Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

"Oh? What do you mean?"

Charles turned around and said indifferently, "Forget about justice and evil. Even if you searched the entire age of gods, you wouldn't find the answer. Utterly boring..."

Erebus paused for a moment, then put on a smile again: "That's true."

"Hurry up! Let's go." Alfia turned around and urged.

Ciel waved his hand, put the "Eye of Daedalus" into his pocket, and in the instant he turned the corner, he transformed into a cat and burrowed into Alfia's body to take her place.

The two returned to the entrance to the Daedalus sewers.

Standing before the hardest metal gate was a group of henchmen from a secret faction. A disheveled man with a full head of white hair, bloodshot eyes, and heavy dark circles under his eyes stood there silently, his back hunched.

He is none other than Balka Perdix, the one Erebus mentioned. He is the extremely rare Palu who inherited the bloodline of Daedalus and has been continuously building man-made labyrinths for a thousand years.

Not only does it possess rare attributes such as "mysterious" and "forging," but it also has the precious quality of working 24/7 without stopping, and feeling uncomfortable if it doesn't work.

In order to perpetuate this superior gene, he would also seek out female slaves to mate and reproduce, attempting to breed an even more diligent Palu!

Charles glanced at the guy one last time, thinking:

"If I can get my hands on a Palu ball someday, I'll definitely catch this Palu and breed it!"

The metal gate that Ciel had broken down had been pulled back up. Ciel felt regretful, but such an indivisible and enormous creature was not someone he could easily fleece.

He gestured to Chardo with his eyes.

The latter snorted, reluctantly picked up the scattered pieces of super-hard metal, and strode away.

Barca glanced at Chardo, then lowered his head and remained silent.

After the two left, he pulled over a laborer, stared at him with his bloodshot eyes, and instructed, "Have someone keep an eye on the gate 24 hours a day. If those two jinxes come again, they should open the gate for me!"

The laborer looked puzzled: "But didn't you already give them the keys? Our manpower..."

"Do as I say!"

……

Before the sun completely set, the three of them returned to the church.

The biggest takeaway from this trip was subtly securing a core leadership position within the clandestine faction. In the context of a winery, it would likely mean gaining a title through the influence of the eldest sister-in-law.

Secondly, there's "Superhard Metal" (Delgesteel), "Eye of Daedalus," and the ignition devices that have been sold. If I had to add anything, I'd also like to include the eldest brother.

In terms of strategy, I've deployed a group of elite monsters, waiting for my trusted player, Belle, to help me harvest them and share her experience.

Speaking of experience points, what Ciel regrets is that after [Yumi's Move] is attached to him, because he is considered the same entity, Ciel will also gain the same amount of ability points as Belle when she defeats an opponent.

It's a pity that you can't get super high experience points beyond your level.

While I was pondering, we arrived at the church.

Charles hesitated and stopped. Under his powerful level 7 perception, the church was currently empty.

"Strange, where did they go? Even Marie is nowhere to be found?"

Somewhat worried, he pushed aside the partition in the church's basement, jumped down the stairs, and lit the magic stone lamp, only to find a note on the corner of the table.

After a quick read, Charles breathed a sigh of relief.

Anya was pulled back by Mia to help.

With attacks from the secret faction becoming more and more frequent, ordinary shop employees are no longer able to work normally and have to take leave to seek refuge.

In this special situation, Anya cleverly took Lily and Cassandra with her. It wasn't safe for Marie to be left alone in the church, so Lily carried her along as well.

Charles's lips twitched: "You might as well leave my fish here."

The letter also said that Marie had re-established contact with Reid through the "Eye Crystal" (ps: a communication magic item given by Fels), and that she had a letter and a gift to take back to Rey.

Ciel opened the drawer and looked at the orange wrapped in a red ribbon next to the envelope, with a wry smile. Oh, and there was also the "Great Sacred Tree Speaker" next to it, which supposedly contained recordings of Marie's songs.

After confirming that everything was alright at home, Ciel busied himself organizing the remaining supplies, while Chardon took charge of starting a fire and cooking. Before long, Belle returned exhausted.

Alfia logged back in, and after dinner, Chardo continued to train Belle, with Alfia accompanying her.

Xia Er planned to craft the harvested [Great Sage Tree Branch] and [Di'er Steel] into equipment.

Just as I was about to leave, I saw a mysterious figure shrouded in a black robe fighting in the center of the church.

"Fels?" Charles called out instinctively.

"You are……"

It seemed that the magician hadn't seen him before when he possessed Belle's body last time.

Charles said warmly, "I am Jester's personal supporter, and she has mentioned you to me."

Chapter 111 Weapon: Heaven's Mace

"You must have something to give to Jester-san."

In order to gain Fels's trust, Charles proposed an agreement that was only between the two of them.

"Yes."

Fels pulled a spherical object from his pocket. Compared to the "Eye of Daedalus" in Ciel's hand, this imitation had a spiderweb-like crystal structure in the center.

