Taking shelter in one of the buildings, the soldiers tended to their wounds.

"This went far worse than I expected." Grandmaster Noah groaned as he pressed his hands against the wounds on his chest.

"At least the queen is dead." Alice muttered in dejection. No one had expected there to be hidden aliens capable of taking human appearance collaborating with the queen and her swarm.

Despite fighting the aliens for an ungodly amount of time, humanity didn't have much information about them.

Sure, there were cases where aliens collaborated with each other in order to defeat the common human threat, but these moments were few and far between. Most of the time the different alien races hated each other.

The fact that they had encountered an exception to the rule was a testament to their bad luck.

"Look from the positive side! We did the impossible and managed to liberate the city!" Enzo exclaimed in hope to keep the mood up.

"We did…" Bryce sighed, his eyes heavy with exhaustion and regret. "But many died in the process."

Originally there had been thirty soldiers, fifteen from Azure City and another fifteen from Vespera City.

Yet now in the building where they were taking shelter, their numbers were halved.

"Michael and Richard should be able to save a few more at least!" Ava reasoned.

It wasn't hard to figure out why the two hadn't joined them yet. They were too busy rescuing every fallen soldier they came across.

"Are you really that delusional?" Master Karson sneered, glancing at Ava.

"Okay, I admit it! The reason we are still alive is because he was able to redistribute the troops to keep the Generals at bay while the Grandmasters took care of the queen!"

The Master's voice dripped with mockery.

"But he completely overestimated his own abilities! He challenged a General with the support of just one Master! That alone should've been his downfall. And even if your words about seeing him weren't a lie, it wouldn't have mattered! He became an alien's snack long ago!"

The reason for Karson's harsh words wasn't just his arrogance. It was also his way of trying to vent his emotions.

"Accept it! Your precious Michael is dead and is never coming back!"

Ava instantly became enraged. She hit the side of a nearby table, effortlessly turning it into rubble.

"You old sack of shit!" She roared, not giving a damn that the man was in the Master realm while she was still in the Expert realm. By her eyes it was clear she was ready to gut the man right here and now.

"Keep your emotions in control."

Arriving in time to stop Ava's outburst, Victoria gently laid her hand on her shoulder.

"Don't blame Karson." Victoria said softly. "He's just a pathetic, weak-minded man who can't control himself and takes out his anger on others."

Victoria's grip was tight. She too was frustrated about how Michael was being ridiculed. However, she stopped herself from striking the man on the spot.

The last thing they needed right now was infighting.

"You are right." Ava took a deep breath, bowed to Victoria in appreciation, and sat on the ground to calm herself. Since there was nothing more to do but wait, she was going to take advantage of the moment and cultivate.

'Now you are going to pretend that you can calm down in such circumstances? Pathetic.' Karson sneered internally.

"Karson."

Still lost in his rage, the man was caught off guard by Grandmaster Stephen's threatening tone.

"W—What is it?" Karson stuttered, seeing the man's angry expression.

"I can overlook a lot, but I won't stand for anyone badmouthing the man we owe our lives to." Stephen declared, before hitting Karson square in the face.

Crack!

The sound of a nose breaking echoed in the silent room. The Master went unconscious and collapsed on the ground.

"Please forgive the words of my subordinate." Stephen apologized with a deep bow. "He let his anger get the best of him and took it out on you. I'll make sure he's disciplined for his mistake."

Even if these soldiers had decided to stop following the orders of their Lords, that didn't mean they would start acting like outlaws. Regardless of the circumstance, they were determined to follow the military order until the very end.

Victoria acknowledged the Grandmaster's apology with a nod as she too settled to cultivate.

'Michael is fine.' She told herself, her eyes closing.

The minutes came and flew by faster than expected. Before anyone realized, several hours had passed.

After what felt like an eternity, the irritating sound of the alien's buzzing had faded in their background, bringing an eerie silence.

The entire time, not a single soldier had come to take shelter in the building they currently were in.

"They must have taken shelter in another building!" Ava was certain of that fact.

Once they confirmed that no threat was nearby, the soldiers went outside, getting ready for battle if necessary.

"..."

Nobody knew what to say. The destruction outside was palpable, vehicles reduced to scrap, entire buildings vanished, devoured by the relentless swarm. It was nothing short of a miracle that the hive hadn't targeted the shelter where the soldiers had taken refuge. If it had, there would've been no chance for survival.

Of course, it wasn't truly a miracle. Michael had intentionally led them to take shelter in a building he knew had a low chance of being targeted, thanks to its location.

Swiftly, the soldiers scanned for bodies of any fallen comrades, yet none of the sort were in sight.

The few soldiers that had fallen outside had their bodies eaten by the numerous aliens. The only indication of them ever being there was the blood-stained ground where they had once lain.

"Michael, can you hear me?!" Ava shouted at the top of her lungs, eager to confirm his safety.

Not getting an answer, the unit spread out in order to assess the damage.

Soon a ragged voice drifted into their ears.

"You know, Boss… From the moment I started following you until now. I haven't regretted my choice even once. You really know where the fun is." Richard said with struggle.

"Stop talking like you are about to die. If you were weak, I wouldn't have permitted you to follow me." Michael chuckled.

"HAHAHA! True!"

Recognizing the voices of Michael and Richard, the soldiers followed the source, impatient to see their comrades and if they had managed to save somebody.

It didn't take long to find them…

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