***

--- Intersection ---

Date: May 5th, 2026

Rory blocks a shadow spell from Famulis.

"Just die, Rory," Famulis said.

Rory looks over and sees Lelei fighting Taylin. Lelei uses a deflect spell to block Taylin’s attack. While Lelei's magic is strong, it requires a moment for her to power up, which Taylin is smart enough to prevent that from happening. However, Lelei is no push over either as she is able to use stunning spells to briefly immobilize Taylin and blast him.

In their last fight, Lelei broke Taylin's ax(1) with a lightning blast. That was only because Sharpe and Tuka distracted him long enough for her to use a spell powerful enough to do that. Taylin would not make the same mistake twice.

She sees two ghouls charging at Lelei from behind. "Lelei!"

Yao then decapitated two ghouls with her tactical machete. "I have all of your back."

She smirks, glad to have people watching her back. She charges forward and moves past Famulis. She kicks Famulis back and then does a double spin at her.

Famulis flaps her wings and conjures a darkness blade to slash Rory.

Rory blocks with her Halberd using much of her strength. "I still cannot believe you would sell out your people to work for the Empire. While we are enemies, I consider you principled. It was why I left you alone."

"You still killed my mother," Famulis said. "You thought I would forgive you? You once were part of the Empire, a growing power. Now you are with these Other Worlders."

"What do they have to do with this?" Rory asked as her halberd with the darkness blade. She jumps away. "Wait… are you saying you are scared of them? You fell for Zorzal and Taylin’s tricks?"

"Zorzal is no Molt, however, Zorzal and his minions made great points," Famulis replied. "NATO poses a massive threat to this world. They will wipe out my people. They see us as monsters."

"What made you think NATO is gonna wipe your people out? You just blindly assumed they are just like the Empire? And siding with the Empire will fix that?" Rory asked. "I joined them to help guide them, so they wouldn't blindly wage war against people who didn't deserve it. So they wouldn't make the same mistakes the Empire did."

"I don't believe you," Famulis replied as she began using her shadow magic. Darkness started emanating from her body as tendrils started to move towards them. "They will storm this world, and anyone who doesn't bend to their will suffers. I am no fan of the Empire; however, I know if the Empire falls to NATO, no one will be able to stop them after that."

Rory can hear the desperation in Famulis voice. If there's one thing she can respect about Famulis is that she genuinely cares about her Darkling citizens. She strongly believes NATO will wipe them out if the Empire falls, making this war a last stand type of action.

However, she knows Famulis is basing her perspective off a lie. "You are wrong in more ways than you think. I did kill your mother because I was told she was a threat to the Empire. That she planned to start a great war to wipe out the Common Folk."

"Lies."

"I know they are lies," Rory roared. She glances at Taylin as he battles Lelei. "Taylin lied to me. He told me everything that your mother was doing terrible things. He convinced me that your mother was evil, that she was rallying the Dark Races together and was going to start another Dark Age. You know I wouldn't allow that to happen."

"I find that hard to believe," Famulis said.

"You should," Rory replied. "I trusted him because I loved him. I was a fool to trust blindly. He used me to kill your mother because he wanted the Empire to become the sole power of Falmart. Your mother would have gotten in the way of that."

"Very convenient," Famulis replied. "Even if it was true, what differences does it make? The deed was done."

"Because I am fighting against everyone and everything that resulted in your mother's death in part to amend my mistake," Rory yells. "You are the one fighting with Taylin, the Empire, and the throne against a people you know nothing about! All you are doing is siding with the people who caused your mother death. I have to say that I am very disappointed. I thought you were smarter than that Famulis, but it seems that you are not as wise as your mother."

“You and that Wood Elf bastard know nothing about me and my mother to say the same thing like that," Famulis roars as she remembers the same mocking words from the letter of warning of retaliation sent by Lashin after he decimated the Imperial force that was sent to punish him for brazenly refusing to join the League months ago.

Rory hears a loud explosion from behind. Lelei lands on the ground hard. "Lelei!"

She rushes to Lelei and blocks Taylin's ax. She then helps Lelei up.

"I think this strategy is not working," Lelei comments.

"You think?" Rory said. She then thinks and smirks. "I think we should switch opponents."

Lelei smiles.

Rory charges at Taylin while Lelei faces Famulis.

“You are quite well to defend yourself against Taylin, little girl. But, you are not strong enough to face me,” Famulis shows her condescending toward Lelei.

“Less talk and more fight, Succubus Queen,” Lelei replies.

Famulis fires multiple darkness spikes at Lelei only for Lelei to disperse it by conjuring a magic floating sphere of light. She understands fully well that shadow magic is weak against light so Lelei strategizes herself to fight Famulis with light-based magic.

“Luminate Maxima,” Lelei creates a blinding flash of light from her staff blinding Famulis.

Taking advantage of the stunned Famulis, Lelei fires a concentrated mana beam at Famulis but Famulis manages to quickly regain her eyesight to dodge it as the beam slams at the wall and makes a considered explosion.

Famulis cannot believe how strong this young mage is. She has faced mages before, powerful ones like her however they were always much older. This Lelei, is far too young to be this powerful. “You are tougher than I thought. Let's see how you can keep it up.” She powers up her shadow spells to fight Lelei.

---

"Taylin, this has to end at some point," Rory said as their weapons clash. "We cannot keep fighting like this."

"We will keep fighting until one of us stands," Taylin replied.

"Men, why do you have to be so stubborn?" Rory mumbles. "You fight to keep your Empire. I understand, you built it from nothing, but you are mixing up what the Empire is and why you built it in the first place."

"My vision has not changed," Taylin replied. "The reasons why we created the Empire are the same reason why I am fighting right now. It is not this world's fault that you betrayed all your values because you found one of them cute."

For some reason, Rory found this insult hurtful. She wonders if that is how people see her now, only fighting with the Other Worlders because she is attracted to Sharpe. She shakes off the thought as their weapons clash. "That’s not true, Taylin. Just listen."

"We forged the Empire to stop the death, to stop the oppression," Rory said. "It was your idea. You loved the people and hated that rogue hordes and bandits were slaughtering children."

"It was the Americans, the British, the French, Japanese, and all the others who accomplished what you wanted. Stability and tranquility. Yes, there are issues; they are not perfect. Trust me; sometimes I think they are children, thinking high and mighty, and clueless on so many things. But they are what you want them to be, they are the change in the world that you always wanted. Why can't you see that."

She was about to launch another attack but stopped herself. She sees a reaction from Taylin that she hasn't seen in a long time, uncertainty.

"Taylin… we can..." Rory's eyes widen as she gets a strange feeling. She places her hands on her belly. She feels Sharpe's soul get warmer; she feels stress, pain. "He is in trouble."

With that feeling, she darts off.

---

Famulis catches her breath, unable to believe how powerful this blue haired mage is. She heard Rory call her Lelei, which shocks her as it is the name of the rumored powerful mage girl that both Rondel and Darlko are so deeply worried about.

She has faced powerful mages over the centuries however this is different. Lelei has used spells that she never even heard of. Styles and techniques that are foreign. Magic is based on the knowledge of the other world with spells that conjure blue fire that are far hotter than any fires; magic blasts that can chase targets and spells that can summon a field of lighting that deterring any targets to come close. In essence, the more the mage knows the more powerful the magic can become. In theory, the only limitation is the person themselves.

