Chapter 140: He Turned It Down?

[Your troop Sigrid has killed Sea Dragon King Igor — Legendary, One-Star Hero.]

[Battle Essence +13,500,000 | Aether +800,000 | Hero Soul: Legendary ×1]

A Legendary Hero Soul.

Cassian took it from his Inventory and looked at it for a long moment. He had never quite been willing to spend his money on one of these.

Darian would probably pay a billion Aether for it without much difficulty.

For once, Cassian hesitated.

"Not yet. Selling a Legendary Hero Soul would tell people too much about the strength I have behind me."

After a while, he sighed.

"I have enough money for now. It can wait until I’ve taken the Governor’s seat."

He considered his Heroes, then contacted Aurelia through the Lord’s Heart.

"Come back to Forgotten Shrine."

She soon stepped out of the Gate. Cassian tossed her the Soul, and she caught it neatly.

Aurelia looked surprised. Then she understood.

"Sigrid landed the last blow on the Sea Dragon King, but I get the prize."

"What makes you so sure it came from the King?" Cassian asked with a smile. "Couldn’t I have bought it?"

"Veyra, Celia, and I talked about that. If you were willing to spend that much on a Legendary Hero Soul, you’d have done it already."

His smile stiffened.

"So the three of you have been talking about your Lord behind his back?"

"We said you were careful with money," Aurelia explained quickly. "It was a compliment."

That explanation did not improve his mood.

Apparently, he could hand someone a Legendary Hero Soul and still come out of it sounding stingy.

Aurelia used the Soul.

[Hero Soul: Legendary consumed.]

[Aurelia Dawnwing’s Star Rank has increased.]

[Current rank: Legendary, Two-Star Hero.]

Cassian opened her attributes and nodded with satisfaction.

Her base attributes had risen by thirty percent. She had already been his strongest individual fighter. Now her lead was greater still.

"With Adrian dead, Coldridge has no one at its head. That doesn’t mean I can afford to slack off."

He still had to keep hunting if he wanted first place in the Marches Ranking.

Cassian silently hoped he would never see another competition based on Lords’ personal kills.

Then he stepped through the Gate, returned to Ghost One, and resumed the hunt.

News of the sea battle would soon spread across Tidecrown, perhaps throughout the Crown’s territories. Ten thousand warships and nearly a million troops made a considerable battle anywhere. In a newcomer Realm, it was extraordinary.

Adrian’s death would create trouble of its own. It might even bring the two sides’ leaders in the Seventh Realm into negotiations.

Cassian expected little from the court. He only hoped it would stay out of his way.

The military’s response interested him much more.

——

At the King’s Frontier Legion headquarters, dozens of generals had assembled in the same conference room.

They had been wondering what could be so urgent. Then they picked up the reports waiting on the table.

Eyes widened. Sharp breaths broke the silence. Men who had commanded armies for years stared at the pages in disbelief.

Edric Hale gave them several minutes before speaking.

"Hard to believe, I know. Every part of that report has been checked against multiple sources. Let’s hear your thoughts."

A middle-aged major general frowned.

"At this rate, his achievements may stand beside those of the great Valcrest ancestor. But the boy seems a little..."

He stopped short of saying Cassian had let success go to his head. Everyone understood him anyway.

"A little too much," a lieutenant general agreed. "He’s shown all his strength in public. Then he encouraged those young Lords to kill a descendant of Free Will’s founding family. We were the victims. Now we’re being made to look like the aggressors."

More voices rose against him than in support.

"They betrayed him. He struck back. Since when have we called that a fault?"

"Are we soldiers or politicians?"

While the argument continued, the old general who had wanted to make Cassian an example for the newcomers spoke up.

"Give him a warning, then shield him from Free Will’s pressure. Wouldn’t that settle both problems?"

Hale stood.

"We won’t play that game. Cassian has just saved our position in Tidecrown."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Make him a general."

Fresh gasps went around the room. A moment later, several pairs of eyes brightened.

A general at eighteen was an extraordinary proposition. What young man could refuse that honor?

And once Cassian accepted, he would be firmly tied to the Legion.

Hale had seen farther than the rest of them.

——

"A general?"

Aveline stared at the news. For a moment, even her usual pride deserted her.

"A major general at eighteen..."

She sat in silence for a long time.

"I’ve spent twenty years building my position. Talent, luck, all that work..."

House Vayne’s standing and her own influence had given her plenty to be proud of. Yet Cassian had reached a place beside her in less than two months.

Then she thought of a much happier difficulty.

"I’ve only just gathered the money for the Life Essence, and there’s another Hill King available already."

She sighed.

"Perhaps I should offer Elara instead of the money. That girl might even thank me."

——

Cassian heard the proposal the following day.

"Make me a general?"

He looked impressed.

"They certainly know how to make an offer."

Mara smiled.

"You’ll be my commanding officer now."

She felt a weight lift. At last, she would no longer have to stand between Cassian and the Legion, trying to satisfy both sides.

Cassian considered the offer.

"Thank the generals for me. But I’ll pass on the commission."

He rubbed his fingers together.

"Mara, could you ask them something? If they want to thank me, can they give me the rank’s value in Aether instead?"

A major general’s rank sounded impressive. It would bring authority, but it would also bring duties. If an order from above clashed with what he wanted, an arrangement meant to reward him could become a source of trouble.

More importantly, the Governor’s seat would be won through strength.

Even without military backing, he was confident he could take it. The only question was how much of his remaining strength he would have to reveal.

Mara stared at him.

He had turned it down.

And what was this about exchanging a general’s rank for Aether?