22nd Move | Sister of Scylla

"You want me to build a weapon for Milim?"

I was moments before saying the phrase 'Door me' to a meeting with the guild master of Eren's adventurer guild before Rimuru called.

Rimuru appeared as a small hologram projected from my nanosuit which currently clung to my body like a second skin. The issue of taking out a phone and then tapping away with it became apparent during both when Arcueid first came into this world and my attempt at activating the Escape Protocol.

So instead, I integrated the phone into my clothing. Different from the nanosuit used to fight against Ifrit, this one is more specialized in day-to-day action. Meaning that while it sacrifices a bit in areas of protection, the nanosuit gains the ability to rearrange itself into any type of clothing, has all the functions of my graphene phone, and can integrate itself with any tinkering assistant.

It's the ultimate piece of clothing.

"Um, yes. I traded a weapon for exclusive information about the Ten Great Demon Lords. Apparently, Milim was seriously impressed with your 'chanted infant universe' armor and now she wants a weapon made by you." Then Rimuru continued in a tone that someone would use when asking if the other person did something shady, "By the way, chanted infant universes?"

Ah. That. The Gravastar Armor.

"Okay," I snapped my fingers, "that sounds bad, but it's mere anthropization. Let me explain. You know black holes right? Remnants leftover from when stars explode?"

The holographic Rimuru nodded.

"Now, see, black holes, after initial testing, are actually baby universes. However, these baby universes will forever implode into their singularity thanks to the effect of time and the event horizon. But, if the imploding black hole can somehow decrease its entropy during the stage right before its collapse, it can force the spacetime around it to undergo a phase transition. What's known as a 'gravastar' is born instead of a black hole. With me so far?"

Rimuru hesitantly nodded.

"The gravastar expands as the inside is filled to the brim with vacuum energy that has a positive density but negative pressure. Now, this negative pressure causes the collapse to stop right before the matter forms an event horizon around itself, and in turn, expands as a normal universe would thanks to Cosmic Inflation. However, this expansion is limited, and as the force of the infalling matter and negative pressure evens out, the gravastar stops expanding and sits still. It becomes something like a stationary shockwave. You understand what I'm getting at now?"

"I'm sorry Scientia, but frankly I didn't get any of that."

I paused for a few moments and thought about how to dumb it down even further. "Alright, just imagine the gravastar as an empty space filled with dark energy and isolated from the rest of the universe in a shell of super-dense ultra-relativistic fluid with very low temperature and very low entropy. The only reason it's not blazing brightly is because I'm siphoning the light as energy to partially power the armor."

"Al... right."

Even without [Psychology], I could tell Rimuru didn't get any of that. That's okay, he hasn't read the textbooks made by [Teaching] and [Spacetime Engineering] yet.

"In short, just think of it as my magnum opus in terms of defense. But it's really tedious to get in and out."

Honestly, it's so tedious I'm tempted to start working on its replacement. The Block-Form Singularity Mathematic costs a whole Super Jupiter's worth of matter, millions of times more but at least it isn't as tedious to get in or out of.

"Oh... fascinating. A black hole huh? Umm..."

"Don't worry Rimuru, I'll build Milim an appropriate weapon," I waved off his concern.

With that, the holographic call ended.

Now, Milim's weapon...

If I do give her a weapon, it'd obviously have to be one that can't be turned against me. You don't give anyone, even your family member, a loaded gun after all.

Instantly, [Personal Arms] combined with [Space-Time Engineering] gave me an idea of a pair of gauntlets, with [Surgery] I can turn these gauntlets into an implant.

The gauntlet/implant is a weapon that can serve both offensive and defensive purposes. The main selling point of this weapon is the ability to instantly project 'strings' made out of impossibly small knots in the fabric of spacetime. They are impossible to break, that can bind an enemy or form objects to either attack or defend.

If turned into an implant it becomes a hidden weapon that is both as deadly as it is versatile, my favorite combination.

This is why I'm keeping that for myself. None of my biological or augmented specialties like [Transhumanism] or [Biology] had ever given me an option of modifying myself through invasive surgery no matter how many charges I put into them, the only option I had ever gotten was the Neural Connectors for the M.A.N.A. and even then it can barely count.

