Oliver froze for several seconds. He had been so certain that he would finally get a taste of the woman that was meant to be his that he wasn’t prepared for what to say if she refused.
"You..." That confusion quickly turned to fury, his face burning red. "A bitch like you dares to defy me?! Do you not care how you tarnished the image of the Golden Vanguard?!"
Seeing where Oliver was going Michael quickly butted in. "Your threat was pretty severe. If she was part of the Bloody Rose, the faction famous for only recruiting women, you would have been beheaded on the spot."
"No one is talking to you, commoner!" Oliver retorted.
"What did you just call my Michael?!" Ava, who had stayed passive until now, felt ready to beat Oliver’s face to a pulp. Since she was now of the same realm as him, there was no doubt in her mind that she could outskill him.
The other members of the Indomitable Alliance also became agitated. They weren’t willing to look the other way when their leader was being insulted right in front of their faces.
"This commoner you speak of has surpassed you in every conceivable metric. I wonder what that makes you?" However, before the situation could get any worse, Victoria’s remark calmed them down.
"Tch. I got my hopes up for no reason. It seems that the fool has much more to learn." Isaac murmured, stepping forward. As things stood, Oliver was going to lose even more face, and that couldn’t be allowed to happen.
"Your way of refusal will be noted. Now, Victoria, kindly leave our base’s perimeter before we are forced to take drastic measures."
Glancing at Bryce, Isaac added. "Of course that also holds true for all members of the Heavenly Pact."
Since Heavenly Pact was assisting Victoria’s base under Bryce’s orders, it wasn’t surprising to see that they wanted them gone as well.
"Fuck this, I am out!"
"If this is how they treat our general, then I am not going to follow the Immortal Legion!"
Surprisingly, some of the captains displayed their loyalty for Victoria, not willing to follow others’ rule.
"If you don’t want to follow us, then don’t. We have no use for disobeyed pawns." Nathan sneered. It was needless to say that the Immortal Legion had unlimited resources. They could easily replace every captain in the base.
What they were really after was the patch of land itself. With it they would have much easier access to Neptune. Getting Victoria to submit to Oliver would have been a nice bonus, but it wasn’t the main reason for coming here.
Since base #85 was one of the smallest ones. It would be much easier to change its leadership with little to no resistance.
Left with no choice Victoria retreated. She wouldn’t go against strict orders. Not to mention that she was a mere Master. She was powerless against two Grandmasters.
"Wait for us." Michael said out loud, following after her. He wasn’t about to be under the command of people considering him an enemy. Naturally the members of his faction followed suit.
"Ah, no matter how old I get, it seems politics never gets pleasant." Bryce mumbled. He could have gone to the quarters of his faction but decided to follow Victoria for the time being.
"Do all retired people have as much free time as you?" Claire joked. She had seen the whole entourage but didn’t comment. Their faction, Heavenly Pact, wouldn’t benefit from getting on Immortal Legion’s bad side.
Getting their belongings in a timely manner, they quickly left the base behind. Michael didn’t feel any regret. He had managed to keep most of the soldiers alive and become much more powerful in the process. His goal had been achieved.
"I guess I can request aid for the time being." Victoria quickly called Roy to hear how things were on his end.
"I was sacked as well. Not that I complained. If it wasn’t for Captain Michael... My whole army would have perished. Since then I have lost the spark of a leader."
Their options were thinning, and this was certainly not good. Getting to Neptune with such little preparation was risky. Yet going to a planet completely under humanity’s control to wait for their repositing would slow down their rate of growth too much.
"What about Evelyn? Doesn’t she technically own us for coming to help her army with the alien command ship?" Michael suggested.
With nothing else to lose, Victoria called her next.
"WHAT?! They demoted you? Ah... how the mighty higher-ups have fallen." Evelyn’s hologram shook her head in displeasure. She knew very well Victoria’s sense of loyalty and leadership, so the revelation shocked her to the very core.
"Did you suffer the same fate?"
Evelyn chuckled. "Like they could demote the general of the strongest base so easily. I am still in command."
After a second she added, "How about it? My base will always welcome people with your skills into our ranks!"
Victoria looked at the people with her for their opinion.
"We can only benefit from joining the strongest base." Michael shrugged.
"Wherever he goes, I go." Ava immediately replied.
Leo, Enzo, and Amelia seemed to have the same opinion.
"That sounds fun!" Bryce laughed joyfully, stroking his overgrown beard.
"Old people really are just like kids..." Claire shook her head. "Whatever, let’s go."
With the decision made, they made their way to Base #1 once again. Since there were less than a dozen people this time, the journey would be much shorter.
Meanwhile at Base #85, the news that Victoria had been demoted did not pass on well. But with two Grandmasters present, even the most hot-headed individuals bowed their heads in submission.
"She spat on my hand! The audacity of this bitch! Just wait, I will make you regret this day for the rest of your life!" Oliver was still fuming about the disdain he had been shown.
"You don’t handle rejection very well. HAHAHA!" Isaac laughed out loud, amused by the man’s emotional immaturity.
"You talk like this only because no one has treated you this way!" Oliver retorted. Only to quickly become silent, seeing Isaac’s expression turn cold.
Frightened, Oliver left. With a sigh, Isaac turned to the beautiful woman next to him.
"Any luck finding Michael’s family, Chloe?"
She shook her head. "At some point I got close, but then I felt a threatening pressure protecting them. I fear probing further, so I recalled my agents."
Isaac didn’t seem surprised by the news.
"No matter." He chuckled darkly, eyes settling on Neptune.
"Soon nothing will matter."