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Hrmm… I think I went off on a tangent again, I should get back to training those brats.

Speaking of which… one can never predict when an enemy will attack in war… So maybe… How about a night simulation?

With that decided, I immediately hopped off my comfy bed, and sought out the guard captain of this base, Sir Johnson. With his men, a night raid should be possible.

A little later, I got the man’s approval -he was very supportive, in fact. Thus at an hour after midnight, when the kids were all sound asleep, a deafening explosion rocked the camp.

Some of the more alert students quickly threw on some clothes and ran out of their tents. On the other hand, there were those who were still rubbing their eyes in confusion, enjoying the light show outside their tents.

Soon enough, they did not even have the luxury of rubbing their eyes, as a bunch of masked men charged into their tents, swinging left and right without a warning.

Only a small portion of the students were able to mount a resistance, but they were clearly outmatched against the black masked men and their steel clubs…

The students were all divided into tents of ten, with the ten of them forming a team.

Of the 100, only Ansom was able to break through the black masked men to reach the warehouse of the magitek armors, where I and an eager Sir Johnson were waiting.

The moment he noticed me, Ansom’s face immediately lit up as if he met his savior. “Instructor! It’s an enemy attack! Our camp is under attack!”

“Just you?”

“The rest have been surrounded! We need to save them!”

“Seems like the students were wiped out… I guess that’s the best you can expect of a bunch of kids.” Sir Johnson eyed the boy with a hint of contempt -a disdain borne from an old soldier looking at a bunch of freshies. However, was there anyone who wasn’t a fresh soldier at one point?

On my part, I didn’t even expect a single person to reach the warehouse. The fact that Ansom was here was a pleasant surprise.

“At least there’s someone who passed.”

“Instructor?” Ansom muttered a little unsure of himself after seeing me so nonplussed, coupled with the presence of the guard captain who was even more uncaring than me.

“Do you not understand what’s going on? Hah, I thought you would be smarter than this.”

For a moment, I thought this would finally be the straw that broke the royal camel’s back. However, Ansom instead calmed down.

“Instructor, was this ambush of your making?”

Before I could even reply, Sir Johnson was ready with his snideness. “Took you long enough.”

But the boy wasn’t bothered to even answer the man. Instead, he kept looking at me as if searching for an answer.

“On the battlefield, your enemies won’t wait for you to get a good night’s rest… perhaps in the past, but not now.”

“…” Ansom’s face went through a myriad of changes, but he finally understood what I was trying to say. “But, Instructor, was there a need to be so harsh?” he smiled wryly.

“A little pain is always helpful to make you remember, and being on guard wasn’t the only lesson I was trying to impart on you. There were other problems with this little exercise as well.”

“Other problems?” The young boy blinked his eyes like a lost puppy.

“When you and your peers realized that this was an enemy attack, what were your first reactions? How many tried to work together? I doubt there were many, seeing that you were the only one who made it here.”

“…” He was startled, but he knew what the problem was now. “I only made it here with the help of my classmates. I’m sure there were others who tried to work together as well, but only I was able to succeed…”

“Then let me tell you another fact -there were only fifty assailants tonight. Roughly half of your numbers. If you were prepared beforehand, combined with some group tactics, at the very least, you wouldn’t be the only one here right now.”

“…” There was no refuting what I just said, because it was all true.

The ones dressed as the masked men were naturally the subordinates of Sir Johnson. Everyone of them was a hardened veteran in their own right. Bare minimum, they were at least at the peak of one-star, with some even being three-stars. Having gone through the hell that was war, they were beyond fierce in a fight.
In contrast, these pilot candidates were basically hovering around the two-stars and three-stars band of magisters. Under normal circumstances, the only way those soldiers could have won would be through an ambush or a desperate attack.

A veteran soldier couldn’t be compared to ordinary bandits at all. The sheer aura they exuded from months of hell wasn’t something that could be explained away so easily. There were even cases of lower-starred beasts running away in the sheer presence of such an ominous aura.

No more was this more apparent than in this age of swords and shields. A powerful general could easily influence the morale of the battlefield with his overwhelming aura. And emotions like fear were a plague that, once released, would spread like wildfire.

These elite students were nothing more than baby chicks to the hardened soldiers.

By the time I was brought to the resting area of the students, I learnt what it meant to be treated like dogs…

The male students were all beaten on the ground. The female students were mostly cowering in the corner. As long as they didn’t try to resist, they weren’t beaten up. As for those that tried, they were those boys on the floor.

“Instrustor… hel me…”

Unfortunately, that was seen as a form of resistance as well, and another beating for him…

Yikes, that’s a nasty face…

In actuality, the troops had suffered some casualties as well, but they were more stoic about it.

Maybe weakness is contagious after all.

“I think that’s enough for today, have the healers come.” I took this opportunity to glance at Ansom, his face black as the night. “Report at eight in the morning, do not be late.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

Regardless of how much those students were yelling at me in their hearts, I wasn’t about to change my tactics. Hmph.

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Now. I wasn’t bragging or anything – but my reputation amongst these kids was nothing to scoff at. All thanks to certain… incidents that happened during the first day.

On the night of our first training, three rambunctious kids actually had the audacity to try and peep on me showering. They were summarily beaten up by the fire elementals I left on standby. And by the time I walked out all refreshed, I found three blackened, unidentified objects…

From that day onwards, the look they gave me was entirely different. Like Heaven and Hell…

But in actuality, I was completely innocent. In fact, I wasn’t aware of what those fire elementals even did.

To the students, however, the fire elementals acted completely on my command. That was how normal fire elementals, with their lack of independent will, would act. Naturally, the students weren’t aware that my fire elementals were different thanks to the abilities I gained from my Fallen Angel bloodline. Yet that wasn’t something I could just explain, so I left it as it was.

After that peeping attempt, two similar attempts were made, and they were all punished duly. From that point on, the kids realized that I wasn’t just a pretty face, I was pretty good with my fists as well.

Coming back to the present, the kids knew to shut up the moment I straightened my face.

“Let’s leave things as is for today. Tomorrow will be your final day of training. I hope everyone will get sufficient rest and face what’s to come with your best.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

After dismissing them, I returned to my own room for some quiet thinking on my ever so comfy bed. The topic – how to get them to work together.

Despite their showing today, I had to admit this first batch of students were exemplary, as one would expect of the elite of the elites.

They might be young, but they had at least completed one quest before being chosen. A quest being tasks like wiping out bandits, hunting down some monster, etc. Essentially, they had spilt blood before.

However, they were still too impulsive, thanks to their age. Their desire to prove themselves was no less apparent.

Under normal circumstances, a fully-equipped magitek knight with a normal pilot would display a five-star’s power. But its defenses were well and truly that of a six-star’s, closing in on a seven-star. But that was no reason for the kids to be complacent.

According to normal procedures, the first batch would have been chosen from the king’s personal guard, and after six months of proper training, they would be fit for service. However, as luck would have it, war came knocking on their doors earlier than expected, and the king had to choose this batch of kids instead.

However, making me an instructor for these kids had a hidden objective as well. Or rather the king had no need to tell me anyway. The king wanted shock troops that could turn the tide of war. Evidently, such a company would need a leader as well. That wasn’t to say that the king did not just choose me because there was no other option, but the former was a consideration as well. After all, a person who could kill an overlord with magitek armor was definitely powerful enough to be the leader of this new army. This would be his way of binding me closer into his orbit and sending me off to war.

After all the fortune he spent on constructing my Wyrm was very much something I could never hope to afford, given the amount of epic-grade ingredients used. I was definitely more trustworthy than those overlords who might or might not even support him.

One good turn deserves another… and all that.

On my part, gratitude aside, I actually needed this kingdom in my plans. Thus I wasn’t about to let them perish either.

Plus a desperate situation only served to better demonstrate the power of these magitek armors.

Now was the time to bring forth my great magitek revolution! Press forth, and light the way to a new age!

There was no telling how long the kingdom of Ertalon had prepared for this war. But their army of 200000 was more than enough to storm across the continent! In comparison, Andassis was the soldier who was caught with his pants down.

The fact that their northern region actually turned on them meant that there were likely moles in the other regions as well.

If the overlord stationed in the north was a turncoat as well, then 200000 was most likely not an accurate representation of the true threat…

That was why the Andassean king dared not employ the other overlords even in this dire situation, lest he invited disaster into his ranks.

