Chapter 1107: Arrival
Translator: Sean88888 Editor: Elkassar1
Sheyan’s analysis broke things down into details and scrutinised them meticulously, taking almost all the possible responses of the enemies into calculation. The “native” humans did not show much of a reaction, but there was a complicated feeling in the contestants’ hearts. Even Ronnie shook his head privately and sighed. The other two MTs, Hedi Curry and Azsa, had lost for a reason after all.
Sheyan may be just a Growth-Hunter, but even Awakener MTs were no match for him!
At this time, the purple reeds on the island had also been lit ablaze by the stray flames. A great fire rose on the island and smoke covered half the sky. Besides the odour of smoke and fire, the humans could also smell the scent of cooked meat, which came from the bodies of the burnt Violent Beasts.
Sheyan and the other contestants were fine, but the native humans had to stop their saliva from dripping. The animals on this planet were too strong and were very difficult to kill unless they used guns. Therefore, the diet of the native humans consisted mostly of vegetables.
Hadrick waved his hand, and the group of native humans quietly sneaked onto the island. Amidst the chaos, they managed to catch a couple of Violent Beasts and brought them back after stuffing their mouths with mud. They would finally have some meat to eat soon.
Sheyan sensed that the three Xenomorphs had become really angry; they had increased the speed of their patrol under the swamp. That was to say, it would be almost impossible to sneak onto the island again, for the time being. But it did not matter; what they had achieved tonight was decent enough.
The humans returned to their campsite. As soon as they did, they had a joyful feast of meat and beer.
After some consideration, Hadrick decided to relocate their campsite to a place that was well-concealed and was close to the Violent Beast den.
The reason for moving the campsite was simple – the previous one was simply too far away from the Violent Beasts. If the Violent Beasts and the Xenomorphs felt threatened and suddenly moved elsewhere, the humans would be caught off guard. With the new camp, they would be quickly alerted and could rush over to snipe at the beasts.
Sheyan did not show too much excitement even though the first attack was successful. He stood alone on a ridge and watched the horizon turn from pitch black to dark blue and from dark blue to the marble white of dawn. At first, it seemed like it was going to be a fine day, but dark clouds soon rolled over. The day would be marred by bad weather.
Sheyan’s brows wrinkled. If it rained, it meant that the river would rise. That meant the effect of the curly paulownia seeds would surely be weakened. This was not good news for them at all.
In addition, the combat effectiveness of the Violent Beasts and the Xenomorphs would not be affected by heavy rain thanks to their body structures, but the same could not be said of the humans.
“Will we be delayed for another day?” For some reason, Sheyan had an uneasy feeling. He looked up to the sky and found that the dense black clouds seemed to be pressing down on the ground, giving him an oppressive feeling.
Under such an environment on such a strange planet, Sheyan felt a strong pressure. At this moment, Hadrick came over and looked towards the sky too.
“What’s the matter, worried about the weather? Don’t worry, it’ll rain in the morning, but it should stop in the afternoon. We didn’t sleep well last night, so let’s use this opportunity to have a good rest in the morning,” he said confidently.
Sheyan relaxed a little after hearing Hadrick’s words. Then, he suddenly recalled something. “Hadrick, I mean no offence, but I’ve heard before that when a Xenomorph lays an egg in a human body, it’ll take twenty-four hours at most for the Xenomorph baby to hatch, so your companions have probably….”
Hadrick shook his head and said with calm but cruel anticipation, “The air content on this planet is different, so the maturation period of Xenomorph eggs is prolonged a little…. And even if I can’t save them, I want the murderers to go down with them!”
Hadrick said the last few words with vehemence! Sheyan could immediately tell that among those that were parasitised by the Xenomorphs, there must be people who were important to Hadrick. Given that they were abducted here by the Predators due to having strong fighting prowesses, they were unlikely to be Hadrick’s family members. Sheyan guessed it must be Hadrick’s girlfriend. Of course, it could be his boyfriend too….
***
In the boundless universe.
A strange-looking spaceship was traveling at high speed.
The spaceship was shaped like a ring, but about a-sixth of the ring was missing. Its size was huge – the length of the ring likely exceeded 20 kilometers. If it was to be likened to an object on Earth, it would be like an extremely large horseshoe.
On the surface of the spaceship were strange patterns, reminiscent of a combination of bones and tendons. There was also a faint red bloody glow on the outer shell of the spaceship, giving it a vibe of bloodthirst. The spaceship was heavy, simple, dignified, and elegant, like the bronze wares from the Shang Dynasty of ancient China.
