Chapter 4500: Blade at the Neck (Part 2)

"When Night fused his life forces, she did such a poor job that she also turned the human and Dragon aspects into undead. It’s no wonder Orpal lost most of his original bloodline abilities.

"Undeath kills the body, and only a few mana organs survive the transformation. When you face the Dead King, apprentice, you must consider him the fusion of a vampire, an undead Dragon, and a non-evolved human."

"Good to know. Too bad it doesn’t change the fact that Orpal is now stronger, has a new ability, new equipment, and we finally know what happens when an Upyr turns into a Vurdalak." Jorl paced the throne room, trying to calm his nerves.

"I don’t know what to do. Heck, I don’t even know what to say. Should I warn Akhton and my loyalists, or should I keep this to myself? Orpal wants to keep Feast Soul secret for obvious reasons, but I agree with him.

"If I told the truth to my troops, they’d likely run for their lives. All I can offer them is a maybe, whereas Orpal is a concrete threat. Being close to him is no different from having a blade at your neck for an Upyr."

"You’re lucky, apprentice." The Black Throne’s voice was raspy yet full of confidence and determination. "I know what to do and say. Reveal the secret of Feast Soul only to Akhton and Uragar.

"The Bastet is a precious ally, and Orpal might deem the chance of acquiring his Mana Body worth killing Akhton. The Dead King already has your Life Maelstrom and doesn’t know if one mana organ is enough to use Light Raider or Focus Point.

"Those are complex bloodline abilities, and killing you to obtain an incomplete power would be foolish. Mana Body, however, only requires one mana organ, and I’m sure Night knows it.

"If Orpal’s gamble pays off, he’d get one step closer to obtaining all the bloodline abilities of the six original Guardians. At that point, he only has to consume Erion and pray his luck holds."

"Good gods!" Jorl rubbed his beak with his clawed hand, realizing the truth in the Black Throne’s words.

"As for Uragar, he won’t get scared. Even if Orpal feeds on the Book of Knowledge’s host, he can get another, and Feast Soul can’t rob a cursed object of its enchantments. Conversely, Uragar can feed on Orpal and steal his bloodline abilities.

"The Book of Knowledge has everything to gain from our war against Orpal. He won’t leave your side. Not until he’s built himself the most powerful host he can."

"Our war?" Jorl echoed.

"Yes, apprentice. Our war." The Black Throne nodded. "As I said, I know what we have to do. First, set aside any plans about killing Orpal. Those have to wait. Our top priority is capturing Dawn.

"Once she is in our hands, we’ll cure ourselves of our respective afflictions. With your body purged from the Vurdalak blight and my Battle Form, we will have everything we need to kill the Dead King."

"How can I believe you?" Jorl snorted. "What if after you get what you want, you drop me like a bad habit? That’s what I’d do in your shoes. You are powerful, but so is Orpal. Also, a battle between towers can’t be easy."

"I don’t believe you would do that, apprentice." The Black Throne extended a tendril of Spirit Magic to pat Jorl’s shoulder. "You’re scared now, but as soon as you calm down, you’ll understand I’m telling the truth.

"I’m no hero, apprentice. I don’t fight for justice. Yet I didn’t live thousands of years just to leave Mogar in the hands of a madman. Orpal has the means to become a threat to the balance and to me.

"If I let him grow his powers, when we meet in the future, it will be on his terms, and by then I might not be able to defeat him. That’s unacceptable!" The floor and walls of the tower trembled. "I’m the master of my own destiny.

"Mogar is my house! I won’t let that little rabid bastard make a mess of my lawn! Orpal has to die, apprentice, and mark my words, he will."

***

Lith was at the Verhen Mansion when Baba Yaga visited him to report her failure. She showed him the fight for Bornar from the beginning and multiple angles, hoping he might spot something she had missed or maybe something she could improve.

"Those Dawnbringers look powerful." Lith narrowed his eyes. "We’re lucky they don’t obey the Undead Courts. That said, your plan was perfect, Yaga. There’s nothing I, or anyone else for that matter, would have done better."

"Thanks." She sighed. "Yet there’s something nagging at the back of my head. The way the Upyr turned into a Vurdalak caught me by surprise, but the way he spoke and acted shocked me. That Treant turned into a perfect copy of Orpal in a heartbeat.

"It must mean something, and I can feel it in my blood it’s nothing good."

"We’ll worry about that when the moment comes." Lith sighed. "There are too many possible explanations for that, and we have nothing to work on. Meat skewers?"

"Yes, thanks." Baba Yaga took a bite of the food, and her mood instantly improved. "This is Zima’s Firghi pork! It’s as rare as delicious. Where did you get it?"

"Haug." Lith jabbed his thumb at the Travelling Tavern in the park. "Feel free to eat and drink to your content. My treat."

Meanwhile, inside the establishment, Parmegianno Haug didn’t know what to do or say either. He had been at the Verhen Mansion for days now, but had never made a move on Ryla.

’The situation is too messy, and that poor kid and his mother don’t need more chaos in their lives.’ He inwardly sighed, trying to forget his crush and the romantic dreams it stirred in his heart.

Alas, he had no way to succeed. Garrik had become a regular guest at the Tavern, and enjoyed spending hours on end with the chatty bartender. Unlike Lith, Haug had an endless repertoire of funny and amazing stories that didn’t involve fights to the death.

Haug also spiced things up by using the arrays of his Tavern to conjure holograms of the events as he described them, giving a face and voice to his characters. The bartender had been to every continent, and many of his stories took place in exotic countries.

Garrik gaped in awe at the different races Haug had encountered and the weird clothes they wore. The young Fomor had stars in his eyes whenever the bartender had the restaurant shapeshift to suit the different cultures on Mogar, and squealed with joy when Haug served him local dishes at the end of each story.

"Thank you, Mister Haug!" Garrik said while savoring a bowl of noodles covered in black bean sauce and seasoned with many unknown spices. "I can’t step away from Uncle Lith’s house, but you always bring a new piece of Mogar to me.

"After listening to your stories, I feel like I’ve been there with you."

"Don’t mention it, young man, and you can drop the mister." Haug tutted while refilling Garrik’s glass of water.