“I have heard about the so-called Protectors, but it was at least 150 years ago.”

Adam nodded slowly. He wasn’t too surprised. As someone who has gone through two missions, he knew very well that the time in different worlds could flow at different rates. A second in the City of the Voyagers might be a year in this world.

“And now the retribution is here. We have been sent to terminate this world.”

“For standing against them?” The Empress’s anger was obvious, and she had the right to be angry. “First of all, it was 150 years ago! None of the people here was even born back then. Why should we pay for what our ancestors did? Secondly, they invaded us first! What right do they have...”

“With all due respect, your grace, the Protectors see themselves as deities. They don’t care about justice or fairness.”

The Empress’s anger was obvious, but she worked to control it.

“And why would anyone obey such a ruthless command?”

If they couldn’t change the mind of the Protectors, then perhaps they would have better luck with the goons? Right?

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but everyone else in the expedition is more than happy to trade this world for some benefit. To them, it might be the difference between life and death in the near future.”

“And what about you? Do you not desire these benefits?”

The Empress turned her attention back onto Adam.

“If what you said is true and the Empress Guard you killed was indeed a fellow Voyager, then you could’ve gotten next to my bed unnoticed and take off my head. With me gone, the Empire would be sprung into chaos.”

Adam sighed.

“You don’t trust me?”

“I have to be careful with the sake of my world at stake.”

“You don’t have the time to be careful!” Adam suddenly snapped and took a step forward. All the Empress Guards suddenly tensed up, but Adam didn't back off.

“At this moment, my former comrades are working to pick apart your world piece by piece! As we talk, the forces of the Empire of the Moon are marching toward the border, ready for war! I know what the Voyagers that field are planning. They wish to waste the forces of this world by tipping the two empires against each other. When men are consumed by war, wars turn into slaughters. Before you realize it, there will be so much hatred between the two empires that you can never unite them against the real threat!”

“Right now, Voyager kill teams are going from village to village inside your reign, slaughtering the people that you have sworn to protect and spreading chaos! There is nothing your men can do to protect them, and tell me, if your men can’t even protect your people against the Voyagers, what can they do against the swarm of beasts that have been assembled in the mountains and will dive into your Empire at a moment’s command?”

The emotions in his voice were obvious.

The Empress saw that.

“You are not of this world, yet you care deeply about it. Why?”

Adam took a deep breath, as well as a step back.

“This is not the first time I had to make this choice. Kill and live or show mercy and die. I have chosen to kill every single time.” He smiled softly. “Maybe it’s time to try something else.”

The Empress knew Adam had a story, but she also knew this wasn’t the priority right now. She could tell the sadness and regret in Adam’s voice weren’t faked. As long as she knew Adam was a reliable source, it was enough.

“In that case, let’s not waste more time. Where do you think we should start?”

“I don't know if you have heard about this quote before: To resist foreign aggression, there must first be internal stability...”

---

Crown’s City. Office of the Chief Military Officer.

On the third floor, Lucas looked outside the window. The urban portion of Crown’s City was a short distance away. Even so, he could see the prosperity of the city.

“Such a beautiful city. Such a pity.”

Perhaps there was a time where Lucas would’ve shared Adam’s opinion and condemn the idea of massacring an entire world, but even so, it was a long time ago. Most Voyagers, at one point, realize the pointlessness of compassion and ethics. After that, they would pay more attention to interest than sentiments. Love and hate are all temporary. Only power and interest are real. Lucas was no different. He might make a few comments, but that was it.

What has to be done will be done.

The door behind him was opened. Lucas turned around and found a man walking in. He was in full armor and had a sheath on his belt.

Chief Military Officer Frankens.

Lucas got to Frankens by a mixture of threats and promises. On one hand, he slipped something into Frankens’ drink. After that, Frankens had to get a piece of antidote from Lucas everyday, or else he will meet a slow and painful end. After a brief demonstration, Frankens learned to give in.

But Lucas was experienced at this type of stuff. He knew fear alone couldn’t really tie Frankens to his wagon. After Frankens learned not to disrespect him, Lucas suggested to him that he, too, might get a shot at being the Emperor. After all, he intended on taking out the Empress.

Resist and die, slowly and painfully. Submit and live, possibly as the Emperor.

It wasn’t that hard of a choice.

The process of acquiring the Chief Military Officer was easy, but it didn't mean much. The Empress was really good at her job, and she made sure all of her men prioritized her orders above that of anyone else. If the Chief Military Officer ordered the soldiers to turn against the Empire, he would be the target of his men instead.

That was why Lucas was so excited to have Adam take out the Empress. With the Empress gone, Lucas could turn the military of the Empire against itself and sent the entire realm into chaos in the name of avenging the Empress.

Based on the timing, Adam should be inside the royal palace by now.

“Is there anything?” He asked.

Frankens shook his head. Lucas had him post spies around the royal palace to get first hand information on what has happened. Whether the assassination was successful or not, he wanted to be the first to know.

Suddenly, Lucas sensed something. He turned around and looked out the window. There, lines and lines of Empress Guard in gold and red armor were marching down the streets. Their destination: the building Lucas was in.

“What the…”

“Empress Guards? They only answer to the Empress. What are they doing here?”

The Empress Guards quickly surrounded the building and set up a formation. A thick layer of shield fully covered the building from all fronts. Not even a fly could get in or out.

Flores was leading the operation. He stood at the front of the Formation and shouted.

“Occupants of the building, come out one by one! This is the order of the Empress!”

Lucas glanced at Frankens.

“Find out what happened.”