The king only had his own troops to rely on, and not those of the other lords’. But 200000 was just the number of frontline troops Ertalon brought to bear. After all, to mobilize such a large army, one needed a large logistics network as well.

All things considered, Andassis was like a candle amidst a storm.

In medieval times, such a bloody change of power often meant that the previous ruling family was put to the sword. In contrast, competent ministers and lords might even be elevated in the new kingdom, whether it was just to placate the people, or genuinely to keep their talents. This was so for the Western Human Realms too.

Basically, there was no point for the nobility to aid the royal family in such a dire situation. It was just a simple matter of self-interest.

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We were now on the seventh day of the training camp, in order words, the second last day.

Thus far, the camp had proven smooth-sailing, and the kids had shown why they were the elite of the elite. From basic piloting to conditioning, it only took a day to reach the desired levels, after which all our time had been spent on combat tactics and combination attacks. Those went well, naturally.

Too well, in fact. An elite had an elite’s pride, and it was time for a quick wake-up call. I chose the ten strongest students for a mock battle against me. One on ten…

Gathered around the training yard, the students watched with excitement in their knights from the outermost ring. In the center was me, riding a newly manufactured knight, which I had taken to calling it the “Tin Can”. Due to its appearance.

Our magitek armor production hadn’t stopped all this while. But the fact that we were in the midst of training the pioneer batch meant that we couldn’t take in another batch of students.

Naturally the Tin Can’s systems weren’t as smooth as Wyrm’s. A stretch and wave of my arms made me realize how much the latency was, but it was still within acceptable parameters.

I beckoned towards the ten students with my arm. “Come at me, every one of you. Do not hold back, because I won’t.”

Having gone through seven days of rigorous training with me, the kid roughly knew what kind of person I was. If I said something, I meant it. But I did not overreact either.

Honestly, in a real battle, even a hundred of these brats wouldn’t be enough for a warm up. Yet with their knights, things were a little different.

A magitek knight, using one of these mass-produced magitek armors, was limited in their prowess. Roughly a five-star’s power for ordinary pilots. Six, perhaps. If they were ace pilots.

This was common sense. The students knew it, thus they did not think they were at much of a disadvantage. In all likelihood, they couldn’t even imagine how they could lose!

“Well, if our dear instructor wishes it, a bit of fun shouldn’t be a problem.”

Having gotten closer, I now realized that Ansom was a lively kid. This nephew of Meister Amori was quite a casual person. Affable. But he’s been getting rather mischievous recently…

The other nine students were just as eager to join in, though, the first to strike was a student named Tallin.

Tallin had a personality that could only be described as aggressive. He was impulsive, and rather than acting like a dignified magister knight, he was more like a berserker.

“Haha, the instructor’s mine then. Stay back, the lot of you!”

When the chosen students had begun to encircle me, Tallin had already stepped in front of them. This time, he charged ahead with his knight, mechanical legs tearing into the ground, spear and shield raised for a powerful ram!

Even though we were separated by our knights, his passion and hotbloodedness were infectious. Unfortunately, such a straightforward charge was only good for morale…

“Your openings are plain for all to see!”

Right as his spear was about to strike, I performed the Revolution Slice to switch positions, dodging his line of attack by an inch.

The boy rushed past me in a gust of wind. However, I wasn’t done with him yet. The Revolution Slice’s, at its core, was a counterattack skill. Thus I swung out with my own spear, swiping at his legs like I would with a staff.

“Boom!”

Tallin fell flat on his face with a deafening crash…

“That’s one down. Who’s next? Let’s see how much your training has borne fruit.”

No one dared to move at that moment. Faced with such a resounding defeat of one of their peers, even these elites couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness.

Even after climbing to his feet, Tallin dared not attack right away. Instead, he cautiously backed away, as he knew that no amount of charging would yield better results.

Unlike the ten students, however, the other 90 were more than happy to participate from the sidelines.

“Hey now, what’s with the hold up? I thought the fighting would have started yesterday!”

“If you guys don’t want to do it, I will!”

“Yeah, if you’re too afraid to attack, let us have a go!”

“Exactly, this might be our only chance to have some skinship with the Instructor. If you guys won’t do it, let me!”

“That’s right!”

These brats… you guys are getting some extra training later!

“Our instructor is definitely strong. Without these knights, it would surely be a loss, but in a fight of magitek armors, the instructor’s power should be similarly restricted as well. With so many of us, there’s no way we can lose!”

It was Ansom who rallied his fellow students. While one might have fallen, together they stood a chance. Was what he thought. And it seemed his other students agreed as well.

“That’s right, stand strong, everyone!”

“Together! Defeat the Instructor!”

“Together!”

Bolstered by each other, they immediately rushed towards me like a swarm of bees. No formation to be seen, anywhere.

Thus, the brats were taught a lesson once more…

Ten minutes later…

“Instructor, you’re cheating! Everyone here is using the same mass-produced models, so why are you so strong?!” Ansom dragged himself out of his knight, hair slightly ruffled and clearly dissatisfied with his showing. “Have you been holding out on us?”

“Exactly!”

“Didn’t I say so already? The first generation of magitek knights have the strength of a six-star, but you must be an expert to achieve that. You guys are merely beginners; not hurting each other on the battlefield would be a miracle.” Having said that, I stopped smiling and looked all in the eyes. “More importantly, I don’t see any teamwork from any of you!”

“…”

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With Misseger gone, I immediately got down to business. “Ansom Krayt, I’ve heard that you were here yesterday. Do you know where the magitek armors are kept?”

Ansom looked me in the eyes for a second, then replied in a respectful tone. “Yes, Lady Mo Na, it was by my grandfather’s arrangement.”

“And who is your grandfather?” I decided to ask out of curiosity because his name struck me as familiar.

“The one and only Meister Amori!” his face beamed when he mentioned the name.

So that’s why Misseger appointed him as my adjutant. He’s a tiny royal himself. I just hope he listens to my orders. Although, I wouldn’t mind getting a little rough with him if he doesn’t.

“Right, we’re pressed for time so let’s return to my prior question.” I could see he was about to continue on, but I cut him off with a wave of my hands. “The magitek armors should have been sent over yesterday, am I right?”

“You are, they are in the warehouse.” Realizing that I wasn’t in the mood for idle talk, the boy smartly put on a formal tone fitting of my adjutant. “Follow me, Lady Mo Na.”

“You will address me as “Instructor” here, understand?!”

Hah. As if I’m going to let someone call me “lady” all day when I’ve got a better option.

“Yes, Instructor!”

“You lot, follow us as well.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

Befitting their elite upbringing, the students of the Royal Andassean Academy answered in unison and began marching off in an orderly manner.

A little later, we arrived in the base’s warehouse, stocked row after row with magitek armors, transported over via teleportation. These were the first generation of the Messianic series of magitek knights. Each of them were forged with the core of a seven-star fire magical beast. In terms of firepower alone, they could output an attack at the level of a seven-star.

However, all that was just theoretical. Being a man-made machine, there were bound to be some discrepancies between a natural seven-star. Piloting skills played a great deal as well, making the theoretical limit of a seven-star highly unlikely.

Even so, these machines were strong.

Being a machine, an energy source was necessary. In order to alleviate this issue somewhat, we had another magical array carved into its frame as a backup source. Should their beast cores run out of energy, these arrays would be able to recharge the core within a day. Naturally, if these armors were deployed to an area rich in Fire elements, the rate at which the cores recharged would be much faster.

On top of being able to recharge themselves, I had the cores be replaceable. This ended up delaying the development time further, but everyone agreed with this plan. The feature was a necessary one, seeing as having downtimes could be fatal in a battle. At the very least, we could swap out the cores like batteries while they were charging, ensuring that the armors remained in service throughout.

Technically, the pilot of these machines could just inject their own mana into the core and recharge it, but the core of a magical beast had the mana capacity ten times that of a human’s… They would run dry just filling up a measly ten percent. But it was an option.

As the massive doors of the warehouse slid open with a groan, the morning rays seeped into the dusty interior, revealing an array of jet-black machines to the astonished children.

“Wow!”

“Amazing…”

“Are those supposed to be armors? They’re too big!”

“Humanoid golems?”

“They almost seem alive…”

“They are, in fact, able to move.”

I cast a cold glare over every student, immediately pouring cold water over their excitement.

“Now listen up, these have all been provided for by His Majesty, Andassis the Seventh. Developed through the hard work of me, Meister Amor and Meister Belud – the newest advancement in warfare: the magitek armor! The Messianic series of magitek knights!”

