Caelus… Uncle?
A wave of sorrow washed over Bronya. Her future was gone, her mom had been 'snatched away', and now her own generational standing had been inexplicably lowered!
Caelus, I'll never forgive you!
After reprimanding Bronya, Cocolia's gaze fell upon the fishing bobber in the water tank. She believed that a man like Caelus would never do something useless. There had to be a reason for his actions.
Everyone waited in silence for about ten seconds. The surface of the once-calm water suddenly rippled and bubbled, moving rapidly towards the bobber as if some creature was approaching it from below. In the next second, the bobber plunged downwards. Caelus seized the opportunity and yanked his rod back, pulling a flailing cod out of the water.
He held it up and showed it to the crowd below.
"I know you're all worried that there are no fish in the waters outside, but I never said I was going to fish outside. With my fishing rod, you only need to worry about one thing: what to do when you have too many fish to carry!"
The entire crowd erupted in an uproar!
"This is a miracle, isn't it? We all watched the Supreme Guardian dig that water tank. He had no time to put a fish in there!"
"Creation from nothing… What is this if not a miracle? Belobog is saved! We'll never have to worry about food again!"
"All hail Lord Caelus!"
With this, no one questioned Caelus's intentions in recruiting fishermen and farmers anymore. People began shouting, wanting to sign up.
Caelus had Cocolia help manage the situation while he himself stepped off the stage. The speech could end here. His goal in coming on stage was to let everyone know that he was the new Supreme Guardian and to win their trust.
With those two things accomplished, he could focus on other matters.
---o---
Back at Qlipoth Fort, Gepard had been waiting for some time. When he saw Caelus's group return, he looked at Caelus with a complex expression.
"I never thought… that you would be the one to succeed the post of Supreme Guardian."
Caelus sat down at the office desk and raised an eyebrow at Gepard. "So what are your thoughts? Do you support it or not?"
"Since it was Lady Cocolia's decision, and you have the ability, I will naturally support it." Gepard suddenly stood at attention and spoke with sincerity. "Lord Caelus, what do you need me to do for you this time?"
Caelus took out the file Cocolia had given him earlier about the research station and handed it to Gepard.
"I need you to lead a team with Dan Heng to this research station and bring back the culprit behind the Eternal Freeze—the Stellaron. Be warned, it is very dangerous. Follow Dan Heng's lead in all things."
"Yes, sir."
Dan Heng then nodded at Caelus. "Then we'll set off. Be careful in Belobog."
"Right. You two be careful on the road."
Dan Heng and Gepard took the file and left. They planned to take advantage of the early hour to cover as much ground as possible, hoping to retrieve the Stellaron within a day.
After they left, Caelus took out a piece of paper and wrote down a list of various materials and quantities, then handed it to March 7th.
"March, help me pass this list to the other departments. It would be best if they can gather everything today. I plan to start building things right now."
"Got it."
March 7th took the file and left as well. In an instant, the only people left in the office were Caelus and Bronya.
Seeing that everyone else was gone, Bronya walked up to Caelus.
"Caelus."
Caelus, who was busy, glanced up at her before looking back down.
"Address me by my title at work."
Bronya's teeth clenched in frustration, but she complied and muttered softly, "Lord Supreme Guardian…"
"Yes, that's more like it, Little Secretary."
With that, Caelus stood up and strode towards the exit. Bronya, stunned for a moment, hurried to follow.
"Wait, Cae— Lord Supreme Guardian, I still have questions for you!"
Caelus simply waved his hand, not breaking stride.
"No time. I'm busy building the iron farm. It's an urgent and important task. We can talk tonight if you have questions!"
With that, Caelus quickened his pace and was out of sight in a moment. Bronya wanted to give chase, but her high heels made it impossible to keep up. She could only stand there, stunned, as Caelus's figure disappeared around a corner.
---o---
Caelus found an empty plot of land and took out the materials from his backpack to begin building the iron farm. Since he didn't have many materials, he planned to build a relatively simple version this time. The efficiency wouldn't be great, but his main goal right now was to test a theory.
Could Cocolia be identified as a villager? If so, could all Belobogians be identified as villagers? Or was it only Cocolia?
If it was the former, that would be fantastic news. Villagers were incredibly useful to him, chief among them being the Librarian!
With a Librarian, he could farm for all the enchantments he wanted. With enchantments, his combat power would skyrocket, and he would have a much easier time on his future Trailblazing journeys.
A little over an hour later, Caelus finally finished building a simple iron farm. It took a bit longer because he was a little rusty.
Afterward, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, he planted a Corrupted Torch. It took some effort, but he managed to capture a zombie and transport it into the iron farm. He then removed the torch and called for Cocolia and the others.
Cocolia, March 7th, Bronya, and a few Silvermane Guards arrived on the scene. They all looked at the strange-looking structure with curiosity.
"Caelus, is this the iron farm?" March 7th walked up and touched the exterior, looking it over carefully but finding nothing special about it.
"Yes, but it's not activated yet. You'll see in a moment."
Caelus pointed to one of the Silvermane Guards and had him climb up the machine to a designated spot. The guard complied and climbed up. After he was in position, a zombie in a minecart moved towards him, startling him.
In the next second, an Iron Golem appeared out of thin air inside the farm. It fell into the farm's kill chamber and, a moment later, was slain, leaving behind a few iron ingots that were transported out of the machine to where Cocolia was standing.
Bronya immediately stepped forward to pick up an ingot for a closer look. But the moment she touched it, she felt an incredible weight. Even with her face flushed red from exertion, she couldn't lift a single ingot off the ground.
"Why is this so heavy?!"
Bronya was surprised. The ingot looked no bigger than her palm, but it felt like she was trying to lift a car with her bare hands!
"Of course, it's heavy. Don't let its size fool you. Its mass is at least several hundred kilograms," Caelus explained as he walked over. He then looked up at the Silvermane Guard still standing in his designated spot, a look of elation in his eyes.
It worked! All Belobogians could be identified as villagers! His grand enchantment plan was a go!
Caelus immediately turned his excited gaze to Cocolia.
"Cocolia, come to my room tonight!"
Cocolia was taken aback. Why would he suddenly ask her to come over at night? Though she didn't know why he was asking, out of trust, she nodded anyway.
"Alright."
At her side, March 7th and Bronya immediately became alert.
Night? A man and a woman alone? Something's not right!
---o---