Chapter 3767: Blind Arrogance (Part 2) This time, the people who needed his protection were away instead of in the crook of his arm. To make matters worse, there was no mana geyser near the Lark Mansion, which sealed the tower and most of Lith’s more powerful abilities. He had no idea if he alone could save Jadon and Keyla before it was too late, and wasn’t ashamed of asking for help. ’Don’t worry, Lith.’ Friya said. ’As soon as we are in range, I’ll open a Warp Steps straight to our destination.’ ’Thanks, Friya.’ The Warp Mirror of the tower had already covered part of the distance under the guise of an enchantment of the Mansion and even recorded the dimensional coordinates of all places Lith and Solus had visited. The problem was that only a dimensional mage could use them. To anyone else, they were just a bunch of words and numbers. Normal mages, even those as talented as Solus, needed visual aid to picture their arrival point and open a Steps, whereas Friya was only limited by the power of her mana core. ’Don’t mention it.’ She replied. ’I still think Meln’s attack is a bad idea. The Larks are exposed, sure, but Brinja and Vastor have a Warp Gate. Reinforcements will arrive quickly.’ ’No, they won’t.’ Morok shared the news from his privileged army channel with her. ’Meln attacked today because there has been an issue in Jiera. Most of our troops have been mobilized to stop a rampaging lost city. ’Meln is not that stupid. He waited for a moment when the response time would be slower than usual, and those who are available are few and far from the best.’ ’We’ll worry about the details later.’ Solus chimed in. ’Guys, I want you to go all out right from the start. Don’t worry about the building, it can be rebuilt. We must force the enemy to focus on us while Protector goes to rescue Keyla and Jadon. ’If that’s not possible, Protector, just hold your ground and protect them until we arrive.’ ’It will be my honor.’ The Skoll kept his wings furled around his shoulders and checked with Solus if the spells he had prepared were suited for the mission. ’Why send Protector?’ Tista asked. ’Why don’t you go yourself, lil bro?’ ’Because I bet Meln ordered his Upyrs to stop me at all costs.’ Lith replied. ’Remember that he wants to hurt me, not kill me. If he kills the Larks, it’s his win. Also, I’m the fastest among us only at flying. ’Once on the ground, I can’t move as quickly and nimbly as Protector, especially while imbued with Life Maelstrom. I can’t risk hurting Jadon and Keyla. They are no Awakened, and I lack the finesse to protect them. ’In this state, a single sweep of Ragnarök might cause a shockwave that would kill Jadon and Keyla.’ Lith gestured at the silver lightning crackling across his equipment. ’And speaking of which, do you want me to pass the Life Maelstrom on to you once we arrive, Protector?’ ’Thanks, but no.’ The Skoll replied. ’I have almost no training in using Life Maelstrom and little control over my body once it gets enhanced. It would be fine if my mission were to pierce through the enemy lines, but I’m meant to protect your friends. ’Precision is more important than raw power for such a task. Keep it to yourself and use it to catch up with me as soon as you can. I-’ ’Watch out!’ Solus’ telepathic scream warned Lith before it was too late. The problem with Dragonspeed was that, past a certain threshold, perceptions and reactions failed to keep up. Especially when Life Maelstrom pushed Lith beyond his natural limits. Orpal knew Lith would try to reach the Larks as fast as he could, so the Dead King had his Upyrs place barrier arrays on the quickest route. They weren’t very wide, but they reached hundreds of meters in the sky and were several meters thick. The impact wouldn’t hurt someone the size of a Tiamat, but it would make him stumble and throw his allies off his back. When every second mattered, even a small delay might mean the difference between the Larks’ life and death. Lith steered to a side, avoiding the barrier in the nick of time but triggering another. Several walls rose to the sky, forming a tricky and complex maze. Had the barriers been in place from the beginning, Solus would have had the time to plot the best course out of the maze, so Orpal had sprung the trap at the last moment. Lith tried and failed to slow down, every twist and spin of his body putting stress on his joints as he focused on not turning into a pinball. After a sharp turn, his right wing bumped into a pillar of energy, and he spiraled right into another barrier. Or rather, he would have spiraled into a barrier if Friya hadn’t spotted the exit of the labyrinth and opened a Warp Steps right before the impact. Lith flew out of the Warp and the maze at the same time, only a fraction of his Dragonspeed lost. Lith was stunned and bruised but otherwise unharmed. ’This could have been avoided if you had given the Eyes to me, Solus.’ Friya said, excluding Bodya from the conversation. ’I don’t need time to think. I can open a Warp Gate as far as I can see.’ She opened another Steps to underline the concept, bringing them right in front of the Lark Household as she had promised. ’It’s not that easy. The Eyes would have put a massive strain on Lith’s mind the moment so many spells filled his field of view. You would have opened the Steps earlier, but the headache from the Eyes would have made us crash-land.’ Solus replied. ’Protector.’ She gave a Monocle of Menadion to the Skoll, and he wore it. ’I’ve put all the maps of the Lark Household, the passcodes to bypass arrays, and those to open the door in there.’ Solus said. ’Once the Monocle finds Jadon and Keyla, it will guide you to them. ’I’m giving you a Monocle instead of the Eyes because this way you can always communicate with me and we’ll share the mental burden in four.’ ’Four?’ Protector echoed. ’You, me, Lith, and the tower.’ Solus replied. ’We won’t use it on our end not to hinder you. Your mission takes priority.’ ’Thanks for the- Shit!’ Protector said, taking the words out of everyone’s mind. The Lark Household was barely visible behind the battalion of titans surrounding it. Most of them hammered at the enchanted protections with fists and spells, but a few of them kept watch on the ground and the sky. ’That’s a lot of Upyrs!’ Nalrond said. ’I’m surprised the mansion is still standing.’ Bodya said, assessing they were roughly outnumbered five to one. ’I’m not.’ Lith replied. ’After what happened to Trequill, I helped the Larks to up their security. I created and set up the arrays for them, and even helped them to buy enough mana crystals to fuel the magical formations in a contingency like this one. ’The problem is that I didn’t put in place any offensive arrays. I focused on the defense, assuming I would be enough to deal with any threat. I was wrong.’