Chapter 20: Marshal
With a loud CRASH—the Starbug, its Spiritual Sea shattered, instantly lost all aggression. The moment Cillian Forrest removed the barrier, its enormous body slammed into the ground.
Sophie Wexler looked at the Starbug on the ground and finally sighed in relief. With the danger gone, she could barely stay on her feet. Her voice was weak as she said, "Thank goodness... We’re safe."
Hearing this, Cillian Forrest turned to the woman still clutching his hand, his expression complicated. He asked, "Are you... all right?"
"I’m fine, I just... feel a little tired." As she spoke, Sophie Wexler felt an abnormal exhaustion, as if she had been completely drained. Her mind felt like it was no longer under her control.
At the same time, a voice echoed from the end of the alley, followed by the sound of countless footsteps. "The Starbug and they are over there!"
The military had finally arrived in response to the distress call Sophie Wexler had sent.
The man in the lead was undoubtedly Ethan Cross. Upon arriving on this planet, he had gone straight to the local garrison of the Seventh Legion.
They had been out on a training exercise when Sophie Wexler’s distress call came in. The moment they heard a Starbug had appeared, the military had mobilized its forces almost immediately.
On the way, Ethan Cross heard that the one who sent the call was a Healer-class and braced himself for the worst.
A Healer-class’s spiritual power had no offensive capabilities. Against a Starbug, their chances of survival were practically zero.
So he was naturally astonished when the first thing he saw was a completely docile Starbug lying on the ground.
’How did a Healer-class defeat a Starbug?!’
All his doubts vanished the instant he looked up. Ethan Cross stared at the man before him and froze on the spot.
"Mar—"
Cillian Forrest shot him a look, and Ethan Cross immediately swallowed the rest of the word.
Sophie Wexler saw the large group of people and finally let out the breath she’d been holding. "They... finally... arri—"
Before she could finish the word, she collapsed backward, unconscious.
Cillian Forrest instinctively caught her, pulling her into his arms.
Sophie Wexler’s face was deathly pale, her temples beaded with sweat.
Cillian Forrest pursed his lips. Probing Sophie Wexler’s Spiritual Sea with his spiritual power, he found it completely empty—utterly depleted. For a moment, his expression was complicated.
Ethan Cross snapped out of his shock at seeing his Marshal. He glanced at the unconscious Sophie Wexler in Cillian’s arms, unable to fully process the scene.
’Isn’t this the woman I saw at the Wexlers’ residence the other day? The one who drugged her foster sister?’
’What in the world happened just now, and why is the Marshal with her?’ And then, "What’s wrong with her?" Ethan Cross asked, looking at the unconscious woman.
"Her spiritual power is depleted."
Ethan Cross looked at the pair, his mind reeling with questions, but it was obviously not the right time to ask.
One of the soldiers behind him, seeing Ethan Cross conversing with the stranger, asked in surprise, "Major General Cross, who is this?"
Ethan Cross glanced at Cillian Forrest. ’The Marshal was ambushed, injured, and ended up stranded on this planet. The full situation is still unclear.’
’His identity can’t be revealed, but I can’t just use his name either.’ For a moment, Ethan Cross was at a loss.
Just then, Cillian Forrest spoke up. "Major General Cross is my superior officer."
As the words fell, Ethan Cross staggered, so startled he almost lost his balance.
But he couldn’t deny it. Glancing at Cillian Forrest, he braced himself and went along with it.
"Yes, he’s my..." Ethan Cross said with difficulty, "...one of my men."
Hearing this, the soldiers behind him nodded in understanding. "Oh, so he’s one of Major General Cross’s men. No wonder he could defeat a Starbug. He’s clearly no ordinary person."
"What should we do with the Starbug, then?" the soldier asked Ethan Cross.
The Starbug’s Spiritual Sea had been shattered by Cillian Forrest. It was critically wounded and no longer aggressive.
Ethan Cross instinctively glanced at Cillian Forrest, awaiting his orders.
Cillian Forrest didn’t speak. Instead, he used his spiritual power to slice through the Starbug’s hide, located the Beast Core in its head, and enveloped it in spiritual power to extract it.
Instantly, the Starbug let out a series of sharp, agonizing shrieks, its massive body thrashing on the ground. Lacking its spiritual power and Beast Core, its cries held no offensive force and were merely ear-piercing.
As the Beast Core was slowly extracted, the shrieks grew fainter and its thrashing subsided, until it finally fell completely still.
"Major General Cross, this Beast Core...?" After all, it belonged to an A-level Starbug. Normally, these were to be handed over to military command.
Ethan Cross glanced up at the soldier. "I’ll take care of it."
"Of course, of course. After all, it was one of your men who killed the Starbug, Major General."
Ethan Cross was speechless. "..."
He immediately shot a glance at Cillian Forrest, only to see that the Marshal’s expression was unchanged.
Ethan Cross sighed internally. ’Please, just make him stop talking.’ He could hardly bear to hear the words "one of my men" anymore.
"What about the Healer-class? Should we take her to the medical center?"
Cillian Forrest replied, "That won’t be necessary."
"Oh, all right."
Since the Starbug was dead and the Healer-class was being taken care of, the soldiers regrouped and left.
Ethan Cross made the excuse of having other business and stayed behind.
After everyone had left, Ethan Cross faced the man before him, stood at attention, and gave a crisp military salute. "Marshal."
Cillian Forrest acknowledged with a simple, "Mm."
He knew Ethan had many questions. "Let’s head back first."
Ethan Cross could only suppress his questions. "Right."
With that, he went to get his flyer. Cillian Forrest lowered his gaze to the woman in his arms, her eyes shut tight. After a moment, he scooped her up into a bridal carry and boarded the flyer.
Ethan Cross was about to pilot them directly to the military district when Cillian Forrest spoke up from the back seat, giving an address. "Go here."
Ethan Cross paused for a second but said nothing, immediately changing the destination.
Upon arriving at their destination, Cillian Forrest carried her out of the flyer and opened the door with an iris scan.
Ethan Cross watched Cillian Forrest’s back and followed him silently.
Once inside, Cillian Forrest said, "008, lights on."
A robotic voice replied, "Lights activated."
As the room lit up, a housekeeper robot appeared before them.
It blinked its eyes, seemed to ponder for a moment, then announced in a deadpan voice, "Welcome home, Mistress, and male master, Mr. Cillian Forrest."
Cillian Forrest stopped in his tracks, his expression freezing.
Following behind, Ethan Cross felt his brain short-circuit.
’Male master?’
’Is it referring to his Marshal?’
The little robot, completely oblivious to the shock its words had caused the two men, continued, "Also, 008 has a name. 008 is called Tammy."
Cillian Forrest was silent for two seconds before asking, "Who told you to say that?"
Tammy tilted its head up, its voice bright. "Mistress had me change my programming."