Path of the Berserker

The sky was bathed in the crimson rays of sunset as we gathered at the edge of the barrier. The entire assembly was formed, just as President Tzu Li Zen had promised. I found myself tethered to Blue Rose, Song De, Wu Liang and Wing Pho, all of us representing the lost deployments returned.

We were grouped together and positioned atop a dais that had been erected close to the barriers edge. Front row seats for the main event that would soon transpire. Out about a hundred feet from the edge of the barrier and staked to the ground by a set of chains, was Jei Su Long.

He was in a set of gray robes.

A true prisoner now.

He wasn’t gagged, but for once he wasn’t saying anything.

I could sense his fear from even where I stood a hundred feet away. In mere minutes his life would be violently ripped from him and for once, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. At the far end of the dais his uncle looked on.

The man hadn’t risked a look at me as yet, but I could sense a seething mixture of fear and hate inside of him as well. The fact that I could cultivate it however, said it was truly all directed towards me.

President Tzu Li Zen and Chief Yora then joined us on the dais.

We saluted them and then Tzu Li Zen took center stage, bringing us all to attention.

As his words echoed across the expanse of the desert, a sense of pride welled within me, and within the faces of my colleagues as well. For Tai Su Long however, it was as if a dagger had been plunged into his back. He shot the President a glancing stare and from within him a new sense of hate emerged.

“The Bloodmoon now rises,” he continued. “Jei Su Long, for the crimes you have committed, you are now condemned to die. The first wave of demons is already on the horizon. If you have any final words, now is the time.”

The entire assembly went silent.

Jei Su Long looked up at me.

For a second, I almost expected to see some kind of contrition.

But then, true to form, he scowled.

“You’ll all pay for doing this!” he shouted. “Think you have won? My family will crush this institution and everyone in it! Starting with you, President Tzu Li Zen! You could have granted mercy, but you didn’t!” He then looked at me. “And you… you’ll die at the hands of one of my family. It will not be forgotten what you did to me, Iron Bull!”

Tzu Li Zen harrumphed. “Sadder last words have never been spoken. Only the heavens can have mercy on your soul.”

“To hell with all of you!” he screamed. “Even you uncle! To hell with you!”

Jei Su Long then began pulling on his chains as he looked over his shoulder behind him. A weird, gurgling cry then escaped his throat as he gazed towards the Bloodmoon now cresting over the night horizon. It was then I realized he was already under the effects of the Dark Frenzy. His eyes were wild with fear and panic and within his soul I could already sense it succumbing to the Demonic Qi.

Without a Dantian to push back against it, he was the embodiment of what would happen to any mortal caught under the effects of the Bloodmoon. He began screaming like a banshee. Howling and crying.

“This is barbaric,” Tai Su Long muttered, as he averted his gaze.

But for me and everyone else.

We just looked on.

The rays of the Bloodmoon were not strong enough to transform him physically like it did Dim Wei and the rest of my platoon, but he at least experienced the same agony they did before they died.

Of losing his mind to the otherworldly presence of an outer god.

Even as the thought emerged, I could sense the monster’s presence consuming his soul.

Jei Su Long began laughing then as well as screaming, fits of hysterical laughter between wails of sheer terror and pain. After a while he ceased to be Jei Su Long and just became the latest poor bastard to fall victim of the war between humanity and Hell.

Suddenly, he stopped screaming and looked right at me.

His eyes were pitch black circles and I could sense a new presence there.

“Curse you Iron Bull!” he spoke with words not fully his own, his voice reverberating with a dual tone. “I see what you are now. A tool of hell! A flame of destruction that will burn the empire down!” He riled up in a frenzy again, screaming and ripping at his chains. “Foul husk! Cursed traitor! Thy seed is now mine!”

My ears sharpened at that.

That wasn’t Jei Su Long at all.

That was I’xol’ukz.

And what did it mean about my seed?

“Let me go!” Jei Su Long suddenly cried, reverting to his true self again. “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die like this! I don’t want to go where they are!”

His pathetic pleas for help continued amidst the laughing fits as a stampede of demons barreled across the desert toward him. They were the normal variety, not a Star Cursed in the bunch, but still more than capable of tearing him apart, body and soul.

“Please!” he cried. “Help me! Please!!!”

