Chapter 234: Extreme Against Extreme

If the battle for the Fortune Temple had been a clash of Epic forces, this was a war of Legendaries. The fate of the Province’s tens of millions of Lords hung on it. Years later, people would still speak of this battle. It might even find its way into their histories.

Cassian had imposed no communication restrictions. Several Lords opened live feeds in the Homeworld Channel, and hundreds of millions of viewers soon gathered to watch.

[A war with more than a hundred million troops? In a newcomer sector? Already?]

[The Contest of Champions is about to begin. I just hope none of our Champions die here.]

People who knew the background quickly explained.

[The Black Banner wants Riftward, the greatest Marches in the Homeworld. They’ve suffered quite a few defeats at the Crown’s hands already.]

[They’ve activated a spatial seal. They mean to fight this to the end.]

[Those are our Golden Behemoths! Victory to the Black Banner!]

[Cassian has Extreme troops too, doesn’t he? Which side is stronger?] ℴℴ𝘮

[Look! His troops are moving!]

Hundreds of meters above the ground, Cassian stood on a cloud and looked down over the battlefield. There was no reason to hold back now. He supplied Godslayer with the premium Aether Crystals it required, and gold flashed at his brow.

"Godslayer."

Thunder rolled across the sky.

Sigrid and the other Stormlance shot upward on Thunder Step, leaving a string of explosive cracks behind them. The Golden Behemoths had torn at the barrier several times, opening gaps large enough to admit their enormous bodies.

Sigrid watched one of them push through. As most of its body crossed into the Capital, she accelerated.

"Die!"

The creature’s immense strength gave it terrifying speed. It was only a fraction slower than her. At the last instant, its claws swept into the path of her spear.

Metal rang. The impact thundered across the battlefield, driving a wave through the air.

Sigrid flew back a hundred meters. Her expression remained calm. That was exactly what she had intended.

The Behemoth had been forced half a step backward. The gap closed around it, trapping its body in the recovering spatial barrier.

The barrier existed to defend the Capital, but space itself could cut. Golden sparks burst from the creature’s hide as though it were being pressed against a grinding wheel. It threw back its head and roared in pain.

Within ten seconds, the other eleven Behemoths had suffered the same treatment.

"They stopped them!"

Crown Lords cheered on the battlefield and in the live feeds. The enemy had thirty extra years of development. No one dared demand that Cassian kill their Behemoths outright. Keeping those monsters occupied would be enough. At least they could not rampage through the defenders.

Bren saw more than the cheering spectators did.

"That strength is beyond Legendary Three-Star," he said gravely. "And their control is extraordinary. They waste nothing. Born warriors."

Maren nodded.

"So they weren’t using their full strength when they killed those Kodo Beasts with a single punch. How many Troop Souls did Cassian find in Swordheart?"

"They look magnificent," Darian said enviously. "Why had I never heard of Stormlance Valkyries before?"

Amid the praise, Cassian frowned slightly.

His Stormlance were still limited to Legendary Four-Star. In raw attributes, they had fallen far behind his Nine-Star Crystal Maidens and Praetorians. Even so, this was the first time he had fought another Lord and found one of his strongest lines evenly matched. Even the old Sword Immortal had fallen in a single exchange.

From Sigrid’s report, the Behemoths actually had the advantage in Physique.

"Nishi is only one of General Hale’s personal guards. And he’s only been a Lord for thirty years."

Cassian took the warning seriously.

If he revealed the Dawnwing corps here, what would he have left in reserve? Three Legendary Nine-Star Heroes, the Faerie Dragons, his Praetorians and Crystal Maidens, the Ghost Carriers, the Enlightenment Tea Tree, the Ancient Tree of Life, the Fountain, and the Folded Sanctuary...

Far too dangerous.

While Cassian was reflecting on the danger, Nishi was close to losing his temper.

"How is this possible?"

To make certain this descent succeeded, military headquarters had given him twelve Legendary Troop Souls. All twelve of his Golden Behemoths had reached Four-Star.

"Did you hide their strength last time? Or did you advance them again in the past month? Where could a newcomer sector produce so many Legendary Troop Souls?"

Seeing his Behemoths stopped by Cassian’s troops shocked him even more than Bai Zhen’s arrival had. He acted at once.

"Blood Boil! Tear apart everything in front of you!"

Golden light flared around the twelve Behemoths. Within it, their bodies began to shrink. They stopped at twenty meters tall, looking as though they had been cast from solid gold. Their power felt denser, held perfectly within those smaller bodies.

"Blood Boil is their ultimate skill, much like a Hill King’s Titan Descent," Maren warned. "From the look of it, they’ve reached Lesser Mastery. They’re physical Extreme troops. They don’t have enough Aether to maintain that state for long. Keep moving until it ends."

Cassian nodded. At Perfection, the skill was said to compress a Behemoth to the size of an ordinary Orc, its body like divine metal, able to tear through almost anything.

The Behemoths’ strength and speed surged. Their claws ripped the barrier open, and they stepped fully into the Capital.

Without waiting for an order, the Stormlance activated Storm Body. Their eyes turned blue, and lightning crackled around them. Each drank a bottle of Clearwake Tonic to keep her Aether recovering through the fight.

The watchers brightened. Cassian’s troops had a burst skill too.

The two lines clashed without another word.

Both were Legendary Four-Star, yet the Stormlance fell behind in strength and speed. Cassian had even moved his Domain onto a Physique site for the battle.

Godslayer gave them an enormous advantage, but Nishi had a Grade-B War Talent and thirty years of development behind him. He possessed the other kinds of bonuses Cassian relied on, and more besides. The Stormlance also lacked a Hero whose Command was suited to their line.

The Stormlance were relying on Thunder Step to keep clear of the worst attacks when an invisible pulse spread for dozens of kilometers.

A blood-red glow settled over every friendly Lord, Hero, and troop. Their attributes rose sharply.

Cassian turned toward its source.

Darian had chosen the Fortress path at Rank XIII. In the center of his Domain’s square now stood a statue dozens of meters tall, its hands clasped behind its back. A dark bird was worked into its robes. Its eyes shone fiercely, but light veiled its face.