Chương 222: Chapter 223: Viper hunting

Spector Unit 6's shoulder cannons tore through another drop ship that was attempting to approach Fenix Nest and deploy its drop pods. Adam had spent the last several minutes helping the Phoenix fleet prevent the Hepolisk from deploying their drop ships. Spector Unit 6 spun through space as its sixteen different energy weapons opened fire upon drop pods or grouped up on the drop ships.

He was in the middle of destroying several drop pods that had managed to launch from a drop ship when suddenly he received a communication.

"Adam, Adam, hello? Is this thing working? Hello, hello, can you hear me? It's me, Tephe, helloooooo, Adam, are you there?" [1000yearsofdeath (Earth): Has she never used a communications device before? Kekeke.]"I hear you. What's up?" Adam asked as he continued to have Spector Unit 6 target attack.

"The Phoenix Emperor is dead," Tephe said.

"What? How?" Adam asked in surprise. [DeverinianLordMalacoss (Deverinian 9): Sigh, so they couldn't prevent his assassination. 😮💨] [LadyErkath (Oceana 7): I was hoping they would manage it.] [OfficialRowena (Oceana 7): I guess his battling the space fleet didn't change much on the ground.] [Prestigious3horns (Vinox 2): What about Dragon Princess Tephe, though? She was still down there.] [OfficialRowena (Oceana 7): She probably stuck with Princess Revi and her squad.]"Apparently, while we were stopping the siege on Pyro City, a Hepolisk Viper snuck into the palace and assassinated the emperor before claiming his heart."

"Viper?" Adam asked.

"It's apparently the assassination division of those damn snakes; they specialise in camouflage and are so good at it that it's almost like stealth." [[It is stealth.]]"What do you mean, Spector?" Adam asked after Spector spoke up. [[The Phoenixes believe that the Hepolisk Vipers are using their innate camouflage ability, but it's actually stealth tech. The Hepolosiks were actually the first race to discover stealth tech.]] [Handsome3horns (Vinox 2): Huh?] [Prestigious3horns (Vinox 2): Pardon?] [Emojisonly (Earth): 😵💫] [AlamoMatador4thewin (Earth): Wait, what?] [Noobkiller9000 (Earth): Didn't they say in the past that the Dwarfinians created stealth tech after which the universal senate enacted the law regarding it?] [Whostolemyduck (Earth): Someone mind explaining?] [Beinglittleisnotadisadvantage (Strathorp 7): …]"What? I thought it was the Dwarfinians?" [[That's the official story; however, the Dwarfinians just reverse-engineered and made improvements to the Hepolisk stealth tech. The Hepolisk Vipers have the innate ability to camouflage, and after years of research and development, Hepolisk scientists finally managed to create tech that enhanced this camouflage ability, granting them full-on stealth. After the genocide of the Phoenix race and the assassination of the Phoenix emperor, the other races banded together to find a way to detect the vipers in stealth, just in case they tried to assassinate other leaders. They succeeded and created a way to see the vipers even when in stealth. While the other races stopped their research after that, the Dwarfinians saw the possibility of being able to reverse engineer the Hepolisk vipers' stealth tech, and after centuries of trying, they succeeded in creating what the universe today knows as stealth tech.]]"So the stealth tech today is actually a ripoff of the Hepolisk stealth tech?" [[Not exactly, it is far more powerful as it can be used on ships.]] [Handsome3horns (Vinox 2): Why have I never heard anything about this?] If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. [LadyErkath (Oceana 7): Really? How the hell does the streamers' ship know all this?] [Superior4horns (Vinox 3): Would someone kindly explain?] [LadyErkath (Oceana 7): 😮💨 It's quite simple, really, the universal senate did not want to bestow credit onto a genocidal race like the Hepolisks, so they covered up the whole thing until the Dwarfinians successfully developed their own version of stealth and then gave them all the credit for its creation.] [AlamoMatador4thewin (Earth): Even in space, there are political coverups.] [Whostolemyduck (Earth): It's not entirely surprising.]"Wow, that all happened?"

Tephe asked in surprise as she also heard Spector's explanation.

"Is that all you wanted to report?" Adam asked as he attacked another bunch of Hepolisk forces.

"No, I wanted to ask if you know a way we can find the Hepolisk viper since Revi wants to hunt down the viper that killed the emperor, but doesn't know how to locate them."

