Chapter 173: A Perfectly Reasonable Explanation

Cassian’s response settled their doubts.

"So when you said ten million was ridiculous, you meant it was too little!"

"If we take first place, every one of the thousand-plus Regions in our Marches will have at least four Fortune!"

"Remember the Black Banner Wardens fighting each other half to death over two points? Look at us now!"

"That’s what happens when Cassian is your Commander!"

Had anyone else claimed they could win, the others would have called him mad. But Cassian had done the impossible too many times. He had even managed to elect himself Commander.

They were already more than halfway convinced.

Darian was the most astonished. Cassian would not risk a hundred million Aether without confidence, and House Frost’s intelligence had given Darian a good estimate of every other Region’s Agriculture Index.

For the numbers to make sense, Riftward Region alone had to be contributing at least a hundred million.

His conversation with Cassian three days earlier suddenly took on a different meaning.

Cassian hadn’t been afraid Darian would give up. He had been afraid Darian would cut into his winnings!

"He fooled me again."

Darian didn’t lack money. Being kept in the dark like an idiot every time was what annoyed him.

Once the first wave of excitement passed, everyone wanted to know how Cassian had done it.

"Wait." Seraphine’s eyes widened. "What if he reached the third floor on the Glory Battlefield? What if the exchange there offered Legendary items like Time-Space Farms?"

Faces brightened across the conference.

"That makes sense!"

"We assumed nobody could reach the third floor. But he earned a Gold Battle Name. He suppressed the Divine and Demon forces himself!"

"And this Ranking was announced before we left. He could have picked his rewards specifically for it."

"If he exchanged for eight or ten Time-Space Farms..."

Cassian ignored the speculation and reopened the betting pool.

[1. Ashvale Marches: 921,000,000 Aether]

[2. Kelshore Marches: 781,000,000 Aether]

[3. Bharan Marches: 758,000,000 Aether]

[4. Coldridge Marches: 728,000,000 Aether]

[...]

[8. Riftward Marches: 100,700,000 Aether]

Just as he had expected, a flood of money had arrived before betting closed. Bharan had gained three hundred million in the final moments, pushing it ahead of Coldridge. Someone clearly had faith in their farming.

There were plenty of Lords hoping for a cheap upset, too. All thirty-two Marches in Tidecrown had attracted bets, even the least popular drawing over a hundred thousand Aether.

Riftward had only a few tens of thousands of Lords left. Yet with a Commander who kept producing miracles, it had attracted seven hundred thousand in bets besides Cassian’s own stake.

"Four point six billion."

Cassian smiled at the total pool.

His share would cover the two point seven billion he had spent on forty Legendary Fields and leave nearly two billion more. The Fields would have cost him nothing in the end.

The Province Channel was coming alive as more people noticed Riftward’s sudden jump. Even the Crown Lords began speaking up again.

[Riftward just gained a hundred million!]

[I put a hundred on every Marches. Did I actually pick up a winning bet? Riftward is paying about forty-five point six!]

[Don’t celebrate yet. Bharan gained three hundred million. They must be even more confident.]

[So which one knows something we don’t? Or are they both fools?]

Corin’s expression lit up. ℴ

"Could the stories be true? Does Cassian really have a way to win this?"

Westmere could miss the list. As long as first place didn’t go to the Black Banner, he would be happy.

Selene Rook, Arun Varma, and Alexei Petrov met the news with frowns, surprise, or curiosity. None could quite believe it. Varma, in particular, had placed three hundred million on Bharan because he was sure of his chances.

Still, they had only ten minutes to wait. None rushed out to mock Cassian and risk having to swallow their words.

Kelshore had no such restraint.

[Even if every one of Riftward’s few tens of thousands of Lords specialized in farming, they couldn’t make up the difference in numbers. Has Cassian gone mad?]

Then he seemed to discover the answer.

[Wait. I understand. He must have obtained a Faith Artifact. He’s doing this to draw attention to himself!]

He had strained to find a reasonable explanation. Amazingly, others applauded it.

[Brilliant, Kelshore. A true strategist!]

Galen Tervain supplied the scholarly explanation.

[Faith Power comes from emotion directed toward its recipient, whether positive or negative. Infamy still makes a man famous. Our shock now gives him one harvest. When we mock him after the results, he gains another.]

[He’s willing to become the laughingstock of the entire Province for Faith Power. Ruthless, but effective.]

[Everyone, restrain yourselves. When he loses, do not laugh at him. Deny him what he wants.]

The other Black Banner Lords agreed, whether they understood the argument or not.

[But I can’t stop thinking about him,] one admitted.

[That’s what makes him so dangerous,] Kelshore replied. [He understands exactly how people’s minds work.]

Even Cassian’s friends, who had just worked out the supposed truth, began eyeing him doubtfully.

Cassian was speechless.

Kelshore had made the whole thing sound perfectly reasonable. With an imagination like that, he should be writing novels.

Ten minutes passed amid the speculation, disbelief, and argument.

[Announcement: Results of Tidecrown Province’s Second Marches Ranking will now be released.]

[10th Place: Merriton Marches. Commander Valerie Merriton receives +20 to all attributes. All Lords of Merriton Marches receive +5 to all attributes. Merriton Region receives +2 Fortune.]

Merriton had been right on the edge of making the list. Its Lords erupted in cheers at the news that they had scraped into tenth.

[9th Place...]

[8th Place...]

The announcements continued down to sixth place. Every Marches named so far belonged to the Black Banner.

The Crown Lords had expected it. That didn’t make it pleasant to watch.

Fortune was only part of the reward. Each of those Marches held roughly a million Lords, all receiving five points in every attribute. It wasn’t much on its own, but advantages like that added up.

"If the Jade Court had kept that announcement to itself for another half month, Westmere and Evenfall might both have made the list," Elara said with a sigh.

"Especially Westmere," Seraphine agreed. "House Alder’s Garrison Farming Art is an Epic farming skill. Our own founder once went to the Alders to buy a batch of its skill books."

Cassian’s interest stirred.

The great families’ signature skills had proved worth acquiring. Disarming Toast had already served him well. When he had the chance, he would have to get a copy of Garrison Farming Art from Corin.

"Could we stop thinking about everything else for a moment?" Darian said. "Our Marches hasn’t been announced yet."

Nessa pouted. "Cassian looks as calm as ever. I can’t tell anything from his face."

"The boss is an old fox," Tobias said, slipping a compliment into his teasing. "How are mere mortals like us supposed to guess what he’s thinking?"

"An old fox?" Nessa looked at Cassian, puzzled. "Which part of him looks old?"

Cassian had no answer.

Neither did Tobias.