His Match Is an Interstellar Monster

Chapter 01: An Alpha Stranded on an Alien Planet

Xiao Sa woke up on a chilly night, his bones feeling as if they had been crushed under a heavy weight. His brain, still sluggish from the severe injury, was slow to recover.

He slowly opened his eyes and reached out, his fingers brushing against cold steel bars. The icy touch jolted him fully awake.

He was locked in a metal cage.

Xiao Sa narrowed his eyes and leaned back, resting against the side of the cage to survey his surroundings. It seemed like the storage compartment of a spacecraft, with several metal crates and some cans of food, possibly expired, scattered around.

His body was covered in bruises from the crash, his clothes tattered and dirty, covered in dust and gravel. Xiao Sa lowered his head and touched his warm chest, feeling the strong, steady heartbeat under his hand.

Memories of what happened before he lost consciousness slowly returned.

The starship he was traveling on had crashed, and he had ended up on an unknown alien planet.

The good news was that someone had rescued him.

The bad news was that he was locked up.

The stellar authority gem he had been wearing around his neck was gone, and the fate of his clansmen aboard the starship was uncertain. Three meters away, there was a live alien.

But, despite everything, he was still alive.

A thin man was dozing by the door. Xiao Sa cautiously observed this alien of another species.

Except for being somewhat shorter, the alien's appearance and physical features were similar to his own, with no noticeable scent of pheromones. If Xiao Sa hadn't been certain that the other was not of his species, he might have mistaken him for a Beta if he wasn’t sure of their species.

Xiao Sa was an Alpha. On his home planet, society was composed of the backbone Betas, the rare and precious Omegas, and the Alphas who ruled at the top of the pyramid.

As an S-rank Alpha, Xiao Sa was among the elite.

The drowsy guard bumped his head on the doorframe and jolted awake, his eyes meeting Xiao Sa’s scrutinizing gaze through the cage.

Startled, the guard nearly jumped, instinctively pointing a laser gun at Xiao Sa and watching him warily. "When did you wake up? Who are you? Why were you near our base?"

Xiao Sa: "..." Damn it, I don’t understand their language.

He tilted his head slightly, not understanding a single word of the other party's rapid speech, but he could roughly guess the gist of it. It was probably the standard questions about who he was, where he came from, and where he was going.

Seeing the unfamiliar prisoner in the cage remained silent and only stared at him, the guard furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Why aren't you speaking?" he muttered to himself, "I hope he’s not a mute..."

The guard looked at the sturdy lock on the cage and took two steps closer, tapping the cage bars with impatience. "Cooperate and don't pretend to be mute. When our captain comes over to question you, things will get rougher."

Seeing that Xiao Sa remained silent, the guard shrugged and was about to activate his communicator.

Suddenly, a pair of hands shot out from between the bars like lightning.

The guard's laser gun was suddenly yanked to the side by an irresistible force, causing him to lose balance and crash into the iron cage!

Hands like iron bands, one clamped down on the guard's wrist holding the gun, while the other mercilessly gripped his throat.

The laser gun clattered to the ground. Xiao Sa’s grip on the guard did not waver, as if his injuries had no effect on him at all.

"Give me the keys. Open the cage."

The guard heard a low voice from the left side of his head, but the words were completely incomprehensible.

"What—?"

The issue was the language barrier. Xiao Sa shook his head in frustration.

Just as he was about to knock the guard unconscious, a sudden sense of danger surged up from behind him!

"Ow-woo—"

A sharp bark accompanied by a gust of wind hit his neck. Xiao Sa barely turned his head in the nick of time, narrowly dodging the unheralded fatal strike.

A light orange fox-like creature slammed into the iron cage and quickly rebounded, snarling and baring its teeth at Xiao Sa.

Where did this fennec fox come from?

Before he could react, the fennec fox launched a second attack. Its canines and sharp claws grew longer and sharper, as hard as steel needles, its movements incredibly agile. In the confined space of the cage, there was no room to dodge, especially with Xiao Sa still holding a live person in his grip.

Xiao Sa’s brows furrowed slightly, and the pheromones he released instantly became thick and nearly palpable. Almost every pore exuded attack, deterrence, and the oppression of death.

The fennec fox felt as if it had crashed into a deep bog, unable to move an inch.

Xiao Sa half-crouched there, immovable as a mountain, his gaze that of a top predator, eyeing its prey intently.

The absolute suppression of top-tier Alpha pheromones on a lower-level mental entity was silent and invisible, and the guard, who couldn't detect pheromones, couldn't perceive it directly.

Yet his C-grade little fox's nerves were stretched to the breaking point, its pupils contracted to pinpricks, and every hair on its body quivered in fear, all conveying terror and whimpering to its owner.

The guard was dumbfounded, thinking, "Is a C-grade mental entity really this weak?"

