Miko was eating a piece of cake in Vans's room. She watched him make potions while also analyzing his use of mana. She seemed to judge his mana control, since she did not have to worry about that due to the almost infinite amount she possessed. He had to restrain his usage, because he could run out of mana and faint.
"I know what you're thinking, your judging look says it all," he said as he placed several potion bottles into a box.
She said nothing, only continued her silent judgment while eating the cake.
"I don't understand why we're not infiltrating now. What's the difference between going now or two hundred years from now?"
"Some kingdoms are destroyed, others are trying to recover, and some no longer exist and might be rebuilt. There isn't much to be done up there right now. Besides, humans are suspicious. Even with all the knowledge we have, we still don't understand their behavior very well, and in this case it's risky. In two hundred years everything will change and they'll be less suspicious, at least that's what I think."
"Our numbers will stay the same and theirs will be larger. That's bad, even if it's not something very concerning."
"Our numbers will increase as well. It will take longer, but they will still grow."
"We'll stay awake for only one year and then hibernate. There isn't much that can be done in such a short period. But I believe you've thought about this and have a solution."
"Of course I considered it, and everything is under control."
It wasn't. He had completely forgotten about that detail.
Vesta entered the room with three goblins. They wore collars and obeyed Vesta, who told them to take the box to the treasury.
Niko did not like them. She preferred that golems were used instead. But Vesta trusted monsters more, since they did not depend on mana or anything other than food and water, and they did not break over time.
Niko also did not like Vesta. She always felt there was some kind of competition between the two of them over who was cuter, something that did not exist. Vesta never tried to be cute, she was simply calm and had very controlled emotions.
Vesta left the room with the goblins. Niko finished eating the cake and put her hands on a coin pouch. The pouch looked worn out and at the same time consumed a bit of mana.
"Visualize these coins and then think about them when you put your hand inside the pouch. With time and use, you'll do this automatically. We need all the gold we can get, but we also need many silver and copper coins."
Niko carefully observed the gold coins. She put one of her hands into the pouch and took out a gold coin. She repeated the process with a silver coin and then another gold coin. She observed the real coin and then the created one. They were identical.
"There's no chance of error. At least, that's never been reported."
"What do you mean?"
"When you think of a coin and use the pouch, the coin is created based on the one you thought of. This coin you're looking at is from the Vorngate Empire. If you thought of another coin and focused on it, the created coin would be the same as the one you imagined. Try thinking of a coin from our country."
She thought of a coin, and a jade stone came out of the coin pouch.
"Now keep using your mana to create more gold, silver, and copper coins."
She continued creating more coins, and from time to time Vesta and the goblins entered the room and took the coins and potions to the treasury. Vesta hated the work, but she did not show it. She simply followed orders and kept doing everything without complaining.
Mirel could not hide how much she hated the work. She went alone into the dungeon and killed all the monsters she found. After that, she left and asked the soldiers to remove all the bodies and take them to the kitchen. There, the bodies were dismembered and the meat was removed along with the crystals. The crystals were taken to Vans's room, where he used them to create magic scrolls. Sometimes she left the work to another general, even though it was her responsibility.
Niko used the pouch to create more coins and then watched Vans. She continued judging the way he used mana. Even though he had a very large reserve compared to a human, his mana was still small when compared to Niko's. Victor had the second largest mana among the demons, and even so his mana was still small compared to Niko's. She never revealed how she managed to have so much mana. Most likely she was born that way, but that was not certain.
He finished creating all the scrolls and potions with the materials that were in the room. Even so, the work would still take many months.
Strength scrolls were consumed as if they were clean water. They ran out very quickly, since the soldiers used them as if they were an unlimited resource. The same was true for healing and mana potions. Even with healing mages, they were still very useful and necessary, since the mages could not handle all the soldiers.
Humans were no different. They also used resources as if they were unlimited, but in their case they almost were. They had guilds that supplied resources on a large scale. But at the moment, they too were without resources, since the war had been bad for everyone.
Victor was sitting on his throne. He hated staying in that room, but he did so to maintain the soldiers' morale. The image of a strong leader was something he always had to uphold, especially at a moment like that. He regretted what he had done, but he did not want to break the word he had given. He would not go back on his decision, even if it brought only losses. That was also expected of a leader. Going back on one's word showed only one thing, weakness.
The weeks passed quickly. Everyone was busy with something, and that brought peace throughout the Tower. Sometimes there were problems and disagreements, but everything was resolved through a fight to the death. Niko was able to use resurrection magic several times a day, which allowed all problems to be resolved quickly. The loser always accepted that the winner was right. In addition, the fights served as a form of entertainment, reducing problems and boredom.
A man with long blue hair entered the royal hall. It was Pallas. He approached the throne and then knelt.
Victor made a gesture and asked him to stand.
"We need to contain the monsters in the forest. They are out of balance and almost killed all of our cows and pigs."
"What are our losses?"
"The supply of milk and animal meat will have to be interrupted for at least twenty years. We have fewer than thirty cows, and the pigs are fewer than twenty."
"That's terrible," he was tense.
"Yes. I managed to save these animals, but I took too long."
"Why did you take so long?"
"I was informed that the soldiers were killing monsters, so I had to leave my post in the forest to help them."
"Did Mirel ask for your help?"
"Yes."
Victor was furious, but he did not show it. He had always considered Mirel a terrible leader, but she was strong, so he gave her a chance. Even so, her decisions always created problems.
"Don't worry about it. You only followed orders you believed came from me. It may have just been a misunderstanding, so don't worry about what happened. But tell me, were the monsters in the forest defeated?"
"Some of them. Only those that went to the fields. Something happened in the forest and they multiplied very quickly."
Victor grew thoughtful. After some time, he stood up from the throne and went to the production floor. The fields were destroyed. The ground was full of holes and burned grass. The forest was emanating a different kind of energy. He did not know what it was, but he felt a sense of danger.
"Bring Vesta and Niko here."
Pallas lowered his head and agreed.
Vesta was on alert. She looked worried. Niko remained silent, she also seemed to be sensing some danger.
"Can you tell me what's happening?"
"No," both of them said at the same time.
"We need to go inside. With the four of us, maybe we can find out what it is without any problems," Victor said.
"It's better to be careful. I'll send a goblin with a message to Eris and Lysandra. Vans would be useless, and the other generals are very busy. Or should I call them as well?"
"No. Just Lysandra and Eris. Ask for some soldiers in case something goes wrong. They can also collect the bodies of the monsters we eliminate."
Niko took a crystal from a pouch tied to her belt. She used magic to record a message, and Vesta handed it to a goblin who had come with her.