Super Mothership
However, saying that no one noticed the anomaly on Planet Kara wouldn’t be entirely accurate—because... a special operations squad named "Alpha" had the misfortune of getting caught up in a certain incident.
Twelve hours after Alpha Squad secretly infiltrated Planet Kara, the special ops members gradually began to sense that something was off.
“Captain, this is No.5. I’ve discovered a mine. There are extensive traces of excavation, but it looks like it was abandoned not long ago.”
“This is No.7. Kara’s bio-units seem to be gathering in a hidden underground tunnel, heading toward a subterranean area.”
“This is No.4. The remnants of our captured army base have been cleaned up thoroughly—not even a single rivet left. I think they’re collecting supplies in large quantities.”
“No.2 here. I found a civilian base of the Karans, but it’s completely abandoned. The site is neat and orderly—it looks like a planned evacuation.”
“This is No.9. I infiltrated one of the enemy’s bio-incubation nests. But there are only a few units left guarding it. It seems the facility has been non-operational for a while—completely empty inside.”
As intelligence poured in from different locations, the Alpha Squad captain increasingly felt that something unusual was happening on Planet Kara.
Currently, both sides were locked in a ceasefire stalemate. Under normal circumstances, the Karans should be recuperating—building settlements to restore their population, and reinforcing their military strength in preparation for another war.
But now, not only had all signs of Karan activity nearly vanished, even their resource extraction sites and military facilities had largely been abandoned... What exactly were they planning?
Full of doubts, the Alpha Squad captain pondered the enemy’s strategic intent while slowly advancing behind the column of Hunter units ahead.
Twelve hours earlier, when he had trailed a roaming Hunter squad back to their lair, he too discovered signs that the nest was being abandoned.
The few remaining Hunters in the nest were organizing and leaving in batches, and he managed to sneak onto the last convoy, blending in with the final few groups.
First, they rushed through dense jungle at high speed for hundreds of kilometers, then dove into a newly-dug secret tunnel that led deep underground.
Based on previous intel, he concluded this wasn’t an isolated case. The Karans were secretly massing their Hunter units—there must be some sort of underground rallying point.
This deeply puzzled the Alpha Squad captain.
Could the Karans be preparing for a counterattack?
But with no allied military presence left on the surface, even if they assembled millions of ground troops—where would they attack?
He couldn’t make sense of it, but his instincts told him that the destination of this unit held the answer...
The tunnel was long—despite the Hunters’ speed, they had walked for an hour and still hadn’t reached the end.
Moreover, the walls of the tunnel looked very strange. The patterns weren’t carved out by machines, nor did they resemble the claw marks of the burrowing-capable Hunters. Instead, it looked like a giant earthworm had bored through by sheer force.
Could it be a giant Karan bio-weapon?
One question followed another—but finally, after nearly two hours of walking, they were nearing their destination. The Alpha Squad captain could already see a faint light shining from the tunnel entrance up ahead.
He glanced at the temperature reading on his helmet in surprise.
The air... seemed to be gradually getting warmer?
He checked his current location—approximately 200 kilometers beneath the surface... right around the asthenosphere of Planet Kara.
The temperature here was near the melting point of rock, and the layer was in a plastic, flowing state. Hence, it was called the asthenosphere.
Next, he checked the latitude and longitude—and it was exactly the epicenter of the last major earthquake on Planet Kara!
There was no doubt about it now—some massive secret was hidden here by the Karans. He never expected them to bury it this deep!
With a mix of excitement and tension, the Alpha Squad captain emerged from the underground tunnel…
In an instant, a wave of scorching heat surged toward him. A lake of glowing red, molten lava stretched out across his entire field of view.
“This... this is...!”
Even though he’d mentally prepared himself, he was still stunned speechless by the scene before him.
It was... a gigantic tree!
A supermassive tree, rooted right in the middle of the lava lake!
And more than that—it was a partially mechanical, cybernetic tree with obvious signs of extensive augmentation!
Just from the armored plating all over the trunk and the menacing turrets sticking out of its body, it was clear this thing was far more than just some giant freak of nature.