That means Lelei is merging the knowledge she gained from the Other Worlders. Currently, the biggest advantage the Falmart League has is magic however if NATO employs mages like Lelei, it is all over. Furthermore, she now understands why Valker lost to her(2) and he as well as Darlko and a lot of loyalist mages in Rondel want her killed. Consequently, she will now have to do the same as them.

However, Lelei has been sloopy. Famulis has been able to detect rookie mistakes. Not because Lelei is a weak opponent but because this is a new magic and the fundamentals are still being developed. She also can see this new magic quickly drains mana. That Lelei has yet to find a more efficient method to employ this new magic.

“Your magic is strong and extraordinary Lelei. But you don’t have the huge mana reserves like me or any other magical demi-humans and your exotic and innovative spells consume too much mana. All I need to do is tiring you out and dodge your attacks until you run out of mana so I can finish you. With you gone, Rondel will never fall into NATO and the League still be able to retain our magical advantages,” she states.

“I understand that NATO never utilizes magic since I cannot detect a single ounce of mana or magic from their weaponry. As well from the reports of our Frumentarii spies, mages and shadowy allies on the fields, unlike those idiots in the Imperial government and army who keep thinking that NATO has some form of magic. So eliminating you will significantly take away any means of NATO to counter magic even if they have some elves on their sides!” Famulis boasts.

‘Do not be sure, Famulis,” Lelei responded. “NATO still has not unleashed their own mages yet. Even if you kill me, the Earth mages will replace me to counter the League’s magical advantages.”

“NATO has mages?" Famulis surprised that NATO has mages but never been seen in battle so far. “Then why haven’t they used them?”

Famulis then sees Rory abandoning the fight, heading to the Oprichnina Dungeon.

She knows Rory would not leave a fight like that or leave her comrades. Rory is many things but not a coward.

And then there is Taylin. As he follows Rory, Famulis reflects on what Rory said. While Rory might have slain her mother, Taylin might have been the mastermind who arranged it. She does not know how truthful what Rory said, however she cannot rule out that Taylin is to blame.

That is when she realizes why Rory left. She knows that some of the Rangers went to the Oprichnina Dungeon, part of Moon’s and Zorzal’s trap for Sharpe. The plan must have worked for Rory to flee this quickly from a fight, either way Zorzal is in trouble.

“Damn, I still need him.”

A dark energy void is created and Famulis tosses it at one of Lelei’s projectile spells, absorbing it and then exploding between them. She extends her wings and flaps away.

Famulis does not love Zorzal, however she needs him to complete her plans. Without him, she will never be able to take over the Empire. Without him she will never be able to fight against NATO.

---

Bozes slays the last Royal Guard.

She looks around and sees the Rangers and Knights holding the intersection.

Buildings destroyed by Famulis and Lelei’s fight. Destroyed streets and booths from Rory and Taylin. Dead bodies everywhere. The twenty Rangers are hunkered down and laying waste to anyone who gets close.

“They don’t stop,” Panache said.

Bozes could not help but laugh. The endless wave has been a tactic the Empire has employed in many wars. If the Imperial Army could not win with tactics, they try to deplete the enemy forces with numbers. Numbers had never been an issue for the army until this war. Now she knows how the enemy in those felt, the battle never ends no matter how many you kill.

She sees her Knights covering the Rangers.

Jalin appears. “Look, it's our comrades and Vanguard-7.”

She sees the other teams arrive with the pro-peace senators and their families. She waves her hand. “Over here.”

As the Knights and the Rangers start to cross the street.

“Something is wrong,” Panache said. “Where is the Princess and Colonel?”

Now that Bozes pays attention, she notices Sharpe is not there and Pina is leading the group. She recalls seeing Rory passing though, heading to the Oprichnina Dungeon. She wonders what happened.

“Are we clear to cross?” Randy asks over NW.

“Yes,” Bozes replied. “We will cover you.”

The rescue team begins crossing the street. As they reach the halfway point a senator is cut in half by an arrow. The nobles freeze while the Rangers and Knights try to get them into cover. It was too late, as one of the senator's wives was cut in half by another arrow.

Bozes saw that with a horrific look. She struggles to figure out what could do that and so quickly.

She gets Panache and both rush to Johnson. “We have a problem.”

“I noticed,” Johnson said. “It has to be Jasis.”

“Jasis?” Bozes asked. Jasis is the Apostle of Siflis, helping the Empire in the war. “You think her intention has been to assassinate the senators? She is the only other Apostle we haven't seen and is range too far for normal archers."

“They are considered traitors,” Johnson points out. “Killing them would make all this meaningless.”

“Sir!” Sergeant Oka Masaru yells as he points down the block.

Bozes sees the large formation of the Royal Guard coming. She can see the armor that is leading them, a senator leader. She wonders if this is how the Rangers felt the last time they came here and gained a new respect for what they went through. “I can take care of the enemy reinforcements.”

“We will take out Jasis,” Johnson said. He then gets on NW. “Yao, did you see where that arrow came from?”

“Yes,” Yao said. “Came from those three high buildings by the wall.”

“I want you eight to provide suppressing fire,” Johnson orders. “Hill, Ward, deploy the Javelin.”

As ordered, eight Rangers from different teams come out and suppress fire at the direction of where Jasis might be.

Specialist Adam Hill of Vanguard-2 and Specialist James Ward of Vanguard-5 rush out into the intersection, carrying a FGM-148 Javelin. After locking on the buildings that Yao described, they fire.

The missile hits the center building, destroying the three.

Bozes takes her knights and charges the enemy reinforcements. Her goal is not to defeat this force but to hold them off to protect the nobles. The Ranger with the M32 grenade launcher, Masaru, fires at the first line, killing the center troops. This stops all momentum of the Royal Guard, allowing the Rose Knights to gain the upper hand.

She blocks with her arm shield and slices the enemy at the joint.

Bozes looks around and sees Beefeater cutting through with two swords. Panache protecting Beefeater flank.

She then sees Ginebra and Nikolasha fighting. A Guard comes up and slashes her side, cutting deep.

Seeing this, she grabs her bow gun and fires a quick shot, going right through the guard’s neck. She then rushes over, “Are you ok?”

Nikolasha holds her side, “I will live.” The wound is red, it is clear the armor saved her.

Jalin blocks an attack, protecting Bozes.

“Take her out of here, we will cover you.”

As Balalaika and Ginebra help Nikolasha back to the Ranger line, Bozes hears a voice she has not heard in a long time, her father’s.

She turns around and sees her father, Amulius Palesti. “Father.”

Amulius turns around and glares at her, “There you are. I would call you my daughter but I removed you from my family after your treachery.”

“Things have changed father, the current Empire no longer deserves to exist anymore as it now has become a scourge to this world. I joined NATO because they are the answer for this world’s problem and Princess Pina will make build a better Sadera. I didn't betray my country father, you all did. The Empire once stood for something but it only stands for greed and power now. You and the Empire have become what it swore to destroy,I am fighting for the greater good!" Bozes states.

“Greater good? You have been a spoiled little brat that has always disowned this family. You didn’t do your duty and be married off. You refused to learn the proper nobility womanhood. I let you join this Rose Knighthood thinking it would take you out but look at this? But it seemed to fail as you dig deeper into your knightly game. Do you have any idea what you and the other knights did to me and their families? We all were shamed.”

