I was lying on my bed and felt beaten up. The Dark Empire was, sadly, one of my priority problems. I needed to learn more about it and what kind of hero worked for them but, more importantly, what kind of technology they possessed. There was no time for half-measures while the bulk of my army was involved against Vestargo. I have to build an early warning system and make sure that my allies are protected as well. While the Northern Wilderness was many times smaller than the Ancient Forest, it was still as big as Iceleon and Ebrus combined. However, the lack of people might have been a reason why no Dungeon formed there. All discovered artefacts and pieces of the wrecks were diligently stored in the vast spatial cargo hold of HMS Victory and the ship was ready to return home. However, they had to finish mapping the area and make absolutely sure they hadn't missed anything important. I sighed as I stared at the ceiling. I needed thousands more people. Arcadia wasn't ready to wage war on more fronts. No matter how good my forces were, the area they had to cover was simply too vast. A saving grace was Teleportation and Dungeon Jumping but, even then, my forces couldn't be everywhere at the same time.

The Dark Empire... An ancient enemy that came from another continent, conquered the entirety of Aderon, and mysteriously disappeared. They were somewhere out there, only God knew what they were doing or planning. I needed a reliable defence and a way to raise the morale of my allies. I planned to build a network of radar stations connected to the Dungeons under my control. My plan was pretty simple- detect any enemy long before they could harm us. The long-range radar system should detect anyone approaching the shores of Aderon. If we determined they are hostile, I will asked them politely, once, to fuck off and then I would use my missiles to destroy them. Sensible strategy, if you ask me. Thankfully, they were not at my doorstep, yet... However, preparing for their arrival was the only thing that I could do for now. They might be more challenging to fight than the remnants of the Empire of Balantica or even Vestargo.

I closed my eyes and focused on Galahad...

•••

The front line was slowly stabilising which was a reason to be worried. Galahad wasn't sure how long it would take Vestargo to gather enough of his bugs and force Arcadians into a defence. With O'llina's Dungeon south of the cleared zone, Galahad's eyes watched north. They needed a second anchor point before Vestargo tried to counterattack. There has to be a Dungeon somewhere up there.

"Galahad." He felt his Lord's voice inside his head.

"My Emperor." He responded immediately and closed his eyes.

"You seemed troubled. What is the matter?" A question came like a faraway whisper and yet he clearly heard it.

"I was thinking about our next move." He replied. "As we secured the Starfall Fortress Dungeon we have to move our forces once again. I wanted to move north and, hopefully, find another Dungeon. If we manage to secure it, we will be able to entrench the line between the Dungeons, making a safe position to withdraw to in case of a major counterattack."

"It's a good plan. But you are not certain about this course of action."

"Indeed..." Galahad nodded solemnly. "We could try to raid the Ancient Forest along its southern border and try to find a Dungeon somewhere there. Vestargo is inactive in that area and, while we don't know why, we could take advantage of that."

"Hmmm... We can use the ships of the Third Fleet to harass Vestargo in the south while the First Fleet began their intrusions in the north." It wasn't a question but a decision. Galahad smiled seeing the simplicity of that plan. Wherever the next Dungeon was found, there would be main forces that would strike. "The main army will remain in the Starfall Fortress until we find a worthy target to loose our soldiers on. However, be ready to deploy immediately once our forces find a Dungeon, you might be on the move or teleported right into the middle of hell."

"Yes, my Lord!" Galahad opened his eyes and smiled.

Galahad felt the entire chain of orders issued by his Lord and nodded. They continued their assault while preserving their ground forces.

•••

She ran.

Somehow she managed to break from the village and, since then, she had been running. But, while no one from the other villagers followed her, she knew that something was chasing her.

Masters...

She knew that the other people in the village wouldn't understand why she ran. She barely understood it either but she somehow knew that being taken by the Masters would be a death sentence. Her older sister was taken and never returned. But... A few weeks after her sister was taken, she had a terrible nightmare. She saw her sister's Master violate her and enclose her in a small, dark place after she died. Since then, it was as if she moved from a dream into a nightmare. She stopped seeing the Masters as her benevolent protectors but the evil that they were.

Monsters.

Monsters who took her sister. The only person who cared about her. Her sister was special. She had dreams that always happened. She always forbade her from talking about her power - it was dangerous. She felt tears welling in her eyes. The Monsters took her and she was gone. Killed in such a horrible way. Now... Now, she started having the dreams.

So she ran.

The low-hanging branches and dense shrubs slowed her down as she was fleeing through the forest. They were painful as they hit her legs and arms as she forced her way, leaving bruises and painful cuts. Her bare feet were bleeding but she had to run. She had to run before the Monsters started looking for her. If they caught her, she would certainly die the same, horrible death as her poor sister.

No... Her sister was murdered.

She felt something strange. A smell she had never smelled before. It was heavy and suffocating. Then, as she still ran ahead she was hit by smoke.

A forest fire!

She stopped in dread. Only once had she seen the forest on fire. Long ago... She knew that the Monsters would fight it. But... They should already be here. She trembled in fear. What should she do?

Run!

