Chapter 59: The Prodigious Alchemist 7

No one knew how much time had passed.

Finally...

The ten water-gathering magic arrays were completed.

Each piece of obsidian used for the formations weighed more than a hundred kilograms.

Kent looked at the finished products and nodded with satisfaction.

Then he turned to Kobi.

“Bring them out.”

When Kent stepped outside, he was completely stunned.

The surroundings had changed completely.

Originally, there had been ordinary residents living nearby.

But now...

The entire area had become a settlement for dark elf warriors.

It looked almost like a military camp.

The single Ancient Tree of War that had originally stood nearby had become ten.

And each enormous tree had more than a dozen warriors stationed on it.

Even the neighboring dwarf house had changed.

The walls between the houses had been removed.

The entrance gate of the neighboring house had also been torn down.

Originally, people had to leave their homes before reaching the street.

Now...

The street had practically entered their homes.

Kent looked around.

Everywhere he saw dark elves.

White skin.

Elegant figures.

Long legs.

Graceful movements.

The dark elves’ clothing was completely different from the surface races.

Because most dark elves specialized in archery, they required extremely high agility.

Therefore, except for the most important areas, their armor and clothing left much of their bodies exposed.

Both male and female dark elves dressed in a similar style.

To them, this was not strange at all.

It was simply a tradition of their race.

“Ah!”

“Wait!”

A sudden scream came from behind Kent.

He turned around.

It was Kobi.

The dwarf was carrying one of the completed magic arrays.

The obsidian plate had already begun producing water.

But Kobi had been distracted by the completely changed surroundings.

The enormous piece of obsidian slipped from his hands.

With a heavy crash, it fell to the ground.

Fortunately, no one was injured.

With the help of the dark elves, a water pool was quickly completed.

A small channel was dug from the pool directly toward the bread tree.

The purpose was simple.

Only the bread tree required a constant water supply.

As for the Ancient Trees of War...

They could absorb moisture directly from the surrounding air.

“Kent...”

Kobi looked at the finished structure with confusion.

“What exactly is the purpose of doing all this?”

“Water supply.”

Kent looked proudly at the water-gathering magic arrays that had already begun functioning.

The formations continuously gathered water-element energy from the surroundings and slowly produced clean water.

Kent was extremely satisfied.

“But the amount of water is so small.”

Kobi pointed toward the side.

“There is already a water channel behind the house.”

“It comes from a nearby underground cave.”

“Why didn’t you just connect that channel directly?”

Kent froze.

He stared at Kobi.

For a moment, he did not know what to say.

Apparently...

He had completely forgotten that the Underdark was not actually lacking water.

Under Kobi’s guidance, Kent walked behind the house.

Sure enough.

There was a water channel.

And the flow was not even small.

Kent stood there awkwardly.

How did I forget something so obvious?

After all, underground cities naturally needed water sources.

He could only laugh awkwardly.

“Well...”

“What I did was simply a backup plan.”

“And besides...”

“With this method, I don’t have to worry about someone cutting off the water supply.”

Kobi looked at him.

He clearly wanted to say something.

But finally decided not to argue.

“Kent.”

“Come here.”

“You should try one.”

At that moment, Daphne approached.

She was holding two freshly picked bread fruits.

She handed one to Kent.

“The bread tree produces a great amount of fruit.”

“One tree is enough to support an entire elven settlement.”

Kent looked at the fruit in his hand.

This small piece of food represented far more than simple nutrition.

It represented hope.

Meanwhile...

The City Lord stood inside his residence.

A letter was held tightly in his hand.

He handed it to the captain of his personal guard.

“Send this letter to the Elven capital as quickly as possible.”

“Make sure it is delivered directly into Her Majesty’s hands.”

“Do you understand?”

“Yes, my lord.”

The captain bowed.

Soon afterward, a group of dark elf warriors mounted their mounts.

The creatures beneath them were terrifying clawed beasts known as Terrorclaws.

The riders quickly moved along the ancient underground road.

Their destination—

The elven capital.

