The lack of security in old Gates made the existence of a central dimensional hub both impractical and dangerous.
To make matters worse, even if the Courts had the space and the resources to establish such a place for each one of their branches, it would also mean that once one of them was exposed the others would quickly follow.
The best compromise the undead had found during the centuries was to set up only a few Gates for each branch.
On the one hand, it meant that reaching most destinations required lots of time compared to the human network. On the other hand, the extra passages and the authorization protocols worked as security measures, compartmentalizing the various branches belonging to the same Court.
***
Distar Marquisate, City of Zaqua, a few seconds after the fall of Derios’ branch of the Dawn Court.
Lith knew that moving via a Warp Gate would have left a trail of paperwork that a corrupt officer might have relayed to his employers so Lith had chosen a different approach.
Farg and Brinja needed just one Home Stone and a few people near Zaqua to allow Lith and the rest of the troops to reach their destination in a single step. Demons didn’t take space since they would hide inside Lith’s shadow and Solus was already back inside the stone ring.
She had consumed little energy but she preferred to rest and hide her presence. As for the soldiers tasked with surrounding Derios’ branch of the Dawn Court, they carried with them a temporary Gate.
These dimensional devices could be assembled at will and allowed their owner to cross hundreds of kilometers in one go as long as there was someone fueling the exit point on the other side.
Lith used the Home Stone and the dimensional runes he had imbued on it as a beacon. The artifact contained the dimensional coordinates of his destination and stored enough mana necessary to open a Warp Gate.
“Are you sure you don’t need to rest a bit before the attack?” Farg asked after Hushing them, to make sure that no one could overhear them.
She was a member of the Queen’s Corpse and the liaison between Lith and the black ops unit comprised of fake mages.
“I know that an Awakened needs but a few breaths to recover their strength, but you also carry the burden of hundreds of Demons. Wiping out Derios’ branch must have consumed a considerable amount of their strength and there’s a limit to the number of times you can use a breathing technique.
“Luckily for us, the Dawn Court of Zaqua built their hideout over a mana geyser. Even if we delay the assault for just a few minutes, you can regain your mana and save Invigoration for your Demons.”
“Thanks, but I have no need for that.” A wolfish smile appeared on Lith’s face while Solus took the form of the Hands of Menadion from under his armor. “I have all the power I need already.”
Between the underground magical labs and the magical formations surrounding the building, most of the energy coming from the mana geyser was already taken. There was not enough for Solus to assume her tower form but plenty left for the Hands to control.
Even while talking with Farg and listening to Brinja briefing the troops, Lith and Solus were working on taking over the residual world energy. Once they were done with that, they would start seizing control of the rest.
‘As the raid progresses and the Demons burn down the arrays, the free world energy will increase.’ Solus said. ‘When I have enough, I only need to secure an area big enough to host the first floor of the tower.
‘At that point, the Demons and I will receive an endless flow of mana without any burden for you.’
‘That’s of secondary importance.’ Lith replied. ‘The priority must be to use the tower to clear up your surroundings and make sure that no eyewitness remains. At that point, even without the Demons, it’s going to be checkmate.’
The Heart had Silverwing’s spells memorized while the Mirror Hall allowed them to Warp around freely. Even if the undead had a space compressing array, it wouldn’t be able to keep up with the tower’s output.
The Armory would share with the Demons the powers of the Sage Staff and Ragnarök, respectively focusing their minds and turning every weapon they wielded into an angry blade.
The Firing Range now could shoot any pre-programmed spell outside the tower as well and, if push came to shove, Lith could always activate the Prime Engine.
Solus nodded telepathically while Brinja showed Lith the location of the ancient Gate and the secondary exit points that the members of the assassin squad had revealed before being killed.
“Based on my estimates, their hideout could be at any depth but it shouldn’t exceed this area.” Marchioness Distar drew a circle in the hologram in front of her and the artifact calculated its diameter as slightly over 500 meters (1650′).
“Any more and the use of Gates wouldn’t make sense since an underground tunnel would suffice.”
“Agreed.” Lith nodded. “The Undead Courts tend to build their bases on multiple floors. The Gate will lead me to the uppermost floor while the secondary Gates should be linked with the private quarters of the Court’s upper echelons.
“They are located on the bottom floor, to give them privacy and the time they need to evacuate if cornered. Don’t get inside and wait for me to flush them out. Let the undead fall into your arrays instead of dealing with theirs.”
“Thanks, Magus Verhen.” Major Lantam, Brinja’s head of security gave Lith the salute. “I know that you are a Divine Beast, but your courage still amazes me. You are about to go in there alone, face a bunch of undead monsters on their turf, and leave us to clean up the leftovers.
“Yet even now you are worrying about our safety.”
The man offered Lith his hand, proud and honored to serve at the side of such a hero. Little did he know that Lith just wanted to have no one witnessing his methods or secrets.
“That’s because from great powers come great responsibilities.” Lith shook Lantam’s hand after returning the salute, making Solus want to puke at his bald-faced lies. “Now bring your soldiers in position. Time is never on the side of us mortals.”
Lantam nodded and started to bark instructions in his amulet, followed by Brinja who checked on the members of the Queen’s Corps. They were stationed in vantage positions from which they could reach multiple Gates quickly and join the army in the fight where necessary.
“Really? Us mortals?” Farg echoed his words, sprinkling them with plenty of sarcasm. “Even though your life force is cracked, I doubt that you have less than a couple of hundred years left to live.”
“Maybe.” Lith shrugged. “But I can be killed like anyone else here which makes me a mortal.”
“Semantics.” Farg replied.
“Do we really have to do this right now?” Lith knew that she didn’t like him, but he had never cared about it and he wasn’t going to start anytime soon.
