Rising up from a Nobleman to Intergalactic Warlord!!

---Victor POV---

Taking our first real warm-up in years seriously, the two of us were locked in the moment we stepped onto the field. In addition to keeping track of our wins and losses individually, both of us also agreed to skip the traditional reset after each victory and just slug it until we were satisfied. Quickly falling victim to the adrenaline rush of our first hundred or so exchanges, the world became a blur, leaving the two of us alone in our own space. Complementing one another’s swordplay and laughing our asses off, we would have probably kept going for hours, but our families had other plans.

“Victor, can you hear me?!”, Ahsoka called out telepathically. “I tried speaking to Liam, but all I got was maniacal laughter.

“I can hear you, yes. Is something wrong?”, I inquired, listening closely for her response.

“Can you two stop dueling for a second? Your friendly sparring session has decimated the yard and destroyed the surrounding area.”, Ahsoka explained, “Samus absentmindedly attempted to walk outside to speak with the two of you, and the gale-force winds you are generating nearly blew everyone away. We would all appreciate it if you stopped now; the violent shaking is making a few of us queasy.”

Hearing her message loud and clear, I swiftly disarmed Liam and tossed my training sword to the ground. Looking at me with confusion, Liam asked me what I was doing as we still had several more minutes left in our warm-up session. Gesturing toward his residence, the duke turned his head to see what I was pointing at. Horrified by what he saw, he began threatening to kill the person(s) responsible for obliterating his oasis.

“Uh, Liam, the two of us are the ones who caused all this damage. We apparently went a little overboard and caused a localized windstorm.”, I chuckled, looking around for the saleswomen that had followed us out here. “Liam… Where did your guests go?”

“We are up here…”, Eulisia answered, caught in the branches of a nearby tree, “Are you still alive over there, Nias?”

“Yeah, I somehow managed to continue living.”, Nias said, before spitting out a few leaves. “You have a little something in your hair, Eulisia. Looks like maybe a beetle or pebbles?”

Hesitantly dislodging the crap from her blonde hair, she let out a terrified scream when one of the objects began to make some noise. Floundering around trying to get away, the branches that were holding her up snapped, sending her plummeting forty feet toward the ground. Catching her with the Force, I gingerly set her down before giving Nias a helping hand. Looking away while they fixed their disheveled clothing, people began exiting the mansion to survey the damage.

“No, not like this!”, Brian wailed, staring at the decimated flower beds. “I spent months meticulously raising them, and now they are all gone!”

“I… I am sorry, Brian.”, Liam apologized, aware that his butler had put a great deal of effort into caring for the mansion’s flower garden. “We will buy more flowers, and I… I will help replant them.”

“Give me a second; I can repair the damage we caused.”, I told them, ‘While unintentional, this gives me a good opportunity to practice my time magic.’

Targeting the surrounding area, I rewound the hands of time back to just before our sparring began. Watching the scenery promptly mend itself, Brian and Liam watched the flowers jump back into their carefully arranged locations. Startled by what they were seeing, a few of the maids fainted while the saleswomen’s jaws fell open.

“Incredible, I have never met someone who can manipulate time before!”, Nias proclaimed, carefully adjusting her glasses. “There are rumors that a race once existed that could freely manipulate time, but I thought it was just a fairy tale. Just how in the world did you obtain such a godly power?”

“There is a lot I am willing to share with others, but time manipulation is not one of them.”, I said, rejecting her request immediately.

Refusing to accept my answer, Nias shakily undid the top two buttons of her shirt and pushed her breast up. Moving closer to me, she repeated her request once again, this time in a cuter tone. Giving her a blank expression, I bluntly informed her that she did nothing for me. Shattering her self-confidence, the saleswoman rapidly deflated and wandered off to sulk.

“HAHA!!”, Liam guffawed, struggling to stay upright as he began hyperventilating, “I have done and said many things over the years in response to her provocative advances, but never have I gone that far. That was just brutal!”

“She walked into that herself. If she had accepted my answer at face value, I would have never said anything.”, I remarked with a shrug. “Anyways, it is time for our mech battle now, right?”

“Of course, let's head to the arena right away!”, Liam agreed, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Brian, have the men bring Avid to the- “

“Lord Liam, I recommend postponing your mech battle until we can send out a proper notice to the public. Given the destruction both of you unleashed with just wooden swords, collateral damage to the Entertainment District is almost guaranteed.”, Amagi spoke up.

