Matt stood amongst the flames of another burned out thieves guild and pondered just what exactly he had been finding.

    This was his tenth raid on those who had hit the cargo ships, but so far, each of them had only been fed details on one of the aura potion shipments, with no information about the supplier or that multiple shipments’ information had been sold. Any thief with a brain would naturally think twice before stealing something that could be considered the property of an Ascender, but even those fools willing to take the risk for a one-off shipment wouldn’t risk being part of a larger organization that would surely incite their retaliation.

    The thieves were fools baited into action. Matt was considering cutting his losses and not wasting his time chasing down the last few groups, but he felt obligated to do exactly that.

    First, one of the remaining groups might know something the others didn’t. Unlikely at this point, but none of the thieves guilds as a whole liked being used in such power games. They knew they would be the ones to get squashed first, so they often took precautions when getting such juicy information. Tidbits about the sellers might not save them but it could turn a thrashing into a slightly less awful beating.

    Second, Matt was hesitant to let anyone get the impression they could hit his and Liz’s duchy’s goods without swift and thorough retaliation. Being seen as easy targets was a quick way to make sure no shipping corporations wanted to move their goods in the future. That shouldn’t have been a problem given their status, but considering the strings that were being pulled on his guild and their business partners, it wasn’t unlikely that people would put pressure on the duchy’s partners. If too many of them left, he and Liz would be in serious trouble.

    Duchies isolated like that were easy pickings for every malcontent in the Empire, and he liked his peace and quiet.

    Third, Matt just didn’t like these organizations and didn’t mind cleaning them up.

    On the other hand, he felt like he was wasting one of his most precious resources: time.

    He may be immortal, but he had a thousand and one things to do at any given moment and this was interrupting all of them, leaving Liz, Cato, and a dozen others to pick up the slack as they could. Sure, he did what he could while traveling around and pushing data dumps through the EmpireNet when he stopped at planets, but that was only a fraction of his typical work speed, as his need for concentration hadn’t changed. It wasn’t fair to them, and that weighed on his conscience.

    Ultimately, he decided to continue. His desires were ultimately outweighed by the responsibilities he had to not just his aura production workers, but the duchy as a whole. This incident would hurt, but if it happened again, they would have serious revenue problems, which meant he needed to draw a line in the sand here and now.

    As he arrived at the planet where he suspected the eleventh team had retreated, he found a Tier 35 woman waiting for him. She floated over the Tier 21 planet and immediately wrapped Matt with their spiritual perception the moment he tore his way into real space.

    “We need to talk.”

    Matt shoved her spiritual perception away and she didn’t try to keep him enclosed. He did notice she spread her spiritual perception around him, searching for any possible hidden protectors.

    As far as he knew, he didn’t actually have any hidden protector as he did once upon a time, but if they were Tier 45, he wouldn''t be able to sense them any more than the Tier 35 could.

    Not that he felt any threat from the Tier 35. Oh, she could attack and kill him, but she would have to be stupid to even consider doing so in such an open manner. Even ignoring all of his allies who would avenge him, what if he survived? Ascenders were known for such things after all.

    Once Matt floated over he crossed his arms, mirroring her. “What?”

    He ensured his spiritual fluctuation carried every bit of his indignation at her interruption and his disregard of her cultivation.

    “I’m the local sub guild leader of the Aluca Thieves Guild and two of my location’s people hit your shipments. I’ve already captured the individuals responsible and am willing to turn them over to you.”

    Matt wasn’t that surprised. In fact, he had expected something similar to happen earlier, but none of that changed his response.

    He just stared at the Tier 35.

    If that was all she had, he was going through her.

    She broke before he did. “I have information about the people who sold us the information and I will trade it for you leaving.”

    Matt smiled.

    Finally, the break he had been looking for.

    “If that''s the case and it’s good enough, I won’t make things too hard for you.”

    She flicked a finger at him, and Matt reviewed the file.

    Ostensibly, two different people had sold the guild the information in each location, but both had recorded they were little more than mana constructs. High-Tier ones, as the Tier 20 scanners paired with local spiritual perception scans couldn’t identify the mana makeup or the spiritual perception that was controlling the mana construct. But they were able to get enough to know the Tier of the mana and type of veils were identical, which spoke volumes.

