Chapter 15: The Plan to Survive the Final Night.

Has Kaega ever had the chance to enjoy this feeling? He soaked in a warm bath, letting the heat slowly soothe his tense muscles. His body was relaxed, but his mind was not. Amidst the hazy steam, the gears in his head were still turning, calculating everyht next step.

"Tonig might be safe thanks to Elina's protection, but tomorrow, we'll have to face the siege of the Silver Mask Guild. The good news is that the Faith Guild and they have engaged in a large-scale battle, there will surely be retaliation for last night's chaos. But the bad news is that Lyne has provoked the Holy Knight Crambell. He's very strong, can easily slaughter the hunting dogs, and now he has his eyes on us. We can't stay here any longer."

Kaega frowned. The original plan had been completely derailed because of that fake Head Measurer.

"Head Measurer... how much must you hate me to bend the rules, sacrificing half your soul just to create a puppet like that..."

Half a soul, it sounds trivial. But after reading the book on resurrection, Kaega knew its price well. The soul is formed from the world's mana, and a person's strength depends on the magnitude of their soul. Giving up half a soul could cost him more than half of his original power.

"If I'm lucky, or if he's unlucky during the transfer process, he could lose even more. Just as I thought... a true madman."

Kaega never made a risky move without being sure of victory. In contrast, the Head Measurer was willing to bet half his strength just because of his provocations.

"What's his reason for doing this? Is it related to Lyne?..."

Kaega tried to connect the clues but failed. He didn't believe he did it just out of anger, but he couldn't find any other reason. The bathroom door creaked open, pulling him from his thoughts. Lyne had entered.

-Hey, I'm bathing. If you desire this body that much, couldn't you be a little more patient?

Lyne shot him an icy glare, mixed with a hint of contempt.

-I want to know your plans for tomorrow. Tonight, I want to rest completely.

-You're not even going to play along with my joke? That's heartbreaking...

With that, Kaega stood up and put on the clothes Elina had prepared. Though not new, they were much sturdier and warmer than the rags he usually wore.

-Alright. In a little while, you and I will go see Elina to talk about our plan to leave tomorrow.

-You're not planning to turn this place into a defensive base?

-What are you expecting from this place, Lyne? Besides a concealment ward that can hide our presence for a day, what else is there? A few kids and a kind priestess?

Kaega's voice was cold. He knew this place wouldn't be safe tomorrow.

-Alright, so this place is useless to you, right? I get it. - Lyne smirked, clearly being sarcastic.

-Hey, you said you would absolutely obey me until we get his head. Could you show a little respect?

-Alright, I get it. Now I'm going to take a bath, could you please get out?

Kaega said no more and stepped outside to wait. Afterwards, they both went to Elina's room.

-We plan to leave tomorrow morning.

-I understand. - Elina replied, without a hint of surprise.

-You're not going to ask why?

-That's your choice.

-So, will you lead us out tomorrow?

-Yes. But I'll have to ask you two to be blindfolded and let me carry you, to ensure the secrecy of this place.

-I understand. Maintaining a place like this in the middle of Aquila is no easy task.

Elina had now reverted to the demeanor of a rational, cold leader, just like when Kaega first met her at the Gray Dust tavern.

-I plan to return here three days before the Blood Feast. If you still welcome us, is there a way to get in touch?

-Of course. If you're still alive, you're always welcome. To get in touch, just prepare sixteen silver coins and go to the Gray Dust tavern in any Rat Alley in Aquila. Add the scent of White Camellia to the Mermaid's Tears.

-Once again, thank you for everything.

With that, Kaega placed a small bag on the table.

-This is....

-A few mana stones from the eastern ruins. It's not much, but I hope you'll accept them.

-High-grade mana stones...! This...!

-It seems you know more about them than we do. We'll be going to rest now.

Kaega and Lyne turned to leave.

-Hey Kaega, that was the last bag of mana stones you had left...

-To make them explode, they need to be triggered by Thunder Powder. If we don't throw them far enough, we could get hurt ourselves. They're useless to us now.

-I trust your plan...

With that, they both went to their room and fell asleep. In her private room, Elina was still pondering.

"Kaega... you're so cold. Can't you even say a sincere thank you..."

It was a deep sleep, undisturbed by any hunting dogs, at least for tonight...

The next morning, Elina blindfolded them both, then easily carried them on her shoulders.

-Wow... this feeling is strange. You're quite the versatile support.

-Sometimes I have to go to the front lines to carry the wounded back to the rear. This is nothing unusual.

-But I bet if you were on the battlefield, you could punch to death those guys hiding behind their armor.

-Haha, thank you for the high praise.

Lyne remained silent, listening to the conversation between Kaega and Elina. About an hour later, Elina set them down outside the border of the Faith Guild's territory and removed their blindfolds.

