Chapter 148: Points Delivered to His Door

"Honored Lord. Allow me to sweep aside your enemies."

The Blood Prince bowed elegantly to Nessa. Then he spread a pair of dark-gold wings and rose into the air.

"Feast."

He reached out. A Greater Demon froze in midair.

Black blood burst from the Demon’s body as though a pipe had ruptured. The streams gathered into a dark sphere, leaving their victim dead.

"Blood Touch."

The sphere unraveled into a net woven from countless threads of blood. Another Greater Demon failed to dodge it.

"No!"

The Prince closed his hand gently.

The net tightened, cutting the Demon into pieces.

Two movements. Two dead Epic Demons.

The battlefield fell silent in shock.

"How can an insignificant Human like you possess a treasure like that?" the Demon Lord demanded.

Seren looked at Nessa, her eyes bright with excitement.

"You really have found someone wealthy to help you!"

"All Heroes!" the Demon Lord roared. "With me! Surround that Blood Prince and kill him!"

Nessa gave him his own words back.

"Before absolute strength, every tactic is futile."

Under their horrified eyes, a second Blood Prince took shape.

Two Level-45 Legendary troops turned the battle around at once.

The chalice could sustain twelve summons at a time. After paying for these two, it still held 22,328 Blood Essence, but Nessa stopped there. Two would do. She wanted to save the rest for Cassian.

Seven more Epic Greater Demons soon fell.

The Demon Lord made his decision.

"I’ll repay this humiliation twice over! Your whole family will be wiped out!"

His prey had become the hunters. If he lost any more of his force, he might truly lose his chance at a Battle Name.

He disappeared into space. His surviving troops scattered.

"Don’t let him escape!" Nessa shouted.

She had spent six thousand Blood Essence. Letting him go now would make this a terrible bargain.

"Rest assured, Lord," one of the Princes said gracefully.

He could not drag the Demon Lord out of the gaps in space. He could, however, faintly sense where his quarry was going.

All he had to do was follow.

Spatial Step was an A-grade skill. Keeping it in use consumed a great deal of Aether.

The Eclipse troops spread their Wings of the Windlord and shot into the sky after the other Demons.

"They can fly too?" Seren said helplessly.

Susie seemed to have realized something.

"Nessa... are those the Eclipse troops everyone has been talking about?"

The others looked at her with shining eyes.

"You know Lord Cassian?"

Nessa smiled.

"He helped me get my Chapterhouse. Let me tell you about that..."

As Nessa told her story, their eyes grew brighter still.

She knew what she could share and what she had to keep to herself. No one was going to hear about the Life Essence.

"You were disgustingly lucky," Seren said enviously.

Susie looked hopeful.

"Nessa, could you help me buy an Eclipse Chapterhouse Blueprint?"

"With your handful of coins?"

Susie’s face fell.

"But..." Nessa went on. "I’ve saved a few million Aether lately. If everyone contributes, I’ll ask Cassian about buying one for you."

The women cheered.

Before long, a notice appeared.

[Your summoned troop Blood Prince has killed Lord Gorzath Fellmere — Demon. Battle Essence +2,850,000 | Glory Points +31,328]

"We got him!" Nessa cried. "Monroe? Why does that name sound familiar? Never mind. Look at all those points!"

Then Nessa winced and pressed a hand to her side.

"Something feels strange."

"Too much excitement?" Seren asked. "You’ve barely stopped celebrating."

Before Nessa could answer, life force surged through her. A brief glow washed over her skin, startling everyone around her.

The discomfort passed. She opened her panel and went still.

[Aptitude: B]

"B-grade?" Seren put a hand over her mouth. "Nessa, what have you been eating lately?"

Susie stared at her enviously.

"You even look different!"

——

Cassian looked at his Glory Points.

"One million. Finally."

Ten hours of hunting, with more than a dozen Lords from other races delivering themselves to his troops along the way, had brought him to the threshold for the second floor.

The military estimated that anyone who reached the second floor within the three days would have a good chance of finishing in the top thousand and receiving a Battle Name.

He had done it in ten hours.

Fast, certainly. Still not a reason to relax.

"The Ranking won’t be published until the final settlement. And every floor has better monsters. More points to earn."

He sent an order through the Lord’s Heart.

"Everyone, gather at the passage."

Before long, his entire force had assembled beneath the towering white pillar of light.

[You have met the requirements to enter the second floor of Glory Battlefield. Enter?]

Cassian was about to select Yes when a blue-green chain emerged from empty space and wound around his waist.

He almost dodged it. Then he recognized the item and let it close.

[Warning: Lord Conrad Westcott has used Dimensional Lock on you. Contest of Strength initiated.]

A feeble pull came from the chain, trying to draw him into the gap in space before him.

[Dimensional Lock]

[Pierces dimensional space and locks onto a Lord whose identity you can form clearly in your mind.]

[Which Lord is pulled to the other depends on their relative strength.]

The price was two hundred thousand Glory Points. It could only be used within Glory Battlefield.

Cassian could have bought one himself. No Black Banner Lord was worth spending that much to reach.

Through the gap, he could make out thousands of figures waiting on the other side.

"About fourteen hundred Physique," Cassian said. "Comparable to a Legendary troop at Level forty-two or forty-three. A Spiritbound Lord, then."

Even Seraphine might have been pulled across by that strength.

Cassian could have dragged the other Lord to him with a casual pull. After reaching Level 45, with his A-grade Aptitude, Warbody, and accumulated gains behind him, the difference was overwhelming.

He was in no hurry to pull back. First, he spent a hundred Glory Points to locate Westcott.

"Three thousand kilometers. Close enough."

Even that brief glimpse had shown him dozens of Black Banner Lords.

Points delivered to his door. He might as well collect them before moving to the second floor.

Cassian stepped into the gap, following the chain’s pull.

"Liora, come and pick me up. Here’s the position..."

——

Three thousand kilometers away, Conrad Westcott stood more than five meters tall. The Spiritbound Lord had fused with a demon bear spirit.

His enormous hands gripped the chain. His face twisted with effort as he pulled with all his strength.

The other end vanished into space. It might as well have been fastened to a mountain of iron.

More than sixty Black Banner Lords had gathered here, including over a dozen Spiritbound Lords in different forms. Their expressions changed as they watched him struggle.

"Are you certain you locked onto Cassian? How can his Physique be that high?"

"Our reports only gave him D-grade Aptitude. Even with equipment and all those public attribute rewards, how is he overpowering Major Westcott?"

"There’s always something strange about him. What if this goes wrong?"

"We only have a few thousand troops. Was bringing him here really a good idea?"

"We don’t have a choice now! Clearspirit Elixir keeps the Spiritbound Lords lucid for less than ten hours. If we wait much longer, they’ll go mad!"

Roderic Sorn raised his voice.

"You cowards! He’s frightened the wits out of you!"

He pointed at the taut chain.

"He must have a skill or potion that temporarily increases his Physique. That’s the only reason he can match Westcott. Once it wears off, we’ll pull him here!"

As though to prove him right, Westcott suddenly laughed.

"His strength is gone!"

He gave the chain a mighty pull.

A figure emerged from the gap in space with the chain around his waist.

Cassian stood in the air, looked over the gathering below, and smiled.

"Do stand closer together. It will make killing you all much easier."