Chapter 59: The Mainland War – Chapter 24 (Face of the Monster Part 2)

 

A few hours since the last chapter…

Succubus Homeland, Research Facility

 

Plants are the most intelligent creatures on Earth that do not possess a brain, Rex had always been fascinated by this. It is even questionable if terrestrial life can form without plants first fixing the atmosphere. When Rex saw the state of the plant at the bottom of the swamp, he realized what was happening almost immediately. The plant was starving, and all of the surrounding flora were being killed by it.

 

This meant it was highly deficient in something, and Rex was certain it could only be one of four different things. Most effective fertilizers contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and the fourth item he could think that it wanted was mana. It had shown a predatory instinct towards mana, but if it was starving then it all made sense. In front of Rex was a 50 gallon(~200LT) steel drum filled with a thick paste.

 

“It smells awful, probably the sulfur? I don’t know anymore.” Rex muttered as he stirred the mixture of mud. “This is water-soluble, so I should just be able to throw it in the pond. I also can use this as a test on the mana I extracted from the fungus we found. It just doesn’t act like any of the other mana I have found from the magic stones. I really wonder what is going on with it!”

 

Since Rex was dealing with chemicals he was currently alone, even though nothing he was handling was dangerous. He had discovered two types of mana so far, one that came from magic stones, and one that came from magical fungus. Rex didn’t know why, but the two would not mix no matter how much he tried, however, Guffrey said that they were able to grow this fungus. So Rex had mixed all of the mana from this fungus into this fertilizer. Plants and fungi had a beneficial relationship, so he was hoping this was what it wanted.

 

“It has some strange relationship with the island, I had always speculated until I finally saw it.” Rex murmured as he recalled several things he noticed on the island.

The first one was the tree that the seeds of the mousemen’s toxic grenades came from, every single one of them had to be carefully marked. Everything about them was poisonous, you couldn’t even stand underneath one when it was raining. Rex had no problems with this toxic sap, so he had even seen the wood inside of these highly toxic trees. They were a mix of rich purples, just like the plant he had seen in the water, it was too similar to be a coincidence.

 

“That is because there is another tree that is just like it, it produces bright red berries, the only difference on the outside is the berries. If you eat the purple berries you will die within a few hours.” Rex muttered.

 

Finally, he stopped and looked directly in front of him. A blank chalkboard was prepared, but his mind was painting a picture on it for him. On it, he saw a large purple flower that was attracting many different types of monsters. These monsters came to the forest it was living in and died of all the poisons that it had produced from tampering with the local fauna, it then used these as fertilizer to grow itself. If there was once a large continent here, then it would have been an apex predator from the plant kingdom. 

 

But if I can figure out how this creature can modify plants through magic and enchantments then I should be able to open the door to modifying living beings…

 

This was the very essence of everything Charles Darwin had spent his entire life searching for, it was the magic of evolution. Rex had also speculated that it was responsible for the sheer amount of unique flora and fauna on this world compared to Earth. It was too much of a treasure to kill for no reason, not to mention he was worried about the effect it would have on the island's wildlife. 

 

Bang!

 

Rex turned back when he saw the door to his lab get violently kicked open, this caused him shock until he saw a very angry succubus walk in. Realizing it was time for his butt to cash the check it had written when he swam down to the bottom of the lake, he looked at his future wife and prepared himself. Rex put on his most ingratiating smile, he looked at Kira as if his goddess had appeared in the flesh and quickly reached for the gift he had prepared.

 

I took the time to gold plate a revolver! Let’s see how you handle this one!

 

Rex was just about to present the box when he felt two delicate arms wrap around him, crushing the box between the two of them. He could feel her shaking and sniffling, and her grip on him tightened. The moment she looked up and Rex saw her tear-streaked face, he wanted to slap himself.

 

I just complained to her about being reckless a few days ago… 

 

Rex felt like cold water was dumped over his head and his expression went flat. It was his curiosity, it was always his curiosity that got him into trouble. In his last life, he had lost his curiosity when he looked at his ex-wife's phone secretly and discovered she had created profiles on several dating sites while they were together. Maybe that was when he submitted to working every hour he could, it was to avoid the pain he felt at home. He also thought that if he provided her a better lifestyle he could salvage his failing relationship.

