Chapter 81
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Chapter 81: Satellite City
“Clear the battlefield. Alyn, come here.” Despite their victory, Odel frowned, unsatisfied by her own standards. Alyn’s attacks had disrupted the team’s rhythm.
She pulled Alyn aside and reprimanded her in a low voice.
Midi observed this, recalling his past life. The rise of the “sister duo” in the Morning Star Mercenary Corps was no accident. Alyn’s qualifications were exceptional—likely perfect transmutation, if not super transmutation. As the leader, Odel couldn’t fight on the frontlines while managing the entire corps, so she focused on training Alyn.
This foresight eventually birthed the legends of the dual pistols and Butterfly Dual Pistols.
Yet Alyn’s struggles here made sense. The monsters in the Elven Kingdom far surpassed those in the Forest of Gran. These weren’t mere beasts but elite creatures bred by the Elves, twisted by mutation into frenzied horrors.
Thankfully, Odel’s preparations proved thorough. The team advanced with flawless coordination. Her orders were precise, the formation shifted seamlessly, and tactics adapted without hesitation.
Nightblade Panther Kings, forest pythons, horned eagles, even ten-meter-tall treant guards fell under Odel’s command and Midi’s Black Sky sword.
Midi rarely intervened, reserving his strikes to suppress berserk or dying monster leaders. Odel insisted on this—though they’d entered the Elven Kingdom, this was merely the outskirts. The true battles in the Palace would escalate drastically. Ancient treant guardians and iron-feathered horned eagles, elites among elites, would dwarf their current foes.
If the team didn’t hone their teamwork now, Midi couldn’t protect them later.
Odel balanced command, training, and strategy—a vision unmatched in third-rate mercenary corps. Even without the Elven Kingdom’s heritage, the Morning Star Mercenary Corps was destined for greatness.
Days of combat revealed the kingdom’s outer layout. Unlike Elven Tribes in the Forest of Gran, there were no villages here—only Satellite Cities with defensive walls. Each sat atop a magic vein, dotting the endless forest like emerald islands in a green ocean.
These cities connected via artificial corridors, each end guarded by checkpoints requiring emerald leaves. Passing through one corridor cost two leaves.
Alyn’s ability to sense magic through the leaves was a half-Elf trait. Breaking the checkpoints without leaves meant overpowering the Defensive Magic Array—a futile effort.
Midi tried, but the array drew limitless power from the magic veins. Only level 40 practitioners could breach it, and even Fina would need a vein beneath her. Alice and the others stood no chance.
The Palace, as Midi knew from his past life, was a massive central city. Satellite Cities linked to it via Teleportation Arrays in high-level inner cities. Their current Satellite City, bordering the Forest of Gran, was the lowest tier. Progress required moving inward.
This expedition’s difficulty hinged on emerald leaf count and route choices.
After days of exploration, the outermost Satellite City—more fortress than city—yielded few spoils. Its ruins, ravaged by Skyfire, offered only battle experience. Everyone’s levels edged upward, with Alyn gaining one.
“We move deeper,” Odel told Midi bluntly.
“However, this Satellite City has three corridors. Which one should we take?” Norton murmured nearby.
“What did you observe through the telescope?” Midi asked.
Though this future alchemist lacked notable battle strength, he’d crafted numerous gadgets through alchemy. While not the premium gear adventurers prized, these tools proved invaluable for exploration.
The telescope he adjusted, embedded with a magic array, could peer far beyond ordinary scopes and even detect faint elemental patterns—critical for assessing terrain.
Moreover, Norton’s own use of these devices outperformed most adventurers.
In the Forest of Gran, such tools seemed excessive, but within the Elven Kingdom, where every step demanded foresight, the alchemist’s expertise shone immediately.
Thus, he swiftly became the team’s eyes and ears.
“The northern Satellite City teems with vegetation and a lake. The eastern one holds dense fire and iron elements. The northeastern city lies in ruins, but has a central tower,” Norton reported methodically.
“We head northeast,” Midi declared. “The north likely breeds Nightblade Panthers. The east serves as a smelting zone. The central tower’s higher level suggests a path to the Palace—and better treasures.”
Odel and Norton voiced no objections.
Magic-related sites always ranked higher—common adventurer knowledge.
But Midi had another reason: he knew the Elven Palace lay northeast, concealed by magical formations invisible even through telescopes.
His goal was proximity to the Palace, where a Count’s territory might gain worthy heritage.
Decision made, the seasoned team activated checkpoints with emerald leaves, speeding through corridors toward the magic tower’s Satellite City.
No Nightblade Panthers or horned eagles roamed here—only stone, wood, and steel automatons.
Adventurer blades barely scratched these constructs, and metal resisted magic fiercely.
Yet Norton’s artisans, including an automaton specialist, devised countermeasures. Guided expertise turned formidable foes into manageable obstacles. The Forest of Gran’s mutations hadn’t boosted automaton levels, letting the team accelerate exploration after initial adjustments.
Soon, the central magic tower loomed ahead.
Though encircled by containment magic arrays, most lay shattered from elemental invasions. The tower’s base sprawled with automaton wreckage and Elven mage corpses.
Remaining restrictions posed little challenge to Norton’s group. They breached the tower swiftly.
“We’re rich…” Alyn breathed, eyes gleaming.
“Truly the Elven Kingdom,” murmured Norton, not yet an alchemist in this life.
Even stoic Odel brightened.
A true research tower, its magic arrays drew energy from magic veins. Dozens of storerooms overflowed with rare materials: star gold, meteor iron, arcane steel, violet and crimson copper…
Herbs for Magical items and pre-made spell scrolls filled cylindrical cases on display racks—an adventurer’s fortune.
Midi showed scant interest. His territory held ample reserves; these materials, while valuable, weren’t priceless. He beelined to the library.
Studying texts, he confirmed the tower’s focus: automaton crafting.
The Belmar Duchy had similar institutions—Hertonmar Royal Magic Academy’s automatons originated from their workshops, as did the famed Flame Challenge designs.
Yet compared to the Elven Kingdom’s millennia-old techniques, the duchy’s automatons seemed crude indeed.
