Chapter 319: The News They Needed to Hear

Several hundred kilometers away, Piers was still trying to steady his breathing.

"The damned Black Banner..."

Only minutes ago, he had been certain he would die. Now there was open country around him and no enemy in sight.

Thank goodness Odette had given him that Legendary Windbreak Scroll before he left. Without it, Kestrel would have had his head.

Perhaps the beautiful Bloodkin lady had taken a liking to him.

The thought was pleasant enough to linger over. Piers forced himself to put it aside.

First, he had to get the news out.

He soon encountered several parties of Golden Lion Lords. They had just finished killing a lone Lord from Gaul.

More than a hundred nations had people in this region. With communication cut off and escape through Gates impossible, old enemies no longer felt much need for restraint. Some settled grudges. Others were already locked in open fighting.

Piers looked at the dead Lord and felt his urgency grow.

Fortunately, the Golden Lion had always maintained close ties with Western Beacon. His own family name helped as well. The Lords agreed to assist him, and before long he reached another Western Beacon column.

He told its officers what the Black Banner had done.

"Give me your fastest flying escort," he ordered the commander. "I must leave the sealed region. Everyone needs to know about this betrayal."

"At once, Lord Haldane."

A few minutes later, Piers was sitting on the back of a wind Dragon. As the landscape began to race beneath him, the tightness in his chest eased.

Kestrel’s treachery had nearly killed him. It might also save his reputation.

If an ally had betrayed the operation, the intelligence service bore the blame. How could a field commander be expected to succeed when his plans had already been handed to the enemy?

Once he got out, he would make certain nobody underestimated the Black Banner’s crimes. A little emphasis here and there would help them understand.

——

More than a thousand kilometers away, a few Black Banner Lords fled across the battlefield.

"That Western Beacon Lord attacked us! Has he gone mad?"

"He said we were working with Divine Province!"

"Wait. Is that Lord Kestrel ahead?"

Their Governor had appeared in their path.

"Western Beacon permits only ten thousand of our Lords into Sunhaven," he said angrily. "They’ve never treated us as allies."

The fugitives stopped to listen. Most of their troops had been killed in the attack. They were more than ready to hear that someone else was to blame.

"From this moment, Western Beacon is our enemy. If we want our share, we’ll take it ourselves!"

Fury overcame the last of their hesitation.

"Yes, Governor!"

"What is there to fear? Their Pearl Fleet thought it was invincible too. We destroyed it all the same!"

They left with their minds made up.

Behind them, the man wearing Kestrel’s face watched them go.

Lethria returned to his side and spoke quietly.

"Lord. The real Varric Kestrel is dead."

Cassian nodded.

He had brought her from Divine Province for this operation. Blackmere’s Governor was a powerful Lord, but a surprise attack led by a Mythic Faerie Dragon had given him no chance. He had died without even understanding what had struck him.

Cassian considered the next step.

"Follow Piers. Keep him safe until he’s outside the sealed region. He mustn’t see you."

"Yes, Lord."

Between attacks made under false identities and orders delivered by a false Governor, the fighting spread rapidly. Western Beacon and the Black Banner went to war across the hunting grounds.

Some Lords sensed that something was wrong. By then, suspicion offered little protection. They could fight back or wait to be killed.

Divine Province’s Legendary force had already destroyed three Western Beacon columns when messengers brought news of the widening conflict.

Darian stared at them.

"Blackmere is fighting Western Beacon?"

"It has to be Cassian," Nessa said. Admiration lit her face.

"Getting the Black Banner on our side would be the best move right now," Elara admitted. "I just wonder what he had to offer them."

"Whatever it was, let’s make it worthwhile." Darian turned toward their troops. "We’ll use the opportunity to destroy more of Western Beacon’s army."

The others needed little encouragement. Their fighting spirit rose again.

——

The two Legendary scrolls had sealed tens of thousands of kilometers. Windward Isle lay within their reach, along with a vast stretch of surrounding sea.

Thousands of kilometers off the island’s western coast, wreckage covered the water.

More than a hundred Meridian cruisers had drawn together in a defensive formation. The Lords aboard the surviving vessels were doing everything they could to hold on.

"Every ship in that fleet is Legendary!"

"Nearly a hundred of them. And the Ghost fleet hasn’t even appeared!"

"There are only a few hundred known Legendary warships in the whole Homeworld’s newcomer sector!"

"They’re too fast. We can’t get away!"

"Call for help! I don’t want to die here!"

Beyond their formation, the ninety-five ships of the Hurricane Fleet kept moving. They seemed content to circle for the moment.

Western Beacon had assembled more than a hundred thousand warships for the operation. Around seven were Legendary; thousands more were Epic. They were meant to cooperate with the army and crush Divine Province’s expedition from both land and sea.

Only a little over a thousand ships had passed into this stretch of water before the Spatial Lock closed their route.

Then the Hurricanes had arrived.

For an hour, the trapped ships had tried to fight a fleet made entirely of Legendary vessels. Speed allowed the Hurricanes to strike where they wished and pull away before the enemy could make them pay for it. Their commanders were in no hurry to trade damage.

Now only the hundred-odd Epic Meridian cruisers remained. Their brief use of Phase had kept them alive through attacks that destroyed the other ships.

The sea beneath them lit up.

More than ten thousand beams erupted from under the water. Blue light flooded the sky for dozens of kilometers. The heat raised a great bank of steam, and sunlight caught a rainbow in the drifting mist.

The Ghost fleet had arrived.

Its first broadside tore through most of the surviving cruisers.

Mira stood aboard one of Divine Province’s ships, watching the blasts roll across the enemy formation.

"For sheer firepower, there’s nothing like Cassian’s Ghost Battleships."

The remaining Western Beacon Lords shouted curses. Others begged to surrender. Neither saved their ships.

Soon, the last of the trapped flotilla was destroyed.

Divine Province’s vessels had suffered no damage at all. They had spent only the Energy needed to fight.

——

Beyond the sealed region, Western Beacon’s leaders had their own chaos to contend with. They could not even learn what was happening to the armies and fleets they had sent in.

"Who used two Legendary scrolls to seal the whole island?"

"Who else? Divine Province!"

"Send people in. We need reports."

"Land the remaining army by sea. Whatever happens, we cannot stop gathering First-Age Coins."

Orders went out in every direction.

Two days passed. Before the investigators returned, Piers arrived in Sunhaven’s capital.

His account stunned the assembled officials.

"Do you understand what you’re saying, Lord Haldane?" Gavin Roswell demanded. "The Black Banner and Divine Province are bitter enemies. Why would they join forces against us?"

"For the Firstborn Gate, of course." Piers gave him a cold smile. "We let each of their Provinces bring only ten thousand Lords. Did you think they were grateful?"

"Wait."

A middle-aged Lord who had said little during the meeting spoke up.

"Haven’t we forgotten something? Cassian has a way to control other Lords."

The room fell quiet. One by one, the others turned toward Piers with a different look in their eyes.

He began to shake with anger.

"You think Cassian is controlling me?"