Chapter 404 - Han Nial
Planetoid RL-34, one of the heavily guarded rooms of the base NL-29.
"Young master, you shouldn't be here." An old man in military uniform said with a pleading tone.
He looked like he wanted to cry as he pointed to the holograms in the room depicting the deployments on the planetoid.
"This is so dangerous! There are many high awakeners on this planetoid. Even if we assign you guards, your life is at risk at any moment. Even though our space awakeners will look out for abyssals' space users, if anyone slips up, they'll target you."
The young master shook his head and took out a face mask from his storage ring.
Once he put it on, his handsome teen face changed into a middle-aged man's face.
Of course, his height was still 5'11. So, he changed to a special set of shoes and, appeared to be 6'1.
And his bulky build, well, he couldn't compress it, so he simply wore baggy clothes to appear bulkier.
Finally, he shaved his brown hair and became bald.
Changing his voice, he asked. "Do you still recognize me?"
"Y-You…" The old man was at a loss for words. "Your aura is also slightly different."
"Grandmother gave me a treasure." Han Nial said causing the old man to helplessly sigh.
"Err, your locket." The old man pointed out, causing Han Nial to slap his forehead lightly. "I forgot. It's like a part of me at this point."
The green locket was particularly conspicuous. It was his grandmother's gift and something he cherished deeply.
Thankfully, it was a star treasure and could 'vanish' on command. So, with a simple gesture, it vanished.
"How about now?" Han Nial said, showing his disguise.
"Looks like I can't stop you, young master." The veteran officer's shoulders dropped as he accepted the reality.
"Now, now, don't be so down." Han Nial patted his butler's shoulder. "I just want to contribute my part to this Great War. Hiding is not in my family's blood. We win or die."
'I was always proud of our family motto, but after our losses after Pluto War, I wish we were a bit mild.' Butler Sha thought but didn't say it out loud.
As Han Nial was about to exit the room and join the frontlines, Sha quickly added. "Young Master, there will be a few of our men who'll keep an eye on you. I'll send you their contacts. Contact them if you need any help."
Han Nial turned around and was about to reject. He didn't like to be protected. But…given the current condition of the Nial family, if something happened to him, they'd be devastated.
"Fine…" Waving his hand, he joined a platoon and headed to the frontlines.
"No more trouble…right?" Butler Sha walked into the conference room and joined other level 7s.
*** *** ***
The military transport vehicles had four compartments, each hosting three soldiers.
During their travel, the soldiers were supposed to gear themselves up and update their wills.
Usually, every soldier would be doing just that, but not in a particular compartment.
"You guys are crazy!" Han Nial said in his normal voice as he gaped at an old man and an old woman wearing the same combat uniforms.
"Tsk. You of all people have no right to say that." The old woman clicked her tongue and giggled. But it was the voice of a young girl.
The old man leaned against the wall and spoke in a deep but young voice. "Uranus is under the most stress. Neptune will be fine without me. But I'll go back after this war."
"If we survive." Han Nial said and turned to the old woman who was trying her best to contain her excitement. "Maissa, you came here because you thought battles here would be more intense, right?"
Maissa frowned and waved her hand. "That's a secondary reason. Even though I like battles, I want to give help where it's the most needed."
Han Nial didn't look convinced. So, she pointed to the old man and said. "You can ask Ashtarh. I didn't come to fight. I came to help."
Ashtarh nodded. "Our powers won't be of much use, but we all can take care of ficeds easily. Those little plants are only level 6."
"I've only just got to level 6." Han Nial said with a wry smile. "I don't think I can do much against them either."
"Well, don't worry too much," Ashtarh said with a consoling smile. "Strength isn't everything."
"What? Is that really coming from you of all people? Your mad training says something else." Han Nial knew of Ashtarh's hell training. The madman spent most of his life on the battlefield. It was like his second home.
"I used to think strength is everything, but someone proved us wrong," Maissa said with admiration.
"Huh?" Han Nial looked at her in confusion.
He rushed to a planetoid near Infini City to help the situation and missed the Solar Banquet. Then he broke the bottleneck to level 6 and spent the remaining days consolidating his level.
So, he didn't really know what happened in the Solar Trial.
"There's this one guy…" Ashtarh said, but Maissa cut him off.
"There was. A level 5 who beat us all in Solar Trial."
"WHA..what?" Han Nial suppressed his voice and asked. Then he continued. "And what do you mean 'was'?"
Maissa's shoulders dropped and she narrated the entire event, causing Han to fall silent.
"Fucking Shadow Order. Once I grow strong, I'll destroy them." Han Nial clenched his fists and vowed.
"Let's focus on the war for now. Kill as many ficeds we can and reduce the burden on other level 6s." Ashtarh said with a serious face.
"Yeah. If he's alive, perhaps he'd be with us discussing the battle plan. Even though he looks like a schemer, my instincts scared that Varian also likes fighting." Maissa rambled.
Han Nial said. "I wish I met him."
"Your wish is granted."
Right after those sudden words, the wall of the compartment was blown away by a hand that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Shuaa! Shuaa! Shuaa!
Six level 7 auras and two level 8 auras exploded in the distance and in the blink of an eye, torrents of concentrated attacks reached the hand.
The level 8 attacks—a very concentrated lightning spear and a space block attacked the hand.
But—
Kacha!
The hand broke through the space blockade, was impaled by the lightning spear, but didn't stop.
It grabbed Han Nial and in the next instant, both the hand and Han Nial disappeared.
All of this happened so fast that Ashtarh and Maissa only reacted after Han disappeared.
"W-What?!"