Chapter 505: Clare People, Bowing in Submission?

Chapter 505: Chapter 27: Clare People, Bowing in Submission?

“Old Li, you’re a citizen of the Alliance Country now, too.”

“Haha, exactly. I heard that with this ID card, we’ll be able to enter the city rings in the future.”

“Tsk, tsk. I’m really curious about what Ring City is like.”

“We’ll find out when we go take a look, won’t we? Didn’t they say there’ll be a chance for some of us to be selected for a visit…”

Inside Fortress Mountain City, residents in plain clothes gathered near the shacks, chatting and laughing.

Although their weather-beaten faces were deeply wrinkled and their skin a sunbaked yellowish-brown, their eyes shone noticeably brighter than they had a month ago. It looked like hope, an anticipation of a better life. Looking around, the slate roads were being repaired, and some of the shacks in Mountain City had been demolished. Construction teams from the Alliance Country had arrived to build new residential apartment blocks.

An unprecedented sense of peace permeated Fortress Mountain City, as if every resident was on the verge of being granted a new lease on life.

However, that tranquility was shattered.

WHOOSH!

A sudden, piercing sound split the air. It sounded like a high-speed object tearing through the atmosphere, creating a sharp, ear-splitting screech.

The chatting residents of Mountain City, the city ring engineering teams building the slate roads and concrete buildings, and even the Alliance Country soldiers patrolling the fortress walls all felt a sharp pain in their eardrums. Subconsciously, everyone looked up at the sky.

WHOOSH!

The piercing noise rapidly closed in. A streak of silver light hurtled toward them at a breakneck pace, arriving above Mountain City in mere seconds.

In the command room, Lu Chao frowned and looked up through the window. Yue Zhenhong and the other Superpower Team leaders, who had been about to leave, were also startled and raised their heads in unison.

“What is that?”

HUM!

The silver light came to an abrupt halt, hovering in mid-air. Only when it stopped moving could the crowd clearly see its appearance. It was actually a metallic sphere the size of a fist. Silvery-white all over, a certain energetic luster flowed across its surface. Its tail emitted a faint, liquid-like glow that resembled a thruster’s flame.

“I am a trial taker of the Klar Civilization.”

An icy, artificial voice emanated from the sphere. Devoid of emotion, it echoed clearly over the entirety of Mountain City.

“Natives of this planet, you have three days to bow your heads and submit.

“Otherwise…”

BOOM!

A blue beam of light blasted from the metallic sphere, directly striking an unoccupied concrete building.

CRASH!

The concrete wall violently exploded, leaving a massive hole several meters wide. The building collapsed, sending tremors through the earth. Plumes of thick dust billowed into the air, and the Mountain City residents on the nearby slate roads froze in their tracks.

“This…”

Some paled, accidentally dropping their citizen ID cards onto the ground. Others subconsciously stumbled backward, bumping into the people behind them, their eyes filled with terror.

Having issued its command, the silvery-white sphere remained hovering high above. Every Mountain City resident who witnessed this scene was utterly bewildered and rooted to the spot.

A Clare trial taker?

Planet natives?

Submit within three days?

These words were completely alien to them. However, the tone that looked down upon them as if they were mere ants—coupled with the devastating threat that easily obliterated a low-rise building like an artillery strike—left everyone feeling an indescribable, suffocating dread.

“Clare…”

By the second-floor window of a stone blockhouse, Chen Junhao was smoking a cigarette. Smoke curled up from between his fingers as the cherry of his cigarette flickered. He tilted his head to look at the silvery-white sphere, then shifted his gaze to the collapsed concrete building in the distance. His brows knitted tightly together; this wasn’t the first time he had heard that name.

At the same time, on the other side of Mountain City.

“The Klar Civilization?”

Both Penelope and Raccoon Cat were alarmed, a sense of disbelief rising within them. They thought of the classified data hidden on the Dark Web and the clues they had uncovered while investigating the annihilation of Moray Country. That had happened at least fifty years ago. Yet at this very moment, this civilization belonging to the Starry Sky was so close to them?

WHOOSH!

Before anyone could recover their wits, the hovering metallic sphere flew into the sky, leaving a trail of liquid-like energy flames as if its mission was complete.

Witnessing this, Lu Chao frowned deeply, the vague sense of danger in his heart now fully confirmed. He thought, “The Clare trial takers have targeted this place.”

Although unexpected, he quickly adapted to the situation. Mr. Ji’s warning still rang in his ears: these geniuses from Clare intended to intervene in the war between the Alliance Country and the Rebels as some kind of task-based trial.

At that thought, he gazed up at the sky. The silver streak of light was fleeting, quickly vanishing from sight. He then turned his head to look at the collapsed walls of the building.

For that brief instant earlier, even he had felt a chill. The destructive power of the blue beam was no less than that of an artillery shell, yet it was much faster and nearly impossible to track with the naked eye. Was this the weaponry of a Starry Sky civilization?

“Wooo~”

Ghost Element, which had been resting by the table, was already on its feet. It had also witnessed the scene unfold. Its ruby-red beast eyes showed curiosity, but a hint of apprehension also surfaced, causing the fur on its body to bristle.

For a moment, both man and beast were heavy-hearted, realizing the severity of the situation.

THUD THUD THUD!

Soon after, the sound of approaching heavy footsteps interrupted Lu Chao’s thoughts. He turned to look. Yue Zhenhong and the others had returned, most of them sporting grave expressions.

“We couldn’t detect the target at all.” He lowered his voice, speaking hurriedly. “Before that metallic sphere appeared, none of our detection equipment reacted. Radar, infrared, electromagnetic scans… everything failed. We couldn’t lock onto it for subsequent tracking either. It was impossible to keep up.

“It was like… like it vanished out of thin air.”

As he finished speaking, a trace of frustration appeared on his face.