After half an hour of march, Jean and hundreds of other deserters were taken to a series of big, dark cells. On the way, Jean tried to find a way to sneak away, but there were too many Roman guards all around her. Handling them would be a piece of chocolate cake, but Jean had to be cautious. If one of the Aggressors happened to be in this world and discovered her, she would be doomed.
The Romans locked up all the prisoners in chains before departing. There wasn’t much humiliation or taunting. They didn't want to spend an extra minute with the prisoners if they didn't want to, and Jean knew exactly why.
The Legatus has just condemned the deserters “to the sand”, which was the Roman way of saying making them gladiators. From the memories of her victims, she knew gladiators were usually slaves or captives who were forced to fight in large colosseums, using their pain and death to please hundreds of thousands of audience. The casualty rate would usually be sky-high.
These deserters might’ve fled from battle, but the fact that they, among millions of Romans, were chosen for the invasion forces showed how good they were at what they do. If the Roman guards provoked them and a handful of them decided perhaps dying in the cell was better than being slaughtered in the arena for the world to see, then the Roman guards would be their first victims.
Now that she had some time to think, Jean did just that. Right now, she was in the body of a male Roman prisoner, but she knew she had to change that soon. Even now, she could sense the meat suit corroding. There was only so much the Power of Death could do in maintaining it. Using the Power of Death to heal her body was like drinking Hemlock to ease thirst. Was it doing the job? Technically. Was it good for the long term? Hell no.
She needed to find another meat suit to switch to. Any body could technically work, but ideally, she needed to find one perfectly matched with her soul so she wouldn’t need to constantly worry about it.
Honestly, she didn't expect to almost be executed as soon as she returned. If she was in the spot of the Roman leadership, she would use the experienced troops as advisors for her next invasion. They have already fought the enemies and survived to tell the tale. Perhaps she would punish them, but she wouldn’t kill them all. But the Roman Empire was built upon glory and conquest, and their normal punishment for deserters was death.
She just had to wait and see what happens. She wasn’t particularly concerned about getting killed in the arena, but with all that was going on across the Infinite Realms, she knew she was on a timer to act.
As she sank in her thoughts, one of the prisoners walked over from the side. He had to pull the chains a little to get to Jean.
“Gratitude. We would all be dead without you.”
Jean glanced at him silently.
The man continued.
“My name is Maximus. What is yours?”
“Tiberius.” Jean answered quietly. Tiberius was the name of the prisoner whose soul she devoured and whose body she resided in right now.
“Look, you seem smart, Tiberius, so you should understand the situation quite well. The games tomorrow will be brutal. I don’t know how many of us will have to die before the higher-ups are satisfied. If we want to maximize our chance of survival, we need to stick together.”
Tempting offer. Jean nodded slowly. She might not be concerned about getting killed, but the more normal she appears, the better. Having an ally could make her acting job a whole lot easier.
With the somewhat of a pack struck, Maximus slowly ventured away to the others around him. Jean wasn’t his only intended ally.
As Maximus did his best to make plans for tomorrow, someone else much higher up in the social pyramid was doing the same.
Miles away from the cells where the soon-to-be gladiators were kept was an elevated building that rose into the sky. In the Roman Empire, it was practically a skyscraper. Anyone with a pair of eyes could see it was heavily fortified. Armed legionnaires were at every corner. Hidden sentinels cowered in random bushes or on high watchtowers. Their crossbows were ready to catch any intruder by surprise.
Suddenly, the sound of horse feet clashing with the ground attracted the attention of the sentries. A few of them stood up straighter as a group of riders approached. As the leading rider dismounted, they saluted.
“Legatus Decimus. Legatus Caius has been expecting you.”
“Lead the way.” The rider didn't waste a word. The sentinel turned and walked, with the Roman general right behind him. Half his bodyguards stayed with the mounts while the other half dismounted and followed their leader. Even in a Roman city, one could never be too careful. Plus, much like the Voyagers, the Romans weren’t quite known for their comradeship.
The group made its way past multiple guards and quite a few slaves. Some of the slaves were men, but most of them were young women. All of them bared their chest and had collars on their neck, signaling their social status. They kept their heads low. One wrong move and the Roman Legatus might decide he needed some screams to elevate the mood. In the eyes of the Romans, trading the life of a single slave for a few grins was a brilliant deal.
Thankfully, that was not Legatus Decimus’s objective today. Finally, in a room, he found the owner of this mansion.
“Legatus Caius.” The visitor smiled politely, but it was obvious there was a hint of provocation in his gesture. “How are you doing?”
