I stared out the forward observation port with anxiety and dread building within my gut.

It was less than an hour till our mission now, and everything was prepared.

Everything except for me.

From behind the eyes of the massive Star Dragon, I now had a clear vantage of the planet known as Heu Zen. It was lush and green, with purple seas, made so by the slightly blue-hued star that governed the system. It had a single moon like the Earth and sure enough, the satellite had the faintest red tint to it already.

There had to be a gate forming on its surface, a demonic conduit linking the moon back to the Hell Worlds. In my mind, I could envision that enormous, inverted triangle that I’d seen on the Hell Scape of the moon back home. I wondered if one day I might be powerful enough to destroy something as massive as that.

But I’d have to go through that bitch I’Xan’dra first, no doubt.

It was her power connecting these worlds.

The blue-skinned handmaid to the Herald of the Cursed Stars.

I blew out a sigh and added another goal to my to do list.

Stop the Bloodmoons.

But stopping this Bloodmoon from forming wasn’t something I was going to achieve today.

Today I just needed to figure out how I was going to be a conscientious objector in the middle of a planetary assault. Even now my Flame waned with the inverse pull of my Dao. The fact that I’d spent the last two days memorizing the cultivation manual, helped keep my mind off of it, but the dread of what lay ahead, had left me anything but enthused when it came to cultivating.

Faintly, around the edges of the planet, I could see the silhouettes of familiar shapes hovering in orbit. The giant pagodas of the imperial cities, waiting to forcefully inhabit their new home. Those massive things would have taken years to get to this planet from the core worlds. It made me wonder how the emperor knew so far in advance a Bloodmoon would form. Was he so powerful that he could sense such changes even from the celestial realm?

Or was there a much simpler answer?

That he was somehow causing the gates to form himself.

“Here you are,” a voice said, suddenly pulling me out of my thoughts.

I looked to the stairwell leading to the observation port, to see General Gong ascending.

“I thought I might find you up here,” he said with a smile.

I immediately stood and braced myself at attention. “General.”

“At ease, son,” he said and then took a seat on the observation bench next to me. “Is your team prepared?”

“As good as ever,” I said.

That much was true.

We had spent the last few hours packing supplies onboard the drop skiff as well as prepping several smaller defense skiffs that we would deploy during the descent. It was something we only practiced in theory back at Du Gok Bhong. The Hell Worlds’ monsters would destroy a skiff trying to land in a sea of demons and thus we had to deploy smaller skiffs to reach the surface first and clear a path, or else we’d risk losing the drop skiff and our ride back home.

This ‘assault’ would provide us an opportunity to practice.

That was perhaps the only saving grace this mission had to offer.

“Try not to feel badly about what’s happened to you,” General Gong said. “The Governor is a powerful and influential man. He will stop at nothing to have his way. Your survival of that exposition match, much less winning it in the way you did, has embarrassed him greatly.”

I huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, no kidding. It embarrassed the hell out of me too.”

Gong chuckled.

“I’ve learned it best just to go along with him initially and then guide him along the way.”

Go along with it, I thought. Perhaps that’s what I had to do for now.

“Just remember for this mission, you are here as a token gift only,” Gong said and then slowly he stood. “You need not participate… fully.”

I looked up at him shocked, wondering if he had just read my mind.

He then smiled. “I’ve seen you sulking, Iron Bull, and I can guess why. I know your history, son. This mission will likely bring back a lot of bad memories for you. Just focus on your ultimate goal. We’ll be but a night here and then we are back on track to the Hell Worlds.”

“Thanks, General Gong.”

“Come on then,” he said. “There is a bit more formality yet.”

“Huh?”

Gong then pointed through the viewport. “The princess’ command ship has arrived. You legionnaires will have your final briefing there along with all the other members of the Royal Tributes.”

“Royal tributes?”

Gong chuckled. “A bit different than the type of tribute you were back at the Academy. It was what Lady Rhe Su Long was intended to be. A gift of strength from the royal houses to help subdue any resistance quickly.”

I chortled mirthlessly. “So that’s us now, right? Subduers?”

“In token only, as I mentioned,” Gong said. He then smiled. “Trust me. When you see the real subduers, you’ll understand why you are considered only tokens.”

* * *

General Gong’s words filled me with curiosity as we made the trek through orbit to the Princess’ command ship in our legionnaire’s skiff. We were sardined canned inside, all twenty of us, along with the Senior Platoon commander.

He made a big deal about us performing well and not embarrassing his family name, but barely anyone was listening. Despite me making an ass of myself, my men still respected me and conversely still hated the shit out of Jei Su Long.

That was comforting to know.

Especially going into what we were now.

The command ship was shaped like a giant fish, and as we entered its mouth, we passed through a barrier that sealed the inside from the vacuum of space.

