SCC Chapter 31 Culmination(1)

In space, close to the star that provided light to the entire solar system, while also acting as the gravitational anchor for the nine planets of the system, a behemoth was berthed. In comparison to the sun, it would be an ant. Yet to humanity as a whole, it was an achievement worthy of pride.

And in this triangular ship, within the bridge, stood Reed and many others, all gazing at the peculiar new bright light in the system, second only to the star itself.

It's location had been meticulously planned, making certain that it's orbit around the star was always synced in such a way that it wasn't within the visual sight of both Mars and Earth. And with its advanced cloaking technology, they hadn't managed to detect it all this time. And now, the reason for its detection came from the energy surge it was emanating. Though, Reed was inwardly debating whether they would have eventually discovered it with the coordinates Nikolai had managed to glean from the array back in Olympus.

Reed's gaze traveled from the anomaly, which wasn't clearly showing any change, towards the gathered ships layered before the mothership. These were the vessels that had arrived before, though there were others that had also arrived after the mothership. There were many different designs, colors of the hulls, and most of all, different organisations and individuals, depending on the insignias painted on their hulls.

"Lad. It's nice to see you alive."

A weighty presence had appeared behind him at an unknown time. It's quality was equal to that of the president, yet the aura was different. But it wasn't threatening. Reed turned around and was greeted by the sight of a burly man, whose height faintly exceeded his.

Golden locks of hair cascaded down his shoulders, while golden pupils gazed at him as if calculating his worth, or something close to that. There was someone close to him, yet standing behind by half a step. Reed could sense that there was some peculiarity about the man, but couldn't tell what was off.

"Thank you for acting in time, sir." Reed was very grateful about that as he wouldn't be standing here right now.

"Enough with the pleasantries. There is a matter I wanted your help with. I had no idea about how I would go about repaying you... But saving your life seems like a big enough favor for you to atleast help me, right?"

Reed became somewhat taken aback. The Golden Merchant himself needed his help? That was something surprising enough to have his mouth widen. After all, even though he was the foremost authority on most of the things related to plant life, the man and his company had always sourced their needs elsewhere, which had puzzled him for the longest time.

"What is it that you need? For as long as it isn't something complicated, and can wait until after this matter is solved... Then, I will have no obligation to refuse."

"That... Is something that will need an extensive discussion. And right now, even if we manage to gain some few hours, our minds won't be completely concentrated upon the conversation. We will-"

The man's hair, each and every strand of gold, stood on end, straight as a needle, as if a powerful charge was in the air, and a powerful aura erupted from him, bathing the entire bridge in a golden color, with his gaze fixedly staring out of the ship as if he were looking at a powerful threat.

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Reed hadn't sensed anything, but this time, he reacted speedily, turning around to gaze out of the transparent glass, yet only saw nothing that would make the man feel threatened enough to release his aura.

When he turned back to ask for an explanation, the president materialized right next to the man, his gaze equally solemn, making Reed swallow back whatever had been about to leave his mouth. Though the president's aura wasn't billowing, his crimson eyes were bright enough for their glow to paint wherever his gaze was looking.

Solemn gazes were exchanged between the two before they promptly vanished. Reed's gaze was once again drawn towards the light in the distance, one caused by the energy surge. What could have prompted the two to react in such a way?" And he hadn't even managed to sense anything!

Those two were at the very peak of cultivation in relation to humans. Getting to the late Nascent Soul was easy in relation to reaching the absolute peak of the stage, which was said to be as hard as ascending to the heavens themselves.

And those two had managed to reach that level. If whatever was causing the energy surge released something that only they could sense, and it made them feel as if they had encountered a formidable enemy, then that meant that this wasn't going to be simple.

In just mere seconds, Reed felt communication transmissions being sent outside, probably with even the recordings of the Golden Merchant's reaction. The temporary social virtual chat group exploded with many speculations upon that, but Reed's thoughts traveled once again, towards Lily. Was she really okay? He was starting to get unsettled. And that feeling had started upon personally laying eyes upon the energy surge. What if, whatever Lily had been needed for, had succeeded? And it was the reason for this energy surge. Would he really be able to find her still alive?"

The mothership shuddered as an image was transmitted into the minds of everyone aboard. They were going to be entering a battle ready state, with the multitude of ships just outside the vessel being ordered into a retreat, while anyone who had atleast reached the peak of Core Formation was being ordered to come onboard, such that they could bolster the combat capabilities of the army.

Two massive plates slid upwards on the front hull of the ship, exposing two deep holes, where two barrels slid out and into the open. Through the transmitted visual video, one which was of a perspective where Reed appeared to be standing in the void right infront of the ship, the grandeur of the two powerful weapons was somewhat stifling.

Then, through his synced sense with the mothership's sensors, he detected a weakening of the photon particles radiating from the energy surge, a sign of its weakening, with the ship now starting to move forward. The sheer number of particles buffeting the ship's hull every single second was in the trillions at the lowest number, and they didn't originate from a single direction, making him feel as if the void was trying to squish the vessel. Though, with the tenacity of the materials, it was easily shrugging off that kind of pressure.

But it caused him to wonder whether an energy shield of a Nascent Soul cultivator could handle such an amount of stress.

The out of body experience ended when the ship picked up speed. Probably, this synching had been a way to reassure everyone aboard the ship, that the Federation had the power to go toe to toe with whatever was within that light, which continued to drop in brightness with every passing second.

Once again, Reed took stock of his current state. Previously, he had been caught off guard, leading to his life hanging in the balance. That was why he was making certain about his preparations. Even bringing out his greatest secret trump card, the living symbiotic armor now encasing his entire body.

It was an organism he had created through intense experimentation, eliminating and adding new factors until its current iteration, where it was bonded to him and his wood core. If he died, it would die along with him too.

An alert reached his ears, attracting his attention towards the viewing screen, where the image of whatever had been releasing that intense energy, had now been exposed to a multitude of eyes.

It was a peculiar construct. It was composed of a ring, with the middle of it occupied by a dark sphere. In fact, it was so dark that when Reed had first seen it, he had mistaken it for a void. Instead, it was a material that had been made that dark intentionally. It probably had the same function as the glassy panels that absorbed solar essence on the Khaatam.

The mothership shuddered as a beam of energy was released from one of the main cannons, and Reed's heart leapt to his throat. The attack had a chance of outright annihilating Lily! Yet, he couldn't have conjured a plausible argument against such a potent threat to the Federation.

But his worry proved unnecessary when the attack splashed against something that had previously been transparent. It was a shield of some sort. Reed wondered whether it had been anchored to the surrounding space, because the attack should have atleast managed to push the construct away, even potentially dislodging it from orbit.

The other barrel also released a beam of something silver. This was probably metal attribute spiritual energy, artificially imbued with the intent of penetration. Yet all it managed to accomplish was dim the shield that had materialized within its path, the same spherical shield from before. Unless an attack made impact, it was otherwise undetectable and untraceable with normal means.

More attacks bombarded the shielding, with the many secondary cannons joining the fray, giving rise to the birth of different colors, proving to be a visual feast of the eyes. Multiple elemental attacks, common and rare alike, where being released with a massive range of artificial intents, simultaneously trying to find a weakness in the barrier, while also consuming its energy.