---------

She didn’t even need to look up from her work on their new ship’s weapons to sense the presence of The Goddess. “Mother. What an unexpected pleasure.” She managed to state without any sarcasm slipping into her tone.

“Seraphiel. It’s always good to see you.” The Goddess walked to stand next to her, to stare at what she was doing. Despite all her advantages, Mother had never had much mind for technology. If she had wanted to, she could’ve understood all of it, but she didn’t bother. A master of picking up and discarding knowledge as necessary.

“As true as that likely is, why are you here?” She asked, still not looking up from her work.

“I have a job for you and your new mercenary outfit. Well, to be specific, I have a job I’d like you to take. I don’t personally have work for you.” The Goddess clarified.

“Sounds interesting. I suppose I am somewhat dutybound to do work for you as your Paladin.” She allowed, finally putting the finishing touches on the component she was working on.

[Congratulations! [Magical Engineering] has leveled up from 330 to 331!]

She’d been getting a lot of those lately. Work on the ship was quite gratifying in that regard.

"This isn't really one of those, although I could make it one if you'd prefer. There's a particular world. You visited it before, although briefly. This world is always in trouble, but lately, that trouble has reached new heights. They are desperately seeking help from the outside. It's a Core World, so one of the reasons you might consider accepting is to gain some of the resources for your next Class evolution." Charlotte dangled a carrot in front of her, as was her style.

“If it’s a Core World, then they have a Champion and a god ruling over them, no?” She asked.

“More than one of both actually. Just like the galaxy it’s related to, this world is filled with potential Champions. They’re simply not enough to counter all the threats at the moment.” Charlotte dropped another tidbit.

“Related…I can only think of a couple possibilities. Does this world perchance have a problem with certain Chaos Gods? One of which I might have killed in the ‘related’ galaxy?” She narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

“It does indeed. Which is another reason I’d like you to get involved. You could even say you’re already involved. Incidentally, that world has approached some of the groups you’re familiar with, such as the Soul Society, and the Draenei. There’s a lot of good that could be done, and a lot of information that could be learned.” Charlotte revealed.

“And shenanigans to get into, I’m sure. I can only imagine how many of my old acquaintances are involved.” She pointed out, her tone less than pleased.

“Which is only a negative thing if you decide to let it be. From another point of view, there are quite a few people you could recruit into your merry band of misfits if you wanted.” The Goddess turned the issue around. "In fact, I would imagine you to be happy to meet some of your old friends."

The worst part was that she wasn’t wrong. Seraphiel’s visit to the world in question had not been a long one. It had been one of those where she’d refused to play by Father’s rules, and she’d been yanked out rather quickly. She’d made some friends, mostly to pass the time, but not too many, and she doubted many of them would still be alive. Most of the potential friends would be among the help being sent.

In theory, the idea of visiting the world again wasn’t exactly an onerous one. That world was a fucked-up place, but it had its positives as well, and it certainly had enough conflict to be a good place to gain levels. As such, it wasn’t really the idea of visiting that world that had her on edge. It was the involvement of the Chaos Gods, who likely still carried a grudge, and her old acquaintances. She didn’t mind meeting old friends on a basic level, but the risk of shenanigans was huge. Having Yoruichi and Shepard run into each other had been a little awkward, but this whole affair risked that issue escalating further. Much further.

“I’ll have to see what the offer is. I’m not doing this alone, and I’m not in the habit of taking impossible tasks for little reward.” She said carefully.

“Oh, their offer is quite good. And you know better than I that the particular world will never see lasting peace, so I don’t expect you to bring such. I simply want you to put your thumb on the scale to push things in the right direction.” Charlotte reassured her.

She tapped a communicator she carried on her uniform while inside the ship. “Chachamaru.”

“Yes, Seraphiel?” The android asked.

“Did we recently get a job offer from the Core Worlds?” She asked, as the world in question actually didn’t have an official name. It had some monikers, like “The Fated Place” or a scientific name Mallus, but nothing more specific.

“We did. I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it, as the scale is way off our current scope. We’d just be a small fraction of a much larger whole.” Chachamaru replied. “That said, the pay is really good, as they’re paying in Core World materials for just contributing, so I was going to bring it up as a possibility.”

“What exactly is the job? And offered by who?” She asked, just to confirm.

