On the battlefield, the Empress who has been dominating the field just seconds ago suddenly froze. She slowly turned toward the direction of Crown’s City with all the strength she had left, and it wasn’t much.

A drop of tear rolled halfway down her cheeks before it was evaporated by the radiation the woman gave off.

Right then and there, countless surges of volatile energy washed across her body. The Empress, the worshipped leader of millions of people in the Empire of the Sun, could barely do another thing before her body was consumed by a giant explosion.

Two of the five Voyager survivors were engulfed by the flames. Even in death, the Empress still got them.

Almost at the same time, two third of the millions of civilians and almost all the soldiers of the Sun suffered the same fate. If the faith of the people served as a channel, then the altar served as a nexus. It merged all the millions of trails of energy, each from a different source, into a single wave safely, stabilized them, and fed them to the Empress. When it was destroyed, without the stabilizer, enough energy to destroy dozens of Voyagers went rogue. Some washed over the Empress while most were fed back to the provider of the energy via the same channel they came from.

It was Violet’s plan all along. Use the Empress to destroy all the Voyagers outside of the conspiracy. When that is completed, have Adam pull the plug on the altar and kill millions of enemies in a single strike. With the military gone, the Empire of the Sun couldn’t put up anything resembling a resistance anymore.

Voyager Adam stood on the city walls as every single one of the Empress Guards and the vast majority of the Sun soldiers in the city imploded. As the Empress’s most loyal supporters, nearly all of the men in the city contributed to her power. Now, nearly all of them were torn up in an instant.

Runes couldn’t save them. Formations couldn’t save them. Their beloved Empress couldn’t save them.

As the explosion cleared, the three Voyagers that survived the onslaught exchanged glances. They couldn’t believe what just happened. First, what should’ve been a slaughter of the locals was turned upside down. The Voyagers that were supposed to be the executioners now took the role of the ones being executed. The Empress, known as a good leader but not a good fighter, single-handedly murdered tens of thousands of local combatants and over fifty Voyagers.

And then, just as they were ready to die, the invincible Empress suddenly perished. Her death was almost as abrupt as her appearance.

But within the first seconds of the Empress’s death, the three Voyagers realized something. They didn't know exactly what was going on with the Empress, but her sudden power must’ve came with a cost or a time limit. Just then, her time was up.

They were glad to be alive, but they were even more glad that most of the other Voyagers were dead. Aside from the additional reward from the Protector, there were fifty or so watches spread across the battlefield. All evidence suggested that Voyager watches were impervious to any type of attack. Whether you drop it in lava or throw it under an armored vehicle, it would always survive. Even now, the Voyagers could see a black watch resting in the middle of a pool of molten metal.

This meant the wealth of fifty Voyagers. Sure, it would only be a portion of their wealth in their watches, but when divided among three Voyagers, it would still be a giant sum.

The three Voyagers stood up and glanced at each other in alert. None of them could say for sure that the other two wouldn’t try to take all fifty watches for themselves.

Unfortunately, their threat didn't come from the other survivors.

One of the Voyagers suddenly felt himself being lifted into the air by an invisible force. His armor has gone offline a while ago. He did his best to struggle, but the force was too much. All of his available tricks were spent keeping him alive from the previous onslaught. Finally, with a final push, the Voyager’s neck was snapped into an unnatural angle.

As soon as the first Voyager was taken into the air, the two other Voyagers looked around, searching for the attacker, but it was too late. One of them was horrified to suddenly sense a dozen cloaked figures around her.

“Wait! I yield!”

Without a second of hesitation, all of these figures started blasting. A storm of red rounds covered the unfortunate Voyager. When the blasting finally ended, the Voyager was no more than a burnt flesh.

Blink stood over the corpse of the third Voyager. Her work was not as glamorous, but it was equally deadly.

When the killing finally ended, Jean, Violet, and Cassandra entered the field. Both sides exchanged a glance and, without another word, started collecting as many watches as they could. Cassandra waved her hand, and half a dozen watches flew to her. Jean’s G-1s quickly fanned out and scanned for the watches. Blink blinked from place to place quicker than she did on battlefields. At a time like this, being just a bit faster might give her the reward that would otherwise take her months to get.

Suddenly, Jean frowned. One of her G-1s just picked up a watch before an invisible force yanked it away.