Charles took the prop, looked at it, and then returned it to Fels.

"Jester has already captured the 'Key' from the enemy. You can keep this one for Mr. 'Hero'."

"Also, Jester-san, you're preparing to storm the man-made maze in a day. More than the key, you need some other help. For example, a handy weapon."

Charles pushed out the "Diel Steel" and "Great Sage Tree Branch" behind him.

"I was just about to go to the Hephaestus Familia to make a request. Now that you're here, Lord Fels, could you accept this request?"

“These are…” Fels hesitated, then squatted down to confirm the materials.

“These are all spoils of war seized after defeating the Dark Faction,” Charles replied briefly.

Alfia did not use the [Great Sage's Branch]; to her, these items, tainted by dirty means, were disgusting.

Therefore, Charles had two full boxes of these materials.

Fels lowered her guard at this point; even if it was an enemy trap, there was no need to go to such lengths. Besides, as far as she knew, the Jesters were indeed lacking in suitable weapons.

“That’s a small matter. I’ll get the weapons here as soon as possible.” Filston paused. “But what kind of weapons does she need?”

Charles returned to his room, took out a parchment, and drew a simple diagram:

"It is a type of iron whip weapon, square with nine sections. There are barbs on the top of the handle. When the mechanism is activated, it can emit high-frequency vibrations. Its function is to identify the weakness of the opponent's weapon by the sound of the weapons colliding, and ultimately achieve the effect of shattering the weapon with one blow."

"A magic crystal is inlaid at the lower part of the handle, utilizing the high conductivity of the 'Great Sage's Tree Branch' combined with mithril to imbue it with magic."

The former is designed based on the Kanglong Mace, one of the divine weapons of ancient China, whose function is to "disarm" and destroy the opponent's weapon. The latter is a modified staff design that increases the power of spells.

"There are enough materials here to make two." Fels accepted the simplified design drawings. She didn't know much about the forging part, but the magic and mechanisms in the latter part were her areas of expertise and not difficult.

"I will bring the prototype tomorrow."

Before leaving, she paused and said, seemingly casually, "It's best not to let Mali wander around outside. The city is dangerous these days."

Charles nodded. It seemed that Anya had been discovered taking Marie out.

However, Mia's place is obviously safer than the church, especially now that the Dark Faction is about to come out in full force.

……

Having saved himself the trouble of replacing equipment, Sharl returned to the Soma Familia.

The familiar room, the familiar lewd sounds, and the familiar older brother supporting his waist.

"Brother, it's been a long time. I've missed you terribly."

Inform Chanis about the plans concerning the Rudra family:

"...I think a businessman will contact my elder brother soon."

“Very good, Brother Charles. As long as the ignition device is in hand, my heart can finally rest easy.”

Having tasted success, Chanis planned to use the funds to expand his fireworks workshop. With the factory experiencing a large-scale shutdown and a surplus of labor, he could take the opportunity to increase the number of employees.

“There are some stubborn members in the clan who are leading the rebellion against our elder brother and have chosen to strike. I suspect they are all traitors. Should we…” Charles made a throat-slitting gesture.

Chanis nodded: "The return on investment for the ignition device is 100 times. Hmph, the profits from fireworks won't be low either. Now, anyone who stops me from making money is a traitor! As for traitors... Brother Charles, you know how to deal with them!"

"Yes, big brother!"

Stepping out of the room, Charles heard Ciannis's greedy laughter from inside and smiled back.

If I give this money to Chanis, he will use it to make money for me and share the risks. Where can I find a Paru like that?

The curtain has been raised on a great struggle, and the seven days of death are not far off.

The Soma Familia seems to be doomed as well, caught in the vortex between good and evil, destined only to be shattered to pieces.

Charles has already found a new owner; whether it's Erebus or Rudra, they should both be happy to take him on.

On his way home, he bought Belle the necessary supplies and elixirs. He returned to the city walls on time, exchanged with Belle, and received Alfia's instruction.

The next day.

The attacks by the secret faction intensified, with the thugs evolving from ordinary cannon fodder to level 2 and 3 officers. Their targets also shifted from residents to adventurers of all levels. All usable forces from various clans within the city were mobilized, including those of Chanis.

Chanis didn't expect that his first fireworks deal would come so quickly.

"I need a batch of fireworks of different colors to convey my orders."

In the command room of the Twilight Mansion, Finn interlaced his fingers and placed them under his nose.

While these simple signals cannot convey complex instructions, they are perfectly capable of conveying basic directions such as east, west, south, north, retreat, and attack.

“We can also insert text into the fireworks,” Chanis added, giving another big surprise: “But the cost…”

"Don't worry, you won't be treated unfairly. Once we get through this difficult period, the guild will cover the debt, and the Loki Familia can also act as guarantor." Finn stood up, tiptoed, and patted Chanis on the shoulder:

"Go all out on production. I have a feeling that in the near future, these fireworks will become a symbol of victory and hope."

“It is a great honor, Mr. Finn.”