Duke drew the sword out of his chest and tossed it aside. This latest group of mercenaries had been more than competent. They had known he was coming and had set up a stellar ambush. Not that it mattered. None of them had been above Tier Four with the majority in Tier Two. Their equipment had been well above average which made a significant difference, but Duke was so far outside the norm that he tore through their ranks with his bare hands, venting his rage and frustration. The only one who had managed to land an effective blow was the mercenary leader whose sword Duke had just tossed aside.
It took him more time to sort through their equipment than it had taken to kill most of them. A small part of Duke’s mind rebelled at the merciless killing. It was quickly silenced by the roiling cloud of his subconscious.
When he had loaded the mercenaries’ gear into his INVENTORY, he TELEPORTED their ship into his hangar which Sam had been casually expanding for him over the past two days. There were now dozens of ships of differing sizes and purposes there, which Duke had first decided that he needed to explore and understand but later came to the realization that he really didn’t need. He really only needed to steal one component from a ship – the navigation system. He could make his way on his own from there.
The events of the past two days had all started when Duke caught up with Mira and the Clan. A short conversation had revealed that there was a communications channel that most every ship kept open. He had transmitted his message across the whole system: “You have one hour to pack up your stuff and leave. If you stay beyond then, you will be dealt with.”
The first ship had left for orbit within ten minutes after the transmission. A dozen others left soon thereafter, but most were stubborn and refused to leave as Teldin was a world low in magitech and high in resources. It was perfect for plunder. And, given that the bounty was gone and the mercenaries had only been paid a pittance already, plunder was all they had left.
The first mercenary group that Duke killed had been the only one to actually respond to the transmission. Their message was just as straightforward: “Not worried about any bluff from such a primitive world. Go fuck yourself.” After Duke was done with them, there wasn’t enough left of their ship to justify moving it to the hangar. Duke didn’t care to RESTORE it either. Instead, he used his Abilities to crush and melt the ship down into a three-meter sphere. All the runescripting had been destroyed but it made for one dense projectile sitting in his INVENTORY.
After the eighth such group was killed off, others got the hint and started heading for orbit quickly, but not quickly enough. Duke had caught the last ship as it was starting to lift off. Technically, they were leaving, but he just did not care at this point – invaders were invaders. He had stolen the ship’s Mana Cores when they were ten meters off the ground. The resulting crash had been the perfect starting point for the ensuing melee from Duke’s perspective.
“Mira, are you picking up any more on the ground?” Duke asked as he opened up his DUNGEON SENSE to cover as much area as he could manage. Seeing as he could now extend his Ability out over 450 kilometers, that covered a lot of the kingdom, but not all of it.
“No ships coming up on sensors save for the ones in the desert. I’m not sure the remaining ships at the Dusty Trail Inn are hostile. Would you like us to head over there and find out?”
“You can meet me there if you like. That’s my next destination. How many ships are we talking about at this point?”
“I am picking up nine of them. We’ll meet you there.”
Duke decided to take his time and flew there, giving him time to check his notifications on the way.
*** Congratulations. For defeating 561 foes of up to Tier Four and varying levels, you have received 2,111,691 experience. You are now level 123 and have 399 Characteristic Points to spend.
Your Aerial Maneuvering has increased to Practiced 63
Your Martial Arts Combat has increased to Adept 91
Your Tonfa Mastery has increased to Adept 157
Your Diplomacy has increased to Practiced 27
Your TELEPORTATION has increased to Grandmaster 113
Your REGENERATION has increased to Master 24
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Your LASTING DISGUISE has ranked up to Practiced 6
Your OVERCHANNEL has increased to Adept 126
Your FORCE has ranked up to Practiced 4
Your FLAME has ranked up to Practiced 2
Your ARMOR SKIN has increased to Adept 91
***
Duke smiled. Not bad gains at all and I’m not done yet. There are still ships in orbit. At least for now there are. After I rip the first to pieces, the rest will leave. And the ships still in the desert. I wonder why none of them left? This will be interesting. Maybe they have an explanation.
Duke TELEPORTED inside the Dusty Trail Inn, arriving before the bar. Immediately, he was greeted by Travis, the minotaur barkeep/innkeeper, “Ah, Duke! Welcome back! You have some guests waiting for you.” As he spoke, the minotaur placed a glass of whiskey in Duke’s hand eliciting a warm smile.
