Chapter 284: Fire and Ghosts

[Mage Sanctum]

[Daily recruitment stock added: Legendary Mages ×1 | Epic Mages ×12 | Rare Mages ×36]

[Available branches: Elemental / Summoning / Battle / Arcane / Curse / Soul]

[Current stock: Legendary Mages ×12 | Epic Mages ×36 | Rare Mages ×108]

[Trait: Each newly added recruit has a 1% chance to become a Hero.]

The output was modest. That was the drawback of a Wild Troop Building. Its advantage was that any Lord with permission could recruit here. Cassian had no intention of turning it into a Blueprint and making it a Domain Building.

The one-percent chance of a Hero was welcome, but the choice of mage branches interested him far more.

"A pity it appeared outside the Region," he said. "With Riftward’s Fortune, that production could have multiplied several times over."

Human Mages were much like the Divine Arsenal Corps. Apart from Battle Mages, they came close to being Extreme troops. Their attributes leaned heavily toward Spirit, while their total attributes ranked near the bottom among troops of the same Quality.

That imbalance gave them greater destructive power than comparable Dawnwings. It also made them painfully easy to kill.

Even with Liora’s Command, Cassian had never found them especially tempting.

The Five Elements Temple changed that.

He looked through the available recruits, then turned to Elara.

"I could use more ranged firepower. I’ll help myself to a few."

"There’s no need to be polite with me." Elara spread her hands. "You’ve already helped me build up my Dwarf force. Take the mages you want."

He nodded and confirmed the recruitment costs.

"Recruit Tamsin. Elemental branch. Class: Flamecaller."

"Recruit Nerelle. Elemental branch..."

Human Mages would be fragile whichever spells they learned. He might as well choose the specialists known for turning themselves into walking artillery.

Perhaps there would be an extra benefit too.

Before long, six Legendary Flamecallers emerged from the Sanctum. Each was a beautiful woman with her own name, a striking figure beneath her robes, and the bearing of a trained mage.

They bowed to him together.

"Greetings, Lord."

"At ease."

Cassian opened their panels with interest. A moment later, he laughed aloud.

"Flame Will! You already have Flame Will?"

He had chosen specialists in fire rather than Elemental Emissaries who could use several schools. The choice had paid off better than he had expected.

If the Sanctum’s future Flamecallers also came with Flame Will, then with the Five Elements Temple behind them, he would gladly add another corps to his army.

"Liora. They’re yours to command."

Her face lit up. Her Grade-A Command over Human Mages could finally serve a group of her own.

Elara was delighted too. These new troops had Flame Will!

Then something else occurred to her. She looked from one Flamecaller to another and opened the recruitment list herself.

Her excitement became a long, knowing look at Cassian.

"You picked all the pretty ones."

He answered with complete seriousness.

"Most of my fighters are women. If I start bringing in male mages and everyone gets distracted by workplace romances, who will do the work?"

"People also say men and women work better together."

"I’m a man."

Elara stared at him, then gave up.

"Do look after your health, Governor."

With his own recruits chosen, Cassian handed the remaining work to her. Apart from the Flamecallers he wanted, she could manage the Sanctum’s recruitment stock and the surrendered mages.

Malrec hurried forward as he prepared to leave.

"Lord, what about me?"

"You?" Cassian smiled. "If Elara wants you, you can follow her."

The old mage looked thoroughly disappointed. He had thought surrender would let him serve the powerful Lord who commanded a Divine Dragon. Apparently, that Lord had little use for him.

——

Back at Forgotten Shrine, Cassian used his administrator access to open the passage into Fivefold Heaven. He sent the six Flamecallers to the Five Elements Temple. Training beside it would help them grow far more quickly.

He had meant to return to his own training. War was approaching, after all.

But Divine Province had just gained another Legendary Building, and he was in an excellent mood.

"One day won’t hurt. I’ll start tomorrow."

He called Veyra and a few of the others over to the Lord’s Hall.

"Come on. Let’s take the rest of the day off."

——

Half a month later, Divine Province’s management group gathered in Cassian’s Domain for a regular meeting.

Mira was giving the development report.

