On top of that, part of the goblins would focus on channeling the world energy while the rest would take care of a different aspect of the spells.
‘That’s amazing! Between the world energy stored in the building and them having the same energy signature, it’s almost like when Solus and I work together inside the tower.’ Lith thought.
‘Except that the three of you have much stronger cores and can last more than a few minutes.’ The Voidfeather Dragon pointed out. ‘Not to mention that mimicking a single enchantment of the tower takes a lot of energy and focus that can’t be used for the experiment.’
Thanks to their bloodline ability, the goblins had reached an output that surpassed the bright violet, but due to their weak bodies and the little mana each one of them possessed, they had barely time for one attempt before collapsing.
The energy readings plummeted as fast as they had risen, and now hundreds of goblins were in need of food and rest.
The gardens turned out to be the homes of the reverted Ogre-Dryads who needed both the orcs and the trolls for their survival.
The shamans used their crystals to amplify the light element in the gardens in order to provide the ogres with the nourishment and warmth they needed to grow their plant bodies.
The trolls, instead, shared with them part of their abundant life force to make up for the lack of sunlight. No matter how good the orc shamans were at altering the crystals, they were no sunstones.
The burrows, instead, turned out to be inhabited by the orcs instead of the wargs. While they moved through the city, Lith could see via the Eyes of Menadion that the holes in the ground led to the crystal mines situated on the lower level.
The reverted orcs were best suited to extract them safely and their species thrived in such an environment. The shamans taught regular orcs how to access the power of the crystals and also used them to amplify the voices of their ancestors.
The resonance effect between the holy crystal and those in the mines allowed the shamans to bring out the memories of one of the previous crystal holders at a time.
Without the mines, the echoes of all the ancient orcs would have flooded the mind of the shaman at once and endangered their sanity. By studying the memories stored inside the holy crystal, the shamans could witness the life of their predecessors, not just study their spells.
Some of the most ancient crystals predated the fall of the orcs and offered a window to their lost golden age.
The shamans conjured the echoes of their ancestors in front of the community, giving even the less talented orcs the opportunity to learn about magic and the ancient history of their race.
Fomors and Balors lived in the central areas of the city. Their houses were at least two stories high and each one of them was as big as a mansion. Such privilege wasn’t granted just because they were considered superior but due to their limited numbers.
On top of that, Fomors and Balors were a key element in the community, using their powers to help the other fallen races and slow down their aging.
It was them conjuring the darkness for the trolls, using the power of the elements to accelerate the crystal’s growth, and restoring the strength of the goblins after an experiment in order to save precious food.
The Fomors in particular seemed to occupy the highest rank. Not only did they have the six eyes of their god, Glemos, but they were also capable of using all tiers of magic.
They weren’t as powerful as the orc shamans, but their physical prowess was unmatched.
Even a three-eyed fallen Balor was as strong as a bright blue-cored Awakened Emperor Beast. Now that they had reverted to their original status and further evolved, they were titans among mortals.
‘What about the warg?’ Lith asked.
They were just a few hundreds of meters from Solus’ position and he had yet to spot even one of Protector’s lost cousins.
‘I have no clue.’ The Voidfeather feared beasts the most, worrying that they could catch his smell or movements thanks to their heightened senses. Yet even the Demon scouts couldn’t find a single trace of the warg’s presence, let alone the Hati.
‘What the fuck?’ Lith and the Divine Beast said in unison the moment they reached the building from which Solus’ light came.
Surrounded by tall barracks that reminded Lith of his boot camp, there was a building worthy of the Royal Palace. It was surrounded by tall walls made of white crystals with Adamant gates so heavily enchanted that not even a Divine Beast could break through.
On either side of the gate, there was a statue of a Tyrant carved out of golden-veined white marble while elemental crystals had been put in place of his eyes. The statue on the right held books and carried Forgemastering tools on his hip.
The one on the left was in a battle pose, shielding children of the fallen races behind his body. Between the walls and the building, there was a lush garden filled with flowers that spread their delicate scent and topiary figures representing the monsters that Glemos had successfully experimented upon.
Yet it wasn’t the opulence of the palace nor the power of its spell that surprised Lith so much as the fact that only wargs and Hati were tasked with defending the area. On top of that, they all wore top-grade equipment and exuded a powerful aura.
‘It makes sense.’ The Voidfeather pondered. ‘Warg can share their senses and powers. They don’t need amulets to talk or to waste time on reports. What one of them experiences, every member of the pack feels it too.
‘This is a damn smart move and I like my opponents as dumb as bricks.’
The palace guards were currently tasked with keeping a crowd of concerned citizens at bay. Hundreds of people surrounded the area, making it easy for the Voidfeather Dragon to slip from shadow to shadow amid the chaos.
Luckily for Lith, the Adamant gates were open, the crystal walls were depowered, and the security was lax. The city was, after all, safe, and whatever was happening inside the palace was of great interest to the warg as well.
The guards were arguing loudly between themselves and the bystanders, but the moment someone from the inside came out to give them an update, everyone would immediately shut up and listen.
The conversations would resume solely once the messenger was gone and the Hush zone past the doors restored.
‘How do I get inside?’ Lith thought. ‘Every time the door opens, all eyes move there. Going unnoticed among the crowd would be very difficult.’
‘More like impossible.’ The Voidfeather replied. ‘There must be a secondary entrance, a skylight, something. As long as the security measures are depowered, we just need an opening.’
Lith spread the Demons around the palace, scouring every nook and cranny for a way in. The mass of the Voidfeather was too big and the area too well-lit for him to move around safely.
