Chapter 83: A Shift in the Artistic Style

Therefore, Li Hang and the others were now focused mainly on weapon designs with larger calibers. There were also opinions questioning why they had to use firearms at all... but such suggestions were immediately shot down. The concept of the battle axe had already taken root deeply in everyone’s minds.

Of course, after a week of fruitless brainstorming, someone proposed that they simply keep the designs for now, and wait until they had more blueprints, creating a complete set—each drawing corresponding to a single component. That would basically solve all their problems.

After all, what they could produce right now—whether cold weapons or firearms—was simply too feeble. None of it could compare to the straightforward and effective barrels of explosives weighing one, ten, or even a hundred pounds.

At this moment, having listened to Li Hang’s brief report, Collin, bathed in the wind of revival, considered for a moment and replied, “You can keep them for now, and I’ll see if there’s a chance to obtain new blueprints soon... But it’s best to make several copies, to accumulate our war potential, so that in a critical moment, we can immediately unleash their value...”

It was true that they could hold onto the blueprints for now, but they couldn’t just do nothing and wait. When danger arrived, they had to wring out every last drop of their resources and value for the sake of the future, leaving nothing in reserve.

“Alright. By the way, Boss, what did you call us for?” came Li Hang’s reply.

“‘Copy of the Bloodthirsty Stigma’—I want you to take it and run some experiments…”

“That’s a real treasure!” Li Hang’s eyes brightened as he read the message. In the hall, hastily converted into a meeting room, a crowd pressed together, all babbling as they peered at the sheepskin scroll.

Afterward, Collin shared his thoughts—such as “adopting” a batch of aberrants, and suggestions on how to save and efficiently use resources...

As he spoke, everyone in Li Hang’s room stared at the messages on the “screen,” their expressions growing stranger and stranger until, at length, none of them replied.

In their minds, the “Bloodthirsty Stigma” was something for blood-drenched slaughter, a perpetual motion engine of killing... But Collin clearly had other ideas.

His views were, in some subtle way, just a bit different from theirs.

After a while, someone finally couldn’t help but say, “As expected of Lord Collin—such a hands-on spirit...”

Meanwhile, as Collin spoke, a particular image suddenly flashed through his mind, and his expression shifted—

In a battle, an injured servant, dragging a blood-dripping axe, walked toward the building where aberrants were kept.

At the doorway, a long line had formed; everyone bore wounds, some light, some severe.

The gravely wounded were prioritized for treatment. The “medical” staff helped him put on the “Bloodthirsty Stigma,” tied explosives to the aberrant’s hand, set the fuse...

Then, behind protective barriers, the gravely wounded patient, lying in bed, shakily reached out and lit the gunpowder...

Before long—bang!—the wound began to heal.

“…Why do I feel like the atmosphere of my territory is starting to take a turn for the bizarre?” Collin sucked in a breath, then shook his head and dispelled those random thoughts.

On second thought...

It wasn’t entirely out of the question.

After all, Collin was a pragmatist; as long as nothing crossed his bottom line, he had no qualms.

With no further topics to discuss, he closed the sheepskin scroll.

After resting for a while longer to restore his energy, Collin led his team out of the cavern.

By now, they had been exploring beneath the cathedral for four hours without incident.

Stepping out of the cave entrance, Collin couldn’t help but halt, confronted by the dreadful, twisted olive trees whose grotesque faces exuded a wordless terror.

Especially as he now stood at the very point where all the olive trees faced—hundreds, even thousands of warped, elongated wooden visages fixed their gaze upon the group, sending chills down their spines.

Fortunately, owing to Kimino’s intervention, these strange, living trees no longer harbored hostility towards them.

Still, the sense of being watched in secret was more than a little unsettling.

After a long moment, Collin raised his lantern and made his way past the olive trees. Amid the soft crunch of branches and leaves underfoot, they finally reached the forest’s edge.

“We’ve arrived...”

A cold, uncanny white mist wreathed the forest’s border. Compared to the first time Collin had seen it, it now seemed a little thinner, less dense.

Yet it remained mysterious, still stirring unease.

You notice it seems much weaker now; you suspect this time it won’t carry you too far, but unless you all stay together, it might still send you to different places.

“Same as last time—fall in line and stay together.”

Soon, the group joined hands, forming a long chain, and under Shana’s lead, stepped into the mist.

As the last person entered, a fleeting sensation of weightlessness washed over them, and the dense white fog swallowed all sight...

A familiar confusion followed—impressions of marching in place, of feet not quite touching the ground...

Who knew how long they walked? At last, Collin and the others felt solid earth beneath their feet once again.

Slowly, their vision faded from impenetrable whiteness.

When they finally emerged from the mist and surveyed their surroundings, Collin frowned.

“Another forest?”

He realized that here, too, was a woodland, but after consulting his hints, he found that this was just an ordinary forest, devoid of olive trees.

The trees were much like those outside—withered, without a single leaf.

Unlike the “living” death of the olive grove, here was utter desolation.

Yet this familiar deadness was comforting, for beneath the fog, the world was always thus—it gave them, paradoxically, a sense of safety.

After all, it was what they knew best.

On the ground, the ever-present “Luminous Stones” scattered their glow, making the area not entirely dark.

But more than any of this, one thing drew everyone’s gaze.

Collin looked up. In the farthest distance, beyond the outline of a mountain range, he saw the sky above that region illuminated by something.

It seemed that beneath those mountains, there was a massive source of light.

Pure and rejecting all things, that radiance lit up the place—you believe that is where the High Court lies, and you are on the right path.

But it seems a long way off; you will have to travel quite a distance.

“Phew...” Collin let out a sigh of relief. No matter how far, as long as the path was right, that was enough.

He snapped his fingers, and everyone swiftly returned to their stations, reforming the defensive formation.

Drawing his attention from the distant glow, Collin focused all his senses on the surrounding woods, his mind racing as he drew on every hint for information...

In the end, Collin confirmed that, for now, there was no danger nearby, but as they advanced, all bets were off.

“Number One, take a headcount—make sure no one’s missing.”

“Yes, sir!”

One, two, three... twenty-five...

Number One ticked them off on his fingers, then reported, “My lord, not a single one is missing!”