So it is extremely fortunate to know I haven't hit an evolutionary roadblock or a genetic perfection.

Now back to Milim's weapon.

"Door me." I walked through the generated Doorway while pondering what to give to Milim that is powerful enough to satisfy a Demon Lord like her who can tank a Particle Disruptor round, while not being so powerful as to be actually threatening if pointed at me.

I'm imagining something primitive. Since Milim doesn't know much about advanced weaponry, I'm not going to give her something like a Gamma Laser Emitter.

So how about something that combines technology into the shape of a primitive weapon?

[Plasma Physics] and [Primitive Weaponry] gave me the idea of a sword. A very special sword that uses magnetic fields, electricity, iron dust, and a miniature antimatter reactor (alternatively, magicule can also be used to fuel this). By compressing, shaping, and vibrating the iron dust with electric currents and magnetic fields, the blade heats up to 8,000 kelvin and retains a cutting edge counted in atoms thick.

A lightsaber, or in this case, a dustsaber. How the dustsaber won't vaporize its surroundings will have to be worked out but it's entirely doable.

Although I have encountered a very strange magic metal inside the mantle of some planets. They appear to be red in color and have some extreme physics-bending properties that seem to make them ideal for magic-based arms. Perhaps I'll use that as the primary material of this weapon?

Since this weapon isn't going to be used by me, I don't mind as much that I'm using magic instead of pure science.

Through the Doorway, I appeared in front of a specific closed door to a meeting room within the Capitol building.

With a swiping gesture, a holographic display appeared directly in front of me.

>Change: Three-piece suit.

Instantly, the nanosuit that sheathed my body shifted chaotically like the surface of a stormy sea until it rearranged itself into a sleek and extremely professional-looking three-piece suit with a black tie.

Pushing open the door and walking into the meeting room, I saw the Falmuth envoy sitting on the left side of the table while Eren and her teammates were on the right. The trio of adventurers also brought an unknown man with them as well.

The room, compared to the one used for Phobio, was much more futuristic. The walls were made of hexagonal plates of a grey plastic-like material locked in with lines of blue in between each plate.

The ceiling had lights that were shaped into wavy lines and there were multiple paper-thin graphene screens attached to the wall, all displaying a flag of a crimson sun on a white background behind a simplified blue eagle spreading its wings as if about to take off: the Jura Tempest Republic's flag.

Eight pairs of eyes were on me the instant I opened the door. Nobody spoke. Nobody dared to break the silence that I brought, the silence that comes with perfection, for to speak is to disturb it, and to disturb is to risk the perfection disappearing.

The silence was finally broken once I pulled the chair and sat down in front of the table.

The Falmuth envoy seems to collect himself and dramatically declared, "so the ruler of this country of miracles is finally here."

[Silenced Emotion: 60%]

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm just the one assigned to deal with foreign dignitaries. I'm not the President, the elected leader of this nation." I said while tilting my head a bit to the side. My uncannily perfect voice caused the unknown man and Falmuth's envoy to flinch, "however, I do speak with his authority."

Primarily because Rimuru was needed to entertain Milim. The pair got off rather nicely, which is a huge boon for the safety and security of the Republic.

The envoy blinked several times in surprise before making a face that screamed 'alrighty', "Well now that you're here, we can finally get started."

His posture shifted to more business-like, "greetings, my name is Youm, the representative of Falmuth. I'll be honest, when I was sent to investigate why the Orc Lord was suddenly wiped off the map by a previously unknown nation, I expected to find a newly risen Demon Lord within the Great Jura Forest, not a city that can rival Lura in its beauty."

None of Youm's entourage rebuked that statement.

Bringing up a mental map of the world, I recognized Falmuth as a Kingdom that resided on the northwestern side of the Jura Forest.

It is a Great Power on the geopolitical scene. Even without Razen the Mage, Falmuth has enormous economic and trading power since it's situated between Dwargon and Ingrassia, between two of the four established Superpowers in the world.

"Metropolis is a miracle. Its streets are clean, its people are healthy and rich, and the mages I brought with me detected no magic used in the constructions of your ridiculously tall housing buildings," Youm chuckled a little, "honestly, it's all quite overwhelming. It's like discovering a city of gold when you venture further than anyone else into the jungles of Sarion."

