Path of the Berserker

Third Princess Lunalah,

Greetings to you in the name of your father, the Great Soul Emperor Yin Yee. My excursion to the Imperial Legionnaire Academy of Du Gok Bhong has been a most eventful one. As you directed, I stood as defense for the Iron Bull during his trial.

The results were somewhat mixed, but I believe positive overall.

Firstly, as expected, your elder sister, Second Princess Rheutera, did indeed file a writ against you, regarding the ‘letter’ to the Iron Bull, accusing you of treason against the empire.

Princess Lunalah stopped reading as her mind filled with rage.

“That old bitch!” she cursed.

She was nearly tempted to tear the letter up, but Ling Wei had written much more. She stomached the insult to read further.

In the closing arguments, I offered the life of the Young Master Jei Su Long for admitting the letter was a fake. They surprisingly were willing to sacrifice the life of the Young Master of the Su Long family to insist on the letter’s authenticity. This cleared the Iron Bull’s name but placed you under scrutiny, which in retrospect was perhaps their true intentions all along.

Lunalah’s heart jumped.

This was the exact outcome she had sent Ling Wei to avoid.

How could she have failed so miserably?

She dared to read on.

Rest assured your majesty, that although you face a serious allegation, I believe you are still in very good standing. I countered the writ with a martial defense and offered the Iron Bull as your proxy.

This move is well within our favor. The Iron Bull is now on the cusp of a breakthrough to the Lesser Deity Realm. Further, his survival on the Hell Worlds is a feat unprecedented. He has now been ranked as an Imperial Marshal as a result. However, according to the academy President, High Marshal Tzu Li Zen, he is technically of a standing never yet recorded in history. That of a Supreme Grand Marshal.

Lunalah’s heart leapt again, but for a different reason this time.

Her Iron Bull had grown far stronger than even she could have imagined.

It was nearly too good to believe. She had prayed for him to return home a legionnaire, but an Imperial Marshal? And now worthy of rank far beyond even that?

Her heart swooned.

He would be more than just worthy of becoming her consort. In the public eye, she would be envied amongst her peers. Envied even by her older sisters.

Lunalah let out a giggle as she stomped her feet with excitement.

She hadn’t felt this giddy in decades.

Centuries even.

She’d done it. She’d cultivated the perfect husband.

One fitting of a true princess.

And now, in mere days, he would be returning home to her. And betrothed to no one.

Lunalah’s mind spun with daydreams of how it would all unfold. She would have to literally sit on her hands when he came to present himself to her. She had to remember he would still be grieving. She would have to woo him with tact.

But Ling Wei had chosen well in making him her proxy. What better way to display his talents and worth than in the largest of public eyes. The High Council. The trial would have to take place upon the core worlds on the edge of the Celestial Realm. She would be in a position to display herself on a stage even greater than that of the lower courts. Perhaps even her father might deign to watch from afar.

Perhaps… she thought, as her excitement dampened a little.

In truth she had not seen her father for over a century. After the celebration of her eighteenth birthyear, he had long since moved on to his next wife and family. And the times seeing him before that were sparse as well.

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Lunalah shook the thoughts away.

She was too old to be some girl pining for her father’s attention. She would have her own husband soon. A man to finally call her own. One she would now, not only be proud to put on display, but one that would be the envy of all her dreaded sisters.

She was so enthralled that she skimmed the rest of the letter.

Most of it spoke of the details of the trial and how they should prepare. The Iron Bull would have at least eight months. According to Ling Wei, Rheutera would be hard pressed to find a subject worthy of matching him in status much less power. Her victory was nearly assured.

That caused Lunalah’s heart to jump for a third time.

If he reached Lesser Deity Realm, the Iron Bull would surpass even her.

She needed to wed him quickly.

Eight months should be more than enough time to grieve the loss of that foolish girl and her child. Lunalah’s mind quickly went to work, strategizing. She would need to use the trial as a means to make the offer. A reward even.

Yes. She would be his prize for defending her.

Lunalah read through the rest of the letter.

As the Iron Bull was indeed the sole survivor of his official tour, we have been granted the full Imperial grant. This will mean a reversal of the grant already issued to your elder Sister Rheutera. With such a prize snatched away from them, it is no wonder that she has come for your blood. So, with that in mind, they will no doubt attempt to use that as an angle to discredit you further and bring validity to the letter.