I immediately followed up, “Due to some extenuating reasons, we have to be extra stringent with our pilots. You lot are the ones we chose after sifting through all the candidates. The elite of the elites! I’m sure every one of you will soon learn the greatness of these machines. Right now, start by choosing your knight. Grab the black plate on their hands and hang it on your necks…”

Hearing me praise them so unreservedly, a number of the children, both boys and girls, blushed with pride. I could see their bodies shake with sheer anticipation.

A little too lively, perhaps. But I’m sure they will serve just fine with some supervision.

As instructed, the students retrieved the black dog tag from their chosen knight.

“Very good, now head to the back of your knights, you will see an indentation there. Place the plate into that slot…”

“Ahh…”

A gasp immediately interrupted my instructions. It was a girl who was the first to do as I told her to, resulting in the back of the magitek armor opening, much to her surprise.

“There’s no need to be shocked. Enter. That plate you had will be the key to your knight. Even if it kills you, do not lose it!”

One after another, the students entered their knights, excitement written all over their faces. But I did not have time for them to be fooling around.

“All right, everyone, we’re starting our first day of training. Move out.”

The empty forest clearing was immediately besieged by the heavy sounds of machinery. On top of that, a cacophony of conspicuous crashes and clangs could be heard woven in between.

Even without looking, I could tell that the warehouse most likely would not survive this maiden test drive of the magitek armors. After all, these magitek armors weren’t toys that anyone could just hop on and ride. Willpower and constitution were both necessary in being a pilot.

Thanks to the Meditation Stones, any movement of their hands would be reflected by the machine itself. But that did not stop a portion of the weight from being transferred to their young bodies. Even so, this wasn’t a problem that couldn’t be fixed with some strength training.

Finally, after twenty minutes of fiddling around, all 100 candidates managed to make it out of the warehouse.

Man, imagine if they had to actually pilot those suits like Gundamns… Even an ordinary pilot would take years of training -all to end up as fodder on the battlefield… No wonder they needed enhanced humans all the time!

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“Lady Mo Na, this old dwarf is no citizen of this kingdom. And there’s even been some recent unhappiness between us, but…” The old dwarven meister smacked the table hard at that point. “Those were my foolish disciples… so it’s my duty as their master to bear this responsibility. As a favor, would you lend us your aid?”

I guess it’s only to be expected that Belud wouldn’t want his bosom buddy, Meister Amori, to be in a pickle. Hmm…

“Lady Mo Na…” Perpetually proud, even our silent bodyguard, Baku, uncharacteristically lowered his head and said, “Please, lend us your aid…”

Fine. Fine. I guess if even Scar-face over there is being humble, I have to help. And since my original plan isn’t going to work, time for plan B… which is to make a big scene!

“Alright. You have my word, the training will start tomorrow morning.” I nodded.

“Good, I will have Misseger provide the necessary logistics.” Having secured my approval, some measure of life finally returned to the king’s eyes. “In that case, I will leave the training of our future magitek knights in your capable hands, Lady Mo Na.”

“I will do my best.”

With that matter out of the way, Andassis the Seventh stayed to chat for a while longer. Upon Misseger’s return, he bade his farewells and left with her and Baku.

The king still had a full day of scheduling ahead. Soothing the masses, gathering support, preparing for war… a whole slew of duties that weighed heavily on the rapidly aging king.

Hopefully, the old man makes it;our dear prince Sersan is still a tad too immature for the throne.

The night passed by uneventfully. Even though Redleaf came to my room, badgering me for a movie screening as usual, she knew not to make too many demands now. At the other end of the palace, Andassis was having a significantly less peaceful rest.

Yet burdens or no burdens, morning came anyway, bringing with it an early visitor in the form of Misseger.

With Doris’s help, I quickly had my breakfast, chased away the picky Redleaf, then left in a hurry with Misseger, heading towards the teleportation array that was to take us to the training grounds.

“We’re now in a secret training camp, located in a forest outside of the capital. This is where the personal guards of His Majesty train. However, anyone not related to the magitek training has already been cleared. The 100 candidates should arrive shortly as well. They have all been carefully picked from the finest students in the Academy…” As we stepped out of the array into a temple-like structure, Misseger gave me a brief run-down of the camp and the candidates.

“Have the necessary supplies been prepared?”

“They have. Including supper, the candidates will be given four meals a day, each personally prepared by a meister herbalist to bring out their true potential. A physician will be on standby to monitor their condition after every training to prevent any latent injuries… and a meister herbalist will prepare drugs for their fatigue as well as supplementary needs…”

Woah, you guys are really going all out here. Maybe I should be a candidate as well?

“That sounds rather… expensive…”

“Roughly 200000 coins.”

“Silver?”

“Gold.”

“That’s… very generous of the kingdom.”

Yikes, all that for ten days of training? That’s roughly… two billion yuan (310 million USD) right there! I’m speechless. And in awe of how rich this kingdom is! I would say they are just burning money at this point, but they use coins, not paper notes. But I guess there’s no point holding back when your kingdom is about to perish. What’s he going to do with it otherwise? Give his enemies?

With Misseger leading the way, we quickly arrived in a massive clearing, spanning at least a kilometer by my estimation. The floor had already been paved with stone, so the grounds were flat.

100 students, roughly 14 to 15 years of age stood in the clearing. Their chaotic whispers melded together into a cacophony of discussion. Talks of “why have we been summoned here?”, “this must be a secret base of some sort!” and “I heard the kingdom of Ertalon is invading?” filled the air.

By the time we got close to the center, the students let out a collective gasp.

“Never have I laid eyes on such beauty!” and whatnot.

The moment I heard that, my face stiffened.

Young man, you mean, “never have I laid eyes on such a dashing man!”

“Form up!” Realizing that Misseger had arrived, one of the students, dressed in the typical light armor of a knight and sporting a handsome head of golden hair, called out to his classmates. “How unbecoming, do you not see that Lady Misseger is here? And you call yourselves students of the Academy!”

The students immediately returned to their grouping, spitting up into five even rows. Despite their earlier rowdiness, no one here was a fool. Now that Misseger had arrived, the time for fooling around was over, unless they wanted a severe dressing down.

“Ansom Krayt, you will be the interim leader for now, help Lady Mo Na manage this camp.”

“Understood!” the blond boy who had called out earlier immediately replied.

She nodded at his response before turning towards me. “Lady Mo Na, if there are any questions, you may direct them to Ansom. He was here yesterday familiarizing himself with the environment.”

“Got it.”

“In that case, I won’t disturb your training any further.” Misseger whipped around and left. But merely a few steps later, she stopped and looked at me. Following that, she deliberately swept her cold gaze over each and every one of the students present. “His Majesty has decreed that Lady Mo Na is the highest authority. Regardless of what happens, Lady Mo Na has the final say. Even if the numbers here do not add up to 100…”

“…” No one dared speak a word after that frightening declaration.

Still… Andassis is going full hands-off? I guess that’s the cue for me to go all out as well. And I thought I would have some problem reining in these little lordlings.

Maybe a demonstration is in order?

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The Royal Andessean Academy started off as a school for future knights of the royal family. Due to the changing times, this mission expanded to include a variety of other talents -mages, tacticians, and even artisans…

To qualify as a magister knight, one needed a strong will, which translated to magical aptitude, and a matching level of strength.

For our pilots, we needed candidates that were at most three-stars. Anymore and it would be a waste of their talents, given that the magitek armors were only designed to output a power at the level of a five-star. After all, if they were stronger than the machine itself, why ride it?

Our final decision was to use the students from the academy. As the highest education institute in the kingdom, there would surely be enough to fulfill our needs.

As for the last problem…

“Lady Mo Na, now that we’ve found our candidates, how much time do you estimate has been saved?”

I contemplated for a second. Based on my experience on Gaia, factoring in the Messianic series’ own specifications, my final answer was, “If the pilots are able to synchronize well -ten days.”

“Ten days… of training. And we still have to factor in the logistics of sending them over to the battlefront… that’s still too long!”

“Maybe with some support from the back, and if we are extra stringent with our pilots… perhaps we can increase the load of their training and shorten that duration by a further two days.”

“Eight days…” Andassis paused for a couple of seconds, brows furrowed in thought. “Misseger, have Headmaster Engert prepare the candidates, I want them sent to the training grounds tomorrow. Inform Cleoz, I want him to hold down that fort for another ten days, no matter the cost!”