His final cry drew into a high-pitched wail of panic as the horde slammed into him. The monsters ripped him from where he stood, tearing the limbs from his body as his arms were still tethered to the chains. There wasn’t anything to see after that.

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Only the chilling screams of pain and horror as he was torn apart.

Finally, after a few seconds even they were silenced.

When the demons finally moved on, the chains were empty and bloodied.

Jei Su Long was no more.

* * *

What should have been a moment of triumph and justice, for me became one of contemplation and concern. What the hell had I’xol’ukz meant about my seed? I instantly thought of Fia and Bryce. Was it somehow aware that I now had a son?

Shit… I cursed inwardly. I need to get the hell home.

Just as I felt like breaking formation and running into the effects of the Bloodmoon to make a long-distance call, Governor Tai Su Long stepped across the dais towards us. His face was a visage of pure anger and grief.

“As my nephew rightly said,” he spoke to Tzu Li Zen directly. “Your lack of mercy will not be forgotten and nether will your words.” He then shot a glance at me. “I will see you in court.”

He turned and left then, storming off the dais.

Tzu Li Zen let out a scoff. “And so the die is now cast. Fates be with us.”

It was my turn to give him a stare of question. “Sir?”

“We will discuss it all, in a moment,” he said. “For now, there is some unfinished business to yet complete.”

Before I could understand what he even meant, President Tzu Li Zen took center stage again and then addressed the assembly. “Now that that unpleasant but necessary business is over, I wish to now switch focus and honor those who have returned to us from the Hell Worlds. May the legionnaires of the 29th deployment step forward.”

Confused looks shot between Blue Rose, Wu Liang, Song De and Wing Pho, before Chief Yora gestured for them to stand next to the president.

“These here have survived not just one, but two official tours of the Hell Worlds,” Tzu Li Zen said. “Let us honor them as they take on now, their well-earned jade trim as full-fledged legionnaires.”

The assembly broke into whistles and applause as Chief Yora did the honors, granting each of them a strip of jade ribbon that she placed bout their necks. Blue Rose looked back at me and smiled excitedly.

It was the first time I could remember seeing her looking so happy for once.

“I now call forth the sole survivor of the 28th deployment,” Tzu Li Zen said. “The Iron Bull!”

As I stepped forward, a hail of applause and lemonade washed over me.

“It goes without saying that the Iron Bull has made history at Du Gok Bhong,” Tzu Li Zen continued. “Having officially survived three tours, he is now granted the title of not only legionnaire, but Imperial Marshal.”

Chief Yora then approached me and stood on her tiptoes to drape a set of jade and gold ribbons around my neck.

“Congratulations,” she whispered. “Marshal Iron Bull.”

A chill ran through me as she addressed me by my new title.

I was still reeling from that when Tzu Li Zen addressed the assembly again. “It will go without saying that the rank of Imperial Marshal is woefully understating what the Iron Bull has accomplished. He has survived on the surface of a Hell World for weeks and is the sole reason these members of the 29th deployment have returned home safely as well. Their combined fortitude sets a new standard and will see the Academy achieve new heights of success. We now eagerly await the secrets the Iron Bull has gleaned upon his excursion, as it will no doubt aid us in our battle against the Cursed Stars. Let us, once again, congratulate him for this remarkable achievement.”

As the applause went up, I was faced with an ocean of adulation and praise.

I was almost too embarrassed to cultivate it, my eyes welling with tears.

In the crowd, I spotted Hein, along with General Gong and Captain Li Jeng. They bowed to me and then President Tzu Li Zen did as well. The assembly finally broke and I was mobbed by the hundreds of Black Robes surrounding me, starting with Blue Rose.

“An Imperial Marshal?!” she said, her eyes wide with awe. “Holy shit! Congratulations, Max!”

“Congratulations, Imperial Marshal!” Wing Pho said with a bow.

“All hail Marshal Iron Bull!” someone else shouted. “Master of the Hell Worlds!”

“Marshal Iron Bull!”

“Marshal Iron Bull!”

The shouts of praise and slaps on the back continued, causing my head to spin.

“Let us not forget,” Tzu Li Zen said, more to the Black Robes than the full assembly now. “The Iron Bull has spent more days upon a Hell World than anyone in history. He outranks me now in terms of ability.” He then cracked a smile. “But he will have to return to serve his full duty to wear those already well-earned stripes to outrank me officially.”

