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Chapter 1186: Reconstructing the Final Battle

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

The other team did not appear until the battle was over.

Roland smeared his face with mud, made a few cuts in his clothes, and lay on a heap on the ground as if he was injured like everyone else, waiting for the rescue from the Martialist Association.

Although Ling had pressed the "speaking" button on the walkie talkie by accident, fortunately, the communication was not open to all the teams. Therefore, only Fei Yuhan had heard their conversation. As she had lost her consciousness, Roland could totally attribute this bizarre communication to Fei Yuhan's perturbed mind and convince her that it was simply her illusion due to her injuries.

As to why the monster vanished in thin air without leaving the slightest trace behind, Roland could simply claim that he had well passed out before this incident had occurred. But by doing so, he could only ascribe the victory entirely to the genius girl, Fei Yuhan, and washed his hands off the whole matter.

As he expected, the liaison officer did not take his statement very seriously considering that he had not witnessed the entire battle. Instead, the Association paid close attention to the corruption. The discovery of the new, man-made corruption obviously overshadowed the six deaths, including the death of two celebrated martialists, out of the twelve martialists who participated in the mission.

The only thing that astonished Roland was that Garcia jumped into the hole before anyone else when her team arrived at the scene. Roland felt a warmth flooded over him when he saw Garcia tried to search for him among the casualties frantically while calling out his name, and when her smile showed after she found out that Roland was alive. However, Garcia's expression had returned to her normal state of indifference quickly. She mumbled, "Wow, you're still alive. Good for you." as she threw Roland into the ambulance.

That was how this alliance mission ended.

After Roland returned to the apartment, Phyllis regarded the warning of the magic creature with apprehension. The monster had apparently noticed that Roland was different from all the other martialists, which meant that there was a possibility that what it said was true.

Roland would have contemplated the warning if this incident had occurred a year ago when he had been resisting the Dream World. At that time, the world had become increasingly complicated and foreign to him, as though it was gradually getting out of his control.

But now, he had made his decision.

The Dream World was not only a world where he obtained knowledge, but more importantly, a place that afforded the God's Punishment Witches mundane pleasures. This virtual world might not necessarily remain in existence forever. However, before that day came, he would like these witches to have as many happy memories as possible.

Another reason that he dismissed the warning was that Roland trusted his own instincts.

The change of the Dream World might start from the moment he had released the first cyclone.

Despite that Roland had yet to understand the exact relationship between the release of cyclones and the subtle change of the surroundings, he did feel satisfaction when he had defeated the magic monster by pulling out its astrolabe.

He had a vague feeling that as long as he kept fighting the Fallen Evils, the answer would come up to him.

Furthermore, the whole event had not completely come to an end yet. Roland could imagine that the man-made corruption would spark panic among the Association and outrage in the martialist community. Once the other martialists regained their consciousness, the Association would definitely further investigate this matter and uncover the whole story of the battle. Accordingly, modern martialists would continue to criticize him and even feel animosity toward him.

Yet anyhow, Roland decided not to worry about them too much at this moment.

Three days later, the Detective Group returned to Neverwinter.

Summer had not only reconstructed the final battle but also recorded several important scenes with the Sigil of Recording. Roland thus immediately called a meeting in the hall of the Third Border City to invite all the executives to watch the show.

When they saw Ashes summon the divine power and die together with Ursrook, Roland felt a tremulous hand clasp on his arm. Roland held that hand until the magic movie ended. When he turned around, he noticed Tilly's red-rimmed eyes. Despite being distraught, Tilly managed to finish the whole movie.

Now, they had the full picture of what had happened.

"This is my first time seeing a hybrid of an Eye Demon and a regular demon," Pasha sighed at long last. "How did they do that?"

The most confusing part was how the demons had managed to arrive at the scene right after the Special Unit had reached their designated ambush area, for Roland did not believe an Eye Demon had the intelligence to develop such a clever strategy. After he watched the movie, however, he found the answer. Usrook had cut open a Mad Demon's face and deposit a box of frozen eyeballs into its wound. The eyeballs that smelled the blood instantly burst into life and anchored its roots to the Mad Demon, who screamed in great agony. It took nearly a week for the Eye Demon to completely possess the Mad Demon.

