Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

Chapter 256: Chapter 251: Preparing for the Worst

Light returned to the cave, but it was dim and feeble.

The all-consuming black mist had dissipated, leaving an acrid, unpleasant smell in the air.

Velin stood his ground. The moment his vision cleared, he immediately tried to reconnect to the Hive Matrix.

’Sarah!’

’Father, I’m alright.’

As the black mist dissipated, Sarah’s mental link was restored, and communication was smooth.

Velin relaxed. "Contract the network. Clean up the battlefield."

He turned and surveyed his surroundings.

The cave was in shambles.

Barrett and his scouts emerged from behind their cover, unscathed.

But Ola’s Knight Order was in bad shape.

"Damn it!" Ola’s roar echoed through the cave as he kicked away a piece of smoking rubble at his feet.

His Knights were staggering, barely able to stand.

Although the black mist was brief, those who were closer had inevitably inhaled some of it.

They leaned against the walls, dry-heaving and dizzy. Their heavy armor made it difficult for them to even stay on their feet.

"Stay alert!" Barrett growled. "The enemy might still be here."

"They’re gone, you idiot!" Ola retorted irritably, slamming the pommel of his sword on the ground. "Those slippery eels! If they have any guts, they wouldn’t use such dirty tricks!"

Velin ignored Ola’s impotent rage.

He walked over to a collapsed Knight.

The surface of the Knight’s plate armor was corroded with pockmarks, and the skin visible through the gaps in his armor had an unhealthy, grayish-white pallor.

"Can you still move?" Velin asked.

The Knight struggled to nod, using his shield to push himself up.

"Barrett, take your men and check the side passages," Velin ordered. "Ola, count the wounded and tighten the formation. The uninjured will remain on guard."

Worker Ants crawled out from the shadows.

They ignored the corrosive marks on the ground and began to carry out Velin’s orders, clearing the battlefield.

A few severed tentacles were scattered on the ground, their blue-black blood soaking into the mud.

The remains of the molten Blood-sucking Vines had turned black and charred.

Velin instructed a guard, "Go inform Valerius. Tell him to bring his Alchemy tools and an isolation container, and get down here immediately."

Before long, Valerius rushed over with two apprentices.

As soon as they entered the cave, they were stunned by the scene.

The pitted ground, the acrid smoke, and the residual energy fluctuations in the air all spoke of a brutal battle.

Valerius’s gaze quickly locked onto the severed limbs and plant remains on the ground. The Alchemist’s curiosity overrode his fear, and his eyes lit up.

"My Lord! This is..."

Valerius hurried forward, but Velin stopped him with a raised hand.

"Watch the ground," Velin said, pointing at the smoking pits. "Residue from the black mist."

Valerius nodded, his expression excited.

He took a pair of gloves and a scraper from his case. Instead of touching the severed limbs, he scraped some of the black powder from the rocks.

"It’s not magical residue." Valerius placed the powder into a crystal vial, where it began to foam. "This is highly concentrated sludge from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent, mixed with some kind of catalyst. It strips away the structural stability of anything it touches."

He turned to the severed tentacles.

The symbiotic shell on the tentacle had lost its luster, but the tubes inside were still writhing.

"A living sample!" Valerius stared at the crystal vial in amazement. "It’s detached from the main body, yet parts of the tissue are still alive. This creature’s vitality..."

"Collect the samples and seal them."

"I need to know the composition of the black mist and these creatures’ weaknesses."

"As you command."

Valerius directed his apprentices to pick up the severed limbs with long-handled tongs and place them into glass jars filled with a saline solution and other chemicals.

Velin walked to the edge of the cave.

The invasion point opened by the Multi-Armed Race was now sealed shut.

The rocks hadn’t just collapsed into a pile; they had been fused together by an external force, forming a smooth rock wall. It was cold to the touch and covered in a fine, crystalline pattern.

"It wasn’t melted by high heat," Velin concluded.

Valerius walked over, examining the wall’s texture with a monocle.

"Structural reorganization. They used some kind of technology to rapidly recrystallize rock dust and seal the entrance."

"We’re trapped on this side," Barrett said, his face grim as he returned from checking the flanks. "All the fissures connecting to the main vein have been blocked."

"They’ll be back," Ola said through gritted teeth. "Next time, I’ll chop off their tentacles one by one."

...

「Minas Tirith, the Lord’s Mansion council chamber.」

The atmosphere around the long table was tense.

Velin sat at the head of the table, with Ola, Barrett, Tristan, and Valerius seated on either side.

