Interstellar: Return of the Villain
Chapter 93: Cheer For Surviving

Chapter 93: Cheer For Surviving

The ground shook harder, and rocks of all sizes came crashing down. Even metal equipment was crushed into nothing, so you can imagine what happened to the fragile human bodies.

Blood splattered like juice on the mecha, and Cohen’s lips pressed into a thin, pale line.

Phillip was already airborne in his mecha, while Erin was desperately trying to save as many people as she could, her eyes fixed on the hillside.

"Lieutenant Commander Whyte, there’s no time! We need to go!" she shouted.

"But there are still technicians down there!" Whyte called back, frustration clear in his voice. He knew he couldn’t save them all.

Meanwhile, the flat cliff where the helicopter had landed started to shake too. Lyra sprinted to the cockpit and shouted, "Take off!"

Kail was still watching the hillside. "There are people who haven’t made it on yet!"

"Just a little longer," Thierry agreed, also hesitant.

"No time!" Lyra yanked the throttle without a second thought.

The moment the helicopter lifted off, the cliff collapsed.

Cohen, who had been racing towards the helicopter with a group of survivors, was just a second too late. The violent shaking knocked him off balance, forcing him to activate his jet pack and fly into the air. Below him, the terrified screams of the researchers filled the air, but the flying debris made it impossible for him to use his superpowers to help.

When Cohen finally got back onto the helicopter, his face was a mix of rage and grief. "Who gave you the order to take off?!"

All eyes turned to Lyra.

"Was it you?" Cohen demanded, his eyes bloodshot, thinking about the technicians who didn’t make it. "If we’d waited just ten more seconds, everyone could’ve made it. You were selfish!"

"Ten more seconds, and the helicopter could’ve been hit by rocks or worse, attacked by that beast. I couldn’t risk it!" Lyra shot back, her voice steely.

In the face of the beast tide and the landslide, even someone with her powers felt as powerless as a bug.

When survival is at stake, rank and pleasantries go out the window.

Thierry stared at the bloodstains on the hillside, and Zinnia stood quietly beside him.

"I don’t really get it either," Thierry muttered, remembering Lyra’s choice. "We were supposed to protect them."

So many lives lost, just like that.

As Lyra and Cohen continued to argue, the ground began to rise ever so slightly—

Suddenly, a beam of purple-red light shot out from the earth, piercing the sky and ripping a hole through the clouds.

A deafening roar shook the air—

Heavy rocks were sent flying as a massive beast erupted from the ground, smashing right into the nearby helicopter.

Kail barely managed to swerve out of the way.

Everyone else was frozen in shock, staring at the monstrous figure rising into the sky.

She had the head of a dragon, the body of a serpent, tall fins running down her back, and sharp horns crowning her head. Her fangs looked like they could tear through a fighter jet.

The creature’s shimmering scales glistened in the sunlight, matching the image the old professor had warned them about.

What once seemed like an unmovable mountain now looked tiny beneath the creature’s enormous body.

The old professor’s voice was rough as he stared at the energy monitor. "An level-eight wyrm! No, it was almost level-nine!"

Lyra’s expression darkened. The pressure this beast gave off was even more terrifying than the level-eight Pyrodrake she had faced on Bionysus.

Now it all made sense: the beast tide, the landslide. This wyrm wasn’t just any beast—she was the ruler of Wyrmtrace, and she had been hiding in the mines, preparing for her next advancement.

Some of the technicians who specialized in studying beasts quickly analyzed the situation. "The energy around this wyrm is leaking, which means she’s close to evolving. That’s probably why she was sleeping here," one of them explained. "She was drawing energy from the mineral deposits, waiting for the right moment. But now that she’s awake, we can’t be sure if she was disturbed by the mining or if the moment she was waiting for has finally arrived."

Lyra glanced down at the chaotic beast tide below and made a quick assessment: the moment had come.

The wyrm hadn’t attacked them immediately, which gave everyone a precious window to retreat.

Even from a hundred miles away, her massive form, coiled on the mountain, cast a shadow that seemed to stretch forever.

Vice Admiral Oleg was the most anxious among them.

"What was your last report to me?" he growled, gripping one of his scouts by the collar, his face contorted in anger. "You told me it was safe, that all the high-level beasts had been eliminated. And now this huge creature was hiding in the mountain! How am I supposed to explain the loss of so many people?"

His rage was so intense it seemed he might tear the man apart.

If Oleg had already left the site, Cohen and his team would have shouldered most of the blame. But unfortunately, Oleg was still there, watching the disaster unfold.

In the end, not even two shiploads of energy minerals could make up for the cost in lives.

The scout, nearly fainting from Oleg’s grip, stammered, "Th-the mineral deposits block detection signals. We couldn’t detect it... There’s nothing we could’ve done."

Even at close range, none of the researchers had discovered the wyrm. Looking back, they should’ve been more cautious...

As night fell, Lyra stood at the edge of the camp, her gaze locked on the distant, looming beast.

Zinnia walked up and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don’t blame yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong."

No one could say for sure what would’ve happened if they had waited those ten extra seconds, but surviving was what mattered most.

"I just wish those people had listened to the warnings," Lyra replied, her voice steady.

While everyone else was mourning the lives lost, Lyra seemed strangely detached. "What’s done is done; we can’t change it. I’m just thankful we’re still here."

Thierry, who had been about to say something, stopped in his tracks, realizing that Lyra’s perspective might be fundamentally different from theirs.

Meanwhile, Oleg, though still furious, was already preparing his forces for a siege against the beast.

Though both level-eight and level-seven beasts were considered high-level, the gap between them was enormous.

A level-seven beast could be subdued with enough firepower, but an level-eight beast came with the added threat of self-destruction—a last resort they might use if cornered.

They had to neutralize the wyrm before she had a chance to self-destruct or destroy her beast core, the point where her energy was concentrated.

"Even I can’t guarantee taking it down, so this job will require the warship’s particle cannon, and we’ll only get one shot," Oleg admitted, showing a glimpse of the seasoned commander within him. "I’ll lead the main attack. Lieutenant Commander Whyte and Shedd, my adjutant, and the guards will support with their mechas."

They were down to just a few advanced mechas, and regular fighter jets wouldn’t stand a chance against a level-eight beast.

The most critical factor, according to the beast experts, was that the wyrm was on the brink of advancement. This meant there would be no second chances—if the wyrm reached the ninth level, even the high-energy particle cannon wouldn’t be enough to kill it.

At dawn the next day, the entire force mobilized.

The interns was also busy, some assigned to the medical team to treat the wounded, others helping to launch fighter jets or loading ammunition and supplies.

As the first light of the orange sunrise hit the wyrm’s shimmering scales, a barrage of beams and shells erupted, signaling the start of the battle.