Chapter 398: Kill, Loot, and Tear It Down

"Boss, the Covenant has started taking administrator authority!"

Lyra stood beside Cassian. As the Temple’s Second Administrator, she had sensed the change as well.

"Are we really giving it up?"

She had spent days operating the Wonder, but her strength as a Warbound Lord had carried her through. She still looked alert.

"No hurry." Cassian smiled. "One thing at a time. We finish the Black Banner first."

He pointed to the reclining chair opposite his own.

"Sit down. You’ve been working hard for days. Have a rest."

Lyra looked at the battlefield below. Fire raged across it. Blood sprayed as armies collided.

Then she looked back at Cassian, resting peacefully on his flying ship with beautiful women at his side.

She could not quite settle into the contrast.

"I’ll pass. I’d rather go down and fight."

Drawing a finely made Spiritlink Sword, she jumped from the ship, a thousand meters above the ground.

Cassian let her go. He turned to Rhea.

"Keep the guard alert. There’s even more slaughter energy on that battlefield now than there was before."

Withdrawing the Eclipse corps to protect him had been a sensible precaution. Who knew whether the Slaughter Lord might try to return?

As it turned out, the god never descended again before the Black Banner army broke. Perhaps no divine servant remained to summon him. Perhaps he had lost too much face to reappear. Whatever the reason, his absence saved Cassian a great deal of trouble.

For now, the enemy still fought on.

As time passed, however, its Lords began to notice something wrong.

"Weren’t the reinforcements supposed to arrive within an hour? It’s been more than two!"

A few quick-thinking Lords checked what was happening at the Five Elements Temple.

The reports left them cold.

"There’s a flying fleet around the Temple..."

"Around the Temple? Aren’t they here to help us? What are they doing there?"

Gavin Roswell could no longer pretend not to hear.

"One thing at a time," he said after clearing his throat. "The Temple is Cassian’s greatest weapon. Naturally, it must be secured first."

He continued before anyone could object.

"His Mythic Dragon has fallen. Cassian is badly injured. And now the Temple can’t cast its spells. The battle is turning in our favor! Our Black Banner friends must hold on!"

The Black Banner Lords had no answer to that.

Their ten-billion-strong army was already down to less than half. At this rate, there would be nothing left of it in another day.

More and more of them began thinking about retreat.

Cassian checked the Temple’s capture progress.

[Capture Progress: 0.12%]

Judging by the pace, the Covenant would need at least three days to take full administrator authority.

If he posted that display in the Homeworld Channel, the enemy army would break immediately.

He considered it, then changed his mind.

Several billion troops, scattered in every direction. Hunting them all down could waste a month.

Cassian drew a deep breath. His voice thundered across the battlefield.

"Lords of Divine Nation! We must destroy the Black Banner army within half a day!"

He had revealed very little.

The deadline was enough.

Even Darian’s expression tightened. Across Divine Nation’s army, Lords heard the urgency in their Sovereign’s voice and renewed their attacks.

The Black Banner heard something very different.

"Did you hear him? Half a day! Hold for half a day, and victory is ours!"

Half a day passed.

Cassian’s voice rang out again.

"We’re running out of time! Finish this battle within four hours!"

Some of the enemy Lords had begun to feel uneasy. A few abandoned their Domains and quietly flew away from the battlefield.

Cassian sensed them leaving. He did not pursue.

There was no reason to alarm the rest. The spatially sealed area was tens of thousands of kilometers across. Those few fugitives were not going to escape it so easily.

Four more hours passed.

Cassian’s expression became grave.

"If we cannot end this battle within two hours, Divine Nation faces destruction!"

By now, even the slowest listeners understood.

Darian muttered a curse.

"Cassian, you lying bastard. I’m not believing another word."

Nessa was laughing so hard she could barely stand straight.

"He fooled us too! He even fooled his own side!"

The Black Banner Lords were furious.

"That bastard! He’s been playing us the whole time!"

"Roswell! Get out here! Our army is almost gone! How much longer does the Covenant need?"

"Run! Split up and run!"

Gavin had already fallen silent.

In truth, he had no idea how long seizing the Temple would take. He knew only that the spatial seal prevented any of the Black Banner’s Domains from relocating off Breakwater Isle. Those Lords were finished anyway. Better to keep them fighting and wear down Divine Province’s strength.

Then one of the few surviving Black Banner War Marshals cried out in rage.

"Keir Danton took the Western Beacon Lords and left long ago! He left their troops here to cover their escape! That bastard!"

Danton was one of the old-sector War Marshals the Western Beacon had sent as support.

There was no room left for doubt.

The Black Banner army collapsed.

Fewer than a billion troops remained. They scattered in every direction as their Lords called them back to protect their own flight.

"Has my acting gotten worse?" Cassian murmured.

Then he gave his orders.

"Take the Lords alive whenever possible. Whoever captures one gets forty percent of the ransom."

He looked across the field of enemy Domains.

"As for their territories, take whatever you need."

In the eyes of Divine Nation’s Lords, every enemy Lord had just become a glittering pile of Aether.

Past experience suggested an average ransom of about a million. A forty-percent share meant four hundred thousand Aether for a single captive.

"Weapons down! Surrender and you’ll live!"

"You in that Domain! I’ll count to three. Lower your shield. If we have to break it, there’ll be no mercy!"

Nessa’s voice rose above the shouting.

"Sisters, don’t hold back! Kill them, loot them, tear it all down!"

The rout had come too quickly for many of the Black Banner Lords. Before they could flee, enemy troops had surrounded their Domains.

Even the powerful shields overhead no longer made them feel safe.

One Lord looked at the forces gathering outside and lowered his defenses with a miserable expression.

"I wanted to leave Sector 666! I told them I wanted to leave! They made me come here!"

Another captive seemed almost cheerful by comparison.

"First time?" he asked. "This is my second. I paid one point two million Aether after the battle at Riftward Town."

Not everyone in Divine Nation was interested in ransom money. Some of the wealthier Lords devoted themselves to demolishing Buildings, and soon found it difficult to stop.

Construction resources could not be traded. Every enemy Building they destroyed yielded a share of construction resources. Breaking a Lord’s Hall could even yield a Lord’s Heart.

After this war, many of Divine Nation’s Lords would be able to reach Rank XIX in short order. Their strength would rise again.

Darian’s voice reached Cassian.

"The Black Banner army has broken. Should we go take the Five Elements Temple back?"

Cassian checked the capture progress.

"No hurry. Clear out the remaining enemy forces first."

"No hurry?" Darian sounded puzzled. "How much longer can the Temple hold?"

"Two days. Easily."

Darian was speechless.