2481 Turf War (Part 3)

The moment Zinya left the room. Vastor performed a thorough scan of his office with life-detecting arrays, Forgemastering spells, and Invigoration. Once he was certain that there was no one around nor listening devices planted by his enemies, he summoned the Abomination-hybrids to his office.

"Orulm, Abthot, what's the status report on our war against the Undead Courts?" The two ancient Eldritches had recently found and merged with a suitable monster core.

With Zoreth too busy preparing for her role as Elysia's godmother, they had been put in charge of the turf war because they needed to practice with their new powers and get used to walk among the living after centuries of isolation.

"It's a walk in the park" Orulm burst into a savage laughter at the memory of the massacre.

"Without the Horsemen protecting those pathetic leeches, they stand no chance against us.

"Their thralls in the human society have been captured by the Royals or are being investigated, making the Courts lose their primary source of income and protection from the law.

"On top of that, after their alliance with Thrud during the War of the Griffons has been revealed, their reputation has been stained beyond salvation. Even the most corrupt nobles don't trust them, afraid of being replaced by a Skinwalker or a Doppelganger.

"The Undead Courts are currently alone and isolated.

Most of the time we don't even have to lift a finger. We just make an anonymous tip to the army about the location of one of the Courts local branches and the Royals do the hard work for us:

"So what need do I have for you?" Vastor's eyes flared with rage at the idea of all the resources lost to the army due to the lazy Eldritch.

"What Orulm forgot to mention is that we always infiltrate during a battle and take away most of the treasures" Abthot quickly added, eager to prove her worth. "We leave just enough to not raise suspicions.

"Once the authorities are done, we fill the power vacuum and take control of the local underworld without shedding too much blood. The gangs that submit to our will resume their activities under our protection without losing a day of business.

"Those who try to resist or play hard to get are currently our honored guests in the underground prison. Their territories have been split among their former rivals and our loyalists"

"Excellent news." The Master nodded. "Tezka might need a snack if things don't go well. Bytra?"

Tm making progress in my research about towers but I still can't fix the problem of infusing common materials with the enchantments necessary to sustain a proper power core.

"There's no record of a tower built with Adamant of even Orichalcum because even the slightest amplification effect would screw up even the most careful planning The Fourth Ruler of the Flames didn't like the new additions to the team nor to have to craft equipment for them.

Both Abthot and Orulm were their original selves who had fed upon their respective clones. Each one of them had a kill count that made Tezka look like a saint.

Tve learned from Theseus' Mencos side how to drain the surrounding world energy and from Nandi how to imbue spells inside mana crystals. Yet unless we want to settle for something like the Horsemen's steeds rather than Baba Yaga's hut, I'm nowhere close to success."

"Keep trying. Time is the only resource we don't lack" Vastor sighed. "The steeds are great on paper, but if just drawing the world energy was enough, we'd have solved the issue when Nandi joined us

"If we want to face the Guardians, we need towers capable of enhancing our spells and that also provide us with powerful abilities that can cover up for our individual weaknesses. Anything less would be just a waste of time.

"Then I'll keep working on it. Here's a list of everything I need for my experiments that we have run out of stock." Bytra handed him a piece of paper that Vastor passed on to Orulm

"You heard her. If someone approaches our black market to sell any of this-

"We kill them and take the loot." The Eldritch nodded.

"No, you idiot The Master jumped up from his scat, exuding an aura powerful enough to make Orulm cower. "If you do that, no one will trust us to sell their goods and go to the competition.

"You have to approach them first and offer them anything they want. Within reason, of course. If we do like you suggested and they brought only a sample, we'd cut off our own supply routes.

"If we garner their trust, instead, we can get the entire load if not even strike a partnership. A wolf kills a sheep to get some meat. A man just sheers it and sells the wool to buy meat.

"I assigned you to field operations exactly because you need to get rid of this short-term mentality. Kigan, follow them and make sure they don't make a mess of our hard work"

"I refuse to work with this runt!" Orulm said, outraged at the idea of taking orders from someone much younger than himself.

"And I refuse to waste my time with someone incapable of following simple instructions' Vastor raised his hand, activating the hidden arrays in the room.

Based on Arthan's Unwavering Loyalty array, they seeped into the Eldritch's life forces and the work of the Madness came undone in the most painful way possible.

"Please, wait! I'm sorry. Forgive me, Master, I meant no disrespect!" As the monster and the black cores split, the hunger returned, swallowing every other emotion.

Orulm could feel his body getting thinner and his mind being flooded by the nightmares of the past that he had believed buried. The hunger of the Abominations was a plague he had waited millennia to get rid of and until a few weeks ago, he was used to it.

Now, however, the Eldritch had once again a physical body that could experience all kinds of feelings and emotions. The absence of the hunger allowed him to enjoy even the simplest pleasures in life and filled him with bliss.

Losing his body would mean that Orulm would either die or go back to being an Eldritch. Yet after experiencing life for long enough to forget about the constant void and pain that had tormented him, Orulm would sooner die. than give up on the Master's blessing.

"Remember our deal, Orulm." Vastor slowed down the process, but the array kept separating the two life forces, making the Eldritch's body wither. "Your loyalty and compliance in exchange for power and new life.

Tm upholding my word and I expect everyone to do the same.

"I understand. Please, give me another chance." Orulm grovelled before Vastor's desk. "I am the strongest and one of the eldest Eldritches on Mogar. I can still be useful to you"

1 could use the slave spell to force him to obey, but I have no use for mindless drones' The Master thought. 'It would also shatter the bond of trust between me and the rest of the Abominations.

Taking away the free will of a single moron would make the Organization crumble whereas killing him would be considered a fair punishment for rebelling.