“All that stand against the Protector Corps will perish at our hands!”

Local inhabitants of a world watched in horror as the sky suddenly broke. A huge light beam the size of a city dropped down and brought an entire legion into position in an instant.

Thousands of Protector supplicant troopers entered position. They wore strange masks of all sorts of supernatural beings. Wraiths. Ghouls. Vampires. Werewolves. The face of men and women screaming with blood flowing out of their eyes and noses. Even their weapons carried the same style. Instead of shooting energy blasts, every pull of the trigger sent out a piece of wraith at the opponents. 

Anyone shot by those wraith blasters, even if it was just a graze, would collapse on the ground and scream at the top of their lungs, but their screams would be over very soon. It didn't take long for the wraiths to devour the original souls, take over their bodies, and charge at their former comrades. 

Within minutes, the battlefield was filled with the corpses of locals. Some were on the ground. Others, on the move. 

To their credit, the locals did try to resist. Hundreds of fighters lifted into the air. This was a civilization who has made it into space and colonized two nearby planets. Their main forces were away on the Aggressor Crusade, but there were still some defenders. 

Unfortunately, the time of these fighters was short. They barely dropped two waves of bombs into the invader ranks before the invaders brought out one of their big guns.

One intruder took out a box, opened it, and threw it on the ground. There was a piece of flesh in that box. As soon as it was on the ground, the flesh grew exponentially. It went bigger and bigger like a balloon. If Jean was here, she would be able to see all the soul energies entering the creature, fostering its growth. 

When the fighters realized what they were up again, it was already too late. The vile creature has gone from a piece of meat someone could fit in his pocket to a monster thirty meters tall with a nest of tentacles and at least fifty eyes across its body. 

These tentacles struck out with multiple times the speed of sound. Dozens of fighters fell every second. The speed of the strikes was just too much for the neural reflex of the fighter pilots to possibly comprehend. The survivors quickly pulled away and tried to maintain suppressing fire from a distance, but even the effects of that was limited. 

On the ground, entire local armored divisions collapsed. Tanks, armored vehicles, and helicopters didn't stand a chance against the wraith munitions. The fact that swarms of revived dead were acting as the vanguard of the invasion only made things worse.

Suddenly, a line of blue portals appeared in the middle of the massacre. 

And out of those portals came Aggressor reinforcements. 

A certain Voyager led them. Correction. Former Voyager. 

“It’s the Warmongers of the North! We’re in for a tough fight!” 

That was the first words Adam said as he stepped out of the portal and saw the atrocities unfolding all around him. A world of this location was likely attacked by forces from Engulfer Bay. That was the closest Protector base of operation. Protectors themselves were too occupied with the Aggressors to be sent on extermination missions. This was certainly not the work of the Voyagers, and the Iron Garrison focused on technology, not supernatural powers. 

That was bad news. The Warmongers of the North came from a world that was pretty much hell. Supernatural energies there were off the chart. As a result, there were ghosts and wraiths and banshees and witches and demons and vampires and werewolves in almost every corner of that world. Human beings were food. Their sole fate was to be mowed down and devoured. If their souls perished then and there, great. Otherwise, these souls would turn into wraiths and return to haunt their loved ones. 

That all changed when the Protectors came. In a fashion tradition to them, the Protectors crushed any supernatural being that dared raise arms against them. Perhaps it was because they were all humans, or at least had human forms, the Protectors favored human beings over everyone else. When they were finished, races like the witches still had a chance to submit. Factions like the wraiths and the demons were completely destroyed. 

The Protectors saved the people of that world, and they were grateful. Fine. But the issue for Adam was that those people showed their gratefulness by aiding the Protectors and obeying any order they had without question. The Warmongers of the North was one of those supplicant legions that would follow the Protector Corps to the depth of hell. They used the specialties of their world as weapon. Very few could stand against their screeching wraiths or flesh monsters on the field of battle. 

