Chapter 166: Crownward Knights

"A Fortune Duel Writ?" Mira said, delighted.

Darian nodded and turned to Cassian.

"Region Fortune helps spiritual crops grow too. Complete one round of Fortune Consolidation, and our chance at the top three should rise by another five percentage points."

He looked regretfully at the token.

"A pity these Writs are so scarce. Rank XI unlocks the Worlds Market. If we had access, we could buy more. With enough of them, even first place might be possible."

Everyone looked to Cassian. He shook his head.

"Five percentage points won’t change much. The Writ is too rare to spend now. Save it until all three Rankings are over."

He gestured toward the food.

"Eat first. Then go home and plant everything you need. Tomorrow, we’ll explore Elara’s large instance together."

His confidence came from the Enlightenment Tea Tree.

Using his Commander permissions, he checked the Agriculture Index for the Marches and his own Region again.

[Riftward Marches — Agriculture Index: 7,680,000]

[Riftward Region — Agriculture Index: 5,540,000]

One Region supplied more than seventy percent of the entire Marches’ score, and its share was still growing.

An hour ago, Riftward Region had held little more than a million points. The moment the Tea Tree was planted, both totals had risen by four million.

Only Cassian could view both figures. Otherwise, the increase would have caused an uproar.

And the tree kept growing. Every passing moment added to its value.

Once they had eaten, Cassian fulfilled his promise to Gareth. He brought out the equipment, Hero Sigils, Troop Sigils, and other rewards he did not need and let his friends choose.

Hundreds of Epic weapons and armor pieces. Thousands of Rares. Epic Hero Sigils and Troop Sigils among them.

The sight left the table staring again.

Gareth took an Epic Hero Sigil and three Epic Troop Sigils in one purchase. He looked thoroughly satisfied.

"I could hardly breathe in front of you people before. At last, I can stand up straight when I speak."

Tobias, Rowan, and the close followers who had given Cassian a stake in their Domains received his support. The others paid without needing to be asked.

Five hundred and thirty million Aether came into his account.

"Nessa, stay a moment."

Cassian called to her as everyone prepared to leave. A few of the others exchanged knowing looks. So the boss had finally decided to make a move on her?

Once they had gone, he turned to Nessa, who suddenly seemed a little shy, and tossed her the Legendary Troop Sigil from the Dragon Tomb. ℴ

"Elara has her Hill Kings. We can’t leave you too far behind."

Nessa caught the golden-patterned Sigil and froze.

"A Legendary... Troop Sigil?"

Then she jumped in delight.

"Thank you, Cassian! You’re the best!"

He almost envied her simple happiness. Seraphine or the others would at least have tried to refuse such an expensive gift. Nessa trusted him so completely that she did not even ask why he was giving away Legendary troops.

She used the Sigil before leaving his Domain.

A portal of light opened. Knights rode out one after another, formed a line, and saluted her.

"Greetings, Lord."

Their warhorses were no ordinary breed. Fine scales showed through the gaps in the horses’ armor. The riders’ voices included both men and women, though their heavy armor concealed their faces.

"Crownward Knights," Cassian said. "A Legendary Human line. Sixteen stars at recruitment. Not bad."

Human cavalry had a well-established path of advancement. The Knight Hall unlocked at Rank VII recruited Rare Heavy Cavalry. From there, the line could advance through Royal Knights to Epic Champion Knights, and finally to Legendary Crownward Knights.

Crownward Knights had no glaring weakness, though no exceptional specialty either. Their skills favored defense. Among Legendary troops, they were a balanced, dependable line, comparable to the Tyrants he had killed.

Their greatest strength was loyalty. Unless their Lord made a serious mess of things, they were unlikely to turn against their master.

That reminded Cassian of a recent system notice.

Just then, an Eclipse soldier came to report.

"Lord, a squad of knights has arrived outside the Domain. They ask to join you."

Perfect timing.

Cassian had an idea.

"Nessa, bring your new knights. Come up to the wall with me."

