Chapter 398: Territory Bounty - 3
"What? There’s soone dumb enough not to avoid these pointers even after knowing their exact locations?" Tavian muttered, a frown creasing his face as he finished explaining the astral chains, illusion arrays, and alarm traps he planned to set in the plateau’s interior region. He had already worked the day prior to plan the frawork.
"Uh, yeah... so, is there any way you can prevent just people or beasts from falling into the illusion trap?" Leo asked, clearly referring to Bigfoot. That guy wandered around the entire plateau for tipass. It was completely possible for him to fall for Tavian’s illusion traps, especially since they would be set around the Fluxsoil Heart, which Bigfoot had to regularly visit to handle the chaotic mana.
"Ohh, so you’re talking about beasts entering these areas. Of course, there are counterasures so allies don’t fall into the sa traps as enemies," Tavian replied.
"In real-ti combat, array masters like selectively choose who to keep out of our attacks. But for formations built for protection over long durations, we need sothing to mark allies. There are two main ways we do it. The first is using a Jade slip that must be carried at all tis like a pass, so the array doesn’t activate due to your presence—this thod is used for outsiders who visit rarely. The second, and preferred thod for regulars like you—" Tavian extended his hand, gesturing for Leo’s.
As Leo’s hand was taken, Tavian’s fingertips began to glow orange, tracing an intricate array structure across his arm. The faint warmth lingered for a mont before the glow faded and disappeared.
"This," Tavian said simply.
"The invisible identification mark I just applied will tell the array that you are a friendly unit, so it won’t activate in your presence. And if you’re with an enemy, it will trap them while leaving you out."
Leo’s mouth ford an ’o’ as he nodded.
"So... you’ll need to put this mark on every person? What are the chances it reveals our location to you all the ti?"
Tavian coughed at that and imdiately shook his head.
"Please, you can trust . I’d never do anything that creates discord between us. It’s just a mark that identifies you as a friendly unit for the arrays, nothing more. In fact, you can remove it with a single thought. Try it."
Leo nodded. Focusing on the mark, he felt it clearly—like a thin layer of dust he could simply brush away if he wished.
Then Tavian lowered his voice.
"And don’t ever say such stupid things around your girl. I don’t want to die early."
Leo nodded. That was a pretty reasonable thought.
Fuck! He doesn’t even deny it. Tavian grimaced inwardly after Leo accepted the statent as casually as if it were common knowledge.
Tavian—and the whole academy—would never forget how Aaron had been brutally mutilated in front of everyone under the guise of ’missing shots.’ The only saving grace was that Aaron himself was an unhinged bastard who had found the whole ordeal exhilarating.
After that, Tavian got to work. He carefully used mana crystal powder to outline the array structures, murmuring strange incantations that turned them faintly ethereal before repeating the process.
He drew small circles and large ones, connecting them through intricate circuits. Mana crystals, which were processed by Tavian to act as an item were placed at key points, each one also rendered ethereal. Along the circuits, these acted as waypoints rather than the main power source of the array.
"About the place where you want the center point of the Omnidirectional Sense Array..." Tavian approached Leo, who was in the middle of physical training, and called out.
Leo wiped the sweat from his brow and walked over.
He led Tavian toward the general lake, where a modest, single-storey wooden house—built by the elves over the past few days—stood quietly by the water.
"That. I want you to make the focal point there. Will the water be a problem?" Leo asked.
"No, it won’t. I can just loop the circuit around it. But since it’s of considerable size... I suggest you make this the place where you refill the magic crystals as well."
Leo rubbed his chin, thinking.
"But wouldn’t it be better to place it closer to the Fluxsoil Heart? The mana density there is nearly 1500%," he said.
Tavian’s eyes widened at the exact number.
"I knew it was monstrously high... but still. Anyway, the main power source doesn’t need to be there. I can construct an array that absorbs excess energy from that region. But since it’s inside an illusion array zone and the main source that makes the mana in yout territory dense, it’s better to keep it relatively empty."
Leo nodded, and Tavian returned to his work once more.
In the distance, the elves could be seen enthusiastically practicing their archery and affinity manipulation inside the arena, striving to refine control over their powers. Sylrael personally trained Naelith, occasionally using vines to whip her whenever she made a mistake.
Leo was surprised to see Miho sparring against Caelira, the Peak 2-star elf—and even more surprised that Miho was gradually overpowering her. With precise katana control and seamless elental integration, she intercepted arrows mid-flight and followed up with elental attacks, forcing Caelira to constantly reposition and fall back.
Kaelion was nowhere in sight, likely off training sowhere alongside Bigfoot. As for the beasts, aside from the newly tad Low 4-star Skyreaver—assigned to watch over the arena—and Niri, who played among the elves, the rest were unsummoned. Leo still didn’t want to reveal Hydra, Shyra, and Nyxa in front of Tavian. Besides, their presence might disrupt his focus while building the arrays.
"I-I never knew our worshipped deity could be this mischievous..." one elf said breathlessly after failing to keep up with Niri, who darted around the arena, gleefully annoying anyone she could.
"Lord said she’s a newborn—barely a few months old. Maybe she acts like a child because she is?" another replied, before resuming the chase. Leo has allowed them to engage Niri in case she annoys or want to play.
While Tavian finalized his formations, a sudden shift occurred.
All at once, every mber of Leo’s territory received the long-awaited notification in their phone.
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