Maximilian stepped across the invisible threshold and was disappointed. He had expected some sort of reveal or secret city or a trap, but there was nothing. He knew that was dumb. That the trio in front of him was terrified of him, but it ruined the illusion. The space on the other side was identical to what the array showed, with one difference. About a hundred feet away, there was a hole in the ground. Or rather, the ground slanted downward. He stared at it for a moment before he nodded to the first guard.

  "Before we go any further, I need names from all of you. I am not going to think of you as 'guards' this entire time."

  "Chris."

  "Emmet"

  "Timothy.

  The first one to speak was the one who yelled at him, which was annoying. He disliked loud people. Part of him wanted to send him into the base just so he wasn't here anymore. He held himself back. He wasn't sure where on the craziness scale these people were, and it would be disappointing if they were executed for treason. He descended into the ground with them and made it almost fifty feet before other guards found them. They had set up a killing field with a set of large stone boulders. They could take cover behind them while firing their guns. He was disappointed that they were still using those, but that was a different problem. The new guard called out for him to drop down, but he wasn't going to do that. Not only because he didn't want to, but he also didn't want to dirty his robes. He also wasn't in the mood to have the same conversation again.

  Yet there wasn't much I could do. I pushed the trio behind me and activated Prismatic Barrier. A cacophony was born. The bullets slammed into the shield and crumbled into useless pieces of metal. They continued firing for several long moments before someone called for them to stop. Maximilian had stopped paying attention to them. His gaze was stuck on his memory of the bullets. It had been a while since he was shot at, but the bullets felt slow. They were still faster than him, of course, but he was confident he could dodge them. Assuming he could see the gun when it was fired. He was pulled back to the moment when a more official-looking man stepped forward. He wore military-style clothes, though there was no country insignia. He had a thick knife on his right hip, and unlike the others, he had a killing intent. Not much of one. He would rate it closer to what he had at level 5, which was impressive for him.

  "I am Maximilian Croft. I would like you and your people to lay down your weapons. I am here about the missing people. The world government asked me to save them. Just to clarify, I do not work for, nor am I associated with them." The group tensed with every word, but either discipline or their recent attempt stopped them from pulling their triggers again.

  "Those are some rather large words. I would accuse you of using a name to gain influence, but my gut tells me you are telling the truth. That and the brief dossier were able to build on you tells us that you are powerful, beautiful, and kind. So far, you have not killed any of my men. I will have to ask that you return your hostages to us first."

  Maximilian opened his mouth to protest, to say that they weren't hostages and that they could leave whenever they wanted, but didn't. There was still a chance they would or could be killed if they thought they worked for him. He glanced at the three and then gestured for them to move. His energy is primed to counter any bullets should his hunch be correct. He only relaxed once the trio was on the other side.

  "I can let the higher-ups know you want to speak, but I have to ask that you stay here. I doubt I could stop you, but we have rules."

  Maximilian nodded and gestured for the man to keep going. The general gave a curt nod and then left through a hallway he couldn't see. He briefly considered ignoring the request to speed things along, but he had given his word. He also didn't want to attack the other guards. Guards that would no doubt shoot him. The whole thing was just irritating. After five minutes, he took a seat and began cultivating. The energy down here was a bit denser than above ground, but it made little difference for him. He had just managed to pull in a trickle of energy before the tunnel began to fill with people. He opened his eyes and got to his feet. His defensive skill had long faded along with the cool down. There were five new arrivals, and each one held a rifle in their hands and grenades on a belt. Maximilian's gaze hardened as he quickly put together what they were going to do. Or at least what they could. If they threw the bombs, they might be able to collapse the tunnel. He would likely survive, but it would take time to dig himself out and then continue onward. The time that would let the leadership leave. I pushed down the hypothetical, but prepared myself just in case.

  "Why hello there, Mr. Croft. My name is Elias. I would say it's good to meet you, but I can't say that's true. At least not yet." The man who spoke was half a foot shorter than Maximilian and had dark brown hair. The man was bulkier than he expected. Elias wasn't quite at the level of a bodybuilder, but he was close. He also had a strong killing intent. If he had to estimate it, he would put Elias somewhere in the top fifty. He made a mental note to ask Emmet about that later.

