Chapter 105: Rank VII—and an Eclipse Branch

Ysel and Maera looked at their brother with shining eyes.

"If you hadn’t brought us here, we’d still be letting those Black Banner dogs deceive us!" Ysel said.

Maera clenched a fist. "For our Lord! For Riftward!"

"For our Lord! For Riftward!"

Cassian let out a quiet breath as he watched them.

The capture had involved a small risk. Varek could have closed his Domain’s portal at any moment. Aurelia and Celia would hardly have been in danger, but getting them back to Riftward would have become troublesome.

In his panic, Varek had forgotten he could do that.

Now Black Banner’s strongest Lord in the Shattered Marches was Cassian’s informant. That was more than worth the trouble.

Severin and Corvin had served their purpose. Cassian had them put to death, freeing two places in the Mindseal Tower.

The three Sorns were another matter.

"Keep developing your Domains as usual unless I give you other orders," he told them. "And find a reason to stop returning to your homeworld."

Varek nodded solemnly.

"Understood, Lord. There are still powerful people in our family. They might take control of us again."

Cassian nodded in satisfaction.

He could use the Sorns to lure in more Black Banner Wardens. But as informants, the three of them were already worth more than a few hundred dead enemy Lords.

There was no need to spend them on another raid.

——

The following morning, death notices began drawing attention across Black Banner’s Regions.

[Anonymous Lord: A War Lord from our Region died last night. He had several squads of Epic troops!]

[Anonymous Lord: Accidents happen here. There’s nothing—wait. One of ours is dead too.]

[Anonymous Lord: Did they get together to hunt a Boss?]

More names were found grayed out. For a while, speculation spread across the Shattered Marches.

That was as far as it went.

The night raid had been kept secret. Beyond the attackers themselves, only a few senior figures in Black Banner had known about it. None of those people wanted to advertise such a humiliating defeat.

Riftward’s officers noticed something too. Lysa Harrow, who had only recently joined their Region, was dead.

Cassian offered no explanation. They did not press him for one.

Darian sent a short private message.

[Darian Frost: That was impressive.]

Cassian looked at it and smiled. Darian’s family’s intelligence network reached farther than he had thought.

Even so, Darian could only have picked up clues from Black Banner. He could not know the details of the battle. None of the enemy Lords who had taken part had survived to describe it.

——

The Shattered Marches remained quiet over the next few days.

During one of Varek’s reports, Cassian learned how little that quiet meant inside Black Banner.

"The military, the intelligence service, and dozens of Lord families are furious, Lord. But they still can’t answer the most important question: what happened in Riftward?"

Varek continued respectfully.

"Did Kara betray them? Or did you see through her from the beginning and use her to set the trap? And what did Riftward lose to kill forty Spiritbound Lords?"

He shook his head.

"Your Region is too united now. Getting anyone to talk is becoming harder and harder. Before the contest for command of the Marches, I doubt they’ll have either the strength or the nerve to try again."

His expression filled with admiration.

"To them, Riftward is a bottomless pit. No matter how many people they send in, none come back."

Cassian relaxed a little.

He could not spend every day waiting for another assassination attempt. If Black Banner had finally learned to sit still, he could put more attention into the ocean.

Once he won command of the Marches, he could clear them out properly.

"Good. Keep me informed."

"Yes, Lord. There’s something else. I found the two clothing designs you wanted. Please see whether they’re suitable."

[Varek Sorn has sent you a Blueprint through the Exchange: Summer Cool.]

[Varek Sorn has sent you a Blueprint through the Exchange: Pink Temptation.]

Cassian opened the previews. Both styles pleased him.

"Well done."

Since arriving in the Realm, he had spent one day fighting and the next preparing to fight again. He was almost forgetting to enjoy himself.

These were a welcome change.

——

One more day passed.

[Lord’s Hall upgraded: Rank VII]

[New Buildings unlocked: Knight Hall / Tailor’s Shop]

[Domain Area: 250,000 square meters]

[Standard Hero Contracts: 2 / 4]

"Finally."

Rank VII was the point where ordinary Lords could begin recruiting Rare troops in bulk from their own racial Buildings.

Dwarves had Longbeard Warriors. Elves had Marksmen. The Deep Sea races had Tiger Shark Warriors. For Human Lords, the new Knight Hall offered Heavy Cavalry.

Rare was also the limit of those standard recruitment Buildings. Anyone who wanted a higher-Quality troop line had to find a special Blueprint.

Ordinary Forges and Tailors worked much the same way. Without a special bonus, Rare was the highest Quality they could mass-produce. Further Building upgrades raised the Level of their equipment, not its Quality.

Cassian had the Tailor’s Shop built and sent over Summer Cool and Pink Temptation. He also paid the ordinary construction requirements for a basic Tavern, leaving it at Level 0. Then he returned to his Domain panel.

His attention went straight to the special Buildings. The Fountain of Life, Eclipse Muster Hall, the Dawnwing Pool, the Mindseal Tower—each had proved its value. So had the Abyssal Dockyard at the Goblin harbor.

He wanted to upgrade them all.

For now, he selected two and paid the listed requirements.

[Fountain of Life upgraded: Level 7]

[Fountain of Life | Legendary]

[Recovery range: 30 meters]

[Rapidly restores injuries, Aether, and Spirit within range.]

[Life Reconstruction: Up to 10 times per unit per Realm Day.]

[Reconstruction requires sufficient Life Energy and a valid Domain belonging record. Cost and recovery depend on the unit and the condition of its remains.]

[Sustainable daily output: Life Essence ×2 / Life Water ×30]

"Two Life Essences a day!"

Cassian laughed. That was what he had wanted to see.

The daily output had doubled. Even the thirty bottles of Life Water mattered less to him than that second bottle of Life Essence.

He had already felt what better Aptitude could do. The first improvement had filled in the Physique he had missed across his earlier Levels. Now he would have twice as much Life Essence to work with.

"Does that mean three a day at Level 12? Four at Level 18?"

He could not check those upgrades yet, but the thought was enough to make him eager. A-grade Aptitude, on the level of a Legendary Hero, before he took command of the Marches—that was a prize worth looking forward to.

More Life Essence would help him pursue it. His Warbody would benefit from a stronger physical foundation too.

Cassian turned to the second upgrade.

[Eclipse Muster Hall upgraded: Level 7]

[New Branch Building unlocked: Eclipse Chapterhouse]

[New function unlocked: Muster Fortune]

He straightened.

Something new this time.

[Eclipse Muster Hall]

[Training: Aegis Fold / Mistveil March]

[New recruitment template: Eclipse Legionnaire — Epic]

[Branch Buildings: 0]

[Muster Fortune: 11,220]

An Epic version of the Legionnaire line. The Hall’s earlier Rare recruits would keep their existing Quality, but the new template could be used by its branches.

Cassian immediately opened the Building description.

[Eclipse Chapterhouse | Epic Troop Building]

[Recruitment: Eclipse Legionnaire — Epic; Chapter Captain — Epic Hero, limit 1]

[Blueprint creation cost: Muster Fortune ×10,000]

[Eligible owner: Female Human Lord]

"A troop Building that comes with a Hero?"

Cassian stared at the description. Then he grinned.

"They actually called it."