While the Western Human Realms might not possess a telephone, they did have magical tools capable of long-range communications, albeit at a high cost…

“Understood.” Misseger acknowledged the command and prepared to leave…

“Wait. Inform Sword Saint Kuranshid and Hierophant Bodo Kazan that I want to see them after this.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Sword saints and hierophants were the nine-star equivalents of their respective occupations. At that level, even a monarch had to book an appointment before seeing them.

With Misseger’s hasty departure, Andassis the Seventh slumped back against his chair and took a deep breath. Bracing himself, he said, “Lady Mo Na, your pilots should arrive tomorrow, I hope you can train them for me.”

“Huh?”

You, as in me? No way!

“That’s right, I hope Lady Mo Na will lend us her strength once more… It’s because you have experience piloting a magitek armor… Even though I haven’t experienced them myself, I’m sure their operation is no easy feat. I can think of no other who can accomplish this task within 10 days…”

He was right – there was no one else who could train a hundred pilot candidates on such short notice.

But that group of pilots he was handing over to me was no small army either. Adding on my magitek armor that was on the level of an overlord, was it truly okay for me to handle such power? I was just an otherworldly visitor… at least to Andassis the Seventh I was… but he really had no choice, did he?

It was trust me or accept his doomed fate. On my part, immense power and influence was at the tip of my fingers, all it took was a single nod of my head. Technically, they still belonged to that haggard man over there…

So. Should I help him? A human conflict… can’t say I’m particularly keen on it.

Based on my original plan, this kingdom was a testing ground for the magitek armors. Once their effectiveness were proven, it did not matter if Andassis sold the schematics or just gave it away, I was the one benefiting. And once this style of warfare catches on, the progress would increase exponentially.

An arms race, so to speak. And being on the forefront of this race, Andassis was poised to reap the greatest benefits!

Once the Apocalypse starts, countless generations of magitek armor should have already been produced and deployed, much to the chagrin of the devils.

However, there was an unplanned hiccup in this plan of mine. The appearance of a spy was the start of a war that could potentially end this kingdom, and my arms demonstration, before it could take off.

After all, magitek armor or no magitek armor, there was no halting Ertalon’s war now.

The majority of the countries in the Western Human Realms ran on a feudal system. The lords of each region had high autonomy, and merely had to pay taxes to the kingdom. Even in the event of a war between two territories, the monarch had no reason to broker peace or send aid. In some cases, war benefited the king. Only lands under the direct ownership of the king could be said to be truly in his control; his level of control over his nobles was usually weak. Military might was an absolute must in maintaining this tenuous position!

In actuality, a large-scale uprising of one’s lords under an enemy nation’s banner was rare. Even in the annals of the history books, such massive defections only happened when the monarch was a tyrant of the worst degree…

And based on my observations, Andassis the Seventh did not fit this bill.

Such a massive uprising could only be a result of decades of planning. A strike to heart at the opportune timing. In some sense, my magitek armor was a lifesaver for the king.

The king looked at me with a hopeful gaze, almost pleading me to help. I could tell how much the recent events had affected him. This was, after all, a war that could end his lineage.

“Lady Mo Na, I would like to make this request of you as well!” Meister Amori suddenly stood up and bowed at me after I remained silent for a while. “Please help us…”

His sudden act caught me off-guard. I quickly reached out to the colleague I had been working with these past few weeks and helped him up. “Meister Amori! There’s no need for this!”

“Lady Mo Na…”

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“Lady Mo Na, when can our first batch of magitek knights be deployed onto the battlefield?”

That was the first question His Majesty asked me after entering the room with Misseger, Baku, Belud and Amori.

“The first 100 armors are ready, and the pilots have already been picked, but they don’t have any training yet, so it might take a while more before they are usable…” I said to the disappointment of the king who probably wanted an army sooner rather than later.

Furthermore, while the Messianic series of magitek armors were modeled after the ones on Gaia, they weren’t as feature complete, resulting in a higher bar for their pilots. The reduction of Meditation Stones had resulted in a greater time lag compared to my Wyrm, and while that single second might not seem like much, it was a fatal weakness in a battle between experts.

To pilot these new armors, one needed a degree of talent in psychic magicks -basically they had to have magic aptitude. Not much; even an apprentice’s aptitude was fine. In some cases, a strong-willed person was theoretically able to pilot these machines.

A degree of fitness was needed to sustain the mind during the entire synchronization as well. On top of that, the movements of the armor, while not as demanding as it otherwise would have been, still created stress on the physical body of the pilot.

Combining all these requirements together, it wasn’t just your average mage apprentice who could pilot these weapons of war. The latter requirement was easily remedied with physical conditioning, but our enemy’s fierce attacks clearly weren’t going to give us much time. The fact that they were able to make such rapid progress showed they knew a great deal about us. Perhaps these magitek armors were the reason why they even launched the war in the first place. A pre-emptive strike, so to speak…

Amori had leaned in to explain the full situation to the king, but that wasn’t enough to allay his anxieties.

He breathed in deeply and thought for a moment. “Lady Mo Na, how long will the training take?”

“A month.”

Most of the pilots had been chosen even before the suits were complete, each of them handpicked from the king’s personal guard. While all of them were worthy fighters in their own right, coming in at four-stars or above, they weren’t mages… meaning they had to be trained on that front.

“A month?!” Andasiss frowned. “That’s too long.”

“But Your Majesty, these armors require a trained mind to pilot them, and the troops you gave us were all fighters, not mages…”

“So even my elite forces aren’t able to pilot the suits on short notice?”

“I’m afraid so. Their innate deficiencies require immense training to overcome. I know your concerns, but the pilot has to have some degree of magical aptitude, else the armor might even hinder him.”

“So magisters…” Andasiss impatiently tapped on the table with his fingers, each blow louder than the next. But no amount of force was going to wipe away his worries now.

The string of recent bad news had left the king grasping at straws. No one expected the war would go so badly so quickly. Not even their intelligence agents. Which actually spoke volumes about them, seeing as they were the ones who failed to detect preparations for a massive invasion force…

A deathly silence fell over the room. Everyone had their heads down, and no one dared to look the king in his face.

Finally, after a decade of silence, Misseger opened up with a suggestion. “Your Majesty, perhaps I might have a better choice than your personal guards.”

Hearing that, Andassis the Seventh looked up at her. Thanks to his state of mind, he couldn’t figure out who she was referring to right away. “Continue.”

“While those who have magical aptitude and are unquestionably loyal are hard to find within a day, do we not have some candidates already? They are just a little young… Has Your Majesty thought of who they are?”

“You mean… the students in our royal knight academy?”

“The very same.”

The academy they were talking about was the “Royal Andassean Academy”, the highest academy in the kingdom. Since its founding, it had produced countless talents in the field of war.

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The matter of the intruders did not affect my daily routine much. Even the outcome of the investigation ended with Misseger telling me, the women and children have been spared, and that was it.

I did not bother questioning her further – Andassis the Seventh really had no reason to deceive me on such an inconsequential matter.

In fact, the king was more than busy with recent events. The palace was on high alert, though I would still spot the king from time to time, and perhaps glean some passing information off him.

Essentially, he was hurrying about in preparation for their countermeasures against the kingdom of Ertalon. Lest one forgot, they were the true masterminds of that recent party in the lab.

If there was someone most affected, it would be Meister Belud. It was his disciples who turned out to be spies, and Misseger spared no efforts in digging out this fact. Her decision to use psychic magicks indiscriminately against the two meisters’ students was not well-regarded.

Meister Amori was a member of the royal family, thus he was never likely to make a fuss out of this, but Meister Belud was no loyal family member. He was a temperamental dwarf to begin with, and this stint in the kingdom was only temporary Thus he was beside himself when he learnt of his disciples’ fate. Though it was worth noting that he himself was a suspect by association.

It was only after a round of intense surveillance that he was declared innocent. Freedom returned, the dwarf immediately went on strike. It took the combined efforts of Andassis the Seventh and Meister Amori to finally convince him to return to work, but that did not mean he was happy about it either.

For the first few days, his face was blacker than a hammer, raring to find trouble with anyone he could -not me, of course.

In spite of that, the dwarven meister was still a valuable team member.

Thanks to the completion of the first prototype, the only question that remained was how to preserve as much strength of the first inside the subsequent mass-produced pieces.

It took another whole week of tests and discussions to finally iron out a new prototype.

