Chapter 313: Strength to Spare

[Your Lord’s Hall has advanced to Rank XV.]

[Building unlocked: Pocket Park.]

[Domain area increased to 2,100,000 square meters.]

"Two point one million."

Cassian smiled as the ground expanded around him. With the additional space in the Deep Layer, he now had four point two million square meters to use.

The Pocket Park was the City path’s Rank-XV Building. It improved Settler Loyalty and raised the city’s Aether concentration. Lords who chose Fortress instead gained an Exercise Court, which offered a modest increase to troop Physique.

For Cassian, the park was quite useful. He would need three at Level 12 before his City could advance to Rank XVI, so there was no reason to delay building them.

He began by rearranging the Buildings on the surface. Architectural Aesthetics had been an elective at school. It did little for a Domain’s strength, but it could at least make the place pleasant to look at.

Buildings shifted into their new positions. Construction began along the unfinished sections of wall. Cassian marked out the three spaces he had left clear and selected the new Building.

"Build Pocket Parks. Complete immediately."

He paid the costs. Rock gardens, winding paths, and waterways appeared, each park occupying more than ten thousand square meters.

He admired the view for a little longer, thoroughly pleased, then returned to work.

"Build houses. Recruit Eclipse Legionnaires."

Thousands of new dwellings rose after their construction costs were paid. Light shone within the Eclipse Muster Hall as another twenty thousand Legionnaires entered the recruitment queue.

Cassian bought two thousand complete Legendary Settler Writs through the Exchange and used them. Legendary Farmers emerged one after another, quickly dispersing to begin their work.

With his winnings from the betting pool settled, he had more than two hundred billion Aether. From now on, if he needed Farmers, he could afford to recruit Legendaries.

His accumulated Battle Essence had also passed three hundred billion.

"Upgrade the Dawnwing corps."

Rank XV had raised his troop Level limit to eighty. There was no need to keep his main forces waiting.

[Dawnwing corps: all units raised to Level 80.]

[Battle Essence consumed: 92,800,000,000.]

Their intrinsic equipment made Dawnwings more expensive to raise than ordinary Legendary troops. With more than a thousand of them, including his Nine-Star core, the cost approached a hundred billion in an instant.

The Eclipse fighting corps was of a similar size. Even at Epic Four-Star, it cost far less.

[Eclipse fighting corps: all units raised to Level 80.]

[Battle Essence consumed: 41,800,000,000.]

[Crystal Maidens: all 32 units raised to Level 80.]

Their upgrade cost a little over thirteen billion seven hundred million Battle Essence.

The Faerie Dragons followed, all eighteen reaching eighty, including Lethria. He brought the Praetorians, Stormlance, Bramrik, and the rest of his main combat force to the new limit as well.

Cassian and his four Heroes reached Level 80. He paid for Veyra’s growth as well, raising her sealed manifestation to eighty.

The whole round of Level growth had consumed a little over a hundred and eighty-one billion seven hundred million Battle Essence.

Only the fortune he had earned destroying hundreds of thousands of Black Banner ships made this possible. Other Lords reached a new Rank and slowly worked their way toward its limits. His thousands of high-grade fighters were ready at once.

He still had more than a hundred billion Battle Essence left.

Next came the ordinary Eclipse force. The earlier recruitment orders had finished. With the places drawn on for the fighting corps replenished through paid recruitment, he now had forty thousand ordinary Legionnaires, apart from the new twenty thousand still in the queue.

As Riftward’s Fortune rose, the monsters in its maps kept growing stronger. The low Levels that had once been enough for easy hunting would no longer serve.

"Raise the ordinary Legionnaires to Level 30."

He paid fifty-two billion Battle Essence to bring all forty thousand to the same Level.

Golden rings of light appeared throughout the Domain and across the hunting grounds extending more than three thousand kilometers beyond it. The Legionnaires paused in their hunts as new strength filled their bodies.

"Long live the Lord!"

Their cheers rang across the wilderness.

More than seventy-six billion Battle Essence remained. Cassian left it in reserve for the next stage and turned to Veyra, who had joined him after getting up.

