Lunar Legacy: Rise Of The Beastlord-Chapter 267: Yellow Lightning

Jayden blinked, certain he must be seeing things wrong. He'd used Dragon Eye hundreds of times by now. It had never failed to provide at least basic information. Even when he'd scanned Penelope, it had shown everything except her age and level.

But this? This was complete nullification.

Luna," he called out mentally. "What's going on with the Dragon Eye? Why can't I see Aileen's information?"

There was a pause before Luna responded, and when she did, her voice carried a note of concern he rarely heard. [I don't know. This shouldn't be possible. The Dragon Eye is supposed to work on any target, regardless of level or ability]

"Could it be a glitch in the system?" Jayden asked.

[Perhaps] Luna replied, though she didn't sound convinced. [Or...]

"Or what?" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

[Or... she is so powerful that even the system can't properly analyze her]

Jayden raised a brow. "Is that possible?" he asked. "I mean... it happened with Penelope too, but I was still able to see her name and some other things. But with Aileen, I can't see anything at all. It's like it's concealed somehow."

Luna sighed. [I can't explain it either. But perhaps you can try again after a few minutes. Maybe it'll work then]

Jayden exhaled. His mind reeled. Aileen was only level 19, at least, that's what everyone thought. How could she possibly be so powerful that the system couldn't read her?

Unless she wasn't actually level 19. Unless everything about her was a carefully constructed facade.

Before he could pursue that thought further, Aileen spoke, her voice carrying clearly across the arena.

"Computer, load Program Xeno. Level 10." she ordered.

The room responded immediately with a melodious chime. The air in the center of the arena began to shimmer and distort, like heat waves rising from sun-baked pavement. Then, with no warning, ten figures materialized.

They were combat robots...humanoid in shape but clearly mechanical. Each stood about seven tall, constructed from what looked like dark metallic alloy that gleamed under the room's lighting. Their bodies were sleek yet powerful, designed with obvious attention to combat efficiency. Red optical sensors glowed where eyes would be on a human, and their limbs ended in hands that could probably crush steel.

They looked formidable. Dangerous. Like they could tear apart a normal human with ease.

"Whoa," Jessica breathed. "Those are... really detailed."

"They look almost real," Tasha added, leaning forward for a better view.

"In a way, they are," Aileen explained, not taking her eyes off the robots surrounding her. "The holographic system is linked to full sensory feedback. Everything you experience in this room... every punch, every impact, every touch, registers as real to your nervous system. The only difference is that it won't cause actual physical damage to your body. But you'll feel the pain."

Jessica laughed nervously. "That's... actually kind of terrifying?"

"These are Xeno-class combat bots," Aileen continued, slowly rotating to keep all ten in her field of vision. "They're modeled after the droids used in the Global Tournament to test participants' combat capabilities. Training against them will help prepare us for what we'll face."

"Aren't Xeno bots supposed to be incredibly strong?" Tasha asked, concern creeping into her voice. "Aileen, are you sure you can handle ten of them on your own?"

Aileen's expression shifted into a small, confident smirk. "Ten is nothing compared to what they'll throw at us in the actual tournament. And besides..." Her smirk widened slightly. "Ten is just a warm-up for me."

The statement hung in the air, radiating quiet confidence that bordered on pride. Jayden found himself leaning forward, his earlier concerns momentarily forgotten in the face of his curiosity.

How strong was Aileen, really?

He'd always known her level was impressive. Most sixteen-year-olds were barely breaking into double digits. But level didn't tell the whole story. Combat skill, ability mastery, tactical thinking... those mattered just as much, if not more.

The room's computer began a countdown, its robotic voice echoing through the space:

"Combat simulation beginning in ten... nine... eight..."

Aileen settled into a stance that looked deceptively casual... weight balanced, hands loose at her sides, expression calm. She looked almost bored, as if facing ten combat robots was about as exciting as waiting for a bus.

"Seven... six... five..."

Jayden activated Dragon Eye again, hoping to catch some detail during the combat that might explain the earlier anomaly. The question marks still filled his vision, providing no useful information.

"This makes no sense," he thought. "Even Penelope showed up with data. Why is Aileen completely unreadable?"

"Four... three... two..."

"Luna, I'm still getting nothing," Jayden complained inwardly.

[I know] Luna replied, her voice tight with concentration. [I'm analyzing everything I can, but it's like she's wrapped in some kind of interference field. Either this is the most sophisticated system glitch I've ever encountered, or...]

"One..."

Jayden raised a brow. "Or what?"

But before Luna could reply...

"BEGIN!"

The robotic voice boomed through the arena, and instantly, all ten Xeno bots exploded into motion. They moved with mechanical precision and frightening speed, their heavy footsteps thundering against the floor as they converged on Aileen from multiple angles.

Aileen didn't move. She just stood there, that small smile still playing on her lips, completely unbothered by the wall of metal death rushing toward her.

The bots closed in, and just when they were a few meters away from her... she vanished.

It happened so fast that Jayden's enhanced perception could barely track it. One moment she was there, and the next there was only a brilliant flash of yellow lightning that blazed across his retinas. The smell of ozone suddenly filled the air, sharp and electric.

The Xeno bots stumbled to a halt in the space where Aileen had been standing, their heads swiveling in obvious confusion as they searched for their target. Their programming clearly hadn't anticipated an opponent who could simply disappear.

"Where did she—" Jessica started to ask.

"Behind them," Jayden murmured, his eyes having finally caught up with what happened.

Sure enough, at the far end of the arena... easily fifty meters from where she'd started, Aileen stood casually, one hand on her hip. She'd crossed that entire distance in the split second it took to blink, moving at speeds that should have been impossible for someone her level.

The robots' heads snapped toward her in unison, their red optical sensors locking onto their target. They began to move again, adjusting their formation.

Aileen chuckled. Then she raised her right arm, extending it toward the cluster of robots. Her hand was relaxed, fingers slightly spread, as if she were pointing at something mildly interesting rather than facing down ten combat machines.

"I win," she said softly.

Then, a single bolt of yellow lightning erupted from her fingertip.

It was beautiful in a terrifying way... a lance of pure electrical energy that crackled and sparked as it tore across the arena. The bolt didn't arc or waver; it flew straight like a javelin thrown by a god.

It struck the lead Xeno bot square in the chest.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened. The robot stood there, sparks dancing across its metallic frame, its systems trying to process what had just occurred.

Then the lightning spread.

Like a living thing, the electrical energy branched out from the first bot to the second, then the third, leaping from body to body in a cascading chain reaction. Each robot seized as thousands of volts coursed through their systems, their servos locking up, their optical sensors flickering and dying.

The smell of burning circuits filled the air as the robots' internal systems were systematically fried by the overwhelming electrical surge. One by one, they collapsed, crashing to the floor with heavy metallic thuds that echoed through the arena.

Then, there was silence.