MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 658: Balls Of Steel

As the Last Stand military aircraft tore through the endless expanse of the galaxy, its hull vibrating faintly against the distortion of space, it hurtled toward the Alpha-9 military base with remarkable velocity.

Within the aircraft, soldiers sat together in tightly packed rows, their voices rising in animated conversation, filling the metallic chamber with unrestrained glee and unfiltered happiness.

Each of them, wide-eyed and brimming with adrenaline, spoke endlessly about the mission they had just returned from, recounting every detail and marveling at everything that had happened.

Had there ever been, in the annals of military history, a mission of such scale where every single soldier who departed had returned, alive, intact, and victorious, without a single one coming back as a corpse sealed in a body bag?

The answer was a resounding and undeniable no.

Never, since the inception of the military itself, had such a phenomenon occurred. And so, why wouldn’t the soldiers talk about it? Why wouldn’t they laugh and chatter like children who had stumbled across a miracle in the midst of war?

Some, unable to restrain their curiosity, turned their discussions to those who had been resurrected during the battle. These men and women had fallen, their bodies pierced, torn, or broken in the chaos of combat, only to be brought back by a power so overwhelming it defied understanding.

Questions poured forth like a flood: Where had they gone during death? Had they crossed into the underworld itself? Had they seen the Grim Reaper, a death god, or some eldritch being who ferried souls into the unknown? Had they walked the mysterious, shadowed halls of the death realm itself?

The soldiers yearned for answers, for insight into the greatest mystery of existence. Who among them wouldn’t want to know what lay beyond the veil of death?

But much to their dismay, the resurrected soldiers had no revelations to share. Their replies were both frustrating and chilling in their simplicity: ”We remember nothing.”

To them, death had been no more than the blink of an eye. One instant there was only darkness, an abyssal silence, and the next, light and breath filled their vision and lungs once more.

The soldiers listening to these testimonies felt their enthusiasm deflate, collapsing inward like a punctured balloon. A hush fell over them for a moment as disappointment dulled their curiosity.

But it didn’t take long before the chatter resumed, flowing like a river that could never truly be dammed. They swiftly transitioned into another discussion, their tongues eager to move onto something equally mysterious.

”Do you know who that Major-ranked soldier is? I’ve never seen him before.” One of them asked suddenly, his voice cutting through the noise. He had recognized Anthony’s military rank through his military uniform.

”I haven’t either,” another admitted, shaking his head. ”But I think he must be from the fallen Alpha-6 military base. None of us here at Alpha-9 have ever seen him until today.”

”That’s correct,” a third soldier chimed in, his tone oddly reverent. ”There’s no way we could forget a face that handsome... or a body that perfect.”

At his remark, several soldiers turned to stare at him with raised brows, their expressions hovering between weird and suspicion.

”But if he’s that strong,” another interrupted, brushing past the awkward silence, ”then how in the world did military base Alpha-6 fall in the first place?” His tone dripped with puzzlement as he tried to reconcile Anthony’s presence with the destruction of an entire base.

”Now that you mention it... that’s true,” one of them muttered, his voice lowering as though the thought itself carried weight. ”With that much power, shouldn’t he have been able to protect Alpha-6 on his own?”

Another soldier nodded solemnly. ”The only explanation is that he was away on a mission, or perhaps on leave, when Alpha-6 fell. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

The group murmured their agreement. It was a logical conclusion, one that settled uneasily but reasonably in their minds.

But the soldier who had earlier admired Anthony’s appearance shook his head. ”It seems you’re all forgetting another possibility.”

”Oh?” one of them asked, narrowing his eyes. ”And what exactly did we forget?”

”Maybe,” the soldier said slowly, ”he was there at the base... but back then, he wasn’t nearly as strong as he is now. Perhaps he simply didn’t have the power to save it at the time.”

His words landed in the room like a heavy stone cast into still water, sending ripples of stunned silence outward. None of the others had considered such an idea before. It was outrageous in every sense, but the possibility could not be dismissed outright.

How long had it been since the survivors of Alpha-6 had transferred to Alpha-9? A month? Perhaps two at most? Could a mere handful of weeks explain such a monumental leap in power?

To suggest that a Major-ranked soldier had risen in that impossibly short span to a level comparable to a Supreme Monarch was beyond madness. Even if it had been a decade since Alpha-6’s fall, such an achievement would have been deemed impossible.

”Are you even listening to yourself?” one of the soldiers scoffed, glaring at him. ”That’s impossible. You should think before you spout nonsense.”

The accused soldier, however, did not back down. He leaned forward, his expression firm. ”Impossible for you, yes. But doesn’t mean impossible for him. After all, didn’t you feel that ridiculous surge of mana? He literally reversed time for the entire planet! Who else in existence could achieve such a thing? And then he resurrected the dead, you!” He pointed accusingly at some of the listeners. ”Wouldn’t all of you have called those feats impossible if that Major-ranked soldier hadn’t done them before your very eyes today?”

The air grew silent with his words. Silence reclaimed the room, not in disbelief but in quiet acknowledgment. He was right. They had all felt the mana, a force so vast it seemed to engulf the planet in its totality.

To them, the power displayed today was no different from the dominion of a god. But none of them truly believed in gods; not in the way myth and religion described them. To the soldiers, a god was simply a being whose cultivation and power existed so far above theirs that comparison was meaningless.

Still, was it not a stretch to claim that the white-haired Major had climbed to the status of Supreme Monarch within such a short time? Outrageous feats aside, the logic strained credulity.

”Well, it doesn’t matter what we think,” one soldier said at last, breaking the silence with a weary sigh. ”This is all just wild speculation without a shred of proof.”

He leaned back, his hands resting on his knees, his expression turning pensive. After all, he was just a Master Sergeant, still struggling to awaken his own Intent by pushing his aura to the very peak. His mind was not made to comprehend the feats of beings on a scale he might never touch, not even in a lifetime.

”Indeed,” another agreed. ”It’s nothing but speculation. Why don’t we just ask him directly?”

Every head turned toward the speaker as though he had sprouted a second head. Had he truly lost his mind? To casually suggest approaching a Major-ranked soldier, one who performed godlike miracles, and interrogating him about his abilities was sheer lunacy.

They were mere Master Sergeants. Their place in the military hierarchy was far below that of a Major. What sort of courage, or stupidity, did one need to walk up to such a man with questions?

Even balls of steel would not suffice. Perhaps balls of titanium? Or some indestructible alloy that didn’t even exist?

The idea was met with silence, each soldier firmly deciding not to indulge in such suicidal ambition. If their comrade wished to court death, he was welcome to do so alone. None of them would follow him into that folly, and none of them would be dragged along into his grave.