"What do you mean? Isn't he your subordinate?" Prince Jolto asked in mild surprise.
"Not really. He is more like… a fan. In any case, he is not reliable. He is as likely to possess us as he is to possess our enemies. Today was just… A lucky episode for me." Alexander chuckled lightly.
"Lucky episode… If a lucky episode can net you a whole Starship, what would winning the jackpot be like for you? What a lucky bastard!" Prince Jolto cursed inwardly.
"The throne of Symphonia must be won without the help of Regis and his kind. Plus, I am also planning to put Princess Anastasia on the throne." Alexander glanced at Prince Jolto at that point. "What do you think of that?"
Prince Jolto merely shrugged. "I am your contracted slave for the next twenty years. Whoever sits on the throne is of no consequence to me, as long as it is not Prince Flario. You may not know him, but that man is the reincarnation of pure evil. The tiny bit of love he has, he has given it all to Princess Anastasia. There is nothing left in his heart except for cold ambition. If you knew the number of slave planets he had massacred..."
Prince Jolto shuddered lightly. "If Prince Flario ascends to the throne of Symphonia, the entire empire will descend into a dark era."
"How much power does the throne of Symphonia give to the emperor?" Alexander asked curiously.
Prince Jolto smiled at his question. "Might is right in Symphonia. Whoever ascends the throne will be in direct command of the Royal Regiment and the Symphonian Army. The Royal Regiment has ten highly modified Starships. The Symphonian Army… Fifty Starships."
*-*-*-*-*
Prince Flario looked out at the shimmering darkness outside from within the bridge of The Star of Symphonia. He had never failed to be amazed at the power of the Planetary Teleportation System.
It made positioning troops all over the Empire so simple. And as every commander knew, positioning was the key in winning battles and even wars. The Planetary Teleportation System has made it so that Symphonia would win every single fight for positions in every battle and war.
The advantage of being able to move key units anywhere within the empire was one of the pillars that supported the Sovereignty of the empire. Without it, as well as the Star Annihilator, Symphonia would be an easy picking for the vastly more powerful Universe Empires around them.
The only drawback was that the Planetary Teleportation System was disgustingly expensive to activate. Symphonia could not afford to use it as a general mode of travel. Its use was fully restricted for the highest level of emergencies only.
And as it were, a code red was one of the situations which allowed the use of the Planetary Teleportation System.
"Exiting portal in three… two.... One." Gareth intoned lightly.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtB O O O O O M M M ! ! ! ! ! B O O O O O O O M ! ! ! !
Two massive explosions rocked the Star of Symphonia violently.
Massive sirens began to blare throughout the Starship and everyone entered defensive condition one immediately without having to be told.
"Damage report." Prince Flario calmly.
"Shields down to ninety seven percent power. Main damage dealt to Section 44325, right here near the bridge." An aide immediately reported.
It was incredible. It had to be known that the shield of a Starship was capable of withstanding a full speed impact with a meteor. To lose three percent power after the first engagement was ridiculous.
"Situational report." Prince Flario ordered.
"Sir… No enemy detected within a million kilometers!" Another aide responded emotionlessly.
"Engage micro life scanners and report." Prince Flario calmly issued another order.
"Micro life scanners engaging… Sir! One life form detected! A human! Trajectory confirmed. Both attacks were unleashed by him!"
"Power analysis." Prince Flario demanded curtly.
"Power type... Unknown Magical Power. Power rating… Above Planet Level Threat. Sir! Soul signature confirmed to be the missing special asset planted within Arcanus 26!" His aide reported.
Finally, Prince Flario's calm demeanor cracked as a look of ludicrous surprise flashed on his face.
A million questions exploded in his mind.
"How powerful is he now? How did he know where his Starship will appear? Why is he attacking me? Is he an enemy? Where is Prince Jolto? Are they colluding? Do I have enough power to take him AND The Tiger Lord down? Will I be able to finish the fight before Princess Hilda comes?" That and a host of other questions flooded his mind.
However, Prince Flario quickly drove away such meaningless thoughts and questions, and focused on the situation at hand. He didn't get to this point in his life by being slow in reacting to emergencies. He needed more information. He needed the attacks to stop. And he needed to take the pre-emptive strike.
"Launch the double drones. Kill him." Prince Flario said immediately. "Charge all secondary cannons and the primary cannon, prepare to fire on my command. All units on alert five."
His voice echoed throughout the bridge and the entire Starship began to respond and execute his will.
BOOOM!! BOOMM!!!
Powerful explosions continued to resound as fearsome energies impacted the shield near the bridge.
"Here is the data about the special asset." Gareth handed Prince Flario a single sheet of paper.
Prince Flario glanced at it and frowned slightly.
King Alexander of Macedonia.
A renowned king and general from planet Earth, the presumed location of the final battle of the Gods. A King with incredible talent and strength, and very possibly a blessed of Perses.
If he was truly a blessed of Perses, by acquiring him, Prince Flario would have a powerful trump card that could be used to secure his fight for the throne. And not only that, he would be a critical factor for the success of his ambitions in the galaxy too.
But at that moment, this asset of his was furiously attacking his Starship with ridiculously powerful magical attacks that could not be recognized by his advanced scanners. What was happening?
Blink.
The main screen of the bridge displayed the situation outside.
A tall and powerfully built young man stood proudly before the bridge with his arms folded before him. He was garbed in beautiful black armor and a red robe fluttered behind him even though there was no wind.
King Aloxandros of Rin-Turah. The host body he had selected for the special asset.
"Damn it." Prince Flario thought. "It really is him."
A massive dragon silhouette hundreds of meters tall swirled around Alexander. Every few seconds, it would give out guttural roars and attack the Starship with incredible power and ferocity.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Shields down to ninety five percent." An aide reported. "Drones enroute, ETA fifteen seconds."
Prince Flario could feel a deep chill run down his spine. He had lost five percent power on his shield to a mere silhouette's attacks?
"Drones engaging the enemy!" The aide continued in his live report.
*-*-*-*-*-*
Alexander glanced at the incoming drones lazily. It was a massive wave of at least a few hundred thousand drones. It was a definite overkill if used to deal with a mere mage. But for a Scion King like Alexander, it was yawn-worthy, to say the least.
"What's with this Prince Flario and drones? He filled his experimental planet Arcanus 26 chock full of drones, and now he's sending even more drones to deal with me? What a boring little boy." Alexander thought to himself. "Drones must have been his childhood obsession! Let me show him what adults think of drones."
Alexander clenched his fist and punched out lightly a few times in the direction of the drones.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
Giant fists made of golden energy hit the massive wave of drones and exploded spectacularly.
"Oh?" Alexander raised his eyebrow in surprise.
Most of the drones had exploded, but from their ruins, smaller drones appeared and continued in their attack.
And judging by the power fluctuations the drone wave was still giving out which barely dropped, these smaller drones were the intended main attack.
"Interesting!" Alexander exclaimed with a wide smile. "This drone wave isn't as boring as I thought!"
Whoosh! Alexander took out his Crystal Sword and injected large amounts of space energy infused with the Power of Perses. Space energy was fast becoming his favorite form of energy. It was able to penetrate most defences and would explode most wonderfully when triggered by the Power of Perses.
He slashed multiple times at the drones which were fast approaching him.
The drone wave had become much smaller and had taken a sharp V-shaped formation, intending to pierce through any form of defence which Alexander might have prepared.
Alas for them, Alexander was a firm believer of the saying "The best defence is offence."
Bright golden crescent-shaped energy waves rolled off the sharp bladed edge of the sword and met the drone wave in a head on collision.
However, the expected explosion did not occur.