“It comes from a Human nation imaginatively named The Empire. There are several methods that we could contribute, each of which brings its own rewards. This Empire is beset on all sides by enemies, and they are pretty desperate for help. Luckily, they’re also very flush in materials as one of the major nations of a major Core World. We could help in one of the many battlefronts to help drive the enemies back, hunt out traitors and cults, help gain and spread certain resources to the beleaguered fronts through enemy raiding, or even work as diplomatic envoys. Just to name a few.” It sounded like Chachamaru was reading straight off a list. “The employer is one Karl Franz, the Emperor.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

She didn’t recognize the name, although that was not strange considering Human lifespans. The Empire she was familiar with. Or at least a nation by that name. Whether it was the same place was another question. “I’m up for taking the offer. Ask the others what they think.” She stated, closing the connection.

She looked up at Charlotte. “It seems you’ll be getting your wish.”

“Most excellent.” The Goddess just grinned widely at that.

------

The world was the fourth planet from the star known as Söll. They weren't the only new arrivals as several Draenei dimensional fortresses had arrived just moments before. They were all heading towards the designated gathering spot within the nation known as the Empire, just outside the capital city of Altdorf.

The Empire, formally also known as the Empire of Man, was divided into semiautonomous feudal states called Electoral Provinces, or Grand Provinces. The rulers of these provinces were known as the Elector Counts and would gather to elect the new emperor once the previous holder of the title passed. The technology level of the Empire was roughly around the start of the gunpowder age, meaning cannons and guns were becoming more ubiquitous, but swords, spears, bows, and shields were still the mainstay. The Empire also worshipped a supposedly ascended warrior-king Sigmar as the main deity. There were religious divides in the nation as well as some provinces worshipping other deities, and Chaos cults were growing more common, which was one of the issues they might be able to help solve.

As their ship landed next to the Draenei, who were already disembarking their flying fortresses, they were met by a man in heavy armor holding an impressive war hammer. The honor guard around the man implied he wasn't just a random official. A quick inspection tagged the man as a level 738 Warrior, accompanied by a pair of level 600 wizards and a group of armed warriors wielding impressive great swords in their 300s.

“Welcome to the Empire of Man, honored warriors!” The man declared with a booming voice. “I am Karl Franz, the soon-to-be emperor, as soon as the Elector Counts get off their arses and hold the election. I will also be your employer.”

"Archenon poros!" The leading Draenei, a large male who seemed to be some sort of a Paladin as well, greeted loudly. "I am General Kuren, the head of the Draenei detachment." He seemed a bit young to be a general, though in the case of Draenei, that meant under a thousand years old.

Seraphiel stepped forward. “And I am Seraphiel, the leader of the mercenary band we have yet to name.” She smiled ironically at the lacking introduction.

The human leader looked towards her and those she’d brought. “Not large numbers, but I can sense great power.” He was including Seraphiel in that statement despite her relatively lower level, signifying that he had a decent eye and could sense deeper than the surface. He turned towards the Draenei. “You bring greater numbers. Good, we have missions suited for both. Correct utilization of forces is important. There’s no point in sending an elite squad to the frontlines, and there’s no point in using an entire regiment of Draenei to hunt down bandits and saboteurs.”

He then proceeded to give a brief overview of the situation. The Empire was beset by enemies on all sides. To the north, Chaos in its many forms was gathering and making increasingly frequent forays to Human-controlled lands. In the east, Orcs were coming down the mountains, and a grove of malevolent Dryads was creating problems. To the southeast, Vampires were stirring and creating trouble. To the south, more Orcs coming through the mountain passes, Skaven burrowing down the mountains, and Ogre warbands wandering every which way. At least to the west, they had mostly allies in the form of another Human nation of Bretonnia. Internal strife was also abundant. Aside from the political issues, Chaos cults were becoming frequent, Beastmen and bandits were coming out of every forest, and the religious divide didn’t help.

“Another issue we could use help with is diplomacy. There are other races we could forge alliances with, but that would require us to convince them to put aside old grudges and strife and convince them of the utility of forging an alliance. So, if you’re feeling diplomatic, I could have you escorting our envoys.” The man suggested.

"Nope," Yoruichi announced. "Seraphiel is certified shit at diplomacy."

Seraphiel grasped her chest. “I’m hurt! I truly am! Such a lack of faith. People usually tend to see things my way."

