Chapter 157: Five in the Top Hundred?

[Black Iron Battle Names will be awarded to the following Lords.]

[1,000: Raman. Race: Machine. Reward: Black Iron Battle Name, 100 Renown.]

[999: Rowan Ashford. Race: Human. Reward: Black Iron Battle Name, 100 Renown.]

[998...]

A new name appeared in the sky every second.

"Renown too?" Cassian’s eyes brightened. "Then could first place, or even the top ten, get Legend Points?"

That was a welcome surprise. Since the Boundary War, the system’s competitions had been for Regions and Marches. There had been no personal Renown rewards. Glory Battlefield ranked individual Lords, so it made sense for Renown to return.

In the Marches Channel, Rowan was almost incoherent with excitement.

[Rowan Ashford: I made it! Top thousand! A Battle Name and a hundred Renown!]

He had reached the second floor, but seeing his name in the sky still felt like a dream.

Cheers erupted across Riftward, from Lords in the battlefield and those watching from their Domains alike.

[There must be eight hundred Marches in this competition. Maybe a thousand, counting all the races. Rowan, you actually did it!]

[A Battle Name! I wouldn’t even dare dream of one.]

[Another ranked Lord for Riftward!]

The Lords who had stayed home could hardly bear hearing about it secondhand.

[Someone open a live feed! I’ll pay!]

[Tobias Reed: I’ll do it. No charge. It costs me nothing to point the camera at the sky.]

[Lord Tobias Reed has opened a live feed.]

He aimed it at the rapidly changing list. Tens of thousands of viewers poured in at once.

Elara and the others congratulated Rowan. Once again, they had reason to appreciate the value of choosing the right person to follow.

House Ashford was far from the greatest of the Lord families. Rowan had entered the realm with an A-grade Ashen Fortress and twelve Ash Spearmen, a promising start. But there were heirs with far greater family resources behind them.

With Cassian’s help, he had now beaten many of those heirs onto the list.

[Rowan Ashford: This is all thanks to you, Boss. I still have five hundred thousand points. Is there anything you want? I can exchange them for you.]

[Cassian: No need, Rowan. Just do a good job with the farming.]

[Rowan Ashford: Count on it!]

Tobias was nearly as excited.

He and Rowan had already compared scores. His own total was a few tens of thousands higher. If Rowan had ranked, then so had he.

About two minutes later, the sky confirmed it.

[883: Tobias Reed. Race: Human. Reward: Black Iron Battle Name, 200 Renown.]

Another round of congratulations filled the Channel.

Tobias rubbed his hands together, grinning.

[Tobias Reed: Don’t worry, Boss. I’ll put everything into farming from here!]

He could already imagine his family’s faces when they heard. Unless he died, his position as the next head of House Reed was practically assured.

Strangely, the thought no longer interested him much. Running the family could hardly compare with following Cassian.

[Gareth Halvern: It seems I’m the only one dragging everyone down.]

House Halvern could stand beside House Vayne. Yet Gareth’s best troops were only Epic. Watching Rowan and Tobias celebrate made the gap all too clear.

[Cassian: Once we’re out of the battlefield, Gareth, I’ll help you get things in order.]

Gareth answered at once, as though Cassian might withdraw the offer.

[Gareth Halvern: Thank you, Boss! If that means taking a stake in my Domain, you’re more than welcome.]

[Mira: I never thought I’d see the day. Even the proud Gareth Halvern has surrendered to money.]

[Gareth Halvern: Ha! There’s no shame in following Cassian.]

[Mira: Then could some of that money look after me too?]

Darian answered before Cassian could.

[Darian Frost: You’re better off working with me, Mira. Cassian might ask you to repay him in bed.]

[Mira: ...]

While they joked, the Province Channel was growing restless.

[Corin Alder: Two ranked Lords from Riftward already. No wonder they won the first Marches Ranking.]

[Colonel Mercer: Their strongest Lords haven’t appeared yet. Some of those have a chance at the top hundred.]

[Selene Rook: Ashford and Reed are both prominent names among our people. Could these two be descendants of branches that settled abroad?]

