Chapter 18: Arriving at Border Region One
Nan Yu looked at the planet before him. This was the place they had reached only after the cosmic carrier had undergone several wormhole jumps.
“So this is the place?”
Standing beside him was Yuan Qiyang. His expression was serious.
“Yes, this is it. My unc— ...the Marshal is currently responsible for clearing the Ability Beasts here.”
“And my mission?”
Yuan Qiyang replied, “Actually, there are already many Low-Tier Mental Power Users here. They help alleviate the Mental Contamination of the soldiers, but because there aren't enough Mental Power Users, they only provide relief and don't spend too much effort completely removing the contamination from every soldier. So...”
Nan Yu interrupted him.
“Then what's my mission?”
Yuan Qiyang smiled.
“It's very simple. The strongest group within the army needs your help in removing Mental Contamination. So I'll have to trouble you when the time comes.”
“So that's how it is. The stronger an Ability User is, the more difficult it is to remove their Mental Contamination. Even if they distribute their efforts evenly and keep every soldier's contamination below the level where they'd go mad, they're already reaching their limits, right?”
Yuan Qiyang let out a sigh of relief.
“It's good that you understand. For some reason, Ability Beast tides have become unusually frequent this year. Many areas are short-handed, and some Mental Power Users have become unwell and need rest. It's really giving everyone headaches.”
Nan Yu asked, “How many people will be assigned to me later? I've always helped my father and my eldest and second brothers remove their Mental Contamination, so I should be fairly experienced, right?”
“I'll tell you that later.”
Nan Yu suddenly pointed at the planet ahead.
“What do those yellow areas represent?”
Yuan Qiyang frowned slightly.
“Those are areas where all the vegetation has been devoured by Ability Beasts. After stripping everything bare, they keep trampling the ground endlessly, stirring up sand and dust.”
From their current position, it looked like a giant sandstorm covering nearly half the planet.
Nan Yu inhaled sharply.
Just how many Ability Beasts would it take to create something like this?
It was terrifying.
Naturally, the carrier wouldn't approach the planet itself, so they had to board a specialized spacecraft to descend. Throughout the entire journey, Nan Yu remained with Yuan Qiyang.
As for Yu Lanfeng...
He was the Marshal. Naturally, he had countless matters to deal with and was extremely busy. It was impossible for him to keep watching over Nan Yu all the time, so he had entrusted the task of looking after Nan Yu entirely to Yuan Qiyang.
Which happened to suit Yuan Qiyang perfectly.
Before meeting Nan Yu, he had no particular thoughts. But after getting to know him, he found that Nan Yu suited him exceptionally well.
They got along in many ways, and especially considering that Nan Yu was already among the more outstanding Mid-Tier Mental Power Users, his identity matched Yuan Qiyang's very well.
So...
Nan Yu had no idea what Yuan Qiyang was thinking. Otherwise, he would probably have kept his distance.
But he noticed none of this.
“Major Yuan, how long will it take for the spacecraft to reach our destination?”
Yuan Qiyang paused.
“Not too long. About three hours. The atmosphere here is rather special, so spacecraft can't fly too quickly.”
Back on the Capital Star, traveling from the surface to the carrier had seemed to take only two hours.
But here, the trip required three hours.
It really was unusual.
“Can you explain?”
This was Nan Yu's first time leaving home and his first time experiencing these things. Whenever he encountered something he didn't understand, he always wanted to ask clearly so that if he encountered it again in the future, he wouldn't remain ignorant.
Otherwise, he would only make a fool of himself.
Actually, even if nobody laughed at him, Nan Yu himself would feel uncomfortable. This trip wasn't simply to help out and earn military merit. He also wanted to broaden his horizons.
Yuan Qiyang nodded.
“The atmosphere here contains a special element. Spacecraft can't fly too fast. If they do, the protective layer on the hull will be damaged.”
“You should know that maintaining the protective coating on military spacecraft is very expensive. Unless it's an emergency, everyone generally slows down.”
“As for the specific element, once we return to the Capital Star, I can take you to our royal library. That library is only open to members of the Imperial Family, so outsiders aren't allowed inside.”
Nan Yu's eyes brightened.
“Really? You'll take me inside?”
Yuan Qiyang smiled.
“If you want to go, I'll take you—”
“What are you talking about?”
Yuan Qiyang feared neither heaven nor earth. He wasn't even afraid of his parents.
But he feared his younger uncle.
The moment he heard Yu Lanfeng's voice, he instinctively straightened his back and immediately became serious.
Watching this, Nan Yu found it amusing.
So even the Crown Prince had someone capable of keeping him in line?
Seeing him like this, Yu Lanfeng felt somewhat helpless.
“Enough. Is the royal library somewhere you can casually bring people into?”
“Sorry, Marshal. I acted on my own.”
Nan Yu hurriedly said, “Ah, um... if it's inconvenient, then forget it. It's really not—”
Yu Lanfeng interrupted him.
“It's fine. If you want to go, then go. Once everything here is settled, I can bring you there. Qiyang's position makes things inconvenient.”
He was the Marshal. Bringing someone with military merit into the royal library was acceptable.
But Yuan Qiyang was the Crown Prince. If he brought an outsider—especially an outstanding Mid-Tier Mental Power User close to his own age—into a library reserved exclusively for members of the Imperial Family...
That would certainly become interesting.
Rumors would spread everywhere.
He had no desire to witness that.
What Yu Lanfeng obviously hadn't realized was that even if the person changed from Yuan Qiyang to himself, there wasn't much difference.
Even Nan Yu himself didn't notice anything. His mind was entirely occupied with the books inside the royal library.
He didn't need to become exceptionally learned, but gaining more knowledge was always beneficial.
“Thank you, Marshal.”
Yu Lanfeng waved his hand.
“No need. Consider it your reward.”
He truly meant those words.
At present, he held no feelings for Nan Yu beyond appreciation.
At least, not yet.
“Get ready. The spacecraft will be landing soon.”
Nan Yu nodded, then asked,
“Marshal, are there some particularly troublesome Ability Beasts here? Otherwise, with your strength, you wouldn't have personally come here, right?”
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
“Yes. It's fine to tell you. A very strange Ability Beast has appeared here. It moves unpredictably, and for some reason the soldiers here simply can't accurately determine its location. Every attempt ends with a slight deviation.”
“Even surveillance systems don't work? Aren't there satellites?”
As soon as he asked, Nan Yu suddenly remembered.
Half the planet was covered by yellow sandstorms.
Using satellites under those conditions wasn't realistic.
“I see...”
He took a deep breath.
“But... its combat ability shouldn't be very strong, right?”
After all, it already possessed such a bizarre ability.
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
“Its combat ability really isn't particularly strong.”
“But its own ability is extremely strange.”
“It releases a pale-red mist. The mist spreads very quickly, and any soldiers who inhale it will experience their Mental Sea contamination worsening at two to three times the normal rate.”