Ever since Kent planted the bread tree, he noticed something strange.

The dark elves around him had begun looking at him with eyes filled with gratitude.

Almost every time he walked through the city, someone would respectfully greet him.

Many of the dark elves were older.

And some of the female dark elves even gave him subtle hints of affection.

Kent was not exactly a saint.

But he was not someone who would casually accept such attention either.

The reason was simple.

The age difference was too overwhelming.

Most adult elves were already over fifty years old.

To Kent, that created an enormous psychological burden.

Even though the female dark elves were incredibly beautiful—

Tall figures.

Elegant appearances.

Pointed ears.

Perfect features.

Those things were not the problem.

The real problem was...

When Kent thought about some of these dark elves being old enough to be his great-grandmother’s great-grandmother...

He simply could not bring himself to act.

During these few days, Kent also discovered something unusual.

The bread tree continued growing even without additional Water of Life.

Its growth was just as vigorous.

The tree itself had a nature similar to the banyan trees from Earth.

Its roots spread rapidly.

Its branches expanded endlessly.

In only three days...

The bread tree had already covered an entire city district.

And Muan City only had four districts in total.

One district...

Was already occupied by a single tree.

Kent was shocked.

Although Muan City was located in the Underdark, it was not one of the great cities.

Among underground settlements, it was considered only a medium-sized city.

The population was mainly composed of dwarves and dark elves.

Humans were extremely rare.

After all, dwarves and dark elves both disliked interacting with humans.

Kent was the exception.

The more Kent observed Muan City, the stronger his feeling became.

This city was hiding a major secret.

First...

The number of Ancient Trees of War.

That alone was astonishing.

And now...

The bread tree displayed the same kind of abnormality.

Kent began focusing his thoughts on finding the reason.

Why did such rare things appear in this seemingly ordinary city?

Meanwhile...

The City Lord was furious.

For dark elves, maintaining elegance was almost a form of instinct.

Graceful movements.

Perfect posture.

Beautiful steps filled with artistic rhythm.

These were all things they valued deeply.

But today...

The City Lord had completely lost his composure.

Because a huge problem had arrived.

The City Lord stared down at the guards standing below.

A person was lying on the ground.

It was the captain of the escort team he had sent out earlier.

The captain was unconscious.

But before losing consciousness, this warrior—who possessed the title of a Level-Six Magic Archer—had brought back terrible news.

Thousands of kobolds were gathering.

They were preparing to attack Muan City.

The moment the City Lord heard the report, he immediately ordered the alarm bell to be sounded.

The entire city was alerted.

All high-level professionals were summoned.

The situation was announced immediately.

In his anger and frustration, the City Lord even smashed his favorite crystal staff.

That staff was not just an ordinary weapon.

It was a symbol of his authority as City Lord.

Yet at that moment...

Even that symbol could not calm him.

“Uncle, what happened?”

“Why are there so many people gathered here?”

Kent stood inside the City Lord’s residence.

Unlike before, everyone here treated him with respect.

Whenever they saw him, they greeted him politely.

However, Kent only really knew Dex among these people.

So when he saw Dex, he immediately walked over.

“Uncle Dex.”

“What’s going on?”

Dex smiled.

He understood why Kent was curious.

Sweet food was extremely rare in the Underdark.

And the fruits produced by Kent’s bread tree...

They tasted almost like sweet bread.

For dwarves, that was an incredible temptation.

Because of this, Dex had a very good impression of Kent.

He answered honestly.

“Originally, this bell was only used to summon all high-level professionals.”

“But considering your identity...”

“You are not only an alchemist.”

“You are also the only alchemist in Muan City.”

“So the City Lord allowed you to attend and listen.”

Dex’s expression became serious.

“Because this matter concerns the survival of Muan City...”

“Everyone, please be quiet.”

“I have something important to announce.”

At that moment, the City Lord interrupted Dex’s explanation.

He walked forward with his usual elegant steps.

Even in a moment of crisis, the dark elf maintained perfect posture and grace.

