Chapter 16: Fifty Thousand to Get In—Over Three Hundred Thousand to Get Out
Twelve bowstrings released at once.
THRUM—
The first volley never touched the Stone Trolls in front. Four Gloomhoof locked onto each target, splitting the twelve riders into three clean groups. Their arrows arced over the heavy shields and slammed into the chests and throats of three Longbow Retainers in the rear.
[Rapid Shot]
The first archer had barely raised his bow when four arrows punched through gaps in his armor. The second managed half a turn before shafts struck his shoulder, abdomen, and thigh. The third was simply knocked backward off his feet.
[Voss Longbow Retainer ×3 killed.]
The Regional Channel went quiet for a beat. Everyone who had just been calling Cassian suicidal for leaving the walls suddenly had nothing to say.
Alaric’s expression changed.
"Stone Trolls, push forward!"
"Archers, spread out!"
All six Stone Trolls raised their shields and advanced. The remaining six Longbow Retainers immediately pulled wide, trying to use the shield wall to block the next volley.
Cassian took one look.
"Six left. Six right."
"Go around the shields."
The twelve Gloomhoof split apart.
Hooves hammered the ground.
BOOM!
Six riders swept along the outside of the broken wall on the left. The other six accelerated down the opposite side.
The Stone Trolls had thick shields and tougher bodies.
They were also slow to turn.
The Gloomhoof had never intended to charge them head-on.
[Charge]
Both mounted groups tore past the edges of the shield wall at the same time.
One Elite Longbow Retainer had only just drawn his bow when the lead Gloomhoof crashed into him from the side and sent him flying. The arrows behind it landed a heartbeat later.
The other flank was even faster.
By the time both passes were complete, four more Longbow Retainers were down.
Counting the first kill from the Repeater Ballista Tower, Alaric’s ten archers were now down to the two Rare units who had stood at the front.
The Battle Feed finally locked onto one of the Gloomhoof.
[Gloomhoof Centaur]
[Quality: Rare]
[Level: 6]
Someone in the channel finally broke.
[Twelve of them? They’re all Rare?!]
[And Level 6?!]
[Didn’t he just take that Warcamp?]
Elara said nothing.
She already knew.
The person who did not was Alaric.
"You—"
He stared at the twelve Centaurs racing across the battlefield, and for the first time his expression turned genuinely ugly.
"Kill the cavalry first!"
The armored orc Hero beside him finally moved.
Its great axe dragged across the ground as it charged straight at the Gloomhoof on the right.
Cassian raised one hand.
"Tower."
Clack!
The mechanism behind the wall cycled again.
The orc Hero snapped its head up.
The next instant—
BOOM!
A Blacksteel ballista bolt smashed straight into its breastplate.
The heavy metal did not break completely, but the impact drove the entire Hero backward several meters.
That brief pause was enough.
The six Gloomhoof on the right had already completed their turn. They ignored the Hero entirely. Every bow swung toward the last two Rare Longbow Retainers.
Cassian dropped his hand.
"Clear the backline first."
Another rain of arrows fell.
The two Rare archers were much stronger than the Elite units before them. They even managed to stop part of the first volley.
They did not stop the second.
Less than ten seconds later, the final Longbow Retainer hit the ground.
Alaric’s ranged firepower was gone.
Only then did Cassian turn his attention back to the Stone Trolls.
"Now the legs."
The twelve Gloomhoof widened their formation again.
The heavy shields could cover a chest.
They could not cover knees, ankles, and the rear of a turning leg.
The first Stone Troll had only turned halfway when four arrows buried themselves in its right leg. Its body tilted.
Clack!
The next ballista bolt slammed into its shield.
This time, it could not stay upright.
The Troll toppled backward, and the Gloomhoof immediately filled it with arrows.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Alaric finally understood what he was looking at.
This was not a siege defense.
Cassian had never intended to let him reach the walls.
[Stone Troll ×3 killed.]
The remaining three Stone Trolls were already backing away. The armored orc Hero forced itself upright again, a deep crater now crushed into the center of its breastplate.
Alaric abruptly opened his system panel.
The next second—
[Attacker Alaric Voss has disabled the Public Battle Feed.]
The image went black.
Questions immediately flooded the Regional Channel.
Cassian looked at the vanished feed.
"He shut it off?"
Veyra stood behind him, Crimson Oath still sheathed.
"Apparently he doesn’t enjoy letting people watch him lose."
"Shame."
Cassian opened the Raid panel.
"I’m not done collecting."
[Defender Cassian Vale has enabled the Public Battle Feed.]
The feed lit up again.
This time, the viewpoint came from the Forgotten Shrine.
The Regional Channel fell silent.
On-screen, Alaric was already retreating toward the Raid gate with his last three Stone Trolls and the armored orc Hero.
But the route back was no longer open.
The twelve Gloomhoof had circled ahead of them.
Every longbow was drawn.
Alaric stopped.
At last, he turned toward Cassian.
"I admit I lost."
"Let me withdraw."
Cassian stepped out from behind the broken wall.
Veyra walked beside him, still without drawing her sword.
"You can withdraw."
Relief flashed across Alaric’s face.
Cassian continued.
