Chapter 3992: Just a Job (Part 1)

"Nalrond, Lith, and Solus are coming with me. The four of us are more than enough to deal with an outlaw tribe." Friya said.

"That’s true." Orion nodded, feeling a sliver of his anxiety get off his chest. "Yet I want you to promise me not to be stubborn or reckless. If something goes wrong, remember that you can always retreat and call for reinforcements."

"Thanks for the advice, Dad." Friya replied.

Quylla waited until Friya left their parents’ tent before speaking her mind.

"Are you sure you don’t need help? You could at least bring Tista and Morok with you." She asked.

"Thanks, sis, but this is my battle." Friya replied.

"Our battle." Nalrond corrected her.

"Fine, our battle." Friya sighed. "If it were up to me, I wouldn’t even bring Lith and Solus along. I appreciate the thought, sis, but I need to do this on my own. I need to be the one to sever once and for all my ties with the Solivar Household."

"And when Friya says, ’on my own’, she means, ’on our own’." Nalrond said. "She can ask Solus and Lith to stay out of it, if she wants, but I’m not leaving her side for one second."

"About that." Friya turned to look him in the eyes. "I’d rather you stay out of it as well, Nalrond. Drenya is my problem, and I want to deal with it with my own hands."

"Drenya may be your problem, but you are my fiancée, and those you carry in your womb are our children." Nalrond pointed at her abdomen. "There is no force on Mogar that can stop me from keeping all three of you safe, Friya."

"Damn if I hate it when you beat me with logic." She sighed.

"Are you really leaving Solus and Lith behind?" Morok asked. "They may be just human thugs, but there are going to be a lot of them. Even if you are an Awakened, all they need to kill you is one lucky shot."

"There is no such thing as ’just human thugs’ in the Blood Desert, Friya." Salaark appeared behind her back, making her yelp in surprise. "This country is as hot as a furnace, and it tempers its people just as such, no matter if they are good or bad.

"Every single tribe of the Blood Desert takes residence above a mana geyser and learns how to tap into its power to establish powerful temporary arrays. On top of that, outlaw tribes also need to be able to protect themselves from my Nest.

"My human Feathers never leave their respective villages, but my children patrol the Blood Desert at all times. The members of my Nest let tribes like the Black Stork be as long as they behave, but criminals like the Yellow Wind are attacked on sight.

"The only reason such tribes are still around is that they have acquired arrays powerful enough to stall a Phoenix and the means to relocate quickly before more arrive via our Call of the Blood bloodline ability.

"You are a talented dimensional mage and a powerful Harbinger, Friya, but you don’t measure up to a single one of my children."

"Are the outlaw tribes of the Desert that powerful?" Quylla asked. "Can they hurt or even kill a Phoenix?"

"Please." The Overlord snorted. "No tribe is stupid enough to stand and fight against my Nest. Their arrays are mostly defensive, and they are all meant to buy enough time for a quick escape.

"Yet your sister is not a Divine Beast, Quylla. What would merely hinder a Phoenix would paralyze Friya, and what would inflict a flesh wound to one of my children might kill her. That’s why I’m here.

"You are all my guests, and even though I’m not going to meddle in your private affairs, I’m obligated to raise a note of caution."

"Thank you for your kindness, Overlord." Friya swallowed hard and gave the Guardian a deep bow.

’Grandma?’ Lith thought, knowing that she was listening.

’Yes, Featherling?’

’I find it weird that grassroots criminals can get their hands on such powerful magical formations.’ Lith said. ’Is that your doing as well?’

’Don’t be silly, Featherling.’ Salaark telepathically chuckled. ’I would never provide those brutes with the means to harm my children. Yet I have to admit that I’m not completely blameless.

’I facilitate the communications between the outlaw tribes and the neighboring free countries, allowing them to exchange magical resources for weapons unhindered.’

’Why do you do that, Grandma?’ Solus was flabbergasted. ’You may not be the one arming the outlaw tribes, but it’s your fault if one of your children gets hurt.’

’I have good reasons, Solus.’ Salaark replied. ’The free countries that surround the Desert work tirelessly on developing weapons that they plan to use to expand their borders. They sell the prototypes to the outlaw tribes to field test them while retaining plausible deniability.

’I allow such exchanges to spy on my enemies and learn about their most recent magical breakthroughs. I let the criminal outlaw tribes be because they are my unwitting inside source on my real enemies’ most groundbreaking lines of research.

’When one of the members of my Nest meets and fights a criminal outlaw tribe, there are only two possible outcomes. The Phoenix wipes out the tribe and brings me the blueprints of the new weapons, or they get repelled and report the reason for their failure to me.

’Either way, I learn about the plans of the free countries and use that information to develop countermeasures before my enemies complete their research. My children get to stay on their toes, and I have an inexhaustible source of magical knowledge I don’t pay for.

’It’s a win-win situation for me.’ The telepathic communication took merely the time Friya needed to reevaluate her options.

"Can Nalrond and I face the Yellow Wind tribe on our own, or do we need help?" She asked.

"Let me rephrase." Salaark replied. "If you plan to walk inside the village spells ablaze, you are destined to fail, if not worse. If you play it smart, I don’t see why you can’t do it.

"It’s still a village comprised of tents and protected by temporary arrays, not a fortress."

"Also, worst case scenario, I can summon the tower and Warp us away or activate the Prime Engine." Lith shrugged. "Your call."

"Won’t my parents and Ryla ask questions about the sudden disappearance of your house if you do that?" Friya asked.

"Don’t worry. I’ll replace it with a temporary replica, if necessary." Salaark replied. "No one will notice anything."

"Thanks, Grandma." Lith said.

"You’re welcome, Featherling." She gave him a warm smile.

"Is there anything else I should know before I leave?" Friya asked, and the Overlord shook her head in reply. "Then we’d better move. The Yellow Wind tribe has hours of advantage on us and might get farther away with every minute.

"Thank you for your assistance, Overlord Salaark. I won’t forget your generosity." Friya gave her a deep bow.

"Don’t mention it, child."

"Solus?" Friya turned to her friend.

"The good news is that the attack happened within the Watchtower’s area of effect." Solus replied. "The Eyes recorded the energy signature of all the members of the Yellow Wind and Black Stork tribes involved."

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