?867 Putting on a show
Fighting in space was unlike any battlefield he had ever encountered. It was not just the weightlessness, lack of sound or the need to be extremely conscious of any and all momentum transfer. The scale of the battlefield was larger than any he had ever been in, but more importantly, it extended in every axis!
There was no up or down, high ground or low ground. He had to be aware of everything in every direction, with countless ships that could travel entire miles in seconds, or even less. No matter how fast Lex was, he could not match the speed of the ships if they tried to run away from him. Fortunately, they were just as keen to attack him as he was to destroy him, albeit they tried to keep as much distance as possible.
Lex's space affinity, which was drastically greater than that of Z's, allowed him to do things that the latter could not, which was why his battlestrength was not compromised at all. In fact, one could even say that his battle strength improved drastically in this zone where piercing through space was easy.
One particular ship, much smaller in size than the rest, but also more nimble, decided to opt for the exact opposite style of attack than the rest. Dodging all the space debris, as well as the countless attacks flying through space, it approached Lex.
The pilot was hoping to take advantage of being close to prevent Lex from throwing any more missiles or tearing holes in space, as that would compromise his own safety. At the same time, he hoped to use the tough body of the ship to slam Lex.
While this was an unconventional form of attack, compared to a human a spaceship was much tougher and durable. At the speeds that the ship was traveling, he would not be surprised if the flying devil wasn't smashed into minced meat.
Lex, who was constantly fighting the various ships surrounding him, naturally noticed the ship, but did not try to avoid it. Did the enemy think he was someone who could casually be approached?
Since Lex had been maximizing the use of his senses to maintain his awareness on this massive battlefield, he also quickly noticed what the battalion could not. He noticed the hidden formations all around the planet, all for the single purpose of monitoring and recording. Whoever had targeted the Inn was also watching everything live, and recording it for future use.
This was bad, as Lex's identity was likely to be exposed if the enemy studied him and his moves thoroughly, but he was already prepared for that. Moreover, knowing that the enemy was watching only further infuriated him.
Did he think he and the battalion were putting on a show for them to enjoy? Well if they wanted a show, Lex would give them one!
He ignored the approaching ship just until it was in his range. Without any forewarning, or indication that Lex knew of the ship's arrival, he drastically changed directions and flew directly towards the ship. He was not strong enough yet to tear apart a ship designed for space travel in regions of high star levels - at least, not with his hands.
He did not require any focus or special attention for his subsequent actions. He used Impervious Hands and channeled his spatial affinity into it. With this, considering the weak state of space, he could easily create a tear just big enough to swallow the ship before immediately closing it. But that is not what Lex chose to do.
Instead, relying on his thoroughly trained intuition, Lex summoned spatial energy in his hand like a blade, and repeated the swing he had been practicing for so long. Although no sword intent was manifested, as none of his previous practice sessions had accounted for a situation with no foothold adding another weakness to his technique, the invisible blade made from space cleaved the entire ship in two!
The pilot, who was jettisoned from his cockpit and flung out into open space, did not even realize what had happened before he died. Due to the fact that the blade Lex wielded was invisible, no one else understood what had happened either!
But a few ships, who were mimicking the first ship by coming close, immediately deviated and began flying away from Lex! This was not a man in a devil mask, he was a true devil!
"Lex, I've found the battalion on the planet and am descending," Cirk said, speaking through a talisman Lex had given him before. This specific talisman would allow the two to communicate with each other mentally even at a distance of 100 miles.
"The battalion is at the location of the purple tornado."
Lex turned towards the planet and his gaze immediately locked onto the whirling, majestic purple tempest dancing across its surface, its vivid hue contrasting against the grays and browns that filled it otherwise.
His eyes gleamed, but he did not rush towards the battalion. Instead, he looked back at the countless ships in space, with more approaching from far in the distance.
"You go, I'll cover your retreat," said Lex, as he summoned the weakest rocket he had stolen from the dragon's hoard.
"Remember, this one has a rupturing law frozen inside. Once it is unleashed, the devastation that has been frozen will wreak havoc without constraints. It's difficult to determine the extent of its power, but the law will barely last for a second. If you're within the blast radius, you'll die immediately. If you're even a millimeter outside the radius, you'll be perfectly safe," reminded Pel, as it saw its master take out a powerful weapon.
But Lex needed no reminding. He had already asked the ring before, and knew that the estimated blast radius would be 500 miles at most. Of course, he did not plan on being anywhere even double that distance when the bomb went off.
He strapped it to one of the more tame missiles he bought from the emporium, before summoning 300 more of such missiles. Without hesitation, he launched all of them in random directions towards the many approaching ships, before hurling himself towards the planet at full speed.