Chapter 4019: Tough Choices (Part 2) ’Two thousand?’ Haug looked at the death and destruction the ten Upyrs had wrought upon Zantia in the few minutes before the Wyverns’ arrival in horror. Entire city blocks were in ruin, and those still standing had their walls painted red with the blood of the dead. ’Yeah, and unlike Thrud, the Dead King doesn’t care about earning the favor of the citizens of the Kingdom.’ The young Wyvern inwardly nodded. ’Humans are just food for his army.’ *** What took place in Zantia and the rest of the Kingdom was nothing compared to what was happening in the Distar and Essagor regions. Orpal hated the Marquisate the most, and many of his sworn enemies lived there. From Brinja Distar to Duke Marth, the Dead King had a hard time deciding who to put on top of his hit list. At least until Night had pointed out that the Essagor region was home to Zogar Vastor, someone that she also despised deeply. Horseman and host celebrated that rare moment of agreement by sending all the troops they intended to send against the Ernas region to Essagor. Orpal hated Jirni as much as Vastor for foiling his plans time and time again, but alas, she wasn’t home. There was no way to lure her or her daughters into a trap, and the Dead King knew that Jirni wouldn’t care about something as trivial as dead civilians or a destroyed house that she could just rebuild with money. "Status report, Headmaster Marth." King Meron said. "No casualties, Your Majesty." Duke Marth replied. "No Upyr dared enter the inner courtyard of the academy, and our permanent arrays nullify their most powerful bloodline abilities. Yet the Upyrs are still a threat." The six great academies’ arrays were always active, constantly drawing on the power of the mana geyser below and negating the effects of Frost Soul simply by keeping it outside the castle walls with their stasis fields. "The Upyrs are burning the forest and killing our beast allies. Given enough time, they’ll burn the White Griffon to the ground with their newfound power." Marth had the communication amulet project the flaming skies looming over the academy. It was similar to what Nuron had done at the Starry Lagoon village, but here Fire Soul had been conjured by a dozen Upyrs instead of just one. "Then you have my permission, Headmaster." Meron nodded. "Activate the White Knight and kill them all." The true nature of the six great academies was one of the most well-kept secrets of the Griffon Kingdom. The Royals always hesitated to reveal it unless under the direst circumstances. After the War of the Griffons, however, all the staff and most of the students of the White Griffon already knew the truth. Only the youngest, those in the first year, believed the academy to be just a big castle. "By your will." Marth grinned, hoping to slaughter so many Upyrs that Orpal would show his face and give Marth the opportunity to avenge Manohar’s death. "Glory to the Kingdom." *** "Status report, Highmaster Vastor." Queen Sylpha said. "It’s a massacre out there." The plump professor replied. "The Upyrs revealed their presence after reaching the known branches of the Mage Association and the Army, sealing the Warp Gates, communications, and reinforcements. "Mages are helpless without their spells, and there’s only so much that soldiers can do against creatures of that size. Only the few cities where, for whatever reason, the Upyrs’ attack was delayed managed to activate their arrays and are holding their ground. "Everywhere else, our options are painfully limited. The mages have to get out of the area of effect of Frost Soul to cast their spells before going back and unleashing them. The problem is that the constant back and forth wastes a lot of time and makes it impossible to maintain an effective battle formation." "I see." The Queen gritted her teeth in frustration. "If only everyone had tier four and five spell holding rings, this wouldn’t have happened." "Indeed, but how many people would you entrust with that kind of artifacts, Your Majesty?" Vastor asked. "Elemental Sealing arrays are useless against them, and once their wearer is killed, they make a magnificent prize for our enemies." "Sad, but true." Sylpha nodded. "You are far too calm for someone whose lands are burning, Highmaster." "Panicking would do me no good, Your Majesty." The Master replied. "Also, I have taken precautions for a moment like this, and I’m a Highmaster. I know I can win, but I can’t fight without your permission. "Verlam is not Belius, where the soldiers keep any secret you ask, or a remote land where no one knows me. The moment someone my size with a staff starts butchering Upyrs, the Highmaster armor won’t hide my identity more than a bandana could." The Queen wanted to order Vastor to charge into battle, but her mouth remained shut. She was willing to pay any price to save her beloved subjects, but not if her decision doomed even more of them. Revealing the existence of a Highmaster was dangerous. Revealing his identity was suicidal. The nobles inside and outside the Kingdom would finally have an answer to their unsolved accidents and blame the Royals for them. Even worse, the enemies of the Crown within and without the Kingdom would also pin any natural catastrophe they suffered on the Highmaster and blame the Royals for their problems. Sending Vastor to the frontlines was bound to stir a political nightmare that could only end with his execution and the current Royal couple’s abdication. "Do everything you can without revealing your skills as a Highmaster." Each word soured Sylpha’s mouth and poisoned her heart. "Use them only if you are certain that you won’t leave witnesses. "I allow only for minimal collateral damage. I forbid you from killing more of our people than Meln’s gods-damned mongrels would." Essagor was Vastor’s own Archduchy, and the Queen knew such orders were unnecessary. Vastor would never harm the people he had spent his whole life nurturing unless he had no other choice. Yet Sylpha spoke to the protector of Essagor as if he were an unruly soldier because she needed to ease her guilt. Sylpha needed to do everything she could to prove to her conscience that she hadn’t made such an impossible decision lightly. "By your will, Your Majesty." Vastor gave her a deep bow. "I promise you that I’ll hold the Upyrs back until our allies from the Awakened Council arrive. Glory to the Kingdom." Once the Queen’s hologram disappeared, the Master enveloped the communication amulet inside a Hush spell to keep anyone from eavesdropping on him. "Tezka, you stay home with Zin and the kids." He said, and the Suneater nodded. "I doubt Meln is stupid enough to attack my house, but I wouldn’t put it past him. Everyone else but Nelia, you know what to do." He opened several Spirits Steps that led the members of the Organization outside the city of Essagor, and from there they moved to the neighboring regions with Chaos Steps. "Why are you doing this?" The Frost Griffon asked. "There are few of us, but we could exterminate every single Upyr in the Essagor region in minutes. Just give us the order!"