Chapter 410: A Thousand Suns

The Troop Soul was the easier choice.

His Crystal Princesses had already proved their worth several times over. Cassian had no doubts about investing further in that line.

"Seven, come here."

He gave her the Mythic Troop Soul and watched her use it. Crystal light spread over her body as she advanced. Nine was no longer his only Crystal Princess suited to spellcasting.

The test that followed pleased him even more. When Seven used Crystal Convergence to merge with the others, her Spirit surpassed Lethria’s. In that form, she belonged among the very strongest fighters under his command.

Sunfire required more thought.

Cassian had heard of this Mythic skill before. Supposedly, someone who brought it to Transcendence could summon a Solar Crow to fight for them—a fire creature even more formidable than a Phoenix.

For a single recipient, Liora was the obvious choice. She followed the Extreme Spirit path, possessed Flame Will, and had exceptional talent for learning spells.

Her Affinity had also stood at ninety-nine ever since he gave her the Abyssal Grimoire. If he added a Mythic Skill Book to that gift, perhaps she would...

No. Back to the skill.

"If Veyra learns it, the whole Eclipse corps can learn it," he murmured. "More than a thousand Exemplars casting Mythic fire. And that’s before the Chapterhouses."

The paid advancement trials he had ordered after upgrading the Muster Hall had borne fruit. More than a thousand of his headquarters veterans were now Legendary Eclipse Exemplars. A single book could give every one of them the same new weapon.

A thousand times the pleasure of giving it to one person.

After a long hesitation, he made his choice. Liora already possessed Demonic Calamity. Even for her, mastering two Mythic spells at once would be a great deal of work.

He opened a call to Veyra in his Domain and sent the Sunfire book through the Exchange.

"Take a look at this."

"A Mythic skill? Sunfire?"

Her eyes widened as she read the description.

"From the Solar Ascendant!"

The book appeared in her hands. She smiled brightly at Cassian’s image and blew him an emphatic kiss.

"Thank you, my lord. You do know how to make me happy."

She pressed her hands together. The book dissolved into light and entered her body.

[Veyra has learned Sunfire — Basic.]

[Eclipse Muster Hall inheritance updated: Sunfire.]

[Eligible Eclipse Muster Hall and Chapterhouse troops may learn this skill without a learning cost.]

"Teach Sunfire to the field corps."

Cassian enabled the new inheritance for Rhea and the more than a thousand Exemplars with him. Knowledge of the spell settled into each of them.

He left access closed at the Chapterhouses.

Epic troops that could begin their service with a Mythic skill would attract far too much attention. If that became public, the whole of Humanity might come knocking at his door.

He could open it to the branches when the situation became dangerous enough to justify the trouble.

For now, he had another improvement in mind.

He called over the Flamecaller with the fewest skills among the original six who possessed Flame Will. With her willing cooperation, he began working through the Absorption Stones he had accumulated.

[Absorption successful. Absorption Stone ×1 consumed.]

[Obtained: Grade-C Skill Book — Fireball Barrage.]

[Absorption failed.]

Another attempt. Another result he did not want. Successes and failures alternated as the pile of stones shrank.

On the twenty-third stone, the message finally changed.

[Absorption successful. Absorption Stone ×1 consumed.]

[Obtained: Grade-A Skill Book — Flame Will.]

"At last."

Cassian let out a breath. That had used up about half the stock he had gathered through various means. The Flamecaller still possessed her skills, but copying the particular one he wanted had certainly not been cheap.

"If a Grade-A skill takes this much effort, imagine trying for Grade S."

Otherwise, he could simply have copied a few more Sunfire books and avoided the whole problem of choosing a recipient.

He sent Flame Will to Veyra as well. She learned it and added it to the Hall’s inheritance. Soon, the Eclipse force had the new passive enhancement to support its flames, just as Space Will supported its spatial attacks.

That combination alone would be enough to frighten anyone who understood what it meant.

——

Half an hour later, several dozen figures hovered above an uninhabited island in the open sea.

"Sunfire!" Rhea called.

A brilliant ball of flame formed before her. Cassian could feel its heat from tens of meters away. Then it shot downward, crossing a kilometer of air toward a honeycombed structure roughly a hundred meters across.

A Rare Fishfolk Nest.

Around it, Elite fishfolk brandished their harpoons at the intruders overhead. They had no idea what was coming.

The fireball was only the size of a human head. It struck the nest’s writhing outer wall and sank straight through the flesh.

A muffled boom followed.

