“That sounds like a consequence.” Helen smiled at the old elf, who returned the smile.
“Yes, it does. And it is. But I have for you an option that will help mitigate that consequence.” He turned his gaze to Allistor as he spoke. “As Emperor, you have the ability to bank experience for later distribution to your vassals or citizens. This option includes your own personal experience, or that gathered by your people. If you explore your Empire tab, you will see that you have the right to tax a portion of all experience earned by your subjects. That experience can then be applied as you see fit. Good Emperors use it to the benefit of their empires, while others use it to selfishly grow their own personal power.”
Allistor looked at his UI as they approached the garage. He’d never even opened his Empire tab, and instantly felt foolish for not doing so. It only took a few seconds for him to find the ability Daigath spoke of. Once he’d located it and inspected it briefly to see that the tax was set at zero, he closed his UI again. “I see it there. But… I don’t have to institute a tax, do I?”
Daigath smiled. “I am very glad you asked. No, you do not. It is simply an option. Put in place by the system for large-scale events. Like the battle you just won. I can see you received one hundred and fifty million experience points yourself. If you had chosen to bank that, you might have used it to level up a favored vassal, or given several levels to a few of your weakest citizens. You could use it for bonus rewards on quests.” He watched as Allistor considered his words, nodding along.
“While you faced a significant force in this battle, it was nothing compared to the scale of conflicts that faction leaders and Emperors often engage in. They might involve tens of millions of combatants, entire planetary populations, in their battles. Entire cities and their populations might be wiped from existence. The experience earned could be in the billions, the tens of billions.” He paused as they reached the Phoenix and walked up the boarding ramp. Allistor motioned for him to sit on a supply crate, then he and Helen took seats of their own.
“That’s… I would never do that.” Allistor’s mouth was dry.
“I believe you would never instigate a fight on such a scale. But as Emperor of two planets, one of which is a valuable high energy world, and the other having an eternity gate, you may well be forced into a defensive battle of just such a scale.”
Helen put in her two cents. “And a wise fancypants ruler would use the big ol’ mountain of experience he received from taking Loki’s head to make as many of his people as possible as strong as possible.”
“My thoughts, exactly, Lady Helen.” Daigath relaxed slightly.
“I absolutely will do that. No question. I’m not interested in being the strongest ruler alive. I have always been working to make everyone stronger whenever I could.”
“Yes, you have proven that time and again, Allistor. It was a large part of my reasoning when deciding to join you here. I see great potential in you, and hope to guide you through the temptations that come with tremendous and sudden personal power.”
“Thank you, master.” Allistor silently vowed, for at least the hundredth time, to spend more time reviewing the information in his UI.
The others began to arrive, boarding the ship in groups. The last to arrive were the trainers, many of whom had just awakened as they were a couple time zones behind. Andrea had selected a dozen of them from the most popular classes.
With everyone aboard, Kira and her crew took Phoenix up and headed out across the city. She reported that the trip would take less than an hour. Allistor gathered his people around and used the time to explain to them what he wanted. The raiders would immediately engage the invading slimes while the droids gathered up any wounded and carried them to the extra healers in a designated area in the rear. Trainers could participate in the fighting or not as they desired. Allistor hoped their presence and an offer of free training after the fighting would seal an alliance with this Earl.
When Kira announced over the intercom that they were approaching their destination, Allistor opened the cargo ramp and approached the edge, having total faith in Kira’s ability to keep the ship steady. Looking down, he saw a Stronghold wall surrounding a sizeable area, the center of which looked like a factory of some kind. There were people walking in the open spaces and streets between the building, nearly all of them now looking up and pointing at the space ship hovering above.
“Nobody is running. Or fighting. At least not that I can see.” Helen observed. Several of the others muttered similar comments. Allistor looked closely, seeing the same. He spotted a few dozen defenders on the wall, but nothing like he would expect of a force defending against an attack.
