765 Mars Isn't Safe, Yet

Looking at the third sun that gave off a burning red light, Varian frowned. In front of that sun was a spaceship he was very familiar with.

'What is she…?'

Before he could think too deeply, he sensed the fluctuations of space and his eyebrows jumped. "Bali?"

Varian subconsciously held his breath as he waited for the answer.

Enigma could hear the expectation in his voice. If it was Sia, perhaps she'd have played a prank.

But she…

Enigma sighed inwardly and nodded. "Yes."

Varian stretched his stiff body and stood up from the bed. His injuries weren't completely healed, but he was in a much better condition.

He sat on the bed and turned to Enigma to ask for an explanation.

Enigma, lying on the couch with an exhausted face, looked at him with an expressionless face.

But for some reason, Varian could read a trace of resentment in her eyes. She already knew Varian was going to ask her to explain what happened. It's as if she was blaming him for asking her to talk despite her exhaustion.

Varian blinked twice, wondering if he was seeing things.

Enigma's face was still expressionless. Her eyes were still indifferent. It's as if his hunch was a lie.

But Varian waved his hand. "Rest for now. We can talk later."

Enigma raised a brow at his unexpected response. 'Is he caring about my condition?'

Compared to Varian who only had to fight low and mid level 8s, Enigma had to take care of four peak level 8s and two level 9s. She had it much harder.

The only reason she didn't faint was she didn't feel safe leaving Varian unguarded. Even inside the ghost ship.

So, hearing him say those words, the final string holding her snapped and she dozed off.

'This is a safe place and yet you stayed awake to watch over me until I woke up.' Varian shook his head helplessly and signaled to Boo who appeared in the room at some point.

The ghost understood his intention and placed Enigma on a comfortable bed and covered her with a blanket.

With a nod from Varian, Boo explained the few but highly significant events that transpired after he fainted.

Varian's expression grew grave with each word and he rubbed his forehead as he decided his next action plan.

In the meantime, he asked Boo to pick up the final survivors of the fifty level 9 warriors—two old men who were about to be transferred to an emergency unit.

When the ghost ship intercepted them at the military hospital, the soldiers in the surroundings channeled their powers and were about to strike.

"Oh? You still have business with us?"

"Make it worth it."

The two old men chuckled and entered the ghost ship without any hesitation. Boo put them in healing tubes and told them to rest until it was time.

Even though they had doubts, the old men had serious injuries from the earlier battle, so, they closed their eyes and focused on recovering.

On the other hand, Varian was racking his brains as he decided on his next move.

There were two suspects for the traitor—the Sovereign who visited all the ruins at least once.

Ares. Albert.

But Varian also added Julius to the list.

So, whatever he was about to do, Varian decided to keep it as much ambiguous as he could from the three Sovereigns.

So, he didn't touch Mercury and Earth. He even left out Venus.

With Mars' conditions, there's no way he could expect any help from the planet. So, he shifted to the next planets.

Jupiter. Saturn. Uranus. Neptune.

Neptune was out of commission since Ares ruled it.

That only left him with Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus.

Taking a deep breath, Varian activated his comm.

Even though Bali finally appeared and would repel Mirage Queen, the fact of the matter was that Mars lost most of its level 9s.

Along with them, hundreds of level 8s were killed and dozens of planetoids were captured.

Whether Bali held back Mirage Queen for an hour or a week, this tremendous loss wouldn't vanish.

Yet...

'They're already celebrating.' Varian looked out of the window and his superhuman eyesight caught the crowds cheering in the streets.

The Martians were singing, dancing, and crying as they realized they were going to be safe.

The military, however, only announced a temporary pause of evacuation operations.

The people were too busy celebrating that this message flew over almost everyone's head.

In the end, the military officers didn't have the heart to break their joy and let them do what they wanted for now.

"The dark period is over!"

"Mars will have peace once again!"

'How can peace be that easy?.' Varian sighed.

If he didn't do anything, abyssals would quickly occupy the planetoids and in no time, launch an invasion on Mars.

Since he spent time as Prince Var, Varian was fully aware that time was pressing for Abyssals and they weren't going to remain passive like in the past.

So, they'd launch a war against Mars for certain. When they do, Mirage Queen would hold back Bali.

The rest of Mirage Abyss would face Mars' army, which, after its huge losses, was no match for its counterpart.

Then, Sovereign or not, the loss of the planet would be inevitable.

The only way to prevent such a scenario was to do the crazy thing he's about to do and flip the board.

'Trust. It's a hard word. But I hope I can be trusted.' Varian's expression hardened as three holograms popped up in front of him.

Micheal Caron, Sovereign of Jupiter.

Kevin, Sovereign of Saturn.

Irene Nial, Sovereign of Uranus.

Three of the eight strongest humans looked at Varian with serious expressions.

Despite their experience, they couldn't see any way to keep Mars safe from an Abyssal invasion.

That's why, when Varian told them he had a way, they accepted his call.

"Sovereigns, what I'm about to say is of utmost importance to the survival of Mars," Varian began.