A smile appeared on my face, "Thank you for your flattering—" obviously sucking up, "— compliments."

Youm stilled for a brief moment before coughing into his fist, his cheeks were a noticeable shade of red. "To be honest, I had expected that the leader of this city was a goblin Demon Lord and the populace to be extremely hostile. Just like all the other monster nations. But you guys surprised me again with how friendly everyone is. In short, the Falmuth Kingdoms wishes to extend a hand of friendship, trust, and trade."

"Don't you think you're getting ahead of yourself, Youm?" The unknown man bought along by Eren suddenly interrupted. "You may have a high-ranking position as the head of an expedition but given how I've never heard of you, I think it's more likely you're just someone Falmuth picked up and sent out not expecting to survive. You're their Yudine the mines."

Yudine is a species of bird that starts to chirp once the magicule saturation level is high enough. Commonly used by miners to ensure the places where they mine don't have too high of magicules that it becomes hostile to humans.

The hostility between the two men was so clear one has to be both blind and deaf to not notice. I cupped my chin and started wondering how I can use this. You see, arguments are fountains of information because once things get heated, lips get looser. However, if anyone gets injured, this would reflect poorly on Tempest.

Am I willing to risk that?

I quickly weighed the cost and potential rewards before coming to a conclusion.

No. My grasp of their psychology and personality isn't enough.

"Gentlemen, please, we don't want a fight do we?" I turned to Youm, "thank you for your words. The Jura Tempest Republic will always return a hand of friendship. You see, we are a mercantile people. Unlike the other kingdoms and the false Republic of Ulgresia, ours is a true rule of the people, by the people, and of the people. It is where every citizen, no matter their sex or status, is allowed a say in our government. We don't discriminate because, with science, any gaps in physical differences can be closed easily. Having a trading partner aside from Dwargon would help us immensely."

"Dwargon?" The unknown man who accompanied Eren said. Interesting how he cared more about Dwargon than science...

"Yes indeed. And although I'm familiar with Kaval, Eren, and Gido, I'm not sure I know you..." I trailed off.

The man stilled before realizing he hasn't introduced himself all this time. Chuckling a bit, the man placed a fist above his heart, "I am Fuze, the guild master of the Free Guild's Blumund branch."

While my face was the epitome of passivity, my eyes turned to Eren, who was looking very guilty right about now.

Seeing how I'm looking at Eren, Fuze quickly said, "oh, they didn't violate whatever agreements they had with you. I'm also the Assistant Supervisor of the Blumund Kingdom's Intelligence Department, so I already knew that somehow, the Orc Lord was killed by an unknown thing that caused such devastation, the forest transformed into a hellish landscape only demons could live in. They're only here because they know the Jura Forest better than any adventurers I have at the moment."

"I see. Well met, Mr. Fuze then." I thought about whether or not to reveal our weapons, only to come to the conclusion that yes, to have a weapon only fire once is to have others know of its power, "I assume you want to know what caused the Orc Lord's demise?"

"Yes. I need to know if you've betrayed humanity or not."

My right eye twitched ever so slightly. Fuze must've instinctively trusted me more than any monsters since I'm a 'human', but he's worried that I betrayed humanity.

I looked at Fuze right into his eyes. The man did not back down from my stare.

"Display Polaris-class battlefield dominance-type weapon Test-004." I declared, my eyes never once leaving Fuze's.

Instantly, the graphene screens framed around the room changed. What once displayed the Tempest flag now showed only a pause button.

Fuze finally broke eye contact to look at the screen changes.

"What you are about to witness is our superweapon. It is the thing used to destroy the Orc Lord." As I spoke, all eyes were on me as the room darkened, "I must stress this: we are not a group of violent people. We do not attack unless we are attacked first. Play."

It was the same video shown to the Beastketeers. I could see the looks of horror grow against the orangish glow on the faces of Youm and his entourage while Fuze only showed apprehension.

It was said by J Robert Oppenheimer during the Trinity Test when the first atomic bomb was detonated, some of the scientists present cried. Others laughed. Most were silent.

I'm not seeing any crying or laughing. Only silence.