The Meditation Stones were still required, but the amount required per armor was reduced from three to one. This had the effect of increasing the activation time from 0.5 seconds, seen in Wyrm, to 3.0 seconds. The synchronization rate had also taken a hit, meaning there was a greater time lag between the pilot and the machine.

However, the reduction of two Meditation Stones meant that we saved a total of 4000 gold pieces per suit. Yet even that was an underestimation of the future cost savings. With the roll-out of these machines, the prices of Meditation Stones would only skyrocket. No amount of legislation would reverse this trend. The lure of money was no small temptation, one that could even supersede the law at times!

The durability of Wyrm was in large part due to the use of dragon scales and Redleaf’s arrays. Such extravagance was naturally impossible in a mass-produced magitek armor.

The scales alone were a headache. Adding on the fact that carving those arrays required manpower and were prone to failure, the cost would be astronomical.

In the end, it was decided that the magic resistance would be provided from the use of Duranium. For its cost, it was one of the better magic resistant metals.

The dragon skeleton used in Wyrm was also swapped out for any high-level magical beast skeleton. The outer armor plating was changed to use a newly-developed alloy, invented by Meister Belud himself. Its durability could withstand the full-force strike of a six-star, bordering that of a seven-star’s defense.

Even so, the total cost of producing magitek armor came out to 25000 gold pieces…

Thankfully, the effectiveness of a magitek armor far-outweighed its cost. A trained pilot could easily take on a five-star, while an ace pilot could take on a six-star!

This newly-developed model capable of mass production was called the Messianic Knight. It was a full set of jet-black armor that was very reminiscent of heavy infantry -Redleaf gave the aesthetics a flat 0/10.

Aesthetics aside, this new model was a force to be reckoned with, whether we were talking about its physical defenses or magical defenses.

Its armaments were a greatsword or a spear, basically medieval weapons. Of note was that the Messianic Knight model inherited the shoulder cannons of Wyrm, albeit at a lower firepower.

All in all, it took us two months to finish the first batch of mass-produced Messianic Knights. But that celebratory mood was swiftly dampened by the onset of bad news… War had broken out…

Andassis’s northern neighbor, the kingdom of Ertalon had declared a surprise war. With lightning-fast tactics, they had swept up ten territories, and were on course towards the heartlands of the kingdom!

The reason for their rapid progress was simple -the nobles in those lands had surrendered.

This news arrived at the dead of night, rousing the king from his slumber with a fury that nearly blew the palace up…

On the morning of the following day, a visibly older, and visibly tired king came knocking on our lab door with his bodyguard.

Honestly speaking, his visit caught me off-guard. Shouldn’t he be busy working on the war? What was he doing here? A movie?

The majority of his lords had already surrendered to the enemy. Those who did not give up at first quickly did so upon seeing the massive army of the enemy. Even those who chose to fight to the death could do nothing against a giant army of 20000.

With the threat of a giant army on their doorstep, and treacherous nobles to contend with, the kingdom was in turmoil. The peasants were fearful, and the remaining nobles were contemplating switching sides. By this point, the king was on the verge of collapse… So what was he doing here?

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The Nature Elves have a command hierarchy with an elven queen, an elven king, and, finally, the Elder Council.

Their queen serves till death, with each queen said to be born from a fruit of the World Tree, possessing immense magical talents from birth.

Each elven king is chosen from the strongest of warriors, with a tournament held every decade.

The Elder Council is made up of twelve elders, each representing one of the twelve strongest clans.

Nature Elves possess a functional society, focusing on the arts, love and freedom. While they do eat meat, they value life highly, and mostly subsist on a diet of plants and fruits.

——- From <>

“The logic is sound, but the children… they are innocent…”

I paused at that point and gave Andassis the Seventh a compassionate look. At this point, I didn’t need words to tell him what I wanted, unless the old man wants to go senile on me right now!

“Oh, my Nana, you’re just the kindest girl!” Redleaf suddenly chimed in, having found the time at last to stop munching on her snacks. Having done that, she threw a scornful look at Misseger for her callousness.

Even so, the maidservant wasn’t fazed as she retorted sharply, “The dignity of the royal family must not be sullied. An example must be made to remind them that such a transgression is not without a heavy price!”

Just looking at her eagerness, bordering on bloodthirsty, I could tell this was a woman that probably wouldn’t get married!

But as the king’s maid, I guess she wasn’t going to get married anyway…

“Your Majesty, what are your views?”

“Hmm… Lady Mo Na, does make a fair point.” Andassis the Seventh cleared his throat a little to relieve the pressure from my intent stare. “Misseger, I admire your loyalty, but perhaps following Lady Mo Na’s suggestion would be for the best.”

“I… understand and obey, Your Majesty.”

“In that case, once Misseger sorts out the innocent women and children, the rest will be…” a glint of murder flasthed in his eyes, “dealt the capital punishment.”

“Understood.” Misseger bowed. “With your leave, Your Majesty, I will depart to make the preparations.”

“You may go.”

With that, I had done all that I could do. The Viscount had committed a treasonous act, so regardless of my efforts, someone had to hang for his crimes.

Now that our ice queen was gone, our topic shifted to the actual results of the trial combat, and thankfully, the atmosphere was a lot less icy.

“Even if I wasn’t able to witness it myself, after tonight’s unexpected incursion, suffice to say, the power of a magitek armor has surpassed our greatest expectations. It is now a question of mass production.” Andassis the Seventh took the lead with his statement, followed up by a poignant question of his own. “Lady Mo Na, when can this begin? And the cost…”

“The costs of constructing Wyrm was beyond my expectation, I’ll admit, but I need not impress upon Your Majesty the effectiveness of this first prototype. As for when… it can start at a moment’s notice, though, the cost will have to be determined after deliberation with Meister Amori and Belud.”

With Ferti’nier’s help, a mass-production version of the magitek armor could be made available easily, but procuring the ingredients required were not my forte.

“Mhm… a fair point… What time is it now?”

Prince Sersan took out a golden magical pocket watch. “Two hours past midnight, Father.”

“Is it that late already? Let us continue this discussion early in the morning, I do not wish to disturb Lady Mo Na’s rest any further.” Andasiss the Seventh yawned at that point. Not being a young sprightly prince anymore, he was starting to feel the fatigue of the late night, thus this opportunity to rest was a welcome one.

His son, however, wasn’t all too keen on leaving, but even that was quickly remedied by a quick glare.

Before leaving, the king nodded my way one last time. “Lady Mo Na, we’ll take our leave of you now. Have a good rest, we will catch up at noon.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

With my promise in hand, the king and his entourage left.

The prince gave me a longing stare, but quickly turned around as well when he noticed the murderous look thrown his way by his father.

“Have a good rest, Lady Mo Na. Doris, I’ll leave the lady’s care to you.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Yet even after the men were gone, there was still another clingy visitor left behind.

“Aren’t you leaving, Redleaf?”

“Not tonight. I want to sleep with Nana.” She flashed me a smitten smile while she clawed the air in front of me like a hungry wolf. “Come to me, my delicious little Nana.”

“…”

Why does it feel like I’m on the losing end if we sleep on the same bed?

In the end, Redleaf reluctantly got off my bed in exchange for more movies from my electronic AI.

The next day I awoke to the sounds of sniffling in the background. It was only when I was lucid enough to get off my bed that I discovered it was Redleaf who was crying.

“What’s the matter, Redleaf, did someone bully you?”

“No one did, but the leads of this movie are so tragic. They can’t even be together in death… Just the thought of that makes me want to cry…” She started crying again.

“Those movies aren’t real…” I reminded her in an exasperated tone.

“But I still want to cry…”

“… Fine, just cry. Once you’re done crying, you will feel better…”

“Kay.” She answered and actually began crying in earnest.

I swear… does she always have to be so affected by a movie? Is this their nature?

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Redleaf… you’ve really taken this as your own home, haven’t you…

Her wants didn’t go unanswered long before Doris came back with a tray of snacks of sweet creams and honeys. With a smile, Redleaf gladly dug in.

Looking at her enter “afternoon tea” mode, Misseger knew that the elf had no more questions. Turning back to her master, she continued reporting, “Two months ago, Viscount Nollens was found to have secretly transferred his assets to the Kingdom of Ertalon. Thanks to our royal mages, we managed to capture the Viscount before he managed to abscond…”

This revelation was big. There was now a high chance that the mastermind was connected to Ertalon. But why would the personal maid of the King know about how some viscount was secretly transferring his assets to another kingdom two months ago? Especially since he did so secretly.