“Did they already win, and just didn’t notify us?” He looked around again. “I don’t see any wounded, or dead.” Suspicious now, Allistor called up Kira. “Set us down on the roof of that big building, then move away. Don’t go too far, in case this is some kind of trap.”
“It’s a trap!” McCoy shouted from further back in the cargo hold, holding his hands up near his eyes and extending his chin down in his best Calamari admiral impersonation. He grinned unashamedly when several of the others groaned at him. “My people!”
The ship’s descent came to a halt roughly a foot above the roof’s surface, and Allistor stepped off. The rest of his group, including fifty droids, stepped off right behind him. Though the building looked quite old, Allistor knew that Stronghold buildings upgraded by the System were sturdy, so he was not concerned about the large group crashing through the roof.
Kira lifted the Phoenix back into the air and moved off, and Allistor chuckled to see the weapons turrets on the underside of the ship rotate to cover the group on the roof. He wondered which of the trainees was at the weapons station.
“Welcome!” A voice called out from behind Allistor. He and everyone else turned to see an elderly man in pristine white cotton clothing approaching. His hands were empty and he was waving one of them in a friendly manner, a wide smile on his face. Allistor stepped forward to greet the man, stopping about ten steps in front of him. The old man bowed deeply at the waist. “Emperor Allistor? I am First Minister Agni, and I am most pleased to welcome you on behalf of my nephew, Earl Rajesh.”
“Thank you, First Minister. I am indeed Allistor, and I’m a little confused. I don’t see a battle here.”
The old man straightened up, an uncomfortable look on his face. “Ah, yes. I must beg your forgiveness. May I speak frankly with you, Emperor?”
“Just Allistor, please. And yes, please do.”
“My nephew is… he was a sweet young man before the apocalypse. Always faithful and helpful to our family. A bright boy who, when the world ended, kept many of us alive with his knowledge. He built this Stronghold to protect us, and saved many lives.”
Allistor was getting more suspicious and impatient by the second. He looked over his shoulder and put a hand on the hilt of his sword, indicating to his people that they should be ready. Agni’s voice faltered as he noticed them silently spreading out and laying hands on weapons. “Get to the point please, First Minister.”
“Please, you are in no danger here and now!” Agni held up both hands in a sign of surrender. “I merely wished to give you some background.” He sighed, lowering his arms limply to his sides. “My nephew has become… full of himself. He has taken it as a personal insult that you surpassed his title and achievements. The power he has taken for himself has… changed him. And not for the better. I am afraid he plots to take your throne for himself, and may make an attempt on your life.”
Allistor stood still, studying the elderly man’s deeply tanned face as he heard mutterings behind him. The droids, who had been standing with Prime near the back of the group, began to move. In seconds they had encircled the group and raised shields, facing outward.
Agni looked terrified, his eyes wide and mouth open. “P-please, as I said, I mean you no harm. I would have warned you via the radio before you arrived, but I did not wish
to alert my nephew, or transmit such… sensitive and embarrassing information for the world to hear.”
Allistor continued to stare at the man, his stat-boosted intellect making connections. After half a minute of silence during which the old man visibly trembled in his sandals, Allistor spoke.
“You brought me here to kill your nephew for you.”
Agni sucked in a surprised breath, placing one hand over his heart. “No, not for that purpose. Though I suspect that this will be the end result of your visit here. I love my nephew, Emper-… Allistor. But with his jealous nature and short temper, he has become dangerous to his own people. I had hoped that you would have a way to remove him from power without ending his life, but I accept that the one may not be possible without the other.” He paused, looking out over the edge of the roof. “And we do have a colony of gelatinous beings at the edge of our lands. Attempts to communicate have… ended badly for several of our people.”
Allistor followed the man’s gaze for a moment, thinking. He found that he believed Agni was being honest. Betraying his nephew still placed a good bit of doubt on the man’s character, though.
“What level is your nephew?” Allistor’s tone was curt, but short of threatening.
