Chapter 120: Tactics Are for the Weak

Evenfall. Someone had clearly changed that name.

Together with Lydia’s surname, it made her origins easy to guess. House Venn had lost its kingdom in the Sixth Realm to nonhuman invaders. Without the later rise of House Valcrest’s founder, the Crown’s side might have lost its foothold in that Realm entirely.

Other Commanders were introducing themselves.

[Adrian Wolfe: A pleasure to meet you, Lord Cassian. The Free Will Consortium’s doors are always open to you. You would be welcome in the Beacon League as well.]

Free Will was one of the Beacon League’s largest Lord consortiums. It was said to hold shares in the Domains of Lords across the faction.

[Daigo Ashen: We may be enemies, Lord Cassian, but you are an opponent worthy of respect. I look forward to a fair duel. No Heroes. No troops. Just one Lord against another. I hope you won’t disappoint me.]

House Ashen. Another powerful family from the Sixth Realm.

A duel without his army? The man wanted him dead.

And why should Cassian care whether he was disappointed?

[Selene Rook: Lord Cassian, our research has established that your ancestors came from the Dawn Coast Confederacy. We would be delighted to welcome you home.]

Cassian could not even be bothered to answer that claim.

Was he really this famous already?

Still, friend or enemy, a greeting cost him nothing. He used his naming authority, changed the Shattered Marches to the Riftward Marches, and sent a brief reply.

[Cassian Vale: Hello, everyone. I’m Cassian Vale, Commander of the Riftward Marches. Commander Lydia, you’re welcome to visit when you have time.]

There was plenty to do in his own territory. He left the Province Channel and opened the Marches Channel instead.

This time, he issued an official announcement.

[Cassian Vale: From this moment on, these Marches belong to the Crown’s side. All Black Banner Lords have thirty minutes to leave. Anyone who remains will be killed.]

Cheers erupted among the friendly Lords.

Black Banner’s response was very different.

[Black Banner Lord: I have a Wild Building that recruits flying troops! I can’t just leave it behind!]

[Black Banner Lord: I never thought we’d lose. I don’t even have a Relocation Writ!]

[Black Banner Lord: We outnumber them more than ten to one. Whichever Region Cassian attacks, everyone goes there to help.]

[Black Banner Lord: And if he uses a Spatial Lock?]

[Black Banner Lord: How many scrolls do you think he has?]

[Black Banner Lord: Sealing an entire Region takes a powerful Epic scroll, or several weaker ones working together!]

Some Lords fled. Others urged resistance. A few offered to change sides.

Cassian ignored them all. He had already given them half an hour to leave. That was enough consideration for anyone watching from outside.

He opened his Commander permissions.

Four entries caught his attention.

[Waygate authority: Reach expanded to the entire Marches. May be shared with Regional Wardens.]

[Marches Registry: Manage resident records and entry permissions.]

[Command Bonus: Hero and troop attributes +10%.]

[Directed Domain Relocation: Move Domains to selected locations within the Marches. The affected Lord’s consent is required.]

Naming, construction speed, gathering speed, officer appointments—he glanced over the remaining entries, then opened the map attached to his Waygate controls.

Every Region was marked on it. With the Registry open beside the map, he could also see each Region’s population, its Lords’ names, and their current status.

After a moment’s thought, he shared his expanded Waygate authority with the Alliance’s Wardens.

Now they could reach whoever needed killing—or saving.

The ten-percent bonus needed little explanation. Directed Relocation was more interesting. It let him move his own Domain or another Lord’s to a chosen place in the Marches, provided the owner agreed. No Relocation Writ needed to be consumed.

Empty Regions could be occupied that way. There were already places Black Banner had abandoned.

First, though, he had something to arrange at home.

[Cassian Vale: Riftward has expanded again. I’m going to redistribute our Domain locations.]

He opened the Regional map and began.

[Relocation proposed: Lord Tobias Reed to coordinates (789, 1235). Awaiting consent.]

[Lord Tobias Reed has accepted the proposed relocation.]

[Relocation proposed: Lord Nessa Fenwick. Awaiting consent.]

The confirmations followed one another. Cassian had won this territory for them. Nobody objected to his rearrangement.

Before long, an area three hundred kilometers across lay clear of other Lords’ Domains, with Forgotten Shrine at its center.

Repeated Fortune increases had expanded Riftward to more than seven hundred kilometers across. Roughly a fifth of its territory and resources would now be his to use alone.

He could recruit thousands more Eclipse troops and still have room for their daily hunting.

Taking more land and resources was part of becoming a powerful Lord.

——

The half hour passed quickly.

Cassian checked the Marches Registry. Five hundred and twenty thousand Lords remained. Only a few tens of thousands belonged to the Crown’s side.

More than four hundred thousand Black Banner Lords had chosen to stay.

Very well.

He opened an Alliance video conference.

"I’ll share the locations and resident counts of every Region. From now on, you’re free to hunt Black Banner Lords."

Mara Thorne, one of the Lords with a military background, hesitated.

"Could this turn into a bigger incident? The reaction in the homeworld—"

"What reaction?" Darian cut in. "We’ve declared war openly. After what happened in Sector 632, the World Assembly didn’t do a damn thing. That was simply allowed to disappear."

At the mention of Sector 632, Mara’s expression hardened.

"All right. Give us the tactics, Cassian. Which Region do we seal first?"

"Tactics?"

Cassian smiled.

"Those are for the weak."

Darian looked envious.

"A million Aether. Let me use that line next time."

——

Two minutes later, five thousand kilometers away, Cassian looked at the Black Banner Region before him.

He sent a message to the Marches Channel.

[Cassian Vale: You said you’d reinforce whichever Region I attacked.]

[Cassian Vale: I’m outside Bellwood now. Come help them.]

The Warden of Bellwood panicked.

[Bellwood Warden: We need reinforcements!]

The more aggressive Black Banner Lords answered at once.

[Black Banner Lord: Open a portal for me. I’m coming.]

[Black Banner Lord: Arrogant bastards. Does he want a decisive battle?]