Chapter 231: A War in the Homeworld Channel

Twelve Golden Behemoths emerged from the column of light, their blood-red eyes and savage presence making the newcomer Lords hold their breath.

More than a thousand Black Banner veterans followed. Most were over fifty, but in the Realm, that was still the prime of life. Each had brought hundreds of troops. Together, they commanded hundreds of thousands.

Hadrian casually asked one of the Lords to show his troops’ attributes. The Black Banner Commanders stared at the display.

"Six thousand stars? From a Level-70 Rare troop? Our newcomer Epic monsters only have around five thousand!"

"They’ve had thirty years longer than us. Their Lord Talents must be at least Grade C by now. And that’s before all their other bonuses."

"At last, a force we can count on! I’m almost afraid Cassian will hear about this and flee."

"He won’t. He’s our enemy, but he has a warrior’s pride. He won’t run without a fight."

Hadrian turned to the Commanders.

"I hear Riftward Region has a Dwarven Royal Hall, as well as an instance that produces Rare Sword Dancer Sigils."

"That’s right," Valerie Merriton answered quickly. "Its Fortune passed a thousand a few days ago. Those Wild Buildings and the instance may have changed again."

Hadrian nodded.

"Once we take Riftward, I’ll bring back a batch of Sword Dancer Sigils to make up for the cost of this descent."

Rare troops could serve as the main fighting force of any power. Dorian seemed unsurprised by the demand.

"Of course, Uncle Hadrian. You can have all the Sigils. Cassian also has Time-Space Farms and plenty of spiritual produce. We’ll hand those over too."

That pleased Hadrian.

"Move out. Riftward Region is our destination."

Galen took a deep breath.

"We’ve gathered every War Lord from more than a dozen Marches. This time, we’ll destroy Cassian for good."

Cassian had stripped the Black Banner Commanders of their authority. They could no longer travel straight into Riftward Marches. Instead, the army went through Gates to Veylan and Kelshore, then began crossing the immense distance between Marches with precious, single-use spatial items.

A force moving that way could hardly escape the Crown’s notice.

——

"Tens of thousands of kilometers," Cassian said, studying photographs from the advance observers. "Even using spatial items repeatedly, they’ll need about half a day to reach our border."

He chuckled, then gave the others some better news.

"Alexei has agreed to fight the Black Banner with us."

Delight spread around the room. Northbear held only one Marches, but it had more than six hundred thousand Lords—several times the Crown’s numbers in Divine Province.

"Mira. Put these photographs in the Homeworld Channel."

"On it."

More than a dozen images of the marching army appeared in the Channel. Mira’s message followed.

[Mira Calder: The Black Banner is attacking Homeworld Champions during the Contest of Champions. We ask the Homeworld Council to intervene and stop this war. Our entire civilization’s interests are at stake.]

Over the past twenty-odd days, most Provinces had chosen Governors and joined the Channel. Each of the Homeworld’s three hundred and sixty-five Provinces had its own struggles, victories, and stories worth telling.

Many people had heard Cassian’s name. Far fewer understood what was happening in Divine Province.

Mira’s message caused an immediate uproar.

[More than ten billion newcomer Lords, and only thirty-six thousand five hundred qualify to represent us. They’re starting a war now? Do they want our civilization to fail?]

[Sending veterans against newcomers is bad enough. Against our own Champions? Is there nothing the Black Banner won’t do?]

[Divine Province... wasn’t that Tidecrown? Where Cassian created his own Epic troop line? He’s a talent we might not see again in a century. We can’t let anything happen to him before the contest.]

[@Malcolm — Concord Province. Where’s the Homeworld Council? Stop pretending you haven’t seen this.]

Councilor Malcolm had accepted the Black Banner’s money. Now, named in public, he had no choice but to respond.

[Malcolm — Concord Province: The Black Banner registered this campaign with the Council. Tidecrown is its sovereign territory. This is a legitimate war to recover it.]

[Malcolm — Concord Province: Please be assured that the Black Banner has promised not to harm any Homeworld Champion, particularly Cassian Vale, provided the Crown Lords offer no resistance.]

Galen immediately joined in.

[Galen Tervain: Councilor Malcolm is correct. We have always sought coexistence and shared prosperity. The previous bloodshed was entirely the result of Crown resistance. If they stop resisting, they won’t die.]

Mira did not bother answering him.

[Mira Calder: Councilor Malcolm, I have to wonder what the Black Banner paid you.]

[Lana Whitmere — Hidden Dragon Province: Who decided Divine Province belongs to the Black Banner? As I recall, the established rule is that the winner of the Governorship controls the Province.]

Darian supplied the background at once.

"Lana Whitmere. The Hidden Dragon Consortium’s eldest daughter. She’s their Governor."

Elara looked impressed.

"A woman who won a Governorship. Good for her."

Darian curled his lip.

"She’s twenty-three. An old lady. This is her third newcomer sector. She’s finally managed a perfect start."

"Twenty-three is old?" Seraphine stared at him. "I’m twenty-two! How old are you, exactly?"

Realizing he had said too much, Darian glared at her.

"Do you have a problem with it?"

"None."

Two of her together would still be no match for him.

Cassian smiled.

"Why don’t you fight me? If you lose, you can start calling me big brother."

"In your dreams." Darian rolled his eyes.

Seraphine looked at Cassian with admiration. Across Divine Province, he was the only one who could keep Darian in check.

After a long silence, Councilor Malcolm finally posted again.

[Malcolm — Concord Province: Lady Whitmere, your own authorities are aware of this arrangement.]

Corven, who had been watching without a word, cursed inwardly. Malcolm had dragged him into it.

[Corven Talcrest: There’s no cause for concern. Tidecrown is currently occupied by separatists. Our Black Banner friends are merely helping us recover the territory.]

The Crown Lords erupted.

Cassian had accepted none of the Jade Court’s conditions. The talks had broken down on the first day. Without the laws governing Lord warfare, the Jade Court would already have struck at Divine Province’s Lords on the Homeworld.

Even with those laws in place, it had declared them separatists.

Most Crown Lords could only swallow their anger. A few Governors, led by Lana, spoke out.

[Lana Whitmere: Must we destroy our own people? Are we going to repeat what happened in Harmony Province?]

Cassian smiled as he read the exchange.

"That should do."

It might look like nothing more than an argument in a Channel. He knew how much public opinion mattered. In the long run, this exchange could do more for Divine Province than an army of a million Lords.

The first results came far sooner than that.

Before long, Mira began receiving one piece of good news after another.