A hail of runed arrows flew toward Jean.

Jean tapped her watch, and 2 G-1s appeared in front of her. The runed arrows were too fast and too powerful for her to just tank directly, so she needed a shield. Unlike the late Ares, she chose metal ones.

The G-1s turned on their plasma shields, which were enough to keep them alive long enough to tank the entire round of arrows. As a price, both G-1s were wrecked.

The Moon cavalry around Jean didn't share the same luck. They were ravaged by the arrows inside out. Dozens hit the ground almost immediately.

On the side, Demon was having some difficulty fending off the arrows. His powers weren’t the best at protecting him. Moments ago, he was killing his way past the Sun soldiers with poisonous powders and his Voyager weapons. But all this killing got him targeted. When the arrows struck, he had to rely on his Voyager set, and it wasn’t going well.

Jean ran to him and helped him deflect a few shots.

“The enemies are closing in.” She turned to Demon.

All around the field, Sun soldiers were converging on the Moon vanguards. The battlefield has been turned into a whole mess. Neither the female general with the Vanguards nor the generals in the Border Army could really move their men.

“Take him!” A handful of pikemen sent their weapons into the body of one of the Moon cavalry. The man collapsed on the ground. One of the Sun soldier knelt down and put his blade through the horseman’s neck as the rest proceeded on to other targets.

Blink did her usual thing and put down three Sun soldiers in less than a second. Suddenly, as she was about to blink again, something hit her in the back and knocked her over. When she looked up, she found herself staring at the pike of one of the Sun soldiers.

Before the Sun soldier could bring that pike down, Jean sneaked up behind him and slit his throat.

“Thanks.” Blink got up. If Jean wasn’t here, she wouldn’t have been killed, but she certainly wasn’t complaining. “Something is wrong. I was attacked, and it wasn’t from the locals.”

“What?” Demon frowned as he shot an exceptionally brave Sun soldier. The man has already taken down two Moon calvaries. He has to be rewarded. “Are you saying…”

“I was attacked by one of us.” Blink tossed her knife out and put down another Sun soldier that got too close. The runed armor blinked briefly before completely failing at its job.

“How?” Jean asked. “Telekinesis?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

Jean shot two more Sun soldiers. She didn't answer. Telekinesis was the best way to backstab someone covertly in a covert situation like this one. Plus, she already has a suspect in mind, but she decided to keep this information to herself for the moment. She quickly changed the topic.

“The situation isn’t good. We need to get out soon or we will be fully surrounded. There are too many of them for us to change the tide by ourselves.”

At this point, the advantage in numbers on the Sun side was starting to show. Moon cavalry fought bravely, but they were falling one by one. After the initial wave of bombardment, Adam has ordered the archers to turn on the normal Moon horsemen. Every round of bombardment claimed the lives of over a hundred horsemen.

Seas of red infantry gradually engulfed the blue cavalry. Mounted men were dragged off their horses and slaughtered. Voyagers were the reason why the Moon forces were still able to hold the ground, but even they weren’t invincible.

A short distance away, another Voyager was turned into a porcupine by Sun crossbows. What most didn't see was that just before the arrows struck, something hit the Voyager’s armor so hard the armor’s crystal was exhausted. Before the Voyager could use the reserves, dozens of arrows went through him.

Jean turned to Demon. “Can you revive the bodies around here?”

“It will take me a few minutes, but yes.”

In a scenario like this one, Demon’s ability to revive the death was a game changer. There were thousands of corpses on the ground, all of whom used to be elite men. Upon reanimation, they would retain their physical strength. But reanimation of such a grand scale needed time and energy. Even Demon couldn’t say for sure he could complete the process and still be alive afterward, especially if one or more of his fellow Voyagers was looking to stab him in the back.

“Do it. Blink and I will cover you. When the corpses are up, order them to swarm the Sun flanks. The chaos should allow us to open a way out.”

