Chapter 364: No Way Out

If Cassian had not wanted to preserve Pandora’s forest, a single Peace Shell would have made this much simpler.

His army was doing well enough without one.

The ferocity of the sudden attack stunned the Bharan Lords.

"Natives! They must be native Lords! Who else could have this much strength?"

"The Western Beacon swore the natives wouldn’t attack us!"

Then someone recognized part of the attacking force.

"Those are Cassian’s Stormlance Valkyries! And Rhea with the Eclipse corps!"

"He’s joined forces with the natives!"

"Run! We can’t fight them!"

Convinced that Cassian and native Lords were attacking together, the defenders broke.

Escape was no easier than resistance. The caster Maidens who had remained outside One’s convergence and the eighteen Faerie Dragons covered the routes out of the settlement. Across dozens of kilometers, they held the exits against Lords who could no longer open Gates.

Most of the defenders were ordinary War Lords. They had no way through.

One Bharan Lord tried a different defense.

"You can’t kill me, Cassian! I’m a descendant of the Peacock Emperor! Even Edran Frost treats His Majesty with respect!"

Cassian could not be bothered to answer.

Harriet was more attentive. Now that the man had announced how important he was, she brought Heaven’s Judgment down on his position.

Nothing remained of him.

The fighting lasted half an hour. Even a force as overwhelming as Cassian’s needed time to destroy more than a thousand Domains.

Millions of enemy troops died. His army earned more than two billion Battle Essence.

Several Legendary Farmers who had accompanied the force began working through the bodies of Epic and stronger troops, looking for blood of sufficient Quality to use.

Cassian turned an orange sphere of light in his hand.

[Lord Heart — Epic]

[Lord Talent: Wellspring of Aether — Grade B]

[Increase the maximum Aether of all units belonging to the Domain by 40%.]

"Not bad."

It had dropped from the Domain of the Peacock Emperor’s descendant.

Cassian had fought plenty of battles over the past year, but most had been defenses. He had relatively few opportunities to destroy enemy Domains. Even the cities inside the Thousandfold Labyrinth had dropped no Lord Hearts, perhaps because they belonged to that special trial.

This time, he had finally found some.

One Epic, three Rare, twelve Elite, and sixty-two Uncommon.

They offered him little he needed personally. They would still sell for a good price.

"Lord, the survey is complete. No defenders remain alive in this settlement," Seven reported.

Cassian nodded and raised his voice.

"Next target: eight hundred kilometers west. Black Banner settlement number three!"

——

Outside another cluster of Domains, Darian had used a Silence Scroll of his own.

He was attacking a Western Beacon settlement with Nessa, Elara, and roughly a hundred of Divine Province’s finest War Lords.

Forty-eight Golden Behemoths rampaged through the defenses. Hill Kings, Crownward Knights, Bone Dragons, Light-and-Dark Templars, and Tempest Wyverns tore into one fortified Domain after another.

Dain and the seven Valcrests were just as frightening. The Warbound Lords fought amid the troops, their personal strength carrying them through defenses that should have stopped an army.

Even the Lords outside Divine Province’s central circle had brought at least ten Legendary squads apiece, with Heroes suited to commanding them.

Walls fell. Lord’s Halls collapsed.

The battle was already nearing its end.

Several hundred surviving Beacon Lords had crowded into the central Domain. They watched the advancing attackers with terror and disbelief.

"They’re ten times stronger than the reports said! A hundred Lords destroyed a thousand fortified Domains. How is that possible?"

"I don’t want to die!"

"Please, let me go! I’m not Divine Province’s enemy. I only came for the bounty!"

They had believed their numbers would protect them. Surely no one would punish so many Lords at once.

Pandora’s dangerous wilderness had seemed another guarantee. Most Lords needed their Domain defenses simply to survive here. No faction could gather and move a great army through the forest without paying a terrible price.

They had never imagined that a hundred Lords would be enough.

Regret came too late. Neither tears nor pleas stopped the attackers.

"That felt good."

When the last Beacon Lord was dead, Darian looked over the ruins. Some of the killing intent finally faded from his eyes.

"Unfortunately, it takes a group like ours to move freely through Pandora. We’ll have to leave the rest to the Elves."

