Chapter 377: The Divine Nation

The speaker was Dorian Morvane, House Morvane’s representative in Sector 666.

A self-created Rare troop line.

The words brought light back into the listeners’ eyes.

"How could I have forgotten?" Nerissa leaned forward. "Lord Morvane, how quickly could you finish it if you hurried?"

Dorian took another bite from the leg clutched in his hand. No one could tell what creature it had belonged to. Blood spilled between his teeth as he crushed flesh and bone together, chewed, and swallowed.

"If I increase the sacrifices and eat faster, I can please the Lord of Gluttony sooner. A week, perhaps. That would be the fastest."

"Good!" Merris said. "The third Provincial Ranking ends in a week. Divine Province will be enjoying its triumph. A worldwide announcement for our own Rare troop line would be just the thing to check Cassian’s arrogance."

Gavin suppressed his revulsion long enough to speak politely.

"We’ll be relying on you, Lord Morvane."

Dorian nodded.

"My appetite has been good lately."

——

Golden pillars rose throughout Pandora Forest as Lords of the thirteen Crown Provinces began withdrawing with their Domains.

The seals over the forest had expired a week earlier.

Cassian ordered Aurelia and Liora to keep their two forces hunting the remaining Orc troops. Those armies still represented an immense supply of Battle Essence and valuable items.

He himself paid for a Gate home.

Back in his Domain in Riftward, he glanced toward the nearby Five Elements Temple. Then he took out the Founding Writ and drew a deep breath.

"Invite Divine Province, Cloudrest, Southreach, Hidden Dragon... all thirteen Provinces to found a Nation."

A Governor with a Rank-XVIII Lord’s Hall. A hundred National Fortune. A Founding Writ.

He had fulfilled all three requirements.

Divine Province held only forty National Fortune of its own, but the thirteen Provinces had more than enough between them. He saw no reason to wait another moment, even knowing that founding early would bring greater dangers to the Homeworld.

Thirteen invitations went out.

The one for Divine Province appeared before Cassian himself. He accepted it immediately.

The others soon followed.

[Southreach Province has accepted your founding invitation.]

[Hidden Dragon Province has accepted your founding invitation.]

[Cloudrest Province has accepted...]

[National Fortune requirement of 100 met.]

[Please name your Nation.]

Cassian had already made his choice.

"The Divine Nation."

It was a grand name. Then again, he had already named his Province Divine. He might as well carry the idea through.

[Naming successful. Nation panel acquired. Please review your available authorities.]

[You have become Sovereign of the Divine Nation. Your Domain is changing.]

A deep rumble rolled through the ground.

The most immediate change was the expansion of his Domain. Its boundaries spread outward once again.

Above all thirteen Provinces, vast banks of golden radiance gathered in the sky. The light drew together until a single name shone across their heavens.

DIVINE NATION.

The Founding Writ softened in Cassian’s hand. Its surface melted into light, then condensed into a jade seal that settled against his palm.

The symbol of his authority as Sovereign.

At the same moment, every Lord in the thirteen Provinces received the Realm’s notices.

[Your Province has joined the Divine Nation.]

[You have become a citizen of the Divine Nation.]

For a heartbeat, people stared.

Then cheers shook the thirteen Provinces.

A golden announcement appeared in the Homeworld Channel.

[Homeworld Lord Cassian Vale has established the Divine Nation. Member Provinces include Divine, Southreach...]

[Level restrictions on wild monsters within the Homeworld maps have been lifted.]

[Level restrictions on wild monsters and native Lords in the Homeworld’s Outer Realm maps have been lifted.]

Until now, wild monsters in the Homeworld had rarely exceeded Level 100. In its Outer Realms, the limit had stood around Level 115.

That had also constrained the Heroes and troops of native Lords. Killing enemies far below their own Level brought reduced rewards, making further growth increasingly difficult.

With the restrictions removed, wild monsters would grow stronger over time. Native Lords and their armies would gain the means to advance much faster as well.

Cassian’s founding had opened a new period of growth for both sides.

