Chapter 219: The Governor’s Authority

[The Contest of Champions has officially begun.]

[First stage: Homeworld Qualifiers.]

[The top one hundred Lords in Tidecrown Province by Skyreach Points will receive the title of Homeworld Champion and qualify to represent the Homeworld against the myriad races.]

[Settlement: noon, five days from now.]

[Note: Lords who die or relocate out of Tidecrown before settlement will lose their eligibility.]

Tobias let out a relieved breath.

"The rules haven’t changed much from previous years. I was afraid the Realm would find another way to surprise us."

Rowan laughed.

"With my strength, qualifying shouldn’t be difficult. I won’t have much chance once the real contest starts, but even a participation reward would be worth having."

"Wait!" Elara’s face changed. "Cassian left Tidecrown as soon as he reached Rank XII. He hardly has any Skyreach Points here!"

The others went cold.

Until today, they had thought of little except the Governorship. Who had time to worry about the next contest?

Cassian had meant to return within seven or eight days. That would not have hurt his chances much. Instead, he had been delayed for a month.

"If Cassian can’t enter, it won’t just be a loss for the Homeworld. It’ll be a loss for Humanity!" Nessa said anxiously. "Why do the points have to be counted by Province? Why not use the Tower Ranking and let the Lords who’ve cleared the most floors go?"

"It’s always worked this way," Mira said helplessly. "The rule gives every Province a share of the places."

"Without Cassian’s unusual situation, it would be entirely in our favor," Seraphine added. "Tidecrown has lost so many strong Lords. If points carried over, people from other Provinces could come here and take our places whenever they liked."

Nessa was close to tears.

"Darian! Why are you still holding me up?"

"Oh. Right."

He finally remembered and put her down. Then relief crossed his face.

"Wait. Cassian was the first to finish a run. Opening the Province’s Tower Ranking gave him a thousand points. Good thing I didn’t beat him to it!"

That brought some hope back to the group.

Elara opened the Skyreach interface and quickly worked through the figures. Her expression remained grave.

"A thousand may still not be enough. After a month of daily clears, events, and Ranking rewards, the Lord in hundredth place already has fifteen hundred and thirty-two."

She looked up.

"Even if Cassian pushes past Floor Twenty-Five over the next few days, he won’t make the top hundred. Clearing Floor Thirty might give him a chance, but he’d have to do it every day."

"Impossible," Seraphine said at once. "The Boss on Floor Thirty should be an Epic Hero above Level 100. Its Combat Rating could be fifty thousand stars."

"You seem to have forgotten something." Darian narrowed his eyes. "Most of the Lords on Tidecrown’s points list are Black Banner."

Seraphine slapped her forehead, then laughed.

"Of course! Use the Governor’s authority. Drive out or kill the Black Banner’s ranked Lords over the next five days. Then a thousand points will be enough!"

"Let’s do it," Elara said. "But carefully. We don’t know how many older-sector Lords they’ve brought down."

"A fair concern." Darian nodded. "Fortunately, the three Lords my father sent are still here. They couldn’t help in the Governorship contest, but they can certainly deal with older-sector invaders."

That reminded Elara of something.

"Darian, just who are you?"

He blinked.

"I asked my mother about them. They’re famous in Sector 642. Lord Marden is even stronger than she is. Yet all three gave up Domains they’d developed for more than twenty years to stay here and protect you?"

Aveline herself was well known in Sector 642 and had worked with Marden several times. She knew what that sacrifice meant.

"Well, that’s..."

Darian searched desperately for an explanation.

Mira’s sudden cry rescued him.

"Something’s happening in the Capital!"

"What is it?"

"A Farming site was attacked by a large group of high-grade Demons. Cassian arrived in time to save the farming Lord who’d just moved in."

"Demons?" Elara asked. "How did Demons get into the Capital?"

Grateful for the change of subject, Darian spoke at once.

"We can’t stand here doing nothing. Mira, send me the coordinates. I’m going to look."

"I’ll come too."

——

"The Contest of Champions..."

Cassian felt some relief as he read the rules. For once, the Realm had not added an unexpected twist.

After checking his Skyreach interface, he relaxed further.

"Good thing I left after Floor Ten and claimed the reward for opening Tidecrown’s Ranking."

The Tower reset at midnight. It was only a little after five in the morning, so there was no need to rush. He turned to another notice.

[You have become Governor of Tidecrown Province. Authority increased. Select to view.]

The appointment granted many new powers. Naming the Province, improving gathering and construction speed, appointing officials, issuing announcements... Those were useful enough, but six entries held his attention.

[1. Gate access extends across Tidecrown Province and up to ten thousand kilometers beyond its borders. Access may be delegated to officials of Regional Warden rank or above.]

[2. Residency administration. You may create tradable Blank Residency Writs for any Region under your jurisdiction.]

[3. Targeted relocation of Domains within the Province, subject to the owner’s consent.]

[4. Authority Revocation. Revoke the powers of subordinate Marches Commanders.]

[5. Exclusive Governor Building unlocked: Expedition Office.]

[6. Administration of the Provincial Capital.]

Cassian opened the Gate map. For the first time, he could see Tidecrown in full.

The island stretched across a hundred and eighty thousand kilometers, surrounded by ocean. His access reached ten thousand kilometers out into the sea. He could even see the Fortune Temple where they had fought that great battle.

If he wanted to visit it again, he could open a Gate instead of sailing for hours.

The price still rose with distance. A passage to the farthest offshore reaches would cost hundreds of thousands of Aether.

The residency power explained something else. Julian Lind had used Blank Residency Writs to lure talented Lords into his Region and choose among them. Cassian had no immediate need to do the same.

Authority Revocation, however, was exactly what he wanted.

He selected his targets.

"Revoke."

Galen Tervain. Commander Merwick. Valerie Merriton. Arun Varma. Selene Rook. Alexei Petrov.

Across Tidecrown, every Commander outside the Crown’s side lost the powers of the office.

Apart from the Northbear Lords, Cassian intended to remove them all, however much time and effort it took. Northbear had not attacked the Crown. There was room to discuss its future, depending on how much sincerity Alexei showed.

Cassian did not wait to read their reactions. He turned to the Expedition Office, one of the most important Buildings a Governor could possess.