The spaceship had no exhaust, so it was difficult to determine where the head of the spaceship lay. There was only one huge symbol.
In the movie Alien vs. Predator I, this symbol was the mysterious symbol drawn by a Predator on the female lead’s cheek with Xenomorph blood.
This symbol was a special symbol for the Predators. It was the mark of the Blooded Predators.
(TL: The last symbol in this image: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7f/41/db/7f41dbf1375170a28642f07d4bf7c89a.jpg )
The so-called Blooded Predator was the rank attained by the Young Blood Predators upon successfully undergoing a rite of passage: killing their first Xenomorph and carving the symbol of a true-blooded warrior on their helmet and forehead with the corrosive blood of the Xenomorph. The Blooded Predators were the nobles on planet Yautja Prime. They were equipped with various heavy armours and powerful weapons, and were also the main force of the Predator society.
That’s right, the mission of this spaceship was to transport the Young Blood initiates to planet Uplos, their trial planet. On the ship were sixteen Young Bloods who would take part in the initiation, and nearly a hundred members of a Predator clan.
The Predators have a matriarchal society, like the Xenomorphs – their supreme leader is a queen. They have a complete social system similar to the old imperial society on Earth. The Predators also have the same strong desire to kill as the Xenomorphs, but their desire was entirely different in essence. They regarded killing as glory and would constantly wander in space to find worthy game. Any planet that showed signs of life would be their goal.
They like to collect the heads of their prey as trophies. The Predators have a strict Code of Honour. They regard killing their own kind as a disgrace and will not slaughter unarmed opponents or pregnant prey. It was probably the reason why this killing race kept becoming stronger.
The Predators have very advanced technology. They excel at multi-angle observation and self-concealment, and are equipped with advanced weaponry and stealth devices to enable them to kill without revealing themselves. However, water can completely disperse their invisibility.
Their social hierarchy is as follows: The Predator Queen → The Elders (similar to the rank of dukes, the Elders own their own territory and army, and are characterised by the skull they carry on their hand, which is the skull of the greatest enemy in their lifetime) → The Arbitrators (who wear sets of striking red armours) → The Elites (veteran fighters who wear grey capes) → The Blooded (who bear the mark of successfully passing the rite of passage on their forehead).
(TL: According to my research, this hierarchy is based more on the Predator games than the Predator movies.)
Each caste was also further divided into different categories according to the difference in weapon used and the different roles they played in a battle, like the infantries, artilleries and tank soldiers in human armies. This will be mentioned later.
The highest commander on the spaceship was an Arbitrator in red armour. He folded his hands in front of his chest as he stood in the cockpit like a statue, looking at the vast and boundless universe in front of him.
The Arbitrator Predator suddenly asked in a hoarse voice, “How much longer before we reach Game Preserve Planet?”
(TL: I think planet Uplos may be Game Preserve Planet. A lot of the descriptions match. I’ll be referring to it as Game Preserve Planet from now on – https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/Game_Preserve_Planet )
“Based on the time unit of the humans, we need at least four more days, provided that those damn humans don’t play any more tricks – that, or we don’t run away from them like cowardly mice anymore!” An Elite Predator walked over and said slowly.
“Shut your trap, Veron!” The Arbitrator turned around and looked at the indignant Elite as he told him flatly, “It’s the will of Her Majesty the Great Queen to not make large-scale contact with the humans on this plane. She told us that if we were to engage in a direct, large-scale conflict with these humans without enough protection, we risk the complete collapse of all our planes! You, I, and everyone else must humbly obey and execute the Queen’s will. Go get yourself ten whips later!”
The Elite, Veron was not too surprised about his punishment, but he continued to retort in indignation, “But my lord! We can already confirm that the goddamn humans have sent their people to pollute our sacred Game Preserve Planet!”
“That’s what your cleansing squad is for. When you arrive, clean up the beautiful planet, Veron. But remember, if those guys can escape from your attack, it proves that they possess enough qualities to become our prey. Don’t let your killing lust blind your eyes and reason.” The Arbitrator told Veron flatly.
At that moment, a few lines suddenly showed on a large screen on the spaceship, notifying that several human spaceships were detected near the wormhole in front. This was the masterpiece of General Mungo’s crazy orders.
Seeing the notification, the Arbitrator passed down an order faintly, “We won’t make another detour. We’ll force our way through!”