Chapter 1797 - Conflicting Bloodlines (Part 1)
"Really? So it's just a coincidence that someone infiltrated the City Hall despite the protective arrays that only you can control." The bestial voice snarled. "I don't care what the Queen says, I'll have you all eaten by a Skinwalker, just to be safe."
A few voices from the inside pleaded mercy while some swore eternal allegiance to Thrud. Others reminded their tormenter of the help they had provided to the invading army in taking Mandia and a few mentioned how they were under the protection of the Undead Courts.
"These weaklings wouldn't dare to betray us, Dhenma." A silvery feminine voice said. "What if it's the Corpse? Those fake Awakened could have easily gotten here with Spirit Magic."
"Unlikely." The snarl turned into a male voice. "They don't have breathing techniques. They might easily get inside the city, but they know that they would quickly run out of mana if they rely on Spirit Magic alone.
"Besides, according to our intel, they have been assigned to protect major cities like Belius. Even if the Royals did send them here, they would never let themselves be discovered by amateurs. This is clearly an inside job."
"Wrong." Lith said, slowly walking through the door while a barrage of tier one Spirit Spell killed the Thralls of the Courts and all those who had admitted to having betrayed the Kingdom.
Even a wannabe Ghoul would die if their head was removed while they were still human.
Everyone turned toward the intruder, using Life Vision to understand his identity.
"I don't know nor care if your oath of allegiance to Thrud is real or not. By aiding this scum you've become traitors and have only three paths ahead of you." Lith said to the humans, ignoring the three Emperor Beasts and the Fae.
"One, stay here and die. Two, get out of here and die anyway the moment this battle is over. Three, get out of here and start fixing the mana cables of the Gate for me."
Thrud's soldiers saw Lith's yellow core and powerful human life force, knowing that he had to be wearing a cloaking device. No one with a sword as powerful as War could be that weak.
The one called Dhenma grabbed a richly dressed man by the throat, forcing him to activate the protective arrays of the City Hall against the intruder. The blocks of stone that comprised the walls and the floor bolted toward Lith, accompanied by a hail of fire and lightning.
A moment before they struck, he revealed the golden seal in his palm and the arrays froze in time.
The Royal Override controlled both the Warp Gate and anything that carried the energy signature of the Royal Forgemasters, sending the blocks back to their place no matter how many times Dhenma squeezed the City Lord's neck.
He threw away the useless noble and jumped at the intruder as his body swelled into a black striped golden mass of feathers and fur that could only belong to a Sphinx, a lesser Griffon.
The man called Dhenma shapeshifted so quickly that his movements were just a blur as he jumped at Lith's throat with his Adamant coated claws. Despite the limited space of the room, the compressed form of the Sphinx still carried the same mass of a Scorpicore.
The seven-colored feathers on his wings revealed his talent for Domination which was still untapped due to the lack of a teacher. Dhenma, however, had been treated with Thrud's ambrosia and had access to far more simple bloodline abilities.
The silver lightning of Life Maelstrom coursed through his body, enhancing both his physical and magical prowess. Yet he was still a Sphinx weighing half a ton while Lith was a Tiamat who weighed several tons.
When Lith punched Dhenma with a left hook, he couldn't dodge while in mid-air and the impact burst his defenseless head like a grape, sending him slamming against the wall.
"If you take path number three, I'll let the Kingdom deal with you as a sign of gratitude." Lith continued to talk as if he had just swatted a mosquito "You have until I count to three to make up your mind."
The people that Solus recognized from Peonia's files as the City Lord and a few members of the Association bolted through the door before he could say "one".
Thrud's soldiers let them go, preferring to keep their eyes glued on the newcomer and prevent him from finishing off their companion. Dhenma was still alive, but barely. If not for his Adamant armor and the powerful boost of Life Maelstrom, he would have died on the spot.
'He's not just wearing a cloaking device, he is also a very heavy Emperor Beast, if not a Divine Beast. Be careful.' The woman shapeshifted into a lesser Garuda who had received ambrosia and gained Life Maelstrom as well.
Instead of rushing forward, she used the silver bolts of lightning to boost herself and her remaining allies. Thanks to her bloodline ability, their cores now burst with bright blue light with several shades of violet, and their equipment's magical powers and physical resistance now bordered on Davross'.
'I'll try to keep him busy. Dhenma, you step back and go call reinforcements at the first opening you get.' The woman, Ienta, was a Harpy, but she kept her human appearance to both not appear threatening and retain her charms.
With her flaming red hair, emerald eyes, and her and soft curves, she was no less beautiful than Tista.
"I don't know who you are nor how the fake King roped you into this war, but know that he has no chance of victory. You seem like a mighty warrior and our Queen will welcome you with open arms.
"Stop this madness now, join our cause, and I can promise you that you'll be properly rewarded for your services whereas the fake King will toss you away the moment you outlive your usefulness.
"Beasts like us should stick together. You can't trust humans." Ienta said.
"On another day, on another time I would have gladly accepted." Lith snarled. "My loyalty to the Kingdom has always been shaky at best, but I much prefer working for the Royals that for a Queen mad enough to join the Undead King.
"Thrud should've made me an offer before my brother killed my friends and threatened my family!" Now that there were no witnesses, he shapeshifted into his Tiamat form, unfolding his wings as the Voidwalker armor now resembled him rather than Syrook.
A deep violet aura burst from his body while every shadow in the room came to life, slithering and hissing like an angry beast.
'Shit, that's Verhen! I don't know what a Tiamat is but we can't risk facing an unknown Diving Beast. Dhenma, go! I'll cover for you.' Ienta said while she and her associates turned into their bestial form.
The Harpy had the chest and face of a woman and the rest of the body of a humanoid bird, and wielded twin maces in her hands.. The suit of Adamant armor she wore didn't hinder her movements nor that of the feathered wings on her back, allowing her to fly with the grace of a butterfly even in the restricted space of the room.