Chapter 407: Killing an Ascendant

Twelve Blood Emperors flew out of the clouds.

Katrienne and eleven other women looked down upon the trapped fleet, each strikingly beautiful, each radiating unmistakable Mythic power.

"A Mythic squad..."

The Inner Disciple’s eyes widened in horror.

"What kind of enemy have we made?"

He tried desperately to send a warning. The seal swallowed every attempt.

Fear and disbelief remained on his face as the last of his life gave out.

Katrienne smiled elegantly. A red gleam passed through her eyes.

The sphere of blood burst apart, stretching into countless threads. They crossed and joined into a vast net around the Legendary ship below.

She extended one pale hand.

"Blood Touch."

Her fingers closed.

The net contracted. Ship, Lords, Heroes, and troops seemed to freeze together for an instant.

Then they came apart.

Blood and fragments of metal rained toward the sea. Nothing larger than a fist remained.

A Blood Emperor was nowhere near as powerful as One in her merged form. It was still a true Mythic troop. Destroying a Legendary ship posed little difficulty.

The other Lords reacted frantically to the twelve Emperors. They drove their engines harder. Some abandoned their ships and tried to flee on their own.

None of it helped.

A little over ten minutes later, clear sky stretched above the sea. From a distance, it looked as though nothing had happened there at all.

The entire trapped fleet had vanished without a survivor. No warning had escaped.

Lethria’s enormous body emerged from phased space.

"We should hurry. Our lord is truly angry this time."

Katrienne’s smile faded into a serious nod.

"Agreed."

——

One cut a Legendary ship in two. Fire swallowed both halves.

Cassian watched the Battle Essence pouring in and grinned.

"Now that is a harvest."

One Level-95 Epic troop yielded nearly a million Battle Essence. A hundred thousand of them would mean roughly a hundred billion.

In a few hours of fighting, he had already gained more than seven hundred billion—about two months of his usual income.

And that was before counting the piles of equipment, Hero Tokens, and Troop Sigils.

"Risk and reward. No wonder people keep becoming Bloody Lords, even when everyone wants them dead."

With the Skyreaver’s speed, he had soon caught Evander’s main fleet: several hundred Legendary ships gathered around the flagship.

Cassian and the hundred powerful Warbound Lords accompanying him could not simply charge into that force and crush it. Even with One, a direct clash would at best leave both sides badly hurt.

That was why he had not gathered every corps here for a final assault.

Instead, he used the Skyreaver’s speed to stay on the fleet’s heels. His fighters struck, destroyed a ship, then withdrew before the enemy could bring its strength to bear.

Evander could do little about it.

"Cassian! Must you make this a war to the death?"

Another Legendary vessel burned behind him. For the first time, real regret began to trouble him.

The Covenant knew how to mass-produce these ships. That did not make them cheap. Every one represented an enormous investment.

If he had spoken calmly and negotiated earlier, they would never have lost this much.

He still had no idea what was happening to the smaller fleets scattered across the sea.

Cassian’s anger, meanwhile, had faded considerably. The rewards were doing wonders for his mood.

"My terms were quite sincere, Lord Ardent. Would you care to reconsider them?"

If he could force Evander to pay a ransom as well, he would have both the Battle Essence and the Aether. A fine result all around.

Evander gritted his teeth.

"Ascendants! Guard the front, rear, left, right, above, and below. Drive off their attacks. Protect the fleet!"

He had no choice but to send the six Mythics away from the flagship. Only they could hold One back even briefly.

"A few more hours at this speed and we’ll reach the nearest Racial Teleportation Array. I don’t believe he’ll dare follow us into Fivefold Heaven!"

The six Ascendants answered together.

"Yes, my lord."

Cassian’s eyes brightened as they separated.

Loot drops in battles between Lords were usually poor. His Supreme Aether Vein improved his chances considerably, however. Killing one Mythic Ascendant could bring rewards worth far more than several Legendary ships.

Perhaps even another Mythic Troop Soul.

"Get ready," he said quietly. "We’re going to kill a Mythic."

He began laying out the plan. Dain and the others listened with growing excitement.

Seraphine rubbed her hands together.

"If we bring down a Mythic, I’m going to boast about it for a year."

With the Ascendants guarding the fleet, One and Lysette’s next few attacks were driven back. Once, Lysette came dangerously close to being caught and killed.

The pattern continued for two hours.

At last, Evander relaxed enough to smile.

"It’s a long journey, Lord Cassian. You really needn’t escort us any farther."

The mockery was unmistakable.

Then One and Lysette attacked from the fleet’s left flank.

Lysette moved especially fast, crossing ten kilometers in a few seconds. The Wood Ascendant guarding that side saw his chance.

"Looking for death!"

Wood Will strengthened the power pouring from his hands. Thousands of green vines shot across the sky, sealing every direction around her.

Wood excelled at healing and control. This was exactly the kind of opportunity he had been waiting for.

Evander was delighted.

"Everyone, attack! Kill that physical Hero!"

He could scarcely keep the excitement from his voice.

"She has already used Life-Echo Brand. If she dies this time, she stays dead!"

The Covenant’s Lords rallied at the words. They had been losing ever since the battle began. Killing one of Cassian’s strongest Heroes would finally give them something to celebrate—and make him feel a loss of his own.

Every eye turned toward Lysette.

Even the five Ascendants guarding the other directions were watching her.

No one noticed that the Skyreaver had drawn within twenty kilometers of the fleet’s right flank.

"Now!"

A hundred thousand premium-grade Aether Crystals burned in the ship’s engines, consumed from the fuel reserve bought and loaded before the battle.

The Skyreaver was only a hundred meters long. The flame erupting from its stern stretched for kilometers.

In two seconds, it crossed twenty kilometers of sky.

Sylvara released the Thorn Overgrowth she had already prepared. The Solar Ascendant guarding the right flank vanished beneath a mass of thorns.

The rest unleashed their strongest attacks.

"Heartpiercing Touch!"

"Sword of Space!"

"Blossom Tide!"

"Deepfrost Field!"

"Moonlit Dominion!"

"Iron Hooves, Frozen River!"

Dain’s cry followed the others.

"Spectral Halberd!"

Thousands of attacks converged, including skills at Transcendence. An entire kilometer of sky filled with killing power.

The Solar Ascendant reacted at once.

Sunfire erupted from his body. Against Wood, its elemental advantage was clear. The thorns binding him burned away inch by inch.

But the attacks had already closed around him.

And among them were blades that could not be evaded.

"No—"

The Eclipse corps struck with more than a thousand Swords of Space, cutting his body apart before he could finish the word.

The other attacks engulfed three Legendary ships within that kilometer of sky.

The instant the strike landed, the Skyreaver’s engines flared again. Kilometers of flame streamed behind it as it shot away.

The Covenant’s Lords stared at the space where their Ascendant had been.

Cassian could barely contain his delight.

He had already opened the battle report.