“You underestimate your power, hounds of the Protectors...I am merely an avatar, and my purpose has been served.” The man turned to Jean and Scarlett. This was the first time he spoke ever since his descension. “Now, your greed and your foolishness will cost you everything you have ever fought for.”
As if a command was given, an interdimensional portal popped up above the initial tent. Almost as soon as the gateway solidified, a sea of black beasts came pouring out, washing over the Alphians on the ground. The Alphians didn't hesitate to return fire.
Immediately, the situation went from good to bad.
But that wasn’t it. Under the Voyagers’ gaze, the Aggressor’s avatar was suddenly reduced into a blue ray. It pierced the barrier Scarlett put up and dashed into the portal.
The next second, a blue figure almost identical to the avatar marched out. He slowly made his way to the trio on the ground. Alphians on his way moved to stop him, but all of them exploded into a million pieces without the Aggressor lifting a finger.
Well, now it’s from bad to worse.
Neither Scarlett nor Jean made a move. They could sense the immense danger from the Aggressor. If they acted, they would die. This was no longer just merely an avatar. This was a true member of the legions and legions of Aggressors that have became such a bane of the invincible Protectors. The Protectors could hunt them like dogs, but when tipped against the lower Voyagers, these Aggressors were nearly invincible.
A single one of them could destroy all the Alphians, both Voyagers, all of Jean’s Wardens and Purifiers, and then, on top of it, wipe out the planet.
It was as if Jean and her pals really screwed up this time. The deep, dark look of regret on Jean’s and Scarlett’s face told the world that story.
The Aggressor glanced across the three, but first, he ignored the Voyagers and went for the Alphian. Traitors were always more despicable than enemies. Two enemies could sit down, after the war was over, and have a cup of tea. Traitors, on the other hand, made things personal.
“You have made the wrong choice, Alphian. Now, your race will burn because of that.”
The Aggressor raised his blade. He could just blast Alpha-Sierra out of existence, but he wanted to make a statement.
But Alpha-Sierra tilted his head.
“On the contrary, Aggressor, I have found the only path to survival for my race and my cause.”
The Aggressor’s expression changed. Alpha-Sierra wasn’t lying. He could tell it! He wasn’t lying! But that means...he snapped around to the two Voyagers and realized the regret on their face have gone out the window.
Now only so, Scarlett had a deep grin.
“Well,” She turned to Jean. “I told you I am a great actress.”
The next moment, the Aggressor snapped around to the portal he came here through. His hand reached for the comm.
“It’s an ambush! Close the portal!”
But it was already too late.
On the other side of the portal was the World of Jeka. Due to the discreteness of the world’s coordinates in the Infinite Realms, the Aggressors used it as a type of staging ground.
There were hundreds of thousands of such staging grounds throughout the Infinite Realms. These worlds helped the Aggressors navigate their sabotage operations and move armies and resources from world to world nonstop. If the Aggressors were knitting a net, then these worlds were the joints.
Four Aggressors, aside from the one that just departed, resided in this world, along with 30 billion underlings from 19 distinct worlds.
As of the moment, the four Aggressors were discussing battle plans.
“The Protectors are using the Engulfer Bay as a base of operation. They have assembled two Supplicant Legions. The Warmongers of the North and the Iron Garrison, as well as a battalion of Protectors and a number of Voyagers. These Protector forces are invading the worlds that have claimed allegiance to us. Everywhere they come across, they leave no survivors.”
“We have to fight back.” Another Aggressor continued. “If they destroy the homes of our followers, we shall destroy theirs. The Protectors don’t have the numbers to fight a war of attrition.”
“High Command has made a move on the Iron Domain, but the Protectors had defenses in place and reserves ready. We lost four supplicant legions.”
“Pity.”
“Indeed, but we shouldn’t lose our spirit. The Protectors and their followers are outnumbered. We have already pushed their influence back closer and closer to the Core Realms. Eventually, we can make it so that the command of the Protectors can no longer leave their homeworld.”
Suddenly, all four Aggressors looked up into the air. One of them mobilized his powers, but his brother-in-arm grabbed onto his arm and shook his head.
“Leave!”
The four Aggressors immediately disappeared.