This was insane. All Amulius cared about was his reputation and never cared why his daughter switched sides. He never even tried to convince her to come back.

“Me and my fellow female knights are not the fucking doormat anymore, father!" Bozes replied in a fiery tone. "And screw the nobility womanhood! That kind of womanhood is nothing but slavery and objectification of all women as objects, not living beings. Me and my knights have a life, we deserve to be happy and pursue happiness in our own ways and be what we want to be. You and all the nobles only care about yourself and your selfish political agendas."

“Insolent brat, how dare you lecture me, you father," Amulius said. "I provided a great life. You never had to worry about food, water, shelter. And all I ever asked was to do your duty to the family, to extend our bloodline to keep the family strong."

"Thanks to you, for decades you were supposed to be married to the Houra Family," Amulius said. "You all should have known how important this was to our family's future. If you had a family you would understand but damn you, I cannot call you my daughter anymore. I cannot jeopardize the family honor anymore." He draws his sword.

“Maybe I don't have a family yet but at least I know what love is since I finally found the man of my life. A US soldier. He treasures me for what I am not my status or my family name. None of that ever mattered," Bozes yells with much energy.

“You are out of line this time!! How dare you court with the enemy! I will see you dead!”, Amulius rushes at his daughter.

Bozes engages her father and quickly dominates the fight as while her father is a highly competent swordsman, he fights with pure ferocity, not grace. During her and other knights training with Shino and Ling in the art of kendo and other martial arts, she learned that a powerful swordsman must always fight like a raging river, not a ferocious beast since no matter how intense the creature is, it can never oppose the robust, fast and flexible flow of a stream of water, which is why predators always being helpless when falling into a mighty river stream.

As a result, she effectively and flexibly blocks and counter-attacks her father with great precision, speed, and power, as well as exotic swordplay, leaving him no chances of attack. No matter how hard her father tries, Bozes always turns his own momentum against him.

"How? How can you be this skilled?” Amulius asks, shocked by his daughter's skill. “I thought you and those women knights are just playing knights. You are not supposed to be as strong as me or any other imperial knights and nobles. You are women, not a man to fight men-to-men." He is unable to believe in his own daughter fighting prowess.

"I have good teachers, father," Bozes proudly states

Her father rushes at her again, but Bozes side steps him, causing him to fall, and she points her sword at him.

"Give up, father! As much as I loathe you, you are still my flesh and blood. I don't want to end your life. So get out of here while you still can," Bozes urges her father to get out of her sight as an act of mercy.

"You women surely have a weak heart," Amulius throws a rock at Bozes, distracting her enabling him to grab his sword and slashes at her abdomen.

Despite the armor protecting her, she loses her momentum from the surprise attacks as her father rushes at her like a rabid dog and swings his sword with ferocity causing her to be pinned to the wall.

"You are weak, you don't have the guts to be a warrior. Showing mercy is a sign of weakness," Amuilus roars, and his sword clashes at Bozes and pin closely to her face, causing her cheek to be cut and bleed.

Bozes knows that if she cannot get out, her father will fatally slash her neck. So she has to do something.

She then spits at father's eyes, temporarily blinding him, grabbing her father's arm, and pushing against the wall. She then quickly draws the bow gun and headshot her father, ending his life.

As Bozes breathes heavily from the stress and shaken from what she just did, Panache goes at her.

"Look like you have done the same thing for the greater good, Bozes," Panache states with her eyes full of tears.

Bozes looks at her and realizes that Panache just did the same thing with her own father.

Tyuule approaches, pushing her sword into a man. "Are you two ok? I know it is hard for you to do what has to be done but we must move now!"

"Yes Princess," Bozes replied. "We will be fine."

"Good, we are leaving," Tyuule said.

--- Basson Prison ---

After being forced deeper into Basson Prison, Sharpe has struggled to find a way out. Zorzal wants his head and has gone all out to do it.

He catches his breath, holding his chest. Zorzal got a lucky cut on him.

The dwarven thick-layered Parabecel Imperial Armor has been a thorn for Sharpe, trying to find a way around it. His M4A1 was damaged when using it to stop Zorzal's sword attack and he lost his M1911.

Zorzal’s new armor showed not to be invincible. Cracks appeared around each bullet hole.

With the current situation he is not scared, just angry. He knows Zorzal is evil for what he did to Noriko but what he did to his own nobles showed his true character. While the brass is still looking for a postwar strategy, vetting for possible leaders to help maintain peace after the war, he knows Zorzal and his people cannot be part of it.

While Zorzal did get the upper hand with his trap, it did not come without a cost. He only used his emotions and morality against him. As with the belief that Sharpe is cut off from his unit, it would be easier to kill him. Wrong. Zorzal is not Krysist or Taylin to actually pose an extremely serious threat to him. Even Pina can give him more difficulty.

As a Guard approaches, Sharpe grabs the arm, pulls him forward and stabs him in the throat. This being the fifth Royal Guard he killed.

With that, the other two Guards rush over. Sharpe easily disposed of them with his knife.

"There you are, coward. Why don't you stand and fight like a man!"

Seeing Zorzal charging, Sharpe dodges the thrust of the Zorzal’s sword, grabs the arm and uses his opponent's momentum to swing Zorzal into a wall.

"I might not be able to shoot you but I sure can hurt you."

Zorzal comes back angrily and swings at Sharpe. Both play a game of dance as they fight. Zorzal tries to kill while Sharpe dodges the attacks and gets a few jabs in.

He realizes the training with Grey in swordsmanship is proving helpful. When fighting Krysist he was clueless on how to counter the sword, now he is able to read the movements. This frustrates Zorzal.

Zorzal charges and rams Sharpe onto the ground. Once onto, Zorzal pulls out a knife and tries to stab Sharpe in the head.

Sharpe grabs the hands, holding the knife back with all his strength.

"Once I kill you I am going to put your head on my throne. Then send the rest of your body parts everywhere who dares question me and my power."

"Ah, shut the fuck up you prick," Sharpe mocks and he is able to move the knife so it hits the floor. He backhands Zorzal.

Back on his feet, he grabs Zorzal sword arm, holding it tight.

Zorzal screams in pain, dropping the sword as he bangs on his shoulder. However, Sharpe is forced to let go and kill a guard who ran up.

Zorzal takes advantage and punches Sharpe in the cheek. Then again in the gut. Once Sharpe takes a step back as he recovers, Zorzal grabs his sword and charges.

Sharpe sees this attack. He ignores the pain and waits for the Zorzal attack.

While Zorzal has raw strength, his fighting stance is crap. It is clear the Emperor had training in his childhood however it is clear that his trainers allowed him to win all the time so they would not embarrass him.

Using the martial arts he received while being in Delta Force and Japan, it is easy to deflect the sword attack, grabs Zorzal, moves a leg behind him and uses the armor’s weight to fling him down to the ground hard.

“You bastard,” Zorzal states as he gets up. But Sharpe goes on the offensive, forcing him to back up and dodge.

As Zorzal counter-attacks, Sharpe grabs the shield. He holds onto the shield tightly, twisting while receiving many hard punches. He finally twisted hard enough to the point he broke Zorzal's arm. With this, he kicks Zorzal back, taking the shield.

He rolls back onto his feet and blocks a sword thrust. As Zorzal passes him, he swings back and rams the shield into Zorzal's back.