    Mana constructs were similar to clones in the same way that a butter knife was similar to a longsword. They could take on the facsimile of a person well enough to pass a visual inspection, but they were little more than blobs of mana with a shell wrapped around them. That made them easy to make, but it was like controlling a puppet and didn’t pass back any sensory input, meaning whoever was selling the information had been on the world at the time they made the sale.

    In and of itself that wasn’t a lot to go off of, but it was a solid start. Matt had already taken a copy of the planet’s records of everyone on the world and their general telemetry from the time of the information sales, when the goods were sold, as well as when he hit the planets just in case.

    It might be useless, as it was possible that whoever had been selling the information had the ability to mask themselves from the planetary AI, but Matt doubted it.

    He also doubted all of the information had been sold by the same person since the timelines didn’t work out, unless they were one of the fastest travelers in the Empire. Not on Allie’s level, but to move across that much of the Empire that quickly, they would need to be damn good.

    Still, knowing one of the operatives'' modus operandi, he was able to look for similar oddities.

    Millions of mana churned through his spirit and he activated his [AI], boosting it with his Back to Basics Minkalla floor reward to amplify its processing power even further. That drained his willpower, but he had far more now than he had when he was a tiny Tier 11, and he freely spent it, pushing his [AI] to its limit.

    There were no sudden revelations which revealed the perpetrators’ identities, but his [AI] did narrow things down to around fifty possible unidentified individuals, as well as firmly pegging a minimum of four perpetrators. Not amazing, but a good start.

    Looking at the Tier 35 whose name he still didn’t know, he nodded. “Accepted. Have them turn themselves in after paying for the other goods they took. As for the aura potions, ensure they are sold at cost.”

    Pointing a finger, he shot a [Mana Beam] down at the guild hidden on the planet below and destroyed its shields, but not its structure, before tearing his way out of real space. He flew a while into chaotic space before he pulled his ship out and moved to his next location.

    He didn’t intend to hit the next guild location, but he would go and grab their planetary AI’s information before moving on. He felt he was generous by simply revealing their location and forcing them to move instead of leveling the place.

    He wanted to make sure people wouldn’t attack him, but he also didn’t want potential enemies fighting to the death instead of surrendering like they had.

    He had just gone through another two worlds when he got a message from Liz through the Ascender chat.

    “The mana engine was waylaid enroute to the review panel.”

    Growling, he punched out and let loose a multi-million burst of mana, turning the surrounding chaotic space a light blue.

    They had suspected there would be a second attack and the engine was an obvious target, so even before he had left, Kees had told Matt of his plan to move it early. Beyond those plans, his vice guild leader sent it with a very strong escort team composed only of trusted guild security on a non-direct route.

    Despite all of their precautions, none of that had been enough, and the ship had been waylaid. Not taken over, destroyed, or stolen but just slowed down, which told him they were more worried about the time rather than the product itself.

    That, combined with the near perfect locating of the ship at all, which he knew Kees would have taken precautions to hide, meant it was likely someone on the team or higher up in the guild had turned into mole.

    It was always possible they were a spy who had only now been activated, but Matt found that unlikely. While Harper’s people and Tholly were mainly there to keep out the other Great Powers’ spies, they didn’t just ignore Empire grown spies, and it was typically easier to get someone who was already part of an organization to turn traitor than it was to get a spy through their defenses.

    That, or someone had bugged one of his workers.

    Tholly and his spies did scan for such tactics, but mental compulsions weren’t very noticeable by their very nature.

    Matt wanted to say it didn’t matter anymore now that the damage was done, but with a spy, witting or otherwise, there was a knife ready to be planted in their back the moment they tried to retaliate.

    Calculating his position, Matt debated calling Allie to get him, but he was sure it was already too late, and he knew how much she hated being treated as a taxi, even if she would come get him given the circumstances.

    He had another way, however, and a brief message to Lila, who he knew was at the Capital, proved his fears correct.

    “Sorry kid. Falker Industries submitted their own similar mana engine for the patent review a few minutes ago. I can go eat that Falker guy if you want?”

    “No, but I appreciate the offer. Thank you, Lila.”

    “Sure kid. I’m just napping on the Capital’s star, so tell me if you need anything.”

    Matt genuinely appreciated the offer, but didn’t dwell on petty thoughts of an easy victory, and instead started digging.

