Tale of Discovery

Chapter 178: Experiment ; Primed

As the men stand motionlessly, awaiting further orders, I walk amidst them while continuously granting them the three abilities that will aid us in this battle.

While I'm doing so, a sudden thought occurs to me: Why doesn't the foe use that chemical to 'zombify' the soldiers on our side?

Is there some kind of condition that needs to be fulfilled before the 'zombification' can be done or something?

"Irene," I voice, "Am I able to cancel an ability while it's in use?"

"Father can do that," she replies, "Even if it's a supportive ability and the one that's under the effect far away, Father can easily deactivate it."

Good. It would be quite annoying if mid-battle, the enemy somehow managed to 'zombify' the soldiers on our side while they were still immortal.

"Why are we walking to the front of the army?" Jeanette's voice all of a sudden reaches my ears.

"Don't you want to see with your own eyes what Joseph does?"

"I do, but"

"Then, just follow me. You don't need to make a fuss out of something so simple."

"But, if what you're saying is true, isn't it dangerous for us to go to the front of the army?" Sheffield intervenes.

Before I can answer her, Krul says in an irritated tone,

"Unlike you two, we are all capable of fighting against those drugged weaklings."

"Master," Siesta calls out to me while ignoring the two bickering girls.

"Yes, Siesta. Is there something wrong?"

"No," she replies before going silent.

"Siesta?"

"Um, Master Will I have to use my powers again?"

"Yes," I reply, "Are you feeling like you won't be able to or something?"

"Not at all," she quickly replies before a small smile forms on her lips, "I just wanted to know."

Seeing her like this, I am unsure of what to think of her question. However, from the looks of it, she's not feeling down or something like that.

--

Soon, we reach the front of the army, where Godeffroy and Yvonne are patiently waiting atop their horses.

"Your Highness!" the two call out before getting off their horses

"What's the situation?" I inquire.

"There are enemies stationed in and out of the town. I'm sensing an eerie vibe from the town, so I believe that they've already changed into monsters," Godeffroy says.

"Monsters, huh?" I mutter, amused by the term.

"Do you think they're townspeople or a part of the army?" I question.

"Every single one them has a military uniform on, so I can't provide a precise answer," he replies.

"Half," I hear a voice to my right.

Looking over, I find Saturnus who's looking at where the town is with a sedate look on her face.

"Half?" I repeat.

"Yes, Creator," she responds, "Half of them are trained personnel, while the rest seem to be either villagers or townspeople."

Startled by her words, Godeffroy looks over with a bewildered expression as he asks,

"How can you-"

"That doesn't matter," I say, interrupting him before he can inquire about anything, "Focus on what's important, General Godeffroy."

"Yes, Your Highness," he responds while slightly bowing.

"Forget it, prepare to give the order to attack once I give you the signal to do so."

Without waiting for his response, I continue walking forward while the girls follow along without so much uttering a word.

---

As soon as I give the signal, Godeffroy raises his sword and shouts in a thunderous voice,

"Glory to Albion!"

Most of the soldiers shout the same thing, while a minority changed a part of it.

Either way, the soldiers begin moving forward with extreme vigor.

The 'zombified' enemies begin to take notice of the attack as they begin to run in their direction swiftly.

It doesn't take long before both sides clash with one another, with the one being in the disadvantage immediately becoming apparent.

"Hey," Krul says while pointing at the soldiers, "Hasn't their proficiency increased in using their weapons?"

Clearing her doubt, I nonchalantly answer,

"That's right. I granted them Insight, an ability that will increase their affinity with any weapon or ability they might have for a limited amount of time."

"When did you do that?" Jeanette asks with an incredulous look on her face.

"While we were walking through the soldiers," I respond.

Currently, I am sitting on one of the many seats I had created for us to sit down and enjoy the show.

Krul is sitting to my right, and Saturnus to my left. As for Irene, she's comfortably sitting on my lap while pressing the back of her head against my chest.

Jeanette and Sheffield are both sitting by each other's side to my left with an odd look on their faces while they observe the battle.

"Hey," Jeanette says while raising her arm and pointing at where two soldiers are fighting, "That man's hand just changed into a shield."

