Chapter 270: Allen Accelerates the Rebellion
"You know magic!?"
A flicker of curiosity flashed in the eyes of the old woman leader.
Allen raised his hands, a magical aura swirling around them, and said smugly, "I don't just know magic—I can use it."
Seeing this unfamiliar magical system, the old woman reined in her presence and responded cautiously, "Elder of the Elemental Clan, Santiya, greets you."
"Hello, I'm Allen, a human mage."
It was clear—Allen couldn't be an enemy.
Whenever a being proficient in magic encountered the High Evolutionary, they were always captured for research—so that the ability to use magic could be harnessed.
She herself was a prime example of that.
"Ansewei, I need to speak privately with Lord Allen. Stand guard outside."
"Yes, Leader."
Santiya had Ansewei step out out of caution—not because she distrusted her.
She had long known that the existence of the rebel army was something deliberately allowed by the High Evolutionary.
Orc society functioned as a whole—without an external outlet for pressure, internal chaos would inevitably ensue, which was clearly not in line with long-term control.
"How long have you been here?" Santiya asked.
"I just arrived today," Allen replied frankly. "I'm a bounty hunter on a rescue mission. Before I could even begin, my team was ambushed and captured by the High Evolutionary. Now I'm trying to figure out how to save them."
"A rescue mission?" Santiya asked, puzzled.
"A guy calling himself Corin, a priest of the Sovereign race, offered a hundred thousand energy coins to rescue the princess of his race."
Allen didn't hide the details of the mission.
They were both unfortunate souls in the same boat—no need for deceit or scheming.
Besides, Allen wanted to use the information she had to determine the High Evolutionary's base of operations.
"You were probably duped."
Santiya spoke with certainty: "The Sovereign race is a primitive race that's just stepped into space. They often sell their own people for energy coins. That 'princess' of theirs was most likely sold off by her own tribe."
"What!?"
Allen was shocked and couldn't help but complain, "How broke do you have to be to sell your own princess?"
"The universe is vast—there's every kind of race out there."
Santiya sneered. "When it comes to money, they'd sell their own king."
"Has to be a Kryptonian conspiracy—mobilizing so many just for one black-ops bioweapon? Seems excessive."
At this moment, Allen became convinced that the Kryptonian civilization was behind it all.
Santiya agreed with that theory.
In the universe, the Kryptonian civilization wasn't exactly squeaky clean either.
A second-tier civilization always scheming to join the ranks of the Fourth Empire, they'd committed many atrocities.
If not for the Green Lantern Corps upholding universal order, they likely would've already begun annihilating other lifeforms to harvest ecological resources.
The Green Lantern Corps—nicknamed the universe's peacekeepers—had the strength to rival cosmic empires.
Of course, the Green Lanterns had allied forces from other Lantern Corps, which made them no pushover.
"Our Elemental Clan's homeworld was destroyed long ago in a war. The surviving clanspeople joined the Shi'ar Empire."
Santiya was a military commander of the Shi'ar Empire. During the war with the Kree Empire, she was unfortunately captured and sold to the High Evolutionary.
Fortunately, one of the Elemental Clan's innate powers was the ability to shift between states of matter—allowing her to escape and avoid becoming a test subject.
"Lady, I'm afraid your rebel army is no match for the High Evolutionary," Allen said bluntly. "To be honest, you probably don't even qualify as cannon fodder."
"I know."
The rebel forces were armed only with conventional firearms—going up against a civilization-level power was sheer fantasy.
In Santiya's eyes, their weapons were as primitive as sticks.
"The true purpose of the rebellion is to rescue the enslaved humans in the sweatshop factories. The real core force resisting the High Evolutionary consists of orc scientists who share the same ideals."
Orcs were not inherently evil.
Especially those who worked under the High Evolutionary—they knew exactly how the many types of orcs on Mount Wundagore had come to be. That understanding sparked a sense of compassion and a desire to create a planet where intelligent races could coexist.
In fact, those human sweatshops could easily be run by machines.
Any rational being would be horrified by the High Evolutionary's cruelty.
"Unfortunately, now isn't the right time."
Santiya sighed. "There's an orc knight legion stationed on Mount Wundagore, but they're not the real problem. The most troubling issue is the deployment of warships and fighters in outer space—and one starcruiser. Our biggest challenge is how to land on the military base located on the moon."
Inside the planet, the rebel army and their orc allies could handle things.
But their main enemy was in space—well out of reach.
Strictly speaking, if Wundagore were to fall out of their control, the High Evolutionary wouldn't hesitate to bombard it from orbit and rebuild another orc planet from scratch.
So, the rebel army had only one shot—and it had to succeed.
"That's easy."
Allen raised his hand—and opened a portal.
On the other side was the vacuum of space.
With a tap to his temple, an oxygen mask membrane formed. He stepped through the portal.
"Amazing—it's space magic! Can you teach me?"
Santiya shifted into her elemental form and followed him, her voice trembling with shock. Realizing she was being presumptuous, she quickly corrected herself, "Apologies—that was rude of me."
Magical systems were the foundation of survival for magic-wielding races. Teaching such skills to outsiders was no small matter.
"No problem."
Allen gave her a condition: "But you have to help me rescue my teammates first."
"Thank you for your generosity."
Santiya was overjoyed. Space magic was incredibly valuable—no less than an artifact in worth.
Together, they traveled across multiple points in space, observing the locations of various military bases.
When the time came, they would teleport the army directly into the base on the moon—cutting off the threat from outer space.
"My lord, I'll contact our allies immediately. Please await my message."
Santiya was eager to liberate Wundagore, and deep down, she longed to return to the Shi'ar Empire and reunite with her family.
If she could get in touch with the Shi'ar Empire, she could petition to have Wundagore become a protectorate and enjoy the protection of a universal empire.
…
At the same time—
Inside the High Evolutionary's private lab.
"What a perfect creation."
The High Evolutionary stared at the golden-skinned girl inside a cultivation pod, admiring her like a flawless work of art.
Beside him, an orc scientist glanced sorrowfully at a dissected test subject, reduced to a pile of flesh.
"On the path of evolution, there must always be sacrifice."
Unimpressed by his subordinate's sympathy, the High Evolutionary said casually, "Number One is our most perfect specimen yet. I plan to name her Queen of the Supreme Race."
Surviving test subjects were always renamed—after all, they were drastically improved and no longer as pathetic as the likes of the Sovereign race.
"Select some of the test subjects and sell them to Kree nobles as playthings."
"As you command, Master."