Chapter 281: Lightning Kingdom
Zone 1. Two hundred miles away from the Ancient Variant outpost in Zone 2, and about fifty miles away from Stormcaller’s territory...
"No wonder he named his territory ’Lightning Kingdom,’" Uhtred said, watching the terrifying streaks of lightning flashing through the clouds around them. Thunderous cracks resounded every second, jolting and shaking the jet he and Diya were traveling in.
"Boss, I think we’re gonna have to bring her down early," a man who looked to be in his fifties or late forties, with traces of grey beginning to form in his hair, said from the cockpit of the jet.
His name was Antony, and he had been a fighter jet pilot back on pre-integration Earth.
At first, he had joined Uhtred’s forces after the Trial of Ages as a regular fighter. But immediately after developments were made between Uhtred and Jolene Okafor in building the first new-world jets — powered purely by essence-gathering arrays and fueled by Cosmic Essence Crystals and Cores — he had stepped forward to be one of the first pilots to fly them.
"Antony, I’ve said it many times, you don’t need to call me ’boss.’ I have a name, y’know," Uhtred said with a sigh. "You’re more than old enough to be my father. It’s weird hearing you call me that."
"You see, now that’s just harsh, boss," Antony chuckled with mock pain in his voice. "I ain’t that old. Besides, there’s cosmic essence now. I reckon I’ve got more than a hundred years more to live!"
Uhtred chuckled at that, then his tone turned serious as he shifted back to a professional air. He stood up from his seat at the back of the jet and walked to the front to get a wider view of the roiling thunder surrounding them.
"Alright then, bring her down," he said to Antony. "We’re close enough to Stormcaller’s territory as is. We’ll make the rest of the journey on foot."
Antony nodded and promptly complied, easing the jet down from the dark, violent clouds to an easier, less tumultuous altitude, hovering just a bit above the forest treeline below.
He found a spot with an ample clearing and landed the jet softly.
"Send out a message to our squad. Give them our location and tell them to rendezvous here ASAP," Uhtred ordered, straightening out his clothes and preparing to step out of the jet. "I’m going ahead into Stormcaller’s territory first. I need to hear his account of what exactly happened."
Diya, who was still strapped into her seat on the opposite side of the jet, frowned slightly. She was about to make a retort about Uhtred’s arrangement, already knowing what task he had assigned her based on what he just said. But Uhtred cut in quickly before she could speak.
He strode forward and patted her on the shoulder with a smug smile. "Hey hey, someone has to handle the squad we sent ahead, Diya. And who else but the Queen of Death can handle that?"
𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
"Ain’t that right, boss," Antony chipped in from the front to support Uhtred. But suddenly, the veteran pilot felt a frigid chill run down his spine as a sharp gaze pierced him from behind.
Uhtred quickly cleared his throat before Diya could turn feral. "Don’t mind Antony," he said hastily. "He just trusts your magnificent strength, that’s all..."
Diya snorted, clearly unmoved by Uhtred’s tastelessly flattering words.
"Just go," she huffed. "But for the record, I am very well aware that you just want to leave the troublesome management duty to me and go play on your own."
"Play?" Uhtred chortled, already stretching his arms and walking to the back hatch of the jet. "You know, if anyone hears you, they’d think I’m just going out to gallivant. This is very important stuff. Something only I can handle."
"Preach, boss," Antony chipped in from the front again. And this time, the cabin went utterly silent.
"Fuck." The veteran pilot knew he’d fucked up with that, and even Uhtred couldn’t help him this time.
Diya began slowly unbuckling her seatbelt, a calm, devious smile on her face. She stared at Uhtred directly, as if waiting to see whether he’d try to wiggle Antony out of this one.
Uhtred simply cleared his throat and pushed the button for the hatch to open, turning his back on whatever happened next.
The last thing he heard before he stepped out of the jet was the cries of Antony asking to be saved.
"You brought this one on yourself, Antony," Uhtred chuckled under his breath as he walked away from the jet.
The moment he stepped out into the open, he wiped the smile and joking air from his face and became serious. He was now in foreign territory, so anything could happen.
With a sudden burst, he activated Slipstream Stride after confirming the direction of Stormcaller’s Lightning Kingdom. It glowed clear as day in the far distance — a large swath of land where the roiling lightning and roaring thunder in the sky rained down relentlessly.
Uhtred covered the rest of the distance to the Lightning Kingdom in just a few minutes. He deactivated Slipstream Stride after coming within five miles of the volatile territory.
Already, he could see several parties in the vicinity — New World Government agents, Free Ascenders’ Guild ascenders, ascenders belonging to the Inagawa-Kai, and even some from Hassan Al-Malik’s forces and the Castiglione family.
Uhtred’s sudden arrival startled most of them, save for a few who were able to maintain their composure.
"Ah? Uhtred?" Hassan Al-Malik’s familiar voice came from the front. He parted his way through the ascenders from his force and began walking toward Uhtred under the gazes of every party present.
Uhtred glanced at him, then at the surroundings to gauge exactly what was going on.
"Hassan," he greeted with a nod after Hassan Al-Malik got close. "What exactly is going on? Why are you all standing here?"
Hassan Al-Malik scratched his face slightly, as if embarrassed — a sight that made Uhtred raise a brow. He knew just how egotistical Hassan could be, so seeing him embarrassed was a weird sight.
Hassan Al-Malik stepped closer, using his body to shield the movement of his lips as he spoke in a hushed tone.
"Well, we were kinda waiting for you..."
Uhtred reared back slightly, an incredulous look on his face.
"Me? You all were waiting for me?"
He did a double-take of the parties present — the New World Government forces were still present, along with the Free Ascenders’ Guild, the Castigliones, the Inagawa-Kai, and several other mid-sized factions...
Was Hassan Al-Malik saying that all these guys, with their conflicting interests and goals, had put all of that aside and decided to wait for him like he was their leader?
Wasn’t that just absurd?
Hassan Al-Malik saw the look on Uhtred’s face and quickly spoke up to clarify:
"Oh no, no. Not like that," he chuckled. "What a sight that would be if that were true... No. What I mean is..."
He paused, the prior embarrassment reflecting on his face yet again. Begrudgingly, he turned and nodded in the direction of Stormcaller’s Lightning Kingdom...
Particularly, he nodded toward something that made realization dawn in Uhtred’s eyes immediately.