I looked down at the remains of the corpse as it melted away. The last traces of Qi Ji Long would be no more after today. I sent a burst attack up in the air. That was the signal that I had won. A few minutes later the recently purchase City Shield turned off, while I remained where I was, looking at the melted hole in the street.
That was a disappointing fight. I had expected more, but Qi Ji Long was weak in terms of direct combat. At least against me. With his stats, he would crush most other people easily. With his skills, he would have crushed the rest. But in direct combat against me, he had zero chance once I laid my eyes on him.
The cost of this operation was massive. All the buildings I had purchased, the airships that had been consumed, the people killed, and the favor I owed. That was why I wasn’t just standing here, I was confirming this was actually the person. Not some mimic fake that was used.
I wouldn’t be repeating this all over again if there was anything I could do. I scanned my surroundings and there was nothing. I let out a sigh of relief. It was finally over, or at least I hoped so. Time would tell. I slowly made my way back to the plaza passing teams of soldiers swarming through the city, killing everyone and everything that wasn’t myself or Dylan.
Once I reached the plaza, a soldier directed me to a command building that had been commandeered. One of the Regional Map buildings I had purchased. That had been remarkably quick, but this operation was quite simple with its objectives. Kill everyone and everything in the city.
“Michael, did you succeed?” The Leader, Hamid asked me. I had gone to the man in charge of the Leader’s Domain and asked for his help in exchange for a favor. He had agreed.
“I believe so, yes,” I replied.
“Your man Dylan is resting in a side room at the moment, and we are almost done clearing out the city,” he replied.
“Any major losses?” I asked.
“A couple of teams, but nothing too serious. The Regional Map buildings allowed us to quickly locate anyone hiding in the city,” he replied. I nodded my head at this. “I was thinking about holding onto it.”
“And put Meech in the middle and risk the Sword?” I asked.
“The leaders of Meech and myself have reached an understanding,” he replied.
“I could count this as your favor,” I said, and he shook his head.
“I would prefer to hold onto that for as long as possible,” he quickly said.
“No taxes or fees for myself and direct subordinates, right to use the store, and the ability to buy airships at cost,” I said.
“That is more than acceptable. And if I want to take the other city of New Mumbai?” he asked.
“No. I am only agreeing to this out of respect for the help you gave so quickly and without making things a hassle,” I replied. “There needs to be a lawless area in the Systemic Lands, for people to go fight, and die. That hasn’t changed. As counter intuitive as it sounds, the more cities you take, the less stable things become.”
I could tell the Leader Hamid and his advisors were thinking that over. “As long as the Holy Kingdom of God doesn’t expand.”
“I have warned Emeritus myself. If he wants to play stupid games, he is going to win stupid prizes. If you two want to fight, I won’t stop you.”
“This will put us at five cities to his seven. Would you take one of his cities in exchange for the favor?” he asked.
“Yes. But I won’t defend it long term for you,” I replied, and he nodded at this.
“Then there is no need to make a fuss about expanding any more. The zones from this city will be quite useful. What about you, going back East to rebuild now that the threat is dead?” That was a good question. A very good question, which I wasn’t sure about.
“Who would run it that I could trust? It would just aggravate me trying to get people to do what I want. I am not a politician, even if I am at the top of the political food chain.” Still there was a lot of wealth that wasn’t being used up. Millions of points each day. Hamid didn’t respond as I considered the issue.
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I had been reaching 150 million points from ten percent tax per day. That was a third of my grinding speed. So, it was a lot, but not an amount I desperately needed. Also, the amount of work I would have to put into getting those points was vastly disproportionate to the amount of effort put in compared to grinding.
Too many top level grinders had been killed. Getting everything set up again would be a headache. Proper administration and tax collection was a nightmare. Sure there was a steady stream of income, but it was just too damn frustrating.
Why couldn’t everyone just understand what I wanted, get along, and build a utopia without me having to intervene? I knew that was a stupid question, since people wanted more resources, and there was only so much to go around. There was no Clarissa to handle the tedious work of administrating everything.