Moreover, instead of a God's Stone of Toss, the Mad Demon had carried a very rare Stone of Flight that a regular demon was not normally entitled to.

This meant that Ursrook had prepared resources for his plan at least half a year ago.

The moment the transformed Mad Demon had left Taquila, Sylvie had been under the scrutiny of the Magic Slayer. To earn more time for his army, the Magic Slayer first flew toward the First Army and then turned around halfway to feign his defeat. While the Special Unit's attention were drawn entirely on the decoy, the demons took this opening to set up their ambush. Therefore, unless they abandoned their mission and retreated to the west, by no means could the Special Unit escape from the awaiting demons.

"As far as I can tell, this is more like a type of manipulation than a hybrid. The transformed Mad Demon works like a host," Agatha said thoughtfully. "The decoy was not the Mad Demon but the miniscule Eye Demon that mounted on its head."

"Why do you think so?" Roland asked.

"If the demons could create such a powerful hybrid, they should have used this technology in the second Battle of Divine Will. They could send a few hybrids to monitor and harass the army while dispatching a pack of Devilbeasts to attack us. If they did that, the Union would have been finished in less than five years," Agatha explained slowly. "I think it's not an ability but a technology, just like those newly-developed Spider Demons."

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Chapter 1187: The So-called Upgrade

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

"Technology..." Roland muttered while knitting his brows. He had probed into the demons' memories once and seen how they upgraded. Basically, the demons upgraded through merging with various magic stones. Failure to merge with magic stones would result in a miserable death. In a way, their upgrade method was pretty similar to witches', and probably even more cruel.

Although the demons used different technologies, once they learned the principles, they would further develop and expand the technologies based on their needs. This was definitely not a good sign for the mankind.

"Are you sure?" asked Anna, who immediately understood what that meant.

"We need to conduct further research on the remains, but..." Agatha broke off and turned to Celine.

Celine tapped her main tentacle and led everyone to a giant black stone covered in scratch marks. "This is a part of the Giant Skeleton. From the initial autopsy, we judge it's very likely a living being."

"Fair enough. This is pretty much like the armor of a deformed demon, isn't it? " Roland commented while stroking his chin. In the report, the military officer mentioned that the Giant Skeletons had produced a bloodcurdling howl after being hit by the cannon shells.

"No, Your Majesty," Celine denied, a little embarrassed. "What I was trying to say is that... the stone itself is alive."

"What?"

Dumbstruck, everybody took a step backward involuntarily.

"Hang on. You mean the stone is alive?"

"Is the stone also a type of demon?"

"I don't quite... follow you. Could you tell me more about it?"

The hall exploded with a rush of inquiries.

"To put it short, this stone is an independent system that operates on its own," Celine said as she scooped up an iron hammer and gave the stone an almighty strike. With a clank, the stone trembled, and Roland could spy, through its numerous cracks, something wriggle with pain. The stone did not stop quivering until half a minute later, and Roland was positive that the quaver was not the offspring of the blow.

"At the scene, we found a huge organ hung below the Giant Skeleton's abdomen. We thought it was the main body of the deformed demon, but the autopsy showed otherwise," Agatha continued. "This finding puzzled me and Celine. As the Skeleton could move by itself, then why is there a separate deformed demon attached to its abdomen? We didn't find out the reason until we saw the transformed Mad Demon created by the Magic Slayer."

Anna, who was the first to realize the true nature of this peculiar Skeleton, blurted out, "Is it a host?"

"Correct," Celine said approvingly. "Both the original carriers and the devouring worms could live on their own." She then turned to Roland and asked, "Your Majesty, do you still remember what Kabradhabi said? It asked us whether we also upgraded through a legacy shard."

"And it also said another thing," Roland assented with a nod. "I remember that it almost blustered 'I'm Tadalin'. It asked whether our weapons were made out of the legacy shards."

Tilly responded meditatively, "It appears that the demons learned how to create hosts from the legacy shards. That was why Kabradhabi asked such questions. In other words, both the Spider Demons and the Giant Skeletons were demon hybrids comprised of a host and a operator."

"Very likely. They share many similarities, such as the extreme long lifespan of a carrier, the ability to remain in activity even in the state of dormancy, the ability to survive upon serious injuries, etc."

