Chapter 299: Reconnaissance(3)

Point-of-View: Sylvar Miirphys

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"Now that we're both all healed up...I think we need to talk about how powerful that Kuro guy was," I remarked with a weary sigh. 

About half an hour had passed since we just barely escaped with our lives, Bell had managed to clear the poison in her blood, close up her wounds and then grudgingly healed me too, before we somehow managed to tear off the sticky web net that had me ensnared. That stuff is no joke, there were still several strands stuck to my clothes and hands.

I may not have had any particularly life-threatening injuries, but I was still in a lot of pain and had taken plenty of damage. A couple of my ribs had been broken, several others fractured, my nose was badly broken and I'm pretty sure my cheekbones had been cracked too, my collarbone was a mess and my skin was covered in both lightning and acid burns, I was in a ton of pain.

"Tch, I would prefer not to, however...we cannot ignore such a dangerous threat," Frowned Bell in agreement. 

It's possible that we may be able to broker a truce or a non-aggression pact with Abyss...he'd definitely been on his guard when he first showed up, but he didn't actually show any signs of aggression until Bell attacked him, so maybe if we leave him alone, he'd do the same...I'm not gonna say that here though, I'll bring it up in private to Sant instead. 

"Yeah, he was way too powerful, if it'd just been one of us against him, he'd have won for sure. It's not that we're all that much weaker than him, his skills are just a lot more polished than ours are...and he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve too...he used Water, Fire and Lightning Magic...it's possible that he can also use Wind and Earth Magic too," I replied with a frown. 

"That should not be possible...only Lord Laus, and likely that woman Belia, should be capable of using all five Elemental Magic attributes...for anyone else to even use two attributes is unheard of...," She muttered with a grimace. 

"He could teleport too...but I thought humans aren't able to activate normal spells without some special kind of paper or something right?" I asked. 

"I do not think that was ordinary spell casting...when I struck him with my lightning, I was certain that I erased all traces of him...but he reappeared in a blaze of flames. That is something that Phoenixes are capable of...and the spiderweb-like substance he trapped you with...it matches the description of what Giant Spiders produce. It should not be possible, but...it would appear that he possesses the abilities of various monsters," She surmised grimly. 

"That's...an unsettling thought. But it makes sense...he also had Demonic features and what looked like Vampiric features. And that purple blast...was that Obliteration Magic?" 

"I believe so...if that had struck us, we would both have perished right then and there."

"Hey, what was that he did when you first attacked him and he sent you flying back?" I inquired curiously. 

"I do not know...it felt like I was struck by a powerful force, but I am certain that it was not Wind Magic. Tch, enough, talking about this is infuriating me," She sighed with a frown, "Let us go find the other two human settlements and then return to the Laus Domain and report this to Lord Laus." 

"Yeah, I guess we should...the upcoming battle against Belia is the more immediate concern, but we can't ignore Abyss either...there's no telling whether there are any other powerful adversaries there. Either way, it's a bad idea to go back there and scout them out some more, they'll be on high alert now," I pointed out. 

"I suppose that is likely to be the case...very well then, we shall avoid getting close to Abyss and head south to Silvland." 

"I just hope we have better luck there than we did here," I sighed wistfully. 

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Point-of-View: Kuro Black 

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"Quite concerning...," Frowned Zero, as I finished relaying what had happened. 

After those two Elemental Sages escaped, I headed back to Abyss, called a meeting with some of the others, including Zero and a couple of Vampire Knights, Ubel, the Demon who took over Einn's body, Az, Rai and Fuo.

"I've spotted them again with one of my Serpent monsters, it looks like they're heading around us and going in the direction of Silvland...Fuo, keep an eye out in that area using your Pixies, I don't have any monsters small enough to follow them for too long without getting spotted," I informed them. 

"Okay, I'm on it," Replied Fuo with a nod.

"I'll try to create a detection barrier spell that has a wider range than the current one does," Chimed in Az. 

