2482 Turf War (Part 4) Sadly, Orulm is right. His usefulness still outweighs his arrogance Vastor inwardly sighed. "Indeed. The only reason I don't kill you here and now is that I don't want to waste the countless hours of work I put into finding a proper monster core for you." The arrays faded, replaced by barely enough food to stabilize Orulm's body. The Eldritch gorged himself, even licking the floor to not miss a single crumb of the precious meal and appreciating the hunger fading back in the corner of his mind. It was still there, a constant reminder of the consequences of defiance and a glimmer of hope to keep him loyal. "On top of that, if you were to die, your powers and knowledge would be lost forever. You are still valuable to me, but I won't hesitate getting rid of you if you become a liability greater than your worth as an asset." Vastor said. "Thank you. You won't regret your decision. The once proud Orulm the Obliterator slammed his forehead against the floor in contrition. "Don't thank me yet. Punishment is in order" The Master raised his hand with the palm out. "Abthot, you are in charge of the mission. If Orulm steps out of line again or compromises the retrieval of even one of the items on Bytra's list, get rid of him" The eyes of all three Eldritches went wide in surprise. The Obliterator's life had been put in the hands of someone younger and weaker. Vastor had more than just demoted Orulm, the Master had also granted Kigan and Abthot absolute authority over him. Yet while Kigan's role was well-deserved being him one of the first six followers of the Master and one of his most trusted aides, for Abthot it was a test. Vastor was giving her power and responsibility only to see how she handled them. Her current status in the Organization was actually just one notch above Orulm's. She had been spared the humiliation, but Kigan was the arbiter of her fate just like she was for the Obliterator. "It shall be done." She fell onto her right knee, using sheer willpower to suppress the influence of her monster life force that oftentimes clouded her judgment. Abthot and Orulm were in the same boat. After acquiring a living body and getting rid of the hunger. they had become intoxicated by their newfound powers. They had forgotten that it was cunning and self-restraint, not mindless savagery, that had allowed them to survive for millennia. She knew that Vastor had just put a different kind of noose on her neck and she needed her once clever mind to keep it from squeezing the life out of her. "One more thing, Master. A few branches of the Undead Courts have contacted us. They are willing to submit to us in exchange for mercy and a position in your Organization. What is our reply?" "Stand tall. We are all equal. Vastor said, yet no one believed him. "Tell the Courts that we have no use for them unless they can help us track Meln Narchat. Grant mercy only to those who can provide solid intel. "I entered the War of the Griffons only to honor the request of my friend Krishna Manohar and to avenge his death. Thanks to your help, my children, I saved the Kingdom he loved but his killer is still at large. "I want Narchat found and I want him dead, no matter the cost." He handed everyone a copy of Baba Yaga's destruction spell. "If possible, I want you to capture him and bring him to me. His death shouldn't come easy or quick, "Yet I can't afford to repeat Thrud's mistake. If once you find him you suspect there's even one chance in a million for him to run away, kill him on the spot. I don't care if he dies a painless death as long as long as he dies: Gorgon Empire, Pirika mountain range, at the same time. The disappearance of the three cursed objects' contact runes was undeniable proof of their death. Night and the rest of her cursed brethren scattered throughout Mogar discovered it the same way in the same moment, filling the living legacies with dread. "This doesn't make sense!" One of them said. "Verhen was at the White Griffon during the attack and never left the Kingdom. The logs of the Kingdom's Gate network prove "He would have needed to travel to the Desert and get Salaark's help to get there in time, but he just went home! Windfell gave us a full report before ambushing the traitor. Dawn's host was lacking and the Verhens had just blue cores. "How can they have possibly defeated three of our brethren? Many hypotheses were raised yet none of them made sense. The discussion went on for hours until the news of Lith's appearance in the Blood Desert and his miraculous recovery was released. "This can't be a coincidence! Many cursed objects said in outrage. "Somehow, Verhen escaped the surveillance of our thralls and is now more powerful than before. The mysterious ingredient' must be our fallen siblings. "The only question is why isn't he taking credit for their death? "Isn't it obvious?" Starlight the Negator said. "Verhen doesn't want people to know how he traveled to the Empire without a Gate or asking him how he did it. We know he's bonded to a living legacy whereas the rest of Mogar think him to be a genius mage. "He can't risk exposing his secret." "What if we reveal the truth?" A cursed ring asked. "With what proof, you moron? Would you believe the word of a nobody against that of the Supreme Magus?" Starlight sneered at the idea. "The Kingdom has already examined Verlien countless times and even quarantined him. "If they didn't discover our traitorous sister until now there's no reason for things to go any different. Don't forget that unlike us, this Solus and Verhen can split at will. Her travels are proof of that." "Indeed." A cursed crown said. "She's a Horseman after all. At that word, everyone shifted the blame on Night and most of them cut her off from the call, considering her responsible for the death of Windfell and the others. "Either you withheld information from us on purpose or what you know about Verhen's living legacy is wrong. At this point, your help is no longer requested and your presence is unwanted. Starlight said. "Your offer is still considered standing, but we have to reconsider if dealing with Verhen is worth the risk of losing more of us. Don't contact us unless you are willing to fight. If you want to have a voice in the matter, you have to put your life on the line as well." "Are you... Their conversation was cut off and Night short. "Kidding me? I'm not like you. Verhen has my damn destruction spell at hand. He needs to read but a few lines to paralyze me and a few more to kill me!" The Horseman kept shouting at her communication amulet to vent her anger. "Those bastards don't want my help. They just want to lure me out of my hiding spot so that they can take me prisoner and extort the secrets of the Horsemen from.