Chapter 339 |
Robots? Why are they robots?
And humanoid robots at that!
As if humanoid robots weren’t enough—why are there dragons? Dinosaurs?
And wasn’t Colonel Quaritch already dead? Why has he appeared again, perfectly fine?
And those warships—those aren't Federal warships at all.
Even the flag they’re flying isn’t the Federation’s.
What in the world is happening?
Late at night, in the Na’vi tribe’s territory, Jake Sully sat before the campfire, his face heavy with concern and his heart full of doubts.
These were the questions that arose when he took the Ikran riders to the front lines during the day to observe the newly arrived “Sky People” encampment.
So Jake Sully had a deep understanding of the Federation military. This was also why he had dared to lead the Na’vi in resistance against Colonel Quaritch—he knew that while the RDA’s security forces were advanced compared to the Na’vi, they were no match for the true Federal military.
But from his daytime observations, it was clear that this newly arrived fleet was even more advanced than Earth’s Federal fleet.
Those humanoid robots and the energy weapons they wielded were far more powerful than those of the Federal regular army.
And the Earth Federation didn’t have humanoid robot units.
Thinking of that massive robot army made Jake Sully feel agitated.
To fight bodies of steel with flesh and blood—any fool could see how disadvantageous that would be.
This was also why he had not followed the suggestions of other Na’vi during the day to launch an attack on the “Sky People” while the entire planet’s wildlife was in uproar.
And he was very glad he had made such a wise decision… because the opposing fleet had soon responded to Pandora’s uprising with an indiscriminate saturation bombing from orbit.
Had he agreed to the Na’vi’s proposal at that time, he probably wouldn’t even be alive to sit here now!
But even so, Jake now had no idea how to proceed.
“Jake, why aren’t you resting?” As Jake Sully sank into confusion, Neytiri came up behind him.
“I can’t sleep…we’re facing our gravest trial yet, and I don’t know what to do…” Jake Sully sighed.
“Don’t worry, Jake. You led us to victory once, you can lead us to victory again. You’re a Toruk Makto!” Neytiri encouraged Jake.
“No, Neytiri, this time is different. You saw it today. Those Sky People soldiers—they’re actually robots. Do you know what kind? Puppets made of metal. Tireless, fearless of death—as long as they have energy, they can keep fighting even if only a head remains! And you saw it too: the new arrivals—they have no scruples. They launched orbital bombardments from their fleet in the sky. We didn’t even have a chance to resist!” Jake shook his head, and as he spoke, his emotions grew intense.
Faced with Jake’s words, Neytiri also fell silent.
Scenes of the hellish aftermath from the day’s bombardment resurfaced in her mind, stirring fear in her heart.
She had experienced bombardments before, during the previous war with the humans, when Colonel Quaritch led the RDA security forces. But that bombardment and what they had seen today were worlds apart.
By comparison, the last one had been a tribal skirmish.
This one was a world war.
“I understand, Jake. But I believe in you…” Though her heart was full of fear for the future, Neytiri still tried to encourage him.
“But I can’t believe in myself…” Jake Sully said, somewhat dejected. “And you saw Quaritch and the beast he rode. That was a dragon—clearly a creature of legend…even the Great Leonopteryx wouldn’t be a match for it!”
As Neytiri was about to respond, a sharp whistle suddenly rang through the tribe.
Jake Sully and Neytiri jumped to their feet!
An alarm!
Were the Sky People attacking?
But they quickly realized what had happened.
Two human scientists, who had originally sided with the Na’vi, were trying to escape.
As for where they intended to flee, it was obvious…but they hadn’t made it far before being caught by Na’vi sentries.
The two were quickly brought before Jake.
“Norm…” Jake sighed upon seeing his familiar companion brought before him.
“I’m sorry, Jake…I didn’t want to either, but I really don’t want to die…” the scientist named Norm lowered his head slightly under Jake’s gaze.
Jake didn’t say much. He understood exactly what Norm was feeling.
Once, these people had stood with him, sympathizing with the Na’vi and opposing the slaughter by their fellow humans. They had chosen to help the Na’vi.
But that had mostly been a moment of righteous indignation.
When faced with overwhelming power and the return of reason, fear was bound to follow.
It was natural for "traitors" to appear.
“Let them go,” Jake Sully sighed again and gave the order.
Hearing Jake’s decision, Norm and his companion couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
“Jake, they’re traitors!” Neytiri said in frustration. Displeasure appeared on the faces of the surrounding Na’vi as well.
“…They helped us once. They never harmed us, did they?” Jake said with a hint of helplessness.
“Hmph!” Neytiri, unable to argue logic with Jake, could only snort coldly to express her dissatisfaction, but said nothing more.
“Jake, I don’t want something like this to happen again. Otherwise the clan will truly begin to question you!” After the two were released, Neytiri, her anger slightly abated, spoke to Jake.
“I understand. There won’t be a second time…But Neytiri, have you ever thought about migrating?” Jake Sully nodded, then raised a suggestion that shocked Neytiri even more.
“Jake, do you even know what you’re saying?” Neytiri nearly exploded on the spot. “We chose you as clan leader because we wanted you to lead us to victory—not to abandon everything!”
“Of course I understand. But you saw the bombardment today. We have no chance of victory. The only thing we can do is survive!” Jake said helplessly.
“But this is our home! We absolutely, absolutely won’t leave!” Neytiri angrily left after throwing down that line.
At this point, she and Jake were still only lovers—far from the point of being willing to abandon everything for him.
Watching Neytiri’s departing figure, Jake Sully looked full of melancholy.
Was the only option really to wait for death?
God…You gave me a second chance at life—so why take it away?