"But I don't think the underground civilization used what the demons called 'legacy shards' to complete their upgrade, because they controlled carriers by soul transfer. That's quite different..."

"Perhaps, the demons don't know how to create a magic core exactly, and that's why they can't transfer soul like the underground civilization," Agatha returned. "Or perhaps they found a more suitable way for their kind, just as the Union found a way to create the God's Punishment Army. The God's Punishment Warriors, in a sense, are hosts as well."

"Hold on, that doesn't sound right," Nightingale interposed in confusion. "Although I don't quite follow your deduction, but I'm quite sure that human beings didn't get any legacy shards whatsoever. The First Army's weapons are solely His Majesty's ideas, and the God's Punishment Army is the Union's achievement. Without the so-called legacy shards, we still learned how to create a magic core and inherited the ruin of the underground civilization."

"That's the key to the problem," Agatha replied in a serious tone. "I think obtaining the ruin is only one of the many ways to inherit a civilization, which is exactly why we call it technology rather than an ability.

Roland felt his chest suddenly constrict, and the truth seemed to come to him in one shining piece. He said, "Are you referring to... learning?"

"Yes," the Ice Witch replied on a sigh. "We could upgrade through teaching and learning, even if we don't have what Kabradhabi describes as legacy shards."

There was a brief silence in the hall.

At length, Celine spoke, "The demons have developed so many new weapons over the past 400 years. The legacy shards are probably something that helps them learn faster, or even something that enables them to comprehend new knowledge within a second. This is how their civilization evolves and 'upgrades'."

Hearing Celine's explanation, Roland suddenly understood what Kabradhabi had meant. Human beings did upgrade, but it was not through an artifect of an old civilization but through teaching and learning, the most traditional means of communication. As a time traveler, Roland connected the two worlds.

"If that's really the case, doesn't it mean the legacy shard is continuously recording every arena of our life?" Wendy said as she glanced at the secret chamber on the other side of the hall apprehensively, where the demon was.

"We have to obtain a legacy shard to know if this is really the case," Agatha replied while shaking her head. "If the demons did learn how to create hosts, we'll face a lot of new challenges." She then turned Roland apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I'm afraid the years of war experience that the Union gained probably won't help you much now."

"Don't mention it. The third Battle of Divine Will will be an entirely new experience for the demons," comforted Roland. Although the future remained uncertain, he must stay resolute and continue to take the lead. "If technologies could be upgraded, we could also learn from those civilizations who lost their legacy shards, right?"

"Exactly," Celine responded heartily. "This is we members of the Quest Society are obligated to do."

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Chapter 1188: Post-war Analysis

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

In the next couple of days, Roland received various reports from the General Staff that re-examined and concluded the entire investigation on Torch Action based on Summer's reconstruction and the search of Taquila. These reports arrived at Roland's desk like a fierce blizzard, which piled up as high as his waist.

Truth gradually resurfaced.

Roland learned that the giant God's Stone, discovered during the Battle of the Northbound Slope and the Battle of Taquila, was from the God's stone mine at the Taquila ruin. At the bottom of the mine, the Detective Group had found the missing part of the stone, which were two medium-sized God's Stone pillars that was chopped in half. The surface and edge of the cuts were smooth and even, as though the pillars were sliced by a sharp weapon.

Summer could not use her ability in the vicinity of the God's stones, but Roland deduced that the stones might have something to do with the Giant Skeletons. In fact, the Giant Skeletons were not only the transportation tool but also the small Obelisk that could regenerate the Red Mist. His theory was also supported by the corrupted soil around the ruin. Nevertheless, compared to an Obelisk of a normal size that could spread Red Mist up to hundreds of kilometers, the Skeletons could only cover an area within the radius of a hundred to two hundred meters. Moreover, they also required the Red Mist supply line to sustain themselves and spread the Red Mist.

In other words, the Giant Skeletons were the mobile sentry posts for the demons that had significant strategic implementation. The General Staff had reached to the conclusion that these Giant Skeletons, like the Spider Demons, were a rare species; otherwise, the demons would have used them as their sentries and taken the entire Fertile Plains before human beings could take any action.

