Chapter 233: The Army at the Capital

"Lord, our preliminary count puts the enemy at three thousand two hundred Legendary troops and seventy-eight thousand Epics. Their Rare troops..."

Seven continued her report.

"They’ve formed a single army and are heading straight for the Capital."

Cassian frowned.

"They’ve learned to be careful."

The enemy’s numbers and troop Qualities were within his expectations. Their approach was less convenient.

The Black Banner had brought ten times the strength of its previous invasion, yet abandoned its former arrogance. It was keeping the army together and advancing on the one place Cassian had to defend.

A Governor enjoyed enormous advantages within his Province. But if an enemy seized the Capital and held it long enough, the Governorship could change hands again.

"So much for picking them off in separate groups."

If the Black Banner split its army again, he would be confident of crushing even a hundred veterans at a time with Aurelia, Celia, Liora, and his strongest troops. All three Heroes were Legendary Nine-Star.

"No need for a Communication Seal Scroll, then."

Darian and the military veterans soon confirmed the enemy’s route. Brienne Wren found the plan troublesome too.

"They’re being careful. Their objective is clear: take the Capital. Even killing our people comes second."

Cassian thought for a moment, then posted in the Province Channel.

[Cassian Vale: The Black Banner army is approaching. Lord Darian Frost will have full authority over the Capital’s defenses. Cooperate with his arrangements for moving Domains and assigning sites.]

Darian laughed and slapped his chest.

"Good choice. Leave the defenses to me."

Brienne Wren contacted Cassian privately.

"Would you like me to send a few defensive specialists to help our young Lord Darian?"

Cassian narrowed his eyes. She did not trust Darian to handle the work.

That also meant she did not know who he really was.

Quite apart from Darian’s own ability, there were his Heroes. Maren and Bren had been renowned Lords in their own lives, with thousands of years of war behind them. They might not rival a Demigod war leader or Bren’s Mythic uncle, but these younger veterans could hardly match their experience.

"Let Darian finish first," Cassian said. "If you see anything that needs improving afterward, you can bring it up then."

He considered, then added a friendly warning.

"And don’t call him a little brother to his face. Big brother, or just Lord Darian. Trust me."

After all their time together, Cassian understood him a little better.

Darian had grown up in Highcrest, wanting friends his own age. His place in House Frost’s family line, however, put him above relatives thousands of years older than him. Being treated as everyone’s junior hardly suited that position.

Big brother was a tolerable compromise. In a world where gods and ancient Lords walked beside ordinary people, a few thousand years between brothers was nothing remarkable.

Brienne Wren was not convinced. Before the descent, however, her commander had firmly instructed her to obey Cassian. She had no choice but to accept his decision.

She would watch the arrangements closely. If she found a weakness, she could point it out and have it corrected at once.

As time passed, her doubt gave way to admiration. Then admiration became astonishment.

"A remarkable heir of House Frost. Young Darian—Lord Darian’s tactics are extraordinary."

Cassian, meanwhile, began preparing his own forces for the coming battle.

Since reaching Rank XIII, he had paid the Battle Essence required to bring his surviving main combat troops to the new Level-70 limit. The days of income afterward had pushed his reserve above twenty billion again.

Business in the Worlds Market had settled into a steady rhythm, bringing in two hundred to three hundred million Aether a day. Even after the enormous costs of maintaining his army and the Sanctuary, he had money left over. His fortune was once again approaching ten billion.

Cassian calculated what he could spend, then paid to recruit eighteen more squads of Legendary Dawnwings from the Pool: two hundred and thirty-four new troops.

When their recruitment was complete, he spent seventeen billion eight hundred million Battle Essence raising the new Dawnwings to Level 70.

His nine Nine-Star Praetorians stood ready at Level 70 as well.

Above the Dawnwing Pool, forty squads hovered in the air. Five hundred and twenty Dawnwings.

Cassian watched them for a moment.

"If the fighting gets difficult, I’ll have to reveal the corps."

Another day passed.

At the center of Riftward Marches, the Black Banner army surrounded the Capital in layer after layer, keeping several kilometers away.

Through the spatial barrier, the invaders could see countless Domains arranged into intricate formations.

"Someone in the Crown understands defense," Hadrian said with a light laugh. "But against absolute strength, tactics are a waste of effort."

He used a skill to amplify his voice.

"Cassian! The Black Banner keeps its word. If the Crown stops resisting, no one has to die!"

"Keeps its word?"

Before Cassian could answer, Brienne Wren rose into the air.

"There are gods watching, Hadrian Noll! On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Crown Lords murdered in Clearautumn Marches, I’ll ask you one question. When you say that, aren’t you afraid of retribution?"

Hadrian’s expression changed.

"Brienne Wren? You descended too?"

He shouted, "You’re a Crown military officer! You dared disobey the Jade Court and come to Tidecrown? Aren’t you afraid of sanctions?"

"Don’t try to frighten me with the Jade Court. We left its service before we came."

Hadrian frowned at the unexpected development. Then he laughed softly.

"So what if you’ve come to help?"

His voice rang across the army.

"Kill every Crown Lord in the Capital. Let them all see what happens to anyone who opposes the Black Banner!"

Twelve Golden Behemoths leaped into the sky.

Each jump carried them a kilometer. The force of their launches crushed the ground for a hundred meters around them, leaving it sunken and cracked.

Hundreds of thousands of Heroes and troops from the older sector followed, their power rolling ahead of them.

Behind those came the armies of hundreds of thousands of newcomer War Lords: more than a hundred million troops, filling the land and darkening the sky.

The Capital stretched for dozens of kilometers. Before that oncoming tide, it looked like a small boat about to be swallowed.

Huge as they were, the Golden Behemoths moved like the wind. A few leaps brought them to the Capital’s spatial barrier.

Their claws tore forward.

Ten-meter rifts opened in the barrier.

"Those Behemoths are well beyond Legendary Three-Star," Brienne Wren said sharply. "Our intelligence is out of date."

Everyone turned toward Cassian, hope and worry mingling in their eyes.

The Crystal Maidens were Extreme troops too. Could they stop Golden Behemoths stronger than Legendary Three-Star?