    An otherwise unnotable Tier 35 guild based on researching at-Tier products, usually but not always centered around luxury personal vehicles that more resembled spaceships than cars had, submitted an almost identical engine for patent review. Just hours before their ship was going to arrive without the untimely delay. It was incredibly suspicious, and any judge would see that, but Matt suspected that was his enemies’ goal.

    By arriving first, they gained a glimmer of legitimacy that was enough to force Matt onto the offensive and sue them instead of them trying to sue him and his guild.

    Meeting a few too-pointed looks, Matt’s glare got most of them to be a little more circumspect.

    It still took almost an hour before they were called into an office deeper inside the sector.

    Having an entourage of over twenty people come with him was not an option, so without him needing to say anything, everyone but Johannes and the engine team lead, Gia Innaka, stayed behind.

    The office they entered was just like every other one, but the woman inside was anything but.

    A Tier 17, she didn’t bother to look up from her screen that she typed at. “What evidence do you have that the engine design in question was stolen from you and not the other way around?”

    Matt frowned at the attitude but kept his mouth shut as Johannes and Gia both presented a modicum of their facilities’ recordings, AI logs, and tests but nothing was concrete and more just overviews. This would all be presented when they went to trial, but it wouldn’t do to have their full evidence given to their enemies before they had to.

    That thought stuck in Matt’s mental throat as he realized that odds were they already had all of that information if they had spies in their midst good enough to recreate the engine.

    The woman, still having never looked up, kept tapping at her screen until she flicked a finger at them.

    “Provisional injunction granted contingent on a patent judge signing off on the case. Judge Hatfield is assigned to the case. Good day.”

    Matt frowned as he saw Johannes'' expression turn outright black as they walked out the room.

    “What?”

    “Guild leader, Judge Hatfield is, how should I put this? A prick of the highest order. I wouldn''t call him corrupt because he''s beaten every allegation and investigation levied against him, including Emperor Georgios’ judicial reform reviews, but he''s got a reputation.”

    Matt looked up the judge on the EmpireNet and frowned at what he found. If anything, Johannes had undersold it.

    Hatfield had been investigated a dozen times for corruption and hundreds of articles had been written about him because of his controversial rulings. As Johannes said, nothing had ever come of it even with investigations that, to Matt’s eye, didn’t seem complacent or complicit. Judge Hatfield seemed... whimsical might be a good word.

    While he might not be corrupt in the traditional sense, it was clear the deck was being stacked against them if this judge, out of all of them, was the one up in rotation just as their turn came up.

    It made the earlier breaks and pauses even more suspicious but at this point, Matt felt like he was jumping at shadows. It might feel like it, but not everything was arrayed against him.

    “What are our options?”

    “Are you willing to let the case sit in purgatory, guild leader? If yes, we can request a new judge, but we will go to the bottom of their docket and that means at least a decade of lead time before we are even seen, which means at least two decades before our case reaches trial at the earliest. Otherwise, everyone would just reject any judge they felt was unsympathetic to their cause.”

    “And if Falker rejects the judge? Can they do that to delay proceedings?”

    “They can, but as the defense, if they reject the judge we can push through for another first available judge of our choosing. It might delay things by a year or two max, but in my opinion that will shoot them in the foot more than it would help. Still, it''s possible they might do so. I have a plan that might help, but it''s honestly a bit of a long shot if you''re willing to try it.”

    “Fine. Let''s proceed with Hatfield. We can reevaluate after we see him.”

    Which was exactly where they went. Fifty floors up and two subsections over, they were miles away from where they started, but the building wasn’t any more opulent and kept the same stark walls that most government buildings had.

    Judge Hatfield’s outer office was staffed by an overly attractive man and woman duo who both smiled at their entrance with perfect expressions, but neither seemed surprised to see them.

    Matt understood why that was when the office behind them opened, and he found Judge Hatfield chatting with Falker and what he assumed was the other guild lead lawyer.

    So that''s how it was.

    After Johannes'' warnings, he wasn’t too surprised and just walked into the room.

    Falker sneered at him the moment the door opened as if he was looking down at an ant who dared to crawl onto his plate during a picnic.

    “Ascender Titan. How surprising to see you. I would have expected better from one as illustrious as yourself, but it seems that they don’t make Ascenders like they used to. You know what they say about too much production, after all. It removes the soul of the product.”

    Matt just blinked at Falker twice before turning his gaze to the judge across the desk, letting the silence linger until Judge Hatfield was forced to speak.

