Chapter 308: A New Dawn (1/2)

”You're right. I spoke with him about being contracted under the Empire. I wanted to buy out the contract, along with his village. What's your price?”

A sly grin cropped up on the Emperor's scarred face, ”Oh, Tera? He's not for sale.”

I leaned back, ”What? Of course he's not for sale. I'm talking abofut the contract.”

Obolis rolled his eyes. ”The difference between the two is negligible. Tera is an enormous pool of potential value, and while I understand your misgivings with our methods, I can't offer him to you without excessive compensation.”

Several minds kicked into action, as before. The fluidity of the process came through better this time, making me less clunky and stunted. I turned a hand,

”Then there's got to be a price you're willing to accept.”

Obolis furrowed his brow, ”That's the issue at hand; his value far exceeds what you believe it is. For that reason, the prices I'd state are unwieldy for you. At this time, that is.”

I raised my brow, ”Try me.”

”Would you offer me all the treasure you gained from this ceasefire with Elysium?”

I took a sharp breath, understanding that he wasn't playing 'Mr. Nice Emperor' anymore. I crossed my arms, ”Ok...justify that demand.”

”Gladly. Tera is a Speaker who capped his level. He's a member of the skeptilian race, giving him a natural affinity for arcane magic. This sorcerous potential gives him a similar combative ability to a Breaker but with the logistical strength of a Speaker. That combination is invaluable.”

I frowned, ”You could just send in a Breaker and a Speaker in place of him. Now I'm all for classers and their powers, but I'm well aware their wages wouldn't amount to that treasure over there. Don't try to play me here.”

Obolis raised his palms, knowing he was pressing a nerve, ”While I understand your hesitation, you must also understand what Tera has accomplished under Phillip's instruction. Almost single-handedly, Tera gained the Empire another planet.”

Remembering Tera's misgivings over his titles, I clicked together a few pieces of my previous conversation with Tera. He was a World Breaker. Based on what Obolis just said, the World Breaker title didn't mean Tera literally shattered a world. He could've broken a planet in other ways. Putting two and two together, I gave Obolis a slow nod,

”Ah, so that's what happened. Tera bankrupted another large guild on a planet. He made the world go 'broke,' so to speak, giving him his title. That's also why Phillip is in the position he's in; Tera earned it for him. That's impressive. I'm guessing you came in and took over the world by buying out their debts?”

Obolis's eyes widened, ”Well, well, perceptive, aren't you? That's correct. Tera gained us Absolon-78 by collapsing their economy. It was a genuine display of genius, and that's why I can't hand him over without absurd payment.”

I tilted my head, ”That explains why Phillip didn't seem that well put together despite wearing a black mask. Compared to Florence or Helios, he's underwhelming by comparison.”

Obolis winced a bit at my words, the Emperor well aware of that issue, ”You noticed that, hm? It's a shame that he's misrepresenting the Empire's lofty impression, but I must reward the subjects who reward me. Otherwise, motivations may plummet, and few would serve me well in turn.”

”Then why not reward Tera? He's the one who did all of that. Not Phillip.”

Obolis sighed, ”Alas, the Empire is constructed with the albony at its center. To maintain order, I give the rights of lesser planets to my family members. Their management allows those planets to prosper, and what their subjects reap goes to the rulers above them. That is why Phillip wears the mask he does, even if his character doesn't suit its expectations.”

”But by giving the rewards to the albony, you end up in a system where many people succeeding aren't actually compensated. If you bend that system, even a little, many talented people will pop out of the woodworks. They'd want to achieve more because they would get what they deserve instead of helping those above them. It's not that complicated, honestly.”

Obolis gave me a knowing smile, ”Your idealism is admirable, if not infectious at times. However, you lack the perspective to understand why I do what I do. Until you gain that context, I would reserve judgments.”

I rolled my hand, ”Lay it on me then. Let's hear out those circumstances.”

”To put it concisely, all other large guilds employ these same tactics. If I neglect to use them, I end up well behind their curve of growth. Once behind, my guild would be susceptible to invasion by the eldritch and more. If I wasn't pragmatic during the Empire's inception, I'd have lost many of my worlds by now. I fear I would cease to own any planets at all, not even my own homeworld.”

Obolis raised his eyebrows, ”And surely you understand how devastating that may be. Once owned, a race may be demoted to subservience, and it is a cruel fate. Through my maneuvering, I saved my own kind from that outcome. You may need to do the same for your own species, lest they become the prey of some other guild.”

Remembering Earth's inadequate infrastructure, I nodded, but I wasn't quite finished with my point. I raised a hand, ”Yes, but those tactics may not be necessary anymore now that you're established. If you think about it, by continuing to put the albony on top, you've weakened the loyalty of those you're ruling. It comes across as unfair. That lacking loyalty is why you're experiencing a rebellion right now.”

I pursed my lips, ”If you took a different approach, then you might not be in this war at all.”

