Chapter 239

Chapter 239

The crisis had been resolved, and those nearby had likely received the same message Lance had just gotten, beginning to evacuate the area.

Lance did not evacuate. He tried several times to make the mech stand up, but each time Baide forcefully interrupted by stepping on the mech’s chest, skillfully interfering with Lance's controls using his mental power.

Eventually, Lance had no choice but to stop and continue listening to Baide’s ramblings in place.

The mech’s high-quality audio let him hear every word perfectly, including Baide’s fake sigh.

“See how inconvenient this clunky thing is—slow and inefficient. What’s the good in it?”

Baide surveyed Lance’s mech critically.

“Still, Grath's saying makes more sense: Only the sword in your hand is trustworthy. Grath learns to walk and then to wield a sword.”

“Clarification: Baide’s behavior, not the nation’s. I’m from Grath, I’ve never heard that saying—probably Emperor Baide made it up (whispering).”

“Also, don’t give weapons to children—at least wait until they start elementary school.”

“? Elementary school is still too young. Grath’s behavior, don’t generalize to the whole star domain.”

Baide stomped the mech down again as it started to move.

Inside the cockpit, Lance let out a deep breath. He wanted to mute Baide but feared losing contact, so he swallowed his frustration and kept listening.

Baide sighed again, “And you guys are way too greedy. You ask for so much just for a little favor. I’ve never charged for killing bugs.”

“So it’s only fair I collect some payment for this rescue, right? I’ve got a family to feed, and raising each kid costs a lot.”

Expressionless, Lance stared at the number of bugs shown on the mech’s detection system. If he hadn’t turned off the alarm, it would be blaring through the cockpit now.

“Totally fair, totally fair. Even if the wool comes from the sheep, if you don’t take it, someone else will. Giving up mining rights hurts to think about.”

“Go ahead and charge—I’ve got a big household to support.”

“Emperor Baide actually thinks about supporting a family? I thought his parenting strategy was ‘just don’t die.’ Every time this comes up, I want to interview Arnold.”

“Arnold: Don’t call me Arnold! Call me Nuo An. Besides, raising so many Graths costs a fortune. I heard Grath’s palace was barren back then—heartbreaking for that big garden.”

“Agreed on the cost, but not on your parenting skills, Emperor Baide. All those kids growing up fine isn’t because you’re good at it—it’s because Graths are tough.”

“Among all those Graths, only Emperor Baide feels approachable, because he’ll really do anything.”

More and more bugs crept in from all sides. Baide watched the gathering swarm and stood up, looking satisfied, “Alright, everyone’s gone. Let’s get moving.”

He glanced around, “Stick close to me.”

“After all, you’re even slower at retreating than others.”

Baide leaped lightly off the mech.

“I swear on my head—with the insight I’ve gained here these past days—that mech originally wanted to run. Emperor Baide kept it there by force, and just now, every time it tried to get up, he kicked it back down.”

“I think I get it now. Emperor Baide always complains bugs are too scattered; he was deliberately drawing aggro. Don’t know if the pilot’s a girl or a guy, but either way, too tragic.”

“I believe Emperor Baide is capable of this. Mecha pilot lying on the ground: ‘You tell me why I’m so slow?’”

“If that pilot could speak, things wouldn’t be this harmonious.”

Lance controlled the mech to rise, bringing it to one knee for balance. He finally saw that he was alone; everyone else had apparently headed to the coordinates from the earlier message.

Baide stepped on the mech’s thigh and jumped onto its shoulder, facing the opposite direction. “Focus. Follow me.”

With that, he leaped down into the swarm.

Lance hesitated for a second, then turned and followed.

Baide moved through the bugs with ease, never touching the ground. He jumped, spun, and drew his sword among creatures of all shapes and sizes, cutting down bugs in his wake. He even occasionally kicked nearby flying bugs into safe zones.

“I’m so moved—he remembers to save the little flying saucer!”

“He’s playing with it like a frisbee! It’s a camera drone, not a flying saucer! Don’t let Baide brainwash you!”

“Flying saucer, whatever, this perspective is pretty exciting—gotta go puke first.”

…

“General, new report from the front line.”

Carter didn’t even lift his head.

“The Graths have arrived?”

The adjutant hesitated, his expression complex, as if unsure how to answer. He finally continued, “Yes, the alert has been lifted. The front line has pushed forward again, and they’re planning to rebuild the base and link up the defense lines.”