 

“Why didn’t you wait for me?” She asked him.

 

Rex paused, but he had already expected this question from her.

 

“I didn’t want to cause you to worry, I had the guards with me.” Rex said.

 

Kira suddenly paused, a look of shock crossed her face when she realized the guards she had trained had done absolutely nothing to stop him. Her tail began to start slowly slapping at the ground, it was becoming quicker and quicker, she then grits her teeth in rage. Looking back through the door she kicked down she could see 20 succubus heads all looking at the duo with expectation, they were enjoying the show. Kira looked at them and a thought crossed her mind.

 

I haven’t trained them NEARLY hard enough!

 

All 20 of the guards suddenly felt a chill that seemed to crawl down their spine and aggressively shove itself right up their asses. All of them looked at their enraged leader with terror, they had no idea what they had done wrong! This seemed to only make Kira even angrier when she thought of how she had told everyone about the swamp monster. It was like they had never thought of stopping him from jumping off a cliff, only protecting him from a cliff falling on his head.

 

I am going to train the shit right out of your brains!

 

Kira’s tail was thrashing angrily, it was making whipping noises as it tore through the air. She subconsciously began to squeeze Rex in her anger as tears continued to pour from her eyes.  The cardboard box that was being crushed by her mighty chest suddenly started to split open as the lid began to slide from the pressure of her hug. This caused her to see something shiny and golden, with a black grip.

 

 It is beautiful… Perfect... It’s falling!

 

Kira knew that if she had seen the gift that her beloved prepared for her then she would not be able to get her message across. She suddenly realized her idea of pretending that she couldn’t see it if she didn’t open it would never work. She felt a piece of her heart beginning to break as she saw the metal gun begin to fall towards the floor.

 

Whoosh! Snap!

 

Rex suddenly felt like he had been given a second chance from the creator when he saw Kira’s tail shoot forward and wrap itself tightly around her new revolver. Using his position to hide his face from Kira he looked over at Shaya who was looking at him from atop her stool, she was working the mill. Rex gave her a subtle thumbs up as she had made the revolver beautifully and he had just plated it. She waved back at him using her tail, this caused her dress to flutter and reveal the small gold-plated revolver at her thigh.

 

It was a trade, I had to do it!

 

This is what Rex told himself every time he thought about the fact he had gold-plated the little girl’s gun. She watched every action he made during the plating process, he was convinced that she wanted to try it as well when they had more gold foil. Focusing his attention back on Kira, he could see her trying to keep a straight face while her tail eagerly looked for a place to store her new gun among her belts. Rex carefully thought out his words and realized he needed to be careful in the future.

 

“I understand Kira, we both need to be more careful. From now on I won’t do anything really dangerous unless you are around.” Rex promised her.

 

Kira looked at him, but she wasn’t saying anything, her brain was instead going in a different direction. She was trying to figure out how she was going to protect him when she couldn’t be around all the time. She needed someone who could follow him around in her absence, the guards weren’t enough. The image of a tan and sweaty elf appeared in her mind for a moment, then she discounted it. 

 

“Why did you go in the first place?! I thought we were going to kill it together!” Kira said angrily, she was trying not to pout like a little kid.

 

Rex had to try not to laugh when he saw such a childish expression before he realized it made sense from such a young lady. He realized he would need to carefully explain himself. Walking over to a table in the corner, he had Kira take a seat and sat next to her. Taking out a sheet of paper he began tracing out different groupings. 

 

“What are you doing?” She asked him.

 

“You wanted to know what changed my mind, so I will tell you. I started trying to list every single thing in my last life that came from plants. I have managed to get around a lot of them since we don’t have much wood that isn’t poisonous. We substituted wood with steel, concrete, and plastic.” Rex explained before he continued. “A lot of my food comes exclusively from plants. The main reason though is how this plant can modify the life forms around it. I am almost positive it is responsible for the reason that the island has so many poisonous plants.”