Furthermore, the passages at the rear of Taquila were mostly the masterpiece of the Spider Demons. Although the Spider Demons were not as efficient as the devouring worms in excavation, they were much more proficient than the Mad Demons. These passages branched out from the God's mine underneath the ground, and the measurement between the surface and the passages clearly showed the Spider Demons consideration of the threshold that an observer type can see. Therefore, it would be difficult for anyone to spot the passages from above.

Since Celine and Agatha both preferred to view the Giant Skeletons and the Spider Demons as one particular type of demon, Roland came up with a new name. He called them Monstrous Beast to distinguish carrier demons from regular demons. A prefix was used to quickly classify an undiscovered type of demon in the same category.

The Giant Skeleton was thus given the name "Fortress-like Monstrous Beast", and the Spider Demons got the name "Spidery Monstrous Beast". The latter was further classified into two subcategories, which the ones that tossed stone needles was the first type and the ones that ejected demons was the second type. The naming system not only facilitated military operation but also simplified post-war data collection and statistical reports.

Apart from a post-war analysis, Roland was also concerned about the weaknesses of the First Army that had been pointed out by the General Staff.

Among other weaknesses, the biggest problem, as Edith had reported, was intelligence collection.

Based on the war history of the mankind, tunnel warfare was never a regular military tactic due to the limitation in technologies and the considerable amount of time and resources it usually cost. However, with the application of the devouring worms and the Spidery Monstrous Beast, military strategies using large-scale tunnels became possible. The demons could create an underground passage wide enough for their army to pass through within a short period of time. Therefore, the space below also became a treacherous area that the First Army must remain vigilant about.

Beyond a doubt, they needed someone other than Sylvie as a lookout. The Eye of Magic required a considerable amount of magic power to look through solid objects. The area it could cover was no larger than the size of two football pitches, and it could only see through three to four meters below the surface. However, if it was monitoring the area above the ground, the Eye of Magic could see anywhere within ten kilometers and stay vigilant for the entire day.

All the witches, except Extraordinaries, had a limit in their power. When they exceeded their own limit, their power would drop significantly. Therefore, witches rarely went over limits unless it was an absolute emergency.

Considering this factor, the First Army must develop their own intelligence collection system.

Roland remembered there had been a war in the history where both parties had listened closely underground to gather information on the location of the tunnels and camps of their opponents. The devices they used in that battle were pretty similar to a doctor's stethophone, which detected movements through the transmission of sound through solid materials.

However, this method only worked for tunnels in progress. For completed tunnels, one would not be able to hear anything.

After much deliberation, Roland finally found a practical way to infiltrate the enemy: a standard penetration test.

Penetration test was a standard procedure to test soil strength. As a former engineering student, Roland had often heard his roommates discussing this method. Basically, the procedure of this test was to drive steel rods arrayed in quincuncial piles into the ground, with each piles several meters apart. With a sounding machine, a few people could complete the test over a large area. If the rod sank, then it provided an indication of a hollow beneath the ground.

If the army mastered these two detection methods, they could monitor the demons' movement underground without the help from the witches.

In order for the army to conduct scouting mission in the sky without relying on Lightning and Maggie, the only way was to build an air force.

To that, Tilly was the key.

In addition, Edith's report pointed out that "the army lacks a contingency plan to provide immediate assistance". Roland was impressed with the remarkable progress of the ability of the General Staff, yet at the same time, Edith's comment left him a little helpless. He knew exactly what their problems were, but it was hard to overcome these drawbacks at this stage due to the limited population in Neverwinter.

Finally, Roland's attention was drawn to a report from a logistics officer. In the report, the officer wrote that the performance of Mark I machine gun was not satisfactory during intense battles. Many soldiers from the machine gun squad complained that they spent more time loading than firing, and at the same time, it created quite a burden on the logistics team. The officer expressed his wish that the Department of Engineering could make improvements accordingly.

This was indeed Roland's first time receiving feedback from soldiers at the front after the implementation of the feedback system. As they were the ones who actually used the weapons, they knew the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon better than anyone else.

In fact, Roland had noticed an unusual increase in broken guns after the night attack at Tower Station No. 1. However, since they easily replace the gun parts, Roland had not taken this issue seriously. He believed that the increase in disabled firearms was largely due to soldiers' inexperience and increasing attacks from the enemy. As soldiers were usually more stressed in a night battle as they could not see the firing results, they might experience difficulty in pulling triggers. Moreover, as air-cooled barrels were inherently less durable than water-cooled ones, the guns got overheated more easily.

