Deep inside the Morack spatial channel, a large squadron of Planetoid hell guards were floating together. They exited warp early because the starships were now approaching the last spatial entryway in the Ursidae Inner Realm. Once they passed it, they would cross a large amount of space before reaching the remaining spatial entryways. All of which would only be in the Ursidae Core Realm.
Inside one of the hell guard starships, a meeting was taking place between the squadron's leaders.
"Second Lieutenant Zarwell, give me the status of our recon ships." The Planetoid at the centermost seat spoke. He appeared to be in the highest position out of everyone in this small meeting.
"89 deployed. None have been detected. We've covered every part of the Ursidae Inner Realm." Zarwell answered respectfully. The recon starships were all heavy on stealth based attributes. They also acted like a web of communication within the same space realm.
"There have been zero traces of the target in the inner realm. We presume that the target may have taken shelter in the core realm. There have been 37 recon starships sent in advance to the Ursidae Core Realm."
Once Zarwell finished speaking, the room was silent. None of the other leaders dared to speak first because their Captain's temperament was very unforgiving.
"..First Lieutenant Zanef, you shall take Division 6 and remain within the inner realm. The rest of the squadron will continue into the core realm." Captain Zefreet ordered. "If you detect any traces of the target, report it immediately. Due to the communication gap between the core and inner realms, I grant you permission to send starships over for the sole purpose of reporting. Do not send over unconfirmed information. Go now."
"By your command." First Lieutenant Zanef bowed his head before standing up and politely exiting the meeting.
After he left, Captain Zefreet closed his eyes and went deep into thought. Everyone else in the room was silent as they stared blankly at each other.
Almost half an hour passed before a small holographic notification appeared in front of the Captain.
[Spatial Channel Status] [Sender: 1]
The notification was bright and obvious. Because the floating screen was slightly translucent, everyone else in the room could vaguely see the "1" in the Sender's box. They all viewed this "1" with a strong sense of anticipation on their faces.
Captain Zefreet casually opened up this notification and read the report that was inside.
His indifferent attitude slowly warmed up as he finished reading it. Seeing these changes, everyone else in the meeting room relaxed a lot.
"Good. Division 1 succeeded. They've acquired information regarding this spatial channel's flow from a weak-willed Morack Nobleman. It seems the Morack Family doesn't anticipate the flow to change for at least one year."
Captain Zefreet smiled because this information was reliable. Members of the Morack Family were given this information for their safety. While the chieftain never released the exact date, it was more than enough to provide an estimated time-frame. This would prevent Morack Family members from being inside the spatial channel when the flow changes.
Glancing over at Zarwell, the Captain's smile turned a lot less genuine.
"Second Lieutenant Zarwell. I will now grant you the chance for promotion." Captain Zefreet spoke solemnly. There was only a tiny hint of honesty on his face. Despite this look, Zarwell listened to his words seriously.
"Take Divisions 5 and enter the Ursidae Core Realm in advance. Since the spatial channel is one-way, it would be very wasteful if our squadron accidentally missed the spatial entryway closest to the target."
From Captain Zefreet's perspective, this was a calculated risk. While it was presumed that none of his forces have been detected yet, there was still a chance that the Morack Family was feigning ignorance. He would have Zarwell test the waters first.
Zefreet was a cautious person by nature. Even though was extremely confident in his force's stealth capabilities, he wasn't foolish enough to believe that everything was foolproof.
While these movements were happening, on the other side of things, Chieftain Morack was impatiently strutting back and forth inside a giant hall. He was currently inside a large command center filled with tens of thousands of beastman military officers. This center was on the core-homeplanet's first moon. Unlike the second moon, which was a commercial center, the first one boasted many defensive weapons and military ships.
Like an intergalactic web, this commander center was the central point of the Morack Family's intelligence. The name of the place, ICC, which stands for Intelligence Commander Center, also reflected this. This web extended throughout the entire Ursidae Tribe's territory. Even the territories of the other Chieftain Families were no exception.
This is part of the reason why, despite being the lowest in terms of power, the Morack Family was able to hold its ground within the tribe.
Chieftain Morack had complicated feelings right now.
On one hand, he was relieved upon receiving news that Erin had returned safely. On the other hand, he was worried because the matter regarding Warrick has taken a drastic turn. Although this was something he could hide, it would only worsen his relations if Erin were to discover this later. This was not something he wanted.
Chieftain Morack was also unsure if Erin and Warrick had any means to communicate with each other. Thus, if he tried hiding it but Erin was already aware, then that would just make him look like a fool. Before the chieftain could come to a decision, an important notification rang next to him.
A holographic screen reported that Erin's starship and its escorting guardships were now approaching the core-homeplanet. The guardships were re-directing Erin's course to the first moon since that where he, the chieftain, was currently at. It was now only a short matter of time before Erin arrived.
Chieftain Morack ordered several nearby officers to go and personally pick-up Erin from the center's starship docks. Unlike the officers working around the Intelligence Center, the officers that the chieftain ordered were purposely standing by as assistants. These were all people that ranked highly amongst the Morack Family's direct lineage. Many of them were young beastmen nobles gaining experience while working by the chieftain's side.