She turned to Cassandra.

“Give it back.”

The watch itself was important, but it was the change in attitude from Cassandra that mattered. Cassandra wouldn’t have done this without Violet’s acknowledgment. Jean knew Violet was testing her.

After all, with the enemies gone and the war won, there was no longer a need for allies.

Cassandra didn't flinch.

“And if I don’t?”

“Then there will be a price to pay.”

Cassandra smiled before tossing the watch back to Jean. Before Jean could catch it, Cassandra suddenly waved her hand, and before Jean knew it, three pools of molten metal were flung her way.

Jean’s expression didn't change. Catching the watch with one hand, she dodged to the side, barely getting out of range of the incoming attack. At the same time, Blink teleported to right beside Cassandra. Her blade went for the psychic’s throat, but it came to a stop just centimeters away. Cassandra was restraining the assassin with all her power.

The field went awkwardly silent for a moment. Neither Jean nor Violet moved as the two subordinates dueled. Finally, Jean spoke up.

“I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding. Blink.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Blink gave a death glare at Violet before blinking back to behind Jean.

Violet smiled as well as she silently signaled Cassandra to cease the aggressions.

“Indeed. We are all getting a little heated up here. I blame the weather.” The Empress’s death has sent a numerous amount of energy into the surrounding. The average temperature was around 50 Celsius, not that it mattered to the Voyagers. Violet was just using a small joke to levy the mood.

Jean nodded and signaled for Blink to go back to collecting the watches. She didn't know exactly if Violet was behind the scene or if Cassandra was acting alone. Either way, it didn't matter. The mission would be over soon. The Empire of the Sun is gone. Her observers have already told her what has happened. Millions of people of the Empire of the Sun suddenly burned. Before long, they were no more than piles of ashes. Aside from a few thousand men too disloyal to the Empress to aid her, the Empire of the Sun was gone.

The Empire of the Moon wasn’t any better either. The 20,000 men Jean led were the last of its forces. Its civilian population was intact...for now. Even if Violet and her squad don’t go in for the kill, how long could the civilians last against Jean’s flood of Wardens and Purifiers?

At this point, Jean was fully capable of unleashing her army. She no longer had to consider how the other Voyagers would react if they were to know of her fleet. Apart from her, Blink, Violet, Cassandra, and Adam, every other Voyager was dead. As for the Conspiracy trio, RIP John, seeing her forces would only make sure they don’t try to mess with her.

Very few people would risk their lives when all they had to do was wait a few days to reclaim a reward from a practical god.

The rest of the treasure hunt unfolded as expected. Despite maximum caution, neither side tried anything. Finally, Jean held on her 19 other watches. She didn't ask how many Blink got. Violet and Cassandra seemed to be quite satisfied as well.

No one mentioned Adam. No doubt the man is looting Crown’s City right now, or else he would be here as part of the scavenger party already. Even for Violet, inviting Adam over would be more harm than good.

“I take it that you have a plan to wipe out the remaining forces of this world quickly? An army, maybe?” Jean glanced at Violet. If she could make Violet show another card, perhaps a military force similar to her Wardens and Purifiers, it would be another win.

Violet smiled innocently.

“I’ll show you mine if I show you yours.”

Jean frowned before agreeing.

“Sure.”

Her Warden forces have already been used in the previous fights. The assumption was that every other Voyager know it. Violet certainly did, given how much caution she placed on Jean. Jean would gladly trade already compromised information for Violet’s secrets.

She tapped her watch, and a B-2 suddenly appeared in the sky. Its crossbows distinctly pointed at Violet and Cassandra. Its rune enforced guns looked like they just might be getting ready to fire.

Violet knew what Jean was doing. She was forcing her to show something substantial, something real. Otherwise if Jean suddenly ordered her capital ship to turn on Violet, the second Voyager would be defenseless.

Smart girl.

Violet’s hand rested on her watch. The next moment, a vessel twice the size of the B-2 appeared right next to the Warden vessel. It was completely covered in green. A giant thruster was at its rear, giving off green trails. The front of the ship was flat, as if it was a staging ground for troops to unload off.

As soon as it appeared, the ship started giving off a foul feeling, as if something profane has entered the playground. Jean immediately felt her zerg essence giving off a warning. Her observers tried to scan the vessel, but it was useless. All they could see was the exteriors of the ship. The interiors were shielded by something.

