Path of the Berserker

I was back in President Tzu Li Zen’s office the next morning, overlooking an ancient star map with cryptic names and even weirder symbols representing each planet. From the map it was clear the Hell Worlds were now contained to a cluster of stars on the far edge of the galaxy. Or the known galaxy anyway.

It made me wonder just how much of our galaxy had been explored. Certainly not all of it for how often new domains would appear to be ‘liberated’ by the empire. But not all stars contained worlds with life, much less Qi. So while the Empire was large, it was only dense within the core worlds, the rest of it spread out in diffused star clusters, with most planets being ignored.

Not unlike the ones we were looking over now.

Joining the president and I was Chief Yora along with Master Eiji. Ling Wei and Zin Tai were supervising the transfer of the aetherite from the academy stockpiles to Tai Su Long’s vessel in orbit.

We had originally planned for them to remain here at Du Gok Bhong with the freighter until I returned. But as it would take two weeks for me to make the roundtrip, we decided to make better use of the time. Ling Wei and Zin Tai would return to Earth via the Omni Gate located on the planet that was only three days away.

They would then return once they had delivered the news of what had transpired along with the passes we’d gotten from the High Council. That would free up a number of people being able to travel. From there the plan was to recruit as many able bodies as we could to act as transfer labor at Du Gok Shang. It would be a rough gig for anyone, but the sooner I got rid of needing to rely on Tai Su Long the better.

“What’s this rotation’s planet called?” I asked.

“T’huet,” Master Eiji said. “It’s one we have not rotated to in some time. The first two deployments were catastrophic. A total loss on the first, 50% casualties on the second.”

“They made a good dent in the horde though,” Tzu Li Zen said. “The three that followed were able to bring back exceptional hauls. Of course all those gains have been lost now, thanks to the Governor’s decision.”

I grimaced looking over the chart.

The Hell Worlds were contained to a cluster of five stars, with four or five planets surrounding them each. The rotation tried to visit each Hell World within a ten-year cycle. It was that constant chipping away at the hordes that seemed to keep the stars from expanding to new ones, or so Master Eiji had explained earlier.

For me however, that explanation didn’t line up with what I already knew.

I’Xol’ukz was the herald of the Cursed Stars. It was the Bloodmoons that would give rise to new Cursed Stars forming. Perhaps the First Flame could only progress to stars that were surrounded by Bloodmoons. Either way, we were screwed now, with I’xol’ukz able to influence every moon in the galaxy. Albeit slowly. Once it did though, the First Flame would follow to inhabit every star.

As the thought coalesced within my mind, my Flame flared—a confirmation of new insight. It made me look at the star map differently now. The legionnaires were not so much holding back the Cursed Stars, not in a way that would truly stop them from progressing. We were being a distraction at best, a thorn in the side of a raging lion.

But without it, the empire would clearly have fallen long ago.

It made the gravity of the situation I had unleased that much more serious now. Despite all I had to do to secure my new domain, I could not lose sight of what was ultimately the most important goal in the end.

I needed to find I’Xol’ukz and kill it.

That was the only way to truly combat the Cursed Stars.

And for that I needed knowledge that perhaps only the Chainmaiden possessed.

“Do you agree?”

I was stirred out of my thought by the question which had come from the President.

“Sorry, say again? Drifted off.”

He pointed back to the planet named T’huet. “We could try for the same landing site where we left, but it would be a brand-new breach. We should expect losses, even with Eight platoons.”

“Was that the best site for mining? I’m going to need a lot of Aetherite.”

Hell, the whole empire might, I thought. Especially if I didn’t stop I’xol’ukz.

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For a second that made me think of Chief Muraboshi and what he’d said. About being so valuable to the empire that they would make exceptions, even enough to give them an Omni Gate. In this case, the Empire had no idea just how valuable Aetherite was about to become. But I had to wait on something like that for the moment. Right now I just needed enough to protect the Earth.

Master Eiji pulled out a second map, a close up of the planet T’huet and traced over it with his finger. “From our orbital surveys, the first location provided for the easiest initial breach, but for pure aetherite concentration, this would be the best target.” His finger landed on a small triangle. “This is a semi dormant volcanic mount. For decades it has spewed aetherite from deep within the planets core, which now lies in abundance on the surface.”

“What?” I said. “That sounds like a goldmine.”

“It is, but not without a catch,” Eiji said. “Our surveillance shows that it has created both a sanctuary and an absolute death zone.”

I raised a brow. “Death zone I get, but why sanctuary?”

“The Aetherite of course, it’s fully exposed. It keeps the hordes away, unfortunately they concentrate at the edges.”

“So we just drop right in the center then,” I said.

Eiji chuckled. “If only it were so simple. The Aetherite repels the lesser hordes but does nothing against demons strong enough to withstand it.”