“Don’t worry. The Warmongers are infamous, but we Crusaders are not to be trifled with either. We will show these sorcerers not everyone is afraid of their tricks!” 

Behind Adam, a figure with golden armor stepped out. He carried a large golden sword and a shield. Even his face was fully concealed under a metal mask. A cloak of the same color dragged behind him. 

Crusaders. Crusaders came from a world of immense prowess. The locals combined technology, genetic engineering, and difficult training to forge an elite army feared through many worlds. The common Crusaders looked like they were ancient melee troops, but if you believed that, you would’ve fallen victim to their deceptive tactics. 

The interesting thing was that the Crusaders never went full Protector or full Aggressor. They provided a supplicant legion to the Protector Corps, as per requested, and that legion served the Protectors well. Their hands were stained with the blood of rebels. 

But at the same time, a group of Crusader ‘traitors’ left their homeworld and served under the Aggressors against the Protector Corps. 

Adam knew that was a smart move. This way, if the Protectors win, the Crusader homeworld would be just fine. If the Aggressors somehow prevail, they wouldn’t go after the homeworld of one of their greatest supporters either. 

Of course, usually playing both sides would get both sides to take you out, but the fact was both sides of the Crusaders served as well as they could. In fact, the foot soldiers might even believe the other side was really turned. So unless the Crusaders playing both parts really posed a threat, then neither side would do anything to them. 

Tens of thousands of Crusaders marched out of those portals. All of them were armed with golden spears and shields. The only difference between them and the Crusader general was that they didn't have that fancy cape. 

In the air, hundreds of one-man golden fighters first dashed into combat. Twin turbocannons blasted two strings of barrage at the hostile lines down below. Wraith ammos chased after the starships, but all of the shots were perfectly evaded. 

The Crusaders engaged the Warmongers on the ground as well. Wraiths clashed with golden shields and were dissolved. The few that dodged the shields managed to latch onto the armors and helmets, but while they could break through physical obstacles like tanks and armored vehicles with ease, a force field around the armors stopped them in their tracks. 

The mysterious supernatural powers could surprise lower civilizations, but at one point, technology could effectively counter them. 

The Crusaders returned fire...with their spears. Golden blasts came out of the tip of the golden spears and caught the enemies by surprise. Everything within the path of the blasts was dissolved. 

The massacre was quickly put to a stop as the Protector supplicants turned to a more prioritized target.

The giant flesh monster immediately took hundreds of shots all over its body. At least a dozen eyes burst into a filthy goo. Half of its tentacles were torn off its body. The monster screeched and started moving toward the wave of bombardment. It was under the control of Warmonger sorcerers, so injuries meant nothing. All it had in mind was take down a few Crusaders on the way down. 

Suddenly, a red blast pierced the space and burnt a hole through a spot on the monster’s body. Among the Crusaders, Adam pulled his lance back and struck four wraiths into oblivion. 

Among the Warmonger lines, a sorcerer collapsed and died. That shot just pierced the inhibitor device the Warmongers put in the monster to make it more tamable. Without it, the sorcerer’s soul was quickly devoured by the rogue creature.  

Now freed, the uncontrolled beast turned around. It was no friend of the Crusaders, but if anything, it despised those that have made him a slave even more. Right there in the field of battle where golden blasts and wraiths were flying both ways, the beast turned its metaphorical coat. Its tentacles struck at least a dozen Warmonger troopers into torn flesh. 

Using the monster as a meat shield, the Crusaders pushed forward and pushed the Warmongers back. Still, it wasn’t a simple task. The Warmongers refused to give up an inch of ground without making the Crusaders pay for it. And that was exactly what the Crusaders did.  

Taking another step forward and crushing three Warmonger troopers, the monster suddenly sensed something. It twitched and turned as if it was in agony, but all was futile. Adam watched as a flower of ice suddenly exploded from within the beast’s body and spread to cover it entirely. As soon as the ice covered 90% of the monster, Adam sensed it was dead. 

