Chương 1176: 1206 - From Emperor to Prince

The armada was set to arrive in the Voidspace above Yun's Empire a day after Leon made his offer of vassalage. That was how long Yun had to make his decision. In the end, however, he only deliberated for three hours. He had his pride as an Emperor, and for that, Leon gave him due respect. However, his situation was such that he had little other choice than to accept Leon's terms.

'No other choice…' Leon darkly thought as Yun and Zhang were both escorted into his throne room aboard Storm Herald. The legitimizing factor of having the Emperor bow to him was a boon to his mood, but he couldn't help but ponder the young man's situation and what it had forced from him.

Leon himself had been in some awful positions before, and for as far as his Kingdom might spread, as powerful as it may become, he reminded himself as Yun fell to his knees before Leon's throne that his Kingdom was tiny compared to the real powers in the universe, and barely microscopic compared to the Kingdom of Jason Keraunos. His Clan had fallen once before, and it was all too possible that he may find himself in Yun's position one day, forced to choose between his life and his Kingdom.

He'd long vowed that he would bow his head in submission to no one for the remainder of his life, but he didn't begrudge Yun for making a choice he wasn't willing to make. It took courage to surrender oneself to an enemy, and as much to submit. Quietly, Leon promised himself not to let either pride or politics punish Yun for this decision, and the young man's knees had barely brushed the floor before Leon called for him and Zhang to rise. Having kneeled as an Emperor, Yun rose as a Prince.

Formalities were held as his vassalage contract was confirmed. His power in his former Empire would remain, but Leon would first have to make that Empire former.

"Come and speak with me, Yun," Leon called out once the formalities were over. He happily stepped off the throne and waved for the newly-instated Prince to follow him. Yun, looking none too pleased, acquiesced, with Daryun, Zhang, and several Tempest Knights falling in behind them. Out of the throne room Leon led them, through trapezoidal corridors lit by a false sky on the ceiling and light murals telling of the ancient glories of the Thunderbird Clan, and into a small sitting room.

The walls were enchanted to resemble the palace plane of Minos, as Leon had been led to believe, the spiritual and cultural capital of the ancient Thunderbird Clan, and the home plane of the Thunderbird herself. None of that was on display, however, as what 'surrounded' the room were mountains, forests, rivers, and plains, a vision of wild beauty that Leon enjoyed immensely. The center of the room was a large round table made of stone, surrounded by benches of polished marble and silkgrass padding.

Leon took a seat at the table, and Yun sat down a moment later after some silent prodding by Leon. Daryun and Zhang, however, remained standing, while the Tempest Knights posted up outside.

"Relax," Leon told the younger man, though his words had little effect.

"What's done is done. We can speak freely in here."

"It is hard to relax when one's throne has just been taken away," Yun stated in Nexus common, his accent light despite how recently the language had been seared into his mind. Leon grinned, and Yun immediately paled.

"I—I mean, I am very committed to this, I'm grateful for your protection and aid in restoring me to—"" Relax," Leon repeated.

"I'm not going to rip your head off for a bit of bitterness. Instead, how about we focus that ire against your enemies back in your lands?" Yun's face contorted several times, showing first some fear, then anger, and finally settling on aristocratic stoicism.

"The regents…" he whispered.

"And their capabilities," Leon added.

"Tell me about them." Yun thought for several long seconds, his eyes locked on the table in front of him.

"My father," he finally began, "died young. Young for his power. I had just been born. A Regency Council was established to rule until I reached my majority. That was four years ago, and they have steadily declined to relinquish power. Tensions simmered until just a few days ago when they attempted to assassinate me. I am only still alive thanks to the valiant efforts of my friend and sworn spear, Zhang." Zhang remained motionless, but Leon detected the barest hints of pride in the dark-haired and dark-eyed man.

"As it so happens…" Yun continued, his vermilion eyes finally turning up to properly regard Leon, "Lord Clear Day—""He is no Lord," Leon immediately corrected, "and he might object to you saying that he is." Yun smiled contritely and nodded.

"The honorable Clear Day mentioned that you might be able to fix a weapon of great sentimental value that was broken during our flight from Jiaxing."

"Oh? I like to think that I'm a blacksmith of some skill, meager though it may be. Might I see this broken weapon?" Yun's eyes turned to Zhang, and Leon's followed suit. Zhang remained stoically impassive, but his reluctance to show off his weapon was confirmed when Yun had to order him to present his 'Mountain Cleaver'. Such a name gave Leon the impression of an enormous ax or sword, but when Zhang finally summoned the shards of his weapon, he immediately reset his expectations.

