Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

Chapter 250: Chapter 245: Target: Original Blood Crystal

The festive atmosphere of New Year’s Day, like an ebbing tide, quickly vanished from the streets of Grey Marsh Territory.

It was replaced by a new round of busyness.

「Mi Port. The Lord’s Mansion. The study.」

Velin was reviewing a report on the spring road construction project when Kael walked in.

He placed a scroll of parchment, sealed with wax, gently by Velin’s hand.

"From the church."

Velin put down the report and picked up the parchment scroll.

He broke the seal. The handwriting was neat.

The contents were simple. The Church of the Lord of Eternal Radiance planned to dispatch a new bishop to the Lion Count’s Domain in northern Sword Tooth Province. They intended to exploit the local famine, using "miracles" and food aid to gradually erode the Count’s secular authority.

It detailed the list of church personnel in charge of the matter, their route, and an order for Fabian to cooperate fully.

Velin finished reading, his face betraying no emotion.

He handed the parchment to Tristan, who was waiting nearby to give his report.

"Find a reliable channel and ’accidentally’ sell this to the Count. You can set the price high. I imagine he’ll be more than happy to pay for the security of his domain."

Tristan took the parchment, glanced at it, and tucked it away.

"Understood."

’A pawn that had just switched sides was already proving its worth.’

This efficient use of resources gave Tristan a new level of insight into Velin’s methods.

The study fell quiet once more.

After Kael had left, Tristan pulled a thick report from his stack of documents and placed it in front of Velin.

"My lord, this is the preliminary proposal for the reform of the territory’s civil service system."

Velin turned, his interest clearly piqued.

He picked up the report and began to quickly leaf through it.

Tristan stood quietly to the side, careful not to interrupt.

This report, written under Velin’s guidance, was the fruit of his painstaking labor, consuming his entire New Year’s holiday.

"Abolish the tradition of recommendations and establish public examinations. Ranks determined by performance, salaries by ability."

Page after page, Velin saw just what he had hoped to see.

"The core idea is excellent," Velin said, putting down the report and looking at Tristan. "To establish a set of quantifiable standards. What we need isn’t a group of poets who can write beautiful articles, but cogs that can operate smoothly."

"Besides, we have a huge advantage," Tristan added. "Grey Marsh Territory isn’t like the old domains, tangled in deep-rooted networks of connections. Everyone here was personally promoted by you, my lord. Their backgrounds are clean. This is the moment of least resistance to push through these standards."

Velin’s expression was one of approval. "Well said. We must seize this opportunity and lay the foundation correctly from the very beginning." He sat back in his chair. "I need you to hammer out all the details of this system, from the examination subjects to the promotion channels. The more detailed, the better."

"Yes, my lord."

Just as Tristan was about to continue with the details, an urgent knock sounded on the study door. Barrett pushed it open and entered, his weather-beaten face grim.

"My lord, there’s an emergency underground," he said gravely. "The Insect Queen just sent an alert through the highest-level encrypted channel. She’s discovered... some abnormalities."

Velin’s eyes sharpened, and he put down his report. "What’s the situation?"

"She said... something is beneath our mines, breaking through the rock."

...

The elevator to the underground base descended smoothly.

Inside the elevator, Velin, Tristan, Barrett, and the hastily-summoned Ola each wore a different expression.

"Breaking through rock?" Ola muttered, his voice a low rumble, his prized battle-axe resting on his shoulder. "I’ve only ever heard of using pickaxes and dynamite. What the hell can break through rock from the direction of the sea?"

No one answered him.

The sight that greeted his eyes left Tristan, who was venturing this deep for the first time, momentarily stunned.

The entire underground world was bathed in a magnificent, blood-red light.

Countless huge, uncut clusters of Original Blood Crystals grew from the walls and ceiling, like inverted mountain ranges or a petrified, blood-red forest.

Tristan’s pupils contracted sharply.

As a scion of the Lorenzo family, he knew exactly what an Original Blood Crystal mine of this scale meant.

’An Original Blood Crystal mine of this magnitude... The Lorenzo family only had three of them.’

He finally understood why Velin insisted on confronting the local church.

’When you don’t have the power to protect your wealth, you absolutely have to protect your secrets.’

However, before he could recover from this immense shock, another scene completely shattered his perception of reality.

Working in this priceless mine were not miners.

Hundreds of insectoids of various forms were bustling about in an orderly fashion.

Massive Worker Ants hauled ore, while several "King Insects" used their antennae to direct dozens of Soldier Ant squads on patrol. Their scythe-like forelimbs glinted with a cold, metallic light.

The entire nest chamber operated with high efficiency under some silent command, moving as one.

And at the center of all this activity, Sarah stood motionless, her half-human, half-insect form like an exquisite sculpture.

The moment Velin drew near, her telepathic message cut directly into his consciousness, its tone grave.

[Father, high-threat unknown intruder detected.]

[Location: Sector 17, approximately two hundred meters diagonally below.]

[Based on vibration frequency, they are excavating a tunnel, but not through conventional physical means.]

Velin’s heart sank slightly.

"What are we dealing with?"

[Unknown lifeforms. They’re located in a newly discovered underground river. It’s an extremely deep water system that ultimately connects to the North Sea.]

"Bring me the hive terminals," Velin ordered.

A Worker Ant immediately brought over several flat, gray-black, soft-bodied insects—the hive terminals.

Velin, Ola, and Barrett each affixed one to the nape of their neck.

Tristan mustered his courage and followed suit.

In the next second, a virtual three-dimensional map made of countless points of light and lines unfolded within their minds.

The map showed all the different sectors of the nest. Diagonally below the marker for "Sector 17," an eye-jarring red dot blinked rhythmically. It represented a seismic source, sending out ripples of energy toward the nest.

Sarah’s telepathic message came again.

[Based on their current excavation speed and the rock density, we estimate they will break through in approximately one week.]

One week.

’Not long, but not short either.’

"By Stonebeard’s..." Ola’s breathing grew heavier, his hands tightening on the handle of his axe. "This thing... it’s making a beeline right for us. We need to prepare a ’warm welcome’ for it before it breaks through. Make sure it’s a one-way trip!"

"No." Velin looked at the 3D map in his mind. "Waiting passively has never been my style."

He looked up and calmly issued his commands.

[Sarah, immediately begin excavating an observation tunnel at maximum speed, angling down and ahead of their route. I want a window to observe their operations up close. How long will you need?]

[Based on our calculations, the rock is about 500 meters thick. At maximum speed, we estimate three days.]

[Ola, Barrett, you have two days. Prepare an elite squad and be on standby.]

Velin’s wine-red eyes gleamed with intense curiosity.

"The unknown is always more interesting. I want to see for myself just what kind of monsters are hiding in the depths."

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