A sigh slipped past his lips as he watched most of the army of Earth vanish among the distant dunes of red sand. Even Isaac, riding atop his newly resurrected worm—well, half of it—couldn’t be seen anymore. This was it, the consequence of his decision. There was no going back now.

  As much as James wanted to be a part of the main force, he just couldn’t go with them. Not when his sisters were waiting back at the Safe Zone. The girls had already lost so much. Their father. Their mother. Friends…

  He wouldn’t make them endure another loss. And if that meant staying behind during the very raid he had helped organize, so be it. Sure, he was strong, stronger than the average Host on Earth—that was the reason he came this far in the first place.

  But what would happen next…

  James couldn’t be a part of that. Fighting monsters they understood was one thing, especially with hundreds of Hosts at his side. Facing Zerians, on the other hand? No one could predict the outcome of that battle, but he could easily imagine the chaos during it.

  All it would take was one mistake—a single blade piercing his defenses. He would die, and his sisters would be left with only their uncle in this world. That simply couldn’t happen.

  So James stayed back.

  Worst of all? His friends understood. He had seen it on their faces, heard it in their words. It should have made him feel better.

  Only it didn’t. Hell, if anything, it hurt more. He was leaving some of the most important people in his life during the critical part of the war.

  Still, he couldn’t change his decision. Wouldn’t change it.

  What a mess, James thought, running a hand through his hair. I’m a mess…

  For a brief moment, he just stood there, eyes on the red desert. Then, arms wrapped around his torso, a warm body pressing against his back. He smiled faintly, recognizing the touch right away.

  Ari.

  Like him, she had stayed behind, though for different reasons. As she had told them all once, she wasn’t made for war. And even if she were, her current power level made her more of a burden than a help in a battle between Hosts. Managing the Oasis and helping prepare the raid hadn’t left her much time to grow stronger.

  Not that she seemed to mind. She was more than content being a Safe Zone leader and part-time healer.

  “Hey,” she muttered close to his ear. “You okay?”

  He let out a soft laugh. “Yeah… I think so.”

  Ari hummed. “They will be all right. You know that, right?”

  Of course he did. Or, at the very least, that was what he told himself over and over. He still worried, though. Still felt guilty about leaving them. But it was his choice, and he had to live with it.

  “They got a solid plan,” Ari continued when he didn’t say anything. “Plenty of strong people. Three Pioneers. The power they wield…” She shuddered lightly. “It’s scary. And then there’s—“

  “Isaac,” James finished.

  She hugged him tighter. “Yeah, Isaac… Trust him. Trust our friends. They can do this. They will come back.”

  His smile widened, if only slightly. As always, Ari was right. Many would probably die in the coming days, but they would win. And his friends would return, safe and sound. They had to.

  “Right,” he muttered, turning around and wrapping his arms around her in return. “Shall we then, my lady Ari? Can’t let Isaac and the others have all the fun, hmm?”

  She grinned, pecked his lips, and stepped back.

  “Come on, big guy. Catch me if you can.”

  James laughed and sprinted after her, though not without casting one last look toward the desert. Even if he and Ari wouldn’t be fighting any Zerians, there were still countless monsters waiting for them in the jungles of Forgotten Wilds. That was the mission for those who stayed behind.

  To hunt monsters until they could hunt no more.

  After all, every single point mattered.

  Good luck, guys.

  It took an entire day of uninterrupted trek across the desert to reach the edge of the next yellow territory. It could have been faster, but not everyone handled the scorching heat as well as Isaac and a few others.

  As such, some stops had to be made. The alternative was arriving in enemy territory exhausted and unable to fight. Obviously, that wasn’t an option.

  Still, even with a little less than six days left in the war, Isaac wasn’t worried. Most of the journey was behind them, and now all they had to do was push forward until they ran into the Zerians Rakin had warned him about.

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  For now, however, the lands ahead were as empty of aliens as they could be. Not that it surprised anyone. There was simply no way the Zerians would choose to face the human army here.

  Why?

  Isaac could list three obvious reasons.

  One, even if the Zerians knew they were coming, they had no clue where they would emerge after crossing the desert. The Battleworld was simply too massive to coordinate that kind of interception in a few days.

  Two, while the yellow territory didn’t house the strongest monsters on the Battleworld, they were still a threat. Fighting an army of Hosts that included three Pioneers here just sounded like a stupid idea.

  And finally, three.

  Isaac’s sandworm.

  Despite a full day passing, the resurrected beast was still under his control. The drain on his Viron grew with time, sure, but it was nowhere near close to what he expected from a monster almost two-thirds the size of the original.

  Either his Genesis somehow let him control the Worldeater without paying the proper price… or he had grown so much stronger in the past few days that his old limits no longer applied. To find out which was true, he had pounced on the first beast he spotted the moment the army reached the border of the desert.

