Chapter 13: Want My Mine? Pay the Raid Fee First
Smoke still drifted through the Gloomhoof Warcamp.
Veyra’s spear strike had carved straight through the central transport road, leaving broken palisades and collapsed tents piled along both sides. The remaining Gloomhoof had lost their commander and were being steadily pushed deeper into the camp by the Blackfang.
Cassian did not immediately follow.
He stood beside the ruined command tent, turning the black-red Raid Writ over in his hand.
Veyra dismissed Eclipse Spear and drew Crimson Oath instead.
"You said you wanted to sell that to someone who wants to attack you?"
"Mm."
"And then let them use the thing you sold them to rob you?"
"You skipped a step."
Cassian opened the Regional Exchange.
"They pay me first."
Veyra watched him for two seconds.
"Is war always this complicated in your era?"
"Normal wars aren’t."
Cassian opened his contact list.
"Mine costs a little extra."
He did not contact Elara.
She had just bought twenty-two Blacksteel Swords from him, and the entire region already knew they had been trading.
He did not contact Rowan either.
Rowan knew him too well. If Rowan suddenly started selling a Raid Writ on his behalf, someone might wonder why.
Cassian chose another name.
[Seraphine Valcrest]
The call connected quickly.
Seraphine’s projection appeared before him. Behind her was the same hall that looked far more complete than anything an ordinary newcomer should have this early. Dame Maelin stood off to one side, apparently sorting through a stack of maps.
Seraphine spoke first.
"If you’ve changed your mind, my offer of two hundred thousand Aether Crystals for a Controlled Raid is still open."
"I’m not selling iron."
Cassian sent her the Raid Writ’s information.
"Sell something for me."
Seraphine’s gaze paused.
She read the item description, then looked back at him.
"You got the first Raid Writ?"
"Just dropped."
"Who do you want to sell it to?"
"Alaric Voss."
This time, Seraphine was quiet for longer.
Then she smiled faintly.
"He was just offering to buy one in the Regional Channel."
"I know."
"He also threatened to use one to take your Refined Iron."
"Which makes him the best buyer."
Seraphine leaned back in her chair.
"You want Alaric to pay money to buy permission to attack you?"
"Not permission."
Cassian corrected her.
"One attempt."
Veyra stood beside him. The corner of her mouth twitched.
Seraphine had clearly heard that too.
"My commission?"
"Ten percent."
"Five."
Cassian raised a brow.
"When did you get so cheap?"
"The other five percent buys me information."
Seraphine looked directly at him.
"I want to see why you’re willing to let him in."
Cassian nodded.
"Deal."
The Regional Exchange allowed designated sales, and for an additional Aether fee, the previous consignor could be hidden so that only the current seller appeared in the transaction record.
Cassian paid one hundred.
[Aether Crystal -100]
The Raid Writ entered Seraphine’s temporary listing slot.
Less than a minute later, Seraphine glanced toward a notification beside her.
"Sold."
Cassian was not surprised.
"How much?"
"Fifty thousand."
This time, Cassian paused.
"That high?"
"You still don’t seem used to how much your Iron Vein is worth to everyone else."
Seraphine’s voice remained calm.
"Alaric isn’t buying a Raid Writ."
"He’s buying the first chance to take Refined Iron from you, finish his Rank II requirements, and claim whatever first-place reward comes with it."
"The word first is usually more expensive than the item itself."
Cassian smiled.
He liked that answer.
The next notification arrived immediately.
[Seraphine Valcrest transferred 47,500 Aether Crystal to you.]
[Note: Raid Writ proceeds after 5% commission.]
Cassian checked his balance.
[Aether Crystal: 82,641]
A war item that had just dropped from an enemy.
Resold.
Forty-seven thousand five hundred net.
And the interesting part was not even the money.
The buyer intended to use it to rob him.
Veyra saw the number too.
"I think I understand why you’re smiling now."
"Which part?"
"Not the money."
She looked toward the camp, where the Blackfang were still compressing the remaining Gloomhoof resistance.
"The part where he still thinks he got a bargain."
Cassian closed the panel.
"Now you’ve got it."
At that exact moment, a system announcement echoed across the region.
[Alaric Voss has used a Raid Writ on Cassian Vale.]
[Raid begins in 60 minutes.]
[The attacker may seize a portion of non-bound resources during the Raid.]
[The defender’s Domain Core is protected by Raid rules. Buildings, resource nodes, and combat units may still be damaged normally.]
The Regional Channel exploded.
[Already?!]
[The first Raid Writ is out?]
[I was watching the Exchange the whole time. There wasn’t even a public sale!]
[Alaric really got one?]
[He’s actually going after Cassian’s Refined Iron?]
