The recent developments had spiraled so far out of control that even the gods had been informed. Their response was immediate and very clear: gather everyone and abandon the camp as quickly as possible. The longer they stayed, the greater the chance of being tracked through various skills, which could become incredibly dangerous given the overall strength of the enemy strike force.
The gods probably also assumed that Thalion would reach D grade relatively soon, which definitely wasn't going to happen. First, he needed to win the Third System Event, and afterward he still had to find a way to get rid of the system's mark.
A full day had already passed, which Thalion spent dragging as many D-grade crystals out of the ocean as possible. Most D-grade beasts couldn't do much against the offensive capabilities of his serpent form. Even when they survived the initial attack, they were usually far too injured to reach him before he finished them off. In a single day he had collected twelve crystals and reached level one hundred and twenty-two, which wasn't bad at all.
The crystals would be desperately needed to strengthen the defenses of their main base.
Annie and Thalasan had gathered another ten crystals between them, with both having already reached D grade. The biggest challenge remained finding the crystals in the first place, which was where Thalion's two titles gave him a tremendous advantage. Everyone else focused on hunting beasts and stripping the surrounding area of every useful resource they could find.
Now there was only one task left.
Destroying the base.
The goal was simple: make sure Ethan couldn't track them.
There was also the possibility that Ethan might eventually discover the island base. It wasn't that far away, and so far everyone was simply hoping nobody would go looking in that direction. The ships had already been instructed to fish elsewhere just to be safe.
Most of the buildings had already been dismantled, and the materials transported through the portal to what would soon become their primary settlement. Only a handful of battered structures still remained standing, and honestly they hadn't been worth moving in the first place.
Now came the final job.
Blasting the rest of the base into oblivion.
"How big do you think the explosion will be this time?" Evelyn asked excitedly from aboard the ship.
Since destroying the teleportation circles would have been a complete waste, they had been loaded onto the vessel instead. Once they arrived at the new settlement under Seraphina's command, the circles would be installed there.
Lucan had hidden multiple bombs throughout the abandoned base. The idea was to make it look as though a massive battle had taken place rather than a deliberate demolition designed to erase every trace of their presence.
"It's gonna boom so loud that my ears will be ringing for minutes!" Kargul roared with excitement.
"Hopefully he isn't just going to—"
Maike never got the chance to finish.
A wildly excited Lucan suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.
"THREE! TWO! ONE! OH BOY, HERE WE GO!"
The next moment, a massive pillar of light shot into the sky, followed by a chain of enormous explosions.
The shockwave alone was so powerful that the ship's railing cracked in multiple places. Several unprepared crew members were thrown off their feet, and a few particularly unlucky ones even landed in the water.
What happened to the base itself was even more impressive.
The explosion was so violent that it practically removed the entire settlement from existence. Everything was ripped apart as a crater over one hundred meters deep appeared where the base had stood only moments before.
Since the settlement had been built close to the shoreline, the remaining sections of earth couldn't support themselves anymore. Entire chunks collapsed inward, followed by the sea rushing in to claim the crater.
"Huh, good job. Ethan definitely isn't finding us now." Thalion chuckled while clapping the crazy smith on the back.
Lucan, however, looked disappointed.
"A bit underwhelming, to be honest. I was expecting much more. Somewhere in my calculations, something must have gone terribly wrong."
Nobody knew how to respond to that.
"Anyway," Thalion continued, "thanks for all the hard work. Let's head to the new main base. We need to strengthen our defenses, and I'll be trying to gain a few more levels before the Third System Event."
The announcement was followed by a rather weak round of applause, mostly because half the people still couldn't hear properly after the explosion.
During the journey back, Lucan eagerly explained several ideas that he believed absolutely had to be included in the world's greatest defensive fortress.
"Look, Thalion. The teleportation circle is located right at the foot of a mountain. Naturally, that means the entire mountain has to become our base. We build huge walls around it and add a giant protective dome. Then we hollow out the inside of the mountain and create even more living space. To avoid being discovered too early, we'll need an illusion array, but that shouldn't be difficult."
Lucan paused only long enough to draw a breath.
"The truly tricky part is the defenses."
His grin widened.
"Because everyone knows that the best defense is offense."
"If they're allowed to keep hammering away at the shield forever, it's eventually going to break. Therefore, we need a way to get rid of the attackers before that happens, and luckily I've already prepared something for exactly that."
Lucan's grin widened.
"Newly designed mines that can be detonated remotely. I still need to work on increasing their explosive power, but they should already be roughly twice as strong as the charges I used on our former base."
He barely paused to take a breath before continuing.
"But you're probably wondering what we're supposed to do when the enemy is flying."
Nobody had actually asked.
"That's why I spent the last few days developing the Birdkiller-47."
Lucan looked absurdly proud of himself.
"It's a large rocket. First comes the massive explosion, and then comes the really good part. It's packed full of razor-sharp shrapnel. Most flying enemies are relatively fragile and rarely wear heavy armor, so all those metal fragments should cut them into pieces."
His grin somehow became even wider.
"I'm also working on long-range artillery in case someone decides to outrange us. So, what do you think?"
Lucan finally noticed that he had been talking for quite a while and at a rather alarming speed.
"Honestly?" Thalion shrugged. "So far it actually sounds pretty good. Just make sure the mines can't be detonated by accident, otherwise we'll end up causing more damage to ourselves than the enemy."
To be fair, Thalion didn't really have anything against Lucan's plans, even if they were a little excessive.
Then again, nobody would expect something like that when attacking.