The shield is made out of the same ore the armor is made of. Sharpe assumes maybe it would be strong enough to do some damage. He fully intends to go full Spartan on him by using the shield as a weapon.

Both attack each other. Zorzal attacks and Sharpe blocks. When an opening happens, he swings the shield at Zorzal.

The shield hits Zorzah hard but he grabs it. Both struggle for it until Sharpe leaves. Sharpe is impressed by Zorzal’s raw strength

Sharpe then grabs Zorzal, pulls him close and flings him into a pillar. He falls to the ground with a bloody nose.

"You think you are a badass Emperor because you can harm people who are weaker than you? Abusing and knocking up girls because it is funny? Using boys as target practice and torture for entertainment. What makes a leader great isn’t his ability to push others down, but to lift them up.”

“I will say,” Sharpe states, breathing heavily from exhaustion. “I am impressed by your little stunt up there, but not in a good way. But it isn’t the worst situation I’ve ever been in. You wanna know why it failed? It’s because you fight like a child, and don’t expect anyone to be the bigger man.

Zorzal gets up, shaking from the pain, “You talk like this fight is over. I swear I will kill you. I will defeat you and all your kind!”

Walking towards Zorzal, Sharpe spits the blood that is gathering in his mouth.

“You're not listening. You know what pisses me off the most about you Zorzal, it isn’t the cheap tricks or your lowlife pedo lifestyle. I actually have gained a lot of respect for the Imperial Army in this war. I have faced and killed many of them, and they fought bravely where others would have sat down and died. Many of your people stood up in this war, from all walks of life to fight for their country and way of life. The worst part in all this is that they have a leader like you leading them. Disgraceful.”

“There are times I wonder how this war would have played out if your sister was the leader, or your older brother Krysist. Now that was a man worth fighting against.”

Hearing that, Zorzal charges forwards, enraged. “Don’t you ever say that name! I am the firstborn! The throne belongs to me!”

Seeing the rage attack, Sharpe blocks with the shield, moves behind Zorzal and rams him into a pillar again.

“Why? A man with primitive technology, primitive tactics, and with nothing to gain was able to challenge our forces in Elies, putting up a fight for months. I sometimes wonder what if he was the Emperor. Then there would have been a real man on the throne, someone we might even fear. But no, there's just a boy pretending to fight in a man's war.”

Zorzal holds his noises as it bleeds, “You’re calling me a boy? If I recall, I knocked up that lowlife slave. I am the Emperor, I overthrow my father, I built this coalition, I am fighting you! I am a man worthy to be respected and feared!”

Hearing that frustrated Sharpe. Out of everything Zorzal could have said to prove himself, it was that. All this just proves he is a spoiled manchild, he mentioned Noriko and forced impregnating her. He decides to ignore everything Zorzal said. That there is not even worth a physiological debate.

“The Emperor who has to remind himself and others that he is an Emperor is no Emperor.”, Sharpe quotes the words from the character Tywin Lanishter from the Game of Thrones series.

Sharpe dodges a few slashes and thrusts, waiting for an opening.

“My people are going to plow through your armies. We are going to take Sadera, destroy your League and install Princess Pina onto the throne.”

“Pina? She is a woman, she cannot take the throne. The throne belongs to the firstborn son! If you had any honor you would accept our ways.”

“Firstborn, which means Krysist was the true Emperor. By your rules, you have always been an illegitimate ruler," He said just to piss Zorzal off. "Again, your sister will take the throne, regardless of being a woman. You're just a seat warmer.”

As expected, that angered Zorzal again.

Zorzal swings his blade, but Sharpe grabs his arm. Suddenly, Zorzal ended up on the ground, Sharpe's left arm wrapped around his neck, squeezing tight, struggling to breath. He removes Zorzal helmet and tosses it aside.

Sharpe got Zorzal right where he wanted him. He takes his knife and places it at Zorzal's neck, cutting the skin. He can see this is terrifying the Emperor, eyes glued to the pistol.

“You say Pina is a woman,” Sharpe said in a clam, cold, dark tone. This tone terrifies Zorzal. “Yes a woman, a pain in the ass one at times, but she is a hundred times more of a man than you ever will be. As I said before, you are no man, barely a boy. You sit on your throne and send real men to fight in a hopeless war. But at least they have the balls to be out there and fight, and I can give them more respect than I can give to you.”

Zorzal panics. He tries to remove Sharpe's armlock. Tries to move his broken left arm but unable to.

“I would say the next time you rape a woman to look into her eyes and realize that you might feel strong and embowered in that moment but in the real world you are weak. You will always remember that you are nothing. That real man, better men were able to stand tall and become giants of history. History will remember you as the Emperor who was only able to pray on the small and weak, scared to face the strong. Everyone will always look at you, freeman or slave will know you might be an Emperor on paper but deep down inside, you are nothing.”

Zorzal chokes as the armlock tightens, “Why… why do you say ‘would say’?”

Sharpe pushes deeper into Zorzal throat, “Because I am going to kill you right now. You shouldn’t have molested that girl you pedo brick. Now die.”

Zorzal tries to struggle, ramming his elbow into Sharpe's vest but in vain, “You are supposed to be a good guy. You need me, I am the Emperor! I am more valuable alive!”

Sharpe takes an angry deep breath. Zorzal’s whining is pissing him off. Someone who thinks so highly of himself and yet begs for his life in such a manner, “Yes, but you made me kill that mother.”

Before he slices Zorzal's throat he glances to the right after something got his attention. He sees Famulis fly towards him through the window. “Fuck.”

---

Famulis stops right at Zorzal and uses her shadow magic to blast Sharpe away from him.

In front of her is Sharpe on the ground, struggling to get up. She looks down at her husband, struggling to breath as he throws up.

She can see that her husband is in pain as he grabs his arm. He wins that Sharpe broke his arm as he lays next to the pool of puke.

It looks like they had an intense fight, it is very clear that Zorzal lost. First Rory, then Lelei’s new magic, now Sharpe, this enemy is far stronger and more motivated than she expected.

Right now she sees an opportunity to kill one of the enemy leaders and the man her husband fears. With this kill maybe he can focus more on the war effort.

Sharpe stands up, struggling to stand at first. Weaponless, he stands like he is prepared for hand-to-hand combat. She admits, she admires this man's cockyness and warrior spirit, willing to fight to the death in a hopeless battle.

Sharpe reminds her of Molt when they fought. While just a man, Molt never surrendered, used whatever tricks and tactics he could against her. She learned from Molt how dangerous Humans can be. While physically weak compared to many races, they make that up in many other areas. That is why Humans dominate Falmart while stronger and more powerful races serve them.

She watches Sharpe make a strange expression with his hand, waving her towards him. He then winks, toying with her. To her shock he even winks at her and smirks.

Most people are scared of her presence, scared of her power and ruthlessness. This man does not. No wonder Rory follows him, he radiates the spirit of Emroy, or someone else. She sees why this man has caused the Empire so much trouble.

Famulis uses her shadow magic and blows a hole in the ceiling.

This distracts Sharpe, forced to dive out of the way.

Seeing this, she storms at him and grabs him. Once she has him, she holds him against the wall.

Sharpe spits in her eye, forcing her to let go. He then forms a fist and hits her hard.

It took a moment to wipe Sharpe’s spit from her face. She can feel him jump on her back, trying to bring her down. She flexes her wings, forcing him off.

