Chapter 99: Another Wild Domain—and Another Fortune Duel Won

[Eve]

[Race: Dawnwing]

[Level: 1]

[Quality: Legendary]

[Physique: 17 | Command +5 | Equipment +12]

[Aether: 20 | Command +7 | Equipment +12]

[Spirit: 17 | Command +5 | Equipment +12]

[Load: 12 | Command +4 | Equipment -12]

[Equipment: Sacred Set]

[Combat Rating: 28 stars]

[Skills: Holy Flame / Sacred Judgment / Holy Conversion]

"Good."

Cassian read the panel with satisfaction.

Some races began life with advantages other troops had to work hard to gain. The Dawnwings were among them. They arrived powerful, fully equipped, and ready to fight.

That strong starting point came with less room to reshape their growth. A human troop that actually reached Legendary Quality could surpass an innately powerful race. But Cassian was quite happy to have a building that gave him Legendary troops from the start.

With her equipment and Aurelia’s B-grade Command, Eve already had a Combat Rating of twenty-eight stars at Level 1.

This was going to be a useful flying force.

The first Vanguard emerged next, followed by a Marshal. Cassian checked their skills as well.

[Dawnwing Vanguard]

[Skills: Sacred Strike / Angel’s Sword / Heaven’s Guard]

[Dawnwing Marshal]

[Skills: Sacred Scepter / Mind Link / Damage Link]

The Marshal’s three skills held his attention.

Sacred Scepter gave her a clear grasp of a changing battlefield and helped her choose the right tactical response. Mind Link joined several Dawnwings’ minds so she could deliver orders instantly. Damage Link let her distribute part of an injured Dawnwing’s damage among the others.

None of those skills directly raised their attributes. Used together, though, they could let a Dawnwing squad fight at least thirty percent more effectively.

A pair of commanders was going to make a real difference.

The remaining recruits emerged from the Pool. When all twenty-six were assembled, Cassian called the two Marshals forward.

"Harriet. Heloise."

Both women stepped out of the line.

"Six Arcanists and six Vanguards each. Take your squads to Crystal Bastion and begin clearing the outer Crystalkin."

"Yes, Lord."

He selected the whole group in the growth panel.

[Dawnwing Troops ×26]

[Level 1 → Level 13]

[Battle Essence Cost: 11,000,000]

"Confirm."

Light enveloped all twenty-six Dawnwings. Their armor brightened with them, and the pressure from the assembled force rose sharply.

Eleven million Battle Essence was a substantial investment. Their growing equipment was useful, but it certainly did not come free.

Cassian looked over the finished squads and nodded.

At Level 13, with a Marshal directing each group, they were strong enough for the Bastion’s outer hunting ground.

"Go."

The two squads moved toward the Warden Gate.

——

At Crystal Bastion, Aurelia landed beside the Warden Gate.

She had been scouting the higher-level country beyond the hunting ground and had finally found something worth bringing back to Cassian herself.

Before she could enter the Gate, figures began stepping out of it.

White wings. Bright armor. A familiar presence beneath the light.

"Dawnwings?"

Aurelia stared as the two squads emerged.

So many at once. Cassian had not simply found another Troop Sigil.

"A Troop Building?" she murmured.

Harriet approached and bowed slightly.

"Lady Aurelia. We are Dawnwings of the celestial line. Thank you for your Command."

"I came from the Dawnwing Host."

Aurelia looked over the new arrivals, her surprise giving way to a smile. Their origins differed, but having so many of her own kind around her felt good.

"Come. I’ll show you the hunting ground."

All twenty-six were women. That pleased her too.

Cassian had been more considerate than she expected.

Back at Forgotten Shrine, a brief notice appeared before him.

[Aurelia Dawnwing appreciates your consideration.]

"Consideration?"

Cassian looked toward the Gate, then at the Pool’s recruitment record.

He had chosen a force he would enjoy looking at. Apparently, Aurelia had read more into the decision than that.

He gave a quiet laugh and closed the notice.

——

Aurelia returned soon afterward.

"Lord. I found a Goblin Domain three hundred kilometers south of Crystal Bastion."

Cassian straightened.

"A Goblin Domain? Tell me."

With her strength and flight, Aurelia was his best choice for scouting the higher-level maps. This was exactly the sort of discovery he had been waiting for.

