Chapter 1665 - Opening Moves (Part 1)
'Yes, but reviving his memories will also keep Locrias motivated and focused.' Lith said.
'How can you be so cold? That poor man is reliving his death and that of his men over and over again. On top of that, whenever you call upon him, Locrias will have just a few minutes of strife in front of him before going back to his dreams.
'That's no life, just a living nightmare.' Solus said.
'Locrias knew all of this and yet he chose to stay.' Lith replied. 'At first, I wasn't happy that my Demons aren't blindly loyal, but now I changed my mind. Those that will follow me like Locrias will have a depth of character and determination that no slave could ever have.'
'You'd better go back to Zeska, or your regiment will put a bounty on your Tiamat form for kidnapping Archmage Verhen.' Solus said after a while.
There was no point in arguing with Locrias' choice, she could only respect it as much as she respected the man.
'With my luck, I'll get a bounty anyway.' Lith returned to his human form and weaved a Warp Steps leading to the same exact spot where he had left Captain Loman Estar, his second in command.
'Locrias is right, you are a jackass.' Solus said after reading his mind and his plan.
"Major! Thank the gods you are alright." Ahria said when he stepped through the dimensional door, drawing everyone's attention.
"You had no reason to worry. I told you that Tiamat is a friend of mine."
"What about the Dragon's corpse?" Estar asked.
"He took it."
"What? Why?" It hadn't been one of the Captains speaking.
Several Warp Steps had opened and the nobles' armies from the capitol were stepping through one after another.
"Tiamat said that he was willing to split with Lith Verhen, not with Major Verhen because the army would have claimed most of my part. He also said that you didn't do anything to deserve it so he will keep it safe and send me some scraps just like the army would." Lith sounded genuinely depressed.
Even Dragon poop was a powerful ingredient, making the corpse a gold mine. Yet stealing it implied that only Tiamat could employ equipment made from such magical wonders whereas Lith Verhen had to appear empty handed.
"That's not true! We helped you against Quaron, and if not for us, the Skeletal Knights would have killed you." Eman was outraged by the Divine Beast dismissing the army as useless.
"Yeah, but that was also your duty and you fought to protect your own lives. On top of that, Tiamat gave us plenty of help by sending his Demons. Not to mention that none of us gave the Dragon a single scratch." Lith replied.
Then, after noticing that everyone was looking at him with suspicion for openly defending the Tiamat he added:
"His words, not mine. I tried to talk him into sharing at least a quarter of the body, but he wouldn't listen."
"How convenient a story for you!" Captain Pelan poked at Lith's chest in anger. "I say that you bartered your share with your friend and ignored your duty as an officer of the Kingdom. That's what I think and what I'll write in my report."
'This guy is smarter than he looks.' Solus said.
"And I'll write into mine that you disrespected my authority from the beginning, gave no contribution to the mission, and that I don't recall seeing you on the battlefield." Lith grabbed Pelan's finger, twisting it until the Captain had to grovel on the ground to keep it from breaking.
"Let's move. We have yet a work to do and a city to retake." Lith said. "Captain Ahria, make sure to collect all the equipment of the Skeletal Knights. Estar, with me. We must capture and interrogate all the nobles involved in the uprising.
"It's unlikely, but if they know where the Dragon's lair is, we- I mean, the Kingdom can still get its due."
Lith brought the nobles' armies in front of the city gates that opened without offering any resistance. After the death of their so-called hero and the revelation that Quaron was working for a Divine Beast and not for them, the citizens of Zeska had lost the will to fight.
The city was taken in a matter of minutes and Lith was free to raid the City Lord's mansion. The very same arrays that had kept the army at bay now kept her and her accomplices trapped like cornered mice.
Yet the only thing that the army officers found was a bunch of corpses. Something had killed Syrook's believers, leaving no one left to interrogate. They still retained their youthful appearance so the army managed to identify them only thanks to the help of their oldest servants.
The papers in the City Lord's private chambers revealed her involvement with the Lords of many other cities. The true surprise awaited them in the keep, where all the people that had opposed to Syrook's plan were held captive.
'I don't understand why the City Lord kept them alive.' Lith interrogated them one by one and even studied them with Invigoration to understand if the Black Dragon had experimented on them in any way.
Aside from the natural consequences of prolonged incarceration and malnutrition, however, he found nothing.
'The nobles could have riled up the people against the City Lord by revealing her treachery whereas the civil servants' help will be invaluable in uncovering the details of her dealings with the rebels.'
Yet after his questions and his spells found no answer, Lith could only shrug and move on to the next city. It was none of his business and he was eager to get back to his family in the Desert.
The rest of the mission went smoothly thanks to the fact that all the leaders of the rebellion had died as well soon after Syrook's defeat and thanks to Lith projecting in front of the various cities the events that had happened in Zeska with Light Mastery.
At first, the people refused to believe in Quaron's death and his involvement with a Divine Beast. His head on a pike dispelled the rebels' questions about the Ranger still being alive while the testimony of Zeska's Commander confirmed his involvement with Syrook.
One after the other, the cities of the Nestrar region surrendered to the Kingdom.
Lith's mission was over, he had a whole Dragon corpse in his pocket dimension, and Lutia would be guarded again, ensuring the safety of his family.
He had all reason to be happy, yet a thought kept nagging at the back of his head.
'Who the heck killed the nobles of every single city before my arrival and why did none of the City Lords dispose of their enemies? An Awakened might have bypassed the elemental sealing arrays, but to what end?
'The vaults and the treasuries were all empty so there was nothing to steal. It feels like someone is covering their tracks but Syrook is already dead and each prisoner we rescued is a loose end they didn't tie.
'I even checked them for blood cores in case they were thralls of the Undead Courts and their life forces for Thrud's slave spell, but they were clean.'