“Who does she think she is? What right does she have to simply barge into our territory and lecture to us her grand ideals?” As Jean left, Major no longer bothered to hide his disdain for his fellow Voyager.

Scarlett frowned as well. Words flew out of her mouth like venom out of a serpent’s teeth.

“Well, of course she feels entitled. After all, without the great Jean Turner and her forces, we would have been dead already. But do you think she’s just being rude? How did she know about our meeting? No one invited her.”

Olivia, the summoner of an army of beasts, immediately realized what Scarlett was referring to.

“Are you saying she’s spying on us?”

“I will not be surprised if that’s the case.” Scarlett replied quietly. “I can sense an entity watching over us from above. Jean majors in high-tech mechanical units. It’s likely some sort of satellite she has positioned in orbit. I can mask my presence. I suggest you find a way to do the same.”

The others quickly agreed. At their stages, even if their majors didn't match, the Voyagers had some way of masking their presence.

“But what should we do about Jean? We can’t take her down by force. Even if we can catch her mechanical forces by surprise and assassinate her, the Protectors have forbade it. Judging from the situation now, the Protector Corps still has the upper hand. We can’t risk going against them.”

“She said she wants to launch a counter-invasion.” Major suddenly smirked. “Let’s just have her do whatever she wants. It’s her forces she’ll be losing. If she makes a move across the portal and wins, great. If she loses the battle and thus all her forces, we can take over command of this world and get rid of her influence once and for all. But let’s not answer to her. This way, her actions will be against our wishes, and we can have reason to refuse help if she loses.”

“I don’t care about Turner. I am just concerned that the Romans will be lured by her aggression into sending more invading forces into this world.” Olivia was one of the head Voyagers that advocated for keeping things how they were. Her army of beasts took heavy casualties against the disciplined Roman forces, and it was just a small detachment that she faced. She couldn’t imagine what she would do if a million Romans swarm across the portal.

She would never admit it, but a part of her was jealous of the power that Jean held. If she had two giant armies consisting of full fleets, as well as the power to wipe out tens of thousands of Romans with a single strike, she would be launching a counter-attack as well. But she didn't, so she had to do things more carefully.

Scarlett nodded before turning to one of the quieter Voyagers.

“Don. What’s your progress with the portals?”

“Quite well, in fact.” Don answered. A slant man in his twenties, he was a major in Space Smith. In other words, he could manipulate space at his will. A while ago, when the Voyagers first got to the portals, he started to diagnose the portals in an attempt to close it and end the Roman threat once and for all.

“Can you shut it down?”

“Yes, but it will take time.”

“Doesn’t matter. Jean’s forces are still intact right now. Time is on our side.” Major suddenly had an idea. “With the ability to shut down the portals at command, if Jean marches across the portal, we can shut the door behind her. Even the Protectors can’t blame us for that. After all, we have just saved this world once and for all. What happened to Jean Turner would be unfortunate, but it’s not our fault. She made the choice to move without our agreement. She herself is the only person to blame.”

And with Jean Turner gone, her forces in this world would be leaderless, and I can start taking them over and converting them to constructs under my command…

“It’s just unfortunate that there’s nothing we can do to Jean for now.” But despite his dreams, Major complained once again. He knew that when Jean first came into the room, a small pushback from him wouldn’t be against the rules. His constructs could’ve done so much more than just stare at Jean intimidatingly, but he also knew the rules weren’t the only thing protecting Jean. What really stood behind her was her armies and armies of mechanical units. If he pushed back and Jean decided maybe it was time to move some of her units back to the U.S.N.A., and the Romans happen to attack again, well, they would be really screwed.

On one hand, they didn't like how Jean acted. On the other, they needed her to stay alive.

“True.” Scarlett groaned as well. For the three months she and the other Voyagers have been on Earth, they were practically gods. The locals provided them with anything and everything they needed. Food. Check. Drink. Check. Drugs. Check. Sex. Check. If they wanted something money couldn’t buy, the mercenaries the local government hired for them could do the job with force.

