Badge in Azure

Chapter 1307: Wandering Angel (Part 1)

“Fine with me.” Saleen agreed as it was impossible for him not to give anything to the Grand Duke. He lost a good number of men due to having to wait for both Saleen and Imposa. Even if Grand Duke Iron Blood hardly did anything in the later stages, he still had to get something.

Imposa never flinched in the battle. Saleen would never shortchange him on the one-fifth promised. Saleen got most of everything—three-fifths.

The firewing monkeys were high level god creatures and Saleen kept 172 out of the 288 firewing monkeys for himself. He left the rest to both the Grand Duke and Imposa.

The Grand Duke’s dragon had returned to the summoning space and he put away his Dragon Knight armor as well. He looked at Saleen. “Are you interested in the skeletal dragon?”

Saleen shook his head and answered, “Not at all. It has to be either level 13 or 14.”

“You have no way of killing it?”

“Maybe I do, but if we kill it, Alchemy City would get to stay in one piece.”

“So you’re not worried that the skeletal dragon is going to bust out of Alchemy City and kill everywhere on Myers Mainland?”

“I’m not worried at all. It will stay in Alchemy City and go nowhere.”

“What makes you say so?” Grand Duke Iron Blood was curious.

Imposa explained, “Skeletal dragons are not true dragons. They have no need to breed, so staying here would be the most comfortable option. If it kills everywhere, it would attract attention. It’s clever and will at least stay around for several years and build a city of the dead before considering expanding outside.”

Saleen added, “the powers across the mainland are not stable. Right now, I’d say the area around Alchemy City is the most suitable habitat for the skeletal dragon. Go somewhere else and the fluctuations of energies would be too great for it to feel comfortable.”

The Grand Duke nodded. Well, so long as the skeletal dragon stays put inside Alchemy City. While Alchemy City was in a remote area, it was still a coastal city leading to Cloudflow to the south. To the north, there was the Qin Empire and hardly any passes or barriers on land.

Passes or barriers were not useful anyway. The skeletal dragon’s flight was fast enough that no mages below level ten would be able to outrun it.

None of the three felt that Alchemy City would be able to kill the skeletal dragon. Their best solution was to simply abandon the city and run. The skeletal dragon was just starting to get used to Myers Mainland and did not like the idea of chasing after the mages. If they ran, most of what remained of the city could still be kept intact.

“We’ll stay put here for the time being. I assume that you don’t have any other matters to attend to, no?”

Grand Duke Iron Blood nodded without showing much emotion. Imposa thought for a bit. “Grand Duke, I’d like to return to the Palace At Sae.”

“What if something happens here?”

“You could use the teleportation portal to summon me and I’ll be here at once.” Imposa was in a hurry to repair his soul. He was rather reluctant to do so on Saleen’s Floating City.

He was bereft of any capacity for self-preservation while he was at it. Never show the bottom of your purse. Imposa was not naive enough to truly believe that Saleen had became his friend.

Furthermore, his soul had reached the stage that absolutely needed repair. If he delayed healing it any further, it would only be a matter of time before he lost control. His soul would truly split in two and would need to share a single body. His temperament would change considerably and he would have little to no control of himself.

He had gotten the angel of fear at the right time, as it could be used to patch up his soul.

Imposa took his 12 Iron Blood Warriors and left, leaving the rest of his men for the Grand Duke. The Floating City stayed high in the air, getting ready to take advantage of the situation. While the skeletal dragon was powerful, it would not dare fly in a thunderstorm.

The power of lightning in the rain clouds could easily fry its soul after all.

Furthermore, Saleen had his family badge in his hand, so he was still confident enough to take on the skeletal dragon. He had no interest in getting rid of the countless half-deads that the skeletal dragon brought with it though.

Half-deads were not able to cause much trouble quickly and the mages of Alchemy City had gotten greedy enough to hunt some of them. Saleen was in no hurry. What he needed to do was reorganize his own military equipment.

While Bug Angel Armor was top of the line and possessed great lethality, it was impossible for Saleen to just focus on his army of demons. He needed to craft equipment for his elite armies as well. The only armor suitable for human use was the Tainted Blood Armor.

Saleen initially had no way of crafting Tainted Blood Armor, due to lack of materials and insufficient level. He acquired manufacturing methods of the Tainted Blood Armor and countless materials from both the astrology tower and the temple of the goddess, which enabled him to begin building his army.

Saleen had no intention of replicating the Tainted Blood Armor. While humans mages had been far more powerful than their present day counterparts, the crafting of their armor was in no way leaning to the intricate side. While the armor had been powerful items, they had still been somewhat crude.

The two points were in no way contradictory. Human warriors used to have superb constitution. An elite soldier needed to be at least level eight to qualify. Requirements for armor were very low. A set of armor could weigh over 100 pounds and not be considered heavy armor.

There were less than 5,000 soldiers serving Saleen who reached that criteria, but his human army was over 500,000 strong.

Only one in 100 was suited to wear the Tainted Blood Armor.

If all he had wanted was the defensive capacity of the Tainted Blood Armor, he would be better off making other magic armor. They would work more or less the same, and both supplies and manpower of the alchemy factories could be preserved.