On a positive note, however, your treasury is now saved.

With the arrival of the imperial funds, we can restore normal services and even resume construction of the Omni Gate, if you so desire. With the failure of the tournament to attract new arrivals, the gate would now be the only means of ensuring we do not go bankrupt again.

I implore you to take this recommendation seriously, your majesty.

Luanalah grimaced at the thought. She didn’t like the idea of being dictated decisions by a subordinate, but in this case, Ling Wei was likely correct. The Iron Bull had saved her planet by securing that grant and with that money they could complete the gate in record time. In months instead of years even. Perhaps even fast enough so that they could travel to the High Council hearing not by ship but through the gate itself.

How grand of a statement and entrance would that be? she thought with a smile on her lips.

Lunalah made a mental note to issue a new edict to General Xi Lui to restart the project and to spare no expense to get it completed in record time. She finally read the last page of the letter.

There is also a small matter of the Iron Bull’s companions who have joined him on his return trip. They are all somewhat affiliated with his military service but one of them is his former brother-in-law. Considering their mutual loss, I would say that they are both dealing with their grief exceptionally well. They have been nothing but jovial over the past few days of our voyage. In fact, I have never seen people eat and drink so much in my life. I fear they may even deplete the ships entire rations before we return.

Nevertheless, he is very much looking forward to his confrontation with Seventh Warden, Lady Silver Tear. I believe he still places much of the blame on his loss on her, so I would advise that you keep your initial welcome brief so that he may satisfy his bloodlust before welcoming him fully at a later date.

By the time you read this letter we should be soon returning.

Sincerely,

Your loyal subject, Ling Wei.

Lunalah chuckled inwardly.

Satisfy his bloodlust? She thought. She would rather for him to come home and satisfy a different kind of lust with her, but that would have to wait for their wedding night. Still, there would be much to do before then and not least of which was to meet her foolish sister’s challenge head on.

She drew a fresh sheet of parchment and began writing.

Dearest elder sister Rheutera,

I am saddened to hear of the loss of your planet’s Young Master, Jei Su Long. It would appear my theory was correct, in that he was a liar of the highest order and worthy of death for his accusing the Iron Bull of that which he was guilty of.

I had trusted that once true justice had been served, you would have accepted your fate graciously. But I understand, that now, in perhaps a paltry attempt to save face, that you have issued a writ against me. Trust and believe, my dear sister, that your success at the next trial will be as forthcoming as the first.

Yet another embarrassing defeat you shall receive at the hands of the Iron Bull.

I hope you have a worthy proxy to stand for you.

As for me, I have an Imperial Marshal.

What have you?

Lunalah

She ended the letter with a laugh.

Take that, you bitch, she thought.

But there was one other sister she needed to put in her place.

She wet her brush again.

My dearest elder sister Ul’vera,

I write to you to let you know that not only was your last offer to ‘purchase’ the Iron Bull for only 100,000 spirit stones an insult, but that indeed so was your first offer of 500,000. I would have you know that he is now an Imperial Marshal, a ranking that would far exceed the lowly heffers you were planning to wed him off to.

I wonder how you have survived to your ripe old age with such short sightedness.

Perhaps it is a condition of your slow cultivation that your thought has slowed as well.

If you wish to see the true value of my Iron Bull, I invite you to the High Council in eight months’ time to witness his martial defense of me against our mutual older sister, Princess Rheutera. I know you two are close, so perhaps it would be best for you to be there to console her when her proxy falls miserably to my ‘lowly, native’ champion.

Oh, and I would add I would even allow your husbandless granddaughters to attend the event to have but a glimpse of the Iron Bull at no cost. Any time after that, and I will have to charge them.

See you at the trial if you dare have the nerve to show your face.

Your prettier and younger sister,

Lunalah

Lunalah laughed as she sealed both letters with her imperial seal. The second letter was perhaps a bit immature and unnecessary, but to hells with Ul’vera and her presumptuousness. Still, she was certain, if Ling Wei were here, she would perhaps try to convince her to send neither of them.

Lunalah laughed again.

Ling Wei would probably be right, but she had an Imperial Marshal to defend her now.

And one soon to be her husband.

Lunalah quickly summoned her administrator and posted both letters.