Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

"Which means?"

"Give a few minutes."

While Laura was occupied with the computer, James came out to find Jess had already tied up the merman.

"I got in! Sort off." Laura suddenly exclaimed.

"Can you stop the monster from getting outside now?

"No... I was unable to get access to the restricted functions. The facility will automatically proceed to eject subjects for defense until there are no more inside. However, i have access to documents and security reports!" she said stressed.

"What about Drosi and his people. Do you have access to that information?"

"Yes, that and more. They transferred Drosi and the others to "The Cradle", a facility in the northwest of Beta District. I will print it out."

With this, they had a list of transferred individuals, a map, their destination, and the route they took. As Jess and James were still checking the information, they heard Laura behind them inhale in shock.

"What's up?!"

"I found the last security report before the evacuation order. If these conjectures are true, you will have to hurry or you might be too late."

What Laura had found was the report on what happened in Research&Holding in the lower flowers. Specimens labeled FH-XXX had suddenly shown signs of sentience. In a moment of negligence, one of the creatures managed to overwhelm the guards and free others of its kind.

"I see, but what does that have to do with us having to hurry?"

"FH stands for fish hybrids. They are a mix of humans and the enemy soldiers caught during. The report suspects that there might be a kind of mental connection between members of the empire, like a hive mind-controlled by their nobles.

It was this group of escaped creatures that slaughtered their way to the main entrances and opened them for the empire."

"That means..."

"If the empire gets close to the cradle the same might happen, and the chances of saving the Tijaahk will decrease."

"We have to get to Sir Jonah and tell him. Is there a proper employee entrance or something like that?"

"Yes, we should be able to reach it from the administration."

Laura showed them the route on the computer when they suddenly heard beastly cried fill the hallways of the facility. What was it now?!

"Kekeke, I will have your heads!" the merman on the ground laughed through his missing teeth.

"Oh, mental connection..." James stabbed the merman in the face with his sword.

"Why did you do that?"

"He summoned his army here. We won't have the time to interrogate him and taking him with us is like carrying a GPS tracker. Let's just get out as quickly and stealthily as we can."

"...Fine."

----------------------

Jonah was slowly getting tired of this. It wasn't just the strength and number of the creatures that got to him. These humanoids did not look to have any precious materials and thy gave almost no experience!

Their strength was in the range of a level 75 humanoid monsters or miniboss in a dungeon, but the experience they gave was that of a lv.50 mob at most. Jonah had killed dozens and couldn't see even the slightest change to his experience bar.

He was technically working for nothing here. At least they were good targets for filling up his life force reservoir. With the Hungry Coin and the vampiric rings, he had the survivability of a cockroach and the toughness of a leather sole.

Suddenly there was an explosion from a nearby building and a pair of Oathguard with a civilian came running out of the smoke cloud.

"Lord Jonah! We need some help! We know where the kitties are!" the female mage called out to him.

It became quickly evident why they needed his help. A crowd of giant fish beasts was hot on their heels. He didn't hesitate and charge off against the swarm of fish. Jonah was originally from Y-City and his eyes were filled with rage when he saw these old enemies.

The guarding humanoids only followed him so far, before returning to their duty.

Oh yeah, this was a completely different fight for Jonah. The fish were around level 70 and gave him a few percent experience each. H did not hold back, thanks to the resource pool he had accumulated from his previous fight.

Together with the help of Jess and James, he quickly turned the fishmen into sashimi.

"You said you know where the kittie- the Tijaahk are?" Jonah asked when they finally found a quiet place to rest.

"Yes, Sir. We snuck into the Xen Biologies while you were fighting and found this woman. She supposedly helped send the letter and she helped us find the current location of Drosi ."

Laura shrunk back upon seeing the demon mask up close when Jonah looked at her. The duo hurriedly showed him the transfer report and the map.

"We have to send a message to Minas Mar promptly. Maybe they can send reinforcement there. With some luck, Seth has returned already."

"Seth...?"

"The Tower Master, at least try to remember important names." Jess scolded James.

"Tower Master...?" Laura mumbled confusedly.

"Okay, I decided. You two will use <Home Call> and report back home. I will protect her and will travel to the cradle from here. "

"Yes, Sir."

Jess and James agreed, but Laura suddenly grabbed Jess's hand.

"P-please don't leave me alone with him!" she asked, scared of Jonah and his mask.

"Don't worry. Lord Jonah is a very polite person. He will take good care of you." with a reassuring smile, the two suddenly vanished as they used <Home Call>

--------------------

When Seth had just gotten some sleep, things fell into a rush. Mary woke him in a hurry when a bunch of members of the Oathguard returned with news on the mission in Beta.

The Lords of Minas Mar gad already assembled when Seth entered the conference room where thy briefed him of the Details.

"Are there any news of my uncle and the others?!" Duhu suddenly charged into the room.

"I see, you have been informed... but why did you have to break the door?" Seth mentioned looking at what was left of the door, stuck to Duhu's claws.

"Ah!, I'm sorry."

They also explained the situation in Beta to Duhu. The Tigerman had a bad feeling when he listened to how dire the situation in Beta was. Foreign invaders rampaging through the land, hordes of refugees traveling north, and monsters following them in droves.

Some of the members of the expedition had returned with heavy injuries with a few still missing. Jonah being one of them.

"U-under these circumstances... I would understand if you decided not to send another team. Could you give me a mount and some rations for the journey, if it isn't too much to ask?"

Duhu felt that he had gotten quite close with Seth, which was the reason he could not expect him to pay such a huge price for his personal matter.

"What are you even saying? Drosi and his people are friends of Minas Mar, it's clear as day that I'm going with you."

"" I object."" Mary and Jane suddenly said in sync, looking at each other in surprise.

Seth blinked at them in surprise.

"Why?"

"You have just returned after several weeks! It would take several weeks for you to return. You can't just leave again for such a wild goose chase!"

"We also liked Drosi and the other, but Minas Mar needs your presence right now!"

"What are you talking about? Why would it take several weeks? We have Al now. By the way, where is Al'Zalsar?" he finally mentioned the absence of the sorceress.

"Al'Zalsar? Isn't she in your inventory?"

"Are you saying you will summon her to travel to Beta?"

"But she is only present for an hour. How will that reduce the time in the long run?"

"Stop! Stop! Are you telling me none of you met her in the last few hours?"

Confused silence followed. Why would they have mt her? What was the Tower Master talking about? Seth rubbed his temples and sighed.

"I finished her vessel before I went to sleep. She has a body now..." he explained when a sudden inspiration.

"Quick! Send someone to the redlight district! If we hurry, we might still be able to save some of them!"

"hehe, too late. I am already back." a scantily dressed figure materialized from smoke and swaggered into the room.

"Al'Zalsar!?" the room exclaimed in surprise. Seth's face darkened. Did that mean they did not believe him? But his heart also calmed. He knew his worry was without basis, for a moment he thought the sorceress had just run off.

".. See, I told you. With her here, the journey won't take long."

"Is that true?"

"Yes, I have a way to quicken the journey easily," Al said with a confident smile.

"Actually, I already procured the necessary means to do so."

"Well, if it's Al'Zalsar it should be reliable," Mary mumbled

"Hey, are you saying I am unreliable!?" Seth complained.

With the sorceress present, there was no more opposition for the search and rescue mission, and the planning was finished quickly