Star Wars: Escape from the Jedi Temple Begins

Chapter 13 Nexus Beast, The Force Is Neither Good nor Evil

Lance, sword in hand, carefully stepped into the cave.

The blue light blade emitted a cold light, barely illuminating an area of ​​two or three meters in front of it.

His steps were light and steady, his eyes always fixed on the front.

As you go deeper, the cave space gradually becomes more open.

Through the Force, he sensed the location of the beast, which was lurking behind a stone pillar.

Its limbs were flat on the ground, its muscles were taut, and its breathing was extremely low.

That was clearly the posture before hunting.

next moment.

A huge black shadow suddenly pounced out.

Roar.

A deep roar reverberated through the narrow space.

The gaping maw aimed straight for Lance's throat.

It was so fast that it was confident no prey could react in time.

Sharp fangs approached the prey's neck, as if they could tear flesh apart and taste the sweet blood at any moment.

Those two pairs of scarlet eyes were filled with cruelty and confidence.

It has become accustomed to appreciating the fear and despair of its prey in this moment.

However, it was destined to be disappointed.

Lance's gaze was deep and his expression was calm.

In his perception, the Neksu beast's movements were slow to the point of being sluggish.

He simply stepped to the side.

The movement was minimal, yet it perfectly avoided a fatal bite.

hum.

Raise your wrist.

The blue light blade traced a graceful arc from bottom to top, slicing across Nexus's neck as easily as cutting tofu.

There was no pause.

The sword strikes downwards with the momentum of the blow, completing the slash.

The blow tore a dark, gruesome wound in its waist, which almost spread to half of its body.

The movements were executed in one smooth, clean, and efficient motion, without any hesitation or slackness.

Awoo.

The Nexus let out a mournful cry, its eyes filled with disbelief.

While still in mid-air, its power had already been completely dissipated.

Its massive body crashed heavily to the ground.

After a few spasms, he could only breathe weakly.

A few seconds later, everything fell silent.

Those four scarlet eyes, filled with intense resentment, gradually lost their luster.

A faint smell of burning filled the air.

Lance stood with his sword, silently watching the fallen Nexus.

The sense of danger was rapidly dissipating.

According to the Force, there is no longer any threat here.

But he did not leave immediately; instead, he continued to explore deeper into the cave.

After walking another dozen or so steps, I finally reached the end.

The interior space is more spacious than the entrance, with a smaller exterior and a larger interior, presenting an overall gourd-like structure.

Lance raised his lightsaber high and carefully examined the surrounding rock walls by the light.

He reached out and touched a crevice in the rock.

A faint wisp of air was constantly seeping out from the gap.

"They certainly know how to pick a location."

After completing the exploration and confirming that there were no problems, he turned around and returned.

As he passed the Nexus, he bent down, grabbed its tail, and dragged it out of the cave.

The enormous beast body, weighing over a thousand pounds, felt as light as a feather in his hands with the support of the Force.

As he walked out of the cave, he casually tossed the body aside.

Then we arrived at the boulder where Gugu and R2 were hiding:

"Let's go in."

As soon as he finished speaking, he picked up Gugu and returned to the cave.

R2 followed closely behind, slowing down to glance at the beast as it passed by. It was startled and emitted a rapid electronic sound, then hurriedly followed, almost touching the beast's heels.

......

A few minutes later.

Deep inside the dark cave, a campfire burned quietly.

The flickering firelight cast intermittent light and shadow on the rock face.

Gu Gu sat quietly to the side, her little hands reaching out to warm herself by the fire, her face filled with contentment.

R2 stood quietly to the side, while an electronic eye remained fixed on the entrance, flashing red and blue light.

Its memory chip is still continuously replaying the scan results.

The beast was enormous, nearly five meters long and weighing a thousand kilograms.

Those sharp claws can easily tear open its metal shell.

That gaping maw was big enough to bite its head off in one bite.

However, Lance dealt with this ferocious creature with ease.

Unharmed, only the hem of his clothes was slightly dirty.

R2's two electronic eyes flickered slightly, revealing an inexplicable expression.

"R2, go and stand guard at the cave entrance."

Lance walked in carrying a cleaned Nexus hind leg.

He threaded a thick wooden stick through it and placed it over the fire to slowly roast it.

"Drip..."

