Staring at the powerful C-ranker, I could immediately tell that if he wanted to kill us, we would be dead. I wasn’t sure he’d even need to use a Skill, he might be able to just crush us to death with his sheer presence. “Vanden Nevius, I presume.” I said in a faux bored tone. “Is there a reason you’re sticking your nose into my business?”

I saw his eye twitch, and internally celebrated. I wanted him mad, in fact, I wanted him so mad he couldn’t see straight, because him being here was a huge fucking problem for us and if he didn’t attack me I couldn’t solve it.

“The Wyndham. I was apprised of your presence. Unfortunately.” He said distastefully. “I deplore your kind. Hucksters and charlatans, merchants with too high an opinion of yourselves, leeching off the success of your forebears.”

I snorted. “Yeah, because nothing says ‘I hate nepotism’ like inherited wealth and noble titles. Admit it, you’re just annoyed that your daddy was some backwater imperial noble and not someone from one of the big clans. Isn’t that why you’re sucking up to this waste of space?” I pointed at the smiling and very punchable face of Spencer.

“The noble houses of the Empire are a necessary and important part of the standing order.” He sneered at me. “I wouldn’t expect a lowlife pawnbroker from a dynasty of indolents and anarchists to understand. The Empire CARES for its people, it doesn’t just leave them to die.”

I gaped at him. “Are you fucking KIDDING me? You actively encouraged a rogue actor to incite an invasion of dangerous monsters that AT BEST would have wiped out an entire city in your territory.”

He shrugged. “Eggs and omelettes. It was for the greater good. Once the Tolberts used their vote on the council of Kings to overturn my banishment the entire planet would have benefited from my strong leadership. I wouldn’t expect a hedonistic layabout from a family of maniacs to understand the burdens of leadership.”

“Well you can feel free to ponder that as you stew over your failure, now if you’ll excuse me. I have a fucking monster to murder.” I stepped forward, bringing my staff to bear, only to have a golden line carve itself in front of me. When I tried to step over it, I slammed into a wall of glowing force, bouncing off and falling on my ass in shock.

The sneer became more pronounced. “You wish to kill one under my protection in my presence. Laughable, I-” His eyes widened and he vanished as a wave of black chains ripped through the floor, snapping shut in the area he’d just been standing hard enough to tear the air itself. He reappeared ten feet away, turning to glare at the appearance of a familiar porcelain mask fading from the darkness.

“Oops.” Said Zeke lazily. “My mistake. I suppose I should be more careful where I leave my things. Someone could get hurt. And if they did, I would of course be culpable for that injury. Don’t you think, Nevius?”

“I know who you are. The brat’s guardian. Cavendish. A former native of the empire.” Hissed the formerly composed Earl. “Dog of the Wyndhams, you dare show your face here?”

Zeke just cocked his head, pointing at himself. “I’m wearing a mask you fucking idiot. Not that it matters. You know whose authority I’m here under, and you can’t do shit about it. If I’d been trying to kill you you’d be dead. That was a warning, and one you should heed.”

“I didn’t attack your charge, traitor.” Nevius growled. “He was attempting to kill one of my nobles. I was well within my rights to defend Baron Tolbert.”

Spencer grinned. “Ah, then the purge went as planned? My territory is ready?”

Nevius nodded. “It is, your grace. Baron Carrey has been…relieved of his lands. A shame his family had missed one of their tax collections a few decades back, and when it came to light I was forced to repossess their territory.”

Camden looked incensed. “You GAVE him a territory? After I had to work so hard? This is an outrage, you can’t just-”

“I think you’ll find.” Answered Nevius with a smirk. “That I can do whatever I like. Were it not for your various backgrounds I’d have leveled this manor and slaughtered the lot of you. I’m quite irritated that so many months of planning have come to nothing, you see.”

Zeke shook his head. “You never learn, do you Nevius? Swimming in waters too deep for you is what got you in trouble in the first place.” At the man’s surprise, he chuckled. “What? You think I didn’t do my own research? You should know getting involved with the affairs of your betters rarely turns out well.”

That seemed to offend the man on a deep, personal level. If Zeke hadn’t been so obviously willing and able to kill him I think he might’ve attacked. “This coming from a spineless traitor like you?” The Earl sneered. “Defecting to that den of iniquity to become a dog for Elijah Wyndham.”

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“Ok this is all fascinating.” Said Callie in annoyance. “But can you tell those of us who aren’t natives what the fuck is going on?”

Camden answered. “Because he’s a registered Baron of this planet Spencer is now part of the local hierarchy. The presence of outside forces enable Earl Nevius to step in as a protector. While your guardian could easily kill him, he’s unable to do so as the Earl hasn’t actually attacked you.”

“Would that I could.” Snapped the man. His eyes trailed to Callie. “Though perhaps not all of you are under such protections as the holy warrior and Tolbert castoff.”

Zeke snorted. “She has a deep bond with my nephew. Like…soul sharing deep. Killing her would cause grave injury to him, which means an attack on the girl is an attack on my charge. So please, feel free to try something, I’d love an excuse to kill you.”