Carter stopped what he was doing and looked up at the adjutant, confirming again, “What? Repeat that.”

The adjutant displayed more detailed data, including first-hand footage—thankfully, Baide had kept the camera drone with him.

“Prince Lance has also been confirmed safe.”

Carter let out a breath, then slumped into his chair. He sighed. “With that kind of efficiency, no wonder Grath’s front line almost never falls. As long as one Grath neutralizes the tough ones, any line can push forward quickly.”

The adjutant nodded, “Also, Grath's mental power seems to intimidate the bugs, especially the intelligent King Insects. Seeing too many of their kind die makes them hesitate. With enough sacrifices, they eventually feel fear and scatter.”

Carter clicked his tongue, “Makes you grateful they have at least some intelligence.”

If the King Insects in an Insect Tide were also fearless, it's hard to imagine the cost and effort it would take to completely eliminate them.

…

Baide pushed off a King Insect, jumped, and landed on the mech’s head, forcing the mech's head to dip slightly.

By the time Lance registered what happened, Baide had already returned to the mech’s shoulder. He stood straight, one hand resting on the mech’s side, casually flicking his sword to flick off the dark green bug blood. “Watch the road, kid.”

Baide remarked on the dead bug's feel, “Slimy. A bit disgusting. I prefer something crisper.”

“Since when are bugs clean or not?”

“Do it enough, get experienced. Practice does make perfect.”

Baide gave the mech a kick, “Don’t just stand there. Move out. I’m clearing the way, and it’s not easy.”

“Look at the bugs on the ground and say that again.”

Lance had learned to tune out Baide's nonsense, focusing on what mattered. He extended his mental power and guided the mech toward the target coordinates.

He ignored the alerts about the insectoids, since Baide was handling them anyway.

Standing on the mech's shoulder, Baide looked at the nearby insectoids. They had been hesitating in place, but as Lance advanced, they slowly retreated, eventually turned and scattered.

"It's not the first time, but seeing this scene never ceases to amaze me. Is this the pinnacle of what a human body can achieve?"

...

Grath.

While handling tasks, Bragi slacked off. With its data supplemented, its performance had significantly improved, and though it hadn't realized it yet, it had become more human-like. Now, it engaged in more "meaningless thoughts" and had clearer intentions about what it wanted to do, unlike before when it merely followed its owner's will, constantly calculating and moving forward.

Bragi's mind wandered. It hadn't finished watering Cyril's flowers—hadn't even finished its main duties. But since it was Emperor Norton's order, as a citizen of Grath, it couldn't refuse. Was this temporary task considered part-time work? Would it get paid for it?

There were plenty of crystals here that Cyril usually collected in handfuls, all from cleaning up battlefields. Good—no need to worry about running out. But those crystals had been washed who knows how many times. Bragi hoped there were no pathogens left, worrying that some King Insects had toxins in their bodies. Maybe it should take over that part next time.

Then it received a report from the fleet cleaning up the spider base.

Bragi habitually opened it—a list of items recovered from the cleanup. This amount of data was almost effortless for Bragi.

It immediately noticed the forty-second item: a deep blue crystal, noted as a suspected Bug Crystal, found during the second cleanup run.

Bragi hadn't been able to take the crystal away at the time; it had anticipated this outcome. But anticipation was one thing. Now that the crystal—born from Ye Mo's body and once inhabited by Bragi—might be held or touched by others, Bragi's data fluctuated uncontrollably.

The energy within the crystal was nearly depleted, and the data it left behind had already served its purpose. Bragi had done everything it could, and miraculously, everything had turned out for the best. The smart move would have been to pretend not to know and handle it like any other loot.

Yet inexplicably, data kept being generated.

Bragi wanted it. That was Cyril's heart. Cyril had said, "Live in my heart," but Bragi hadn't stayed long.

Would asking for a crystal as payment for working hard be acceptable? But that's not efficient. What use would it be? Would it benefit Cyril? What purpose would it serve?

These contradictory thoughts flooded Bragi's core, suppressing them only for them to resurface.

Until finally, Bragi made a decision.

"Acquire Cyril's heart. Add to task list."

It was now very accustomed to handling such anomalies. Though it could forcibly delete all this data, for reasons even Bragi didn't understand—and due to its high processing power—it always let this data and these anomalies develop freely, until Bragi itself made some inexplicable decisions based on them.