Yet Jake Sully had no idea that what he was about to face was far more terrifying than he could imagine!
And the source of it wasn’t his old nemesis—formerly Colonel, now General Quaritch—but Josh, from a parallel universe!
Earth — Fuerteventura Island, Location of Tiamut
Josh once again descended deep underground to meet the great Earth Mother.
“Josh, why have you awakened me?” Awakened by the divine power Josh carried—power that originated from her—Tiamut’s languid voice echoed in Josh’s mind.
“Mother Goddess, I have some matters I wish to consult you about,” Josh said with great respect. Though he was a transmigrator, he had always held the selfless Earth Mother in high regard.
“Speak,” Tiamut replied without refusal.
“I ask you to sense these two objects,” Josh said, taking two items from his system space.
One was a dried tree branch.
The other was the skull of some kind of fierce beast.
“What do you wish to ask?” Tiamut inquired.
“Can you sense anything unusual about these two items?” Josh asked.
"Of course. I sensed the presence of other gods on these two items… hmm, no, to be precise, it's an existence very similar to us! The aura on that branch is very strong, and it's not the first time I've felt it. The subordinates you previously recruited from another realm had the same aura—they should all be from the same place. However, it seems this branch has been tainted by some sort of dark power. As for the aura on that beast bone, it's just too weak!" Tiamut quickly responded.
"That's right. The branch and those subordinates of mine do indeed come from the same place, and the branch has indeed been corrupted by dark power. So you had already sensed it…why didn't you ask me?" Josh couldn’t help but ask.
The "subordinates from another realm" that Tiamut referred to were, of course, the elves and trolls from Azeroth. And the branch Josh now held came from the World Tree Vordrassil in Northrend, already cut down.
As for the beast bone, it was the skull of a Thanator from the Avatar world.
Josh had brought these two items here to ask Tiamut if she could sense the almost imperceptible planetary consciousness attached to them.
Although he had already confirmed through the two tauren that Pandora did indeed possess a planetary consciousness similar to Azeroth’s world-soul, Josh couldn’t perceive it on his own.
Naturally, he had to ask Tiamut, who was herself a being similar to such planetary entities.
Tiamut's response confirmed Josh's suspicions:
That beings like Tiamut, Azeroth, and Pandora could easily sense one another's presence.
This couldn’t help but remind him of Ego from Guardians of the Galaxy—clearly, the targets he chose to consume weren’t random.
"Ithought you didn’t want anyone to know," Tiamut said gently in response to Josh's question.
Josh was deeply moved by Tiamut’s words.
As expected of Mother Earth—so understanding and empathetic.
But this still didn’t explain why Pandora’s planetary consciousness was so furious.
So Josh proceeded to describe the violent upheaval happening on Pandora in detail.
"It's because of fear," Tiamut pondered for a moment and then answered. "This world-soul you mentioned, called Azeroth—even though I lack many reference points, I can still feel her power. If she were ever truly born, I fear she would rank among the top even within the Celestial race. But the world-soul of Pandora is much weaker. If the two ever came into contact, Azeroth could easily devour Pandora… so Pandora is afraid."
Hearing this explanation, Josh suddenly understood.
So Pandora’s upheaval was because it had sensed the threat posed by Azeroth.
But clearly, Pandora was overthinking it. Azeroth couldn’t even cross the dimensional wall, let alone come to the Avatar universe to bully it.
Now that he understood the reason, Josh was finally at ease.
From now on, when encountering planets with "world-souls," he just needed to be a bit more cautious.
As for why Tiamut didn’t feel threatened by Azeroth’s presence, that was easy to explain.
After all, Tiamut only said that if Azeroth were born, her strength would rank among the top in the Celestial race—but not necessarily stronger than Tiamut.
Besides, there are over a thousand Celestials… Azeroth is just one. Even if you add the Titans, the Eternals, and Elune, they still don’t outnumber the Celestials.
And the Celestials have always valued their own kind.
Naturally, Tiamut had no reason to fear Azeroth.
Originally, this matter was going to end here but Tiamut’s next words reignited Josh’s ambition.
"However, even though Pandora’s world-soul is weak, it’s just right for you at this moment," Tiamut said just as Josh was about to leave.
"Huh? Just right for me? I don’t quite understand what you mean!" Josh was slightly stunned.
"Your current strength has reached a bottleneck. It’s already very difficult to grow further…As for the Infinity Stones—they’re good, but in the end, they’re just external tools," Tiamut explained.
"…Uh, I still don’t quite understand what you mean," Josh swallowed hard. He already had a faint idea, but he couldn’t be sure.
"Do you want to truly become one of the Celestials, my child?" Tiamut asked. "If you can obtain the essence of Pandora’s world-soul, I can help you complete your final transformation!"
"Is that… really okay?" Josh found it hard to believe even after hearing Tiamut confirm his suspicions.
"Why wouldn’t it be? Don’t worry—after all, it’s not a Celestial, is it?" Although Tiamut was compassionate toward humans and valued her fellow Celestials, she had no such concern for a being that was merely similar to their kind. Killing it to strengthen her child—and the Celestials—was perfectly acceptable!
And this attitude from Tiamut was precisely why Pandora feared Azeroth’s presence.
World-souls might be similar beings, but that didn’t mean they acknowledged each other.
However… "Why not Azeroth?"
Josh couldn’t help but ask.
"…Can you get it?" Tiamut countered calmly.
Uh… seems like he really can’t.
Even if Josh helped Abbendis unify Azeroth, that planet was surrounded by the Titans, the Eternals, Elune, and more… yeah, better not mess with that.
Compared to the deeply rooted Azeroth, Pandora was much more…