Chapter 137: Two Sealing Talismans

Cassian recalled what he knew about Mirage Ships and gave an order.

"Liora, drag all eight down. As deep as you can go."

"The deeper we go, the more Energy the Carriers will consume," she reminded him.

He smiled.

"And the harsher the conditions, the harder their pocket spaces have to work to keep the sea out. They’ll consume far more than our shields."

Liora understood. They would wear the enemy out.

It was a crude solution, but it would work.

Cassian bought a new Rare Communication Seal Scroll through the Exchange and used it over the surrounding kilometers of sea. The trapped Lords would not be asking anyone outside for fuel.

He had no intention of matching his purse against all of Black Banner.

——

Inside one of the hidden spaces, a Mirage Ship was in uproar.

"It’s been more than twenty minutes! Why haven’t you cut that chain?"

"My Lord, it’s protected by powerful runes, and it repairs itself. We have to exhaust its Energy or strike harder than the runes can withstand. We can’t break it!"

"Damn it!"

From inside the Mirage space, the sea outside was perfectly visible, as though the ship sat within a glass shell. The battle was nearly over.

"Useless fools. They lost to a few dozen Crown Lords. What do we do now?"

"Stay here. Cassian can’t touch us if we don’t leave. With our reserves, we can hold for three to five days. Someone may come for us before then."

The view outside suddenly changed.

The whole pocket of space plunged beneath the water. Light faded around them as they sank deeper and deeper.

"He’s dragging us down!"

"Energy consumption is climbing!"

"Ask the other Lords for help! We need mid-grade Aether or better. Even if they don’t care about us, they have to save the Mirage Ship!"

"We’ve been cut off!"

"Those damned Crown Lords!"

"Then surrender!"

"How do we surrender if we can’t reach anyone?"

"We’re prisoners of war! This violates the Westmere Convention. They should face a military court!"

Half an hour later, the ship’s Energy ran out.

The pocket space broke with a sharp crack.

Seawater rushed in.

"No!"

Ten thousand meters beneath the surface, the pressure crushed Lords, Heroes, and troops alike. Their bodies burst before their cries could carry.

The Mirage Ship collapsed with them and sank toward the seabed.

[Your Ghost Carrier has destroyed a Mirage Ship — Epic.]

[Battle Essence +5,000,000 | Additional rewards received.]

Cassian let out a breath.

"Expensive, but it works."

One after another, the trapped Mirage Ships failed in the depths.

Some had much larger reserves than others. A full hour passed, and three were still holding out.

Cassian gritted his teeth.

Every moment was costing him money.

He was considering another Communication Seal Scroll when Resolute returned. Darian’s laughter reached him across the water.

"Another few hundred Black Banner ships gone! That felt good. Why didn’t you come after them, Cassian?"

"I’m busy with their Mirage Ships."

Resolute approached at impressive speed. Darian clearly had a naval Hero with Grade-B Command as well. Before they had finished speaking, his ship was barely a hundred meters from Ghost One.

His eyes lit up at the mention of the captured vessels.

"Where are they? Let me seal two."

Now Cassian’s eyes brightened too.

"You have sealing items?"

"Two Epic Sealing Talismans. I brought them back on my last trip to the Homeworld."

"One ship each," Cassian said at once.

Darian considered him.

"Call me big brother, or add another Chapterhouse Blueprint for Ironwake."

Epic sealing items were worth a great deal.

"Done."

Darian waited expectantly.

Cassian paid ten thousand Muster Fortune, produced a new Blueprint with the full training content, and sent it to Maelin for him.

He wanted more Chapterhouses out there anyway. If people would not have misunderstood his motives, he might have given away dozens of Blueprints himself.

Darian shaded his eyes and looked around.

"Where are the ships? We’ll need a way to get the Black Banner Lords out of them."

A notice interrupted him.

[Your Ghost Carrier has destroyed a Mirage Ship — Epic.]

[Battle Essence +5,000,000 | Additional rewards received.]

Cassian’s expression changed.

"Liora! Bring the other two up!"

Three had become two while they were talking.

Before long, two distortions in the water rose to the surface, each enclosing a Mirage Ship. Only then did Cassian relax.

Darian understood at a glance.

"Look at you. Rich enough to wear Mirage Ships down by burning fuel."

Cassian ignored the teasing. He rose into the air, approached one of the pocket spaces, and beckoned.

An opening a meter across appeared in the boundary. A pale-faced Black Banner Lord looked out.

"Lord Cassian, we surrender. Please spare us."

The depths had frightened him badly.

"Hand over the Mirage Ship, and I promise I won’t kill you."

The man swallowed.

"You won’t kill us yourself. But someone else might. Or you could make us kill ourselves. Is that what you mean?"

Cassian had no answer.

That was exactly what he had been thinking.

The Lord dropped to his knees.

"Please promise to let us return safely to our Domains. I swear by the Sun Goddess that I’ll leave this Realm immediately and never fight the Crown again. I have a family. Please."

His voice shook.

"If you refuse, I can only destroy the ship."

A Lord could destroy his own vessel.

Cassian frowned. Was the man threatening him from his knees?

He did not like it. Still, the fellow was clever enough to understand how little his own life was worth beside a Mirage Ship.

"Let them go," Darian said. "A few Lords won’t make any difference."

"All right."

The man did not dare demand an oath. He immediately dismissed the pocket space and bowed.

"Please take possession of the ship."

The Black Banner Lords and their troops left the vessel.

Darian took out a talisman and tossed it into the air.

"Seal."

The talisman expanded to hundreds of meters across and wrapped around the Mirage Ship. The great vessel shrank rapidly until it was a model roughly a foot across, resting in his hand.

The second ship was sealed just as smoothly, consuming the other talisman.

Sealed warships, troops, and Heroes could be traded. Releasing them again reset their Levels to 0. That was how Darian had brought in his Epic troops.

As agreed, Cassian received one of the two sealed Mirage Ships.

He checked the Exchange. An offer accepted a sealed Epic Mirage Ship toward the price of a sealed Legendary one.

Cassian smiled. There was a way to get an even better ship.

He left the trade for later.

The other Lords were returning as well.

Mercer laughed as he approached.

"We owe this victory to you, Cassian. How is the Dragon that fell?"

He meant Crystal Ten.

"She made it," Cassian said. "We got her back in time."

After Ten fell into the sea, Liora had pulled her aboard a submerged Ghost Carrier. A vial of their carried Life Water had brought her out of danger.

The Lords let out relieved breaths. Their smiles were sincere.

"We took losses," Lydia said, "but theirs were much worse. Losing all those Mirage Ships will hurt even Black Banner’s greatest houses."

"This is still the sea off Coldridge," Corin reminded them. "Let’s finish the Temple’s remaining guardians and collect our Fortune before anything else happens."

Everyone agreed.

They returned to the Fortune Temple’s ward. With the Sea Dragon King dead, new guardians were no longer arriving to replace those they killed.

The Lords quickly cleared the thousand or more sea monsters that remained.

Adrian’s abandoned Hurricane was destroyed as well, yielding Battle Essence and materials to Cassian.

When the final sea monster died, the Fortune Temple burst into brilliant golden light.