Chapter 75: Audience Of Origins

The Dreadlance Commander slowly pulled its lance free from the chest of the final elder.

​The corpse collapsed limply onto the blood-soaked earth.

​Scattered throughout the ruined settlement were the bodies of countless Orcs: some were riddled with spectral arrows, others bore deep sword wounds or dagger slashes, and many had arrows embedded deep in their backs, stark evidence of desperate, futile attempts to flee.

​Yet among all the corpses, one distinct pattern stood out above the rest.

​Scythe wounds. Hundreds of them.

​Some Orcs had been impaled by shadow spikes that entered from below and erupted through their mouths.

Others had their necks twisted at impossible angles, while entire bodies had been cleanly bisected into multiple pieces, scattered across the clearing like discarded refuse.

​Cassian turned toward his ever-stoic champion.

​It seemed Nyxara had truly enjoyed butchering the Orcs.

​Well... considering her dark history, he supposed it was entirely understandable that his shadow elf champion held a certain level of racial prejudice toward them.

​The battle had been immensely fruitful.

​Nyxara had successfully advanced into the Advanced Grade. The four Commanders had also undergone significant growth, while several Special Elites, Elite Soldiers, and Special Units had ranked up as well.

​And naturally... Cassian himself had advanced.

​He had finally become an [Established Lord].

​The physical changes were immediate.

​His muscles tightened as newfound physical strength flooded through his body, and the mana circulating within his core became noticeably more refined.

It no longer felt like a raging ocean threatening to burst from its container, the endless energy still existed, but it now moved with absolute, fluid obedience.

​His senses sharpened dramatically.

​Far in the distance, he could hear a tiny insect crawling up the bark of a dead tree.

The sound of dry branches cracking beneath the weight of escaping mana beasts echoed clearly despite the vast distance, and even the gentle rainfall felt distinctly sharper against his skin.

​Cassian was deeply familiar with this sensation. In his previous life, he had experienced this exact same advancement.

​The only difference was the sheer amount of time it had taken him.

​A year and a half, that was how long he had struggled to become an Established Lord in his first timeline.

​Yet now, he had accomplished it in less than two days.

​The contrast was absurd.

​Even more ridiculous was the sheer amount of raw stat strength he had gained from this single advancement compared to his previous life: the increase was several times greater.

The quality of his troops, the rank of his champion, and the average combat power of his territory had all contributed to an unprecedented foundation.

​The only thing that had remained completely unchanged was his mana capacity.

​But then again, what could possibly be greater than infinity?

​Cassian smiled.

​At that moment, a translucent system notification materialized directly before his eyes.

[Congratulations, Lord Cassian.]

​[Area Conquered: Kragmar Dominion]

​[Territory Control Increased.]

​[Current Territory Progress: 4/4 Areas Controlled]

​[Lord’s Hollow] — Controlled

​[Umbralwood] — Controlled

​[Bonefang Wastes] — Controlled

​[Kragmar Dominion] — Controlled

​[Rewards Granted:]

​+30,000 Experience

​+60,000 Lord Coins

​+1 Territory Treasure Chest (Elite ★★★)

​Cassian’s sky-blue eyes narrowed slightly.

​The rewards were generous, but nothing extraordinary for a campaign of this magnitude. At least... until the next notification appeared.

​The moment he read the glowing text, his calm expression changed completely.

​[Divine Feat Accomplished!]

​The battlefield seemed to grow deathly silent as even the falling rain felt distant.

​[You have achieved a feat recognized by the Lord’s Domain.]

​[Since the birth of the Lord’s Domain, only Seven Lords across the endless cosmos have accomplished this feat.]

​[Achievement: Territory Conqueror]

​[Condition: Conquer an entire territory within one week of awakening as a Lord.]

​[Status: Completed]

​The system notifications continued to stream rapidly before his vision.

​[Additional Record Detected.]

​[Calculating...]

​[Record Confirmed.]

​[You are the fastest Lord in recorded cosmic history to conquer their first territory.]

​The rain continued falling around him, but the mountains of corpses littering the ruined settlement seemed utterly insignificant before those words.

​[Your actions have demonstrated unparalleled adaptability.]

​[Your growth has exceeded projected calculations.]

​[Your command has displayed exceptional leadership.]

​[Your conquest has embodied the ambition expected of a true Lord.]

​[The Lord’s Domain acknowledges your achievement.]

​Cassian felt a wave of genuine shock.

​Not because he had conquered the territory, that part had been well within his calculations from the start.

​But being the absolute fastest? In the entire history of the cosmos?

​That was absurd.

​The Lord’s Domain contained countless divine races, primordial civilizations, and ancient worlds.

And yet... he held the cosmic record.

​Before he could process the staggering revelation, another notification appeared. Unlike the previous windows, its golden text radiated a primordial, suffocating pressure:

​[Special Reward Granted.]

​[Reward: Audience of Origins]

​[Description:]

​A privilege granted only to individuals acknowledged by the Lord’s Domain itself. The recipient shall be granted an audience with a Fragment of the Eternal Will that governs the Lord’s Domain.

This opportunity cannot be purchased, inherited, stolen, or replicated. Only those recognized by the Domain itself may receive this honor.

​Cassian’s breathing hitched for a moment.

​A Fragment... of the Eternal Will?

​His mind immediately recalled ancient lore from his previous life, stories spoken only in hushed whispers by Transcendent Sovereigns, myths so ancient that most Lords considered them fairy tales.

​The Spirit of the Lord’s Domain.

​The primordial entity said to oversee the endless multiverse, the existence that had created the Lord System itself.

​Countless ancient Sovereigns had spent entire lifetimes seeking even a single trace of its existence. Yet he had obtained a direct audience after only two days.

​Before he could think any further, the final system message flashed with blinding light:

​[Audience of Origins Initiating...]

​[Preparing Consciousness Transfer...]

​[Destination Locked.]

​[The Eternal Will Awaits.]

​Cassian’s eyes widened in sudden alarm. "What does that—"

​His words stopped midway as the physical world blurred into sheer chaos.

​The battlefield, the falling rain, the Orc corpses, and the system windows... everything twisted together into a vortex of light.

​Not so far away through the fracturing space, he heard a familiar, desperate voice:

​"My Lord!"

​Nyxara.

​Her usually composed voice carried an unmistakable, frantic panic.

​Cassian saw her rushing toward him through the dissolving world, the champion stretching out a slender hand as her silver-white hair fluttered wildly behind her, her violet eyes filled with uncharacteristic terror.

​"My Lo—"

​The sound abruptly cut off.

​The last thing Cassian saw was Nyxara desperately reaching for his fading hand.

​Then, everything went pitch-black.

....

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