
’Spirit energy... Is she from the higher worlds?’ He checked the man’s profile, and a name from his past surfaced.
{Name: Xanor.}
{Bloodline: Dark Lightning Werewolf - Epic rank.}
{Rank: God rank. Stage 20.}
{Strength: 1,000,000 (+2,000,000).}
{Agility: 2,500,000 (+1,500,000).}
{Stamina: 500,000 (+1,000,000).}
{Defense: 1,000,000 (+1,000,000).}
{Attack: 1,000,000 (+500,000).}
{Spirit energy: 1,500,000 (+1,000,000).}
’Xanor!!!?!’
Sunny was stunned speechless.
’How did he get so strong?! He even has Spirit energy.’ He turned his gaze to Ellen, his protective instincts overriding his ambition.
’I can’t confront them with Ellen here... I must advance my rank before facing him.’ He turned to his system screen, staring at his armor.
’With my armor, I can kill him... But what about the second?’ He exhaled, watching as the hundreds of winged Wendigos landed in the small town below, their presence a dark omen.
{Quest’s difficulty have been upgraded into the Hell difficulty.}
"...?!" Sunny was dumbfounded.
The system’s notification was a final, damning confirmation of the new threat.
"You also sense their arrival?" A voice from behind startled them.
Both Sunny and Ellen snapped their heads around, seeing Leonardo walking out of thin air, his sword, in hand.
"Sixth stage... You entered another stage?" Sunny asked in surprise.
"Don’t be surprised, kid. Compared to them, I am nothing." Leonardo stopped beside Sunny, staring at the outpost.
"I will send a copy with 100% of my strength. I want to see if I can face them." He closed his eyes, and a perfect, identical copy of the old man appeared.
’He can also make a copy with 100% of his strength?! What a crazy skill.’ Sunny thought, holding Ellen close, ready to teleport away if the situation went south.
"Get ready to teleport away," Leonardo said to him, and sent his copy toward the gate.
"Teleport away? You can’t fight them?" Sunny asked.
"Fight them? Those two are peak God-ranks... I suspect their strength is higher than that." He said.
"What do you mean by that?" Sunny asked with a frown.
"There are higher ranks above the God rank." Leonardo explained.
"And before you can enter these ranks, you must ascend to the Higher Worlds. This world doesn’t have the energy to help anyone break through to the higher ranks." He exhaled.
"So you are saying, if we remain in the lower world, our highest rank will be the God rank, stage 20?" Sunny asked.
"There are a lot of things you don’t know... When you are ready to know these things, come find me." Leonardo snapped his fingers and a card appeared before Sunny, shimmering with a faint light.
"That will lead you to my home."
Sunny took the card and stored it, his mind filled with countless questions. He looked at the winged Wendigos still hovering in the sky, a chilling realization dawning on him.
’Xanor must be the one who took that ship... At the location the system gave, I found nothing, not even a crash. He must have entered the Higher Worlds. Are...’ He looked at the winged Wendigos, their new forms a chilling testament to their evolution.
’Are Wendigos also in the Higher Worlds?’