Child's play

.....

Meanwhile on the Balta Family Lands, a man dressed in black was kneeling at Emanuel's feet. "Master, the target was spotted coming out of the Jambel City, our information network confirmed that it was headed for the small town of Opus near the border with the forest. It was seen alone." The spy reported.

"What is he thinking to do? A city as precarious as that, perhaps that is the perfect opportunity we have been waiting for." Emanuel thought to himself. "Increase the number of spies in the Opus City, I want to know all the steps he takes, if he breathes I want to know when and where." He ordered with a malevolent smile on his face.

.....

After Nicola accepted the mission, he headed into the forest, towards the threat to be found. He entered in parts of the forest that he had never entered before when he was younger. He remembered to get Kin, Gin and Tuatha out of the spatial artifact only when it was out of sight for everyone, he didn't want them to suffer from the same looks he did there. After all, the Opus City was still a border town and full of prejudices, seeing half a demon was fine, but seeing three half demons and an undead could unleash popular fury and chase with guns and torches. Something Nicola was willing to avoid at all costs.

"Unfortunately, I was unable to show you my hometown for the reasons that you yourself know. But this forest was my real home for long years. Here you can train your will and hunt monsters that even I don't know. So feel free to find your prey. Here you will be able to advance much faster than elsewhere." He said to the two young men as he took two bottles of different healing pills from a space ring and handed them over.

"As the mission does not have time for completion, I will spend a week here in this place and you will spend these days fighting and leveling up. Good luck." Nicola wished while sitting on the floor in meditation. He had asked Kin to return the two puppets so they would not be used in battle, as they could help them overcome many levels at once if used correctly.

With that Nicola set up his network. He spread the nine beetles with some following the young and another following Tuatha who was exploring the forest in his own way, no magical beast was a danger to him in that place. But Nicola preferred to keep him within sight if anything went wrong. After that, he removed from his space artefact the three undead he had raised previously and sent them in rounds to check the perimeter and at the same time activated the two mechanical queens, making them search for something.

Tuatha was impressed, unlike the magical forest within the empire, this place was more like a rainforest, hot and humid that felt like an ancient danger. This forest was not within the boundaries of any country and was usually the place where smaller forces of bandits and lone cultivators formed a base.

The forest divided the Melkor empire from the fairy forest. Obviously there were safe routes through which the two countries could trade. But that was not what Nicola was looking for. His intention was to create a small independent force that was not regulated or taxed by any country and he had decided to make this forest the place of his new base.

He had to choose the best place, as a blacksmith and alchemist he intended to find a place that possessed not only the fertile soil to grow food and magical plants but also good mineral veins of underground ores to be mined. That was the mission that he ordered the rest of his forces to seek.

After all, being forced to participate in a secret Empire mission left him choking to the point. Because he is not like a mad magician, who you can bribe with expensive equipment and new puzzles, nor like a greedy warrior, who would do anything for money. Nicola has its own rules and agenda, but only the gods know what it is. Whether the Melkor Empire, or anyone else, tries to force you to do anything, it will bow to your will, wait and, when you least expect it, unleash something that will make this coercion look like child's play.

He had no sense of nationality for this Empire, before reincarnating here he lived much longer as a human on earth than as a cultivator in that world, and the bully and aggressions he suffered were due to the lack of control within the Empire's Lands. Being forced to participate in this mission was the last straw. If possible he would prefer not to get involved in political or war affairs, but as he was forced he would make the most of it, and then return the coup.

Kin and Gin acted together in the forest, being a pair as always, they managed to take down more magical beasts than any other group here, after all they were trained by Nicola who had the best of both worlds. So your techniques were created looking for maximum efficiency.

Gin threw skewers of white ice towards the magical beasts and protected Kin with bubbles of water floating in the air. Her staff kept swinging to release lights, while she weave to release her spells, in turn Kin attacked enemies with his sword, causing them to die quickly with a seared cut on the chest or head.

The first enemy they faced was a species of brown moth that released a poisonous powder from its wings while flying. To their tragedy, Kin and Gin had great resistance to poisons because they were emperor mushrooms. A poison at the level of this moth would not be able to cause damage to either.

[You killed the magic beast Brown venom moth, you gained experience]