Chapter Ninety-One: Courage

After spending some time speaking with the young warrior from the Land of Light named Sars, Yue Longze learned that more than three months had already passed since the battle in which he had taken part, and that Judea had long since been revived.

In the universe, many monsters had gone berserk under the influence of dark energy, and an enormous number of mass-produced Dark Lopuses had suddenly appeared as well.

These rampaging monsters and the mass-produced Dark Lopuses continued to wreak havoc across the cosmos, forcing nearly every combat-capable Ultra Warrior of the Land of Light to deploy in full force, slaughtering the out-of-control beasts and the Dark Lopuses wherever they went.

The young warrior Sars was one of them. Unfortunately, he had encountered several monsters along the way and nearly lost his life; only Yue Longze's intervention had saved him.

Sars also brought Yue Longze an important piece of news: other troublesome beings had appeared in the universe, leaving the upper ranks of the Land of Light overwhelmed and struggling to cope.

But Sars's knowledge was, after all, extremely limited. He was only a low-ranking warrior of the Land of Light, and there were many things he understood far less clearly than the higher authorities did.

Yue Longze folded his arms and gave Sars a slight nod. He understood that if he wanted to learn more, he would have to return to the Land of Light and seek answers there.

After a brief rest, Yue Longze and Sars set out on the road back to the Land of Light.

Fortunately, with Sars leading the way, Yue Longze would not have to take the detours he otherwise might have needed to return on his own.

...

"Senior, which planet are you from?"

Along the way, Sars asked Yue Longze curiously. Yue Longze only shook his head; he did not know how to answer.

His own experiences were too astonishing to believe. Who would ever guess that Yue Longze had originally been nothing more than an ordinary Earthling living an uneventful life?

Seeing this, Sars could only awkwardly fall silent...

But it seemed this journey home would not be peaceful. Before long, Yue Longze and the young warrior Sars encountered rampaging, berserk monsters once again.

There were only two of them, far fewer than the seven or eight minor monsters they had faced before, but in terms of quality, these were by no means comparable to the earlier ones.

They were black all over, with a huge golden horn on their heads, a jackal-like face, and a belly lined with snake-like folds, much like Red King.

Black King! A formidable foe capable of withstanding the Spacium Beam!

With twin pincers on its head and a black, hard shell on its back.

The Magnet Monster Antlar! Another monster capable of nullifying the Spacium Beam!

As a warrior of the Land of Light, recognizing all kinds of monsters was essential, so Sars identified these two formidable creatures before Yue Longze did.

In truth, Yue Longze did not know much about these Showa-era monsters, but from their aura alone he could clearly sense their power.

With a grave expression, Sars quickly told Yue Longze about the traits of the two monsters. After listening, Yue Longze nodded faintly, then looked directly at the two beasts ahead, his gaze sharpening.

The Cloud-Spreading Sword flashed into his hand in a wash of silver light. Beneath his feet, the Ghost Step unfolded, and he charged toward the two Showa-era monsters.

Sars, however, froze where he stood. Faced with such powerful monsters, he had not even the courage to fight.

The Iago Sword Art erupted. The Cloud-Spreading Sword drew a sky full of dazzling afterimages, slicing rapidly across the bodies of Antlar and Black King, sending out sparks of blinding brilliance and inflicting continuous damage on both monsters.

Many monsters possessed great strength, yet were lacking in speed.

In Yue Longze's view, the truly troublesome foes were aliens who were just as nimble and could also fire destructive beams!

...

Watching Yue Longze remain utterly at ease and in the upper hand against such formidable monsters, Sars was stunned once again.

"Hey, kid!"

During the brief opening in combat, Yue Longze frowned and shouted at the dazed Sars.

"An Ultra Warrior cannot lose his courage!"

Yue Longze had seen through the cowardice in Sars's heart and could not help feeling a little disappointed.

It seemed not every Ultra Warrior possessed the courage to advance without fear.

To Sars, Black King and the Magnet Monster Antlar might indeed have been terrifying, and they were further strengthened by their dark-energy-induced berserk state. But to Yue Longze, they were nothing more than small fry, not truly formidable at all, merely somewhat able to withstand certain beam attacks and lacking anything else particularly outstanding.

Slaying a monster did not necessarily require a beam skill.

For example, the Leo Flying Kick.

...

"Hyah!"

With a thunderous shout, Yue Longze leaped a thousand meters into the air. High above, his right foot was engulfed in raging flames, the fire dancing wildly as he gathered tremendous force and shot toward Black King like a loosed arrow.

It was the Leo Flying Kick taught to him by Ultraman Zero!

"Boom!"

Like a bolt of thunder, Black King's massive and sturdy body was directly pierced through by Yue Longze's Leo Flying Kick!

Black King's huge, ferocious eyes blinked as it struggled to look down at its own abdomen, only to see a gaping hole opened there, still exhaling white smoke from the intense heat.

Black King stood stunned for several seconds, then its eyes rolled back and the enormous body crashed to the ground at once.

Black King: slain.

As the Iago Sword Art grew more practiced, and as life-and-death battles became more frequent, Yue Longze's strength continued to improve as well.

In Sars's eyes, Yue Longze was now fully qualified to join the Ultra Brothers.

...

A slender violet ray quietly slipped out of Black King's dead body and fled toward the distance, but even this did not escape Yue Longze's eyes.

Yet Yue Longze had no time to concern himself with the purple light, because the Magnet Monster Antlar was still waiting for him to deal with.

Still, Yue Longze could guess that the violet energy that had slipped away must have been the so-called dark riot energy residing within the monster's body.

...

Facing the remaining Magnet Monster Antlar, Yue Longze suddenly had an idea: he would let Sars fight it.

In Yue Longze's opinion, Sars lacked that fearless courage; only through repeated battle could it be forged.

Yue Longze lifted the Cloud-Spreading Sword and, with one fierce strike, sent the Magnet Monster Antlar flying far away. Then he turned and waved to Sars not far off, beckoning him over.

...

"Do you think you possess something called courage?"

Yue Longze withdrew the Cloud-Spreading Sword, folded his arms, and asked Sars, who stood before him, in the tone of a senior.

"Courage..."

Sars's eyes sharpened, then he lowered his head and stammered, "S-Sorry, Senior! I... don't!"

"Then go find your courage!"

Yue Longze pointed with his right hand, his silver fingertip indicating Antlar, which was already charging toward them with heavy steps, and went on, "Perhaps it has the courage you need!"

As he spoke, Antlar had already rushed in again. Yue Longze's earlier sword strike had seemed fierce, but in truth it had only cut against Antlar's hard black shell and caused no real damage.

This was not because the Cloud-Spreading Sword could not split its carapace. Yue Longze had simply wanted Antlar to preserve some strength so that Sars could fight it.

And Sars still stood frozen in place. At his current level, he was not even a reserve member of the Universe Guard; he was merely approaching the standard required to qualify as one.

To face such a powerful Antlar, he truly had no chance of victory.