“Jean, Violet and Cassandra are gone.”

Last night, the combined forces have finally reached the gates of Crown’s City. The plan was to set up a camp, let the men rest for a day, and then launch the attack tomorrow morning. Of course, Jean knew better. Violet told her what the Empress’s killing blow, the killing blow Adam gave to her, was. Likely, the Empress wouldn’t let them lay siege to the city easily.

Jean had no intention of taking the Empress head on. From Violet’s description, the Empress would, for a short period of time, become semi-invincible. Sending her Wardens and Purifiers against the Empress would be suicide.

Violet assured Jean that when the Empress strikes, she would let her know, but Jean wasn’t a fool. Violet might’ve told her a lot of things, but as of the moment, she has become useless to Violet. Her purpose of leading the invasion to Crown’s City to lure the Voyagers in as well as force the Empress to sacrifice herself has been met. Violet would have no reason to save Jean and let her and Blink take a part of her reward.

So Jean sent Blink to keep an eye on Violet and Cassandra. Almost before the sun came up in the morning, the two Voyagers were already gone. As soon as that happened, Blink reported back to Jean.

This meant one thing.

The final battle is at hand.

And this is a battle Jean didn't want to fight in.

Jean stood up. Her stuff were already stored in her watch. She was about to leave the camp with Blink when her observers suddenly saw Commander Erik coming toward her tent.

A frown appeared on her face. If Erik saw that she and Blink were gone, he might realize something was off and try to escape himself. Jean needed the Moon forces and the Voyagers to make a stand. If they fled and survived, then all the time spent on rallying them together would be wasted. Both she and Violet needed them, or at least the blunt of their forces, to be destroyed by the Empress.

“Miss Turner?” Commander Erik paused in front of the tent. He knew better than to barge in unannounced. Jean has killed for less. “Miss Turner?”

There was no answer. Commander Erik’s expression changed as he thought of a possibility. This led him to lift the curtain of the tent and step in…

...only to see Jean and Blink kissing and caressing each other.

Commander Erik’s face turned pale as he charged out of the tent with twice the speed. He could tell from personal experience that when someone was disturbed during something like this, that person tends to turn extremely furious. He himself has had a servant whipped to death for walking in on his sex with a maid. He shuddered to think what Jean might do to him.

Thankfully, the two women seemed to have barely noticed him. Erik took a deep breath before turning around and ordering his lieutenants to get the men ready for battle. Only a fool would try to get back into the tent and get Jean’s orders. All he could do now was prepare the camp for when Jean was finished.

What he didn't know was that as soon as he left, Jean and Blink pulled apart. Neither said anything. Jean was, well, Jean. Blink didn't really care about putting up an act either. Plus, Jean was what most would define as pretty, so...no harm done.

The two Voyagers quickly sneaked out of their tent and away from the camp.

---

On the walls of the Crown’s City, Adam and Empress stood side by side as they looked down on the Moon camps that spread out for miles.

Their wedding was a discreet one. Only a handful of high ranking men at the top of the Empire’s political pyramid were invited. After all, the primary purpose of the royal wedding was to justify Adam’s reign of the Empire.

Today, the Empress was wearing her personal armor. It was a mixture of red and gold. She was wielding a two meter tall lance. A dozen Empress Guards stood behind her with their heads lowered. They know what was going to happen today. Today, the woman they have sworn to protect would die. Today, they would become the Emperor Guards.

Adam silently nodded at the Empress. Suddenly, he felt a surge of anger from the bottom of his heart. The Empress was the embodiment of the perfect leader. She was kind, compassionate, and courageous. Her reign was approved by almost everyone in the Empire. Her justice was admired throughout the Empire. Her personality served as an inspiration for countless members of the Empire to strive for good and stand up against evil regardless of the price.

She deserved to reign.

But all this has been put to an end by the Voyagers. Today, she would die. She has given everything to the Empire. She has given up the chance to know the touch of a man because it would impair with her judgment. She has given up the right to bear child because as the Empress, ten months of ineffectiveness could’ve harmed countless. She has even give up the right to marry someone she truly loves. Now, she is going to give up her life.

It suddenly occurred to Adam that he didn't even know the Empress’s name, and he knew exactly why. The Empress’s name didn't matter. The moment she took the throne, she was no longer an individual who had her needs and desires. The moment she took the throne, she has become one with the Empire. Her concerns were the Empire’s concerns. Her pain, the Empire’s agony. Her decree, the Empire’s will.

The two have them have only been working together for a few months, yet they respected each other deeply.

At this moment, all Adam could do was look into the Empress’s eyes and give her a heart felt departure.

“Good luck, your grace. Make those Voyagers pay for their crimes.”

The Empress smiled softly before turning around. With slow yet steady footsteps, she walked off the city wall. Not far away, an alter, completely covered in runes, was constructed. The Empress made her way onto the alter. She gave one last glance at Adam before suddenly raising her lance into the air.

“People of the Empire, hear me!”

“Our world is at the brink of destruction! Outsiders who call themselves Voyagers have intruded into our territory! They have generated countless wars and slaughters in the name of their god! In the name of the Empress of the Sun, I declare No More! The foul reaches of the Voyagers end today!”

“Who will stand with me?”

One moment, nothing happened. The next instant, every single Sun soldier in the city froze. Red energy flowed from their bodies into the air before forming streams and streams and entering the body of the Empress. The Empress’s armor and weapon shined as they were flooded by raw power. Her body suddenly floated into the air.

