"Once revealed, there's no telling how the Royals, the Council, and maybe even the Guardians will react." Lith said.
"I know that I'm asking a lot from you, but I need you to sit there and do nothing. The looming threat that your absence poses is much worse than anything you could do on the battlefield.
"If Thrud is anything like , she hates unknowns and you are one as big as dangerous. With you allegedly laying in ambush, she can't deploy all of her forces at once without the risk of falling into an alleged trap."
"It makes sense." Vastor nodded, yet he didn't like the situation one bit. "Phloria never attended the Light departnt, but I took care of her ever since Balkor's anniversary.
"She's your friend, the sister of my precious students, and the daughter of my dear friends. If you think this is the best for her, I'll follow you obediently."
"Don't worry, Vastor. Worst case scenario, the attack will allow to get used to the When All Are One array and probe the Golden Griffon's defenses. This way, in the following battle for the White Griffon, it should be a piece of cake taking Thrud down." Lith replied.
"Ah!" Bitterness left Vastor's eyes and was quickly replaced by wonder. That and a sprinkle of envy. "Gods what I wouldn't give to be in your shoes. There's no boy or man in the Kingdom who hasn't dread of one day becoming like Valeron."
"That's a huge stretch." Lith dismissed such thoughts with a wave of his hand.
"Think what you want, kid, but believe . Today lots of people are going to have a stroke. So out of wonder, a few out of admiration, but most out of bitter envy." Vastor replied.
***
Werean region, daka Plains, later that day.
Lith received the update about the Golden Griffon's position along with the order to join the allied force in the attempt to take the lost academy down. The Kingdom had put on hold the operations to reclaim Thrud's territories in the north in order to muster enough troops.
The Council had followed suit, using the first batch of data collected by the Liches to prepare the offensive. The hardest part had been to force the undead to part from what they considered "their precious" and were unwilling to share.
Once again, Inxialot had saved the day with an unexpected burst of common sense.
"My heart is with you and just like my phylactery, it's ready to bolt the mont things go south." He had said in front of a room full of Awakened Liches as powerful as they were deranged.
"I know that you think there's no reason to share your data and cooperate with these morons, but you are wrong. You are blinded by your arrogance and fail to see there's a greater good out there."
The auditorium had almost co down from laughter as half the room considered Inxialot batshit crazy and the other half thought his words a joke.
"Will you still be laughing when Thrud wins? When she enters your labs and steals your research?" The Liches turned silent. The few still laughing were pumlled into bone splinters that quickly regenerated.
"Moving away our books and bodies is easy, but what about the ingredients? The stuff you have hidden over the centuries? The scribbles you have left all over your labs when you couldn't find a damn piece of paper?
"Are you really willing to leave her such a treasure?" Inxialot asked.
"No!" The Liches roared as one.
"Are you willing to lose months before finding a new place suitable for your labs and years to set them up properly? To arrange your stuff in a way that won't force you to morize what is where again?"
"No!" The crowd grew more restless as they rembered how they would often get lost inside their own hos despite living there for centuries, let alone inside a new place.
"How can a few pieces of data be more important than your life's work? Isn't sharing a few readings a small sacrifice for the greater good?" Now that the greater good had a na, coordinates, and several labels, the Liches had changed their minds.
The Council had shared that information with the Kingdom, just like they were sharing their Warping Arrays to move troops from every corner of the Kingdom to the daka plains.
Lith had brought most of his friends who had volunteered to help and rescue Phloria. For once Morok didn't say anything insensitive. He just stood beside Quylla, checking his own gear to make sure to not have forgotten anything.
Nalrond was with Friya, sharing a few words of encouragent before the battle.
"I'm really proud and envious of you." He said while caressing her hair. "Among all the Awakened of Garlen, the Bewitching Demon choose you to replace Gernoff, the god of shadows. Today you are becoming a legend."
"Yeah, and she dared call a runt." She acted aloof but her voice held ill-concealed pride.
"Stop bragging, damn you!" Quylla pouted. "Seven streaks and now you fight along Valeron's companions. If not for Phloria, I would have kicked your ass. Even better, I'll ask her help to kick your ass once we save her."
"I'll gladly take the ass-kicking." Friya sighed
Protector and Faluel, instead were talking to Fyrwal about their previous visit to her ho and offering to return the hospitality.
Solus had co out from her ring to thank Bytra for being there and helping her keep her cool. The Raiju had yet to recover from her trauma, but she refused to leave Solus alone in the mont of her need.
"I might be a broken, ss, but I can still be your legs." She said while shaking from head to toe despite Zoreth's embrace.
"I wish Tezka was here." Theseus the Bastet said. "The old fox is creepy as fuck but damn if he makes you feel safe."
"I wish Nelia was here." Nandi the Minotaur said. "We need so Life Maelstrom. Also, she's hot."
"Not the ti, Nandi!" Zoreth chided him.
"I could be dead in an hour. This is the perfect ti." He snorted.
Everybody had soone but Lith and Tessa who sat near each other while triple-checking the details of their plan. They were both paranoid control freaks and the stakes had never been so high.
Crank alternated between eating and drinking, bored to death.
"It's ti." Nandi, Fyrwal, and Solus could feel the disturbance in the world energy respectively through his bio-crystals and the Hands of nadion.
The Golden Griffon appeared as a looming shadow on the horizon at first, but it took only a few minutes for it to be perfectly visible despite the distance. The lost academy had beco faster after stealing part of the power of the six great academies.
It still couldn't afford to fly without wasting lots of power that it might need in a fight so the feathered wings were always folded around the shoulders, forming a protective mantle.
"When do we start the attack?" Feela asked.
She and Lotho had taken charge of the Awakened troops in Phloria's absence.
"Wait until the Golden Griffon is in range of my Blade Spell." Lith replied.
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