Chapter 329: First Choice

[2nd Place — Sunhaven Province. Governor Estelle Harcourt: all attributes +600. Resident Lords: all attributes +60. Provincial National Fortune +12. Fortune Talismans ×1,200.]

[The Firstborn Gate will open shortly. Lords holding First-Age Coins should prepare to make purchases in order of Provincial placement.]

The Homeworld Channel did not fall silent.

Too many Lords had already suspected the result. Now the thirteen Crown Provinces erupted in celebration.

Lana laughed aloud.

"Cassian has never let us down!"

Alwin Valcrest, Governor of Westreach, was even less restrained.

"We took first place right under Western Beacon’s nose. Damn, that feels good!"

Silas Venn joined in from Dragon Tiger.

"I told you. He wouldn’t have left Windward so readily unless he was certain."

Less than ten seconds after Sunhaven’s result, the final announcement appeared.

[1st Place — Divine Province. Governor Cassian Vale: all attributes +1,000. Resident Lords: all attributes +100. Provincial National Fortune +20. Fortune Talismans ×2,000.]

"Forty National Fortune," Soren Hartwell said with feeling. "Ten from the Legion Contest, ten from the first ranking, and another twenty today. Once a Nation is founded, that could support hundreds of offices."

National Fortune was precious. In the Jade Court, even ten Fifth-Rank appointments consumed only one point.

"We haven’t done quite as well," Lana said, smiling, "but we still have National Fortune in the teens. Enough for a hundred offices of our own when the time comes. Then..."

She left the thought unfinished. Everyone understood.

The thirteen Provinces’ strongest Lords would gain another great increase in strength. The Black Banner and the western coalition might no longer be enemies they merely defended against.

They might be able to take the war to Black Banner territory.

Crown Lords talked and laughed without restraint. Elsewhere, the celebrations were much quieter.

Gold gathered in the sky above Divine Province, then broke into hundreds of thousands of descending pillars.

Cheers shook the land as the rewards arrived.

"Ten months since the sector opened," Elara said. "The Realm’s attribute rewards alone must have given us more than five hundred in every attribute by now."

For Warbound Lords, those gains mattered even more.

Seraphine felt the new strength settle into her body and smiled confidently.

"The next time they send a Nine-Star Legendary Hero down here, leave that one to me."

It was more than a boast. The seven Valcrests’ Warbound Talents had all reached Grade A through the Writs they had used. Talents such as Lone Star and One Against Many drew personal strength from a growing Domain. With A-grade Aptitude as well, their raw attributes could rival those of Nine-Star Legendary Heroes, even edging above Cassian’s own.

Skill proficiency remained their weakness.

Seraphine, however, also had Seven-Star Release. With that burst of power, she could indeed test herself against a Nine-Star Hero from an upper Realm.

The largest pillar of gold descended upon Cassian.

A thousand points in every attribute.

Even now, that was a substantial gain. He took a moment to grow used to the change, enjoying the strength flowing through him.

Then he brought out all two thousand Fortune Talismans.

With a sweep of his hand, he used them together. Points of gold scattered through Riftward Region and sank into the earth.

Its Fortune rose by another two thousand, passing six thousand.

A deep rumble rolled across the Region. Space expanded again, and resource points throughout its maps began to change.

A startled message appeared in the Riftward Channel.

[A Dragon! My troops found a Gold Dragon at (1321, 568)!]

Within ten seconds, several more Lords reported signs of Epic monsters.

Cassian hunted powerful creatures so often that such reports could seem ordinary. They were not. Even in older sectors, even in the Sixth Realm, an Epic monster was a valuable find.

His interest sharpened. After a little thought, he posted an announcement in the Province Channel.

[Cassian Vale: From today, anyone who finds a monster of Rare Quality or above may contact me, Darian Frost, Nessa Fenwick, Elara Vayne, Mara Thorne, or Seraphine Valcrest. We will pay ten times the monster’s ordinary value for the opportunity to hunt it.]

