Red Dragon Spaceship Awakening: I Gain Alien Abilities on Mars-Chapter 236: The West

Bjorn stepped forward, his massive frame casting a shadow over the trembling battle commander. His voice was calm now. Calm because there was no need being loud and angry again. Tatehan had done a good job making the battle commander talk.

"How is the West?" Bjorn asked, his pale eyes locked on the man. "Tell me about the Obscuron’s territory. What are we walking into if we try to strike at him there?"

The battle commander swallowed hard, his throat working against the pain and the fear, and he nodded weakly. His voice was hoarse, broken, but he spoke without hesitation now. The iron had done its job. He was not going to hold anything back. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"It’s heavily protected," the man said, his words coming out in a rushed manner. "Fortified. More than any city on Mars. The entire region is surrounded by a barrier, a force field actually. You can’t see it, but it’s there. It covers everything: the settlements, the bases and the production facilities. If you try to get through it without authorization, it’ll fry you. Burn you alive before you even know what hit you."

Tatehan’s visor glowed brighter as he processed the information. A force barrier. Invisible, lethal, and covering an entire region. That was the kind of defensive infrastructure that required massive amounts of power and coordination. It was not something that could be thrown together quickly. It had been planned, built, and maintained over years.

Bjorn grunted, his expression darkening. "And the people inside? The ones living in the West? Are they all fighters?"

The battle commander shook his head, wincing as the motion sent a fresh wave of pain through his burned leg. "No. Not all of them. Some are fighters, yeah, soldiers and warriors. People who’ve sworn their lives to the cause. They’ll die for the Obscuron without hesitation. But not everyone is combat-trained."

Tatehan tilted his head slightly, his amplified voice cutting through the room. "So what are the rest of them doing? If they’re not fighting, what’s their role?"

The man hesitated for just a fraction of a second, his eyes flicking toward the glowing iron rod still held loosely in Tatehan’s hand, and then he spoke quickly, y’know , not wanting to be burned again. "Tech guys. Engineers. People who build weapons, design systems and maintain the infrastructure. And hackers, lots of hackers. They’re the ones who keep the barrier running, who monitor communications, who break into enemy systems when needed. And there are mech builders, entire workshops dedicated to constructing war machines. The ones you saw at the base? Those were prototypes. The real production facilities in the West are churning out dozens of them."

Bjorn and Tatehan exchanged a glance, the weight of that information settling over them like a cold fog. This was crazy to be honest.

The Obscuron was not just running a military operation. He was running an entire industrialized war machine, complete with research, development, and mass production capabilities.

Bjorn leaned in closer, his voice dropping into something quieter but no less intense. "Is his plan to wipe out humanity nearly complete? Are we running out of time?"

The battle commander’s face twisted into something between resignation and despair. He nodded slowly, his voice barely above a whisper. "That’s why I was sent here. That’s why we were building those bases in the North. The plan is in place. It took him years, decades, even, to prepare for this. But now it’s happening. He’s ready."

Tatehan felt a cold chill run down his spine despite the warmth of his armor. The Obscuron was not preparing anymore. He was executing. The bases in the North, the weapons stockpiles, the mechs, the soldiers, it was all part of a coordinated effort to launch a full-scale assault on the remaining human settlements.

And they had only just begun to scratch the surface of what he was capable of.

Bjorn straightened and he looked at Tatehan. "We need to tell the others. Now."

Tatehan nodded, his mind already racing through the implications, through the strategies they would need to counter this threat, through the alliances they would need to strengthen.

But before he could speak and move, the notifications began to flash across his retina.

[Congratulations on extracting critical intelligence from a high-value target!]

[Congratulations on demonstrating tactical interrogation skills!]

[Congratulations on uncovering the true nature of the Obscuron!]

[Congratulations on learning about the enemy’s defensive infrastructure!]

[You have gained Knowledge Points!]

The messages scrolled rapidly, each one a validation of what he had just accomplished, and then the full status screen materialized:

[HOST STATUS]

Name: Tatehan

Level: 14

Species: Human (Enhanced)

Knowledge: 228/500 [+15]

Repair Points: 60/100

[ABILITIES]

• Gravity Manipulation - Level 13

• Regeneration (Partial) - Level 9

• Enhanced Durability - Level 4

• Heightened Perception - Level 6

• Phase Shift - Level 3

• Force Multiplication - Level 3

[INVENTORY:]

[Tri-Edge Shadow Chakram]

[Serrated Heavy Chakram]

[Backpack]

[Armor]

[Novels]

[Shadow-Forged Blade]

[Kinetic Absorption Armor]

[Devastator Hand Cannon]

[Core from the Destroyed Fortress]

Tatehan stared at the numbers, his mind processing the increase. Fifteen more Knowledge Points. His stat had jumped from 213 to 228, pushing him closer to the halfway mark of 500.

Apart from that, nothing more.

He took his mind from it and focused on the more immediate problem.

They were running out of time.

The Obscuron’s plan was in motion. The war was coming. And if they did not act fast, if they did not find a way to strike at the heart of his operations and dismantle his infrastructure before he could fully deploy his forces, then every city on Mars was going to burn.

Tatehan dismissed the status screen with a thought, his visor returning to its normal display, and he looked at Bjorn.

"We need to move," Tatehan said, his voice steady but shooting with urgency. "We need to gather the leaders, share this intel, and start planning our next strike. Because if what this guy is saying is true, we don’t have much time left."

Bjorn nodded, his expression grim. "Aye. Let’s go."

Tatehan gazed at the ceiling, not knowing exactly why he had was doing so.

"We shall go to Battle!"