I entered the conference room after being up on the roof for about an hour. There was no new information to present. The Avatar was still unconscious as well, with no sign of waking up. I sat back down and everyone became quiet with my arrival.

“I have decided on the course of action that I will be taking. Attempting to capture level 7 monsters is not possible. While I can fight at that level, turning them into crafting crystals, not so much. I haven’t reached the level of dominating them. Michelle, you can handle level 6 monsters?” I asked her.

“It will be tough but doable,” she replied. I nodded at this.

“You will work on getting crafting crystals from level 6 monsters. As many as possible for bomb. Even if the energy density isn’t as much as we want, smaller components can be used, correct?” I asked.

“Yes, to some extent. But higher energy would be preferable,” Doctor Katz said.

“We will set up production operations in New Kochi, to leave them viable for as long as possible. Clarissa?” I asked her.

“Tax revenue has cratered. While panic hasn’t set in yet, it is only a matter of time before word leaks and panic spreads. But I will make the arrangements to set up production facilities in that location,” she replied, and I nodded at that.

“Jacob will continue to monitor the situation and determine the rate of expansion and possible counters,” I delegated.

“I have come up with something that could be useful,” he replied. I gestured at him to keep going. “A low energy resonator. Instead of a battery, create the inverse, to draw out energy and prevent non-System energy from harming a person. It would still be a resonant weakness.”

“How long would it take?” I asked.

“Not long. Since the device can be left behind. Once it becomes impacted, cut the connection. But it should serve as an early warning for soul damage. If I make it large enough, then it could draw out non-system energy in sizable amounts.”

“Weaknesses?” I asked.

“It would be a resonant device. And your regeneration would be impacted all the time. Basically, it would be a buffer. The larger the buffer, the better,” Jacob said. I considered the option and then shook my head.

“For now, no. The risk is too high. I know my own capabilities the best,” I said, and Jacob bowed his head. “You said you are looking at an energy type counter and nature was the best?” I asked.

“It is complicated. It is like creating an annihilation weapon against humans, who have all types of energy. Or the environment itself. The way energy blends togeather is not simple. Creating an opposing blending will take time. And if it is in the air already, that makes it more complicated. I will work on it, but no idea on when I will have results,” Jacob explained.

“Beyond tracking the expansion rate, that is your number one priority. Doctor Katz has experience in weapon systems, he can take the lead on bomb making,” I said and noted Clarissa nodding at that.

The next part I had been considering if I should really make the final step. But there was no one else. What we were lacking the most at the moment was information. There was only one person who could get more critical information.

“I will be heading to the epicenter of what is happening. I should be back in 6 to 7 days. I want to get a better understanding of what is happening and gather intelligence. If I see an opportunity to intervene I will take it. We can make rank 5 bombs?” I asked.

“There is a supply cache that can be used with crafting crystals. Doctor Katz?” Clarissa asked him.

“Give me an hour. We have enchanting tables?” he asked.

“We can afford the cheap ones no problem,” Clarissa replied, and he nodded.

“Can you start right away, I plan to leave immediately,” I told him, and he nodded, leaving with a couple of soldiers Clarissa sent with him.

“I want to prepare something as well,” Jacob said and took the empty sample box and left the room. I didn’t have time to ask any kind of question before he left.

“You can’t die,” Clarissa told me.

“I don’t plan to,” I replied, and she slumped down into her chair.

“Was it too much to ask for nothing to happen? You think Jacob might have triggered it?” she asked me.

“Doubtful. He was watched right?” she nodded at that.

“Then it isn’t something I would worry about. The main issue is the loss of territory. I am wondering why word isn’t spreading?” I asked her.

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“Martial law has been declared across the Empire. Certain travel directions are being shut down. But everything costs points. The next step is something that will create unrest, but I don’t see an option,” she said.

“You want me to issue a directed order to declare a crisis. I am surprised you haven’t done so already,” I said and Clarissa shook her head.

“It isn’t that simple. I could do it, and would consider doing it in your name, but it means the governmental structure would collapse and the internal pressure would get worse,” she said. If I declared a crisis, that meant all pay would be suspended. The effective tax rate would be placed at one hundred percent.

The medicine would be just as bad as the disease. But over half the Empire had been lost and the situation was not going to get any better. Taking such a step would be incredibly unpopular. The last time had been when we were at war with the Dragon Empire.

That was a major reason Clarissa didn’t want to declare the war over, until she was sure the Divine Empress was gone for sure. “If not now, then when? Release the information to the public and update the edge of the expansion. Use my name,” I said. My popularity would take a hit, but moving into full scale war footing was prudent to get the points needed for the plans I was making.

