"Fly up!"
That was almost every Pioneer's first thought at that moment.
The Space-Time Fortress responded to their collective will, increasing the power of its anti-gravity propulsion system and ascending into the sky.
The metal base near the ground was under constant attack from the gray Bean Soldiers, sending dense ripples through the ultra-pure water barrier. In retaliation, the Space-Time Fortress kept launching Space Boxes containing sealed Shadow Wall Demons toward the areas where the gray Bean Soldiers were.
As the Space-Time Fortress gradually neared the clouds, the lower-ranking scholars on the expedition also began to see the ruined celestial body.
Its surface was pitted, and nearly half of it had been completely reduced to sand. The body had an irregular, semi-ellipsoidal shape that was unpleasant to look at.
The Pioneers present seemed eager to get moving.
Aside from the few who stayed behind to guard the Space-Time Fortress, the vast majority of Pioneers took to the air and flew toward the ruined celestial body, which was not far away.
"Hang in there, you little brat!"
Corleon clenched his teeth and spoke in a low voice, forcing the words out from deep in his throat.
As the Pioneers came within several thousand meters of the celestial body, the high-temperature flames and chaotic natural energy caused the surrounding space-time to warp slightly. Even the Pioneers' forms wavered as they drew near, unsettled by the violent, chaotic energy.
"Hiss... Is that it?"
When the astrologer Hei'erwen saw the bizarre giant on the far side of the celestial body, in the ruined area that had been nearly sheared flat, he couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath.
It was a squat, thick-trunked tree, dazzling with every color of the rainbow—far more grotesque than the breadfruit trees once found in the Academic World.
At