  And, surprise surprise, a random wasp-beetle mutant required twice as much Viron from him as the worm after a day. A little disappointing, but Isaac didn’t let it get to him. He still had the Worldeater, after all.

  Either way, now that the army had reached the end of the desert, it was time for another short break. Afterward, the third and final phase of the raid would begin.

  The invasion.

  Isaac pulled ahead of the army, the aura of Cursed Draw enveloping his feathered body. Thin shields of blood materialized in front of him, each shattering the moment a lightning bolt struck it. Still, they served their purpose, giving him an opening.

  The small cluster of Storm Elementals tried to scatter. Too late. He was already upon them.

  The first two died the moment he dove straight through their bodies. Three more detonated when orbs of blood erupted within them.

  That just left two.

  Isaac exhaled, swung his wings, and released twin arcs of crimson. To no surprise, the elementals were far too slow to dodge.

  So weak, he thought, turning toward the army he had left behind.

  They were steadily making progress, carving through the yellow territory without pause. His puppet led the way, slithering across the jungle like a snake and crushing everything in its path—trees, monsters, rocks, it didn’t matter. Even without its sand manipulation or all of its original teeth, its weight alone made the beast unstoppable. The fact that it could still burrow only made it more terrifying.

  Don’t stop, Isaac ordered, just as he caught a glimpse of another transformed Host vanishing into a Warp Portal. The rift snapped shut a heartbeat later.

  This was another part of the third phase, although one that they had adjusted after Isaac’s recent meeting with Rakin.

  At first, the entire phase revolved around pushing as deep into enemy territory as possible, with only a handful of Hosts invading Reprizem through the portals. Now though, with the Zerians flooding the Battleworld, Isaac and the others had decided to send more than just a few people.

  Would it weaken the human army a bit?

  Yes.

  Would it cause even more chaos on Reprizem and force some Zerians to retreat?

  Hopefully also yes.

  The obvious choice would have been for Isaac to invade, too. He disagreed. As much chaos as he could wreck on Reprizem, it was nothing compared to the damage he could cause by staying on the Battleworld and helping the army advance.

  Sure, another million points would be nice, but cutting the Zerians off from the Battleworld entirely would be even better. And that didn’t include all the points he could rack up by killing them here.

  Hence, his decision to stay.

  Now, if only the Zerians could finally show themselves.

  Hopefully soon, Isaac thought, checking the map again. We’re getting close.

  By the time the army reached the green zone that housed the Zerian Safe Zone, the atmosphere had grown even more tense. Despite the monsters no longer being a problem, the aliens themselves had finally made an appearance.

  For now, they only observed from far, far away, using their Legacies. But the fact remained, they were getting closer—closer to the fight that would most likely decide the fate of both worlds.

  Unless, of course, the Zerians chose to retreat and never enter the Battleworld again.

  As if that’s ever going to happen, Isaac scoffed. They do that, and they give us a free win. They must know that.

  He didn’t believe for a moment it would be that easy. The Zerians had to be preparing something, he was sure of it. The Colonel, among a few others, shared his worries too.

  And the old man is right. We need to do something about it.

  Isaac glanced at the Worldeater lying motionless a few dozen feet away, then at the small group composed of his fellow Pioneers, Elaine, and several other leaders. Unsurprisingly, they were still arguing over what to do next. Staying here on the border of the enemy's yellow and green territories forever wasn’t an option.

  He sighed.

  “All right, that’s enough!” he cut in, shutting the argument down. Small perks of being the strongest around. “I have an idea. It’s risky, though.”

  Isaac expected Elaine and Carmela to jump in. But the one-armed Colonel’s raised hand stopped them both.

  “Please elaborate, Mr. Walker,” the old man said. “I think risky is exactly what we need right now.”

  Isaac nodded his thanks and laid out his plan. By the end, a few people looked less than thrilled, but at least no one objected. A good sign.

  “I vote in favor,” Harry announced, his gaze flickering between Isaac and Carmela. “It will require a decent bit of my power, but my Dreams tell me it shall be worth it.”

  Not everyone seemed convinced, but again, no objections.

  Carmela stepped forward. “Then that’s what we’re doing.” She glanced at the Colonel and one other person. “Mr. Williams, Elaine, you two are in charge while we’re gone. If anything happens, message us immediately.”

  While the Colonel just nodded, Elaine looked like she had swallowed a lemon. Isaac had to smother a laugh. For someone who had helped organize this whole raid, the woman avoided leadership roles even more than he did.

  Have fun. He grinned at her and flashed a thumbs-up. Her glare only made his grin widen. That was the end of this exchange, though.

  At Carmela’s nod, he and Harry followed her to the massacred head of his puppet. There, Isaac met the other man’s eyes and drew a deep breath.

  Let’s get to work.

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