Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 127-128 - War Beast Knight

"Oh? Is that so?"

Following up on her question, Ryan asked in a casual tone, "How exactly did you discover it?"

He leaned against the carriage wall, his fingers unconsciously stroking the thick fabric of his cloak.

“Those rebels,” the coachman’s voice carried a hint of barely perceptible smugness, “were too careless in their treatment of the Lupin Beasts, leaving traces—”

As soon as she spoke, she realized she had let something slip and immediately stopped talking.

"……Um."

Renn made a meaningful sound.

Lupin Beast?
Renn already understood.

In Ondron, this creature holds a status equivalent to a flying motorcycle on other planets.

They have four cold eyes and are fierce carnivores, but they are extremely loyal to the riders they have chosen.

The Royal Army—including the Space Force—was heavily equipped with it, and it now appears that the rebels also possess a significant amount.

However, not everyone can control a Lupin Beast, and the military intelligence department has been keeping a close eye on those who may have ulterior motives and possess this ability.

The terrain became flat, and the carriage gradually slowed down.

The buzzing sound from the anti-gravity device lessened, the car body shuddered slightly, and landed back on solid ground.

The car door opened, and a woman stood outside. Her posture was a little strange, swaying slightly, as if stepping on the ground made her uncomfortable.

She wore an armored uniform with bronze and gold accents, and the insignia of the Ondron Space Force was clearly embroidered on her shoulder straps.

“These rebels,” Ryan said, stepping out of the car and naturally picking up where he left off, his gaze sweeping over the rank insignia on the other man’s shoulder straps. “I bet they’re feeling pretty uneasy now that they’ve got this fleet above them.”

“A fleet looming over Izzi like a dark cloud is not a sight to behold every day,” the female officer disguised as a coachman agreed, her voice regaining its clarity and strength. “They must be racking their brains to get out of the city as soon as possible.”

Raine suppressed the fierce look that he wanted to show on his face.

“Lieutenant Mishar,” he deliberately used the old rank title, “I’m leaving this to you, how about it?”

He looked her up and down; she seemed unchanged after a year apart.

“You’re a captain now,” Captain Mishar immediately corrected, one hand casually on his hip with a soldier’s air of efficiency. “Someone has to fill the void you left behind.”

He's already been promoted to captain.

The last time Ryan saw Vera Mishar, she was an officer in the Royal Intelligence Service, known for her ability to handle a particularly ferocious red-feathered Dexter raptor.

Rein himself didn't have the guts to provoke Skrefmon or Drexmon. Back then, he only chose a rather docile Lupinmon and named it Nausicaä.

Before he set off for Lacus, following Ondren's tradition, he released Nausicaä back into the wild.

Looking back now, it was indeed a good companion, and I hope it's doing well in the wild.

Following the military coup, Mishar, like many others, was transferred to the Space Force.

“I thought they were going to promote Van der to that position,” Ryan muttered under his breath. “You know, Van der got promoted too,” Captain Mishar said, looking up slightly at the sky with a hint of surprise on his face. “Oh, he’s here too.”

“You’ll have to tell me all about this later,” Raine patted the thick neck of the Dargo beast pulling the cart, urging the big guy to move aside so it wouldn’t be scared by the even bigger one behind it. “But right now, I need you to help me find clues about the rebels, the sooner the better.”

Ryan pulled out a communicator and tossed it to her.

Mishar caught it nimbly, raising an eyebrow as he looked at him questioningly: "Is this an order?"

“Unfortunately, just like before,” Ryan said with a hint of helplessness and nostalgia. “I’ll explain the details to you later, so keep an eye on this communicator.”

This earned him a light tap on the shoulder from Mishar.

“It’s only been a year, Major General,” Mishar grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. “Don’t take yourself too seriously.”

Just then, a huge shadow swept over them, the light dimmed instantly, and a strong gust of wind almost knocked them to the ground.

Accompanied by a gust of wind strong enough to knock a person over, a huge object landed with a thud, so close that it seemed to be right above their heads.

It took all of Ryan's strength to keep himself from losing his composure. If this were his first time encountering this thing up close, the outcome would have been very different.

The first time... that memory flashed through my mind in an instant.

He stared in horror at the monster before him, which seemed to have crawled out of the abyss of hell. Its massive, scissor-like jaws clicked as if it couldn't wait to cut him in two and then devour him with its enormous mouth covered in writhing, hissing tentacles.

This is the Dexson War Beast.

On the ground, it moves clumsily and slowly. It has no legs and can only support its front half with its huge claws, while its hind half drags a giant python-like tail as it moves.

At the end of its tail is a poisonous thorn the size of an adult male, which is said to be able to kill an adult Heragosese beast with just a light prick.

It was this terrifying creature from the "Demon Moon" that gave the satellite such a sinister reputation.

It is precisely because of their existence that the Ondron Space Force has not expanded its fighter wing on a large scale, but has only maintained the existing Orek-class tactical fighter fleet.

After all, when their war beasts can grow to a size close to that of a Kreitlong, and with their serrated, incredibly hard shells can easily withstand firepower attacks below the level of turbo laser cannons, what's the point of having so many fighter jets?

Captain Van der, the rider of this war beast, peered out from above the massive, hill-like shoulder blades of his mount, creating an almost comical effect through the extreme contrast in their sizes.

"You'd better hurry, sir!" Van der's voice boomed, cutting through the wind and the beast's deep breathing. "We all want to catch up, but you're the star of the show today! His Majesty the King is waiting for you!"

Renn remembered that Vander had a son, who was probably... seven years old.
Generally speaking, even tamed Drexloans are only approached by madmen or extremely arrogant people, let alone a father.

But Van der was precisely the kind of guy who was crazy at heart.

Ryan glanced nervously at Captain Mishar beside him.

“It seems,” he sighed helplessly, “that I still can’t help but take myself seriously. Just do as I say. Consider it… doing me a favor.”

“I’m so glad I don’t have to go see that scene,” Mishar grinned, weighing the communicator in his hand. “Oh, for you? I’ll investigate myself.”

"Raine, she's always reliable! Trust us, we've been in this business much longer than you!" Vander's loud laughter swept in with the gusts of wind brought by the war beast taking off again.

(End of this chapter)