-In the end, I wish you both peace, and may you receive the protection of the supreme beings.

Elina performed one last blessing before quickly disappearing.

-Lyne, are you good at stealing?

-I know a little.

-Good. Now we need to "borrow" a little from the rats around here. Let's split up. I'll go into the sewers to gather materials, you go steal a little. Let's meet back at the old forge. After that, we'll return to the secret chamber in the Morgan ruins.

-I thought you didn't plan on going back there.

-A lot of things have gone off track. The remaining Thunder Powder isn't enough anymore.

-Alright. See you later.

-Yeah.

The two split off in different directions.

Lyne walked alone in the Rat Alley of the Blood Wolf Guild. This was the worst area in Aquila. To the Blood Wolves, the lawless who lived and died by the day were a potential source of manpower, so they let the chaos fester. But because of that, the wealth robbed from merchants here was also greater.

A loud noise came from the main street. Lyne quickly approached and saw a carriage surrounded by the local rats.

"Here's my chance..."

While the guards were fighting the robbers, Lyne moved like a ghost, approaching the carriage where the merchant was trembling inside.

-Aaa... who are you? How did you get in here? GUARDS!

-Be quiet, if you don't want that noisy throat of yours slit. - Lyne's voice was as cold as ice.

-Aaa, please! Anything, just don't kill me!

-Give me your money pouch.

-Okay, I'll give it.

He reached into his coat pocket. Suddenly, he quickly pulled out a strange object with a wooden handle and an iron tube, intending to point it at her.

"This thing... it's like his!!!"

Lyne's reaction was as fast as lightning. The Dorgan dagger drew a deadly arc, severing the merchant's arm before he could act. The object fell to the floor, and the merchant screamed in agony.

-Aghhhhhh! My arm!!

-Shut up and give me the money pouch, before I lose my patience.

This time, the merchant obediently took out a small money pouch. Lyne took it and also picked up the strange weapon, then quickly disappeared without a trace.

Meanwhile, Kaega was entering a foul-smelling sewer. The place had been abandoned for nearly a hundred years, becoming a paradise for bats.

"The last time I came here was over a year ago..."

Since successfully creating Thunder Powder, Kaega had never returned.

"Hmm? Who's that?"

In front of him, a pale-skinned woman with blonde hair, wearing a noble dress completely out of place with the filth around her. She turned her head, revealing a pair of mesmerizing red eyes.

-Ah, what bad luck. I didn't expect some fool to be wandering around here...

"A vampire?!"

-Yo, hello there, milady. It seems you have business here too?

-You came here with a purpose too? Spit it out!

-Why would a lady like you want to know the business of a lowly person like me?

-I don't like that attitude of yours.

-Don't worry, I'm just here to collect some substance from bat guano, not intending to find the 100-year-old Demon Bat, so I won't conflict with your interests...

-An alchemist, huh... You know my purpose?

-What else would an arrogant Vampire be looking for in a sewer full of bat guano?

-Interesting. The blood of an intelligent person is also a delicacy, but I don't want to anger those who have placed an imprint on you, so I'll spare you this time.

-Ah, thank you for your generosity.

With that, Kaega quickly left, not daring to stay another second.

"That person is definitely stronger than the fake Head Measurer. I shouldn't mess with her."

Reaching the area he was looking for, Kaega not only collected the liquid dripping from the bat guano, but also discovered a milky-white solid substance formed from it.

"What is this?"

He used his knife to chisel out a fairly large piece of the white substance and then left...

Around noon, the two regrouped.

Kaega opened the money pouch Lyne gave him, his eyes narrowing in amazement.

-Sixteen gold coins! Lyne, I told you to steal a little, whose entire fortune did you take? This amount of money is enough for a normal family to live on for several years!

Though his face remained cold, his voice couldn't hide his surprise.

-Ah, I also picked up this thing. It looks like the one you used.

Lyne handed over the merchant's weapon. Kaega immediately took it.

-This thing... it looks very similar, but much more compact... It seems to be a rare product, imported from the southern or eastern continents.

Kaega turned the weapon over and over, noticing it had a trigger.

-It seems he was going to shoot you with this. Are you okay?

-I managed to chop off his hand before he could pull it out.

-Lucky, huh.

-Yeah.

Kaega asked Lyne to stand guard outside while he went into the forge to buy sulfur and some necessary items. Afterwards, they went to a pharmacy, where Kaega bought a few stamina potions, and then they both returned to the Morgan ruins.

After going down into the secret chamber again, Kaega and Lyne went into an old trap room and took the charcoal from it.

-How much are you planning to make?

-Initially, I planned to make quite a lot, but thanks to your surprise, I can save a lot of effort now.

-What do you mean?

