Reisen Riou drifted past the knights and scholars, catching their half-hearted gripes.
From the scholars' words, he pieced it together: Khaenri'ah's faction war was nearing its end. The bio-alchemy faction had gained a massive edge in the royal court.
Mech-alchemy wasn't down for the count, though. Their deep roots and a colossal Tiller mech—rivaling LV90+ divine kin—proved it.
But Khaenri'ah was visibly stretched thin on manpower.
Reisen recalled their disciplined knights from years back. Today's knights had higher vitality levels but shoddy training. Unprofessional.
He listened a bit, then moved on. These low-rung knights knew little. Beyond his own deductions, they offered no surprises.
Using magnetic levitation, he glided over a narrow, waterlogged path to a vast hall. Faint roars confirmed he'd hit the right spot.
Below was Byakuya Kingdom's deep-sea dragon-lizard testing ground, home to two LV70+ dragon-lizards.
These weren't weak. Thanks to Orobashi's experiments, they couldn't match Liyue's ancient Geo dragon-lizards one-on-one but far outclassed regular ones.
Reisen's raw power topped both, but he had no plans to tangle with them.
Bloodbranch Coral grew from the lizards via a ritual array and divine authority, siphoning their strength while refining their bloodlines.
Reisen felt a faint pressure from them, proof their bloodlines neared true elemental dragonkin—only top-tier elemental beings could unsettle a high-level humanoid elemental like him.
…
The Byakuya folk called these two the Coral Guardians: one Frostbiter, one Thunder-Devourer.
Even Reisen didn't want to mess with them unnecessarily.
But Khaenri'ah's arrival had woken them. The intermittent roars he heard were theirs.
He circled the altar several times, finally pinpointing the Bloodbranch Coral's location.
It grew on the Guardians, each holding half. Beating them down was the only way to claim both pieces and form the whole Coral.
Good thing Reisen didn't need to fight. He'd steal it.
A flash of lightning, and before the Guardians could react, he'd snatched the Coral, leaving a Geo-crafted fake in its place.
By the time they noticed their power-infused Coral was gone, Reisen was already outside.
Their roars grew frantic as he zipped past two Khaenri'ahn knights guarding the passage.
"Why're those monsters getting louder?" one knight muttered.
"Who knows? Been like this since we got here," the other said.
"Our job's cushy. Look at those guys' glares—they'd eat us if they could."
"Heh, good thing we've got connections."
…
Reisen toyed with the Bloodbranch Coral, sensing a vibe like the Coral Butterflies.
It was indeed a creation of the Coral King Insect. Leaving Dainichi Mikoshi, he fused the Coral pieces. Easy—just bring them close, and their shared essence resonated, merging into one.
"Greetings, my lord," Shrine Maiden Izumi said, ever formal.
"I've got the Bloodbranch Coral," Reisen said. "What's Khaenri'ah up to?"
"They're hitting the three Pure Water Ponds. They've cleared one, but earning the Netherfish's approval isn't easy. Without Sangonomiya's blessing, the fish might ignore them," Izumi said.
"Be ready to pull out anytime. I'll send the Coral up first," Reisen said, describing the fake Coral to avoid mix-ups in the plan.
"How's your end?" he asked Banjiao Nisei.
"Got most of the intel on their knights, scholars, mages, Tiller mechs, soldier units, heavy machines, and dragonbeasts," Nisei said. "Also grabbed some data on the dragon-lizards' strength. Not sure if it's useful."
Though only Nisei was named in Enkanomiya, over half the Sangonomiya soldiers there were Rock-Shadow-Thunderlight Brigade agents in disguise.
Sangonomiya had sent over fifty real soldiers, too.
"We estimate Khaenri'ah has over 5,000 troops in Enkanomiya, with thousands more supporting from Watatsumi. Their numbers here might hit 7,000 soon," Nisei said.
That was no small force. Reisen's Brigade had barely 1,000 agents total, with under 400 deployed here.
"How many Tiller mechs?" Reisen asked.
"Too many to count," Nisei said.
"Specifics."
"Over 20,000 Tiller mechs, thousands of assorted soldier units, and hundreds of heavy machines. More are coming, they say."
"Tch… Khaenri'ah's gone nuts," Reisen muttered, floored by the scale. But excitement stirred—trapping this many war machines in Enkanomiya would gut Khaenri'ah's strength.
The machines weren't the real prize, though. It was the people.
These Khaenri'ahn troops on Watatsumi were their elite core, far above the workers and alchemists back home. Their loss could shake Khaenri'ah's politics.