I guess being in a world where there are beings equal to nukes makes looking at an actual nuke boring huh?

Part of my mind could not help but compare them to people who live in a world where the use of nuclear weapons in conflict was common. [Psychology] then assessed how they probably don't think about how they could die in the next moment at the whims of a Demon Lord because if they do they'll drive themselves insane.

Once the video of Project Throne's firing finished, I spoke once more, "We are not a violent people. We first tried to assassinate the Orc Lord, but that failed. The Polaris is and always will be our last resort. It will only be used when the very existence of our citizens and the Republic are at risk."

The light returned. I could see how Fuze, whose eyes once looked at me with dismissal and a hint of lust, was now filled with fear.

No one dared to speak. Just like when I first entered.

Too much fear.

"We are not a violent people. We are a mercantile people. We trade. We seek to make money, not war. Our ideals are liberty, equality, fraternity, and rationality. You see these ideals seeped into every aspect of Metropolis and the way people interact with you. You see the freedoms these people enjoy, you see how we treat the orcs that joined us equally, you see how kind and supportive we are to the orcs even when they wronged so many people, and you see how with rationality instead of hating the orcs, the goblins who escaped the Orc Lord now work with them hand-in-hand to build a better future."

I paused for a moment to let the facts sink in. If Youm saw how kind the goblins and orcs are to outsiders, Fuze must've also seen it.

"Our way of life, our very system of governance is the very opposite of the singular nature of kings and queens. Here, if the government does something unpopular, the people can reject it. The leader is not above the law, if they do something illegal, they can be charged for it." I then pointed behind me at the wall, but really, I was pointing at the city of Metropolis, "you all saw how successful we are. How happy everyone is. Once news of us gets out, how there exists a different type of government, of how everyone's life can be better instead of only a select few, the commoners, the people who the kings and nobles exploit to build their fortunes will rise up."

In a way, our current situation mirrors that of Napoleonic France. We are the sole republic surrounded by monarchies. An island of democracy in a sea of authoritarianism.

My tone then softened akin to ice melting into water. I held my right hand up as if it was holding something. I looked at it. The pale skin coating flesh, all devoid of any flaws.

"Ideas. They are the most powerful thing in the world. Once a slave gets a taste of freedom, they will crave more of it. They will want more freedom. 'Freedom or death' they'll say. Our ideals are based upon what every human— nay, what every conscious, self-aware entity instinctively wants. Thus, they will spread. The kings and Demon Lords will come to fear our ideals. Their good, obeying slaves rise up even as they're being killed in droves. They will seek to extinguish our ideals. They will seek to snuff out that beacon of liberty, break up that foundation of equality, erase that belief to love thy neighbor, and remove that mindset of enlightenment."

I gestured towards them with my right hand, as if offering them freedom.

"Let me say this once again. We are not a nation built on violence but on commerce. We are not thugs wielding a big stick but traders with wagons full of wares and pockets full of gold. Our goal is not to wage war, but to advance prosperity. The ideals that guide us— liberty, equality, fraternity, and rationality— are embodied in the fabric of our Capital Metropolis. You can see it in how we treat each other, with respect and dignity, regardless of race or background. You can see it in our system of governance, based on democracy and accountability, where the leaders are accountable to the same laws as the people. And you can see it in the success and happiness of our city, a shining example of what is possible when personal freedom prevails."

I finally brought it back to my original point: "Ideas have the power to change the world, and our ideals will continue to inspire and guide us. The tyrants, the kings and Demon Lords, will tremble at the thought of a world where freedom reigns. They will seek to extinguish our light— our freedoms before they can spread. But we will defend our freedoms to our deaths. This weapon, like our own military, is used solely to repel others from attacking us. We don't want war, but we will defend ourselves from any attack."

Whereas the silence from before was one of horror like a person unable to believe their relative committed such atrocities, the silence now was gentler. It was built off of speechlessness, like the aftermath of listening to a thought-provoking video where the listeners are all processing what's been said.

Truly, [Orator] and [Public Speaking] were something never to be underestimated.

That speech inspired something deep within everyone present. I think it'll be especially effective on Eren considering her origin.

In fact, it might be almost accurate to call the speech a memetic weapon.

