Chapter 158: Even His Followers

The announcements resumed.

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

[100: Nessa Fenwick. Race: Human. Reward: Bronze Battle Name, 1,000 Renown.]

The uproar spread far beyond Riftward. The whole Province Channel erupted.

[Isn’t she the girl who’s always following Cassian?]

Nessa was hardly the heir of some mighty family. Yet there she was, ahead of nine hundred other ranked Lords.

In her own Marches, Lydia Venn stared at the name.

"Why? How did a Lord from a family like hers finish above me?"

Since childhood, Lydia had worked to restore House Venn. She had given up play for study and training, allowing herself only four hours of sleep a night.

"And now I can’t even beat one of Cassian’s followers."

Colonel Mercer’s expression kept changing.

He knew something of Nessa’s background. She was popular enough in Riftward Region that he had made inquiries. The Fenwicks were descended from refugees who had fled a war centuries ago. They had none of the advantages of the great Lord families.

He thought of Mara, who had begun with much the same opportunity.

Nessa had trusted Cassian from the start, almost blindly. He had rewarded that trust, and here she was.

So much for judging people by their starting position.

The Colonel’s astonishment finally escaped in a sigh.

"Our commanders were bold enough to back him. They simply placed their bet too late."

Then a thought struck him.

If even one of Cassian’s followers could reach the top hundred, could Cassian himself reach the top ten?

He had already drawn worldwide attention by creating an Epic troop line. A result like that would make the world look at him all over again.

Mercer shook his head. That was asking too much.

——

A video request chimed. Nessa.

Cassian accepted and smiled at her delighted face.

"Well done, Nessa. I didn’t expect you to make the top hundred."

He meant it. The Blood Chalice alone should not have been enough. Its stored essence was finite, and the Princes had both a summoning limit and a time limit.

But nearly a hundred relatives finding monsters for her could easily have doubled her hunting efficiency. Then there was her luck. Not ninety-nine, not a hundred and one. Exactly the final place that earned a Bronze Battle Name.

He had thought she was calling to show off. Instead, she leaned forward eagerly.

"Cassian, will you sell me an Eclipse Chapterhouse Blueprint for twenty million Aether?"

"You have that much?" He paused, then understood. "It’s for the women with you?"

Nessa nodded quickly.

"They pooled the money. It took them everything they could scrape together."

She widened the view. Nearly a hundred young women stood behind her, watching him with open expectation.

Cassian took in all those lovely faces and steadied himself.

Then he smiled.

"Nessa, how would you like to do something bigger?"

"How much bigger?"

"Five Blueprints. I’ll send them now. Pay the twenty million you’ve raised, and your family can pay off the rest in installments at the lowest market interest rate."

At twenty million apiece, the five Blueprints came to a hundred million Aether. Eighty million would be financed.

The Hall’s Muster Fortune had grown back to over a hundred thousand during the past few days. As more Chapterhouses opened, it would accumulate faster still.

Cassian ordered five full Chapterhouse Blueprints made. Fifty thousand Muster Fortune went into their production, and he sent the completed Blueprints to Nessa through the Exchange.

She stared for a moment, then moved closer to the camera and lowered her voice.

"So you’re giving us a loan? Shall I secretly take a few naked pictures of Susie and Seren for collateral?"

Cassian’s face darkened.

"No."

Some friend she was. He liked beautiful women. That did not mean he wanted stolen pictures.

On the first floor, the Fenwick women burst into cheers as the call ended.

"Five! We’re getting five!"

"Long live Cassian!"

"And Nessa!"

"I had no idea he’d do this much for you!"

Nessa tried to wear the solemn expression of an important leader. Her delight kept threatening to spoil it.

"When you get home, go straight to the clan head. Even if we have to pool everything our family has across Southreach Province, we must build these Chapterhouses."

Susie nodded hard.

"Don’t worry, big sister Nessa. We won’t let your help go to waste!"

Nessa stood a little straighter at that.

"Finish exchanging your points and leave the battlefield as soon as you can. I’m going to the second floor to spend mine. We have the Agriculture Ranking to prepare for."

——

The Bronze ranks appeared more slowly.

The excitement over Nessa had barely begun to fade when another name sent a larger wave through the Province Channel.

[92: Elara Vayne. Race: Human. Reward: Bronze Battle Name, 1,000 Renown.]

[Another one from Riftward?]

[I heard Elara had access to a Royal Hall’s recruits. Even Hill Kings. I thought the rumor had grown in the telling, but this makes it look quite real.]

[Legendary Hill Kings? Riftward has so few Lords, but how are so many of them this strong? Count Cassian, and that’s three in the top hundred!]

[Three? Have you forgotten Darian Frost and Seraphine Valcrest?]

[Five...]

Twenty-eight Provinces had entered Glory Battlefield. Between them, there were at least eight hundred Marches, perhaps a thousand. On average, each Marches could expect about one Lord in the top thousand.

For the top hundred, the average was only three or four per Province.

Riftward alone had five.

[Colonel Mercer: I was wrong earlier. Cassian doesn’t need to reach the top ten to make this a worldwide sensation. Five Lords from one Marches in the top hundred is enough. Who in the Crown could still deny that Riftward is our foremost Marches? Its Dragons are finally showing themselves.]

Cassian, however, frowned at Elara’s placement.

"There’s still a weakness."

Her Wellspring of Strength was a Warbound Lord Talent, but only D-grade. It could not compare with the advantages a Valcrest heir like Seraphine possessed.

"When I get the chance, I need to find Elara some Talent Advancement Writs. They don’t have to take her all the way to A-grade, but she should at least reach B."

More names appeared.

[83: Seraphine Valcrest. Race: Human. Reward: Bronze Battle Name, 1,200 Renown.]

[82: Corin Alder. Race: Human. Reward: Bronze Battle Name, 1,200 Renown.]

[81: Galen Tervain. Race: Human. Reward: Bronze Battle Name, 1,200 Renown.]

Three Lords from Tidecrown in a row. Cheers broke out across the Province, and the other two Human Provinces joined in.

For this moment, all three names belonged to Humanity.

"Corin Alder. A descendant of House Alder in the Fourth Realm. He’s hidden his strength well."

Cassian considered the name.

Perhaps Corin was no ordinary member of the family. Could he be a son of the man at its head, with a background to match Darian’s?

"And Tervain is stronger than both him and Seraphine?"

What Cassian did not know was that Tervain had spent a fortune hiring two powerful Black Banner Lords who had reached the second floor. Their job was to find monsters for him so he could push into the top hundred.

Of Tidecrown’s Crown Lords who had qualified for a Battle Name, only Cassian and Darian were still waiting for their places.

"Seventy-four..."

"Sixty-six..."

"Fifty-eight..."

Riftward cheered each new announcement. Another place passed, and neither of their names appeared.

The list entered the top fifty. Still nothing.

"Come on, Cassian. Make the top ten!"

Some Lords were practically praying. Elara, Nessa, and Tobias watched with their hearts in their throats, more anxious than the two men whose names they were waiting to see.

Then Mira requested a private call.

When the video opened, her expression was grave.

"Boss, something serious has happened."

"What is it?"

"An envoy of the Jade Court has manifested his will here from Sector 428. He says he wants to see you. And..."

Anger flashed in her eyes. She spoke through clenched teeth.

"And the Jade Court has just made an announcement..."