Chapter 268: Power from Above

"What a formation."

Azrak’s expression darkened. He had overlooked something important.

Every ten percent of Temple completion triggered a monster siege, and each siege was stronger than the last.

The Divines were poor at formations. To keep their Temple safe, they had to match the monsters with large numbers of troops. The fifth siege alone had tied down a fifth of the Brahma Legion’s fighting strength.

For the approaching sixth siege, they would probably need three tenths.

"Is that formation strong enough to hold off nine waves?"

A doubt crossed his mind.

"Or is the Temple really a reduced version, with weaker monster sieges too?"

Whatever the answer, he had already committed his army. He ordered the attack to continue.

Maren could not keep releasing such powerful bursts. After the third, she had to settle for maintaining the formation’s basic functions.

The Divine army drove into it.

Stormlance, Golden Behemoths, Light-and-Dark Templars, the surviving Hill King, Crownward Knights, Divine Arsenal Corps, Repeater Corps—powerful troops from across the First Legion entered the fight.

The enemy’s strength still exceeded their expectations.

Elara watched a hostile Light-and-Dark Templar kill one of her Storm Guardians in a single strike. Her face tightened.

"So these are the Divines..."

Even with the Five Elements Formation helping them, the Homeworld’s forces slowly began to give ground.

Darian’s eyes hardened. He rose into the air and flew to the statue at the center of his Domain.

"Dad. I’m counting on you."

He cut his palm with the edge of a finger. With an effort that made his whole body tense, he forced out a single golden drop of lifeblood and pressed it into the statue.

"Let my blood guide the way across the void. Father, lend me your strength!"

Bloodline Invocation. Through the statue, Darian reached for his father in the higher Realm, spending his own vitality to bear as much of the answering power as he could.

His face turned deathly pale. He crumpled to the ground.

A golden column rose from the statue, piercing the sky and breaking through Fivefold Heaven’s world barrier. Lords on both sides stared in shock, Azrak among them.

——

Third Realm. Highcrest.

Edran had been waiting for news of the Legion Contest when a familiar voice reached him.

"Father, lend me your strength..."

"Bloodline Invocation. My nineteenth!"

It was a means of drawing power from a higher Realm, as living sacrifice was for Spiritbound Lords. This call had come through the bond between father and son.

"That reckless boy. Does he have to push himself this far?"

Edran immediately sent back as much power as the invocation could safely carry. Worry filled his face.

"A Legion of barely a thousand people was never going to do much. The top ten thousand, at best. If the enemy is too strong, just withdraw!"

He could feel how much Darian had spent to strengthen the connection.

"Even with all the progress he’s made, recovering from this will take months."

——

Less than a second later, the statue’s light blazed many times brighter.

"What is this boost? My troops’ attributes have risen by at least thirty percent!"

"It’s like gaining another Grade-A War Talent. Darian, you’re incredible!"

"My troops are pushing the Divines back!"

Astonishment became delight. The Crown Champions’ spirits soared.

Darian sat on the ground, gasping. Then he burst out laughing.

"Come on! Give the bastards hell—"

A fit of coughing cut him off.

High above, the sight pained Maren. That pain quickly became anger.

Even a Legendary Nine-Star Hero like her received a fifteen-percent increase from the strengthened statue.

The formation’s power surged. More than ten thousand Divine troops vanished in its next attack.

Azrak stared at enemies who had suddenly become far stronger.

"Bloodline Invocation? Is Cassian the direct descendant of a Mythic Human Lord?"

Was that the secret of his strength?

Azrak had never paid much attention to any other Homeworld Lord. Naturally, he attributed the change to Cassian.

Then something elsewhere on the battlefield caught his eye.

"Impossible!"

A figure in blue emerged from an Annihilation Orb without a wound, as though she had simply walked through open air.

Even Azrak would not dare linger inside a Templar’s Annihilation Orb for an instant.

The woman was no larger than an ordinary Human, yet she fought like some ancient beast. Bodies fell wherever she passed. Even Legendary Soulhunters could barely withstand a single exchange.

At last, he saw her clearly.

"Cassian’s Stormlance? His Extreme troops?"

Only days ago, several of them together had barely been able to keep him occupied. The strength they were showing now surpassed even Legendary Nine-Star Extreme troops.

Azrak found it hard to believe. The Crown Champions felt the change more clearly still.

It was not just the Stormlance. The hundreds of veteran Eclipse Legionnaires Cassian had left behind had more than doubled in strength. They fought like Legendary troops of at least Three-Star.

The statue alone could not explain that.

"What has Cassian done?"

"Look at his Stormlance and Eclipse troops! No wonder they say he can fight an entire Province."

"Darian and Cassian both! They always have another surprise when we need it!"

"Four hours until settlement. Even if we fight down to our last soldier, we’ll protect this Temple and our place in the rankings!"

"Fight!"

The answering roar shook the battlefield.

——

On the other side of the Spatial Vortex, notices unfolded before Cassian.

[Title equipped: First Champion. During the Contest of Champions, suppress other Champions’ attributes by 10%.]

He supplied the premium Aether Crystals required to activate his Battle Name.

[Godslayer activated. All attributes of every unit under your command, including the Lord, increased by 30%.]

[Enemy race: Divine. Effect doubled. All attributes increased by 60%.]

[Aether consumed: 10,000,000,000. Dragon’s Blessing activated.]

[Blessing selected: Combat strength. All Domain units’ attributes increased by 30%. Duration: 3 hours.]

Cassian had learned how the battle at home was going through the Channel. To be safe, he had brought his forces to their greatest strength.

The Crown Champions were right. His Stormlance and Eclipse troops really had more than doubled their attributes.

"Ten billion Aether. Expensive, but worth every bit of it."

Dragon’s Blessing differed from the statue’s aura. A statue gave proportionally less help to a stronger unit. The blessing made no such reduction. Even Aurelia and his other Legendary Nine-Star Heroes and troops received the full thirty percent.

There was another reason he had chosen this moment.

Twenty kilometers away, Elemental Beasts filled the sky and covered the ground, attacking the Divine Legion’s Five Elements Temple.

From its height, this should be Brahma’s sixth monster siege.

"Raiding really does pay. Though this time, I may be taking quite a prize..."

Cassian chuckled. He could hardly contain his excitement.