“You aren’t going to take back your Empire?” Hamid asked in surprise. I let out a long sigh.
“No. At least not right now or in the near future. Being in charge is a trap. It creates complacency and weakness. I feel like I have made more progress in the last hundred days than the previous thousand days before that. I am only good at one thing, getting stronger,” I finally said. It was hard to admit, but it was the truth.
I was aiming to reach the top. To gain enough strength to face all threats and to understand the truth of this place. That was my new goal. I felt it solidify in my mind as a hidden weight seemed to leave my shoulders.
Taking the tax revenue would not help me. Let people get stronger, let them fail, suffer, and go their own way. I had finally surpassed all of that. I had been a ruler, fulfilling the childhood dream of many, being an Emperor. Life and death were in my hands. But ultimately that didn’t matter. It created more problems, more enemies, and more headaches.
I had only taken charge due to taxes I didn’t want to pay, and then the threat of the Divine Empress. After that I had been placed in charge due to that victory. I was Alexander the Great. I had conquered all in front of me, but there was no stability. I had created a literal cult of personality with my religion as a balm to my ego and a means of control over the populace.
That control was an illusion. Only personal strength mattered. My mother had arrived, and she still represented a critical weakness. It hurt to say, but it was the truth, and I would not shy away from the truth. I could not afford more family members to emotionally compromise me. That was the one good thing my Empire had done for me personally, and I couldn’t accept it.
It hurt, the pain in my heart cut deep. But I couldn’t hold onto the past any longer. If I truly wanted to be a demi-god or god, then getting drawn into personal and political issues was the antithesis of that goal. That didn’t mean I couldn’t be kind, or benevolent, but I could no longer worry about certain things, otherwise I would eventually be back in this position again.
I would have no more human enemies.
That was a new vow I made in my heart. Let other people fight. Let them scheme. But I had a clean slate for the first time in a long time. I would no longer be tethered down to issues that did no concern me. I would not be present, since that would only lead to new enemies rising up in turn to confront me.
Staying in the wilderness to grind was the best option. I could grind faster than taxes would work. Unless I cast aside all decency, morals, and my humanity to become a new Divine Empress, being in charge was a waste of my time.
“Well, your new airship has been prepared. It is outside whenever you want to take it,” Hamid said. I turned to look at the man instead of the floor, I had been blankly staring at.
“You have my thanks. We might speak again, but I will not be returning that often,” I replied.
“Not staying for a victory celebration?”
“This is a victory, but I am not in the mood to celebrate. Too many people died. Friends,” I said heavily.
“You are removing yourself from politics,” he said, clearly wanting to know what I was going to do.
“Yes. I will see how things develop going forward, but I am not going to get involved on a day to day basis. Other people can fight it out amongst themselves. I do not have the will or the patience to deal with such things,” I answered.
Qi Ji Long, the son and disciple of the Divine Empress, I have to thank you for freeing me. While it was painful to admit, he had freed me from the rotting carcass of my Empire. A tether that had sunk its hooks into me and I didn’t even realize. For that, I was grateful, no matter how bittersweet such an outcome was.
“I wish you well Michael, and I hope one day, you will free us all from this place,” Hamid said and bowed deeply to me.
“Thanks. I will try at the very least,” I replied and with that I left the room. Dylan was already waiting for me as I left the building and into the plaza. I paused to look at him.
“How are you holding up?” I asked.
“Well enough. You win?” he asked back.
“Most likely. But with energy, it is hard to be sure. There are no signs to the contrary as far as I can tell, but nothing is ever a hundred percent sure,” I replied.
“I can’t believe your plan worked,” Dylan said while gesturing at the airships nearby.
“The power of friendship and teamwork. Proof that not conquering everything in front of me was a good idea at the time. Having one super government allows greater utilization of resources, but it can lead to greater internal instability,” I replied.
“So, we aren’t going back?” Dylan asked.
“No. I plan to keep grinding. Let other factions, groups, nations rise up. It is not worth my time being in charge. Even if everyone cooperated, it would take a long time for any returns in taxes to match the time I would have to invest. Better to just keep grinding and getting stronger instead.”