This problem alarmed Roland. Initially, he had intended to create a recoil-operated machine gun that employed an air-cooled barrel so that one gun can do it all. He also believed this multi-purpose gun would be more efficient than Maxim gun. However, it appeared that his invention did not work out. Although with the help of tracers and the experience soldiers would gain from night battles, they would encounter much more demons in the upcoming war. Roland could not bear the consequence of broken machine guns during the official Battle of Divine Will when thousands of demons charged at them.

This report made him realize his mistake.

The remedy of this problem was to abandon the idea of multitasking machine guns by separating HMGs and general machine guns. The barrel of the HMG should be lengthened and equipped with a radiator. As for the general machine gun that could be carried by hand or vehicle, it should be lightweight and portable so as to meet the needs of future warfares, and it can be done so by improving the current model of Mark I.

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Chapter 1189: The Radiation Project

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

Chapter 1189 The Radiation Project

In addition to a post-war analysis, the General Staff also drafted a preliminary plan for the third Battle of Divine Will.

Although the demons' intention remained unknown, one thing was certain — they would not abandon Taquila under any circumstances. Taquila was the important barrier that could stop the demons from flooding over the Fertile Plains, and it was also the foundation for Neverwinter's army to advance. As long as mankind had control over Taquila, the Red Mist could not easily approach the northwest of Graycastle.

Therefore, it was very necessary to rebuild the Holy City that had been deserted for hundreds of years.

If the demons still planned to breach Graycastle from the Fertile Plains, the First Army would need to strengthen the defense of the railway, protect the railway, and cut their Red Mist supply. The general strategy should be similar to the Torch Campaign. It would be extremely difficult, but if they succeeded, humanity would be one step closer to the final victory.

In short, they had to put all their blood and sweat into this battle.

The problem lay in the Kingdom of Wolfheart and the Kingdom of Everwinter in the northeast.

If the demons, on the contrary, planned to invade the Four Kingdoms from the ridge of the continent, they would then face an extremely difficult war. The Kingdom of Wolfheart was located in mountainous areas, whereas the Kingdom of Everwinter did not have a single river. In addition, the Kingdom of Dawn and two mountain ranges rest right between them. It was impossible to extend the railway to the north of the continent under such a tight timeline, for there were two major technical difficulties that Roland found impossible to overcome: digging tunnel and building bridge.

It was also out of the question to rely on local nobles to assist with logistics. The implementation of the immigration policy would definitely deteriorate the relationship between Graycasle and the two countries. Roland could only hope that the two kingdoms will not stab him in the back. As such, the First Army had to figure out a way to maintain logistics by themselves.

It appeared they had no choice but to use ships as the means of transportation. The problem of this method, however, was that most port cities were located on the east coastline which was very far from the defensive line. There would be where to run if the enemies attacked. It would be fine if they could fight off the enemies, but if they don't, the consequences would be devastating.

Apart from logistics, the First Army also had to ward off the demons and evacuate the civilians. Unlike the boundless, bleak Fertile Plains, there would be so many unknown variables fighting in a foreign country. In consideration of these factors, the General Staff only mentioned that there was a possibility to carry out the battle in the north but did not draft any specific plans. Roland noticed dark circles underneath Edith's eyes as she entered the meeting room.

It seemed that Edith became even more determined to gain the victory after being deceived by Usrook.

Roland put down the report and sighed deeply.

He hoped that the demons could start the war in the Fertile Plains, but before receiving confirmations from Lightning and Maggie, he could not make judgements based on his personal preference. There was no point in guessing what choice the demons would make. He would rather spend more time thinking about how to win the battle more efficiently from his side than dwelling on something he currently had no clue of.

With this thought, Roland rose to his feet.

"Your Majesty?" Nightingale asked with dried fish between her teeth.

"Let's go to the new laboratory," Roland said slowly. "We need to check out how the Radiation Project goes."

...

In the laboratory at the North Slope in Neverwinter.

"Lady Anna — "

Anna immediately interrupted Lucia White, "I told you. Please don't call me Lady Anna."

"Yes... but I can't help. You're the queen," Lucia said while sticking out her tongue and put down the metal piece in her hand. "Here is the material you asked for. If there's nothing for me to do, then I'll..."