Normally, because he viewed Erin with importance, the chieftain would do this himself. However, he was in the Morack Family's ICC for a reason. Several major abnormalities have been detected in the inner realm of their family's territory. While his subordinate officers couldn't trace the source for these abnormalities, it was significant enough to alert the chieftain.
As for the person the chieftain was waiting for, he was currently finishing up his short training session.
Before his starship arrived, he took a quick shower after training. Once he finished, Erin put on the Immortal Disciplinarian Uniform instead of his cybertronic armor. This is the same outfit he wore before meeting Pearson inside the Blakewood manor. Out of all his defensive treasures, this one had some of the strongest attributes. It had high protection against physical, magical, and spiritual attacks up to the ninth tier. He also took out the same protective necklace treasure that he normally uses and put it on. From an external perspective, Erin now looked like a young, high-ranking military officer.
The only reason Erin didn't wear this often was because he didn't want to attract unnecessary attention. Treasured items, from the eyes of powerful individuals, were very attractive when they had weak owners. Although it was extremely hard to forcefully detect a person's level without viewing their identification device, Erin didn't want to give anyone reason to do so.
Since Chieftain Morack was fulfilling his side of the deal, Erin was willing to trust the chieftain a little more. It also helped that Dragon's Grace was still actively casted on the chieftain. While countless people viewed it as a blessing, very few people actually knew of the restrictions hidden inside of it. For people with enmity, these restrictions would activate immediately and basically turned the blessing into a curse.
For well-intentioned people, such as Winslow and Chieftain Morack, the restrictions would only act up if the targeted individual tried acting against the caster. Due to this, unless Erin personally activated his orb and displayed his personal identification, the chieftain would never know his true level. If anything, he could only hold in his suspicions. As for Winslow, Erin was even less concerned because Winslow's aura indicated a sense of loyalty.
As Erin finished getting ready, his starship finally landed on a dock within the first moon. Aura was still deep asleep, so he simply left the starship without her. If any outsiders tried to enter the starship, the AI would automatically deny them access anyways.
After exiting the starship, Erin was immediately surrounded by an entourage of beastman officers. These were the same people that Chieftain Morack sent to pick-up Erin. One of the officers was glancing at the nearby starship incredulously.
Many of them looked at Erin's uniform with envy. As high-ranking officers in the Morack Family, they were not ignorant when it came to identifying treasures. They could instantly tell that the outfit had strong defensive properties. In the Beastman Universe, defensive items made of fabric were extremely rare and valuable.
Nevertheless, none of them dared to look at Erin with covetous gazes. They could only dim down the envy in their eyes. The tribe's rules were very strict and unforgiving. As the chieftain's honored guest, Erin was basically untouchable. Furthermore, they assumed Erin himself was a strong figure.
One of the beastman officers walked up to Erin and started speaking, "Greetings, honored one. We will guide you to chieftain. He is currently in this base's central command center." He was also the same beastman that took a very deep look at Erin's starship.
Nodding his head, Erin thought that the beastman's voice sounded a bit familiar. Glancing directly at the source of this voice, he paused.
"..You.. Are you Renald?" Erin quietly asked.
Stunned, Renald answered immediately, "Yes, honored one. May I ask how you know me?"
He asked out of formality. When Renald saw the familiar design of the docking starship, he already had a feeling. Back when he was still escaping, his starship had difficulties trying to get through the massive influx of ships. It was only after following an honorable senior's starship that they were finally able to warp out safely. Glancing at the starship nearby, he quickly realized that this was the same starship!
"Haha. Such a coincidence."
"Previously, you sent my starship a video-message. It was back when we were both escaping through a very crowded spatial channel near your outer-homeplanet. Do you recall?" Erin smirked.
Personally, he thought this situation was a little amusing.
Part of the reason why he went straight to the Morack Family core-homeplanet was because he believed his starship's insignias had the necessary qualifications. This was derived from the video-message that Renald sent him. Erin took this message seriously because Winslow explained that Renald was a nobleman of the Morack Family.
With the insane amount of people that lived on and near this core-homeplanet, Erin never expected to actually meet this beastman in-person.
"Oh! Indeed, I remember this quite well." Renald answered with a humble tone. Now that his thoughts were confirmed, Renald planned on grasping onto this opportunity tightly! After returning to the core-homeplanet, he was heavily demoted from an outer-planetary leader to a mere officer. The only saving grace was that he was serving under the Morack Family's Chieftain.
'I knew the starship's design reflected human talent.. but I didn't know that the owner of the starship was actually a human!' Renald thought to himself. He was surprised by this revelation.
"Well then, shall we get going?"
Erin didn't want to waste any time. There were quite a few things he wanted to discuss with Chieftain Morack.
Quickly obliging, Renald took the lead in directing Erin and the entourage back to the Intelligence Command Center. For maximum security, this center was literally located at the center of this militaristic moon. The group reached a heavily guarded elevator that was directly connected to the moon's center and was granted entry almost instantaneously. Chieftain Morack didn't want any misunderstandings or delays; so he had all the guards informed in advance.