Clearly, our dear Majesty had his intelligence forces monitoring the entire kingdom, and the person in charge of this department was most likely this mature-looking beauty in front of us!

As for why no one noticed these intruders before they proceeded to intrude… Well, I really didn’t know. Perhaps a mistake? Or perhaps on purpose? Either way, that had nothing to do with me.

But now that we had the culprit responsible for this security lapse, another problem arises. I did not know this Viscount Nollens, and even if he had seen me before, he shouldn’t have known about the progress of the lab.

The progress was a highly-guarded secret, with only the King and the Prince, and perhaps their closest confidants, having access to this information.

If such confidants were responsible for the leak… then this kingdom wasn’t that far off from its doom. In that case, the most likely people to have leaked were those working on the project!

Now, just because the brass of the lab were always fooling around and watching movies, didn’t mean they weren’t tight-lipped when it mattered. Every researcher was monitored as required. Even with his royal ties, Amori had never left the palace since starting on this project, not even once, let alone those under him.

The only way those working underneath him could sneak out this bit of information was if they had some method we weren’t aware of yet.

Some very arcane methods, brimming with fantasy…

“My apologies, a matter has appeared which requires my attention…”

Without warning, Misseger suddenly bade her farewell, having received a signal from an unknown source.

A while later, Misseger came back with news that was no less shocking than her first.

“We’ve captured the traitors. They are a disciple under Meister Belud, and one of the serving girls, along with a bunch of other accomplices who had been bribed…” Misseger began recounting her findings in detail, overturning everything I knew of this world in the process.

Arcane methods? All they needed was a piece of scrap paper an elementary kid used while passing notes…

“Because every person that enters the lab has to be checked by magical arrays; only such crude methods could work… truly, unexpected…” Sersan quipped, having finally found a window for him to squeeze himself into. “Misseger, how did you uncover all this? What admirable efficiency!”

“Just round up everyone in the lab and have their minds checked magically.”

That’s… really crude and effective…

“I see… What about Meister Belud and Amori?” The prince clearly did not expect that answer either.

“I’m sure they will understand once we explain the situation to them.”

“Hah, humans.” Redleaf chimed as well, before returning right away to her tea, munching on a crisp basket, without a care for the annoyed look on Misseger’s face.

Ignoring that bit of derision, Misseger turned to address her own employer’s son in a tone that was neither disrespectful nor respectful, “Your Highness, is there anything else you wish to ask?”

“No. Nothing else…” His smile went crooked, clearly not comfortable with such rough methods. Unfortunately, that only earned him the disappointment of Andassis the Seventh. A fact which he only just realized.

At the end of the day, the Prince was heir to the throne, and a monarch shouldn’t shy away from such decisive methods when necessary. Leaving a loose end often resulted in greater tragedy in the future.

In fact, that last question by Misseger was probably a test, one which the Prince failed. Or at least he showed himself too soft, or average.

Unable to bear with this disappointment any longer, Andassis the Seventh turned to address me, albeit with a beaming smile on his face. “Lady Mo Na, how do you feel we should deal with the Viscount and his family?”

“Their punishment? Is there a need to ask my opinion?”

“As the victim, Lady Mo Na naturally has the right to decide their fates.”

“Oh, is that so?” I was a little taken aback by that. Something felt off, but I didn’t know what. “Right, but what was the original punishment?”

“Hmm…”

Andasiss the Seventh glanced in the direction of Misseger, who immediately got the message and picked up the conversation. “According to the law, their whole clan is to be executed.”

“All of them?”

“You mean… even the children?”

“This is a matter of the Royal Family’s honor!” Misseger answered firmly. “If we do not punish them for their misdeeds, then no one would follow the law. Especially since this matter concerns the kingdom’s secrets.”

“That’s true…”

Even if the punishment was overly harsh and devoid of human rights, it was a punishment of this time. Something minor like human lives was nothing compared to the dignity of the royal family.

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“Lady Mo Na, are you alright?” asked Andassis the Seventh.

“Nana, I heard someone was trying to steal our Wyrm?”

A certain prince who was being glared at by his father: …

“I’m fine, but there was an intruder, as you said, though he did not succeed.” I nodded to those gathered before taking a seat next to Redleaf. “Perhaps Baku would be a better choice to convey the situation.”

Seeing as I was already picking up my coffee to drink, Andassis the Seventh promptly turned to his loyal bodyguard for a continuation.

The scarred man tensed up a little as he started organizing his thoughts. A while later, he began in a deep voice, “The enemies were led by a human overlord by the title of ‘The Magician’, Bardoka. He had two other eight-stars as his vanguards, of which one was a silver-furred werewolf, while the other was a vampire known as the ‘Crimson Mist’. Other than those three, there were twelve human mages who knew dimensional magic… The werewolf managed to escape using a dimensional tool during the chaos, but the rest were all killed by Lady Mo Na. The commonality between them was that they had no faction backing them… perhaps mercenaries…”

As the king patiently listened to the scarred bodyguard, I could catch glimpses of his brows twitching, even a glance or two in my direction. Glances of incomprehension and even fear. However, those only lasted for a second, else I would really have to re-evaluate my safety in this kingdom.

After all, a king was one of the most paranoid occupations around, plots and assassinations abound. According to the setting I gave him, I never once told him I was strong, so he probably saw me as just a harmless offworlder.

Naturally, that last part was no longer true. Seeing as those opponents I defeated were not just any old cat or dog on the street. That vampire alone was at the peak of eight-stars. Had it not been for my sojourn on Gaia, my own strength and that of my Shadow Guardian’s wouldn’t have grown to the point where it could survive that bloody mist.

As for the last opponent I defeated, that was a full-fledged overlord! Definitely your run-of-the-mill opponent.

To put it bluntly, I could kill the king if I wanted, and Baku, his eight-star bodyguard, could do nothing about it.

Thankfully, my performance thus far was flawless, giving my rich king of a backer no reason to doubt me. Though, the look he gave me now was a lot more fervent. An overlord alone could raise the level of a duchy to a kingdom. And while Andassis was clearly of a higher tier than a duchy or a principality, being able to marry an overlord was still highly beneficial for the kingdom’s evolution.

Maybe I can be the Wu Zetian of this world? If I’m willing to give up my principles of a man, a kingdom is practically at my fingertips!

No, no, no… what am I even thinking?!

Amidst my inane musings, Baku managed to recount the rough situation, leaving none of the important details out, including my Inferno Lion.

“Nana, you’re a summoner?” Redleaf grabbed my hands and began swinging it about in excitement. “Quick, let me have a look at your cute little fire kitty!”

Fire kitty?

I bet my Inferno Lion would be hopping if it heard that…

“Now’s not the time for messing around, and my Inferno Lion is meant for combat, not for petting.” I rejected her with a crossed look.

“Your Majesty,” I turned to look at Andassis the Seventh, “I do not think this was a mere coincidence. That intruder appeared right as Wyrm was complete, and was even able to infiltrate the palace so easily and slay a dozen guards… Furthermore, the leader of the group did not seem to have seen me before, he knew of me… this was no coincidence!”

Ever since I came back to the Western Human Realms, my life was very discreet. Of those who have seen me, they were all the king’s men.

So how did the mastermind know of me? There had to be a traitor.

“We’re of the same mind, then. Adding up all these circumstances, there was no way this was a mere coincidence.” Andassis the Seventh agreed with narrowed eyes, burning with an anger that could barely be contained. When he finally continued, his voice was noticeably darker. “Perhaps these last few years of peace has left everyone complacent…”

An ominous statement, one even more so because it was said by a king. While I might not know Andassis the Seventh personally, when a monarch said that, a power shuffle was imminent.

Just then, a set of hurried footsteps interrupted us, followed closely by the sound of the door opening.

“Your Majesty, we’ve found the culprit. It was Viscount Nollens who let those intruders into the lab… as for the person who leaked the information… we are still searching…”

It was Misseger, the king’s personal maid, who brought us this news. It was also then that I realized the king had been missing one of his usual entourage. In other words, before I had arrived, he had already sent out someone to investigate.

As I would expect of a king like him -he doesn’t miss a beat. Yet for every smart person like him, there were a dozen stupid ones.

“Already?” Redleaf gasped in surprise. “But how do you know which unfortunate soul is our traitor?”

