Chapter 265 - Cap 264: Missing Troop

Pov of a Lich: 

I was in my laboratory making another magic crystal for master Farus, as we already have 15 ready the master allowed me to distribute ten among some Mages capable of activating the magic circle that the master placed in the crystals. 

Master Farus is close to completely conquering this mountain range, when that happens we will be close to fulfilling the objective of our great God. 

The Holy Tool that our great God bestowed on Master Farus is making the mountain range a much more comfortable place for us to live, this is pulling the miasma accumulated in the subterranean caverns to the outside. 

I am very proud to have been summoned by Master Farus to serve him, to have the chance to see so many creatures dying, to see the master collecting their souls for our great God. 

Unfortunately, I can't go out and enjoy the carnage like the other generals do, my job to protect Master Farus and make these crystals is more important. 

"Great sir, we have a problem."  (Assistant) 

My assistant, an intelligent young Ghoul with an Affinity with curses, enters my laboratory and kneels down behind me, I speak to her without interrupting the process of creating the magic crystal I am already finishing. 

"What troubles happened? I hope it's important or you'll become the new guinea pig for my magical experiments."  (I) 

"This is important great sir."  (Assistant) 

"Then speak at once!"  (I) 

"As the lord ordered I sent an Undead bird that I created to be my Familiar to follow the army that was sent to devastate the village that master Farus found, I gave the item to collect the vital energy and souls to him as the sir ordered, but he came back today with the items empty and when I looked at his memories I realized that the village that should have already been destroyed is still intact."  (Assistant) 

"WHAT!!!??"  (I) 

"You mean that a small village that should have had less than a thousand creatures was able to defeat our mighty army of 4000 undead being led by 2 generals!?"  (I) 

"That's the weird part, I've looked through my Familiar's entire memory, there doesn't seem to be any signs of battle in the village."  (Assistant) 

"As my familiar took the same way back I searched his memory and found no place with fight scenes, it seems as if the troops sent had disappeared, not even their bodies were found by my Familiar."  (Assistant) 

"Something must have happened, this subject is very strange."  (I) 

"You did well to come and inform me, it's been a few days since this happened, so I must inform Master Farus as soon as possible."  (I) 

"In the meantime, go inside the Tree Dungeon to see the progress of our elite troops, see how many survived, and bring back the bodies of the weak, even in their deaths they can still be of use to master Farus."  (I) 

"Yes, great lord."  (Assistant) 

I pick up my staff with a skull of black crystal on top and leave my laboratory after completing one more magic crystal, walk through the stone corridors of our great fortress and go to the throne room where my master normally is. 

When I stand in front of the black iron doors I wait for the two Orc guards to open the doors before I enter, as soon as I enter I go straight to the front of the throne and kneel in front of my master who is seated on a throne made of white bones. 

My master had the gray skin of Ghouls, but in place of the beast head that male Ghouls usually have, the master had the head of an Orc, but the master's body was slightly smaller than most Orcs and also not was as muscular as one would expect from an Orc, the master Farus had completely black hair and eyes with a pentagram with three skulls inside carved into his chest like a tattoo which he proudly displayed for this was the mark of our great God. 

"Why are you here Lich?"  (Farus) 

"I have important news master, as soon as I found out I came to report to you."  (I) 

"Then lift your head and speak."  (Farus) 

As I lift my head I notice the master's other two servants at his side protecting him day and night, I also notice a green-scaled Lamia passed out on the ground near the throne. 

"I have received information that the troops we sent over a week ago to the village you found have disappeared, the village is still intact and does not appear to have any signs of fighting around."  (I) 

"WHAT!?"  (Farus) 

"What do you mean they disappeared!? Find them!"  (Farus) 

"My assistant's Familiar was used to follow them carrying the items to collect the vital energy and souls of the village creatures, but no signs of a struggle or bodies were found along the path the troops were scheduled to take."  (I) 

"Someone dared to interfere with my plans!? Our God's plans!?"  (Farus) 

"Wasn't there any kind of intruder in the mountain range or any strange happenings besides that?"  (Farus) 

"No, my master."  (I) 

"If I may speak master..." (Death Knight) 

"Speak up, do you know something?"  (Farus) 

"If no intruders were found in the mountain range, then the only place that could fight our mighty army is this Lamia's village."  (Death Knight) 

The master looks down on the fainted Lamia before closing his eyes for a few seconds and then opening them again. 

"That damn village! How dare they continue to resist me!"  (Farus) 

"They should do like this Green Serpent and beg to join me, but instead they keep causing me trouble!"  (Farus) 

The purple Aura starts to leave the master's body as the symbol of our God on his chest starts to glow, then the master calms down and goes to a statue on the wall on my right side, this is the glorious statue of our great God representing her inspiring and dignified figure. 

It was a five-meter tall statue of a glorious being that had a lower body made of columns and bones intertwined forming a magnificent snake's tail, its upper body was humanoid with six arms, had wings made of bones, and had three skull heads that appear to be of divine beasts with three horns each, such a magnificent image is only allowed in the master's throne room, this statue was something the master brought back from the caves, a gift from our God Kaharak the God of death and desecration. 

The master steps over the Lamia stepping on it and walking to the statue where he kneels, then he closes his eyes and the symbol on his chest glows at the same time as a glow appears in the statue's eyes. 

A magnificent presence is emitted from the statue that fills the throne room with miasma, I patiently wait for Master Farus' next words as I know he is receiving the divine message from our God Kaharak. 

After a few minutes the master's body is covered in sweat and blood starts to come out of his eyes and the symbol on his chest, then the presence that was being emitted from the statue disappears and master Farus gets up with difficulty, I reach for him to support and help him walk to the throne where he sits. 

"Our God said that he felt the presence of powerful Fairies in the mountain range, it may have been they who made our troops disappear so mysteriously."  (Farus) 

"Fairy interference was not expected, maybe we will have to advance our plans, so order all troops outside the fortress walls to return, it will also bring back everyone who is still inside the Dungeons."  (Farus) 

"Fairies may not dare make a move in this place where we worship our God."  (Farus) 

"I will carry out your orders now, master."  (I) 

"Also, get this green snake out of here, it's not ready for conversion yet, but it's not long."  (Farus) 

"Yes, my master."  (I) 

I raise my draft and shadow tentacles come out of my shadow grabbing this Lamia's snake tail, then I start to walk as my shadow tentacles pull this Lamia through the hallways, I lead her outside to the courtyard where some of our armies are training and I leave her there. 

I have to summon some Dead Birds to send the master's return messages, if I'm not mistaken there should only be three more troops patrolling the mountain range, one of these is coming back and should arrive in a few days, so I just have to warn the others two troops. 

I climb to the top of a tower where a magic circle the master drew is, I place some silver coins and place two bird-type monster cores, then focus my mana on my staff and hit my staff on the magic circle activating it again activating the magic circle. 

"< Summon Undead: Dead Bird >" (I) 

The silver coins turn to mana and are sucked into the magic circle just like my mana, so the two monster cores sink inside the magic circle, a few seconds later two purple energy cocoons come out of the magic circle and float in front of me. 

Soon the energy cocoons dispersed showing two birds made of bones with spectral bodies covering them the two birds landed in front of me as soon as the magic circle stopped glowing. 

I pull out two papers and a pen and write down the master's orders, then roll them up and put them in a small tube that I attach to the birds' legs, then place my skeletal finger on their skulls to transfer the information from the two troops' locations to their heads. 

"They go!"  (I) 

The two birds leave the tower window flying in the directions I gave them, it seems now that everything is ok I go down this tower and go back to my laboratory, in a few days the troops will be here.