"Even though I'm the queen, you are still my partner," Anna said as she walked up to Lucia with a smile. "Are you going to the new laboratory?"

Lucia nodded and said, "Yes, it's about time."

"Then off you go. Take care," Anna said while walking Lucia to the door. "Please come to see me if you exhaust your power or anytime you are free."

"I will!" Lucia promised as she waved and headed down the hill.

Lucia assisted with all kinds of work. She had to visit the chemistry laboratory, the Furnace Area at the mine, and the laboratory at the North Slope. Before the new laboratory was built, she had not got assigned a fixed workplace. Most of the time, she stayed at the North Slope with Anna to help her produce high-quality alloys and slice metal ingots into delicate parts according to Anna's instructions. This process made Lucia very contented with what she was doing.

It was probably because she was making a contribution to make this world a better place.

Lucia had come to Neverwinter to cure her sister's demonic plague. She had never expected to settle down in this city. At first, Lucia had felt guilty to receive so much help from others with nothing to return. But now, she could also do something to assist Lady Anna and the Chief Alchemist in improving this booming city. Gradually, she felt more confident and had more pride.

The more Lucia knew about Anna, the more she admired her. It was inconceivable that a witch could make such great changes to a city. Lucia was impressed with Anna's breadth of knowledge, her talent, and her dedication to the work. Nightingale was the person she trusted most, and Anna was the witch she wanted to become.

And now, Lucia found an opportunity.

After His Majesty built a brand new laboratory on the southern bank of Redwater River, she had her own workplace. According to His Majesty, her project could possibly change the fate of the entire human race. If the project was successful, she would become the most crucial person in the Battle of Divine Will.

Lucia couldn't help but skipped her way to the laboratory as she thought of her career prospect that would potentially lead her to fulfill her ambition.

She crossed the Redriver bridge and paved down toward the south for another several hundred meters until she reached a lofty wall. Unlike those busy plants located between the industrial zone and farmlands, this laboratory was quiet. The trees next to the pavement cast shades on the ground. It was already fall, but the canopy of leaves above her was still verdant green. Occasionally, the tweets of birds, with which silence teemed, pass through the foliage, highlighting the serendipity of the laboratory.

Overall, it looked more like a residential area than a laboratory.

However, the fully equipped sentries who stood beside the gate indicated that this was not an ordinary residence.

When Lucia came into the front yard, the soldiers saluted and opened the door.

This was only the first security checkpoint.

The building was more heavily guarded as Lucia passed through different section of the yards that was being separated by walls. Everyone had to show their identification before entering the building under the escort of guards. There were few exceptions.

Lucia was one of the exceptions.

She smiled at the soldiers, passed through numerous security checkpoints, and finally stopped before a white brick edifice.

The building was very similar to an ordinary residential building, its external walls smothered in creepers. There was a golden plate hung next to the door, which read —

"Research Institute of High Energy Physics of Neverwinter".

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Chapter 1190: " An Important Task"

Translator:Transn

Editor:Transn

Lucia neither understood what high energy physics meant, nor did she know what her work will be, but she noticed that His Majesty would always pace up and down in front of this plate, as though the words on it contained some miraculous power.

Because of this, Lucia became even more enthusiastic about her work.

What she was doing in the laboratory was actually not much different from what she used to do in the Furnace Area. However, she had an instinctive feeling that this must be something extraordinary.

"Hey, you're here," Azima, who had been resting in her chair with her eyes shut, sat up and greeted Lucia as she entered the inner yard.

"Good, good afternoon," Lucia replied politely.

"It's so warm and comfortable in here that it makes you easily fall asleep," Azima yawned as she stretched her body. "So, shall we begin?"

"Sure. Thank you for your help."

Azima waved her hands and said, "Don't mention it. I'm your assistant, so I'm obligated to follow your instructions. We've worked together for a while, so we don't need to be so formal. Plus..."

Azima's voice tailed away, her mumble voice carried to Lucia by the warm wind. "There's nothing to complain about when you could earn two gold royals every month just by sitting here."