The Vein’s loot bonus had now reached roughly a hundred and twentyfold.

He paid to grant its daily Shared Blessing to the five Lords he had named alongside himself. Mara joined the recipients for this work; the others were already familiar with what it could do.

Putting the strongest monsters into their hands would produce far more for the Province as a whole. The finders would receive generous compensation, while the hunters earned Battle Essence and grew stronger.

Darian had been buying opportunities to hunt powerful monsters since the sector opened. Cassian’s offer was simply more generous, and now it carried the Province’s official backing.

He had considered the attention it would draw.

After this ranking, anyone could guess that Divine Province’s drops went far beyond an ordinary Artifact’s bonus. There was little point pretending otherwise.

The replies came almost at once.

[Ten times? Boss, you can have any strong monster I find for free.]

[Whenever someone invaded, you were the ones who held the front. The stronger you become, the safer the rest of us are.]

[And how many discounted Troop Sigils, Hero Sigils, and pieces of equipment have we received from you over the past half year? We’ve already benefited more than enough.]

Elara and Nessa watched the messages with softened expressions.

Darian let out a satisfied breath.

"With Divine Province standing together like this, what do we have to fear from those western schemers?"

——

The Black Banner’s reaction was more complicated.

Its designs on Crown territory were scarcely a secret. It had every reason to resent Divine Province growing stronger.

It also hated Western Beacon for the Peace Shell that had struck Blackmere. An official declaration had not made that feeling disappear.

Nerissa gave a cold laugh.

"Gavin was so certain they would take first. He must look splendid right now."

Then she remembered the operation they were planning against Divine Province, and her amusement faded.

"Let the Gate offer something useless in a fight," she muttered. "No powerful Mythic items. Especially no Troop Sigils. Building materials would do."

——

Before the Firstborn Gate, Western Beacon’s senior Lords looked as miserable as she had hoped.

"How?" Gavin demanded.

"Sunhaven has more than a dozen other islands besides Windward. Fleets hunting across the sea. Every possible advantage!"

He could scarcely believe the figures.

"We gathered twenty million First-Age Coins. How did Divine Province beat that?"

Piers rounded on him.

"If you hadn’t insisted on keeping us at the Gate, they wouldn’t have spent two months hunting undisturbed."

"That was a decision we all agreed to," Gavin snapped. "And if we had marched out against them, we would most likely have lost the entire army."

"Enough," Odette said. "The ranking is over. What matters now is how we deal with Divine Province."

Piers gave an angry snort, but stopped arguing. Odette had saved his life. He would at least listen to her.

None of them knew how deeply the result had shaken her.

After the surprise came relief.

Divine Province already possessed a World Wonder. The ninety-five new Legendary Hurricanes strongly suggested that it included a shop. Now Cassian would have first choice at the Firstborn Gate as well.

He might truly break through the nations surrounding him and become the dominant power in the Homeworld’s newcomer sector.

Even if he could not arrange her return to Blood Throne, having such a Lord as a friend would be worth a great deal.

She was very glad she had approached him when she did.

"Whatever else happens, we cannot let Divine Province found a Nation," she said. "With the National Fortune those thirteen Provinces hold, we would be at a lasting disadvantage."

Gavin forced his anger aside and nodded.

"Race Ascendancy begins in less than ten days. While Cassian, Darian, and their strongest companions are away, we’ll gather Sunhaven’s nearly ten thousand Epic warships."

He looked around the group.

"The Black Banner, the Dawn Coast, and Bharan will advance with us from around Divine Province. We must take it in one stroke. We won’t get a better opportunity."

A Lord suddenly pointed past them.

"Look! The Firstborn Gate is opening!"

They turned at once.

The enormous bronze Gate, which had seemed to stand half in another world, was slowly becoming solid.

Tension showed on every face.

Piers clasped his hands in prayer.

"Please, God. Let the Mythic goods be building materials."