Legatus Caius was the Roman general who sent Jean and her fellow deserters to the arena. Displeasure lingered in his eyes as he heard this question. The man was poking fun at him and he knew it. Words of the failure in the invasion has spread across the Empire. The Emperor himself, along with half a dozen Legatus, launched an attack after three months of planning, but the attempt was completely foiled. Months of planning, wasted. Squads of elite Emperor’s Shadows assassins, gone. The turncoat among the defenders, eliminated.
Legatus Caius lost tens of thousands of men himself, but he knew he wasn’t the one who had it the worst. Rumor says the Emperor had over a hundred slaves crucified today upon hearing news of the defeat. Screams have covered the capital. Caius knew why. Emperor’s Shadows have always been a noose around the neck of high ranking generals like him. Betting so many Emperor’s Shadows on the mission was always a risk, and losing them greatly threatened the Emperor’s rule.
But at the same time, Caius could do nothing to get back at Decimus for his words. First of all, they were of the same ranks. Plus, AP492 wasn’t the only target of the Roman Empire. Legatus Decimus has been invading another world, and while he never broke through, at least his forces managed to create a stronghold on the other side. Whereas on the other hand, the invasion on the dimension the Aggressors referred to as Dimension AP492 was a complete and utter disaster.
He could only shrug it off.
“I think we can all agree it could be better. You, on the other hand, Legatus Decimus, the last I heard, you were leading the assault in Dimension HR012. Why did you return?”
Decimus shrugged.
“Despite what the populus are told, HR012 is not an easy prey vulnerable to the reaches of the Empire. Its defenders are weak, but they are reinforced by beings of mysterious powers. In fact, if they weren’t holding back a little to preserve their own forces, I won’t be here today.”
“Are they that powerful?”
“Yes. One of them could revive the dead. My men took heavy losses just to establish a foothold in their world, but when we tried to push forward, armies of corpses emerged from the cities. They broke through our ranks within hours.”
Decimus sighed, his smile nowhere to be seen. Even now, he could still vividly remember the sight of mountains of flesh pouring down on his men. The Roman lines were broken. Panicked soldiers ran for their lives. The defeat was only ceased when the catapults, trenches, and crossbows on the Roman stronghold made attacking too costly.
Caius found something.
“You said they were holding back?”
“Correct.” Decimus sensed something from Caius. “What do you know about it?”
“These defenders with special powers are called Voyagers.” Decimus knew Caius has been gone from the Empire for a while, so he wasn’t aware of some of the new information gathered when he was gone. “They are members of the Voyager Corps. The Emperor’s Shadows managed to get to one of them and turn him to our side. That man, the Voyager, is lost, probably dead, but the knowledge he gave us is priceless.”
“I’m listening.” Decimus was all ears.
“The Voyager Corps serves the Protector Corps. I am sure you are aware of the Protector Corps.”
“Of course.” Decimus knew all about the Protector Corps. In fact, every Roman did. Tales of the brutalities committed by the Protectors was a well known fact throughout the Empire. “Twenty four years ago, when the Empire discovered a path of interdimensional travel, the former Emperor led an expedition through the portal. It included the Crown Prince, half the Roman court, and one million and two hundred thousand Roman warriors. After an initial victory, the Protectors interfered. A Squad of Protectors erased the entire expedition. The mighty empire was forced to bend its knee to the Protector Corps.”
Twenty four years ago, Legatus Decimus was no more than a child. His father was a commander who didn't have the fortune to go on the expedition. Even now, he could still remember how angry his father was when he heard the order to remain in their world...and how lucky he felt when the news of the nightmare arrived.
The Protectors were ruthless and efficient. One moment, the Empire lost contact with the other side of the portal. The next moment, a single figure in white armored appeared above Rome. With the wave of a hand, he showed footage to the people of the entire Empire...the footage of one million and two hundred thousand Romans being erased.
The footage of the Emperor leading the charge with thousands of his elite personal guards and his trusted son, only to fade away into thin air.
That day, the Roman Empire was broken. Its pride, its spine, shattered. They valued strength and conquest. When they were the ones doing the slaughter, great, but when they were the ones being slaughtered, well, the preferences might be slightly different.
Romans weren’t afraid of challenges. Centuries ago, when Rome was just a small city on the island of Italy, its navy suffered heavy losses from the fleets of Carthage. Yet that defeat only made the Roman war machine accelerate. Roman engineers stripped down captured Carthage warships tirelessly. Before long, the Romans bested the Carthaginians in their own field, and Carthage became another stepping stone on the Romans’ path to ascension.
But the Protector Corps wasn’t Carthage. You want to study their ways? Fine. But how the hell are you supposed to jump from spears and shields to a mysterious white light that wipes out everyone and everything in its path? Climbing up to the top needed strength and determination, but it also needed stairs.
