Chapter 275: For the Sake of the Future 4
Arthur slid a folder across the table.
The paper was worn from use. Corners folded. Notes scribbled in different colors over the years.
I opened it, and the first page showed a rough map of the surface.
A red circle surrounded a mountain range nearly twenty kilometers north of the capital.
"That’s where the main hive is," Arthur pointed.
"Hive?" Harrison asked.
"We stopped calling it a base years ago."
Arthur tapped the map.
"The structure changes constantly. It grows, expands, consumes nearby material and rebuilds itself. Scouts reported entire sections moving underground and emerging somewhere else days later."
"How many aliens?" I asked.
"No exact count."
"Estimate."
Arthur looked at me. "At least a million."
The room became silent.
Even Harrison’s expression hardened.
"Most of them are weak individually. The problem is numbers. "
"The mental network," I replied.
Arthur nodded.
"We think information spreads through the entire hive instantly. Kill one scout, and thousands know where it happened. The closer they are to the hive, the faster the information spreads."
I studied the map. Then my eyes stopped on something else.
A series of black X marks scattered around the hive.
"What are these?"
Arthur’s expression shifted.
"The failed offensives before our civilization collapsed for good."
There were twelve of them.
Twelve different attack routes.
Twelve different attempts.
Every single one ended before reaching the target.
"We lost almost eighty thousand people trying to reach that place,"
Arthur pointed toward one of the marked routes.
"This offensive got closest. They made it within five kilometers of the hive."
"What happened?"
"The ground opened."
Harrison frowned.
"The sky?"
Arthur nodded.
"That’s what survivors called it."
He opened another file.
Satellite images appeared.
Old military photographs.
The images were blurry, damaged, incomplete.
But even so, I felt my body tense.
Something enormous was underground.
I gathered more information from Arthur and the rest and it was enough to pain me a picture of what I’m currently dealing with.
Frankly, the aliens were not that much of a problem. Even the wars I had fought in my previous world were far more difficult. There, I had to deal with enemies who wielded actual magic.
The aliens, on the other hand, were just stronger than humans and relied on overwhelming numbers—both of which could be handled with well-planned attacks.
After the briefing, we moved into negotiations for the resources I needed. Once that was settled, Operation Booster began.
I started training the Second Phasers in cultivation, guiding them through the process step by step.
We also pushed their growth through field exposure, sending them to hunt nearby aliens.
Months passed, and the number and quality of Second Phasers steadily increased.
They became more skilled at using their abilities, capable of handling dozens of aliens at once without breaking formation.
Still, I wasn’t satisfied.
Using alien remains as material, I applied knowledge gathered from my previous worlds to design weapons and equipment that could better support their strengths.
At the same time, I worked with the remaining scientists to develop medicine capable of healing and enhancing Second Phasers.
My medical knowledge was limited, but insights from other fields gave the doctors new angles to work from, shifting how they approached their own research.
As for my personal life, it was eventful enough that I still found myself smiling whenever I thought back to my wedding.
I stood at the altar—or rather, what passed for one.
Six women in white stood before me, all of them his grandchildren or young daughters, all of them carrying my children, and all of them about to become my wives.
Harrison sat there in his tailored suit, beaming like a fool, his hand resting on the knee of his third wife—a twenty-nine-year-old woman named Astrid who was three months along.
Beside her sat his forth wife, twenty-six-year-old Bianca, barely showing but already glowing with the secret she and I shared.
And his third wife, twenty-nine-year-old Resitte, sat on his other side, her belly prominent beneath her dress, Harrison’s hand patting it possessively.
He had no idea I’d been servicing his wives for months right under his nose. They were more than happy to flock to me whenever I showed them the slightest interest.
Now all three of them sat there, stroking their bellies, Harrison’s hand roaming over his legacy while I watched from the altar.
He actually bragged to me about it last week, pulled me aside with whiskey on his breath and confided that he "still got it," that his "little soldiers" were still marching.
I nodded solemnly, congratulated him on his virility, while knowing exactly whose soldiers had actually breached those fortresses.
The officiant spoke in a steady voice about unity and family.
Harrison wiped a tear from his eye, overwhelmed by the thought that his family legacy would now be secured, tied to the strongest man in the world standing on their side.
"Do you take these women?" the officiant asked.
"I do," I said, my eyes flicking on them. They caught the glance, each of them touching their bellies in the secret signal we’d agreed upon.
"We do."
Harrison rose to applaud, his face flushed with pride, his hand never leaving his wife pregnant belly.
"Beautiful! Beautiful!" he shouted. "A beautiful day for family!"
I smiled and walked down the aisle with my six wives, passing the front row where my three other women sat with our shared secret.
Harrison grabbed my hand as I passed, shaking it vigorously.
"Nine children on the way!" he crowed, loud enough for the entire assembly to hear. "Nine! Can you believe it? I’m blessed, truly blessed!"
"Yes," I agreed, looking at the nine pregnant women who surrounded me—six who would bear my name, three who would bear his while carrying my blood. "You truly are blessed, Mayor."
Celeste, who was smiling at me, almost broke into laughter, but I signaled her with my eyes to stay composed. This was a sacred event, and I didn’t want unnecessary family drama.
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