You Sure?

The legend of the Viltrumites made the word "run" surface in every soldier's mind.

But their identity as soldiers compelled them to hold their ground.

If even the soldiers ran, then who would protect the emperor and ministers inside the Imperial Palace?

Sparta watched these alien soldiers with great interest.

Their bodies were entirely brown, each hand had only four fingers, and most striking of all, their enormous mouthparts took up nearly half their faces.

So ugly. This kind of ugliness perfectly matched his mental image of aliens.

"Put down your weapons! I order you to put down your weapons!"

The Big-Mouth Emperor emerged, supported by attendants on both sides, with a crowd of ministers following behind him.

The first thing he did upon arriving outside the Imperial Palace was berate the soldiers who had aimed their weapons at them.

The soldiers looked at one another. Not daring to disobey, they all lowered their weapons.

Seeing everyone put down their weapons, the Big-Mouth Emperor respectfully looked toward Jayce, who stood at the front of the group.

"Honored Viltrumite warrior, the soldiers had no intention of offending you. Please do not take offense."

"May I ask why you have come this time...?"

Jayce looked at the groveling emperor below and said coldly, "Naturally, to invite the Big-Mouth Kingdom to join the Viltrumite Empire."

The Big-Mouth Emperor froze on the spot, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

Join the Viltrumite Empire? That sounded nice enough, but wasn't it simply turning Big Mouth Star into a colony?

Though he was extremely unwilling, refusing would likely bring even worse consequences.

Even so, he still wanted to try bargaining.

"Could you... allow me to refuse?"

The ministers all looked at the emperor in disbelief.

Refuse? Did a tiny weak nation like theirs even have the right to refuse?

What surprised them even more was that Jayce agreed without changing his expression.

"Refuse? Of course you have that right."

"I will report it truthfully. As for what happens afterward... good luck."

Jayce gave the Big-Mouth Emperor a long, meaningful look.

The Big-Mouth Emperor felt a chill run down his back under that gaze, yet he still forced out a stiff smile. "Th-thank you very much."

Jayce did not respond. Instead, he turned to Sparta and the others. "Let's go."

He suddenly accelerated and vanished from midair in an instant, leaving only a powerful hurricane spreading outward from where he had been.

Countless Big-Mouthians were blown off their feet by the hurricane. The Big-Mouth Emperor staggered back two steps, lost his balance, and fell onto the ground.

Sparta followed after him. Compared to the others, his method was relatively gentle.

With the ministers' support, the Big-Mouth Emperor rose from the ground.

He stared in the direction Sparta and the others had left, growing increasingly uneasy.

The accusations from the ministers beside him intensified that unease.

"Your Majesty! How foolish!"

"Your Majesty, Viltrumites are savage by nature. They definitely won't spare us!"

"Foolish ruler, foolish ruler! What are we supposed to do now?!"

"Big Mouth Star is finished!"

"If we submit voluntarily now, will it still be of any use?"

"..."

Listening to the voices around him, the Big-Mouth Emperor opened his mouth but said nothing.

The Viltrumites were indeed terrifying, but the ministers' words were like sharp thorns continuously piercing his heart, making him feel utterly chilled.

The Viltrumites were clearly the invaders, yet these ministers did not even have the courage to resist.

The Big-Mouth Emperor silently walked into the palace, with no intention whatsoever of paying attention to these cowardly ministers.

Elsewhere, Jayce led Sparta and the others to land atop a mountain.

He fiddled with his wristband and truthfully reported Big Mouth Star's current situation to his superiors.

"Everyone, wait where you are. Further orders from headquarters will arrive soon."

The wind struck Sparta's face, tossing his short hair into disarray.

He naturally knew Big Mouth Star's fate. There were only two possibilities.

The first was destruction; the second was submission.

There was also a third possibility: his superiors' kindhearted personalities might take over and spare Big Mouth Star.

But that possibility was even smaller than Sparta becoming the Viltrumite Emperor tomorrow.

"What? Does our diligent Sparta seem to have something on his mind?"

Hearing Clayton's voice, Sparta withdrew his gaze from Big Mouth Star's capital and coldly glanced at Clayton from the corner of his eye.

"Shut up. It has nothing to do with you."

Clayton curled his lips into a cold, contemptuous smile. "I'm concerned about you. After all, we're comrades."

Sparta did not answer. The conflict between the two had not begun just yesterday.

Ever since they entered Recruit Company, Clayton had never shown Sparta a pleasant face. Of course, Sparta had treated him the same way.

Neither could stand the other.

And Sparta's silence only made Clayton even more furious.

He placed his right hand on Sparta's shoulder and said angrily, "I'm talking to you—"

Sparta abruptly turned around and drove an elbow into Clayton's face.

Clayton was sent flying a hundred meters away. He used his flight ability to hover in midair, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

He wiped away the blood with his hand, then spat, ejecting the remaining blood from his mouth.

Clayton glared fixedly at Sparta on the mountaintop, fury burning in his heart.

"Don't touch me with your hand."

Sparta showed no fear. He raised his head and met Clayton's gaze, even as Clayton looked ready to explode at any second.

In the natural world, eye contact represented a signal of provocation and battle.

"You're courting death!"

Clayton roared and charged down from the air at Sparta with his fist raised.

Sparta raised his left hand to catch Clayton's fist, then slapped Clayton across the other cheek with his right hand.

The previously aggressive Clayton was slapped back to where he had started.

That single exchange revealed the gap in strength between them.

Everyone turned to look, including Jayce.

However, he was reporting to his superiors and had no time to concern himself with what was happening between Sparta and Clayton.

"I told you, don't touch me with your hand."

Sparta's face remained cold, but there was not a trace of anger in his voice, because Clayton was not worth it.

But in Clayton's eyes, it was nothing less than naked contempt.

"I'll kill you! I'll definitely kill you!!"

Clayton's eyes turned bloodshot as he gritted his teeth.

Looking at Clayton, who was about to lose his reason, Sparta's expression remained unchanged.

He merely clenched his fists, turned slightly sideways, stepped back half a pace with his right foot, and assumed the Viltrumite Stance.

"You sure?"

Even when faced with a death threat, his voice remained as calm as ever.

"Aaaahhh!!"

Clayton completely snapped and launched an attack on Sparta with a furious roar.

Sparta flew into the sky and raised his fist to meet him.

Their fists collided, and the force of the impact swept outward in every direction.

Clayton was driven back more than ten steps in midair. Before he could react, Sparta had already charged in front of him.

Sparta's right fist slammed into Clayton's face.

Blood sprayed from Clayton's nostrils as he was simultaneously sent flying a thousand meters away.

His body smashed through the peak of another mountain, yet he did not stop flying backward.

Only after being sent several more thousand meters did he barely manage to stabilize himself.