There was no need to wonder. Michael was 99% sure that the Lord, who had come and slain the two other Lords, was in some way connected to the Immortal Legion.

After all, what were the chances that only members of their faction would be chosen for the three cities? They had certainly arranged things ahead of time.

'Back then Isaac did imply that there had been things moving behind the scenes. With the capture of Neptune in my prior life, they hadn't been able to deploy them. But now with me changing the course of history, they get the green light.' Michael chuckled.

While it did have the potential to hinder his plans, it wasn't a lost cause.

'Actually… this could play in my favor in the future…' He mused, a smile spreading across his face. With several plans coming to mind.

The rulers of the city had judged that a day to let the soldiers rest had been enough.

"Get into formation. We are going back!" Grandmaster Alice relayed the order of Azure's Lord.

It would be foolish to leave the city with lowered defenses for long.

Upon the ride to Azure, Michael was busy theorizing.

The Overlord, whom he had killed, certainly had allies in Neptune. Evidenced by the system's still active quest. Sadly, unless these beings decided to show themselves, it would be highly impossible to locate them.

Michael had ensured to cause as much pain to the Overlord as possible. Yet at the end the alien refused to give information about its allies, as if something prevented it from speaking.

When they reached Azure, the Lord called certain members of the army.

Aside from Michael's crew, there were several other soldiers, some of them being of the Grandmaster realm.

"Do you know what you all have in common?" The Lord asked behind the veil of darkness.

Since no one answered the hypothetical question, he filled them in.

"Evidenced by your performances in Celestia's liberation, you are the most capable units of the city."

Proud expressions were etched on the faces of the soldiers. A Lord's praise held a lot of weight.

"As such, I give you an opportunity." The Lord continued. "While we humans control a certain portion of the planet, there are… Spots that we have no access to. No settlements or train tracks of any kind."

Naturally, they knew what the Lord was talking about.

'The dark side of Neptune.'

It wasn't dark because the sun never shone there. No, it was dark because whatever and whoever dared to venture inside. Regardless of their realm or if they were coming from space... would perish.

Metal, flesh, or any kind of material would be eaten in less than a day.

Goosebumps began to spread over the backs of the soldiers guessing what their ruler was about to suggest.

Michael, meanwhile, remained unfazed.

Apart from the Etrox, the aliens capable of mimicking human appearances, and the unfortunate races they enslaved and sent into battle, there were other troublesome alien species that had devoted themselves to conquering the universe… And actually had a shot at achieving their goal.

'Ro'trah.' Michael's eyes darkened.

'Honestly, not knowing if whoever I am speaking to is a human or a doppelganger sounds better than facing these annoying creatures.'

In his prior life these were the beings that caused him the most headache. Since their way of living and thinking was fundamentally different from humans.

"You mean…" Grandmaster Noah exclaimed, eyes going wide.

"The swarm." The Lord finished his subordinate's words.

"First you hear their piercing buzzing. Then the sky turns black, obscured behind the billions of little monsters. You fight fearlessly, giving everything you have. Yet at the end it proves meaningless, with every one killed a hundred take its place. Once your strength to resist disappears… Your skin, bones, and even hair would be devoured. By the end no one will know you were ever there."

Fortunately, the swarm hadn't tried to venture across the whole planet yet. The gas giant was too massive, and if the swarm were to thin out in numbers in an attempt to capture it all, it would only weaken them.

The Lord wasn't surprised by the troops' hesitation. "I know most of you fear them and don't want to fight the creatures. However, the key to getting the planet under our rule is to get rid of them… Preferably before they reproduce to trillions in number."

Of course, everyone knew that fighting against the swarm was inevitable. But facing creatures who operated as a unified force, with unpredictable thinking patterns, was essentially a suicide mission.

"I am not forcing you to depart there… But keep in mind, the spiritual energy in Neptune's dark side is potent. Enough to benefit even me... Not to mention the large amounts of monetary value you will receive if you agree."

The reason the Lord was giving them this chance was because he stood to benefit if his troops could break through the ever-starving swarm, earning him more political leverage.

Michael calculated the costs and risks. He was destined to face them sooner or later. If he agreed now, he would acquire a lot of money… Enough to pay for his father's treatment and to give his family a lavish lifestyle for their entire lives.

'And the spiritual energy will be a nice bonus. It should prove enough to boost me into the Master realm and Victoria, Claire, and Richard into Grandmasters…'

"Whoever wants to go, step forward. The others may forget we ever spoke of this." Azure's Lord declared.

"..."

The soldiers exchanged uneasy glances. Some were willing to risk their lives for humanity's future but felt reluctant to be the first to step forward.

Making sure that his teammates were on board, Michael peeked at them individually.

They all nodded in unison.

Witnessing their eagerness, he couldn't help but chuckle.

For the best chances of victory, a person needed to know his foe.

'There is only one swarm. Everything that does not become part of the swarm becomes its food.' He mused, recalling the Ro'trah's motto.

Nonchalantly he proceeded to step forward.

It's good that Michael knew the aliens well.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.