"Sounds good...Rai, how's the progress with Corruption Magic power ups going?" I inquired, as I turned towards him. 

"Pretty good, there aren't that many people here besides the, uh, Vampire cattle, and since I'm not powering up any of them, I'm about halfway through the rest," He replied with a thumbs up. 

That's still a lot...there are about three hundred thousand human cattle, all former nobles or royals. Admittedly, some of the others hadn't been totally okay with the fact that we have humans that are nothing but livestock for the Vampires, and pointing out the fact that they all used to be arrogant nobles only kinda appeased them. 

Anyway, the number of people that were given a degree of freedom was about double the number of the human cattle, at a little over six hundred thousand. With kids, the elderly and other non-combatants, I had them help with running stores and food stalls and whatnot, as well as some others assigned to manufacturing weapons and equipment. 

As for the rest, I was using them to form an army...it's definitely not a bad idea to build up our numbers with so many enemies popping up all over the place. And it wasn't enough to just power them up, they need some degree of skill...so I was having them split into two different groups and given basic levels of training.

Specifically, a long range group and a close range group. The former was primarily headed by Fuo, though some of the others take turns with it too, and focused on training with Elemental Magic attacks, bows and arrows and guns...we had started manufacturing guns and ammo, so yeah. As for the latter, it was just basic combat training with simple, easy to use weapons like spears and swords. 

"Alright, get some of them to patrol the streets and guard the tops of the walls...I know we have the protective barriers in place, but just as an extra precaution. Pay them or whatever to keep them happy and motivated. Zero, add a few Vampire Minions to those efforts too...Ubel, ditto with the Demons."

"Understood, my lord...does it have to be me?" Inquired Zero, as Ubel simply nodded affirmatively. 

"...I'll leave that upto you, either do it yourself or have someone else do it, I don't care, just see to it that it gets done," I replied with an exasperated sigh. 

"Very well, I shall make sure that it is done." 

"Regarding food and resources, how's that coming along?" I asked, looking around. 

"Quite well, my lord," Spoke up Ubel, "We are growing many fruits and vegetables in the underground cavern, and we have an abundant supply of seafood available from the surrounding beaches as well."

Great, sounds like all's good on that end of things. 

"Alright, then, I think that about covers everything...we'll keep an eye on the other races, along with Silvland and the Rustlands, Fuo and I can watch them with our monsters. We'll keep to ourselves if none of them show any signs of aggression towards us, but if they do...we'll destroy them with all the power at our disposal. Is everyone in agreement?" I asked, looking around, before adding as everyone voiced their approval, "Okay, that's about everything, I think...let's conclude this meeting and get back to-." 

"One more thing, Kuro!" Interrupted Rai, before continuing, "About the ranking system that Rion and I are working on, how much should I prioritize it against powering up the people?" 

"...definitely prioritize the Corruption Magic power ups, that should go without saying...we really don't NEED a ranking system, or at least, it's not a pressing matter," I replied, feeling exasperated as he looked a bit disappointed, "Alright, everyone...dismissed."

...

Aw, man, I feel exhausted...not physically, since my stamina reserves have grown so much, but mentally. I just feel...drained. Leading a nation is tiring work, and that fight against those two Elemental Sages...what were their names again? I think the Halfling girl called the Elf Sylvar...but I don't think I heard him mention her name. 

Silvland, the Rustlands and the other races...enemies all over the planet...no matter what happens next, it's almost guaranteed that things are about to get chaotic...the other races likely want nothing to do with humans at best, and want to wipe us out at worst, Silvland will definitely never cooperate with any of the other sides, and the Rustlands is highly unlikely to ally themselves with us. 

So, yeah, no matter how I slice it, I can't see any of the four opposing sides in this world right now allying with each other, or even forming non-aggression pacts or peace treaties. I can only imagine what might be in store for this world in the near future... 

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