Chaos' Heir

Chapter 934: Landing

The Leviathan-class ship was nothing short of a flying city, and the Nognes family's specimen was also exceptional in that regard.

The vehicle was split into four main areas with countless smaller branches supporting them or handling different tasks.

The first area, at the ship's forefront, was the main deck, counting almost a hundred consoles, various levels connected by metal staircases, and anything related to the vehicle's functions. The special workers could control everything remotely from there, including piloting, battle stations, systems statuses, and more.

The second, the central area, was the largest. It featured the living quarters and acted as a storage facility for the biggest equipment. Of course, the place was split into multiple zones with various entertainment facilities, which did little to keep the Scalqa busy and calm.

The third was near the ship's bottom and acted as the de-facto cargo area. Anything from weapons, supplies, and buildings was stored there, constantly guarded by soldiers and checked up by scientists. The missions' most valuable aspects were there, demanding higher protection inside and outside.

The fourth involved the ship's engineering, stretching under the other three areas and ending with the engines past the third. Another set of workers lived there, constantly managing and securing every aspect of the vehicle. Their job was vital to the trip, but their presence was often forgotten.

Like most of the human crew, Khan was used to life on the ship. The Leviathan was actually so spacious he could barely see it as a limited environment.

However, the Scalqa didn't fare too well. A massive metal cage was still a cage, and knowing it was flying through space didn't help. Distress naturally built up inside the army, and only two factors prevented it from going crazy and causing a mess.

The first factor was obviously Khan. He could see the army's distress with his bare eyes, so he often made trips through the Scalqa's living quarters to show his presence or feast among them. Lieutenant Dyester also helped, but Khan's presence remained the key antidote to that prolonged time in space.

The second was the trip itself. Senerth was the farthest of the three planets from Baoway, but the Leviathan could cross that distance in under a week. Ultimately, the Empire's mission was in Baoway's neighborhood, so the Scalqa army didn't have time to go crazy.

Of course, reaching the planet didn't immediately involve a landing. The Empire had provided many pieces of information, but the report was superficial at best.

Moreover, jumping into an unknown planet and war unprepared was synonymous with death and defeat, and Khan already had a limited number of troops. The human scientists also wanted first-hand data, so the ship hovered above Senerth's orbit for two days.

Luckily, the Leviathan's scanners were the best humankind could produce, providing detailed pictures of the planet and its environment. Those scenes finally brought some entertainment to the alien troops, and catching a proper glimpse of their enemy replaced the distress with excitement.

As for Khan, he spent those two days reviewing every piece of information captured by the scanners and reviewed by the scientists. Choosing the best position for the first outpost was the most crucial decision of his life, and he didn't dare to take it lightly. He often consulted Lieutenant Dyester on the matter, too, and his opinions in that short time already justified his presence.

Nevertheless, a decision was eventually reached, starting a series of chain reactions. Most of the Leviathan's crew activated, following precise directives to prepare for the imminent landing. The army, Khan, the three young warriors, Bruno, and Lieutenant Dyester gathered into a massive warehouse-like structure, which the ship released after receiving the all-clear. The detachment of such a vast structure and the following impact on the planet's atmosphere were violent, but the people inside barely felt anything. The warehouse-like building's engines compensated for every bump along the road, allowing Khan and the army to remain on their feet during the quick descent.

The symphony inside the warehouse reeked of intense excitement and expectation. Khan could almost taste how happy the Scalqa were about returning to a proper planet and the new experience. He was in a similar state, but his face didn't express it.

Khan followed the warehouse's descent from the wall's menus. His unwavering gaze and still face didn't betray a single feeling, but Bruno couldn't help but glance at him. The young Prince had changed a lot in a single week, and he didn't know what to expect from him.

Then, the first real bump hit the warehouse. A slight tremor ran through the building's floor, too light to disturb anyone's balance. Only Moses, Prince Richard, and Roger tensed up, and the following event spread that reaction through the entire army.

The building's many doors released a whooshing noise, opening into a brown-red landscape. A rocky, barren plain expanded as far as eyes could see, only interrupted by occasional, distant mountains. The warehouse had successfully landed on Senerth, and everything threatened to become chaotic.

"[Outside]!" Lieutenant Dyester suddenly shouted in a surprisingly good Scalqa accent before things could become too messy.

The deafening shout filled the entire warehouse, restoring some order. The Scalqa calmed down, summoning their training to step on the planet. Still, occasional glances fell on the frontline, where Khan was, only to discover that he had already walked outside.

