Chapter 109: The Secret Gets Out

[Black Banner Lord: I’ve found out how the contest for command of the Marches works! Ballot—open the item record!]

The woman who posted it followed with an explanation almost at once.

[Black Banner Lord: I got an Elite warship as a drop. There’s an ocean about five hundred kilometers from our Region, so I sent it out to look for resources. It killed a few dozen monsters and found this!]

She clearly had not thought about who could read the Shattered Marches Channel.

Bren noticed first.

[Bren Orwick: You posted that here? Where everyone can see it?]

[Black Banner Warden: You just gave away military intelligence. You should face a tribunal!]

[Black Banner Warden: If I were you, I’d be too ashamed to live.]

She was an ordinary Lord who had wanted to show off a lucky discovery. Faced with a succession of furious Wardens, she panicked.

[Black Banner Lord: I’m sorry! I’ll retract it!]

She removed the message. That only made them angrier.

What good would retracting it do now? If she had sent the information privately, one of them could have rushed a force out to sea before the others knew what was happening.

Now the whole Marches knew.

[Anonymous Lord: An election? I thought we’d be fighting on a campaign map.]

[Anonymous Lord: Do Ballots only drop at sea? I’m buying a warship the next time I go home.]

[Anonymous Lord: Even a Common ship would cost thousands of Aether. I can’t afford that.]

[Black Banner Lord: Our supporters outnumber yours more than ten to one. If it’s an election, command is ours!]

[Rowan Ashford: How many times have you said victory was yours now? You still have to win something.]

[Tobias Reed: In two days, we’ll take the Fortune from the few Regions of yours that still have two.]

[Black Banner Lord: That Duel isn’t over yet!]

Ordinary Black Banner Lords might be wary of insulting Cassian or Darian. They had no such restraint with Rowan and Tobias. The argument spread through the Channel again.

At the breakfast table, Cassian calmly set down his bowl.

He had never assumed he was the only Lord who could stumble across Ballots. Someone else might already be collecting them in secret.

This woman had simply been foolish enough to announce it.

Now even Lords who had no intention of competing for command would want to hunt. Their votes could be sold for a good price. More Ballots in other hands meant Cassian’s share of the total would shrink.

At least her account suggested that ordinary Lords were not finding many.

Ships and Dockyard Blueprints were about to become very popular.

"A pity."

Activating a warship was like recruiting a troop. He could not turn it back into a transferable item without a special sealing tool. Otherwise, even ordinary ships would have brought him a handsome profit in this market.

The Ghost Carriers would stay with him.

But he still had the Steam Dockyard Blueprint.

——

Two days later, at noon, the result arrived.

[Alliance Fortune Duel concluded.]

[Winner: Dawn Alliance]

[Riftward Region Fortune: 14 → 16]

Five Regions against four, with Cassian, Darian, and Elara contributing forces worth entire groups of ordinary Lords. The Alliance had won comfortably.

Golden words spread across Riftward’s sky. Countless points of gold sank into the Region, and its boundaries expanded again.

In Forgotten Shrine, the Aether Vein brightened as the new Fortune strengthened its resonance.

Ironwake, Stoneward, Northwatch, and Greyfen received their own two points. Celebrations filled the Alliance Channel, then spilled into the Marches Channel.

[Seraphine Valcrest: Between the Rankings and the Fortune Duels, was that the first result that didn’t count as an upset?]

[Rowan Ashford: That’s because Cassian wasn’t on the unpopular side this time.]

Cassian enjoyed the messages for a while before closing the Channel.

Then he opened Eclipse Muster Hall.

[Muster Fortune: 10,512]

"Over ten thousand again."

During the Duel, he had built more housing and increased his population capacity. The Level-7 headquarters now offered the same Epic Legionnaire template as its Chapterhouses. He paid the recruitment costs and brought in two thousand new Eclipse Legionnaires.

His earlier Rare troops kept their Quality, and the nine Praetorians remained his elite force. These two thousand were new regulars—Epics he could recruit in bulk.

Riftward’s expanding territory gave them plenty of room. With so few Lords sharing the Region, space was hardly a concern, especially for its Warden. They could hunt near Forgotten Shrine and build up their Levels without taking much risk.

Elara had been recruiting heavily too. Between the headquarters and her Chapterhouse, the daily Muster Fortune had climbed fast enough to put him above ten thousand again.

