Chapter 125: Something Worth Sharing

Everyone in Forgotten Shrine reacted at once.

Nessa’s face flushed with anger.

"That bastard. He’s trying to make Cassian look selfish if he refuses."

Selene and Arun immediately voiced their agreement with Adrian. The Chapterhouses should be shared too, they suggested. So should Cassian’s high-grade crop production.

Alexei was a little better. He offered to buy at market prices.

Even some of the Crown’s Commanders looked tempted. They had enough restraint to keep quiet, but it was clear they would be pleased to receive a share of Cassian’s assets.

He took in their expressions, then leaned back into a more comfortable position.

"You can sit down, Adrian. There’s no need to show me so much respect."

Adrian’s face stiffened.

Cassian turned to the military representative.

"What is your position on this, Colonel?"

"Private property is inviolable," Mercer said at once. "You have my assurance, Cassian. The Legion won’t allow anyone to pressure you into giving yours away."

As the campaign’s acting coordinator, the colonel had received a detailed report on Cassian. A team had examined everything from his birth to his recent victory in the Commander election.

Their conclusion was clear. He felt loyalty to the Crown, but a few stirring words would not make him sacrifice himself for it. He was far too shrewd for that.

And he had more than extraordinary luck. He was a gifted Lord with ideas other people would never have considered.

The Crown Lord Research Institute had already recognized the value of his Eclipse troop line and the method of spreading it through Chapterhouses. That was the kind of talent the military needed to keep.

Driving someone like that into a life of bloodshed, or into an enemy faction’s arms, would be a disaster.

Cassian was pleased with the colonel’s answer. For the Legion’s sake, he chose a gentler way to deal with the demand.

"I hear Coldridge has found a Fortune Temple. Why don’t you share that with us?"

Fortune was fundamental to a Region’s development. With his Aether Vein, it mattered even more to Cassian.

He had no Fortune Duel Writs left. For now, that temple was his only lead on obtaining more Fortune. Unfortunately, even House Frost’s intelligence had failed to uncover its exact coordinates. All they knew was that its guardian monsters were too strong for Adrian’s people to attack yet.

Every eye turned toward Adrian.

A Fortune Temple!

His expression changed sharply.

"How do you know about that?"

Cassian ignored the question.

"How about this? I’ll pay one Epic warship for the coordinates. Then everyone can compete for it with their own strength."

Adrian gave a cold snort and fell silent.

Mercer was delighted with the response. If Adrian wanted Cassian to share his valuable assets, he could hardly refuse to share his own.

The interruption had caused some trouble, but with the colonel holding firm on Cassian’s property, they finally reached an alliance agreement.

"You have our assurance," Mercer said. "If we gain control of Tidecrown, the Crown will honor its promises."

He was about to close the meeting when Lydia called out.

"Look! The Marches Ranking has triggered!"

Cassian opened the Province Channel. A new announcement was pinned at the top.

[First Marches Ranking has begun.]

[Category: Personal Lord Kill Points. Select to view scoring rules.]

[Rank 1: Commander—all attributes +100. Resident Lords—all attributes +40. Commander’s Region—Fortune +10. Other Regions—Fortune +2.]

[Rank 2: Commander—all attributes +50. Resident Lords—all attributes +20. Commander’s Region—Fortune +5. Other Regions—Fortune +1.]

[Rank 3: Commander—all attributes +30. Resident Lords—all attributes +10. Commander’s Region—Fortune +3.]

[Ranks 4–10: Commander—all attributes +20. Resident Lords—all attributes +5. Commander’s Region—Fortune +2.]

[Settlement: In 15 days, at 12:00 noon.]

[Points standings refresh daily at 12:00 noon.]

"At last," Darian said, turning to Seraphine. "Personal kills. This is your specialty."

The category was exactly what it sounded like. Only monsters killed by a Lord personally would earn points. Kills made by Heroes or troops would not count.

Seraphine brightened, then sighed.

"Against ordinary Lords, I could match a thousand people’s output. But we only have a few tens of thousands in the whole Marches. The others have hundreds of thousands at least."

The room grew subdued.

Even Cassian frowned. He knew the possible Ranking categories, but that had never been a reason to keep Black Banner’s Lords in his Marches.

