Overwhelming Firepower

Lucen was quite amazed by what he was looking at. Even though it was completely different from any of those in his memory, the effect was similar; this was a landmine.

’To think they created this thing by accident, while trying to make something like those discs in the anime Card Summoners was based on. This guy is truly not just a once-in-a-century genius, might be once in an era genius.’

”Have you ever thought of using the black powder instead and using a trigger for the explosion?” Lucen nudged Robert into a slightly different direction.

Hearing what Lucen said, Robert quickly came to a realization and started laughing.

”Hahaha! I did it again! I was trapped in the preconception of my own knowledge. To think I failed to see such a simple solution to the problem! You truly are something else, Lucen! Not bound by the limitations of what is, and continue to push forward with what if!”

Robert licked his lips as new ideas were now coming to him. It was like a dam burst inside his head as ideas came overflowing.

”The restrictions of mana-based explosion can be solved using the black powder. Seeing as we have a lot of it, then it easy experiment on. I see, I see the path forward.”

Seeing the excited look on Robert’s face, Durik shook his head as he could already guess what was going to happen next. Durik went beside Lucen as Robert continued to mumble to himself.

”Hey lad, the others and I liked that game you created. It’s quite fun to play as we drink.”

Lucen looked away from Robert and turned toward Durik. ”You dwarves have been playing Card Summoners?”

”Aye,” Durik answered without shame. ”After work, mostly. Sometimes during work, but only when the forge is cooling.”

”I’m glad to hear that.”

Durik grinned beneath his thick beard. The two then talked a little more about the game and then about how to improve on Robert’s exploding device. It was at that moment that Mireya interrupted the conversation.

”Lucen, play with me.” Mireya took out her specially made deck.

Lucen looked at the deck in her hand and smiled. ”Sure, let’s play.”

Hearing Lucen’s answer, Mireya, who usually had an indifferent expression, was beaming in excitement. The two then played, while Robert, alongside Durik and the dwarves, continued working on the landmines.

***

Unfortunately, peaceful days never lasted long. Lucen, who was about to go to the Royal Academy to check on Alexander and his group’s progress, was stopped by Harlik, who had some news to share.

”Leader,” Harlik said, his usual rough smile nowhere to be seen. ”We found something strange.”

”What is it?”

”Remember when you told us to report anything strange, like missing children, rumors about an elf assassin, or some dwarf that wields a demonic sword, or people only appear in the night and other such things?”

Hearing what Harlik said, Lucen listened more intently than before. His mind was already thinking about the next steps he would take, despite the report not yet being finished.

”Yes, did you find any of those?”

”I think so... A few of us went to a small town to the west, near the village called Valerious Village. We went there to kill a few monsters that the townspeople reported, but when we arrived, we searched everywhere and found not a single monster, not even any wild animals.”

Hearing the report, Lucen already had a few things in mind as to what was happening. ”There were no monsters or wild animals... How about the townspeople? Are there any reports of missing people, perhaps mercenaries and such?”

Harlik thought about it for a second and spoke. ”Now that you say it, I do remember hearing a mercenary band staying in the town saying that a few of their men had gone missing. I didn’t think much about it since many mercenaries do leave without saying a word. I thought they were poached by another group, or they just wanted to stop being mercenaries.”

Those things alone were not enough to confirm anything. In a world like this, strange incidents happen all the time.

A powerful monster could scare away lesser beasts. Bandits could abduct people. A rogue mage could perform experiments in the forest.

Still, Lucen was getting a clearer picture of what kind of threat they were facing. He had narrowed down the suspects to a few beings he knew from the game. ”What else did you find?”

”We searched the nearby forest. We found nothing. It was as if every living thing in the area had decided to leave at the same time. No, it’s more like they suddenly were teleported somewhere else, as there were no tracks, no droppings, nothing at all.”

’This could be the work of Lycans who marked that as their territory. As the stronger beasts, most monsters would flee, not to mention their appetite making them eat all the animals. It could also be the lich trying to increase his forces before declaring war on the world.’

Lucen was already leaning towards the latter and was actually hoping a little that it was so. Seeing as the Lich would have a weaker army if found earlier.

’Still, since there are already other monsters and bosses I don’t know about appearing in this new route, the difficulty might have spiked, and finding the Lich this early would be difficult to deal with.’

Lucen stopped that thought before it could continue. Thinking too much before hearing the full report would only make him jump to conclusions.

”What else?” Lucen asked.

Harlik’s expression became even more serious. ”There were also reports that someone had dug people’s graves.”

’Damn, should have said that from the start. So it really is the Lich... Well, it could also be something new. Better be prepared for any possibility. Could also be a group of necromancers. In the game, those guys weren’t that difficult to deal with, but who knows now.’

Harlik continued. ”That was not the strangest part.”

Lucen’s eyes narrowed. ”There is more?”

”Aye. The graves that were dug open were not random. The old, the sick, and the children were untouched. The graves that were opened belonged mostly to knights who were born in that town. former soldiers, hunters, mercenaries, mages, and anyone who had been known to fight when they were alive.”

Hearing that part of the report, Lucen was now a bit more sure that it was the Lich. Necromancers did not care what kind of person had died, since they were going to remake them into skeleton warriors or low-level zombies, but the Lich needed powerful fighters since he could raise them from the dead with their skills intact.

’We need to act fast now. Since he got hold of a few bodies, the more were wait, the stronger he’ll get. Still, since I already took the young fire dragon’s body, he should not have any aces, right? Or did he find something just as powerful as that body? The other problem is finding his true soul. In the game, he hid that in different important items, sometimes it was on his person, other times it was hidden in whatever area he first revived in.’

Lucen clicked his tongue. The more he thought about it, the worse it became. If this were truly the Lich, then this was not a problem that could be solved by sending a few mercenaries or knights.

The Lich was one of the four major threats. It was not simply a monster. It was a disaster with intelligence, patience, and hatred.

A being that had once slept beneath history, only to awaken and realize that the empire it hated had already vanished.

Unfortunately, hatred did not disappear just because its original target was gone. The descendants remained. The bloodline remained. And Norvaegard was one of the lands that would eventually be dragged into that hatred.

’This is surely a crisis, but also a chance. It’s a chance to strengthen Alexander’s group and to increase my own power. First, we need to find the Lich’s hideout.’

Lucen turned toward Harlik. ”Send word to every Thornefang member near Valerious Village and the western towns. No one is allowed to enter the forest alone. No one is allowed to touch any corpse, bone, strange artifact, or blackened ground they find.”

Harlik’s expression hardened. ”Understood, leader.”

”Also, send a message to Father and the temples in the capital. We need clerics capable of purification. We also need grave records, and anyone who knows where old ruins, abandoned crypts, or sealed tombs are located in that area.”

Harlik nodded, but before he left, he asked a question. ”Leader, what are we dealing with?”

Lucen did not answer immediately. He looked toward the west, where Valerious Village lay beyond the capital’s walls and roads. In his memories, the Lich had not been an enemy that rushed forward. It was someone who waited, as he strengthened himself for one goal: revenge.

”Something that should never be allowed to grow,” Lucen said with a serious face, but then he smiled. ”Still, no need to worry. Whatever comes, we’ll show them the might of overwhelming firepower.”

Harlik nodded and left at once. Lucen watched him disappear, then turned his eyes westward again.

For a brief moment, with card games, orbshows, and new inventions filling his days, Lucen had allowed himself to enjoy the peace.

Still, he had already made preparations for any threat that came. Like he told Harlik, as long as he had enough firepower, he would burn through every obstacle in his path.