Across the kingdoms of the Outer Realms, Lords read their own notices and burst into celebration.

"At last! The Level restrictions are gone!"

"So soon? Our predecessors said it usually took two years after the outsiders arrived. It hasn’t even been a year and a half!"

"Then the Homeworld will open soon too. We can wipe out those outsider Lords and claim their rich lands for ourselves!"

——

On Windward Isle, Evander Ardent paused in his hunt for First-Age Coins.

"He’s already founded a Nation?"

Surprise flickered across his face. Then he smiled with interest.

"Even in Fivefold Heaven, that kind of speed is rare."

The benefits would be considerable. Whether a lesser Realm could afford to free its native neighbors from their restrictions so early was another matter.

For the Homeworld, this might prove a blessing or a disaster.

——

[Nerissa Vaust: You actually dared to found a Nation, Cassian?]

Her accusation rang through the Homeworld Channel.

[Nerissa Vaust: We aren’t ready for war with the Outer Realms! For the sake of your own ambitions, you’ve disregarded the safety and development of the entire Homeworld!]

Every new sector eventually faced a war between its incoming Lords and the natives. Both sides needed land and resources. Neither intended to surrender them willingly.

Ivara Drelmont had used that argument when she approached Vargul on behalf of Greed. She had then foolishly tried a divine art on a Level-115 Mythic Lord and been crushed beneath his foot. Even so, the threat of competition for living space might well have helped persuade him.

The coming struggle would be the greatest test of the Homeworld’s new sector.

Victory would secure its place in the Realms. Defeat would leave its maps and resources divided among native kingdoms. The Homeworld would lose everything it had established here.

Ordinarily, its Lords could not found a Nation until roughly two years after a sector opened. Cassian had overturned that expectation.

Within six months to a year after a Nation’s founding, the Realm’s protection would fall away, fully opening the Homeworld to native Lords.

That day was still ahead of them.

Even Nerissa knew her accusations would do little. Given the same opportunity, she would not have sacrificed the advantages of early founding merely to delay the natives’ development. The Homeworld’s long history had settled that question many times over.

Cassian did not bother answering her.

Darian did.

[Darian Frost: Worry about the Black Banner first.]

Cassian smiled and sent a different invitation.

[Cassian Vale: Governors of the Divine Nation, come to my Domain tonight.]

They would celebrate, but they also had matters to discuss. The Nation’s future direction, and especially the creation of its offices, deserved more than one person’s judgment.

Edwin promptly complained.

[Edwin Wycliffe: Lord Cassian, you founded so quickly that you left me behind!]

[Cassian Vale: Reedmarch doesn’t have National Fortune yet. Once you earn some at the settlement in a few days, I’ll bring your Province into the Divine Nation.]

[Edwin Wycliffe: Thank you, Boss!]

With the evening gathering arranged, Cassian considered his next task and opened the Domain panel.

"Upgrade the Eclipse Muster Hall to Level eighteen. Complete it immediately."

He confirmed the resource costs and the payment for immediate completion. Light wrapped the Hall.

When he had raided the Bloodmaw Royal Palace, the Eclipse corps had remained at home, with Rhea back beside Veyra. There had been no immediate need to upgrade its Building for the expedition, so he had put it off.

The precautions had proved unnecessary, but a campaign in the Outer Realms was no time to be careless about the force protecting his home.

The Eclipse line still gave him more strength for his spending than any other troops. Veyra’s training inheritance, carried through the Hall, was a large part of the reason.

He had high hopes for Level 18.

The upgrade light faded.

Before he could inspect the Hall’s new attributes, a notification sounded.

[Your self-created Epic troop sequence, Eclipse Legionnaire, is eligible for a Homeworld-wide announcement in Seventh Realm — Sector 666.]

[Publish announcement?]

[Yes / No]

[Publication rewards: Realm Renown ×100,000; Legend ×1,000.]

Cassian’s face lit up with delight.

More than a year of building the Eclipse line—and now he could announce its Epic sequence across the entire Homeworld!