Adam was the only person around the field not affected. He quietly watched as the Empress absorbed more and more energy. Gradually, as more and more streams came in from all across the Empire, the Empress’s figure started shining until eventually even Adam had to turn away.

Deep down, he was impressed. The Empress could only take energy from those who had faith in her. This just showed how good of a leader she was.

In the air, the Empress felt like she had the power to punch a hole across the sun. Yet at the same time, she could feel her body slowly burning up. This reminded her. Not wasting another moment, she left the altar and flew toward the Moon camp.

The Voyagers were the first to sense the Empress approaching.

At this point, there were 54 Voyagers in the field. They were all that remained from the original party of 80. To them, this was a rough ride. A quick extermination mission against some locals has costed the precious lives of dozens of them. When Violet rallied them up, she promised them it was time to finish this cursed mission and finally return to the City of the Voyagers.

Unfortunately, returning to the City of the Voyagers was contingent on their survival. Based on the situation, that part might be a little challenging.

The Empress stopped above the Moon entrenchment.

Below, Voyagers formed a tight black formation by themselves. Commander Erik was able to get Moon soldiers to form multiple battle formations, yet their swords and spears made them look like they were in the wrong cinema. A few smarter men took out bows and arrows.

“What is wrong with her...” One of the Voyagers frowned. He recognized the Empress, but the power she was wielding...this was nothing like the power seen in this world. But before he could look into it more, the Empress struck.

She didn't have all day.

All the Empress did was raise her lance, and all of a sudden, hundreds of fireballs the size of minivans appeared in midair. The force of gravity yanked them toward the ground.

The Moon forces immediately paid for their mistake of forming tight formations. Their defensive runes barely delayed the fireballs for a single second. As the fireballs exploded, everything within a ten meter radius was reduced to ashes. Anything within a twenty meter radius was burnt to crisp. If you’re right below the fireball, well, at least you died painlessly.

“Spread out!” One of the Voyagers screamed. With faster reflex than the Moon soldiers, the Voyagers saw the power of the seemingly standard fireballs before they hit the ground. Immediately, the 54 Voyagers fanned out.

One of the Voyagers formed a portal above herself. The fireball fell into the portal and came out in another one aimed at the Empress. Unfortunately, all the Empress did was glance at the fireball, and it was reduced to pure energy and was reabsorbed.

“Decimate!”

Another Voyager pointed at a fireball and said a single word. Immediately, the fireball was broken down into harmless energy in the air.

One Voyager leaped forward and slashed the fireball into two.

As the first wave of fireballs were done, thousands of Moon soldiers laid dead. The field was covered with the screams of scorched victims. But all the Voyagers survived. The stronger ones easily dealt with the fireballs or returned them back to the Empress. The weaker ones tanked the blasts with their Voyager armors.

A few Voyagers exchanged glances. An attack of this scale with this much power had to be energy exhausting. Perhaps now was the chance to launch a counterattack.

The Empress glanced at them, as if she knew what they were planning. The next second, a second wave of fireballs even larger than the first one formed in the sky. Her near endless storage of energy meant that the Voyagers’ plan was doomed to fail.

The Moon soldiers who survived the first blast knelt down on the ground, screaming and begging for mercy. No amount of training could prepare them for a slaughter like this. Thousands were killed in moments. Neither spears nor shields could make any difference. Even the officers were intimidated.

Commander Erik was unlucky enough to have a fireball spawn right above him. He, along with dozens of his personal guards, were cooked alive in their metal armors.

“Damn it! How does she regenerate energy this quickly?” One of the Voyagers cursed as he got ready for the second round.

As if hearing the Voyager’s complaints, the Empress tapped her lance again. This time, the Voyagers sensed aggressive, flaming energy converging at dozens of places in the air. As a few seconds passed, to the horror of the Voyagers, dozens of giants, completely composed of flames, were formed. Just like the fireballs, they came down smashing into the ground.

Unlike the fireballs, they didn't disperse on impact. Instead, they stood up and charged toward the Voyagers.

“Hold the line!”

Immediately, the Voyagers were stuck in an awkward situation. They needed to pay a lot of attention to the sky so a fireball doesn’t mess up their day. At the same time, the flame giants weren’t that easy to deal with.

One melee Voyager leaped at one of the flame giants with a giant axe. But as his axe cut through the giant, he felt nothing. There was no tearing feeling that came with cutting through flesh or armor. After all, how do you chop through fire?

As his strike unexpectedly missed, the Voyager fell down into the giant. Immediately, he was under thousands of degrees of heat. His Voyager armor came online and protected him from being fried alive, but its energy was quickly exhausted.

The Voyager’s armor was powered by an orange crystal. A few more seconds and he’s toast.

Faced with almost certain death, the Voyager didn't panic. He quickly replaced his axe with his Voyager blade and struck again. This time, the Voyager blade plowed through the flame giant.

As the giant was reduced to uncontrollable energy, the Voyager finally hit the ground and let out a breath of relief.

“Use energy weapons!”

The other Voyagers immediately knew what happened. At first, that Voyager used an axe from one of his mission worlds. It might have some sort of attribute, like armor-penetration, but in the end, it attacked its targets physically. The flame giant was a creature of energy. Killing it required energy as well.

Almost simultaneously, the 54 Voyagers loaded up their Voyager sets and charged at the flame giants.