Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

The atmosphere in the Lord’s Mansion conference room was somewhat tense.

Everyone present already knew what had happened last night—six spies from the Blackrock Hand had been dismembered.

Without a word, everyone looked in unison at Velin.

They had all seen the world, from the bustling Royal Capital of the Duchy to ancestral Knight manors, but they had never seen a populace so obedient to their lord’s commands.

The way they swarmed a professional, risking life and limb for "credit points," was something foreign to them.

’What kind of magic did these credit points hold?’

’Aren’t they just a kind of token?’

Velin sat at the head of the table, his face expressionless.

He had no desire today to explain to everyone the classic sociological phenomenon that occurs during the early stages of capitalism replacing feudalism, when land-based fealty shifts to monetary contracts. When he had a free moment, Velin would push to perfect the systems of the Lord’s Mansion and the cooperative guilds. He could give them a lesson then, and they would naturally come to understand the allure of credit points.

Velin’s gaze swept around the room.

"Everyone’s here."

Velin’s gaze swept across the room, finally resting on a small figure huddled in a corner.

"Before we begin, allow me to introduce a new member."

Everyone followed his gaze.

There sat a little girl with silver hair and purple eyes, looking to be no more than twelve or thirteen years old. She was perched on a chair with her knees drawn to her chest, nibbling on a piece of candied fruit. Her cheeks were puffed out, making her look like a little hamster hoarding its food.

Feeling everyone’s gaze upon her, Mia flinched, nearly dropping the candied fruit. She quickly hid it behind her back and looked up at Velin with a timid gaze.

Velin’s voice was calm. "Her name is Mia. She’s the one who provided the initial intelligence on the ’Lord of the Gray Swamp.’"

Barrett, Ola, and the others exchanged a look but said nothing.

"Alright, let’s get down to business."

He stood up and walked to the large sand table in the center of the room.

The sand table depicted a miniature version of the Gray Sea Marsh, and all eyes followed him to it.

Velin picked up a monster figurine molded from red clay and placed it in Sharp Teeth Gorge, at the southern end of the marsh.

"The Lord of the Gray Swamp."

"Based on Mia’s intelligence, Ryo’s tests, and my own field observations, we can roughly outline its capabilities."

Ryo took a step forward and began his explanation.

"The Lord of the Gray Swamp is a giant, python-like Level 5 Magical Beast. It can spew corrosive sulfurous flames, has extremely strong physical defense, and possesses some resistance to magic."

"I’ll add one more thing." Velin took over, pointing at the figurine. "It also has extremely strong regenerative abilities. Barring a fatal injury, it can recover in a very short amount of time. At the same time, it has swallowed some kind of magical item and has entered the final stage of its evolution. It could advance to Level 6 at any moment. We don’t have much time."

A chill ran through everyone present.

’A monster that was nearly unkillable, had high defenses, and could use its breath to lay waste to the territory.’

’How were they supposed to fight this?’

"A head-on fight is out of the question," Barrett said, speaking first. His years of experience hunting Magical Beasts allowed him to immediately grasp the problem.

"Its regeneration is the key. Any gap between our attacks is just giving it a chance to recover. If we want to kill it, we must find a way to suppress its self-healing."

"Evocation magic might work," Mage Ryo, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

"Multiple, overlapping Icebound Spell Balls could, in theory, freeze its bodily functions and interrupt its self-healing."

"Using a Level 7 spell to hunt a Level 5 Magical Beast is too extravagant," Caroline’s voice floated over. "Putting aside whether we can even buy a scroll of that level, even if we could, one wide-area spell would likely turn the swamp, along with our soldiers, into ice sculptures."

Ryo’s expression turned awkward; he knew Caroline was right.

"Or, I can use my military connections." Ola’s fist slammed onto the table. "I’ll find a way to get a Level 7 powerhouse to come over. One swing of an axe, and it’ll be over. Quick and clean."

Velin shook his head.

"Money isn’t the biggest problem."

"A powerhouse we can’t control is the biggest risk in and of itself. If he were to discover the secret of the ether-rich area, do you think this mineral deposit would remain ours?"