Having already caused extensive amounts of damage today, Liam and I reluctantly agreed to postpone the match. Since it would take a few days for the public to be adequately informed, the two of us began trying to come up with something to tide us over until then. Offering up a few places we could visit within his territory, Amagi gently reminded Liam that pirate hunting was also a suitable option as well. Having forgotten about the offer I mentioned earlier, the duke quickly settled on his maid’s suggestion and asked if that worked for me.

“I am game for a bit of pirate hunting.”, I agreed, turning to my wives. “Do you want to come with me, or will you stay here with Rosetta?”

“Actually, I believe we were thinking about going to do some clothes shopping.”, Mylene said, giving Rosetta a knowing wink. “Is that still an option?”

“Of course!”, Rosetta replied, remembering their earlier conversation. “Is that alright, dear?”

“No need to ask me for permission; do as you see fit.”, Liam answered. “Let us get going, Victor. If we leave now, we can take a high-speed gate to reach the border by this evening.”

Separating themselves from the woman’s group, Ahsoka, Bo-Katan, and Samus asked to tag along with us as well. Saying they had no interest in clothes shopping right now, their preference was to join us on our hunt instead. Glancing over at Roxanne, who usually liked to tag along on these expeditions, I asked if she was coming with us. Looking at me, then back at the others, Roxanne informed me there were a few items she wanted to buy, so she would be sitting this one out. Understanding her decision, I advised everyone that I would leave the New Genesis here and take the Endless Horizons with me.

“I assume this means you will be gone for a few days?”, Angelica inquired.

“Yeah, I assume that is the plan.”, I answered, glancing back at Liam, who was enthusiastically nodding his head, “If you need anything, let me know.”

Walking over to us, our wives gave us a farewell kiss before wishing us luck. Turning to leave, Eulisia and Nias stopped us and asked for permission to tag along. Expressing an interest in seeing how their vessels stacked up against mine, Liam reluctantly granted them permission to stay aboard his flagship as observers.

---Thirty Minutes Later---

Maneuvering the Endless Horizons out of its designated hangar, I pulled up alongside Liam’s flagship with a smug smirk on my face. Four to five times larger than every vessel he brought, the looks on their faces when we opened a channel were priceless. Giving them some time to come back to reality, Eulisia and Nias were the first to speak as they began pressing me for details about its construction and design. Refusing to share any details with them, I told them it was a state secret and therefore could not be divulged.

‘Not only does his ship look badass and menacing, but I also guarantee it is filled to the brim with all sorts of technological marvels. I cannot wait to see what it is capable of!’, Liam thought, with a childlike smile on his face, “Victor, I will send over the coordinates to the high-speed gate that will take us to the border. Please stand by.”

“Do not worry about it, Liam. I can take us all to the border in seconds.”, I bragged. “Watch and learn!”

Opening a large Force Storm, the Algrandians looked on in astonishment as one of their border worlds came into focus. Piloting my flagship through the breach, Liam’s fleet slowly followed me as they struggled to comprehend what they were witnessing. Closing the breach behind us once everyone was through, I began scouring reports for the nearest cluster of pirate sightings.

“Lo… Lord Stark… What… what did you just do…?”, Eulisia questioned, her mind still reeling from the revelation that they had just moved tens of thousands of light-years in an instant.

“In laymen’s terms, I generated a hyperspace wormhole that connected our previous location to where we are now. While I could have used our Fold Drive to do something similar, your ships would have been unable to safely follow us through.”, I answered, enjoying their flustered reactions, “Is that a problem?”

“Does this mean you can open wormholes to anywhere in the universe?”, Nias asked.

“Pretty much.”, I chuckled. “I use this power during wartime to move my armada to wherever it is needed. Thanks to that, we always get the drop on our enemy and can usually deliver a crushing blow before they have a chance to retaliate.”

Hearing my words, Liam’s crew and the saleswomen broke out into a cold sweat. While they took it as a sign that I was not someone they should make an enemy out of, Liam’s tearful expression suggested he was very impressed with my subtle threat.

<Master, I have several recent reports of pirate activity a few hours from our present location. If the reports are to be believed, several large pirate fleets have begun to gather to intercept a convoy of refugee vessels scheduled to pass by later this evening.> (Luxion)

“Sounds like we have our first target. Do we want to use the warp engines to get there, or shall I open another hyperspace wormhole?”, I asked Liam.

“Let’s use the warp engines; it will give my crew time to finish their preparations for battle. We left in a hurry with the intention of using the transit time to wrap things up, but your wormhole threw us off.”, Liam chuckled.

“Understood, sending you the coordinates now.”, I replied.

Once the coordinates were received, one by one we began making the jump toward the last reported sighting. Handing the reins over to the ship’s machine spirit, Horizon, I stepped off the bridge and headed to my room to relax for a bit.