The Spider Queen

(Gayorn Star Cluster- Atlax Region)

(Unknown Location)

Duke Peterlor kept his mouth closed as his arm slowly regenerated. He was missing several limbs and his body was covered in large gaping holes.

Terrible wounds that oozed blood mixed with a foul blackish liquid that bubbled and hissed.

The duke clenched his teeth and refused to let out a squeak of pain as his flesh began to heal. Bit by bit his flesh regenerated, and his muscles pulled his newly grown tissues back in place.

It was a slow and painful process.

God stage cultivators should be able to recover instantly from wounds that did not kill them but the duke knew that his injuries were not ordinary.

A terrifying roar echoed through the forest and he could see several large purple trees in the distance falling down one by one.

Something was making its way towards him.

Something monstrous.

Something that he had never seen before.

The duke stretched out his arm and glanced at the rest of his body.

His wounds had now closed and his limbs were restored but the dull aching pain in his body made it clear that he had not healed properly.

What kind of monster was able to damage god stage cultivators?

And why was it located well into Federation territory without this information being common knowledge?

"Commander Solomon that bastard…" Duke Peterlor hissed angrily as he got up from the ground and staggered forward.

He needed to get out of here now.

In his younger years he would have stayed and fought the monster hunting him down for the glory of the Earth Federation but those days were long gone.

His mission only told him to scout and that was precisely what he planned to do. There was no need to risk his life to fight off a beast.

Besides… he had the sneaking suspicion that perhaps this mission was given to him with the objective of making sure that he did not return alive.

ROAR!!!!

A thundering boom shook the forest and the very ground beneath his feet trembled violently.

The duke planted his feet firmly on the ground and refused to let himself be toppled by the tremors that destroyed the nearby trees.

Duke Peterlor extended his senses outwards until he could hear, smell and taste everything within a three hundred-thousand-kilometre radius.

He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a plain longsword. The sword in his hand looked incredibly…. ordinary.

There were no superfluous markings along the edges of the blade and the hilt was practical and boring.

Duke Peterlor's fingers closed around the hilt of the sword and his lips gradually curved upwards into a smile.

"It's been some time old friend," the duke muttered quietly as the sword vibrated in response to his words.

He walked through the forest with quiet steps and did not panic even as the crashing sound of trees got louder and louder.

If the beast knew exactly where he was then he would have been found much sooner.

The duke wandered through the forest and used his superior senses to avoid the traps and monstrous flora hidden in his path.

There was a clear bubbling stream to the left of his body and the duke glanced at the water and saw his reflection.

A very handsome middle aged man with slightly greying hair stared back at him.

There was a rugged charm to his looks and his appearance was the definition of a fine wine that got better with age.

Rokan shook his head and drove those narcissistic thoughts from his mind.

It was a bad habit that he used to distract himself whenever he was stuck in a dangerous situation.

There was a rustling noise in the bushes nearby and the duke immediately swung his sword in the direction of the sound.

He attacked without hesitation since whoever or whatever was in those bushes had somehow managed to evade the detection of his enhanced senses.

A burst of sword qi erupted from the tip of his blade and shot forward.

Despite the tremendous amount of force in his attack, it immediately dissipated upon contact with the bush.

There was a terrible moment of silence.

Then finally a mysterious alien stepped out from behind the bushes.

The creature looked almost human, but its skin was completely dark like the haunting emptiness of space.

It had four arms and the basic body shape of a humanoid species. That was where the similarities ended because the alien did not have any facial features.

No mouth. No nose. No eyes.

It was as though its body itself was made from the darkness that oozed below its feet.

[Strong]

A voice that was both feminine and masculine entered the duke's mind and he had no doubt that it came from the alien in front of him.

"What are you?" the duke asked cautiously as he made no move to attack again.

There was clearly something wrong about this situation so the best move would be to try and gather information to see if this alien was a friend or foe.

[W̷͍̲͓̺͒͠o̵̢̢̦͍̩͛̈́̿̆̍̚r̴̨̞̼͎͓̈́̋̑́e̸̡͎̠̬͋n̴͎̬͍͎͛̋ ̴͈̼͗r̶̼̤̥̠̓̄́̊͒o̵̹̣͆͗é̴͙̩̬̻̓͆̏͜ǹ̴̨̼̗̳̥̾̆̂̂̌ ̵͉̦͉͒̅̀r̸̡̗̦͔̣̐̈́̓o̵̜̮̲̼̖̦͌̂͆w̷̞̉̀̓̓͘n̵̩̥̣̮̫̪̄]

A series of unintelligible noise filled the duke's mind, and he frowned slightly as he continued to stare at the creature.

"Are you working with the Insectoids?" Duke Peterlor finally asked as if the pounding headache in his mind started to clear.

The alien shook its head in response and then used its fingers to form the shape of a gun. It pointed in a direction behind the duke and then fired.

A black portal of swirling darkness appeared behind the duke and before he could react a strong suction force tossed him inside.

The alien tilted its head in confusion as it stared off into space with a vacant expression on its smooth face.

It remained frozen in place even as an enormous beast the size of a large mountain burst into the clearing.

The beast sniffed the air and roared as it sensed the faint scent of the cultivator that it had been chasing down.

The alien pointed its finger at the creature and…

It died.

There was no suspense.

The massive beast that had given Duke Peterlor so much trouble closed its eyes and fell into an eternal slumber.

The alien snapped its fingers and swirling portal closed. Its body became to slowly decompose until black flecks of ash covered the ground.

The planet was eerily silent.