Chapter 211 - The Long Walk Home (1/2)

A couple of days after Shaali's funeral, Lu'um had finally recovered from her wounds. Over the course of that time, Reed had brought Lu'um up to speed on the situation in Mulia.

He had reached a critical impasse with his work. Something that he could not overcome on his own.

Although Reed had developed the means to combat the Infestation on much better terms, he lacked the human resources to make his plan a reality. Reed also understood that if he tried to advocate for what seemed like a total war against the Infestation, the Unified Mulian government and the people of Mulia would rightfully oppose him.

”I know exactly what it sounds like, but I'm not trying to fight an unwinnable war. What I am trying to do is fight a short, winnable war, though,” said Reed as he gestured toward the holographic projection in front of them.

Lu'um's room was turned into a circus lightshow as an enormous planet began to form out of the projection. It was an incomplete globe, filled with several massive gaps — uncharted areas that had not been yet mapped in the Shadowlands. Hundreds upon hundreds of thin white lines, each representing a different fleet of warsh.i.p.s, began to slowly inch across the planet...

It was, amazingly, a rough battle plan for an operation, unlike anything Lu'um had ever seen before. Though she was initially not too unenthused about the very prospect of going to war, her mind had changed after she read through what Reed had developed for the operation.

”So, what do you think? Not too shabby of a plan, right?” said Reed, smugly. He wasn't one to brag excessively, but even he couldn't help but feel proud about what he had accomplished.

”It's a strong start for something big, that's for sure, but it still needs a lot of work. And this plan's not going to work without assistance from Citali, either,” said Lu'um as the gears in her head began to turn. The logistics of Reed's plan could be covered by the resources and workforce present in Mulia, but it lacked the speed and capability to carry it out in an even remotely feasible timeframe.

”To build this hypothetical megastructure you've conceived, we're definitely going to need planetary-scale matter fabricators. Without them, it'll take Mulia more than 8,000 years to build them with its current industrial output and capabilities,” said Lu'um.

”And although we do not have any planetary-scale matter fabricators in Citlai, we do have the blueprints, engineers, and smaller, industrial-scale matter fabricators to create them...”

Reed grinned and said, ”I was counting on that. And Mulia can provide the raw resources to build the matter fabricators. After they're built, we'll have them hauled back to Mulia to begin the real work.”

”Even so, this project will require the full support of the entire continent's workforce and its economy for it to be completed. And that, in itself, will not be an easy task to do,” said Lu'um, pouring a bucket of cold water on out her idiot's annoying but adorable smugness.

Reed rubbed his chin awkwardly and chuckled nervously before he said, ”Yes, about that little problem... That's where you come in, honey. I can think of no one better to manage rallying the support required to proceed other than you.”

He meant it when he said Lu'um was the best possible person for the job. Reed thought himself a decent orator nowadays, given all the work and practice he had in recent years, but he knew that he was no match for Lu'um when it came to fighting in the political arena or even in speech-making.

In fact, Reed was convinced that she could probably sell water to fish. It was her infamous silver tongue that had built one of the biggest companies in Mulia — Evergreen Solutions — and by extension, the impressive fortune that had funded most of Reed's unique enterprises and research projects over the last couple of years.

To put it bluntly, Reed was actually on Lu'um's payroll. He had been living, for all intents and purposes, on the allowance of his own lady. An eye-opening fact that would have likely made him the b.u.t.t of many jokes by the men of Mulia if they ever learned about it...

Lu'um stared inquisitively at Reed with an odd smile and said, ”Hmm, is that correct? Are you sure? My asking price is rather high, you know? It could very well leave you utterly bankrupt...”

It was the smile of a predator who had caught sight of their favorite prey.

Reed stared at her with a slightly embarrassed expression and said, ”I'm sure that we could work something out. I am... open to suggest—”

He never got to finish that sentence. As it turned out, Lu'um never intended on negotiating. Not that Reed had expected her to actually behave herself after he glimpsed what laid behind her eyes.

It wasn't until the next day that they both left Lu'um's room. Reed had been completely put through his paces, to the point that he almost felt his soul leave his body last night. When he finally woke up past midday, he let out a small groan of pain.

His back hurt like hell... and upon closer inspection, Reed found that some manner of a fearsome beast had seemingly mauled him. His back was littered with a brand new set of battle scars, much to his dismay. One would've thought that a razor-wyrm had clawed and bitten Reed as if he had been a chew toy.

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I can't say I missed this part about her that much. God knows how I'd look if I didn't possess any regenerative abilities or a strengthened body...

When Reed turned to look at the disheveled woman sleeping peacefully beside him, he wondered where he would've been in life had he not met her.

What a difficult question...