Jean planned. Both Demon and Blink nodded. To stay alive, they needed to work together, but just before Demon could do his mojo, everyone in the battlefield heard loud thunders approaching from a distance away.

Most men stopped fighting and turned to look.

Out of the horizon, a swarm of blue emerged.

The main forces of the Empire of the Moon have arrived.

Leading the charge was the Emperor of the Empire of the Moon. Yes. The leader of an Empire that ruled half of this world was acting like a cavalry soldier in the front of the charge. Thousands of Emperor Guards followed him tightly on horseback. Behind the riders, tens of thousands of Moon infantry charged with full speed.

None of the Moon soldiers had their Formations on. They weren’t looking to engage the Sun Border Army in a standard combat. Their runes were turned on themselves. They were looking to just overwhelm the Border Army with sheer numbers.

After fighting the Moon Vanguard, the Border Army has lost over 5,000 men. The rest were exhausted. The Moon Vanguard had less than 1,000 men left, but their job here was done.

The Border Army didn't have their Formation up either. They were entangled with the survivors of the Vanguard. In an effort to finish off the cavalry quickly, the Sun generals ordered the reserves into the field to flank the cavalry. This has proven to be a fatal mistake.

“Form lines! Stand your ground!”

Adam knew he couldn’t order a retreat. In a situation like this, a retreat would quickly turn into a stampede, and before long the Sun soldiers would be fighting with each other for a way out rather than fighting with the Moon soldiers.

The Emperor Guards smashed into the first line of Sun soldiers. Immediately, the line of red collapsed. The enhanced runes on the weapons of the Emperor Guards pierced their shields and armors effortlessly while the Border Army’s weapons bounced off the blue armors.

The Emperor was especially bold as he waved a Crescent Blade around, taking out half a dozen Sun soldiers with each strike.

Behind him, the Moon forces started surrounding the Border Army. They had 73,000 men left while the Border Army was down to 45,000. Archers from both sides exchanged shots. It was a brutal process as neither side were equipped with armors strong enough to hold the incoming arrows. Men from both sides unloaded and reloaded as quickly as they could, trying to take down as many foes as possible before they die.

“Well, that was unexpected.” Blink shot three more Sun soldiers. “The Emperor used us as baits.”

“It’s quite clever, really.” Jean commented. Indeed, by sacrificing 8,000 cavalries, the Emperor took away the defender’s advantage of the Border Army. She would’ve made the same trade. Then again, the Voyagers weren’t that happy with getting manipulated by puny locals. “At this point, the Border Army is done. The Moon forces can pour into the Empire of the Sun and genocide their way to the capital.” And she could get her runes. Perfect.

Just as Jean noted, the battle looked like it was coming to an end. The Border Army soldiers were exchanged, but even they could tell the blues were more than the reds. Brutal war cries came in from all sides, followed by ear-piercing screams. Some men were simply broken and turned and ran, only to get effortlessly chased down by Moon soldiers. The Moon forces had the Border Army fully surrounded. Where was there to run to?

Most Sun soldiers weren’t mentally broken, but they have lost their hope as well. They didn't believe they could win, and an army with no confidence in victory couldn’t achieve victory.

The Border Army generals rushed among the ranks, doing their best to get their men back into fighting mentality, but it was no use.

Adam gulped as he cut an Emperor Guard to pieces and took a look around.

War. Devastation. Defeat. Countless defenders of their realm turned and ran, only to get cut down. Bodies hit the floor and started to form a hill of death.

All of a sudden, a surge of anger filled his heart.

The Empress trusted him. She entrusted the 50,000 men of the Border Army into his hands. She trusted him so much that she led the rest of the forces in the Empire to Immortal Fort. If he loses over here, the Border Army would be lost, and the Empress would have no way to stop the reach of the Voyagers. These monsters and the goons under their manipulation would ravage through this world and put anyone they see to the sword.

The locals of this world only want to live in peace. They don’t deserve to die for a stupid reason.

