by <unknown>
This process lasted for about two minutes before Aesop opened his eyes and clapped. “I saw some transportation spaceships sailing through the universe. The organization symbol on them has already changed to something else. This Super Star Cluster Alliance fleet should’ve changed into different disguises and gone in separate directions. I’ll draw out these organization symbols for you later, so you can search the fleets of these organizations in the nearby area.”
“That’s great. That’s extremely helpful. The great prophet Aesop never disappoints. Your efficiency is amazing, and receiving your help is our great honor,” the fleet commander said, clearly having learned how to bootlick from Hadavy.
“Just a small matter.” Aesop waved. “However, this is not enough. If you guys can seize one of their battleships or capture their men, I will be able to obtain more accurate leads and search for their original destination.”
“Don’t worry. With the intelligence you’ve provided, catching them is just a matter of time. Unfortunately, we’ll have to trouble you to stay in this area a short while longer. We’ll need you when we seize the enemy ship.”
“Hmm, that’s no big deal. I happen to want to take a walk outside too.”
Aesop did not mind and wrote down what he had seen in the prophecy, all the organization symbols of the enemy’s disguises. The fleet commander immediately gave the order and sent this information to all the tracking teams.
The group of them returned to the fleet and was about to depart for the army base of this area and standby when the fleet commander suddenly received a message. He looked down at the communicator, and his eyes gleamed.
“Your Excellency Aesop, you’re such a lucky star! I’ve only just sent out the crucial information you provided, and there’s a tracking team that’s already found the target. They happened to be resting at a city planet and discovered the suspicious transport spaceship that matched your prophecy. Plus, that ship is alone.”
“That’s surprisingly quick.” Aesop smiled. “Looks like we’re still in luck. This team that discovered the enemy did a good job.”
“Let me take a look… Oh, the one we’ve discovered is the only surviving spaceship from before. I remember they were searching everywhere for these guys. Now they’ve finally got their revenge.” The fleet commander smiled. “I told them to standby and keep an eye on the enemy spaceship, to wait for us to arrive and not scare them away.”
The fleet departed immediately and hurried all along the way, reaching the destination very soon.
A light purple and bright silver planet hovered in space outside the porthole. The surface of it was filled with colorful galactic cities
This was a rather prosperous colonial planet. It belonged to the ruler of the Thousand Lights Star System, the Light Rune Civilization.
The Black Star Army would not do whatever they wished without restraint when they were in city planets that belonged to a civilization like this one. The main reason was that there was no need to. Most of the civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring had a good relationship with the Black Star Army, so the army would not offend them for no reason.
“The tracking team is still surveilling the enemy spaceship. They’re not moving. What do you think?” the fleet commander said.
“Did they see any of their crew?” Aesop asked. “The tracking team has already requested to look at the surveillance footage from the officials and shared it with us. According to the surveillance, that suspicious spaceship sent a total of forty-three crew members out. They seemed to be purchasing daily supplies and all returned to the ship not long ago… We’ve come just in time. Any later and they might have departed.”
“Okay! We must seize this transport ship,” Aesop said slowly. “Inform the officials to work with us, evacuate the locals, and lock down their departure path so that they can’t take off.”
The Black Star Army members had a lot of privileges in the Shattered Star Ring. Even if it was just a middle to low-level army member, as long as their identity checked out, they would be able to request official support from the various civilizations if they were on their planet. This was all thanks to the connections Han Xiao had built. It was part of the faction privileges. The fleet arrived around the dock very quickly and formed an encirclement, while some Supers entered the dock with assistance from the officials, closing in on the target hangar.
Aesop and the fleet commander waited in the flagship in the outer atmosphere and monitored the operation remotely.
On the screen, the Super team charged into the hangar. Very soon, sounds of intense crossfire erupted from within, and flashes of energy cannon attacks flickered inside the hangar, leaving burn marks on the silver alloy walls.
The sound of the battle lasted for about a few minutes. The report from the operatives at the frontline came.
“Report, we only have three team members suffering from light injury, no casualties. The enemy ship contained a total of 271 crew members, who resisted, hiding in the battleship. We killed 209 targets, and the rest saw that there was no way out and ended their own lives. We were not able to capture anyone alive.”
“Shame, I was hoping to interrogate them.” The fleet commander shook his head. “Never mind, these low-level crew members probably don’t know much either. Seizing their transport ship is enough. Your Excellency Aesop, please.” Aesop nodded. He landed on the dock with his guards and came to the hangar where the battle happened.
He looked at the seized transport ship. Its exterior appearance was almost undamaged. There were only some burn marks on its exterior armor.
He stepped forward, pressed his hand on the bottom of the spaceship’s armor, closed his eyes, and activated his ability.
At the same time, in a rented temporary stronghold in a galactic city not far from this airport, the Soul Swap Twins were using the Soul Swapper hovering in front of them. Dozens of Modo Supers surrounded and aimed their weapons at them. There were also quite a number of portable cannons around.