So the entire empire knelt down and swore their allegiance to the Protector Corps. For decades, they stood loyal. The heart of the Romans yearned for vengeance, but they had no choice but to keep it covered.
It was only when the Aggressors arrived. All of a sudden, the Protector Corps no longer seemed so scary. Their days of remaining unchallenged have came to an end. The Aggressors opened up portals to the other words for the Roman forces to conquer. The first cohort sent to dimension AP592 was a test. If the Protectors smite them, then the losses would be acceptable. But no Protector came. The local resistance was strong, but not overpowering. That was when the Roman Empire knew it made the right choice.
Back to the room. Legatus Caius continued.
“The Protector Corps deployed the Voyager Corps to defend the worlds under siege. According to the Voyager we turned, it’s because the Protectors don’t have the manpower to be everywhere at once.”
“That’s great news!” Legatus Decimus exclaimed, slightly confused by the frown on Caius’s face. “The rule of the Protector Corps has came to an end! If we could turn one Voyager, we can turn all of them. Before long, the might of the Roman Empire will initiate another age of conquest!”
“I wouldn’t be so confident if I were you.” Caius shook his head. “I don’t know...I just feel like something is off.”
“What do you mean?”
Caius suddenly turned and glanced at his servants in the room, who immediately turned and left, leaving the two for a private conversation. That was when Caius finally continued.
“Everything...everything feels too good to be true. One moment, the Protectors stand unchallenged, and all of a sudden, a random group of Aggressors suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started winning wars against the Protectors? Remember what the Protector said when she came into our world? The Protectors have held the Infinite Realms for countless years. So how are they losing it so easily? And the Voyagers. They decided to practically steer clear of this conflict, and the Protectors just allowed it?”
“Perhaps the Protectors have been corrupted by their victories. Perhaps the Aggressors are just too powerful. I heard the Aggressors won a battle against the Protectors. Maybe they’re too tied up to deal with the incompetence among their Voyager underlings.”
“Yes. The Battle of Akhansia, and only the most blatant fool would call that a victory. Hundreds of millions were killed. An entire dimension that swore its allegiance to the Aggressors was erased. All that in exchange for a couple hundred Protector foot soldiers. But even that feels...weird.”
“You have to be more specific.” Decimus was getting a little impatient. He didn't come here to listen to conspiracy theories.
“Imagine this. What will you do if a group of peasants under your rule suddenly picked up their pitchforks and pikes and rose up against you?”
“I will send my men to exterminate the resistance. Crucify the rest.”
“But your men failed. Not only so, that group of peasants slaughtered them all. Yes. A group of outnumbered peasants with nothing but a bunch of wooden sticks slaughtered your legions of elite soldiers. Not only so, all of a sudden, more and more peasants have risen up against you, and before long, you find yourself trapped behind the walls of your city. Your own men, the ones who have served you loyally for generations, started looking for a way out rather than elect to die for you.”
“That is absurd.”
“So is what is happening here!” Caius suddenly stood up in frustration. “You have seen the power of the Protectors! They are invincible! So how come they’re losing the war so easily?”
“The Aggressors are much more powerful than we are. Invincible to us might mean slightly stronger to the Aggressors, and like you said before, the Aggressors have the numbers.”
“The numbers?” Caius suddenly smirked. “The Aggressors fought a single battle. They had overwhelming numbers, killed a couple of hundred Protectors at the price of millions of their own, and they are acting like it is the win of the century! They’re shamelessly spreading the news of that across the Infinite Realms to every soul they have came across! Does that feel like a victor to you?”
Decimus sighed. He didn't say anything, but it was obviously he didn't believe in Caius’s words. The concerned Roman finally sighed and changed the topic.
“What are you doing here?”
Decimus was more than willing to get to the important matters.
“My forces have retreated back into the Empire for rest and recover, for now. I intend on returning to Dimension HR012, and to fight against these Voyagers and win, I need more than ordinary legionnaires. I need stronger fighters.”
“You want to lend my men?”
“I am hiring men with a more ruthless style of war to complement my own legionnaires. I heard you just forced a couple hundred deserters into the arena?”
“Yes.” Caius frowned at what Decimus was suggesting. “You want to use them? They will for sure fail you. Men who have turned from battle once will do it again without a second of doubt.”
Decimus nodded.
“Which is why we will educate them before they join my ranks. Blood and steel can be a powerful tool in forging a weapon.”
“Yet I still don’t see how that can help against a mountain of undead.”
“Just leave that part to me. I will see you well compensated.”
Caius shrugged.
“Forget about the compensation. A few hundred cowards aren’t worth anything, but I do pray that you think about what I said.”
“Things are definitely not what they seem to be, and this mess with the Protectors and the Aggressors...it is much more than a mere battle between two factions.”