Misseger looked at Redleaf for a second. She knew this was a woman who even her boss would not offend, thus she answered dutifully, “Tonight’s guard duty was handled by the Viscount…”

“That’s all?”

“Even if this was an honest mistake, it’s serious enough for capital punishment.”

“Hmm, true.” Redleaf nodded, though I could see she felt a little embarrassed for having to ask such an obvious question. She straightened her back and as if nothing had happened at all, said to Doris, “Go fetch me some refreshments, I’m feeling a little peckish…”

And off she went…

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“Can you be any more of a dead meat…”

Ahhh! I’ve been made fun of by Ferti’nier again! No, this mustn’t stand!

Channelling the rage from the maligned blame, I yelled the chant at the top of my lungs. With gusto. “Wyrm Transformation: Activate!!”

As arcane words filled the air, I could feel the earring on my left earlobe explode with dimensional magic, enveloping me in darkness. A moment later, I found myself within a sealed space.

This is… the cockpit of Wyrm…

The controls of Wyrm were modelled to be basically the same as an exosuit. By using meditation stones, I was able to completely sync up with Wyrm, meaning this entire magitek armor was now an extension of my body.

Why do I feel like I’m back on Gaia again…

“Oh? The view isn’t half bad. Now. Let’s start on Wyrm’s combat test.”

Her timely reminder brought me back to reality. I swept my eyes over the twelve black-robed casts still in the midst of carving that array around me. With a mere thought, I commanded the Heavensbreak system to split up into 72 rhombohedrons, spinning right towards each of them like deadly shurikens.

Thanks to the suddenness of this attack, they did not even have time to blink before they were all chopped up into pieces.

“Blast! How did you get in there?!”

In a mere breath, the tables had been turned. The casters were dead, and that masked jester knew his miscalculation had allowed his opponent to mount a comeback.

“Territory: Boundless Will!” He thrust his hand up and yelled. As the invisible Territory washed over the entire room, Wyrm’s movement became sluggish as if I was in quicksand. Even the 72 rhombohedrons of Heavensbreak stopped dead two meters before the man.

“This time, I won’t hold back, Lady Mo Na, just be still and wait for me there. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt when I tear apart that armor, limb by limb! I’m sure they won’t mind if I bring back the parts instead; they can always put it back together.”

“A psychic Territory, how interesting… but that’s just perfect for testing out Wyrm’s Pseudo-Territory Resistance.”

Pseudo-Territory Resistance… That’s right, the array system which Redleaf helped to carve onto every scale of this armor. The composite array known as the Pseudo-Territory Resistance!

As long as the mana was available, this ability could block most effects of a Territory; this jester’s Territory happened to be in the job scope.

But do I need to chant to activate it again? You know what, now’s not the time for choosing.

“Pseudo-Territory Resistance!”

The scales on Wyrm immediately burned a bright red, following which I felt the pressure on Wyrm disappear in an instant!

“Impossi–”

And he was dead… the 72 rhombohedrons flew right into him unimpeded, now that the wall blocking them was gone. Practically mincemeat at this point!

So, it’s over? Doesn’t feel real, to be honest. I thought he was going to put up more of a fight… maybe he’s a fake?

Oh right, there’s still that werewolf outside, my Inferno Lion wouldn’t be able to defeat him alone.

Being my personal magitek armor, Wyrm was equipped with flying arrays, of which the cost of carving them were high -but His Majesty had the money anyway!

Having rich friends really does pay off!

Now that the big bad boss in the lab was taken care of, I eagerly flew off to find the silver-furred werewolf whom I left behind. However, I arrived only to find a certain scarred bodyguard with his guards, coming to help late as always, like a bunch of movie cops. Because the troops hadn’t seen my Inferno Lion before, the scene was a right mess, with no one able to tell if either my lioness or that werewolf were the true enemies, or both. Even if both of them were fighting each other…

Baku had the bright idea to have the troops circle the two of them while they watched, however that ended up blocking me from entering the scene immediately. That and the fact that the other ordinary troops hadn’t seen me in Wyrm before; the sudden arrival of a gigantic scaly armor looked every bit like another enemy ambush.

But the werewolf was under no such illusion. The moment he laid eyes on me, he knew the plan had failed. Thus in the midst of the chaos, he activated his own dimensional escape tool…

“Lady Mo Na, is that you?” As the bodyguard of the king, Baku had naturally seen Wyrm before. While he might have reacted with wariness when he first spotted me, he quickly understood that I was on his side. “Lady Mo Na, are you all right?”

At three meters tall, I was towering over the nearly two meters tall Baku by a whole meter. Coupled with the fact that I was covered in monstrous red scales, I must have looked like a frightful sight to the soldiers.

“I’m fine, the enemies inside have been taken care of by me, you can send your men in.”

With a click, the back of Wyrm parted, allowing me to easily dismount from the machine. This was the actual manner of entering and leaving Wyrm. The Dragonscale Earring was actually the pilot’s key. A key which Ferti’nier had specifically kept hidden. Even I knew about it recently, let alone those intruders.

In fact, the existence of this armor was known only to a scant few. Yet we encountered an attack on the night it was finished, and by an overlord…

Even if that overlord was now nothing but mincemeat, he wasn’t weak at all. Had it not been for the surprise of losing his Territory, Heavensbreak wouldn’t have been able to mount a surprise attack on him at all.

But more importantly, who was the one who leaked this information to that jester.

Seems like I need to have a talk with Andassis the Seventh.

“Is His Majesty nearby? Bring me to him.”

“Right now?” Baku was surprised but quickly nodded. “Alright, His Majesty has specifically stated that Lady Mo Na can visit him at any time.”

Ten minutes later, I was in my apartment with Andassis the Seventh, Sersan, and Redleaf. The three of them were currently being served tea by Doris…

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The enemies carving an array into the room had me very worried, especially when it was a massive ten meter wide array. Furthermore, the carvings were highly intricate; I couldn’t even begin to fathom what they meant with my limited arcane knowledge.

Not that it mattered. As long as Ferti’nier, our resident Devil King, understood the array, we were fine.

“That’s a teleportation array, they are trying to move the Wyrm away by force. Had they kept this array hidden for longer, we might have been in trouble, but thankfully, we still have five minutes to spare.”

All right, let’s get to it!

With a focus in mind, I ordered my Shadow Guardian to disrupt the unfinished array.

However, those twelve casters had already noticed me the moment I entered, let alone while I was considering my next plan of action. In spite of that, none of them even deigned to look me in the eye. Like an unfeeling robot, they proceeded with their frantic carving without skipping a beat.

It was about then that my Shadow Guardian emerged eerily from the ground, its hand curved into a reaper’s scythe aimed right at one of the black-robed caster’s backs.

But just when I thought that I had them, a shockwave so powerful even the naked eye could see the distortions shook the room, blasting away the shadowy scythe…

What the heck?!

“A Territory -there’s an overlord hiding somewhere.”

What! Why didn’t you say something earlier?

“I thought you had some inkling when you sent your Shadow Guardian ahead. There were two eight-stars acting as door guards after all; isn’t it obvious that the person guarding the core would only be more powerful?

I… was just being cautious there… I did just get blown up…

“Hah. And here I was thinking our little brother got smarter.”

I… sorry, for being dumb…

“Oh?” Just as I was on the verge of being chewed to nothingness by Ferti’nier, a jester-esque person stepped out of the shadows. The man wore a dove-tailed, black suit, matched with an eerie-looking half white on the crying side, half black on the laughing side mask. “To think I had the fortune of meeting the legendary Lady Mo Na. Seems like luck is on my side.”

“More like your luck has finally failed you.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right, bub.”

“Bub?”

The masked man clearly did not understand that “bub” was just informal speech. The fact that he was actually mulling over it right now showed he was quite a stickler for details.

While the masked man was busy, my Shadow Guardian took the opportunity to rebound for a counter-attack. In barely no time at all, its twin blades were swinging towards the man’s back.

“Lady Mo Na’s little toys are always so adorable. Too bad, they won’t work on me.”

An instant before the blades were about to hit, the masked man’s hand shot up, and just like before, my Shadow Guardian was rebuffed by a wall of force… like a ping pong ball against a paddle…

“We’re already in his range of attack, and his abilities do not seem normal either. Little Brother, you’d best be careful, his Territory is undoubtedly strong.”

But, Ferti’nier, even with my lacking strength, I’m sure with your help unlocking my full potential, an overlord should be no problem at all.

