Two days prior.
Aslan arrived at a planet he had never noticed before.
He was accompanied by a few of his trusted subordinates.
Upon seeing the planet's scenery, Arthur exclaimed with a hint of pleasant surprise, "Commander, this planet shows no signs of advanced life. The King will surely be delighted to see its scenery."
When the Commander brought the cub, he could then bring her here as well.
Heh heh.
He hadn't spoken to her for a month since he ruined the medicinal herbs she had planted.
With the cub coming over, she would surely forgive him out of consideration for the cub.
He was so clever.
As another of Aslan's deputies, he knew what the Commander was thinking when he saw that human playing with the cub. So, he voluntarily told the Commander that he wanted to go out with him as well.
The other deputy, Michelle, remained by the cub's side.
They had been searching for new scenery for days, and finally, they found a completely new, small planet.
He could already imagine the joy on the cub's face when she was brought here.
Hearing this, Aslan turned his head and carefully observed the planet's scenery.
This planet had only one type of tree. Both the leaves and flowers of this tree were pink, so from space, the planet's surface appeared pink.
He didn't know why, but upon arriving here, he felt an inexplicable sense of unease. Even the joy of finding such a beautiful place was disrupted by this baseless anxiety.
At this moment, Aslan suddenly heard a sound from the nearby bushes. This sound made the battle-hardened Aslan immediately become vigilant.
He tried to sense what kind of creature was making the sound. However, after searching his entire memory, he found no clues. A possibility suddenly flashed through his mind.
"It couldn't be them, could it? Elfar and his kind had cleared out all the surrounding planets; they shouldn't be able to come here."
"Run!"
But as their Commander, he followed his inner voice and turned to his teammates, shouting.
However, when he turned around, he witnessed a scene he had never imagined.
All his teammates had been ensnared by vines and lifted into the air. The thorns on the vines pierced deeply into their bodies, and blood dripped from the vines, staining their entire forms and the ground below.
Arthur struggled to break free from the vine that was draining his life force. He spoke weakly to his Commander, "Commander, retreat. Don't make a futile sacrifice. Hurry and deliver this message to the King."
After he finished speaking, the vine that had been entwined around him instantly pierced through Arthur's body. The sharp tendril, holding a heart, swayed in Aslan's direction, as if mocking the Commander's incompetence.
Seeing this, Aslan's blue eyes instantly turned scarlet. He clenched his fists tightly, his gaze fixed on his deputy who had always rushed to his side.
He took a slight step back with his right foot. Just as he was about to charge forward and snatch the deputy's heart from the 'unknown creature's' grasp.
"Commander, don't come any closer."
"Commander, run quickly and convey this message to the King."
"Commander, tell the King that my name is Mill, and I am his eternal knight."
His teammates, who had been shielded behind Arthur, suddenly snapped back to consciousness from their daze. They showed no panic about their current predicament. Instead, they struggled to break free from the creature's grip on their mouths and shouted towards their Commander.
Now was not the time for revenge; it was time to deliver this crucial message to the cub.
Aslan, who had been ready for battle, saw the other teammates behind the giant vine and heard their words, which brought his near-collapse reason back a little.
He looked deeply at his teammates.
"I'm sorry."
After saying these words to them, he turned to leave the planet.
However, the vine behind him didn't seem to want to let him go. The giant vine saw the insect's retreating back, instantly threw the corpse from its body onto the ground, and its massive tentacle lunged towards Aslan's back.
Aslan felt the threat from his back, turned his head, and saw a massive tentacle less than thirty centimeters away from him. He showed no significant expression upon seeing this, and instead, teleported elsewhere.
He glanced at the corpses of his teammates in the air, wanting to rush down and bring them all home.
However, the vine, which had been far away from him, inexplicably appeared before him and plunged into his abdomen.
All of this happened too suddenly; Aslan had no time to react.
With his body pierced, Aslan ignored the pain and grabbed the vine with his hands, using his mental power to heat the vine little by little.
He didn't know if this would work.
When he noticed a slight change in the vine, he instantly increased the output of his mental power.
The vine, under such a powerful mental attack, seemed to show a hint of weakness. Aslan, sensing this, teleported into the lightning and then disappeared from the planet.
He had originally planned to take three days to reach the cub's planet, but he returned in two.
He directly broke through the gate. When he saw the person he had been longing for right before his eyes, his previously frantic heart gradually calmed down. He strode to the cub's side and reported what he had discovered.
As he felt the cub's mental energy again, his eyes could no longer bear it, and he fell unconscious.
Lin Hao looked at Aslan, who had collapsed before him, and gently stroked his cheek with concern.
'You've worked hard these past few days. You should rest well now.'
Lin Hao said in his heart to Aslan, lowering his head.
At this moment, Michelle, who had been nowhere to be found, suddenly appeared before Lin Hao. She looked down at her unconscious Commander and said to Lin Hao in a tone that was slightly abnormal, "King, may I take the Commander back to his room for treatment first?"
After she finished speaking, she picked up the Commander from the ground and teleported to his room.
She placed the Commander on the bed, then slowly squatted beside him, her voice filled with disbelief, "Did he... truly sacrifice himself?"
However, no one answered her question.
'Michelle, I didn't mean to tease you before.'
'You know, I'm a rough sort. I did many foolish things just to get you to look at me.'
'It wasn't intentional that I ruined your herbs. I wanted to tell you this in person, but it seems I won't get the chance. So, I'll say I'm sorry here.'
'And, I love you.'
Short Story:
Are you interested in a short story about Michelle and Arthur?
If so, I'll write an epilogue another day. If not, I won't, heh heh.
Love you all.