Ves clenched his fist as he saw the giants scramble to retrieve the remaining ejected data modules.
They had known in advance that this would definitely be one of the most dangerous phases of the mission.
While the Rubarthan engineers had tried their best, the data modules were too small and weak to possess much ability. They struggled hard to escape the gravity well of the moon and also the obstruction of all of the cannon fodder in the way.
The fact that most of them succeeded to break free could already be regarded as a minor miracle as far as Ves was concerned!
Unfortunately, miracle or not, there was only so much the small data modules could do in the middle of alien-controlled space.
Ves knew that the retrieval of 17 data modules constitutes a success, but only partially. Even if they were roughly evenly distributed across the surface of the battle moon, the gaps in the data would make it harder to figure out the full depth of the alien superconstruct.
Therefore, retrieving at least half of the 13 data modules that struggled to escape voribug interception became critical.
He consented to ordering the Ascended Giants to go forward and do their best to retrieve more data storage devices.
Inwardly, his heart sank as he witnessed his soldiers engage in risky actions. He had a feeling that he may have condemned some of those earnest Ascended Giants to death due to this decision.
Sending the Ascended Giants closer to the surface of the intimidating Voribug Organic Battle Moon was already bad enough. Doing so while they had shed all of their weapons and raiments was especially egregious!
Already, the cannon fodder bugs assigned to protect the VOBM wised up to the human tricks.
The Goliath Hive apparently realized that the scout vessels were not as pathetic as the ones sent in the past. The superior mobility and navigation of the current ships made it impossible to intercept them so long as they did not fly any closer.
The Goliaths therefore made a very important strategic shift.
Instead of trying to catch up to the fast and elusive scout ships, they all abandoned their current targets and flew back to intercept the giants!
"Careful, soldiers!" Ves immediately conveyed to his vulnerable subordinates. "All of the cannon fodder in this area are moving to intercept you all! It will become much more difficult to get away! Do your best to group up and do not hesitate to set aside your latest orders if you think the situation has grown too precarious. Ur-Titans, do your best to shield the Faceless Giants. Their lack of body cultivation makes them much more vulnerable to defeat!"
At this time, the Ascended Giants did not care that Ves was a weak human. They all understood how critical it was to group up and to escape the area around the VOBM.
However, they did not want their first mission under the new leader to end up with such meager results. They understood enough to know that the importance of retrieving a handful more data modules was high.
For these reasons, the Ascended Giants ignored their growing discomfort and squashed the voribugs in the way so that they could retrieve more compact data storage devices!
They were well on their way of doing so. The bulk of the VOBM’s protectors had been lured too far away from the giants due to their prior obsession of chasing after the scout vessels.
This meant that there was still a window of opportunity for the giants to complete their current instructions without too much hindrance.
However, the cannon fodder bugs were not the enemies that the human phase lords needed to worry about.
Ever since the sensor spikes had first breached the fleshy exterior of the battle moon, the huge alien megaconstruct had begun to shake and ripple.
If it was a moon, then all of this activity could easily constitute a city-destroying earthquake!
The Ascended Giants no longer paid attention to the anomalies related to the battle moon. They were too busy with trying to fend off the mutated voribugs that stuck to their spatial barriers while also trying to save the data modules.
With more and more cannon fodder bugs moving to intercept the Ascended Giants, the window of opportunity to complete their jobs and leave without getting flooded by bugs was rapidly closing!
"Not good, sir! The VOBM’s heat emissions have risen by over 300 percent! Its surface is undergoing strange mutations!"
Ves paid close attention to the projection displaying the organic battle moon. He began to feel more and more unsettled by its activity.
It was as if the battle moon was previously dormant but got rudely awakened by the deep scanning attempt.
Now that the voribugs understood that the humans had fooled them, the reprisal was sure to be considerable!
"How many of the missing data modules have we retrieved so far!?"
"3, no 4! The remaining ones are more difficult to obtain because the voribugs have managed to stall their ascent. The bugs are doing their best to destroy their transphasic alloy exterior as we speak."
"Then give up on them! Tell the Ascended Giants to abort any remaining attempts to retrieve the remaining data modules and withdraw immediately."
This was clearly not in the best interest of the Rubarthan defenders, but it couldn’t be helped.
The missing data modules would cause certain gaps to appear once they gathered all of the salvaged devices together, but that was better than letting human phase lords perish for a reconnaissance mission.
Out of an abundance of caution, the Rubarthan commander was willing to resist the temptation to grab one of two more missing data storage devices so long as this could prevent complications.
"The giants are withdrawing, sir!"
However, just as the giants increasingly grouped up and forcefully pushed their way from all of the converging bug swarms, a massive change occurred.
"The battle moon... IS ALIVE!"
"What?!"
"Eyes... eyes... THERE ARE TOO MANY EYES!"
"AAAAAHHH!"
A spontaneous outburst of hysteria engulfed the scout vessel’s command center. All of the Rubarthan officers and specialists took one look at the projection of the battle moon and felt as if an immensely powerful predator had locked onto their souls!
They felt incredibly exposed. The battle moon was more than a massive mound of meat. To the Rubarthans affected by its anomalous existence, they felt as if they were ants that were about to get crushed by a god-like being!
It was not just the crew of the scout vessels that became affected by this sudden shift.
The Ascended Giants also became paralyzed for a moment!
So long as the VOBM entered their peripheral vision, they could not help but lock eyes at one of the many eerie eyeballs that had risen from the surface of the fleshy moon.
It only took less than a dozen seconds for the battle moon to spawn more than a thousand eyeballs the size of city blocks or greater!
The degree in which they disturbed the nearby combatants went beyond their unsettling visual appearance!
For whatever reason, the battle moon carried a powerful consciousness that momentarily overwhelmed the giants and humans.
The only one in the vicinity who managed to resist this effect was Ves, and even he was feeling the pressure!