 

Rex looked at his list and saw how many things he was still missing to create a modern world on this small island. But he was getting closer and closer, now that the main tunnel was done his next step was to build the weapons factory. After that, he had to create a sewage and water treatment facility. 

 

“Kira, I think I want to study this plant, I feel like I might be able to use it to solve both of our issues at the same time.” Rex took a deep breath and explained. “If we can figure out how this thing is capable of modifying life safely then we might be able to apply it to living creatures. I might also be able to throw off this ability that I no longer need.”

 

Rex looked over at the mill that Shaya was using with full confidence, she now wanted other tools that she could control with her mana. Rex wasn’t sure if he had inspired something in her with his constant praise or if she just loved machining. Rex also wanted to direct some succubi to begin researching enchanting.

 

“There are a lot of things that magic is capable of, and I need to study every aspect of it that I can to make sure that we can stay ahead of the elves.” Rex told her solemnly. “Do you know what the greatest cultural exchange of two countries is? “

 

“Isn’t it trade, like what we are doing with the Mousemen and Foxmen?” Kira asked as she pointed to the plastic crates in the corner of Rex’s lab.

 

Rex looked over at the boxes filled with poison gas to be sent to the mousemen, he smiled when he thought of those adorable little creatures. 

 

“Of course not, trade is all about benefits and trying to take as much as you can from each other.” Rex explained as he continued to doodle on the paper. “Trade is like when two people want the last drumstick in a bucket of chicken, it is a careful debate and establishing of lines. It is never about understanding the other person, only what you want from them.”

 

Rex had finished doodling and what appeared on the piece of paper was a vehicle that looked like a train. This was what he planned to plant inside of the tunnels to increase efficiency, as well as a large cargo elevator. The tunnels had already been finished for it, now he was just waiting for all of the engines that Shaya was carefully machining.

 

“The one time when two nations seek to most carefully understand each other is during war. They will collect everything they can from their enemies, and they will seek to get into their commanders' heads.” Rex sighed out sadly after he said this, then he continued. “War is one of the few times that two countries will try to most intimately understand each other. We even came up with the flare system so we know when one of the two forces finds something really important, I guess tomorrow we are getting a shipment with a bunch of elven relics. Greko is already kicking their asses.”

 

Rex said this last bit with some pride, but Kira was even more aware of this than he was. The mousemen were eating up the succubi’s equipment and they were taking in resources from them hand over fist. Within a week they would get their first massive shipment, they needed their boats done soon to be able to pick it all up. Kira’s tail perked up as she thought of the surprise she would be delivering her husband when he saw how much the succubi had made off of them.

 

“We need to get our ships going! The sisters are starting to complain about it.” Kira mumbled to him in mock scorn.

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“You don’t need to worry about that. We have the excellent succubus craftswoman Shaya making the engines. She has already completed one so far, and she is heroically finishing a second one as we speak.” Rex said loud enough that Shaya could hear. “She is the greatest succubus craftswoman on the mountain.”

 

Both of the people looked over to see Shaya pretending that she wasn’t listening, her tail was dancing around happily and she had a slight blush but her expression was dead serious as she operated the mill. Rex nodded several times at this and it almost made Kira laugh as she saw the interaction between them. She was reminded of when she was a little girl who also spent all of her time around the blonde man. A warmth spread through her chest as she realized that she was no longer mad at him, but he had a condition for what he was thinking.

 

Kira sighed out unhappily, it was a habit she got from Rex. “I bet you want to raise the monster just like you did with Blue. Alright, I will play along with you but I have some conditions.” She said this last part forcefully,

 

“What are they?” Rex asked with curiosity.

 

“I’ll tell you in the morning, but we are done here for the day.” Kira said a bit grumpily.

 

“You're right, it is starting to get late.” Rex looked over at the little girl who was just finishing the part she was working on. “Shaya, let’s wrap up for the day.”

 

She looked aggrieved when Rex said that he wanted to stop working for the day, so Kira decided that she would step in.

