Chapter 4033: Set Up (Part 2) Seeing that neither magic nor Adamant could stop the Eldritch-troll from regenerating, Jorl changed approach. He conjured Fire Soul, setting the world energy Xenagrosh’s body was desperately absorbing ablaze. The corrupted flames burned the Shadow Dragon’s flesh, mana, and equipment from within. The troll’s side weakness to fire only sped up the process, inflicting Zoreth pain as she had never experienced before. "Interesting." Jorl nodded. "Fire Soul seems to be a natural anti-Abomination weapon. This will be useful when dealing with Verhen again." "I doubt it!" A searing tidal wave crashed from the sky upon Jorl, sending him reeling in agony. "You mongrels have spilled enough blood of Leegaain already. You won’t spill more on my watch!" Ghirslak, the Patriarch of the Wyvern Bloodline, led the dive of his murder upon the Storm Griffon. The Wyverns rained Origin Flames and spells on Jorl’s back, treating him with the honor and respect he deserved. Akhton fared no better. The Wyverns rescued Lotho and brought Raagu to safety while their main force bombarded the Upyrs from the sky. "Come and fight me, you Lizzies!" The Bastet roared, but his Origin Flames clashed against the Wyverns’ and exploded in his face, eating at his Mana Body. The Wyverns didn’t dare enter the range of his powerful spear, Ashen Dread. They strafed at the Bastet with spells in a hit-and-run tactic, hurting him faster than he could heal. "This is bad." Orpal sighed. "I didn’t factor for so many meddlers. I need to rush things a bit." A swing of Thorn turned Lisa into a pulp with the mere air pressure it generated. "Mom!" Rizel cried, his mind refusing to believe the nightmare had started again, yet unable to avert his eyes from Lisa’s gory remains. "I told you this would happen, but you didn’t listen. Now, you have until I count to three to tell me where Lukah is." Ufyl charged at the Dead King and unleashed seven Spirit Spells, each carrying the full power of his mana core. Another burst of Shattered Moon blasted them to sparkles of light and the Seven Headed Dragon away. "After that, well, I won’t kill you, but I’ll find a way to make you even more miserable. One." A swing of Thorn severed one of Faluel’s heads. She unleashed a barrage of six tier five Spirit Spells, but Shattered Moon punched through them and vaporized another head. "Two." The spear pierced deep into Faluel’s chest, puncturing her lungs and making her unable to breathe. "And three." A Silverwing’s Annihilation hit Orpal square in the chest, where his mage tower was embedded in his crystal armor. He managed to save Moonlight from destruction only by shielding the steed with Shattered Moon and using the rest of the Blade Spell to counter the Annihilation. "Don’t die on me, child." Erghak, the Patriarch of the Fire Dragons, said. "I would never forgive you if you did." Invigoration healed the wounds before Faluel’s core cracked, bringing her back from the dead. Another Fire Dragon poured a stream of nutrients down Ajatar’s throat, using his breathing technique to help the Drake metabolize them quickly. ’Fire Dragons?’ Orpal rode the conflicting energies of the Annihilation and the Shattered Moon to get away from Lutia at supersonic speed. ’We already got what we wanted. There is no point in staying here and fighting against a Patriarch and his honor guard.’ Night pointed at the many Wyrms surrounding Erghak. ’They are no Father or Champion of Fire, but they are the next best thing.’ ’I agree. Lukah is not here, and there’s nothing to gain from this battle. We’ve already humiliated the Council. One day, we’ll take care of the Brood as well.’ Orpal replied as a greed of Fire Dragons appeared on the horizon, shining upon Lutia with the intensity of an early dawn. ’But that day is not today.’ A third flash of light signaled the end of the fight. Jorl couldn’t defeat the Wyverns, but they couldn’t stop him from running away either. Akhton didn’t even wait for the signal, bolting the moment victory was no longer certain. "Don’t let that bastard Warp!" Erghak yelled. "For our fallen Brood!" "For our Fallen Brood!" The Fire Dragons Warped around the Dead King and conjured a Space-Compressing array. "Thanks for the warm welcome, but I have to go." Orpal tapped into Moonlight, using the power of his steed to overcome the mana of several Wyrms and Warp away despite the magical formation. The Fire Dragons activated their bloodline ability, Primal Spark, and set the entire sky above Lutia ablaze with Origin Flames. It failed to stop the Dead King from escaping, but killed the Upyrs that had yet to Warp away. "Time to go." Jorl grabbed Akhton by the scruff of his neck and bolted away at a speed that no wingless creature without Life Maelstrom could match. The Wyverns unleashed a hail of Spirit Spells on the fleeing Divine Beasts, but Jorl blocked everything by using the Mana Body-infused Bastet like a living shield. "Hey, that hurts!" Akhton yelled as chunks of his armor and underlying flesh burst into pieces. "It will hurt much more if they catch us." Jorl replied. He took a Home Stone from an internal pocket of his armor and used it to quickly Warp at a great distance. The artifact already contained the coordinates of the exit point and was connected to an identical Home Stone that served as a beacon. Salanoth, the Ring of Space, had prepared enough for anyone and waited for them on the other side, ready to shatter the Home Stone beacon the moment Orpal gave him the signal. Dozens of dimensional passages opened in the middle of the city as the corrupted Divine Beasts disappeared one after another. The members of the Awakened Council and the Hydras were too busy saving their dying comrades to care about the Upyrs. "Is there a dimensional mage among us?" Fyrwal yelled, her seven heads searching around for a raised hand or any sign of acknowledgment. She was still recovering from her own wounds, but was unwilling to let the Dead King and his army off so easily. Yet no answer came, so she pulled her communication amulet out and counted the runes left on its surface to assess the casualties. "Ufyl is still alive! Someone look for him. He may need help!" Fyrwal noticed that the contact rune of the Seven Headed Dragon was still available and sighed in relief. "No need to look for me, I’m right here." Ufyl replied, dragging his left foot and holding his right arm as he limped forward, leaving a river of blood in his wake. The membrane covering his wings was gone, leaving the bones exposed, and five of his necks were reduced to charred stumps. His Adamant armor was in ruin as much as his body, but it was already rebuilding itself. "I managed to Blink away at the last second, but part of Narchat’s Blade Spell followed me through the Blink. I survived only because the dimensional passage lasted a fraction of a second. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂 "Any longer and I would have joined our brethren in death." Ufyl lowered his gaze, ashamed of having failed to stop the Dead King from claiming his prize. "Don’t apologize for avoiding a pointless death." Fyrwal handed him a barrel filled with nutrient potions. "There is no cowardice in retreat. Not when there was nothing your presence could achieve."