In the moment of his distraction, Xiao Sa had already reached for his waistband. The guard was startled, what the hell was this freak planning?!

Xiao Sa quickly yanked out the guard's belt and tied his hands to the cage bars.

The guard, finally free to speak after being marked with fingerprints, shouted angrily, "Don't think that just because you tied me up you can escape! The keys are with our captain. You won't get away!"

"He'll notice something's wrong soon! If you know what’s good for you, you'll—"

Before he could finish, he abruptly fell silent, his eyes widening as he watched Xiao Sa grab the cage bars and, with a simultaneous forceful pull to both sides, bent the sturdy bars apart, creating two wide gaps. Xiao Sa casually slipped out of the cage.

The guard: "!!!"

He stared at Xiao Sa in disbelief. No way, that was made of alloy! What kind of monstrous strength did he have?!

Xiao Sa crouched in front of him, his unconcerned gaze shifting from the guard's face to the little fox, then he grabbed the fennec fox by the scruff of its neck and uttered a series of universal human sounds:

"Click-click-click."

The little fox instinctively pricked up its ears and shot a quick glance at him, tucking its tail between its legs.

The guard: "..."

This is blatant mockery! This damn, damned foreigner! How dare he treat my mental entity like a pet dog?!

"Your little pet is in my hand. I need medicine, bandages, and food," Xiao Sa said, holding the fennec fox by the scruff and gesturing to his mouth, injuries, and stomach.

Though the guard didn’t understand the words, he could roughly interpret Xiao Sa’s gestures. Fortunately, those items were in stock, and there happened to be some in the neighboring cargo hold.

After obtaining the supplies, Xiao Sa wasted no words. He picked up the fallen laser gun and delivered a chop to the back of the guard's neck, rendering him unconscious. As the guard lost consciousness, the fennec fox vanished from Xiao Sa’s hand.

"Tsk, is this some kind of special power?" Xiao Sa rubbed his chin, a tone of curiosity in his voice.

The people in this star region didn't have glands, pheromones, or the formidable bodies of Alphas, but they had a special skill similar to summoning combat pets.

He was reminded of an interesting cartoon he'd watched as a child, "Mysterious Pets," where the characters could tame a personal pet companion to fight alongside them.

He never thought that scenes from his childhood dreams would come true.

※※※

Meanwhile, in the captain's cabin of the ship belonging to the Broken Peak pirate group.

The leader, "Broken Peak," sat in a wide black leather chair, holding a massive purple gem. His wolf-like, sharp deep grey eyes were intensely examining the mysterious trophy.

The pirate leader, known as "Broken Peak," had a face that didn't match his notorious reputation. His features were handsome, his body tall and strong, though his right leg appeared awkwardly outward-turned when flexed.

The others gathered around curiously stared at the gem. One of them asked, "Boss, this thing must be worth quite a bit, right? Could we trade it for a galactic-class battleship? At least to replace this worn-out star-class flagship."

"Perhaps," Broken Peak replied casually, throwing the gem necklace into a jewelry box filled with other war spoils. "By the way, how's the suspicious guy we picked up doing?"

Before the deputy leader, Deken, could answer, a sharp alarm suddenly blared through the room: "Incoming enemy! Incoming enemy!!"

Broken Peak's expression changed instantly. The sudden explosion and violent impact nearly knocked everyone off their feet.

The flagship beneath them began tilting. With a fierce shout, Broken Peak stepped onto the command platform with his somewhat awkward right leg. "Everyone to your stations! Identify the enemy's position and retaliate immediately!"

A scout rushed over, panic written on his face. "Boss, a cloaked warship appeared on the radar. It's likely the Empire's Third Army's super warship!"

A super warship—only generals of the admiral rank had the privilege to command such a vessel. It had full cloaking capability and was equipped with ultra-heavy plasma cannons, twenty giant rail extermination cannons, and hundreds of A-class combat mechs. It could even declare war on any small or medium-sized nation.

Broken Peak stared intensely at the large, flashing red dot on the radar in front of him, a cold smile spreading across his face. "The Empire really thinks highly of us to send such a powerful weapon against our ragged band."

The deputy leader suddenly shouted, "Boss, we've received a communication signal from the enemy!"

"Connect it!" Broken Peak commanded.

The holographic display in front of them instantly showed the upper body of a gold-haired officer. It was the general of the Empire's Third Army, Admiral Landis Wencer, also known as the "Sword of the Empire."

It was indeed him. Everyone's hearts suddenly sank.

General Landis' ice-blue eyes looked down upon the group of star pirates, his calm, cold, and sharp tone leaving no room for doubt: "You won't escape. Surrender is your only option."

The pirates in the captain’s quarters were furious, some already cursing aloud.

Landis paid them no mind, his gaze as cold as if he were looking at the dead, as he continued to slowly and deliberately deliver the death sentence: "You have one minute to raise the white flag of surrender, or face the consequences, imperial traitors."