When everyone below became silent, the City Lord glanced at Kent.

He gave him a slight nod as a greeting.

Then he spoke loudly.

“We have discovered several thousand kobolds gathering 190 kilometers away from the city, near the Thirteenth Passage.”

The moment his words fell...

The atmosphere changed instantly.

“What exactly are kobolds?”

Kent looked at the crowd.

After the City Lord announced the news, everyone’s expressions had turned pale.

Unable to suppress his curiosity, Kent quietly asked Dex.

Dex looked at him.

Then he let out a long breath.

“Kobolds are the native inhabitants of the underground world.”

“They can use weapons.”

“They live in groups.”

“In a one-on-one fight, an ordinary kobold can defeat a Level-Two warrior.”

Kent’s expression became serious.

Dex continued.

“And that is not the most troublesome part.”

“Among kobolds, around twenty percent are mages.”

“Most of them specialize in fire magic.”

“And the size of a kobold tribe is never small.”

“The smallest groups usually number tens of thousands.”

“They are basically like an entire human city.”

Kent froze.

He almost could not believe what he was hearing.

Native inhabitants.

That meant they had completely adapted to the dark environment of the Underdark.

They could use weapons.

Which meant they could use most weapons created by civilized races.

They lived in organized groups.

That meant they were not simple monsters.

They were a true intelligent race.

And they had mages.

A twenty percent mage ratio was terrifying.

Even if those mages only knew basic Level-Two Fireball spells...

A thousand mages releasing spells at the same time would be enough to force even a Level-Nine expert to retreat.

And if the number of kobolds reached tens of thousands...

That meant there could be thousands of kobold mages.

Thousands.

Kent quietly looked around the hall.

The high-level professionals gathered here were not many.

Less than thirty people.

They stood in several groups.

Kent carefully observed them.

The strongest among them was obviously the City Lord.

He was the only Level-Nine expert.

There were several Level-Eight professionals.

The remaining twenty or so were Level-Seven.

But now...

Every single one of them had pale expressions.

“We have reached a moment of life and death.”

The City Lord’s voice became heavy.

“When kobolds begin a large-scale hunt, their numbers are usually no less than several hundred thousand.”

“Our city has only six passages leading outward.”

“So...”

“Does anyone have any suggestions?”

Everyone remained silent.

The City Lord’s expression was also grim.

Muan City was indeed easy to defend.

Its location and structure gave it a natural advantage.

But against hundreds of thousands...

Perhaps even millions of kobolds...

The situation was completely different.

The City Lord and the other high-level professionals could escape.

But what about everyone else?

Their families?

The ordinary residents?

And those dozens of Ancient Trees of War that had existed for thousands of years?

If they abandoned everything and fled...

The consequences would be unimaginable.

The City Lord continued.

“And there is another problem.”

“The kobolds are native creatures of the Underdark.”

“They are perfectly adapted to this environment.”

“Even if high-level professionals can escape...”

“The people who remain behind cannot.”

His voice became colder.

“And those who abandon the city will not escape punishment.”

“The United Council will not allow it.”

Kent looked confused.

“The United Council?”

Dex quietly explained.

“It is the organization that manages the Underdark.”

“It is composed of powerful representatives from dwarves, dark elves, gnomes, and humans.”

“Among them are dozens of Level-Nine experts.”

“If someone abandons their city and escapes alone...”

“They will not be forgiven.”

The reason was simple.

In the Underdark, the reproduction ability of most intelligent races had declined dramatically.

Dwarves.

Dark elves.

Gnomes.

Humans.

Almost every race suffered from this problem.

But kobolds were different.

Kobolds reproduced at an astonishing speed.

According to rumors, a female kobold could give birth to at least three offspring at a time.

And they reproduced once every three years.

Their lifespan could exceed fifty years.

Compared with the other races of the Underdark...

Their population growth was almost terrifying.

And that was exactly why a kobold invasion was considered a disaster.

Not because of a single battle.

But because of the endless numbers behind them.