Published at 22nd of May 2026 6:34 am

Chapter 7494 Sharpening Against Death

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Nobody seemed to know much about the deathborn.

Many people attempted to come up with explanations why they appeared all of a sudden.

The majority of the population ascribed to the theory that they consisted of the lingering consciousness of deceased sentient beings.

The disclosure of E energy radiation along with other revelations related to human civilization's darker history persuaded a lot of people to believe in the existence of souls.

The deathborn may be what might happen to some of them if they died with lingering regrets or anger.

For whatever reason, their souls failed to move on to the afterlife, and suffered a mysterious punishment that transformed them into malevolent entities.

Every contact between the living and the dead resulted in violence as far as everyone knew.

There was no way to communicate or reason with the deathborn. The latter always tried to attack and suck out the lives of those with intact and honest souls.

This also made it difficult if not impossible to study the deathborn!

This attracted the attention of many parties. If not for the more acute threats posed by the native aliens and the mutated voribugs, the major players would have invested a lot more resources and attention into exploring this mysterious new phenomenon!

For the time being, everyone had set this matter aside for later.

The problem now was that the combined fleet could no longer resort to this convenient approach.

If the Red Cabal truly interacted with the deathborn in a non-hostile manner, then it became imperative for humans to find out what was happening and crash this party!

"We know too little about the deathborn phenomenon." Saint Commander Casella Ingvar stated with a serious expression. "They are a novelty brought by the exposure of exotic radiation from Messier 87. Every documentation that we have about the deathborn describe how dangerous and hostile they are. If there is a chance the Red Cabal is planning to exploit their power against our race, it is our responsibility to uncover this scheme and stop it in its tracks. Be prepared. We may face a brand-new opponent that fights according to very different rules."

Multiple people nodded in acknowledgement.

"Since they are all intangible by nature, purely material attacks have proven to be ineffective against these undead apparitions." Gloriana mentioned after she referenced a report. "Mundane forces have reported significant difficulties in eliminating them. Mundane weapons are not entirely ineffective against them, but their performance varies drastically in different cases. We will have to find out by ourselves whether we are properly equipped to eliminate these deathborn."

Ves maintained his confidence. "From what I can read and guess about the deathborn, we should be far better off than others in this regard. They are probably similar to many of the incorporeal enemies that we have encountered in the past. In fact, I suspect that the so-called 'dark gods' such as the Unending One that we have encountered all the way back in the Nyxian Gap during the previous age may be related to this phenomenon. If this theory is correct, then Casella's Command Field alone will ensure that all of our assets will be able to hurt the deathborn badly. If not, we have many other extraordinary tools at our disposal that can allow us to contend with these undead ghosts."

"Let us not make too many assumptions in advance." The Saint Commander warned Ves and the others. "According to the vague intelligence gathered by our seers, the concentration of death energy in the Hypeh-Tekas System far exceeds the norm of a typical frontline battlefield. The deathborn are known to feed off the demise of living sentients, so it is highly likely they have evolved into newer and much more powerful forms. We must also not forget about the Red Cabal. If the phase whales or other native aliens have been able to maintain a presence in this star system without getting drawn into a conflict, then they may indeed be colluding with the deathborn. Fighting both kinds of opponents at the same time will test our strength."

She was right. Though nobody wanted to see this particular scenario come true, they may very well be forced into a confrontation between an unlikely coalition between these two drastically different groups!

The uncertainty of it all cast a shadow over this looming incident.

Nobody knew what to expect from the opposition. The lack of intelligence left them in the dark about the enemy's plans, disposition, strength and other vital pieces of information.

Much of the reason why the Larkinsons and other red humans managed to do well so far was due to being so well-informed about what lay ahead.

They never went in blindly if they could help it. They diligently collected data from multiple sources and meticulously analyzed them in order to understand their opposition as best as possible.

For weeks, the native aliens failed to resist these methods. They possessed too many territories. Their strength was too dispersed. They were also divided into multiple major races that all possessed their own egos.

Not even the Red Cabal could solve all of these problems at once. It could only leverage so much power and resources in this region.

That made the Hypeh-Tekas System all the more interesting. Out of all of the possible locations they could choose to guard against human spying, they chose to do so in an 'empty' star system with no existing alien infrastructure!