R2 turned its head a few times, then its two wheels started, propelling the cylindrical body toward the cave entrance.

"Eeya!"

Gugu turned to look at Lance and stretched out her hands.

Lance had roughly figured out the little guy's behavioral logic; this action most likely meant he wanted a hug.

And who could refuse such a request?

He sat down cross-legged, picked up Gu Gu, and gently placed her on his lap.

Gu Gu squinted his eyes contentedly, then quickly turned his attention back to the sizzling meat on the fire.

"Hungry? It's not cooked yet, you'll have to wait a while before you can eat."

"Have some biscuits to tide you over first."

Lance's gaze fell on the package beside him.

Without him making any move, the package slowly rose under the support of the Force and floated in front of him.

The Force is just so useful!

He sighed inwardly, reached out and grabbed a packet of blue cookies.

This is Gu Gu's favorite.

Before the packaging was even opened, Gu Gu had already eagerly reached out her little hand.

"for you."

Lance tore open the packaging and handed it to him:

"Eat sparingly, there's not much left."

Gu Gu was intently munching on a cookie, looking completely satisfied.

Upon hearing "not much left," the pair of pointed ears twitched slightly, but still did not stop moving.

Lance shook his head, revealing a helpless yet indulgent smile.

Gu Gu has a small appetite. After finishing a bag of biscuits in seconds, he nibbled on a few bites of meat and then started yawning.

A moment later, he had fallen into a deep sleep in Lance's arms.

After Lance finished eating, a feeling of fatigue washed over him.

Since escaping Coruscant, he has not been able to sleep properly for three consecutive nights.

Meditation can relieve fatigue, but it cannot completely replace sleep.

He looked up and glanced at the cave entrance; R2 was guarding it.

But he never dared to let his guard down.

That R2 tin can is only good for scaring a few cats and dogs.

If a real ferocious beast attacks, it has almost no ability to resist.

As for Gu Gu...

Lance glanced down at the little guy who was fast asleep, sucking his thumb, and realized he couldn't count on him at all.

We can't expect him to act cute and make a bloodthirsty beast spare his life.

Therefore, he still has to keep watch tonight.

As the flames weakened, he immediately used his Force to lift several pieces of firewood and put them back into the fire.

A faint crackling sound echoed in the silent cave.

Lance composed himself, lowered his eyelids, and calmed the distracting thoughts in his mind.

As his mind gradually calmed down, his breathing became long and even.

next moment.

Countless points of light reappeared in his "field of vision".

It is the Force.

It permeates everything—living things, stars, and the earth—connecting the entire universe.

The Force itself is neither good nor evil.

The so-called bright side and dark side are nothing more than the user's state of mind, desires, and usage methods.

The Way of Jedi emphasizes calmness, restraint, selflessness, inclusiveness, adapting to all things, and letting go of attachments.

Discard negative emotions such as fear, anger, hatred, jealousy, and greed.

Jedi rely on self-discipline, faith, and a protective spirit to drive the Force.

The calmer your emotions, the stronger your Force.

At this moment, Lance's heart was like a cold, still pool, clear and undisturbed.

A sense of tranquility immediately emanated from him.

The points of light were drawn by this aura, converging from all directions and slowly rotating around him.

Some of the light spots even directly merged into his body, circulating between his cells.

Silently, it nourishes his bones and muscles, slowly strengthening his body.

Lance did not forcibly pull the light spot, but only separated a wisp of his mind to guide it.

His perception extends outward.

The sound of water dripping from the cave ceiling, the flapping of insects' wings in the distance, and the soft echoes of the wind passing through the forest all became clearly discernible.

Deeper still, he touched the breath of the forest, the pulse of life.

Just then, several points of light seemed to transcend time and space, suddenly crashing into his consciousness.

Lance vaguely sensed a shadow approaching.

He tried to investigate further, but found nothing.

He frowned slightly.

"It's most likely that the Empire discovered my whereabouts in Kosher."

This cast a shadow over his heart.

Even after escaping the Jedi Temple, the crisis is far from over.

On the contrary, this is just the beginning.

As long as Sidious remains in power, he will face endless persecution.

A surge of anger rose within him.

next moment.

Alarm bells rang in Lance's mind.

He quickly withdrew his thoughts and suppressed them.

Ever since that near-loss of control incident in the fighter jet, he has been constantly vigilant about his situation.