"There are mountain ranges all the way south," she said. "Giant eagles hold the air above the ridges. The Domain has steam cannon—and there’s a river."

"A river?"

Aurelia nodded and described the terrain around it.

Cassian listened more closely now.

The Legendary Abyssal Dockyard Blueprint from the Ghost Leviathan was still in storage. He had needed a construction boundary beside a large body of deep water before he could use it.

A river beside a Goblin Domain might finally give him one.

He considered the terrain Aurelia had described and the force he could take through it.

"Give it two days."

"Yes, Lord."

——

Two days later, hundreds of Mountain Eagles hurled themselves at the Dawnwings above the southern ranges.

"Angel’s Sword!"

Light extended several meters beyond Avril’s blade. The Vanguard swept it through an eagle’s wing, cutting cleanly across the feathers and bone.

The creature spun out of the air. It struck the cliff hundreds of meters below and broke against the stone.

Farther along the ridge, Eve raised her sword.

"Holy Conversion."

A shaft of light fell over another eagle. It struggled for a moment, its head jerking from side to side. Then it turned and drove its talons into the eagle flying beside it.

"Holy Flame."

Fire spread around Eve and caught several of the creatures bearing down on her. They shrieked and beat their wings, but the pale flames clung to them and kept burning.

The same scene played out across the sky. Most of the Mountain Eagles were Level 45 or higher. Against the two Legendary squads, they were being torn apart.

Cassian watched from the mountain path as his ground force advanced beneath them.

The Dawnwings’ strength pleased him. The two Marshals pleased him even more.

Harriet and Heloise could deliver dozens of orders through Mind Link in an instant. Squads changed targets and covered one another’s openings without waiting for shouted commands.

Cassian could direct a battle. He could not match that speed of control over every individual movement.

The last of the eagles fell. The flock that had tried to stop them was gone.

Near noon, Cassian reached the ridge below a sheer, thousand-meter peak, and the view opened before him.

A river roared from west to east through the mountains. It was several kilometers wide, with steam warships tens of meters long moving across its surface.

On the high ground beside it stood a Domain nearly a kilometer across.

Metal roofs shone between towers and smokestacks. Steam airships rose from its central square while others descended toward the landing area. Armored mechs marched through the gates in organized files.

The place was busy, well equipped, and very much worth taking.

Cassian studied its record.

[Goblin Wild Domain | Rank X]

One rank above Crystal Bastion.

Just then, a wave of messages arrived.

Riftward’s Channel burst into celebration.

[Tobias Reed: Settled!]

[Anonymous Lord: Fourteen Fortune!]

[Rowan Ashford: Check the coordinates. The Region’s space is expanding again.]

Cassian opened the public announcement.

[Region Fortune Duel: Resource Acquisition]

[Victor: Riftward]

[Riftward Region Fortune: 13 → 14]

[Sable March Region Fortune: 1 → 0]

There was no suspense left in the result. Sable had stopped trying to close the gap after Cassian’s surge two days earlier.

That did not make the final point any less pleasant to receive.

[Mira Calder: Fourteen Fortune in one Region. Cassian, how much of that has come from you?]

Riftward had taken a remarkable share of the Fortune earned across the Marches. The Rankings had rewarded the whole Region, and Cassian’s forces had done much of the work of putting it first.

Not everyone enjoyed watching the celebration.

[Bren Orwick: Enjoy it while you can. Once Black Banner takes command of the Marches, we’ll bring an army down on Riftward. All that Fortune won’t save you.]

Bren was Whitefield’s Warden. His Region had finished in the top ten in both Rankings and held two points of Fortune.

[Mira Calder: Your side keeps losing these contests. What makes you so certain you’ll win the next one?]

[Bren Orwick: The contest for command depends on how many supporters you have and how strong they are. One Region’s fighting strength won’t decide it. Wait for us.]

Cassian posted an item record.

[Cassian Vale: Region Fortune Duel Writ]

His last Writ was still in his Inventory.

[Tobias Reed: You have another one?]

[Tobias Reed: Whitefield has two Fortune. We could take those too.]

For a moment, Bren said nothing.

Then two notices appeared.

[Bren Orwick has retracted a message.]

[Bren Orwick has retracted a message.]

[Bren Orwick: Lord Cassian, I’ve had too much to drink. Please forgive what I said.]