Chaos Heir

Chapter 1626: Precautions

Zalpa had obviously skipped the war effort. As a fourth-level warrior, that universal struggle far outclassed her. Besides, she had a crucial role to play while the best troops were busy fighting.

Princess Rebecca and part of the Nognes family fully acknowledged Khan as their Patriarch, so they were ready to lay down their lives to protect his interests, and, especially, his offspring.

However, Zalpa wouldn’t trust humans with Yeza. She would never leave Liiza’s daughter alone with that ignorant species. No matter what everyone said or promised, that child needed a Niqols nanny.

That, and Zalpa also realized what was at stake. She might not be strong enough to join the war, but her knowledge made her partially able to understand how bad the odds were for the regulated universe.

Zalpa even knew how those two horny kids were, especially the human who had ultimately won her over. If push came to shove, Khan wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself to ensure the universe and his family’s survival.

That was the kind of man Khan was. He had done the same on Nitis, and Zalpa knew that his selfless resolve was still there, so she had to be with his daughter if the worst were to unfold.

Many had witnessed the Leviathan-class ship’s departure from the desert, and most of those soldiers, guests, and teams from different species had remained in Aynor, occupying an orderly joint encampment.

The encampment obviously had areas specific to each species, but the ones waving Khan’s banner ended up being quite diverse for obvious reasons.

Zalpa was in one of such diverse areas, inside a building salvaged and refurbished after the attack on Aynor, surrounded by Princess Rebecca and stern teams of human waiters, as well as some Scalqa, Thilku, and high-level soldiers.

The numerous escorts could sound superfluous and exaggerated, but Princess Rebecca had been quite convincing on the matter. She understood politics far better than Zalpa, so she knew what could unfold and what was necessary to prevent the worst from following.

Despite the grand speeches, vast gatherings, and happy celebrations, the alliance remained brittle. It was something built through strength and out of necessity, featuring a fatal weakness.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the alliance existed because of and through Khan. He was the unifying figure who had brought all those species together, putting them on the same page, resorting to threats when they became uncooperative.

The presence of an existential threat kept eventual gripes at bay, but grudges had formed nonetheless, and they didn’t disappear with the Leviathan-class ship’s departure.

The Thilku were trustworthy. The Scalqa were extremely loyal, and many human forces wouldn’t switch banners even if the worst were to happen. Khan’s faction could also count on the firm support of more fearsome parties.

However, the best soldiers had gone off to war. The Nele had returned to Coravis, bringing many Niqols with them.

Meanwhile, Princess Rebecca and other important figures had remained in Aynor to show confidence in the war effort. After all, her faction had been the one to call for that widespread mobilization, so they had to be at its center until the very end.

Retreating to safer areas would only project weakness.

That political move had been necessary, with Yeza’s presence being its key symbol. Still, it also exposed her and anyone connected to Khan to great danger.

It went without saying that the entirety of the improved encampment had scanners pointed at the sky, with many private ones unique to the different species and factions currently in Aynor.

The hall where Zalpa, Yeza, Princess Rebecca, and the numerous escorts were also featured connections to those private scanners, which provided constant updates.

Everyone was waiting for news that, if they somehow hinted at Khan’s death, could shatter that brittle alliance. The factions that held grudges or were simply against having such a powerful being in their politics could revolt, deciding to take out Khan’s allies there once and for all.

Nevertheless, despite all the dangers that could come from outside, the first shocking change unfolded inside the hall, and not from a spy that had somehow slipped past Princess Rebecca’s thorough screening.

Yeza had been sleeping soundly for hours when red veins suddenly littered her tiny, dark-blue body, awakening her and surrounding her in a red halo.

The event was so abrupt and unexpected that the entire hall stirred awake at the sound of Yeza’s shrill cry. It was also strange enough to confuse Zalpa, who paced nonstop around Yeza’s cradle, doing who-knew-what to understand that development.

Ultimately, the strange development ended on its own, without Zalpa understanding anything about it. Actually, something did become clear during her inspection. The event was beyond the scope of her knowledge and expertise.

Through a process of elimination, Zalpa could narrow down the possible causes to Khan’s ascension, which his scientists and Liiza had worked on tirelessly before the departure, but that was it.

Extensive, deeper tests would be necessary to obtain a complete profile of the event, but that wasn’t the time to perform them. For now, Zalpa was satisfied with the fact that Yeza didn’t seem in danger. She only looked unfathomably hungry.

As for the second change among that tense wait, that one indeed came from outside the encampment. After the escort had worked tirelessly to satiate Yeza’s newfound, monstrous hunger, the hall’s screens finally delivered some news, which led to a general mobilization.

The encampment around what was left of Aynor had become nothing short of a small city under the allied front’s management. Thousands of people could live there comfortably, but everyone left their tents, habitations, or buildings when the various scanners sent updates.

Crowds gathered on white sand and makeshift streets, prompted by the scientists and scanners in the open to look at the clear, morning sky.

The machines couldn’t quite study what was happening in great detail, but they knew something was coming, which was enough to create that giant audience.

Then, somewhere far above the encampment, the air broke, a horizontal crack running the literal sky, twisting that perfectly clear scenery.

Something even pushed on that fissure, which caved in as it broke even further, until the tip of a massive ship became visible among its cracks.