We exited the skiff into a brightly lit interior and found a small contingent of imperial guards and officers standing in formation. In front of them was a woman who looked in her thirties, with flawless skin, long golden hair and wearing imperial robes, along with a small crown.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Sixth Princess Remulah resembled her older sister and while she was supposedly the youngest of her siblings, she looked far older than Princess Rheutera. It was another confirmation that Rheutera had been a prodigy in her youth. Standing next to Princess Remulah was a tall, matronly looking woman in dark trimmed robes who wore a small headdress of her own on her crown of black hair.

General Gong was already there, along with the Governor.

We marched in formation, and I brought the platoon to a halt for inspection.

Jei Su Long, not surprisingly, left us to take a place next to his uncle.

“Is this it?” Remulah asked, eyeing us with a lackluster frown.

Governor Tai Su Long smiled obsequiously. “Just wait till you see them in combat, your majesty. They are fitting of a Royal Tribute, I assure you. They will be led by my very own nephew, Young Master Jei Su Long.”

At that Jei Su Long dropped to one knee with a bow of his head. “My Legionnaires are at your service, your majesty.”

I groaned inwardly.

Damn, kiss ass.

Remulah looked none too impressed however and was just about to say something when her eyes suddenly widened with excitement.

“They’re here!” she shouted. “They’re here!”

Before I could even figure out who or what she was even talking about, the air literally split apart before us, with a sudden clap of thunder. A shimmering, oval portal that was about ten feet high appeared, its interior opaque with an eerily familiar purple glow.

Three figures stepped through the portal, one by one.

The first was a giant of a man, who wore nothing but a white loincloth and a set of thick prayer beads around his neck. He was so tall he had to stoop through the ten-foot-high opening. He was not only tall but thick, beefy like a pro-wrestler. He wore a gnarled white beard and on his bald head was a rusted crown. Time froze as the recognition hit me.

I knew this guy.

Not by name, but by face... and power.

He was the one I’d seen stop a damn nuke with his bare hands when I was eight years old. My blood froze as I relived the memory, becoming that scared little kid again, staring incomprehensibly at the giant figure before me.

Stepping out from behind him, came a woman with cat ears, wearing tightfitting, black robes with a huge ten-foot-long katana, hovering just off her back. Lastly, a white-haired man in purple robes, wielding a staff that was crowned with golden rings, stepped through and once he had, he tapped the ground with his staff and the portal disappeared.

Everyone in the assembly immediately fell to their knees and I dumbfoundedly, followed suit. The only person who didn’t, was the princess. She instead let out a girlish laugh and ran to the big man with the rusted crown and hugged him about his waist.

Her tiny arms barely encircled him at all.

“Thank you so much for coming, Lord Nephew!”

The big man rumbled with a laugh as he stooped to hug her. “My little aunt. Anything for the family. And you can thank Lord Victus here, for summoning me so quickly through the ether.”

The man in the purple robes tipped his wide brimmed hat to the princess and she responded with a curtsey.

“If only we could all travel such as you, Lord Victus,” she said.

The old, whitehaired man smiled. “One might, if One has the fortitude, my dear Princess.”

She grinned. “I shall leave such, to the likes of you and these legionnaires.”

They both laughed at that and I raised a brow confused.

The Princess then curtseyed to the cat-eared woman. “And Lady Sylph, so wonderful for you to come. I have long yearned to see your legendary, mountain-cutter blade in action.”

“I and the Pīshān Zhě live only to serve, your majesty,” the woman said, with a bow of her head. “It will be an honor to claim this planet in your name.”

Princess Remulah grinned like a kid about to open her presents on Christmas.

I was still beside myself, taking it all in.

“King Theos,” Tai Su Long addressed the giant man, his face still to the ground. “This One, Governor Tai Su Long, is humbled by your mere presence. I extend jovial exaltations from the Twin River Clan and of course, our beloved princess, 2nd Princess Rheutera, from whom we have been sent. We bring also a platoon of legionnaires, ably led by my very nephew, Young Master Jei Su Long.”

The giant man, King Theos, looked down at Tai Su Long and grunted. “Fine, governor. Just ensure they all stay out of my way.”

Princess Remulah bounced on her toes. “I’m so excited. I’ve waited over fifty years for my very own planet. Please ensure you leave some valuable endemics behind, Lord Nephew. My Warden is hoping to secure me a fine crop of seedlings for this world.”

My mind nearly came undone.

The casual way she summed up my planet’s worst trauma was sickening.

“I shall use the utmost finesse, Little Aunt,” he said with a smile.

“Excellent, I shall turn matters over to her now, Second Warden Qin Xe, my Chief of Cultural Appropriation. Warden?”

