Chapter 160: First Place

[22: Darian Frost. Race: Human. Reward: Bronze Battle Name, 2,400 Renown.]

"So close to Silver!"

Darian raked both hands through his hair, all dignity forgotten. He recovered quickly enough.

"Still, twenty-four hundred Renown isn’t bad. Once I save ten thousand, I can exchange it for a Legendary Hero Soul at the Hall of Renown. Then Maren can become Legendary."

The others felt sorry for him. Even Cassian.

"I cleared so many obstacles for you. There’s only so much I can do."

On the second floor, neither Divine nor Demon Lords had been able to stop him. He had killed nearly thirty Lords from other races, including several with Legendary troops who could have beaten Darian.

Darian was strong. Apart from his personal combat power, he was equipped almost as well as a newcomer Lord could be. Perhaps being born into House Frost had used up all his luck. He had killed Legendary monsters, but not one had dropped a Troop Sigil.

Give him a squad of Legendary troops, and he might well have matched Neroth. Even the top ten would have been possible.

The Black Banner Lords were impressed despite themselves. Darian and Tervain had both earned Bronze Battle Names, but twenty-second and eighty-first were a long way apart.

And Cassian’s name still had not appeared.

Tervain ground his teeth.

"Is he really going to make the top ten?"

Whether they liked it or not, Cassian had secured his place as Tidecrown’s strongest Lord.

[20: Velzara Malgrath. Race: Demon. Reward: Bronze Battle Name, 2,400 Renown.]

The list entered the top twenty.

"Could he really do it?" Corin murmured.

Admiration, envy, and anticipation mingled in his eyes, with a trace of jealousy he could not quite suppress.

"Top ten in a competition of this scale would break a Homeworld record that has stood for a hundred years."

More than twenty million Lords across Tidecrown watched the list, either from the battlefield or through live feeds.

Crown Lords wanted Cassian’s name to appear as late as possible. The Black Banner, Free Will, even the relatively friendly Northbear Union wanted it to appear now.

They wanted Humanity to grow stronger so they could share in its success. They did not want that success to belong so completely to the Crown.

Only Lyra, who had seen a glimpse of what Cassian could really do, remained entirely confident about the top ten.

"He killed a Divine Scion so easily. Surely that should be enough."

Nineteenth. Sixteenth. Thirteenth.

Then the final Bronze name appeared.

[11: Hilar. Race: Machine. Reward: Bronze Battle Name, 2,400 Renown.]

Tidecrown erupted.

Twenty million Lords cried out, though the meaning behind those cries varied wildly.

Colonel Mercer burst out laughing.

"He did it! Top ten! How many years has it been since the Crown—no, since anyone on the Homeworld achieved a result like this?"

He seized his deputy in a hard embrace. A sudden chill across his back made him realize that his clothes were soaked with sweat.

The deputy laughed too.

"More than twenty years as a soldier, Roland, and you still get nervous as a boy over a little thing like this."

"A little thing?" Mercer punched him in the shoulder. "Don’t pretend you weren’t nervous."

Similar scenes played out in Crown Domains everywhere.

Black Banner Lords looked as though someone had died.

"How is Cassian this strong? Lord Tervain only reached eighty-first."

[Kelshore: Perhaps Cassian simply failed to rank.]

[Arun Varma: It’s possible. Strength matters in Glory Battlefield, but so does luck. Perhaps he arrived in a wasteland with hardly any monsters.]

Cassian noticed Arun’s change of tone at once. The descendant of Ashar Varma had evidently heard that the Jade Court was abandoning Tidecrown. Now he was beginning to sound much friendlier toward the Black Banner.

Those comments were quickly buried. However poor the hunting, Cassian was still a Lord with a squad of Legendary Dragons.

In the Riftward Channel, Tobias could hardly contain himself.

[Tobias Reed: Where do you think he’ll finish?]

Elara wiped her damp palms and smiled in relief.

[Elara Vayne: It hardly matters now. Even tenth place means a Silver Battle Name.]

[Darian Frost: She’s right. Congratulations, Cassian.]

[Seraphine Valcrest: Can we start celebrating?]

[Cassian: Once you’ve exchanged your rewards, come to my Domain. Between the Lord-kill rankings and Glory Battlefield, everyone’s worked hard. We’ll relax this afternoon and talk about the next Marches Ranking.]

Enthusiastic replies flooded in.

Then Nessa cried out.

[Nessa Fenwick: Tenth place! It’s still not Cassian! You’re incredible. You’re my hero!]

They looked up. Another Divine Lord had taken tenth.

[Darian Frost: How high are you planning to go?]

As the names continued, delighted surprise became uncertainty, then disbelief.

Even Lyra lost the little air of superiority that came from knowing something the others did not. Her mouth slowly fell open.

"Fourth already? And still no Cassian?"

Third place went to another Divine.

Nessa’s cheeks flushed bright red. She could hardly keep still.

"Third! That’s third, and it’s still not him!"

The others finally understood what they were watching.

Only two names remained. If Cassian was not second, then he had to be...

First.

A Gold Battle Name.

An achievement none of them had dared imagine for a Human Lord in this battlefield.

Seraphine pressed a hand to her chest.

"Cassian... you’re really going all the way?"

Earlier, when they had wondered whether he could reach the top ten, Elara’s palms had been damp. Now, in less than a minute, sweat had soaked her clothes.

"Come on, Cassian. You have to... You have to..."

She knew it made no difference. She could not stop herself.

Lords who had assumed the important part was over and begun preparing to return home stood frozen again.

Tidecrown fell silent, as though a spell had struck the whole Province.

The top ten names appeared roughly a minute apart. To the twenty million Lords waiting for the next one, that minute felt like a century.

At last, second place appeared.

[2: Azrak Thalor. Race: Divine. Reward: Silver Battle Name, 10,000 Renown.]

"Not Cassian!"

"A Human? A Human Lord took first place against Divines, Demons, and Machines?"

"He’ll be known across the Homeworld. Across Humanity!"

A hesitant voice cut through the uproar.

"Could it be that he really didn’t rank?"

Tervain suddenly laughed.

"Of course! Kelshore was right. Cassian isn’t on the list at all! A Human couldn’t take first. And if a Human did, it would be one of ours!"

He was barely making sense now.

Perhaps the system saw no need to prolong the wait once second place was known. Tervain had barely finished speaking when brilliant gold flooded the battlefield, forcing everyone to narrow their eyes.

As the light faded, a single line of golden words remained in the sky.

[1: Cassian Vale. Race: Human. Reward: Gold Battle Name, 20,000 Renown.]