Chapter 341: Half a Million Physique

"The rewards really started climbing at stage twenty-one. Twenty-five paid five hundred million. One more stage, and it doubles."

Cassian checked what the Goldkin City had earned him.

"Sixty-three million points from the kills. Against Rank-XIX Domains, I could clear perhaps ten cities in a day."

That would still bring in less than the checkpoint award.

Before stage twenty-five, travel had been the main limit on his hunting. Now the battles themselves took most of the time.

"I have five point six billion points. That’s two hundred and eighty billion Battle Essence."

Add the fifty-four billion Battle Essence earned over the past dozen or so days, and he had ample means to strengthen his army again.

He made the exchange.

All 5.6 billion Labyrinth Points vanished. Two hundred and eighty billion Battle Essence took their place.

Cassian bought the Legendary Troop Souls he needed and called forward the Faerie Dragons and Crystal Maidens whose star growth remained unfinished.

Golden Souls sank into their bodies. He paid each advance as rings of light rose through the passage, one after another. Newly gained power rolled outward before its owners could bring it fully under control.

The thirteen Two-Star Faerie Dragons reached Nine-Star. Suzette and the other three Nine-Stars welcomed them with delighted cries. Lethria remained above them at Mythic.

The remaining eight Crystal Maidens completed their advances as well. All thirty-two were now Legendary Nine-Stars.

Limited supplies of Maiden Embryos made that corps harder to expand. Faerie Dragons offered greater possibilities once he rebuilt their Nest.

Three hundred and sixty more. That would be his next recruitment target after the Nest was ready. The hatchlings could stay in the Deep Layer, small enough to flutter about like moths. He would pay for their Levels and star growth when he needed them.

For now, he took out ten Kinetic Mech Sigils.

"Recruit."

He paid the recruitment cost. A hundred and twenty Mechs filed out through the gates of light, their synthesized voices sounding together.

"Greetings, Lord."

Cassian nodded and opened their growth panels.

"Level eighty-five. Nine-Star."

Battle Essence poured into them. The necessary Troop Souls vanished, and growth light flashed across row after row of armored machines.

When it faded, he had a hundred and twenty more Legendary Nine-Star Kinetic Mechs. Together with the original thirty-six, that brought the force to a hundred and fifty-six.

The cost was considerable. Mechs were much like Peacebringers in one respect: they were built to defeat powerful opponents, not earn their upkeep through ordinary hunting. They consumed Battle Essence and did little to produce it.

Most Lords could not support such a force even if the Sigils fell into their laps.

Cassian’s situation was different. If these Mechs let him clear more Rank-XIX Domains, or carry him through another checkpoint, they would earn back everything he had spent.

Rhea looked over the expanded force.

"Even if dozens of Mythics came at us now, we could overwhelm them."

Sylvara was more deeply shaken. She had over a century’s experience as a Lord. Being native to the Realm did not make her any less aware of what it meant for someone to gather this much strength in his first year.

Even if Cassian never found another extraordinary opportunity, steady growth from here could make him a power capable of holding an entire Realm in check.

"That’s the benefit of getting ahead," Cassian said with a smile. "Winning makes the next win easier."

He would not fear even dozens of descended War Marshals now. It would take something like Western Beacon or the Black Banner abandoning its war-sector interests and bringing down its entire force to make him worry.

Neither nation would do that. Two World Wonders had appeared in the newcomer sector, but even they were worth far less than a war sector built up over decades.

The military reports he had received before entering the contest had already shown the cost of those descents. With Western Beacon and Black Banner War Marshals leaving Sector 632, the balance had shifted. Marshal Helena Grey had won two battles. Without the Jade Court obstructing her, the military would already have begun reclaiming territory ceded to the western nations.

Lethria was the happiest of all.

She remembered the eighteen of them ruling their little corner of Swordheart. They had enjoyed those days, but even she had only been a Legendary Four-Star.

Now every one of her seventeen companions had reached Nine-Star. She herself was Mythic.

Following Cassian had changed everything. If they kept pace with him, their people would only grow stronger and more numerous.

Resolve filled her sapphire eyes.

Cassian gave his next order.

"Everyone, back to the Domain. Recover your Aether."

The victory had been comfortable, but his Heroes and troops had spent most of their reserves. Using Life Water to refill an entire army after every battle would ruin even him.

Half an hour later, his forces were ready again.

Cassian led them to the second Domain in the twenty-sixth stage: a Rank-XIX Orc City.

The Orcs had no intention of waiting behind their walls.

Roars shook the air. Twelve Golden Behemoths leaped hundreds of meters high, hurling themselves toward his army.

With his strength increased, Cassian had chosen a more demanding target. Extreme troops had finally begun appearing in the twenty-sixth stage.

[Golden Behemoth — Blood Boil active]

[Race: Beastfolk | Level: 100 | Quality: Legendary, One-Star]

[Combat Rating: 220,000 stars]

[Physique: 370,000 (+170,000) | Aether: 110,000 | Spirit: 100,000 | Load: 130,000]

[Skills: ???]

A Level-100 physical Extreme troop, strengthened by both a Lord and a Hero. Its Physique already stood far above the Divine Dragon’s. Blood Boil added roughly another half, pushing the total beyond five hundred thousand.

Beside these monsters, the Gilded Overlords looked almost harmless. Their regeneration had been their only truly frightening advantage.

Any one of these Behemoths could have destroyed the Domain of another Divine Province Lord. Apart from Cassian, only Darian could hope to stop one.

If those twelve landed among his army, even Cassian would suffer heavy losses. The physical Crystal Maidens could not withstand that kind of impact.

The Behemoths never reached their intended landing points.

Gravity rounds struck them as they rose. A hundred and fifty-six Mechs gave each target thirteen attackers.

With furious roars, the great beasts crashed down outside the city walls. Their bodies drove craters dozens of meters deep into the ground.

Thirteen gravity rounds could not immobilize a creature with more than half a million Physique. The Behemoths sprang out again, but their speed had fallen sharply. Every step came down with crushing weight.

Cassian was delighted.

"The usual method. Focus on one. Keep the other eleven chasing."

"Yes, Lord!"

"Void Entanglement!"

"Crystal Ray!"

"Thorn Overgrowth!"

Lethria and Sylvara led the Nine-Star Faerie Dragons and caster Maidens in a concentrated barrage of binding magic. Chains, rays, and thorns wrapped one Golden Behemoth from head to foot.

Even then, it struggled. More than five hundred thousand Physique was a terrifying thing. It could still move, but every small motion became a labor.

The physical Maidens formed crystal lances dozens of meters long. They surrounded the beast and drove them in, drawing bellows of pain.

Celia closed with Rhea and the other Praetorians. Their blades opened bloody wounds around its vital points.

Above the fighting, Aurelia’s Skyblade Descent was taking shape.

A minute later, the blade was complete. Only ten meters long, it held its power in an edge so tightly condensed that everyone nearby could feel its terrible pressure.

At Transcendence, Aurelia could control the blade’s length and thickness freely. It could stretch for a kilometer or compress to these ten meters.

Against a single target, this was its strongest form.