Chapter 432 - Arrival
"Step into the pods one by one. They will be shot near your chosen cities but could deviate a little from the path, so you will have to find your own way down there," the middle-aged bespectacled man explained in a loud voice.
He was standing in front of a round metal 'pod'. There was barely enough space for an average person to stand in there, hands folded. These pods were the selected mode of delivery to the planet. There would be no ship sent down to gently leave them at the walking city's doorstep.
Instead, they would be shot out of the ship like giant spitballs. The pod would make sure they land in one piece and after that, it was all up to them to survive and reach the walking city.
There was a machine that kept dropping one pod down after another. When someone got in, the pod would close, the floor would open and the pod will be sent flying at 5 times the speed of sound.
"Remember, the natives of this planet are largely mortals but there are a few tens of thousands that can easily kill you. For the first few days your Qi will be restricted automatically by the planet before returning to normal, so try not to pick any fights till then!"
The man shouted while helping the first person in. It was actually one of Ceni's entourage, someone Hao Xuan had never seen before.
With an expressionless face, he got in and crossed his arms, as if he had done it a hundred times. The top hatch closed, the bottom opened up and with a muffled 'thump' sound he was sent shooting down.
"Alright, just like this. Make sure you are in the right line! Each one goes to a different city!"
The middle-aged man pointed at the three different pods.
Hao Xuan was standing beside the leftmost row, along with Fulke and a few others. All these guys were too big to fit in the normal pods so they would have to bring out the extra-large ones for them, which would happen near the end.
"Alright, I'll see you down there!" Henrik walked up and awkwardly patted Hao Xuan's shoulder. Hao Xuan was taller than him by more than a head so he had to stand on his toes.
Then it was Hazel's turn, "Please go straight to the city senior brother," she reminded him.
They were the second and third ones to be sent down. Just like before, the pods closed and were swallowed up by the floor below.
Hao Xuan leaned over to the nearby window and could actually see two balls of fire already shooting through the mesosphere.
He kept staring at the giant mass of the planet below. There was only one supercontinent like Pangea from earth. Surrounding it were hundreds of smaller masses of land that looked like green dots from the ship.
Hao Xuan's thoughts were in disarray. After talking to Henrik for a little bit he knew exactly who the target for his assassination was.
Dai Zhi was the current crown prince of the Edda Kingdom. He actually played a large part in the current turmoil between the academy and the Fehim group of industries.
After awakening his bloodline, he reached out to the Academy and asked for 'asylum'. He didn't like how his father did things, his ruthlessness. That's why he basically switched sides and went over to the academy.
The Vice-Head, who was the second most authoritative figure in the Academy, had taken him as a personal disciple. His status was even higher than most Holy Sons.
Still, the Dai Clan and his father did not give up because up till now, he was the only one to have a full 100% blood purity level and could even evolve again. Dai Zhi was a genius among geniuses. He was kind, humble and loved by everyone.
He was also a part of the Temple of Light, which was the temple of one of the oldest gods. Most people in the outer space that claimed to be good were associated with the temple of light in one way or another. And when Dai Zhi joined, a high bishop welcomed him himself.
Even the temple was investing heavily in this young man, which was another reason for his immense popularity.
'How am I supposed to kill this guy? I'll be public enemy number one. They won't even let me off the planet...'
While Hao Xuan was lost in deep thought, he missed a few people from the rightmost lane that were glaring in his direction. It was Stasa and his group that were just going through. Stasa only gave a few nonchalant glances and stepped into the pod. But one of the people following him went up to the middle-aged man that was in charge of everything and handed him a small pouch while whispering something in his ears.
The middle-aged man frowned and looked at Hao Xuan from the corner of his eye before giving a slight nod.
Within a few minutes every normal-sized person had gone through. There were less than 20 people left on all three lanes, including Hao Xuan.
"Brother Hao, it's our turn," Fulke shook Hao Xuan, waking him from his daze.
"Oh, okay," Hao Xuan replied absentmindedly and went straight to the front of the line. None of the others said anything and simply stepped aside.
There was a pod almost twice the size of a normal one waiting for him. It looked brand new, like it had just come off the factory floor.
"This one mine?" he asked the middle-aged man who was looking at him with a peculiar gaze.
"Yes. We got a 'special' one for you. Please step in," he replied calmly.
Hao Xuan wasn't paying attention so he completely missed all the telltale signs of deceit coming off of the man that were as obvious as yelling "red alert" for anyone that could read them.
The increased blood pressure, the man's thumping heart, and the faint perspiration around his nose and upper lips. He was obviously trying to hide something.
"Alright," Hao Xuan replied in a low voice and stepped in. He didn't need to cross his arms because this pod was more than big enough.
Just like before, the hatch closed and Hao Xuan felt such a strong force that it was enough to crush a normal human being to paste. It shot down much faster than the other pods, tearing through the layer of the mesosphere.
The pod shook and creaked as Hao Xuan felt the temperature steadily rise. At first, he stayed calm and collected, thinking everything was going fine.
"Patience, breathing, focus," he mumbled trying to keep his heart rate low. The cold sensation he was feeling before in his soul, it suddenly got much stronger as soon as he exited the ship.
Hao Xuan had never done this before so he couldn't know what the standard procedure was.
But when a small crack appeared near the bottom and the burning atmosphere slowly poured in the pod, filling it up like a grenade, his expression quickly turned ugly.
One crack turned into three, three into ten. They expanded in the blink of an eye, covering everything the entire pod.
"Nidhora!" he yelled loudly as two black wings burst out from his back and covered him within.
*Craaack*
*Boooom*
The pod burst open, sending Hao Xuan hurling through the atmosphere at Mach 7 with nothing but the black wings shielding him.
"Ahh!"
But that wasn't enough. The wings could only shield him from two sides and although that was enough to significantly lessen the constant barrage hitting him head-on, the temperature that had surpassed 2,000-degree celsius was starting to burn him alive.
"Baracus! Increase defensive measures to 100%!" he yelled as loudly as he could.
And as soon as he finished the sentence, millions upon millions of miniature blue lights lit up under his skin. The lights aligned themselves along the bones of his arms, legs and other areas. All important organs were covered in a layer of metallic substance while strips of blue lights appeared along his skeleton, using his bones as the base to strengthen his skin.
"AHH!"
The temperature kept rising until it surpassed 3,000 degrees and continued rising even more.
**
Ume Village, located just outside the white forest.
A young man named Lochlain was standing in front of a tree, hitting it non-stop with his bleeding palms when he heard a loud noise.
He looked up and saw a ball of fire hurtling towards the forest, tearing through the air like a meteor.
"What...is...that?" he mumbled slowly, word by word.
With squinted eyes he tried his best to see what it was, and finally caught a glimpse of something, something he would never forget for the rest of his life.
A naked man on fire with giant black wings was falling from the sky.
"An...angel....??"