Chapter 209: The Price of Every Victory

[Current candidate Occupation Progress:]

[1. Galen Tervain — 18%.]

[2. Elara Vayne — 17%.]

Riftward was already the Crown’s strongest Marches in Tidecrown, with nearly ten thousand Lords qualified for the Final Stage. Its acting Commander, Elara, had naturally become the Crown’s common candidate.

For a moment, the Channels were silent. Then the Crown Lords erupted in cheers.

[We’re evenly matched!]

[Our leaders are incredible!]

[We can win this! Keep going!]

Occupation Progress combined the time a candidate’s supporters held sites with their victories and defeats. The first candidate to reach a hundred percent would become Governor of Tidecrown.

Elara was only one percentage point behind Galen. To most of the Crown’s Lords, that was reason enough to celebrate.

The people in the Riftward Alliance were less hopeful.

Outside a Combat site, Darian watched a Beacon League Domain fade from view.

[Your opponent, Lord Claire, has forcibly withdrawn. Relocate your Domain to this site?]

"Another one ran. Damn War Intent. Damn this retreat rule!"

Maren had no easy answer.

"Lord Darian, if we used everything, we might be able to destroy the Lord’s Hall before the countdown ended. But our losses and expenditure would rise sharply too."

"I know. But if we can’t kill them, they’ll wear us out sooner or later."

He glanced at the newly published standings and posted in the Alliance Channel.

[Darian Frost: I’ve challenged fifty-three enemy Lords in three hours and killed exactly one. Even that took a Spatial Lock. A tenth of my force is out of action, and I’ve spent nearly half my War Intent.]

[Spatial Lock: Seal the current Domain against withdrawal from the Provincial Capital, including forced withdrawal. Price: 1,000 War Intent.]

[Seraphine Valcrest: Fifty-one straight wins, including Austin, is impressive enough. But there are too many of them. White Flag only lasts an hour. Their War Lords can keep using their defenses to drain our troops and potions.]

The mention of potions made Nessa miserable.

[Nessa Fenwick: My Legendary Knights haven’t suffered any casualties. But I’m running out of Aether recovery potions.]

Seraphine had put her finger on the problem.

Even Black Banner’s strongest Lords, Galen among them, could not match Riftward Region’s leading fighters. Austin, with his squad of Legendary troops, had lost to Darian too.

But Black Banner had nearly twenty million Lords to draw from. That meant far too many strong War Lords. Behind their defenses, they could release their most powerful attacks, force a retreat, then rest for a few hours and return.

After Bellmont’s early death, very few Lords on either side had actually been killed.

[Elara Vayne: We have to break their Lord’s Halls before the retreat countdown ends. It’s the only way to make their stronger Lords afraid. But it’s too difficult.]

[Nessa Fenwick: If Cassian were here, he could do it.]

[Darian Frost: Cassian is strong. I’m not denying that. But even if he can break one Lord’s Hall, can he break a hundred?]

They understood the problem. None had a good answer.

——

In the Black Banner Commanders’ group, the discussion was very different.

[No wonder Bellmont died. Those Crown Lords are far stronger than we thought.]

[The Crown really does produce remarkable people. Even without the Jade Court’s official support, they’re still fighting like this.]

[Those three Sorn siblings are the worst. Varek and his sisters are openly attacking us! They deserve to die!]

Galen smiled, confident.

[Galen Tervain: The situation favors us. What is there to fear?]

[Commander Merwick: Our Governor is right. When Cassian earned his Gold Battle Name, I said there was nothing to fear. However strong one man is, we can take turns fighting him. Even if we can’t kill him, we can keep him occupied.]

[Bastian Norell: Let Cassian come. I’ll stay inside my Lord’s Hall. I’d like to see him break it!]

Norell had taken over in Fellwater after Petra Durnell’s death at Cassian’s hands.

[Galen Tervain: Your Domain is still in the Capital, Norell. I wouldn’t tempt fate.]

Most of the others had learned to fear Riftward’s strongest Lords. They kept their Domains out of the Capital and attacked weaker Crown Lords instead. Norell kept moving in and out as though he had nothing to worry about.

[Bastian Norell: Why should I be afraid? If Cassian turns up, I’ll have every War Lord in Fellwater reinforce me!]

Galen had nothing to say to that.

[Defensive Reinforcement: Lords supporting the same candidate may reinforce one another. Cost: 1 War Intent per troop. Minimum cost: 100 War Intent.]

——

The struggle resumed, and the Crown’s disadvantage in numbers became impossible to ignore.

Darian and the other leading fighters had kept their own Domains out of the Capital so they would not have to divide their forces to defend them. Instead, they cleared one site after another for other Crown Lords to occupy.

Whenever possible, they chose Fortress or Combat sites—positions that would help Riftward’s defenders hold longer and turn their victories into a lasting advantage.

But the fighting never stopped. Their strength and supplies dwindled. Many of their main forces had lost more than thirty percent to death and wounds.

Nessa struggled through another victory and called out in the Marches Channel.

[Nessa Fenwick: Site 7782 is clear. Combat site. Who’s taking it?]

Several seconds passed before anyone answered.

[Lady Nessa, I still have three minutes of White Flag.]

[I only just got White Flag.]

[I can go. But I’ve only got a third of my troops left. I don’t think I could hold against even one attack.]

Her face fell.

"Now we can’t even find someone to hold the sites we take?"

The ten-second priority period expired. A few seconds later, a Domain descended into the vacant position.

Its Lord belonged to the Beacon League.

"That’s my site!" Nessa shouted. "Get out before I attack!"

The Lord spotted her and flinched.

"Leave the Capital map!"

Gold flashed. His Domain vanished, leaving the site empty again.

After five or six hours of fighting, Nessa’s three squads of Legendary Knights had earned a fearsome reputation. Coldridge was only making a show of its effort anyway. That Lord had no intention of dying for it.

"Relocate."

With no other choice, Nessa brought her own Domain into the Capital. Then she opened the Alliance Channel.

[Nessa Fenwick: What do we do now?]

Another three hours had passed since the last update. The system published the new standings.

[Current candidate Occupation Progress:]

[1. Galen Tervain — 44%.]

[2. Elara Vayne — 32%.]

The Alliance Lords’ hearts sank. Across the Crown’s remaining Domains, the figures fell like ice water.

Everyone had just seen Nessa take a site that no one could defend. Now the growing gap in the standings broke their earlier confidence.

Black Banner’s Lords filled the Province Channel with jubilant taunts.

[Bastian Norell: Where are you, Crown scum? I’m back in the Capital. Come and kill me! After all this fighting, how many troops and supplies do you have left?]

Darian gritted his teeth.

[Darian Frost: I want that bastard dead.]

[Elara Vayne: Don’t rush in. His Domain is showing Defensive Reinforcements. We don’t know how many.]

[Darian Frost: What chance do we have of winning the Governorship now anyway? I can still exchange for a Legion Writ. You get a Spatial Lock, and we’ll take Nessa. The three of us can wipe him out.]

[Legion Writ: Up to 3 Lords may attack one Domain together. Price: 800 War Intent.]

[Elara Vayne: He can exchange for a Truce Token too. I think that’s why he keeps moving in and out. He’s trying to make us waste our War Intent.]

——

While the Crown fought at a crushing disadvantage in Tidecrown’s Final Stage, Cassian gave an order in Swordheart.

[All units are to return to the Domain within two hours. Prepare for Domain relocation.]

Soon, Rhea returned at the head of the Eclipse troops that had been hunting near the Domain.

"Finally, we’re going home," she said. "Swordheart is good, but home is still home."