Steel and Mana

Chapter 308 – Enhance

Chapter 308 – Enhance

After collecting the beasts that we massacred, it turned out they were not mature enough to have proper monster cores within their bodies. At least, they were not big enough. The creatures were tall and sturdy, yes, but their cores were not developed enough to be proper for powering another mech. Still, I ordered the production of two of them, as I want them to be ready the moment we get ourselves the adequate variants of monster cores. As for their bones, they were like the others, so the rest of their bodies were indeed valuable resources, including their hides, meat, and blood.

When we were back in the castle, I asked my kids if they felt anything while the battle was going on. Leyla shook her head while Arthur thought about it a bit longer, telling us he didn’t hear any voices this time around, but he did feel the hunger in the attacking beasts. When I asked if it was aimed at us, his answer was that it was being directed at the mechs and the Camelot.

“Which means they were aiming to get either the cores or us,” Sasha muttered.

“That checks out of what we learned before.” I nodded, confirming the old records. "They are after magic, be it CC or mages.”

“Well, if they want it, they should try harder to get it!” Yuri snorted, and I wanted to say, don’t jinx it, but... she already spoke her mind.

And they came again. Only after two days did another group of similarly sized and varied beasts arrive. Most of their group was made up of the previous incident’s four-legged, snake-tailed warthogs. Even with a bigger-sized horde, they were not much of a threat. This time, I ordered the Camelot to strike them down, and they were blown to pieces before they could reach the mechs. Although... not much remained to collect afterward.

By the end of the first month, we had eleven attacks, both day and night, and the monster bodies were piling up nicely, refilling our resources, except gaining us proper monster cores. The ones in these were still useful, but... Maybe I just wanted too much. I had to remind myself that attacks like these would have already massacred a lot of men, perhaps even breaking through the Pass in the old times.

“I have been thinking...” Merlin came into my office one morning, holding a thick stack of papers. “With the amount of blood we have at hand, we could enhance our soldiers even more.”

“Excuse me?” I looked up at him with raised eyebrows, stopping to type out my future guidebook of officer training for the Camelot.

“Tattoos! We can put pure enhancements on our soldiers so they can make better use of our Mark II armor. And their weapons!”

“Explain,” I said, standing up to sit on my couch and look over his designs, which were all a hundred different magic formations. I didn’t need explanations of the whys; I had also thought about it before. I just never really had the time and willpower to sit down and start putting it together with everything going around us. And I never mentioned it to him, either.

“I found time; with most projects underway, I was getting a bit bored anyway.”

“You? Bored? Geez... How can you be bored next to Elena?”

“These formations happened because of her.” He said proudly, “I am still teaching her to understand runes individually, and while doing so, I also began understanding the monsters and their bones better. I also studied the Shipslaves, but don’t worry, I am not replicating them!”

“I didn’t think so, I trust you. So? You came up with a lot of variants... Is this a visual spell?” I mumbled, looking at one, that by decoding it seemed to be enhancing... clarity?

“With the helmet and its integration, we could make it so if we tattoo our soldiers, they can control the suit and its functions simply by their thoughts. They aren’t mages, but with monster blood injected into their skin, it would be enough. You see,” he pointed at specific runes, “I managed to decode that this is how beasts work. I identified the runes responsible for reacting with their nervous system, picking up on their host’s will and ideas, and executing the relevant spell. If their bodies are also capable of producing that formation, that is. It totally depends on what type of runes are on their bones.”

“So... if you place the correct formation on our soldiers’ bodies, it would act the same way? Even if their bones are not engraved?”

“They wouldn’t be able to cast a spell.” Merlin chuckled, shifting through his drawings, “They are not mages nor people with cores. However, they could activate formations their body has contact with if the tattoo is compatible.”

“I see.” I nodded, as this was how my Knight’s variant worked, but on a reduced scale. “You mentioned their weapons.”

“Yes.” He continued with excitement, “The bone weapons still have runes, fragments of a way too complex, previous formation. We could engrave them with corresponding variants to complete a fake, simpler formation. In theory, that would also be reactive and could end up giving a new edge for our warriors.”

“In theory,” I repeated, scratching my chin, but I began to see where he was going as I started understanding his drawings more: “The bones of our ice-spitting monster could become frosty... But if it is uncontrollable, it could freeze our own soldier.”

“There are risks, yes.”

“I am not fond of the idea of risking loyal soldiers for experiments.”

“Yes, I just received a message from Mirian. It is a hell of a way to test out the longest Morse line we have ever built, connecting our cities.”

“Did something happen?” She asked, already thinking about her brother.”

“You could say that, yes. You became an aunt.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, an aunt.” I chuckled, finishing my muffin, “Congratulations! You are now the aunt of Ludwig Ishillia, future prince of the Ishillian Empire. If we win this all, that is.”

“...”

I couldn’t help but chuckle, seeing her blank expression, that her brother had become a father. To the father of a future emperor nonetheless.

“I already told your parents about it; they are going to visit Cerna–“

“You did what?!”

“Hm?” I blinked my eyes, seeing her go white.

“Oh no... Merlin!”

“What about him?” I asked, confused, but then it clicked.

“My mother for sure went to our house, and only he is at home!”

“Well–“

“She’s gone...” Luna whistled, seeing how quickly she disappeared, “What do you think? Is her mother worse than yours?”

“Worse?” I asked, turning my head back to look up at her blushing face, “My Mom is an angel.”

“In disguise...”

“Pft~ Well, get used to her bothering you! You went ahead and prodded the sleeping beast who was satisfied with having three grandchildren to take care of in the winter.”

“And now she is always nagging me to get pregnant because while the kids are with her, we have time to have sex from morning to morning.” She moaned, stopping my massage and rubbing her own lower back. “I can’t do it that much!”

“Because I can?” I countered, making her chuckle, “Anyway, she will relent; don’t worry about it. As for Elena... well, I am staying the hell out of their issues!” I moaned, standing up and stretching, “Let’s go~!”

“Should I pull down my panties?” She joked, following me.

“You have one on?” I asked, looking at her maid uniform’s skirt.

“Well...” She raised it, showing me the answer. “Not really.”

“I thought so... And then you keep complaining...” I muttered, flicking her forehead, “Pervert.”