That was…new information. Was that because we’d ranked up the bond? Nevius grimaced, but nodded. “Very well. It is, of course, immaterial. As neighboring Barons, the two Barons Tolbert are free to engage each other in the same way any of my nobles might war. I have it on good authority that Baron Tolbert the elder, our most recent addition, plans to make a hasty assault on his cousin’s territory.”

“So we let them settle it themselves then?” Zeke said with a sigh. “ I suppose if you’re going that route I can’t really intervene.”

Camden was sputtering. “I just withstood a siege from TWO separate invading forces. My elite unit is seizing the Highgrave and Clairdon estates as we speak. You can’t expect me to weather another siege after everything that’s happened!”

I hadn’t seen any Highgrave soldiers, but they could have attacked from the opposite side of the manor, I knew there was an entrance back there. Knowing the elite division was mopping up the nobles was a load off my mind, I’d been wondering where the stronger members of the army were, and I didn’t want to get screwed out of my territory.

Before Nevius could respond, Zeke cut in. “He doesn’t. Or rather, he can’t. The lion invasion counts as a natural disaster. You can invoke domain protection. It only lasts a month, but it’ll give you time to reinforce.” At the Earl’s glare, Zeke laughed. “What? Just because I ‘defected’ doesn’t mean I forgot my upbringing.”

Gritting his teeth, Nevius nodded. “Very well. You shall have a relief period of exactly a month beginning sundown tonight. At the end of that time, the domain protection will be revoked, come what may.”

Camden nodded, slumping down in relief. A cold laugh split the air. “Don’t assume this will stop me, cousin.” Said Spencer in a coy voice. “A month is plenty of time for me to accomplish MANY things. Your new friends are powerful, but don’t forget that not all of us recused ourselves from family politics. I have quite a few resources at my disposal, and nothing better to do with them than finish what I started here. Come, Nevius.” He turned and stalked toward the steps, the Earl hot on his heels.

Before he left though, I couldn’t resist getting in one last dig. “We’ll settle this in a month Spencer.” I called in my coldest tone. “Don’t forget, we’ve got a new territory of our own. Because Highgrave’s people were here, that protection applies to us too. I’m curious to see what I can do with my new land in that time.”

He didn’t even slow down, just waved over his shoulder and left. I slumped slightly once they were gone, knees weak. Callie was shaky too, and we held each other up, the sheer relief of not being under the pressure of the C-ranker anymore palpable through the bond.

“Well that went well.” Said Zeke cheerfully. “Kind of wish I could have killed the bastard, but oh well.”

I scowled. “This whole thing is bullshit. I hate the Empire. What the fuck are all these rules and politics even good for?” Him being allowed to protect Spencer because of some dumb ass loophole, and us being forced to wait for his attack were both the stupidest things I’d ever heard.

“Not much.” Admitted my uncle with a sigh. “But it is what it is. Sneaky fuckers like that are always a pain to kill, but if you want my advice, stay and get it done. You could bail now if you wanted, but that kind of guy won’t let this go. Better to take care of the problem before it gets to be a real pain.”

I waved him off. “We aren’t abandoning Camden.” I said firmly. “That was never on the table.” I turned to my friend. “So…the elite division took down Highgrave and Clairdon’s estate?”

“They will.” He said confidently. “As you remember, I stocked them up with a few…surprises, courtesy of your power. Not all of those were for the lions. Highgrave took the bait like we expected and his people took a serious pounding. I had ten of our units lying in wait on the road behind some of the camouflage artifacts you made me. They never saw it coming.”

That explained the lack of bodies at least. “Alright, well, I guess we need to go get the others and strategize.” I said with a sigh. “Nat might be able to help you with prep and repair, I assume you can pay her now?”

“Of course.” He said with a grin. “Clairdon is plenty rich. I agreed to pay Anna a finders fee for helping me sniff out his remaining stockpiles of treasure. Not to mention all the decorations and defenses of his I can sell. I take it you’re going to be taking control of your own territory as soon as possible? You erecting a new manor or taking Highgrave’s to repair?”

Callie cut in. “A new one.” She said firmly. “We don’t have time to sift through wreckage looking for traps.”

We said our goodbyes and headed up to find the others at the hospital tent. Celine was going to be taking over as an official representative, so we’d need her immediately if we wanted to get started. I’d used up today’s wishes though, so I’d need to sleep all this off before we started work.

Lions aside, I was pretty sure this next attack would be…worse. We had our D-rankers to help out, but I was sure Spencer would hire more, and thinking of his fixation on Callie and I, there was no way we’d be left out of the attack, especially after what I said.

All that was bad but…still, I found my heart was surprisingly light. We’d deal with Spencer, but for now…we’d won. We’d lost some people, and that sucked, but we’d gotten through it. Camden was alive, my team was alive, and now it was time to start building something sturdy enough to weather the coming storm. I couldn’t wait.