The silence was only broken when the door to the meeting room opened with Arcueid striding in with a carefree smile on her face and another book in her hand, "Scientia! I'm done with this book, I need more!"

Her silver bell-like voice was filled with innocence and purity, like a single snowflake untouched by the dirt of the world in audible form. In any other case, I'd almost be glad to hear her voice, but god damn it not now, not in front of these people.

I squeezed the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes shut, why didn't Shizue alert me of her coming here?

"Arcueid, please, not now. Could— could you please wait outside for a bit?"

"Ehhh?" Arcueid eyed me with a confused look on her face. She leaned forward and brought the book to her chest, "but why? You're just meeting with some random people."

"Guh!"

From the corner of my eye, I saw how Fuze suddenly clutched his chest as if he had been stabbed. Eren then tenderly patted Fuze with an understanding look in her eyes.

I rubbed my forehead at her antics. My mind couldn't help but notice the difference in common sense...

"Arcueid, I get that you're bored. Your mind constantly needs something to entertain you but could you please wait a few minutes? I'm having a really important meeting right now and I promise I'll play with you after." I pleaded with Arcueid.

The True Ancestor looked to be in deep thought for a brief few moments before closing in and giving me a hug. Due to how I was sitting and Arcueid was standing, her chest was right to my face as I turned away.

"Alrighty~! But don't forget!" Arcueid said as she left the room.

Everyone's stares immediately turned from the door that Arcueid left through back to me.

"Please," I raised a hand in a placating gesture, "she's a personal guest. Don't mind her antics."

Her antics resembled a lot like a five-year-old, what with all the attention she demands from me, and will go to progressively more and more drastic lengths to get them if denied.

Well, I guess I'm her guardian, so I mostly let her antics slide.

"Now—"

*Beep*

An emergency from Doormaker.

That's not good.

_____________________________________________

Last Night.

"That group of monsters led by that one human..." Phobios growled, trying to cover the fear he felt when he saw that replay through the magical recording device.

The Leopardman then turned the grilled meat around, his companions didn't look much better than he did.

The sheer devastation those rings caused firmly put the fear of these primitive monsters into him. Phobio had only seen that type of power once during his long life as one of Demon Lord Carrion's Three Beastketeers when he first saw his lord annihilate an army belonging to a self-proclaimed Demon Lord situated near the edge of the Jura Forest.

Lord Carrion personally took to the field and slain that fool when he vaporized the heavily fortified castle that the upstart had constructed near one of the mouths of the Ameld river. The battle was better to be called 'Butchery'.

The power his lord displayed during that butchery was legendary. Lord Carrion transformed into a majestic chimera of every main beastmens in existence. Truly, only then did his Lord show why only he was called the 'Beast King'.

It was that awe which caused Phobio to climb up the ranks and finally became the Third Beastketeers.

And now that power which Phobio saw as once exclusively monopolized by Demon Lord Carrion was gone.

"The power that rings wielded..." the leopard demihuman gripped a random stick he found off the ground and tightened his fist around it, "if a mere creation can cause such damage, then what could its master do?"

"Well, there's no use in grieving over spilled milk. We better report this new nation to Lord Carrion—" the Monkey-faced Beasteketeers was cut off when Phobio snapped the stick in two and threw both into the fire.

The campfire was whipped up into a frenzy, temporarily blooming higher than they were.

"Such humiliation!" Phobio exclaimed, "Such weak creatures led by a human don't deserve Lord Carrion's attention! Just like those weak-ass humans in the west! No, this nation is even worse! They derive their strengths from their creations, not their own power! Instead of taking the field and casting the grand spell of nuclear destruction, they stand back and let their soulless automatons do it in their stead. Where is the warrior's honor? Where is glory?! Argh!"

Phobio stomped the earth beneath him, causing tremors to radiate out from the point of impact like waves from an asteroid strike that had just landed in the ocean.

"If only I had the power to subjugate them I wouldn't need to be frightened by their trinkets! And that woman..." He had a savage grin on his face as he started fantasizing.

Eurazania is a kratorcracy, meaning that a person's place in society is based solely on their might. It was said that Beast King Carrion implemented such a system in the aftermath of Relentless's Rampage because he had a few chats with demons and was inspired by the system they had in the Underworld.

