Chapter 33: Three Hundred Gold Ore—Eclipse Muster Hall Is Built
[Gold Ore: 286 / 300]
The number had not moved all night, but Cassian did not go to either mine to rush the crews. After dawn, shift reports from both Gold Veins arrived one after another. The second mine had only just opened and its transport route was still being stabilized, while the first had already gone back through yesterday’s discarded low-content material under Bram’s new sorting standard.
Both sites were producing. The final fourteen units simply had not been confirmed by the system yet, while the Troop Power Ranking had already entered its last few hours.
[Time until settlement: 03:18:42]
Veyra walked into the Oath Hall while Cassian was staring at the two numbers. She looked at 286, then down at his feet.
"Ground Anchor?"
Cassian followed her gaze. "What are you looking at?"
"Your balance changed a little when you walk. It started after you came back yesterday."
"You can see that?"
"Did you think I only read system panels?"
Cassian let that one go. The corner of Veyra’s mouth lifted.
"So you finally got something you wanted?"
"One thing."
"And Shared Sight?"
"Still on the list."
Veyra did not ask again. She knew Cassian was not the kind of person who forgot one target just because he had acquired something else.
The next system notification appeared. The first shipment confirmed four units, taking the total to 290. The second confirmed five more.
Five left.
The Oath Hall became quieter instead of louder. Less than a minute later, the final cart’s settlement record entered the Domain.
[Eclipse Muster Hall: Gold Ore 300 / 300]
The entire construction panel shifted from gray to dark gold.
[Eclipse Muster Hall—All construction requirements fulfilled.]
This was what Cassian had been waiting for.
"Build it."
[Consume Aether Crystal ×500,000 / Stone ×2,000 / Black Oak ×1,000 / Refined Iron ×500 / Gold Ore ×300?]
"Confirm."
Dark-gold light spread outward across the floor of the Oath Hall.
[Aether Crystal: 1,060,466 → 560,466]
All 300 Gold Ore disappeared into the build.
[Eclipse Muster Hall construction started: 24:00:00]
Cassian glanced down the panel. There it was.
[Complete immediately: Aether Crystal ×36,000]
Veyra stood beside him. "You’re not going to wait."
It was not a question.
Cassian confirmed.
[Aether Crystal: 560,466 → 524,466]
[Eclipse Muster Hall: Construction completed immediately.]
BOOM—
The empty ground at the center of Forgotten Shrine shook. A huge dark-gold ring surfaced first, followed by black stone walls, inward-curving arches, and a row of narrow spires that stabbed upward like spears.
The building was not especially tall, but it felt heavy, as though an army had pressed its shadow into the earth before arriving. All seven Eclipse Chains in the Oath Hall gave a faint metallic hum.
The smile vanished from Veyra’s face—not because she was displeased, but because for the first time she was looking at the Hall with her full attention. Cassian noticed.
"Pain?"
"No."
Veyra lifted her right hand. The chains were still intact; not one had loosened.
"It’s using the Temporary Covenant to find a path."
"Can it control you?"
Veyra looked at him. "I’d like to see it try."
Cassian nodded. "Good enough."
Veyra gave a soft, unimpressed snort as the new system information opened.
[Eclipse Muster Hall: Complete]
[Temporary Covenant connection: Stable]
No troop name appeared yet. Instead, the Hall presented two possible directions for its first troop sequence.
[Combat inclination: Pursuit Breakthrough / Frontline Hold]
Veyra read both options and turned toward Cassian. "The system is actually making you choose this time."
Cassian’s gaze stopped briefly on the first option. Pursuit and breakthrough were already Stormlance strengths. The Gloomhoof had their own role in open-ground movement, pressure, and route control.
Yesterday, at the second mine, Cassian had watched the Stoneplate Bulwark drive all four limbs into the rock and bleed the force of two lightning spears into the ground. Then he had tested Ground Anchor I himself.
Speed answered one question: could you reach the position? Holding answered another: once you were there, could the enemy make you leave?
Cassian raised his hand. "Frontline Hold."
[Combat inclination confirmed: Frontline Hold]
The dark-gold text above the Hall rearranged itself.
[Eclipse Praetorian | Epic | Heavy melee / line anchor | Cap: 9 | 12,000 Aether Crystal each]
[Eclipse Legionnaire | Rare | Heavy shield and polearm / frontline | No fixed cap | 1,200 Aether Crystal each]
Cassian read the two lines slowly. The result matched the direction he had chosen: the system had provided the Hall, the Temporary Covenant had provided the foundation, and Cassian had decided what the first Eclipse formation needed to become.
Veyra saw the same thing. "Nine Epic troops. And a Rare line you can keep recruiting."
Cassian’s gaze rested on the second line. "Forget the numbers for now."
One of Veyra’s brows rose. "Doesn’t the Ranking count total troop power?"
"Which is exactly why I shouldn’t fill the Domain first and ask questions later." Cassian looked back at the troop lines. "Choosing the right direction doesn’t prove the first batch can actually hold. Test first."
