Path of the Berserker

The golden rays of the celestial orb greeted me as I stepped out of the Omni Gate. A blare of commotion hit me next. Skies filled with skiffs and floating islands, travelers in queues a mile long. Add to that the shouting of guards and imperial personnel and the stage was set.

I was back in the hub of real civilization again.

After months of living second to second, killing demons in both the real world and the spiritual realm, arriving in a place like this was like going on vacation. It made me feel jealous and guilty all at once. Guilty because I was enjoying the stability of an advanced cultivation world, and jealous because I was still lightyears away from providing the same for my own people.

But all that was going to change today.

“Get moving!” one of the officials shouted. “There’s another transport coming in behind you!”

We were shoved ahead by some low-ranking guard towards another queue.

The immigration line.

As Ling Wei ruffled through her scrolls looking for her identification, I made sure my Duke insignia was clearly on display, pinned on the lapel of my robes. Zin Tai casually produced his documents as we came to the head of the line.

“I certainly hope this plan works for you, Duke Iron Bull,” he said. “I scant have to remind you that I can have nothing to do with this.”

“Yeah, you made that plenty clear already.”

Useless prick, I thought.

The Chief Guard frowned when we stopped before him. “Let’s see some identification.”

Zin Tai produced his and the guard gave him a bow. “Welcome home, Master Zin Tai. And you?”

He pointed to Ling Wei and she handed him one of the scrolls. “I am Ling Wei, personal aide to the Duke Iron Bull. We hail from Terra which is amidst a crisis at the momen—”

“Yes, I can tell where you’ve come from. Why do you think I’ve asked?” The guard then produced a Qi-tablet and showed it to her. “Your status has been downgraded from an A-Class Yee citizen to a Dependent Sovereign national. Which requires an entry permit. Unless you have one, I’ll have to redirect you through the gate and back to your world.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” I said stepping forward with [Struggler’s Resolve]. “Call whoever you gotta call to escalate this shit. Cause I’m not leaving until I speak with the chair of the High Council.”

Fear instantly lit up inside of the man as he looked up at me. A gasp went throughout the crowd around us and with it came more fear. People were staring at me like I was a demon god or something.

Which I kind of was, I supposed.

But damn I had just used [Struggler’s Resolve] not [Fear the Flame].

And then I heard it.

Hushed and panicked whispers filtering through the crowd.

“Is it really him?”

“She said Duke Iron Bull, didn’t she?”

“Looks like him.”

“Shit. It’s the Bloody Duke!”

“The Bloody Duke!”

“Damn idiot guard. Just let him pass before he kills us all too!”

What the hell are they talking about?

“We want no trouble, Duke Iron Bull,” the guard said raising his arms as if in surrender. “I’m just trying to do my job. Please we are under strict orders regarding Terra.”

“What strict orders?” I then looked to Zin Tai. “You know what he’s talking about?”

He shook his head. “Haven’t a clue. But what he says is the law. I did warn you—”

“I don’t want to hear it. Like I said just go get your boss.”

The guard sort of nodded and then scampered off, returning a minute later with an official in high robes along with what looked like platoon worth of Imperial Guards and soldiers. The official scanned me up and down and grimaced, not a hint of fear on his face, but his heart was racing.

“Duke Iron Bull,” he said bowing to me. “I am Commissioner Shi Kan. As my subordinate has already explained, we cannot allow you into the Golden City. By order of the High Council any travelling from Terra are to be immediately returned, pending the decommissioning of the Omni Gate.” He then showed me a Qi-tablet filled with fine print, which Ling Wei then squinted at. “What I can offer you is to take whatever message you may have for the High Council and then let you back through the gate…without a fine.”

I harrumphed. “That’s mighty generous of you, Shi Kan but I ain’t got months to wait. Come on Ling Wei.”

I [Trudged] forward, pushing him aside.

The platoon of soldiers went on the defense, pointing their weapons at me shakily.

“Halt!” Shi Kan cried. “Halt or you’ll be arrested!”

I paused and channeled a bit of Frenzy into [Fear the Flame]. “You all sure you can manage that?”

The fear increased and I cultivated it to recoup my losses.

Suddenly one of the soldiers broke rank and screamed.

“To hell with this! I’m not fighting the Bloody Duke!”

That caused several more soldiers to break rank and flee.

“Stop! Damn cowards,” Shi Kan shouted. “Stop or you’ll be executed for abandonment of post!”

I gripped Shi Kan by the shoulder. “Yo! Why the hell are they calling me the Bloody Duke?”

