“Just as you requested, I sacrificed every other function and poured everything into its firepower. And so, I created it!”
Noah excitedly introduced the nuclear bomb to Loren. Loren also saw Noah’s puppets. Noah wasn’t the only one here; there were many other puppets conducting different research as well.
Noah’s puppets were completely different from Loren’s. They were extremely plain, even connected by wires, and had no unnecessary functions. All they could do was help Noah with his research.
“I call it Dawn. It can destroy an entire country outright. Even an Orthodox God couldn’t withstand a direct hit!”
With Loren’s help, Noah’s potential was now even greater than it had been before.
In particular, Loren had given him a bottle of Scales to Dragon, a Ninth-Rank Magical Potion, which had greatly increased Noah’s stamina and let him control so many puppets at once without overloading.
Loren had also provided plenty of help on the technical side. Though it was nowhere near as significant as the Dawn Society’s legacy, it was still not to be underestimated.
“Not bad.”
Loren didn’t hold back his praise. He was very pleased with the nuclear bomb.
This bomb could temporarily cure Loren’s insufficient-firepower phobia. Without a nuclear bomb, he just felt wrong.
Loren stroked the bomb, planning to have Scarlett come in a little later and take it away.
“By the way, Master Mentor, I have another great invention!”
After saying this, Noah had a puppet bring over a box. It was very plain, which suited Noah’s style.
“Just look at this!”
Noah took a spray bottle out of the box. Loren looked inside and saw that, besides the spray, there were many things resembling smoke grenades.
“Do you remember the Mundane Heart Potion I developed before?”
“I do.”
Loren nodded. He still carried quite a few doses of the Mundane Heart Potion, though he had rarely had occasion to use them. He had only used it against the Merfolk Elders.
The Mundane Heart Potion was better for capturing prisoners. It wasn’t much use in a fight.
By the time you could stick a syringe into someone, you could have cut him down several times over.
“So, is this something similar?” Loren guessed, looking at the spray bottle in Noah’s hand.
If the Mundane Heart Potion could really be turned into a spray, it would certainly be much more useful.
“Exactly. This is an upgraded version of the Mundane Heart Potion. Inhaling even a little will strip away all supernatural abilities, just as if you’d been injected with the Mundane Heart Potion.
“I call it the Dust of the Mundane.
“The spray bottle is just for testing. The truly useful version is the smoke grenade. Once it detonates, the Dust of the Mundane will spread instantly, enough to cover a small battlefield.”
“That’s a pretty good name.”
Loren took the Dust of the Mundane from Noah and inspected it.
Whatever else you could say, Noah had a real talent for naming things.
The Mundane Heart Potion could turn a Supernatural into an ordinary person. The Dust of the Mundane could turn an entire area into the mortal world, casting everyone within it down into the dust.
This hadn’t existed originally. It seemed to be another change brought about by Loren’s interference.
“Are the Mundane Heart Potion and the Dust of the Mundane useful against you?”
Loren was curious, so he asked.
At the same time, he casually picked up a few smoke grenades and tucked them into his black robe.
“They have some effect.”
Noah demonstrated for Loren. He sprayed the Dust of the Mundane into his mouth and took a deep breath.
“After inhaling the Dust of the Mundane, I can’t use magic, just like anyone else. I can’t even activate the effects of Scales to Dragon. But…”
As he spoke, Noah picked up a dagger and plunged it toward his heart.
The dagger pierced straight through Noah’s heart. Blood gushed out, yet Noah carried on explaining to Loren as if nothing had happened:
“But the Goddess of Love’s blessing still works.”
“I see.”
Loren began to think. This probably wasn’t a matter of status. The Witches’ status was higher than that of the Outer Gods, yet the Mundane Heart Potion could seal a Witch’s Arcane Ability but not an Outer God’s blessing.
“Could it be the difference between active and passive abilities?”
Everything the Mundane Heart Potion could seal was a power the user could control, such as Arcane Ability and magic.
Noah couldn’t control the Goddess of Love’s blessing, so the Mundane Heart Potion couldn’t dispel it.
“Or maybe it’s the difference between one’s own power and an external power?”
That explanation fit as well.
But Loren didn’t need to figure out the whole thing. He only needed to know that this stuff probably wouldn’t work on blessings from Outer Gods, and to keep that in mind when using it.
Loren planned to find an opportunity to test whether it worked on blessings from Orthodox Gods.
“I’ll be going for now. Spend the next little while researching smaller nuclear bombs.
“Dawn can serve as a trump card. The other nuclear bombs can be used for ordinary attacks.”
Before leaving, Loren assigned Noah a new task.
Loren was only leaving temporarily. He still had to come back later with Scarlett to take the nuclear bomb.
“All right. It’ll take me a few days to make them. I’ll let your puppet know when they’re ready.”
“Good.”
Noah really was a genius. Even under these circumstances, he could manufacture nuclear bombs at a ridiculously fast pace. Of course, part of the reason was that Loren only cared about their firepower, but Noah was still absurdly capable.
“By the way, how long does the Dust of the Mundane last?”
“It depends on how much you inhale. If it’s only a little, about two minutes.
“I’ve recovered now.”
“Good.”
Two minutes was plenty. Garen’s Decisive Strike could only silence someone for 1.5 seconds, while the Dust of the Mundane silenced them for a full two minutes. On a battlefield, that was enough time for the enemy to die hundreds of times over.
Loren returned to the Witches and explained the situation to them.
By then, Starnight had turned back into Nightingale and was perched on Anna’s shoulder. When Loren returned, she flew over to him.
“Let’s find somewhere to stay first. Scarlett can come with me to retrieve the nuclear bomb in a little while.”
Loren stroked Starnight’s head as he spoke.
“Where are we staying?”
“Let’s find a clean, upscale hotel. Once Noah finishes making the smaller nuclear bombs, we can also look around here for the Lovers card.”
Loren hadn’t forgotten that the Lovers card was in the God of Plague’s territory. Since they had all come here this time, they might as well look for it while they were at it.
“The Lovers card’s ability is ‘draining.’ It isn’t literal bloodsucking, but it works in much the same way as the Vampires’ high-ranking members’ bloodsucking.
“As long as someone has feelings for the holder of the Lovers card, the holder can slowly drain everything from them.
“Life force, lifespan, even certain special abilities.”
The Lovers card had some similarities to the Battlefield card, but their underlying principles were different. And the abilities gained through the Lovers card were permanent.
That did overlap somewhat with certain groups.