There was no way the phase whales or whoever else was in charge did all of this in vain!

Once the meeting came to an end, Ves decided to check up on the units that would have to confront a mysterious new group of enemies very soon.

The Saint Commander had just transmitted a new directive to them. Many soldiers expressed confusion at first.

"The deathborn?"

"How are we supposed to fight these rabid ghosts?"

"Are hyper weapons effective against these opponents?"

The lack of familiarity with the deathborn phenomenon generated a lot of questions among the servicemen. It did not help that the Larkinsons did not have access to enough reputable sources of information about these new enemies.

There was hardly any documentation on the more powerful variants that were rumored to exist!

The Larkinsons and other forces essentially had to go in blind. That put them all on edge. Nobody knew whether their weapons could truly pose a threat against the deathborn when they had absorbed a lot more death energy than in previous encounters.

"We fear no ghosts." Saint Dise plainly stated as she sat in front of her inactive ace mech while polishing the blade of her personal greatsword. "I have fought and bested many beasts and monsters. These deathborn are merely the next variety of inhuman creatures on my list. My blades can cut through anything. You made sure of that. If that is not enough to do the job, then my willpower will make sure the deathborn shall regret my coming."

Though Ves respected her confidence, he still remained skeptical about her effectiveness in the coming engagement.

"While I applaud your confidence, please do not take this enemy for granted. My wife and I designed the First Sword Mark III to excel in killing phase lords and other champion units that we are familiar with. The sword fey and the Decapitator are excellent at penetrating through transphasic energy shields and material obstacles. What I am not so certain about is whether they will remain so exaggeratingly effective against intangible opponents, especially ones that are stronger and more mysterious. The deathborn may be based on a completely different paradigm. In other words, they do not play by the same rules."

That caused Saint Dise to frown and take this emerging threat more seriously. "Are you saying that a superdimensional sword will cut through the body of a deathborn without causing any harm?"

"No. Not necessarily." He said. "Superdimensional weapons, especially the high-grade ones, are exceptionally dense in mass, but you can't see it under normal circumstances because much of it is displaced in other dimensions. The higher the grade, the more dimensions involved. It is this relationship that makes superdimensional objects a little more extraordinary than you think. Not all dimensions are normal. There are many that possess special properties, of which some may contribute to causing harm to the deathborn. However, there is so little empirical data on this subject that we do not know the extent of this effect."

"I suppose we will find out soon enough, then." Saint Dise spoke with understanding. "Do you want me to test whether my superdimensional blades are effective against these new enemies?"

"Yes, but only if you can control the situation. Do not put yourself and your battle partner at risk. If you think it is possible, then please try to cut the deathborn with both your sword fey and your greatsword. The former consists of mid-grade superdimensional alloy, which is not the best, but is far more ubiquitous. The latter is made out of weapon-grade superdimensional alloy. It is the best of what red humanity can attain at the moment. It is imperative that we limit testing both those weapons against our new enemies."

"I can do that, Ves. Do I need to refrain from using other powers?"

"Please do so if possible." He confirmed. "Your willpower and the metal E energy that you command are other potential weapons that you can employ against the deathborn. They are probably much more effective against the deathborn since they are also intangible in nature. However, not everyone has access to them, especially in the magnitudes that you have reached. I need data that can be applied to more general situations in order to establish a baseline. So if you can, please swing your blades without any other extraordinary means of empowerment."

That caused the female ace pilot to look troubled. She had become so accustomed to channeling her true resonance through her weapons that she found it difficult to do the opposite.

"I will do my best. I suppose it is an interesting exercise for me. Do I have to hold myself back forever?"

"No. Just long enough to collect enough data. You should try out this approach against each distinct unit type of the deathborn. I am sure that this mysterious opposition will field many units of both low-quality and high-quality variations."

"Are you sure about that, sir? What if the deathborn have all merged together into a single massive ghost monster?"

"Then… only use your bare blades if you think that you can withstand the pressure. Do not take any unnecessary risks."

He could not provide any more guidance than that. They had way too little information to work with. Saint Dise would just have to rely on her judgment.

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