Chapter 273: A Finished Wonder

At Blood Throne’s Temple, Vespera looked over their progress with satisfaction—and a little regret.

"Grandpa Mordane, we’ve reached seventy-three percent. Even among all Blood Throne’s past newcomer Legions, that should place us in the top ten."

She sighed.

"If only we’d taken Mount Celestia’s Temple. First place would have been almost certain."

With a Mythic Hero like Mordane directing the River of Blood Formation, the rest of Blood Throne’s fighters could hunt without worrying about their defenses. Their progress had been remarkable.

Mordane smiled.

"Taking a World Wonder from Divines, Angels, or Demons means fighting them to the death. It isn’t so easily done. Our attack on Mount Celestia was chiefly a feint to stop them growing stronger."

He sounded confident.

"At our present completion, only that mysterious Void Insect Legion poses a threat in War Realm Seventy-Seven. We needn’t worry about the others."

The Void Insects had earned their terrible reputation. Powerful, cold, and merciless, they fought to the death once they chose an enemy. Their ability to grow through war sometimes carried them even higher than the Divines in the All-Races Rankings.

Vespera understood that too.

"I’ll be satisfied if we can secure the top three. Those places come with extra National Fortune..."

"Hmm?"

Mordane suddenly looked toward the horizon. Far away, a faint beam of five-colored light rose into the sky.

"That light. Could it be...? But how is that possible?"

The ancient Mythic Hero had seen a great deal in his long life. Something had occurred to him at once, and it left him staring.

"What is it, Grandpa Mordane?"

He did not seem to hear her.

"All these years, the Legion Contest’s World Wonders have always been left unfinished. I’ve never heard of anyone completing one."

His eyes remained fixed on the distant light.

"Who did it?"

Vespera froze. He had not explained clearly, but she understood enough.

Someone had finished a World Wonder?

——

At the First Legion’s Temple, the Crown Champions watched Cassian with doubt and expectation in their eyes.

He raised a hand and submitted his stock of Elemental Pearls.

The five outer walls surged upward. Ten thousand meters above the ground, they met in a single spire.

The changes did not stop there. Elemental energy continued to gather, condensing into a radiant orb that floated dozens of meters above the peak. Within it, the five elements seemed perfectly united, no longer separate from one another.

A beam of five-colored light shot into the sky, announcing the Wonder’s completion.

"I still have Pearls left..."

Cassian stared. More than half his stock remained unused even after the Temple was finished.

Then a series of chimes sounded. A private notification appeared before him.

"What the..."

For a moment, he stood motionless. Then his expression became a strange mixture of excitement and disbelief.

"That works too?"

The Crown Champions were just as astonished. Most had been watching the Temple and saw its transformation the instant it began.

"It’s really finished?"

"Was Cassian saving his Elemental Pearls for all three days?"

"Even with our drops multiplied more than ten times, doesn’t this contest seem a little too easy?"

"Well, it is a reduced version. That would explain it."

"I need a picture. We have to remember this moment!"

"Yes! Take pictures!"

"Damn!"

Darian’s sudden exclamation startled them.

"Did Cassian actually destroy the Divine Temple?"

He knew Cassian had been submitting Pearls throughout the contest. There had been no three-day stockpile.

Everyone turned.

Forcing the Divines to retreat was one thing. Destroying their home Temple was quite another. Even with Blood Throne’s help, that was hard to believe.

Their shock soon gave way to excitement.

"I’ve never heard of a Legion finishing its World Wonder. Will there be an extra reward?"

"Perhaps it’ll move us up a few places!"

Seraphine looked up at the magnificent structure and sighed.

"What a pity it’s a quest Building. No attributes, and we can’t take it with us. Imagine if we could."

"Keep dreaming," Lyra said, rolling her eyes at her cousin. "Sector Six-Thirty-Two only has a handful of World Wonder Buildings, and the Homeworld’s nations are already fighting over them."

Nessa had been paying more attention to Cassian than to the Temple. Noticing his strange expression, she shook his arm.

"Cassian? What’s wrong?"

He drew a deep breath and recovered his composure.

"Nothing. I’m happy. Very happy."

He rubbed her head, then raised his voice.

"The Wonder’s finished. There are only a little over ten minutes left, so everyone can relax and wait for the rankings. Once we’re back in the Homeworld Realm, you’re all welcome to visit Divine Province."

Their reactions had confirmed it. He alone had received that notification, because his personal contribution exceeded fifty percent.

Cassian’s mood could hardly have been better.

——

The remaining minutes passed quickly.

Noon.

As the Lords waited anxiously, a deep rumble seemed to pass through space itself. Energy rose between earth and sky. Golden light gathered overhead, forming a vast scroll a kilometer long and a kilometer wide.

Enormous lines of text appeared across it.

[Announcement: Phase Two of the Contest of Champions—the Legion Contest—has ended.]

[Rankings will now be announced and rewards distributed.]

[Places 9,001–10,000:]

[10,000: Mistmere Realm — Simian race.]

[9,999: Dewfall Realm — Fishfolk.]

[9,998: Malhan Realm — Centaurs.]

[9,997...]

[Rewards for the Provinces represented by participating Lords: Map area +20%. Resource Index +20%. Aether concentration +20%. Wild creature resources +20%. Chance of wild Buildings appearing +20%.]

Even the announcement dwarfed those of earlier events.

It was not confined to Fivefold Heaven. Across the Homeworld and every other participating Realm, the same golden scroll appeared above the newcomer Lords.

In Mistmere, Dewfall, Malhan, and the other listed Realms, the world began to change. Land stretched outward. Resources formed. Aether gathered. Some Lords immediately discovered rare wild Buildings.

This was far beyond the effect of Fortune in a single Marches. The rewards reached across entire Provincial maps, each spanning more than a hundred thousand kilometers.

Countless Lords stared at the scroll that would shape their sector’s future, searching for their Realm’s name.

Some wept when they found it.

"Ever since the Great Sage left, our Simian race has been declining. At last, we’re in the top ten thousand again!"

"These bonuses could make us develop fifty percent faster! We won’t have to fear the Demon Wolves anymore!"

Others were far less pleased.

"Malhan is one of the ten great Centaur clans. How did our Champions barely scrape into the rankings?"

"Be thankful we made it. I heard the Winged Folk next door ran into Mount Celestia and were knocked out completely."

The thousand names remained on the scroll for five full minutes before fading. The next group appeared.

[Places 8,001–9,000...]

[Rewards for the Provinces represented by participating Lords: Map area +22%. Resource Index +22%. Aether concentration +22%. Wild creature resources +22%. Chance of wild Buildings appearing +22%.]

No one watched more nervously than the Lords of the thirteen Crown Provinces.

Only a thousand Champions represented them. Their greatest hope had been to make the top ten thousand at all.

The absence of the First Homeworld Legion from the lowest group had already made their hearts sink. Everyone knew that even if it placed, its rank could not be high.

The farther the announcements progressed, the fainter their hope became.