Chapter 15: Fifty Thousand for a Raid Writ? The First Bolt Collects Interest
Elara did not end the call.
She kept staring at the row of Gloomhoof only half-visible behind Cassian.
The longer she looked, the more wrong something felt.
"What are those?"
"Just recruited them."
"I can see they’re Gloomhoof."
Elara frowned.
"I’m asking why they look Rare."
Cassian glanced back.
"Because they are."
Elara went silent for two seconds.
"Twelve of them?"
"Twelve."
"Didn’t you just take that Warcamp?"
"Mm."
"So you took the Warcamp and, less than half an hour later, you already have twelve Rare troops?"
Cassian thought about it.
"Closer to twenty minutes."
Elara closed her eyes for a moment.
"I’m starting to understand why Lucan keeps accusing you of cheating."
"He mostly just can’t do the math."
"You aren’t helping your case."
Elara quickly pulled the conversation back on track.
"Alaric brought House Voss private troops."
"I saw them on the Battle Feed."
"Stone Trolls and Longbow Retainers."
"At least Elite. Some are Rare."
"If you’re willing to give up some Refined Iron, there is still time."
Her voice slowed.
"Don’t wreck your Domain just because you’re angry with him."
Cassian did not answer immediately.
Elara had bought his sword because she had already lost two Rare troops of her own.
Now she knew she could not help him directly, and she had still called the moment the Raid was about to begin.
Not for Refined Iron.
Not for a trade.
She was simply worried he might die.
Cassian looked at her.
"Relax."
"I’m not angry."
Elara had only just begun to breathe easier when he added,
"I only bet when I like the odds."
She stared at him.
Veyra laughed beside him.
Elara clearly heard it.
"Veyra’s there too?"
"She is."
"Good."
The answer came a little too quickly.
Veyra raised a brow.
Cassian looked at her as well.
Elara immediately added,
"I mean, if she’s there, at least Alaric can’t just break straight through you."
Veyra took half a step closer.
"You seem more nervous than he is."
Elara paused.
"Because normal people get nervous."
Cassian moved the call projection slightly to one side.
"You two can discuss that."
Then he looked at the twelve Gloomhoof.
A little over two minutes remained before the Raid.
Their Quality was done.
Their levels were not.
After the battle at the Warcamp, Battle Essence was the one resource he did not lack for this immediate purpose.
Cassian raised his hand.
"Advance all of them."
Twelve beams of light fell at once.
[Gloomhoof Centaur ×12]
[Level 1 → Level 2]
A second round.
[Level 2 → Level 3]
Then the third.
The fourth.
The fifth.
Golden light flashed again and again.
[Battle Essence Spent: 36,000]
The twelve Rare Gloomhoof did not swell grotesquely in size.
But their bows tightened in their hands, and every hoofbeat grew heavier.
When the final round of light faded—
[Gloomhoof Centaur ×12]
[Current Level: 6]
The Raid countdown had dropped to forty-three seconds.
Cassian finally stopped.
The Warcamp had only just been occupied.
The troops had only just been recruited.
They had only just advanced to Rare.
Now their levels were ready too.
From appearing to becoming battle-ready—
less than half an hour.
Elara had stopped speaking.
Several seconds passed before she asked,
"Didn’t you just say you weren’t cheating?"
"I didn’t say that."
She stared at him.
"And this isn’t cheating."
Cassian looked toward the outer boundary.
"It’s called using what I just earned."
Veyra spoke quietly beside him.
"When he talks like that, someone usually has a bad day."
The timer reached zero.
[Raid Started.]
[Attacker: Alaric Voss]
[Defender: Cassian Vale]
[Battle Duration: 60 minutes]
[Public Battle Feed Enabled.]
The viewer count in the Regional Channel climbed rapidly.
Almost every newcomer who was not already deep inside a dangerous exploration zone switched over to watch.
This was the first real Raid between newcomer Lords in the entire region.
On one side stood Cassian, whose stable Refined Iron production was already public knowledge.
On the other stood Alaric Voss, who had just paid an enormous price for the first Raid Writ.
The Battle Feed showed Alaric in black-and-silver armor with two formations behind him.
At the front were six Stone Trolls.
Each stood close to three meters tall, rough stone hide covering its body, a heavy wooden shield braced in both hands.
[Stone Troll]
[Quality: Rare]
[Level: 5]
Behind them stood ten Longbow Retainers.
Most were Elite.
The two at the front wore leather armor edged in silver.
[Voss Longbow Retainer]
[Quality: Rare]
[Level: 5]
And beside Alaric stood an orc Hero in heavy armor.
Its full panel was hidden.
But judging from its size and equipment alone, it was clearly no ordinary unit.
The Regional Channel immediately heated up.
[Six Rare Stone Trolls?]
[And Rare Longbow units too?]
[This is what a House Voss opening looks like?]
[Why does Cassian still have broken walls?]
[I thought after selling that many Refined weapons he’d turn his Domain into a fortress.]
[A Forge isn’t the same as defense!]