He also had the feeling Lucan was only asking for approval because somebody else had already turned the idea down or caught him in the middle of building it.
Their new main base was located beneath a mountain and surrounded by what seemed like an endless forest. Behind it rose a mountain range several kilometers high.
Building walls around the entire area would take forever, and Thalion was quite happy that it wasn't his responsibility.
He briefly checked out his new home, which felt considerably less grand than the last one. There was a blood pond with his armor in the cellar and a communication circle above it. The first floor contained little more than a bed, and he didn't even bother checking the remaining rooms.
It was enough.
Frankly, he didn't need more.
The vampires had done a surprisingly good job transporting his armor, even if in retrospect he could have easily done it himself. Nobody could have known that the hunt for Ethan's craftsmen would end so quickly.
There had been a few mistakes regarding the crystals powering the blood pond, which Thalion had to correct personally, but overall they had done well.
In general, there were two things that mattered far more than comfortable living arrangements.
The first was adding light-affinity skills to his human form, which would make him a much better match against Eric.
The second was learning how to properly harness the power of captured souls as an Eclipsari.
Both projects would have to wait until after he gained a few more levels.
His goal was to reach at least level one hundred and fifty before the Third System Event.
Level one hundred and seventy would be the dream, but that felt unrealistic.
The real issue wasn't killing strong enemies.
It was finding them.
The teleportation formation leading to Integrated Space still required more time and at least five additional major crystals before it could be activated.
Once it was operational, Thalion could attempt a few short trials in Integrated Space and perhaps even make some allies.
Given what would happen after the Third System Event, having a few friends in powerful places certainly wouldn't hurt.
Still, any political ambitions would have to wait until his level and other preparations were secure. He couldn't afford to disappear for weeks while still risking being too weak for the upcoming event.
Since the ocean had proven by far the best location for leveling, he had already considered returning there. It would also allow him to gather additional crystals for the formation.
Unfortunately, another problem had emerged relativ quickly.
The ants.
The massive insect colonies in the area had become increasingly aggressive.
Even though the ants were intelligent enough to understand them, every attempt at negotiating a peaceful arrangement had failed.
Instead, they attacked gathering parties whenever they found an opportunity.
Weak humans were killed.
Others were abducted.
So far, three gathering groups had been wiped out completely, while two more had vanished without a trace.
Each gathering team usually consisted of five to twenty weaker workers supported by a small group of stronger fighters.
The fact that the ants had successfully defeated trained combatants brought an alarming amount of joy to Kaldrek and Maike.
Apparently, both of them found the situation strangely entertaining.
There was, however, somebody else who was considerably less amused.
"Thalion, you need to gather everyone and kill those ants immediately."
Ricarda marched toward him the moment she spotted him.
"Those stupid insects keep eating my plants, and I can't do much about it."
She sounded genuinely offended.
"Normally I send my plants out to hunt and gain experience for me, but now the ants keep devouring them. I have to guard the stronger ones day and night."
Thalion didn't really have anything against teaching the ants a lesson.
This time, however, he intended to be far more careful when dealing with any queens hidden deep within the hive.
What continued to puzzle him was what everyone else had been doing while the situation kept escalating.
That question was quickly answered when an exhausted-looking Maike suddenly landed beside him.
Judging by her expression, she had a few things she wanted to say about the ants as well.
"Thalion, you need to get into that forest immediately and wipe out those ants. We lost another group, and D-grade ants have already been spotted. Josh and Jack are off having some competition over who can scout the larger area. Annie and Thalasan are still diving for crystals, and everyone else is busy dealing with those spiders. Just... do something."
"Hey, relax. I just got here." Thalion raised both hands. "Do you at least have an idea where the hive is located?"
Having some sense of direction would be incredibly helpful.
D-grade ants also sounded exactly like what he needed if he wanted to gain a few levels quickly.
"The fuck do I know?" Maike snapped. "On one side of the forest there are fucking ants roaming around like an army of assassins, and on the other side there are giant fucking spiders. I hate this place, and I hate this constant leveling. Every single week you have to adapt to something new. Always, Thalion. Always."
Great.
That wasn't particularly helpful.
Thinking about what Maike had just said, he wasn't even sure whether a rough direction toward the hive was possible at this point.
Still, at least he had a target and something productive to do.
"Good enough. I'll take a look. No idea when I'll be back, though. I really need some levels."
With those words, Thalion dissolved into crimson mist and shot into the distance like an approaching storm.
A few moments passed after he disappeared.
"Is it really smart to send someone in the early to middle E-grade range against organized D-grade ants?" Ricarda asked.
"Eh, it'll probably be fine."
Maike waved dismissively.
"You should worry more about your fucking elves. Every time I tell them to do something, they make some snarky comment, and it just makes me want to smash their heads against something hard over and over and over again."
The outburst caught Ricarda completely off guard.
Normally, she had very little interaction with the human woman who somehow managed to command everyone around.
Then again, surprises had become rather common lately.
And Ricarda wasn't the only one having a surprising day.
<--
"What is this?" Ethan wondered out loud, standing before a massive hole in the ground that looked like a meteor had slammed into whatever place had stood here before.
Three days ago he got the report that the party tasked with creating the teleportation circle, so they could bring the whole herd of low-level humans to his camp, had failed to report back, which forced him to come looking personally.
Normally he traveled with a small entourage of D grades, but not this time.
He needed to be fast with this matter.
Sadly, it looked like this had been a major waste of time.
All tracks led here, where now only a massive hole was left in the water.