Chapter 291: Five Mythic Treasures

Vorlath could strike harder than Mordane, but his body was far weaker. He had no Primordial Blood to burn for an escape, either.

Once his protective magic failed, the Legendary Nine-Stars around him could tear him apart.

He knew it.

The Grimoire answered his desperate effort. Three more Demon Scythes flew toward the Crystal Maidens.

One Maiden crossed her arms above her head.

The impact shattered both arms and hurled her into the ground. Earth burst upward around a crater several meters deep.

Less than a second later, she leaped out again.

Crystal flowed like water over her wounds. Her arms re-formed, and a ten-meter blade grew from her hands as she sprang at Vorlath once more.

His eyelid twitched. He put everything he had into escaping.

From a safe distance, Cassian nodded in satisfaction.

"Once I’ve dealt with that coalition, I’ll have the Aether and Battle Essence to advance more physical Maidens."

Their weaknesses were real. Changing forms took a brief moment. In Human form, they could not fly, and their fighting technique was still rather crude.

They were also the finest shields his Domain possessed.

No creature of ordinary flesh could match that recovery. Even the Dawnwings, with their bodies of living energy, fell short.

As if answering the thought, Aurelia descended with a full combat squad.

Every Dawnwing in it was Legendary Nine-Star.

The three Vanguards Cassian had advanced long ago were no longer fighting at that rank alone. During the recent naval raids, he had bought and consumed the Legendary Troop Souls needed to complete a squad around them, paying the Battle Essence to bring its other members to Nine-Star and Level 75.

"Sacred Strike!"

"Heaven’s Guard!"

"Holy Flame!"

"Damage Link!"

The Vanguards plunged from above, swords driving down. The Arcanists’ sacred fire met the demonic miasma with a fierce hiss. Their Marshal linked the squad’s damage, keeping the assault steady.

Aurelia did not even need to attack. She hovered over the fight, watching for an opening or an escape attempt.

A minute later, Vorlath was shouting.

"Human Lord! Let me return through the Abyss Gate! I swear never to enter Human territory again!"

No one stopped.

"I serve Demon Lord Avarrath! Kill me, and my master will avenge me!"

The blades kept falling.

"Wait! I will submit! Take me as your troop!"

That offer made Cassian hesitate.

A Mythic troop. He could hardly pretend he did not want one.

But a lone Justiciar would not form a fighting unit by himself. Nor could Cassian be sure of his loyalty. Taking him in might bring more trouble than he was worth.

Killing him offered a much cleaner reward. With Cassian’s drop rate, a Mythic item was well within reach. Perhaps more than one.

"I followed my master through the Abyss for countless years!" Vorlath roared. "To die here—!"

More than twenty Legendary Nine-Stars pressed their attack. His last miasma was stripped away, and blades tore his body apart.

The projection overhead began to dissolve. Red earth and molten rivers faded out of the sky, leaving daylight behind.

Beside the Abyss Gate, Rhea pursed her lips.

"A Mythic? That was all?"

Cassian had placed the nine Praetorians there to stop the Justiciar escaping, not to slaughter the lesser Demons still emerging. Rhea’s earlier sword strike had reached him, but the waiting formation never had to bar his retreat.

He had died before getting that far.

Cassian watched for the notice. A Mythic creature might possess some means of substituting another life for its own, like a Lich. He preferred confirmation.

[Your Hero Celia Morcant has killed Demon Justiciar Vorlath.]

[Battle Essence +75,000,000. Aether +5,000,000.]

[Mythic Troop Soul ×2. Abyssal Grimoire — Mythic ×1. Supreme Physique Book ×1. Supreme Spirit Book ×1.]

Cassian laughed aloud.

"The Grimoire, and four more Mythic items!"

Mythic treasures were vastly more precious than Legendary equipment. Finding a Mythic enemy was difficult enough. Killing one did not guarantee a treasure of the same Quality. An ordinary Lord would count himself fortunate to receive a single Mythic drop; far more often, there would be none.

His Aether Vein’s drop-rate multiplier had reached sixty-three.

That did not mean sixty-three Mythic items from every kill. Like the effects of powerful potions, the proportional increase became less effective against stronger targets. An Elite monster might yield twenty or thirty items. A Legendary could still drop fewer than ten Legendary prizes.

Five Mythic items from one enemy was better than Cassian had hoped.

There was no Hero Sigil or Troop Sigil, the most coveted prizes of all. Two Mythic Troop Souls were more than enough to keep him smiling.

He resisted the urge to inspect them at once.

"Finish clearing the Demons. Bring the Justiciar’s body home, along with the Legendary corpses."

He paid the cost and opened a Gate ten meters high.

Huge bodies were dragged through it. The Faerie Dragons and Crystal Maidens withdrew with them, taking his still-hidden troops out of sight.

During the Gate’s two months of operation, Cassian had cleared the Domain sites within ten kilometers and barred ordinary Gate arrivals inside that area. That kept other Lords from settling or appearing next to a Demon outbreak.

It could do little to hide a world projection in the sky.

Within minutes, Darian, Elara, and Nessa arrived with their forces. The sight of the ruined ground wiped away their usual ease.

"Did the Abyss Gate erupt?" Elara asked. "You dealt with all of this yourself? How many did you lose?"

"Let’s guard it together," Nessa said at once. "We can each leave a few squads here."

The others agreed. At their present strength, assigning a few squads of Epic troops apiece would be easy.

Only Darian looked unworried.

"With what he’s been earning at sea, I bet he’s already brought the Dawnwing corps back past two hundred. Leave his monsters alone."

Raising a Dawnwing to Level 75 took roughly a hundred and eighty million Battle Essence. They could estimate his recent naval earnings closely enough to understand how Darian had reached that guess.

They had no idea what had just died here.

In only a few minutes, Cassian’s force had killed a Mythic, dozens of Legendaries, and hundreds of Epic Demons.

Maren, standing beside Darian, finally spoke.

"Lord Cassian. Was that an Abyssal world projection?"

He could hardly deny it to her. World projection belonged to the Mythic realm of power. Leaving her to guess might reveal more than he wanted.

After a moment’s thought, he brought out the Grimoire.

The immense bronze book appeared in the air, turning slowly about three feet above the ground.

"It was. You know my drop rate is a little high. I was lucky enough to get this."

Everyone stared.

Cassian had concealed the attributes. He could not hide the presence of the item itself, or the three-colored radiance moving across its pages.

Mythic equipment.

Nessa bounced on her toes, delighted.

"Another one! Cassian, you’ve got another Mythic item!"

The others exchanged excited looks. A month ago, Divine Dragon Amber had helped the First Legion turn the contest around and claim first place. They knew very well what one Mythic item could mean.

Maren’s astonishment gave way to apparent understanding.

When she saw the world projection, she had feared that a Mythic enemy had emerged. Yet the fighting had ended before they arrived. Even if Cassian summoned his Divine Dragon, surely he could not kill a Mythic so quickly?

A high-ranking Legendary carrying Mythic equipment seemed far more likely.

Ordinarily, a Legendary monster would not drop a Mythic item. One it already possessed was a different matter.

Darian was less interested in the explanation. He looked at the Grimoire with undisguised envy.

"Selling?"

Cassian grinned.

"When I can’t afford my next meal, I’ll consider it."

Darian rolled his eyes. The Ivory Dominion and Bharan had paid their two and a half billion Aether apiece, bringing Cassian’s reparations to twenty billion. Everyone knew what had just come into his hands.

There was only one sincere wish Darian could offer him.

"May you go bankrupt soon."