"The Cult of the Dragon?" I repeated incredulously. "What the hell is that?"
"Millennia ago, the Saurian seeded this planet with…memetic codes and other hidden forms of technology that when uncovered, would subtly influence a sentient population with Saurian ideologies. Those who succumb to such indoctrination and propagate those beliefs form a cult known as the Cult of the Dragon." Aegis paused. "It's also why the Saurian scout fleet came here. They must have received a message from the Cult of the Dragon and came here to investigate as well as issue directives."
"Honestly, it's not like we worship those…Dragons," Bob sneered, still clutching his injury and attempting to stem the bleeding through pressure. Already, the blood had clotted, probably because of his Strength psychic ability. "However, they provide us technologies and power. It is thanks to us that we were able to unlock the secrets of human evolution and ascend as psychics!"
"The Saurians only taught you how to unlock and harness your psychic potential because you will be more useful to them as weapons or tools," Arondight said. Now that I thought about it, I realized that Bob could hear Aegis and Arondight. Or were my ancient technological relics speaking telepathically to them?
"Just assume that we are."
"Right." I tried not to roll my eyes at Aegis's answer. "Anyway, I find it hard to believe that the Saurian memetic nonsense can work. Surely, they have no way of predicting that it will work out perfectly the way they wanted it to? There was no means of direct control or instructions. This is too farfetched. It's impossible."
"Please accept it because this development is needed to move the plot forward, and to justify having your fellow humans as your enemy." This time it was Arondight. If I broke the fourth wall, then he was cutting through it.
"Oh, come on. Even the readers will not buy that rubbish. They will probably be furious that I'm just handwaving this whole nonsense away!"
"Just tell them they underestimate the power of Saurian technology. And technology doesn't just refer to hi-tech gadgets, faster-than-light starships or advanced communication devices. Memetic symbols and language are forms of technologies. Ideology can be considered a form of technology."
Arondight was pushing hard to justify this explanation.
"Not only that, the Saurians have been around for a long time. Perhaps even from the time of the dinosaurs." Aegis sounded bitter. "That's why they are so hard to kill. It took an extinction event where an asteroid crashed into the Yucatan Peninsula to wipe them out, and even so, sentient descendants of theirs fled to the stars."
"Right, the Chicxulub Crater." I nodded at Aegis's words, and she continued.
"Also, as one of your most famous science fiction authors pointed out, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, so just treat this as magic. Besides, the Saurians were created, not naturally evolved. They are a species picked by entities known as the star gods and genetically transformed into the existences we now know as Seraphon…"
"You really are trying your best to get us sued by Games Workshop, aren't you?"
"I apologize. I mean Saurian."
I'm sure that's what she meant…
"Oh, shut up! We're not doing a comedy act here!" Bob bellowed and charged at me. I spun away, ducking under his first punch and using Aegis to parry his second. While his fist struck my shield, I swung Arondight about and severed his arm at just above the elbow. Bob shrieked and fell back, blood fountaining from his stump.
"Want me to give you a hand?" I asked. The Strength psychic ogled at me for a moment before rage overrode pain and he lunged at me with his remaining arm. I didn't bother to dodge, instead intercepting his tackle with Aegis and beheading him with Arondight. As his head bounced on the floor, I winced and shook my head. "Whoops. Looks like you got ahead of yourself."
"Bob!" Gregory screamed, turning around when he saw his partner lose his head. Quite literally.
"You should worry about yourself first," Lin Xue said before squeezing the trigger. The bolts from her lightning gun slammed into him, but Gregory quickly threw up a telekinetic shield, an invisible barrier of psychic force. Unfortunately, it was nowhere as resilient as the Strength faculty's hardening of one's body and it shattered. His eyes bulged before he was caught in the blast of lightning and electrocuted. He shrieked as his body convulsed.
So intense was the voltage that he was incinerated into ashes, leaving nothing behind. Lin Xue lowered her gun, the barrel still smoking from the incredible discharge.
"Whoops. That was overkill. I didn't think he would get burned so easily."
"I guess, despite him being a Willpower psychic, he simply didn't have the willpower to stand up to a formidable opponent."
"What's with you and your puns all of a sudden?" Lin Xue scowled. I sighed and shrugged.
"This is supposed to be a comedy, remember?"
"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Commander, she can't hear us," Aegis reminded me. I raised a quizzical eyebrow at that.
"Why? Why are you making yourselves heard to the enemy psychics from the Cult of the Dragon, but not Lin Xue? Why are you being so selective?"
"Because plot," Arondight answered. I resisted the urge to hurl both Aegis and Arondight at the far side of the wall.
"I thought it would be a good psychological tactic to imbalance the psychics' humors by provoking them, thus rendering them more vulnerable to a counterattack from you, Commander." At least Aegis had the decency to come up with a legitimate justification.
"I see." I tried not to sigh. Turning to the portal, I studied it, but there didn't seem to be any damage. I was sure that Bob had tried to move it, but there were no signs of disturbance. Not even physical contact. It had been left where it was, as if totally untouched.