He stared back at me with a mixture of incomprehension and terror. “Y-you…what?”

“Answer me dammit!”

His eyes darted back and forth, heart racing.

“I said answer me!”

“It’s just stories,” he blurted. “I don’t know!”

“What stories?”

“That you killed millions of your own people to expel the Princess Lunalah.”

What the hell…

“Who told you that?”

“No one, people just talk.”

I looked to Zin Tai. “You’ve heard about any of this?”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Simple rumors I would imagine. I would not pay it much mind.”

I fumed inwardly. “I go and save millions of Core World citizens on Luxor and they then think I’m going to then kill millions of my own?”

“This might explain it,” Ling Wei said, showing me her Qi-tablet.

On it was what looked like an invitation of some kind.

You are cordially invited

by

Her Imperial Excellency Empress Revenah

to

“A banquet of Mourning for the Loss of Terra”

Dearest Friends,

By order of the High Council, my Daughter, Princess Lunalah was forced to hastily relinquish her birthright to the Duke Iron Bull. This Order has left my territory devastated, with countless lives lost. Although this blood lay on the hands of the Duke and his ambitions, we of the true Royal house of Yang Yee, shall endure and stand tall, honoring those subjects lost in the unfortunate transition that was triggered by the Duke. Join me in a fortnight to commemorate our loss and to usher in a period of healing for the empire.

This tale has been pilfered from NovelFire. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Her Imperial Excellency

Empress Revenah

I stared at it for nearly a minute.

“What in nine hells is this bullshit?” I fumed. “And where is it? I’m going there to set this shit straight.”

“It’s already happened,” Ling Wei said. “Months ago.”

“I would suspect it was quite well attended as well,” Zin Tai said, glancing about my shoulder. “This was released as a public invitation. There must have been millions.”

My Flame surged.

“It’s no wonder they were scared to death of you,” Ling Wei said. “And it’s easy to see how the Bloody Duke moniker was derived from her careful wording.”

“Can I sue her for this crap? It’s all lies. It’s her daughter that did this!”

“Which is precisely why she did it,” Ling Wei said. “Trust me. I know this family. They will do everything in their power to shift blame and save face. And if you read it carefully, she never states an outright lie, only enough details to hint at your involvement.” She then frowned. “I hated having to do that for her.”

“Well, I’m not going to lay down for this crap. Bloody Duke? That’s defamation of character or something right? Zin Tai, you’re in charge of the official report. That will tell the truth wont it?”

“It will,” he said. “But it will be nearly a year before its officially submitted. She has beaten you to the punch, I’m afraid. And a first impression is a lasting impression. You may be able to save face eventually, but I’m afraid you’ve been outmaneuvered for now.”

“Outmaneuvered? What the hell do you mean?”

“You are on a very different playing field now, Duke Iron Bull. You are peers with the likes of Princesses, Lords and Empresses. And the rules of engagement are far more nuanced than the martial realm. You will need to learn to fight with more than just your fists if you wish to survive.”

He said it almost cockily, like he knew I was in way over my head.

And I probably was.

“It’s my fault,” Ling Wei said, suddenly bowing. “I’m sorry, Duke Iron Bull. As your Chief Political Aide, I should have foreseen a move like this from the Princess and her mother. We should have made our own public declaration the minute we had the chance.”

Zin Tai studied the invitation more closely. “I don’t think you had a chance judging by this date. It was released the same day you arrived.”

“What?” I said, fuming again. “Son of a bitch! So this wasn’t just the Empress saving face for her dumbass daughter after the fact? She was a part of this shit from the start?”

“Apparently so.” Zin Tai shrugged. “So what now?”

My soul boiled with anger and indignation, feeding my Flame to produce fresh Frenzy. It’d been a while since just the thought of something was enough to cultivate from, but Lunalah and her mother were a pair that had my resentment meter pegged.

“This changes nothing,” I said. “Just an extra agenda item on my meeting with the Chair. Let’s go.”

Shi Kan cleared his throat, drawing my attention to the fact that he was still standing right in front of me. “I take it you won’t be surrendering quietly then, Duke Iron Bull?”

I snorted. “Hell no. And unless you all want to do this the hard way, I suggest you don’t try to force me to surrender either.”

Shi Kan swallowed visibly and bowed. “Understood, Duke Iron Bull.”

He then stepped to the side and gestured for his men to do the same.

“Thanks,” I said. “Do me one more favor. Send a message ahead to the High Council, will you? Tell them the Bloody Duke is on his way to tear some ass.”

