I'm standing in my tactics room with my generals again… It feels like this has become the norm. The new information I have now about the enemy is needed to be given… Several of my generals have decided to opt out of this meeting. Brick, Epieoth, Fast, Tough, Strong, Zergnar… Almost all my fighters stepped out while almost none of my mages did. Only Kline had decided to miss the meeting. Trice recaps the meeting.

“… Hmm… You're telling me the leader is a lich… And she is forcing her men to eat… The flesh of other humans to become grotesque monsters that aren't human. So the longer this fight goes on, the more dangerous becomes. She has turned every one of our plans against us and you also left Lance and Leon back in the base to continue to spy… You also were found out as a spy and she can drain mana from people… Her blood knight can use his weapons to infect people with a blood poison as well… This fight seems far to dangerous to take to them… This situation sounds far too dire to take head on but she keeps routing our plans… This is going to be far more difficult then I originally planned.”

“Yea… That's the gist of it… So… Does anyone have any plans to counter Gold's manipulation of the situation?”

Swift steps forwards. “I would like to acquire some reading material on the subject. Perhaps a book could glean some new information on defeating the lich and you said he was a blood knight?”

“That isn't a bad idea… I'll have to head to Shienta and Merideth to look for some reading material, perhaps a few of you should come with me to acquire future reference material.”

I see a few of my generals eyes light up as I say this… It looks like we're going to have a trip to the cities in the middle of a war… I would also like to sneak a communicator slime to Lance or Leon. I don't doubt my abilities to sneak back into the base… With how high alert they are, it would still be difficult to assassinate Gold… If I get the chance, I'll take it in a heart beat… Trice speaks up next.

“We should try to sneak a communicator slime in to Lance. Also we need to start talking about the team that will go in too kill Gold… Hmm… Since she can absorb mana, it would make sense to keep those with mana away from her. I would like to have Leon there… If we need him to use his skill to finish her quickly, it might save everyone who is fighting her from a gruesome tragic death.”

“Yea… I was trying to learn it from him… He seemed to avoid me when I brought it up… I'll try to convince him after they are done spying.”

Hilda steps forwards next. “I would like you to purchase a few things for the children in the army. We're lacking toys and safety equipment. The children should also have some play things outside so they can get some fresh air. It might also help to reinforce the trail leading to town through the forest.”

“Of course. Are there any toys in particular you think I should buy?”

“… I know that plastic toys are far more expensive but they are safer than wooden ones… If you could perhaps purchase the majority of wooden toys and a few plastic ones for outside that would work. I would also like you to layer some of your silk over the toys you ride on with your silk to make them safer.”

“Noted… I actually have some knowledge on making toys… Don't ask me where from but I should be able to make some equipment for them to play on.”

I remember some of the woodworkers I had hired in my previous life as Lust… While it didn't give me any recipes, the construction of things like rocking horses, wagons and puzzle cubes would be easy enough. I could make them in different sizes for the children… Maybe even make a few bigger sets of toys for my troops… I've been thinking of making an obstacle course for a few months now but it keeps getting pushed back because of my schedule.

I still don't understand why Leon is avoiding teaching me his skill… Perhaps he is afraid of losing a skill that makes him unique like Lance afraid of teaching me lancet. I have a feeling that Trice is hiding something from me… Several times she has tried initiating a conversation but hasn't done so yet. I feel… That some of my other generals are hiding secrets from me as well… Some of them might have unlocked awakened classes and haven't told me about them yet… It is just a feeling I get when I hear all the improvements from the first battle…

I keep losing track of this war. Like everyone had said, we need to stay focused on learning how to deal with Gold and her blood knight… I rally the smart generals and we all take a trip to Shienta. Many of the people here have grown accustomed to the sight of different humanoids… Not the type of humanoids I manage to bring…

Lizard men normally stay close to water so seeing one in a city is very rare. Swift looks around with a curious gleam in his eye. Constantly asking me questions and stopping at every stall selling anything. Constantly looking for something he can use and he has quickly acquired a backpack full of items he is struggling to carry. I grab his backpack from him and store it in my void bag. I'll have to make a void bag for him next, some of my generals are still lacking in vanity enchanted items like that.

He continues to buy things I see no use for. Several sharp knives I have to wrap in my spider silk as to not puncture the void bag on accident. Cooking spices even though I've never seen him cook… It becomes quickly apparent that he has no grasp of money and I have to stop him as he has bought almost a gold worth of items I doubt he will ever use. We make it to the library and several other book stores with no luck on books about this situation.

I've only heard of blood knights in stories. They are a force to be reckoned with in times of war because of the high amounts of bloodshed… I highly doubt he would have been that much of a threat without the planning of Gold to help him. It was most likely her idea to store barrels of blood for him to use as ammunition. It might have also been her preparation that let him use his blood in so many unique ways. I've never heard of blood knights using even half of the techniques he used against me. Most blood knights use a single blood weapon that expands and gets bigger and bigger... He uses several small ones as projectile weapons... I doubt it was his idea, Gold must have instructed him on the manipulation of the blood into smaller weapons.

