Red Dragon Spaceship Awakening: I Gain Alien Abilities on Mars-Chapter 199: Journey to the Crosspoint [1]

The next day, early in the morning, Tatehan found himself seated in a Skyblade, cutting through the Martian sky with three guards accompanying him as they headed toward the Crosspoint, a city positioned at the very center of Mars, equidistant from all the major settlements, making it the natural choice for diplomatic gatherings like the summit.

Skyblades were typically known as compact, single-pilot vehicles: sleek, dart-shaped craft designed for speed and maneuverability, capable of carrying just one person through the atmosphere with minimal energy expenditure. But the one Tatehan was riding in was different. This was a modified, long-range variant, larger and more spacious, designed to carry up to four people comfortably. The interior was utilitarian but not cramped: four seats arranged in a square formation around a central control console, with viewports that offered a panoramic view of the landscape below.

Tatehan sat in one of the rear seats, his arms folded across his chest, while the three guards occupied the other positions. One of them, a lean, sharp-eyed woman with close-cropped hair, sat at the controls, her hands moving with ease over the holographic interface that governed the Skyblade’s flight path. The other two guards: a burly man with a scarred neck and a younger recruit who looked barely out of his teens, sat quietly, their expressions neutral, eyes occasionally flicking to the viewports as the world rushed past below.

The ladies (Lyra and Riven) should have come with him. Or at least one of them. Tatehan had expected as much, given how involved they had been in everything leading up to this point. But both had opted to sit this one out, choosing instead to stay behind and help with reconstruction efforts at the Red Crest Clan base.

He wasn’t sure they could come with him though since this was a very important meeting that required no disclosure or something like that.

Lyra had mentioned something about assisting with repairs to the damaged infrastructure, while Riven had volunteered to help coordinate supply distribution for the displaced civilians still sheltering within the clan’s walls.

Yes, some civilians had been helped into the clan’s base while they repaired their homes. The Red crest clan base was so big it was barely noticeable.

Tatehan had understood that it wasn’t possible for them (or at least one of them) to come with him. But a part of him had still wished for the company, if only to have someone to talk to during the flight.

Now, though, he was glad for the silence. It gave him time to think. And a damn lot of time to see.

Up in the sky, with nothing but open air and the vast expanse of Mars stretching out beneath them, the city looked almost beautiful.

Tatehan pressed his face closer to the viewport, his breath fogging the glass slightly as he took in the view. The Red Crest Clan’s territory sprawled below, a mix of towering structures and winding paths that seemed to glow faintly in the early morning light. It was damn large, like a large street.

The architecture was distinctly Martian: angular, efficient, built to withstand the harsh environment, but there was an elegance to it as well, a sense of design that went beyond mere functionality.

And Tatehan didn’t think there was anything too harsh about the environment. Sure it was different from Earth, Tatehan found it to be kinda similar now with all the terraforming.

Moving past the Red crest clan base, Tatehan noticed that a lot of places were picturesque. The central district, with its glittering spires and interconnected sky-bridges, looked like something out of a futuristic dream.

The residential zones, with their tiered housing complexes and rooftop gardens, added splashes of green to the otherwise red and grey landscape. Even the industrial sectors, with their towering manufacturing plants and energy refineries, had a certain stark beauty to them, their smokestacks and cooling towers rising like monuments to human ingenuity.

The city was futuristic and awe-inspiring, a testament to what humanity could achieve when pushed to the edge of survival.

But then, scattered throughout that beauty, were the scars, something he had almost forgotten completely.

Places that had been demolished ... buildings reduced to rubble .... streets cratered and torn apart. The damage was impossible to ignore, stark and brutal against the otherwise pristine skyline.

Tatehan’s gaze lingered on one particular section of the city: a residential district that had been nearly flattened during his earlier fight with the Boulder-Back Behemoth. He could still remember the chaos of that battle, the way the creature had torn through buildings like they were made of paper, its massive bulk crushing everything in its path. He had managed to kill it, eventually, but not before entire blocks had been leveled.

And then there was the more recent destruction. The aftermath of the Mech Monster’s rampage. Whole sections of the industrial quarter were still smoking, the twisted wreckage of machinery and buildings jutting up like broken teeth. The cleanup crews were working around the clock, but it would be weeks, maybe months, before the damage was fully repaired. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Tatehan stared at the ruins, his face growing thoughtful.

The Obscuron.

All of this!

Every broken building, every lost life, every moment of fear and chaos....could be traced back to that one man. The Obscuron, the shadowy figure who controlled the forces that had been tearing Mars apart. The man who had sent the Boulder-Back Behemoth, the monsters from the wastelands, the Mech Monster, and God knows how many other horrors to assault the cities.

A man who controlled the West of Mars!

Maybe Tatehan hadn’t been thinking about this too deeply. How could one man control the whole west of Mars.

It was like saying one dude controlled the whole west of Earth, a planet so large the west of it would contain many nations.

It was the same with Mars too. Mars was kinda large too and ... a ... a man! controlled the whole west of it?!