Resource Points or an Agriculture Index would have been easy. If he was willing to spend, he was sure he could win.

Instead, they had drawn Kill Points. Personal Kill Points, at that.

Tobias studied the rules.

"The points double for every five Levels the monster is above you. We have some strong Lords, especially Seraphine. Could we try for the top ten?"

"Farming Lords and entertainment Lords don’t fight monsters themselves," Elara said. "Even most War Lords leave that to their armies. Send everyone out to fight suddenly, and we’ll get people killed."

Cassian’s attention had caught on one detail.

Double points for every five Levels above the Lord?

He opened the scoring rules himself. It was true.

Warbody, Attribute Tomes, Life Essence, Ranking rewards—he had stacked so many gains onto his body that his strength was far beyond his Level. Killing monsters above his Level was exactly what he was good at.

He considered it for a moment.

"The standings refresh every day. Let’s have everyone do what they can for one day, then look at our position tomorrow at noon. If we have a chance, we’ll compete."

He glanced at Elara.

"But she’s right. Make sure everyone knows safety comes first."

Cassian wanted to find out how many points he could earn in a full day with his own strength.

The others nodded.

"With my current strength, I can kill ordinary monsters at least twenty-five Levels above me," Seraphine said.

"Then hunt twenty Levels above you," Cassian told her. "You’ll be in trouble if a Boss appears."

"I know." She nodded firmly. "If we have a chance at the top ten, I’ll invite some of my relatives to relocate here. Most of them are Lords who specialize in personal combat."

"House Valcrest never seems to run short of War Lords," Darian said admiringly.

With the decision made, Mira posted it in the Marches Channel.

The Commanders on the conference screen had their own reactions to the new Ranking.

"Personal Lord Kill Points," Lydia said, sounding disappointed. "After we expelled Black Banner, Evenfall was left with only six hundred thousand friendly Lords. That’s no advantage."

Another Crown Commander, Corin Alder, chuckled.

"Numbers matter, but the key is how many Lords specialize in fighting themselves. Those are the ones who can hunt above their Level."

"Exactly," Adrian said with a smile. "Even Riftward, with its few tens of thousands, could make the top ten."

He sounded sincere. Nobody needed much intelligence to hear the mockery.

Cassian was not offended.

"We’ll give it a try. Once we see everyone’s points tomorrow, we’ll know. If the gap is too large, Riftward will give up on this Ranking."

——

After leaving the call, Cassian turned to Darian.

"When are you going to get me those Fortune Temple coordinates?"

Darian spread his hands.

"Adrian and a few people he trusts are the only ones who know them. Besides, it’s in a Level-55 monster area. Even with the coordinates, I doubt we could raid it at our current Levels."

"If that’s everything, I’ll head back and start hunting," Seraphine said.

"Wait."

Cassian had thought of something. He called the others back as well.

"Equipment can improve your fighting strength too. I have some here. See if there’s anything you can use. If you don’t need it yourselves, take it back for the other Lords in your Regions."

He opened several equipment storerooms.

The others had not seemed particularly interested. Then they saw what was inside.

"Damn. How do you have so much?"

"How many people did you rob?"

"There are this many Epics?"

His own hunting had brought in plenty. On top of that, the Black Banner Wardens whose belongings he had seized included most of the strongest Lords in the Marches. Their entire fortunes were piled together here.

And this was what remained after the Eclipse troops had taken their pick.

——

Once everyone had left, Cassian sent Seraphine a bottle of Life Water through the Exchange. He was afraid she might push herself too hard and get killed.

He did not rush out to hunt. Instead, he began sorting through his less useful equipment sets and Skill Books.

A little over ten minutes later, he had chosen his items and checked the Exchange offers for their higher versions. Each seller accepted the original item as part of the price, with the difference paid in Aether.

"Twenty million to upgrade Origin Divine Fist, Volume I."

He confirmed the order. The Skill Book and twenty million Aether left his Inventory as payment.

"Four million for Seven-Star Armor."

He confirmed that exchange as well, committing the armor set and its payment.

Then he selected the third order.

"Four million for this one, too."

He confirmed it, sending the item and the Aether into the order.