Age of Cosmic Exploration Chapter 198

When Jerry lifted his gun, he was given an unobstructed view of the super species that was chowing down on the trooper’s leg. It was a scaly creature with a fusiform head and an elongated body not unlike that of a snake, only slightly wider in diameter. Underneath its body were six limbs that were used to move through the forest floor with unimaginable speed. It wasn’t big, only 1.4 meters long, about the size of a small panther.

However, it had a strength that was not proportional to its small size. Two suits of space armor stacked upon one another had a total weight that was over one ton. It was not something a creature as small as a baby panther could drag around like a rag doll. But this super species not only dragged it around, it did it all with ease. With just few seconds, the two troopers were pulled away from the rest of the unit.

The creature seemed to sense that Jerry had lifted his gun. It suddenly bit down hard on the trooper’s leg, and that sent a strong tremor down the trooper’s body that had even Jerry shook. The muzzle of his gun moved and the shots were emptied into the air.

The trooper underneath him let out a blood-curdling scream. Jerry could see with his naked eye the blood pouring out of the wound on his leg. He was assaulted by both fear and shock, as he wasn’t expecting the super species to be so strong. The space armor was the pinnacle of mankind’s technology. Its shell alone could withstand focus fire of the Gaussian rifle for several minutes, and even the sawblade needed a few seconds to get through it. The fact that this creature managed to break through it with just its bite… Was the creature’s bite powered by a polymerized reactor of some kind? Were its teeth harder than diamonds? Its mouth muscle pure, hardened steel fibers?

Jerry’s mind was addled. Even though Haweza had mentioned the presence of such super species, he didn’t think they would be anything special; at most they would be like Earth’s prehistoric dinosaurs but perhaps bigger in size. The alien monster massacre they came across… was probably a coincidence and luck on the super species’ part.

Now, with the truth posed before him, Jerry had to admit to the scary threat of the super species. A killer instinct that was condensed within an unassuming small body; no wonder the few elite Black Star Trooper units were only able to chase them away and not exterminate them…

"Jerry! Saw my leg off! Just saw it off!"

Someone yelled. Jerry was rattled. He knew this voice. It was Peter’s. As fate would have it, the trooper that was ambushed by the super species was Peter.

Jerry hesitated for a moment before tossing his gun away. He lifted his sawblade with one arm. Then came the buzzing of the vibrating saw as it was activated. Instead of aiming it at Peter’s leg, Jerry yelled, "Peter! Try to sit up, and help me grab a chokehold on this thing! I’ll try to kill it!"

Peter was stunned into silence before replying, "That’s impossible, it’s moving too fast. Plus, I’m feeling weak from the waves of pain as I’m being dragged through the ground. I can’t do this…"

Jerry interrupted him with a shout. "You freaking can! Believe me, you can! Don’t you remember what you swore to me? You’re not even afraid of death, but you’re going to be beaten down by pain? Peter, sit up straight, you can do it!"

Jerry felt the man underneath him moving, and the struggle gradually increased. The power of his space armor activated accompanying his movement. The supermagnetic field heightened Peter’s reaction time. With a loud roar, Peters sprang up into a sitting position and lunged at the super species with both hands.

The creature and Peter rolled into a ball of chaos. Jerry could feel the ground under his body moving. He had no suspicion that this creature could easily tear through Earth’s old tanks, because just his tussle with Peter had leveled the trees in their surrounding area. 70 to 80 meters wide tree trunks were knocked down like dominoes. It was the battlefield that they saw when they approached the 9th unit’s help signal. So that was what happened…

Jerry didn’t join in the fight between Peter and the super species. He held onto his sawblade and stood his ground. He stared at a spot in the jungle with high alert, yelling, "Show yourself! I know you’re in there, your malice can’t be hidden from me. I know you can hear me. Even though you might not understand me, you certainly can see me. I’m standing alone here waiting for you! Come on! Show me your pride of being a super species and duel me!"

Deeper in the forest came the sound of trees falling. Slowly, a creature about two meters tall, also fully covered with black scales, looking like a black rhombus, materialized from within the forest. It had six legs, and on what appeared to be its head were four triangular eyes. They stared at Jerry piercingly.

The creature was exceptionally cautious. After it showed itself, it quickly scanned the surrounding to ensure that there was really only Jerry around. After it made certain of that fact, it tore open its spindly mouth that was filled with razor sharp teeth at Jerry, then a drum-like echo originated from within.

"Come get me, you beast!"

Jerry roared as he leaped at the creature, brandishing his sawblade. His speed increased as he jogged towards it since the space armor would automatically adjust itself based on its owner’s physical condition. Jerry was a perceptor, the most combat ready Homo Evolutis, so when he charged forward, his speed was 180 meters per second because that was the speed the space armor calculated his body could support.

Alas, the super species was even faster. Jerry charged at it in a straight line, but with the collective force of its six legs, the creature leaped back into the deep forest’s covers. With a speed that was unbelievable, it appeared on Jerry’s side, knocking him away. As Jerry slammed into a tree, the creature charged at Jerry, trying to bulldoze him down. It slammed its entire weight into Jerry’s body. Jerry felt his breath give. The creature wasn’t finished. It clamped down hard on Jerry’s hand that held the sawblade. The crushing teeth cracked the space armor with ease and its teeth pierced into Jerry’s bare hand.

Jerry screamed and he could feel his hand going weak as the sawblade dropped to the floor with a clink. While Jerry tried to grab hold of the creature’s neck with his other hand, the creature sensed it and sidestepped out of the way cunningly. It then flung Jerry more than 10 meters away and stepped on the sawblade until it was merely metallic pieces, flaunting its victory.

In such a short battle, Jerry, who had the honor of being a Black Star Trooper, part of the strongest unit in the Hope, was handily bested by the creature. His hand was completely mutilated, and it had blood coming out it like a fountain. His Gaussian gun was lost in the middle of the jungle and his sawblade was completely shattered. In conclusion, he had no energy or resources left to combat the super species… The planet’s super species were uncannily strong. How was it possible that a beast could manage to gain such impressive combat ability?

I lost…

Jerry sighed with surrender. At the same time, the smaller super species hauled Peter’s broken body and tossed it beside him. Peter was in a worse condition than he was. His space armor was cracked at multiple spots and both of his arms were torn open. The man still had a breath left in him, but it was getting weaker by the minute. Peter had many open wounds on his body; if he was left to keep on bleeding, he would die in a matter of minutes. But what else could they do? They were completely at the two super species’ mercy.

"Has my time arrived? Then…"

Jerry forced himself to stand up. His face grimaced from the pain and effort. However, there was no fear in his heart; it was as if he was welcoming death. He felt indescribably serene. Holding his broken arm, he stared straight at the two super species. He knew instinctually that the bigger among the two was a male. He wouldn’t be so aggressive if unprovoked. Could this mean that…

All of this were for self-defense? Did something or someone hurt them first?

Jerry examined the bigger super species and realized that there was a gaping wound on one of his legs. It was obviously caused by a weapon. Could it have been a sawblade? Could he have destroyed the sawblade first because he knew it was a weapon strong enough to harm and even kill him? But who would be strong enough to harm a super species like him? Could there really be a trooper that could rival this super species’ speed and strength?

The two super species stood silently by each other’s side until the smaller one took small steps towards Jerry. Jerry was prepared to surrender to fate when a thunderous engine roar came from above the sky. Through the foliage, Jerry could see a shuttle speed past and a trooper in a flaming red space armor drop from the sky.

The two super species were spooked. They instantly escaped back into the deep forest. At that moment, Jerry got the vibe of… fear from them!

Chapter end