Chapter 1817: Shadow War (Part 1)
Lith had just noticed a skeletal draconic figure that looked like a Lich r ight beside Aalejah when Feela stood up and gestured them to a pproach the Council.
On top of that, mana sense revealed that both Athung and Aalejah had d eep violet streaks covering their cores, showing that by pooling t heir knowledge they had come close to discovering the secret of the v iolet core.
"Let"s take a break for now." The voice of the Behemoth echoed t hroughout the room, putting an end to the debate. "Our main guests h ave arrived and I want to hear everyone‘s opinion before the Council m akes the final decision."
Much to Lith"s surprise, Feela wasn"t just pointing at him but at Tista a s well.
"l was glad to hear that you joined the war efforts of the Kingdom,
Lith.“ The Behemoth said. “Because the Council needs you as well but f or a much more important mission than conquering a measly castle.
"Today, we are going to write history." Her words were met with e nthusiasm from the Council members and indifference from Lith"s g roup.
"With all due respect, Feela, but the war has started months ago and t his is the first time that l hear anything about the Council playing an a ctive role in it. l know what happened during the night Thrud made h er move and of your plans about training your own army, but that"s i t."
He looked at Athung, with whom he had a.s.sumed to be on good t erms, at Feela, who still helped him to train his Tiamat form, and e ven at Leegaain.
"l"m the one who discovered Glemos" alliance with Thrud and Meln. I w arned you all about their intention of wiping out the Council and t aking your resources for themselves, yet so far you have washed y our hands of this war.
"lf you want my help for anything else, you need to tell me what m akes this mission so important."
The Regional Lords sneered at him while the Council representatives c huckled at his naivety. lnxialot the Lich King who had been p leasantly working on his research until a second ago, rose his head f rom the notes and misunderstood the situation.
"Off with the head! Why do we have to always judge this idiot? Let‘s k ill him and avoid any further problems."
The chuckles turned into exasperated sighs as Raagu repeated him f or the umpteenth time why they were there and what they were d oing. For some reason, she was the only one lnxialot listened to.
"l can understand your anger. This war has already taken away s omeone you cared about and the Dead King has relentlessly attacked y ou over the past few years." Feela said. "Yet the Council didn"t sit idly a s you think.
"ln the past, there have been countless madmen that by chance d iscovered our existence and tried to enslave or kill us, but they a lways failed. This time it will be no different.
"You see, after the start of the war, we have withdrawn the bulk of our f orces not only to train them, but also to use them to gather i ntelligence." She pointed at the locations of the Undead Courts that t hey had discovered and even that of the Golden Griffon.
"Also, we never washed our hands of this fight. The Council has h elped the Royals from behind the scene just like the Dead King does f or Thrud."
"Did you follow my advice and form an alliance with the Royals?"
Phloria asked.
"Not yet." Feela shook her head. "They are fake Awakened and letting t hem into Council matters is something that we prefer to keep as a l ast resort. Once they learn about our names, numbers, and r esources, there is no turning back.
"They might even be tempted to attack us if at the end of the war w e"ve suffered too many casualties. Today"s ally can become t omorrow‘s enemy."
"I"m sorry, but you are making no sense. Every one of you is stronger t han my brother and there are hundreds of you. How can the war still b e going on if you are helping the army as you said?" Tista asked.
Her reasonable question sounded incredibly stupid to the Council m embers that held back their vicious comments only because they n eeded her help.
"Stop thinking like a human and think like an Awakened, child." Lotho t he Treant said, standing up from his chair and towering over her.
The giant oak tree stared at Tista with his amber eyes blazing with m ana and squirrels ran over his bark due to the sudden movement s caring them.
"A war is nothing but a trifling matter that may last months, years, s ometimes decades, but it always becomes just a few pages in history b ooks, given time.
"lf the Council unleashes its full might, Thrud might become d esperate enough to divulge the secret of Awakening to the public a nd at that point, there would be no way to stop it from spreading.
"Such a revelation would turn a measly war into a world—breaking e vent that would change life as you know it. It would rewrite history a nd cause events whose consequences would still ripple even after m ost of those present here will be dead.
"On top of that, the Mad Queen"s Awakened army is immortal w hereas every one of our losses is definitive. It"s not just a matter of w inning, but also of limiting our losses and not being wiped out by o ur next enemy.
"We are indeed strong, but the death of a single one of us means the l oss of hundreds, if not thousands of years of magical research and t he potential loss of entire legacies. Each one of our lives is worth t housands of non—Awakened, if not millions!"
His rage made the room tremble and Tista stepped back in fear. it w asn"t just his ma.s.sive size but also his bright violet aura that made h er feel as helpless as a child in front of Dragon.
"Calm down, botho." Feela stepped between them, protecting the y oung woman with her aura. "Tista isn"t even a full member of the Council. She"s an apprentice and by disrespecting her you are d isrespecting her master, Faluel, and even me."
Lith was no longer Faluel"s apprentice, but she still considered herself h is mentor, just like Feela considered the Hydra her friend. Unlike m ost of the other races, the Beasts looked out for their own.
“Tista, what Lotho said is right. We can"t use our full power, but that d oesn"t mean that we have been sitting on our thumbs either. You h ave no idea how important the role of the Dead King is in helping Thrud to keep the cities she has conquered.
"People didn"t submit overnight and many of them don"t really believe i n her hero charade. Yet they don’ rebel because they have no other c hoice. The Undead Courts keep attacking the civilians regularly and w ithout her help, they would be lambs to the slaughter.
"At the same time, the Undead Courts keep the Royals from c ommitting the full force of the army and the a.s.sociation with g uerrilla tactics. To a.s.semble enough troops to move against the Golden Griffon, the Royals need to weaken their defensive forces s ince the number of soldiers at their disposal is limited.
"Whenever that happens, the Undead Courts attack the areas with t he highest people per soldier rate, forcing the Crown to cancel the a ttack.