The Chief Military Officer nodded and went to the first floor. There, dozens of servants and maids were standing around and whispering to each other in confusion. Frankens opened the door and walked to face the Formation.

“What is this? What crime have I committed to deserve such a big scene?”

Flores didn't answer. If what Adam said was true, then Frankens might be compromised. He glanced at his men, who walked up and dragged Frankens back. If it turned out that Frankens was innocent, he would be released and compensated. If not, he would face the Empress’s justice.

The servants started coming out one by one as well. All of them were separated, searched, and detained.

On the third floor, Lucas knew that things were really bad. The Empress’s Guards were clearing the building, and even the Chief Military Officer wasn’t enough to make an exception. If he tried to go out the front door, there was no way he could get past the verification.

But if he didn't, it’s not like the Empress Guards would just assume the building was empty. They would send search parties, and he would likely be discovered.

The Voyager started going through his arsenal to see if he had anything that could hide him from the searches. He had no intention of clashing with the full might of the Empress Guards right now all by himself. Voyagers were mighty, but the Formations formed by the best warriors of this world were not to be underestimated.

As the last maid came out, Flores yelled a warning three more times. When no one else came out, he turned to Frankens.

“Is everyone out?”

Frankens bit his lips. At this point, he could only hope Lucas could get away. He knew if he betrayed Lucas, he would die as well without the antidote.

Flores nodded before suddenly raising his sword into the sky.

Immediately, the Formation changed. No longer working to seal the building off, the runes poured energy into their leader, General Flores. The power of 1,000 men added to the general’s power. With all the additional strength, Flores slashed his sword forward.

A giant shadow of red energy in the shape of a sword flew toward the house of Frankens. The following explosion tore the entire building to the ground.

Lucas thought the Empress Guards would use search parties to clear the building. He was wrong. Adam knew how good the Voyagers could be at hiding themselves. After all, he just got into the royal palace almost undetected. If the Voyagers made it out, they would be a constant bane to the safety of this world. Adam needed to make sure they were killed, and the best way to do that was by destroying the buildings they were in.

Why play Hide and Seek when you can just destroy the playground?

“How dare you! It is my property!” Frankens was taken by surprise as well. After the initial shock, his mind was consumed by anger. An explosion like this, with the full element of surprise, likely took Lucas out. Without Lucas’s antidote, he was a dead man.

Flores didn't give a damn about Frankens. Instead, he waved his hand and sent a squad of Empress Guards toward the burning ruins.

They quickly replied back.

“All clear!”

Flores frowned.

Where did his target go?

In reality, Lucas had much quicker reflexes than Frankens. Just as the Empress Guards put their energy into Flores, Lucas knew what was going to happen. He leaped out the back door of the building and, taking advantage of the period of transition, found his way outside the line of Empress Guards without being detected.

Just like what Adam thought, Lucas had some form of cloaking as well.

Lucas ran without looking back. Even someone as experienced as him felt a sense of fear after seeing the power of the blast. If he took the full blast of the 1,000 Empress Guards without much preparation, even if he wasn’t dead, he would be gravely injured.

He had no idea which part of his plan went wrong, but he knew he had to relocate immediately and regroup with the other Voyagers inside Crown’s City.

Suddenly, he spotted someone familiar.

“Adam!” In a time of hurry, Lucas didn't suspect anything. “Something’s wrong! The Empress Guards wiped out my safehouse in the city. Do you have any information on this?”

Adam tilted his head.

“Adam!” Now with a few seconds to recollect himself, Lucas started to realize something was wrong with the Voyager in front of him. Last he heard, Adam went to assassinate the Empress. Whether he was successful or not, there was no reason he should be here, in the streets of the city.

Unless…

As Lucas stopped in his tracks, Adam raised his right hand into the air, and dozens of figures appeared on the roofs of all the houses around where Lucas was. All of them were carrying fully loaded crossbows. Both the crossbows and the arrows had layers of runes.

All the crossbows were aimed at Lucas.

The man could sense fatal danger from the crossbows.

“Adam!” The Voyager turned to the traitor. At this moment, Lucas knew appealing to Adam’s senses would be pointless. “Let me live and I will give you my watch and everything in it! I will fight for you against the others!”

Adam brought his hand down without hesitation.

These Voyagers have agreed to kill for their own profits. They have tried to use ruthless methods to bring down a prosperous empire.

They don’t deserve to live.

Immediately, all the crossbows unloaded on Lucas. In the split second, Lucas had his full Voyager set on. The orange crystal helped his Voyager armor deflect the first round of arrows, but as the arrows landed, the energy in the crystal was quickly exhausted. The runes on the arrows made them much faster and much stronger. Following that was a much quicker drop in energy storage in the crystal.

Even more problematic, within one second, the crossbows were already reloaded, and another round was on the way.

The orange crystal shattered. It was even more expensive and powerful than the red crystals Jean had, but it was gone nonetheless.

Lucas drew his Voyager blade and started deflecting the shots, but he was ambushed from all sides. Knowing it was do or die, he rested his hand on his watch. Inside, he had at least four different weapons that could save his life. But before he could take any one of them out, dozens of arrows landed on his undefended body and turned him into a bloody porcupine.

Another Voyager, surprised and slaughtered without a real fight.

Adam waited until the crossbows have turned Lucas’s body into a mixture of flesh and bones before moving forward. Not giving the corpse another glance, he picked up Lucas’s Voyager watch.

A similar thing was going down at the house of the Chief Financial Officer. The only difference was that the Voyager there, Avatar, didn't get out of the building before the blast. The first strike took out the building and maimed him, and the second cut him in two.

He had three tactical nukes in his watch. He had a chance of wiping out the city.

He was killed in his sleep.