  "Hello. As I told the other guy before, I am only here for the hostages. I am able to provide passage back to the civilized area as well. It would be easier if you handed me control over your settlement. Though that choice would be yours."

  Elias' smile grew tighter, more forced as the silence stretched on. "Would you let me show you what's going on here? I believe I could convince you that what I want isn't too different from what you do. At least not if our reports are to be believed."

  Maximilian cocked his head and considered it. He was partial to agreeing mostly due to his not trusting the government. He wouldn't put it past them to use him as a weapon to eliminate their enemies. Yet he also knew it would mean going underground, surrounded by enemies. There were good reasons to take both options, which meant he would do what he wanted. He nodded his head and started forward. "Very well. I would like to see what you have." Maximilian resisted the urge to chuckle at how stiff everyone was, but Elias was. The humor was hurt by the genuine fear they had. A fear that made him feel somewhat bad. Yet he also knew that it wasn't his fault. He had gone out of his way not to hurt anyone, and assuming they were responsible for the attack, they weren't in a position to judge.

  "Thank you for being so reasonable," Elias said. "What do you know about my organization?"

  "Not much. I am told that you all have chosen to punish people for what they did before the Network arrived. Especially those in governments. He had expected Elias to deny or deflect the accusation, but he didn't. If anything, he agreed too eagerly. He was proud, or at least seriously agreed with the message.

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  "That is a fair description. I assume that congressional aide Henderson told you that. I can tell you that we don't especially care for government workers. We judge them all the same. I am sure you would agree that the old world did not have a perfect justice system. Those monsters got away with their crimes while the weak were crushed for theirs. We seek to fix that or at least balance the scales." Maximilian couldn't help but agree with the first part. He had his problems with the old system, which is what led to Nubia. What led to all that he had created so far?

  "I agree, but I have decided that what lived in the old world died with it. Crimes and all."

  Elias nodded as the group passed through a hallway and down a set of stairs. The staleness of the air told Maximilian that they were going down further than he thought. The pair settled into an uncomfortable silence until they reached a large steel door with a padlock. Elias reached into his shirt and withdrew a small key. He opened the door, and Maximilian was hit with a wave of stale and dirty air. His gaze hardened as he stepped into what he assumed was a prison. An assumption that was proven correct a few minutes later. There were cells on either side of a long hallway. At the far end was a staircase that he assumed would lead him downward and to more cells. He ground his teeth as he stared at the people in them. They had seen better days, but he couldn't say they had been mistreated. They were chained to the far wall. Most were chained with a loop that went around their right or left ankles, though some had it around their arm instead.

  "Before you make your judgment, allow me to ask you a question. Are you certain that forgiving all crimes was a fair choice? Many of the men and women here were in prison before. The Network teleported many to the tutorials where they were freed. When they came back, their sentence had ended. At least that was what many believed. I did not agree. We assessed their crimes and set some free. The ones who would've gone free by now, or the ones who I did not feel should stay."

  "And you believe that you have the right to judge that?" Maximilian asked. The barest hint of killing intent leaked out as he spoke.

  Elias shook his head. An almost amused smile on his face. "Is that not what we all are doing? By what right have you decided that prisoners should be freed from their sentences? Do crimes of the old world no longer count?"

  Maximilian had to resist the urge to blast the man with everything he had. Not just because of his treatment of the people, but because he was right. Technically. This was no different than what he had done. He still had someone in a magical pseudo-prison. Even accepting that, what was he supposed to do? The world would fall apart if everyone imprisoned anyone they thought should go to jail. Sure, he was a lord recognized by the Network, but was that enough? No, as much as he disliked me, the truth was far simpler. He was powerful.

