Much like the Protectors had the Engulfer Bay as a staging ground for their troops, the Aggressors had a number of positions that serve the same purpose. The world that Protector Charles cracked was just a minor one.
The Field of Vengeance, on the other hand, was a major one.
The Field of Vengeance wasn’t a natural world. Instead, the Aggressors forged it with the bits and pieces of dimension fractions from the worlds destroyed by the Corps. The entire existence of that world, from its name to its composition, was devoted to the infinite hatred toward the Protector Corps.
In a sense, the Field of Vengeance’s layout was similar to that of Engulfer’s Bay. Sure, the Field of Vengeance was only half the size, but both platforms had countless ship docks, a wave of orbital defenses, multiple space platforms, and a teleportation system that could deliver troops and equipment to every spot on the platform.
20 Aggressors resided in the Field of Vengeance. They were accompanied by billions of supplicant troops. Of course, its greatest defense was its covert location. Even the Protector Corps didn't have the manpower to search every inch of the entire Infinite Realms, and without the coordinates of the target worlds, the Corps couldn’t threaten these worlds.
Inside a tunnel several kilometers long, two hundred portals opened up, and Adam, the Crusader general, and an army of Crusaders and a small fleet of Crusader ships moved out.
As the foot soldiers returned to their barracks, the Crusader general turned to Adam.
“You wanna go to the bar? First drink’s on me.”
Rebelling against the invincible rulers of the Infinite Realms was a stressful task. To maintain morale, the leaders of the Aggressor supplicant legions either allowed or even encouraged the creation of places like bars, brothels, and even casinos. Anything that kept the people fighting until the inevitable end.
Adam grinned politely, but the words that came out of his mouth were words of rejection.
“Sorry, Qing, but I have other things to attend to.”
Crusader general Qing sighed.
“Let me guess. You’ll tag along with another mission?”
Adam was silent. Qing thought about it for a few seconds before deciding he must speak up.
“Look, Adam! Defeating the Protector Corps isn’t something we can achieve soon! I understand your anger, but we need to take our time and work carefully! Whether or not you are in a mission isn’t going to change the tide of the war! What you are doing now will only exhaust your mind and make you more vulnerable on the battlefield!”
“I am fine.”
“You are not fine! Even we Crusaders, as much as we value control and order, need some time to rest and relax! You have been in, what, nine consecutive missions? You can’t do this anymore!”
Adam snapped around to Qing. His face ice cold.
“Listen to me very, very carefully, Qing. I have made my decision a long time ago. I will not rest. I will not rest until the Protector Corps is burned to the ground. Take down one of their supplicant legions, that’s not enough. Take down a Protector garrison? Not bad, but could’ve been better. And if I want to get to what I desire, then time is a luxury I cannot afford to waste on resting.”
Qing sighed and backed off.
Adam turned and walked down a hallway. As he moved, he made contact with the Artificial Intelligence controlling the whole Field.
“Show me to a supplicant legion that is going on a mission.”
“Negative, Adam. Aggressor Il-Shang requests your presence.”
Adam was stopped in his tracks. The Aggressors were his best chance to take down the Protectors. If they wanted to see him, they must have a reason for it.
He quickly walked into a portal and walked out from another portal half a light year away from where he was. This portal was directly in front of the Aggressor’s quarters.
As soon as Adam walked out. Four armored men walked up to him. They wore T shaped helmets and scrappy armors with all sorts of engravings and decorations. Pieces of bones and skulls hung down from their belts.
Adam knew them. The Marauders of Thorne. A group of infamous combatants for hire that has tormented multiple worlds in the Infinite Realms. Anyone of them had a CAS of 800. The Aggressors got them onboard with the rebellion, which given their background wasn’t so difficult. After that, they served as the guardians of the Aggressors across the Infinite Realms. 800 CAS didn't make them invincible, but an army of billions with that CAS made things a little more different.
An army of 10,000 Marauders resided in the Field of Vengeance, acting as the personal guards of the 20 Aggressors here.
Adam stood patiently as the four Marauders verified his identity before letting him through.
As Adam walked into the room and the Marauders closed the door behind him, Adam finally had the time to look at the Aggressor who summoned him. Aggressor Il-Shang was a human, at least on the outside. But when his blue mask came off, Adam could see two lines of eyes across his face.
Alien. Interesting.
The fate of aliens in the Infinite Realms was tragic. During their path to greatness, the Protector Corps encountered multiple types of aliens that preyed on the mind, body, and souls of human beings. As a faction of human, the Protectors despised these aliens.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Sure, the Protectors’ code was if the factions they came across surrendered and met their terms, then they could live. But there was always a difference between wiping out those that resist in the first round and flexing the Protectors’ might and giving them another chance to make the choice.
As a result, most aliens the Protectors came across perished. Those that didn't had the reason to despise the Protectors.
“Aggressor.” Adam lowered his head in respect. Anyone that rose up against the oppressive overlord deserved some respect.
“Adam.” Il-Shang didn't have a mouth to produce a voice like normal people, but in a fashion similar to the protoss in the World of Starcraft, he could use his psychic power to project the voice into the open. “Your reputation precedes you.”
“And what reputation is that?”
“The lancer whose hatred for the Protectors was greater than anyone else on the Field of Vengeance. The warrior whose weapon simply cannot be stopped, not by force fields, not by armor, and not even by folding the very attribute of space.”
“I wish that is true, but my lance can be stopped. As of now, I have no reason to believe my lance can take out a Protector.”
