EPISODE 48: XCALIBUR AOP 2! UNION OF THE WORLDS! THE SECOND SESSION! THE FEUDAL STATES ERA PART II: CAMOUFLAGE!

I had sliced down a few trees leaving aside those that bore fruit. The reason for this was to conserve our food supply. However, I knew that to rescue our people, Ciella and I would have to make it back to the mainland. The trees I had cut which were not fruit-bearing trees were used to construct a raft. Our people had left us ropes made out of durable woven threads with the techniques which we'd used to commence the process of Weaving Clothes. We used these ropes to bind the wood together. Fortunately, the island on which we had been marooned had a number of tar pits as well. We could extract the tar and use it in binding the wood and also to enforce flotation through its Water-Proof Characteristics. This would prevent water from seeping into our raft once we commenced our journey. Finally, we stacked up on food and began our journey to the mainland.

The island on which we had been marooned wasn't very far from the mainland. However, it wasn't such a short distance that we could easily swim across. We had a map of the trail through which our people had brought us to the island because the Game's System allowed us access to maps of places we had visited at least once and technically, even if we were offline, our Avatars were in a sense 'us'.

Keiran and Concordia didn't need a raft since they could surf utilizing Concordia's Kraken Andromeda Surf Mode. Saito and Ariel could fly with their Blaze abilities. Arlene and Mitsuki could utilize Mitsuki's Anti-Gravity abilities. They just had to be sure to ensure they conserved their MPs by carrying enough MP restoration foods along. Most of these food types fell into the Energy Producing and Vitamin categories.

We all knew what our first priority was. To make it back to our villages and take account of the resources at our disposal. These resources we could then factor into our various stratagems. It took us a total of about twelve hours to make it back to the mainland by raft, give or take, a few minutes. Ciella and I checked our maps and found the location of the Sky Gryphon Peristylium. It no longer looked like a Village but rather like a town on the verge of becoming a city. At least, that was how our map displayed its details.

"Before we head back to the Village, we should probably analyze our Peristylium with the Gemini System to ensure we don't walk into an ambush. In a sense, the System has tracking capabilities" I informed Ciella.

"The Gemini System Ver. Feudal States Era; when applied in combat, it can track all activity in areas you've previously visited including traffic data. It can also transform into a Statistical Analysis System to track adversary tendencies and habits. It is also capable of tracking all available resources in the said region assuming one has some form of affiliation with the region in question. Simply put, it is an efficient Spyglass that allows you to track adversaries from a distance while concealing your location. Pretty nifty huh? The perfect tool for a Sniper!" the Gemini System's info read.

"Whew Whew! Now I see why the Weaver Of Calamity is so obsessed with Weaponry" I said with a smirk.

"Don't you dare encourage that thought San!" Ciella scolded me.

"You should recall the Taurus System Ciella" I advised her.

"Congratulations on completing the Subsistence Farming Phase. The Fourth Level commences now. To protect the cattle, you must become the cattle! Who said all bullies are cowards?! A bull is never a coward, likewise, a coward can never be referred to as a bull! Time to hammer those swords into ploughshares! The Fourth Level commences now. Can you guess what it is?! Indeed, it is the Planting Schemes Phase!" Ciella recalled the Taurus System's info.

"No wise General plans a war without factoring in the adversary's resources and strategies" I explained to Ciella.

"The Taurus System Ver. Feudal States Era! After calculating the adversary's strengths and weaknesses, the Taurus System can simulate the best Stratagem to defeating the Adversary. Simply put, it is an Advanced Stratagem Simulation System. The perfect tool for scheming Generals in Villainous Glasses!" the Taurus System's info read.

We scanned the Sky Gryphon Peristylium with the Gemini System. Fortunately, it was completely empty. There were a lot of resources in terms of Concealed Technological Methodologies that the enemy had failed to take notice of. On the other hand, most of our physical tools had been taken away by the enemy.

