Chapter 15
Lilith was starting to question whether the omen in the Frostlands was worth investigating at all.
The situation had spiraled far beyond anything she was willing to touch.
The Specter's report was simple.
The intelligence hadn't come from Eldran, but from the vampires, who had found a chance to slip out a secret message.
They had confirmed Lucian's strength—and learned from him that the werewolves had entered the Frostlands as well.
Two powerful native races had arrived, each led by an Elite.
If Lilith still tried to compete for the unknown treasure under those conditions, she would be walking straight into her own grave.
And she still had the Goblins to worry about.
"Did they learn what the treasure actually is?" Lilith asked.
What could possibly pull so many powerful races into the Frostlands?
The Specter's answer disappointed her.
"My Lord, the vampires have not uncovered that yet."
Lilith waved it off.
"All right. You can go."
After dismissing the Specter, she returned to the heart of her Territory with a growing knot of unease.
The Frostlands had become deeply dangerous, and a significant portion of her forces was still stationed there.
"At this point, I'll have to recall the scouts and consolidate everything inside Frostbound Bastion."
Once the disturbance passed, the powerful native races might leave on their own.
Lilith had no means of confronting them now.
Fortunately, she had never considered the treasure in the Frostlands hers to begin with, so letting it go didn't sting much.
All she wanted was enough peace to keep developing.
But avoiding trouble was no guarantee trouble would avoid her.
Lilith had no idea that Giles had lost control of his body.
Nor did she know that Simon was leading werewolves and newly subjugated Frost Sabertooths toward Frostbound Bastion.
For the moment, her attention was on the newest Unit unlocked by the reset Barracks.
The Crypt Spider was not advanced undead. It belonged to the same class of lesser creatures as ordinary Skeletons and Specters.
One standard summon produced twenty of them.
Lilith had to wait until midnight to see them for herself.
When the Barracks flashed, a mass of enormous spiders appeared before her, their bodies sheathed in black flesh and coarse fur.
If Lilith hadn't long since grown used to the creatures the System produced, the sight alone would have been the stuff of nightmares.
Each Crypt Spider measured roughly twenty inches long and sixteen inches tall.
Its two front limbs ended in curved blades. A grotesque face-like pattern covered its swollen abdomen, and a pair of crimson eyes gave it the look of a predator lurking in the dark.
Their abilities weren't far removed from those of ordinary spiders.
As lesser undead, they were unlikely to carry anything truly extraordinary.
Lilith opened one of their panels.
[Unit: Crypt Spider]
[Race: Corporeal Undead]
[Rank: Tier 3 Recruit]
[Attributes: 25]
[Potential: Tier 1 Veteran]
[Overview: A stealth-oriented predator capable of burrowing, ambushing targets, and restraining enemies with webbing. Its venom liquefies living tissue after injection. Its abdomen is highly vulnerable.]
[Core Ability: Camouflage Web]
[Camouflage Web: Once the web is completed, the Crypt Spider and its webbing blend almost perfectly into the surrounding environment. The web also restrains creatures caught within it.]
"Huh."
Lilith hadn't expected the oversized spiders to be so versatile.
Taken together, their abilities made them natural assassins.
The exposed abdomen was likely the price of that versatility. Their defenses were probably paper-thin.
"Go to the outer Blighted Forest and assist with territorial defense."
Nonhumanoid undead had little value outside combat.
Specters lacked physical bodies, so Lilith had turned them into scouts.
The Ghouls and Crypt Spiders were still too few to form proper combat units, so she assigned them all to guard duty.
The Gargoyles were equally scarce and had been stationed around Bonnie's Territory instead.
Even with those arrangements made, Lilith couldn't relax.
"Bonnie's side should still be safe."
She turned it over in her mind.
"I could recall Varkhul first."
As if summoned by the thought, a message from Bonnie popped up.
[MochiByte: Lili! Blaise sent us a warning. A native race might be after our Wonder!]
Lilith paused, then replied at once.
[God of Light: What is Auriel planning to do?]
[MochiByte: Fight them, obviously. They're all Kill Points! That's what Blaise said, anyway. But he made it sound more complicated than expected. He asked me to tell you to come in person.]
...
Varkhul was already there. Was the situation serious enough that even he couldn't handle it?
And why had Blaise gone through Bonnie instead of Auriel when he needed reinforcements?
Lilith sent a brief acknowledgment and left for the Verdant Forest immediately.
Her own Territory had warning systems enough in place. If an attack came, the System's casualty notifications would alert her.
She stepped through the Portal into Bonnie's Territory.
Everything looked normal.
Undead workers moved tirelessly through the settlement, hauling materials and carrying out their tasks.
Bonnie was nowhere in sight.
Lilith didn't find that strange.
Bonnie was probably still posted near the Wonder. Verdant Spire lay far from the Territory, and shuttling back and forth would waste too much time.
Lilith didn't stop to message her again.
She summoned a skeletal warhorse through Undead Magic, swung into the saddle, and rode for the Wonder at full speed.
Along the way, she sized up the danger.
Her conclusion: the threat was probably minor.
Verdant Spire belonged to both her and Auriel. They were among the strongest Lords in the region and currently held the top two spots on the event leaderboard.
Any attack on the Wonder threatened them both.
Auriel would not sit it out.
Could the two strongest Lords in the region really fail against some small native race drawn in by the Wonder?
As for why Lilith assumed the enemy was weak, the reasoning seemed sound.
The powerful races converging on the Frostlands had crossed enormous distances for the hidden treasure there—not for a Wonder.
In Lilith's experience, Wonders mostly attracted smaller local races.
Which would make this conflict a perfect opportunity to harvest more Kill Points.
With that thought, the journey passed quickly.
Before long, Verdant Spire rose above the trees ahead.
But as Lilith drew closer, something felt off.
She dismounted, pushed through the undergrowth, and finally spotted Bonnie and Blaise.
Beside them stood a blond, sharp-eared native.
Lilith's grip tightened on Waltz of Ashes.
Had they been taken hostage?