While Ys was busy arguing with the Aegis sentinels, the elevator doors opened, and one of the girls from Talon stepped out. "Gentlemen, please put your weapons down. The leader has requested the guest come to his office."

    As soon as she said that, the Thunderblades mercs lowered their weapons, though they kept a close eye on the Aegis and Ys, ready to fire at any moment if something went wrong.

    "Heh, I can go alone. We don’t need those toys over there coming along," Ys said, floating toward the elevator and pointing at the Aegis Sentinels.

    ["Negative, we have our orders from the Emperor. We won’t let a princess of another race interfere in our mission. Step aside,"] one of the Aegis Sentinels said, walking toward the elevator.

    In the end, they all crammed into the elevator, still arguing with each other. The poor girl from Talon had to endure their bickering all the way to the top floor. When the doors finally opened, Ys was the first to step out, followed closely by the Aegis Sentineels.

    Ys glanced around, taking in the surroundings, while the Aegis Sentinels stood still, waiting for their target to appear. It didn’t take long before Talon emerged from his room.

    "Welcome, my guests. To what do I owe the honor of your presence?" Talon said, spreading his arms wide. One of the Aegis Sentinels stepped forward, stopping a few meters from Talon and projecting a screen in front of him.

    ["Establishing contact with the Empress. Please stand by."] In a matter of seconds, Cleo appeared on the screen. Talon was stunned; he had never seen someone so beautiful, especially with such exotic white wings.

    With a lustful grin, Talon gave a small bow. "Well, well, well. Who do we have here? What could such a beautiful lady want from someone like me?" Cleo’s face showed clear disgust, while Ys couldn’t hold back a mocking laugh.

    Ignoring them both, Cleo began to speak. "Greetings, Talon, leader of the Thunderblades mercs. A few days ago, one of my agents accepted a mission from you. The one about eradicating a local bug hive."

    Talon hesitated at first, not remembering any mission like that. Then it hit him, the noble with the white wings, just like the woman on the screen. A cold sweat ran down his forehead.

    Stumbling over his words, he replied, "I don’t recall giving out any mission like that. Are you sure it was with me, dear noble?" Now that Talon realized who he was speaking with, he became submissive. This wasn’t just any noble on the screen.

    If anyone could command nobles, it would be someone of a higher rank or even a direct descendant of a CEO from one of the megacorps. That was far worse than dealing with an ordinary noble.

    The plasma shots tore through the mercs quickly, though some managed to take cover in time. A few returned fire, but it was useless; all the bullets were blocked by the energy shield surrounding the Aegis unit.

    Seeing the enemies taking cover, the Aegis unit deployed small drones from its back. These drones had something like a ball attached to them, and once they locked onto a target, a laser beam shot out.

    Now, the mercs had nowhere to hide, and within seconds it was all over. No one was spared. It was a complete massacre, carried out by the cold, unfeeling hands of machines.

    Once the task was done, the Aegis unit stood by, its plasma cannons still charged and ready to fire at any moment. As it waited, another Aegis unit emerged from the elevator, and after a few more minutes, the last one came out as well. All of them were undamaged.

    The last Aegis unit to step out was covered in blood of various colors and some organic material. It looked like the mercs in their rooms had tried to fight it in melee combat, only to end up painting the unit with their blood.

    After a few more minutes, Ys finally appeared. She had returned to her humanoid form and was carrying something in her arms. Since the Aegis units had orders to wait for her and bring her back once the mission was complete, they remained in the area.

    As soon as they spotted her, one of the Aegis units walked toward her and said, "Khryssari princess, our Empress told us to give you a message for the Emperor: Return now and stop playing."

    "Hehe, so my husband misses me already? Okay! Let’s go! Lead the way, can head!" she said, floating happily toward the exit. Once everyone was out, the Aegis units recalled their jamming drones and moved toward the exit, running at incredible speed.

    They took the slum route to avoid drawing too much attention and causing further problems. When they reached the city entrance, the guards let them pass without question, though a few stole glances at the Aegis unit still covered in blood. None of them dared to say anything.

    Several hours later, they finally arrived at the underground city. The Aegis units went straight to the ship to resupply as their batteries were nearly depleted. Meanwhile, Ys deactivated her invisible mode and began searching for Rex, only to be stopped by Cleo.

    "Where do you think you’re going with an unidentified creature?" Cleo asked, eyeing the object in Ys’s arms.

    Ys stopped and looked down at the egg she was carrying. "Oh, this? Hehe, don’t worry. I know what it is, so it’s not an unidentified creature."

    She then showed the egg to Cleo. "This is a..."