Only death could save her from the punishment the Monsters would inflict upon her for running away, so she forced herself to sprint once again. But... Vestargo's Forest was vast and covered the entire world, if the people in her village were right. If that were true, she might be able to hide somewhere. She could find enough food in the forest and drink water from the rivers. If she were lucky, she could find a good spot for a shelter. If only she managed to lose her pursuers, she might have a chance. She wasn't feeling the heat of the flames so the fire must have been put out. If she managed to cross the burned land, her scent should mix with the ashes and she might gain precious time to run even further away. Her optimistic plans were interrupted as she, suddenly, ran out of the Forest.

She stumbled and fell to the ground as the bright sun blinded her. For the first time in her life, she was in open space, without the dense foliage of the Forest over her head. For the first time in her life, she felt the wind. Her sister told her about the wind and the vast blue sky, higher than the highest trees in the Forest. She trembled as she felt something soft nearby. In panic, she forced her eyes open and almost screamed. Hundreds of Masters... No, they were Monsters, lying dead around her. She couldn't understand what she was witnessing but suddenly, a large shadow blocked the sun. She looked up, afraid the Monsters had found her but her heart skipped a beat in terror. It wasn't a winged Monster, but something even more terrifying.

A large beast made of a grey material and flying high in the sky. Behind her, she heard a commotion and, in horror, she noticed a pair of Monsters who must have followed her. She mustered her strength and darted forward, pushing off the ground. If they caught her, she would die... Something heavy slammed into the ground and she heard the wet and gruesome sound of flesh tearing apart. A punishment well known... She closed her eyes and ran. As fast as she could but she collided with something and almost lost her breath. She curled in fear, knowing that she was going to die. She covered her head and sealed her lips. She wouldn't beg for forgiveness. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction. They were merciless. She awaited the pain but it never came. She opened one of her eyes and risked a careful glance. Maybe she could still run?

But no... She was surrounded by new Monsters she had never seen before. They were tall and covered in black armour with silver and blue edges. She had never seen those clan colours before. But... They almost looked like her people. They had way too few legs and were too tall to be the Masters. The next thing she noticed was they had killed her pursuers. The still wriggling bodies of beings that could freely decide her fate made her smile. The two were pinned to the ground by the huge weapons of the mysterious, new Monsters gathered around her. One of them was standing above her with his hand extended and she felt strange. Strange but good. Her body stopped aching and she felt her wounds closing as the pain faded away. Other Monsters turned their back on her and she didn't know what to think. Suddenly, she was covered by something warm and soft.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"She's fine, Sir." The one who previously had his hand extended said softly. His voice was calm and strangely melodic. "No viral infection, just a few bruises and cuts. But she is exhausted."

"All right. Let's get back to the ship."

•••

"What is your name?" A stunningly beautiful woman asked her.

She was bathed, fed, and obtained things called clothes. Surprisingly, she wasn't afraid. However, the questions they asked were hard and she sometimes couldn't understand them.

"I don't know what you mean." She lowered her head in fear.

"What did the other people call you?" The woman asked patiently.

She desperately looked at the woman, but couldn't comprehend the idea. The woman sighed but smiled encouragingly.

"Private Henry." She nearly shouted, still looking at her, but one of the men behind her straightened.

"Yes, Ma'am?" He replied immediately, and she wondered how he knew that the woman had asked him.

"Private Quar." She did the same, and the second one of them repeated what the first did.

"Yes, Ma'am?"

The woman waved her hand dismissively and they relaxed. "My name is Admiral Janet A'net Sparrow of the Arcadian Royal Navy. Are you telling me that you and your people don't have names?"

"No..." She slowly shook her head. "No one in my village had a name."

"Gods..." She covered her face and heavily exhaled. After she rubbed her face, the woman looked at her once more. "Why were you naked when our soldiers found you?"

"Naked?" She was more and more confused about the questions and concepts those strange people had.

"You had no clothes or anything to cover your feet." The Admiral asked with the same patience as previously. She pointed at the material covering her body.

"I never saw anything like that before. No one wears... As you call them clothes in my village." She answered timidly, uncertain if she had done something wrong.

"Don't be afraid of us. You are safe." Janet smiled.

"You killed Masters..." She whispered and felt a cold sweat covering her back. "No one kills them. No one has ever managed to hurt them..."

"We have killed them by the hundreds and thousands at a time. We are at war with them. They are not your masters. They are insects." Janet A'net Sparrow said with a shrug. "We are not afraid of Vespids because that's their true name. We are at war with their master, Vestargo."

"You are fighting with the God?!" She trembled in fear and instinctively covered her head.

"He isn't a god." The Admiral shook her head. "He is a Dungeon Core and, right now, you are beyond his reach. He and his despicable minions can't hurt you."

She panicked. No matter what they were claiming, they couldn't fight a God! She took nervous breaths and wondered what punishment would fall on them all once God Vestargo, inevitably, caught them.

"How long were you running? Do you know how to reach your village? How many people lived in your village?" Admiral Sparrow asked with a soft voice.

"I have been running since before dawn." She replied. "I... I don't know if I can find my way back."

