Chapter 190: Strength Worth Feeding

By "nearby," Darian meant the region of space containing the Homeworld and hundreds of other inhabited planets.

Emerald Star belonged to the Elves. It lay less than a hundred light-years from the Homeworld, closer even than the Skyfox home planet.

[Darian Frost: Here. Everyone, try some.]

A notice appeared before Cassian.

[Darian Frost has sent you items through the Exchange: Legendary Moonfruit; Legendary Amethyst Grapes ×10...]

Cassian looked at the fruit.

It had gone through the Worlds Market and come straight back to him.

He was clearly not the only recipient.

[Nessa Fenwick: Thank you, Darian! You’re the best!]

[Darian Frost: The best? Better than your precious Cassian?]

[Nessa Fenwick: You’re the best. Cassian is the very best!]

Darian laughed. He did not seem offended.

[Seraphine Valcrest: What’s all this for? We can buy our own fruit.]

House Valcrest was not House Frost, but a few million Aether meant little to her.

For the others, it was a different matter.

[Tobias: My deepest thanks, Lord Darian.]

[Rowan Ashford: This is delicious!]

Elara had little spare money, but she had resources.

[Elara Vayne: A Rare Corundum deposit was found near my Domain. If you need it, Darian, you’re welcome to send miners.]

[Darian Frost: Don’t make such a fuss. Cassian keeps feeding us Moonrice. All I’ve got is a little money.]

Cassian smiled.

"Generous, if you like him. A spendthrift, if you don’t. Fortunately, House Frost can afford him."

He sent gifts of his own through the Exchange.

[You have sent Darian Frost: Legendary Moonrice ×2.]

More delivery notices followed, along with another burst of cheers in the group.

[Elara Vayne: Take it, everyone. They’re both disgustingly rich. Our job is to get stronger and defend Riftward and our people.]

Cassian had never realized she had the makings of a political officer.

Once the cheerful exchange ended, he closed the Channel.

He listed enough produce for roughly a day’s sales, then checked his figures.

"Forty Legendary food plots and ten Epic ones. After growing costs and what the Domain needs, that’s five hundred million Aether a day at these prices."

The separate Legendary plot beneath the Mythic Tea Tree was not part of that income.

"Of course, there are only so many buyers who can afford Epic and Legendary produce. Eat the same thing for long enough, and the benefits diminish. Demand will fall. Two or three hundred million a day should still be possible."

With more than three billion Aether already in hand and a new source of income, Cassian felt rich again.

He completed the paid upgrades that brought the Eclipse Hall from Level 7 to Level 11. The enlarged Building occupied more than ten thousand square meters.

Then he opened the Time Acceleration settings for its section of the Deep Layer.

"Twenty-five times."

He confirmed the payment. The Hall’s time flow rose from tenfold to twenty-fivefold. That was still below the current fiftyfold limit, but accelerating a Building this large was expensive enough.

Including the Enlightenment Enclosure and the planting section, his three accelerated areas would now cost seventy million Aether per Realm Day. He paid for the current day.

Worth it.

Much of the veterans’ strength had come from their arts and skills. At this rate, a year of training could let his troops match Lords with twenty years in the Realm, perhaps even surpass them.

And that was without counting Muster Fortune.

Cassian stepped into the Eclipse Hall.

Even with three hundred training rooms, there was not enough space.

Liora and Celia were frequent visitors to the meditation chambers. Some Dawnwings had begun coming as well, making themselves quite at home while they worked on their battle techniques. Legionnaires often had to reserve a place and wait.

In the broad central hall, Level-1 Eclipse soldiers sat practicing their arts or worked through weapon drills. They might not get a room, but they could still use the accelerated time.

"Buildings change again at Level twelve," Cassian murmured. "I wonder what the Hall will gain."

The young soldiers stopped what they were doing and rose to greet him.

"Lord."

Several tried to look at him without making it obvious.

Cassian waved them back to their work.

"Carry on. Don’t mind me."

Veyra appeared beside him with a smile.

"Our Lord has found time in his busy schedule to inspect the Hall?"

Cassian gave her a light swat on the backside.

"Getting bold enough to tease me?"

Her face warmed.

"People can see us."

She had reason to look so pleased with herself. Last night’s private contest had ended in Cassian’s defeat again.

"Have you noticed anything different?" he asked.

Veyra paused. When she deliberately reached out with her senses, surprise lit her face.

"Time is flowing faster."

The news spread through the Hall. Cheers broke out.

"Twenty-five times!"

"Another month, and my Mistveil March will reach Proficient!"

"Mine too. Then let’s hunt together in the Level-forty area!"

Level-1 troops discussing a hunt among Level-40 monsters. Other Lords would scarcely have believed it.

Celia emerged from the training rooms, one hand resting on the sword in her arms. She had finally used the Veinheart Sword-Nurturing Art book Cassian had given her and begun practicing it.

"Twenty-five times," she said. "My sword can develop at twenty-five times the outside rate too."

Cassian greeted her, then turned back to Veyra.

"How is Grain God working?"

After considering it carefully, he had given Veyra the book obtained from his trade with Corin. She had consumed it to register Grain God in the Eclipse Hall’s training inheritance.

Recruitment over the past weeks had brought his Level-1 Eclipse Legionnaires to twenty thousand. The fees had been paid as they were recruited. They were separate from the seven hundred veterans now fighting at Level 60.

Veyra, the nine Praetorians, those seven hundred veterans, and the twenty thousand young Legionnaires could all benefit. That was far better value than keeping the skill for himself.

The Worlds Market sold Absorption Stones too. If he found some at a good price, he could try to obtain another book later.

Grain God had done more than he hoped.

"It’s an extraordinary skill," Veyra said, smiling again. "Moonrice and other foods that had stopped helping us are adding attributes again. Even I gained dozens of points in a day."

She hesitated.

"There is one thing. Everyone has become ravenous. We’re using several times as much produce."

Cassian’s smile froze.

"How did I forget that?"

More food for his people meant less to sell. Twenty-fivefold training would make them eat faster still. If he let it continue without increasing supply, even his new income would disappear.

"Carry on with your training. I’ve got work to do."

He left the Hall at once.

Using the Enclosure’s fiftyfold time, Cassian arranged another purchase through the Exchange: forty Legendary Field Plot Blueprints and the materials to build them.

He paid for the Blueprints, materials, and construction. His Settlers added the forty new plots to the Deep Layer’s planting section and put them into use.

That gave him eighty Legendary food plots, besides the separate plot beneath the Tea Tree. The ten Epic fields remained in production as well.

His Aether reserve was down to five hundred million again.

"That should be enough."

He still had the Heavenly Garrison Farming Art book. That, too, could greatly increase production.

It was an active skill. If he learned it himself, he would spend his days tied to the fields. His Heroes were all fighters or military commanders, hardly suited to becoming full-time farmers.

He would wait until Rank XII opened another Hero slot, then see what sort of Hero he could obtain.

Ten days passed. Cassian pushed resource extraction as hard as he could.

At last, he had everything required to advance to Rank XII.