On top of that, such an operation surely involved enough manpower and firepower to take down Lith along with known associates in the case something went wrong.

'I bet that the plan was to make Kamila die in my arms and then exploit my grief to lure me into a trap by mentioning that my family was next. That way, I would have let the culprits run away and been so shaken to not think properly.

'At that point, killing me would have been a joke. The ambush in Assar would have worked like clockwork if not for my recent breakthrough and for Faluel's lessons.

'Whoever is behind the attack, they know everything about me until the moment I quit the army. Which means they ignore what happened in the mines and in the Council. I hate to strike deals with unknown devils, but desperate times require desperate measure.' Lith thought while taking a small card out of his dimensional pocket.

He passed it over the communication amulet akin to a contactless credit card, allowing runes to be exchanged.

"You picked a bad moment to call, little brother. I'm busy and also pissed off at you for ignoring me for so- " Xenagrosh's voice sounded clear despite the sounds of death and destruction coming from the background and so did Lith's when he cut her short.

It took him precious moments to bring her up to speed and request her help, but judging from her face and eyes wide open, it was worth it. Lith had never seen a Dragon turn pale until that day.

"I'll be there at Dragonspeed. Move that ass, you moron." Xenagrosh said while looking elsewhere as if she wasn't even talking to Lith.

'It seems that Dragons value their family even more than Beasts do. I didn't expect her to agree to help without strings attached. Fuck, why did I let Jakra go? I could use a gigantic emerald Dragon!' Lith opened one Warp Steps after the other, hoping to reach Lutia in time.

***

Rena's house, at the same time when Lith had been attacked.

After the house's renovation, Zekell Proudhammer could afford a small inner garden to give his granddaughter Leria a place where to play with her friends or with the swing that his uncle Lith had built for her.

He would have never expected that a Ghoul would use it as an access point to lead a small strike team inside the house without anyone from the outside noticing.

The ground rippled akin to the surface of a lake disturbed by a falling leave and a beautiful woman came out of it with her white dress still pristine. White Ladies were the best to deal with children and magical protections alike.

Born from the corpse of a woman who had killed her own children before committing suicide, White Ladies were capable of using only two elements, water and darkness. They needed to feed on the life force of children and they extracted it by drowning them.

To do that, White Ladies could lure and charm their victims so that they would be the ones opening the way for them. Children were easily swayed by nature and a White Lady's ability to speak and look like any child's mother made their Mesmerize ability unstoppable.

"Come to me, my baby. Mommy is so cold tonight and needs your help, Leria." Even though the two women had never met, Jolia's voice sounded identical to Rena's.

The White Lady's whisper was infused with both life force and willpower, making it capable of being heard only by its intended target as long as they were in the ability's range.

Unless, of course, someone was paranoid enough to put an air shield around the house. It prevented people from flying around the house and blocked the external noise along with any kind of air magic.

Lith had set it up because no one in Rena's house was a mage and he always called before Warping inside. On top of that, the bigger Lutia became, the noisier the village got.

His sister had asked him to soundproof the house so that the triplets could sleep and he had gone an extra mile by adding the air sealing array that allowed only her contact amulet to work.

That way, she could still answer and disable the array when Lith needed to Warp. He couldn't add more arrays because they required maintenance and mana crystals.

His sister could afford neither in his absence and she was too prideful to ask Lith for even more help than she already did.

Jolia tried a few more times before letting Brago the Ghoul pick the lock.

"We don't have much time. The others bought us this opportunity by attacking the Verhen household and luring away the Queen's corps unit that usually protects the house.

"There is no telling if they called for reinforcements and how quickly they will get here. Kill everyone and move out before someone notices. We're here to send a message, not to become martyrs." Quaro the Vampire said.

She hated that plan, but orders were orders. After the Horsemen's defeat by the hands of the Abominations, the Undead Courts had decided to nip hybrids in the bud. Lith's nature was known, making his family a target.

The undead's night vision revealed to them that the house was empty. All lights were off and the only noise they could hear was the snoring coming from Zekell's bedroom and the triplets' wailing to be fed.

Quaro sent Jolia to Leria's room while they took care of the parents. They had to act quickly and without making any ruckus. Lutia was known as "the Graveyard" for a reason.

Between the Queen's corps and the magical beasts, a single mistake might spell death.

Undeath bestowed upon them such a grace that even the old wood didn't creak at their passage. Leria's room was next door to Rena's, allowing her parents to keep an eye on her and the undead to coordinate their attack.

"You go first. We'll wait for them to go back to bed." Brago touched the door while sniffing the air coming out from the keyhole.

He could sense five life forces and no magical signature. The area was clear from magical devices of all sorts.

Jolia opened Leria's door by extending a fingernail and making the lock open without even turning the handle. The room was a mess, with piles of toys on its four corners and dirty clothes still on the floor.

Seeing the childish drawings that covered the bright yellow paint of the walls made the undead's heart ache at the memory of her lost children. Jolia stared for a second at the small library near the bed. It was the only tidy thing in the room, filled with children's books and bright pink diaries.

"Don't worry, my baby. Mommy is here. This is just a bad dream and it will end soon." Jolia whispered, locking Leria's eyes into her own.

Except for the beautiful wedding gown, she was identical to Rena, making the child not question why her mother wore such an odd dress or why water was flooding the little room.

White Ladies carried within their bodies the water from the place they had drowned themselves and needed it as a medium to feed upon the life essence of their prey.