Transmigrated as the Villainess Princess - Chapter 181

Chapter 181: A Smile
Ahcehera moved through the desolate terrain with calculated steps, her figure melting into the shadows cast by the crescent moon above.

The wild lands outside the city’s protective barriers were dangerous even without the constant threat of the Zergs.

The air was thick with the scent of decay, and the occasional whisper of movement sent her senses on high alert.

She had chosen to travel alone, knowing that a large group would only draw attention. Stealth was her greatest ally tonight.

Her optical brain mapped the surroundings in real time, feeding her detailed information about the topography and any potential life forms lurking nearby.

So far, there was no immediate danger, but she was aware that the deeper she ventured, the closer she came to enemy territory.

The land was scarred by war, charred remains of battle mechs and ruined outposts dotted the landscape.

Here and there, skeletal remains of fallen warriors, both human and Zerg, lay half-buried in the dust.

Ahcehera’s gaze lingered on them for a moment. How many more would die before this war ended?

Shaking off the weight of such thoughts, she pressed forward, drawing closer to the portal that continuously spewed Zerg hordes into the battlefield.

The moment she laid eyes on it, her breath hitched. A swirling mass of darkness pulsated at the center of the portal, its surface shimmering like liquid void.

The energy was raw, chaotic, yet disturbingly stable. Ahcehera narrowed her eyes. This was no ordinary Zerg nest. This was a manufactured structure.

As she crept closer, the eerie glow of mineral ores caught her attention. They were arranged meticulously in a pattern, their dark energy pulsating in sync with the portal.

Ahcehera crouched behind a jagged rock, activating her optical brain to capture every detail.

“These aren’t natural formations,” she murmured under her breath. “It’s an array… a stabilizing mechanism.”

The realization sent a shiver down her spine. Someone, or something, had intentionally set this up.

Portals to Zerg-infested realms didn’t just appear randomly. They were either natural rifts or artificially opened gateways. This one was clearly the latter.

Destroying the portal wouldn’t be as simple as she had hoped.

If the array was reinforcing its existence, then taking down the portal itself without dismantling the array could cause an uncontrolled surge of dark energy, possibly even an explosion large enough to wipe out everything within miles.

She needed to study this further.

Her fingers traced the air, issuing silent commands through her optical brain. Every pulse, every frequency emitted by the portal was recorded, every mineral analyzed.

If she could identify a weak point in the array’s formation, she might be able to disrupt it without catastrophic consequences. A sharp noise suddenly echoed through the still night.

Ahcehera froze. Her senses sharpened instantly as she scanned the darkness around her. The sound had been faint, but not natural. It was deliberate.

She remained motionless, her hand instinctively resting on her weapon. A gust of wind carried a whisper of movement from her right. Someone was here.

She turned her head ever so slightly, adjusting her vision to detect heat signatures. There.

A figure lurked in the distance, just beyond the portal’s glow. It was humanoid but radiated an unnatural presence.

Unlike the Zergs, who reeked of raw hunger and destruction, this being’s energy was refined, deliberate.

An enemy spy?

Or… something worse?

Ahcehera remained still, waiting, watching. The figure seemed to be observing the portal as well. It hadn’t noticed her, or if it had, it wasn’t showing any signs of hostility yet.

She had two options. She could retreat and analyze the data she had gathered, or she could confront this unknown entity and risk exposing herself.

Her fingers tightened around her weapon.

Retreat was the logical choice. She had come for reconnaissance, not battle. If this was an enemy, she needed to know more before engaging.

Carefully, she shifted back into the shadows, her body blending seamlessly with the terrain.

Step by step, she distanced herself from the portal, keeping her eyes locked on the mysterious figure.

Just as she was about to vanish into the darkness, the figure turned its head. Their eyes met. A slow, knowing smile curled on the stranger’s lips.

Ahcehera’s pulse quickened. Whoever this person was, they had seen her. And worse, they weren’t surprised. Then, in the blink of an eye, they disappeared.

Ahcehera exhaled sharply, her grip on her weapon tightening. This was bad. Whoever that was, they were not just an observer. They had intentionally let her see them.

A warning?

Or an invitation?

Either way, this mission had just taken a dangerous turn.

Without wasting another second, she activated her stealth mode and moved swiftly toward the city. She had to report this immediately.

Ahcehera moved swiftly through the darkness, her breath steady as she navigated the ruined terrain.

Her mind raced with everything she had just witnessed, the portal, the strange mineral array stabilizing it, and most of all, the mysterious figure who had watched her in silence.

Who were they? An ally? An enemy? Or something far worse?

She couldn’t take any risks. By the time she neared the camp’s perimeter, the first traces of dawn had begun to paint the sky in muted shades of purple and gold.

The camp was alive with activity, soldiers preparing for another wave of battle, medics tending to the wounded, engineers working on mecha repairs. The war never stopped.

Ahcehera kept her presence undetected until she reached the command center, where Joseph was waiting.

His eyes widened slightly at her sudden appearance, but he quickly saluted.

“You’re back,” he said. “Did you…”

“We have a problem,” Ahcehera cut in, her voice firm. “Gather the top strategists and the captains. There’s more to these Zerg attacks than we thought.”

Joseph hesitated for only a second before nodding. “Understood.”

As he left to carry out her orders, Ahcehera exhaled, rubbing her temples.

The exhaustion from her late-night mission was beginning to settle into her bones, but she had no time for rest.

That figure…

The way they had smiled at her. It wasn’t just a chance encounter. Someone out there was watching. And that meant something was coming.

Something far worse than the Zergs.