Khan wasn't alone. Bruno was at his side while he casually walked through that brown-red plain. His bright eyes illuminated the slightly dark environment, highlighting invisible details and creating minute, shimmering reflections wherever their glow landed.

It wasn't dawn yet, so the cloudless sky was pale grey. Some light had started spreading through the night, but the environment remained quite dark nonetheless. However, the clear horizon didn't restrict anyone's view.

Also, Khan found something strange in the air and ground. His eyes' glow created strange reflections, as if tiny glass shards were hovering everywhere. They appeared as far brighter pieces of the symphony, like specks of dust made of mana.

The ground had larger chunks of those shard-like objects. Khan saw proper pebbles when his eyes pierced the surface, and the faint glow of bigger items shone under them. Adding those impressions to the data gathered from the Leviathan gave birth to a conclusion in his mind, almost making him regret giving the planet away.

'A mineral containing mana,' Khan concluded. 'Achite? No, it looks different.' Bruno followed Khan during his advance. The foreign planet occasionally caught his attention, but Khan's steps continually reclaimed. He could swear the ground under Khan's feet should have shattered many times already, but nothing similar ever unfolded.

The army slowly imitated Khan. Under Lieutenant Dyester's directives, the Scalqa left the giant warehouse, shaken by the differences from their previous home. Baoway featured places that shared some similarities, but the aliens knew they were somewhere else entirely. They felt it in their bones.

Senerth wasn't only colder. Its air was denser and harder to breathe. The almost invisible shards of solid mana floating in it contained energy that only mana-enhanced beings could safely withstand. Ordinary humans without cores would slowly mutate in that environment. Nevertheless, the Scalqa were nothing but mana-enhanced. Their bodies quickly adapted to the new atmosphere and eventually refreshed them. That thicker mana in the air was beneficial to their unique flesh, acting as a slight form of nourishment.

Khan also deeply breathed but for different reasons. The area grew darker as he closed his eyes and bathed in that foreign atmosphere. A strange sense of freedom invaded his mind, and the distant turmoil only he had noticed made him smile. Even without thinking about it, his brain already provided the answer.

'I'm home,' Khan thought, snapping off that pensive state to look past the gathering army and find a specific human figure.

"Deploy the perimeter," Khan ordered, his voice almost a whisper that floated through the air, crossed the army, and perfectly landed in Lieutenant Dyester's ears.

The Lieutenant didn't let that strange event surprise him. He shouted a few additional orders in the Scalqa language before pressing his hand on the warehouse's external surface, lighting up menus featuring its different functions.

A series of security codes later, and more whooshing noises resounded around the warehouse, attracting the army's attention. The building's four corners detached themselves from the main structure, turning into tall, thick pillars moving in different directions.

After crossing about two hundred meters each, the structures' continuous tracks stopped, disappearing inside them. The ground slightly trembled as the pillars secured their bases, and multiple rectangular compartments opened across their surface, releasing turrets, rifles, and

other defensive weapons.

The Scalqa army had fully stepped on Senerth's ground by then, but the many red beeping lights that suddenly shone on the warehouse's surface claimed their attention. Their training told them what those signals meant, and excited cries inevitably resounded among them. "[Battle formations]!" Lieutenant Dyester shouted, his voice piercing the excited cries as he rushed toward the frontlines. Silence spread as he cried more deafening orders, and the Scalqa arranged themselves to prepare for a fight. Excited eyes fell on the horizon, eventually spotting a distant cloud.

The event was too distant for mere eyes to study, but the warehouse and turrets' scanners had

already studied it. The army had actually predicted it when choosing that landing spot. A pack of almost two hundred spiked dog-like creatures was rushing in its direction, attracted by the noise and driven by their hunger.

The Scalqa quickly split, occupying the space between two turrets to prepare for the imminent assault. They outnumbered the enemy ten to one, but Lieutenant Dyester left nothing to chance, continuing to shout orders whenever he saw problems with the battle formation.

The pack of creatures drew closer in the meantime. The monsters' towering figures gained details, but the Scalqa showed no fear. A week in a steel cage floating through space was hell for them. However, the battlefield was their home.

Lieutenant Dyester eventually reached the frontline, hurrying toward Khan to see whether changes were necessary before the battle was upon them. Yet, Khan didn't look at the Lieutenant. He didn't even glance at the army. He simply stepped forward, waving his hand to make everyone stay behind.