The 19 supplicant legions outside had no idea their saviors have abandoned them already. All they knew was one moment everything was fine. The next moment, a beam of white energy descended from the sky and cracked this entire world like an egg.
Armies from 19 worlds. 30 billion combatants. Gone.
The Aggressor knew he was screwed when a surge of white energy that could only come from a Protector went right through the portal. And then, all contact with the world on the other side disappeared.
Tens of thousands of the Aggressor’s supplicants were still fighting against the Aggressors, but without further reinforcements, their fate was already sealed. Alpha-Sierra made a silent command, and fresh Alphian reinforcements came in from all directions. Before long, all the supplicants were no more than corpses on the ground.
The Aggressor didn't have time to mourn the demise of his pawns and potentially his comrades. He was too focused on the white-armored figure before him.
“Protector.”
The Protector returned the favor.
“Aggressor.”
The Aggressor turned around to the two Voyagers.
“Let me guess, you knew I was going to read the mind of one of your pawns after I realize I can’t win this battle all on my own? And when I find out no Protector is involved, I would call in my true self and reinforcements, thus exposing the coordinates of my base of operation? When that is done, the Protector that has been hiding since the battle began would come down and clean the slate?”
“Frankly speaking, all we knew was you would be a fool to move into an unsecured location by yourself without any precautions.” Jean shrugged. “And we made preparations accordingly. But, correct, I did summon Protector Charles before having Alpha-Sierra contact you. Your underestimation of us led to your doom.”
The Protector followed that up.
“Now that that issue has been resolved, Aggressor, it is time to die.”
“Perhaps, but we Aggressors will never submit! Soon, the Protectors will fall…”
The man never finished because the Protector erased him from this world with the snap of a finger.
When the kill was finished, it was time for the rewards.
The first one was Alpha-Sierra.
“Your loyalty to the Corps have been proven, Alphian, but note that if you show disloyalty ever again, the Shaku Riders will not be the ones coming after you. It will be a Protector you see standing before your ship, and it will be a Protector who wipes you and your kind from this world.”
“Of course.” Alpha-Sierra kept his tone obedient. Not a difficult thing for someone who couldn’t feel anger or shame. “The Alphians will serve the Protectors well.”
“In that case, this world is yours. You will be contacted on fulfilling your race’s duty to the Protector Corps as a supplicant legion.”
“Of course.”
“Now, you two.” Protector Charles turned back to the two Voyagers. His tone much better. “Your loyalty and commitment to the Corps has been noted, and you will be rewarded. Follow me.”
He waved his hand, and a ship appeared right above the two Voyagers. It was the shape of a “T”. Following another snap of the fingers, Jean and Scarlett found themselves sitting in the cockpit of the ship, located at the joint of the “T”.
Jean had a question.
“We will do as you command, Protector, but shouldn’t we return to the City of the Voyagers?”
“That was the standard protocol, but these are troubling times. Unfortunately, you don’t have time for rest and recovery. I am taking you to the Engulfer Bay, where you will be rewarded for your extraordinary performances. And then, you will be deployed to your future missions.”
“I see, Protector.”
Protector Charles pressed a couple of buttons, and the next second, the white ship disappeared from the world.
On the ground, Alpha-Sierra tilted his head.
Inside the ship, Scarlett’s mouth hung open as she watched the outside world through the transparent windows of the ship. The Protector vessel was moving across a colorless tunnel. Yes. Colorless. Not black.
Protector Charles saw Scarlett’s confusion, and he was in a good mood. After all, the Aggressors have been evading the Protectors’ grasp since the beginning of the war. They have fought a guerilla warfare, dodging the main Protector forces when they were here and striking when they were gone. Charles could sense the amount of casualties he inflicted when he wiped out that world. Billions of former Protector supplicants, turned to the Aggressors. That made him feel really satisfied.
Anyone and everyone that elected to stand against the Protector Corps deserved to die.
“Is this the first time you have traveled in a phaseship?”
“Yes.”
“Well, phaseships work just like the Phase Placement Beams that moved you Voyagers between worlds, but phaseships are safer and more durable. If a Phase Placement Beam gets intercepted, the user is going to be tossed into any corner of the Infinite Realms. He, or she, is likely doomed. If a phaseship is intercepted during transport, the ship is capable of returning fire and even doing an emergency exit.”
