Chapter 4124: Words of Caution (Part 1) "The Griffon will be here in less than three seconds at best." The Black Throne focused the world energy he had left in his underground floors while turning his roof into a sharper, more aerodynamic form. Then, the cursed tower exploded the world energy in a burst of prismatic fire that propelled him into the air and past the barrier of sound faster than anything Lith had ever seen. ’Is that a missile?’ Lith was flabbergasted. ’Why does a mage tower need to turn into a missile to travel?’ He released the spells he had at the ready and focused on healing. He had adjusted his fall to move away from Salanoth. It was a desperate gamble, but at least Lith had a chance of winning against Jorl without the Ring of Space interfering in the fight. ’Probably because it can’t tower warp or run on chicken legs.’ Solus replied as a dimensional blade distorted the space where Uragar had been until a moment ago and turned it unstable. It was Friya’s best spell, Shattered Core. The following explosion was hard to dodge, and if one Blinked, it would have just made their exit point just as dangerous. "Thank the gods." Morok sighed in relief. "I only had one barrage of eye blasts up my sleeve. If that failed, I was dead." "Lucky you." Crank dug himself out of the hole dug by his Graveyard Shift spell. "I had nothing. I went this close to turning into a dashing pile of minced meat. Where’s Phillard?" The Lindwurm had never stopped running and had already put dozens of kilometers between himself and the battlefield. "I have a better question." Protector landed, wheezing like a bellows. "Why did the Upyr stop their attack and retreat one step away from victory?" The answer arrived in a rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning. Suddenly, the space for almost a kilometer was sealed, and the entire area was filled with bloodthirsty Griffons crackling with Life Maelstrom. "Where is he?" A Griffon wreathed in fire asked. "Where is the traitor?" "You just missed him and saved our lives." Lith pointed in the direction the Black Thone had escaped and then extended his hand. "You have my thanks." "And you have mine." The Griffon nodded. "I’m Ashanar of the Fire Griffons. Was Jorl really here, Verhen?" "Yes, he was." Lith conjured a hologram of the Storm Griffon’s Upyr’s form and equipment. "The bastard really did it." Ashanar snarled, soon echoed by the rest of his storm mates. "He tainted Mother’s sacred blood with Narchat’s filth! Did you at least memorize Jorl’s energy signature?" "Yes, but he wears a cloaking device, and he’s gotten too far already." Lith replied. "I can’t find him more than I can find Narchat, but now if either of them ever comes close to me, I can spot them from kilometers of distance." "Then it was worth coming here." Ashanar said. "You’ll get your reward. One full bolt of Life Maelstrom for the Verhens, one for the Hyperion, one for the weird wolf, and another for the couple." "Why does Crank get one and we have to split ours?" Solus asked, pointing at herself, Tista, and Lith. "The reward for a tip is one bolt, and I can’t split it between you all." Ashanar replied. "It’s only fair that each party gets its own." "Fine." Solus was too tired to argue. She needed the Sage Staff and Lith just to keep her human body from fading away. "Is there something else we should know?" The Fire Griffon asked. "I’m not sure who or what we just fought, and I’m not talking about Jorl and his allies." Lith replied. "They came here to meet someone who lived in a building that resembled a mage tower, and I’m afraid they have struck a deal." "A mage tower?" The Griffons weren’t greedy creatures, but their eyes shone with ill-concealed longing at those words. "Are you sure? Was it Menadion’s tower?" "I’m sure, but it didn’t belong to Menadion." Lith conjured the First Ruler of the Flames. "You can ask her if you want." "It was nothing I’ve ever seen, but I’m sure it was a mage tower." She nodded. "I’m also sure no Upyr imprinted it. Their energy signatures didn’t match, and none of our opponents demonstrated the power a tower master is supposed to possess." "So, either Narchat has gained the support of a tower master or another tower?" Ashanar liked neither scenario. "I don’t know." Lith replied. "There was something fishy. Narchat wasn’t nowhere near, and he’d never let something that powerful out of his grasp. This might be Jorl’s ploy, and Narchat knows nothing about the new mage tower." "Betrayal?" The Fire Griffon raised an eyebrow. "That’s good news. Yet it raises a question. If there really was a mage tower here, how did you guys survive?" "There is no mana geyser here." Solus pointed at the now-barren land surrounding the Black Throne’s temporary spot. "The tower had limited power and used it all to support the Upyrs. When it sensed your arrival, the tower used its remaining energy to run away." No Griffon had ever had a tower, so everyone looked at Ripha. "She’s right." Menadion said. "Towers are not omnipotent. They need an energy source. Without a geyser, once it runs out of mana, it would have been no better than an ordinary stone building." "Dammit!" Ashanar roared. "If only we arrived sooner..." "Jorl would have escaped sooner." Lith shook his head. "With that mage tower here, it was never a matter of if. Only when. You came exactly at the right time. We learned the abilities of Narchat’s cursed object allies, and you saved our lives. "We lost nothing and gained precious knowledge. I count this as a victory." "Still, the Council will freak out when they know we are against a mage tower." Crank said. "That’s why it’s better if we keep this encounter a secret." Solus said. "If Jorl is really betraying Meln, revealing the tower’s existence would bring us only trouble. "Jorl just has to introduce it as an ally to soothe Meln and raise the morale of the Upyr troops. The chances of success of Jorl’s coup would plummet, and the young Awakened would line up to become Meln’s thralls. "If we share this news only with the Royals and the Council representatives, instead, we can actually profit from this. "Jorl will keep plotting against Meln, we’ll keep our morale high, and no one will rush to become a Upyr. Also, we just need to wait a few hours to know what’s really happening. "If Meln doesn’t release a bragging video about his newfound powerful weapon, it means he knows nothing of the mage tower." "At that point, we’ll be certain that Jorl is planning a coup." Ashanar pondered. "We can make sure that Narchat and the tower won’t fight together and keep them two separate threats while preparing for both. "You truly are a descendant of Ruler Menadion." Ashanar gave Solus a deep bow, and she promptly returned it. "You are as smart as you are beautiful. Are you free for dinner?" "Yes, I mean, no." Solus blushed. "I’m beat. I need to eat, rest, and then I have a mountain of work to do. Sorry."