Crown Lords read that with open disgust.

Nessa took her anger to the management group.

[Nessa Fenwick: Does that woman have any shame? The moment something good appears, she claims it belongs to her people.]

[Tobias Reed: Rowan and I aren’t prizes for her to claim. Though I suppose we are worth fighting over.]

[Rowan Ashford: Speak for yourself.]

They were in too good a mood to let Selene spoil it.

[Elara Vayne: Leave her, Nessa. Her people are still our allies. She’s making a fool of herself. Let her.]

[Nessa Fenwick: An ally like that will stab us in the back sooner or later.]

The list kept climbing.

Brielle Ironwake appeared at rank 728. Darian had clearly looked after her well. A few squads of Epic troops would help explain that result.

Then came two of the Valcrests, one at 699 and another at 646.

[Seraphine Valcrest: Well done! You’ve made the family proud!]

The steady stream of Crown names was becoming difficult for the Black Banner Lords to stomach.

[How do they have this many strong Lords?]

[Their strongest still haven’t appeared.]

[Have you noticed? Five of the names so far are from Riftward alone.]

[So that’s how they took first place on the Lord-kill rankings...]

The other three Valcrest relatives, apart from Seraphine and Lyra, appeared in turn.

Everyone still waiting grew more tense. Each new name meant a higher place for the Lords who had not yet been called.

A few minutes later, the list passed into the top two hundred.

[Darian Frost: Cassian and Seraphine, I understand. Elara has her Hill Kings too. But are Lyra and Nessa this strong? Are they going to make the top hundred?]

[Nessa Fenwick: I have about a hundred women from my family helping me find monsters.]

There was unmistakable pride in her reply.

That explained it. The Fenwicks had put their hopes on Nessa and concentrated their help around her.

[Elara Vayne: And she spent the whole trip looking harmless, then catching Divine and Demon Lords off guard. Don’t forget that part.]

[Seraphine Valcrest: Ah. There’s Lyra. A pity she missed the top hundred.]

[179: Lyra Valcrest. Race: Human. Reward: Black Iron Battle Name, 900 Renown.]

[Lyra Valcrest: I’m lucky to be alive. Anything else is a bonus.]

Soon afterward, another familiar name appeared.

[121: Lydia Venn. Race: Human. Reward: Black Iron Battle Name, 900 Renown.]

Only twenty-one places separated her from a Bronze Battle Name.

[Colonel Mercer: Don’t be discouraged, Lydia. This is proof of your strength.]

Lydia was disappointed. There was no hiding it entirely.

[Lydia Venn: I was only aiming for the top two hundred. I’m satisfied with this.]

At last, the final Black Iron name appeared.

[101: Vezrin Malgrath. Race: Demon. Reward: Black Iron Battle Name, 900 Renown.]

[Bronze Battle Name recipients will be announced in one minute.]

Riftward erupted.

[No Cassian! He’s still not on the list!]

[Top hundred! Our Commander made the top hundred!]

[A Bronze Battle Name!]

[Tobias Reed: He has a whole squad of Legendary Dragons. Was there ever any doubt? Darian and Seraphine making the top hundred too—now that’s a pleasant surprise.]

[Darian Frost: What do you mean by that? Cassian was certain, but I’m a surprise?]

Cassian still hoped Darian would help pay for Fortune Duel Writs when the time came for Fortune Consolidation. He promptly stepped in.

[Cassian: Darian is a terrifying Lord. Even I have to be careful around him.]

[Tobias Reed: Exactly! The future Lord of House Frost. Perhaps one day he’ll rule all the realms!]

[Darian Frost: Stop. Both of you. You’re making my skin crawl.]

Other Lords had begun counting the names that were missing.

[Wait. Did anyone see Elara Vayne? She has recruitment rights to the Royal Hall’s troops. There’s no way she failed to rank.]

[Nessa hasn’t appeared either.]

[Then doesn’t that mean...]

Across the Domains of Riftward, Lords drew sharp breaths as they reached the same conclusion.

"Five Lords from our Marches in the top hundred?"