Fuxi: All projects complete. Awaiting further instructions.

“Begin construction of the following items:

1: Firearms Training Robot, with included memory chip and relevant knowledge.

2: 200 rat, eagle, and snake model surveillance and espionage drones.

3: A short-range transponder and charger for placement near Ocaephis.

4: 20 bioreactors for biomass to energy conversion.

5: As many batteries as necessary to store all excess energy.”

Fuxi: Understood. Estimated completion time: 10 days, 22 hours.

Prioritizing my plans, I gave Fuxi a set of instructions. The surveillance drones would be essential to my information-gathering efforts, as I planned to deploy a majority in Ocaephis, focusing specifically on the noble and merchant rings. From there, I would be able to make more educated decisions and plans. But considering the distance, I needed a way to keep the drones charged and connected, which is where the transponder and charger would come in use.

To power not only the surveillance drones, but also the combat drones as well as the gunner robots, I needed biofuel reactors. They would take all the useless plant matter and convert it into usable energy for my growing army. Luckily, I had enough accumulated energy to last me a while, definitely enough to last until the bioreactors were finished.

Once that was taken care of, I ordered the 200 Dianmu gunners to line up in orderly rows outside the mine entrance. Looking over them, I couldn’t help but be somewhat unsatisfied.

“They’re pretty crude, huh Eve?”

“[Compared to what humanity had developed at its peak, these robots are extremely primitive.]”

Like the Enforcers, the Dianmu gunners were still an early version of what would be advanced battle robots. Similar in size and shape to the Enforcers, the gunner robots had rifles instead of hands, as well as more advanced targeting systems for maximum accuracy. Their rifles were supplied through a large backpack-like apparatus that fed ammunition directly into their weapon systems. Unlike more advanced units, Dianmu gunners still used chemical explosives as propulsion for their bullets, making them ill suited to stealth operations.

“Boar, take command of the Dianmu gunners. Use them to guard the more important parts of the base. Assign 2 to be bodyguards for each of the individuals living at the summit.”

Boar Model 1.0: Understood. Assigning Dianmu gunners to their positions.

Peregrine Model 1.0: Warning. 2 Falcons destroyed. Unknown assailant. Last known location, 18 kilometers to the south.

“What??? Access those Falcon recordings right now!”

Peregrine Model 1.0: Accessing…

Suddenly, I felt a stream of data coming to me. After opening the data file, I saw a scene play out in front of me. I watched from the viewpoint of one of the Falcons as it rummaged through the undergrowth for valuable plants. Out of the blue, its sensors alerted it to an approaching entity. Before it could react, a sudden force obliterated it, turning the camera feed black.

The next recording started playing, from another Falcon that had been about 100 meters away from the first one. Once it sensed the destruction of its companion, it turned in the direction where the entity was last detected. The Falcon saw a red flash at the edge of its vision, but it dipped out of sight before it could get a proper look. The Falcon prepared its blade hands, listening and watching its surroundings. A sudden noise alerted it, and it dove out of the way as something attacked it from the back. Spinning around, it cleaved at the unknown attacker, a blinding red light in the center of its vision. The heat warning systems went haywire, and the Falcon was barely able to see its blade hand glowing red hot as the entity got closer. Then the feed went black.

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I mentally frowned, wondering what it was that destroyed the Falcons.

“Eve, got any ideas as to what that thing is?”

“[I am unable to identify the entity.]”

“Send surveillance drones to the area of the incident. I want as much coverage as possible. Report any unusual activity.”

Eidolon: Understood. Dispatching drones 1-70 to the area.

Boar Model 1.0: Raising security level to level 2.

Across the sky, drones zoomed towards the south, scanning the terrain underneath them as they went. The drones flew as fast as they could, reaching the site of the activity within 20 minutes. From there, they spread out and searched for the assailant.

Eidolon: Alert. Unusual activity detected.

I felt another stream of data come to me. Opening it, I was given a birds eye view of the area where the Falcons were destroyed. Around the ruined bodies of the Falcons, I saw that something had burnt the surrounding foliage to a crisp. The trees were still smoking slightly, and a few embers still glowed in their recesses. The drone rotated slightly, revealing a path of flaming destruction leading north-east.

“Follow that trail. I need whatever made it to be found.”

At my command, the drones flew away, with only a few continuing to survey the area. Normally, tracking something from the air in the forest would be difficult, as the canopy would hide important tracks or clues. In this case, however, the fire made following the entity extremely easy. My drones flew for several minutes, observing the trail become clearer and clearer as the fire and embers grew brighter. After a while, my drones finally spotted something. Far in the distance, a quadrupedal animal was sprinting at full speed. The drones were unable to get a good look from such a long range, and were forced to fly faster in an effort to catch up.

As they got closer, I was able to make out that the animal was a wolf. The wolf was much larger than the average specimen, measuring almost 2 meters tall and over 3 meters long. The ends of its fur glowed a bright red, resembling coals at the base of a fire. Each time it exhaled, a plume of red flames escaped from the sides of its mouth, setting the surrounding plant life ablaze.

I quickly ran through the data gathered from a monster identification book I had purchased from Ocaephis.

“Fireblood wolf, huh? A wolf mutated by fire-infused vitae. Known for its larger than average size and ferocity. It can be devastating to farmlands, as its body sets crops on fire. Also possesses the ability to manipulate the Law of Fire, but only to a very minor degree. Common weaknesses include the Law of Water and the Law of Earth, although high level manipulation of the Law of Air can disrupt its fire. In most cases, the Law of Air only serves to increase the heat of its flames. Fireblood wolves are troublesome to deal with, but are still considered low level monsters.”

This revelation worried me slightly. If what was considered a low level monster was so easily able to destroy my Falcons, then what would a medium or high level monster be capable of?

“[I advise you to focus on the current situation.]”

“You’re right, thanks Eve. There’s no point worrying about that now.”

I thought about how I should deal with the fireblood wolf. For the moment, I simply chose to observe and continue monitoring the monster. On one hand, I didn’t want to antagonize the fireblood wolf.Considering it so easily destroyed the Falcons, it might be unwise to aggravate it. On the other hand, the fireblood wolf would be an excellent test subject. Unlike humans, monsters were only born when an animal was caught in the area of a vitae vortex. The closer to the center of the vortex they were, the stronger the vitae within them would be. If I was able to successfully capture the fireblood wolf, I might be able to get a better idea on the exact nature of vitae.

“I want this monster under constant observation. Report any unusual activity.”

Eidolon: Understood. Assigning drones 56-77 to the surveillance of fireblood wolf.

“Even if I decide against capturing the monster, I need to be prepared in case it decides to attack.”

“[I will be sure to update you if there are any developments.]”

“Thanks Eve. Fuxi, begin construction of Chinook model firefighting robots with melee combat modifications.”

Fuxi: Understood. Adding Chinook model firefighting robots to the queue. Estimated total completion time: 12 days, 18 hours.

“Hmm. I need to find a way to decrease the construction time…”