Obolis shook his head, ”Once again, your words are put together well, but they neglect the context of our situation. To maintain the Empire at all, I've resorted to unscrupulous tactics in the past. While I've attempted reconciling with those methods, I could never fully realize my reforms.”

I raised an eyebrow, ”So what went haywire?”

He spread his hands, ”Eldritch would spiral out of control along with crime and discord. The planets under my wing would become proxy to other factions, and for continued governance, we've used harsh strategies. I would mention that we are, in fact, less stringent than many other large guilds. That laxness is why planets such as Blegara were lost.”

We disagreed there. I fought on Blegara, and the Empire never thought of the Vagni as anything more than local barbarians. While they were primitive, the Vagni held a culture with art, buildings, and even religions. Despite those signs of civility, the Empire restricted the Vagni from leveling properly. Many issues popped up because of those restrictions.

Being all too aware of that, I raised a hand, ”You sure about that's why Blegara fell? I saw the Vagni, and they were highly underleveled in Schema's system.”

Obolis shrugged, ”They'd yet to earn our trust, and by restricting them, we stopped their rebellion from being as powerful.”

I waved my hands, ”I'm thinking the opposite happened. The Vagni never gained any attachment to Schema or his system because they weren't allowed to engage in it. That meant when Elysium arrived, the Vagni had nothing to lose when they switched sides. Since you actively suppressed the Vagni, they lacked loyalty for you and your ruling as well.”

Obolis frowned, ”The Vagni are only 'loyal' to the eldritch. That incessant refusal to move past worshipping monsters is why we restricted them in the first place. Our policies were more lenient in other territories, but we can't be expected to grant support to a people that serve our enemies. They'd have rallied behind the eldritch and led to Blegara's glassing.”

Obolis crossed his arms, ”And so, I enacted a necessary evil. You do raise a good point of domesticating the natives, but unfortunately, the planet was a mismanagement of resources from the beginning. I shouldn't have attempted to conquer it at all. That's one of the reasons I gave this planet to you. Your skillset enables you to control wilder places such as this, just as you controlled the eldritch.”

He wasn't wrong about that. The eldritch responded to me well, even if they feared me. That alone gave me a different tool kit than Obolis, and those options are why I succeeded where he hadn't. Obolis put a hand to his chest,

”On the other hand, I am more equipped to dominate developed areas. This is because economic tactics work well in civilized societies. That is also why I value Tera so highly; he's proven effective at utilizing those monetary means in the past. Given his history of excellent service, he's likely to do so in the future. These factors are why he's worth more than most.”

Obolis frowned, ”And that is why I can't hand him over for minor gains. He has won us too much territory for too little investment.”

I raised a hand, ”But how much of that territory was really yours?”

Confusion spread over Obolis's face, ”I would imagine all of it, by Schema's standards at least.”

I gestured around us, ”But at the end of the day, you couldn't command the people or monsters here. That's because a planet is more than just a place. It's the people living on a planet too. If you never get those people on your side, then the planet isn't really yours. That's why I worked with the eldritch on Blegara instead of exterminating them. I wanted to win over the Vagni instead of controlling them.”

I squeezed my raised hand into a fist, ”That is what's crumbling your Empire's grasp. You have to get people on your side, not force them under your heel. You understood that with the albony, and they offered you reverence and respect in turn. I've seen that with every albony that's ever been around you. Now you have to extend that to other people, even if it only starts with the talented few who happen to rise up.”

I offered the Emperor a hand, ”A talented few, like Tera.”

A smile crept over the Emperor's face while he narrowed his eyes at me, ”Well now, that was a rousing speech. Tell me, what inspired you?”

I put my hands on my hips, ”Nothing. I just said what I thought.”

The Emperor tilted his head while looking me over, ”Oh, but I disagree. You've changed since we last spoke at length. You're putting yourself together far better, and you're more convincing. Did you gain a new skill? Perhaps you unlocked some skill tree for persuasion, hm?”

”I'll leave you with that mystery, but my point still stands.”

He scoffed, ”Ah, well, I do enjoy an enigma from time to time.” He took a breath, ”Now, regarding your points, they're interesting. However, my current administration would've never collapsed without the input of Elysium. They are the sole reason that these rebels gained any traction at all. There's little I could've done to prevent this attack.”

I shook my head, ”But see, I don't think that's true. Those policies you mentioned made Blegara a vulnerable target. That's why they attacked you. You showed them a soft underbelly, and Elysium bit into it.”

Obolis raised his brow, ”And you believe other factions are different? They, too, would've crumbled under the stress of both the eldritch and Elysium. In the end, our predicament is the result of misfortune more so than mistakes.”

I spread my hands, ”But that's my point. If your guild needs good fortune to maintain itself, then you're relying on luck to maintain it. If no one wanted to rebel on your planets, I doubt Elysium's current push would be as successful. Those strong-arm tactics are backfiring.”

Obolis leaned back, considering what I said. While he deliberated, I pressed my point,