"In the skirmish, we lost three refined steel tower shields. Five Knights sustained minor injuries and will need a week to recover. The scout unit suffered no casualties," Barrett reported first. "As for results, we repelled the enemy and retrieved some of their limbs."

Ola snorted.

"If it weren’t for your lordship’s vines, the Knights wouldn’t have been able to fight underwater. Those bastards are slippery in the water and strong, too. Our heavy armor just became a burden."

He paused, then added in a gruff voice, "This time, it was all thanks to your biological weapons."

Velin looked at Tristan.

"The situation in the territory."

The chief Civil Servant’s expression was grave.

"My Lord, shortly after the battle ended, a strange phenomenon appeared on the sea. Combined with our previous investigations, the workers at the port and the residents in the city are all talking about ’Sea Monsters.’ Panic is spreading. This afternoon, seven masons quit and returned to Newly Town."

He spread his hands.

"If the threat continues, the port’s construction will grind to a halt."

"Master, your investigation?"

"My Lord." The Alchemist pushed up his glasses. "Preliminary analysis indicates the black mist is an alchemical compound. Its main components are deep-sea sulfides mixed with an unknown biological enzyme. It can block light and Magic, and corrode steel and flesh. The substance used to seal the cave entrance is still being analyzed."

"As for the Multi-Armed Race," Valerius said, pointing to a sealed jar on the table that contained a piece of blue-black muscle, "their muscle fiber density is three times that of a human, and their blood has an extremely high oxygen-carrying capacity. Most importantly, there’s the ’symbiotic pressure shell.’ It’s more like a wearable organ than a piece of equipment."

Velin narrowed his eyes.

"So, conventional physical attacks and the vine entanglement were both less effective," he summarized.

"Yes."

The council chamber fell silent.

The technology and power displayed by the enemy exceeded their expectations.

"We won the skirmish," Velin broke the silence, his voice calm. "But we lost the information war."

Everyone looked up at him.

"They came prepared. Those five Warriors were just a probe."

Velin stood up and walked over to the wall where a map of the territory was hanging.

"They tested our reaction speed. They witnessed Ola’s heavy Knights, Barrett’s Crossbow Arrows, and my biological weapons."

"They were gathering data on us," Barrett realized.

"And what about us?" Velin countered. "We know nothing about them. Their population size, social structure, strategic objectives... we don’t even know what that self-destructive act of spewing black mist meant."

"The unknown is the greatest threat."

"So what do we do? Just wait for them to attack again?" Ola asked impatiently.

"Reinforce the underground defenses. Ola, your Knights need anti-interference training and should be equipped with the Shock Absorption Potions Valerius is concocting. Barrett, have the scouts stop their deep reconnaissance and instead deploy alchemical detection nodes. Tristan, calm the populace. Make a public announcement explaining the situation. My people are not cowards who have never weathered a storm."

Velin issued his orders one by one.

Just then, a long neigh came from outside the window.

Nefarian, the gray-black Pegasus, broke through the clouds and landed in the lord’s courtyard.

A messenger ran into the council chamber, knelt on one knee, and presented a wax-sealed message tube with both hands.

"My Lord, an urgent secret message from the Golden Sail Commerce Association."

Tristan stepped forward to receive it, checked for Caroline’s personal seal, and handed it to Velin.

Velin opened the tube.

Inside was a single sheet of parchment. Caroline’s handwriting was messy and rushed.

"Velin, the ’Multi-Armed Race’ you described are known among the long-range fleets as the ’Deep Sea Rogues.’ They have no nation, but each of their clans possesses the power to destroy a port city. I’ve already sent someone to the Grey Marsh Territory. Until he arrives, cease all underwater activities! I cannot stress this enough! —Caroline"

After reading it, Velin placed the parchment on the table.

Caroline’s tone was extremely grave.

’Deep Sea Rogues,’ ’destroy a port city.’

These words weighed heavily on everyone’s mind.

He walked to the window and looked out in the direction of Minas Tirith Port.

The sea breeze was salty and damp, carrying with it an ominous premonition.

’I’ve tried to keep our development low-key, but trouble always finds a way to come knocking.’

"Tristan," Velin said without turning around.

"Implement Miss Caroline’s recommendation immediately. Halt all work at the port and ensure the workers’ safety."

"My Lord! That will cause us to suffer heavy losses!" Tristan said urgently.

"Losing money is better than losing our territory and our people," Velin’s voice left no room for argument.

"What we’re facing is a tribe."

He clenched his fists.

’Until Caroline’s person arrives, I have to prepare for the worst.’

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