We retraced our path back to the Sky Gryphon Peristylium. Back there, we discovered a number of schematics for the construction of simple tools as well as various factories that produced them.

"What do we do?" Ciella asked.

"First, we utilize the Gemini System's Treaty/Legacy System to statistically verify the identities of all our allies as well as their total number. We need to know the exact number of those under our care that have been captured by the enemy. Fortunately, if they are descended from Bahn's tribe or affiliated with it directly or indirectly, they are also connected to the Gemini System" I said.

"I see. Once we are able to account for them all, we'll be able to issue directives and assign resources right?" Ciella realized what I was getting at.

"Exactly. You become more of a strategist each day" I complimented Ciella.

She smiled.

"Thank you" she said gratefully.

I accessed the Gemini System. The number of allies/villagers that had been captured by the enemy numbered in the four thousands.

"I see, the total village population is now about four thousand, all of which are now in captivity" I informed Ciella.

"What do we do next?" Ciella asked.

"It appears amongst the Technological Methodologies our people currently possess are various Farming, Weaving, Water Distribution, Brewing And Smithing Skills. Our priority is to revive the Weaving Facilities" I informed Ciella.

"Let me guess. Though our people are in captivity, we are still connected via the Gemini System. Through this System, we can assign Protective Gear to them right?" Ciella asked.

"You're right. We are separated but we are still their Guardians and are still affiliated with them. Even if in captivity, there are ways we can protect them…and it all begins with ensuring that they are impervious to harm by granting them immunity via Specially Customized Protective Gear" I said to Ciella.

"So we must begin by reviving the Weaving Factories and producing Four Thousand units of Protective Gear, one for each captive right?" Ciella asked.

"Exactly" I said.

I scanned the Peristylium with the Gemini System and cross referenced Data with the Libra System's Library Mode for more detailed info. I eventually found a Weaving Factory that had been all but completely destroyed by the enemy. There were also secret storage facilities containing both threads woven out of conductive copper like threads as well as those woven out of insulating threads like wool. I smiled.

"Just what I needed" I said.

"What do you mean San?" Ciella asked me.

"Aside from sight, there are many ways for predators to track their prey. One means is by sound, another by scent, another by taste and another by heat. Most serpents, leaving Dragons aside, are almost blind however, they have sharp senses of smell and taste and might even be capable of tracking prey through variations in temperature. If the Weaver Of Calamity's Army does not predominantly track adversaries by sight, then an escape at Night might not be necessarily effective. The first key to freeing our people is to develop protective gear completely impervious to tracking. That is how we'll blind and cut off potential pursuit squads during our escape" I explained to Ciella.

"We can conceal sound by developing gear equipped with soundproofing. We could also utilize gear that produce tons of sound as dummy escape units to lure the enemy's army away from our people during escape and to cover our tracks. Taste can mostly be concealed by masking our scents. For this to be effective, we must find an escape route close to a Water Source. Most predators that track by scent lose track of their prey once their prey conceals itself in a Water Source. This is especially true for warm-blooded prey. It's the same way we can mask our temperatures. By concealing it within the Water Source's own. We could also create fabrics made out of both conducting and insulating fibres. Insulating fibres close to the skin and conducting fibres on the surface through which we can adjust our clothes to the surrounding temperature through integrated thermometers. For this to be effective, our entire bodies need to be masked by our clothing. Indeed, we'll need to go full ninja mode" I explained to Ciella.

"I see. So this is to cut off a pursuit squad" Ciella realized.

"In matters of escape, you either make it out or are recaptured. If you are recaptured, stricter containment measures will be put in place so subsequent escape plans will be much harder to implement" I explained to Ciella.

From then on, we began to weave Four Thousand units of Protective Gear. Each unit for a single person. We intended to free our people at night so we resorted to darker shades of colour when Weaving. It took a Week with regards to the Game's time thanks to my automating the entire process via my Dreamweaving abilities but we were done by the end of the Week.