Supreme Magus

Chapter 4568: The Result of Leegaain’s Studies (Part 2)

’Nailed it in one, Hatchling.’ The Father of All Dragons’ voice echoed in Ajatar’s mind. ’Keep the rest of your abilities, like absorbing Life Maelstrom and using it to temporarily exceed your mass and mana capacity, a secret. Yaga is a good friend, but you can never have too many aces up your sleeve.’

"Bottom line, the Fire Dragons didn’t want me to leave." The Sapphire Dragon continued. "They tried everything they could, even gifting this armor to me as a farewell gift, to buy some time for their females to seduce me.

"Once that failed, they sent Jigrith with me as a bodyguard. On paper, she was there to watch my back, but I know her real goal was to make sure I returned to the Valley of Life instead of going back home. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination."

"She hit on you, hard, the whole time, and you exploited the chaos of the battlefield to ditch her." Baba Yaga chuckled.

"That’s why I rushed to your doorstep, Lady Yaga." Ajatar replied. "I needed your help to escape because I didn’t want Jigrith to notice how weak I had become and assess the limits of my powers. It might have given the Fire Dragons all kinds of wrong ideas about me."

"That’s what you meant when you said I owed you one? You wanted a ride home?" The smile disappeared from the Mother’s face, and Ilthin’s expression turned into pure shock.

"Yeah. You are trustworthy and keep secrets much more important than mine for Lith and Solus. I assumed that since you have no interest in Dragon bloodlines, I was safer with you than with Jigrith. Why?" The Sapphire Dragon asked.

"You helped me save my daughter, child." Baba Yaga tilted her head to a side. "You could have asked me for treasures, knowledge, or even to craft you something, and I’d have agreed. I owe you."

"That would have been unreasonable." Ajatar shrugged. "Origin Flames aren’t that expensive. Just get me to safety, and we can call it even."

"Great Mother almighty." The Mother sat down before her knees betrayed her. "It’s been a long time since I’ve met a Dragon who’s not greedy. You could have fleeced me, yet you didn’t even try."

"I’m not that dumb." Ajatar replied. "I’m not making an enemy out of a white core for a few trinkets. Besides, I knew that getting inside here might expose a few of my secrets to you. Keep them for yourself, and I’m fine with our trade."

"But I’m not!" Baba Yaga stood up. "My daughter’s life isn’t that cheap, and I’m not an ungrateful person. If you let me study your life force, I can tell you if the Fire Dragons are right about your bloodline and the white core. Also, I can craft something for you, if you want."

"You mean equipment crafted with your techniques and full power?" Ajatar’s eyes lit up with the Dragon Greed the Mother knew all too well.

"No. You give me the materials, the crafting technique, and I Forgemaster an artifact for you to the best of my abilities that your materials and technique can withstand. I can reforge that armor with a proper elemental crystal sequence, if you want.

"Also, I’m willing to make you a Blade Weapon. Then we can call it even."

"You know how to craft Blade Weapons?" Ajatar was flabbergasted.

"After living for so long and mastering Creation Magic, I would have learned it even if I didn’t have a shred of talent, hatchling, and I have talent in spades." The Mother waved at Ilthin and Bloodhaven. "What do you say?"

"I say we have a deal." The Sapphire Dragon replied. "At this point, I don’t care much about you unveiling the workings of the Fire Dragons. Assuming you don’t already know them, of course.

"Since you’ve already mentioned Creation Magic, I have a pile of failed experiments, prototypes, and millennia-outdated junk the size of a mountain. If you are willing to recycle them with Dismantle for me, I’ll give you half the recovered materials, and I’ll also give you anything you need for my Blade Weapon from my half."

"Your generosity keeps surprising me, Hatchling." Baba Yaga patted his shoulder. "Thanks for the offer, but I’m also richer than I look. I don’t need anything from anyone, let alone my daughter’s benefactor.

"I’ll recycle everything you want, but let me give you a fair warning. Try to use Dragon Eyes on me while I use Creation Magic, and I’ll kill you on the spot."

***

The news of the Dead King’s attack on Drenghen spread like wildfire in a matter of hours. Soon everyone knew what had happened and how, even in human society.

On paper, Orpal had been defeated, but only the most na?ve accepted the official version at face value. In the end, the Upyr army had proven to be capable of razing an entire city in a matter of minutes.

Milea, the Empire, and the Undead Courts came out completely humiliated. Even children knew that if not for the intervention of the mysterious group of scorpion-like Divine Beasts and the sapphire comet, Drenghen would have fallen.

The Dead King’s strategic display, Chain Maelstrom, and the destructive power of Fire Soul drew a lot of attention and brought him almost as many fresh recruits. Losing to the Awakened Council and a battalion of Isharas was nothing to be ashamed of.

The minimal casualties and most of the Upyrs getting out of the fight alive further bolstered Orpal’s reputation.

The Isharas welcomed the glory and attention that came with their feat, using them to smooth their relationship with the Kingdom and the Awakened Council. They kept away from Lith, avoiding crossing paths with him unless they had to.

Soon Garlen was in an uproar at the news of the Dead King’s latest attack, and so was the Ishara Empire in Rathi.

The researchers employed all the abilities and skills they had inherited from their foremother to study their prisoners and push them along their intended evolutionary path.

It didn’t take long for the Isharas to discover that focusing Life Maelstrom on Light Soul triggered the transformation process in a Vurdalak despite the specimen’s resistance. They also quickly learned that keeping two Vurdalaks in the same place was too dangerous.

One of the prisoners had been a Fae-Upyr, and the bloodline abilities he had carried into his Vurdalak form triggered his former comrade’s Feast Soul. On the other hand, the human-turned-Vurdalak didn’t trigger the former Fae’s Feast Soul.

The lack of bloodline abilities made him an unsavory meal to the other Vurdalak, who felt threatened solely by his peer’s hunger.

In a few days, the Isharas learned everything Lith had already discovered about the Vurdalak’s life force and something more.

"That’s it?" Great Patriarch Canthusa read the researchers’ report and found nothing useful. "Maybe I’m dumb, but this looks like an utter failure to me. We didn’t learn anything meaningful aside from the depths of Nights’ incompetence."

"Quite the contrary, Great Patriarch." Pelhost, one of the most brilliant among the Isharas, replied. "A Vurdalak is a living manual about everything we should not do while trying to awaken the bloodline of our lesser brethren, with a few hints about how to cut corners if everything else fails."