Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

“Is everyone ready?” Jane called out at the surrounding crew. Outside the gates of Minas Mar, the teams for the expeditions got ready for their journey. People from the crafting teams were stacking crated into the freshly refurbished shuttle of Al'Zalsar.

The tuned bus that the sorceress had recreated as a flying vessel had gotten a once over by Tored, Seth's mentor and master blacksmith. The dwarf had gone all out with modifications to various defenses and some weapons, reinforcing Al's original on top using superior materials.

Now the modified bus looked more like a fantastic space shuttle than ever before. Despite being similar in nature, it was also distinctly different from Epsilon's Fleet which was based closer in science than magic.

The crates were filled with potions and food supplies for the expedition teams. Although they all had a certain amount of personal supplies in their inventories, these were added on top and in case the people of Thres needed help, too.

“We are ready,” Mike answered, standing up from a nearby bench. The expedition that would go to Thres and check on the situation in the City and surrounding the body snatcher would be led by him.

Apart from Mike, Misto, Ellen, Shay, Ray, Tekar and Lynri would also follow him on this mission. They had been chosen because they seemed like the most compatible for fighting against the cyber worms.

The demon was apt in Illusions. Elly commanded her army of slimes who seemed like they would have an advantage. Shay used water and ice magic, known for their advantage over technology. Ray was an absolute wild card but the dark magic he masters as the Saint of the Ugly Sun would definitely come in handy. Tekar was there to protect the casters just in case and Lynri was their strongest support player. The Priestess of the Fount would also be of help in case the people of Thres needed a healer.

Apart from Thres, Mike's secondary task was to look for opportune places to set up the stone gates. This way their deployment would be much quicker, once Idyllon Mo managed to disassemble and reuse them.

Their team was also supported by a group of 20 Oathguards who had volunteered to accompany them on their dangerous journey to give aid to Thres, even if it meant they were mostly there as walking, fighting, and luggage-carrying item crates.

“Can we finally start? I have been waiting for ages,” Alison complained. She wore her Lunacy Set, but the armor was barely visible below the host of magic bags full of stuff for gathering herbs and ready to take in even more stuff.

As the core of Expedition Team 2 Alison and Evee stepped up. They were accompanied by Edward, Jess, James, Lyxiss, and Bulko. The Alchemist Wizard and Immortal Witch had both volunteered to lead the expedition to the great forest.

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They wanted to not only collect the seeds of various flora specific to Urth, but also scour the wood for alchemical ingredients for potions and mixtures. If they ended up finding promising resources, there was a chance that Minas Mar would show more interest in the exploration of such regions in the future.

The rest of their teams were chosen for obvious reasons. Edward with the legendary flame sword, Jess the flame mage and chosen of Lohe, her partner James who had a great synergy with her skills and fire in general. Lyxiss was able to cast magic of all elements, fire included, and Bulko was a universal support.

Their team was not further bolstered by the Oathguard, as Evee had more than enough manpower stowed away in personal Hades. If things came to the worst, she even had a legendary hydra ready to deploy. As their destination was judged vastly more dangerous, they needed it.

“Yeah, let's finally go!” Evee said excitedly. Wearing her black death set, she was just as hung with additional bags as Alison, but way more excited for the trip. Although they had waited for half an hour, she was still pumped to set off.

“Before you board, I just wanted to go over the plan once again,” Jane said with a wry smile. The plan for the expedition was relatively simple, as they had only little information on either destination.

Both expedition teams would be using the shuttle and fly to Thres, Mike's destination. Once arrived they would have to assess the situation and unload cargo however much they deemed necessary. The journey to Thres was estimated to take 3 days

Once Mike and his team were off the ship, Evee and Alison would use it to travel into the great forest of Southeast Urth. The herb pickers had no timeline, they would be venturing as far as needed into the forest to procure what they were looking for.

The preliminary parts of the plan were up to their judgment but they would come up with more detailed plans when they actually knew what was going on in Thres and the forest. On the journey, the two teams would be on their own either way, as nobody would be able to quickly reach their destinations. Not even Idyllon Mo was able to simply teleport to rough coordinates somewhere along their journey. Ꞧå𐌽ộＢЁ§

“...And here is a little reminder from the Tower Master. If things go really wrong, don't hesitate to use Home Call, if you are able to. Nothing out there is important enough to sacrifice yourselves for.” she finished the short briefing and finally allowed them to board the shuttle.

The interior was already filled with crates, leaving only little space for the two teams and the Oathguards. After a moment of squeezing and grunting everyone was inside and Evee had conquered the driver's seat.

She had learned how to fly from Al'Zalsar and had the most practice among the people on this trip.

Apart from her, Ellen and Bulko had also practiced steering the flying vessel, so they could take turns flying during the journey. After loading, briefing and boarding, the shuttle bus finally left the ground and rose to the skies above Minas Mar's hidden entrance.

“Oh, I'm so excited. I can't wait to use these babies,” Ellen said giddy with her new claws equipped. It had been a while since she was able to travel freely outside Delta. In fact, she had never really been outside the districts, even when the world was not yet one of the nightmarish horrors and lethal dangers. In fact, this was her first time truly outside the districts on Urth.

Of course, she had been to evaluation, but before that, she was born and raised in Delta. In modern Urth, there was never a need to leave the district, unless for vacation in a different one maybe. She didn't count traveling by train or car as “outside”.

“Who says we going to get into fights?” Mike asked wryly.

“Oh, please. Is there even a chance we won't be having to face some kind of danger in Thres?” Shay asked sarcastically. After all, they were all chosen with the intent of potentially fighting the cyber worms.

“You might be right, but you shouldn't be excited about it. Those people didn't choose their fate, they were simply corrupted,” Mike countered with a heavy voice. It still weighed on his mind that he was forced to kill essentially innocent people.

“Even if they didn't choose it, it doesn't change what they are. You can feel bad for them, but you should not blame yourself,” Alison chided him in a rare case of outspoken sympathy from the usually introverted wizard.

Mike nodded, giving her a wry smile. “Thanks.”

“Now shut up about this topic, I want to catch up on some sleep while we get there.” Alison immediately added. She leaned back in her seat and put a sleep mask over her eyes. Mike was a little stunned but he was silent. Ellen was too.

The shuttle took off and their journey finally started.

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