As the one second only to Carrion, Phobio wielded enormous power. He could get away with a lot of stuff while receiving only a frown from his peers. As such, he dreamed of seeing a burning Metropolis, with that fair woman being his spoils of war.

Phobio's fellow underlings backed away as they were all a bit unsettled by the expression on Phobio's face.

"So raw power that you seek?" A voice that promised mischief said from nowhere. "I can give you power."

A really bloated clown strolled out of the vegetation from nearby, his posture oozed with mock sympathy. He then bowed, "my name is Footman, a member of the esteemed Moderate Harlequin Alliance!"

Phobio and his subordinates all collectively narrowed their eyes in suspicion. After all, who wouldn't when you find clowns wandering around in the middle of the night in the largest forest in the world?

"That mercenary group? You're members of that mercenary group who sells anything from information, treasures, and even people?"

"Hmm yes, I see our reputation precedes us." The fat clown sounded pleased to himself, "Tell me, have you heard the legend of..." Footman then rubbed his hands together like a greedy merchant, "...Charybdis?"

That monster? The Ruler of the Skies. The Ray That Hates. The Karmic Retribution of Humanity's Violence. The Hero Chronoa sealed away Charybdis the last time it was alive in a cave residing inside the Jura Forest.

"What about Charybdis?"

"You seek power to subjugate that women and her nation, do you not? You would need power equal to a Demon Lord if you want to stand against them toe-to-toe." A new voice belonging to a smaller clown dressed in pink appeared.

Phobio whipped his head to face the new voice. Inside him was a tiny bit of nervousness at the appearance of the Moderate Harlequin Alliance. They are known for their ruthlessness and their adherence to never betraying their clients even under the pain of torture and death.

"Who are you and how does that legendary monster enter this equation?"

"My name is Tear and I too, am a member of the Moderate Harlequin Alliance." she bowed, "Charybdis' centuries-old seal is weakening, so it stands to say that within a few years, the big Ray that Hates would be free to rampage around the world once more..." then she trailed off.

"But if someone were to somehow gain control of this power, to give this personification of destruction a mind and body, whoever wields it will be incredibly powerful."

Phobio's mind reached back to when he first read about the monster, about how it was considered to be a Disaster-class threat and it took the Kingdom of Nightrose. with the aid from Sarion and the extinct Kingdom of Thelium to fully put down the beast.

Then it woke again and rampaged across a tenth of the world before Chronoa put the seal on the beast.

Such power...

"We found the cave but aren't confident in our ability to control the beast: we weren't strong enough. Thus, we were stumped on what to do next before we overheard your wish for power." Footman offered Phobio a hand, "if you truly want power then merely say yes and we shall guide you to where Charybdis is sealed!"

"What's in it for you?" Phobio tilted his head, and Footman knew he was hooked.

"We merely want a few favors here and there as well as credit for creating a new Demon Lord." the pink one said casually, mystifying Phobio as she does. Credits and a few favors? No, there has to be a deeper motive for them to do such a thing.

He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, thinking deeply about what he's been told.

Normally, he would ask Lord Carrion before acting, but such a small nation didn't deserve his lord's attention.

"I accept," he then turned to his companions, "you guys head back without me, tell Demon Lord Carrion everything that has happened in the past 24 hours."

He carefully chose the wording in such a way that its true meaning is hidden, completely flying over the two members of the Moderate Harlequin Alliance's heads.

However the monkey Majin received the message loud and clear, with reluctance clear in his eyes, he nodded, "as you wish, but be careful Phobio."

_____________________________________________

Now, the War Room.

The newest version of the Doormaker Satellite sits in orbit around this system's gas giant. It's shaped like a two-kilometer long equilateral triangle with three massive spheres around the corners that house Doormaker's main power source dominating the satellite's superstructure.

All over the satellite were lines upon lines of computronium to aid in the calculations required to ensure when distorting the geodesic structure of spacetime to connect two points, that the occupants aren't shredded.

It's a very odd shape I know.

But, speaking of being odd, Doormaker has spotted a massive object traveling at very quick speeds in the northern portion of the Jura Forest, more specifically, the Canaat mountain range between the Republic and Dwargon.