"That will be three, maybe four kilometres. Damn close either way..." The Admiral rubbed her chin. "How many people live in your village?"

"Many... I couldn't count them all. Much more than twelve times twelve times twelve." She answered, and seeing the woman's expression, she lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry I can't help you."

"Don't worry about that. You helped us enough. We will take you away from here. Many weeks of travel time away from the borders of the forest-"

"But the Holy Forest covers the entire world!" She burst out aloud and covered her mouth. She lowered her head in fear. "I'm so sorry! Please, don't punish me!"

"No one is going to punish you for things like that. You are an abused victim, a slave. We want to help you, not hurt you. The Ancient Forest is vast but not borderless." Janet's voice was calm and encouraging. "I promise that we will help you and save your people."

She hesitated. "They won't listen to you. They will try to run from you."

"We assumed that much. Fortunately, we don't plan to give them a chance." Janet said. "But we will take them away from Vestargo."

"You promise?" She dared a faint hope. The people of her village were the closest thing to family. She knew many of them.

"Yes. We are here to destroy Vestargo. It's our duty to save any and all people he enslaved. Private Henry and Private Quar will take you to the med bay and, after that, they will escort you to your quarters." She looked at one of the tall men who smiled at her.

"Thank you..." She desperately clung to the promise of that strange woman.

For the first time in her life, she felt hope...

•••

"Well... Fuck." The Emperor's voice sounded before his illusion appeared in the interrogation room.

"Indeed, my Lord." Janet snapped to attention, but he dismissed her with an impatient wave of his hand.

"Do you have any preliminary scans?" He asked as he looked at something in his office.

"A very faint trace. We are en route to the location." She responded briefly as she opened the door and moved towards the bridge. "My battlegroup is following me, my Lord. We should reach the signal origin in ten minutes."

"We have to rescue those people, Janet. They are brainwashed and I can't imagine what they have suffered so far..."

"We will do everything we can to help them." She hesitated. "But the bugs..."

"They won't just let them go. If you decide that it's easier and safer to teleport the entire village, don't hesitate, Janet. This might be our single chance to save any people at all." He said calmly as his illusion floated nearby her.

"I understand." Janet nodded as she entered the bridge. "Status?"

"While our systems don't see anything, the Mobile Infantry Pathfinders are certain that we are close. They are tracking the girl's footsteps." The first officer reported as she snapped to attention.

"They are down there?" She asked with a serious expression, watching the radar image of the area.

"Yes, Ma'am." The first officer replied calmly. "The news about the nameless girl and how the bugs treated their slaves like animals quickly spread among the crew. Marines took it personally."

"Contact! Contact! Contact!" The sensor officer raised the alarm. "A large swarm is closing in on our direction but not directly at us! I believe they are heading towards the village, Ma'am!"

"All ships, fire at will!" Janet ordered, awakening the weapon systems of her battleship.

She watched in growing, helpless anger as a swarm was heading somewhere nearby. If they rushed forward to intercept the bugs, they could miss the village or even lose the Pathfinders, who might get caught in an ambush. She wanted to help Vestargo's slaves, but the bugs could as well try to bait them away from their target. She clenched her hands on the armrests of her command throne. The Emperor was watching in silence on the side...

"We found the village, Ma'am!" The sensor officer shouted again. "It's almost right under us!"

"How big is it?!"

"A few thousand people. We can't be sure because something is jamming our radar, but there are at least five thousand people! It's a small city, Ma'am."

"Get us as close to the tree line as it's safely possible and spread the teleportation field. Mark everything below us and teleport us to..."

"Near the Crystal Forest Dungeon." The Emperor decided. "I'll transfer you the exact coordinates now."

Janet just nodded. There was no option to evacuate so many people in such a short time while chasing off the bugs.

"The field is stable! The mana capacitors are charging! ETA 15 minutes!" The jump drive officer immediately reported.

"All ships! Hold the line." Janet ordered and watched the bugs realise that Arcadians weren't going to chase after them.

The accompanying destroyers opened calibrated fire on the bug's swarm. Janet watched the clock but the seconds slowed down. The bugs weren't a threat to her battlegroup, not so few of them, anyway. But they weren't aiming at her ships but right at the slave city below. It was a close jump but the volume to teleport was huge. She felt the massive recoil of the main battery firing relentlessly and the melodic staccato of the secondary guns. The entire hull of Dauntless was ringing and trembling.

"Fragmentation missiles, cells fifty to sixty-one, fire!" She ordered once she realised that too many bugs might breach the blockade.

The unmistakable clang of the opening of VLS cells echoed despite the punishing recoil and roar of magic cannons. The midsection of Dauntless was covered in white smoke when the small and fast missiles, four from each cell, sped and fanned out towards the swarm. They detonated with perfect accuracy, shredding hundreds of bugs and forcing the survivors to dodge and change their direction. The bugs had to sharply turn or risk being shredded by the suppressive fire of six destroyers who barred the way towards the village. Janet looked at the clock and smirked as the jump drive officer began the final countdown.

"Five... Four... Three... Two... One... Jump!"

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