Broken Peak looked up at him, his tone indifferent: "We’d rather die than surrender now that we’ve come this far, General Landis. Do you really have to drive us to the brink? Give us a chance to live, and you can set any conditions."

Landis' slender fingers lightly pushed down the brim of his military cap, the golden insignia gleaming: "The weak have no right to negotiate with me."

With that, the holographic image shut off decisively, leaving behind a room filled with silence.

"Boss, this guy is way too arrogant! Let’s take him on!"

"What if it’s a flagship? As long as we can get close, we can still take him down!"

Broken Peak silenced the crowd, instinctively touching his right leg, his fingers tightening slightly as he spoke in a low voice: "They only came with one main ship; the escort battleships haven't arrived yet. We still stand a chance of escaping."

"Prepare for a desperate breakout!"

As promised, General Landis of the Third Legion gave them exactly one minute. The moment the sixtieth second passed after the communication ended, the attack commenced.

Droves of mechs flew out from the opened rear bays, meeting the pirate group's battle mechs head-on.

As the battle was turning against them, the vice leader anxiously said, "Boss, if we continue like this, we'll be wiped out!"

"Why are you panicking?" Chief Broken Peak frowned, speaking in a low voice, "Order the main ship to switch to auto-attack mode to cover our retreat. Everyone leave the main ship and board the escape pods—scatter and evacuate."

The vice leader stared at him in disbelief: "The main ship's central mental control system is linked to your mental entity. If we abandon it, what about you?"

Broken Peak sighed and began putting on his customized exoskeleton mech.

At that moment, his right leg suddenly revealed a section of scales and sharp, spiked protrusions, distinctly different from a normal human.

The vice leader's eyes widened, staring as if he had seen a ghost, his voice trembling: "Boss, you—"

Organic mutation—this was a clear sign of mental contamination leading to a mental entity's backlash!

Their leader possessed a 3A-level mental strength, which, outside of the rare S-tier at the very top of the pyramid in the empire, was already extremely formidable. It allowed him to directly control cosmic-level warships and mechs.

However, even someone with the leader's capabilities could not escape mental corruption, genetic breakdown, and eventually mutation, falling victim to the backlash of his mental entity and becoming a monstrous being of slaughter.

"Once the mutation begins, it cannot be reversed. I lost control of the main ship long ago; it's been on the verge of collapse, but at least I’ve made the most of it."

Broken Peak looked down at his deformed right leg and chuckled at himself bitterly. "As long as we can hold Lan Dis off, most of the brothers will be able to escape. Sell all the treasures we've collected over the years on Central Star and get ourselves a new battleship."

The deputy leader's eyes reddened slightly as she silently lowered her head.

※※※

Elsewhere, Xiao Sa had just escaped the iron cage, only to find that the pirate group and the Third Legion, who had come to lay siege, were already locked in intense combat.

He hadn't yet figured out what was going on, but the red alert lights were flashing, and an incomprehensible evacuation order echoed through the ceiling.

Fortunately, he wasn't blind after all.

Xiao Sa's eyes locked onto the Third Legion's mechs as they began boarding the starship through the airlock. His brows furrowed.

Great, he thought, just escaped the tiger's den, only to land in the wolf's lair...

His heavy internal injuries began to ache once more. The sound of mechs could already be heard faintly outside the door. An idea struck Xiao Sa, and he returned to the storage hold where he had been imprisoned.

The guard Xiao Sa had knocked out and left there had missed the evacuation order and had just been awakened by the explosion from the crossfire.

Before he could understand what was happening, the storage hold door suddenly swung open again. A familiar face, a familiar figure—that damned terrorist was back again, for crying out loud!

Good heavens, is this how it’s going to be?!

Xiao Sa completely ignored the guard and the trembling fennec fox in his arms, stuffing the depleted laser gun into the guard's hands.

Then, he walked straight to the iron cage, squeezed through the bent bars, and with both arms, forcefully straightened the bent iron bars back to their original shape.

Guard: "???" Was this terrorist completely out of his mind, actually returning to the trap of his own accord?

Having done all this, Xiao Sa seemed to have exhausted his last bit of strength. He collapsed into the cold cage, closed his eyes, and blood seeped through his bandages, like a helpless, weak fish on a cutting board.

By this time, the elite soldiers of the Third Legion had fully taken control of the starship. A small team, guns in hand, opened the storage hold door. Seeing the guard and the man in the cage, the soldiers were taken aback.

One of them was wearing pirate combat gear and holding a gun, while the other was locked in a cage, covered in dust and blood, appearing severely injured and near death.

The leader of the squad immediately opened his communicator. "Commander Lan Dis, we've found two captives! One pirate and one hostage!"

The pirate, with a dozen laser guns aimed at his head, thought, "This doesn't feel right!"