The former Voyager gripped onto his lance tightly. This wasn’t something the Warmongers were capable of. Only a former comrade of his could manage it. 

Just like he expected, a figure in black armor stepped out of cover from the Warmonger ranks. He was holding onto a blue scepter. 

“Traitor of the Corps!” He pointed at Adam. “The Protectors have put a great bounty on your head, and I will happily collect it.” 

Adam took a step forward. Several Crusaders moved to reinforce him, but he waved his hand and told them to move aside. This was his fight. 

As the Crusaders complied, Adam moved to face the Voyager. His right hand gripped onto his lance. 

His lance, the one that formally belonged to the Empress. 

The two stood there for a while. All around them, the battle was tilted to the Crusaders’ favor. The Crusader general led the charge, deflecting hundreds of shots with his shield, his armor, and his skills and diving into the Warmonger troopers. Once they were in melee, the Warmongers were completely out of their field. If Jean was here, this would remind her of Purifier legionnaires diving into Dominion marines back in the World of Starcraft.

But as the tides turned against him, the Voyager was in no rush. He flipped his mask up, revealing a young face. 

“Voyager Adam. You openly betrayed the Corps and joined the Aggressors after massacring nine other Voyagers on the same mission. Care to explain why?”

“No.” 

“In that case, please give me the honor of taking a guess. Rumor has it that you fell in love with a woman, a local. Especially, it was a local that stood against the Corps. The Protectors had her and her world destroyed, and now, you seek vengeance. Am I close?” 

“Close to your death.” 

“Well, the jokes are on you. One against nine and won? A Voyager with your skills can definitely accomplish your mission successfully. The reward for that was one wish. You could’ve revived your loved one. Instead, you chose death.”

Adam, who has kept his mask shut the entire time, suddenly felt the urge to move his mask up as well. 

“Even if the Protectors revive her again, she will not be truly free. No one will be truly free until the Protector Corps has been burned to the ground. And when it does, I will be the one holding the torch.”

The Voyager grinned. 

“Oh I doubt that. It’s pretty hard to hold onto anything when you’re frozen!”

The Voyager waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened. 

“What? Wondering why the power you sent into my body when I opened my mask wasn’t triggered? That’s why you kept on provoking me, right? So I can make a mistake like that? Because you are not strong enough to infiltrate my Voyager armor?” 

Adam smirked and tapped his lance. 

“Just so you can die with the blessing of knowledge, let me tell you something. This lance.” He tapped the weapon. “This lance once belonged to the woman I loved and respected. It used to be no more than an ordinary weapon, but when the Voyagers threatened her empire, she sacrificed her life and tapped into a forbidden power. This power allowed this weapon to become an entity capable of slaying over thirty Voyagers.” 

The Voyager bit his lips. 

“And then, when everything was over, this lance was broken, and I got its only remains. Those remains carried the hope, anger, and loyalty of millions of innocent people. Their bodies and souls may have perished, but their will left a mark on this weapon.”

“More importantly, when the Protector that destroyed that world gave me the rewards, he included some of the top materials in the entire Infinite Realms. After a run in the forge, this weapon is remade into the one I am holding right now…”

The Voyager waved five ice walls into place around himself before tapping onto his watch and summoning the Phase Placement Beam to return to Engulfer’s Bay. He would love to claim that bounty, but coins and even power were less important than his life. 

A light beam came down and consumed him. With the corner of his eyes, he could see none of the five barriers were breached. But just before he was gone from this world, he felt excruciating pain at his chest.

He looked down and saw a gaping hole. How...

“My lance has gained a lot of attributes. One of them is the ability to pierce space.” 

Adam waved his hand, and the red lance flew back into his grip. His expression was ice cold. The kill made him neither happy nor sad. Without one more word, he turned around and moved toward the remaining Warmonger forces. 

Killing one Voyager was nothing. His goal has always been and would always be the complete and utter destruction of the Protector Corps.