High in the sky, a white mecha took advantage of the calm atmosphere as it hovered stealthily.

"Visual confirmation." Claire reported.

Since the White Angel was revered for her mecha piloting skills, the troops had judged her the most worthy to scout the area ahead.

Considering that they were up against a Lord, they had to be extra cautious to remain undetected.

What she was now looking at was a giant mountain. Specifically, her attention was focused on one of the cave entrances. It was to be believed that the enemy Lord was taking refuge there.

"Anything that catches your attention?" Michael asked over the radio.

"I am too far away to say with certainty." Claire exclaimed. "Other than faint traces of footsteps in the snow, there is nothing more."

"Good job, Sunshine. Now get back!" Bryce said in a demanding tone. Unsurprisingly, he had been against the idea of sending Claire on a scouting mission, yet with no better alternative, there was no other choice.

"I don't get why we are doing this." Enzo admitted, letting out a sigh.

"It's hard to believe Azure's ruler and his claim about where the enemy is... Think about it, why would the Lord that attacked his brethren hide in the middle of Neptune's dark side, so close to the lingering swarms? Wouldn't it be wiser to flee the planet?"

From the Expert's point of view, this whole thing was pointless. The only reason he was here was because Michael wanted to come, and as his rival, Enzo was naturally going to follow.

"Stop thinking about the Lords as normal beings." Evelyn said. "Even now, after reaching the Grandmaster realm, I feel like a child standing before them. The Lords are simply beyond our comprehension."

Grandmaster Alice nodded in agreement. "That is true. Don't try to make sense of their actions lest you go mad."

Michael eavesdropped on the conversation. Seemingly everybody was in agreement that no matter from which angle they looked at things, things weren't adding up.

'Clearing some things might help them.' He mused, it would be wiser to inform the unit of the thought process of their foes. Plus, he felt bad about keeping them in the dark.

"Really?" His calm voice instantly caught their attention. "If you ask me, it makes sense."

"Oh?" Grandmaster Noah arched an eyebrow.

"A Master, believes he has figured out the thought process of the Lords? Please enlighten us." There was no trace of mocking in the Grandmaster's tone, as he was genuinely intrigued by what Michael was going to say.

"While this war is hell from the point of view of the normal soldiers, for the Lords this is a race. One toward the very top."

Noting the confused expressions on the soldiers' faces, Michael elaborated.

"Although we managed to liberate Celestia City, we lost the lives of three Lords. Curiously enough, their replacements were chosen quickly and were all members of the Immortal Legion faction."

Grandmaster Stephen frowned. "So you are telling me that the Immortal Legion orchestrated the assassination ordeal?"

Michael nodded somberly. "Correct. In addition, these three Lords are going to be part of the campaign toward Neptune's dark side. If we count the hidden Lord, then the Immortal Legion has four Lords stationed here."

A flicker of excitement and understanding passed over Richard's eyes, yet he didn't interrupt.

"I believe this is more than a simple battle against the aliens. It's a conflict among the Lords themselves. Four agents of the Immortal Legion are pitted against other Lords with far less backing. As for their goal, it's quite simple. We know the queen of the largest swarm is, at the very least, an Overlord… Possibly even something greater. When the battle concludes, aside from the alien corpses, there would undoubtedly be numerous fallen Lords as well."

After a brief pause, he added.

"Whoever survives the exchange would have access to an unfathomable amount of spiritual energy… Perhaps enough to propel them to the next realm."

Not everybody knew what was beyond a Lord. However, those that did felt their spine turn cold.

While a cultivator of the Lord realm was already a menace, one capable of tearing cities apart at will, what lay beyond was another matter entirely.

King… An existence whose power could bring entire planets under their wrath.

Unsurprisingly, their numbers were few, for even a single one was enough to tip the balance of power among humanity's ranks forever.

If Michael's theory was true, then by the end of the battle, humanity would never be the same.

"Is that why they tried to pit us against each other?" Stephen asked with gritted teeth.

In response, Michael sighed. "Yes, it would be beneficial for our Lord if we eliminated the enemy's most capable units. If you look at things from that angle, suddenly everything makes sense."

"..."

The realization that they never mattered to begin with hit the troops so hard that they weren't able to utter a single word.

Of course there was the slim chance that Michael was completely wrong and the goal of the Lords was vastly different, yet the more they thought about it, the more believable his theory seemed.

In silence they headed toward the mountain where they believed the enemy Lord was taking refuge. In order to remain undetected, they went to the opposite side. Fortunately the mountain was big, so nobody would be able to spot their presence.

As the soldiers settled in its depths, deep in thought, Richard approached Michael.

"Boss!" He greeted him cheerfully like usual. "You are a piece of work, you know that? Since when did you realize their scheme?"

Michael shrugged. "I had my suspicions from the very beginning. The more time I spent here, the more I saw and heard, the more it confirmed my theory."

Richard's smile widened.

"But that's not all… Is it, Boss?" Richard guessed that his Boss had a scheme of his own.

"To an extent." Michael said, gazing over the horizon.

"If things continued as they were, a King would soon arise. However, such a title is not defined by strength alone. It also demands virtue and the will to do what is right. And after witnessing the millions of lives the Lords have already sacrificed and the millions more they intend to offer up, they have proven themselves unworthy to bear it."

Richard nodded thoughtfully. "I agree. It would be better if such people don't get their hands on more power. But what are we supposed to do?"

"Simple, we deal with them the same way we deal with any threat to humanity." Michael chuckled darkly.

"Exterminate them."

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