BXBX NOVEL Chapter 353 - Empire's Descent ( Part 1 )
Escanor did as he was told and maintained his vigilance.
He coordinated with his colleagues as they monitored their sensors. It is natural that the Moon Base\'s devices could not be compared to those that were installed in Ace\'s small spaceship.
"Make sure that we won\'t miss anything…"
"Yes, sir!"
Ace\'s corvette-class spaceship passes through their base as they waited for any of their devices to see whether something was really tracking them…
Everyone in the command center waited for a while… This lasted for about half an hour before they decided to make a report that no one is following their boss…
"Sir Escanor… I think that it should be safe to say that it\'s clear… No one should be trailing them."
"Mhmm… I think so too… Alright, give the signal to Sir Wallace…"
They are really being careful when contacting the young man as they used their Mana Artifacts instead. This way, they would be able to avoid having someone eavesdrop on their channel.
Ace wants to assume that the Empire has such a device and be cautious.
"Sir Wallace… It should be clear by now. We haven\'t detected anyone following you."
Escanor reported.
"Mhmm… I see… Once my ship gets near, Avalon will give you further instruction."
"I understand."
It seems that their boss is also satisfied and felt that there isn\'t any problem by now.
Once his corvette-class spaceship gets near to the Moon Base, he would have to let them open a small space for him to let him in.
In the meantime, Ace activated his spaceship\'s stealth mode and let Avalon control it to circle back to the Moon Base…
However, as soon as he did this, a communication link from the Base immediately connected…
"Sir Wallace, we\'ve detected a tiny capsule following your path… This looks really small, about 3 meters in length…"
Ace wanted to see the object but they are using Mana Artifact to communicate for safety purposes…
"I\'ll handle it… Just stay hidden there…"
"Yes!"
The young man decided to just destroy that thing himself… However, he\'s a bit curious how did it avoid his sensors.
After a few minutes, the Avalon installed in his spaceship finally detected the small spacecraft…
Just like what Escanor said, it is indeed very small if compared to other spacecraft… This is even smaller than the Sensor Spacecraft that they have seen recently.
[ Identifying Spacecraft…. ]
[ 2 Matches Found. ]
[ Aether Tracking Device… 90% ]
[ Energy Waste Hunting Machine… 73% ]
Avalon\'s record about the Empire\'s devices is quite old already… However, it could still find similarities to old technologies which is really helpful for them.
After all, the Omen IV\'s database is that helpful as well considering that the Arians have no method of acquiring information about the Empire.
"Tracking Device, huh… Destroy it, Avalon."
[ Affirmative. ]
[ Target Locked. ]
[ Mana Blaster Activated. ]
[ Hit Confirmed. ]
[ Target Destroyed. ]
"Good… Let\'s head back now."
Ace said as he saw the tiny spacecraft explode. He didn\'t consider getting the device since it might be a trap. It is better to just destroy something that is sent by the Empire.
It may contain self-destruction ability that could endanger their life. After seeing what they did to the Black Sovereign… It\'s not impossible for them to do it again. Especially if they found it effective against their forces.
Nevertheless, even if they planned to attack him like that, Ace still felt that it would be easier for him.
If they seek mutual destruction, he\'s confident that the Empire will be the first to be defeated with that strategy.
After several more minutes, their spaceship could finally dock at the Moon Base\'s hangar…
He was greeted by many magicians and most of them are the Engineers that were waiting for their return.
"Sir Wallace!"
"It\'s good to see you!"
"Do you need any medical attention?"
They immediately came to him after he entered the base…
"Yes… I\'ll have myself check later…" Ace didn\'t reject the offer of getting someone to take a look at his body.
He had to ensure that he\'s healthy and there are no hidden injuries caused by the Excellence\'s explosion.
In the meantime, he was also asked about the situation of the others.
Apparently, the Providence and the other Mech Pilots stopped their communication with the Moon Base to avoid getting their location pinpointed by the enemy.
The ability to detect the source of the communication frequency may sound magical to most of them but this thing should be possible with the Empire\'s technology.
