Chapter 295: A Signal to Attack

A day later, fifty thousand warships lay assembled along Divine Province’s coast.

Their formation stretched beyond sight. More than eight hundred vessels were Epic, with Rare warships filling the great ranks around them.

A fully populated coastal Province would have struggled to field so many ships of that Quality.

Divine Province’s War Lords were stronger than their counterparts elsewhere. By now, anyone without at least a Rare warship would have been embarrassed to claim a place among them.

Cassian had helped make that possible.

During more than twenty days of naval warfare, he had paid to use Dragon’s Blessing to improve the fleet’s drops. More than sixteen thousand Rare warships had fallen into his hands. Mara Thorne had distributed them among the military Lords, who had released the sealed vessels and paid to put them into service.

The Crown’s great families controlled most of its resources. Its military had always struggled for funds. A Rare warship was usually something an officer of major rank or above might hope to receive.

The more than ten thousand military Lords following Cassian already had Rare Heroes and troops. Now each had a Rare warship too.

In their eyes, he might well have surpassed the marshal back at their old military district.

"Cassian. Let’s go."

Darian was eager to move.

Divine Province’s leaders had gathered aboard his flagship, the Legendary Seabreaker. Ten days earlier, Edran had assigned him five hundred Epic warships. His father had also arranged a purchase within the Realm to secure this Legendary vessel for him. Darian had released it and paid for its growth. Cassian could only guess what Edran had spent to obtain the hull.

Darian could support only a few dozen of the Epics himself. The others had gone to trusted Lords in Ironwake.

House Valcrest had contributed more than a hundred Epic ships as well. With those reinforcements, Divine Province’s Epic fleet had grown past eight hundred.

"Wait a little longer."

Cassian checked the latest coordinates from Seven.

"Let them get within five thousand kilometers of the coast."

"So they have farther to run afterward," Elara said, smiling.

No one aboard looked afraid.

With Cassian’s help, the core fighting Lords had obtained and used the Talent Writs and Hero Souls they needed, paying for the resulting growth. Command books and training had strengthened their Heroes further. They now fielded Legendary troops under Legendary Heroes with Grade-A Command, supported by battle Talents of Legendary grade.

Over the past twenty-odd days, they had fought across the twelve allied Crown Provinces and made Divine Province’s name feared.

Cassian had renewed the Vein’s paid blessing for Darian, Nessa, Elara, Seraphine, and Lyra during their campaigns. Equipment, Hero Sigils, and Troop Sigils had poured into their hands. The closest members of his circle could afford to be selective now, taking only Legendary troops that suited their way of fighting.

Darian was the strongest, but the others had changed dramatically too.

By using her new Sigils and paying for recruitment and growth, Nessa had brought her Legendary Knights to ten full squads. Crownward Knights, Destruction Knights, and Light-and-Dark Templars formed the force’s heart. Twenty squads of Epic Champion Knights supported them.

Elara had used the Troop Sigils she obtained to expand beyond the Royal Hall’s slow recruitment stock. With the necessary fees and Battle Essence paid, she now had nearly a hundred Hill Kings and six hundred Storm Guardians.

Even Tobias, Cassian’s earliest follower, had gained a powerful mage force. Elara had handed over Malrec and the Legendary and Epic mages Cassian had left to her. Tobias confirmed a vacant standard Hero slot, and Malrec accepted his Hero Contract. The remaining mages had joined through paid recruitment and growth.

Everyone had come a long way.

An hour passed.

Cassian read another report from the Crystal Maidens and smiled.

"That’s close enough."

He rose into the air. His voice rolled out across the sea for dozens of kilometers.

"Fleet, follow me! Defend Divine Province! Destroy the invaders!"

Tens of millions of voices answered. Lords, Heroes, and troops roared the words together, their shout rising into the sky.

"Defend Divine Province! Destroy the invaders!"

Cassian and the Wardens acting under his delegated authority opened the sea passages. Each used a separate Gate registry and paid the required fees, keeping within the limits on their own links.

More than a dozen immense Gates spread across the water, each hundreds of meters wide. Through them, another stretch of open sea rolled beneath the distant sky.

Seabreaker led the way. Divine Province’s ships streamed after it.

Alarms sounded on the far side.

The coalition could hardly miss an arrival of that size. Cassian had placed the exits dozens of kilometers from its fleet, leaving his own forces room to deploy.

Before long, ten kilometers of water separated the two navies.

Cassian could make out the three War Marshals’ faces across the gap. Their expressions pleased him.

