Chaos' Heir

Khan inspected the kneeling leader for a few seconds before lifting his hand and performing a precise gesture. The army of Scalqa lowered their weapons at that sight, advancing to form two massive groups at the three men's sides.

The Scalqa's advance gave more information about their actual numbers. That was a proper battalion that counted at least three hundred heads, and Khan could command it with a wave of his hand.

"Move," Khan ordered, disregarding the kneeling men to walk forward. He didn't wait for their reaction, but they were smart enough to stand up and follow him.

To the men's dismay, Khan's route was familiar. He was heading to the ship's landing spot, bringing his battalion with him. It seemed the previous claim wasn't a boast, and the future became unclear.

The two fourth-level warriors found it hard to keep their eyes straight. The army of Scalqa was a sight to behold, and their advance was strangely orderly. That went against the information they had received, but the cause felt evident by then.

The leader experienced the same emotions as his companions, but Khan soon captivated his interest. Subjugating and educating so many Scalqa was an incredible achievement, but not for Khan since it was in line with his other feats. Instead, the current development and his general demeanor had much more to say about him.

The massive group was heading for the ship, the human team's ship. Yet, Khan was the one leading everyone there. He confidently walked before the army as if he knew exactly where the landing area was. He seemed more prepared about that than the leader himself.

Moreover, Khan's stance exuded grace without losing power. A stranger would need a single look to understand that he was in charge. That reaction would be almost instinctive, and the leader couldn't help but connect it to the previous event.

The leader had seen Princes and Princesses. He had even been in the same room with figures who could scold them. In his experience, almost all of them possessed a strange aura that set them apart from relatively common folks. That mostly came from education and environment, but it existed nonetheless.

Still, most of them paled compared to Khan's aura. His strange presence was genuine, built through who knew how many struggles. Moreover, it looked effortless. Khan wasn't acting as a leader. There was no difference between that side of his life and him.

Silence ruled the march through the forest. The Scalqa's heavy steps filled the area, trying to deafen the men at their center, but no one spoke. Eventually, proper sunlight shone on everyone's faces, marking their arrival on the barren cliff area.

Upon their arrival, the three men found another surprising scene waiting for them. Another battalion with at least two hundred Scalqa had gathered on the landing area, surrounding the ship. Moreover, the rest of the crew was in their midst, kneeling among spears pointed at their heads.

The crew's leader noticed how the second battalion also had weapons with purple-red marks glowing on their tips. With the arrival of the first army, the area probably had enough firepower to blow up a quarter of the quadrant.

Calculations happened inside the leader's mind. The scene was shocking, but the crew had enough information to find other odd details.

Building a five-hundred-men-strong army and equipping it with strange weapons was a great deed, but retaining that force was harder. Previous inspections told the leader that the forest didn't have enough food for all those mouths. It barely had a free space vast enough to hold it.

Yet, the leader couldn't find any sign of starvation in the Scalqa. They all looked strong, ready to fight for Khan, and content. That giant force was thriving, and the scanners couldn't find out how.

After witnessing the sea of glowing weapons, the explanation for that issue felt obvious. One chaos wielder couldn't hinder a ship's scanners, especially when they tracked a vast area. However, multiple sources of that violent energy could create a powerful barrier capable of fending off eventual inspections.

As for explanations on the other issue, the leader could only guess. According to the reports, Khan had been alone on Baoway for six months. That theoretically wasn't enough to achieve much, but the few hours spent on the planet had already proven that wrong.

As far as the leader knew, Khan might have built a proper city in the forest. The force under him might also be far bigger since he would need hunters to provide a constant stream of food. Much was unclear, and only Khan had answers.

Khan voiced a strange cry once the two battalions met. The two forces fused, gathering the prisoners at their center while opening a path for Khan. He entered the open ship without asking for permission or looking back, and his absence lasted minutes.

Eventually, Khan reappeared on the ship's metal ramp, dragging multiple containers with one arm, which the crew recognized. Those were supplies for the trip back to the Global Army's domain, but a few Scalqa seized them as soon as Khan voiced another alien order.

Dismay enveloped the prisoners. They all knew how much food they had stashed, and quick calculations told them the remaining supplies inside the ship wouldn't be enough for another trip.

