Thrud's voice was awfully cold and calm, yet her eyes had never stopped shedding tears since the day her husband had passed away. "Give me a status report of the frontlines and of the main players on the field." "As you wish, my liege." Iata steeled up and pointed to the city of Belius which was now red-colored after falling into the enemy's hands. "Even with the help of the Empire, our first lines held throughout the Kingdom. "We have lost ground in a few areas but we have also further advanced in others, especially while the Royal army focused on taking Belius." A few miniatures retreated on the map and a few more moved forward as she spoke. "We have lost way more than we have gained, but all things considered, it's a success. I'm referring solely to the frontlines, Your Majesty. I would never dare belie your tragedy and I'd give half of our territories to have my King back." "No need to apologize, Iata. I'm not that mad, yet." Thrud inhaled deeply, keeping the silver bolts of lightning bursting from her body at bay. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎 "The major players in taking down Belius were the Highmaster Zogar Vastor and the Awakened Corps led by Great Mage Phloria Ernas." The Sekhmet continued. "If that man is insignificant, then I'm a cat. "Alone he slaughtered your Generals like pigs and mowed down our soldiers without ever slowing down his advance. We were weakened from our fight with Dawn, but we attacked Vastor in a group and lost anyway. "The Awakened Corps, instead, kept the Forgotten from interfering in the battle between infantries. Without them, the numerical disadvantage was too much to overcome. "On top of that, Great Mage Ernas alone is worth dozens of mages thanks to her sword. Hundreds, once she activated her Blade Tier spell." "I know these names. I've heard them before." Thrud's voice was a whisper, her energy drained by the effort of withstanding the battle between her fury and madness. "You are right, Your Majesty." Sevenus Hystar, the Headmaster of the Golden Griffon said. He kept his wounds from the fight with Solus open and his bones broken in penitence for his failure. The Mad Queen had given him no such order, but Arthan did. "They are both known associates of Verhen. They are respectively his academy professor and mate. Vastor is married to the sister of Verhen's spouse, Zinya, while the entire Ernas Household is in a close relationship with the Verhens." "Verhen." The Mad Queen gasped. Hearing that word gave her fits of rage that its repetition only made worse. "The same can be said about the group of intruders." Hystar projected their holograms. "Kalla the Wight is a semi-Lich who lives in the Empire. She's a citizen of the Eclipsed Lands ruled by Vladion Dragonborn. "We already know the location of Lightkeep and I have a strike team at the ready in case you want to return their invasion in kind." "I appreciate the thought, but no." Thrud shook her head. "After my previous raids, the security of the Eclipsed Lands has been improved by leaps and bounds by Baba Yaga herself. "A proper attack would mean leaving behind the bulk of my forces while also taking so many Awakened with me that it would compromise the War of the Griffons. Even if I was willing to pay such a price, I'm bound to fail. "All Firstborns can call the Red Mother and I'm pretty sure that after what I did to her, Baba Yaga will happily go out of her way to take a shot at me. I almost lost to Dawn and she's nothing compared to her mother. "Even without her tower, even if I already had reached the bright white core, I would still be an infant compared to Baba Yaga. She would capture me, break my bond with the academy, and then kill me. "Death is indeed alluring, but I can't afford it until Valeron is old enough to fend for himself and I've taught him everything he needs. My reckoning will have to wait." Thrud stared at the baby, using it as her anchor against the storm that ravaged her mind. "I'd rather focus on targets at hand, combining business and pleasure." She stood up from her stone throne, caressing the statue of her husband before moving to the crib. She held Valeron the Second tight, singing him the lullabies that Leegaain had sung for Jormun and that in turn Jormun had taught her. Once the baby was happy and asleep, she entrusted him to Iata and the handmaidens. "As for Baba Yaga, I still have a way to make her suffer without the need to take a single step outside the Golden Griffon." Thrud Warped straight into the maximum-security cell where the Horseman of Night was kept. "Hello, Orpal Verhen." Her smile was warm and vibrant as she let the world energy fill the room to the brim, allowing Night to go back to her full power. Thrud's eyes, instead, were feverish and lit by the boundless rage she had no more reason to control. She even used Invigoration on Orpal, healing all of his wounds and filling his blue core with mana. "What's the meaning of this? You've never visited me even once." His pride forced him to stand tall despite the fear gripping his heart. Whenever someone entered the cell, it was either to torture him or to experiment on him. Sometimes both. "I'm here to share good news with you." She giggled like a little girl on her first crush. "My husband died and your brother murdered him." "That damn Leech!" Orpal did his best to feign grief, especially when Thrud returned him his equipment. "I'm so sorry for Jormun, but I've warned you many times. Leech is a monster and if we want to put him down, we need to join our forces." "I don't think so." Thrud's giggle turned into a cackle and then burst into maniacal laughter. Orpal tried to Spirit Warp Away but the academy's Static Field array compressed the surrounding space. "Gods, you are so stupid." She doubled over in hilarity, gasping for air. "How could you think that I would come here for help?" "Then why are you here?" Orpal dragged the conversation to weave his spells with mind and body casting as he moved to the center of the room to have space of maneuver. "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you that Vladion helped your brother to get inside the Golden Griffon and that Baba Yaga got them out. You are a Verhen fused with one of the Red Mother's children. Who better than you to vent my anger?" The Mad Queen let him complete his preparations, her crazed smile went from one ear to the other. Her eyes lit up with white mana and her gaze held promises of infinite pain. "That's nonsense! My family disowned me twice. Even if you kill me and send them a video, you'll only make Leech happy. As for Night, she's disowned as well and Baba Yaga wants her dead." Orpal replied, needing sheer willpower to withstand her killing intent. "The fact that you call yourself the Verhen family name is just the icing on the cake. I won't send any videos to your brother. I'm going to torture you because this is all your fault!" Thrud couldn't wait any longer and charged forward.