Soon, he was looking down at the Champion Knights gathered outside.

"Knights, my Domain isn’t the right place for you. But I can introduce you to another powerful Lord."

The visitors exchanged looks. They had come because of his Renown. He would not take them in, and now he wanted to pass them to someone else?

Their captain was about to refuse when twelve imposing figures appeared behind Cassian.

"Crownward Knights!"

"Exactly." Cassian nodded. "All twelve serve the Lord I’m recommending."

After that, very little persuasion was needed.

The Champion Knights joined Nessa. She looked from her new Legendary squad to the Epic knights who had just agreed to follow her.

"That works too?"

Nessa left through the Gate with both squads. Cassian returned to the Enlightenment Enclosure and made use of its paid fiftyfold acceleration to prepare his next round of planting.

The Tea Tree gave him a tremendous advantage. That was no reason to hold anything back. He had the money. He would build Legendary Fields throughout the new planting area.

He bought forty Legendary Field Plot Blueprints through the Exchange, along with their construction materials, and paid to build them in a separate section of the Deep Layer.

By evening, forty new Legendary Fields lay ready. The Blueprints, materials, and construction had cost two billion seven hundred million Aether altogether.

He bought the Legendary and Epic planting stock he needed and had the fields planted. Riftward Region’s Agriculture Index surged by more than five million.

Cassian looked over the new fields in satisfaction.

"Now it’s secure."

After leaving the planting area, Cassian opened the Province Channel and read through the latest news.

Westmere, Evenfall, and several other Crown Marches had now lost more than thirty percent of their Lords. Riftward was doing better, with a little over forty thousand remaining.

There was good news too.

Kelshore had opened a betting pool on the Exchange. He was using it to provoke the Crown Lords again.

[Kelshore: If you’re as confident as you claim, put money on your own Marches. Afraid? Then stop talking!]

Cassian chuckled.

"What a considerate man. Perhaps I can even earn back the two billion seven hundred million I just spent."

He yawned.

There had been no day or night in Glory Battlefield. Since coming home, he had spent more time working at fiftyfold speed. His body had completely lost track of when it should sleep.

——

The next morning, Cassian slept a little later than usual. When he was ready, he took the troops he had selected and stepped through the Gate in Elara’s Domain.

"Brogan. It’s been a while. You’re looking well."

He greeted the Dwarf King, then looked around at the gathered Lords.

"You’re all early."

With everyone present, Elara gave them the details.

"This instance can admit twenty Lords at once. Each Lord can bring thirty combat units."

"A large instance probably has other entrances," Gareth said. "We may meet explorers from other races. There are only seventeen of us. Should we fill the last three places?"

"Do we need to?" Darian flexed his hands eagerly. "With our forces, even Divines wouldn’t frighten me."

Cassian considered it.

"Wait a moment. I’ll bring three more."

The Gate flashed several times. Varek, Ysel, and Maera Sorn appeared with their troops.

"Good morning, Commander. And to our friends from the Crown," Varek said respectfully.

In front of outsiders, they did not call Cassian their master.

Everyone knew the Sorns served him now. Even so, several Lords frowned at the sight of the three Black Banner heirs.

Cassian smiled and offered no explanation. If they encountered an enemy they could not easily defeat, or some dangerous condition inside the instance, he could send the Sorns ahead to take the first risk.

Elara led them to a portal several dozen meters high.

"Enter."

The light expanded around the party. When solid ground returned beneath their feet, a system notice sounded in their ears.

[You have entered the Swordheart Instance.]

"Swordheart..." Elara frowned. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

"Julian Lind," Cassian reminded her.

"That’s it. Julian Lind!"

She remembered at once.

"A hundred years ago, the Sword Saint died suddenly. Before his death, he banished the whole of Swordheart Region into the Void—a Region he’d spent a century building."

She looked around.

"Lords have searched for it ever since. Even the Jade Court tried, and no one found it. Could this instance be connected to that lost Region?"