Yoruichi scoffed. “I’m sorry, but you have exactly two methods of diplomacy. First browbeating everyone, before sometimes actually knocking their heads together until they do what you want. Or you seduce them, knocking boots until you come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

"I can confirm," Wrex added. "She quite literally slapped the stupid out of the Turian Councilor way back when. It was glorious, but not exactly diplomatic."

“Hey, it got things done, did it not?” She protested.

“Only because you had enough power to force them to see things your way. I think you used your powers to forcefully share memories with Tevos, the Asari Councilor.” Wrex laughed. “I think you’re used to being the most powerful being in the room. You’ve become a bit more tactful since, but only due to circumstance.”

“I’m hearing a no on diplomacy then.” The Human leader smoothly moved on. “So, you can of course take your pick of the available assignments, but if I had my preference, I’d have the Draenei support our war efforts, either in the north against Chaos, or more in the south against the Vampires.” He turned towards Seraphiel’s group again. “For you, I’d suggest dealing with the internal matters. It might be easier to locate elusive groups of bandits and beastmen with a few elites rather than a large army. And stamp out Chaos cults anywhere you run into them of course.”

Seraphiel nodded. “That sounds agreeable. We happen to have some talents in the intelligence gathering and finding things department.”

After they’d received further details and instructions, and as they walked back towards their ship, Yoruichi turned towards Seraphiel. “You gave up too easily on the diplomacy. What’s up?”

Seraphiel cleared her throat. “I didn’t want to get sent to the High Elves, who would be one of the two most obvious allies.”

"Why?" Wrex asked with a certain amount of expectant amusement.

"Well, let's just say that I don't get along great with their Everqueen. Now, I have no idea if the current Everqueen is the one I dealt with in the past, but considering their lifespan, I wouldn't be too surprised." She revealed.

“What did you do?” Yoruichi asked with a wry smile and a shake of her head.

“Well, I was a bit bored while I was here, as I was refusing to play the savior to yet another broken world. I may or may not have taken that boredom out in ways that the Everqueen had issues with. Specifically, she had her eyes set on a certain strapping young Elf, who in turn had their eyes set on me.” She shrugged. “You can roughly guess the rest.”

"Oh joy," Wrex said sarcastically.

“I was mostly joking, but like I said, you really have two methods of diplomacy.” Yoruichi laughed.

-------

The combination of Kaede’s Skills as a Ninja, and her new artifact, finding roving bands of bandits or beastmen wasn’t too difficult. Most of them they could even take out on their own, as dealing with a less than hundred lower-level enemies was well within Seraphiel’s powers, not to mention the rest of the group.

The term Beastmen was very deceiving in the context of this world. Unlike in most places, the term didn’t refer to groups of mostly Human beings with certain animal features. Here, Beastmen were all mutated servants of Chaos. They were beings of violence and savagery, barely more than animals with few humanoid features. They ranged from small and runty Ungors to large Minotaurs, Centigors, and even mutated Giants. Monsters and Chaos spawn were also frequently seen among the larger warbands.

When they located those larger warbands, they whittled down some of the numbers before alerting the local Empire forces to the presence of the danger. As the army of Empire’s state troops arrayed against the braying hordes of Beastmen, Seraphiel reflected that someone less used to violence than her might have been frightened by the mutated hordes of Goatmen. As she looked back on the lines of Human soldiers, it was rather obvious they were afraid.

Knowing the importance of morale, she stopped in front of the army and lifted her glowing Witchblade calling down a blessing for the entire army. With how many people that was, her abilities as a Paladin were pushed to the limits. "Today we push back the hordes of Chaos, and protect all that is sacred! Today we tell the monsters no further! We will hold the line! For the Empire! For the Light!"

It wasn’t among her most inspired speeches, but the sudden feeling of power combined with her prodigious Charisma did the trick. That and the Krogan Battlemaster already rushing at the Beastmen lines and taking down the largest monster he could get his hands on.

The sudden burst of morale, combined with Kaede and Tatsumiya targeting the magic users and leaders of the enemy, made the following battle much easier. Yoruichi mostly focused on Kidō support because their group as well as the army in general was severely lacking in magic support. It highlighted the obvious issue that their mercenary group had, especially when it came to dealing with large groups of enemies.

Seraphiel could use [Eldritch Storm] and similar powers to compensate a bit, but she wasn’t a dedicated mage, and they could really use one…