Lucia stifled her laughter. Truth be told, she was a little afraid of Azima, as she had also heard from Wendy about the internal conflict on the Sleeping Island. This red-haired witch with sharp facial features was the leader of her clique, and she did talk and act in a trenchant manner with the air of haughtiness. Therefore, when King Roland had appointed Azima as her assistant, Lucia had been quite unnerved, doubting if she was competent to be the superintendent of this new research institute.

Nevertheless, after working with Azima for several months, Lucia found Azima was not as scary as she had thought. Although she did occasionally complain about Princess Tilly, and sometimes even about His Majesty, overall, Aizama was a dutiful and hard-working assistant. She was also very sensitive about her salaries and often blurted out some random comments such as "I'll prove myself", "Just you wait, Nightingale", and "I can support myself perfectly", which Lucia found quite amusing.

"Alright then. Let's begin," Lucia said as she opened her closet and handed Azima a white protection clothing."

The first step was to create a barrier between themselves and the external environment. Not only were they forbidden to touch the subject of their research, but they also had to breathe through a special filter as well. Roland had specifically stressed that the purified research material was highly toxic. A tiny little amount would be sufficient to kill anyone who touched or inhaled it. To prevent such unfortunate events, Roland required the researchers to check each other's clothing, especially the parts they could not check by themselves, before proceeding with the research.

After they pulled on the radiation suit, Azima gave a thumbs-up.

Then, the pair went into an open yard.

The ground was neatly lined up with tons of green slabs. Except that they have a darker color, they looked almost the same as the bricks produced at the Furnace Area.

However, these bricks were exceptionally heavy as though they were out of metal instead of stone.

Lucia picked up one slab and applied her magic power to it. The slab was a bit hot after basking in the sunlight for a long time, but the high temperature did not affect her use of power. She could see the slab in her hand turn into a mixture of colorful compounds, some of which were glinting. However, the material required by Roland only took up a very small portion of the mixture, which sprinkled on the surface of the slab like specks of ink.

Nevertheless, this was much better than extracting the material directly from ores at the North Slope.

Slowly, those color blocks began to move, reassembled, and finally converted into four separate larger blocks. The largest color block was disposed of. The other three blocks were all in different sizes. The smallest of them, which was only the size of an individual salt particle, was the silver, toxic material that Roland required.

Lucia put the material into a glass jar gently and set it aside.

The other two metal blocks were much larger, one of them was the size of an almond, and the other one was the size of a half of a nail. They were also silver, so the only way to separate them was through magic. The bigger of the two was sent to Anna in a basket for further processing, which was later used to test the new machine she was working on. The smaller one was placed in a lead box, and a new box would be used once the first one reached five kilograms.

It would take Lucia two to three days to extract so many metal blocks if she didn't have other schedule. As these slabs were all building materials used by the radiation clan, they had already been purified earlier. Compared to raw ores, these slabs were much easier to work with.

Lucia rose and opened up her hands to Azima after she finished one slab.

This was also one of the rules set out by Roland. Azima had to confirm that there was no particle residue at the scene or on Lucia's clothes before Lucia could work on a new slab. Azima could detect even the slightest trace of the material with her ability.

Around two hours later, Lucia exhausted her power.

"Let's call it a day," Azima said as she helped Lucia to stand. "We have to study in the evening. If you shut down now, we'll have to carry you back to the castle."

"Yeah," Lucia assented with a nod. "You're... right."

Not only did Lucia feel tired, but she also felt stuffy in her radiation suit. There was no point in continuing to work in such an uncomfortable condition.

The two girls took off their clothes and had a shower. It was around dusk, and they could hear the creepers outside the window rustling as a cool breeze blew upon their cheeks. Lucia heaved a deep sigh, feeling refreshed.

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind, "You did a great job."

Lucia turned around and saw Roland walked into the yard with a smile, followed by Nightingale who had two blue bottles of Chaos Drinks in her hand.

"This is — " Azima stammered, a little surprised.

"This is a reward only for you. Don't tell anyone," Roland said secretly while spreading out his hands.

"Th-thank you," Azima said as she stiffly took the bottle.

Lucia had couldn't wait but pried open the lid.

As the refreshing beverage traveled through her throat, she had forgotten all about the work and her great ambition.

After both of them drained the bottles, Roland asked, "So how's it going?"

"I've separated them as you instructed," Lucia replied as she led Roland into a room and opened a cabinet. There were dozens of neatly arranged lead boxes in there.

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