They had expected a fleet. They had not expected this one.

Hundreds of meters above the water, he drew back his fist.

"Origin Divine Fist!"

Aether surged through the air for kilometers around him. Golden power gathered into a fist a thousand meters across.

He struck.

The immense fist raced across five kilometers of open air.

"Pale Moon Art—Moon Mirror!"

Swordlight rose from the coalition, carrying the image of a silver moon.

The two attacks collided with a thunderous crash.

The fist burst into golden light. The swordlight shattered with it, breaking apart along its length.

Below, Divine Province’s fleet began its charge. Flying troops rose in countless streams from the decks.

Cassian’s fist had given them their signal.

He regarded the Black Banner Lord facing him across the sky.

"Damon Veylan. Warbound Lord. Major general from Sector 632. A sword genius from House Veylan, one of the Black Banner’s five great sword families."

His voice carried clearly.

"You killed hundreds of our military Lords, and more than a hundred thousand of their Heroes and troops, by yourself. They call you one of the Lords closest to Mythic strength at the same Level. You live up to the name."

Damon’s expression was grave. That first exchange had carried far more power than he expected.

"Cassian. We underestimated your fleet. We underestimated you even more."

Cruel and sullen he might be, but Damon understood tactics.

"In my own name, I challenge you to an honorable duel. Will you grant me the chance to test your skill?"

Hope flickered in Tavian’s and Vivienne’s eyes.

They had predicted a battle at sea. They had badly misjudged the force that would fight it.

Fifty thousand warships of Rare Quality or better. Close to a thousand Epics among them. And somewhere nearby, that hidden Legendary fleet.

Their own navy had been reduced to more than three hundred thousand Elite vessels, with very few ships of higher Quality left. They still had over ten thousand powerful veterans from the older sectors, and immensely strong Heroes and troops. Yet with their ships so thoroughly outmatched, even victory would cost them dearly.

Vivienne had stopped talking about taking Cassian for herself. She was a War Lord. Judging by the fist he had just thrown, her own body might not withstand a direct exchange with him.

Damon offered another possibility.

If Cassian accepted, the swordsman might kill him during the duel. With its leader dead, Divine Province’s entire force could fall into confusion.

"No."

Cassian’s answer carried over both fleets.

"Everyone knows I’m an entertainment Lord. I have no interest in duels. If you want a fight, I can find a few people to surround you. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it."

Damon’s face tightened.

Surround him? What sort of duel was that?

"Then why did you strike at us?"

"Some people drop a cup to signal an attack. I use a fist." Cassian sounded perfectly serious. "That was my signal flare. Didn’t you see it?"

Laughter thundered from the Crown’s ships.

"A flare that big, and he missed it!"

"Who does he think he is, demanding a duel with our Governor?"

Rhea and the others relaxed. As long as Cassian kept his healthy attachment to staying alive, they had little to fear for him.

Damon nearly lost his composure.

A signal flare. He had never met anyone so shameless.

While they spoke, the fleets closed to firing range.

Energy beams, cannon shells, rockets, ballista bolts, grappling lines, and arrows filled the space between them. The first great exchange of fire rolled across the water.

Damon forced his anger down and called to the coalition commanders below.

"Cassian is too much of a coward. We’ll settle this with our forces."

Tavian and Vivienne could only nod. Their orders went out.

Powerful figures rose from the surviving ships in their thousands.

These were the troops brought down from the older sectors. There were more than ten thousand Legendaries among the flying force alone, with countless Epics and Rares behind them.

A hundred figures stood out from the rest. They released their power without restraint, their presence heavy enough to make weaker fighters tremble.

Here was the coalition’s real confidence.

"Tempest Wyverns. Elemental Sovereigns. Crown Sentinels..."

Cassian’s eyes shone.

"Good. So many Extreme troops."

Perhaps he could get a few Troop Sigils from them.

To improve his chances, he took out Divine Dragon Amber.

"Dragon’s Blessing. Increase the drop rates of Cassian Vale, Darian Frost, Elara Vayne... all twenty-nine."

Ten billion Aether was consumed. Dozens of rays of light rose into the sky.

Rhea looked more serious.

"Lord, those are Legendary Nine-Stars. The ones leading them include several Nine-Star Heroes."

Cassian nodded. They had developed for more than thirty years longer than the newcomer Lords, and War Marshals stood behind them. Nine-Star Heroes and troops were hardly surprising.

He paid 750,000 Aether for the Amber’s first minute, then gave the command.

"Unseal. Release the Divine Dragon!"