Chapter 150: They Had Worked Him Out

The battle had earned Cassian fifty-two million Battle Essence. Eighty percent of it had come from the Spiritbound Lords.

The Glory Points pleased him even more.

Sixty-three Black Banner Lords had contributed two hundred and forty thousand points between them—roughly four thousand each. Since a kill yielded one tenth of a Lord’s points, they had earned around forty thousand apiece before coming to find him.

Roderic Sorn had contributed nothing. He had spent his entire score on the Dimensional Lock Westcott used.

"Lords are starting to carry enough points to be worth hunting. Once I’m on the second floor, I should move around more. Find the other races’ Lords—and Black Banner."

A minute later, a magic mark appeared on the nearby ground.

Cassian recognized Liora’s B-grade Teleport. Having a reliable way back was one reason he had been willing to come here alone.

Liora stepped out with Aurelia and Celia. All three relaxed when they saw him unharmed.

"I only asked Liora to pick me up," Cassian said with a smile. "Why did all of you come?"

"I asked her to bring us," Celia said, a trace of irritation in her voice. "The Domain depends on you. Don’t risk yourself alone like that again."

Aurelia and Liora nodded in agreement.

Cassian knew concern when he heard it.

"It was a little risky. All for the Glory Points."

"Then leave more of the hunting to us," Aurelia said firmly. "I’ll go without rest until this battlefield closes if that’s what it takes to win you the Gold Battle Name."

"Good."

Liora looked around curiously.

"Where are the enemies, Lord?"

Aurelia seemed to notice something. She rose a hundred meters into the air, then stared down at the enormous fist-shaped crater.

"Origin Divine Fist?"

Could she take a strike like that?

Yes—but she would have to put her full strength into Folded Sky Ward.

Celia and Liora soon realized that the hollow they stood in had been punched into the ground.

"That fist of yours keeps getting stronger, Lord," Celia said.

Liora’s eyes shone. Even Aurelia looked at him with fresh respect.

Cassian smiled. Strength had its attractions. Aurelia was no exception.

Cassian took one last look at his work.

"Liora. Earth Shift."

There was no reason to leave evidence of his strength lying in plain sight.

Liora understood at once. Earth-yellow light shot from the top of her staff.

The ground rumbled. Soil heaved and rolled over itself.

Her study of Order Power supported a broad command of magic. She knew forty-six spells across its different schools. In less than a minute, a kilometer of ground had been changed beyond recognition.

Cassian nodded in satisfaction.

"Let’s go."

Liora raised her staff again. Another Teleport circle formed on the ground.

A few minutes later, they were back at the white pillar with the rest of his force. Cassian put a hand against the light.

"Enter the second floor."

The pillar expanded and swallowed the group.

——

Cassian felt thoroughly refreshed after crushing thousands of enemies with his fist.

In the Black Banner Commanders’ group, the mood was very different.

[Roderic Sorn is dead. I’ve confirmed it.]

[Major Westcott from my Marches is dead too.]

[So are the two Lords we sent.]

They compared reports and reached a conclusion none of them wanted to accept.

Every Lord sent to kill Cassian was dead.

A woman among the Commanders raised her voice.

"How? More than a dozen Spiritbound Lords, over a hundred Epic troops, and more than two thousand troops of Rare Quality or above! They should have won even in a direct battle. And they used Dimensional Lock to make sure of it!"

"Perhaps he had a Legendary area-attack scroll," someone suggested. "He earned ten thousand Renown. That could buy a one-use Legendary scroll. Or summoning equipment—a Wind Horn, a Death Chalice."

"Didn’t he spend his Renown on farming?"

"What about his hundred Legend? The Hall of Legends offers far more than the Renown list."

"Even with something like that, surely he could only escape. How could he kill every one of them?"

"Could a Hero have teleported his troops to him?"

"Or perhaps he has a burst skill like Seven-Star Release."

More possibilities followed.

Then a mustached Commander spoke.

"What if the file we obtained from the Crown is false?"

Everyone went still.

"Explain, Lord Beric Kelshore," Galen Tervain said.

"A commoner. An F-grade farming Talent. D-grade Aptitude. Always short of money." Kelshore looked around the gathering. "What if the Crown wanted us to believe all of it?"

The idea gathered speed as he spoke.

"What ordinary commoner takes first place in Ranking after Ranking? Who creates an Epic troop line of his own?"

He leaned forward.

"Perhaps he started with a B-grade Lord’s Heart and B-grade Aptitude. No—perhaps even A, comparable to a Legendary Hero. A genius the Crown’s leadership has been raising in secret."

Nobody interrupted him.

"And if he has a Warbound Talent, then Cassian himself is the strongest combatant in his Domain."

The explanation made far too much sense to dismiss.

Tervain let out a slow breath.

"You’ve opened my eyes. A-grade Aptitude, all those attribute rewards, his equipment... his Combat Rating might be over two thousand stars."

His expression darkened.

"I trusted our intelligence too much. Dozens of brave Lords died because of it."

"Don’t blame yourself," Kelshore said. "At least we’ve found out what he really is."

Tervain nodded.

"I’ll report this to our superiors immediately."

They had reached one correct conclusion: Cassian himself was now his Domain’s strongest combatant.

What they thought that strength amounted to was another matter entirely.

——

[You have entered the second floor of Glory Battlefield. The second-floor exchange list is now available.]

"So this is the second floor."

Cassian looked around. At first glance, it seemed much the same as the world below.

Liora paused to sense the air.

"The power of death is much denser here."

Cassian nodded.

"Seven. Survey the area."

Crystal Seven rose into the sky.

A message arrived in the officers’ group. Mira sounded subdued.

[Mira Calder: We’ve lost a Lord from Riftward. A War Lord from Region 328. I remember him being quite strong. He must have run into a Divine or a Demon.]

She had numbered the Marches’ Regions to make her records easier to manage.

For a moment, nobody answered.

[Elara Vayne: Casualties are inevitable with so many powerful races here. I’ve already killed seven or eight Divine and Demon Lords myself.]

[Nessa Fenwick: I just met a very strong Demon Lord. It took dozens of us from my family to deal with him. We barely managed it.]

[Darian Frost: Are you all right? We’re not far apart. Come over here. I’ll protect you.]

[Nessa Fenwick: Thank you, Darian, but you’ll be heading to the second floor soon. There are dozens of us together. We can look after ourselves.]

[Elara Vayne: Quite a few Crown Lords have formed hunting groups now. A dozen or so together can keep themselves safe, unless they meet someone truly powerful.]

Tobias joined in.

[Tobias Reed: I saw a Spiritbound Lord an hour ago. He was in a hurry. Gone before I could get a good look—like he couldn’t wait to get himself killed.]

The mood changed at once.

[Seraphine Valcrest: A Spiritbound Lord? Their strength is terrifying, but it only lasts a short time. Why bring them into Glory Battlefield? Are they targeting Crown Lords?]

[Tobias Reed: Damn. The boss. Could they be after him? Why didn’t I think of that earlier?]

Everyone had reached the same thought.

[Elara Vayne: Be careful, Cassian. If Black Banner saves enough points for a Dimensional Lock, they might really try something.]

Cassian had already sent those Spiritbound Lords to their deaths. He replied calmly.

[Cassian Vale: I’ll be careful.]

Seraphine seemed to make up her mind.

[Seraphine Valcrest: Cassian, I have a Skill Book. It might save your life when it matters.]

A Skill Book? 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

He had not expected much. Then he saw the notification from the Exchange, and his eyes lit up.