“But it is taking longer than the beams.” Jean noticed something. Whenever she was moved between the City of the Voyager and the mission worlds, she arrived in an instant. Now, the phaseship has been en route for several minutes.
“Where we are going, the Engulfer Bay, is further from the Core Realms and your mission worlds than most places in the Infinite Realms. That’s the problem with our campaign.” Charles frowned in annoyance. “The Infinite Realms is too big for our numbers. The Aggressors can fight on battlefields leagues away from the Core Realms, and escape before we arrive. That’s the only reason the Aggressors and their minions are still alive now.”
As he finished, the phaseship finally jumped out of the colorless tunnel.
Both Voyagers felt their jaws drop.
“Oh my god…” Scarlett felt like her worldview was shattered. “What...is that a beast?”
Charles sat back in his seat. It was obvious he enjoyed the shock on the two Voyagers’ face.
“That, ladies, is the corpse of the Engulfer King.”
In front of the phaseship was the body of a beast floating in open space. Now, the body itself wasn’t that weird. Sure, it had a dozen orange eyes who were still open. Its lower body was covered in countless small tentacles. It had four especially long limbs that moved around lifelessly. But both Scarlett and Jean have seen their share of weird monsters.
What truly made the body special...was its sheer size.
Speed and size were both things that only made sense when compared with something else. At first, Scarlett had no idea how fast the phaseship was traveling. It was only when the phaseship exited the tunnel that she glanced at the speed counter.
10 lyph.
That unit could only mean one thing.
10 light years per hour.
WTF?
One light year was the speed it takes for light to travel for a year. Scarlett did some math. It was equivalent to 9.46 * 10^15 meters. 10 lyph was 2.62 * 10 ^ 10 kilometers. Per second.
In contrast, a sportscar back on Earth was around 450 kilometers. Per hour.
That was when it suddenly occurred to Scarlett. The phaseship was traveling at a speed that if she tried to do the same thing, she would literally die because the air resistance could rip her body apart at that velocity.
But that raised another question. The moment the phaseship came out of the tunnel, Scarlett saw the corpse. Two seconds later, the corpse was no larger than before.
A glance at another scanner told her the distance between the phaseship and the Engulfer body: 7 light years.
Jean turned to Protector Charles.
“I am assuming the glass we are looking through are modified, correct?”
No matter how good someone’s eyesight was, they couldn’t see something 7 light years away. It literally takes light reflecting off the body to travel 7 years to get to where the ship was at right now!
That was something even Jean had to put into perspective. She thought her Worldship, with each side being dozens of kilometers, was already a giant. Only now did she realize how tiny that was across all of the Infinite Realms.
“Correct.” Charles nodded. “The ship is functioning on my energy. 7 light years is a long time to travel through for light, but for my powers, it’s merely a matter of fraction seconds.”
“Wow…” Jean faked awe. “that is...that is just astonishing!”
On the other side, Scarlett finally came to reason with what she was seeing.
“How big...how big is that thing?”
“8 light years long. 3 light years wide.” Charles smirked. “That thing used to be the King of the Engulfers. The Engulfers were a race that roamed across the Infinite Realms, feasting on the worlds that they come across. They travel in packs of millions. Few could survive their encounters. Apparently, entire dimensions were obliterated before their inhabitants even saw the pack coming.”
“But the Protectors handled them.”
“Yes. These Engulfers are physically indestructible, even to we Protectors. Their souls, on the other hand, are relatively fragile.”
He stretched his neck.
“The Battle of the Engulfers. The Engulfers were on the path to devouring a world which has pledged itself to the Protector ranks, so we stepped in and made a stand. 100 Protector legions took part in the fight. For ten days, we held the Engulfers in place, slaying them by the thousands. On the last day of the battle, even the Grand Protector herself joined in the battle. At that point, it was all over for them.”
He tilted his head. A bloody smirk crawled onto his face as he remembered the victory.
“That day, those beasts refused to yield, so that was the day the Engulfers went extinct.”
Yield and see your race live on. Resist and watch your people go extinct.
That was the code of the Protector Corps.