"Spector?" Adam asked. [[Affirmative]] [[Hacking into planetary surveillance network]] [[Hacking complete]] [[Installing Hepolisk viper detection program]] [[Scanning area around the capital Pyro City.]] [[Target located, currently heading away from Pyro City in the north-west direction]] [Beinglittleisnotadisadvantage (Strathorp 7): Did the streamers' AI just give the Phoenix race the ability to detect Hepolisk vipers two thousand years early?] [OfficialRowena (Oceana 7): Yes, yes, it did.]"Really?

That's awesome. But how do we find them when we get close?" Tephe asked. [[Your anti-gravity armour is equipped with the Hepolisk viper detection program, they will automatically be revealed to you as long as you have the helmet up.]]"Really? That's awesome, thanks, Spector." [[Your welcome.]]"We're going to go hunt down this damn viper," Tephe said excitedly.

"I'm almost done here. I will join you soon. Be careful in the meantime." Adam replied.

"Kaayyyy," Tephe replied before ending communication.

"Let's finish this up quickly," Adam muttered as he had Spector Unit 6 charge in once again while firing the shoulder cannons, drones, and mini triple repeaters. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Hepolisk drop ships were more hellbent on reaching the planet to deploy their drop pods than attack him, so his NDS level had increased very little since using the planetary annihilation beam.

After a few more minutes, Adam had assisted in destroying enough drop ships that he was comfortable in leaving the rest to the Phoenix fleet, so he turned Spector Unit 6 about and had it head back towards Fenix Nest.

"Spector, plot an intercept course with Tephe." [[Affirmative]] Spector replied before a flight path appeared on the screen that Adam began to follow. 💫💫💫"Wait, he actually managed to locate the damn assassin?" Revi asked in surprise as she flew high in the sky beside Tephe, who had returned to her dragon form again and was leading them towards the north-west.

"Yup, I told you he could do it," Tephe said proudly.

"How?"

"His ship's AI installed a program into the planetary surveillance network that allows you to view camouflaged vipers."

"Really? And we can keep that?"

"I don't see why not, but you're better off asking Adam that when he gets here."

"He's coming as well?"

"Yup, he mentioned that he was almost done and would be joining us in the hunt soon."

"That's good, I really can't thank you both enough for everything you have done."

"Don't mention it, though, if I might ask, why did you get so emotional when you heard the emperor died? Were you close to him?"

"He was my father."

"Your father? So you're a princess?" Tephe asked in surprise.

"Is it that surprising?" Revi asked with a smirk.

"Well, you don't normally find princesses fighting on the front lines."

"That's because most races aren't at risk of extinction."

"Good point," Tephe replied before asking, "So will you be the new empress, or do you have an older sibling?"

"With my father's death, I am the only surviving member of my family. My mother and siblings were all killed years ago due to Phoenix hunters." Revi replied sadly.

"How did they manage to kill members of the imperial family? Surely you should have all had guards with you?"

"It happened at the very start of the Phoenix hunts when the Hepolisks first discovered they could use our hearts to extend their own lifespans. They planned and implemented a coordinated strike against all the members of the imperial family; only my father and I survived." Revi said with a melancholy.

"I'm sorry," Tephe replied sadly.

"It's not your fault, you have nothing to be sorry for. Also, you have helped us so much, both of you have."

"Hehe, remember that when you're the empress," Tephe said with a giggle.

"Don't worry, I plan to."

"Is that why the Admiral wanted you to return to the palace then? Because you're now the empress?"

"I haven't been officially corinated yet, but yes, that's why."

"I guess we'd better get this done quickly so that you can get to being a ruler," Tephe said with a smirk. They continued flying for several minutes until Tephe saw something. Tephe's anti-gravity armour didn't give her a HUD like Adam had, since she wasn't used to it and hadn't been taught how to use or understand it. However, as she looked down, she suddenly noticed that there was the outline of a Hepolisk slithering quickly across the ground away from Pyro City.

"Found the bastard snake," Tephe said before she tucked in her wings and dove downwards in a sharp dive. Revi was surprised by her sudden action, but quickly recovered as she also tucked in her wings and entered a sharp dive. Just before reaching the surface, Tephe spread her wings wide to slow her descent and took in a deep breath before releasing a white hot jet of dragon's flame across the area that the Hepolisk viper was about to slither.