He extended his magic, gently taking the shards from the reluctant bodyguard.

"This must have been a magnificently beautiful weapon," he said as he started aligning the broken pieces with his elementless magic. Daryun snorted.

"A little too fancy—one should focus on the practicality of the weapon, not its beauty." Zhang glared at Daryun, and even Yun looked mildly ticked, but Leon didn't need prodding from either of them to offer his differing opinion.

"Form need not be sacrificed on the altar of practicality, Daryun; and from what I can sense from these pieces, this weapon's power was great, unhindered by its beauty. A true master forged this weapon." By this point, he'd fully reassembled the pieces, though they were only being held together by his magic and would fall apart the moment he ceased.

His expert eyes roamed the weapon, from the deadly spear tip engraved with runes of power to the ornate haft, decorated in wondrous geometric patterns that flowed harmoniously between inscribed enchantments. Even the butt of the weapon had seen the touch of a master, forming a curved tooth-like shape that would serve it quite well in a violent situation.

"A beautiful piece," Leon repeated with a smile of appreciation sent Zhang's way, which the bodyguard responded well to, though he remained silent.

"Can it be repaired?" Yun asked.

"Easily enough," Leon stated.

"It doesn't appear that particularly bespoke or strategic materials were used in its forging. The only problem I see is that the enchantments will take some doing to reapply. We would also have to judge whether or not the pieces ought to be completely melted down and reforged, or if the current pieces can simply be reattached. Personally, I would suggest the former, but I'll leave that up to the owner." Zhang shifted uneasily as the other three men in the room stared him down, awaiting his response.

"What… would be the cost?" he asked, his accent much thicker than Yun's. Cutting in, Yun declared, "I would insist that any such costs be borne by me! This weapon, a relic of Zhang's honorable ancestors, was broken in my defense; as such, it is my duty to see it repaired!" Leon waved dismissively, his grin widening in the light of Yun's earnestness.

"Don't think of the cost, I'll do this as a favor!"

"Then…" Zhang whispered, "I would ask that the spear be repaired as completely as possible. The details I would leave to more knowledgeable men." Leon nodded, a plan quickly forming in his mind for how to repair the weapon. Turning the broken spear a few times in the air, Leon quickly memorized not only the spear's exact shape but also its entire enchantment scheme.

Some amusement bubbled up as he realized that, due to the age and material of the weapon, some of the enchantments had degraded as the inscribed metal was worn down. That was something else that he could fix. After that, he ran his finger along the weapon, using every ounce of skill he possessed in earth magic to analyze the weapon's composition.

It was almost entirely metal, the weight of it placing the weapon far outside of a mortal's ability to wield it, but in the hands of a tenth-tier mage like Zhang, that was hardly an issue.

'Steel… ooh, that's a lot of titanium! Some bronze fittings beneath the steel surface… silver within the surface—probably to give it more shine and to make it more easily enchanted…' He found himself fairly surprised by the weapon's metal content, especially as he ran down a list of more than a dozen other trace metals within that his power touched.

Some of these trace metals appeared to be impurities, but others had clear purpose, increasing the strength and toughness of the weapon without compromising its capacity to hold enchantments and channel magic—given that weight was much less of a factor for it, the smith indulged himself quite a bit. Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Grateful for the chance to show off, Leon extended his hand and conjured a ball of bright fire.

Yun twitched and Zhang took a step forward in alarm, but Daryun remained where he was, watching in fascination as Leon's fire enveloped the weapon and obscured it from view. The heat was immense, but Leon's control over his magic ensured that the room as a whole wasn't affected. The fifth-tier Yun hardly felt anything despite sitting almost within reaching distance of fire hot enough to melt steel and titanium. In a further display of power, Leon reached into the fire and took hold of the liquified metal.

His fire dimmed slightly, shifting to maintaining the metal's state rather than changing it, and allowing the others to watch as his power rushed over the metal, sealing gaps and healing cracks. Leon's skill in earth magic wasn't nearly strong enough to directly control metal or stone, but with physical contact, his elementless magic could do a reasonable facsimile; in moments, Zhang's spear had been reformed, and in a further few seconds, all of its enchantments and decorations had been reapplied.