There was more than one Modo Civilization spaceship that had arrived on this planet, but they had secretly turned the tracking team into their people, so they had all kinds of ways to remain undiscovered.
The commander walked back and forth on the side nervously.
“Have you locked onto the target?”
The elder brother of the Soul Swap Twins’ hand was devoured by the mirror of the Soul Swapper. He casually stirred it and said, “Yes.”
“Can you sway him out?” “Tsk, us brothers are just Grade C Supers. Aesop is a Grade B. The success rate of us swapping his soul out of his body isn’t one hundred percent.”
“To be safe, use the second plan,” the commander said.
“Okay.”
The Soul Swap Twins focused their energy into the Soul Swapper. Black ripples appeared on its mirror sides as it was activated.
At the same time, Aesop, who was far away at the port, suddenly opened his eyes, and his pupils shrunk abruptly to the size of a needle.
He felt like countless voices had suddenly rushed into his brain and fused into a deafening noise that echoed in his mind. His head was hurting immensely.
He wanted to raise his hand to hold his forehead, but he could not move his body at all.
The aide-de-camp beside him saw that he was acting unnaturally and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Aesop’s expression changed several times. It became stiff for a moment but then returned to normal.
He coughed, lowered his voice, and said, “Nothing, I’ve already completed the prophecy.” “What clues did you get?” Aesop’s eyes gleamed, and he said, “I’ve discovered the real destination of this Super Star Cluster Alliance. It’s a secret resources stronghold in a desolate universe belt. The coordinates are…”
He gave the coordinates, and the aide-de-camp hastily wrote it down.
“Hmm, this is enough information. Let’s return to the spaceship.”
Then, Aesop turned around and left without waiting for hi
s aide-de-camp to reply. The bodyguards beside quickly followed.
On the other side, inside the temporary stronghold where the Soul Swap Twins were at, the commander asked, “Was it successful?” “Hmm.” The younger brother of the Soul Swap Twins replied with a husky voice, “We have swapped the many soldiers’ souls over. They’ve successfully become parasites in Aesop’s soul.” The main function of the Soul Swapper was to swap souls, but there was no such rule as one for one. Stuffing many souls into one body or just swapping the soul out of the body and turning the body into an empty shell, there were many possibilities.
Unlike with Feidin and Chen Xing, it was a type of puppet manipulation using parasites. The souls of many soldiers and Aesop were fused together temporarily like puppet strings injected into Aesop’s soul. Aesop’s mind had become fuzzy, and he could no longer think normally. He felt that all his actions came from his heart and did not realize what was wrong with him at all… Putting it simply, it was similar to how someone might go crazy when drunk.
“Aesop’s bodyguards won’t realize, right?” someone asked. The commander shook his head and said, “Don’t worry, the Soul Swapper’s powers are extremely stealthy. No one will be able to notice it other than Beyond Grade As who excel in the mind or soul related abilities, not even Calamity Grades… Of course, peak Beyond Grade As might notice something wrong too, but Black Star’s main body isn’t here, and he won’t monitor such a small matter with Lord’s Descent. So, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
After the commander said that, he clearly looked more relaxed. He turned to the Soul Swap Twins and said, “Your mission is complete. What comes next won’t involve you. Put down the Soul Swapper.”
The Soul Swap Twins exchanged looks and laughed creepily at the same time.
“Hehe, sure.”
As soon as they said that, a change occurred!
A black shockwave expanded. Other than the commander, all the soldiers’ eyes rolled and fell to the ground, not moving.
The Soul Swapper had silently swapped everyone’s soul out!
At the same time, the infant-sized younger brother opened his mouth and sucked one soul after another from the Soul Swapper, swallowing them.
The commander instantly reacted to it. He was shocked and furious.
He did not expect the Soul Swap Twins to dare to do this even when they were targeted by so many weapons. Had they really given up living?
However, at this time, a powerful energy erupted from the Soul Swap Twins. Feeling this energy level, the commander’s expression changed drastically.
“Grade B? We ran a check on you right before we departed. Aren’t you guys Grade C?”
The older brother of the Soul Swap Twins laughed out loud. “Hehehe, people grow!”
The two of them had always been acting weak, making the Modo Civilization think they were Grade C Supers. The method they used was not just simply hiding their real strength but a hidden ability they had never told anyone about-their energy could move freely between the two of them without any restrictions. This was related to the mutation these two brothers went through.
If they focused most of their energy on one of them, he would temporarily become a Grade B. If they spread it evenly, they would be able to fool the Super Grade Detection Devices of the Modo Civilization. The two of them had been planning their escape for many years, deliberately controlling their growth speed to stay at this level, all for an opportunity like today.
The Soul Swap Twins laughed creepily and said with a confident tone, “Think about it, we’re now Grade B Supers. These cannons won’t be able to kill us instantly. The Black Star Army’s men have yet to go far. If a battle breaks out here, it will definitely attract their attention. So, think thoroughly about whether you want to attack us because your plan is at risk of being exposed!”
The commander was startled. He quickly yelled at his comrade who was controlling the cannons, “Wait, don’t fire.”