After clearing her vision, she storms at him, grabbing Sharpe and forcing him onto the ground. To prevent any more tricks, she grabs his neck, her claws digging into his skin.

“Worthy opponent, you are just like that bastard Krysist who beat my army many times in the past.”

“Don’t compare me to him, apparently I am far more popular with the ladies,” Sharpe states as he grabs his knife at her.

Noticing the trick, she grabs his arm, forcing Sharpe to let go of the knife. She makes sure he is secured and whispers. “I wish I could take your essence properly, however I cannot wait. You're too much of a threat to take back to my chambers and properly conduct the ritual."

Having him secured, she casts a sexual seduction spell to tame and ripe Sharpe. The spell should keep him paralyzed for a while, long enough to kill him.. She moves her hand from his forehead and slowly down his cheek to help the spell flow through him as she looks into his eyes, “you have an exceptional resistance to my seduction spell. Too bad, I have to disappoint Jasis by denying her your essence that she craves so much about."

“It's… called porn…,” Sharpe struggles to say, trying to resist the succubus charm as best as he can. “Very messed up things online. It can really desensitize a guy whe-.” When he feels her hands and her gaze, he struggles to speak.

Seeing that she broke though, she kisses Sharpe with a deep and long kiss, pushing him to maximum pleasure. She feels him struggling as she begins absorbing his essence. While strong, he is still a man and all men sucume to a succubus at some point.

“Get off him Famulis!”

She looks and to her surprise it is Taylin, the Apostle of Idos, one of the main Empire gods. She has never liked Taylin, always a thorn in her plans. Marrying Zorzal was a way to bypass him and now he is forced to obey, “Why? I thought you wanted him dead?”

“I want to make his head rolls. Not to be pleasured to death by your kind.”

Famulis sits up on, hands still holding Sharpe down, not liking Taylin's degrading tone, “My kind? He is worth it for me to absorb his essence to become stronger. It is not like I need his seed to absorb his essence, While this method isn't ideal, I evolved based on my inner instincts unlike you. I don’t waste good resources that I can use to empower myself. I don’t use a half broken toy ax and chop my problems away.”

“Do you two need a room?” Sharpe asks. Famulis then slams her hand on him to shut him up.

What Famulis said infuriates Taylin. He grips his ax, “This man has caused so many problems for me and the Empire. He needs to die now in the most brutal way, if you get in my way I will cut you down.”

For a moment she thought about handing Sharpe over to him however she remembered what Rory said. That Taylin planned and ordered Rory to murder her mother. She isn’t worried about Sharpe doing anything as she placed a powerful spell on him, giving her the time she needs to find the truth, “I will hand Sharpe over to you but under one condition. Did you order Rory to murder my mother?”

Taylin stared at her, “So what if I did. You and the Dark Races have alway been a menace to this world. Your mother thought she could trick the Empire with the fake peace treaty but she did not fool me.”

Hearing that racism infuriated Famulis. Even now he speaks so low of her kind.

“You bastard! Then I will not allow you the pleasure of killing him,” Famulis shouts. She then starts to suck the essence of Sharpe.

Taylin grips his ax, getting ready to attack. He sprints forward but Rory appears besides him. She trips him, grabs him and tosses him across the room.

“Rory!” Famulis yells as she powers up her shadow magic.

“And me!”

Famulis looks to the right and sees Pina there, swinging her shield at her head, knocking her off Sharpe.

Seeing a sword attack coming, she flaps her wings and slides away. Once in safety, she gets up between Zorzal and Taylin. In front of her is Pina helping Sharpe up while Rory is in the guard position.

“Dear sister, I see you came to die,” Zorzal said, chuckling as he stood up, holding his arm. “Thank you for making it easier for me on finding you.”

“Big talk for a man who looks like who got his ass kicked,” Pina replied.

“Back away you all,” Rory said in a threatening tone. “I will cut you all down if you approach.”

“Very threatening Rory,” Zorzal said. “Many people in the Empire still worship you Rory, but that must change. Emroy was once considered the second great god of these lands, standing equal to Idos. But that ends now, I will banish anyone who supports you and your god. Emroy had his chance to help us in this war and has done nothing.”

“You want to change?” Pina asked.

She cannot believe her luck. With Pina here, the top two enemies of the Empire and Zorzal are here, waiting to be slaughtered. Their deaths would remove any remaining threat to the throne.

Zorzal stands there and points at his sister with rage. “I will never let you take my throne, Pina. The Empire and its throne deserve a strong Emperor like me to survive for the next 600 years. Not a NATO dog and a wimpy knight-playing woman like you.” He then grabs his broken arm because of the pain.

“He is a point, Princess,” Famulis mocks. “You are just a weak-willed fool who is gonna be NATO’s marionette to ruin every greatness your ancestors had built. The Empire has achieved so far for the sake of being just an Empress sitting on the throne. Poor little princess having to live under Molt’s shadow and being neglected for many years had made you act recklessly and stupid.”

Pina points her blade as Zorzal as Famulis picks him up, "My my! You two honestly believe I am turning to the NATO side just to claim the tiny little throne of a decaying Empire? Typical” Pina spat backs.

“Let me ask you something? Do you know why NATO possesses greater power that can threaten the balance of this world? The answer is that the Earth people used to be just like us in everything from the way of life, ideology, culture, social-economy, and politics. However, the difference is that they managed to outgrow and advance beyond all the values, cultures, and thinkings we are currently holding dearly about it now. In other words, the Empire and all those that allied with it represent the past, and all the stagnated, corrupted and barbaric, and obsolete elements and things NATO and everyone on Earth have discarded away to become powerful and highly advanced like they are today,” Pina preaches it with much energy.

“All the advancement and growth, the Earth people had been through are thanks to no part of the collapses and destruction of many Empires, civilizations, values, ideologies, and way of life throughout centuries. You might think the collapse of an Empire or way of life are horrible things, and it is equivalent to the Dark Ages, but it is a great blessing in this disguise. Since from the ashes, brand new and better ways of life, cultures, and ideology can emerge and create a better civilization, better kingdoms, and better society without the suppression of the old ways. My visit to Earth has enlightened me with the truth that NATO and all the countries of Earth have grown and evolve beyond the needs of enslavement, the need for conquests, and the needs of pillaging to sustain itself and growth through the power of creation and innovation to achieve incredible things that we think only gods can do. Like working machinery that makes slaves completely undesirable; the ability to fly above and beyond Heaven as well as the ability to create their Gate.” Pina fiercely states more.

“I never thought you had the talent of speaking nonsense like that princess! What you said is far too good to be true!! No one gonna want an Empress who not only knows how to speak nonsense!!”, Famulis laughs

“Yes, it is nonsense to all of you and all the people of the Empire and the League! I don’t expect you all and the people to understand me truly, but I have to clarify to you all. I am not fighting to sit on the throne. I am fighting to destroy the Empire and rebuild a new and better one from its ashes!” Pina boldly shouts.

Her words massively shocked Famulis, Zorzal, and Taylin.

Zorzal can not stand being lectured by his younger sister so he shouts. “You are mad, Pina What makes you think you can destroy the Empire. Our people will curse your name for eternity for bringing back the Dark Ages. We have existed for six hundred years. I am not going to let you undo everything.”