Saleen needed to rework the armors’ design, incorporating all his magic knowledge. The weapons at present were different from ancient times. The troops were meant for conquering planes, and the enemies they needed to fight were not of high levels. Powerful ones among their ranks would deal with any powerful enemies encountered. What Saleen needed to do at the moment was to give the soldiers a decisive edge on the battlefield.

Saleen destroyed any miniature alchemical machinery as soon as Imposa left, before saying to the Grand Duke, “Grand Duke, Alchemy City is about to be doomed. What do you have in mind?”

“What do you mean by ‘what do you have in mind?\'”

“Fycro invited me to take on the abominations plane. Have you come to a decision?”

“Of course I’m in. Abominations love slaughtering, which makes them different from the spirits. If the abominations really get to Myers Mainland, both of our countries will be in big trouble.”

“But I can’t trust Fycro.”

“I know that, but Saleen, my family has been around for thousands of years and there are tens of millions who depend on my family to live. I can’t just sit by and do nothing.”

“Well then, Grand Duke, right now I need time. I’m going to dedicate myself to enhancing my powers from September to December and can not craft armor for you personally. You’ll need to look for my teacher for help with that.”

“That’s fine, I need to head back to Dragon Island, so you...”

“My Floating City will either stay here or go to Laiyin Duchy.”

“These are the schematics of the armor I need. Could you replace the monkeys, Saleen?” The Grand Duke asked with concern. He was not a mage, but he knew that many materials during the manufacturing process were irreplaceable.

Saleen took the schematics and countless runes spun in his eyes. He was able to comprehend the meaning of the armor schematics right away. “I could, but there won’t be much materials left for you.”

“That’s fine. Get the armor for me and I’m confident that we’ll be able to survive and come home alive from that war against the abominations.” The Grand Duke said solemnly. He did not bother mentioning the matter of letting Imposa get away.

“Sure then!” Saleen smiled. “If things really go south, I’ll just go up to the Floating City. The abominations wouldn’t dare attack.”

“Is it alright if I let my troops recuperate here?” The Grand Duke asked, testing Saleen out.

“Hahaha!” Saleen laughed for a bit, then continued, “very well, Grand Duke. Whatever else you need, just say it.”

“The Bug Angel Armor is indeed powerful, but they cost too much to operate. Are there any replacements you can offer?”

“Will do. Leave your Dragon Blood Warriors and let me observe them for a month. I’ll have the mages check them and I’ll make you a set of armor suitable for their use.”

“What about payment?”

“I’ll do it for free. I need to nurture my own Dragon Blood Warriors in the future after all. I’ll just take it as doing it for myself,” Saleen answered generously.

The Grand Duke hesitated for a bit. “These four mages of mine here don’t belong to the family; they’re my followers. I can’t bring them back with me to Dragon Island on this trip. I hope you can look after them for me.”

The Grand Duke meant the four level ten mage trainers. All four of them wore masks and mage armor. Their age and appearance could not be told.

None of the four level ten mage trainers reacted when the Grand Duke asked Saleen to take care of his four followers. They simply looked at Saleen without saying a word. No displeasure could be seen in their eyes.

“Do you need me to show them the ropes or would you need them to follow me around and work for me?” Saleen asked straightforwardly.

“Both. I can’t bring them back to the Dragon Island, so I need your help. You may have command over them for the time being. If you’re willing, you’re welcome to teach them a thing or two in regards to magic.”

“Alright, guess I’ll do it.” Saleen looked at the eyes of the four mage trainers.

The four mage trainers lowered their heads and bowed to Saleen. “Thank you, your highness, for having us.”

Well...

Saleen was at a loss for words seeing the four mages, who were the same level as him, lower their heads to him. If their equipment was not taken into account, the combat capacity of the four mages were lower than his.

Seeing Saleen’s puzzled look, the Grand Duke felt compelled to explain, “I’m the only one who is allowed to enter and exit Dragon Island as I please. Anyone else is permitted to enter but not exit. Once they chose to leave after entering, they lose the right to return.”

“Alright, Grand Duke. You have my word that I will not let them do anything dangerous, but if I am in any danger...”

“They’d fight by your side.”

“Glad to hear you say it.”

Saleen and the Grand Duke discussed matters for after they parted ways. The archangel had already brought the metal angels out of Alchemy City. The archangel grew hesitant as soon as the skeletal dragon showed up. There was a sign of fear in the face of the skeletal dragon.

The skeletal dragon might not have bothered eating people, but a creature like the archangel would be made short work of.

The city territory’s suppression on the archangel dropped considerably after flying outside the city, and the archangel had the mood to look up at the city in the sky. The Floating City was hidden among thick clouds, where lightning flashed and thunder roared, its magnificent form showing occasionally.

The archangel turned around to look at the 300 metal angels behind and felt exasperated. All other angels had lost their intelligence with the exception of the archangel. Their god died, but not the archangel, and her powers were enhanced.

What the hell is all this about? The archangel had intended to talk with the ones up in the Sky City, but it did not dare to fly amidst the fearsome storm.