“He is level thirty five, the highest among us, except for his security chief and a few of his fighters. None of them is above level forty.”
Allistor looked behind him. None of his people were below level 45. Unless Rajesh or his forces were extremely well trained and armed, they posed no serious threat. He quickly sent raid invites to the group leaders, healers, and trainers, as well as Prime. Out loud he said, “Fine, I think I understand. Take me to see Earl Rajesh.” To his people he added in raid chat. “Don’t kill anyone unless you have to. But if it becomes an us or them situation, the answer is us every time.”
Agni turned and began to lead Allistor toward the roof access door he’d emerged from a few minutes earlier. Allistor and his people moved forward, the droids maintaining a perimeter that flowed with them.
Chapter 18
“What kind of weapons are your fighters using?” Allistor asked as two droids descended the stairs ahead of him.
“Automatic rifles with armor-piercing ammunition.” The old man gulped, clearly afraid. “They also carry swords, spears, and have a supply of grenades.”
“And where do they plan to attack?”
“I am sorry, I do not know. I was not privy to their planning. But I suspect that my nephew will pretend to welcome you in his throne room, and ambush you there. It is what I would do.”
Allistor glanced sideways at the man. He quickly cast Identify and saw that he was too low level to survive such an attack.
First Minister Agni
Level 30
Health: 18,000/18,000
Allistor tried to remember what his health pool had been like back when he was level thirty. He was pretty sure it had been significantly higher. Which told him that the old man had probably put his attribute points into more mental than physical stats. It made sense for an elderly man who was an advisor, not a fighter.
“You should move to the back of this group when we reach the throne room, First Minister. If they begin firing, Prime will have two of his droids protect you. Don’t panic when they move close. Those shields are bulletproof.” The old man nodded and gave Allistor a grateful look.
There was an elevator one floor down from the roof, but it wasn’t nearly large enough to accommodate their group, so they took the stairs. The building was only eight stories tall, and it didn’t take them long to descend. They turned down one hallway, then another, and halted when Agni pointed at a set of large double doors. “That is the throne room.”
Allistor nodded and advanced, noting that the old man waited for the rear guard to catch up before following. When he reached the doors, he didn’t wait to knock or allow someone else to open them. He cast Barrier in front of himself, then kicked the left-hand door off its hinges.
There was a surprised outcry from multiple voices within the room as he stepped through the door. Without pause, he continued forward, taking in the room as he moved. Ahead of him was a young man sitting atop a large chair, two steps up from the rest of the room. On either side of the long room were several thick painted steel columns that held up structural steel beams running the length of the room and crossing it in several places. Allistor assumed that any ambushers would be concealed behind those columns. Several people in attire similar to Agni’s stood in the space between Allistor and the throne, or off to either side.
Earl Rajesh was on his feet and shouting something at Allistor, who ignored him.
“You summoned me here under false pretenses, Rajesh! Explain yourself!” he shouted at the man.
“How dare you?!” Rajesh practically screamed back at him. “I am Earl Rajesh! You burst into my home unannounced, flinging false accusations? I will have you flogged!” Spittle flew from the man’s lips as he forced the words out. The courtiers standing between the two men quickly vacated the center of the room, joining the rest standing off to one side or the other. A few crouched down in fear covering their heads with their arms.
Allistor laughed, quickly joined by those behind him. The reaction caused Rajesh to pause, momentarily unsure of himself.
“I don’t think so, Earl Rajesh. Even if I were to stand here and let your men attack me, it would take them ten minutes to kill me. And they won’t have ten seconds.” He paused and looked significantly from one set of columns to the other. “Any man who fires a weapon at me or my people will be dead before he can fire a second round. I am level sixty five, and most of the people behind me are over level fifty. Your bullets won’t harm us, even if we let them strike.” He took a look at the nervous bystanders. “Hold your fire, and you won’t be harmed.”