“The Empire might exist for another six hundred years, but it is a six hundred years of disease and stagnation. I will eradicate that disease and stagnation. Existence without growth is nothing! The people can curse my name all they want, but I will make them understand that I fight for their better and brighter future not just for the human but all other non-human races as well. No matter how long and how hard it is, I will make everyone in this world understand that they can be more than just themselves and the environment they are living in. I will go through the damnation and hell to make our people open their eyes that the current ways no longer are the ways to live anymore. I will sacrifice my title and privilege and the life I once cherish as the princess to turn this world from a caterpillar into a butterfly. I will fight not as the princess but as a revolutionist, a changer of way and future builder. I will show that a woman can do anything. I will show that non-human races are no different from humans as they deserve peace and happiness. And I will always fight to my last breath to show that there is always a better way!” Pina tearfully screams from her lungs as she musters all her energy and bravery to speak in a mighty tone.

Famulis stuns at Pina, She always thought Pina is just some naive and insignificant princess of the Empire but now in front of her is not a princess but something incredible and extraordinary. While she can see some inner strength in Zorzal, but it is just a tiny spark and for Pina she can see a tsunami or a powerful burning flame in her eyes and souls. In another way, she can see Pina is a warrior that is brave enough to point a sword to challenge the dragon and she even sees Kryist in her.

“This woman..!”, Famulis mutters.

She, Zorzal and even Taylin cannot believe how much Pina has changed in a short period of time. While she does not believe everything Pina said, like that NATO can create their own Gates, she sees how determined and passionate within her. It is clear that Pina knows something more. That these Other Worlders are stronger than she expected.

Taylin shouts, “That's enough! No matter what your intentions are and how much guts you have more than the Emperor! You cannot take both of us on.”

“What about me?” Zorzal asked.

“You just get in my way Emperor,” Taylin replied. “Besides, this is personal.”

“Everything always is Taylin,” Rory replied. She then pulls out a pistol and aims it at Zorzal. “I might be outnumbered but I can kill him before either of you reach me.

“And we can kill both Sharpe and Pina while you are distracted,” Famulis replied.

“Empress,” Taylin whispers. “We should end this. I can try and block the bullet while you attack. Then I swoop in and end this.”

“For the moment I agree,” Famulis replied. “But we are not done.”

While it is a gamble, she does not see another option. Taylin is fast enough to protect Zorzal and she can attack at range with her shadow magic. Rory is strong however she cannot fight against both Taylin and herself, especially while trying to protect Pina and Sharpe. While they are impressive, they are just Humans.

In that moment, Taylin sprints towards Zorzal, tackling him to the ground as a bullet hits Taylin in the shoulder. His shoulder partly explodes.

This gives Famulis the chance to attack. She fires a dark void spell.

Pina steps forward and uses her shield to block. The shield starts to fall apart however Rory gets behind, helping Pina hold off the attack, just barely.

“I am going in,” Taylin said as he prepares to sprint.

Before she can fire a second spell, a bright light appears blinking everyone in the room.

Once the light disappeared she noticed her opponents were also blinded and still there, meaning that light magic was not from them. She looks over to the hole in the wall and sees a Kitsune standing there with a staff.

“It cannot be, I defeated you,” Taylin mumbles, shocked.

“Who are you and what is your business,” Famulis demanded. “We are busy here.”

“Karlin!” Rory yells. “I am glad to see you but what are you doing here?”

“Sir Sharpe here pressed his panic button,” Karlin said. “Sharpe wanted to have an insurance policy just in case something went wrong. Miss Rose didn’t like what she called his ‘vitals’, saying he was too warm or something. Anyway, she deployed me. I see I came just in time.”

“I defeated you once before,” Taylin stated. “I can do it again.”

“Karlin?” Famulis asks herself, that name sounding familiar. She has not heard that name in centuries. That is when she remembers. Karlin is the Apostle of Miritta who disappeared centuries ago. She did not know Taylin was responsible for that.

“This fight ends now,” Karlin said. “Too much blood has been spilled this day, and for what?”

“You stupid Kitsune,” Zorzal said. “This is war and you should have stayed dead. Taylin, my Empress, I command you two to attack.”

Famulis looks around at the situation and sees their advantage went away. Now it is two Apostles vs Taylin and her. If the rumors are true, Karlin is more defensive than offensive like Rory and Taylin, however the odds are in their opponents favor and now they have to defend Zorzal, and they do not have to defend Sharpe.

“What is your proposal Karlin?”, Famulis asks

Her question shocked everyone in the room, unable to believe that she was considering a cease-fire.

“It is simple,” Karlin said. “If you let my friends go, we will not attack you. Both sides live to fight another day, no risks. No more soldiers and civilians have to die.”

“Are you kidding me?” Zorzal yells. “We are the Empire, I will never accept such a humiliating agreement. Kill them now while we can.”

“And then what, Emperor?” Karlin asked. “Let's assume you do kill them, do you really believe NATO won’t launch some kind of counter-attack?”

“For your information, NATO is actually holding back their power the entire time,” Pina explains. “What you experience so far ain't even half of their true power.”

Famulis is shocked by this claim. “NATO is holding back?” She sees the confused shock on Taylin and Zorzal's faces.

“Let just say, at their full power they can destroy the entire world in the blink of an eye,” Pina states.

“That is impossible! They cannot have the power of a god to do that. You are lying again,” Famulis said.

“They drive around in armored tanks and can fly through the skies like it is nothing,” Pina provokes. “Even you know have seen many of their wonders. Do you think they would have used their most powerful weapons yet? I don’t need to lie brother, the truth should scare you.”

Looking at Pina’s eye, Famulis takes a deep and frustrate breath as she can see that there is some truth in Pina’s voice and she admits that she still knows little about NATO and Earth as a whole. While she hates the proposal, she does not want to die today. She needs to live so her baby can grow and she needs Zorzal to finish her takeover of the Empire. She knows she has to play the long game, “The Royal family accepts Karlin's proposal. You are all free to go if you promise not to continue this attack.”

Rory and Pina nod at each other and then look at Sharpe. Sharpe gives the ok and all three accept the agreement.

“No!” Taylin yells as he steps forward, ax ready for battle. “I won’t agree to this! We finish this now Sharpe and Rory. This ends now!”

Rory gets into the attack position but Sharpe places his hand on her shoulder.

“Shut the fuck up Taylin,” Sharpe said. “There are times you are a bigger asshole than the Emperor. Damn, I am tired of your shit.”

This infuriated Taylin, “What? How dare you disrespect me like that? Especially after what your kind have done to this world. Falmart is falling apart. The war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and everything that I build over the centuries is being undone. It is going to take a lifetime to repair what you have done! You have many ideas about how many lives have been ruined by your war? While you are safe at Alnus, the stability of Falmart is unbalanced!”

“You have been giving us that sales pitch since we first met,” Sharpe replied. “Stability, Tranquility. All that sounds great but at the same time you slave yourself to the Empire.”

“The Empire is the key to-.”

“The Empire is a joke Taylin!” Sharpe yells before coughing. “Look around you. Rory told me why the Empire was built. Look at it, is it the same Empire that liberated Falmart from chaos centuries ago? You allowed a Darkling like Famulis to become the second most powerful person within the Empire. The Empire started this war, sending thousands to the slaughter for what? For your own ego?”