Khan shouted more alien orders, and three Scalqa gathered around him on the metal ramp. Those three looked stronger than their peers, and Khan muttered various directives before sending them back to the army. One Scalqa seemed to complain, but Khan quickly quieted him down.

The directives brought another change to the army. The three Scalqa shouted orders which echoed Khan's words, and the battalion moved. The aliens around the prisoners performed gestures even humans could understand, making them stand up and follow the group back into the forest. Still, part of the crew noticed how their leader didn't join the process.

Soon, the army disappeared inside the forest, and even its loud steps became nothing more than a faint, distant noise. The cliff area became empty, leaving only the ship, Khan, and the crew leader.

Theoretically, that was a bad move. The leader was a fifth-level warrior, and the crew was relatively expendable. Khan was exposing himself to danger, but no trace of fear existed on his face. He completely disregarded the situation's potential problems as he returned to the ship.

"Come," Khan said before disappearing past the metal ramp.

The leader was still on his knees, but the order made him jump to his feet and rush inside the ship. He had initially expected to find something destroyed or broken, but the vehicle's insides were in perfect state.

"Move all the clearance to my genetic signature," Khan ordered, nodding at the big interactive desk at the center of the vast main deck.

The leader didn't even try to complain. He had understood the situation too well even to try to lie. Khan had probably already gotten the truth from his companions anyway.

The man approached the interactive desk, tinkering with its menus before placing his hand on its surface. When the time came, Khan also placed his palm, and the holograms confirmed the ongoing process.

After the process was over, Khan started playing with the menus while taking a central spot before the desk. The leader was in the way but moved aside to give him enough room. Yet, he remained close enough to watch Khan's actions, and helplessness surged.

Khan now had the highest clearance, so he could remove any form of authority from the rest of the crew. In a few taps, he became the sole owner and member of the ship.

Then, Khan moved to other menus, opening classified reports and directives. Information flooded his mind as he read everything the ship had to offer. The process lasted a few minutes, but a proper plan had taken form by then.

"It seems only you can authorize the teleport in the space station," Khan uttered, "Gordon. You'll fly with me."

Khan didn't ask and didn't bother to see whether Gordon agreed. He had given an order, and his mind moved to the next phase. Khan left the interactive desk to approach the pilot's seat, where he ran the necessary software to prepare for the set-off.

Even with the highest clearance, the ship didn't grant Khan much agency. Most processes were automated due to the mission's secretive nature and origin. He couldn't even tweak the flight speed while remaining on the intended route.

Still, Khan punched the engines anyway, and the ship departed under Gordon's unclear gaze. The soldier didn't even know how to feel as he watched Baoway getting farther away on the scanners' screens. His only certainty was that Khan was in charge, which would probably lead to a mess.

"My Prince," Gordon called, hoping the privacy of the ship could allow better conversations. "Do you need anything from me?"

"No," Khan replied, playing with the menus to bring forth the previous reports.

"Should," Gordon began to say before clearing his throat. "What should I do during the flight?"

"I don't care," Khan responded before jumping to his feet. He crossed the main deck, and Gordon almost expected additional orders, but he walked past him, too, diving deeper into the ship.

Gordon didn't dare move, and Khan returned to the main deck after a few minutes, carrying bottles and some remaining supplies. He was making himself at home, uncaring of the unwanted company.

The leader believed a chance to establish a relationship with Khan would appear. After all, they were alone on a big ship, and even the most experienced soldier would give in to get some company.

However, Khan left the main deck only to retrieve more provisions and booze. He barely stood up from the pilot's seat as he read reports, meditated, and occasionally took short naps. Khan seemed to have forgotten about Gordon's existence, putting the latter in a pickle.

Gordon wasn't a servant, but acknowledging Khan as a Prince still made him an underling. As such, he had to serve him, but the situation was awkward, to say the least.

Khan didn't give orders, and bothering him didn't sound right either. Still, the same went for leaving the main deck and retreating to the living quarters. Gordon felt stuck in the area, hoping the trip would eventually provide him with something to do.

That didn't happen. As the days passed, Gordon felt forced to sleep on the floor to remain on the main deck. His hunger and thirst intensified, but he didn't dare to retrieve the few supplies Khan had left on the ship. He could only wait for the trip to end, which luckily didn't last long.

