Chapter 399: One War Ends

Cassian and Darian had made no effort to lower their voices.

The nearby Black Banner Lords heard every word. Some could barely contain their fury.

Over the next day, Divine Nation’s armies pursued the scattered enemy. Countless Lords died. Even more became prisoners.

Aurelia hunted down the few remaining Black Banner War Marshals and killed them. None was given a chance to surrender.

The Homeworld Channel filled with pleas, screams, and curses. Some Lords, whether out of defiance or because they could not afford a ransom, recorded their final moments and posted the footage as proof of Divine Nation’s crimes.

The watching Lords fell silent.

Everyone who entered the Realm knew they might die there. Knowing it was one thing. Watching Lords die in such numbers, every moment of the day, was another.

The Black Banner was finished in Sector 666.

Once it was gone, who would be next?

"Cassian, we haven’t found Nerissa Vaust or Merris Velisse. The other Black Banner Governors are missing too."

Darian’s report made him frown.

"They escaped? No..."

Those Governors had said nothing throughout the battle. Their absence had already struck him as strange.

"They never came. They weren’t part of this army at all. Clever bastards."

A few surviving Governors could do little to change the outcome now.

"Leave them. How many prisoners have we taken?"

That was the figure he most wanted to hear.

Even Darian, who had never been short of money, grew excited.

"The count is still incomplete, but we’re already past twelve million. Keep this up, and we’ll easily pass fifteen million."

"Good!"

Cassian clapped his hands.

Fifteen million Lords. At an average of a million Aether each, that came to fifteen trillion.

Trillion.

From Darian’s expression, he had never seen that much money either.

Of course, not every prisoner could pay. Nor did Cassian intend to release them all.

"I’ll need House Frost’s help again."

Darian looked pleased to be asked.

"No need to be polite. Tell me what you need."

"Screen every captive. We won’t accept ransoms from three kinds of Lords."

Cassian held up a finger.

"Anyone who has killed our Crown people."

A second finger followed.

"The descendants of Sector 632’s war criminals."

Then a third.

"And the talented ones."

He took out ten Building Blueprints and passed them over.

"Mindseal Towers. These should help with the screening."

As before, if he had not needed the money, Cassian would have preferred to leave no enemy alive. But an opportunity like this might never come again. He meant to make the most of it.

Darian accepted the ten Blueprints, his expression turning serious.

He understood exactly what refusing a ransom meant.

Those prisoners would pay with their lives.

——

Nerissa Vaust finally reappeared in the Homeworld Channel.

[Cassian, you butcher! You’ve slaughtered more than ten million Black Banner Lords. Aren’t you afraid that all this killing will bring retribution?]

Cassian was unimpressed.

[How is that my fault? If they had stopped resisting and accepted capture, they wouldn’t have died.]

The Black Banner’s Lords erupted.

Stop resisting, and no one had to die?

How could anyone say something so shameless?

Seraphine gave a cold laugh.

[Let me tell you where those words came from. After the massacre in Clearautumn Marches, your ambassador said exactly that.]

[How is that the same?] Nerissa replied. [We only killed three hundred thousand Crown Lords in Clearautumn—]

She stopped.

Too late.

Lana Whitmere answered at once.

[So you’re finally admitting it? How many of those three hundred thousand were Farming Lords? Entertainment Lords? And how many women did your people—]

She could not finish.

Across the Crown Provinces, faces hardened. The pity some had begun to feel for the defeated enemy vanished.

Yet many Black Banner Lords seemed genuinely confused.

[We massacred three hundred thousand Crown Lords? Wasn’t that story disproved long ago?]

[That’s not what our textbooks say. Crown Lords should learn not to spread rumors.]

[Our military Lords helped your people build their homes. They treated them well. It was the Crown that repaid kindness with betrayal and started the wars.]

They appeared to believe every word.

The Crown Lords’ expressions grew colder still.

The Black Banner’s textbooks might not go as far as the Dawn Coast’s, but their rewriting of history was hardly a secret. To those listening, being raised on those lies was no reason to pity the enemy army they had just defeated.

——

The Black Banner’s main army was gone.

What remained was the slow work of destroying tens of millions of Domains and dealing with the few Lords who still refused to surrender behind their shields. Divine Nation’s ordinary Lords could handle that.

The war had been decided at a speed that left the Homeworld struggling to take it in.

Before its watchers had finished discussing the victory, Cassian gave another order.

"All flying and ranged troops of Epic Quality or higher, from Divine Nation and House Fenwick—assemble at the coast."

It was time to deal with the Elemental Covenant.

He checked the Temple’s display.

[Capture Progress: 64.78%]

The takeover was accelerating. He could feel the difference now.

"What is he gathering the army for?"

The Homeworld’s Lords had barely relaxed before the tension returned.

"The Covenant stabbed him in the back, but... Is he really going to fight Fivefold Heaven?"

"My heart can’t take any more of this. Does anyone have a heart-calming pill?"

"I do. Elite Quality. Twenty thousand Aether each. How many?"

Divine Nation’s Lords were shocked too. Then their fighting spirit rose again.

They had fought for days. They were exhausted. But the Five Elements Temple was worth fighting for.

It was more than a Mythic defensive Wonder. Its Imbuement trait could greatly improve their equipment and strengthen their armies.

Darian was among the most eager. He had disliked Ilyse since the All-Races Contest.

"The Temple is a World Wonder of our Homeworld. We aren’t handing it to a pack of oathbreakers!"

Voices answered from every direction.

In Highcrest, Edran watched his excited son on the broadcast and sighed.

"There it is. I knew Cassian wasn’t going to swallow this."

The Valcrest founder smiled.

"After what we’ve seen of his strength, perhaps he has no reason to fear the Covenant."

Only a few hundred kilometers separated the two armies. Divine Nation’s preparations could hardly escape notice.

Evander’s expression turned cold.

Before long, Cassian approached the Temple with ten million flying troops and more than ten thousand warships of Epic Quality or above. The two forces faced one another across tens of kilometers of open air and sea.

"Lord Cassian, two days ago I praised your good sense. You knew when to advance and when to retreat."

Evander looked at him with disappointment, then sighed.

"This is a poor way to repay that judgment. Your strength has surprised us all, but if you think it makes you a match for Fivefold Heaven, you’re being naive."

His gaze rested on Cassian.

"And your Mythic Dragon is dead, isn’t she?"