Veyra studied him for two seconds. "You tested Ground Anchor on yourself yesterday."
"That’s why I know two words on a panel aren’t enough."
The system had one more notice. As soon as Eclipse Legionnaire finished resolving, a brighter regional notice appeared over the Hall interface.
[Unregistered troop sequence established in the current newcomer region: Eclipse Legionnaire.]
[Regional announcement privilege acquired. Publishing grants Regional Renown +200.]
[Publish now?]
Cassian did not press anything. Veyra noticed the other timer beneath it.
[Troop Power Ranking settlement: 02:56:11]
"Two hundred Renown."
"I saw it."
"Didn’t Renown just bring a Wandering Caravan your way?"
"Which is why I’ll publish it." Cassian dragged the announcement aside. "Just not now."
If he published immediately, the entire region would know Forgotten Shrine had just established a Rare troop sequence with no fixed recruitment cap. They would not know exactly how strong an Eclipse Legionnaire was, but they would not need to. Those two facts—Rare quality and no fixed cap—were enough to make every Lord still mass-producing basic troops push harder.
Cassian was not afraid of them expanding. He simply saw no reason to remind them before settlement.
"After the Ranking settles."
Veyra folded her arms. "Even your fame has to be timed."
"Three hours won’t make the two hundred disappear."
The announcement changed status.
[Pending]
Cassian did not recruit Eclipse Legionnaires immediately. He opened the capped Epic line first.
Veyra looked over. "Not the Rare line first?"
"The Rare troops can be mass-produced." Cassian selected Eclipse Praetorian. "I want to know why this one is capped at nine."
[Recruit Eclipse Praetorian ×1: Aether Crystal ×12,000]
"Confirm."
[Aether Crystal: 524,466 → 512,466]
The black arch at the center of Eclipse Muster Hall slowly lit up. There was no lightning and no pillar of light like a normal recruitment gate, only a deep dark-gold glow spreading from the gap beneath the door.
Ten minutes later, heavy footsteps came from within the Hall.
Thud. Thud.
The first Eclipse Praetorian stepped through the arch. She was slightly taller and broader than a Stormlance Valkyrie, with black-and-gold heavy armor covering her shoulders, chest, and legs. A tower shield large enough to cover half her body rested in her left hand, while her right held a short, thick spear.
She did not carry the sharp, forward-leaning pressure of a Stormlance ready to launch. She simply planted herself in front of the gate, and the ground beneath her suddenly looked much harder to take.
Veyra watched her for a long moment. "She carries my aura."
Cassian turned slightly. "One of your old troops?"
"No." Veyra answered at once. "The Temporary Covenant only gave the system a path it could use."
Her gaze returned to the Praetorian. "She’s your troop, not my past."
Cassian was silent for a beat. "Good."
Veyra looked at him. "That’s all?"
"I’m building our army now." Cassian looked back at the Praetorian. "I’m not trying to rebuild your past."
Veyra did not answer immediately. Two seconds later, the corner of her mouth rose again.
"That answer will do."
"Eira."
"Here."
Eira walked over, and Cassian pointed at the Praetorian. "One frontal impact. No Thunder Javelin. Keep Storm Body low enough that you can stop instantly."
Eira looked at the new troop. The Praetorian said nothing; she lowered the tower shield half an inch, spread her feet, and dropped her center of gravity.
Cassian’s eyes sharpened slightly. It was not Ground Anchor—at least, he could not sense the same Core Trait from her—but the tactical purpose was similar.
"Go."
Eira moved. A thin layer of golden lightning lit around her as she accelerated through three steps and swung the spear shaft horizontally into the tower shield.
BANG!
The impact boomed across the front of the Hall. Loose stone skidded backward under the Praetorian’s boots, and her right foot gave less than half a step. The shield rang, but her knee never touched the ground and she never gave Eira a clear lane through the arch behind her.
Eira cut the force and stepped back immediately. "She took the impact."
Her eyes stayed on the Praetorian. "She held the line."
Cassian nodded.
Veyra spoke from the side. "You chose correctly this time."
Cassian looked at her. "You didn’t say that before."
"Before, you had only chosen." Veyra looked at the Praetorian, still planted in the same spot. "Now she’s proved she can hold."
"So?"
"So this path is worth continuing."
Cassian looked back at the new troop. That was enough. The Stormlance Valkyries could reach a breach faster, and the Gloomhoof could control a route from farther away. Now he finally had someone who could step into the breach and make the enemy move her before they could get through.
Cassian did not recruit anything else yet. One controlled test had proven the direction; he could decide the numbers when he decided exactly how he wanted to finish the Ranking.
His attention returned to the two windows still hanging in front of him. One was the Troop Power Ranking, with less than three hours remaining. The other was the regional announcement waiting to be released.
Cassian pushed the announcement to the bottom.
"Don’t tell them yet. Wait until the Ranking settles."