What Jean just did was like a slap to the face. It woke them up from the beautiful dream of invincibility, and it hurt. “We can’t touch Jean for now, but…”

She suddenly stood up and screamed an order to the servants that she knew would be waiting outside.

“Which way did that woman came in through?”

“The front door.”

“Which squad was standing post there?”

“Squad Echo.”

“Tell Squad Echo to come over here.”

Minutes later, a squad of men was in the room. They were the sentries at the door when Jean entered. As soon as they walked in, their eyes were trained on the ground. The cockiness they had when dealing with those entering the hotel were nowhere to be seen.

They were armed, but their weapons meant nothing against the six Voyagers. Everyone in the room knew that.

The Voyagers were silent.

“Sir?” One of the sentries finally found the courage to say a word. He could sense the environment in the room wasn’t ideal, but just standing there wasn’t going to accomplish anything.

As if that ignited something, Scarlett suddenly reached her hand out, and the sentry that spoke felt like a thousand hands covered his body and was constantly pushing him together like a piece of clay. His bones made a crunching sound as they slowly cracked under the force. The man screamed in agony. A few ribs pierced his heart, but it wasn’t enough to kill him instantly.

Within moments, he was reduced to a broken sack of flesh. Just before he could die, Scarlett stopped. There was no fun in killing the man right now. She wanted to watch him suffer.

“Sir! What have you done?” The other sentries’ eyes widened as they instinctively reached for their weapons. They were mercenaries, and they have seen their fair share of blood and gore, but what just unfolded before their eyes were too sudden even for them.

All they received from Scarlett was a cold smirk.

The other Voyagers took action as well. Don casually flung his hand into the air. The next moment, one of the poor sentries found all four of his limbs leaving his body. Don altered the space at his joints so the limbs were no longer connected to his body. He collapsed on the ground, screaming in agony. Usually, he would’ve bled out in just moments, but Don, the nice and compassionate Voyager that he was, generated a force field at the wounds to stop the bleeding. This way, the man would stay there for as long as possible until hunger or thirst kills him.

Major waved his hand, and two constructs leaped out into the open and ripped a sentry into two. They were like child in front of Jean, but against defenseless locals...that was a different story.

In a sense, Voyagers were monsters. Everyone here has had the blood of millions on their hands. Even they themselves believed they were no longer human. Their race was Voyager, and only fellow Voyagers could be considered their equal. Humans were to them like pigs and lambs to humans. Due to their mission, they had to protect these puny entities, but executing a few incompetent underlings wouldn’t go against their mission.

These sentries did nothing wrong and they knew it. If six Voyagers couldn’t stop Jean, what could five sentries do? But they didn't care. They weren’t here to instill discipline or punish the misbehaved. They were doing this to make themselves feel better.

Meanwhile, the woman the six Voyagers were so frustrated about returned to her Warden camp within an hour. She had to admit to herself what happened was highly unfortunate.

Voyagers were tough. They hold powers that practically made them gods, but they were still human beings, and no matter how strong a human being was physically, they still had weaknesses. These were the same weaknesses that consumed multiple Voyagers in the Dream Realm, and these were the same weaknesses that prompted Major, Scarlett, and their comrades to make the decision that they did.

Jean understood the reasoning behind the six Voyagers’ choices. They were in a safe situation. By the looks of things, as long as they could hold the portals, the Romans could never make it across, and their mission would be a sure success. They knew the potential benefits of launching a counterattack. Not only would they be rewarded by the Protectors for going above and beyond, they could also loot whatever the new world had to offer.

But knowing the benefits such action would bring was different than carrying that action out. Jean remembered the drugs and drinks and women/men she saw in the chamber. Why worry about a million fierce Romans when they could stay home and enjoy the period of peace foreign to most Voyagers?

When Jean proposed a chance, the Voyagers knew, deep down, that she was right. A part of them wanted to join her, but another part wanted to stay here and keep enjoying the rare moment of relaxation. It was this conflict that annoyed the Voyagers into rejecting her so spitefully.