“You talk about Idos and I am going to be honest, I actually like what he represents. The Empire does not represent those ideals anymore. You want proof, look at Zorzal. An hour ago he held a mother and her daughter as human shields. Both have been stripped naked, abused and molested. I know that was common before the days of the Empire and you and Rory decided to end the madness and build an Empire to fight against evils like that. That was not done by some bandits or corrupt noblemen for fun, the fucking Emperor did this just because he isn’t man enough to face his opponent.”

Sharpe directly looks at Taylin as Pina holds him up, “Answer this Taylin. You act like a man of principle, fighting for what you believe in. For the people, for a better world so children wouldn’t have to be harmed. So mothers could look out the window and see their kids safe and at peace. What kind of Empire would allow its leader to make women and children cower in fear like that,Taylin? This is something Siflis, the Goddess of Evil would do, not Emroy or Idos. It literally says evil, and you are working for them. If you still fight for the Empire at this point then you are no better. And lets not forgot about your deeds Taylin. All the people who you murdered. What you did the the Elies Legions. They fought to end this war with honor, respect. The war would be over by now, all sides living in tranquility with each other but you murdered them all and for what? The war is lasting this long because you helped extended it! You are not the Apostle of Idos, you are nobody. No wonder Rory doesn't value your opinion anymore. All your words are hollow.”

Taylin stands there, holding his ax and unable to utter a word.

“What’s the matter, Taylin? The truth hurts, right? The only reason you continue fighting for this corrupted Empire is because of nothing but pure envy!” Rory states.

Taylin looks around the room. Then he jumps up, going through the ceiling and disappearing.

Famulis could not believe what just happened. Taylin, fled from a battle. He did not even say a word. She cannot believe that speech affected him this much.

Seeing no hope for a victory now,. Not wanting to wait and see if they want to abandon the agreement, she decides to quickly grab Zorzal. She flaps her wings and flies out of the room through the hole.

---

Rory watches as Famulis flies away with Zorzal. She cannot believe both Famulis and Taylin just left like that.

Rory looks over to Sharpe and sees him battered. She rushes over to him and helps him sit down. They have fought many intense battles before and for a mortal, Sharpe has always pushed to the limits but usually comes out of a fight bruised. She thought she would be used to it by now but she is just glad he is alive.

If it was not for Sharpe's soul warning her that something bad has happened and running into Pina, it would have been too late. Famulis or Taylin would have won. What she hates about this the most is that she always finds him more attractive after a fight like this, looking the way he does.

Sharpe looks around and spits blood out of his mouth, “Princess, report. What happened to my team?”

“They are ok,” Pina said. “We got the prisoners out and Sergeant Major Dodson took the team to Lieutenant Johnson. I ran into Rory and we both agreed to go back and look for you. As you always say, never leave a man behind.”

“We better go,” Sharpe said.

Rory takes out a wipe and starts wiping off the blood, “First, let's get this blood off you. You need to catch your breath. Remember, you are mortal.”

“Rory,” Pina said, looking closer. “Why do you keep wipes with you?”

“Oh, this happens a lot at this point,” Rory said. “I have a small kit to clean up after him.”

Karlin giggles, “It is true, we always have to clean up after that man. Cute.”

Pina takes an exhausting breath, “Maybe, but I can’t believe that worked. I never imagine Taylin to just leave. Good job sir.”

“It worked because it was the truth,” Karlin said. She walks over to them. “You three did good.”

“Nice to see you Karlin,” Sharpe said.

“But I didn’t know you would be here,” Rory said. “Why wasn’t I told.”

“As I said, Sir Sharpe asked Miss Rose to prepare an insurance policy,” Karlin said. “Because there was not enough time to properly form a well thought out plan, Sharpe gave her the responsibility to do so. When I heard I volunteered.”

Karlin then places her hand on Sharpe's head. A golden glow appears around her hand and begins healing him. Healing magic, a rare type of magic that only the Miritta followers can do. The spell cannot heal complex wounds however, it can heal minor ones or help speed up the healing process.

Rory is surprised by her volunteering to fight. While Karlin is not a coward, she only fights when she is forced to. She finds fighting to be a waste of energy and power. She prefers using her Apostle powers to help in a passive way.

“But why did you volunteer?” Rory asked.

“Simple, Miritta wanted me to,” Karlin said. “I cannot allow a child to become fatherless.”

“Selina would be devastated. She cannot afford to lose another father,” Rory replied.

“Never going to happen,” Sharpe said.

“Well, we all thought it did when Zorzal brought you down that hole,” Pina said. “But I see my brother was no match against you.”

Sharpe chuckles, “Never overestimate or underestimate your opponent Pina. I know it is fun to think less of your brother but he did do a clever trap. Evil but clever.”

Pina told Rory everything and she knows how Zorzal’s trap affected him.

“It is ok Jackson,” Rory said, placing her hand on his head. “No one blames you. Before we leave, let me go to her body. Under Emroy’s role of execution, I shall guild her soul to Emroy for protection. I promise.”

Emroy has many roles for a god, most relating to actions like crime, war, love. All are interconnected together in some manner. With execution, this is not granted to low or pity actions. Only actions that are considered valuable, committing the greatest crime or an honorable warrior death. Worthy to be remembered.

While this noble woman is not a warrior, she was willing to give herself up to save her daughter and Sharpe killed her not out of an evil act but to save an innocent.

“But it is not!” Sharpe yells. “He should have died but I let him live. I had him, but I was so angry. I wanted to make him pay, I wanted to make him suffer. I should have just shot him, but I wanted to make some god damn moralistic point. Colonel Yang is right, I am too idealistic…”

“But you didn’t know Famulis was coming,” Pina said. “Same with Taylin. We will get them next time and finish it.” She walks away and picks up her brother's helmet, knowing DARPA will want to research it.

“Whatever healing spell that was seemed to help. Help me up Rory.”

Rory helps Sharpe up but asks Pina for help, being too short to help Sharpe walk out. But she noticed Pina blushing bright red.

Karlin chuckles and points down.

Confused, Rory looks down and sees what Karlin is chuckling at. She sees a bulge in Sharpe pants, “Oh my. That gave me a lovely image.”

“Knock it off Rory,” Sharpe orders, annoyed. “That Succubus bitch did something to me. Just like Jasis.”

“I can remove the spell,” Karlin said. She walks over and places her hand on Sharpe head. She begins to change and removes the Succubus spell. “There. Now I recommend we leave before the Empire shows back up.”

***

--- Fort Alnus, General Stanford’s Office ---

Date: May 7th, 2026

After healing at US Army Alnus Field Hospital, Sharpe is at Stanford's office doing a mission debrief. Around him are Captain Rose and Colonel Yang, Colonel Kasen, and Agent Castillo. The video chat is Secretary of Defense Grayson Norman, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Donald Grant, and a few others on the call.

Castillo gave a breakdown of what happened during the raid on Sadera. The Empire began a purge of all nobility who were against the war to unify the government. However, this was also part of a deeper plot with two objectives. To remove his CIA network from Sadera and to lure Vanguard-7 into a trap to assassinate Sharpe and Pina with the rest of their teams.

Yang confirmed everything Castillo said. Knowing this, this engagement is a tactical victory of the US in securing the pro-peace nobility but a strategic victory for the Empire for gaining full control of their city. However, despite the strategic victory, the Empire paid dearly for that victory as their intelligence department and the Oprichinina as a whole suffered severe casualties, resulting in shortage of manpower to properly conduct spying operations against NATO.

