Ermu
Chapter 1106: The All-Purpose Solution
"Cough cough, what Roland meant by taking care of her, you should understand, right?"
She couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, deliberately replying in a bewildered tone, "Isn't it the literal meaning... staying by Leaf's side, like taking care of a patient. Her body is injured, so she must have many inconveniences usually—"
"Hey!"
This time Ash finally couldn't hold back her laughter, which leaked out from the corner of her mouth.
"So you were teasing me—"
"Don't worry, I know what I should do." She turned around and blinked her eyes, "His Majesty just wants to use the Transcendent's unique perception of magic power fluctuations to give Leaf an early warning—just like the encounter between you and me."
If not for this ability, you wouldn't have seen me in the crowd, covered in blood and like a wandering soul.
"I'm not a devil," Tilly said with her arms crossed.
"Just an example," Ash waved her hand in surrender, "After all, I'm the only one who has fought a devil, right?"
"What about after the warning?"
"Of course, rally to the reinforcements and defeat the enemy together."
"Really?"
"I'm not the Third Princess of Mad Flame, wanting to challenge any opponent I see." Ash laughed, "As long as the magic power isn't cut off, Leaf can traverse the entire forest in an instant, there's no point in me staying in place."
"Hoo..." Tilly exhaled, "Don't forget what you said."
"Of course," she walked up to the other party, looking directly into the Fifth Princess's eyes, "I'll be with you for a long time. Andrea, that fellow, was born into a noble family and doesn't know how to take care of people at all. She just thinks being able to fight is enough. How can I feel relieved leaving you to her?"
"W-what are you saying, you idiot!" Tilly glared at her and walked towards the inner room in annoyance.
At the door, she suddenly stopped and whispered, "I... am actually very happy that you could save Leaf."
Ash was slightly stunned.
"It would be a waste of your ability to only protect me," Tilly turned her head, "Although you keep saying that it's safest for me to return to Sleeping Island, you actually like it here too, right? Your smiles are much more frequent than before."
Is... that so? She couldn't help but touch her cheek.
"Even on Sleeping Island, you rarely smiled, always wearing a stern face, as if waiting to fight enemies at any moment," Tilly continued, "I'm afraid even you haven't noticed that the new witches are very afraid of you. Only Maisie, a simple girl, can fool around with you."
"And now, you not only get along well with the Witch Union, but I heard you even have admirers?"
"Are you talking about... Lorgar? No, she's just more familiar with me, probably because we spar often..."
"That's good," Tilly interrupted, "Compared to the past 'Avenger', I prefer to see you as you are now. But!" She paused, "This doesn't mean you can do whatever you want, recklessly showing off, understand?!"
After a moment of silence, Ash replied, "I understand."
"Good," Tilly nodded in satisfaction, "Maybe soon, I can also go to the battlefield with you."
"Oh? Has there been progress in the Sky Knight plan?"
"Roland said he's trying to combine a new power source with a glider. If successful, he can create a new type of aircraft that can fly freely without Wendy." Tilly said with great interest, "But the first thing to complete is a special aircraft designed specifically for me. It is said that it will fly even higher and faster than the Terrorbeast!"
His Majesty wouldn't let you go to the battlefield, and... I've already made an agreement with him, Ash smiled, but didn't say these words, "I'll go see you on the day of the test flight."
"Yeah. I'm going to take a shower first. I've been operating the Seagull all day, and my back is sticky... See you later."
"Really not taking a shower together?"
"Don't even think about it!" Tilly said and slammed the door shut.
Ash sat down on the sofa in the living room, looking at her palm.
The last strike that slashed at the devil, the sensation is still vividly remembered.
At that time, she seemed to have stepped into a new realm, even if it was only for a second, it was enough to leave a deep impression.
Whether it was her vision, movements, or reactions, it was as if she had broken away from the surrounding world, with only magic power accompanying her. The extremely strong torrent of magic power burned her, and also brought her unparalleled power.
Ash even felt that the power was responding to her call, enticing her to go further.
"Magic power affects not only our bodies, but also our personalities... If we desire to use magic power to achieve a certain goal, it will guide us in that direction."
"Then you... what exactly are you fighting for?"
The words of Phyllis, a God's Punishment Witch, during the first expedition to the Barren Lands, echoed in her ears again.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you are a Transcendent, naturally possessing unimaginable potential. But if you want to truly cross that threshold, you must have a concrete goal and a firm will."
"All the recorded Transcendent ascensions in the Union took place during battles, and those who failed to cross this threshold all fell at the hands of devils. I hope you can become the former."
"Transcendent ascension... The three seats of the Union, have they also faced the same choice..."
Ash clenched her palm...
She probably knows the answer now.
...
Roland returned to his office and picked up the phone connecting to the main hall of the Administrative Office.
"Connect me to Barov."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Soon the voice of the chief butler came from the receiver, "May I ask what Your Majesty's orders are?"
"When will the latest primary education exam be held?"
"Let me check... It's scheduled for a week later, and the estimated number of examinees is two thousand six hundred and fifty."
It seems that the time is just right, Roland calculated in his heart, "Make a staffing plan. I need to transfer a batch to implement a new project, tentatively around five hundred people."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The current Neverwinter City is like a huge furnace, throwing people gathered from all over the kingdom into it, and after completing primary education, they are immediately assigned to various jobs. On the production line, a large number of experienced producers can also accept these newcomers without any difficulty. After the handicraft workshop model was broken, technology changed from privately hidden knowledge to a craft system, and taking the old to bring the new became a matter of course. After a large number of newcomers become skilled workers, they can further expand the scale of production and swallow more latecomers.
The foundation accumulated by Neverwinter City over the years can independently realize this cycle. When the population and resources invested in the furnace reach a certain scale, industrialization can show unparalleled power.
After hanging up the phone, Roland took out a thick stack of drawings from the drawer.
Since the attack on Tower No. 1, he had prepared a large number of plans for the "omnipotent response method", most of which were design materials collected from the Dream World. What he had to do was to localize them according to the actual situation of Neverwinter. And there is a weapon among them that is very suitable for the current situation.
"Have a new idea again?" Nightingale appeared from the mist.
"Ah, that's right..." Roland quickly flipped through the drawings, then pointed to a page and stopped, "It's it."