"Charybdis?" I looked at the monitor, General Ririna had recognized the beast from stories the elders of the goblin village would tell.

The monitor in front of me displays a massive beast hundreds of meters in length shaped as what I would recognize as a manta ray. It flew over the trees underneath it like how a bird would glide over vast distances without flapping their wings once. Doormaker also spotted more flying shark-like creatures going in conjunction with Charybdis, acting like limbs rather than individual animals.

"Charybdis is expected to make cityfall in 73 hours, afterwards they will likely level it to the ground, Lady Scientia," Shizue in her silver war chassis reported.

I'm currently sitting in the middle of the small War Room, in the chair of the commander. Multiple holographic and graphene screens were situated all around me, each displaying critical information concerning the threat. Soft talking in the background belonged to other hobgoblins, some orcs, and a dragonewt or two were all working at their own desk.

This feels like a good place to use Project Thrones again.

"How soon can we get the Thrones up in the air?"

"In three hours, Commander," Rubedo replied sharply.

Ever since I had healed Rubedo we had this strained relationship where he acknowledges me as his superior and lord but always avoid me whenever possible. In fact, unless directly talked to or requested, Rubedo would go out of his way to never even see me.

"Get all Thrones up in the air and have them line up in the western tip of Lake Shisu, they will be one of our last lines of defense. Is the Othinus Network online?"

"The Othinus Network is online, Lady Scientia," Shizue affirmed.

"Perfect, link the targeting subsystem with Doormaker for its computational powers. Have the settlements in Charybdis' path been evacuated?" I'm going to record the defeat of Charybdis by our military. With us defeating Charybdis so quickly after the Orc Lord, we should be looking like an extremely undesirable target.

"No, Commander,"

Hearing that caused a frown to appear on my face. If I am to do this right then it has to be perfect.

A map of the Jura Forest projected itself in front of me, I zoomed in to an area northeast of the lake, and large highlights greets my field of vision as that is where part of the Lizardman tribes resides.

Due to them being reptiles, the lizardmen don't fit well with how dry Metropolis is, so those who do come to the larger cities were forced to buy specialized housing units that contained extra heating capability. Most of them now reside in the newly established city of Rimuru situated at the mouth of the Ameld connecting to Lake Shisu.

Moving the map focus to the northeastern, I found plenty of smaller settlements.

I need a way to quickly evacuate the nearby population. If I launch Othinus at Charybdis so close to civilians it'll likely cause casualties, and I will not have the second military operation of the Grand Military of the Republic be marred by civilian casualties.

I guess I can use Doormaker to start an emergency evacuation of the settlements closest to Charybdis while using VTOL gunships to move those further away.

I turned to Rubedo, "use Doormaker to start evacuating the civilian settlements within six hours' distance from Charybdis. Use VTOL gunships to evacuate those further away. I'm going to use the Othinus Network to neutralize this threat."

The Othinus Network was inspired by Project Thor from my old world. The basis behind it all is a rather primitive one: rods from god, better known as 'Kinetic Bombardment'. It's where satellites up in low to medium orbit contained these pure tungsten rods that they would later launch at targets. Since it's pure kinetic, it bypasses the treaty where you can't have nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons up in space.

Scientists calculate the three-meter variety can hit with a few tons of TNT, and the ten-meter types can hit with a force comparable to a small nuclear bomb.

However, Othinus uses 20-meter by 2-meter ultra-dense drills that are fired off using railguns onboard to achieve speeds far beyond the normal Mach 10 that Project Thor has, around Mach 50.

The resulting devastation I saw when testing this on an uninhabited planet was...

Immense.

Just imagine the whole area as like the surface of a bucket of water and the rods as a fist punching the water as hard as they can. The usual solid ground behaves more like a liquid than a solid with this much energy involved.

It may not be as powerful as some other weapons but it is one of the cheapest.

"I wonder just how much kinetic weapon affects a spiritual being in possession of a body?"

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AN: I've altered Arcueid's personality a bit since this is a new world for her. If I were to describe her I would say she's a Scion-lite when it comes to human logic, where she doesn't know much but due to being a True Ancestor isn't completely illogical.