He took out something from his watch. It was a small golden orb. As tiny as it looked, Adam knew what power it held.

He gave one last look at the battlefield around him before crushing the orb.

The lines must hold...no matter the cost.

The crushed orb exploded into a wave of golden energy that quickly engulfed the battlefield. It left the Moon soldiers untouched but poured into the Border Army men.

As soon as the energy entered, the Border Army men transformed. Their eyes turned golden. A layer of gold covered their armors and weapons. Simultaneously, whatever they were doing before, whether it was fighting or fleeing, these men charged fearlessly at the closest enemy they could find. Their blades struck down mercilessly.

The Moon forces were completely taken by surprise by this sudden change. Sun soldiers literally ran into the pikes and swords of their opponents just so they could land a few slashes on their enemies before they themselves fall dead. Archers fired recklessly, even as their arms were torn apart by the excessive use of force.

Adam watched as a man with his guts falling out tackling an Emperor Guard off his ride. Before the Emperor Guard could behead the man, he has already taken six stabs to the chest.

The device he just used was something he got from his last mission. It made the targets good fighters by eliminating anything that could be a problem, including pain and fear, and adding things that could help, like hatred and anger. He hoped he didn't need to use this because the repercussions were too great. The device was meant to make perfect cannon fodder. It practically prevented the men from defending themselves.

There was an ancient proverb. Kill an enemy of one thousand and lose eight hundred yourself. This was the perfect example.

But Adam had no choice. The only thing he could do now was try to end the war as quickly as possible and minimize the losses.

Pushing another Moon soldier to the side, and into a swarm of bloodthirsty Border Army soldier, Adam charged at the Emperor. Killing him would surely put an end to this organized invasion. Emperor Guards fought to put themselves in his way, only to get chopped through easily. He was a Voyager with a CAS of over 300. These Emperor Guards didn't stand a chance.

A squad of Emperor Guards formed a small Formation, only to get charged through.

“What is going on with them?”

“They’re mad!”

All around him, the sudden boost among the Sun soldiers was more than enough to push the Moon soldiers back. In a sense, fighting was about attrition. If you can break later than your enemy, you win. But the Moon soldiers found themselves fighting enemies that would charge at you with reddened eyes no matter how many times you stab them. As long as they have two legs, a head, and a body, they would keep attacking. Even the most experienced men would hesitate at the sight of this.

Even the Voyagers were caught by surprise. The zealous attackers, no longer intimidated by the Voyagers’ special powers, attempted to overwhelm them, and they were nearly successful in doing that.

Jean punched a man in the head so hard his head exploded. Just before she could pull her fist back, another man leaped at her from the side. She took a step back and shot that guy in the head, only to be tackled by a third man, who stabbed her multiple times. Before her armor could fall, she turned and sent out a swift kick, which landed on the attacker’s chest.

The attacker was put down for good.

“Take it easy. Be careful.” She turned to Demon and Blink and reminded. Right now, the three were allies, and if they could survive this battle, this alliance could remain, especially after the discovery that some Voyagers weren’t who they claimed to be. It was to her best interest if they could stay alive.

But as the Voyagers were occupied by the frenzied Sun soldiers, Adam was already getting to his target.

To be honest, even if the Emperor Guards were caught by surprise by the frenzied Sun soldiers, and even Adam was a powerful Voyager who could rip through anyone in his way, the defenders should be able to buy more than enough time for the Emperor to get to safety.

But as Adam got closer and closer, the Emperor didn't move. It was as if he was frozen. Several Emperor Guards tried to get him to flee, but they received no response. Without another option, all the guards around him charged at Adam and were mowed down.

Adam walked to the Emperor. His men have taken the field, for the moment. The leader of the Empire of the Moon didn't even look at him. He was just sitting there, waiting.

Confused, Adam still took the man’s head off with a single strike. The screams and death around him didn't give him time to ask questions.

The head came clean off...as well as any chance the Empire of the Moon had to victory.