Chapter 306: A Hundred Billion, Paid in Full

[Cassian Vale: Still, the Crown is a civilized power. We believe in winning people over through generosity.]

He followed that declaration with three conditions.

[Cassian Vale: First, hand over the war criminals within fifteen days. That includes the three War Marshals, Garran Ravenscar, and the others responsible for the invasion.]

[Cassian Vale: Second, one hundred billion Aether in reparations.]

[Cassian Vale: Third, I like the Gildwake Banks. My fishing boat will remain there, and your nation will be responsible for its safety.]

[Cassian Vale: Meet those conditions, and I will allow Black Banner Lords to resume operations in Crown territorial waters.]

Nerissa could barely contain herself.

[Nerissa Vaust: The three War Marshals and Lord Garran died in your waters! How are we supposed to hand them over?]

[Cassian Vale: You don’t want to surrender them? Very well. Another concession, then. We’ll dispense with that condition. One hundred billion Aether.]

He had chosen the figure carefully. It was enough to hurt, yet low enough that the Black Banner would probably pay.

With the first Provincial Ranking approaching, money was what he needed most.

Ten minutes passed before Nerissa replied.

[Nerissa Vaust: We accept your conditions. But gathering that sum immediately will be difficult. We propose ten billion Aether per month, with payment completed within ten months.]

[Cassian Vale: No problem. I’ll withdraw my fleet when the full amount arrives. I’m in no hurry.]

[Nerissa Vaust: This is outrageous!]

Darian answered her with a sneer.

[Darian Frost: Stop pretending. Vaust Marches has already begun moving its population, hasn’t it? In less than a month, you intend to have a Region with two thousand Fortune.]

[Darian Frost: Once you can build Epic submarines and field Epic naval troops in numbers, you’ll tear up the agreement.]

Nerissa had no answer.

That was precisely the plan. Keep Cassian quiet for a few months, then break the treaty once the Black Banner could fight him at sea.

After all their discussions, its leaders had found no better answer to the Ghost fleet.

Creating a Region with two thousand Fortune would cost trillions of Aether. Even for an entire nation, that was a heavy expense. They had been forced to seek financial support from older sectors.

Cassian knew it too. That was why he had stopped at a hundred billion. Demand much more, and they might decide they had nothing left to lose.

The Black Banner was not alone in its preparations. Every great power had seen the naval battle. Whatever it cost, they would now hasten to develop something that could face the Ghost fleet.

War drove nations to improve. Cassian had pushed the whole newcomer sector’s naval development forward by himself.

Half an hour later, a notice appeared.

[Lord Nerissa Vaust has sent you 100,000,000,000 Aether through the Exchange.]

She posted proof of the transfer in the Channel.

[Nerissa Vaust: The money has arrived. We expect you to keep your word.]

Cassian had no time to answer her.

He was laughing too hard.

A hundred billion Aether. That was a fortune even at the level of nations, let alone for one Lord.

He could finally afford to bring the Five Elements Temple home, with money left over.

Divine Province’s Lords were almost as pleased as he was.

[A hundred billion! Boss, you’ve done it again!]

[Imagine what that can buy for the Eclipse line. Every improvement he makes costs a fortune. Now he has one!]

[Look at what his Epic troops did in that battle. How much stronger can he make them?]

[Legendary next! Why stop now?]

Nessa could hardly stop laughing.

"Darian, I think Divine Province has a new richest Lord."

"What are you so happy about?" His fighting spirit rose at once. "Just wait. I’m going home to ask my father for money."

Lords from the other twelve Crown Provinces shared their delight.

[After generations of being forced to pay, seeing them hand over a sum like that... I could cry.]

[A Crown Province making the Black Banner pay a hundred billion. I’ll enjoy remembering this for years.]

Lana was already thinking ahead.

[Lana Whitmere: Boss Cassian, when you can produce a Legendary Chapterhouse, don’t forget to upgrade mine!]

Mistveil March, Aegis Fold, Sword of Space, Wings of the Windlord, and Grain God. The Eclipse line’s complete inheritance was extraordinary even before its members began advancing through the Hall’s trials.

No wonder it stood at the top of the Homeworld’s Epic troop lines. The prospect of carrying that inheritance into a higher-Quality line was enough to make every Chapterhouse owner eager.

A few Black Banner Lords could not endure the celebration.

[Enjoy it while you can! When we take first place in the Provincial Ranking, we’ll gain another thousand Fortune. Vaust Region will pass three thousand!]

[Divine Province has hardly any people. Three Provincial Rankings from now, your advantage will be gone.]

[And the Morvane clan’s own Rare troop line will soon—]

Nerissa cut in before any Crown Lord could answer.

[Nerissa Vaust: Shut your mouth!]

She shared their hopes. She had no intention of provoking Cassian again at this moment.

Nor was the development of a custom troop line something to announce freely in front of their enemies.

They did not know that the man they hated, and the Crown Lords were praising, had already left the Homeworld Realm.

——

Riftward Region had passed three thousand Fortune. Its expanded territory now measured more than fifteen thousand kilometers across.

Cassian had reserved the central three-thousand-kilometer stretch for himself. No one had complained.

Now, thousands of meters above its center, the sky erupted with light.

Waves of Energy swept across fifty kilometers of space. Within them, an immense shadow slowly took shape, its outline so vast that looking at it made the surrounding land seem small.

For a full minute, the sky churned.

Then the tides of power subsided.

The Five Elements Temple stood complete, ten thousand meters high.

Monsters throughout the surrounding area pressed themselves to the ground. Any thinking creature faced with that towering mass would have felt its own insignificance.

The nearest other Lord lived more than fifteen hundred kilometers away. Cassian had also revoked other Lords’ Gate access to his reserved area. No one would simply wander into it.

For the moment, the Temple could remain hidden.

A flash of light appeared at its foot. Cassian emerged, still looking faintly pained.

He had entered Fivefold Heaven, paid the relocation charge, and brought his World Wonder to Riftward at last.

Sixty-four billion eight hundred million Aether.

"Finally."

He looked up at the Temple.

It was a tremendous defensive weapon in its own right. Its demonstrated reach of five thousand kilometers could protect a vast stretch of Riftward’s heartland.

"If an enemy comes that Divine Province truly can’t handle, I can move the Provincial Capital here for a while."

That was a useful safeguard. It was not the immediate reason he had been so eager to pay the bill.

Cassian opened Divine Province’s administration panel and checked the Construction Index.

His pained expression vanished. Laughter rang out beneath the Temple.

"One point two billion! From one Building!"

A World Wonder deserved its name. It had added as much to the Index as hundreds of Legendary Buildings.

With the Five Elements Temple included, first place seemed all but certain.

More than ten days passed.

At last, the day of the first Provincial Ranking arrived. Lords waited anxiously across the Homeworld, and betting pools large and small opened on the Exchange.

That morning, Sylvara brought Cassian another piece of news he had been waiting for.

"Lord, the first crop of Enlightenment Tea is ready."