Chapter 133: War Advances Technology
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 133: War Advances Technology
Burnell was in a state of pure euphoria.
He had consumed so much coffee and so many stimulants that one might have wondered if caffeine, rather than blood, flowed through his veins. After running around stark naked in a manic frenzy, he finally regained enough sanity to throw on some clothes and stand before Ferda. Erica stood beside him, watching with a wary eye.
“Do you remember when I used to dissect live monsters for my research?” Burnell asked, his eyes wide.
“I do.”
“Back then, I discovered something incredible. I identified the specific neural signals used in a monster’s physical regeneration.”
Those neural signals had been recorded across more than a hundred pages of parchment. Ferda, naturally, didn’t even pretend to look at them.
“Just explain it to me,” Ferda commanded.
“So, basically... instead of thinking of the contaminated water as a vat of liquid, let’s think of it as being inside a monster’s body!” He gestured wildly with his hands and feet, struggling to articulate his breakthrough. “A monster is injured. It needs to repair that area, right?”
“Right.”
“To do that, it has to send a signal to the wounded area to concentrate its regenerative powers there, correct?”
“Correct.”
“Once that signal is sent, the junk mana flowing through the blood moves toward the wound. That’s how it stops the bleeding and regenerates. I’m applying this same principle to the water tank! If we send a signal saying the material mimicking the flesh is ‘injured’...”
Erica caught his drift and summarized it. “So, you’re saying the junk mana will gather wherever the signal is sent?”
“Exactly!” Burnell chimed in, his voice filled with delight. The fact that someone actually understood him seemed to bring him more joy than the discovery itself.
“So that’s how you purify it?” Ferda asked.
“Purify? Ha! If it were just that, a man like Burnell getting this excited would be third-rate! It’s not just purification!” Burnell shouted, his voice trembling with excitement. “Regent! Haven’t we been telling you all this time that we need Magic Stones? This is, quite literally, a technology to generate them by condensing masses of junk mana. We can extract far more than we ever could by simply harvesting materials from monsters!”
It wasn't just about purifying contaminated water; it was about securing a limitless supply of materials to create Magic Stones. He had killed two birds with one stone.
“I suppose that was worth four days of work,” Ferda remarked.
“Actually, I figured this out on the second day after discussing it with President Bernard.”
“In just two days?”
“Then why didn’t you report it sooner?” Erica asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Even with the theory, I had to build the device to apply the structure... I figured you wouldn’t believe me if I just gave you a theory, right?”
Ferda nodded. He had already heard plenty of long-winded, useless theories from Burnell in the past.
“So, I took two more days to create a practical application! This is it!”
Burnell pulled out an object he had hidden behind a chalkboard. It was a chain with a heavy weight attached to the end. The chain had been treated to serve as a conduit for mana, and the weight was inscribed with complex magic formulas.
Seeing it, Ferda felt a flicker of unease and asked, “Can a low-circle mage activate this magic circle?”
“A 3rd Circle mage who knows how to manifest a magic circle is more than enough. I managed it easily, so as long as they can channel mana, it’ll work.”
There was no way he hadn't considered that. A 3rd Circle mage was the same rank as the communication mages who accompanied young nobles, so manpower wouldn't be an issue.
“So, does it actually work?” Erica asked, looking down at the weight.
Even the hyper-excited Burnell turned somber for a moment. “We have to test it now.”
No matter how brilliant a theory is, or how well a device is constructed, there are countless cases where the final product simply fails. For scholars and inventors, this is the moment of greatest potential despair.
It was time to find out.
* * *
Isabella brought a jar of water flowing from the Land of Demons back to the castle.
That day was the first time Ferda saw what the water from the Land of Demons actually looked like. It had a strange, metallic smell and a reddish hue, similar to iron rust dissolved in water. However, unlike rusty water, this was a lethal liquid that shouldn't even be touched.
“W-well then, here goes.”
Burnell dropped the weight into the jar. When it reached the midpoint, he injected mana into the chain.
Vroom—.
The water rippled. It was the low hum of mana flowing and activating the magic circle. Everyone watching held their breath. No one wanted this result, four days in the making, to be a failure.
After a moment, the murky water began to clear. Simultaneously, a mass of red crystals began to condense around the weight. Burnell carefully lifted the chain. The red crystals clung to the weight like raw flesh, and the water left behind had become remarkably clear.