Lucan finally found the opening he had been waiting for.
[Lucan Deyne: Production and combat are two different things.]
[Lucan Deyne: Cassian clearing previous fights quickly doesn’t mean he can defend a Domain.]
[Lucan Deyne: If Alaric survives the first exchange, he can go straight for the Forge.]
Elara’s expression darkened on the call.
"He brought more than I expected."
Cassian asked only one thing.
"Everyone’s here?"
Veyra looked at him.
"You think he brought too few?"
"If he brings too little, there’s nothing to watch."
In the Battle Feed, Alaric took a step forward.
He could clearly see how many people were watching, and the smile on his face had not faded.
"Cassian."
"You can hear me, right?"
"I’ll give you one last chance."
"Put two hundred units of Refined Iron at the edge of your Domain."
"I’ll take it and leave."
"Your Forge, your Iron Vein, and your life can all stay intact."
Someone in the Regional Channel reacted immediately.
[Two hundred Refined Iron?]
[Didn’t he say he was only taking enough for Rank II?]
[Rank II only needs one hundred!]
[Guess that’s the interest.]
Alaric did not seem bothered at all.
"I paid fifty thousand Aether Crystals for this Raid Writ."
"I can’t exactly go home empty-handed."
Cassian finally smiled.
Veyra tilted her head.
"What now?"
"Nothing."
Cassian’s tone remained calm.
"It’s just the first time I’ve heard the buyer personally confirm the sale price."
Veyra went silent.
So did Elara on the call.
For some reason, Elara suddenly felt that something about this situation was very wrong.
Before she could ask, the Raid teleportation stabilized completely.
Alaric and his troops appeared one hundred eighty meters south of the Forgotten Shrine.
Ahead of them stood the outer stone wall that Cassian still had not fully repaired.
The gap remained.
The stones were old.
From the outside, there was almost nothing intimidating about it.
Alaric swept his eyes over the wall.
His smile widened.
"This?"
"Cassian."
"You’ll sell expensive weapons to everyone else, but your own wall is still—"
Clack!
A heavy mechanism sounded behind the wall.
Alaric’s voice stopped.
The next instant—
THRUM!
A thick Blacksteel ballista bolt shot over the wall.
It moved so fast that it was almost nothing but a black streak.
An Elite Longbow Retainer on the edge of the formation had only just looked up.
The Stone Trolls had no time to bring their shields across.
THUNK!
The bolt punched through the archer’s chest and carried him backward two full steps before burying itself in the ground behind him.
[Cassian Vale’s Repeater Ballista Tower killed Voss Longbow Retainer.]
The Regional Channel went dead for a heartbeat.
Then exploded.
[Ballista Tower?!]
[When did he build a defense tower?]
[That’s one hundred eighty meters! That range isn’t normal!]
[A standard Ballista Tower can’t reach that far!]
[Repeater! That’s a Repeater Ballista!]
[That thing needs Refined Iron to upgrade. He already had one built?]
The smile disappeared from Alaric’s face.
"Damn it!"
"Shields!"
"Stone Trolls, front!"
All six Stone Trolls raised their heavy shields.
The remaining Longbow Retainers began pulling back.
Clack.
The second mechanism cycle sounded.
This time, Alaric was ready.
"Left!"
One Stone Troll lunged sideways.
Its heavy shield slammed into the incoming bolt.
BOOM!
Wood exploded from the center of the shield.
The Troll’s entire arm was thrown backward.
The bolt failed to punch through.
But the impact still forced the creature two steps back.
Alaric’s face darkened completely.
He had spent fifty thousand on the Raid Writ.
And the moment he arrived, one Elite archer was already dead.
The people in the Regional Channel who had been saying Cassian could produce but not fight suddenly became much quieter.
Elara finally exhaled.
"At least that tower can hold them back for a while."
"Hold them back?"
Cassian looked at her.
"Why would I do that?"
Elara froze.
At that moment, the wooden gate in the damaged southern wall of the Forgotten Shrine swung open.
Twelve Gloomhoof stepped out together.
Hooves struck the ground.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Twelve longbows were already in their hands.
Alaric stared for a moment.
Then he actually laughed.
"Centaurs?"
"You’re coming out of the walls?"
"Good."
"Saves me the trouble of breaking in!"
"Stone Trolls, advance!"
"Longbows, spread out!"
The armored orc Hero stepped forward as well.
The distance between the two sides began closing rapidly.
Veyra stood behind Cassian without drawing her sword.
She looked at the twelve Gloomhoof.
"You really don’t want me to fight?"
"Not yet."
Cassian’s gaze passed over the Stone Trolls in front and settled on the archers spreading out behind them.
The toughest defenses were in front.
The highest damage and weakest bodies were in the back.
Standard formation.
Easy to dismantle.
Cassian raised his right hand.
All twelve Rare Gloomhoof drew their bows at once.
"Leave the Stone Trolls alone."
"Four on one target."
Bowstrings tightened.
Cassian pointed past the frontline.
"Take out the archers first."