"Put the ordinary Legionnaires through the Hall’s trials in batches. Get all sixty thousand trained to Epic One-Star. Include the new recruits once they’re ready, and bring them to Level thirty too."

He worked through the costs. When the entire force had completed its growth and trials, he expected to have roughly six and a half billion Battle Essence left for emergencies.

Expensive, certainly. Worth every point.

Sixty thousand Level-30, Epic One-Star Legionnaires should earn more than two billion Battle Essence a day. That was enough to pay for ten fully developed Faerie Dragons every day, if he had the recruitment capacity.

"There is one problem." He sighed. "More troops, higher Levels, higher stars. They’ll eat several times as much. I’ll need another hundred Fields at least."

The army’s growth would be wonderful for his income and much less kind to his granaries.

Veyra was delighted.

"Leave it to me, my lord."

Seeing the Eclipse force grow on that scale suited her very well.

——

By the time Cassian had dealt with the morning’s work, he was ready to fulfill another promise.

"Liora, come back to the Domain."

"Yes, Lord."

She returned from the distant ocean through a registered Carrier Gate, with the transfer cost paid. Aurelia came with her. She seemed to have guessed what Cassian intended and was not quite willing to let Liora face it alone.

Cassian raised a hand toward the mage.

"Dragon’s Blessing."

[Aether consumed: 1,000,000,000.]

[Liora Ashmere: all attributes +60%. Duration: 30 minutes.]

Liora stared at her Spirit reading. It had passed two hundred thousand.

Before she could ask why, a huge bronze book appeared before her, giving off an oppressive demonic aura.

"Mythic equipment?" Her gaze snapped toward him. "For me?"

"Remember the reward I promised you after the naval battle?"

She read the Grimoire’s description. Then she threw her arms around him and kissed him with enthusiasm.

"Long live the Lord!"

The gift alone would have delighted her. Now she understood why he had spent a billion Aether on a temporary increase to her attributes.

He had been worried about her.

[Liora Ashmere — Affinity +1 for your gift. Current Affinity: 98.]

[Liora Ashmere — Affinity +1 for your care. Current Affinity: 99.]

She had caught up with Celia in a single moment.

Cassian smiled to himself. Apparently, a little sincerity worked better than all his clever plans.

He really had been worried. If the Abyssal Grimoire turned Liora into its puppet, even the Fountain might not be able to bring her back.

Liora soon began the binding.

She let a drop of blood fall onto the bronze cover. Demonic apparitions burst from it, surging toward her as though they meant to swallow her whole.

She stood unmoving. Her expression barely changed.

Thirty seconds later, the house-sized Grimoire shrank into an ordinary book and settled into her hand.

"That’s it?" Cassian asked.

Liora examined the connection, looking almost as surprised as he was.

"Yes. It’s bound."

She turned a few pages for him. Death Scythe. Abyss Descent. Powerful spells lay ready within the book.

Cassian had expected more of a struggle. Binding it was supposed to be twice as difficult for someone who was not a Demon, yet Liora had scarcely looked troubled.

Still, he had no regrets about the precaution. A billion Aether was a small price to make sure she was safe.

He spent more Battle Essence and Aether to upgrade both Divine Dragon Amber and the Abyssal Grimoire to Level 80. Their attributes climbed again.

By then, it was noon.

"Since you’re back, stay for lunch before returning to the fleet."

Liora nodded happily.

"It’s been so long since I ate here with everyone."

They gathered in the Tavern’s upstairs private room. Aurelia, Celia, Liora, Sylvara, and Veyra took their places around Cassian, while Rhea and Fara helped serve the meal.

Nothing on the table was below Legendary Quality. A whole Golden Wyrmfish occupied the center. Even Cassian had eaten enough Moonrice lately to welcome a change.

He took fifty Enlightenment Tea leaves from his remaining stock and divided them among his companions.

Celia and Liora were seeing the leaves and their effects for the first time. Their delight was immediate. With tea like this, they could train their skills and arts more than ten times as quickly.

A sharp series of tones interrupted the meal.

Cassian had received a special System alert—a battle report matching one of the keywords he had set.