Chapter 418: A Legion of Mythics

Twenty days later.

"Spatial Lock."

"Silence."

Cassian used the two scrolls. Their seals closed over the Bull Demon Region ahead of him, cutting it off from outside contact.

Founding a Nation had extended his Homeworld Gate access to a hundred thousand kilometers beyond his national territory. It had also restored his permission to use Gates in the Outer Realms, with the usual costs still attached.

There was one important restriction. These Gates could not open inside another Royal Court’s territory. The temporary privileges of the third Provincial Ranking were gone. He could no longer appear at a Palace and attack it directly as he had two months earlier.

He had spent those twenty days working his way inward instead.

With his generous support, Divine Nation’s number of powerful fighters had multiplied. Apart from his own force, they still had no Mythics, but together they were strong enough to challenge the weakest native Courts.

Darian’s Golden Behemoth legion led the allied army south against the Hundredblossom Court.

Cassian, as usual, operated separately.

His first target lay north of the Homeworld: the Firecloud Court. A Beastkin kingdom whose main strength came from Bull Demons, it stood somewhere in the middle of the hundred or so Courts surrounding the Realm.

Over the past twenty days, he had quietly destroyed seventy-eight of its Regions. He had left no survivors.

This was the seventy-ninth.

The seals had barely settled when thousands of Beastkin soldiers charged out through the Region’s entrance. At their head came a Bull Demon more than ten meters tall, carrying an enormous axe.

Worldsight brought up his information.

[Mighty Bull Demon]

[Race: Beastkin]

[Level: 115]

[Quality: Legendary — One-Star]

[Combat Rating: 950,000 stars]

[Skills: ???]

"A Level-115 Legendary Hero."

Cassian drew a breath.

"We’re still tens of thousands of kilometers from Firecloud Palace, and there are already Rank-XXII Lords here. Their king may well be Rank XXIII."

Divine Nation had existed for less than two months. In that time, the native Lords had generally advanced a full Rank.

"A Human Lord?"

Cassian had made no attempt to conceal himself. The Bull Demon studied him in confusion, then suddenly widened his eyes.

"From the Homeworld! Are you the one who’s been attacking our Regions these past weeks? How is that possible?"

Native Courts surrounding a newcomer Realm generally did not belong to the newcomers’ own race. There were more than a hundred around the Homeworld, yet not one Human Court among them. In that respect, at least, the Realm spared the newcomers a difficult choice.

It also made Cassian’s origins easy to guess.

He had no interest in explaining himself to this Hero.

"Kill them. Quickly."

The Bull Demon bellowed in fury and charged, raising his axe.

"You think I’m like those weaklings in the outer Regions? Take a blow from—"

A white pressure wave burst from beside Cassian.

The huge head vanished. Blood and shattered bone sprayed through the air, and a slender figure appeared beyond the Hero, hovering above the ground without a speck of blood on her clothes.

Only then did his massive body fall. Dust billowed around the corpse.

Lysette lowered her hand.

For an instant of explosive force, no one in Cassian’s army could match her. At Level 100, her Physique under ordinary combat conditions had reached 1.8 million. Strength Will multiplied the force of her attacks by 2.4. Even an ordinary strike could kill a typical opponent with a million-star Combat Rating.

"Lys gets fonder of showing off every day," Aurelia muttered.

Then she joined the attack.

Cassian had brought his main combat force on this campaign. Celia alone had stayed home to devote herself fully to Sword Nurturing. His combat bonuses were already in effect, with premium Aether Crystals continuing to feed Godslayer.

The thousands of soldiers before them were all above Level 110. They lasted little more than ten seconds.

"Lethria, seal all four exits. Don’t let so much as a fly escape. Everyone else, split up and go in."

One was first through the eastern entrance.

After so many Regions had fallen without explanation, the Firecloud Lords had finally begun preparing. Hundreds of Bull Demon Domains surrounded this entrance, their defenses layered around the only approach.

The moment One appeared, attacks swallowed her from every side.

Blades, spells, and projectiles battered her crystal body. Soldiers above Level 110 could strike hard, but all they left were pale scratches.

While One held their attention, Seven entered behind her.

"Crystal Storm."

Crystal blades a foot long filled the air for several kilometers. They flashed beautifully in the light, then swept into the clustered Domains.

More than a dozen Barriers endured for a few seconds before breaking apart.

Screams merged into a single roar.

When the blades passed, blood covered the Domains nearest the entrance. Of the hundreds of thousands of enemies caught in the storm, fewer than one in a hundred remained alive. Only a handful of Legendary fighters and those above them had survived.

The Maidens had divided among their Princesses for the assault. With her own group joined to her through Crystal Convergence, Level-100 Seven could easily push her Spirit beyond three million. And she could cast Crystal Storm repeatedly. For clearing large numbers of enemies, she was even more effective than Nine.

At the southern entrance, Nine was already at work.

"Void Sanctuary!"

More than ninety percent of the defenders died under the skill.

Rhea gave the next command.

"Sunfire!"

Over a thousand white flames blazed into being as the Eclipse Exemplars cast with her. They swept across the defenses and burned through everything left in their path.

To the west, Aurelia led the Dawnwings through the defenders without slowing.

The fighting at the northern entrance was not the fastest, but it was the most startling to watch. Nearly a hundred blood-colored figures flickered among the Domains. Wherever they passed, blood tore itself from Beastkin bodies as though it had come alive. Huge crimson spheres gathered in the air.

Lucan had proved an excellent supplier.

In twenty days, he had delivered two trillion Aether’s worth of Legendary Blood Essence. Cassian had paid for the blood and put it to work through the Chalice, funding the summons that condensed Emperor Blood Essence and the recruitment and growth of more Blood Princes.

Ninety-three more had completed their advancement.

He now commanded a hundred and thirteen permanent Blood Emperors.

A true Mythic legion.

Before that kind of strength, the clustered Domains could do little more than delay their destruction. The battle ended in half an hour. More than a thousand Domains lay in ruins, and millions of battle reports had brought Cassian billions of Battle Essence.

One report pleased him more than all the others.

[Your troop Seven has slain Lord Gorren. Battle Essence gained: 18,000,000...]

[National Fortune seized: 2.]

"National Fortune? We’ve already reached Lords with national offices."

Cassian ran his tongue over his lips.

"Firecloud Palace should have plenty for me."

He checked the remaining requirement for his Sovereign office. Another fifty-nine National Fortune, and its all-attribute bonus could reach forty percent.

The Legendary Farmers accompanying the army went to work gathering resources. Cassian surveyed the results with satisfaction.

"I should thank them for preparing. Gathering all their Domains around the entrances saved us a great deal of trouble. At the start of the campaign, clearing one Region took half a day."

If the rest of Firecloud’s Regions proved equally accommodating, his hunting speed could increase several times over.

"Seven, take the spellcasting Maidens and finish clearing the Region."

"Yes, my lord."

More than a hundred Crystal Bats scattered in every direction.

Cassian led the rest of his force out through the entrance, ready to move toward the next Region. Before they could set off, a distinctive alert sounded.

He had reserved that sound for Realm announcements.

[Homeworld Lord Wystan Corwick has founded Golden Lion Nation. Its constituent Provinces include Plantagenet...]

A second announcement followed at once.

[Congratulations. With four Nations established, the Homeworld has met the strength requirement for Outer Realm Invasion. In three months, the Homeworld will open. All native Lords in Sector 666 will be able to enter and leave without Level suppression. Homeworld Lords, prepare for the coming invasion.]