Even Avalon can create something similar if ever they decided to make one.
"I see… As long as they are safe… It should be fine."
"That\'s right… We\'ll surely hear from them later."
"The Providence would surely bring them back here. They have enough food supplies and mana… They could even take a long vacation out of this."
"Haha! That\'s a good idea."
Ace only smiled at this as he headed to the command center first.
He didn\'t explain further but the other Mech Knight Pilots that managed to survive the Omen IV\'s destruction wouldn\'t have such a luxury unless they decided to rendezvous with the Providence.
Nevertheless, they have Avalon with them and Ace is confident that the A.I. would be capable of helping each of them.
"Right, Avalon… How long can their Space Combat Suit last?" Ace asked as they walked to the hallway leading to the Command Center. He already removed all his safety gear aside from a few pieces of equipment he needed to carry at all times.
Avalon, on the other hand, is still a floating metal ball with a red light at its center like an eye and following behind Ace…
[ If they didn\'t spend its Mana Reserves elsewhere, it can last for 60 days. ] The A.I. replied.
"Oh… That\'s quite a long time… Even 10 days should be more than enough at this point. I didn\'t know that it\'s that reliable." The young man said in surprise.
What he remembers is that their Space Combat Suit drains a lot of energy and during battle. It shouldn\'t last that long in the first place.
[ There are 13 modifications made for this suit. They are mostly suggested by the Magicians after training with them for a couple of weeks. ]
"That\'s good to hear. You did a great job."
Applying the suggestions of the Magicians doesn\'t need to be approved by Ace as long as Avalon found it acceptable. Only changes that would have certain backlash would have to be approved by him to avoid causing problems in the future…
As soon as he entered the Command Center, he was welcomed by Escanor and the others…
Ace greeted them back and shared what he wanted to do for now.
"We need to select create a small unit to conduct an operation…"
He wanted to arrange a rescue unit, or perhaps reinforcement to ensure that the Providence would be able to return here safely…
As he started discussing this with the three, Escanor suggested that they can actually consider bringing all of their remaining forces instead.
After all, there isn\'t much value in leaving other magicians here with their current Arcane Tech activated…
Being detected at this point should be close to impossible already.
"Very well… Let\'s do that instead…"
Beep! Beep!
As soon as Wallace agreed to his suggestion, a warning from Avalon came in…
[ Multiple Imperial Spaceships Detected. ]
"Show it!"
Ace ordered as he seated at the commander\'s chair…
Avalon showed the spaceships on the main screen and found the Meredith Empire\'s forces… They are still very far and were only detected by their Mana-Based Observes placed within 10 A.U. of their Moon Base.
There were 31 of them before but there\'s only a total of 21 spaceships showing on the screen…
They destroyed 1 Black Sovereign and disabled 5 Conqueror Starships. Then, they\'ve also severely damage some of the Invader Spaceships that tried to deal with his Excellence and Providence.
He can also think that the others were left behind to repair or protect the Conqueror Starship they left.
"Avalon, can you tell me their path… Are they heading to the planet…"
[ Correct. ]
"How many more days do we have?"
[ Approximately 128 hours with their speed. They are moving at a slow pace. They\'re matching the speed of the Mech Frames in front. ]
"Mech Frames?"
[ Correct. Maybe they are avoiding our ambush. ]
"I see… But we don\'t have plans for an ambush anymore… How about the space mines?"
[ They are still in place… But there\'s a hundred percent chance that it will be discovered by enemies. ]
"Well… That\'s not surprising. Anyway, remotely detonate them if you noticed that they\'re about to destroy them. We can\'t let them have the satisfaction of removing our traps…"
[ Affirmative. ]
Escanor and the others who are listening were impressed by this. It seems that the young man is truly dedicated to irritate the imperial army. Not even giving them the satisfaction of disarming their mines…
"Alright… Broadcast the estimated time to the surface. Our mission here is over… Once the Empire\'s Forces descended, it would be up to them."
Ace gave his last command as he slouched on his chair…
Finally, it\'s time for the Empire to experience the full power of the Magicians on their planet.