The next morning, Merice, Lessi, and Xue Youyue arrived at the border of the White Stork Empire. The vampire soldiers stationed here saluted and opened the city gates to welcome their arrival as Your Majesty.
"You've worked hard," Merice waved her hand, indicating that they didn't need to be so formal.
"It is our duty," the leading vampire officer said solemnly.
The soldiers who remained in the White Stork Empire were elite vampires. Although the Shuowang Empire's military strength had decreased, it did not mean that the Ruined Land barbarians or the native forces of the Divinity and Demon's Continent could easily defeat the Shuowang Empire.
Once someone dared to attack the Shuowang Empire, Martial Angel Lanzu would naturally intervene. Moreover, Iris's study also housed the fearsome demon Federer. In the event of a large-scale war, Federer would be able to draw enough power from fear to regain his peak state.
Merice and the others entered the capital of the White Stork Empire, White Stork City, where the buildings were completely abandoned, the streets were dilapidated, and weeds grew everywhere.
As Merice looked at the scene before her, a wave of sadness washed over her. This place had once been the most glorious period of the White Stork Empire, flourishing and prosperous. However, in just a few years, everything had changed, become fragmented and broken.
The former Tian Du Academy now lay in ruins, not even a single complete stone slab remained.
She saw a man in silver armor clearing the scattered rubble with his bare hands. His movements were decisive and fast. He was tall, with broad shoulders, exuding an aura of calmness and strength.
"Who is this?" Merice asked in confusion. Neither the vampire soldiers nor the generals wore white armor.
Lessi shrugged. "I don't know, probably a human. Didn't the Queen say that this place would be a trial for humans and vampires to coexist?"
"My sister makes a valid point. Maybe this human has a special attachment to that place," Xue Youyue said softly. "We should start working early. If the Queen finds out we are being lazy, she won't forgive us."
After speaking, the three women went in different directions. They each took on their respective roles and began to arrange their tasks.
Merice walked through the collapsed buildings and entered the palace.
As the older sister, Merice couldn't help but sigh at being controlled by her younger sister.
"When did it become like this?" Merice silently pondered. "I never thought that I would be led by Iris like this. It used to be me teasing her. But now...sigh..."
Shaking her head, she stopped thinking about it and quickly arrived at a palace. She stopped at the door, pushed it open, and entered.
The palace guards saw Merice and immediately stopped, bowing and showing respect.
Merice nodded and walked straight to a desk, where she began to flip through the documents in her hand, constantly marking them.
In the process of handling government affairs, Merice occasionally heard creaking sounds in her ears. She furrowed her brows and looked up, as if there was something wrong with the pillars in the hall.
She put down her work and quickly walked to the side of the pillar, carefully examining it.
"What's going on? Could it be a sign of collapse in this building?" Merice's gaze fell on the cracks on the pillar. "The White Stork Empire was destroyed by a war. If a war were to happen in the Shuowang Empire, what kind of devastating situation would it create?"
Merice shook her head. This kind of situation would never happen in the Shuowang Empire. There are countless armor-piercing cannons, heavy crossbows, and thunderstorm formations on the city walls. To break through the border defenses, one must pay a huge price.
Then, Merice sat down at her desk and started writing a letter. She hoped that Iris could send some vampire engineers to the White Stork Empire to repair the city.
Afterwards, she handed the written letter to a messenger, instructing him to deliver it to Iris.
After doing all of this, she stood up and stretched her muscles before burying herself back in the documents.
Xue Youyue and Lessi, the two sisters, were busy coordinating and arranging various matters.
The person in white armor was Davis. He was clearing the rubble of the Heavenly Academy. Suddenly, a pure white butterfly fluttered past him from the sky.
Davis stared at the butterfly blankly, his eyes filled with a strange light. Images from long ago flashed through his mind.
The memory quickly faded away, and Davis didn't grasp onto it. His gaze followed the beautiful butterfly, which seemed to be startled, as it quickly disappeared from his sight, vanishing into the distance.
Davis stared blankly in the direction the butterfly had gone and murmured to himself, "This is also its homeland."
Then, Davis continued to move the rubble. He wanted to rebuild the Heavenly Academy. Although he wasn't skilled in construction, he could learn through books.
One day, he would be able to restore the campus with his own strength. It would just take more time.
...
At this moment, Iris was inspecting the military intelligence office. Her expression was serious and calm.
Violet saw Iris and lifted her goggles, saying, "Your Majesty, you're here?"
Iris nodded. "Violet, you've been working hard during this period. I want to know the results of your research."
Violet lowered her gaze and spoke gravely, "Your Majesty, I have indeed made some new progress, but..."
Iris raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
"But...the research is progressing very smoothly. Now, all we need is to conduct tests and we can start mass production and deploy them on the battlefield."
Without hesitation, Iris reached out and pinched Violet's waist. Instantly, Violet's body couldn't help but go limp. If it weren't for Iris catching her in time, she might have fallen to the ground.
"Director Violet, you need to take more breaks and not overwork yourself. The Shuowang Empire can't afford to lose you!" Iris playfully patted her waist, wearing a caring expression.
Violet understood that Iris was teasing her intentionally, so she glared at her discontentedly, but she couldn't say anything since there were still many researchers around.
Iris is so bad! Every time she bullies herself, she pinches her waist and her body becomes weak, unable to exert any strength at all. She even suspects that there might be something wrong with her body. How can a normal vampire become weak just from a waist pinch?
Iris smiled and released her grip. "Director Violet, show us your research results."
Violet rubbed her waist and gave Iris a fierce look. "I got it, I got it."
She then took out all of her research results and led Iris to the testing site. Violet first took out a long spear and introduced it to Iris, saying, "This spear is forged from black steel and is a newly completed weapon. It is extremely powerful."
Iris took the spear and swung it gently a few times, discovering that it was lighter than a regular spear. "Violet, are you exaggerating? This newly developed spear of yours is much lighter than a regular one. How can you tell that it is very powerful?"
Violet's mouth twitched. "Who said this weapon is for direct confrontation with enemies? Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand!"
"Do I look like a fool to you?"
"Nevermind, it's pointless to argue with you." Violet grabbed the spear back and threw it away. With a bang, the whole space trembled violently, leaving a deep pit on the ground about two meters deep. The surrounding ground also shook.
But that's not all. The impact spread to the surroundings, breaking a tree trunk as thick as a bowl in half.
"This weapon is really powerful!" Iris praised.
"Of course!" Violet proudly raised her chin. "I call this the explosion spear. The inside of the spearhead contains a fire elemental crystal. Once activated, it will explode. If our soldiers are equipped with such weapons, they will be unstoppable and invincible."
"The drawback of this weapon is the range issue. The strength of each vampire soldier varies, so the throwing distance naturally differs," Iris said.
Violet looked at Iris with dissatisfaction. "My dear Queen, can't you change your approach? Why do you have to throw it instead of dropping it from high altitude?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah." Iris suddenly realized.