* * *

Shi Kan must have sent a fairly detailed report, because by the time we arrived at the Council Building, a small army of cultivators were assembled, including people wearing all purple robes from some sect I didn’t recognize.

“Nine heavens,” Zin Tai said. “You’ve forced them to mobilize the Elite Council Guard. I haven’t seen this happen in over a century.”

“No shit?” I said nonchalantly, but the scowl on the faces of the hundred or so, purple clad cultivators said they were ready for a fight. I couldn’t sense Qi so I had no clue how powerful they might be. But one person would know instantly.

“Who exactly are these people, Zin Tai? And what cultivation rank are they?”

He squinted his eyes a moment. “Looks to be mostly Low to Mid-Teir Sacred Soul Realm. Which makes sense. They are all senior bodyguards of the royal households. Protectors of the Empresses themselves. By lasting decree, they are on permanent retainer to report and defend the High Council and their representatives should the need arise.”

“Oh,” I said. “So where were these guys when Rhe Su Long was kicking the shit out of the council on Luxor?”

“As I said. There hasn’t been a need to assemble them for over a century. No one was expecting what happened on Luxor, although I would imagine, the events of Luxor is exactly why we see them here now.” Zin Tai then grinned. “Nothing like a close call to dust off old policies and procedures.”

Ling Wei nodded in agreement. “Telling them the Bloody Duke was coming to ‘tear some ass’ surely helped as well.”

I stopped just short of the line of purple clad cultivators and smiled. “Greetings. I got a meeting with the Chair of the High Council.”

“You most certainly do not.”

The voice came from behind the purple clad guards. A short, matronly woman in remarkably plain looking robes, dyed in imperial colors stepped from between a set of huge ornate doors that sealed the Council Building.

I recognized her immediately.

Yue Zhi Wen, the very chair herself.

She parted the guards with a snap of her fingers. “You are wrong on two accounts, Duke Iron Bull. For one, I am not the Chair of the High Council. There is no tribunal here. I am the Speaker. And two, you have failed to make any such appointment to meet with me.”

“Ah, right,” I said with a bow. “Apologies Madam Speaker, but I need to speak with you urgently.”

“So it seems,” she said with a huff. “Are you certain that is all you have come for? Or have you come to make trouble?” She threw some glances at the purple-robed cultivators. Part of me almost relished the idea of taking them on, if not to just test my strength against them.

“Nope,” I said. “Not that kind of trouble. At least not yet.”

I cracked a smile to let her know it was a joke and she smirked at me.

“I owe you a debt for saving the council but you push me to my limit, Duke Iron Bull. I have many matters to attend to and an interruption like this is wholly inappropriate and unacceptable.”

“Yes, I know.”

“And yet here you are anyway…” She then looked to Zin Tai. “Is this to do with the transferal, Master Zin Tai?”

“No madam Speaker. I’m here only as an observer,” Zin Tai said with a bow. “I will let the Duke Iron Bull speak as to why he is here.”

Yue Zhi Wen looked back to me. “Go on then. Speak. Why have you come here without authorization, risking the breach of your country’s treaty with the Yee empire?”

Shit…it sounded a whole lot worse when she put it like that.

“It’s a matter of life and death for my people, Madam Speaker. I wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t as desperate as that. And I’m quite aware I’m breaking all kinds of laws right now, but I want to make that right too.”

“Oh?” she said with the raising of a brow. “In what way?”

“In the way you suggested. I’ve come to pledge my services to the empire as a Liberator. With some conditions added of course.”

Both of her eyebrows shot up then.

“I see. Fine. I’ll give you one hour.”

* * *

We got right down to business, starting with what it meant to be a Liberator and what would be involved. In the confines of her private office, she went over the basics of how the Liberators worked, who they reported to and what level of service was expected.

“Liberators gain an unlimited transit authorization across the empire. Even restricted domains are accessible in relation to official business,” she said. “You officially report to the Master General of His Majesties Imperial Army, but operationally the Liberators act as an autonomous unit, led by King Theos. Aside from providing funding, the Empire allows Liberators to do their work via any method they choose. In return you would be required to report for duty where and whenever the need may arise. Be it a new Bloodmoon, a Fallen Star attack, the discovery of a new cultivation empire or an even an uprising. When the Council decides your use, you must go.”

Damn, there was a heck of a lot more than just Bloodmoons on that list. And working for King Theos again sounded about as fun as licking sandpaper. But dealing with Bloodmoons was the worst of it, besides maybe a rebellion, and I’d probably be the only one starting one of those.