"This was not a pleasant operation," Stanford said. "Casualties were far too high."

"Less than expected," Norman said.

"I believe the General included the Crime Lord numbers too," Grant corrected. "Correct me if I was wrong, but they suffered heavy casualties. It will take awhile for them to rebuild their spy network."

"The casualties are acceptable," Castillo answered. "US and UK casualties are only seven dead, fifteen wounded. Mostly from the engagement from Taylin."

Norman responded. "We expected to engage at least one of the Apostles. As expected, it was Taylin. At least we know the XM77 is effective against them. We will need to tell Prime Minister Oscar Lowe that his SAS did an amazing job in field testing the new weapon. I think it is time to begin full production for the new weapon."

"Hold on," Yang said. "While the weapon was affected, it was not perfect. Taylin still overpowered it, and once the wires were cut, the rifles became worthless."

"This topic is beyond the scope of this meeting," Stanford said. "There is a meeting with the head of DARPA later tonight. We are here to talk about what happened at Basson Prison. Captain."

Sarah nods and stands up. She walks over to the screen. "As Agent Castillo stated, this was an Oprichnina trap. Lieutenant Colonel Sharpe was forced into a standoff with Emperor Zorzal. The Emperor used Senator Tyueli's wife and daughter as Human Shields to try and trap our forces. Lieutenant Colonel Sharpe had two options, either agree to Zorzal's request to surrender, resulting in the death and enslavement for everyone there, or fight. Fighting would have resulted in both noble women's deaths. The only option was to remove one of the hostages to gain a clear shot, which resulted in a end to the standoff."

Sarah continued the presentation, giving a rundown of the other teams and what happened. She explained that the other Vanguard teams could escort the Pro-Peace Nobles and their families to the extraction point where a V-22B flew them to Alnus. Jasis made an appearance, sniping at the nobles before they could escape. It is believed Jasis was temporarily taken out by a Javelin, allowing the remaining Nobles to escape.

"Thank you, Captain," Stanford said. "As you know, Lieutenant Colonel, there will be an investigation on the murder of a civilian. Saying that I don't expect anything to come from it as the situation was a no-win-situation. In war, there is collateral damage."

"Regardless of the wife's death, the Senator seems to be grateful for saving his daughter," Norman said. "He has been very cooperative with our investigations in the inner workings of the Empire. While you were only able to save one of his family members, I'd say it was worth putting your team at risk."

"What I want to know about is Taylin," Grant said. "Based on your report, he just walked away from a fight?"

"That is correct, sir." Sharpe still finds it hard to believe.

"Because you yelled at him?" Kasen asked. "Taylin has been responsible for killing over a dozen patrols over the past year. He has been after you since the first time we raided Sadera. I don't believe he would walk away because of that."

"I agree, sir." While Sharpe hates to admit, Famulis and Taylin had him. Rory is correct; he is only mortal, going up against stronger creatures. Famulis paralyzed him with her magic, and he was helpless. His fight with Zorzal already weakened him.

There was one thing that he noticed while paralyzed, Famulis and Taylin argue. It became clear that the Falmart League is not as unified as once believed. At first, he thought they were arguing just about him; however, he could see the distrust and hatred they had for each other. He used that against Taylin, pointing out the hypocrisy between his actions and principles.

"I think there was more to it, sir. Famulis and Taylin were arguing a lot. They struggled to agree. All I did was push on that wedge. Taylin agreed, and he decided that fighting for Zorzal and Famulis was no longer worth it."

As all the brass talked about what happened, he couldn't help but notice Agent Castillo staring at him. Not in a negative way but in an impressive way.

"I noticed that to sir," Sarah whispered. "He has been looking at you since you walked in. He knows something."

"It is the CIA," Sharpe whispered back. "I don't know if I want to be on his good or bad side."

"All right, everyone," Stanford said. "Until we can independently confirm that Taylin has defected from the Empire, we will still consider him as an agent working for them."

"Now that the Empire removed all of our cells and contacts in Sadera, what are our policies with the city?" Norman asked.

"Policy will be revised since we cannot gather information from them now," Stanford said. "But until we can break through the Dumas Mountains, ground assault is still impossible."

"Dismissed."

Sharpe and Sarah get up. Yang asked Sharpe to wait outside.

"That was not as bad as I expected." Sarah places her tablet between her arms. "I do have your next assignment, sir."

"Already?" Sharpe is surprised that there is another so soon. He was hoping to let the team rest for a while. "What is the mission, Captain?"

"Colonel Yang wants your team to go to Malrtis for a forty-eight-hour R&R."

Malrtis, just north of Italica. Under Italica lordship, it is a harbor town on the Row Stream. He also heard it was a getaway place for the higher up notability—a small but high-class town.

Once Italica was cut off from the Imperial economy, Malrtis was hit hard. Its two primary sources of income were utterly cut off, and the only reason the city survived was its fishing industry, economic aid from the US, and being an R&R location for higher-ranking officers.

"We leave tomorrow."

"I am fine with that, but what is the catch?"

Sarah's hands Sharpe her tablet. "Operation Ghost Soldier. A massive Special Forces operation is coming up. General Stanford wants all Special Forces tested and ready. He is keeping a tight lip on the details."

Sharpe looks over the details. He is surprised by the scale, including French, British, Italian, Canadian, Polish, and US forces.

"Lieutenant Colonel," Yang said as he walked out of the General office.

"Got to go."

"Talk to you later tonight." Sarah winks then walks away.

Sharpe walked to Yang and was ordered to follow him. For a brief moment, there was silence. Once they reached a more isolated place at the Alnus headquarters.

"What happened between you and Zorzal?"

That turned out to be a hard question to answer. Sharpe noticed that question was not brought up during the meeting, assuming it would be later on.

"I had him but missed my chance to end him. I allowed my emotion, allowed hatred to take over. I wanted to make an idealistic point before I ended him. I wanted him to fear me first for what he forced me to do."

Yang nods. "You are the most principled man I've ever met. It has been your biggest advantage. When you make a stand, people see that and are drawn to you. That is how you got Rory, Lelei, and Pina. It is how you got General Krysist to trust you with his ultimate goal."

"However," Yang said, making his next point clear. "It is also your biggest weakness, and all your enemies know it. There is a reason why the Army doesn't want its soldiers getting too involved in local affairs. It opens you up to be exploited."

"That is what happened here. Zorzal knew your weakness and set everything up, hoping to force you to surrender. Same with Lashin. They and others will keep attacking at this part of you until you fold."

"More importantly, it controls you. As you said, you put your emotions above what needed to be done. I get it; you went through emotional hell because of that trap. But you cannot let that control you because now the Emperor is still alive, and they won't make that mistake again."

This lecture is nothing new. Yang has brought this up many times. HR has been warning Sharpe how his idealism would result in this.

"I understand, sir," Sharpe said. "I won't make that mistake again."

"Good," Yang said. He then places his hand on Sharpe's shoulder. "For the record, you did well. The only right decision in the situation is to protect your unit. Nothing good would have come to surrender."

"I know, sir, not the first time I was in that situation," Sharpe replied.

"Do you need to talk about it? I know it was not easy to shoot a civilian."

Sharpe reflects on that moment. "I am ok, sir."

Yang nods. "I understand. Well done, dismissed."