Cassian looked at the training options. Then he selected the Blueprint function.

There would be time to improve individual troops. Another branch would keep producing points for him day after day.

"Create an Eclipse Chapterhouse Blueprint. Include all training and skills."

A Blueprint appeared in his hand.

[Eclipse Chapterhouse Blueprint ×1 acquired.]

[Muster Fortune: 10,512 → 512]

He sent a message to Nessa.

[Cassian Vale: Come over for a moment.]

She soon emerged from the portal and hurried toward him. The young Human woman pushed her gold-rimmed glasses into place as she approached.

"You wanted to see me, Lord Cassian?"

He held out the Blueprint.

Nessa read the title. Her eyes widened, and she looked from it to him, then back again.

"You’ve already made a recruitment Building for the Eclipse line?"

She opened the details. An Epic troop Building, with the full training included. Her fingers tightened around the Blueprint, and a delighted laugh escaped her.

"This is for me?"

Cassian nodded.

She read it once more before managing to look up. Then she pushed her glasses up again, understanding dawning on her face.

"So that’s why you told me to get Sea Melody Stone from Elara’s resource site."

Her smile grew.

"And Elara already has the first one, doesn’t she?"

"That’s right." Cassian let her enjoy it for a moment. "You saw the Channel discussion about Ballots?"

"Yes."

"When you return to your homeworld, try to bring back a few good warships. Hunt for Ballots. I expect Darian will be paying well for votes when the time comes."

Nessa shook her head at once.

"I won’t sell mine. I’m giving every vote to you."

She said it with such earnest certainty that Cassian smiled and lightly ruffled her hair.

"That works too. You’re doing well enough that you don’t have to sell them."

Nessa nodded, still holding the Blueprint carefully. Then she hesitated.

"This is worth far more than the materials. I can’t pay for the whole Blueprint at once. Could I pay you in installments?"

"Fine. Get the Chapterhouse built first."

Her face lit up again.

"Thank you. I’ll pay you back."

She had prepared the resources without knowing when she would get to use them. Now she could go home and build an Epic troop Building of her own.

Nessa started toward the portal, eager to do exactly that. After a few steps, she stopped and looked back at Cassian.

Then she returned and stood beside him.

"What is it?"

She held a hand level with the top of her head and moved it across to his chest. Her brows drew together above her glasses.

"You’re bigger than I expected."

Cassian’s expression stalled.

"Taller," she clarified, looking up at him.

"That would have been a better word to start with."

——

Not long after Nessa left, a notice arrived.

[Second Eclipse Chapterhouse completed.]

She had used the Blueprint and the materials she had gathered. The Eclipse line now had two branches.

Veyra’s private message followed almost immediately.

[Veyra: Another Chapterhouse. You’re making it difficult for me to think about anything else. Come see me tonight. I want to thank you properly.]

Cassian smiled at the message.

The past few days had suited her. After that first tired morning, she had recovered quickly and seemed more radiant every time he saw her. Their evenings together had become something both looked forward to.

Aurelia and Celia, meanwhile, still looked short of sleep. Celia had even developed dark circles under her eyes.

Cassian considered tomorrow’s work, then sent his instructions.

Sigrid would take charge of the daily hunt at Crystal Bastion. Veyra would remain in Forgotten Shrine; her Covenant still bound her to the Domain. Aurelia and Celia would accompany him to sea.

The first Ghost Carrier was to return to the Goblin harbor and pick them up.

His fleet had already explored a relatively safe stretch of the outer waters. The ocean would be an important part of his future strength. He ought to see it for himself.

And Liora had run into trouble that called for stronger support.

At home, the three Sorns were watching Black Banner for him. Any serious movement would reach his ears. He could make this trip with an easy mind.

That evening, the next daily Muster Fortune payout arrived. The two thousand new headquarters recruits and Elara’s expanded force had brought in enough to cover the training he wanted—five hundred points, then another two thousand.

He opened Veyra’s entry in the Level-7 Hall. Its Training Art improvement could now be used on the bearer of the Eclipse inheritance herself.

Cassian made his choice.

——

Late that night, the bedroom was quiet again. Veyra lay beside him as he raised a hand and gathered a swirl of golden light in his palm.

She recognized it at once.

"Cassian, save the Muster Fortune for more Chapterhouses—"

Before she could finish, he gently pressed his palm to her forehead.