Chapter 253: Mythic Power

The Divine Dragon Amber was a pendant, no larger than an infant’s palm. Inside the clear amber, a lifelike, five-clawed golden dragon swam continuously.

[Divine Dragon Amber — Mythic]

[Description: Sealing an adult Divine Dragon inside space-time amber takes considerable effort.]

[Level: 70. Can be upgraded.]

[Attributes: Physique +3,000 | Aether +3,000 | Spirit +3,000 | Load −3,000]

[Skills: Innate Auspice / Dragon’s Blessing / Unseal]

[Innate Auspice — Passive]

[Loot dropped in PvE battles improves by one Quality, to a maximum of Legendary. If worn by a Lord, all units belonging to that Lord’s Domain share this effect.]

[Dragon’s Blessing — Active]

[Spend Aether to bless a selected unit. The blessing may be tailored to combat strength, drop rates, resources, or other benefits. Its effect depends on the target’s base attributes and the Aether spent.]

[Unseal — Active]

[Open the space-time amber’s seal and release the Divine Dragon to fight for the wearer. The Dragon is Mythic One-Star, with a Level equal to the wearer’s.]

[Cost per minute: 10,000 Aether × the wearer’s Level.]

"Three thousand in each combat attribute!"

Cassian took a deep breath.

The basic bonuses alone were three or four times those of ordinary Legendary equipment. Every monster drop would improve by one Quality. Combined with his Domain Aether Vein’s increased drop rate, the results would be terrifying.

"And I finally have a Mythic fighter."

It took an effort to contain his excitement.

He looked again at the description. Someone had sealed an adult Divine Dragon inside this tiny piece of amber.

"What kind of power does that take? And how did someone that strong fall?"

The Load demanded by Mythic equipment was just as formidable as its benefits. An ordinary Lord could receive this treasure and still be unable to wear it.

The last two skills gave him a different sort of headache.

"Another creature that eats money."

Dragon’s Blessing, in particular, looked capable of swallowing any amount of Aether he fed it.

Cassian put the pendant on, letting it rest against his chest, then examined his other rewards.

[First Champion]

[The brightest among champions. While this title is equipped, suppress other champions’ attributes by 10% when facing them during the Contest of Champions.]

Not bad. That would be useful in the Legion Contest too.

Next came the accumulated gains from his many individual matches. Advancement rewards, viewing income, and kills had brought him a total of nine billion nine hundred million Aether and three billion two hundred million Battle Essence.

Forty-two Legendary Troop Sigils. Two hundred and thirteen Epic Troop Sigils. Three Sealing Scrolls and two Absorption Stones.

There were other items as well, and more excellent pieces of equipment than he cared to count. Unfortunately, no further Extreme Troop Sigils had appeared.

Only after sorting through the haul did he turn to the messages that kept arriving.

He scrolled up through the Homeworld Channel and laughed.

"There really is no limit to their greed."

They probably thought his Dawnwing corps had been all but wiped out and would need months to recover.

He had no intention of indulging those idiots. Divine Province’s Lords—and plenty of Crown Lords elsewhere—were already arguing on his behalf.

In an excellent mood, he posted in his own Province Channel.

[Cassian Vale: All Homeworld Champions in Divine Province, gather at my Domain in two hours.]

Riftward Marches remained under Spatial Lock. The Gates were unavailable, so he had to give everyone time to travel.

The moment he appeared, cheers filled the Channel.

[Alexei: Hurrah! Saint Peter Marches will always follow Lord Cassian!]

[My family used to be what made me somebody back in my city. Now my greatest claim is being one of Cassian’s followers!]

[You won’t believe this. My old school invited me back to give a speech as a distinguished alumnus. I was one of its worst students!]

Cassian read the messages with satisfaction.

"At least today’s flattery has some imagination."

As Divine Province and the Crown celebrated, news of his victory spread across the Homeworld and into the upper Realms.

Apart from the mysterious First and Second Realms, whose secrets touched on time itself, the Homeworld’s great Domains were all shaken. Cassian’s name reached ancient beings who had lived for thousands of years.

——

Third Realm. Highcrest.

Edran Frost sat facing the projections of the Caerwyn Sovereign and House Valcrest’s founder. For a long while, none of them spoke.

At last, Edran rubbed his brow.

"Have we been wasting our effort?"

He sounded tired.

"We’ve done everything we can to protect Divine Province while keeping attention away from it. Then this young man doesn’t merely break the Homeworld’s record. He brings back first place. Now everyone’s looking at him again."

The other two looked just as helpless.

Since the war in Divine Province ended two days earlier, they had quietly used their influence to shield Cassian and his people. They had even exposed talents they had spent years cultivating in secret. More remarkable young Lords would mean less attention on Cassian’s Dawnwing corps.

For two days, new talents had appeared throughout the Crown. It had looked like a splendid age of rising stars.

Then Cassian had made every one of them look worthless beside him.

"You can hardly blame him," the Valcrest founder muttered. "Should he turn down a Mythic reward that falls into his lap just to stay unnoticed?"

"I wonder what he received," the Caerwyn Sovereign said, frowning. "Will it make up for his Dawnwing losses?"

"You worry too much. Even losing the whole corps for a Mythic treasure might be a good bargain."

The Valcrest founder grinned.

"At worst, he can’t contribute to this Legion Contest. Haven’t the Jade Court, the Black Banner, and those western bastards spent all this time accusing him of taking rewards without working? Let him do exactly that. See what they can do about it!"

He burst into laughter. Edran and the Caerwyn Sovereign exchanged a look, half amused and half exasperated by him.

Then Edran’s expression changed.

He rose abruptly.

"How dare they!"

The other two seldom saw him so angry. Both demanded to know what had happened.

A cold light flashed in Edran’s eyes.

"They’ve established a Second Homeworld Legion and intend to exclude Divine Province. The Jade Court has already declared its support for the Second Legion on the Crown’s behalf."

Even the usually composed Caerwyn Sovereign lost his temper.

"Unity benefits both sides. Division harms both! They’ll sacrifice anything to hold Divine Province back!"

The Valcrest founder was silent for a moment. Then he laughed loudly.

"If they insist on splitting the Homeworld, why should we protect its unity?"

Edran looked at him sharply.

"What do you have in mind?"

"There are more than thirty-six thousand Homeworld Champions. They dare isolate Divine Province because it has only twenty-odd of them. They think losing that little force will make no difference."

The founder’s expression turned defiant.

"Then I’ve decided. Both Provinces under my secret control will remain in the First Homeworld Legion and support Divine Province. Even if this contest gives us nothing, they won’t have the last laugh."

He turned toward the Caerwyn Sovereign.

"What about you, old friend?"

The other man hesitated. Under that challenging stare, his anger rose again.

"Fine! I can afford to play this game too. You’re right. If they’re willing to stoop this low, why should we keep thinking of the greater good? At worst, we abandon Sector 666."

"Count me in," Edran said, his smile cold. "Ruining their plans for the Legion Contest does have its appeal."

These men had built great powers of their own. Their anger had cost countless lives. On this, all three agreed.