“Let me show you something.” Violet threw her arms up dramatically. Jean’s observers suddenly noticed something and relayed it to Jean.

On the ship, dozens of figures moved from the shielded hulls onto the staging ground. As they were no longer shielded, Jean’s observers could see them clearly. They were three meter tall creatures carrying giant melee weapons. Most of them had axes or huge blades while a few of them held spears. They were obviously not human. Their armors were crude. Some even had blood on them. Green carvings covered the surface of the unknown material that made up the armors.

Most of these figures had human skulls attached to their armors. It was obvious they weren’t subtle about their past killing. If anything, they took pride in it.

Without warning, the figures leaped off the ship one by one. Jean frowned. Violet’s ship might seem close, but due to its size, it had to be at a certain altitude in the air. At this height, even the Wardens and Purifiers needed special drop pods to arrive onto ground level in fighting status.

But she kept her mouth shut and watched silently.

The figures hit the ground in seconds and smashed dozens of holes in the ground. A moment passed before some motion appeared at one of the holes. Under Jean’s gaze, one of those creatures climbed out of the hole. He stretched casually with his weapon flung across his shoulder before moving to behind Violet. Jumping all the way down didn't seem to faze him one bit.

He glanced at Jean and Blink before speaking in a deep, dark voice.

“Are they your enemies?”

He didn't address Violet, but the Voyager obviously didn't care. She smiled at the question.

“No.”

The expression on the figure was a clear disappointment.

Slowly, all thirty figures climbed out of the holes and formed a line behind Violet. The way they looked at Jean and Blink was full of desire, but not in the sexual kind. They wanted to fight the two Voyagers.

Jean rose her eyebrows. This was her habit when she was thinking. None of the Voyager watches could store living things, so how did Violet store an army of obviously biological creatures inside her watch? But she stayed dead silent about her question. Violet wasn’t exactly the most trustworthy person to consult.

Seeing the small horde behind Violet, Jean summoned thirty G-1s to back her up.

Violet giggled softly. The cold, emotionless scent given off by the mechanical G-1s completely contrasted the bloodthirsty vibe Violet’s goons had. In fact, the two armies couldn’t be more different. It was metal against flesh. Ice against fire. Guns against blades. Calculations and algorithms against fury and experience.

She suddenly spoke up.

“Demons. A race of violent creatures with supernatural physical fortitude and an undying thirst for blood, fire, and death. They possess an unnatural instinct in fighting. They can mend wounds crippling to ordinary human beings in just days. In fact, they are practically bred for war. In one of the worlds I went to, they ended up slaughtering every other living being in the galaxy. Of course, I played a role in that too. In the end, they decided to follow me out of their ruined world...and into the City of the Voyagers and the Infinite Realms.”

Jean matched that smile with one of her own.

“It’s got to be rough to control an army like this.” She jabbed Violet slightly with her words. “If they are so eager for a fight, what’s keeping them from killing you first?” She asked half-jokingly.

“Well, I did promise them countless worlds to burn and countless people to torture and kill.” Violet shrugged. “Demons aren’t the smartest, but between being trapped in one world and journeying through the Infinite Realms, they know how to choose.”

The demons growled behind Violet, not because they were offended by something Violet said, but simply because they were bored. Jean didn't know if there were smarter demons, but the ones Violet had behind her were certainly no more than brutes.

“How about this?” Now that both Voyagers have shown a significant part of their arsenal, Violet came up with a suggestion. “I will send my demons to take out whatever is left of the Empire of the Moon. You and your army of machines can exterminate the rest of the Empire of the Sun. When we’re both done, we come together again call for the Protectors and turn in the mission.”

“Fair enough.” Jean nodded. She was fine with this arrangement. Even if Violet didn't tell her clearly, Jean knew Violet chose the Empire of the Moon because there were more people to kill there, and if what Violet said about the demons was true, then she needed to give her warriors a good slaughter to keep them under control.

None of her business. Shooting the people in the head was no different to her than torturing and brutally murdering them.

As Jean left with Blink, and the demon vessel set sail for the Empire of the Moon, Violet decided to contact Adam.

When no response came in in five seconds, she wasn’t concerned.

When it has been five minutes and Adam was still mute, she realized something has gone terribly wrong.