Chapter 201: Beyond Perfection

Cassian opened his Lord profile at once.

Below Legend, he found a new entry.

[War Intent: 72]

There was no description. He considered it for a moment, then thought of the most likely explanation.

"The Governorship contest. It must be something the system added for that."

A few days earlier than he had expected, too.

He searched his combat log for War Intent. The first entry had appeared eight hours ago.

"Seventy-two in eight hours. The Legionnaires take turns resting, so the hunting should continue around the clock. At that rate, they’d earn 3,240 over fifteen days. I wonder whether that’s enough."

He needed to finish his business in Swordheart and get back to Riftward.

A Governor controlled the Provincial Capital map. Its Domain-site bonuses could stack with the benefits of Regional and Marches offices. Control of the Capital made a Lord a true frontier power. The leaders of Peace and Haven had only dared openly challenge the Jade Court after becoming Governors.

Cassian wanted it.

He reviewed his strength.

The Dawnwings, Eclipse troops, Stormlance, Crystal Maidens, and Faerie Dragons had all reached Level 65. Now he spent heavily to push his best fighters further.

He checked the Fountain’s accumulated Life Essence and withdrew nine portions. Each of the nine Praetorians received one. Their bodies absorbed the Essence, and golden light marked the change from Epic to Legendary.

Cassian bought the Legendary Troop Souls he needed through the Exchange, then used them and paid the Battle Essence for the advances. All nine Praetorians reached Nine-Star, along with three Dawnwing Vanguards, three of the original Physique-oriented Crystal Maidens, and three of the Two-Star Faerie Dragons.

The twelve Stormlance reached Four-Star. Their uneven attribute distribution prevented him from taking them further for now.

He had spent a fortune. Looking at the result, he did not regret it.

Cassian’s own strength had risen just as sharply.

He paid for his remaining Levels, advancing from 45 to 65. Between his own growth and the troops’ star advances, he had used the last of his Battle Essence reserve.

The days of training had paid off too. He had used the Life Essence he drew from the Fountain to support his body through repeated training and recovery, while the Enclosure gave him fifty times as much time to practice. Warbody had finally broken through again.

[Warbody Foundation II → Warbody Foundation III]

[Stage Breakthrough: Physique +2,700 | Spirit +900]

He opened his current profile.

[Cassian Vale]

[Level: 65 | Aptitude: A]

[Physique: 18,058 | Aether: 15,170 | Spirit: 12,912 | Load: 7,852]

[Warbody: Foundation III]

[Skills: Origin Divine Fist — Practiced / Cloudstride — Beginner / Disarming Toast — Beginner]

[Equipment: Seven-Star Set]

[Combat Rating: 13,489 stars]

More than eighteen thousand Physique, before he even activated his Battle Name.

Origin Divine Fist had reached Practiced as well. With that body driving it, the next punch would be something to see.

Satisfied that he had overlooked nothing, Cassian bought another Advanced Relocation Writ through the Exchange. He paid, took it out, and activated it.

"Relocate. Coordinates thirteen, twelve."

Golden light enclosed the Domain and shot into the sky.

When it faded, they stood on a gravel plain more than ten thousand kilometers away. An enormous city rose ten kilometers in the distance.

The scene looked almost exactly like the Swordheart instance.

"So Julian chose a City at Rank XIII, rather than a Fortress..."

A rolling crash came from the far side of the city.

Seven reported at once.

"Lord, there’s a battle nearby. One side is the city guard. The other... they seem to be outsiders, like us."

Outsiders?

The Swordheart Residency Writ was limited to Lords at Rank XII or below. Had another newcomer from Sector 666 found a way in?

"Let’s take a look."

As a resident, Cassian should have seen a Regional notice when another Lord arrived after him. He had assumed Swordheart was a dead Region and stopped paying attention to its Channel.

Liora cast Invisibility over the party. Clouds gathered beneath Cassian’s feet, carrying him into the air. Soon, they were looking down on the fighting beyond the city.

Several hundred troops were locked in combat with the guards. Their Lord was a young man in silver armor.

Most of his troops were familiar Epic lines. He even had a contingent of Legendary Doom Knights. Undead troops, and better value for their cost than the human Crownward Knights.

Yet the strongest fighter below was the Lord himself.

He threw a seemingly light punch. A Level-86 Elite Swordsman’s whole body shook, then collapsed into a boneless heap. It did not move again.

"Vibration? Is he an Innerforce Adept?"

Cassian drew a slow breath. A Warbound Lord, with control of his strength that might rival the Stormlance.

Beside him, Seraphine looked like a child playing at martial arts.

Did the Homeworld have another genius like this? Or had he come from somewhere else?

Cassian started a recording. Once he returned to Riftward, he could ask House Frost to look into the young man’s background.

A figure suddenly flashed across half the city, swift as a blade leaving its sheath. It went straight for the stranger.

"A Level-84 Sword Spirit," Celia said softly. "It has Sword Intent."

Cassian nodded.

Sword Spirits were Epic troops. At Level 84, with Sword Intent behind its attacks, one might kill an opponent rated below ten thousand stars in a single blow.

He made no move to help. He did not know this Lord, and the young man looked far too calm to have run out of answers.

The stranger drew a breath and settled into a simple opening stance.

The air thundered.

A bright moon rose behind him. Beneath it, mountains and rivers spread across the sky.

Cassian stared.

"Moonlit Dominion. House Valcrest?"

He knew that art well from Seraphine. When she used it, the vision appeared within her fist. This man’s mountains and rivers looked almost solid. The difference was enormous.

The Sword Spirit released a hundred-meter wave of sword energy, twisting the air along its path.

It struck the stranger’s fist projection with a tremendous crash.

For a moment, they held against each other. Then the sword energy shattered. The enormous fist drove through it and struck the Sword Spirit squarely.

The powerful city guard burst into a cloud of blood.

Cassian sent the recording to Veyra at the Domain and opened a video call.

"Transcendence?" she said, studying it.

Cassian looked sharply at her image.

"You mean that skill has reached Transcendence?"

"It should have. One of my old arts once reached that stage. I recognize the trace of something beyond Perfection."

Cassian’s curiosity sharpened.

Even someone with Aptitude A, the equivalent of Legendary potential, might need centuries to bring an Epic skill to Transcendence.

Did this young man have the almost unheard-of Aptitude S? Had he stumbled upon some extraordinary opportunity? Or was he an old monster who had lived for centuries, starting over in a new Sector to build a perfect foundation?

Below, the stranger took a deep breath and steadied his slightly ragged breathing. Then he looked toward Cassian’s party.

"You’ve been watching for some time, friend. Why not come out and meet me?"