I can probably stomach it, I decided.

At least until I sorted things out enough back home to quit.

“Sounds good,” I said.

“There is also an orientation program for new Liberators that you must complete.”

That sounded even more fun.

“Now then, that’s what it means to be a Liberator. What are you seeking in return for your service?”

I looked to my aide. “Ling Wei?”

Her eyes lit up with excitement as she unrolled the scrolls before Yue Zhi Wen.

“Madam Speaker, herein lies our full proposal. Standard Tariff reliefs, with the option to renegotiate after every three years of service, plus 100 transit permits for the Duke Iron Bull’s personal family as well as his cabinet and senior staff.”

“100?” she said.

I merely shrugged. “I got a big family.”

Yue Zhi Wen rolled her eyes. “No matter. What else?”

“We also wish to file a writ against the Princess Lunalah for damages related to her rapid withdraw from Terra, ahead of the arbiter’s arrival and a writ against the Empress Revenah for libel for insinuating the Duke Iron Bull as being responsible.”

“The former is a matter for Master Zin Tai in his role as arbiter. The latter is something you can do at anytime. Neither have anything to do with your role as a Liberator.”

Ling Wei chuckled. “Yes, I thought as much, Madam Speaker.” She then looked at me with a smile. “Sorry Boss, I tried.”

I waved it away. “No worries. Just go on.”

“Lastly, there is one more request that is a bit more… interesting,” Ling Wei said.

“Oh?”

“The Duke Iron Bull wishes to keep the Omni Gate in place after the handover period. Permanently.”

That caused Yue Zhi Wen’s mouth to fall open. “Absolutely not. There are some matters I can easily pass through the council administratively. Even your 100 permits won’t cause much of an issue or the Tariff renegotiation clause. But to leave the empire vulnerable to attack via a direct portal to the core worlds?” She shook her head. “Duke Iron Bull, you must understand that your new position as a sovereign comes with both benefits and limitations. Not having an Omni Gate is one of them.”

“But we already got one now.”

“Yes, but you are no longer a part of the Yee Empire proper. To allow something like this would be unprecedented. Not only would it require a full vote of the High Council, but a clear majority ruling. I can not promise you anything of the sort.”

“So what I got to do to win a majority vote then?” I said. “Save the entire High Council a second time?”

She lowered her brows at me. “Your good deed has granted you quite a measure of favor, Duke Iron Bull, but even that has its limits before exhaustion. Of which you are quickly approaching.”

“What if I just saved a lot of planets then?”

“If doing your job as a Liberator alone were enough to earn an Omni Gate, then King Theos himself would have earned one a long time ago. The fact that he does not possess such, should tell you the likelihood of Terra being successful.”

I shrugged. “Maybe he just never asked for one?”

Yue Zhi Wen sighed. “Your time has approached its end, Duke Iron Bull. I can accept the tariff adjustments with a three year renegotiation clause and the 100 permits in exchange for your service. The minimum of which shall be 100 years. Do we have an agreement?”

I looked to Ling Wei who nodded.

“Can we get the permits right away?”

* * *

I stepped outside the Council building feeling a sense of satisfaction and joy. I was back in the game big time, and I didn’t have to report for my ‘orientation’ with King Theos for at least six months or so. On top of that I had lowered the restrictions that would prevent me from bringing back all the Aethrite we needed to protect our home.

“So where to now?” Ling Wei said. “Back home to report?”

“Nah. Time is of the essence. We’ve got to hitch a ride to Du Gok Bhong. The sooner we bring home some aetherite and corrupted steel the better.”

Zin Tai sighed. “Well I suppose I could start the transfer file on Lung Zept early. But I can only work on one planet at a time. You’ll have to decide.”

“Didn’t Lunalah already leave Terra? What the hell is there to arbitrate or whatever anymore?”

“Well, besides the Omni Gate decommissioning of course, there are the damages you’ve asked me to tally as well as other assets that should have left with the princess.”

“Yeah, later for all that. Getting to Lung Zept is way more important. Let’s go.”

As we made our way back towards the transit hub of the Golden City, I spotted an all too familiar Pai Fang standing all on its own. As soon as I saw it, my priorities switched.

“Just a second guys. There’s one quick pitstop I need to make before we head out.”

“What?” Ling Wei said. “But you just said the aethrite—”

“Yeah, I know, but trust me. This won’t take long.” I then chuckled as I added, “at least not for you guys anyway.”