'An impossible quest indeed.' With a dry chuckle, Michael gathered his faction. As their leader, it would be better to deliver them the news.

Since Ava was an Expert like him, only Amelia, Leo, and Enzo were left in the dark.

"..."

After he was done explaining the situation, he awaited their judgment. While he could use his status as their leader to try and force them to go liberate Neptune with him, he wasn't planning to.

'I know the fear of losing your family. I won't force anyone to stay with me.'

Thanks to Victoria, he knew his family was in capable hands; the status of the Golden Vanguard was proof enough of that. Their arrogance always meant that they would finish their job until the very end, no matter the cost.

"My siblings are all in the military." Amelia was the first one to speak. "There isn't anyone waiting for me on Earth, so I choose to go with you guys."

"Mine are long dead." Leo shrugged. "I am freer than a feather. Nothing is tying me down anywhere."

The only one left was Enzo. He was obviously in deep debate, staring at the ground, not meeting the glances of his teammates.

"If you want to go back, I will not stop you." Michael reassured, calming him down.

"... I have a little brother at home. Truthfully, the only reason I want to get strong is to protect him and to get enough credits to give him an easy life."

Just when the others thought that Enzo was going to go back, his eyes began to burn with fierce determination.

"If I have learned one thing while being here, it's that humanity is unbeatable! I am certain that the stationed forces as well as the ones that will arrive there will keep the invaders at bay!"

He took a deep breath before shouting.

"So I will come with you guys! I am tired of playing on the defense. It's time we took back the whole solar system!"

With a nod of approval, Michael gazed at Ava, wondering if she was planning on going back.

'What are you looking at me like that for? You know I will be staying with you!" She pouted cutely.

"Sure you are." He giggled, patting her on the head, causing her to beam.

Now that they confirmed that their faction would remain whole, they met up with Victoria before going to speak with Evelyn.

"It's chaos." Michael shook his head in displeasure. With the news that the four inner planets were going to be targeted, the soldiers were running like headless chickens, the majority of them in search of their superiors, about to demand to be sent back even if their paycheck took a massive hit.

"What do you mean that the Master is gone?!"

"I tell you, he must have gone back to Earth the second the news broke out!"

Michael couldn't blame the common soldiers; most of them were still at the Apprentice realm. Feeling like they were small fish in a large ocean would drive anyone anxious.

As expected, when they reached Evelyn's office, the place was crawling with personnel.

Evelyn was in the middle of the fray. With so many soldiers having to be moved, it was a logistical nightmare.

Even worse, the orders were for most of Triton's forces to be moved back to Earth, leaving the moon with minimal operating personnel. Even if a few didn't want to go back, they didn't have much choice in the matter.

"Give me a few minutes until I sort it out." She called out upon seeing Victoria.

"I am sorry, but we are not going back." Victoria said, and due to the commanding nature of her voice, it cut through the chatter like butter.

"We don't really have a choice." One of the Masters sighed in dejection; he had enjoyed being stationed here, but all nice things must pass.

"Wrong, the order is directed to the troops that were stationed to wait." She clarified.

"You mean—"

"Those in an active war zone or about to go towards one are exempted from the order."

The surroundings immediately silenced. Everyone was well aware that there was only one active war zone near Triton… Neptune.

'At least I managed to prepare myself and my faction for the place.' Michael sighed, looking on the positive side.

Funnily enough, while the line to be sent back to Earth was hundreds of meters long, there wasn't one yet created with Neptune as its destination.

Evelyn looked at Michael and his team with eyes of gratitude before appointing someone to fill out the paperwork.

To deal with the influx of people, most of the spaceships were going to travel to Earth. As for Neptune, the base could only lead a single one.

"I wonder how we would fare in the gas giant?" Ava mumbled, staring at the big blue ball in the sky.

Surprisingly, they weren't going to be traveling alone; some of the common soldiers made the choice to go towards Neptune despite knowing the risks associated with it.

Coincident or not, most of them had been the ones taught by Victoria.

Even better, a few Experts and Masters mirrored their resolve, fearing humanity falling into the aliens' grasp, and made the decision to come.

"Fancy meeting you here." Roy greeted them with a smile; he too would be departing towards Neptune.

Several days later, the logistics had been dealt with, and the spaceships began to be boarded by the personnel getting ready to depart.

"I will have to deal with the people here before making a choice." Evelyn sighed; even if she wanted to, as a leader, she couldn't leave her base and depart for Neptune.

'A pity, a Grandmaster would have been helpful.' Michael didn't argue, hoping she would come later when the right time came.

'Would Bryce and Claire come to us as well? They still must be at Heavenly Pact, requesting forces to aid the rebellion of the planet.' He mused.

Hoping that they would eventually meet at the frontline, he took a step forward and boarded the massive spaceship.

It was time to depart towards Neptune.

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