I Betrayed the Empire

"The war had only just begun, and ten people had already been reduced to just the five of us."

"With only five lives, how long could we survive on the battlefield? What kind of waves could we possibly make?"

"Relax. The five of us aren't enough to draw the Empire's attention. The higher-ups won't know."

Jayce lightly shook his head. Seeing Sparta's hesitation, he spoke up to explain.

In this war, their chances of surviving were infinitely close to zero, while their chances of ending up in military court were only fifty percent.

Since both choices carried the possibility of death, why not take a gamble?

"To be honest, aside from your appearance and strength, you really don't seem like a Viltrumite."

Sparta leaned back against the bench and turned to look at the red flowers planted beside him, now blooming brilliantly.

Other Viltrumites would have gladly offered their lives to the Viltrumite Empire, yet Jayce alone had thoughts of his own—thoughts of how to stay alive.

Sure enough, as long as the numbers were large enough, there would always be people who did not fit their era.

A group of good people could contain bad people, and a group of bad people could contain good people.

Though the odds were small, such people truly existed.

Jayce set down his empty lunchbox, wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and raised an eyebrow as he asked:

"Do you think you yourself resemble a Viltrumite?"

His words stunned Sparta. For a moment, he did not know how to answer and could only fall silent.

Jayce continued:

"During our first mission, did you think I hadn't noticed the Big Mouth Star civilians hiding away?"

"You have a kinder heart than I do. You show mercy to unarmed aliens, and Luke's death saddened you."

"In our squad, Clayton is the only truly qualified Viltrumite."

"Though he's a little weaker, a true Viltrumite warrior should be like him."

"If someone like you can exist, then why can't there be one more person like me?"

Sparta still lowered his head without speaking, because everything Jayce had said was true.

Maybe he was a little lustful, maybe he liked causing trouble, maybe he had all sorts of flaws, big and small.

But his heart could never be as cold and ruthless as that of other Viltrumites.

Kindness occupied most of his personality. He was emotional, contradictory, and complicated.

Jayce also fell silent. Neither of them spoke again, simply enjoying this rare moment of relaxation.

An alien couple walked past them hand in hand, chatting and laughing with sweet smiles on their faces.

An alien mother carried her sleeping child in her arms, softly humming a lullaby as she left the park.

Several alien children chased one another past them from time to time, then ran back again.

The temperature was pleasant, and the atmosphere was warm.

After some time had passed, Jayce looked at Sparta and finally opened his mouth.

"Didn't you ask before whether I was really a Viltrumite?"

Hearing that, Sparta immediately perked up. His eyes gleamed, and his ears twitched as he prepared himself for what came next.

Hmm... now he was interested!

Rather than speaking immediately, Jayce scanned the surroundings to make sure no one else would overhear what he was about to say.

Especially the other three recruits.

Once he had confirmed it was safe, Jayce cleared his throat and dropped a bombshell like a meteor crashing into the earth:

"I betrayed the Empire."

Sparta froze, then leaned his head back. An expression of Are you kidding me? appeared on his face.

"?"

You were just going to casually tell him that you had betrayed the Viltrumite Empire?

How much faith did you have in yourself to do something like that?

"That's right. I'm telling the truth."

Seeing Sparta's disbelief, Jayce immediately gave him a definite answer.

Sparta stroked his chin and nodded lightly.

"And then?"

Jayce took a deep breath, raised his head slightly, and looked toward the sky as if he had fallen into memory.

"This happened twenty-six years ago."

"Back then, I was like everyone else: violent, cold-blooded, loyal to the Empire. I was nothing like the gentle, peaceful person I am now."

"But after one mission, my life changed completely."

"At the time, I was carrying out one of the Empire's conquest missions as usual. I killed many members of their species, and my hands were stained with their blood."

"On that planet, I encountered an alien woman."

At that point, Jayce paused. The corners of his mouth curled upward, his face full of sweetness and happiness.

"She changed me."

"Even after learning that I was a Viltrumite and that I had killed many people, she was still willing to approach me."

The smile vanished from Jayce's face, replaced by guilt and regret.

"I was furious, because she wasn't afraid."

"I enjoyed their terrified screams before death. I enjoyed watching them kneel and beg for mercy."

"So... I didn't kill her. I simply took her to another city and made her watch her comrades die at my hands."

"I wanted to see her afraid."

Sparta listened quietly at the side, his gaze toward Jayce growing stranger and stranger.

Wasn't Jayce just an enlarged version of Clayton?

Especially the part about enjoying other people's fear and their desperate pleas for mercy.

Who would have thought this old man, Jayce, had once been like that? Compared to who he was now, it was like heaven and earth.

Jayce did not notice Sparta's strange look and continued on his own:

"To my surprise, she still wasn't afraid. In all my centuries of life, it was the first time I had encountered something so novel."

"So I thought, this alien woman is interesting. I should save her for last before killing her."

At that moment, Sparta raised his right arm like a student in class.

"Um, can I ask something? What did that alien woman look like?"

Jayce glanced at Sparta and answered without the slightest hesitation:

"My wife? Uh..."

He sat there with his mouth open, clearly realizing he had blurted out something huge.

"Oh—your wife?"

Sparta deliberately drew out his voice, a teasing grin appearing on his face as he stared at Jayce with ill intent.

"Cough."

Jayce coughed lightly. Red spread from his cheeks to the tips of his ears, his face as red as a ripe apple.

He composed himself and continued:

"My wife... has four limbs and can stand and walk. She has sharp claws, fur covering her body, two pointed ears on top of her head, and a fluffy tail."

Oh~ so she was a furry.

Wait! What the hell?

Sparta rose from the bench and, under Jayce's puzzled gaze, looked him up and down before circling around him for a closer inspection.

Well, damn.

Who would have thought that you, a five-hundred-year-old man with those thick brows and big eyes, were secretly a furry lover hiding among us!

Terrifying indeed.