    “That is inappropriate, Mr. Falker. I expect all parties to conduct themselves with decorum.”

    Matt finally spoke in his best flat tone. “An astute observation. If we wish to devolve into bickering, I’m more than willing to do so. Just say the word, Falker.”

    That comment combined with his lack of visible rage seemed to catch both men off guard and Hatfield stared at Matt with surprise.

    Falker reacted faster but his earlier self-assured tone was brittle. “Is that a threat, Ascender Titan? Do you only know how to resort to violence after your pitiful ploy to steal my product has been caught flat footed?”

    Matt looked over to the judge but seeing he didn’t seem willing to intervene and stop Falker, Matt took the opportunity Falker’s overreach provided.

    “I don’t need to resort to violence, Falker. But an interesting idea you bring up. It makes me wonder.”

    He almost didn’t ask, but just as Matt was going to write off his ploy as futile, Falker opened his mouth. “Whatever does that mean, Ascender? Are you threatening me to try to get me to back down?”

    “No threats, Falker. I already said that. Maybe you should get your hearing checked. I’m just wondering if you, as a Tier 37, can reach Tier 45 and create an Aspect before I catch up to you. Wouldn’t it be a shame if someone as shameful as myself caught up to one so illustrious as yourself? How pitiful?”

    Matt’s anger was partly sated as he watched the true realization of his threat sink through Falker’s bravado.

    Judge Hatfield leaned forward but didn’t reprimand Matt. “Gentlemen, there is no reason to bicker. This is simply a matter of business that we need to work out. Most of these cases are simply convergent design and it just means a matter of coming to an agreement both parties can agree on. With that, we can skip all of the unpleasantness that comes with court, so why don’t we all take a seat and come to an agreement.”

    The look to Johannes, Gia, and Falker’s lawyer implied they were less than welcome at any such discussion.

    Instead of responding, Matt looked to Johannes, who stepped forward. “Judge, we have substantial proof for our claims and we wish to go to trial immediately. If you would see fit to look it over, you will see we more than meet the burden of proof, and when combined with the way our product was waylaid enroute, any delay in granting us a trial will be treated as interference.”

    Judge Hatfield wasn’t stupid, and knew when he could push and when he needed to yield. “I can look over the information but once I do it is harder for the parties involved to pull back. I believe—”

    Matt shook his head. “No. Do you reject or approve our case?”

    Falker looked like he wanted to say something but restrained himself, which Matt didn’t miss.

    It seemed they were ready for this battle to enter open court.

    Judge Hatfield shrugged as if he was unconcerned. “Then I approve. We will convene our initial hearing for an assessment of the viability of the suit in nine years. If—”

    Johannes stepped forward. “Judge Hatfield, Titan’s Torch is officially lodging this suit in the mortal courts using the Mortal Exceptions and Deviations clauses. That means our suit must be handled with all due haste.”

    The move seemed to catch everyone off guard, but Falker’s lawyer balked first. “That is preposterous! That is a clause intended to assist mortals in not being treated unfairly by a cultivator''s long lifespan, not for immortals to unjustly speed up a case. Judge Hatfield, you must see this ploy for what it is.”

    Matt half expected the judge to agree and dismiss their demand, but instead he pursed his lips, and while it was clear he didn’t speed up his perception, it was just as clear that he was thinking hard.

    Looking to Johannes he waved. “Explain your reasoning.”

    “Judge, the Mortal Exceptions and Deviations clauses, while made for mortals, aren''t limited to being used by them. There is precedent that items and cases that are related to mortals but pushed by immortals may be used to ensure said products or services for mortals aren’t unduly denied their intended recipients. Precedents that include Thalsettie, Bridgeright, Igor, and Ueck, which is as recent as nine thousand years ago, in reference to a food additive that reduced several health problems often seen in Tier 5 and below that was dual patented by two companies at the same time.”

    Falker’s lawyer once more started to object, but Judge Hatfield waved him off. “I will provisionally accept the bid, but it and the suit will need further deliberation before we can officially begin. To that end, we will convene our initial hearing next week. If that is all, I have other cases waiting to be seen. Good day.”

    Matt turned around and didn’t bother to wait for Falker or his lawyer to make any more pleas to the judge.

    They had gotten what they wanted, and there was no reason to linger.

    This might not be a battlefield, but it was war, and Matt knew how to fight wars. And it wasn’t by crying to the referees.