Rajesh hopped down off the throne, taking several steps toward Allistor. He drew an ornamental curved dagger from his belt sash and raised it above his head, snarling as he advanced. When he was just a step away and ready to thrust the dagger forward, his face impacted Allistor’s barrier, followed a fraction of a second by the rest of him. The dagger broke free of his grip and clattered to the floor as the rest of Rajesh fell backward.
Allistor stepped forward, bending down to grab hold of Rajesh’s neck as the man shouted, “Kill them!”
Two rounds ricocheted off of Allistor’s barrier, quickly followed by two screams as the shooters were hit with Mind Spike spells, arrows, and stone spikes erupting from the floor at their feet. They were dead in seconds.
Allistor lifted Rajesh off the floor, his enhanced Strength easily handling the weight. As he straightened up, he raised the man higher until his feet left the floor, dangling six inches in the air. “Anyone else fires, I snap his neck!”
He waited a solid ten seconds for more shots, or the sound of a grenade hitting the floor. Hearing none, he let out the breath he’d been holding. He had been prepared to toss Rajesh’s body on top of any grenade he saw. “Come out and set down your weapons. You won’t be harmed if you don’t make any hostile moves.”
Rajesh struggled weakly, his entire weight supported by his jawbone as Allistor held him aloft. His air supply had been cut off, and he was quickly burning through whatever oxygen he held in his lungs. Allistor’s people moved forward, pushing through the bystanders to disarm and search the fighters who emerged from behind the columns. Agni stepped forward when Allistor called to him. “Are these all of his men?”
Agni shook his head, looking sadly up at his suffocating nephew. “No, but the rest are out on the wall, I believe. These are his elite fighters.”
Allistor released his grip on Rajesh, dropping the man to the floor where he gasped for air and coughed, rubbing his sore throat with both hands. Snot ran from his nose and his eyes watered. Allistor let him recover for a moment.
“I will kill you for this!” The first words rasped out of the young man’s throat. Allistor looked at Agni, wanting to kill the moron on the gr
ound at his feet, but remembering the old man’s request.
Allistor hooked his foot under the man’s back, then lifted him up, flinging him back toward his throne. His body flew about five feet before landing and rolling to a stop against the dais. “You already tried, and failed. You will not kill me, or anyone else, you arrogant little shit. I’m going to give you a choice. You will right now get up on your knees and swear a vassal oath to me, one that will prevent you from harming my people or anyone else. Or you die here and now, sniveling like a spoiled child on the floor in front of your people. You have ten seconds to decide.”
As everyone in the room watched and waited, Rajesh fumbled his way up the dais to his throne. As he took a seat, he glared with pure hatred at Allistor, spit a wad of phlegm in his direction, then flipped open the arm of the chair and drew a pistol. He got off two shots before he was simply erased from existence by a barrage of spells from Allistor’s people. Flame Shots, Lightning Strikes, and Acid Sprays landed on him alongside arrows and crossbow bolts. A spear flew over Allistor’s shoulder and passed through the man’s chest, as well as the chair back behind it.
Five seconds after the second shot rang out, the Earl was little more than a burnt and decaying lump of flesh, partially melted into the metal of the throne.
Allistor turned his back on the smoking ruin and addressed Agni. “I’m sorry. I gave him a chance to surrender.” He looked down at his arm, which was bleeding slightly. The first bullet from Rajesh’s gun had shattered his barrier, which had already taken hits from the previous kinetic rounds. The second bullet had grazed his arm, leaving little more than a scratch.
Agni nodded, tears streaming down his face. “As I suspected. He left you no choice, Emperor Allistor. Please forgive us.”
“It wasn’t you. I believe that you had good intentions here, Agni.” He turned to face the obviously nervous fighters who’d been set to ambush him, now rounded up into a cluster and guarded by droids. “I’m going to assume that you acted under orders, and had no choice in the matter.” Several of them nodded, looking grateful. A few just stared stonefaced back at him.
Shadow Sun Unification: Shadow Sun Book Five Page 30