The Battle Queen Came Back with Her Husbands (Joanna) novel Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Betrayed

Chapter 1 Betrayed

“Joanna, what are you making a fuss about?”

The tall man in front of her frowned, impatience written all over his sharp features.

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His eyes drifted away, and a trace of guilt flashed across his face, though it was hard to notice.

He lowered his voice and said, “You just need to stay with Kayden for one month. That’s all. He’ll give us a Silver–tier gear in return. We need it for the Crucible. Try to see the bigger picture.”

The Crucible. In the interstellar world, everyone had to go through it before turning eighteen. It decided which academy they’d end up in, kind of like how high school seniors on Earth apply to college.

And he was asking her to trade herself for it.

Joanna Lane almost laughed. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

What kind of person could say something so shameless?

Oh, so I already ruined my image for their tiny benefits, and now he wants me to be generous too.

Do they really think I’m a silly pushover?

And Crucible is important to them, but it’s just as important to me!

That was because Joanna wasn’t originally from this world. She came from the distant Varuna Galaxy and carried a fully mature soul.

Joanna was reborn into the interstellar age. To expand quickly through space, humanity forced everyone to take combat classes and needed huge population growth. Clones could not bind their souls to the Space Alliance system, so the Alliance paid subsidies to encourage women to give birth, and being single was illegal.

If Joanna failed the Crucible, with her talent, she would likely be treated as a breeding tool by powerful figures.

Interstellar humans lived very long lives. Joanna could be forced to give birth until she was 120 years old and had as many as 100 children.

Joanna herself was her mother’s 98th child.

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Chapter 1 Betrayed

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For someone born in the 21st century who believed firmly in staying single and child–free, this was the cruelest curse imaginable,

So, she became an overachiever.

In Grade 10, Joanna awakened as a Summoner and unlocked an S–rank talent. For every monster she killed, she gained 0.01 affinity points.

She was thrilled and believed she would become a powerful Summoner, since affinity points also affected how well contract beasts bonded with their masters.

But she soon learned that being a Summoner cost an insane amount of money. Even the weakest summoning circle for a contract beast cost at least 100,000 Starcoins.

Joanna took out student loans to summon a contract beast, but she failed.

She failed several more times after that, and her debt only kept growing.

With no other choice, she worked desperately at part–time jobs.

At the same time, for the sake of the Crucible, she had to train as a Summoner without a beast. She learned combat skills, defense skills, and healing skills to make up for her weakness and avoid dragging the team down.

She never expected that just before the Crucible, team leader Lucas Harper would ask her to sacrifice herself to a rich kid named Kayden Wright, all to trade for a Silver–tier piece of gear.

Her gaze

shifted to the rest of the team.

There was Cedric Hex, the Pyro mage, Bruce Morris, the shadow assassin, and Neil Sullivan, a

pastor.

“Do you all think the same way?”

Joanna’s eyes were like sharp blades, forcing them to look away.

Cedric was the first to break. He sighed and said, “Joanna, you should understand us too. You’re a Summoner who can’t summon a contract beast. For all these years, being in our top team has already given you huge benefits.

“The Crucible is the most important selection for us. We don’t want to miss this chance, so we can only ask you to leave. We’ve already chosen an S–rank swordsman, Rhoda Wenric, as our teammate. With her, we’re sure to get into a top college.

“And we didn’t abandon you either. We transferred you to Kayden’s team. He said you’d handle

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logistics there. You’d just take care of food, clothing, and daily needs. Isn’t that what you’re good at? Why can’t you do it now?”

“You believe whatever he says?” Joanna shot back. “And besides, I’m a combat class. Why should I go do logistics?”

Being logistics staff also meant having children.

What’s more, Kayden was a complete jerk and had always had bad intentions toward Joanna. If she were transferred to his team, it was obvious she would only be taken advantage of.

“So, you have to respect yourself. You must not let Kayden touch you, or I won’t be able to keep liking you,” Neil said gently, but his words were more terrifying than a demon’s.

Joanna found it ridiculous.

“Like me? But you’re pushing the girl you like into someone else’s arms?”

Joanna’s heart ached.

She would rather lose this so–called “like“, because what she wanted was respect.

Three years.

Three years of effort, three years of giving her all.

She was sold out by these ungrateful people.

Three years like that, and with anyone with even a shred of decency, it wouldn’t have ended this way.

Now there was only one person left.

Joanna looked at Bruce.

“Bruce, were you in on this too?”

Among the four of them, Bruce had always had the weakest presence, yet he was the one Joanna took the most care of.

This time, he didn’t stay silent.

“Kayden is offering a Silver–tier dagger. That’s extremely important to me!”

Haha.

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Chapter 1 Betrayed

So that’s what this is about!

Joanna felt like crying.

“You’re all heartless.

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“Lucas, three years ago, when we first entered a dungeon, you were the frontliner but couldn’t hold back the monsters at all. You were as green as a rookie.

“It was me. I ranked first in combat practice and weapon skills, yet I took on the defense role and held the line with you. I saved you countless times!

“Cedric, you abandoned a teammate right before the exam, kicked me out, already found a replacement, and still talk like you’re completely justified.

“Yes, I’m just a Summoner, but in your eyes, am I nothing more than logistics?

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