Chapter 55
After watching Lilith dismantle the Beastkin Alliance with such ease, Thorne and his companions hurried over to thank her.
"Thank you for saving us."
Lilith gave a casual nod.
The Three Blades Alliance had never shown any appetite for reckless expansion, nor had its members preyed on innocent Lords. Lilith thought better of them than she did of most.
Their strength, on the other hand, left plenty to be desired.
"Why did you stay in the Frostlands after our last meeting?" she asked.
The Three Blades Alliance should have caught wind of the coming omen by then. Lingering in a region on the brink of chaos had not been a wise choice.
Thorne answered honestly. "Our Wonder is fixed here. We'd also poured a great deal of resources into the Alliance Hall, and the Wonder has several hidden functions we weren't willing to walk away from."
That made sense.
No one could have predicted that the omen would forcibly transport every creature in the Frostlands into an underground dungeon.
"This whole mess was an accident, then," Lilith said. "What's the story with the Beastkin Alliance?"
Thorne, Bianca, and Brom all shook their heads.
"We don't know," Thorne replied. "We had no history with them—we didn't even know where they came from. When the omen triggered, both groups appeared in this arena, and they attacked almost on sight."
Lilith had little trouble guessing their motive.
It also meant the Beastkin Alliance's Territory had to lie somewhere near the Frostlands. If its members had actually settled inside the region, the omen would have swept up the entire Alliance instead of just five of them.
"Lord Lilith, you've made mortal enemies of them because of us," Thorne said apologetically.
Lilith waved the concern away. "It doesn't matter."
A tenth-ranked Alliance was hardly worth losing sleep over.
Besides, White Hart was the only enemy who had escaped, and she had no idea that Lilith was God of Light, nor did she know where Lilith’s Territory was located.
With the promised reward already in her hands, their agreement was settled. Lilith demanded nothing beyond it.
Mana Crystals no longer held much value for her, and the Three Blades Alliance had no Dragoncore Crystals. Practically speaking, they had nothing else she wanted.
"You should clear out of this area," Lilith said. "You already know how dangerous the deeper levels are. Find somewhere to hide and stay put. Once the core treasure is claimed, this dungeon may well vanish on its own."
Her reasoning rested on the ancient book Thorne had found.
The item might be rare, but none of the native factions had been drawn toward it, and it stirred no reaction from the dungeon itself. That strongly suggested it was just one of the lesser treasures scattered through the structure—not the final prize.
Only a theory, but a sound one.
Thorne, Bianca, and Brom traded disappointed looks.
They had assumed they'd be allowed to travel with Lilith. Even if they gained nothing from the dungeon, staying close to her would do wonders for their odds of survival.
Lilith clearly had no intention of bringing them along.
All three glanced at Giles.
They knew him too. If they weren't allowed to follow Lilith, why was he?
Bianca had never been one for subtlety.
"Why do you get to follow Lilith?"
Giles smiled faintly. "Our circumstances are different."
That answer only confused them more.
Lilith saw no reason to explain the Vassal Contract. By then she had already drifted toward the arena's outer passageways to inspect them.
Only Giles followed.
The hundreds of newly raised undead stayed behind without so much as twitching—a clear sign that Lilith meant to travel light and quiet.
For the Three Blades Alliance, that wasn't entirely bad news. The undead army now counted four Veteran-ranked Black Knights among its ranks, each one stronger than any of them. Staying near that force would offer serious protection.
They weren't Lilith's enemies, and undead wouldn't object to their presence.
Even so, after Lilith and Giles vanished into the dark passage, Thorne weighed the situation and decided against staying in the arena.
Too many undead were packed into one place, and that concentration of Death-Essence Mana could easily draw the native factions. If that happened, Lilith's army might survive it. The three of them probably wouldn't.
"We should go too," Thorne said. "Let's find somewhere defensible and wait for the dungeon to start collapsing."
...
Lilith didn't deliberate over which passage to take.
She walked straight into the same archway White Hart had fled through.
Whatever waited at the other end—an enemy, a trap, a dead end—White Hart would run into it first. A scout who volunteered without being asked was too convenient to pass up.
Lilith was in no hurry to claim the dungeon's central treasure. Her real objective was an Elite-ranked corpse, so she advanced at an easy pace while reviewing the System notifications from the battle.
[Enemy Lord Bat defeated.]
[All transferable resources have been acquired.]
[Resource Summary: 300 units of Iron Ore, 68 Mana Crystals...]
...
[Enemy Lord Muskox defeated.]
[All transferable resources have been acquired.]
[Resource Summary: ...]
...
[Fixed Rewards Acquired: 4 Lord Crystals, 4 Barracks Cooldown Resets.]
[Resource transfer complete.]
Lilith read through the messages and frowned.
"That's it? These people were broke. They were Veteran-ranked Lords, weren't they?"
The combined haul from four Lords added up to less than what she'd expect from a single ordinary one.
"They probably moved most of their assets into the Alliance's Shared Storage," Giles said.
Lilith nodded. "That would explain it. Whatever. Not worth dwelling on."
Most of those resources meant little to her now anyway.
She took out the ancient black book Thorne had given her and turned it over in her hands.
It had come from inside the dungeon. Even if it wasn't the central treasure, it ought to be something out of the ordinary.
"Looks like some kind of Magic Grimoire."
If it held a powerful spell, her strength could climb yet again.
But before she could examine the book, a different System message flashed in front of her.
Lilith stopped walking.