"We’ve found eighteen Epic Troop Buildings recently. More than forty thousand Lords in Divine Province now have Epic Heroes or troops. Besides the Buildings, most of the Hero Sigils and Troop Sigils came from Swordheart. A smaller share came from the Legion Contest."

She continued through the figures.

"Leaving out Cassian and Mara, our other Lords have around a hundred squads of Legendary troops between them."

At Mara’s name, several people looked over with envy. Darian and a handful of others were among the few who remained unmoved.

It had taken Mara Thorne a month to gather the Dragon Tomb’s materials. She had finally paid the construction requirements and finished it. Now she could recruit Bone Dragons as long as she could support the cost, without waiting for a Wild Building’s stock to refresh.

Bone Dragons stood near the bottom of the Legendary ranks. They were still far stronger than Epic troops.

"Damn it!"

Darian had been listening with interest while eating Moonrice. His sudden outburst made Elara turn toward him.

"What happened?"

"Western Beacon has Phase Lances on its ships. They can pierce Mirage space." His expression was dark. "I lost one of my Ghost Battleships. If we hadn’t pulled back quickly, I’d have lost the Mirage Ship too."

Cassian regarded his furious friend with a small smile.

"Phase Lances? Interesting."

After half a month of preparations, the Black Banner and its western allies had finally assembled. Their fleet had sailed from the Black Banner’s home maps toward the great island of Divine Province.

Darian had carried out his plan to harass them. He had released his sealed ships and paid for their growth before sending them out. The first encounter had cost him one of the two Light Ghost Battleships.

At that moment, a video spread through the Homeworld Channel.

Garran Ravenscar, Governor of Ravenscar Province, had posted it.

Warships filled the sea from one edge of the image to the other, their wakes cutting white lines through the water. The portion visible in the recording alone held at least a hundred thousand vessels.

Sea monsters fled before them. Those that failed to move were turned into Battle Essence and materials.

Suddenly, more than a dozen sleek cruisers fired long spears glowing blue-green. The weapons plunged into empty space kilometers away. Their cables stretched taut across the water, ending at points where nothing could be seen.

For ten seconds, the lines strained.

Then a two-hundred-meter Battleship was dragged out of the hidden space. Guns flashed all around it. Within seconds, the vessel broke apart under the concentrated fire.

Garran’s laughter rang through the recording.

"You capture one of our Mirage Ships and think you can harass a seven-nation coalition? How naive."

Since the Legion Contest, the thirteen Crown Provinces had held the Homeworld’s attention. By now, the coalition’s plans to attack them were no secret either.

[Those are Western Beacon’s Meridian-class cruisers. I’ve heard they can phase through space for short periods.]

[Seven nations? Which seven?]

[They’ve come well prepared for Divine Province.]

[If Cassian only has the strength he showed last time, this could be the end of him.]

Lords from across the Homeworld joined the discussion. A few were worried. Far more seemed pleased by what they had seen.

Darian glared at the video.

"The bastards even recorded it."

"You know how much they like showing off their little recordings," Cassian said. "Don’t let them spoil your mood."

Garran was still speaking.

"Our forces are nothing like the last invasion. And this time, we take no prisoners. Lords of Divine Province, wait for us. Your deaths are coming."

Nessa bared her teeth at the image.

"They say that every time. Then they come here and die."

Darian had begun to calm down.

"This time is different. From what I’ve heard, more than one veteran War Marshal has descended to join them."

"War Marshals?"

That startled the room.

Cassian knew the title meant more than an ordinary military rank. Nations, and the greater Domains above them, could confer combat offices whose bonuses were formidable. A Lord chosen as a War Marshal would already rank among the strongest veterans.

Such people were willing to damage their own strength by descending into a newcomer sector.

"They really are spending heavily."

He smiled at Darian.

"Wait here. I’ll make them pay for your ship."

Darian was pleased that Cassian meant to stand up for him, but he answered quickly.

"Don’t rush into it. Even Mirage space couldn’t keep us safe. Your fleet’s optical concealment won’t do any better."

Cassian only smiled.

Not all Mirage Ships were alike.

He sent an order. Far out at sea, the waiting Ghost fleet moved into action under Liora’s command.