Gold is a complete mystery, I have heard of humanoid lichs but never thought I would encounter one. They are rare beyond rare, almost as rare as Darkclaw. I doubt we will find a book on her no matter how many place we check… The only book we found was a children's story book about a courageous blood knight who managed to defeat a dragon after his comrades were slain by it.

I gain no new information about blood knights… Except that even such a dark class can be used for good instead of evil… This end of the mission is a failure… We buy the book anyways seeing as it is a children's book, we buy all of their children's books. I head over to a corner shop selling miscellaneous items and buy whatever plastic toys they have. Plastic is an extremely rare substance, it can be found as a rare drop from dungeons and sells for higher amounts then some rares do because of their rarity… I buy 3 toys totaling 5 gold… That is an outrageous amount of money for a few toys, only a well off family would ever be able to afford these. Seeing as these toys are going to be played with by hundreds of children, it makes sense to buy them.

One ball that bounces fairly high when thrown at the ground. I know from my previous life as Lust that they are very fragile to cutting and pointed objects, so they will be inside only toys for this reason. A plastic doll with movable arms… This gives me an idea of making miniature automaton dolls for the children. They could also act as security for them when outside if needed…

The final toy was a box with a crank, when cranked a little clown would pop out. While not made from plastic it is very intricate so is more expensive then other toys. It even surprised me when it happened, my instincts kicked in and I almost destroyed the box… Barely stopping myself when I realized it wasn't going to harm me or my generals. Hilda liked the toys and thought they would be a good addition to the few we have at the fortress.

“Alright… I'll give you each some spending money… I have a few friends I'd like to visit while we're here… Head back home when you're done to store your new things then once we're all back we'll head to Merideth through the portal.”

We all break off. This will be a good lesson to several of my men who don't use money as a form of currency. Swift being the biggest person who needs to learn. I head back to my old schools first… I haven't been there for years now… I wonder if they'll even recognize me… I doubt it. Seeing Milton the old headmaster brings back memories. He sees me then begins to speak.

“Hello, are you applying for school this year? It is a bit late but if you can work for a few extra classes you still might be able to pass this year.”

“N-no… I actually went to this school before… I was wondering if you remembered me?”

He looks closer to me, almost eyeing me like an appraiser eyeing a valuable item.

“Hmm… I can't say I remember you… Which is odd… I remember most of my students… Could you by chance give me your name.”

“...It isn't important… I just came by to see how everyone is doing. Are you all still preparing for the pirate invasion in case it happens?”

“Not really… Most of the preparations have been done. The only thing left is to wait for their attack… Speaking of which… You remind me of someone who went to our school… Do you have a brother perhaps?”

“No… Just… It was great seeing you again… Actually… You were an adventurer in your youth… Have you ever come across a blood knight or a human lich in your travels before?”

“A human turned lich… I've never heard of that before… That is dabbling in some dangerous magic if what you are speaking is true… But for the blood knight… Yes… We've had a blood knight as a student before. Really nice fellow, devoted to his studies. He passed as one of the top of his year… What do you want to know about them?”

“Well… One thing in particular is, do they have any weaknesses? They seem like a very strong class without many weaknesses.”

“Ah, most people would assume that but… Classes like that always have a weakness or a counter to go against it… With blood knight I would assume holy classes would fair better against it. Most effects would be strengthened against him unless he was standing on desecrated ground… My student could do that but I had to convince him to not use it inside the school grounds… If you could get a paladin to consecrate the ground before you went to fight him… Even cleansing the ground as you are fighting him would increase your odds against him… Why do you ask though?”

“Well… That student I remind you of… What was he like?”

Milton sits down in a chair. While talking he headed towards his office. He takes in a deep breath and begins to speak.

“Some might have seen him as a… Problem… Constantly looking to learn can be a good thing but when the things you're learning can be catastrophic if used incorrectly… Most people would have seen disassembling my automatons as a crime big enough to punish, which is also what I had seen at first… Until I seen his automaton… Every advantage I had growing up on the island where the automatons were made. This student not only learned what had taken years for me too. But improved upon it as well… I just… I couldn't punish him for being so clever… I also seen the kindness in him… He would never use the automatons for anything nefarious… Only making a handful to help keep people safe… Yes... You could say he was a good person... I still remember hearing talks about his exploits after he left here. He supposedly leads an army now but that is just a rumor.”

“Yea… Well… Thank you for your time...”

I walk away… I've changed so much I'm unrecognizable to most people… Without stating that I am Kite, I doubt many people would even notice… I will take his advice to heart and my plans will be changed because of this information… I still have some people to visit and I need to add another to the list. The only paladin I know named Zeke.