Chapter 73: Mind Force - IV

—Hummmmm!

Injecting mana into the <True Star Astrolabe>, I feigned the activation of my abilities. With a frown and just a pinch of difficulty, I began to spread my senses across a radius greater than what Tejjan assumed I was capable of.

Tejjan did not react to it at all, however. As expected of the machine-like Dragonkin.

"Heh,"

In reality, I was channeling just the right amount of mana into the astrolabe to trigger a change in my eyes and hair, dyeing them a hint of gleaming blue.

After that, I simply activated [Absolute Awareness] and directly located every puppet within range.

Then, I transmitted this information through the astrolabe, allowing the Dragonkin guards to directly perceive their targets through my senses.

Once this was done, Tejjan nodded and rushed out of the carriage. From his casual speed alone, I knew that he sat comfortably around the A-Rank.

In his wake, his voice shook the cabin.

"Move out!"

** *

Familiarity was the main point of leverage that allowed one to make full use of the <True Star Astrolabe>.

Had the Empire’s Guards opted to let someone else use the divination-type artifact, they wouldn’t be able to locate as many of Bliekon’s puppets as they did now.

Even without considering the presence of [Absolute Awareness].

However, since I was inevitably much more familiar with even Bliekon herself, and not just her puppets, Tejjan and the others were also able to locate the Spindeiron herself. My senses served as their guide, locating all that I deemed familiar and coherent with the identity of Bliekon’s puppets.

In the mind of every Dragonkin, illusory sparkling stars appeared in their vision. Even through walls and obstacles, the stars persisted.

Each star marked a puppet.

...And there was more than a thousand within range.

Not to mention the blazing, sun-like presence that signified Bliekon’s current main body.

I couldn’t help but raise a brow.

This was a terrifyingly precise artifact in my hands. It allowed me to share a droplet of my senses with others.

Tejjan was perhaps now realizing that I was a lot stronger than I let on. To have marked this many puppets and even the puppetmaster herself...

I looked into Tejjan’s consciousness to check.

"...He doesn’t really care, huh?"

Knowing this, I just let out a resigned chuckle and watched as the Dragonkin guards obliterated every puppet they came across.

However, Bliekon wasn’t sitting still. Hundreds of puppets all shifted simultaneously. They all fled in different directions, probing the range of the <True Star Astrolabe>, and trying to discern how much her enemies knew.

"Hmmm,"

Seeing Tejjan’s underlings struggle under a continuous ambush of over fifty enchanted combat puppets, I began to more deeply comprehend the nature of Bliekon’s strength.

When I encountered her, there had only been a few hundred puppets in the area. My escape techniques, which were essentially a combination of two A-Rank <Traits>, meant that they had no way of cornering me.

Now, however, with thousands more puppets all hidden in different places—almost perfectly akin to a disease—I wouldn’t have an easy way out.

Bliekon’s strength rose from B-Rank to upper A-Rank with the number of puppets she now possessed.

And I knew for a fact that more were still on their way.

’...At about a hundred thousand, Bliekon would finally begin to display S-Rank prowess in battle.’

Truly, an insane number of puppets that all shared their senses—creating one of the most terrifying armies in the world.

They would be coordinated to the second, with no fear of death, acting instantly whenever a new problem popped up. Even if others lost contact, nearby puppets would fill the gap.

In this sense, Bliekon was a silent, well-oiled machine.

And Bliekon couldn’t be targeted alone—if someone somehow made it to her main body and killed it, she could just move her soul elsewhere and resume command.

The only way to truly end her would be to destroy every single one of her puppets.

...But even that was a problem.

She could easily harvest other nearby races to add them to her family.

Having arrived in Walvaskaz, the urban setting and immense population density would provide her with an endless supply of opportunities.

"What a show..."

Sitting in the flying carriage, I watched as Tejjan came to a similar understanding as I did after destroying about two hundred puppets in a row.

"All units, take out your badges! Channel the Highest One’s will!"

Ah, summoning the strength of Walvaskaz’s owner was indeed the right choice.

Finally, I could take a peek at what the <Primordial Dragon Empress> could do without looking straight at her and risking obliteration.

—Whooooom!

A low hum emanated throughout the Soulless City. Every single one of its residents seemed to recognize the aura that surged along with this power.

No one was allowed to hold their head up.

The myriad races were forced to bow. And only those holding a badge from the Empire’s Guards were free from its command.

Since I was currently working for the Empire’s Guards, I was similarly spared, allowing me to continue channeling my mana into the <True Star Astrolabe>.

Suddenly, the battle between Bliekon and Tejjan’s squad shifted.

—Crack.

—Shatter!

—Bang!

The Dragonkin, previously working closely together, rapidly spread apart. They pierced through puppet after puppet, sending the Empress’ will through the Spirit Threads and causing all nearby puppets to take the same damage.

Groups of puppets died without ever encountering their targets as the Dragonkin killed them from afar.

Suddenly, the number of puppets in the area began to dwindle.

Tejjan had even arrived near Bliekon’s main body.

But alas.

I watched as a surge of mana engulfed Bliekon and a few of her puppets. It seemed like she was using their bodies as the core of a teleportation array.

—Vwoop!

In the next moment, they vanished. Tejjan was only a few seconds too late.

With a glance, the guard captain understood from the traces that his target had escaped. His face, however, remained impassive. Only an intelligent glint seemed to linger in his eyes, almost impossible to spot behind the wall of discipline he always exuded.

—Snap.

That was when I felt the flying carriage move, and the range of the <True Star Astrolabe> encompassed another group of puppets. More than a thousand stars once again flooded the Dragonkins’ vision.

’...I fear that this will indeed take a while.’

No wonder Hau’goth had given me twenty gold coins. The job was indeed not what I had expected when he first mentioned it.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Watching Bliekon resist the massacre of her puppets also helped in my research. Still, what I needed was a sample I could bring back to dissect...

Preferably Bliekon herself... but that would be impossible. I was satisfied with any single B-Grade puppet.

’Seems like I need to make a few moves in secret.’

I activated <Power of the Sky>.