But Jean saw a step further. Just like she told the others, they were Voyagers, and for Voyagers, it was either forward or backward. She has waited in solitude for all too long with little mean to enhance her power, and it was annoying her. She couldn’t afford to wait anymore.

Time acted differently in the individual dimensions in the Infinite Realm than it did in the City of the Voyagers and the Core Realms. Three months in this world were only a few days outside. Yet, rebellion spread like fire. Try as they did, the Protectors couldn’t shut down the wave of invasions that has torn countless worlds loyal to the Protector Corps to pieces. Tens of thousands of Aggressors were slain, but they were endless. Whenever one fell, a dozen took their place.

Jean had to act if she wanted to get something out of this rebellion, and right now, she was too weak. If an opportunity jumped out at her, she couldn’t even hold onto it.

Plan A was a direct invasion of the Roman Empire via her Warden and Purifier forces. That wouldn’t work. Jean wasn’t blind. She could see the facture between her and the other Voyagers. If she made a move without their support, they might find a creative way to evade the Protectors’ orders and stab her in the back. The Wardens and the Purifiers must remain in this world if she wanted to keep her mission successful.

Plan B was infiltration. She would travel through the portal and to the Roman Empire all alone. Most of her Wardens and Purifiers would remain on Earth, making sure it wouldn’t fall to the Romans or the other Voyagers when she was gone.

Of course, infiltration wouldn’t be as easy as simply walking through the portal. No doubt, there would be armies of Romans on the other side, ready to strike down any foe that crosses. She couldn’t beat millions of Romans with all her forces in a straight up fight. Without her forces, she would be hopeless, but the gift of the Protector Reapress gave her another way in.

The Reapress’s watch contained a memory stone. Jean used it on herself, and she realized all the memory stone contained was knowledge on a single skill.

The Power of Death was brilliant at manipulating souls. It could kill souls. It could strip souls out of their bodies. It could empower souls. That was all nice and well, but ever since she got this power, Jean has been using these abilities on her enemies.

What if...she uses that on her own soul?

The watch taught of a skill to use the Power of Death to strip her own soul out of her body and plant it inside another body. In other words, it was like possessing someone. It would allow Jean to take the body of a Roman while her own flesh remains in hibernation onboard a Warden or Purifier vessel, well protected. With Roman skin, literally, over her mind, she could walk right through the portal. She would still need a good timing, but it was much easier than a blonde girl who was obviously not related to the Roman Empire.

Once she returns to the Roman Empire, she could move from body to body and eventually climb her way up to the top. The Roman Empire would be a formidable foe on the battlefield, but if Jean could get inside its own structures, with both her cunningness and the Power of Death, she could rip it apart piece by piece. It would also be a brilliant chance to use the Roman Empire’s resources to build up her own forces.

Of course, there was a flaw. Most bodies wouldn’t suit her soul. Even if she enters a body, that body would continue to corrode and die, and she would need to constantly use her power to maintain it. Taking over bodies would be a difficult task as well. If her original body died and she faced too much resistance while trying to acquire a new one, she could just be starved out and die.

But that was a chance she was willing to take.

A message appeared on the computer screen in front of her. It was from the President. Apparently, while she was taking a trip to Paris, a battalion of the 10th Division marched to northern New York and jumped on Uncle Sam’s location. They encountered some resistance, but under the barrels of the gauss rifles and in front of the boots of the best soldiers in the United States of North America, the resistance was futile. All the defenders have been terminated, and Uncle Sam was under arrest.

The President was inviting Jean to attend the trial of the number 1 felon of the country. After that, Jean was supposed to make a speech of how the Voyagers and the locals must unite under a common enemy.

Fair enough. The trial would take place three days later. Usually, a trial like this would take months to prepare for, but the President really needed the shot of adrenalin to his government authority.

Jean quietly tapped a key and exited the message.

As she went through what she would say during the speech, Jean suddenly received a message from one of the observers she placed over the 10th Division encampment. After all, someone as cautious as Jean would have no reason not to keep an eye on the sharpest blade of the U.S.N.A.

The message was...interesting.