Chapter 542: Threat

The dark opening inside the gate anchor widened until the image of an alien world became clearer.

A black sky covered a city of silver towers, while several vessels hovered above a platform on the other side. The opening was not yet stable enough for anything to cross, but it gave the transport vessel a connection to its destination before reaching the Primary Passage.

Leng Pan could sense the gate searching for her space again.

The alien commander noticed the change in her expression and smiled. "You recognize the pull, do you not? Your hidden world has already responded to our technology once. It will become much easier to open after we remove it from you."

Lu Zhen’s arm remained around her waist as his flames spread across the floor. "You keep speaking about removing her ability as if she will stand quietly and allow it. Is arrogance common among your people, or are you especially foolish?"

The commander’s smile disappeared. "Your fire is powerful for a primitive life form, but your body is damaged. I can smell your blood from here."

Leng Pan glanced at Lu Zhen, and he immediately knew what she was thinking.

He lowered his voice before she could speak. "Don’t even think of suggesting that I remain behind while you fight him. We settled this matter earlier."

"I was going to tell you not to tear your wounds open again. However, since you already know what I might suggest, you must also know that I will drag you into my space if your condition worsens."

"Will you enter with me?"

"That depends on whether the gate anchor is still trying to steal my space."

Lu Zhen looked into her eyes as his thumb moved gently against her waist. "Then I will be careful. I would prefer to spend our next private moment doing something more pleasant than arguing while you change my bandages."

Leng Pan’s lips curved. "If you behave, I might change them without scolding you."

"That is not the reward I was hoping for."

"You may negotiate for a better one after we survive."

The alien commander looked between them with open irritation. "Are you finished?"

Leng Pan turned toward him. "Not really, but my husband and I could continue after killing you."

The commander raised his hand.

The alien soldiers fired together.

Lu Zhen pushed his flames forward while Leng Pan formed a thick water barrier around them. Instead of colliding, the two abilities moved around each other. Fire heated the water into steam, and the dense white mist filled the corridor before the energy beams could reach them.

The soldiers lost sight of their targets.

Little Vine moved through the steam and caught the nearest soldier around the neck. Its tendrils slipped beneath his armor and dragged him into the mist.

A scream followed.

The remaining soldiers changed formation, but Leng Pan could sense their positions through the moisture around them. She sent compressed water blades toward their weapons while Lu Zhen’s fire attacked the joints in their armor.

The alien commander remained near the gate anchor.

A silver barrier appeared around his body whenever their abilities approached him. It absorbed part of the attack and transferred the energy into the damaged ring.

"The commander is connected to the anchor," Leng Pan warned as another repaired section lit up. "Attacking his shield is helping them complete it."

Lu Zhen pulled his flames away from the commander and redirected them toward the mechanical arms working on the ring. "Then we will destroy everything around him first."

The commander stepped forward.

His body disappeared within a silver flash before he reappeared behind Leng Pan.

Lu Zhen turned immediately, but the commander struck him in the chest. The force sent him into the wall.

"Lu Zhen!" Leng Pan threw a sphere of water around the commander and compressed it until the silver barrier appeared again.

The alien tried to absorb the energy, but Leng Pan changed the direction of the water before the barrier could take it. Instead of attacking him, the sphere lifted him from the floor and threw him toward the soldiers.

Lu Zhen pushed himself away from the wall.

Leng Pan reached him before he could straighten. "Show me your back."

"This is not the best place."

"I am not asking you to remove your shirt. Turn around and let me see whether the bandages are bleeding."

Lu Zhen heard the anger beneath her concern and obeyed.

A red stain had begun spreading near his shoulder.

Leng Pan’s face darkened. "You promised to be careful."

"The commander appeared behind you."

"You could have burned him instead of using your chest to stop his fist."

"There was no time to aim."

"There was enough time to throw yourself between us."

Lu Zhen caught her hand before she could reach for the medicine. "My love, I know you are angry, but I would make the same choice if someone appeared behind you again. You may punish me after this battle, but please choose something that requires me to remain alive."

Her worry eased slightly. "You still have the energy to flirt while bleeding?"

"I am trying to remind my wife that she loves me too much to remain angry."

"That is the reason I am angry."

Leng Pan leaned closer and quickly kissed him. "Keep that as a deposit. If you survive without worsening your wounds, I will give you the rest."

Lu Zhen looked toward the alien commander, who had already regained his footing. "That is excellent motivation."

The commander removed the silver weapon attached to his arm and changed it into a long blade. "Your attachment to each other is a weakness. Once one of you falls, the other will become useless."

Leng Pan formed a water blade in her hand as she replied, "You have clearly never loved anyone. My husband does not make me weaker. He gives me another reason to make sure enemies like you never leave the battlefield."

Lu Zhen’s fire covered her water blade without evaporating it. "I was going to answer him, but my wife has already explained it perfectly."

The commander attacked.

His silver blade struck Leng Pan’s weapon, and the collision released a powerful energy wave. Lu Zhen moved to her other side and aimed his fire at the commander’s unprotected legs.

The alien jumped, but Little Vine caught one ankle.

Leng Pan pulled the water from her blade and wrapped it around the commander’s weapon. The liquid entered the small spaces within the metal before freezing.

Cracks spread along its surface.

Lu Zhen struck it with a concentrated flame.

The rapid change in temperature shattered the blade.

The commander released another spatial pulse, forcing Leng Pan and Lu Zhen several steps back. However, Little Vine remained around his ankle.

Its tendrils tightened and slammed him against the floor.

The silver barrier appeared again.

Instead of attacking it, Little Vine dragged the commander away from the gate anchor.

The barrier flickered.

Leng Pan understood immediately. "His protection weakens when he moves farther from the ring."

She lifted the alien with a stream of water while Little Vine continued pulling him toward the corridor.

The commander fought against them, but Lu Zhen created a wall of fire between him and the anchor.

When the distance became too great, the silver barrier disappeared.

The commander’s expression changed.

Lu Zhen formed a thin flame around two fingers and sent it through the silver symbol on the alien’s forehead.

The commander froze.

Fire spread beneath his skin, following the energy lines that connected him to the gate anchor. His body began glowing from within before falling to the floor.

The remaining soldiers stopped fighting.

Some stared at their commander while others looked toward the damaged ring, as if they were waiting for new instructions.

Leng Pan did not give them time to recover.

Water filled the corridor and knocked them off their feet. Lu Zhen’s flames moved over the surface, surrounding the soldiers without touching the water beneath them.

The resulting heat destroyed their armor.

Little Vine restrained those who survived.

The mechanical arms continued repairing the gate anchor.

[Connection stability: fifty-eight percent.]

[Arrival at Primary Passage: eleven minutes.]

Leng Pan walked toward the transparent wall separating them from the energy chamber. "How do we enter?"

Lu Zhen used the captured translator to examine the control panel. "The door requires the commander’s biological signature."

Little Vine dragged the alien commander’s body closer and pressed his hand against the scanner.