'She does. She blames you for my reclusive lifestyle all work and no play.'
'Oh, thank the gods.' Solus sighed in relief making both the Phoenix and Lith raise an eyebrow in confusion.
'What do you think I was talking ab-'
"Sister, I know that the blood relationship between the two of you is thin, but Lith is nothing but a child compared to you." Xenagrosh threw her a reproachful look, cutting Sinmara short while pointing at her hand that was still on Lith's face.
Between the smile, the giggling, and the caress-like touch, the Shadow Dragon had lots of things to worry about.
"Don't be ridiculous." Sinmara laughed it off, taking a step back. "I was just lost in my memories of my youth."
Before Xenagrosh could object, Sinmara turned around and shapeshifted into her real form. Her body was now that of a huge black bird that resembled an eagle, about 40 meters (131 feet) tall with a wingspan over twice as wide.
Unlike an eagle, however, the feathers on her tail resembled those of a peacock and formed a long tress engulfed by black flames that extended for a dozen of meters.
Her clothes had changed into a light suit of armor that covered her neck, chest, back, beak, and talons. A golden circlet with a huge white gemstone at its center had appeared on her head, giving the Phoenix a royal appearance.
'That's really a smart move.' Solus thought, eager to change the topic. 'Sinmara's armor doesn't cover the entirety of her true form, but only her vitals and the parts of her body that she needs to fight efficiently.
'This way, she needed much less Davross than what it would take to cover her from head to toe, while not sacrificing her defense thanks to the energy field that covers her. Should we do something like that for you as well?'
'We can afford to leave my wings and tail exposed, but that's it.' Lith replied. 'Unlike a Phoenix, I can fight with all of my limbs, wings included. On top of that, crafting such armor would mean that I lose the option to shapeshift in front of witnesses.
'We need a full armor to hide my other forms when I retain the size of a human since everything that we leave exposed would betray my real nature.'
'That doesn't matter anymore.' Solus replied with a sigh. 'The wings are one thing, but you cannot explain either the tail or the horns. Even if you cover them, people would still ask you how you move a tail as well as an arm and why you wasted precious metal.'
While Lith realized that his Tiamat body couldn't be hidden with a simple armor anymore, Sinmara took flight and sent the mission's details straight into his brain. At the same time, Xenagrosh let him ride on his back.
Alone, he had no way to keep up with the Phoenix's top speed.
'As you already know, the lack of life in the Blood Desert makes its mana geysers much more effective in generating magical resources because there are no living beings that can siphon the energy that comes out of Mogar.
'We have the greatest number of magical metals and crystal mines among the three great countries. Also, spotting them is easy since wherever there is an oasis usually there is also a mana geyser.
'On the other hand, however, having so many resources isn't necessarily a good thing. We need to keep under constant surveillance not only the resources that we are currently exploiting but also those we are not using to keep them from being raided.
'There are countless powerful individuals that consider any unprotected mine as a self-service buffet and today's mission is to stop one of those people. You know her already. My opponent is an old friend of mine, that white cored Lich who saved your life in Urgamakka.' Sinmara said.
'How can she be so stupid to target the Blood Desert? Isn't she afraid of Grandma?' Lith asked.
'Aylen doesn't target the Desert, she lived here long before Mom became the Overlord after following Valeron's example. To Aylen, we are the trespassers who are messing with her business.' The Phoenix chuckled.
'Liches are usually harmless. They spend so much time holed up in their labs that it's easy to forget about their existence until they come out to get more supplies and materials.
'She usually appears once every century, but she must have had bad luck if she ran out of crystals already. Any member of the nest can chase off a regular Lich, but I'm the only one that can stop Aylen. You are in for quite a show.'
'If this Lich comes out rarely, why fight her? Wouldn't it be better to ignore her?' Lith asked.
'Have you have ever heard about dimensional amulets?' Sinmara said with a sneer. 'If someone doesn't stop her, Aylen will take away every single white and violet crystal she finds.
'On top of that, would you be so generous if it was your mine and you had to wait decades for the blue crystals to become violet, let alone to get a single white crystal?'
Lith had to admit that he would let Aylen rob him only because she was a white core. Against any other opponent, he would fight tooth and nail even to defend even the scraps of the tower's mines.
'Is she so strong that only you can take her on? I mean, I've seen her facing Vareen the Plaguespreader and use something she called Mirror Magic, but she's just a Lich while the members of the nest are all Phoenixes.' Lith said.
'She has many names. The Lich Magus, the Maker of All Liches, but the title she's known best is the Cat Lady.' Sinmara said without an ounce of derision, only respect.
'I beg your pardon?' Lith was flabbergasted.
'Aylen is the one who cracked the remnant of the Odi technology after the Guardians wiped them out and discovered the method to turn any living being into a Lich. Then, she spread such knowledge with the rest of Mogar, hence why the other Liches consider her a hero.' She replied.
'That's impressive, but I'm more curious about the cat part.' Lith said.
'Contrary to most Liches, Aylen knows that the prolonged isolation and the lack of physiological needs cause any living being to sooner or later delve into madness. To keep it from happening, she adopted pets that would keep her company while also using their needs to replace those she no longer had.' Sinmara said.
'Did it really work?' He couldn't believe his own ears.
'Like a charm. Living above a powerful mana geyser and being surrounded by the powerful aura of a white cored Awakened, turned her damn pets into magical beasts first and then into Emperor Beasts.
'Aylen has indirectly spawned most of the feline magical bloodlines on Mogar and to make matters worse, she uses them as assistants for her experiments and as helpers when she goes "shopping".
'They are highly intelligent creatures that received her teachings. Back in the day, it might have been considered an oddity, but now she has an entire army of Emperor Beasts.
'Not only do they keep her completely sane, but they also share with her any knowledge they acquire.'
