The workload that I have in front of me is massive. And time is pretty tight. The worst part is that the undertaking I'm doing is pretty impossible for almost anyone else. Fortifying the cities and the Sea of Demons was the least of my worries as I could simply have puppets make more puppets and so on. I just needed time and materials. The work was mostly done automatically.
The issue was obtaining the materials needed to do this. And the bandits, holy shit, there are a lot of them.
Sending workers to procure materials is out of the question. Not only has the Endless Night begun, making the walkers active, but sending cultivators to mine is impossible. So, I sent in my puppets, which got robbed on multiple occasions.
The strange part is, whoever was able to attack and survive my small squad of puppets that went to mine was far higher in cultivation level than them and had little need for the materials they had. It wasn't simply to rob but to sabotage, and that pisses me off.
However, there was a simple way to handle this. I placed a few poisons known only to me in the ammunition of the puppets I'm now sending to harvest more natural resources. Since the Zodiac Mystic Apothecary is open and known to all, one of the assailants, if affected by the poisons, is bound to come to my own clinic. Only then will I figure out who the fucker messing with me is.
The Blue Sun had sent me a jade detailing her progress in the creation of Soulsteel, and how little success she found in using the souls of beasts. She must be wracking her brain trying to figure out a new way to solve that issue, but I can't help her nor am I expected to. For someone of her caliber, helping her is akin to slapping her in the face.
She would rather struggle and brainstorm for a thousand years than ask for help.
For my growth and expansion project, I needed to make roads. Not in the literal sense, because cultivators can simply do low flight to move along the Sea of Demons. Maintaining a road in a wandering dune area is a waste of resources as the entire road could get covered in a single night if a powerful sandstorm happens.
But figurative roads, protected and organized by puppets alongside them standing as guards to help both navigate cultivators and protect any caravans or merchants moving through the darkness of the night. Which had just begun...
The winds howled ominously as the sun slowly but surely darkened, dipping below the horizon and casting long shadows over the Sea of Demons. The anticipation in the air was palpable, a thick blanket of tension that clung to every breath.
I stood at the highest tower of the imperial palace, overlooking the bustling city below. The preparation for the Endless Night was in full swing, but there was still much to do.
"We need to expedite the fortifications," I muttered to myself, my eyes scanning the horizon. The walkers were becoming more frequent, their numbers swelling as if sensing the impending doom.
A sudden gust of wind brought Old Man Fu, who I had finally gotten the chance to meet after the tournament.
"Yo," I said.
The old man snickered. "You ditched me back there."
"I mean, you saw with your own eyes what happened. So, what brought you here?" I asked.
"The Red Sun agreed to your suggestion of open trade between the two regions. He also asked you to seek shelter in his territory if things get ugly."
"You'll go back?" I asked.
"Nah, all the fun is here," Old Man Fu said.
People hurried about, gathering supplies, reinforcing their homes, and preparing for the unknown. Fear mingled in their eyes, casting endless shades of doubt and uncertainty. Yet the weakness of their selves, unable to leave, forced them to take a resolute stance, staying in their own homes.
This was happening all over the twelve cities. Everyone felt the urge, panic, and fear of the Endless Night. So far, I'm thankful that the real horror hasn't been revealed yet. Because if they were to know how terrifying the Rakshasa are, riots would ensue and break out everywhere.
The walkers were roaming about, groggy and unable to move at first. During this time, the sun should be high up in the skies. But it had already darkened to the point that everything turned black.
Lights lit up along the walls of the city, and bonfires were slowly being erected all over the city. Though far away, you could still see a few lights here and there, from cultivators who got trapped during the darkening of the night, or from faraway cities of the Sea of Demons. Visibility was thankfully clear.
The only issue is, the rapid cooling of the atmosphere due to the absence of the sun was bound to create fog sooner or later, which will make things more annoying. Not only will it be dark, but it will also have monsters in it. Quite the horror scene, if I may say so.
"Automaton," I said.
The automaton immediately appeared at my side. "Yes, master."
"How is the situation outside?" I asked.
"From the reports, nothing but walkers. They're too confused to realize that a city is near them. Should we begin the elimination process?" it asked.
"No, leave them be. They may have their own use," I said.
"As you command," the automaton replied.
"What about the scouts?" I asked.
"Deployed and are sending in information every now and then. As for the workers and miners, nothing to report so far. Everything is working fine right now."
"Good, good..." I said to myself. It looks like it's going to be a quiet night for now.
But I knew better than to trust a fleeting calm. The Endless Night had just begun, and the real challenges were yet to come.
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Hello, biako here, just saying a lot of thieving websites have been plagiarizing my work. If you, a reader is reading this and you're not on Webnovel platform, please refrain from reading stolen work that I'm not receiving anything on, especially if you're being asked to pay or watch any ads on any other platform. For those thieving websites I hope y'all burn in hell :)
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