Elara appeared almost immediately.
[Elara Vayne: Alaric.]
[Elara Vayne: Try touching his Forge.]
Alaric replied quickly.
[Alaric Voss: Relax.]
[Alaric Voss: I’m only taking enough Refined Iron for Rank II.]
[Alaric Voss: If Cassian doesn’t resist, I won’t even touch his Forge.]
The channel went quiet for a beat.
Alaric continued.
[Alaric Voss: Of course.]
[Alaric Voss: If I lose any troops, that’s a different matter.]
[Alaric Voss: Cassian, you have one hour.]
[Alaric Voss: Have the Refined Iron ready.]
Lucan Deyne followed almost immediately.
[Lucan Deyne: I said it already. An F-grade Domain can’t hold onto resources like that.]
[Lucan Deyne: If he yields now, at least he keeps most of what he owns.]
Mariel Thorn added one line.
[Mariel Thorn: Alaric, a Raid is a Raid. Don’t cross the line.]
Seraphine said nothing.
Neither did Cassian.
He simply closed the channel.
Veyra glanced at him.
"Not going to insult him?"
"He just paid me fifty thousand."
Cassian looked toward the deeper part of the Warcamp.
"The customer hasn’t even arrived yet. I can afford to be polite."
Veyra finally laughed.
"And once he arrives?"
"I charge him again."
——
With the Gloomhoof Chieftain dead, the remaining resistance no longer mattered.
Cassian did not let Veyra manifest Eclipse Spear again.
The weapon was far too expensive in power for cleanup work.
Crimson Oath finally saw ordinary combat instead.
Veyra entered from the western side of the camp. Dark-red swordlight flashed three times, cutting through the bow arms of three Gloomhoof Warriors without wasting enough power to tear apart structures that would soon belong to them.
Cassian pushed in from the east with eight Blackfang.
"Don’t chase the scattered ones."
"Cut off the exits first."
The command spread through Pack Dominion.
Four Blackfang swept around to the north.
The other four blocked the southern slope.
The remaining Gloomhoof soon realized that the real danger was not the woman advancing from the front with a dark-red longsword.
It was the fact that they had nowhere left to run.
A Gloomhoof Captain suddenly turned and charged for a gap on the eastern side.
It had barely taken its second step when Cassian moved.
[Predator Step I]
His body surged forward.
He cut past a collapsed support beam and intercepted the Captain just as it gathered momentum.
A long blade came down.
Cassian slipped aside.
The ordinary Blacksteel Sword in his right hand drove upward into the unarmored gap beneath the creature’s arm.
Blood sprayed.
The Captain jerked in pain and tried to raise its bow.
Cassian caught the bow arm with his left hand and forced it down.
His knee slammed into the joint of its foreleg.
The huge body lost balance.
Cassian’s sword came down a second time.
The edge cut into the side of its neck.
[You personally killed Gloomhoof Captain.]
The black DEVOUR interface appeared.
[Devourable Core Trait: Longshot Rhythm]
[Devourable Core Trait: Charge Balance]
Cassian looked once.
Then closed the interface.
Both were useful.
Neither was valuable enough.
He was not going to clutter his permanent toolkit just because DEVOUR offered him another option.
Veyra happened to approach from the other side.
"Not taking either one?"
"No."
"You finally learned to be picky."
Cassian looked at her.
"I’ve always been picky."
"And me?"
Cassian was silent for half a second.
"Too expensive."
Veyra stopped walking.
Then she smiled and cut down a Gloomhoof that lunged at her from the side.
"That answer works."
The rest of the battle did not last long.
The Gloomhoof had lost their Chieftain, lost their formation, and lost every clean path of retreat.
Less than twenty minutes later, the last organized group was broken apart by the Blackfang.
A handful of stragglers fled into the grasslands.
Cassian did not pursue them.
Forty minutes remained before the Raid.
Enough.
He returned to the center of the Warcamp.
Behind the smoke-blackened command tent stood a stone pillar that had been dark before.
Now it was slowly lighting up.
[Wild Troop Structure Discovered: Gloomhoof Warcamp]
[Hostile garrison has fallen below the occupation threshold.]
[Occupy?]
Cassian did not hesitate.
"Occupy."
Hum—
A black-gold Domain mark appeared in his palm and spread upward around the pillar.
The gray-green patterns left by the former owners quickly went dark.
A moment later, the black-gold banner of the Forgotten Shrine unfurled above the highest point of the Warcamp.
[Occupation Successful.]
[Gloomhoof Warcamp is now under Forgotten Shrine control.]
[Recruitment access unlocked.]
[Calculating stored stock...]
Cassian raised his eyes.
The new panel finally opened.