Kaega carefully poured a small amount of standard-grade Thunder Powder from the handgun.

-Although I'm not sure I can make something exactly like this, with my experience, I can create something nearly as powerful.

Lyne realized she had brought back not just a weapon, but a life-saving treasure.

-So now I just have to wait for you to make it?

-No, I need you to pull me away if something goes wrong. I can't withstand an explosion from it right now.

-Alright...

Kaega began his work, experimenting with different ratios of the three substances: charcoal, sulfur, and the extract from bat guano.

-Hey Lyne, guess how many guys the Silver Masks will send for the final night, after everything we've done?

BOOM!

A small explosion occurred, but Lyne managed to pull Kaega away in time.

-Can't you really focus on one thing at a time?

Kaega dusted himself off and continued experimenting.

-If I focus too much on concocting, there won't be time to prepare to face the enemy.

-Alright. I'll tell you then, although I don't know how many they'll send, there will definitely be Wrath Masks among them.

-Wrath Masks? What are they?

Fizzle!

Once again, the mixture ignited but didn't explode.

-Lyne, try grinding this into a powder for me.

Kaega pointed to the white solid he had brought back from the sewer. Lyne quickly ground it up. This time, Kaega mixed all four substances together.

-Back to the previous question. Wrath Masks are living dead who can use both magic and high-level swordsmanship, and have command abilities.

-In short, they're all-rounders, huh.

-Yeah, they're the most annoying type of enemy. However, they don't have the regenerative abilities of the usual living dead.

-It's because they don't have regeneration that they're smart. If they were also arrogant and unafraid of death, they'd be much easier to deal with.

-I agree.

-It seems traps will be less effective against them. cough... cough...

A puff of smoke rose, but that was it. Kaega quickly extinguished it and continued.

-You came back here not just to defend, right?

-Yeah. From your story, I'm planning to drag the Blood Wolves into this.

-How?

-The Blood Wolves and the Silver Masks have had an underlying feud for a while. If the Faith Guild secretly calls for an alliance, although they won't accept immediately, they will send support because of the feud from seven years ago.

-So you're also planning to stir up trouble in this area so they'll accept an alliance with the Faith Guild?

-That's right. We'll lure a few Blood Wolves and Silver Masks to fight each other.

-For what reason?

-Lure the Silver Masks to the Blood Wolves' headquarters, then we kill a few Blood Wolves to make them conflict with each other, and it's done...

With that, Kaega continued to create. Three hours later, the product was finished. A type of Thunder Powder nearly similar to the standard grade, but its danger level was even higher than the old type he had concocted from scratch.

-Haa.... finally done.

-How are you so sure?

Kaega tied a small bag of Thunder Powder tightly, lit the fuse, and threw it far away.

BOOM!

The explosion echoed throughout the entire maze like thunder. Lyne had to cover her ears.

-That sound... it's just like when you blew that guy's head off.

-That's right. This thing is two-thirds as powerful, but in return, just a small temperature error can make it explode. If I had time, I think I could do better, but now I have to mass-produce.

Kaega handed her some ingredients.

-Lyne, now you do as I do.

-Aren't you afraid of revealing the formula?

-The alchemists are afraid, but why should I be? Now you do it with me to save time.

Lyne got to work. She quickly memorized the formula and worked even faster than Kaega. In just two hours, they had completed the required quantity.

-Phew... you're really smart, Lyne...

Lyne didn't respond to the compliment, just looked at the handgun.

-Aren't you going to test that thing?

-To be honest, the impression of the thing I made myself makes me a bit hesitant to use it.

-But I think the merchant's one seems safer. If you're scared, let me help you test it.

-My body still hasn't fully recovered, so I'll have to rely on you.

After that, Kaega carefully poured the standard-grade Thunder Powder into the gun's barrel, inserted a round stone bullet, and then used a long rod to pack it tightly.

-Hey Lyne, take it and squeeze the thing under the handle. It seems that will make the Thunder Powder inside explode.

Bang!

A loud explosion, but not as loud as the new Thunder Powder. Lyne didn't flinch, only her arm recoiled slightly.

-The recoil isn't too strong.

-As expected, this thing is weaker than what I used, but it can be used again, not a one-time use like mine.

-Are you going to try it?

Kaega shook his head and threw her a bag of stone bullets.

-I'm not recovered yet, it's not convenient to use this. You've seen how to use it, just pour in a little gunpowder, a bullet, and then pack it tightly.

-I don't really like using it. It's noisy, not suitable for me.

-Oh well. It'll take some time for me to get better. Tonight I'll still have to rely on you to drag me all over this Blood Wolf territory...

-I guess so...

After that, Kaega sat down to grind small stones into bullets for Lyne. Gradually, night fell, and the final hunt was about to begin. The final plan was set in motion...