Chapter 45
The moment Lilith confirmed the order, the ground along the Territory's boundary began to shake.
Black earth split apart, and a circular trench nearly sixteen feet wide opened around the domain like a wound carved deep into the land.
Its walls hardened into smooth black stone that reflected no light at all — and then dark-green liquid welled up from below.
An eerie glow drifted across the surface, like countless souls trapped just beneath it, yet the moat lay perfectly still. Not so much as a ripple. This was Gravewater: any living thing that fell in would be dragged under without a sound.
Rows of sharpened bone and obsidian rose along both banks, every spike covered in undead runes glowing dim green, and the air above the water visibly warped as the no-fly zone took hold. Cross by air, and an irresistible downward force would seize you and pull you into that motionless water.
The Gravewater Moat now ringed the entire Territory, sealing castle and walls behind a barrier that was very nearly impassable.
Apart from the Portals inside, the only ways in or out were the four gates facing north, south, east, and west. Undead flew across freely, of course — the new Structure barely inconvenienced Lilith or her forces.
For everyone else, invading had just become dramatically harder.
She was about to depart with Giles when another Specter arrived from the south.
"My Lord, the southern Goblin faction has mobilized a large force and begun moving toward the Frostlands." The Specter hovered before her. "They are also deliberately avoiding the Blighted Forest."
Lilith paused. "They're sending that many Goblins into the Frostlands? Then they must be preparing for whatever's about to appear there."
She'd deliberately paid the Frostlands omen little attention — without the strength to compete for it, why bother — which meant she had no idea how close it was to fully manifesting. Judging by the Goblins' movements, the great scramble for the unknown treasure was about to begin.
What surprised her more was the detour. The Goblins lived to the south, and the shortest route into the Frostlands ran near the Blighted Forest's edge; with the forest itself declared forbidden ground, skirting its boundary should have been unavoidable.
Instead they'd taken the long way around to stay clear of it entirely.
Maybe the coming battle mattered too much to waste time on a minor threat like her. That was the most reasonable read. Still — Goblins were cunning, and she wasn't assuming anything without proof.
"Keep watching them."
"Yes, my Lord." The Specter flew south.
Lilith then led Giles through the Portal to Frostbound Bastion.
Becoming a Vassal had given him no way to transfer resources to her directly — even the thirty percent he was allowed to keep had to be hauled out by hand, and the System had naturally declined to provide a convenient Portal to his former Territory.
They would cross the Frostlands themselves. Fortunately, Lilith had brought a Bone Dragon; Giles navigated while it carried them both over the frozen landscape.
She'd expected an uneventful trip. Instead, somewhere over an unnamed stretch of the Frostlands, she spotted a group of Goblins below — waiting, by the look of it, for a larger force.
"Hold on." She ordered the Bone Dragon down onto the nearest snow-covered mountain. Giles's resources could wait. A rare chance to spy on the Goblins could not.
Giles followed without complaint. The Vassal Contract had left him seeming almost ordinary, but his Talent remained, and so did the physical strength of a Tier 3 Veteran — as long as Lilith kept clear of a major battle, he could keep pace and weather the cold.
The two of them came down the mountain in silence and trailed the Goblins to the base of another peak. There weren't many, but every one had the look of Veteran, and their leader — an elderly Goblin priest — carried an aura Lilith couldn't read at all.
Elite Rank? Was this the head of their faction? The group clearly wasn't the main army; they were an advance party, sent ahead to prepare for its arrival. Lilith kept her distance.
The priests began inscribing a magical formation across the snow. It activated nothing obvious — the array seemed to serve purely as a coordinate marker — and Lilith and Giles waited out the storm for two and a half hours before movement finally showed along the distant edge of the Frostlands.
Her eyes narrowed. "There they are." She turned to Giles. "Wait here."
He nodded. As her Vassal, there were matters he didn't need to question; he stayed silent and did as she said.
The approaching army was still too far off to tell her anything useful, so she'd have to take a risk.
Lilith summoned the Wraithveil Robe, smothered her aura completely, and slipped closer — stopping only when the Goblins came into clear view and she could faintly catch their voices. Any farther would be reckless.
Not that there was anything to catch yet. The advance party kept an absolute silence, the priests standing motionless in the snow like statues, and only when the main army reached them did the elderly priest step forward.
Lilith's attention stayed locked on the force pouring out of the distance. The landscape had turned into a sea of green — several hundred Goblins at the very least, wrapped in thick animal hides and carrying every kind of weapon, and for all the brutal cold they looked eager for the battle ahead.
At the head of the army she recognized a familiar figure: the young Goblin High Priest she'd fought before.
He came too? She frowned. They really had mobilized the entire faction.
Beside the young High Priest strode an enormous Goblin built like a siege engine, far more the tribal ruler in bearing than the elderly priest waiting to receive them — and Lilith couldn't sense his Rank either.
Another Elite. The faction had two Elite-ranked fighters?
The realization jolted her. She'd assumed sustaining even one Elite would strain a faction their size. She had underestimated them — and was suddenly very glad she'd never attempted a direct assault on their settlement.
If they'd brought everyone, they must know exactly when the treasure would appear. The two Goblin groups began to talk, and Lilith strained to listen.
"...Has it been confirmed?"
"...Our enemies are powerful. We cannot afford to fail."
"Do not worry, Chieftain. As long as the humans stay out of it, no one can oppose us."
"Once we claim it, our race will break through its limits and become a true Elite-ranked faction."
"We are running out of time. We must move quickly."
"The werewolves have enraged the Frost Sabertooths. The two races are already at war."
"Once we eliminate the Vampires here, no rivals will remain."
The wind swallowed pieces of it, but Lilith heard enough.
The werewolves and Frost Sabertooths were at war. And the Goblins meant to wipe out the Vampires before the treasure appeared — clearing the board in advance. The unknown treasure was close to emerging, and the Frostlands were about to plunge into chaos.
To Lilith, chaos looked like opportunity. A faint smile crossed her face.
"If the Goblins brought their entire army here... then who's left guarding their home?"