The matronly woman stepped forward and spoke with a strong and authoritative voice. “Honored Lords and servants of the throne, I greet you all in the name of our Great Soul Emperor. May this day expand his immortal kingdom and push back the scourge of the Cursed starts. To the emperor.”

“The emperor,” everyone said in unison like a salute.

I was a few seconds too slow to respond.

The woman turned towards the open mouth of the fish we were now inside, the decorative hangar door giving a close-up view of the planet Hue Zen.

“Our initial investigations have determined that this is a mundane world, moderate in Qi density, but rich in minerals,” she said. “We have discovered no evidence of true cultivation, but the native inhabitants have developed a form of golem control using Qi Stones. We do not anticipate the resistance to be very strong, but care should be taken in dealing with any golems.”

“Understood,” King Theos said, folding his massive arms. “This should not take long.”

She then turned to him and bowed. “My lord, we would be appreciative if you and your lieges would take on the primary assault wave, striking just before the umbral shade of night. My teams will follow thereafter with the 566th to triage the survivors, appropriating younglings where we can and then finally, Governor, your nephew’s legionnaires may take up the rear guard, clearing any leftover resistance as the Bloodmoon takes control. As legionnaires, your team would be most suited for that task.”

“Consider it done, Madam Warden,” Jei Su long said.

The words began to blur as she went into the finer details of the plan, like which hemispheres and major cities they would attack first and how the imperial pagodas would move into place to contain them thereafter.

My mind however was still stuck on the appropriation of… younglings?

What the hell…

I still couldn’t believe I was even here to witness it all.

These people were the stuff of my nightmares.

The supervillains who arrived on Earth and destroyed it in less than a day.

And now history was about to repeat itself again.

On a different world.

Ire built in my gut as my Flame stirred.

It wasn’t my planet, but I couldn’t allow it to happen again.

The demon inside me raged, but swiftly the struggler took back the controls.

What the hell could I actually do?

The [Odds were more than merely Against Me] now.

When I was a kid, these people were like gods to me.

And now.

Several realms later.

They still were.

Shit, I thought. What Realm were these guys even in?

They had to be knocking on the True Deity Realm like Threja, or were they even beyond that? Had that portal been from the celestial realm? I didn’t know, but that portal certainly might have something to do with the Bloodmoon realm that was for sure. That eerie purple glow mirrored what I’d experienced on the Bloodmoon and what he’d said about fortitude sounded a lot like spiritual resistance to Demonic Qi.

But beyond all that, this was like looking into a portal of the future.

How the hell strong would I need to become to protect my planet against the likes of people like these?

Just the thought stoked the inner core of my Flame.

A hell of a lot stronger was a damn understatement.

I grimaced as a streak of defiance ran through me.

That baldheaded bastard alone was responsible for killing millions if not billions of people on Earth. I let my mask of [Indifference] slip as I glared at the man. His eyes suddenly shifted to me and he did a double take.

Shit!

I quickly looked away, applying [Indifference] again, but the damage was done. He continued to stare at me for a few more seconds with a puzzled look on his face, before the Princess finally distracted him with a question.

“Are you prepared to begin, Lord Nephew?”

King Theos nodded. “On your word, Princess.”

“Release the notice,” Remulah said.

The Warden bowed to her and then issued a command to one of the imperial staff present. He disappeared then and not more than five minutes later returned.

“The message has been released,” the officer reported. “There has been no sign of accepting our offer of protection from the Bloodmoon.”

Remulah nodded. “So be it. Another backwards world to save it is. Lord Nephew, we follow your lead.”

King Theos glanced at Tai Su Long and then looked back towards me.

“As I told you, Governor,” he said, and a hint of anger churned in his soul as he continued to stare at me. “Ensure your nephew and his legionnaires, stay out of my way.”

King Theos slammed his fists together and a powerful wind suddenly filled the hangar. I was pushed back, as his massive body rose into the air and seemed to double in size, becoming radiant, as if his skin was made of gold. A luminescent sphere formed around him and as it grew to engulf both Lady Sylph and Lord Victus, they too rose off the ground, caught up in the whirlwind forming inside the sphere.

Theos released a mighty yell, and with the speed of a bullet, the sphere shot out of the hangar, taking the three of them with it. I stared, stupefied as they flew into the blackness of space at incredible speed, growing smaller, to the size of barely a pinprick as they approached the planet.

Seconds passed and all eyes were drawn to the faint glow that illuminated briefly as the spere passed through the flames of re-entry. More seconds passed, before huge, silent explosions could be seen detonating across the surface of the planet and reaching the upper atmosphere of space.

“Well then,” the princess said with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. “It’s our turn next. Let us now go and liberate this backwards little planet in the name of my father, the Great Soul Emperor, Yin Yee.”