“Should we evacuate?” she asked.

“Yes. The high-level grinding teams especially. We can’t afford to lose them. We will treat this as a major conflict against an unknown enemy. Sticking our heads in the stand and hoping it goes away won’t work. We are lucky communication is limited, but people will find out. Better to be honest,” I said.

There was silence after that as we both stewed in our thoughts. After a couple of minutes, Clarissa finally stood up. “I will begin making the arrangements. I will stay in the Forbidden City for as long as possible, then evacuate to New Kochi. Come back Michael,” she said with a smile in my direction.

“Thanks Clarissa. You know me, always surviving, like a cockroach,” I replied as she left the conference room. I went out and purchased property and had some food. I then returned to the room to wait on my two scientists. Michelle had already left with Captain Francis to get crafting crystals and points. I had a soldier run a note to Clarissa saying what property I had purchased in the city.

Eventually Doctor Katz showed up with six annihilation pipe bombs. “You twist both halves togeather. There should be a click. After that they will explode violently in five seconds. They cannot activate unless twisted.”

“Much better than previous bombs,” I said.

“We have engineers who have worked out designs. The casings have nature enchantments which should help, resist the energy.” He handed me a bandolier. I tightened it on top of armor, with the annihilation bombs on my chest.

“You sure they can’t activate on their own?” I asked.

“Positive. They have been tested. We don’t have a variable timer, but five seconds was deemed adequate. Once twisted, several channels line up on the inside and enchanted liquid flows in various directions. Once the fluids touch, boom. So, it doesn’t matter how you hold the bomb or throw it,” the good doctor explained.

“Arrows as well,” I said.

“Yes. Keeps it simple so that anyone can use it,” he replied. Jacob came back into the room with the sample box. He set it on the table near us. There were eight tiny rods in the case.

“This is a cultivated flesh tubes. If for some reason you cannot, get a sample of the thing itself. You can get a sample of its energy. The purer the better for the purposes of attempting a resonance connection. These tubes have samples of high density, high energy flesh inside of them. There is a very tiny gap on the red colored tip. The flesh won’t leak out, but energy should be able to spiral in.”

“To change the flesh?” I asked.

“Yes. I have been running tests hoping that a person would create a link, but they aren’t strong enough and just die horribly. Their body vaporizing. People without stats just die instantly and turn to goo. Regardless, these samples are incredibly strong.”

“They will fall out of this case,” I pointed out.

“We can add something to the bandolier,” Doctor Katz said. It took a short time to purchase a new bandolier, for spots for the tiny metal sample tubes. One end was red with a very, very tiny hole.

This was why I kept around the Master Fleshcrafter. He may be a completely horrible war criminal, but he was now my war criminal, coming up with solutions. I was glad that he was my insane scientist. This felt like the kind of problem that I wasn’t going to be able to melt with Acid Shot.

With the preparations made, I quickly set off on the road towards Purgatory. It was annoying that I couldn’t use Air Burst, but I was planning to avoid my skills as much as possible. Doctor Katz hadn’t rejected the possibility of this new type of damage, and if anyone knew about damage, it was Jacob.

What wasn’t being talked about were the countless people who had died from this disaster. Clarissa talked about it in terms of economic impact, but that was just her way of coping with the sheer disaster this was. Losing Purgatory to the Divine Empress wasn’t nearly so bad.

It was bad, but it wasn’t like losing multiple cities and grinding teams out in the various zones. Maybe it was a bad idea to tell the truth, but it mattered for the veterans. If we were going to move to a full-time war footing and look at evacuating people, then the populace needed to be informed. While it sounded nice not having an immediate crisis, we had moved past that point.

Clarissa was clearly hoping that the situation would go away, or I would be able to resolve this quickly. But that just wasn’t going to happen. While I had some hopes of sorting things out, once I arrived, I wasn’t optimistic. Even with my stats, bombs, and future resonance attacks, it was like a single ant thinking they could kill an adult human.

No matter how strong the ant, and how stupid the human, there was just too much of a base power gap. Even with more ants working togeather and acting intelligently, it wasn’t simple to make up that base difference in power. Anything that could threaten the Almighty System was completely outside my weight class.

“Almighty System, if I fix this, I better get at least a meta-point. No. Make that ten meta-points,” I muttered out loud while racing along the road. There was no response, not like I expected one. The one time the Avatar would have been actually useful, she wasn’t. I would have felt bad for her, except that she was a horrible human being who deserved to suffer for all eternity.

I had considered bringing her with me, but that just seemed like asking for more headache than I needed. With my luck, the thing doing this would take control of her and start distracting me. Or she would do it and claim it was the thing out there, just because she liked being difficult.