Chapter 43

The moment I entered the embassy hall, I shouted, "Kanoko! Red card!"

She rushed over to me. "What is it? What happened?"

"Magitech ships, lots of them above the clouds."

Then I went on to describe exactly what I saw and where the magitech ships were.

"Are you sure they're coming this way?"

"Yes!"

"Were you able to see any pilots?"

"No."

"Then, we have to assume it's a joint operation. I'll send a flare to alert everyone in the city."

"Wait, what do you mean joint operation?"

"On one hand, the reptilians are and have always been the most proficient at manufacturing magitech. Their reproductive abilities are poor. On the other hand, humans are resourceful and they proliferate quickly. This kept the reptilians in check until they joined forces. If it's just one nation we have to watch out for, we don't have anything to worry about. However, if it's a join operation, that's a completely different matter. Originally, the empire's main forces should have kept them in check but perhaps they were able to outmaneuver.

She stepped outside and shot an orange flare into the sky by pulling a tube.

"Does orange flare mean the same thing as an orange card? Why not a red flare?"

"Yes, they're equivalent. The thing is I don't have the authority to send a red flare but an orange flare should be enough for now. This isn't the first time they sent magitech airships our way. If it's just the reptilian air force, we can hold them off. In the past, they've never succeeded."

Impressive, super impressive?

"Is there anything I can do? Oh, right, have you prepared poisonous foods for me?"

"Yes, we gathered small samples. Go to your room to find them. We need you to participate in any way you can." She looked towards Smoothie who was just standing next to me, holding my arm, "Smoothie should have stayed in the library. It is one of the safest places, even in the inner city."

"Oh, oops. Sorry, Smoothie, you can go back now." I patted her head.

"No. Mother, you should come with me. Please."

"I don't think that's a good idea...?"

"Berry, it's alright." Kanoko nodded at me.

"Alright, fine, I'll stay with you. Aren't you a needy child? Huh?" I teased her while poking at her soft cheeks.

Having Smoothie tag along, I went upstairs to check out the samples of poisonous foods. Instead I found not just poisonous foods but also extracted poisons stored in tiny glass vials. They were lying on the tables clearly labeled with the type of poison, where they came from, and what they were used for, etcetera. A new table was added to my room because there were just too many samples.

"Nice!"

"Mm... Not all of them are lethal in small doses."

"I can see that. This one puts people to sleep. If that's the case, I want an aphrodisiac drug too!"

"Mother, am I not enough for you?"

"Uhh, right, you're already too much for me to handle. I just thought of it. If I could synthesize poisons, I should be able to synthesize antidotes and cures too, right?"

"Yeah, but is there enough time? They are all busy with preparations, no?"

I sighed with resignation, "I should have asked. It's too late now, too late. This will do for now."

Once I absorbed all the poisons, I reviewed [conglomerate] together with [synthesis] to see if it succeeded. Most of them were successful with a few failed ones. I wasn't sure why but perhaps a few unnatural poisons were mixed in. Since many of the poisons were sort of redundant in their effects, I was happy with what I had. In fact, most of these samples originated from various kingdoms across the empire so I was very grateful of them sharing these with me. I didn't have to waste my time searching blindly for poisons.

"I'm good to go."

Outside, the streets had become empty with only guards patrolling the streets. If everyone had somehow already evacuated the time it took me to go through the poison samples, then the city management team deserves some cookies.

"Did they all evacuate into the inner city?" I asked.

Smoothie nodded, "Yes, they have underground hideouts. Every building has hidden passages leading to the inner city in case something like this happens. I believe many had evacuated during the two days you were gone."

The heck? Aren't they acting like mini bunkers? Are we in the atomic era or something? They're too prepared.

"You two! Why are you still here? Didn't you see the red flares?" Kanoko shouted at us from inside the embassy hall.

Oops, did I take too long here?

"No, not at all. Smoothie, did you see any?"

"None." She shook her head.

"The flares came from outside the city walls. There's little time, hurry! We'll be activating magic barriers, unless you wish to participate, please evacuate immediately." Kanoko said.

"Kanoko, are you coming?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm just checking on a few things first."

"Okay, we'll head to the inner city as well then. See you later."

Despite many people entering the inner city, it wasn't crowded. While many were gathering in temporary shelters, some were donning armors gearing up for the battle. Many others were descending further down a vast underground tunnel. I was kind of curious how big the inner city was so I asked, "Is there a lot of space down there? Just how big is this place?"

"The tunnels beneath are connected to other cities. Apparently most cities within the Kingdom of Teir are subterranean."

"Wow. That's seriously amazing. Cracking this kingdom won't be easy."

Once we were inside the library, she began reading books on magic theories. I figured that with her ability, learning magic would be faster. Meanwhile, I was reviewing everything adjustable within [conglomerate] ability. Just because I could synthesize poisons didn't mean I knew how to properly apply them.

Thinking back, Kanoko had asked me to create some armors. Having some weapons wouldn't hurt either.

A poisoned dagger? And some light armor? Yep, it's decided.

Using [transformation], I removed my wings completed and began synthesizing light chitin armor for myself. Since I couldn't really fly freely around here anyway, there was no point having wings. They would only get in the way unless I went out.  

"Mother, will you be fighting?"

"Yeah! I'll keep you safe!" I answered, though I only expected myself to be a last line of defense or until I could grasp the overall situation.

In reality, the armor was translucent which didn't seem all that durable. But I knew better, those insect exoskeletons were quite hard and tough that even Haelley had trouble scratching. Even if they weren't as tough as armors worn by the military folks, this was better than none at all.

"Mother, can you control that material with magic?"

"Not sure, but they can't act as my clones. So, probably not."

"And why are you covering yourself? Isn't it more convenient to just use [synthesis] to heal your wounds?"

"Ehhh... I have my own reasons. Anyway, stay here and read, I'll check things out outside. Also, here, a dagger for your self-defense." I handed her a poison chitin dagger. Since I wasn't sure how durable it was, I figured the smaller the blade the better.

"Thank you. Please be safe. I don't believe what you saw was the main force."

"No way! They have more of those?"

"I don't know, but please be safe. I believe the things happening in the sky is only a distraction. Anyway, I'll try to find some useful magic as quickly as I can."

I hope you're wrong but the chance is quite slim. Hahh... Let's not mind the details!

I left the library feeling quite proud of my works. I had platebody, plateskirt, and a simple rounded helm to cover my important parts. My arms only had some coverings to allow my arms to move freely in combat. My entire getup probably looked bizarre but this was the best I could come up with right now.

As I was making my rounds trying to grasp the ins and outs of the inner city, several small tremors shook the tunnels.

Is it starting already? Fun, fun. Eheheh...

A series of tremors followed immediately. A few of them were audibly nearby as if multiple tunnels had collapsed. Shouts and screams were in the air as people rushed towards higher elevations. Soldiers equipped with shields and short spears were descending into the tunnels as more explosive echoes followed.

What's going on? Did something happen down there?

The library Smoothie was staying at was a few floors above so I was confident of her safety. If anything, she really was at the safest place. After all, using [soothsayer] to find herself the safest place in this mess was the basics.