Leon went even further, refining some of the enchantments and strengthening the metal. The entire process took less than half a minute, and when Leon pulled his hand away and quenched his fire, the spear hung in the air, cool to the touch and shining with inner light, the sight worthy of a legendary weapon. Yun gasped, whispering, "Wow…" in his native tongue. Switching smoothly back to Nexus Common, he said admiringly, "That was fast."

"I've had a lot of practice," Leon said.

"Many of the materials I'm more used to are much harder to work with, so working with standard materials is a nice change of pace. Take it, Zhang, see how you like it." Zhang's black eyes glittered like the night sky as he advanced and took Mountain Cleaver in hand again. His grip was light, almost reverent, and he closed his eyes as the spear's light grew brighter.

"It's… perfect," he whispered. His eyes gleamed with gathering tears as he focused on Leon.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Leon replied. Swiftly switching tracks so as not to get stuck in minutes of fervent thanks, he said to Yun, "Your guard has his weapon again. Now… in your own words, I would hear what sort of enemies await him." Yun's admiring look fell.

"I… am unsure of the details. I was not able to contact most of the forces on Xixing or Dongxing. Even most of Jiaxing's armies are of uncertain loyalty. However, after our flight from Jiaxing, I believe that all of the Void Corps lies in Wang Jujun's hands."

"And he is…?"

"Ah, right. He was only a eunuch in my father's reign, but he amassed such power that he is the unofficial leader of the regents. It was by his order that I was almost slain in my bed. It was his actions that forced me from my palace, accompanied only by my most loyal and valiant retainer, and put to flight from Jiaxing."

"Sounds to me like someone who has to die."

"We agree. There are others, too."

"Give me a list, I'll be sure to give them priority." Yun nodded and began listing off his known enemies. They were fairly numerous since almost all of the titled courtiers in the Imperial City were more loyal to the regents than to him. After that, Leon asked for more details about his Empire's military capacity.

The numbers relayed to him were astounding—millions of men were semi-professional soldiers, though they were mostly settled on either Xixing or Dongxing, both of which required such settlement since they'd been conquered only a few hundred years ago. Professional troops, meanwhile, numbered nearly ten million as of Yun's last report, and the former Emperor admitted that reserves may have been called in the past few days.

In short, all of the remaining arks around the Empire were fair targets, while the ground forces were being assumed hostile. Since he was leaving Yun largely in charge of all three planes, however, Leon decided that he could ignore them until they presented a problem. For the moment, all he had to do was defeat the regents' arks in Voidspace, then take the Imperial City. Once Yun was placed back in power, most of the rest of the Empire ought to fall in line. If they didn't…

he had the capacity to enforce the authority of his newest vassal… During the talk, Yun also revealed the Empire's favored method of communication: comm stones, delightfully similar to the most common method of communication on Aeterna. They didn't have any comm stones, however, but Leon realized that with all the debris in the Empire's Voidspace, they might be able to find one, which led him to an idea… A smile crossed his face as his idea took further shape.

Maybe they wouldn't have to defeat the enemy in the Void; maybe they could get the enemy fleets to surrender. Or maybe only get some to surrender.

'Or maybe they'll all be stubborn and die for it,' Leon considered. Either way, there was merit in trying, and to that end, he projected his magic and got in touch with Anzu…

Storm Herald's main observation deck had quickly become Leon's preferred headquarters when aboard his flag ark. Anshu was on the bridge directing most of the tactical movements, and Leon didn't want to step on his toes when he didn't have to. Remaining in a place where he could watch the battle meant that he could keep the overall strategy in mind without disrupting the ark's chain of command.

Of course, he still had a fairly significant staff on hand to stay fully informed and in communication with all of his forces, but he wasn't giving specific arks or ark groups commands, nor was he personally directing Storm Herald. He stood close to the front of the observation deck.

In the far distance, Leon could see the glittering star-like lights partially lit by Jiaxing's sun above them, speckled between the planes and illuminated by Jiaxing's sun, which lay between their respective forces since Leon's armada had the Nexus at their back. From the three planes' perspectives, his fleets would be coming almost directly down upon them since all planes in the universe 'faced' the Nexus.

Beside him stood Yun, with Zhang, Daryun, Red, and about two dozen Tempest Knights and deck staff at their back.

"Final tally is three hundred and fifty-nine!" one of the staff called out, eliciting a smile from Leon.

"A strong fleet," he stated.

