“Run! We can’t win!”
A squad of legionnaires in rag-tagged armor reached the portal.
At first, members of the Roman invasion forces had their morale sky-high. Sure, the last two attacks ended up two disasters, with not a single survivor from either battle, but third time’s a charm, right? When the Equites crushed through the odd-looking local defenders, that belief was validated.
Even when they engaged the Swordguards in the city, the minds of the legionnaires were still filled with the loot they would be given after victory. What would they even buy with those gold? A house? A better blade? Slaves?
Things took a nose-dive when the Worldship arrived.
Countless light beams came down from the sky and slammed into the Roman ranks. Thanks to the dense net of observers, the Worldship knew the exact location of almost every single Roman intruder in the city.
Thousands of Romans watched helplessly as their brothers in arm perished from the fury of the heavens. Against enemies, even mechanical ones, these elite soldiers placed under the iron roman law could stand their ground, but getting killed by enemies miles away? That wasn’t a fight. That was an execution. Gradually, squads and squads of Romans started to turn back.
But the Roman commanders have imagined something like this would happen, and they couldn’t allow it. A group of two hundred Roman Praetorian Guards, lead by the commander of this assault, stood between the fleeing troops and the portal to their homeworld.
“Turn back and give your life like a true Roman, on the field of battle!”
The general leading this assault demanded. Behind him, two hundred Praetorian Guards slammed their shields against the ground at once. Their message was clear. Move forward and there’s still a chance of survival. Try to run from duty, and these men would surely die.
The first squads froze in fear, but slowly, more and more troops arrived at the portal. Even the most battle-hardened men would be shaken after their ranks were torn apart by orbital bombardment. They loved honor and the benefits that would come along with it, but no matter how good the benefits would be, they wouldn’t mean anything if the men were dead.
Gradually, the retreating troops reached a thousand. With number came strength, and the fleeing Roman troops started to toy with the idea of breaking through the Praetorian Guards by force.
The general sensed that as well. Praetorian Guards were strong, really strong, but 200 of them couldn’t intercept every single one of the thousands of men. If just a few of them got back into the Roman Empire and talked about how terrible the war was going, it might shake the morale of the Empire.
“Think of your families!” He threatened loudly. “If you go back through that portal, you will be arrested and you will be executed! Your families will be condemned to slavery for your sins! Forward, and even if you die, your families would be taken care of by the Emperor!”
The Romans glanced at each other in dilemma. A few of them turned back to the city with renewed strength when a wave of light beams suddenly cruised toward the portal. Most of them accurately landed among the defenders of the portal.
Courtesy of the Worldship.
The Praetorian Guards raised their shields, but against enough firepower to eradicate Voyagers, their Roman shields just weren’t enough. Dozens of men were killed instantly. The equal number wounded. A single wave of bombardment destroyed half the defenses with ease.
The thousands of Romans screamed and took cover as best as they could, but perhaps the general’s words had an effect. Not one of them tried to make a run for the portal...until suddenly, an invisible energy covered all the Roman ranks.
Death! Cold, brutal death! Immediately, the Romans’ minds were filled with thoughts of their demise and the consequences of that. All sorts of gore appeared in their head. Crushed. Evaporated. Beheaded. Burned. Along with those thoughts came a flood of fear.
It was enough fear to push them over the edge and send them blindly charging toward the portal.
Amongst these disgraces of Rome was a large man in his thirties. He looked as afraid and broken as everyone else around him, but if you look at his eyes close enough, you could see that beneath the disguise of fear was an ice cold gaze.
“Halt!”
The general was lucky enough to survive the hit. Struggling back up, he pulled his sword and waved it at the incoming horde.
But he made the wrong decision. His threats didn't only fail to intimidate the men, they pissed them off even more. Spots of black energy covered their eyes as they charged into the general and his Praetorian Guards. Blades were drawn and turned against their own. Praetorian Guards were good, but there were a hundred of them scattered across the portal. Against thousands of newly turned foes, they didn't stand a chance.
Within moments, the defenders were overwhelmed. The general was stabbed a dozen times by his own men.
A few of the Romans froze in horror as they realized their crimes, but even they were quickly blinded by fear of the Wardens once again. Now without any resistance, they stormed across the portal and back into their own world.
