Fixing the food problem (III)

General Anglius was shocked when he heard that, and a smile appeared on his face as he turned to the young Lieutenant. The young man nodded and immediately left with a group of soldiers before returning with large pieces of meat.

The young Lieutenant and the rest of the soldiers put the meat in the center of the Rune Formation before placing their hands in the periphery of this one and releasing their energy. 

Expectation appeared in General Anglius' eyes as he saw how the runes began to glow as they absorbed the energy from the soldiers. His eyes widened as he saw the primary rune begin to extract dark and foul energy from the pile of meat.

At first, General Anglius was scared about that foul energy, but his worries dissipated as he saw the rest of the Runic Formation seamlessly neutralizing it. After a few minutes, no more foul energy emerged from the meat.

"Move back!"

General Anglius shouted to the soldiers as he approached the pile of meat and took a small piece before throwing it into his mouth. He was already a Level 2 Warrior, and his vitality was the highest, so if it were still harmful, he could endure it better than others.

The meat was bland and chewy—definitely not a gourmet meal—but General Anglius did not care about that. There were many ways to improve the taste of something, and the only things that really mattered were its safety and nutrition.

After consuming the piece of meat, General Anglius began to feel warm energy coursing through his body as his stomach digested the meat, and a broad smile appeared on his face as he realized that the formation did what Vlad said.

Now that they had a renewable food supply, they could finally begin to rescue people. That would not only be the 'right thing' but also improve their defensive power. After all, while ordinary people lack training, even a little child could become a powerful soldier with the Level System.

Of course, General Anglius' morals would not allow him to send children straight into the battlefield, but placing them on top of the wall to fire Magic Missiles at a horde from a safe distance was not so hard to accept.

"You can use the Abyssal Consumption Rune 24/7 if you wish. However, a month from now, the power of the abyssal blood will begin to wane as the metallic non-magic surface is incapable of stopping its degradation. It is like computer software failing to work due to flaws in the hardware."

General Anglius' eyes widened as he heard those words, his smile freezing as he turned toward Vlad. The Runic Formation was amazing, and anyone could use it, but it seemed it would only last a month, which was simply too little time if he wanted a sustainable source of food to feed tens of thousands.

Although he had seen the entire process and could oversee the symbols in the ground, General Anglius knew that duplicating such a complex magical array would not be simple.

He knew the young man was not a fool and let them watch because there was no way they could replicate it, at least not without proper guidance, and the only one who could teach them would be him.

Ultimately, General Anglius and the entire battle fortress would rely on Vlad since the formation would last only a month. Of course, the man did not dare to call him out for that since it might not have been a tactic. He simply did not understand enough of the new powers to make a correct assessment.

"Ahhh, then I guess I will have to rely on your future help to fix the formation."

"No problem. I will be in my domain, so please do not interrupt me. However, if you are going to deploy a rescue party, I am happy to help."

Vlad nodded to General Anglius before going to the barracks he obtained in exchange for the Runic Formation with Jormungandr.

General Anglius could not help but gaze at the young man's back, feeling that he was enshrouded in a sea of mysteries and power.

The young Lieutenant by his side frowned. They were around the same age, and he was a soldier with years on the battlefield, yet he felt no different than a child in front of that person.

"What do we do?"

General Anglius remained silent as he heard that and, in the end, could only sigh.

"What can we do? He is stronger than us and understands this new world better. We must keep him happy or at least avoid enraging him."

He then made a small pause as he glanced at the Runic Formation, and a sharp light appeared in his eyes.

"Since we only have one month until the energy in the abyssal blood dissipates, we will use it all the time. Since there is no more electricity and the refrigerator does not work, we will cure it; that way, the meat will stay good for up to five months.

With the hundreds of demonic corpses we have, we will have enough meat to feed ten thousand people for at least two months. Since the horde keeps marching, I doubt we will lack food."

A strange smile appeared on General Anglius as he realized he was coming to expect hordes of demons marching to the fortress now. However, he did not lose too much time in those thoughts and focused again.

"Our enhanced vitality would allow us to survive with fewer nutrients, but we still need vegetables and other foods. You will lead a group and march to Good Side Town, down the hill, rescuing the people that remain alive and obtaining as many resources as possible."

The young Lieutenant's eyes were sharp as he nodded. There was no fear in his heart at the prospect of leaving the fortress as he was ready to fulfill his duty, but then a solemn light appeared in his eyes.

"Will we ask for his help?"