From Idler to Tech Tycoon: Earth

Chapter 219 - 219: The Hunter Becomes the Hunted
The combined barrage hit the smoke cloud. Then, slowly, the Dragon arose. Its golden scales were charred, smoking, and deeply gouged. The wound on its shoulder was a gaping, festering hole, leaking golden ichor. One of its massive wings was torn, shredded at the membrane, dripping a thick, glowing substance into the void. It roared, a sound of pure, unadulterated rage and agony, a sound that spoke of ancient power brought low.

Mainu’s internal thoughts were a maelstrom of fury and disbelief. That crazy insect! That suicidal ship! My energy is running low from all that body enhancement and the absorption of that blast! If I hadn’t absorbed Terralia’s essence, I would’ve died from that blast! These bastards! They can actually hurt me! Its ancient pride was wounded, its invincibility shattered. It had been hurt by primitives, by mere insects.

I must regenerate my wounds and energy. Mainu knew it couldn’t fight in this state. Its psionic reserves were dangerously depleted. I have no time. I must land somewhere they can’t disturb me. Somewhere deep. Somewhere safe.

The Dragon then flew. Not a warp jump, but an instant, impossible burst of speed, leaving a golden afterimage. It disappeared in beams of light, a golden streak vanishing towards the inner system.

Admiral Yamada, seeing the Dragon flee, his initial triumph turning to renewed panic. ”Comms officer! Inform Command! The target escaped! It’s heading towards the inner rims! Send to all ships: chase that goddamn lizard! Full pursuit! If that’s the only way to kill that damn lizard, we have a great opportunity! Do not let it land on a planet! Not on Earth!”

The remaining human fleet, battered but unbroken, turned. Their engines flared, pushing their ships to their absolute limits. The hunt was on. They had made a god bleed. Now, they had to finish the job.

At the Mars Command Center, the grim reality of the battle at the Oort Cloud played out on the main holographic display. Marshals, admirals, and generals from both UEDCC and TRC stood in stunned silence, their faces illuminated by the flickering images of ships being torn apart. Prime Minister Franz Müller, his usual composure strained, watched in horror as the USS Rising Sun detonated, a blinding blue star in the void. The Dragon, Mainu, was more powerful than they had anticipated, a force of nature that defied all conventional warfare. If it wasn’t for Captain Nagamoto’s incredible sacrifice, they wouldn’t have had any way to even scratch the creature, let alone understand its defenses.

The air was thick with the scent of burnt coffee and unspoken fear. An officer, face pale, rushed into the chamber. ”Prime Minister! The Dragon has altered course! It’s heading towards Uranus! Estimated arrival in T-minus six minutes!”

A murmur rippled through the room. Uranus. A gas giant. A perfect place for a creature of that scale to hide, to regenerate.

Admiral Andreev, a grizzled UEDCC veteran known for his unconventional tactics, slammed a fist on the table. ”We need to slow it down! Rig the asteroid belt with nuclear mines! Massive yield! If it tries to phase through, the sheer energy might overload its shield!”

Admiral Moore, a TRC strategist, countered, ”Too slow, Andreev. And too indiscriminate. We need precision. Any ship produced by the TRC has a feature that can modify a torpedo warhead’s frequency to temporarily disrupt phase shields at a specific speed. Our engineers know of that feature. We can use that temporarily to fight off that lizard until we can develop and distribute a weapon specialized for phase shields. We’ll have to make do with what we have.”

Marshall Feliciano Dela Cruz, his gaze fixed on the fleeing Dragon’s trajectory, nodded slowly. ”Admiral Moore is correct. Our standard torpedoes, when modified by a skilled engineer, can briefly disrupt a phase shield, creating a window for kinetic impact. It’s a temporary measure, a desperate one, but it’s our best shot at maintaining pressure.” He swiped a datapad, bringing up new schematics. ”Prime Minister, I’ve just received data from the higher-ups. We can use the ANV fleets as disposable assets.”

Prime Minister Müller raised an eyebrow. ”ANV? You mean… use them as missiles?”