Chapter 1593 — 1593: But first, let me take a selfie

The change was abrupt, yet it did not catch the two groups by surprise. While the primary function of the two arks was transport, Lex had naturally paid close attention to its defensive capabilities as well.

It was nowhere near the same scale as the castle, for the ingredients used to make it were valuable on a universal level. But at the same time, it was nothing to scoff at either. Lex had strengthened the wood as well, making it as durable as possible, while outfitting the ships with the best and strongest defensive formations.

He even took advantage of the fact that there would be numerous immortals on each ship, using formations that would rely on countless people to fuel and run it. This was normally a disadvantage to most formations, as the more people needed to operate it, the greater it would be considered a flaw despite making the formation easier to implement and stronger in function.

Yet on a transport vehicle, where countless people would already be present, it was silly to not take advantage of their numbers.

The hail crashed into the arks' protective barriers, shattering as it did, causing a reverberating boom in the open air. That was the effect of only‌ a single hailstone, with countless more falling each second. If there was one advantage the hail afforded, it was that the locusts also suffered from them.

But Lex did not take that as a good sign just yet. Over the past few weeks, he had heard Kaemon's experiences in detail, and knew that nothing was ever simple here.

He focused all his attention on the hail and immediately noticed something he had missed. The hail was sentient, and filled with the same insatiable hunger that filled the locusts, so when they shattered their own bodies on the protective shields, they left behind a residue of some sort.

Lex had been learning a lot about various energies, but it was impossible for him to learn about all of them so quickly, and so he could not identify what that residue was, exactly, but he knew it was some kind of energy, and it was accumulating quickly over the protective shield.

His instincts warned him not to let that energy contaminate him, or anyone else on the ship, or they may not survive uninjured!

"Energy reserves are depleting faster than expected!" exclaimed one of the staffers maintaining the shields. "We won't be able to maintain this for more than a couple minutes."

Lex thought of multiple ways to resolve the issue, but he took no action just yet. Instead, he simply watched as Z managed the situation.

250 people were required to maintain the formation at any time, and at the current rate of energy drain, even if those people were swapped, they would not be able to maintain shields for more than 10 minutes.

The pressure was building, and the thunderous roar of hail did not help to ease the situation. With everyone looking towards Z to resolve the problem, a hint of panic flashed through his mind. Just as he was about to panic, he noticed something through his spirit sense.

The skies above were raging and the purple liquid below had turned into a death trap of its own, its surface a chaos of heaving swells and crashing waves. The locusts had gone unhinged from their hunger, and the hail was like a ravished beast, harming itself just to get at them.

The shield was fading and many workers were turning pale, not from fear but from energy drain. It seemed like they were a hair's breadth away from death and destruction, yet amidst all the chaos, Lex stood still, his hands peacefully held behind his back, his eyes a deep well of stillness and calm.

It was as if even if the universe itself were to end, it would not cause a stir in those eyes. A silent confidence exuded from his body as if with a single hand he could hold up a collapsing sky, and with his other hand he could preserve an imploding world.

All the doubt suddenly vanished from Z's mind, and hesitation left his body. What did he have to fear? Even though his unreliable boss was just that, unreliable, it was only in terms of workers rights. He would never let them come to harm.

Even if this were a test for Z, what was the worst that could happen? At most, he would just fail. With Lex there to back him up, he did not think the consequences of failure would be so dire. After all, wasn't the point of all this to train him in a safe environment, so that when he faced a dangerous environment on his own, he was ready.

Determination filled Z's mind and he dithered no longer.

"Leonidas, get the battalion to attack the hail. Don't let even one touch the shields. Luthor, turn up the heat. I think those hallucinogens are getting in and causing everyone's minds to waver. Jeffery, go make me a club sandwich - I just realized I forgot to have breakfast in the morning."

As Z began to pass out orders, the chaos of confusion quickly abated, and though everyone moved with urgency, there was no sign of panic anywhere. There was only one person who was stationary throughout, and that was Lex.

Z was making a few mistakes, and he had not noticed that foreign energy, whatever it was, either. But, for now, he was managing well. He assumed that this is probably what Mary felt like looking at him when he started out with a system - constantly making obvious and stupid mistakes.

Yet experience was the best teacher, and it was something everyone had to go through.

Taking a step back and observing everything also allowed him to spend more time detecting issues and thinking of solutions.

It seemed like things in Abaddon were targeting him, and he doubted it was because he had a system. He wasn't silly enough to believe it was just Main-Character-Syndrome either where everything was just targeting him because, well, it was him.

Instead, he started to detect hints as to the real cause. Now, it would be too coincidental for it to be Karma related. After all, all his Karma problems started to come just as he started to learn about Karma. If that was the case, even he would start to think something was up.

But Lex had another theory. It was that he always had a Karma problem, it was just that he was noticing it now.

For example, everything in Abaddon was targeting him because he had overwhelming positive Karma. If he could learn to mask it somehow…

Before doing any of that, however, Lex pulled out his polaroid and posed so that Z and the ark would be visible in the background. He didn't take any pictures during his vacations, but it wasn't too late to start now.