“You have ordered the death of Ted Dustin,” she said, “but in so doing you have pronounced the doom of Peilong and certified your own death warrant. When my army has finished with Peilong and with you, the dynasty of the P’an-kus will have ended forever. My grandfather made the mistake of granting your father freedom, and I am paying for his error, but the warriors of Ultu will take full vengeance.” P’an-ku rose, and laughed sneeringly. “Your army will not long survive your lover,” he said. “As for Ultu, a hundred of my globes left their hangars long before your clumsy attack on Peilong commenced, with commands to either capture or destroy the city. With their superior weapons and armament they cannot fail. “You are hopelessly beaten, O Princess, yet I am not the savage and relentless victor you seem to think me. True, I am a conqueror, and conquerors must be ruthless with their enemies. In the conquest of Ma Gong I have only begun to extend my domination. Next will come Du Gong, then Lu Gong, and finally all the inhabited and inhabitable planets that circle the great Lord Sun. I will be the greatest conqueror of all time—not merely a conqueror of nations, but a conqueror of worlds. “But with all this, I have a kind and generous heart. I could take vengeance on you, order your torture and death, or make you my slave, yet so magnanimously am I disposed toward you that I offer you the honor of becoming my queen—of ruling with me, the mightiest empire that has ever come under the control of one man.” “And thus,” replied Maza, scornfully, “heap insult upon injury. Give me death—by torture if you will, in preference to that.” “You speak hastily,” said P’an-ku, apparently unperturbed, “and in the heat of anger. Like most women you are temperamental. But I do not demand your answer now. You shall have time to think it over. And in the meantime, I have something to show you that will make you forget the relatively insignificant conquest of your people. Come with me and I will show you, even at this moment, the beginning of my conquest of a world.” He signed to the two guards, who closed in on each side of the Princess once more. She was then compelled to follow P’an-ku out of the throne room and down a hallway which led to a large, bullet-shaped elevator. Into this they stepped, and were shot swiftly upward. XXI. EARTH’S OFFENSIVE With Bevans at the helm and Roger Sanders in command, the mighty interplanetary battleship which was the child of Ted Dustin’s fertile brain, took off from Chicago just four days after Roger’s radio conversation with Maza, and one day before his appointment with her in Peilong. Buildings, housetops and thorofares were packed with millions of people with every conceivable eye-aid from opera glasses to telescopes, tensely awaiting the departure of the “Luna”—for such she had been christened.