Scarlett stood in the bridge of a Capitalguard. Below the ship, the Worldship continued to rain down death on any Roman left in the city. Now that the package was delivered, it no longer had to put up an act. Within moments, the city was cleansed of hostiles. The legionnaires and equites simply had no way of fighting back against Jean’s most powerful vessel.
Delta was right beside her the Voyager.
“The Romans all across the globe are pushed back. Both our forces and the locals took quite the damage, but these losses are acceptable. We got what we wanted.”
Scarlet glanced at the mechanical Purifier commander. She knew, after Jean left, Delta would command her forces in this world. Not surprising, considering no Voyager would trust everything on a fellow Voyager.
To be honest, Scarlet was still in disbelief.
After she surrendered to Jean, Jean took her back to this ship that she referred to as a Capitalguard, where she explained her plans. The Romans were already retreating. Their commanders were forcing them forward, knowing they would never have a chance like this. With three months of effort by the Emperor’s Shadows thwarted, the defenders would no doubt increase their defenses and make sure this wouldn’t happen again. The next time the Romans step foot into this world, they would be welcomed by a barrage of ammunition.
But the foot soldiers didn't know that. Even if they did, they wouldn’t care. Glory and conquest were the concerns of the higher-ups. For the soldiers, if they could fight well in battle and earn something for themselves, great, but there could be neither gold nor glory earned by being killed by mysterious blasts from the sky. The higher-ups wanted to trade their lives for power. They didn't share that plan.
Plus, in case all the invading Romans decided to stand their ground and die before retreating, Jean stepped in herself and added something to the mix. A wave of Power of Death here and another wave there, and before long the Romans were consumed by the fear of death. In fact, they were so consumed that they were willing to turn against their superiors just to get out of there.
This gave Jean an opportunity. With the gift given to her by the Protector Reapress, she was able to shift her body into that of a Roman legionnaire. That body wasn’t suitable for her soul, and it would start falling apart very soon, but it could last long enough for Jean to get across the portal undetected.
Jean’s own body remained in this world, but since the Power of Death remained in her soul, that part would be unscathed. Her watch was transported as well, which contained thousands of Kashank Guardians and small groups of Warden and Purifier units. Her Voyager set was still available. In general, the change in flesh barely undermined her power.
Scarlet’s comment for this was simple. To do something this risky and reckless, Jean was either arrogant or confident. Having left behind the brunt of her army and her strongest vessel, Jean would be facing the full might of the Roman Empire in its home field with just a portion of her own powers. If she wanted to get something done, she needed to remain covert. A single mistake could result in her being smitten by millions of Romans.
All Scarlet knew was one thing. Jean Turner was no fool.
Taking her thoughts away from Jean, Scarlet moved back to her own situation. She quickly raised a question with Delta.
“What exactly does Jean want me to do here?”
From what she could see, Jean’s forces had the situation handled.
“Despite the side hustle of Jean, the task of the Voyagers is still to protect this world and its inhabitants.” Delta pressed a key. A computer screen was turned on, portraying squads of Wardens standing guard around the scene of the massacre in front of the Federal Court.
“The rebellion has been put down, but the situation across the globe is hardly favorable for us. Casualties are high. Simulations suggest riots will break out in every country. The U.S.N.A. leadership has been wiped out. Your job is to treat to these concerns. Stabilize the situation. I don’t care what methods you use, whether if it is drowning the inhabitants in mass entertainment or creating another puppet leadership. Just get the task done.”
“You want me to babysit these locals.” Scarlett frowned. “You do know I have a CAS of 570, right? Why can’t you just let one of your puppets do it?”
Delta tapped her metal body.
“Unfortunately, the locals are hardly open to trusting the machines.”
“Fine, I will do it. I will do my best to make the locals quiet, submissive dogs.” Scarlett finally agreed. “But how long do I have to do that for?”
“As long as it takes for Jean to destroy the Roman Empire, or until a Protector finds the time to wipe them out, whichever comes first.”
“Fair enough. I just hope Jean gets some progress quickly.”
Dimension CKA2212.
The Roman Empire.
Jean opened her eyes. A glance around told her her plan was more than successful.
Mixed with hundreds of other broken Roman deserters, she was able to smuggle through the portal in the meat suit of a legionnaire she captured. To blend in, her giant shield was nowhere to be seen, and her sword was returned to her sheath. All around her, the other Romans were in a similar situation. Some lost their helmets. Almost all lost their shields.
