Chapter 358: A Forest to Hunt In

Caldrin had stopped just short of saying Cassian did not know his own limits.

"Nearly Rank XVII," Cassian corrected. "As for whether I can help..."

He glanced at Harriet.

Her three pairs of white wings spread with a sharp rush of air.

Sacred chains of order swept through the Dawnwing army again. This time, several times as much power gathered overhead, forming a blade thousands of meters long.

Harriet lifted one finger and traced a small cross in the air.

The enormous blade followed her gesture in two smooth, sweeping cuts. Wind and cloud churned across fifty kilometers of sky.

"A six-winged Throne! Heaven’s Battle Array!"

One of the Elders had recognized it immediately.

"The Array alone shouldn’t be capable of this much power..." Maereth studied the Dawnwings, expression grave. "Those four-winged Angels are far stronger than Level 85 troops should be."

They had badly underestimated the Human Lord.

His strength was enough to make them cautious, though not enough to frighten them. What concerned them more was the foundation behind it. If a Lord who had developed this quickly survived, there was no telling how far he might rise.

While the Elders were still silent, Sylvara opened a recording.

"There’s something else you should see."

Before leaving the Domain, she had recorded the Ancient Tree of Life from several angles. Its image now appeared before them, branches thick with healthy growth.

Several Elders crowded closer. Their solemn expressions vanished.

"Your Majesty, is that truly our sapling? It looks as though it has been growing for a hundred years! How could it have developed so quickly?"

Sylvara began describing the conditions in Cassian’s Domain and the care he gave the Tree. She spoke with growing enthusiasm, leaving out Folded Sanctuary and the other secrets she could not share.

The Elders exchanged thoughts for a brief moment.

Then their manner changed completely.

"Lord Cassian, you are most welcome in Pandora!"

"We must prepare a proper reception at once."

"This way, please. We can discuss the details once you’ve had a chance to rest."

Cassian looked from one eager face to another.

He had still underestimated what an Ancient Tree of Life meant to these people.

Beside him, Sylvara wore a proud smile. She knew how much more he had to offer than they had seen. She might not even have noticed how firmly the Elven Queen had begun to take his side.

——

Half an hour later, they traveled through a teleportation formation into Maereth’s Domain.

With the cards he held, Cassian was not worried about the Elves turning on him. Nor did they have any reason to do so now.

A grand welcoming ceremony awaited him in the Elder’s palace. Afterward, they settled down to a much friendlier discussion.

By the time it ended, Cassian and Pandora had reached a rental agreement.

[1. Cassian will lease one-third of Pandora Forest for five months, at a price of 100,000,000,000 Aether.]

[2. During the lease, Elven Lords will not compete with Homeworld Lords for monsters within the designated area. They will also provide suitable conditions for hunting.]

[3. Homeworld Lords must remain within the agreed boundaries, obey Pandora’s laws, and protect the forest’s environment. The agreement requires a deposit of 50,000,000,000 Aether.]

[4. Homeworld Lords and the Elves will form a temporary strategic partnership against the Bloodmaw Court, providing mutual assistance where their own safety permits.]

His first objective was complete.

Cassian smiled at Maereth.

"Now, could you tell me more about the Bloodmaw Court?"

He had chosen Pandora so Divine Province’s War Lords—and those of the other twelve Crown Provinces—could hunt without constantly fearing a native army. However powerful he became, there was a limit to the Kill Points one Lord could earn.

Sylvara’s connection to the forest had given him the confidence to promise his friends a safe area the night before.

But the hunting grounds were only his first objective.

The Court was the second.

First place in the Provincial Ranking would be welcome. He also intended to use this campaign to obtain a Founding Writ. If that meant revealing a little more of his strength, so be it.

Sylvara had told him about the Court before they came. Seated at the head of the gathering, she now listened closely as well. She had been away for more than half a year and knew little of the latest fighting.

The Elders’ smiles faded.

"Three months ago, the Bloodmaw Court agreed to a truce with the Frostfoot tribes of the northern snowfields. Since then, its attacks on Pandora have become much heavier."

"Even with the forest to slow them, we’ve lost more than a hundred million square kilometers in those three months."

"The brutes have learned. Every time they take an area, they send workers in to cut down the trees. They keep clearing the land, leaving us less and less room to live."

Maereth’s next words made Sylvara draw a sharp breath.

"There are also reports that Vargul, the Blood King, recently advanced to Beast Emperor."

Their old enemy had reached that stage?

Pandora Forest covered only ten billion square kilometers. At this rate, it could all be cut down within a few decades.

Cassian’s eyes, however, brightened.

According to the maps pieced together by the Homeworld’s major powers, hundreds of native Nations bordered their Realm. Even among so many, Mythic fighters were exceptionally rare.

And the target he had chosen had just produced a Mythic Beast Emperor.

His friend communication chimed.

Nessa.

He accepted the call.

"Did you run into trouble?"

Darian, Nessa, and Elara appeared in the image. They had gone out together, sharing the travel costs and the danger.

"Bad luck," Darian said gloomily. "We ran into a native Bloodkin Lord with a Rank-XX Domain. We couldn’t beat him. Had to retreat to the Homeworld. All that Aether on Gates, wasted."

Cassian laughed.

"You’re still Rank XVI. Of course you couldn’t beat him."

Nessa leaned into view.

"How are things on your side, Cassian?"

He thought for a moment, then opened the Pandora map he had just been authorized to use.

"Go to coordinates 445218, 34879. The safe hunting area around that point spans sixty thousand kilometers. You can hunt there for now."

Once the agreement had been reached, Maereth had used Governor authority to relocate the Elven Domains within that area.

The three faces in the call turned toward one another.

If anyone else had made such a claim, they would have thought the speaker mad. But this was Cassian.

Could there really be that much land in the Outer Realms without native Lords occupying it?

Nessa made up her mind first.

"If Cassian says we can go, we can go. I’m going hunting."

"Good."

He nodded, then opened the Homeworld Channel and posted the coordinates there as well.

[Cassian Vale: Each of the other twelve Crown Provinces may select fifty thousand Lords to hunt within this area. Lords of Divine Province may enter freely.]

The Channel erupted.

He was Humanity’s Paragon. Everyone accepted that he was powerful.

But securing a hunting area spanning sixty thousand kilometers in less than a single day?

That had to be a lie.