“That’s right. Play nice, and your plan will be able to continue.”
The Soul Swap Twins snickered. They chose to do this now exactly because of this reason.
The commander suppressed his rage and questioned, “What do you want?”
“Simple, Modo have been using us as tools for many years. We’ve contributed enough, and now is the time we take back our freedom… Hehe, I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry, we just want to escape. We didn’t sabotage the plan with Aesop. Take this as the last mission we’ll ever execute for Modo. We don’t owe you anything anymore.
“As for this treasure, it naturally belongs to us, so we’ll be taking it away. Anyway, no one but us can use it.”
The Soul Swap Twins sneered. The shadow shrouding their body devoured the Soul Swapper and absorbed it into them.
Then, the two of them stepped back to the wall, activated their ability, turned into two piles of ink-like shadows, and disappeared. The commander was furious beyond imagination, but he still did not dare do anything
He was not only worried about alarming the Black Star Army, which was not far away, but also because he was not confident enough to stop the Grade B Soul Swap Twins. He had no choice but to watch the two of them leave with the Soul Swapper.
It was dead silent in the room. The only sound was his heavy gasps for air.
“Quickly report this to the upper echelons. We’ve lost control of the Soul Swap Twins. They’ve escaped!”
Chapter 1159. Destiny's Child's Prophecy |
“The Soul Swap Twins escaped!”
Lagos was shocked to receive the notice from the army emissary and looked worried. However, he was not worried about this but its influence on their plan against Black Star.
“Are you able to capture the Soul Swap Twins?”
The military emissary shook his head and said, “The Shattered Star Ring isn’t our territory. The Black Star Army and the local civilizations’ surveillance network is all over it. We can’t carry out a large operation. The target can use the Soul Swapper and swap bodies. It’s too difficult to find them, so we most likely won’t be able to capture them.”
“The plan…”
“Don’t worry. The plan continues.” The military emissary smiled. Seeing this, Lagos looked confused. Why don’t the upper echelons look worried at all about losing a special Universal Treasure?
“You don’t seem worried…”
The military emissary shook his hand. “Don’t worry, there’s no need to send people after them. They’ll return on their own.”
“You’re saying…” Lagos had a rough guess.
The military emissary changed into a serious expression and said, “This information isn’t really that confidential. The upper echelons have told me to tell you not to worry about the Soul Swap Twins and continue carrying out the plan as usual. The person in charge of the Marwell project got a Beyond Grade A Mage to secretly plant a mental trap in them long ago and built a hidden sub-personality that’s completely loyal to the Modo Civilization. Once triggered, the sub-personality will take over, and they will obediently return themselves.”
“I see…” Lagos nodded subconsciously. He then frowned and wondered, “But if that’s the case, why not take over the Soul Swap Twins’ consciousness completely? Why take the risk?”
The military emissary did not mind and continued explaining. “Controlling the Soul Swap Twins is very easy. No matter how special they are, they’re just low level Supers. Do you really think that there have never been such experiments even though the Marwell project has been going on for so many years? We’ve basically tried everything you can think
of.
“However, the results proved that the Soul Swap Twins can only use the Soul Swapper when they have complete self-control and clear consciousnesses. Other than that, any attempt to control the Soul Swapper through controlling the Soul Swap Twins won’t work. Even after just the simplest brainwash, the Soul Swapper won’t recognize the two of them as qualified users. Therefore, we can o
nly do it this way.”
“Why is that the case?” Lagos wondered. “Hell if I know. It’s as if the Soul Swapper has chosen the Soul Swap Twins. It’s probably related to the mysteries of the soul. It’s all very non-scientific really. And that’s the reason we consider the Soul Swapper a Space Wonder. If we could figure out how it works, there would be no Soul Swap Twins…” The military emissary snorted. “Though strange, the two of them are very weak and are no threat. They’re only feared because they can use the power of the Soul Swapper. It’s like a child holding a gun.”
“Understood.” Lagos nodded.
“Hmm, good that you know. Anyway, you don’t have to be concerned about the Soul Swap Twins. Just be worried about Black Star.”
Then, the military emissary cut off the communication, and the screen turned black.
Lagos turned off the virtual screen, exhaled, and smiled with relief.
Although there was a tiny hiccup, to him, the plan targeted at Black Star being carried out smoothly was the most important.
At a certain desolate universe belt in the Shattered Star Ring, a secret resources stronghold of the Modo Civilization was being attacked by the Black Star Army’s armed fleet.
The images of this battle were transmitted into the main control room in the Thousand Lights Star System’s base. Aesop and a group of officers were remotely monitoring the battle.
Not long after, the battle ended. The Black Star Army fleet had annihilated all enemies and was picking up the loot.
“Great! We’ve destroyed another secret stronghold of the Modo Civilization!” Nero was watching the battle with a smile. “This is all thanks to His Excellency Aesop’s accurate prophecy, which helped us find the enemy base.”
With their boss leading the praise, the officers present all expressed how impressed and appreciative they were of Aesop.