They say you can't tell purity just by looking, but this time was different. It was exactly as it appeared.
“My goodness...”
“To think such a method existed.”
Isabella and Erica, having inspected the water, couldn't hide their admiration.
“How is it?” Ferda asked.
“You really did remove the junk mana from the water, just as you said,” Isabella confirmed.
“Of course, I couldn't remove all of it, so a trace amount of mana remains... but it’s at a level that’s perfectly safe to ingest. In fact, the risk is lower than drinking common groundwater.”
The acknowledgment made Burnell’s heart swell. It wasn't just about being recognized by academia; it was the fact that a spawn of Iorga, the Aspect of Water, had validated his work.
Ferda also clenched his fist, satisfied with his decision. This was the right answer.
Beyond finding a simple source of drinking water, this had become a stepping stone to further the development of the territory. They say war advances technology, and this was proof. The path he was walking wasn't leading to an exit; it was leading deeper inside. He was walking toward the great treasure hidden within the labyrinth.
Ferda patted Burnell on the shoulder, encouraging him for this remarkable achievement. “You did well.”
At that, Burnell swayed violently and collapsed on the spot. It was the aftereffect of four days without sleep, fueled entirely by stimulants and obsession.
Erica knew this, of course, but she chose to tease: “So, you kill the dog once it’s outlived its usefulness... is that it?”
“...It’s not like that.”
* * *
Under the leadership of Iorga’s spawns, a temporary water source was drawn from the Land of Demons. Since the source was deep within the blighted lands, they set up a collection point far from Hestia Village and transported the water from there.
Isabella announced the solution to the current water crisis to the village, offering the purified liquid as a substitute for their drinking water.
“If the water is from the Land of Demons, isn't it dangerous?”
“I heard that drinking contaminated water can turn you into a monster...”
“But what choice do we have? It doesn't look like it’s going to rain anytime soon.”
“If the great rulers of water approve of it, surely it’s fit to drink?”
Despite their reluctance, the villagers felt they had no other choice. By showing a willingness to obey the words of an authority figure like Isabella, the process went smoothly.
The problem, as expected, was the nobles. Ferda and Erica were the ones to make the announcement to them.
“You want us to drink water drawn from the Land of Demons?!”
“No matter how you look at it, this is too much! Isn't this the same as telling us to die a slow death?”
True to their upbringing, they threw fits, shouting that they would only drink groundwater. Ferda even went as far as to drink the purified water in front of them as a demonstration. He seemed perfectly fine, but it was difficult to quell the heated atmosphere.
“Even if it’s Regent Ferda or a legendary adventurer, we cannot drink this water.”
“What if we turn into monsters over time? What will you do then? Will you take responsibility?”
They were spouting conspiracy theories to a point that bordered on insolence.
Erica asked via telepathy: —Should I just tell them to die?
Ferda didn't say it aloud, but he agreed in his heart. A short, sharp remark was more suited for these people than a tedious, pedantic explanation that only served their intellectual vanity. Their defiant faces would surely change within a day; if he could see those expressions, Ferda himself would be in a good mood.
Olivia approached Ferda and asked, “It really is safe, right?”
She looked back and forth between Ferda and Erica. Erica answered, “The head of Iorga personally certified it.”
“That’s reliable enough for me.” Olivia also gracefully downed a glass of water. “Mmm, the taste is quite clean.”
She finished with a bright smile, instilling a sense of trust in the onlookers. Only then did the nobles stop acting like children and begin to drink.
Strange. It was irritating to see them wailing when he drank it, only to gulp it down happily once Olivia did. He glanced at Erica and met her eyes. They both simply nodded without a word, clearly thinking the same thing.
Regardless, the drinking water issue among the nobles was resolved.
The Magic Stone issue is resolved as well.
In fact, they were easier to collect than monster corpses. Since the processing time had been cut by two-thirds, the production of Magic Stones to be used as bullets had doubled in speed. With this, they could prepare for another month. Ferda also decided to seriously refine his own abilities.
Red Circle 4-star and Shadow Circle 1-star.
In terms of mana quantity alone, he was at 5-star. But I’m not a true 5-star. Since he couldn't use 5th-tier magic yet, he had to keep in mind that he simply had significantly more mana than other 4th Circle mages. That was an element he could use as a trump card.
Furthermore, the Shadow Circle simply looks like a shadow at a glance.
