The Spider Queen

(Gayorn Star Cluster- Atlax Region)

(Planet Rocrn- Ruins Of The Capitol City)

Hell.

That was the only word Duke Peterlor could use to describe what he was seeing. The entire battlefield was littered with corpses of both allies and enemies alike.

So much blood soaked the ground that even the dirt itself had begun to smell of the faint coppery scent.

The duke placed his sword back into his sheath as his dark eyes swept the battlefield one more time for any survivors.

It was an act that many would consider useless since the senses of a god stage cultivator meant that no living organism would be able to escape from his grasp.

Still… using his own eyes to assess the situation was a habit that was not easily unlearned especially considering that it had kept him alive more times than he could count.

The duke let out a heavy sigh of exhaustion as he felt a throbbing sensation in his temples. He had been pushing himself over the last few days.

Being forced to go from battlefield to battlefield.

Slaughtering all the invading Insectoid soldiers and personally dealing with their generals.

The current war between the Insectoid Empire and the Federation in this region of space was going badly.

The Imperial Army commander in charge of the defenses here was nothing more than idiot barely fit to serve much less lead men into battle.

A fat pig-like bastard only concerned about earning his family honour. As if honour would ever bring back the lives of dead soldiers.

A useless notion.

That is what honour was in war.

Duke Peterlor thrust his sword forward and easily penetrated the heart of a small worm-like Insectoid that was pretending to be dead.

In war… only one side could win.

The Federation could not afford to lose.

Especially with so many greedy interstellar factions waiting to see even the slightest hint of weakness.

Bleep! Bleep!

The duke's wrist communicator rang, and he glanced down to see a summoning message from central command ordering him to return to the base.

Duke Peterlor frowned slightly and then his body vanished from the spot. He crossed over two hundred kilometres a second as space itself warped around his body.

God stage cultivators could not be judged by common sense.

If a qi body cultivator was a wooden spear, then a god stage cultivator was a tactical nuke.

Rokan slashed forward using his sword and the space around his blade rippled slightly and formed a portal.

He stepped inside without hesitation and found himself standing at the back of a crowded room where hundreds of officers stood at attention.

"Ahh! Duke Peterlor! Thank you for your timely return," a sniveling nasal sounding voice came from the man sitting down on a chair.

He wore a military uniform like the rest of the officers, but his uniform was covered in head to toe with bright and shiny medals.

The man shifted his body slightly so that the medals on his uniform were prominently displayed to everyone in the room.

"Commander Solomon. The situation on Planet Rocrn has been dealt with," Duke Peterlor opened his mouth and spoke in a deep somber tone.

"There were heavy losses and none of the Imperial Army soldiers survived the initial onslaught of the Insectoid forces."

"I was able to kill all of the invaders however it is only a matter of time before reinforcements arrive."

The commander clapped his hands together almost like a child and just like that a heavy applause echoed through the room.

"I know you would be able to do it!" Commander Solomon gleefully spoke as he mentally went over what he planned to write in his report to the higher ups.

Duke Peterlor's performance on the battlefield had been impressive but the true credit should go to the man who sent him there in the first place.

The duke knew what the commander was thinking since it did not take a genius to figure out what was clearly written on his face.

He was probably scheming and thinking of how to get another medal.

Useless pieces of metal adorning an utterly useless man.

Duke Peterlor wanted nothing more than to approach the commander and strangle him to death but resisted the violent thoughts in his mind.

He was no longer a member of the Imperial Army.

He was merely a noble fulfilling his obligation to the empire and then he would be returning home.

The battlefield was no longer where he wanted to be. Especially now that he had someone that he wanted to protect.

Well… two people.

Duke Peterlor stared off into the distance as the commander's continual praises of his performance went in one ear and out of the other.

His dreams had been preoccupied lately with the images of a beautiful woman who was very familiar.

A woman who was not even a human but was the mother of his child.

Thai'lle.

The duke's hand slowly drifted to his chest where below his clothes was a faint pink mark that had been branded on his skin almost like a tattoo.

"Wonderful! Now Claire… why don't you send the duke the details about his next mission?" Commander Solomon's voice broke Rokan out of his train of thought.

"Yes sir!" a plainly dressed woman wearing a long white cloak walked up to the duke and handed him a metalloid tablet.

Her face flushed bright red as she saw the handsome duke gently take the tablet from her hand and smile at her.

Duke Peterlor was the ultimate bachelor.

Even the fact that he had a daughter did little to deter both commoner and noble women alike.

He was the youngest cultivator in the history of the Federation to reach the god stage and that fact alone had many parties interested in him.

It helped that there were no bad rumors or even hints of romantic affairs involving the duke so the women who liked him knew that he would be a faithful man.

Duke Peterlor did not notice the affectionate look in the female officer's eyes since he was reading the contents written down on the tablet.

There was a brief moment of silence as the duke finished reading and gave the tablet back to the officer.

"Commander Solomon… are you sure that this is my mission?" Duke Peterlor asked coldly as the temperature in the room plummeted.

A heavy pressure descended on the commander sitting in the chair and he shivered uncontrollably as he met the duke's eyes.

It was like he was staring into the eyes of a beast.

"Yes… yes… I… I… this… is a mission… directly from my superiors…" Commander Solomon managed to stutter out as his eyes rolled back in his head.

He fainted in the chair and his body slowly slid down from the seat until he landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

One could hear a pin drop in the conference room as no one dared to risk the duke's wrath.

Rokan glanced at the body of the commander on the ground and his eyebrows slowly furrowed.

He slashed his sword in front of him a new portal opened up leading to a location in the far eastern part of the sector.

His new mission… was a death trap.