It had been three months since I’d established my Kingdom of Onkei. The Four Element Sect had ignored the changes for the most part, continuing to treat me as a member but a roving member. The Empire hadn’t responded, but I hadn’t expected them to. And because I no longer needed to visit the area at Contribution Hall that dealt with issues related to the Empire, any issues that might have arisen were sidestepped and ignored for now.
I had spent almost the entirety of the past three months traveling. Visiting the Barons, the Empire had promoted and given them territory to claim. As a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator, I was much more powerful than any of the other Barons, a reality they quickly recognized with each visit.
All but one acknowledged that their Baronies now existed within Onkei, and it was time to deal with that person. I had finally arrived to deal with the one holdout, even if I hadn’t wanted to act. He had one of the largest cities of any on the island. One with a port that was large enough and busy enough that the Empire used it as the primary place of transit for those without access to flight.
I couldn’t allow someone that refused to acknowledge my right as Sovereign to remain in control of such a vital territory to stay in power.
“If you don’t swear a Cultivator’s Oath accepting my right to rule as Voice of the Hindel and Ruler of the Kingdom of Onkei, then I have no choice but to remove you as Baron,” I said, my voice laced with Qi so that my statement could be heard by the number of functionaries and toadies that had gathered to witness this day’s events.
Isaa, the Baron I was confronting, was a Qi Gathering Cultivator. I had managed to ferret out his Qi alignment before making the trip to face him. He had a rare shadow affinity. An affinity that allowed him to cloak his presence with shadow and a movement technique that allowed him to teleport from place to place using those shadows.
He had awakened a tin spirit root, one level lower than mine. And from everything I had gathered, he was something of a prodigy. It had taken him barely six months to reach the Qi Gathering Realm, a fourth of the time I had needed. And even now, my perception could detect that he was closing in on the high tier of that realm. He wasn’t going to reach the Nascent Soul Realm tomorrow, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t attempt ranking up within the next decade.
Still, I was an entire Realm more advanced than he was, even if luck had allowed my rapid rise to Nascent Soul Realm. Luck was a form of Heavenly opportunity, and every Cultivator hoped for that type of good fortune as they ascended. Some techniques could be used by those Cultivators that practiced cultivation aligned with Karma or Foresight that could nudge the skein of fate by acting to affect luck.
“I have claimed this territory, legally. The Cai’Li Empire acknowledged my acclamation and promotion to Baron. This land is mine, and I will remain true to the agreement I made with and the pledge I made to the Empire and Emperor when I was allowed to claim and establish my Fief,” Isaa replied, sure of his position and making sure to point out without directing saying it, that I had foresworn that pledge.
Along with his affinity, I also found some background information on Isaa. He was a young master. An entitled member of a House and Clan that was powerful enough to allow him to get away with many ‘minor foibles’, excess that an average person would never get away with. His actions were often being smoothed over with bribes, threats, or the actual ruin of any person unwilling to forgive his excess.
He was everything I had hated about Braun, the spoiled brat that had forced my hand and made my decision to leave Flowing Water Sect tolerable. Isaa had grown to feel even more entitled when his cultivation ability was discovered, and his fast progress to Qi Gathering Realm labeled him a genius.
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“That is something you should take up with the Empire,” I replied. “They were short-sighted enough not to have claimed this island as theirs. That they allowed you to give a pledge for a territory that had never been claimed is an oversight the bureaucrats will have to explain to the Emperor.
“And honestly, it wouldn’t matter if they had. I am not an Empress, not only a Queen; I am a Voice. And my Kingdom was created with that role in mind. The Hindel have acknowledged my right to rule and to claim this land. They established an embassy that recognized my Kingdom.
“The Empire and Emperor have been informed.
“Do you think either will risk severing ties with the Hindel, possibly instigating a war over a territory far removed from the mainland?
“They won’t,” I said, answering my question.
“If you have spent any time in the past few months at the Sect, you would know that although they might not like what I have done, they will not contest my right to have done so.”
“The Empire may not,” Isaa agreed, “but that doesn’t mean no one will. My Clan will not be pleased. Although they may not be as powerful as the Empire, they are a Power.”
“Are they?” I sneered.
“A Power able to defeat an Immortal Realm Cultivator? Possibly. But I doubt they are a Power able to contend with the Hindel. Or the Empire that will side with the Hindel if provoked.”
I watched as the bluster, the self-entitled certainty that he was not the main character of this narrative, registered. I expected him to continue to bluster, to work himself into a frenzy, angry enough to challenge me.
I would destroy him if he did.
I didn’t particularly appreciate killing people, but I had to set a precedent now. Initially, it was better to kill a few people than allow rebellion and dissent to fester. My Kingdom was not a democracy. I want to think of it as a benevolent monarchy. I’d even go so far as to acknowledge there were tenets of socialism that would eventually bear fruit. But those services would be enacted when I decided.
Clement, Gwen, and Zui constantly goaded me into action these past few months. Reminding me almost daily that I had to have a different mindset as a Voice. I was no longer the eldest daughter of an unknown family, barely earning enough to be considered middle class.
Maintaining the aura of authority they scolded me into adopting was hard, most of the time. I have to admit; I did take an obscene amount of satisfaction in being able to hinder the ambitions of this young master and people like him.
“Return to the Sect,” I commanded once he realized his words or connections were worthless. “Inform the Empire that your Barony is forfeit, that you are no longer the territory’s Lord.
“If there are reports of you harassing or attempting to interfere in the workings of this territory from this moment on, I will treat you as a bandit and kill you.”
I could see it in the second before he acted. The moment, he decided not to bow his head and slink away. I wasn’t precisely sure what motion he made that triggered those watching, but some secret gesture had been made, and the lion’s share of the people watching joined him in launching a coordinated attack.
He vanished from sight, releasing the Qi technique he had been holding to teleport within the shadows. His people unleashed Qi attacks that filled the courtyard with many different attacks. Qi attacks laced with a range of elemental affinities.
Just three months ago, I might have fallen from Isaa’s affinities. His control over shadow, although not absolute, was impressive. My perception had advanced enough that I could follow him as he moved from shadow to shadow, looking for an opening. One I refused to give him as I began my dance of wind and Tessen.
I had gained enough control over the new techniques I earned when ranking up that the slaughter following that one ill-advised command of Isaa’s was enough to destroy the entire courtyard. My ability to distinguish between those that had attacked and those innocent bystanders allowed me to control the winds of my dance and fans so that only those that had acted died.
I allowed Isaa to see what his stupidity had engendered before I commanded the fabric I stored to catch and swaddle him, dragging him out of the shadow to stand before my fury.
There was no reason for words, no need to worry about court or laws. His actions could only be greeted with one outcome, and as his head rolled off his shoulders, I ensured his life’s blood was contained.
His journey as a young master was over. Hopefully, in his next life, he might learn some humility.