The secret mission had started from a space station placed in a specific quadrant relatively close to the intended target. The ship only took a week to reach it, and the structure's shape soon appeared on the scanners' screens.

The space station was quite small. It looked like nothing more than a rectangular hangar with a pillar cutting through its center. Spinning rings stood on both sides of the central, cylindrical structure, but they remained small compared to what Khan had witnessed in the past.

Gordon expected questions at that point. The place could very well be a trap, but Khan didn't hesitate to go through all the security measures hindering the landing. The autopilot handled most of them, and the ship slowly approached the hangar's mana barrier.

The ship landed and opened on its own, and Khan crossed the metal ramp with a full bottle in his hands. Gordon followed closely behind, and his face didn't know which expression to muster before the many questioning gazes that fell on him.

The space station had a small crew and no additional ships. Except for ten soldiers, the hangar was basically empty. Still, all those workers had gathered near the vehicle to witness its return, and nothing could have prepared them for the scene.

Gordon lowered his head and placed his hand on the elevator's menus, which opened. Khan led the way inside, and Gordon touched the commands once again to bring the lift to the intended location.

Khan was still donning his Scalqa attire. The bone armor, war paint, and wild hair made him almost unrecognizable from the pictures on the network. Moreover, his aura was strange. He was only looking ahead, but all the soldiers felt his eyes on them.

The hangar left nothing hidden, so Khan headed directly for the cylindrical structure at its center. The building had an elevator, but its menus refused his genetic signature, forcing him to eye Gordon.

Gordon lowered his head and placed his hand on the elevator's menus, which opened. Khan led the way inside, and Gordon touched the commands once again to bring the lift to the intended location.

The elevator rose through the pillars, and its walls vanished when it stopped inside a circular area. The place had one soldier wearing a white medical coat and a few consoles, but its oval machine remained the main attraction.

Khan didn't bother speaking. He ignored the scientist as he jumped on the oval platform while taking sips from his bottle. The scene was quite peculiar, but Gordon fulfilled his duties, unlocking the teleport with his genetic signature before joining Khan on the platform.

The scientist remained confused, but Gordon's glare prompted him to take action, activating the teleport. Synthetic mana gathered on the platform before the two men on it disappeared.

The scenery changed. Khan and Gordon reappeared in another teleport area, this time filled with multiple scientists. Many wanted to ask questions or greet them, but Khan's appearance made them hesitate.

Khan didn't wait for the scientists to recover. As soon as the teleportation ended, his legs started moving, bringing him to the area's exit before anyone could ask questions. The door opened without requiring additional authorizations, and a vast hall expanded in Khan's vision.

The hall's atmosphere was far different from anything witnessed during the trip. It was vast but relatively empty, featuring only a few groups of people standing in various spots. There also seemed to be bad blood among them, adding a strange tension to the symphony.

A snort resounded from one of the groups when Khan stepped into the hall, but something else attracted his attention. His eyes looked to his right, where two familiar figures stood among a small team of stern-looking soldiers.

"Major Khan," The woman between the two announced, advancing past the team of soldiers to reach Khan. "It has been a while."

The second familiar figure followed the woman, but Khan disregarded him and broke the silence that had lasted throughout the trip. "Princess Felicia."

"Did you torture our poor Gordon?" Princess Felicia giggled after stealing a glance at the hungry and thirsty Gordon. "He has served our family faithfully for a few decades."

The tension in the symphony intensified when Princess Felicia used the word "our". Something was happening, and Khan noticed it. Yet, no replies escaped his mouth.

The man at the Princess' side was Lynn, the personal guard who had accompanied her at Rick's wedding, and Khan's lack of answers turned his serious expression into a glare. Khan matched his gaze, and a sharp coldness overwhelmed the area's general tension.

Lynn's gaze couldn't help but flicker. His battle instincts activated, warning him about imminent danger. The urge to jump before the Princess invaded his mind, but Felicia knew how to defuse the situation.

"Maybe I should address you as Cousin from now on," Princess Felicia exclaimed, showing a genuine smile. "Come. Let me escort you. Grandpa is waiting."