chapter 169

Everyone got into bed, but it seemed like they had trouble sleeping.

This was because it was after such an intense battle.

But Grulf on the other hand…

“Grrr….”

Was sleeping on his back.

Grulf was always quick to fall asleep.

It was cute, so I patted him on the belly.

He probably thought he was scratching himself because his legs were moving.

After a while, I eventually fell asleep.

The next morning, Morris woke me up.

He said that breakfast was ready.

“Groof-groof.”

Grulf must have been hungry because he was already awake.

He started licking my face.

Then I washed up and headed to the dining hall.

Eric, Goran, Kathe, Dorgo, and Leea were already there.

I looked at them and said,

“It’s a good thing that there were no casualties yesterday.”

“Indeed. While we were mostly just defending, we were very lucky that no one died.”

Eric muttered with a serious expression.

“All the attacks up until now seemed sporadic and unplanned…so we let our guard down.”

Morris said as the food was served.

Exactly. I couldn’t say that I hadn’t done the same.

“To think they would use the magic machines as well… We thought they would not be able to make more after we took Kathe’s trash can.”

“Yes, you would think.”

“Trash can?”

Leea tilted her head in puzzlement.

And so I explained it to her.

It was our name for the alchemy machine that was in the wind dragon king’s palace.

Putting in Fool’s Stones or Philosopher’s Stones allowed you to make the automated magic machines.

It had since been kept in Philly’s laboratory in my mansion.

“Maybe it’s not just Fool’s Stones they have. Maybe they have another trash can.”

Goran said.

“So you can make many of these magic machines if you have this alchemy device?”

Morris asked with a worried look.

It was no wonder that he sensed danger.

It would mean the enemy could send many powerful enemies through the barrier.

Dorgo knew the most about the trash can.

“But it very hard to gather the materials… You will need a lot of magic stones and sacrifices.”

“In that case… The dark ones want sacrifices?”

Goran heard this and said,

“But can’t they just use the Fool’s Stone?”

“Gathering sacrifices is the quickest way to make the Fool’s Stone.”

A talented alchemist like Philly did not require expensive materials.

However, it required incredible skill on her part.

If you wanted to make them easily with a machine, you needed a lot of valuable materials.

“This is a serious situation.”

Morris groaned.

If the water dragons became sacrifices, the enemy would be able to make even more Fool’s Stones and automated machines.

Even if they didn’t summon an Evil God, the enemy would grow much stronger.

“Mister Morris. Do the water dragons have something similar to the trash can?”

“We do not. We are much better with barrier magic.”

“Us wind dragons prefer alchemy.”

Kathe informed us.

In spite of this, Kathe did not seem to be particularly good at alchemy.

But it was probably better not to tell her.

“So the technology used for the magic machines is alchemy?”

“It is.”

“No, it is not.”

“Oh, it’s not…”

Kathe had looked so smug, but Dorgo quickly corrected her.

“It is technomancy. Fire dragons are especially good with it.”

“You dragons are good at different kinds of things then.”

“It has less to do with ability and more with culture.”

“I see.”

Parents taught their kids magic. And the secrets of magic were never allowed outside.

So it was no wonder that they tended towards different things.

“Wait a minute. Does that mean they were able to make new machines because…”

Eric looked at me.

The fire dragons had fallen to the dark ones? Was that what he was worried about?

“No, that can’t be.”

“Why do think so?”

“If the fire dragons really fell to the dark ones, then the Evil God would have been brought back by now.”

“…I see. That’s true.”

They would have used them as sacrifices to summon it.

They would have no need to attack the water dragons, who were known to have strong defenses.

“Then, how were they able to prepare so many machines?”

“Perhaps they found something from the fire dragon ruins.”

I said. But Dorgo shook his head.

“Mister Locke. Unfortunately, the fire dragons do not leave devices around in their ruins like we wind dragons do.”

“Is that right?”

The wind dragons did not have a settlement. Their territory was the sky.

That being said, sometimes they wanted bases on the ground.

And after making them, they often abandoned them for new places, and so they became ruins.

Even if they planned to use them again, they often didn’t.

Other dragons had settlements, so they did not make and abandon ruins like that.

“Of course, there are times when they move their settlement to someplace different. But they do not leave any magic tools behind.

Humans did not do such things either.

Important stuff would be taken to your new home.

“So there must have been some other devices similar to the trash can.”

I said.

“Most ashamedly, that is likely the case.”

Kathe, the ruler of the wind dragons, said with a bow.