Chaos' Heir - Chapter 1161

Chapter 1161: Hopeless
The holographic screens flickered with newfound intensity while the Wave spell expanded, devouring the nuke’s synthetic mana. The scanners on the various vehicles and structures struggled to record the scene, but some stability arrived when the clash ended.

Nevertheless, the soldiers’ shock didn’t diminish. When the scanners resumed working, the holographic screens revealed the vast, fuming crater and the charred figure floating above its center. The latter was barely humanoid anymore, and no one would call it alive, but it still didn’t fall.

The silence on Michael’s bridge and the communication channels grew heavier as the soldiers waited for some developments. Everything pointed in the direction of Prince Khan’s death. Michael half-expected the burned figure to crumble into a pile of ash in the next second.

However, nothing remotely similar happened. Instead, the very opposite event unfolded, creating a miraculous scene no soldier near Zoyama’s moon could explain or stop watching.

The scorched figure didn’t stop floating. Instead, its charred parts fell off, revealing the intact skin underneath. It didn’t take long before Prince Khan reappeared in all his magnificence, and his angry eyes soon pointed toward Michael’s structure.

Of course, looks could be deceiving, especially at that distance. Michael knew his structure was too far for the naked eye to see. It was also dark, so the universe’s blackness should hide it, but the threat in question was the infamous Prince Khan, and he didn’t follow reason.

Moreover, Prince Khan stretched his arm and summoned his fearsome element, and the scanners confirmed Michael’s fears at that point. Prince Khan’s limb was perfectly aligned with his structure. He was aiming at it, and no number of engines could make it escape in time.

Yet, the purple-red sparks in Prince Khan’s hand didn’t give birth to his magnificent lightning bolts. They didn’t even shoot forward. Instead, they flew backward, hitting the Prince in his chest and flinging him downward.

Michael didn’t know what had happened and didn’t question it. He was only sure his structure had survived certain doom and that a second miracle wouldn’t happen.

“Fire again!” Michael shouted at the control desk, prompting the other team leaders to continue the assault.

The various firing structures had planned the assault’s details before Prince Khan’s arrival, so Michael didn’t need to add anything else. Soon, a second nuke shot out, flying directly toward the crater’s center.

Surely, Prince Khan had to have limits. He had survived one nuke, but the second was bound to hurt him more. Also, the Nognes forces had more of those around Zoyama’s moon, so they could continue the assault until the Prince ran out of mana, stamina, or whatever else fueled his strange powers.

Nevertheless, Michael’s mouth ended up opening in astonishment, and all the other soldiers glued to the holographic screens experienced similar feelings and delved into the same instinctive reactions.

Prince Khan didn’t let the nuke hit him again. The scanners didn’t fully understand what he did, but the missile tilted and exploded before reaching him.

The following events were even harder to follow due to the scorching mana’s interference and blinding light. Still, its conclusion was evident. The destructive energy that could level entire cities on Earth was blown away as if it were no different from a light cloud, revealing a second crater and an unharmed Prince Khan standing at its edge.

Michael couldn’t even begin to fathom what had happened or how, but its implications were obvious. All the weaponry in the world would be powerless if it failed to hit its target. Prince Khan could blow nukes away with a wave of his hand, so all the Nognes forces’ preparations had just become useless.

The soldiers around Zoyama’s moon were among the most specialized troops in the Global Army. They had earned the right to work for the Nognes family and join a mission that concerned its true leader. Their training prevented them from panicking and flooding the communication channels with shouts, but helplessness inevitably spread.

Michael didn’t say anything but didn’t need to. His soldiers were smart. They had already reached similar conclusions. Nothing they had prepared would work against Prince Khan. Their lives were in his hands now, so they could only wait for that incredible existence to decide their fate.

Michael half-expected Prince Khan to point his arm at his structure again. Except the Prince brought his scarlet hand to his throat, seemingly threatening to rip it off.

The gesture brought hope. Prince Khan seemed to have regained control, at least partially, so the soldiers wouldn’t necessarily die that day. Of course, things weren’t over yet, but Michael and the others stared at the holographic screens with newfound excitement.

Tense seconds passed before transforming into minutes. Prince Khan didn’t move from his position at all, and Michael started worrying about the timeline. He didn’t forget how the Prince couldn’t breathe on the moon, and the mission had already stretched past his predicted limits.

Truth be told, that would work, too. Prince Khan had chosen that unbreathable atmosphere precisely to suffocate himself if things went south.

Yet, Michael couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity. He had just witnessed Prince Khan trivializing humankind’s best weaponry. It would be tragic for such a grand existence to die due to a mere lack of oxygen.

Nevertheless, Prince Khan eventually moved. He kneeled on the scorching ground, his scarlet hand still on his throat. The scanners showcased his pained expression, but Michael couldn’t give the order to send a rescue party. His directives forbade him from helping the Prince in any way.

The Prince remained kneeling on the moon for an entire minute, pain continuously afflicting his expression. He was suffering from something no scanner could perceive, but his face eventually relaxed, and the red color around his hand vanished as he removed it from his throat.

Prince Khan looked up, gazing at the dark expanse with a serious, yearning expression. Michael tinkered with the scanners to follow his eyes but found nothing. Whatever Prince Khan was studying was beyond his structure’s range.

Then, the Prince lowered his gaze, and his head tilted to point his glowing eyes toward Michael’s structure. The soldier instantly went into battle mode, ready to sanction another wave of attacks, but Prince Khan beat him to it. His figure disappeared, leaving nothing to target.