Interstellar Survival: Invasion

We continued walking forward.
After about an hour, a massive basin abruptly appeared before our eyes.
The flat grassland had suddenly caved in to form a massive basin in which stood an imposing city.
At a glance, the city was over a hundred square kilometers in size.
The city was hidden in the basin while in the sky above, the mechanical bird soared untiringly.

”Welcome to the capital city of the Wargod race, Gero City, ” introduced Anxashe with a wave of his hand.

There was an elevator every few hundred meters around the edge of the basin.
However, these elevators seemed rarely used.
Only a small number of ox-headed individuals dressed like soldiers could be seen leaving for some missions through the elevators.
It was evident the basin was rich enough in resources to sustain the life of its inhabitants.

We followed Anxashe to a large elevator in front of us.
Its entrance was unguarded.
A small control room could be found at the entrance of each elevator, and they controlled the operation of the elevators, allowing the elevators to move up and down the basin at fixed intervals.

”There are no guards.
Can we actually enter and leave as we wish? ” asked Zhang Bao ’er.

”Does the Wargod race need guards? Who dares to create trouble down in the city? ” sneered Domo the moment Zhang Bao ’er said the wrong thing.

We all entered the elevator.
After a few minutes, we were inside the basin.
The basin was also filled with green grass.
We could see that the various elevators at the edge of the basin were connected to various roads leading to the city.
We followed one of the roads and started walking toward the city.

As we walked, we started encountering pedestrians.
I found with astonishment that apart from those ox-headed people, there were also a decent number of Eternals, Liyates, Torrians, and members of various other races.
Thus, the locals weren ’t even surprised to see us.

”Hey, Junior Sergeant, are there any of your people here? ” Zhang Bao ’er asked Domo while emphasizing the term junior sergeant.

”You! ” Domo could only swallow his grievance and ignore Zhang Bao ’er.

The basin was extremely big.
It would take us quite a while to reach the city from the edge.

”Canyue, I noticed something peculiar, ” said Old Du.

”What? ” I asked.

”I discovered that the rumbling had stopped after we entered the basin.
There is no voice pollution here, ” said Old Du.

Only then did I notice that the rumbling had indeed ceased after we had descended into the basin.

”You ’re right.
You won ’t be able to hear the rumble in the basin.
This is the magic of Gero City.
In fact, the loud rumble is the reason most citizens of Kenante reside in basins, ” explained Anxashe when he heard our conversation.

”Why are there so many foreigners living here? ” I took the chance to ask.

”Emperor Fille requested that King Carter open Kenante for foreign trade.
Because of that, Kenante gained a trade station outside Eternal.
The station mainly serves as a place for foreigners to apply for trading rights on Planet Rumble.
Any visitor who manages to get through the procedures and obtain a trading permit will need to take the scheduled spaceship traveling from Eternal to Rumble once per week.
This is the only way for them to safely come here, ” said Anxashe.

”I see.
Looks like we had landed at the wrong spot since we weren ’t aware of the proper docking location, ” I said in realization.

”King Carter had decreed that any foreigner who lands outside the docking zone can be freely killed.
That was why I had fired my arrows, ” said Anxashe somewhat apologetically.

At that point, the city ’s imposing gate appeared ahead of us.

The gate was 20 meters tall.
A vivid mechanical bird was sculpted into each stone wall on either side of the gate.
In the gate ’s sentry house, several sturdy ox-headed warriors could be seen standing guard.

I noticed with astonishment that the city wasn ’t actually walled in.

‘Doesn ’t this gate exist in name only? Without walls, anyone can enter easily,’ I thought inwardly.

Soon, the team arrived at the gate.
Anxashe reported our purpose of visiting to the guards.
After receiving permission, two of the guards led us into the city.
I saw a mechanical bird standing straight in front of a building behind the gate.
A carriage was behind the bird.

The guards gestured at us to enter the carriage.
One of them took the driver ’s position and started the mechanical bird.
The two strong legs of the bird started moving as it ran toward the palace.

The buildings in Gero City were all incredibly big.
Surprisingly, many of the big buildings were constructed with thatch, whereas a majority of the buildings were mainly made of wood.
When I recalled how I had not seen a single forest on my way here, I started wondering about their source of lumber.

”Don ’t be surprised.
We get our wood from interstellar trade, ” said Anxashe like he could read my mind.

”All this wood is imported by foreigners? It must be costly, ” I exclaimed.

”After we opened our economy to foreign trade, the demand for sturdy wooden buildings replaced the demand for thatch buildings.
In fact, the lumber market is doing so well that many foreigners come just to get involved in it, ” said Anxashe.

”In that case, the greedy Jidos must be here as well, ” said Zhang Bao ’er.

Domo moved his eyes, looking left and right, completely ignoring Zhang Bao ’er.
He seemed busy thinking about the worth of such a market.

”What commodity are you trading for wood? ” I asked.

”In our grasslands grows a unique material, which we know as green gold.
Only our royals have the right to harvest green gold.
However, the royal family will provide some of the harvested green gold to the Wargod warriors each year.
If one can consistently consume green gold, one will gain a powerful body.
It is one of the reasons for the Wargod race ’s combat prowess, ” said Anxashe.

”That ’s why there ’s a warrior guarding every grassland.
You are preventing thieves from stealing green gold, ” said Zhang Bao ’er.