"Settle the bill first."
"What bill?"
"The fifty thousand only bought the Raid Writ."
Cassian glanced at the Raid gate behind him.
"Getting out is a separate charge."
The channel stayed silent for two seconds.
Then Rowan sent one message.
[Rowan Ashford: ...]
Alaric looked as if he had finally heard something too absurd to tolerate.
"Cassian."
"Don’t push this too far."
"I’ve already lost this many troops."
"That’s your cost."
Cassian’s voice did not change.
"Not mine."
Alaric’s face turned livid.
"House Voss—"
Whoosh!
An arrow cut past his cheek and buried itself in the ground behind him.
The rest of the sentence died in his throat.
Cassian watched him.
"Drop the sword first."
"Then talk about your family."
Alaric’s grip tightened little by little.
All twelve bows lifted an inch.
At last, his fingers opened.
Clang.
The sword hit the ground.
Only then did Cassian ask,
"How many Aether Crystals do you have left?"
Alaric did not answer.
Cassian lifted his hand slightly.
Twelve bowstrings creaked at once.
"Wait!"
Alaric gritted his teeth and opened his Lord panel.
A screenshot of his balance appeared directly on the Battle Feed.
[Aether Crystal: 328,710]
Cassian’s gaze finally shifted.
Three hundred twenty-eight thousand, seven hundred ten.
Alaric had already spent fifty thousand on the Raid Writ.
And he still had more than three hundred thousand on hand.
House Voss had funded Alaric’s start even more heavily than Cassian had estimated.
Cassian nodded once.
"That works."
Alaric stared at him.
"That’s enough?"
"Enough."
Cassian looked at the three Stone Trolls and the orc Hero behind him.
"That buys your life."
Alaric’s pupils contracted.
"What about my troops—"
"Not included."
Clack!
The Repeater Ballista Tower fired again.
The armored orc Hero tried to lunge forward, but the Blacksteel bolt struck the same crushed section of its breastplate.
This time, the metal split.
All twelve Gloomhoof released together.
The three remaining Stone Trolls never managed to rebuild their shield formation. Arrow after arrow pinned them in place.
Alaric stood among them, unable to say a word.
Less than half a minute later, his final Hero and every remaining unit were dead.
Cassian looked back at him.
"Now."
"Transfer it."
There was no color left in Alaric’s face.
Several seconds later—
[Alaric Voss transferred 328,710 Aether Crystal to you.]
[Aether Crystal: 408,403]
Over four hundred thousand.
For the first time, Cassian understood just how absurdly deep a noble Lord’s starting reserves could be.
He tipped his chin toward the gate.
"Go."
Alaric looked almost disbelieving.
"You’re really letting me leave?"
"You paid."
Cassian said,
"I don’t charge twice for the same thing."
Alaric’s mouth twitched.
He did not dare say anything else.
He turned and walked into the Raid gate.
[Attacker Alaric Voss has withdrawn voluntarily.]
[Raid Ended.]
Only the sound of wind remained on the Battle Feed.
Then someone finally processed what Cassian had said about the fifty thousand being the entry price.
[Wait.]
[Wasn’t fifty thousand what Alaric paid for the Raid Writ?]
[Why did Cassian call that the entry fee?]
Rowan appeared a second time.
[Rowan Ashford: Cassian.]
[Rowan Ashford: Who did that Raid Writ originally belong to?]
Cassian did not bother hiding it.
[Cassian Vale: Mine.]
The channel stopped.
The next second, Seraphine added one line.
[Seraphine Valcrest: I only handled the sale. Five percent commission.]
This time, even Elara did not speak immediately.
Alaric had paid fifty thousand to buy a Raid Writ from Cassian.
Then he had used that same Raid Writ to come rob Cassian.
And in the end, he had paid another 328,710 just to buy himself back out.
Twice.
Both times, Alaric was the one paying.
Cassian shut down the Battle Feed.
Veyra finally drew Crimson Oath a few inches, looked at it, then slid it back into its sheath.
"So that’s why you kept me out of the fight."
"You wanted anyone watching to think they could still try the same thing?"
"Partly."
"And the other part?"
Cassian looked toward the twelve Gloomhoof reforming on the battlefield.
"They were enough."
Veyra studied him for two seconds.
"How long are you planning to keep me hidden?"
Cassian did not turn it into a joke this time.
"I’m not hiding you."
"This fight didn’t need you."
Veyra raised a brow.
Cassian opened the Hero Power Ranking.
[Settlement: Tomorrow at Noon]
[First Place Reward: Epic Chest ×1]
"Tomorrow."
"If you really take first, they won’t get a choice about seeing you."
Veyra looked at the ranking, then at him, and finally smiled.
"So tomorrow is my turn?"
"More or less."
Cassian moved one thousand Aether Crystals out of storage.
[Aether Crystal -1,000]
[Aether Crystal: 407,403]
"Use these to recover first."
Veyra looked at the large pile of pale blue crystals.
Before this, he had only given her ten at a time.
"The quality is still terrible."
"At least the quantity finally looks respectable."
Cassian had already turned back to the Forgotten Shrine’s upgrade panel.
"Next."
"Rank II."