It wasn't made of blue mana, but black. Unless one focused intensely, they wouldn't notice he had another circle. Above all, since Ferda was known as a Red Circle mage, no one would expect him to have a secondary circle at a lower tier.
I’ll use the Red Circle for lightning and the Shadow Circle for shadow magic.
Having decided on his mana management, Ferda focused on another element. He needed something to counter him, and now Ferda had that tool.
Retribution.
The gift Lucy Philias had given him. She had named it so, saying it wasn't a punishment from the heavens, but one that rose from the earth. Outwardly, it looked like a simple staff; no one would suspect it was an artifact given by Lucy Philias.
Come to think of it, didn't she say it would absorb the power of a lightning-struck branch if I brought it close?
Ferda pulled out the branch he had received from Ahmed Hashim as a token of friendship. He brought the branch to the staff. Then, he watched as particles hidden within the World Tree branch flowed into the staff.
Ssssh...
It absorbed everything without leaving a trace. All traces of magic left in the World Tree branch vanished, leaving it an ordinary twig. Even more surprising was that even after absorbing all that power, no mana could be felt from the staff.
Just in case, he channeled mana to check its power.
Crackle!
There was no doubt. It was more powerful and more stable than before. It was already more powerful than Dark Bolt...
He began to think that the Heaven-Defying Lightning Bolt might be able to produce firepower similar to the existing 4th-tier spell, Lightning Spear. An item that allowed a spell’s power to manifest one tier higher without side effects was a priceless artifact.
With this, I have one more tool at my disposal.
The Heaven-Defying Lightning, which could surpass even the strongest darkness in terms of destruction. And the Shadow Arts to deceive and catch the opponent off guard.
“Hmm...”
He pondered how to use these tools. Ferda’s battles always began and ended with a display of power. Unlike the past, where he showed confidence that he could overwhelm anyone, he now needed a strategy befitting a mage. At the very least, he needed to be able to land a final blow when facing Gokma.
Ferda began his research.
* * *
One month after the incident.
A massive army of 20,000 monsters had gathered around the Mother Monster. Of course, not all of them were lethal. Half were slow and incomplete in form, like the Melted, while the other half took the form of monsters or threatening beasts. Among the beast-like ones, large monsters like bears were limited to about 200.
Still, if they all swarmed at once, it would be a hopeless situation. Erica judged that the gathered forces would soon move.
To prepare for an all-out war, Olivia gathered all her staff for a final strategy meeting. Ferda also participated, listening to the plans for the siege, and asked Count Consilus for an update via communication crystal.
“Count, how is the situation on your end?”
—There is no need to ask. I am a man who has waited for this very moment.
“Any issues with the drinking water there?”
—No. With the items brought by the Blue Eye, we can hold out for another week.
Though they were receiving external support, there was sufficient justification for it. Burnell had shared the technology, and they were officially ‘providing samples for testing.’ Since it was material used for the conquest of the Land of Demons, they were simply fulfilling their duty as allies.
—Regent.
“What is it?”
—I wish to say this in advance. It has been an honor to serve you, however briefly. I only wish we could have met sooner.
Ferda wondered why this man was being so sentimental. It felt like a knight’s final testament before dying on the battlefield, and it irritated him.
“Let’s not have any of that nonsense. If you find yourself being pushed back, retreat to Hestia immediately.”
—If this castle falls, I shall bury my bones here. It is the duty of a knight to slay even one more monster to save a hundred people. I shall slay a hundred more and save ten thousand. So please, protect the people of this Archduchy.
“...I understand.”
There was no guarantee he would die, but Ferda decided to remember his words. Just then, Isabella burst through the door.
“The army of demons has begun to move!”
Had the time finally come? Ferda thought as he stood up. But Isabella wasn't finished.
“But their direction is different from what we expected!”
Ferda paused. “What do you mean?”
“The thousands of troops aren't moving toward us. They’re moving in the opposite direction!”
“The opposite direction...?”
“They are moving toward the Imperial Capital!!”
A situation completely contrary to everyone’s expectations. Before he could even ask if it was true, Ferda’s communication crystal ball began to hum. He never thought he’d be so displeased to hear that oily voice.
—R-Regent! It’s a disaster!
The Crown Prince, Alexander Arken, shouted in a voice that made it clear the fire had reached his own feet.