Ah shit, I thought. “You’re talking behemoths.”

“Yes,” Tzu Li Zen said. “That and more. Hundreds of them.”

My Flame stirred.

I had one shot to fill up eight skiff loads of Aetherite. Hell, if it was lying right on the surface maybe we could get even more. I could tell they knew what I was thinking, but they weren’t exactly telling me no.

“You guys think it’s possible?”

Tzu Li Zen smiled. “Perhaps the better question, Supreme Grand Marshal…is do you?”

Damn…

I was a bit blown away by that. I was so used to having to push against the grain, but now, I was the one setting the limits and the standards. And with that came a sense of responsibility I wasn’t expecting.

“Under normal circumstances, this would not be possible by a single platoon,” Chief Yora said. “But you will have eight and they will have you. The President and I both heard of what you accomplished on Luxor. To defeat a Fallen God as a newly awakened Lesser Deity Realm cultivator is a demonstration of strength unparalleled. It is beyond what we can measure. You have also faced behemoths before. Only you can say if this is achievable or not.”

They all looked at me then.

The decision was mine.

But I would be making it on behalf of eight platoons.

My inner Flame surged.

“Just means I can’t fail. No matter the [Odds Against Us].”

The surge of Frenzy confirmed the path I had just committed to. If I was going to get strong enough to slay a god like I’Xol’Ukz, then I needed to get to a level of eating behemoths for breakfast. And nothing would get me to that level like taking them on, ready or not.

“Assemble the platoon commanders,” I said and Chief Yora nodded. “I want to give a briefing of what we’ll be up against and lay out a strategy.”

An hour later I was with all eight of them. They ranged in age, race and gender but all of them had a keen sense of focus as I laid out the plan. As I revealed the location and what we’d be up against, I could sense their individual fear.

“You won’t be fighting the behemoths,” I said. “That’ll be my job. Yours will be to make a hole in the horde and keep the supply lines open for the drop skiffs. That and to mine as much aetherite as you can. We have eight runs to make up for. This won’t be easy, but don’t doubt the skills you already have. To reach this far you have insight into the unknown and have developed a tolerance that most cultivators can never dream of achieving. And I’ll be there to help you. To shield you from the worst of it. The rays of the bloodmoon at least. As for what you will see. The horrors from beyond the stars. Only your own mental fortitude can decide if you will survive.”

I said the words with [Struggler’s Resolve] no sugar coating or bullshit.

It caused a combination of fear but also a resolve of their own.

“Any questions?”

A tall Dharmian woman with short-cut red hair raised her hand.

I jerked my chin at her. “Go on.”

“Supreme Grand Marshal, this One is Kwan Li of the 7^th platoon.” She gave a quick bow. “How will we all fight together? Who will be positioned where?”

They were all good questions. “Honestly, I don’t know yet, but we’ll have a week aboard the Xing Long to go over details. We’ll do practice drills right up until the time of deployment.”

She nodded, seemingly pleased with my answer.

“Anyone else?”

A bald guy with dark skin stood next. “Supreme Grand Marshal. Will you routinely be joining the platoons from now on? It might change my plans for re-enlistment if you do.”

That question got all eyes on me.

Hope and lemonade stirred.

I chuckled. “We’ll see. Let’s get across this initial hurdle first. And just because I’ll be with you don’t look at this as a free ride. The Hell Worlds are called so for a reason. Remember you final exam. The conditions we’ll be facing will be ten times worse. If you have the fortitude to survive it, you may be able to survive another. But I’d wait to see how you’re feeling before you make any decision right now.”

That got another round of sobering nods.

“Alright,” I said. “Let’s get loaded up and to our ride.”

* * *

We met Hein and Captain Li Jeng on the roof a few hours later, all eight platoons lined up in formation and ready to go. The aghast look on both Hein and Captain Li Jeng’s faces spelled otherwise.

“What the hell is this, Chun? You taking the whole damn prison?”

I laughed. “It’s only eight platoons, man, take it easy.”

“We only have four skiffs aboard the Xing Long,” Li Jeng said. “And one of them is out of service for repairs.”

Shit, that certainly threw a spanning into the works.

“So we’ll have to make multiple trips then,” I said with a shrug.

“That’s fine for now, I suppose,” Li Jeng said. “But what about getting down to the Hell Worlds. We’ve never done multiple trips before.”

I looked back at the Black Robes Legionnaires in rank and file behind me.

It would be even more risky than I imagined now.

Getting all eight platoons on the ground at once was one thing, but piece meal?

And that wasn’t even considering the extraction.

No matter.

The Flame would see us through.

“We press on,” I said. “Now let’s get going. We’ve got a week to figure it all out.”