There was no one else in the chamber, with all the guards' bodies probably thrown outside. The two cultists must have locked themselves inside the room to study it and delay reinforcements. Or perhaps they wanted to use the portal and travel to Carmarthen or wherever they thought it would take them before more of Sprue arrived to unlock the room.
Evidently, they failed.
Aegis and Arondight didn't offer their opinions because they didn't have enough data to speculate on what a human would do. Lin Xue, on the other hand, was busily trying to establish contact with an authority in Sprue and report.
"Colonel Shang? Where are you?" She paused as she listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. "I see. Yes. Take your time, sir. The threat has been dealt with. We'll submit a report to you when your team returns. For now, I'll just activate the emergency rescue teams and provide medical treatment to any surviving guards."
"Right, we should check on the guys outside." I suddenly recalled my unfortunate colleagues. There was a lot of blood, and to be frank, I wasn't confident that any of them was still alive out there, but I wasn't going to forget them like Chen Jun and Lin Xue did in Xyrin Empire. Like, the enemy raided and stole a lollipop shaped relic while leaving a bunch of unconscious security guards on the top floor…only for the poor dudes to be promptly forgotten in the rest of the episode.
Like, did you create those characters just to set up a dramatic scene and show off the enemy's strength and then wipe them from memory once the protagonist defeated said enemy? I know there might not be enough budget or runtime in the animation, but at least have someone say something about a medical team…
We checked on the security guards outside the chamber, their bodies scattered across the level. Those who were still breathing, we gently pulled them up and ferried them to a more comfortable location. It wasn't long before medical response teams arrived through the beeping elevators, and they hurried toward the stricken victims with blood packs, stabilizers and other medical equipment.
Lin Xue and I got out of the way and let the medics do their job. Once we were sure that the victims were in good hands, we returned to the chamber.
"Those two psychics…they knew about the portal and your relationship with it," Lin Xue mused, studying the area. "They knew exactly what the Department of Sprue had brought back from the Gobi Desert and wanted to bring it back to their organization. They even knew the exact timing to hit headquarters – when Colonel Shang wasn't around. There must be a spy in the department. Someone leaking information to them."
"That's not good." I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "What should we do? How do we find the spy?"
"I don't know. I'll just have to report this to Colonel Shang. He has more experience with these matters. We can leave it to him. For now, we had best secure the portal and make sure they didn't mess with it."
"It's fine. I had Aegis and Arondight scan it. They weren't able to do anything to the portal. I think that's why they wanted me. They believe I was the only one who can operate it."
"It's true, isn't it?" Lin Xue gave me a look. "You are the only one who knows how to use it. Or rather, your devices are the only ones who can operate this portal. If the rest of us try, we might end up like the archeological team and get stuck in stasis until the AI finally decides we should be eliminated."
"No, we fixed the AI, so it wouldn't do that." I looked at Aegis for confirmation. She buzzed and this time allowed Lin Xue to hear her voice.
"The AI has been fixed and reprogramed, so the commander is correct in that there will be no deaths or elimination protocols in effect. However, it simply means unauthorized personnel cannot use the portal. Said parties will be locked out."
"Can't I just authorize them?" I grumbled sourly.
"No, unless you are willing to come along. Only when accompanied by a party recognized as a commander of the Holy Terran Empire or equivalent would external parties be granted authorized access."
"That sounds troublesome," I muttered.
"It's for security reasons," Arondight explained. "And mutual protection. To protect the people of Carmarthen from the inhabitants of Earth and vice versa."
"Speaking of which, the portal has been fully installed, restored and reprogrammed," Aegis added. "Commander, if you wish to visit Carmarthen, you may do so any time at your discretion. The portal on the Carmarthen side is completed as well."
"Hmm…" I pondered and nodded. "Yeah, Lionel Johansson and his legion are waiting for me. I promised that I would drop by once their portal is installed. Might as well. Also, I can check if there are any problems with the portal while at it. Nothing like field testing it, eh?"
"I'm coming along." Lin Xue raised her hand. It wasn't a question but a statement. There was no way she would let me run off to an alien planet by herself. Not only was she responsible for me as my superior, she probably wanted to see Carmarthen again, as well as meet Lionel Johansson and the others we befriended during our three days there.
"Okay. Stay close."
"I'll be counting on you, War God System…ahem, Tian Xing."
I stared at Lin Xue, wondering why she would crack a joke like that when she was the one pissed off at me promoting Bilibili dongman. Then I shook my head and proceeded toward the portal."
"I just hope we won't be teleported separately, run into a bunch of mercenaries fighting fantasy styled wolves, and then ending up constructing a base where we fight against an Abyss corrupted Xyrin Emperor."
"Can you not…no, never mind." Lin Xue realized she had no right to stop me when she was the one who started it. I ignored her and stepped through the portal.
In a flash, I found myself transported back to Carmarthen and surrounded by a ring of blades.