Fire burst from every opening in the honeycomb. Many of the creatures inside vanished into the flames before they could scream.

Within seconds, the hundred-meter nest had become a blackened skeleton. Even the ground around it shone like glass.

The surviving fishfolk stared. Then they shrieked and scattered. Cassian made no move to chase them.

A sea breeze passed over the island. The last charred supports crumbled into ash and blew away, leaving nothing of the nest behind.

The people in the air drew sharp breaths.

"Sunfire with Flame Will..." someone said. "And that’s only Basic?"

Rhea’s Spirit was unremarkable beside that of a dedicated mage. If Liora had cast the same spell, its power might have been several times greater.

Rhea looked delighted with her new weapon. Then she gave a small, regretful sigh.

"At Basic, it only takes the shape of a fireball. It isn’t very fast, either. And I can only form it within a few dozen meters of myself."

Cassian glanced at her. Her hopeful expression made her intentions perfectly clear.

He found it more amusing than anything else.

"Advance the skill."

He opened the Muster Hall’s training controls and paid the charge from its accumulated Fortune. Veyra, still connected from home, and Rhea advanced to Accomplished. The more than a thousand Exemplars reached Mastery.

[Muster Fortune consumed: 380,000,000.]

"Three hundred and eighty million..." Cassian winced. "Training a Mythic skill costs more than ten times as much as a Legendary one."

The result was hard to complain about. With Rhea’s attributes, even Mastery would let her form Sunfire hundreds of meters away and make it erupt directly at that point.

The Solar Ascendant they had just killed had possessed only Mastery in the skill. In moments, Cassian had brought more than a thousand Exemplars to the same proficiency.

His mood improved at once.

"Celia, you’ve worked hard through all these battles. Take today off."

He spoke with a perfectly serious expression.

"I’ve learned a few massage techniques from Rhea. Come to my room later, and I’ll help you relax."

Celia’s face turned red. After a moment, she nodded.

"I can help her relax, Lord," Rhea offered eagerly. "Let me do it."

Cassian gave her a sharp look. She blinked at him, plainly hurt by the response to such a helpful suggestion.

"Relax?" Veyra’s voice came through the open call, rich with amusement. "Don’t worry about it, Rhea. I suspect our lord is planning another battle."

Celia blushed even harder.

——

A day later, Darian sent Cassian a list.

"It’s ready. We captured sixteen million Black Banner Lords. More than five million have been executed under the screening rules you gave me. The rest can be ransomed."

His excitement was unmistakable.

"When do we start?"

Cassian glanced at the enormous total at the bottom of the list and smiled.

He had won the war, but the fund of more than seven hundred billion Aether he had brought into it was already exhausted. This would do rather more than help him recover his expenses.

He forwarded the list to the Homeworld Channel without lingering over every entry, then posted his announcement.

[All war criminals named on this list have ten days to pay the ransom shown. Divine Nation will release those who pay and close their cases. Those who refuse will bear the consequences.]

[Use the same method as before: transfer the ransom to my account through the Exchange, then post a screenshot of the receipt in the main group Channel. Divine Nation’s staff will confirm it and release the prisoner.]

Lords across the Homeworld opened the list. When they reached the total, the Channel erupted.

[Eighteen... trillion Aether?]

[Plenty of smaller nations couldn’t raise that much at short notice!]

[After this war, Cassian really will be as rich as a nation.]

The envy was almost palpable. That was a fortune made from war. Even without counting the Black Banner’s lands, resources, Domains, and Towns, the ransom demand alone was staggering.

Divine Nation’s Lords were just as excited for another reason. Many had taken prisoners themselves. Cassian had promised the captors forty percent of the ransoms they brought in.

Nerissa’s response was furious.

[Divine Nation’s Lords are the real war criminals! Butchers! The Black Banner is the victim here. Tens of millions of War Lords, and now only ten million prisoners remain! I call on the Homeworld Council to give us justice!]

Councilor Odette had long since made common cause with Cassian. With his victory still fresh in everyone’s minds, she had no intention of answering that appeal.

Gavin sounded far more anxious.

[Everyone knows how much of Cassian’s strength comes from the money he spends. If he actually receives this fortune, who will be able to restrain him? He might even create his own Legendary troop line. No, forget I said that...]

Merris Velisse joined the Channel with an appeal of her own.

[Warriors of the Black Banner, this is the moment to prove your loyalty to our sovereign! Do not pay these ransoms and help our enemy grow stronger. I urge every one of you to take your own life at once...]