Chapter 96: Trust the Warden—and a Resource Instance Appears

The Writ shot into the sky as a streak of gold.

Light spread over Riftward, widening into a vast funnel. Its far end swept toward Sable March.

Lords who had just settled down to sleep sat up again.

They knew that light. They had seen it during the Agriculture Duel.

This time, it was leaving Riftward.

At his own Domain, Tobias stood before the twelve Blood Dukes he had just recruited. He was still looking from one Epic Troop to the next when the golden light crossed overhead.

"A Fortune Duel?"

His smile froze for a moment.

The defender chose the Category. If Sable drew Resource Acquisition or Troop Power, Riftward’s smaller Lord count would matter again.

Then Tobias looked back at the twelve Blood Dukes.

Cassian had waited until the Ranking settled to use that Writ. He also knew who chose the Category.

"But he sets the Stake," Tobias murmured.

Sable had only just climbed back above zero. If Cassian was confident, he could take that last point and leave them with nothing again.

The thought brought Tobias’s grin back.

Cassian had chosen Sable for exactly that reason.

——

Sable March’s ordinary Lords had finally found something to celebrate. Second place had lifted their Region Fortune from negative two to one.

Varek was in no mood to join them.

The compensation paid to four Member Regions was gone. So was the money staked on first place. Sable had paid for both and watched Riftward take the reward.

Varek swept a cup off his desk. It shattered against the wall.

"Let me take command of the Marches," he snarled. "I’ll send an army through Riftward and leave nothing standing."

For now, even keeping up his own development would mean asking Black Banner for more funds. After this performance, he could already imagine the replies.

Nadia caught the edge of a map before he knocked that down too.

"Breaking the room won’t get the money back."

He lowered his arm. A moment later, golden light arrived above his Domain.

Nadia looked up first.

[Riftward has challenged Sable March to a Region Fortune Duel.]

[As the defender, Sable March will select the Contest Category.]

"He’s challenging us?" Varek said.

Not long ago, he would have welcomed it. Sable had far more Lords than Riftward. Being allowed to choose the Category should have made this an opportunity.

After the Ranking, he read the announcement twice.

Nadia brought up the choices.

[Kill Points]

[Resource Acquisition]

[Troop Power]

[Selection Countdown: 00:09:50]

Varek let out a slow breath.

"Not Kill Points."

That lesson was still written across the final Ranking.

"He may have found a Monster Instance," he continued. "Something that explains the last day’s score."

"Riftward has thirteen Fortune," Nadia said. "Its resource quality will be higher. I’d choose Troop Power."

"And Troop Power means recruiting everything we can, whether we need it or not."

Varek studied the other two choices. Riftward had taken first in Kill Points. Whatever its full troop strength was, he had no intention of treating the smaller Lord count as proof of a weak army.

Flooding Sable with cheap recruits would also consume resources needed for its next stage of development.

"The contest for command of the Marches is getting closer," he said. "We can’t ruin our development for one Fortune Duel."

"Resource Acquisition."

He selected it.

"At least he’ll have to face our whole Region’s production."

Nadia looked at Sable’s single point of Fortune.

"Only one point to win."

"One is still worth taking if he’s giving it away."

Three seconds later, the confirmation appeared.

[Contest Category: Resource Acquisition]

[Riftward’s Stake: 1 Region Fortune]

[Maximum Permitted Stake against this defender: 1]

[Region Fortune Duel Established]

[Settlement: Three days from today, 12:00 noon]

[Resource Points: Live Updates]

Varek’s expression tightened.

Cassian had confirmed the full Stake without hesitation. The Category had not made him reconsider for even a moment.

It was only one point—but it was everything Sable had left.

"Does he have a Resource Instance as well?" Nadia asked.

Varek stared at the notice. Riftward had somehow produced enough Kill Points to beat four purchased Regions. If it had another source of resources hidden away...

He cut the thought short and opened the Regional Channel.

Whatever Cassian held, Sable was already in the Duel.

[Varek Sorn: All Lords, recruit Settlers and begin full resource extraction immediately.]

[Varek Sorn: Every resource point. Rare mines, Refined deposits, Common stone—we use all of it. I don’t care whether your next upgrade needs it.]

[Varek Sorn: Anyone holding Chests, open them.]

——

At Forgotten Shrine, Cassian opened the live score.

Both totals were already moving.

"Shame. No Wager this time."

The earlier Resource Collection Ranking had shown its score the same way. With every gain appearing as it happened, there was no final hidden surge to keep the bettors looking in the wrong direction.

He would have to be satisfied with Sable’s Fortune.

The Duel rules were clear. An initiator could put its own Region Fortune below zero, but it could not force that debt onto the defender. A Region with no Fortune could not be stripped of any through a challenge.

Otherwise, he could have challenged the dead Duskmoor, named some absurd Stake, and watched Riftward grow without an opponent left to resist.

That was not how it worked.

Sable’s earlier plunge into negative Fortune had been its own doing. This time, Cassian could take only the point it had just earned back.

He intended to take it.

Resource Acquisition also suited him better than Troop Power. That choice would have meant turning his recruitment and growth capacity toward the largest troop score he could field. He could do that, but he already had a far more appealing use for his next major investment.

Cassian closed the rules and opened Riftward’s Channel.

[Cassian Vale: You’ve seen the Duel notice. For the next three days, put your resource points to work. Mine everything you can.]

The first responses came quickly. Orders went out, idle Settlers were assigned work, and Lords began checking deposits they had previously passed over.

There was still unease beneath the excitement.

Riftward had 405 Lords. Sable had a full Region’s workforce, and it had Fortune of its own again. Better resources could help, but the difference in numbers was hard to ignore.

[Anonymous Lord: Are we really going to outmine all of Sable?]

[Tobias Reed: I tried thinking it through before the Ranking. Then Cassian collected first place and the money.]

[Tobias Reed: This time, I’m doing what he says.]

[Rowan Ashford: Workers are on the way.]

[Anonymous Lord: Mine first. Worry later.]

Soon the Duel terms reached the Shattered Marches Channel too.

[Mira Calder: Looking at the Lord counts, I’d say Riftward loses. Looking at what happened before noon, I’m keeping that opinion to myself.]

[Darian Frost: Trust Riftward. It saves time.]

[Darian Frost: Though confirming the Stake that quickly... Cassian, did you find a Resource Instance?]

Cassian smiled without replying.

He had no Resource Instance.

He did not need one.

The first Resource Collection Ranking had already shown him that newly recovered materials from a first dismantling counted. Bram had turned unusable wargear into resources, and those resources had carried Cassian straight to first place.

Duskmoor’s unprocessed equipment was still waiting in storage. Among it were high-quality pieces that were no longer worth repairing, with valuable material trapped inside them.

He needed materials for the Dawnwing Rebirth Pool anyway.

Recover them once, collect the points, and put them straight into a Legendary Troop Building.

Sable could put every Settler it had on a quarry. Cassian already knew where his winning score would come from.

A video request chimed.

Elara.

Cassian accepted it. Her face appeared above the table, wearing a look he could not quite place. She opened her mouth, then glanced away from the image.

"What is it?" he asked. "Say it."

"Since the expansion, an Instance entrance has appeared in the Dwarven mountains," Elara said. "It looks like... a Resource Instance. Do you want to come and see?"

Cassian stared at her.

For once, he had nothing to say.