“Guests, you say?” Duke turned away from the bar and saw that there was a single table occupied by six individuals. He headed over to the table, carrying his drink with him keeping his emotions in check as he had declared that there would be no fighting in the bar and he meant to keep to his own word. The group at the table was racially divided. There were four goblinoids and two dragonians and Duke recognized all of them.
When Duke reached the table, they all stood to greet him, but Arkmathus was the loudest voice, “Welcome back King Duke. We have been awaiting your return.”
“Have you now?” Duke gestured for everyone to sit as he pulled up a chair. “You lot account for two of the ships parked out there. What about the rest?”
Drakmalorie answered before any else could respond, “They were delicious. Your chef here is amazing!” Her response got the whole table smiling along.
“You ate them?”
“Better than letting their carcasses rot in the desert sun, no?”
“Not so sure about that but I’m not going to pursue that line of thought. Why are you all still here?”
“To join you, of course,” Grimtooth responded. “We wanted you to be one of us but that is not as has been decreed by the almighty Sargoth. Now we ask to be one of you.”
“Our intention to join you has not changed,” Drakmalorie added.
“So, you took it upon yourselves to kill my enemies?”
“Just so,” The dragonian replied.
“I suppose that I can’t really complain about that. Might actually save me some time cleaning them up. OK, show me which ships are yours. I’m going to confiscate the others.”
Outside the inn, they pointed out their ships and Duke promptly moved the others to the hangar, increasing his collection. The others gaped as the ships disappeared one by one until the only ones remaining were their own two.
Duke looked them over slowly and carefully before speaking, “I’m going to make this perfectly clear. This is my kingdom. Anyone who comes here with even the intention of causing trouble will be dealt with harshly. I have been merciful and hesitant to act in the past. That has ended. The Syndicate decided to come after me and mine. They are now short one fleet including a dreadnaught. Don’t think for a second that I will hesitate to obliterate anyone who comes for me again.”
“Did you say that you took out a dreadnaught?” Arkmathus asked.
“Yes, I did. I stole one of their battleships and rammed it right into the bitch to start the fight. None of you have any idea what I am capable of, and I will not take anyone I do not trust into my confidence. That trust is not built by any singular act. At this point, I do not trust any of you. You all came here with the intention to kill me and collect a bounty. I do not need you with me and I do not want any more variables. None of you have attacked me or mine, and you have eliminated some of my enemies. That speaks well for you, but it does not say enough. I do not have the time it would take to get to know you. So, you are all welcome to stay here at the Inn or freely leave Teldin. Perhaps a day will come when I have the time to vet you all but today is not that day.”
They all stared at Duke unsure of how to respond. They were saved by Duke’s communications crystal announcing an incoming message. He TELEPORTED well out of earshot to receive the message.
“Go ahead, Mira.”
“Duke, we have the Syndicate fleet arriving in system.”
“I’ll be right there,” Duke grimaced as he TELEPORTED to the bridge of the Iron Reaver.
When he arrived he saw the fleet on the screen. There was a dreadnaught surrounded by a dozen other ships including six heavy cruisers. Duke stepped over to his favorite console and started to zoom in on the supporting ships. He focused-in on one of the heavy cruisers, noting that it was yet a third design. And then it was gone.
Mira took the display controls over and zoomed out trying to spot where the fleet had gone. She expanded the view to the entire system.
“Where the fuck are they?” Duke asked.
“Gone. I can see the jump signature. They arrived and then ran away. That doesn’t make any sense at all.”
“No, it doesn’t. Could they be coming from another angle we can’t cover?”
“Not unless they have a stealth system that is Tiers above anything I have ever heard of but to hide a fleet of that size, especially the dreadnaught, no, I don’t think it’s possible. They have gone elsewhere.”
“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Duke groused.
“And there goes all the ships in orbit. They are running for the jump points.”
“Was there any message sent? Some sort of warning?”
“Nothing I picked up, but it is possible that they had a shared crystal network outside of the standard.”
“Maybe with the contract rescinded, it’s not worth the expense anymore and they cut their losses. Of course, that doesn't mean that they are done suffering losses.”
“You’re still going after them then?”
“Probably. It might not be until I get back from my next trip but they have many things to answer for.”
“Is it really your responsibility to make them answer for them though?”
“Maybe not my responsibility, but I’m going to do it anyway. But, for now, I’m going home and going to bed.”
“Goodnight, Duke,” Mira’s words echoed after his fading afterimage.