“Ah, my dear Little Brother, weren’t you just saying you wanted to test out Wyrm?”

It can theoretically go up against an overlord, but that hasn’t been tested yet. More importantly… it’s over there!

“No worries, your big sis has already been preparing on that front.”

As I was mentally conversing with Ferti’nier, the jester front of me smiled triumphantly, most likely because he mistook my silence for fear. “Lady Mo Na, I suggest you surrender now. I wouldn’t want to have to harm a beautiful lady like you.”

“Hah, you think you’ve won?”

While I might not know what preparations she was talking about, Ferti’nier had always come through for me in a pinch; I trusted her unreservedly. And since the other party was dead set on declaring his victory so prematurely, it’s only right of me to burst his bubble.

“Oh, does Lady Mo Na still have some cards to play?” The jester cocked his head. “The array is almost done, but I wouldn’t mind having some fun before that?”

While the jester continued gloating, a small object quietly appeared in my palms; a gift of sorts from Ferti’nier.

“That’s the Dragonscale Earring, an accessory crafted from the core scale of a red dragon, situated right in the center of its skull. It has already been bound to Wyrm. Little Brother, put it on, and you can use it to reverse summon yourself into the cockpit.”

I just have to put it on? That’s it? That’s quite convenient.

Then without waiting for her to reply, I hurriedly clipped on the earring on my left earlobe. It was carved from a small reddish scale into the shape of a heart -the very girly kind… And even though I had never pierced my ear before, the moment it came into contact with my ear lobe, it automatically pierced into my lobe without resistance.

“You’re finished!” I declared with the utmost of confidence, then… nothing happened…

Five seconds later…

“Lady Mo Na, was that it?” Actually on guard for a moment, the jester sounded visibly amused as he said that -I could tell despite his masked visage that he was on the verge of tears. “If this is your idea of a joke, I must admit, you’ve beaten me.”

Awkward…

Ferti’nier! What the heck was that, didn’t you say I could reverse summon myself into the cockpit? I even threatened him because I believed you. So where’s my summoning?

Now everyone will think I’m socially awkward!

“But, Little Brother, your big sis didn’t even finish speaking before you rushed off in a fit of excitement. Since it’s a reverse summoning, there’s naturally going to be a chant involved, right?”

A chant? What is it? Quick!

“The chant is– Wyrm Transformation: ACTIVATE! With gusto, or it won’t work.”

You’re kidding… and with gusto too…

“Lady Mo Na, why have you gone quiet again? Perhaps… a lesson is in order, I doubt you will listen otherwise.”

Amidst my mental breakdown over having to say that awkward-sounding chant, I suddenly felt a giant, invisible hand grab me, like how a human would grab the nape of a small animal…

Damn it, now I can’t even move… What the heck is this!

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“O Lion’s Majesty… By my command, bless thy emissary with new life… Come forth… burn all that stands before me to nothingness!”

At the end of the day Inferno Lion was just just an elemental creature; its death only meant it had to be resummoned. And with Ferti’nier’s recovery potions, even that wasn’t an issue.

“Be wary, Little Brother, that explosive trap just now was powerful. Anyone able to set up such an array on such short notice wouldn’t be a pushover.”

Speaking of traps, couldn’t you have warned me earlier, Ferti’nier? How about some heads-up next time?

“It’s just a death, take it as a lesson so you don’t get ahead of yourself.”

Ahead of myself? How am I getting ahead of myself?

Actually, let’s not argue about that now, but I want a warning next time there’s a trap.

“If your big sis is in the mood.”

…what good is a cheat if it’s so unreliable.

But since she’s not feeling helpful right now, maybe I should get those three elementals to lead the way instead.

Hopping onto my newly resummoned inferno lion, I quickly followed up by conjuring up my elementals. Weaker as they were, they would be perfect as mine rats to test for dangers ahead.

Under my emotionless command, the three of them proceeded onwards past the rubble of the lab doorway. However, they had barely taken a couple more steps before a flash of silver struck, followed by their instant explosive demise…

“A woman?”

A deep, booming voice preceded the arrival of a three-meter tall, silver-furred werewolf blocking the way ahead. It was he who slew the three elementals I summoned in one swipe. That lightning-fast strike was beyond what any normal human could achieve, bordering on the supernatural.

In other words, this werewolf had the speed of an overlord or a near-equivalent.

But even then, how could he kill off three elemental creatures like that? After all, beings of pure elements weren’t easy to kill- there had to be some trick to his attacks.

However, there was no time for idle chat with my opponent. Not even to bait out information; he was clearly here to stall for time.

In that case, there’s nothing to do but forge on!

“Inferno Lion, charge ahead!”

Back arched for a pounce, its fiery paws burst to life as it took to the air. Unfortunately, even its impressive leap wasn’t enough to shake off the silver-furred werewolf.

Once more, in a flash of silver, the werewolf struck, and an entire leg was severed from the Inferno Lion.

Without its rear right leg, its body began to topple, nearly tossing me off its back in the process.

However, the werewolf’s attack did not end there. Like an unstoppable lightning, it had already circled past the inferno lion and was heading straight for my heart.

All that happened in the blink of an eye, leaving me without a second to react before I was met with impending doom…

Yet when all looked lost, a blade suddenly appeared in my right hand, and as if it had a mind of its hand, the blade swung right in the path of the werewolf’s claws!

Flesh met steel as I was greeted with that grisly but comforting sensation of my sword meeting its mark.

“Be careful there, Little Brother, that strike nearly took your life.”

That was quick thinking there, Ferti’nier… at least you’re finally being useful.

“How rude!”

Naturally, I ignored her griping and focused on providing more mana to my inferno lion, allowing it to rapidly regrow its leg. At that point, I decided to just jump off its back.

“Help me stall him, I’ll make the entry myself.”

“Roar!!”

In a time-sensitive operation like this, only a fool would assume that this werewolf was the only thief trying to steal my Wyrm. Now that he was injured, my inferno lion should be able to buy me a precious few seconds to reach the magitek armor before it was too late.

“Blast! What are you doing with that accursed weapon! Come back here! Damn lioness…”

His pointless howling echoed in the hallway behind me. As I continued dashing ahead, I called forth my Shadow Guardian to scout the road ahead for further ambushes.

Ever since I absorbed Shadowfang, the strength of Shadow Guardian only grew by the day. In some aspects, it was even stronger than me, its owner. Sending it ahead should suffice…

There was only one door separating me and Wyrm. That and a handsome, blonde-haired young man, dressed in the typical garb of a noble, and poised as you would expect of one. “This road is barred, I’m afraid.”

“A vampire?”

The man oozed with the ominous smell of blood. Coupled with his ostentatious dress and ruby-red eyes, I instantly figured out who he was.

His eyes held a crazed spark within them, but only for a brief moment before he calmed his fury down with a false smile. “My fair lady, I believe you’re mistaken there. I’m no vampire. We are all children of the night, the favored of the moon, the noble Bloodkin!”

“When did you vampires get together with the werewolves?”

This wasn’t my first run-in with a vampire, thus I knew nothing would irk them more than calling them vampires, especially twice.

“Oh, my lady…” He started, but never got to finish his words as my Shadow Guardian stretched out into a blade-like form, meeting his turned neck with its razor-sharp edge…

There was no blood spurt as I would expect. The vampire hadn’t been hit by the shadowy blade at all. In fact, he still had on that smile while the rest of his body had already transformed into a blood fog that engulfed the entirety of Shadowfang!

“Even though this is no creature of flesh and blood, my blood fog has the ability to corrode anything in this world…” However, he never got to finish this sentence either before his face suddenly contorted. “How… how is it an epic-grade…”

Wrapped up in blood fog, the Shadow Guardian undid its transformation, revealing a two-meter long, blackish greatsword that promptly swung down on the vampire’s head like it was a cake.

This time, there was no escaping death for the monster. And now that its prey was defeated, the Shadow Guardian returned to the darkness.

“Next time, try actually fighting instead of showing off… if there’s even a next time…” I triumphantly stepped over the corpse of my fresh prey and entered the storage location of Wyrm.

What entered my view were a dozen black-robed figures frantically carving a giant array into the floor. In the center of this array was a dome that kept Wyrm safe.

“A dimensional barrier: once deployed, even an overlord would be hard-pressed to break it. Whad’ya think of your big sis’s anti-theft system?”

What else is there to say but “well done!”

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