I shot the president another quizzical stare, but he merely laughed again, causing everyone around us to as well. I spent close to half an hour, being greeted by every color of robe in the assembly.

Finally, Ling Wei found me as the crowd thinned out.

“The imperial transport is ready to depart,” she said. “I trust you have now served your duty and are free to leave Du Gok Bhong?”

I looked to Chief Yora and the president.

“Not until you have a full debriefing,” Yora said. “And remember you need to transcribe your new art collection as well.”

I chuckled. “I might need an extra day or so Ling Wei.”

She smiled. “I’m sure the princess wont mind. It will give me a chance to communicate your arrival to her in advance.”

As she turned and walked away, President Tzu Li Zen slapped a hand on my shoulder.

“Well done, Marshal,” he said. “But now that we are alone, I wish to make my true intentions known to you.”

“True intentions?” I said.

“The execution today was more than the putting down of a vile coward and a monumental pain in the ass,” he said. “For the Su Long family and indeed even the Princess Rheutera, it was a declaration of war.”

I stared back at him stupefied. “What?”

“They would have expected me to offer Jei Su Long clemency,” he said. “By not doing so, I crossed a line. But it was your return that gave me the courage to do so.”

“What do you mean?”

He chuckled. “I meant what I said just now, about you returning to earn your stripes. I realize you have other matters to address, not least of which will be defending your princess against the accusations by princess Rheutera. I have no idea who they will put forth to challenge you, but after what you have accomplished, I have no doubt, that you will soon be, the strongest cultivator in the mortal realm.”

He said it without a hint of bullshit or humor and the steady look in his eyes said he was seeing the unseen.

“For now, your exploits upon the Hell Worlds will be a thing of whispers and rumors. This will work to your advantage while you consolidate your power. People will be wary of you. But when the time is right, you must return to Du Gok Bhong to finish what you have started here. In preparation I will write to the emperor himself to establish a new ranking of Supreme Grand Marshall. One you will immediately qualify for.”

I looked at him, stupefied again.

Yora laughed. “You really can not grasp what you have accomplished, can you?”

“How can he?” Tzu Li Zen said laughing with her. “He is too humble in his ambitions. But trust me Iron Bull, once your exploits become widespread, you will be tested, as will this academy. They will fear you, but with the granting of this title, you and by the extension, the Academy will be protected by will of the emperor himself.”

“Indeed,” Yora said. “We need only suffer the loss of funding till then.”

Tzu Li Zen harrumphed. “I would suspect the Governor is even now planning to beseech his elders to withhold our funding for next year. Which is why you must return as soon as possible, Iron Bull.”

“I don’t understand. How would me returning have anything to do with funding the academy?”

“When you reveal your true power, people will fear you, some may even try to destroy you if they believe you are still weak. But when the emperor himself acknowledges what you have achieved, every cultivator in the realm will cower, just as Tai Su Long did in court.” He then looked out at the Bloodmoon. “For all the strength of cultivators, they lack the mental fortitude necessary to face the unknown. You will have accomplished something impossible in their eyes. You will be feared as a dark god. When that happens, I will be in a position to seek patrons other than the Su Longs, but also of greater support by the emperor himself.”

That suddenly made me think of Blue Rose and her family ties. “Actually, I know someone who might have access to a lot of money already.”

So long as I could restore her family title, that was.

“That is good,” he said. “The academy has fallen out of favor in the public eye, but with you, it will be placed squarely in the forefront again. It’s your accomplishments that gave me the fortitude to make this step, Iron Bull. For too long I have had to endure the mockery of people like the Su Longs. But I meant what I said in my speech just now. With your triumph, all that ends today.”

I suddenly felt a new weight of responsibility fall upon my shoulders.

A Supreme Grand Marshal?

I couldn’t even fathom it.

But everything Tzu Li Zen said, was right. A title like that would paint a huge bullseye on my back right now. And I had a lot to achieve before then. But the stance he had just taken set the stage for a greater conflict to come.

That against not just the Hell Worlds, but the very scum of the empire who ignored it.

The thought brought on a stirring of my Twin Dao and a flare of my Flame.

This was indeed both the Demon and Struggler’s new path combined.

I chuckled inwardly with chagrin.

The scope of my battle against the empire, just got a hell of a lot wider.