"Forget that," Sheffield says while pointing somewhere else, "That man's arm has changed into a sword."

That's right, the soldiers are already beginning to make use of Organic Constructs.

As per my order, the soldiers hold back from killing anyone by either immobilizing them or knocking them out using blunt organic swords.

It's quite the sight to behold, as even when one of them has their head cut off, it grows back shortly after that, while the 'old' head simply burns into nothingness.

"Immortality?" Krul questions.

"That's right," I say, "It should last for about 20 minutes. At least, for those that were marching in the front."

--

As I continue to observe, I notice that the 'zombified' enemy seems to be gradually losing their speed and strength.

Is it a temporary boost? Will their consciousness return once their strength and speed have reached back to normal?

But, if that's not that case

"This is bad," I say as I get up from my seat.

"What's wrong?" Krul inquires.

"We need to hurry up, or else every single one these guys could die."

Saturnus seems to have realized that something is wrong as well, as she says,

"Creator is right. The life energy that's exuded from natural creatures seems to be decreasing around there. Usually, that happens in an instant, but that doesn't seem to be the case."

Hearing us, Siesta gets up from her seat with a slightly anxious look on her face.

"Don't worry," I say while turning my head to face her, "Everything is going to be fine."

Just as I'm about to dash forward, I sense Jeanette and Sheffield getting up from their seats.

"What are you doing?" I ask as I turn around.

"We're going to assist you," Jeanette says in a serene tone.

"Oh? You two? Against these guys?" Krul says in a mocking tone.

"Don't underestimate us," Sheffield says while frowning.

It's almost as if invisible sparks are flying in the air, causing me to hastily say,

"You better not have any awry thoughts."

Jeanette and Sheffield both nod at the same time, signifying that they understand the position they're in.

"Let's go," I say before gifting the two of them immortality.

Then, I dash at maximum speed toward the battlefield while pulling Excalibur out of my storage ring.

---

As I continue to knock down one enemy after another, I sense bursts of energy coming from somewhere.

Intrigued, I pinpoint where the bursts are coming from, only to find Siesta expertly releasing energy rays from her palm.

Each time an energy ray makes contact with an enemy, their body becomes limp and falls to the ground.

After a few seconds, they regain their clarity and get up from the ground, only to be bewildered by the sight of the battle occurring around them.

Fortunately, Yvonne had taken notice of this earlier as she and a bunch of soldiers 'guide' them to safety.

Naturally, there were some cases of enemy soldiers awakening and attacking our side once again, but they were easily finished off.

---

"This is the last one," I say while standing by Siesta's side as she clears the effect of the 'potion' in a man whose legs I just healed.

Soon, the man opens his eyes before shortly a look of confusion covers his face.

"Excuse me," a soldier walks over and says, "Mr. Aorn?"

"Yes?" the man replies, still confused.

"Your wife is looking for you. I will guide you to where she is."

Siesta and I quietly watch as the soldier leads the man away.

"It's unfortunate that we couldn't save them all," Siesta says after a while in a saddened tone.

"What's done can't be undone," I simply say, "You've already done well by saving all these people."

"But, I could've saved more if I knew about this power earlier," she says as the sadness in her voice becomes more apparent.

"That's right," I say, "But, you didn't know. That's why you can't be blamed, Siesta. In fact, even if you know but didn't save them, you can't be blamed.

"You see, all this is the result of the vile actions of one man. Joseph de Gallia. And that's exactly why we're going to take him down."

Well, that's what it would seem like to others, but I just want to clear this continent of troublesome individuals to properly develop my kingdom and army.

[Father.]

"Gabriel? I assume things have gone well on your side?"

[That's right. We have successfully liberated a city and two towns.]

"Did you say a city?"

[Yes. According to the inhabitants, the city has a port that would enable transportation between Gallia and Albion.]

"I don't recall hearing about such a thing before."

[Well, that's because due to numerous reasons, the transportation line was restricted so that only first-class noble families would be able to use it.]

"I see. Anything else?"

[Yes. We are close to the capital.]

"That's good. Hold your position and wait for further orders."

[Understood.]

Now, all I need to know is how are things going on Tiamat and Ddraig's side before I can begin the last part of the plan