But right now, having survived the slaughter from a different realm, these men weren’t exactly welcomed when they came home. There were Roman legionnaires as far as the eye could see. All of those had their spears and shields raised toward the group.
Suddenly, another squad of Romans emerged. Jean could sense they were much stronger than the other guards. One of them was obviously an officer, with more fashioned plating and a giant sword on his belt. His first words were words of accusation. A furious expression was on his face.
“You cowards! You dare flee from battle? You disgrace the name of Roman legionnaires!”
All around Jean, legionnaires knelt down and begged. Jean has pulled back her influence on them, and the fear of punishment has suppressed the fear of death.
The Romans were never known to be nice to their deserters. In many cases, the groups who fled were punished with decimation, a process where one in every ten men was picked out. After the lot was drawn, the rest of the battalion would beat their unfortunate comrade to death with a club,
This was terrifying in many ways. On one hand, there was the element of luck. The deserters would have no choice in their fate. Anyone can perish. Even for those who survived, they would have to kill their own brother in arms themselves with one of the slowest and most brutal ways possible.
And that was just in normal cases. This invasion was perhaps the most important thing in the empire. Win, and a whole new world would be open to looting. Lose, and the Romans might have lost their final chance to conquer new land. The deserters wouldn’t be surprised if the Roman commanders had them all crucified.
Crucification, another slow and gruesome death. The Romans were truly skilled with ways of killing people.
Jean didn't kneel down. In fact, she stood tall. Among the crowds who have bent their knees, she stood out like a sore thumb.
The Roman general noticed her. Good.
“Do you have anything to say, legionnaire?”
“Yes I do, Legatus.” From the memory she absorbed, Jean knew the man was a Roman Legatus. He was at the same level as Legatus Calvinus, who led the second invasion on Earth. The fact that a Legatus was at the portal showed how much attention the empire placed in this operation.
If she wanted to, Jean could easily handle the Romans in the field. A single burst of Power of Death could knock all of these Romans over. And then, a psychic blade could carve a way through the defenders, allowing for her to escape safely. She was never under any threat.
But she couldn’t. On one hand, the Romans had no clue one of the Voyagers have smuggled over, and she didn't want the Romans to raise their guards. Plus, there was another thing she was concerned about.
The Aggressors opened up the portals for the Roman Empire. They practically sponsored their attack. She doubted they would stay behind and monitor their progress, given how many worlds there were in this situation, but she wanted to be sure. An Aggressor could kill her as easily as a Protector could kill an Aggressor.
She decided to return to her strongest weapon: her words.
She quickly continued.
“Legatus, I must object. We fought bravely against those metal creatures on the ground. My squad slaughtered at least twelve of them. I have the blood of three of those creatures on my hand, but we were then ambushed by fleets of enemy defenders. Green light beams came down from the sky and tore our squads to pieces. We didn't stand a chance!”
The Legatus shut her down.
“A true Roman never seeks excuses!”
A lesser Roman would have surrendered to the Legatus’s judgment already, but Jean stood tall. Under the mocking and judging eyes of thousands of Romans, she spoke like a champion.
“Legatus, I don’t seek to use what happened as an excuse to preserve my life. In fact, if you wish my death, you need only to ask. I am merely speaking my experiences so I would not be mistaken as a coward who fled from his duty. I abandoned my post because I didn't want to die a pointless death. There is no honor in being slaughtered like a slave.”
The Legatus frowned.
“So you’re saying I should show mercy? Because you were smart enough to choose life over a meaningless end?”
“I am merely asking for a chance to redeem my honor.” Jean kept her back straight. “Let me live until the next invasion. By then, I will prove my worth with the blood of the resistance.”
The Legatus tilted his head before suddenly grinning.
“You know what? You make quite the sense, legionnaire.”
The other deserters rose their head in surprise. Wait? That’s it? A few sentences were all it took to save their lives? They must be dreaming!
And then the Legatus’s grin turned into a smirk, and Jean knew things were going to take a nose dive down.
“Unfortunately, there is no plan for another invasion, but I know just the place for you and your pack of pathetic fools to redeem your honor.”
“Men, round these cowards up and take them to the Colosseum.”
“They will redeem their glory in the sand!”