"The strength of your Empire is to be admired."

"The fleets were nearly five times that strong mere days ago," Yun bitterly stated.

"They would've outnumbered us nearly two to one then," Leon said.

"Now we have the numerical advantage."

"And our arks are larger!" Anzu called out as he strode into the large room, a sealed thunder wood box slung under his arm.

"I found one!"

"They've hardly moved, brother," Leon replied.

"I doubt they even knew you were there!" Anzu grinned and puffed out his chest.

"Subtle and discreet! That's me!"

"And we're adding 'successful' to that list, aren't we?" Leon prodded. Anzu's grin spread into a full smile, and he laid the thunder wood on the table nearest to Leon and Yun. When it opened, three spheres each made of stone blacker than the Void itself. Two of them were about twice the size of Leon's fist while the third was slightly larger than his head.

"Three comm stones," he said.

"Functional, as far as I can tell." Leon's eyes roamed the spheres, their enchantments unfolding before him, their secrets unable to stay hidden with his expertise. One of the stones, unfortunately, appeared too damaged to use, but the largest one was fully intact, baring a few small scratches on its otherwise perfectly smooth surface. Breathing deeply through his nose, Leon waved one of the deck staff over to give it a more official inspection while Yun and Zhang did likewise.

His golden eyes then turned back to the waiting armada thousands of miles away. Out in the Void, his arks could make that journey in minutes. They were even technically within weapons range, though their weapons fire would be ineffective against moving targets like arks. They could bombard the three planes if they wanted to, however… With the help of the comms officer helping them, Yun and Zhang connected the stone to Storm Herald's magic power systems and began calibrating it for use at extreme range.

As they worked, polychromatic runes began to illuminate beneath the surface of the large comm stone, which began to resemble glass as more and more runes activated, further illuminating the tone from within. Soon, Yun and the comms officer paused.

"We're almost ready," Yun whispered.

"One more rune… and anyone who's listening will be able to hear me…" Leon gave the rest of the room a look. Word was quickly sent to the bridge, then throughout the armada. They were about to find out just how much violence was required to take these planes, and once they knew, they'd enact that violence quickly. Most were ready to face the entire enemy fleet—a reasonable outcome given Yun had told Leon that almost all of these arks had already turned against him in the battle just a couple days ago.

"Begin whenever you're ready," Leon calmly stated. He moved to stand close to Yun, hoping that his presence might lend the young man any confidence he might be lacking. Zhang did the same, standing on his other side. After a couple deep breaths, Yun activated the final rune on the stone. Light flashed across the stone's surface, and then it glowed a brilliant white as magic flowed freely through it. Yun waited a few more seconds, and after the light began to gently pulse, he spoke in the tongue of his people.

"Stalwart men of the Empire! Sons of Jiaxing, Xixing, and Dongxing! Valiant defenders of the Empire, loyal and true! I am Yun, son of Yunchang, last son of the Imperial House, inheritor of the will of Ji, the great father of my line, and First Son of the Heavens! Take heed my words, the words of your rightful Emperor! You have been deceived by the traitors in the Imperial City, whose greed and ambition have left them sightless, honorless, and bereft of loyalty!

Throw down your weapons, honor your loyal fathers who served my ancestors, and stand down! Those who raise arms against their Emperor are shunned by Heaven, scorned by the gods, and cursed by their ancestors! Stand down, or I shall return to my Empire as the First Emperor Ji did after enduring the Great Crucible: with fire and vengeance!

Stand down, or you shall witness the might of the Imperial House, unseen since the times of my ancestor, Emperor Ming, who first brought the Imperial Banner into the Void and draped it over Xixing and Dongxing! Stand down!" Yun closed his eyes and breathed deeply for several seconds before laying a hand on the comm stone and powering it down, his speech over.

'How many heard it?' Leon wondered as his eyes, and those of everyone else in the room, turned to the front projected window.

'How many will listen?' The seconds passed interminably slowly, but soon, the answer became clear. A quarter of the arks facing them down peeled off, dropping down to the surface of the planes they guarded. The others scrambled to fill the gaps, and a few even fired a few bright light beams after the retreating arks, to little effect. Those left were enemies. They had the best chance to surrender that they would ever get and they refused. Almost three hundred arks lay between him and these three planes.

The time had come to remove them from his path.

"They want a fight!" Leon declared.

"Let's give them one! Launch the attack!"