Chapter 423: Room for a Larger Army

There had been casualties. There had also been an extraordinary harvest.

The past few days of fighting had earned Cassian 2.9 trillion Battle Essence. He had enough for the army’s growth after Rank XX, with room to expand its ranks as well.

While the farmers traveling with his force cleared the battlefield and gathered materials, he considered where that expansion would do the most good.

The Kinetic Mechs were weapons for bringing down powerful enemies. He already had enough for that purpose.

The Flamecallers could wait. Now that the Eclipse corps had Sunfire, they no longer filled a role that no other part of his army could handle.

The Dawnwings were formidable, especially with Heaven’s Battle Array. But they were not Extreme troops, and their growth consumed roughly one and a half times the Battle Essence of ordinary Legendaries at the same Level.

The Crystal Maidens had become the army’s main shields. He would favor the physical branch and recruit as many as the supply allowed.

Unfortunately, that supply was painfully small. Edran had already asked several times for a second batch of Maiden Embryos. His experiments with the first three seemed to be going well.

Then there were the Faerie Dragons. No other corps could match their control abilities, and their offensive magic was powerful too. Apart from being fragile, they had little to complain about. More of them would certainly be useful.

"As for the Eclipse Exemplars..."

Cassian’s spirits rose.

The Eclipse line had fought for him almost from the beginning. Even as ordinary Legionnaires, they had offered the best value in his army.

They were not Extreme troops, but that also meant they could fight with both weapons and spells. Their balanced attributes left no obvious weakness. With Grain God, their additional base attributes were the highest of any troop line in his army. Their low cost made large numbers practical.

With Sunfire at Mastery, their destructive power could match the Holy Flame of Legendary Nine-Star Dawnwing Arcanists.

Best of all, as long as Veyra remained at the head of the Hall, the line’s future was almost impossible to measure.

Cassian opened a call to her in his Domain.

"Veyra, choose two thousand of the eighty thousand Eclipse hunters for advancement to Exemplar. Judge them by their contribution, arts, skills, and base attributes together. I’ll cover the trials and their growth. Rhea will come back to help you."

Veyra stared at him for a moment. Then her face lit up.

"Two thousand? Gladly, my lord. I’ll get started at once."

Her Exemplar corps would grow to almost three times its present size.

For now, the new line had no further advancement available beyond Legendary One-Star. That made its growth wonderfully affordable. Raising an Exemplar from Level 1 to Level 100 required only five hundred million Battle Essence—roughly a tenth of a Blood Emperor’s cost, and a third of a Nine-Star Dawnwing’s.

Two thousand would cost a trillion.

For troops like these, Cassian considered that excellent value.

Battle Essence was only part of the harvest. Hundreds of millions of items had dropped: equipment, Hero Sigils, Troop Sigils, and more. He sent them to Mira to handle. There were plenty of Legendaries among them, enough to give Divine Nation’s armies another considerable increase in strength.

The greatest prize, however, was National Fortune.

The Firecloud campaign had brought him a hundred and twenty-one points in total. Added to his earlier reserves, that let him bring the Fortune committed to his Sovereign office to a hundred.

Its all-attribute enhancement reached forty percent.

He still had sixty-seven National Fortune available.

Taking the office to fifty percent would require a thousand points. For the moment, he could get far more from strengthening his friends.

"Establish the offices of Titled General and Titled War Champion."

He began making the appointments.

"Darian Frost. Eaglewing General. Ten National Fortune."

"Nessa Fenwick. Iron Cavalry General. Ten National Fortune."

"Elara Vayne. Storm General. Ten National Fortune."

"Dain Torren. Warbreaker Champion. Ten National Fortune."

"Seraphine Valcrest. Seven-Star Champion. Ten National Fortune."

The five holders of Humanity’s Paragon received another powerful enhancement.

For the three War Lords, the office bonus to every unit in their Domains rose from twenty percent to thirty. For Dain and Seraphine, the personal bonus rose from forty percent to sixty.

Their strength surged again.

It took nearly half a day to finish clearing the battlefield and collecting its resources. By then, Cassian was considering where to go next.

The Blood River Formation had proved its worth. Another two thousand Exemplars would soon join the army. A middling Outer Realm Court was well within his reach now.

The strongest Courts were another matter. Even against the Divines, whom Godslayer gave him a special advantage over, he felt it was still a little early.

"Our next target is the Blackcrag Court."

"Yes, my lord!"

——

Back in Cassian’s Domain, the central square was crowded with Eclipse Legionnaires.

Excitement ran through the eighty thousand hunters. Women who had spent month after month fighting monsters and practicing their skills stood straighter as the news spread.

"At last. All that training, and now we have a chance!"

"I’ll make the selection this time. I want to become an Exemplar and fight beside our lord against the other races."

The oldest had served Cassian back in Riftward Region, veterans of the same early days as Veyra, the Stormlance, and Nine. They had hunted tirelessly, trained whenever they could, and waited for the chance to do more.

Now that chance had come.

Records appeared before Veyra and Rhea, one after another.

[Coralie]

[Time in service: 413 days]

[Total Battle Essence earned: 68,120,000]

[Additional base attributes, combined: 8,315]

[Mistveil March: Mastery]

[Eclipse Art: Accomplished]

[Grain God: Accomplished]

[Aegis Fold: Mastery]

[Sword of Space: Proficient]

No two records were quite the same.

Some Legionnaires had an exceptional affinity for Grain God and had gained more attributes from it. Others suited Mistveil March so well that they had reached Greater Mastery through their own training. The quickest learners had brought several skills to Accomplished.

Then there were the women whose panels looked less impressive, but whose tireless work had contributed more to the Domain than almost anyone else’s.

Choosing the best two thousand from eighty thousand was no easy task.

Veyra took it seriously. She compared their records with Rhea, weighing the different forms of progress and service. Half a day passed before the last name was selected.

Those chosen could scarcely contain their joy.

The others were visibly disappointed.

Veyra looked over them. After so long with Cassian, she had learned a little about giving people something to look forward to.

"Our Domain is growing quickly, and it needs every one of you. One day, our lord will stand above the Realms themselves."

Her voice carried across the square.

"When the next opportunity comes, make sure you’re ready for it. You may not have to wait nearly as long as you think."

Faces lifted throughout the crowd.

"Yes!"

Their clear voices rang into the sky.

Veyra put the selected two thousand through the Hall’s advancement trials in a steady rotation, day and night. Cassian funded their training and growth, and the new Exemplars joined his force as they became ready.

Meanwhile, his army swept through the Ogres’ Blackcrag Court.

Its strength kept rising. With the experience gained in Firecloud, Cassian handled the campaign far more easily. He even divided his army into two forces, destroying Region after Region.

Half a month later, his Domain finally met every requirement for Rank XX.

"Give me a good Rune this time," he murmured. "Something for attacking would be nice."

Anticipation stirred in his chest. He raised a hand toward the controls.

"Upgrade the Domain."