”Exactly.
We rangers are in charge of scouting and defending the grasslands, ” said Anxashe.

”I ’m interested in the taste of green gold, ” said Zhang Bao ’er with a hopeful look in his eyes.

This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

”Fatty, it ’s better to wait until the night of your marriage before using it, ” said Domo.

”Little dwarf, do you want to get beaten? ” roared the furious Zhang Bao ’er.

”Stop messing around.
We ’re here, ” said Old Du as he, as usual, held Zhang Bao ’er in place.

A wooden statue of the king appeared before us.
The ox-headed king had bright eyes and was wearing a crown.
A long, braided beard was cascading down his chin.
Both his hands were holding onto a broadsword, giving him a dignified and imposing look.

”This must be King Carter, ” said Old Du in an impressed manner.

”Yes.
This statue was a gift a group of foreign merchants had given the king during his 14th birthday, ” said Anxashe.

The mechanical bird carriage stopped in front of a thatch building complex occupying thousands of square meters of space.
At the complex ’s main gate, numerous well-built ox-headed warriors were standing guard with cold weaponry.

”Just from their appearance alone, we can see that this race ’s combat prowess can ’t be underestimated, ” praised Master Crystal.

The guards from the city gate got off the carriage with Anxashe.
We also got off the carriage and waited in front of the gate.
The city gate ’s guards informed the palace guards of our purpose of visit.
Roughly 10 minutes later, an old ox-headed individual with a long, white beard walked out of the palace.

”Excuse me.
May I know who among you are the esteemed princes of Akko? ” asked the old man.

”Hello.
We are the princes of Akko, Toruse and Arude, ” said Prince Toruse.

”Esteemed princes and envoys, I am Dulite, a Kenante official.
King Carter is waiting inside.
He decreed that the envoys and the ranger would enter together, ” said the old man.

And thus, the large group, Anxashe included, entered the palace with great fanfare.
The buildings in the palace complex were even larger than the other buildings in the city.
There were also more wooden buildings around the palace.
It was obvious that the Wargods had discovered that wood was stronger than thatch.
Thus, they were willing to spend more money just to include more wood in their constructions.

After walking through the palace for about 10 minutes, we arrived at an immense garden filled with grass.
In the middle of the garden was a circular pond beside which stood a massive sculpture made from white rock.
This sculpture also depicted a king, but this king looked even more imposing than the one we saw earlier. 

The muscular arms of this king hinted at the ridiculous prowess the king possessed.
With one hand, the statue was holding a massive hammer instead of a broadsword and was resting the hammer atop his shoulder.
The statue ’s other hand was pointing ahead.

”King Nichnawa, ” said Anxashe as he knelt down on one knee and paid the statue his respects.

Principal Sosse gave the statue a respectful bow, and then he explained, ”This is the founding king of the Kenante Dynasty.
He ’s known as the greatest king in the history of Kenante. ”

Upon hearing that, we all gave the statue a respectful bow as well.
We then walked into a thatch palace building beside the garden.
The moment we entered, we felt like we had entered a brand-new world.

We were faced with an expansive hall filled with dining tables.
It looked like we had stumbled upon a grand banquet.
A platform was located in the center of the hall.
Atop the platform was the largest dining table in the room.
Seated behind the table was an ox-headed king with a crown and braided beard.
Without a doubt, this was Kenante ’s king, King Carter.

The biggest visual impact in the room was not the king but the two guards standing behind him.
The two looked even sturdier and bulkier than even Adoka.
They were nearly three meters in height.
Each of them was clad in armor and had a massive blade hanging from his waist.
Both were standing imposingly behind the king while looking straight ahead with an expression of unrivaled valor on their faces.

I heard Zhang Bao ’er mutter beside me, ”These two big guys probably have a catty of green gold each every day. ”

From appearances alone, the Wargod race was truly not a race to be underestimated. 

I saw that Dondon was constantly updating Spacetime with our status in a low voice.
He was maintaining constant communication with our captain, Zhang Xingxing.

”Welcome, esteemed envoys and princes of Akko.
The journey must have been tiring.
I prepared a banquet to welcome all of you.
Please enjoy yourself! We can talk while eating! ” said King Carter cordially.

”This king is much more generous than Emperor Fille.
At least he ’s willing to give us a meal.
Not bad, not bad at all! ” said Zhang Bao ’er gleefully.

Everyone else also looked happy.
After all, a cordial reception was always better than a cold one.
Dondon ’s joy was even more prominent.
The moment he heard that there was a feast, his emotions became visible.
Several female Wargods led us into the hall to our respective seats.
Each of us was assigned our own dining table.

In all honesty, I was becoming hungry.
I had been eating space crackers for days, to the point I was sick of it.
After joining the fleet, I had also started skipping a lot of my meals.
My standards for food had dropped considerably as a result.
Now that a feast was before me, my stomach was rumbling.
When I scanned the room, I saw that everyone was reacting similarly.
Dondon was already salivating on his seat.

”Everyone, we are merely a tiny kingdom.
We don ’t have any special food, but since the esteemed princes have arrived from afar, I have prepared Planet Rumble ’s unique local cuisine for all of you, ” said King Carter.

Next, Dulite clapped his hands and summoned rows of female Wargods, who then walked into the hall with massive pots of delicacies.