Chapter 339: Easy Prey

Void Insects were among the most aggressive races in the Realm. Killing and plunder filled their lives, leaving no room for fear or mercy. They were fiercer even than the Undead.

The Lords on the other side had detected Cassian’s army too. Seven reported that their swarm was forming up.

Cassian sounded relaxed, but he had no intention of being careless. He put the Faerie Dragons and Crystal Maidens at the front. Celia, Liora, Sylvara, and the Stormlance guarded him in the center, while Liora layered more than a hundred protective spells around him.

Soon, the swarm came into view.

[You are affected by Labyrinth Lock. You cannot leave the Thousandfold Labyrinth for 30 minutes.]

Cassian paused at the notice, then smiled.

"That saves me five million points."

He closed the exchange list.

Labyrinth Lock was an item sold exclusively for use in the contest. It stopped an enemy from leaving at a critical moment, but the restriction worked both ways. The user was trapped for the same half hour.

Cassian had been about to buy one himself. How thoughtful of his opponents to spare him the cost.

Razorbeasts filled the passage ahead, stretching across its entire width. Each was several meters long, armored in sharp chitin, with four long bone spines rising from its back. The spines could turn freely to strike in any direction.

Every part of the creature was made for war.

Razorbeasts were only Elite, but few troops offered better value. They remained a mainstay of Void Insect armies even late in a Lord’s development. Some Lords of other races built Hatcheries specifically to recruit them.

Behind them waited dense ranks of Spine-serpents, with smaller numbers of Fire Beetles and Armored Warriors. Farther back, Cassian spotted Legendary Riftwings, Siege Mammoths, and Plasma Bugs.

"Several Lords working together, judging by those numbers." He let out a small breath. "Only about a hundred Legendary troops, though. That’s manageable."

Several hundred Plasma Bugs firing together in a passage this confined would have been troublesome even for him.

His opponents had nothing to say.

Hundreds of thousands of Razorbeasts charged, their feet setting the ground rumbling. Acid flew from the Spine-serpents behind them. More than a dozen streams of plasma, burning at a million degrees, shot toward Cassian’s position.

"Finish them quickly."

Chains of Void Entanglement filled the passage.

"Phantasmal Orb!"

The Faerie Dragons became streaks of light. Wherever they passed, spatial force tore whole swaths of Razorbeasts apart. Crystal Storm swept through the ranks as the caster Maidens joined in.

Within a few exchanges, blood and torn flesh filled the corridor.

A Legendary Nine-Star Maiden leaped into the air. Her arm stretched into a crystal blade dozens of meters long and cut a huge Riftwing in two.

[Your troop Crystal Maiden has slain a Riftwing — Legendary.]

[Battle Essence +8,500,000 | Troop Sigil: Riftwing — Legendary ×1.]

A fine start.

The battle proved easier than Cassian had expected. The difference in numbers was immense. The difference in individual strength was greater still.

Ten minutes later, Crystal One cut the head from the last Void Insect Lord.

It was over.

Cassian walked through the slime coating the passage. Plasma had melted broad hollows into the ground around him.

"Void Insects are strong," he said. "They just had the misfortune to meet me."

Darian, Elara, and a few of the others might have fought an army like this. For most Lords, escaping the Labyrinth alive would have been the best possible result.

He raised a hand. Seven or eight Troop Sigils appeared above his palm, every one Legendary.

With Riftward’s Fortune above six thousand, his drops were becoming quite remarkable.

Beyond the items and Battle Essence, the Insect Lords had brought him sixteen million Labyrinth Points.

"Several times the points for killing checkpoint guards, and no city defenses to break through. No wonder they came through the portal to try their luck."

The encounter had taken little time. Cassian returned to clearing Domains.

He did not know that his opponents had taken pictures and recordings before they died.

Reports of a Faerie Dragon force fighting alongside Crystal Maidens were already spreading through the Void Insect Champions Channel. No one knew what race commanded those two terrifying forces. Cassian had never shown his face.

——

As the checkpoint defenders grew stronger, Cassian cleared fewer Domains in each stage.

Seventy-four in the sixteenth. Sixty-four in the seventeenth. The number kept falling as he advanced.

A week later, he cleared the twenty-fifth checkpoint without difficulty. He had encountered no other invading Lords along the way.

Then Seven reported what waited ahead.

"Rank XIX Domains in the twenty-sixth stage?"

Cassian drew a breath.

That meant Level-100 Heroes and troops. These were no wild monsters, either. Lord Talents, Hero Command, even Building auras could strengthen them. Their attributes might be twice those of wild creatures at the same Level.

After a moment’s thought, he gave the order.

"Spend one million points. Relocate the Domain to this checkpoint."

Golden light filled the ruins. With a deep rumble, Forgotten Shrine descended onto the ground where the twenty-fifth checkpoint had stood.

"Rhea. Aurelia. Clear as many of the other twenty-fifth-stage Domains as you can. Bring your forces back here in twenty hours. We’ll combine the army for the next checkpoint."

"Yes, Lord."

That would leave four hours to take a single Rank-XIX Domain. It should be enough.

——

A little earlier, in the Human Hall, many of the weaker Champions had already finished their attempts. Some had withdrawn to train. Others gathered in small groups to drink and talk.

"I lost a lot of troops, but the Shatterstar Reach Lord leading our team got us through fifteen stages. Eight point eight million from checkpoint rewards alone!"

"Eight point eight million? That’s almost a hundred million Aether if you exchange it!"

"Have you heard about Lady Ravelle? They say she outperformed the Veilmist Reach Lords in her team. She became their main fighter and took them through seventeen stages."

Piers smiled.

"Lady Ravelle was born with princely Bloodkin blood, the equivalent of A-grade Aptitude. With her Warbound Talent, I doubt she’s weaker than an ordinary Legendary Nine-Star Hero."

Ever since Odette had given him the Windbreak Scroll, he had pursued her with exhausting enthusiasm. She found the attention thoroughly irritating.

Gavin was looking toward Divine Province’s part of the Hall. His expression was darker.

"Judging by how long they’ve been inside, those dozen or so Divine Province Lords must have cleared at least eighteen stages. Cassian will be farther ahead. What worries me is him taking first among the Human Champions again. He might even earn Humanity’s Paragon."

"That’s not a very funny joke." Piers chuckled. "We don’t even know if Humanity will reach the top hundred. And if we do, first among Humans will belong to one of the twelve great Realms’ commanders. They have Mythic artifacts and troops of their own. I’ve heard they even have guardians clearing the way for them."

His smile widened.

"By the time we return, Divine Province may belong to someone else. Cassian could come home to nothing."

The thought cheered more than a dozen Western Beacon Lords, Gavin included.

"Perhaps I’m worrying too much."

Gavin lifted his glass.

"To a brighter future."

"To a brighter future!"

Finishing an attempt did not let a Lord return to the Homeworld. Until Race Ascendancy ended, everyone who left the Labyrinth had to wait in the Hall.

How long they waited would depend on the last Lord still clearing checkpoints.

A flash of light suddenly appeared.

Darian emerged from the Labyrinth, cursing.

"Damn it! Stage twenty-three—I was so close!"