"In the Duchy, a Level 7 professional is an existence that can look down on everyone else. If he decided to take it by force, what could we possibly use to stop him?"

"Outside help is a last resort, not the optimal solution."

For a moment, the conference room fell silent once more.

Every proposed solution seemed to have a flaw.

Velin frowned, pacing back and forth beside the sand table.

’Regeneration... regeneration...’ That trait was like an insurmountable wall standing before them.

’Killing it would come at a great cost, but if they didn’t, the Grey Marsh Territory would face its doom.’

’Kill it... But why do we have to kill it?’

Velin stopped pacing.

’Solving the problem doesn’t necessarily mean we have to completely eliminate the Lord of the Gray Swamp.’

Velin’s eyes lit up!

"Since ’killing’ it is so difficult, why don’t we change our approach?"

Velin’s voice rang out again. He returned to the sand table, his eyes gleaming.

"Our goal is to stop the ’Lord of the Gray Swamp’ from destroying the territory. Killing it is only one method, and from the looks of it, it’s the least efficient one."

He looked around at the group and spoke, enunciating each word.

"So, what if we change the goal to ’paralyzing’ it instead?"

The entire conference room fell silent.

’Is... is that really possible?’

’Maybe... it actually is. At least it seems just as difficult as killing a Magical Beast with high regeneration.’

A fire ignited in the eyes of the others as well.

All eyes turned to Velin as he continued.

"Phase One: Battlefield Modification."

Velin held up one finger and pointed to the sand table.

"We need a prepared battlefield to restrict and slow its movements." He looked toward Ryo and Mia.

Ryo’s eyes lit up, and he immediately jumped in. "That’s feasible! Mia and I can work together to set up a massive, composite Magic Array with a Gravity Well and Turn Mud to Stone to weaken its mobility!"

Velin held up a second finger.

"Phase Two: Deep Control."

"After it’s restricted by the gravity field, I’ll use Blood-sucking Vines to bind it. But that’s not enough. While its stamina is high, it can still break free. I need a stronger method to hold it down during the growth window for the Blood-sucking Vines!"

"But there’s a prerequisite. The Blood-sucking Vines need time to grow after being planted. If the beast’s stamina is high, it will just shake them off easily. Do you have any ideas?"

"I know!" Ola shot to his feet, his reddish-brown beard trembling with excitement. "Dwarven windlass crossbows! Rigged with barbed steel cables, those things can drag a Griffin right out of the sky! That should hold it for a long time!"

Velin’s eyes lit up. "Can you get them?"

"I have an old acquaintance, and that bastard has some in stock! I’ll go buy them! No, even if I have to rob him for them, I’ll get them! This is practically tailor-made for the plan!"

"Weapons alone aren’t enough," Barrett added calmly. "I’ll divide the garrison into three groups for siege crossbow training. We’ll guarantee continuous fire and won’t give it a single moment’s rest!"

Velin held up a third finger.

"Phase Three: Pharmacological Anesthesia."

"Once it’s completely trapped, we’ll use special crossbow arrows to inject it with a super-concentrated alchemical paralytic agent and put it into a deep coma."

"At that point, it will be meat on our chopping block."

"A paralytic agent..." Master Valerius leaned forward in excitement, his notebook already filled with shorthand. "My Lord, you must entrust the development of this agent to me! I have some ideas about mixing serpentine neurotoxins with Scorpion Venom! A high concentration... Yes, a super-high concentration will definitely work!"

Watching the group’s passionate excitement, Velin nodded in satisfaction.

A plan to hunt a Magical Beast far beyond their level, which had started as a crazy idea, was becoming more and more feasible with everyone’s input.

Barrett was just about to ask about the next steps.

"The next step is logistics!" Caroline was already on her feet, her eyes flashing with excitement. "I’ll leverage the channels of the Golden Sail Commerce Association. Money and transport won’t be a problem."

The tasks were assigned one by one, and everyone received their mission.

As for Velin, it was time for him to fulfill his promise to his people.

It was time to initiate the Foundation-Strengthening Plan.