They had learned enough about the forest by now to understand their limits.

Seraphine stood nearby, covered in enemy blood. The violent power around her slowly settled as she smiled.

"There’s an advantage to that too. After today, no one will come here without Cassian’s permission."

Nessa’s eyes brightened.

"They can come. They just have to pay first."

——

Cassian had barely left the silenced area when messages began racing across the Homeworld Channel.

[Elven Lords are attacking our settlement!]

[Their Domains are Rank XIX or higher! We can’t stop them!]

[Cassian, I was wrong! Please ask the natives to spare us. I swear I’ll never oppose the thirteen Crown Provinces again!]

He glanced through a few messages and lost interest.

These attackers really were native Elven Lords.

Ideally, he would have kept all that Battle Essence for his own side. But he had no time for a prolonged campaign against every scattered settlement.

That was where the Elves came in.

Their agreement required them to maintain suitable hunting conditions for the Crown Lords. To remove the uninvited arrivals, Maereth had sent more than a hundred special operations teams.

Against forces whose Levels generally ranged from 100 to 110, ordinary Homeworld Lords had little chance of resistance.

Desperate survivors began posting recordings of the destruction. If they could turn public opinion against Cassian, perhaps he would stop it.

[Look at this! He’s working with native Elves to murder fellow Homeworld Lords! How can anyone defend him?]

Gavin joined the accusations in a fury.

[Gavin Roswell: Stop now, Cassian. It’s not too late. Keep this up, and you’ll be a criminal in the eyes of the entire Homeworld!]

[Nerissa Vaust: This proves he has no concern for our Realm. He thinks only of himself. Sooner or later, he’ll betray us all.]

[Corven Talcrest: The Jade Court strongly recommends expelling Cassian from the Homeworld Realm.]

That annoyed him.

[Cassian Vale: Do you think the Elves are my dogs? That I can let them out and call them back whenever I please?]

[Cassian Vale: Our agreement allows a limited number of Homeworld Lords to enter Pandora. Anyone beyond the agreed number is an invader.]

[Cassian Vale: Divine Province warned you. Enter without permission and bear the consequences. You ignored the warning. Whose fault is that?]

[Cassian Vale: Some people insist on walking straight to their deaths.]

For a moment, none of the three factions had an answer.

The warning was still there. Divine Province had announced its position before taking action.

Cassian was not finished.

[Cassian Vale: Your leaders knew Pandora was dangerous, didn’t they? Otherwise, why hasn’t a single one of you come here? Why hire other War Lords to take the risk for you?]

That struck much closer to home.

[Gavin Roswell: Nonsense! Don’t listen to him. He’s trying to turn us against one another!]

Cassian’s mood improved.

He had not caught any of their strongest leaders. Even so, death benefits and life-insurance claims for over a million Lords would make those nations bleed.

He continued trading remarks as his army traveled west. In less than an hour, they reached the next Black Banner settlement and began another assault.

——

Three days later, Maereth greeted him with marked courtesy.

"As you wished, Lord Cassian. Every invading Lord has been eliminated."

The battle against the Orcs had raised his standing among the Elders considerably. Even without Sylvara and the Ancient Tree, he would have been an ally worth keeping.

"Thank you, Elders." Cassian smiled and brought out a hundred portions of Life Water from his accumulated Fountain supply. "Please accept these."

Apart from the authorized Lords of the thirteen Crown Provinces, more than a million foreign entrants had died. That included Crown Lords from the Jade Court.

Cassian had taken a rich share of the fighting’s rewards. Darian and the others had profited handsomely as well.

The blood of so many Lords had finally frightened the other nations. Even an invitation from Cassian would probably fail to bring them back to Pandora now.

He took his leave of the Elders, paid for the journey home, and returned to his Domain.

"Upgrade the Lord’s Hall."

After months of work, the requirements were finally complete again. He committed the prepared resources and paid the advancement costs.

"I’ll recruit another batch of Legendary Farmers next. We need Rank XVIII before the Third Provincial Ranking settles. Then we’ll destroy the Bloodmaw Court and take that Founding Writ."

[Your Lord’s Hall has advanced to Rank XVII.]

[Building unlocked: Monument.]

[Domain area increased to 2,700,000 square meters.]