Ravenna slowly clenched her fist, the pressure came at her like rolling waves, she wanted to remain unmoved, her will was indeed unmoved, but reality did not allow her to remain unmoved.

“Miss Ravenna.”

Ansel’s gentle words interrupted Ravenna’s thoughts.

“…” Under everyone’s gaze, Ravenna was forced to meet Ansel’s eyes.

She stared into those sea-blue eyes she had seen countless times, trying to find a hint of mockery or ridicule, but to no avail.

All Ravenna could see in those eyes was an unfathomable gentleness, a gentleness that made her, a person who liked to get to the bottom of things, shudder.

He is playing the role of a perfect person at this moment.

Ravenna assured herself inwardly:

He must be a person person.

Thus, she relinquished all her incisive assaults and unparalleled cutting remarks, bowing her head to Ansel:

“What can I do for you, Lord Hydral.”

Hendrik breathed a sigh of relief, although Ravenna’s tone was still not respectful enough, he believed Lord Ansel would not mind too much.

“You are the most sought-after genius sorcerer in the entire imperial capital.”

Ansel smiled and said, “I am familiar with the concepts of firearms and floating cannons, and they are indeed extraordinary.”

“…” Ravenna remained expressionless.

“I believe in the power of collective wisdom.”

The young Hydral looked around at the other scholars, and seemingly becoming a leader unconsciously, his tone was calm but powerful:

“But you all should know better than me that alchemy and creation are the realms of genius. Instead of relying on so-called discussions to pile up output, why not… actively seek opportunities for sparks of inspiration?”

He extended his hand to Ravenna, smiling brightly:

“I think, if I collaborate with you, perhaps… we could create something capable of defeating the unknown alchemical creation called mechanical armor.”

“What do you think, Miss Ravenna?”

From the perspective of solving the current situation, there was no problem; from the Tower of Babel’s perspective, there was no problem; from her own perspective… it was not an issue either.

The woman calmly extended her hand to Ansel: “You are right, Lord Hydral.”

Judgment, then choice, that was all.

Although Ravenna knew that Ansel must have come with a hidden agenda, she had no choice but to swallow this honey-coated poisonous candy.

Simply through the most basic rational analysis, and then making a choice.

This situation no longer allowed her to view the problem from the perspective of a chessboard, chess player, and chess pieces. The Tower of Babel was on the verge of collapse, and if it failed, it would be a glaring stain in the fierce life of Evora.

The outcome of a stain could only be erased.

And if it were Ansel… if it were Hydral, then it was possible, no, it was certain.

The Tower of Babel would have no possibility of failure.

Because, even if she no longer wanted to admit it, he and she were undoubtedly the most perfect partners in this world.

*

Time is of the essence. As soon as Ansel decided to lend a hand to the Tower of Babel, he immersed himself in research without delay.

He altered his appearance with magic, and along with Ravenna and six other extraordinary beings of notable abilities, they took up long-term residence in the finest alchemical workshop within the Tower of Babel.

The reason for the inclusion of six merely “notable” rather than top-tier extraordinary beings was simple… it is often more challenging to reach a consensus among intelligent individuals.

However, those slightly more intelligent, when following the instructions of the wise, can often accomplish tasks more effectively.

“Firstly, we need to ascertain what the ‘mechanical armor’ claimed by the Etheric Academy truly is.”

Ansel, now disguised as a middle-aged man, explained to the group before commencing work. “To win, the best strategy is not to create the most powerful weapon, but one that can perfectly counter the opponent’s weapon.”

“But we don’t even know what that thing is,” someone couldn’t help but voice out.

“The Alchemy Association has recently built a massive workshop, specifically for th atmechanical armor,” Ansel responded.

“We can tentatively assume that the mechanical armor is a colossal alchemical weapon.”

“… Isn’t that just an alchemical fortress?”

An alchemical fortress, the absolute symbol of an alchemist’s power. Compared to it, the spell towers standing on the earth appear majestic and noble, but in reality, they are nothing.

“That’s hard to say,” Ansel slightly raised his eyebrows, “Perhaps, it’s something of even greater strategic value than an alchemical fortress.”

“That’s impossible, how could there be something more —”

“Silence.”

Ravenna coldly interrupted that Babel member’s words, then turned to Ansel, “Stop wasting time, tell me what to do, and we’ll start now.”

“…Miss Ziegler.”

Due to Ravenna’s “infamous reputation,” most people in Babel didn’t like her. Coupled with her outrageous remarks, the person who was interrupted couldn’t help but say, “Even if you… and this Mr. Anonymous are capable, you should at least let us know the overall concept. How are we supposed to start work without any clear instructions?”

“I don’t think you would understand what he’s saying,” Ravenna said expressionlessly. “You just need to follow our instructions, that’s your job now.”

…There was no need for any unnecessary work.

That’s what she thought.

“Well… since you’ve said so, Ravenna.”

Ansel stroked his chin, “Alright, let’s skip straight to the work phase.”

“In my concept, the most effective means of attack…”

When Ansel began to describe in detail what he wanted to create, the other six members of Babel were stunned, then simultaneously showed incredulous expressions, as if they thought Ansel was talking nonsense.

Because Ansel said — he wanted to create bugs.

“Bugs that gnaw on etheric circuits? How could such a thing exist?”

The Babel members expressed their inability to comprehend, “If etheric circuits were so easy to destroy, would they still be called alchemical weapons?”

Most of the time, if you can destroy the etheric circuit, it means the alchemical weapon itself has been destroyed. If even the weapon itself is destroyed, why bother with such a roundabout method?

“Well, this involves…” freewёbnoνel.com

“Enough with the nonsense.”

Ravenna walked straight to the workbench, not looking back, “Today, I want to see a prototype close to the concept. Let’s get started.”

–>