  Just like the countries before, he could dictate the rules through force. Yet that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to lead through morality. He wanted to be good, but who decided what good was? He could be one man's hero and another's villain. The realization no, the comprehension left him furious, but with nothing to vent the anger on. If he killed Elias and the other people here, then he would just confirm that it was power. If he did nothing, then the people would stay here. He couldn't say it was a wasted journey, but he would be lying if he said that he would be happy with that. He took a moment to calm down and then made his choices.

  "Explain to me what they did." He commanded.

  Elias opened his mouth as if to argue, but Maximilian wasn't in the mood. He released a small amount of killing intent to silence the man. Who only nodded and began the accounting. It took them almost three hours to reach the end, and he knew Elias was still manipulating him. The man had talent as a public speaker, but it didn't matter. The crimes were messed up. The "best" among them, and he used that idea loosely, were scammers who stole from the elderly. While the worst were responsible for mass murder. He knew a lot of the government workers were being tarred with the crimes of their government, which didn't make him feel better.

  Each of them was high up in command, which only made it murkier. If they were just the worker bees, then he would have set them free. He had technically been a governor when the world ended. Although he hadn't been sworn in. Maximilian still hadn't come to a decision when Elias stopped. The problem was simply too big. He decided to deal with other issues first. Mainly, he opened teleportation back to civilized areas. He still didn't get how it worked, but he could teleport himself and other people far further than most. He knew it was related to him being a lord and how big Nubia was, but that was it. He figured the point was to convince him to conquer more things. If he put the work in, he could own the planet or at least everywhere with its teleportation array. He didn't have an all-access pass, though. If people locked down their arrays, he couldn't go.

  Elias was not as thrilled about that. Not because he wanted to keep the people here, but because he didn't like the idea of other people coming to him. He was kind enough to imply he was afraid of other people, but they both knew it was Maximilian he wanted gone. He chose not to reveal the part about locking the array. Either the man knew how to do it, or he didn't. It wasn't his business either way. A not insignificant number of people chose to travel to Nubia. Something he okayed but made clear they would be punished if they broke the law. He didn't think Elias was stupid enough to try to take his people out. The man struck him as being an ideologue.

  Of course, people like that could be dangerous. With that part handled, Maximilian decided to rest. Elias offered him a room, and he accepted. He was sure the man just wanted to keep track of him, but he wanted the same thing. When Elias mentioned he could have a normal room or a cultivation chamber, the decision was sealed. When he was shown the room, he had to suppress his disappointment. It wasn't bad per se, but well, it was just a dug-out cave with a door. No energy gathering array, nor isolation, nor any other kind of array. The dirt and door would help isolate the energy, but they wouldn't do much.

  He entered the closet-sized room and sat in the lotus position. He didn't want to rush his levels, but every time he opened his status screen, the number taunted him. A bit like a child who could see his desert but couldn't have it. Despite the temptation, he wasn't going to spend too many stones. Two should be enough. At his current absorption rate, he could do that in about an hour and a half. He could cut that down to an hour if he focused on speed, but he wouldn't. He would split his mind and devote most of his thinking to the current situation. He had told Elsie he would bring her people back if they were being mistreated, but he had to admit it wasn't a bad prison.

  It was poor, but most people ate the same food the prisoners did, so that was more of a communal problem. The only issue with the prison was the lack of progress, but even that was more due to the prisoner. They could still cultivate. He doubted the energy would remain high enough forever, but stones and passive recovery would handle that. He shook his head and ignored that train of thought. He was wasting time. He would either need to conquer this place or ignore it.

  Maximilian opened his eyes as the last of the spirit stones crumbled to dust. He wished he could say he had solved the problem, but he hadn't. He had made his choice, though. He got to his feet and stretched. The act was more of a mental thing than something that benefited him. His cultivation session had been helpful but not overly so. He would need to either go and fight more monsters or spend a few days locked away to level up. He leaned toward the former. He shook his head and resolved to stop stalling. When he was ready, he stepped to the door and headed outside. He needed to find Elias and get this situation settled. He found the man along with several other people waiting in a side room. He was somewhat sure that they had been waiting for him. Either that or they had strong poker faces. Elias smiled as he sat down, and Maximilian decided to get straight to the point.

  "I want you to dissolve your organization."