The Almighty Ring

Knowing full well that Judgement Day was approaching but not when exactly, the tension in the entire Ausvia System increased by the day. Peace was but the calm before the storm, and it lasted for almost a month. Jiang Fei and his men kept themselves in lockdown, training and cultivating their own strength.

Alas, the more impatient men were not able to keep calm during such a tense period. As a result, when the tension broke, it erupted spectacularly in the form of brawls. It started with just a single man engaging another who had “insisted” on fighting. However, as the situation escalated—and it did fairly quickly—the brawl grew larger and larger to the point that one could even call it a war. Even so, no lives were taken, only bruises and cuts were dealt. Such wounds healed overnight, and the men had only done so to ease their stress.

“My lord, I bring ill winds from the other planets,” Kaa’lna greeted Jiang Fei before she delivered the bad news.

Jiang Fei sat up on his bed, and after he made sure that no one else was snooping around, he said, “Do tell.”

“I have reason to believe that an unknown number of settlement leaders on other planets are conspiring against you. I suspect they will launch an assault on this palace before the arrival of the Ultralisks.”

“Do you have more insight on the matter?” Jiang Fei asked further.

“I’m afraid I do not. However, I think it may have something to do with Bargh,” Kaa’lna expressed her concern.

“Let’s assume it has,” Jiang Fei said. Kaa’lna’s whispers were almost accurate, and given that the Ausvia System’s situation lent credence to the matter, Bargh may have opened his third eye and unleashed the devil within. However he was, he may have persuaded the other leaders to unite and attack Jiang Fei. It was a possibility that Jiang Fei could not afford to ignore.

“The question that remains is, what shall we do about it?” Kaa’Ina asked.

Jiang Fei remained quiet as he paced around his room. After he moved in circles a few times, Jiang Fei called out for Sarila.

“I have here the final batch of Ultralisk meat. Distribute them to our soldiers and order them not to partake in any conflict on the outside. Have them focus purely on self-improvement,” Jiang Fei whispered.

“Shouldn’t we be forming alliances with the leaders of the other settlements on this planet?” Kaa’lna asked. Based on Jiang Fei’s order for Sarila, Kaa’lna had assumed that Jiang Fei was going to tackle the problem all by himself.

“Alliance? Do you really think there’s such a thing in this wretched land?” Jiang Fei scoffed. He would rather face all of his enemies alone than risk having a potential back-stabber hiding within his ranks.

“So it shall be.” Kaa’lna nodded as she caved in. No matter what Jiang Fei wanted to do, Kaa’lna had pledged her fealty to Jiang Fei’s cause and would not express any signs of disagreement on any matter.

“Now, please, leave me alone for a bit,” Jiang Fei said, gesturing to both Sarila and Kaa’lna to leave the room.

As soon as the two left the room, Jiang Fei asked 0541, “How’s the ship? Have you made modifications to the teleportation system?”

“Aye. Meteor is ready at your command. All crew members and combatants on board the ship are currently being imprisoned and disabled with nerve gas. The teleportation system has been enhanced to beam up a large number of soldiers at one time. Give me the word, and I will teleport everyone in a snap!”

While Jiang Fei was unable to further strengthen himself, he did not lie in bed and do nothing. When the chance showed itself, Jiang Fei snuck onto Meteor, and with 0541’s help, he moved all disabled combatants and crew members into the brig. Jiang Fei had now fully taken over the entire ship. According to his plan, if the Ultralisk uprising proved to be too much for him to bear, 0541 would instantly teleport him and all of his soldiers onto the ship, then leave the Ausvia System entirely.

“Keep the ship within range and hidden from everyone! Well, I don’t mind other people discovering it but it should never be an Ultralisk,” Jiang Fei ordered.

“Relax, hiding from others just so happens to be my specialty,” 0541 boasted. Even if they went extinct for more than 10,000 years, Namekian technology in stealth and spatial manipulation would be at the forefront even now. Even though there were technologies that have been developed to detect such a system, the Namekian stealth system would still be effective against lower intelligence life forms like an Ultralisk, for example.

Now that the absolute means of escape had been secured, Jiang Fei was able to calm down even when the omen of an attack was as clear as the sun in the sky. If they left him alone, Jiang Fei would even not mind lending a hand as long as it did not affect the final outcome. However, if they insisted on pressuring Jiang Fei with enmity, Jiang Fei would not have to do anything but run and hide. The uprising alone would be sufficient to wipe the planet and the entire system clean.

The peace before the storm lasted for another two days, and the tense atmosphere reached its peak. It was too quiet. Stressed men were no longer fighting each other, and there seemed to be peace in all six planets in the Ausvia System.

“They’re coming! I can feel it!” Kaa’lna came to Jiang Fei and reported her findings.

“Come one, come all. Better for them to regret now than later,” Jiang Fei scoffed. With the absolute condition of victory at hand, Jiang Fei welcomed any kind of conflict. The Core of Will was charged with energy to the brim, and Jiang Fei himself was well-rested. Instead of fearing a war, he craved one. At the very least, if he could trigger the “decisive battle” before the dawn of Judgement Day, he would strike gold.

One night passed, and the morning, Jiang Fei received a transmission. The transmission was a message written and signed by four leaders of the highest authority on their respected planets. The message was plain and simple; it asked Jiang Fei to share the Ultralisk meat he had with them so that everyone could fight on equal grounds.

“Heh, so much for keeping myself hidden,” Jiang Fei snorted when he read the transmission. Of the signatures embedded in the transmission, Bargh was not amongst them.

Generally speaking, Bargh was trying to show that he was not going to endorse such an act of war. He was able to trick the others but not Jiang Fei. Who else besides Bargh had the power to persuade four rulers to unite against Jiang Fei?

“Kaa’lna, do you think that three-eyed bastard will surface?” Jiang Fei asked.

“Hard to say. Remember the man who survived the third uprising but was killed by Bargh himself? I managed to get some information about Bargh from him. Bargh was cunning. If I were in his shoes, I would wait until the four leaders and you fight each other. Once you wear each other out, then I’d strike all of you at the same time,” Kaa’lna explained.

“You are assuming an outcome in which I lose the fight. How about the opposite?” Jiang Fei chuckled as he spoke.

“Do we even have a chance?”

“Why not? I don’t see any way we could lose!” Jiang Fei replied confidently with a smug.

The moment Jiang Fei smiled ever so confidently, Kaa’lna’s heart was moved. In human words, she was extremely infatuated! Jiang Fei was displaying all the traits that she would want in her life-long partner; he was young, strong, mysterious, yet benign without ill-intent. He was unlike the son of Aino who was on the extreme end of the spectrum, the kind whom Kaa’lna or perhaps all females of every species and race would reject.

“I see another outcome. If both you and the four leaders end up equal in strength, Bargh will remain passive and collect what’s left of us. But, if we are stronger, he will wear the halo of justice and stop the fight,” Kaa’lna added.

“Smart. Now you’re thinking in a cunning way!” Jiang Fei praised. Bargh had set himself up in a good position. No matter which side he supported, in the end, he would come out of it with benefits.

“Please, I’m not as cunning as him. How else would he survive three Judgement Days?” Kaa’lna sighed.

“That streak ends now. He will not survive the fourth,” Jiang Fei snapped.

“How so?”

“No matter how many plans he has, do you really think he can fend off a Galactic-type Ultralisk?” Jiang Fei snorted, smiling from ear to ear.