Chapter 401: The Crystal Corps Prepares

Evander forced a smile.

"I think there’s been a misunderstanding, Lord Cassian."

His tone had changed completely.

"Our agreement still stands. We merely propose a different order. Once we control the Five Elements Temple, we will press the Western Beacon to gather the Ancient Coins needed for the Firstborn Gate as quickly as possible. Then we’ll help you claim it."

He spread his hands.

"With the Temple, the Elemental Covenant can strengthen Humanity far more quickly. This benefits our entire race. Surely you can accommodate us."

For a moment, no one knew how to respond.

Was he backing down?

An envoy from an upper Realm was softening his stance toward a Lord from a lower one. The Homeworld would be boasting about this for a year.

Even some of Cassian’s enemies felt a sudden flicker of pride.

The Western Beacon Lords felt nothing of the kind.

Gavin Roswell was furious.

"So the two of you get what you want, and the Western Beacon does all the work for free?"

While the watching Lords wondered whether Cassian would accept the offer, he turned to Seren Fenwick.

"This battle will be more dangerous than the last. Will House Fenwick lead the attack?"

"Of course."

Seren was far from certain they could win, but she had no hesitation about supporting his decision.

"Sisters! Aunts! Elders! Help Divine Nation take back the Five Elements Temple!"

The Fenwick armies had fought at the front throughout the war. Their losses had been the heaviest. Even so, seventy percent of their force remained.

At Cassian’s command, masses of Epic and Legendary flying troops surged toward the enemy.

Evander’s face darkened.

He had lowered himself enough. Cassian had answered his offer with an attack.

"You mistake my goodwill for weakness. Very well. We’ll fight! When you lose, don’t accuse me of taking advantage of your exhausted army!"

He raised his voice.

"Disciples of the Covenant, prepare to meet them. Show these backwater Lords the difference between an upper Realm and a lower one!"

Powerful troops flew from the ships.

Six presences stood out from all the others. Cassian used Worldsight and identified them at once.

Ascendants.

Six Mythic troops.

Around them stood at least two thousand Legendary Nine-Star fighters, including several Extreme troop types. Along the sides of every ship, rows of cannon barrels slid into view, their dark mouths gleaming coldly.

In elite fighting strength, this force was already a match for Divine Nation.

Evander was angry, but he had not lost his judgment. Taking the Temple came before everything else, including his dignity.

Even though he believed he could win, he ordered the entire army to remain inside the defensive barrier. They would kill the attackers from behind its protection.

The Western Beacon, Jade Court, and surviving Black Banner Lords were delighted.

"Good! He’s let victory go to his head!"

"Did he think he was the only one with Mythic troops?"

The Western Beacon Lords were happiest of all. If Cassian and Fivefold Heaven were at war, their Firstborn Gate was safe.

Gavin’s mood changed at once.

"The Crown has an old saying. Before ruin comes madness. Cassian is proving it today."

The battle erupted.

As the Fenwick troops came within a few kilometers of the Five Elements Cycle Array, hundreds of thousands of five-colored beams burst from the ships’ cannons.

The Ascendants and other powerful troops added their ranged attacks from inside the barrier.

More than a hundred thousand Fenwick troops died in that first exchange. Every one had been Epic or higher.

Cheers flooded the Homeworld Channel.

Cassian had held his enemies down for too long. Seeing his side suffer such losses left them almost giddy. It scarcely mattered that the troops dying belonged to older-sector Lords whose prospects for further advancement had already run out.

Seren hardened her heart. Her expression did not change.

"Keep advancing. Everything on the barrier!"

Powerful spells and flights of arrows struck the earth-yellow wall. Faint ripples spread across its surface, barely visible before they faded.

Cassian turned to the fighters around him.

"Our turn."

Through his Domain Channel, he gave another order in private.

"Crystalkin corps, prepare for battle. One, begin Crystal Convergence. Wait until the barrier weakens enough, then deliver the finishing blow."

His Heroes moved.

Lysette vanished from her position with a sharp crack. A white wake of compressed air marked her path as she accelerated.

In a few seconds, she crossed tens of kilometers.

Her fist struck the barrier.

The impact thundered across the battlefield. Under the eyes of both armies, the defense that had withstood Void Sanctuary caved inward by dozens of meters.

Earth energy rushed toward the point of impact. The yellow deepened until the shield there looked almost solid. Only that sudden concentration kept her fist from punching through.

For a kilometer around it, the barrier grew noticeably thinner.

Lysette’s strike spent itself. As the defense sprang back, she used the rebound to withdraw.

Dozens of Wood control spells reached out from behind the shield, twisting toward her body. She shook them off with a brief movement, scattering them through sheer physical strength. Another sonic boom followed as she flew clear to build speed for her next attack.

Evander’s expression darkened further.

That punch had come nowhere near breaking the whole formation. Even so, he had an unpleasant feeling that if he sent an Ascendant out to fight her alone, the one who died would be his.

And she was only one of Cassian’s Heroes.

He looked toward another part of the barrier.

Aurelia stood outside it with Folded Sky Ward raised, striking again and again with her sword. Her expression was intent, almost serene.

An Ascendant attacked her from behind the shield. He used everything he had, trying to drive her back.

She ignored him.

He could keep attacking. She would keep cutting.

Both fought from behind powerful defenses. Neither could get through the other’s protection for now.

"A Grade-A defensive skill at Transcendence, surely." Envy sharpened Evander’s voice. "Why don’t I have a Hero like that?"

He swept a hand outward. More than a hundred billion Aether burned, pouring fresh energy into the formation.

Powerful arrays demanded powerful supplies.

At that moment, Heaven’s Judgment fell.

Harriet’s vast blade stretched for several kilometers. It struck the barrier and sent a violent shudder through the entire shield.

Rhea, Celia, Liora, and Sylvara joined the assault. Cassian paid the Divine Dragon Amber’s release and sustaining costs, and the Divine Dragon added its strength to theirs.

The battle grew fiercer with every exchange.

After only half an hour, the Fenwick force had lost thirty percent of the troops it had brought into this fight. The barrier’s energy had fallen by half as well.

Evander kept burning Aether to replenish it, but even that could not keep pace with such a violent assault.

He was considering whether to start using mid-grade Aether Crystals when an Ascendant suddenly shouted.

"My lord! Something is wrong with those crystal bats!"