Adam wasn’t impressed.
“That is precisely why I summoned you here.” Il-Shang stood up from his seat. “Draw your lance and attack me with all your strength.”
“What?”
Adam couldn’t believe his ears. Did the Aggressor really pull him out of his mission just to test his power? Then again, the Aggressors were as close as anyone could get to the level of the Protectors. Getting some experience with enemies of that tier could never hurt. He held his right hand into the air. A pure red lance formed in his grip.
“Be careful, Aggressor.”
Adam reminded out of politeness.
The Aggressor smirked, and Adam lowered his lance and charged forward with all his strength. Red energy converged at the tip of his lance and spread onto the entire lance and then Adam’s entire body. The next second, Adam disappeared from the room.
Half a second later, he appeared right behind Il-Shang.
In that half a second, Adam, aided by his lance, penetrated space and teleported himself to an open space on the Field of Vengeance, where he charged and charged until his momentum was at its peak. And then, he pierced space again and appeared behind the Aggressor.
Adam has slain a number of enemies with this trick. It was unexpected and powerful. But with the Aggressor, he expected to be halted in his tracks. And then, Il-Shang would lecture him on how to improve his skills. That was the cliche, right?
And then Adam’s lance ran Il-Shang straight through from his back to his chest.
“What!” Adam couldn’t contain his surprise at all. What the hell? How? A while ago, he passed Tier 3. His CAS was above 1,000. Cool. But he was facing an Aggressor! Aggressors were at least CAS 500,000, if not more! Il-Shang didn't even need to actively deflect! Even if he just sat there, his physical body could repel Adam’s lance!
But that was the opposite of what happened. During the moment of contact, Il-Shang did more than sit there and do nothing. Adam swore he saw the Aggressor actively remove his Aggressor armor at the point of contact. Not only so, a layer of energy that Adam spotted around the Aggressor at all times was gone as well.
Did the Aggressor just commit suicide? If so, why involve him?
The Aggressor was at his last moments. Even a being like him couldn’t take a lance to the chest like this and then shrug it off. But instead of trying to heal, the Aggressor turned to Adam.
“Listen to me, Adam…listen to me very carefully...”
His voice and his tone remained the same, but there was something about him that just felt weird, not that Adam had the attention to notice that. He was too focused on what the Aggressor was saying.
His eyes went wider and wider.
His fists were held tighter and tighter.
“But...that’s impossible!” When the Aggressor was done, Adam was shaking like he was stripped naked and put in a freezer.
“It is. Not only is it possible, but it has also been done.”
The former Voyager collapsed on the ground. All his energy stripped from his body. He had the strength to shatter stars, but as of the moment, he felt as powerless as a child. In the end, all he could muster was one question.
“Who can stop the Protectors?”
He didn't expect an answer, but he still got it.
“Not who. What.”
“What?”
“More precisely, a book.” Il-Shang coughed. A blue vapor flowed outside his body. The Aggressor knew his time was nearly gone, so he went straight to the point. “A book named the Chapter of Graham. It is said to hold unlimited power of destruction. Find it. Use it to destroy the Protectors. It’s the only way!”
“The Chapter of Graham?” Adam rose his eyebrows. “Where is it?”
This time, the Aggressor couldn’t answer him.
----------------------------------------
Twelve Marauders stood guard outside Il-Shang’s chamber. Suddenly, one of them got a call from his comm. He opened that contact request and found himself talking to another Aggressor. He saluted the patron.
“Sir.”
“I sensed Aggressor Il-Shang’s presence has disappeared. Enter the room. Exterminate everyone inside.”
“But…” The Marauder captain frowned. “Il-Shang had a guest inside!”
“Exterminate him.”
“But we don’t know if he is responsible…”
“I have visual evidence that the being known as Adam is directly responsible for the death of Il-Shang. Enter the room and exterminate him!”
The Marauder captain knew if he wanted to live for another day, he must obey.
“Yes sir!” He turned to his comrades. “Go go go!”
With that said, the 12 Marauders kicked open the door and charged into the room. The first thing they saw was Adam’s lance in Il-Shang’s body. The Aggressor was already gone. Hearing the door opened, Adam snapped around and held his hands up.
“Wait! Let me explain!”
The Marauders didn't let him explain. Eight Marauders rose their photon blasters and four pulled out their blades in melee. The ranged Marauders immediately opened fire.
Adam groaned as several shots landed on him before he could react. The battle-hardened rebel quickly knew he could never talk his way out of this. With a single wave, he summoned his lance and broke through space, escaping the room.
The Marauder captain turned on his comm.
“Sir, he escaped.”
“I see.” The Aggressor on the other end nodded and turned off the comm. Next second, the Marauder captain received a transmission delivered to the entire Field of Vengeance.
“All units, attention! A human felon by the name of Adam is on the run. Adam is suspected to be a Protector agent. He is in a black and red Voyager armor. His weapon is a red lance. Seal off the dimension. Secure all phaseships. Suspend all missions. All class A legions search the entire platform. All class B and class C legions return to your barracks.”
“All units, take note. As soon as you encounter Adam, make no attempt to communicate and utilize deadly force at once. He is armed and extremely dangerous. He has assassinated an Aggressor, as well as the 12 Marauders that tried to stop him. I repeat, use deadly force immediately. For your own safety, please use deadly force when engaging.”
“But...” One of the Marauders turned to the captain. “But we’re still alive.”
And then, twelve explosions echoed through the room, making the statement he just said a flat-out lie.