Chapter 78 - Capture

"YOU SON OF A ***** !!!!!" roared the woman in absolute fury just as her beautiful ship began to spin crazily out of control.

Right before the ship crashed, a bright beam shot up into the sky and disappeared. 

BOOM!! 

The ship impacted the ground. Fire began to break out from various parts of the ship and within seconds…

B O O O M ! ! 

The ship exploded in flames. 

Alexander just stood there in midair, staring at the burning wreckage of the large Symphonian Battlecruiser. 

That red beam earlier had disturbed him greatly.

"This is it, isn't it?" He asked Flamewing softly. "The beginning of Symphonian involvement in this planet. And here I thought I still had time to slowly build Rin-Turah into a powerful nation." 

"Alexander, that red beam… It's bad news!" Flamewing said seriously. "That red beam just now was a signal. Code Red. It signified the existence of a threat at the Universe Level. That crazy b***h! Code Red is an extremely dangerous signal to send! If she sent a Code Red and it turned out to be less than a Universe Level threat, her family would be asked to pay for the cost of mobilizing the fleet! You're hardly a Universe Level threat, and yet she sent that Code Red signal. Like it or not, the Symphonian Emperor will send a fleet to Arcanus 26 at warp speed to investigate. And let me tell you, their investigations are always thorough." 

Alexander frowned deeply in surprise. He hadn't expected such a serious outcome. That crazy woman was indeed crazy to have sent a Code Red back to Symphonia. 

"It's not all bad though. They would probably do something about the Lich King while they're at it." Alexander remarked.

"No they won't. They know about the Lich King's presence already - how could they not? The Lich King didn't bother with subterfuge. He just came in and started invading left and right. The fact that Symphonia didn't send any troops to squash the Lich King simply meant that they're happy with the Lich King's presence. They probably thought that he is a suitable enemy for you. No, they would definitely start digging for something else. And if they discover that there is a Scion Lord present in the area…"

Flamewing didn't need to finish the sentence. Alexander knew what would happen next. He would do the exact same thing if he was in their position. Lock down the planet. Find the Scion Lord even if they have to kill every single person on it. Capture the Scion Lord and do everything they can do to convert the Scion Lord into their pawn. And being a Universe Empire, they would definitely have methods that could convert even a Scion Lord. 

"How much time do we have?" Alexander asked Flamewing in a level voice. His mind began to race at high speed as he considered his options. 

"I have no idea. If they have a warp-ready fleet nearby… At the very least, three days? If not then it could take up to a few months."

"Three days..." Alexander mumbled. Vast amounts of information began to flood his mind as he began to strategize.

A silver glow appeared around him and slowly began to shine brighter and brighter. 

Flamewing smiled to herself. This crisis was exactly what Alexander needed. He had been faced with crises from within the planet itself thus far, and this latest threat from Symphonia was forcing him to think bigger. If all went well, he would be able to rank up his Power of Perses to a Gold Conqueror soon. 

"This is no good." Alexander finally said. The silver glow around him began to dim. 

"What's no good?" Flamewing immediately asked.

"We are not ready to face Symphonia yet, not even close." Alexander said with mild exasperation. "We lack manpower, firepower, sustainability and most importantly, the tactics and strategies to fight against a Universe level army."

"What do you mean you lack the tactics and strategies? You have a Symphonian AI right here!" Flamewing said with mild exasperation as well. She, however, had nothing to say about the other points. It was true, they were desperately low on manpower and firepower.

"I know, but it's an AI. What they have will definitely be limited. Even if we have the men and the firepower, If we use the strategies and tactics found within the AI to fight a prolonged battle against a Symphonian army, I assure you that we will lose. They would have counter tactics and strategies which we have no idea of. 

If I was given the time to study their historical battles, I would probably be able to come up with those counters as well. But it would require many long weeks of study. And time is something we do not have in abundance." 

"What should we do now?" Flamewing said.

"Rescue your mother and your body as soon as possible, and then prepare a plan to attack the fleet before they can enter Arcanus 26." Alexander said simply.

"WHAT? Attack the fleet? Have you gone mad?" Flamewing shouted. "You are no match against them. You'll simply be handing yourself to them on a platter."

Alexander shrugged. "It's either they come in here, make a mess out of everything, and then take me away, or I go over there, make a mess out of everything, and hopefully drive them away. I'll take my chances with the second option." 

Flamewing was speechless. This Alexander, he was making difficult decisions so coolly and easily. Truly a different breed.

Alexander pointed his hand at the wreckage that was still burning. A bright light burst out and the wreckage ignited once more. From within, a wild shriek could be heard, wailing for a few short seconds before fading away. 

He stared grimly at the fire which was burning merrily, crackling loudly and giving out minor explosions now and then. If given the choice, with hindsight, he would have handled the situation differently. But there was no use crying over spilt milk. The Code Red was sent, and the Symphonians would come. 

He needed to prepare himself and bring the battle away from Arcanus 26 and Rin-Turah.

"Let's go. We'll proceed to the hideout you remember immediately. We should be able to find more information there." Alexander said to Flamewing.

"Alright." Flamewing agreed.

Alexander dispelled his barrier and lifted Princess Anastasia and Dubaza up into the sky. He then gave a magically-infused whistle. Within seconds, the space in front of them rippled and Vernie and his snow-white Wyvern appeared. 

The rescue mission was once again underway.

*-*-*-*-*

Aleyria sighed. She was lovesick. So lovesick that she really felt like leaving everything and go looking for Alexander. But she couldn't. She couldn't bear to see Alexander's expression of disappointment and worry if he knew that she had left her responsibilities to fulfil her personal desire.

"Would he still want me?" She wondered. "Probably not. He'll probably not want to have anything to do with a spoilt princess with no self-control. But I miss him!" She pouted to herself. 

She jumped out of bed. She wouldn't be getting any sleep that night. Again. She left her room and soared up into the night sky where she could enjoy the refreshing breeze and the feeling of being just an insignificant speck in nature. 

There, she could at lose herself in her senses and distract her heart from the pain of missing Alexander. 

She sighed deeply once more. 

BZZT!

A violent magical fluctuation suddenly assailed her arcane senses. Her eyes snapped open as she stared at the spot a few miles away where the fluctuation came from.

A group of people suddenly appeared. 

Aleyria paled as she felt their magical pressure explode out with frightening speed and power. 

BOOM.

An arcane shockwave rippled out from their position. 

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? A lost little white mage?" A thin and irritating voice rang out lazily from behind Aleyria as a surge of cold energy tried to envelop her.

Aleyria immediately cast her teleportation spell, but it was too late. 

The space around her suddenly solidified, preventing any manipulation of space energy. At the same time. a black cage made of pure darkness materialized around her.

"Do not play with our captives." A cold female voice rang out. 

"SHUT UP YOU ELVEN WITCH! GIVE HER BACK TO ME!" The tall and burly man who was standing behind Aleyria bellowed loudly with his awkwardly thin voice. 

"Vladir. Keep quiet." An emotionless voice rasped from the main group. 

At that, Vladir snapped his mouth shut. But he didn't forget to glare angrily at Caerose. Especially when he noticed how beautiful Aleyria was. 

Vladir gritted his teeth in fury. "One day, I'll gut that arrogant elven b***h. AFTER I have my way with her." He thought to himself as he rejoined the group.

Caerose snapped her fingers and the dark cage with Aleyria in it disappeared.

"Go." The Lich King commanded the Scions. "Capture all their ministers and people of note. Gather in their Royal Court within three hours."

With a quick blast of energy, all seven Scions dispersed, leaving the Lich King alone in the sky.