Chapter 4127: From Pawn to King (Part 2)

"For the gods’ sake, either you go to the bathroom or revert to your undead form!" Raagu snarled.

"This is all." Lith said.

He was glad when the holograms of the Council members disappeared, and the dripping noise finally stopped.

***

"By my Mom, I feel so useless." Solus sighed. "One kick. One kick and I was out. I had blown that bitch’s head to bits, and she regenerated it like it was nothing. Fae are so unfair. Pun not intended."

"Tell me about it." Tista snarled. "I almost died like a moron because of my arrogance. I was so certain that the Origin Flames of Ethereal Aegis would have avoided the Thunder Soul, or at least nullified it, that I let that Upyr hit me.

"Sure, I killed him on the spot, but I also became a liability for the team. I rushed to save Solus, only to need someone to save me. If not for Protector, I would be dead."

Solus flushed in embarrassment at those words.

’Maybe we should tell Tista the truth.’ She thought. ’She has no reason to blame herself. If only she knew about the Bleed, she wouldn’t have been defeated like that. Yet if I come clean with her, what will Tista think of Mom?’

"At least you are a Divine Beast." Nalrond grumbled, rescuing Solus from her inner turmoil. "You still managed to kill your opponent in one blow. I almost won, only to get the tables turned on me because of the mass gap. That’s unfair if you ask me."

"Don’t be too hard on yourselves, guys." Lith replied. "Solus, you lack battle experience, and without the Ears, you were an easy target. That Dryad was infused with Life Maelstrom and was too fast for you.

"Not to mention that with your broken life force, you can’t afford to be hit so hard. We miscalculated our power and paid for it."

"I know, but what chances would you have had against Jorl and that ring without the Ears?" Solus asked.

"Almost none." Lith had to admit. "Tista, I would have made the same mistake in your shoes. There was no way to know that Thunder Soul is effective even on your energy form. Ajatar’s Spirit Fusion and a Phoenix’s Molting Essence would have fared no differently.

"Thanks to you, we’ve learned something important, and we can now warn our allies. I’m sure that every Phoenix’s life that this information will save will earn you Grandma’s eternal gratitude."

"That’s true." Tista’s lips curved into a thin smile, feeling better about herself.

"And you, Nalrond, you were a mortal amid titans. You have rich battle experience, but none against Divine Beasts. They are a unique opponent that demands unique strategies. You did great too.

"Everything you learned today will help you to survive tomorrow."

"Still, I did worse than him." The Agni pointed at Morok. "He killed his opponent and kept fighting."

"I’m used to being the little guy." The Tyrant shrugged. "I had to fight against bigger and stronger opponents my whole career as a Ranger. I never charge in recklessly because I have no Light Mastery to save me.

"Also, at least you have Dawn to teach you the ropes. She’s kicked many Divine Beasts’ ass. You can ask her advice."

"Yeah, that’s the dream." Nalrond replied. "The realization of how much my techniques improved since we started our lessons is already humiliating. If I need her to learn to fight Divine Beasts too, I might as well start calling her master."

"And if you do that, the next time you face an Upyr, you’ll come back to your wife and children alive again." Morok pointed out. "Your choice, man. I wouldn’t bitch and moan so much in your shoes. Compared to me, you’re lucky."

Nalrond was about to reply when Friya’s stare froze him on the spot. She was angry, but mostly scared.

’Gods, I hate it so much when Morok is right.’ The Agni thought. ’Pride won’t save my life against the next Divine Beast I fight, while Dawn’s teachings might. The choice is simple, yet far from easy.’

"Please?" Friya asked, and he couldn’t muster the strength to refuse.

"Fine, I will talk to Dawn." Nalrond sighed. "I’m starving. What do you say if we stop tormenting ourselves with our failures and go fill our bellies?"

The motion was unanimously approved.

Once they reached the dining hall, the kids cheered for the returning heroes while their parents sighed in relief.

"Story time! Story time!" The triplets chanted, and Fenrir joined them.

"Sure." Lith exchanged a glance with the others before projecting an embellished report of their latest mission.

He removed all the bloody parts and made the final fight look much less desperate than it had actually been. Much to his surprise, even with the bad ending, no one complained.

Orion and Jirni flinched at the mention of the new threat to their daughters and Kingdom, but said nothing. They just held their hands and used a mind link to discuss the situation, reaching Lith’s same conclusion about Jorl’s betrayal.

"You can relax a bit." Morok said to the Ernas couple. "The Royals guaranteed us that with this mission, we have earned enough merits to buy you another leave extension. The Ernas’ honor is safe."

"Thanks, son." Orion said, taking back at least one-tenth of the bad things he thought about the Tyrant.

"Dad is so cool!" Leran said. "You saved everyone. I bet that if it weren’t for that, you would have taken the bad guys out all by yourself."

"Thanks, son, but I’m the Protector for one reason." Ryman replied. "I’ll always prioritize saving a life over taking one."

He didn’t mention how the bloodline abilities related to his pack didn’t work at such a distance, limiting his potential.

"Don’t beat yourself too hard, Big Brother." Aran patted Lith’s knee. "The bad guys cheated. They had a mage tower."

He and Leria needed sheer willpower not to look at Solus and ask her why she hadn’t evened the field.

"About that, what kind of tower is that, Grandma Ripha?" Leria asked while pointing at the hologram of the Black Throne.

"I don’t know." Menadion’s left eye still twitched every time someone called her grandma. "We’ll ask Grandma Yaga when she answers our message."

***

After a hearty dinner and a few hours of rest, Lith had recovered most of his strength.

"No news from Meln." He said after checking his communication amulet again. "There is no way a mage tower joined his side and he doesn’t make a long rant about it. The only possible explanation is that Jorl has promoted himself from pawn to king."

"Great, can we now talk about something else?" Kamila clinging to the Camellia and its three blossoms was a solid clue about her worries.

"Sure, sorry about that." Lith replied. "What’s the matter?"

"Are you serious?" She said in mild annoyance. "You got seven eyes, and you missed this?"

Kamila pointed at her swollen womb.

"Of course I didn’t. Just tell me what bothers you." Lith held her hand, feeling it tremble in his own.

"It’s a long list." She sighed. "I’m pregnant, and after he almost died today, my dumb husband is more worried about his mad brother than his children."

That came too close to home for comfort and stung quite a bit.

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