Chapter 370: A Mythic Domain Writ

"Yes, my lord."

Celia closed her hand around her sword’s hilt. Excitement shone in her eyes.

Steel slid against the sheath.

The blade had emerged barely half an inch when Vargul felt every hair on his body stand up.

"What skill is that?"

Death was coming.

He no longer cared about the wounds One was cutting into his body. Golden light blazed from his totems. Sovereign Bindings snapped, one link after another, as he fought to break free.

But One and Lethria were only part of the force holding him. Seventeen Blood Emperors and hundreds of Legendary Nine-Stars were attacking alongside them. Whenever he tried to move, the Crystal Princess forced him back into place.

For Celia, he might as well have been a practice target.

White light filled the battlefield. For a moment, everyone seemed to lose their sight.

A brilliant edge swept from Celia’s sword and crossed hundreds of meters to reach the Beast Emperor.

Months had passed since her last release in the Thousandfold Labyrinth. Cassian had seen what Sword Nurturing could do and kept her Enclosure’s fiftyfold Time Acceleration funded. Celia had endured the long, solitary training without complaint.

More than ten years of subjective preparation went into this stroke.

The sword energy stretched only a few dozen meters. It held no less power than the attack that had swept across a hundred kilometers in the Labyrinth. This time, all of that force had been compressed into one narrow edge.

It passed through Vargul’s chest without slowing.

The Beast Emperor stopped struggling. He looked down at the thin line of blood across his body, despair gathering in his eyes.

Celia had chosen her angle carefully.

Beyond him, rows of Orc troops fell in two pieces. The sword carved a corridor of death dozens of meters wide and a kilometer long, then pierced dozens of Buildings before its light finally faded.

Silence spread over the battlefield.

Once again, every eye turned toward Celia.

Liora looked at her with open envy.

"She only releases it once every few months, and every time she does, it’s like this."

Aurelia nodded, her expression serious.

"My Skyblade Descent has reached Transcendence. It still can’t compare to that sword."

She brought her Thunder Sword down.

The Skyblade she had just formed plunged into the Orc ranks, killing more than a thousand troops.

The survivors barely seemed to notice. They were still staring at Celia.

"What was that skill?"

"An Eternal Hero? Is she an Eternal Hero?"

One of Vargul’s Heroes stood dazed, staring at the empty strip cut through the army. Several seconds passed before he remembered who had been standing at its beginning.

"Your Majesty!"

His cry drew every gaze back to Vargul.

The emperor turned his head with difficulty.

"Flee."

The word seemed to release the last thing holding him together. His upper body broke away at the chest and fell.

[Your Hero Celia Morcant has slain Vargul, the Blood King — Mythic.]

[Battle Essence +280,000,000 | Aether +9,000,000.]

[Domain Advancement Writ — Mythic ×1.]

[Grade-S Skill Book: Sovereign Beastheart ×1 | Mythic Troop Soul ×1.]

[Supreme Physique Book ×2 | Supreme Load Book ×1.]

A Mythic’s vitality could have kept him alive through even that terrible wound. But Vargul knew he had lost. His will to hold on failed, and the last of his life went with it.

Cassian stared at the report.

"Mythic... A Mythic Domain Advancement Writ!"

At that Quality, it was difficult to say whether a Domain Writ, Hero Sigil, or Troop Sigil was more valuable. Any one of them was a priceless treasure.

List this Writ on the Worlds Market for several trillion Aether, and it would probably vanish the instant it appeared.

Ten seconds passed before he managed to calm himself.

He put the treasures away without stopping to inspect their details. A Mythic advancement would produce a conspicuous sign. He had no desire to draw the attention of the entire Homeworld while he was still fighting here.

For now, the Writ could wait. It would not finish this battle for him.

"All forces. Clear the remaining Orcs!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Vargul had ordered his army to flee. Once the shock passed, not one of his Lords, Heroes, or troops obeyed.

Eyes reddened. Weapons rose.

"Defend the Court to the death!"

"Avenge His Majesty!"

"Don’t be afraid! That sword had to be a one-use skill or an item!"

Even Cassian felt a flicker of admiration for their resolve. It did not make him hesitate. In a war between their peoples, neither side could expect the other to hold back.

The blood-red aura beneath the million defenders faded with Vargul’s death. Their attributes fell sharply.

That was another reason Cassian had chosen the emperor as Celia’s target.

The armies collided again. The fighting became even fiercer than before.

A caster Maiden released Crystal Storm, only to be struck by more than a hundred Grounding War Chants. She dropped from the air. Before she could recover, over a dozen Legendary Orcs surrounded her and tore her body apart.

The Dawnwing corps shifted from defense to attack. Even with Heaven’s Battle Array protecting them, Angels continued to fall. Harriet directed the Marshals as they cast Resurrection, pulling fallen comrades back into the battle.

Courage could not make up the difference in strength.

One’s combined Physique stood at roughly three million under Dragon’s Blessing. Even Vargul’s Level-115 Legendary Nine-Star Heroes could last only a few exchanges against the Level-95 Crystal Princess.

Most of the other defenders could not even pierce her body.

Still, the Orcs fought so stubbornly that it took another half hour to finish them. Cassian had to spend a further hundred billion Aether renewing Dragon’s Blessing.

Bodies covered the battlefield when the fighting finally stopped.

He looked over his losses and winced.

"What an enemy. So much to like, and so much trouble."

Orcs were reckless. They were also very hard to discourage.

For all the protection offered by Resurrection and Life-Echo Brand, more than two hundred of his troops were still dead. Their accumulated growth represented a hundred and fifty billion Battle Essence.

The blessings alone had cost four hundred billion Aether.

The gains were greater.

The million troops left to defend the capital had been the Court’s elite. Almost ten thousand were Legendary.

Besides Vargul’s treasures, the fighting had yielded three more Golden Behemoth Troop Sigils. Darian’s Behemoth corps could soon pass a hundred.

The other Legendary Troop Sigils and Hero Sigils totaled more than five thousand. Legendary equipment, chests, and materials added up to over two hundred thousand items.

There was also one Legendary Lord Heart and twelve Epic ones.

"The War God Statue..."

Cassian came to Vargul’s Domain and stopped before the kilometer-high statue.