The Spider Queen

Chapter 282: The First Clue….

(Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha-099)

(Unknown Planet)

Monster…

There was a hint of fear hidden in Sophie’s eyes as she saw the giant corpse of the flower hit the ground with a dull thud.

It had split apart so cleanly that each side was neatly separated with nothing in between. 

Captain Dawn floated to the ground with his cape fluttering slowly behind him and the sun’s rays shining gently on his golden hair.

The rest of the squad loudly applauded as the captain made his way back to the hoverbike with a gentle smile on his face.

Sophie also cheered with the knights but the thoughts inside her head were currently a mess.

How can I beat him?

Is the gap between the early stages of qi tide and the cultivators in the late stage of qi tide so vast?

No…

There shouldn’t be such a drastic gap. 

Yes, it was true that there would be an increase in power the closer one reached to the void stage, but it would not be so wide.

Only when a cultivator crossed the void would he gain the strength to split oceans with a casual punch or knock down mountains with a single kick.

What secret was the captain hiding?

Sophie narrowed her eyes as she carefully reviewed what had happened using her photographic memory.

Were there any strange details?

Scene by scene, the hybrid girl examined the fight that had only taken thirty seconds to end. 

From the time the captain’s figure had vanished to the fearsome slash that ended the life of the deadly flower.

Sophie saw nothing peculiar. Over and over, she would examine the same frames with a sense of desperation.

Wait…

What if something happened before the fight begun!

Sophie quickly recalled the scenes leading up to the duel and one detail instantly caught her attention.

The captain had opened a small capsule inside his hoverbike and pulled out a syringe filled with a reddish liquid.

Sophie didn’t see when he injected it into his body, but she had seen the empty syringe being placed back in the compartment.

Finally, a lead!

“Guests, are you okay?” Captain Dawn’s warm voice interrupted Sophie’s train of thought.

“Yes, we are fine. It’s reassuring that such a strong leader is guiding us through the desert,” Sophie responded calmly.

“That was amazing!” Lily yelled with sparkles in her eyes.

Captain Dawn chuckled lightly and walked over to his hoverbike. 

Sophie did not dare to stare blatantly but out of the corner of her eye she kept a watchful look at the captain.

Were there any side effects?

It was impossible to tell.

The captain was moving and chatting with the other knights in the squad as if nothing had changed.

Was there really such a magical concoction that could allow a cultivator to burst out immense strength without any backlash?

“Alright let’s get back to our journey. Get in a delta-omega formation with our guests in the middle of the pack,” Captain Dawn suddenly ordered.

“Yes sir!” the knights replied.

The knights immediately started up their hoverbikes and drove around Sophie’s location. 

They formed a complete circle around Sophie and Lily to ensure that they were well protected from any future attacks.

Captain Dawn wasn’t going to let the hybrid girl die during the trip to the next rest site. 

He needed her for another purpose.

Vroom! Vroom!

Dust clouds were kicked up into the air as the hoverbikes passed through an endless sea of red sand dunes.

Lily’s mask kept the sand particles from entering her eyes or mouth and Sophie reached into her storage bag to pull out a piece of cloth.

She carefully wrapped it around her mouth and nose as the thin grains of sand were causing her only eye to slightly water.

There were no more dangerous encounters for the following couple of hours as the unchanging scenery did not reveal any unpleasant surprises.

Sophie was even beginning to suspect that the mysterious plant the Hyperion Order was looking for was impossible to find.

Or at the very least… extremely troublesome. 

There had to be a reason why instead of using a starship to scan the planet, mercenaries were sent to manually search the planet’s surface.

There was a comfortable sense of camaraderie between the knights as each individual passed the time differently.

Some set their hoverbike to auto pilot and leaned back to take a brief nap while others were chatting quietly among themselves.

Captain Dawn did not scold them because his entire focus seemed to be finding the mysterious plant.

His eyes would constantly sweep the desert floor while desperately trying to make out every single minute detail.

“Big sister. Can I get something to eat?” Lily quietly whispered.

“Sure, just give me a minute,” Sophie smile gently as she set the hoverbike to autopilot.

She reached into her pocket to pull out a small vial of nutrient solution for Lily to drink. 

Honestly even Sophie was getting a little tired of drinking these mixtures.

Lily frowned slightly but still unscrewed the cork and drank the contents in one smooth gulp. She missed the feasts cooked by her personal chefs back home.

House Blackait was a proud and noble family whose rich history spanned the course of centuries. 

Before the unexpected teleportation, Lily had never eaten anything that wasn’t prepared by a team of well-trained chefs.

“Don’t worry once we get back home… I’ll take you to the most expensive and fancy restaurant on planet Gaia!” Sophie vowed with a clenched fist.

“I’m looking forward to it big sis!” Lily responded with a happy grin.

Perhaps some would wonder why Sophie didn’t tell Lily about the dangerous future she saw in her vision.

It was simple.

Sophie did not want to alarm the captain. To some extent, it was clear that the captain let his guard down around the eight-year-old girl.

Telling Lily that the man who had saved them in the desert would be her future killer was bound to cause her to treat him differently.

She couldn’t risk the chance of the captain picking up that something was wrong.

Sophie herself at times would struggle to keep her strong emotions and fears from being seen on her face as she interacted with the captain.

How could a little girl handle that pressure?