'Were they already near the settlement?' Khan wondered as his body rose into the air. 'No, I would have sensed them.'
The Scalqa froze when they witnessed the flight. They forgot about the crisis and the settlement to watch Khan's performance. Their cries also vanished as their mouths hung open in awe. The human was striving for the sky, and the grace he exuded silenced the aliens' minds.
The grace in Khan's movements affected Amy, too, but she was aware of his abilities. She didn't experience any surprise, allowing her to focus on her duties. Khan had given her a direct order, and she would comply.
'Did they get closer after this tribe's hunting team retreated into the settlement?' Khan considered. 'Did my mental trip last longer than I thought?'
Calculations happened in Khan's mind as he tried to make sense of the development. The ship's scanners had given him a vague idea of where the other tribes were so he could play realistic simulations and draw reliable conclusions.
The most plausible conclusion put some blame on Khan. The second hunting team probably was nearby, minding its own business, but the mess in the settlement had drawn it out of its patrol. The other tribe's Scalqa sensed weakness and initiated the offensive.
The mission would have wanted Khan to avoid meddling with the tribes' infighting, but he felt responsible for the attack. The mental trip also made him ignore the politics of the issue. He thought only about himself there, pushing him to take responsibility for his actions.
Khan stopped rising when he reached a high spot in the sky. The tall forest filled his vision, but he closed his eyes to focus on the symphony. The hunting team didn't have enough time to encircle the settlement but was still attacking from three directions. Yet, minutes separated it from the tents, giving Khan room to intervene.
'Avoid the trees,' Khan thought. 'Don't take lives. Don't cause another mess.'
Those directives echoed in Khan's mind as tinges of his mana fused with the symphony, taking control of its various strands. The natural energy in the environment condensed, giving birth to multiple purple-red spheres that slowly morphed into needles.
The morning sky above the settlement changed color. The purple-red light replaced any light blue shade, but the figure at the center of that barrage remained visible. The Scalqa and Amy fell into a daze as they watched Khan spread his arms in the middle of those floating bright needles.
Khan took a deep breath. The feelings triggered by the mental trip were still inside him, but he couldn't let them overcome his rational side. He didn't want to create another mess, which required absolute precision.
The symphony continued to update Khan. The incoming hunting team was getting closer, but the trees' crowns hid the bright spectacle above the settlement. The enemy Scalqa couldn't see what was happening, and the following attack took them by surprise.
Khan opened his hands. His fingers tensed, and the needles shot in three directions, following precise trajectories. They dived into the forest, dodging any trunk before causing explosions.
The people in the settlement could only hear the explosions. Instead, the incoming Scalqa actually witnessed them. A series of needles had landed on their path, destroying the grassy ground and creating piles of smoke. Needless to say, the sudden event interrupted their advance.
Khan's mind didn't stop absorbing information during that temporary break. The incoming Scalqa's stillness allowed him to study them more precisely, answering the single question in his brain.
'Where's the leader?' Khan wondered, and his feet moved when the answer arrived.
The explosions distracted the Scalqa in the settlement, but their eyes soon returned to the sky. Yet, Khan had disappeared by then, diving into a battlefield they couldn't see.
The incoming Scalqa had split into three groups, with the biggest featuring the team leader. The latter wielded strength equal to a fourth-level warrior, but the explosions had made him hesitate.
The alien leader silently studied the pile of smoke before him, almost worried something else could explode. However, peace seemed to have returned, slowly building back his confidence.
Nevertheless, a small figure materialized among the smoke before the alien leader could make any move. That creature was short and had small muscles, but its eyes carried a strange power. The Scalqa could even swear to have seen them flash with azure light, but that feature had been too short to know for sure.
Khan walked past the smoke. His gestures appeared almost delicate since the fumes didn't disperse at his passage. Still, no one dared to take that as a sign of weakness. Actually, the sight worried the most experienced warriors among the aliens.
The alien leader shared that worry, but more impending duties weighed on his mind. The surprise attack had been his idea, but the window was closing. Delaying the assault would give the settlement time to regroup, nullifying the invaders' advantage.
Khan's eyes widened when he saw mana condensing inside the leader's muscles. The Scalqa's arms and shoulders bulged, almost ripping off the bone armor he wore. The alien also released a battle cry, forcefully stepping forward and throwing a punch into the air.
The mana accumulated inside the alien's muscles followed the punch's movement, shooting forward to affect the area ahead. An invisible shockwave advanced through the air, destroying the ground below and dispersing the fumes. The attack had to cross several meters before losing power and stopping.
The Scalqa leader didn't advance after the attack. He kept his arms lifted as he studied the conical hole he created. He found no trace of the little creature, but a chill ran down his spine when a voice spoke from above him.
"Interesting," Khan commented, standing on the leader's right shoulder as he also inspected the conical hole.
The leader's mind lost any trace of reason. The alien couldn't follow Khan's movements at all. He couldn't even understand what had happened, but that didn't matter anymore. Khan had to die.
The Scalqa leader put strength into his left arm, but Khan completed his attack before he could swing it. Immense weight fell on the alien's shoulder, slamming it on the ground.
The alien shouted, but dirt soon filled his mouth. Khan replicated the previous attack while pressing on the Scalqa's head. The alien's face was basically digging into the ground, but his awareness remained intact.
'They are as tough as I expected,' Khan thought before slamming his foot on the alien's nape. His attack now focused on damaging rather than pushing, leading to the intended effects. The Scalqa leader had fainted.
The exchange had been so quick that the other team members failed to do anything to help their leader. They only understood what had happened when Khan crouched down to lift the fainted Scalqa. That disrespectful action triggered their anger, and many lifted their arms to prepare for a fight. Yet, all of them froze under Khan's bright eyes.
"Don't throw your lives away," Khan ordered, and a tremor ran through the symphony, affecting the aliens' balance. No one fell, but the event conveyed the immense difference in power.
Khan lost interest in the weaker aliens and adjusted the Scalqa leader on his back before stepping into the air. The other Scalqa could only follow him with their eyes before the thick crowns hid his figure.
The settlement was still noisy, but the Scalqa had mostly regrouped. Part of the tribe was attending to the tents and Rok-Go, while the others had approached the rocky barrier. The invaders had gotten close enough to generate tremors they could hear, and Khan's explosions had also provided general directions.
The warriors inside the settlement split into four teams, with three guarding the explosions' directions and one surveilling the nearby opening in the barrier. They were ready to defend their home, and their enemies eventually appeared.
A series of Scalqa donned in pelts and wielding slings and wooden spears came out of the trees, approaching the rocky barrier at high speed. Both sides prepared to fire their weapons at their opponents, but one suddenly stopped to look at the sky.
The invaders' strange behavior made the defenders stop, too, and all the eyes in the area soon converged in the sky above the settlement. Khan had returned, and the huge figure in his hand seemed able to end the conflict.
Khan held the Scalqa leader by the neck, showing him left and right as he hovered above the settlement. The alien had yet to wake up, but his bone armor spoke for his status. Even the Scalqa with poor eyesight could recognize who Khan had defeated.
Khan spun on himself a few times to convince everyone of the event before slowly descending into the settlement. Capturing the enemy leader was a basic military tactic, and the enemy Scalqa acknowledged it by lowering their spears. Khan had single-handedly vanquished their will to assault the tribe.