Inside the descending elevator, Erin casually asked Renald about the fate of that outer-homeplanet. As an outsider, Erin was unaware of the details regarding the Planetoids attack on the Ursidae Tribe.
"Unfortunately, it has fallen completely. The only survivors are the people who managed to escape early on." Renald sighed. He explained that, even during war, the Planetoids were known to be merciless. Unless their target was of high-value, they generally did not take in any war prisoners.
Although Erin expected this answer, he still frowned. While he was no hero, the thought still left a bitter taste in his mouth. This sense of empathy was innate. If Erin wasn't so empathetic, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to rescue Winslow's people.
After a bit more small talk, the large elevator finally reached the floor connected directly to the Intelligence Command Center.
The moment that Erin left the elevator, he was absolutely astounded. Before him was an enormous, circular hall filled with over a million holographic screens! There were tens of thousands of beastman officers stationed throughout this multilevel hall. The design of this room reminded him of his starship's command center, except on a magnitude that was thousands of times larger.
If Erin wasn't aware that this was an intelligence center, he would honestly think that this place was some sort of intergalactic stock market exchange!
Although Erin and his entourage stood out, none of the beastmen in the room spared them a second glance. They were completely focused on their work.
There was only one reason why all of these beastmen were so dedicated right now. That reason was sitting at the front-most center of this giant circular hall. He was overlooking everything with a serious face. He long since noticed Erin exiting the elevator and notioned for him to come over.
When Erin started walking over, Renald and the others bid him farewell before returning to their other duties. Although they were assisting the chieftain, when they weren't actively needed, they had assigned tasks to prevent them from slacking off.
"Greetings, Chieftain Morack. It is good to see you again." Erin laughed after arriving near the chieftain's chair. The scene looked like two old friends reuniting with each other.
"I am glad that you've returned safely." Although saying this was a mere formality, Chieftain Morack sounded genuine.
He didn't even take a second-glance at the Immortal Disciplinarian Uniform that Erin was wearing. From the chieftain's perspective, it was perfectly normal for a 'powerful' figure like Erin to own treasured items.
Since he didn't toggle it off, Erin could still see the green aura around the chieftain grew a tad bit stronger compared to the last time they met.
"I take it that your trial inside the rift went well?" Chieftain Morack asked.
Erin smiled, "Indeed. It's just that I did not expect the trial grounds to disappear afterwards though."
"I see." Chieftain Morack nodded in understanding. "A minor thing since the rift was useless to our tribe. Now that it's gone, there's nothing more to consider. I congratulate you on your success." The chieftain didn't delve too deep into the matter as a show of respect.
Erin could sense these good-intentions and his smile became a lot more genuine.
Feeling the mood to be right, the chieftain continued, "In any case, may I ask what your plans are now? If you intend on staying here for the time-being, rest assured that you'll be treated with the highest hospitality."
"..Actually, there is something that I would like to request from you." Erin spoke very seriously.
Feigning calmness, Chieftain Morack was slightly sweating inside his clothes. He was well-aware of the matter regarding Warrick and felt like Erin was going to bring it up.
"While inside the rift, I learned of something quite significant. Because of this discovery, I would like to request your assistance in the form of military forces."
To avoid misunderstandings, Erin didn't want to be too mysterious around the chieftain. He got straight to the point and requested to borrow forces from the chieftain.
"However, I will be honest. I need to use these forces in your territory's outer-realm. Due to the Planetoid invasion, the task I want to complete is very high-risk. Naturally, I will compensate generously for this assistance."
Slightly frowning, Chieftain Morack asked, "Could you tell me the details regarding this task?"
Erin smiled with an unusual glint in his eyes, "I want to rescue some people in the outer-realm."
Erin wanted to know if saving people from war would bolster his contribution more. In his mind, rescuing Winslow and his people was the only meaningful thing he had done ever since he arrived in this universe. He would only know if this line of thinking was correct after trying.
Chieftain Morack's frown quickly turned into an awkward smile, "Rescue? Are they also humans?" Although he had an idea on Erin's intentions, the chieftain was still testing the waters.
"No, it is your people who I want to rescue." Erin spoke seriously.
After these words were spoken, the atmosphere became quite awkward. Erin wanted to hire the chieftain's forces in order to save the chieftain's people. If outsiders heard this, they would think that Chieftain Morack was an incompetent leader. Erin realized this point a few seconds after speaking and his serious face became a little awkward.
Chieftain Morack sighed.
'..It seems that he is fully aware of Warrick's situation.' Chieftain Morack thought to himself despite completely misunderstanding Erin's words and expressions.
Chieftain Morack came to a decision after making this assumption. "Ah, I understand now."
"Actually, I was just about to bring this up with you. The situation was rather unfortunate, I truly did not expect Warrick to be cornered by the Planetoids while stationed in the outer-realm."
Erin raised his eyebrows in surprise. 'Wait, Warrick is cornered?'
Suddenly, in Erin's mind, the situation changed from saving some random people that he never met before to saving Warrick, his benefactor.