Chapter 213: Let the Whole Province Watch

Light flashed, and Cassian appeared outside Site 4419.

His eyes brightened at the sight of the Domain ahead.

"Look at all that Battle Essence."

Nano Warriors, Arbiter Mechs, Sanctum Warriors, Phantom Archers, Troll Chieftains... Familiar Rare and Epic troops packed the Domain. There had to be well over a hundred thousand of them.

Even the weakest were Rare. This army was hundreds of times stronger than the forces Claire and Norell had fielded. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

No wonder Austin sounded so confident.

Laughter rolled out from the Domain.

"I was afraid you wouldn’t dare come, Cassian! Now that you’ve seen my defenses, what do you think? A pleasant surprise?"

Austin laughed again.

"I liked that arrogant tone you took with me. I hope you can keep it up!"

Cassian was thoroughly pleased with him.

"A very pleasant surprise."

Then a notice appeared in the Province Channel.

[Lord Austin has opened a live broadcast.]

Cassian frowned.

"How troublesome."

He had known he would have to reveal some of his strength today. Still, hearing about it was one thing. Seeing it was another.

The Governorship mattered, but he also wanted to wipe out as much of the Black Banner’s fighting strength as possible and collect the Battle Essence. What if the broadcast frightened everyone into refusing to fight?

"That’s right. I’m broadcasting this." Austin’s eyes shone with satisfaction. "Every Lord in Tidecrown will see you run like a beaten dog!"

More than ten million viewers flooded in, including the Crown’s Lords. For a moment, it was as though the whole struggle for the Governorship had paused.

[Lord Austin is a good man! May he live a long and peaceful life!]

[Claire and Norell died too quickly to send us any useful information. At last, we’ll see what Cassian has besides his Dragons. Then we can prepare for it.]

[Prepare for what? Look at those reinforcements. More than a hundred thousand troops! If Cassian doesn’t have enough War Intent to withdraw, he’s dead.]

[It costs the attacking Lord even more War Intent to force a retreat. He’s been outside Tidecrown for half a month. Where would he get that many points?]

Galen joined in, laughing.

[Galen Tervain: Kill Cassian, Lord Austin, and you will be the Black Banner’s closest friend. I can promise you a hundred places for your Lords in Riftward afterward.]

[Austin: Now that is a sincere offer, Lord Tervain.]

Cassian glanced through the messages, then gave his orders quietly.

"Eclipse veterans first. Drive as many of them out of the city as you can. Then the Dragons and Stormlance move in. And make the fight look close."

If Austin insisted on broadcasting, Cassian would have to use a little care.

"Yes, Lord!"

The troops answered at once. But at the words "look close," several Stormlance curled their lips. Sigrid was no exception.

The Crystal Maidens who had held back until now changed into their Dragon forms. Twelve enormous bodies appeared behind the line, their presence bearing down on the battlefield.

[His Dragons! They’re finally out. From that size, they must have reached the current Level-65 limit.]

[Look at the one in the middle! Why is that one so much bigger?]

[Star advances. More than Two-Star or Three-Star, surely!]

The Crown Lords’ spirits rose. Nine’s hundred-meter body made an especially impressive sight.

[Elara Vayne: That’s Nine! Cassian must have found some wonderful things in Swordheart. At that size, she has to be at least Five-Star!]

Darian enlarged the image. He drew a sharp breath.

[Darian Frost: Look at the Eclipse troops’ weapons.]

Others followed his gaze and cried out.

[A Legendary sword for every one of them? Since when was Legendary equipment this common?]

[That’s what a forge of that Quality can do!]

Elara and Nessa were among the most excited. They knew how powerful the Eclipse line’s new skill was.

Even they were not prepared for what came next.

"Sword of Space!"

Hundreds of veteran Legionnaires swung their swords together. Sword energy passed through space and appeared several hundred meters away.

Along the walls, hundreds of Rare Elven Phantom Archers went rigid. Their heads rolled from their shoulders.

Several Human Elemental Archmages fell too, though those Epic troops had stayed behind the front line.

The skill’s description said that a strike would land wherever the user could see. In practice, it worked through a mental lock. The Praetorians’ powerful Spirit made it possible to lock onto the mages behind their protective troops.

The broadcast fell silent. Then messages flooded across it.

[What skill is that?]

[Those are the Eclipse Legionnaires Cassian created, aren’t they?]

[I can feel a chill on my neck just watching!]

Someone remembered an earlier fight.

[Wait! Nessa’s Eclipse troops used something like that against me. But the range and power were nothing like this!]

Sword of Space lost power with distance. Elara and Nessa’s ordinary Epic Legionnaires could use it to excellent effect at close range, where its sudden strike was hardest to guard against.

Cassian’s Epic Two-Star veterans could kill Rare troops from hundreds of meters away.

Among Tidecrown’s tens of millions of Lords, some recognized exactly what they were seeing.

[Alexei Petrov: Sword of Space! That’s Sword of Space!]

The Northbear Commander sounded astonished.

[Alexei Petrov: A troop line with that rare skill in its inheritance? When Oracle Hall updates its ranking of self-created Epic troops, could Eclipse take first place?]

Colonel Mercer had just received orders to protect Cassian. Now he stared at the broadcast.

"First Aegis Fold and Mistveil March. Then Grade-A Wings of the Windlord. Now another Grade-A skill, Sword of Space. How does he keep developing the line so quickly?"

Lydia Venn was equally excited.

"Those fighters are far beyond ordinary Epic Legionnaires. Four-Star? Five-Star?"

She had an Eclipse Chapterhouse herself. Once this was over, she would have to ask Cassian about upgrading it.

"A self-created Epic line with strength like this," Corin said. "Cassian already has one of the qualifications to become a Domain Sovereign."

The thought left the other Lords staring at him with shock, delight, or eager interest.

Others felt only fear and regret.

Arun Varma’s body had gone cold.

"His fighting strength isn’t even the worst of it. One man doing more troop research than an entire first-rate team. Why couldn’t a genius like that have been born in the Sunspire Federation?"

Selene stared greedily at the Eclipse Legionnaires. Then regret swept over her.

If she had supported the Crown for just a few more hours, might Cassian have accepted her? Might she have gained an Eclipse Chapterhouse Blueprint?

Who could have known he would return at this exact moment?

On the battlefield, Austin’s face had darkened.

Free Will had provided special funds for him to buy an Anti-Gravity Equation scroll to counter Black Hole. He had prepared for Cassian’s Dragons.

How many more hidden weapons did the man have?