Chapter 250: The Final

On the Homeworld, the Black Banner’s military headquarters was in uproar.

"Damn it! Cassian has broken the Homeworld’s record. His reputation is soaring! Killing him now will bring even more public pressure!"

"This is all Hadrian’s fault. If that useless man had killed him yesterday, none of this would have happened!"

"You can’t put all the blame on Hadrian. Our intelligence service failed him..."

"Calm yourselves!"

General Hale rose from his seat. He was eighty percent recovered from his injuries and was preparing to return to Sector 632.

"Cassian may have broken the record, but look at how long his battles lasted. His losses must be considerable. Half his Dawnwing corps could already be dead."

The officers looked at one another.

"He paid that price for an empty reputation," Hale continued. "He must think a place in history will make him untouchable. Naive."

He let the room settle before going on.

"The Jade Court has allied with the western nations led by Western Beacon. When the Legion Contest begins, they intend to expel Divine Province from the Homeworld Legion."

"Cassian is strong. No one can deny that." He shook his head. "His mistake was making too many enemies. However powerful one man becomes, he cannot stand against all those forces."

"I see." One officer began to smile. "Our generation has far more powerful Lords than usual. We have a real chance of reaching the top hundred. Every Province except Divine Province will receive enormous rewards from the Realm. I’d like to see Cassian’s face then."

"Exactly." Hale moved to leave. "He’s broken the record. He won’t continue in the Individual Contest. I shall return—"

A messenger rushed into the room.

"Cassian has begun Round Sixteen!"

Hale stopped.

"He chose to continue?"

Before he could say more, a second messenger arrived.

"Cassian has defeated his opponent in Round Sixteen. Eighteen seconds!"

"Eighteen?" Hale stared at him. "Don’t tell me another opponent withdrew."

He had meant to return to Sector 632 immediately. Instead, he slowly sat down again. Now he wanted to see how far Cassian could get.

The next reports made his eyes widen further.

"Victory in Round Seventeen. Twenty-eight seconds."

"Victory in Round Eighteen. Eleven seconds."

"Round Nineteen..."

The officers knew Cassian’s Eclipse troops had Sword of Space. That did not mean they could surprise and kill the enemy Lord every time.

The two sides started kilometers apart. Most Lords stayed behind their troops, and Sword of Space weakened with distance. Anyone who had reached this stage should be at least as strong as Azrak.

There could only be one explanation.

Every one of Cassian’s recent opponents had conceded.

"What kind of luck is this?" an officer muttered. "He’s in the top ten thousand. He reached the top ten thousand without even fighting!"

"I..."

Hale tried to speak. His face went white. A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips, and he toppled backward.

"General Hale’s old injuries have reopened!"

The headquarters dissolved into chaos.

——

It was already past midnight. Across the Homeworld Realm, ten billion Lords remained wide awake.

Cassian had not merely broken the record. He had swept into the top ten thousand.

What his enemies found hardest to bear was how little time those matches had taken. Twenty-odd seconds at most. Clearly, his opponents had withdrawn.

[Does Sun Mother really favor Cassian?]

[Your goddess alone couldn’t give him luck like that. Our God must be helping too.]

Nessa had no intention of letting them enjoy even that excuse.

[Nessa Fenwick: You understand nothing. That’s Cassian’s presence! Even the champions of the myriad races bow before him. Yet you fools still dare oppose him!]

The Black Banner Lords were furious.

[Nerissa Vaust: Hiding behind Cassian and baring her teeth at us! One day, I’ll skin that little parasite!]

Anger changed nothing. Cassian kept winning.

An occasional match lasted a few minutes, giving his critics something to seize on. Without those, they might have suspected that he was simply killing his opponents in an instant.

That was exactly what he was doing.

With their enormous attributes, Rhea and the other Praetorians used Sword of Space to kill enemy Lords before they could respond. Only races with exceptionally powerful bodies, such as the Divines, made the fights last a few minutes.

In the hours before dawn, a numbed Homeworld watched him reach the final.

[The final! A Lord from our Homeworld has reached the Individual Contest’s final!]

[Have I been awake too long? Am I imagining this?]

People could hardly believe it.

[How many rewards has he collected along the way?]

[I shouldn’t have conceded so early! Forget the final. I would have been happy with the top ten thousand!]

[Are the other races’ champions really that weak this time?]

[Perhaps all his opponents were exhausted from their previous matches.]

[Walter Norman: That must be it. They say the strongest champions aren’t that far apart in power. Lord Cassian’s run is a miracle. No one could repeat it.]

Alexei, whose fortunes were now tied to Divine Province, laughed openly.

[Alexei: Wonderful! One more victory and Lord Cassian takes the Mythic reward for first place!]

That swept away the last of everyone’s weariness.

A Mythic reward!

In most new sectors, the appearance of a Mythic item, Hero, or troop within ten years was already considered fast.

Why had the Homeworld’s major powers turned Sector 632 into a war zone? Because the Mythic Ancient Road and several other Buildings there could produce Mythic items or units.

Even in the Sixth Realm, the appearance of something Mythic could make great powers fight bitterly over it.

If Cassian won a Mythic reward less than a year after his sector opened, he would break another Homeworld record.

[Nerissa Vaust: Impossible!]

She had stayed awake all night. Her eyes were bloodshot.

[Nerissa Vaust: His opponent will fight with everything they have for that reward. There won’t be another cheap victory!]

[Darian Frost: Unless that opponent is already exhausted too.]

[Lana Whitmere — Hidden Dragon Province: Lord Darian is right. With Cassian’s luck, that seems quite possible.]

Then another message appeared.

[Ansel Fenholt: Young Cassian, I’ve never begged anyone for a favor in my life. For this final match, I’m begging you. Open the broadcast!]

Cassian stared at the Daoist leader’s message, momentarily speechless.

The broadcast was staying closed. He could only pretend he had not seen the plea.

Still, Ansel Fenholt’s Bean Soldiers was an impressive Grade-A skill. If an opportunity arose, he would have to find a way to get the Skill Book.

He closed the Channel.

"So I’ve become this strong."

Cassian sounded almost surprised.

"This tournament feels more like a trip to collect supplies."

Before today, he had taken the champions of the myriad races very seriously. Meeting someone like Azrak in his second match had made him even more cautious.

Victory after easy victory had finally shown him the truth. The strongest champions were not as far apart in power as he had imagined.

The Machine Lord he had just defeated could merge with his Lord’s Hall and become a Mechanical King a hundred meters tall, comparable to a Legendary Nine-Star Hero. He was the strongest opponent Cassian had faced so far.

Even that Lord could have fought no more than two Azraks at once.

With enough luck, Azrak himself might have reached the final.

Soon, the Realm announced that the last match was beginning.

Cassian selected his strongest lineup again.

"A third Mythic treasure. I wonder what it will be."

He was looking forward to finding out.

The world shattered and re-formed. A barren desert of gravel and hard earth spread around him.

"Lord, watch out!"

His feet had barely touched the ground when Aurelia stepped in front of him. Even with his eyesight, Cassian caught only a glimpse of a blood-red figure crashing into her.

BOOM!

Folded Sky Ward flashed wildly. Though the skill had reached Lesser Perfection, it looked ready to collapse. Reinforced by Space Will, it held.

The force still drove Aurelia back more than ten meters before she caught herself.

"Oh?" A surprised voice came from ahead. "Your Hero can withstand my full-strength strike?"

Cassian looked at the figure suspended in the air. His pupils narrowed.

"That strength... a Blood Emperor..."