After snapping out of his shock, he lowered his gaze. Across the lava lake, massive tangled roots spread like bridges made of enormous serpents. Countless Hunter units were marching in ant-like formation, following the black roots toward the giant tree.
Many of them were carrying various types of supplies, stacking them into hill-sized piles on root platforms at the base of the tree.
Using the zoom function on his helmet’s observation system, he focused his view—and soon spotted swarms of tiny figures moving in and out of the tree’s trunk.
Pointed ears, big round eyes, and humanoid bodies no more than 20 centimeters tall…
By appearance, they resembled the miniature robots of the former Ant Empire once seen in the Solar System, according to intelligence reports—though this time, their design was clearly modeled after the Karans.
Had the robots "gone native"?
Perhaps it was a sign of respect for local customs and aesthetics?
He watched these little robots tirelessly haul the mountain of supplies into the great tree. He could also see more of them operating within the obviously mechanical parts of the tree’s body.
The Alpha Squad captain was beginning to see the big picture: this was a colossal Karan fortress in the making!
Major intel!
This is absolutely huge!
Unfortunately, the crust was too thick down here—his portable communication device couldn’t transmit any signals. He would have to wait until he escaped to report back.
There were simply too many enemies here; infiltration was too risky. For safety, he had to get the intel out first—then consider investigating the fortress’s interior further.
Just as the captain, full of excitement, was about to quietly leave the enemy’s hidden stronghold—he turned around and immediately bumped into another Hunter squad walking out of the tunnel entrance.
Turns out, he had lingered at the tunnel exit too long and ended up blocking the path for the squads behind him.
The captain's heart skipped a beat.
Crap! It’s a one-way route!
The platform at the tunnel’s exit was small to begin with, and the Hunter units weren’t exactly moving in perfect formation. The ones behind were pushing forward in a chaotic cluster—he had nowhere to hide.
It’s not like I can just fly away, right!?
Wouldn’t this basically be telling the enemy, “Please shoot me now”?
A strong-looking Hunter at the front of the formation was glaring at him with obvious irritation. Clearly, as long as the captain kept blocking the way, it wouldn’t hesitate to swipe him aside.
There was no turning back now—if he tried to retreat, his disguise would immediately be blown. Discovered inside the enemy’s stronghold? Forget about wearing just personal armor—even if he were piloting a mecha, he’d still be torn to shreds!
He didn’t have time to think. The swarm of Hunters behind him surged forward, and he was forcibly swept along with the group.
As expected of an elite special ops commander, the Alpha Squad captain’s nerves were rock-solid.
Even caught in such a sudden crisis deep within enemy territory, he kept a calm expression and cautiously blended in with the column.
He had already devised several contingency plans in his head:
Plan A: Wait until they reached the rally point, then look for another exit. Judging from the branching tunnel network, not every path was currently used by Hunter units—there had to be opportunities!
Plan B: Follow the unit and directly infiltrate the enemy’s plant-based fortress.
Recon and sabotage behind enemy lines was his specialty. If he could locate the ammunition depot or power core, he might even be able to use his portable tactical nuke to severely damage—or outright destroy—the entire fortress!
But… ten minutes later…
He mentally scrapped every single plan.
Because his brain had already gone completely blank.
At the end of the column, there appeared a semi-circular container formed from countless thick roots and vines, tightly intertwined.
The container was half-submerged in magma, and inside it, a bubbling green liquid churned violently under the intense heat.
What made his skin crawl was the sight of over a dozen Hunter units lining up in formation—one after another, leaping in without hesitation.
With a plop, they sank into the green fluid. A few bubbles rose—then nothing.
Not even a bone surfaced.
Holy sh—! A biochemical decomposition pit?!
The green vines seemed to tremble with delight, writhing and stirring inside the bubbling liquid as they absorbed the nutrients.
So in addition to vast quantities of material supplies, the giant tree was also using entire Hunter units as fertilizer, breaking them down and absorbing their biomass?
These Hunters weren’t being rallied at all—they were being fed to the tree!
This wasn’t a one-way path.
This was a road to the underworld!
And they were this cruel to their own kind!?
What happened to being a peace-loving species!?
TL Note- Peace loving....
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