 

“I have been flying around all day, I need to take a bath.” Kira called out to Shaya. “Why don’t you come to join this big sister?”  

 

Rex smiled as he watched Kira walk over and start coaxing Shaya, she was busy locking up her stool. Rex looked down at his paper and began to carefully consider how he wanted to develop the island. Looking at the parts to complete two engines a smile crossed his face, then he thought about the fertilizer in the room that he led Kira out of.

 

-

The next day…

Succubus Homeland, Weapons Factory (Succubus Fulfillment Society)

 

Rex was staring at the "insurance" that Kira insisted he installs under the plant. He was currently inside a part of the weapons factory that he didn’t know existed. Looking around he carefully took in the room around him, and he wasn’t sure if the succubi were serious or playing around. Realizing they were dead serious he carefully spent a few moments observing everything.

 

They had created a primitive assembly line, they used the rollers that Rex had created for the docks and made them smaller. They used all of the same machinery in the yard to mass produce all of the various parts that they needed to produce their own unique products. Looking over he could see a wall where they tracked the different succubi based on what they had created. Land mines, claymores, they were even working on a prototype of a mortar, and various types of explosive rounds.

 

This is where the succubi have been making all of their explosives! 

 

Rex often had to remember that he did not have sole control over the succubi, and they loved to do their own things on the side. The exchange, the bread recipe, the water skins, this was just the next evolution of succubus capitalism. Rex suddenly realized that there were so many things on the island that were going on that he had no idea about. It was starting to feel more and more like a modern city, and not some small town where everyone knew everything.

 

Rex took a deep breath as he looked at all of the succubi gathered at this plant, one in particular stuck out to him.

 

“Shaya, what are you doing here?!” Rex blurted out in shock.

 

Sitting in her own little chair among the executives of the plant was the little girl he often taught at the workshop. Rex raised his hand and his finger was shaking, his mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water. Shaya blushed slightly, looking around at the various succubi who ran this place very seriously. She looked at Rex with a confused expression, before she said quietly.

 

“I do consulting work for them…”

 

This sentence caused Rex to take a second look at the factory and notice how efficient everything was laid out even though it was all simple. They had made various tools for packing and shaping the explosives in all of their products. They even had drill presses and other tools necessary for fixing the slightest imperfections, knowing his apprentice was responsible for some of this caused an unwanted feeling of pride to swell. Looking at the large metal weapon sitting on the ground he was then forced to frown as he had no idea what it was.

 

“And what is this?” He asked Kira who was standing next to him.

 

A succubus wearing a lab coat walked forward, he was shocked to see that they were copying some of the clothes he used in the lab. Holding up a blip board she began to read off a list of chemicals.

 

“Potassium Chlorate, Charcoal, Potassium nitrate, Calcium carbonate-” Rex decided to stop her here.

 

“It just sounds like you are trying to produce a ton of oxygen… What is that going to do?” Rex asked this as he looked at the giant metal cylinders that looked like modified oxygen tanks. 

 

Another succubus walked forward wearing white robes, she looked like some kind of priestess or a monk.

 

“It will trigger the fury of the great weapon of the succubi!” She announced with reverence. “This will ensure that our enemy is completely destroyed!”

 

Rex looked at the weapon again and finally understood what he was seeing. It looked like many large oxygen canisters that were all linked together by a chain. Various pins are connected to the links of the chain and connected directly to the heads of the oxygen tanks. The reason Rex was so confused was that it looked like a giant metal firecracker chain that weighed several tons(~1814KG). Thinking of how dangerous this creation of the succubi was caused Rex to go completely pale.

 

“Whose idea was this?!” Rex roared in anger as he pointed at the giant weapon sitting in front of him.

 

He looked around for the slightest movement out of any of the succubi, he wanted to know who was so dead set on destroying the island!

 

“We can’t have this next to the refinery! If the gas that we have stored there was to ignite… No! No! No! No! No! Get this off the island! Now! You can sell it! You can do whatever, but this is not staying here for another second!” Rex looked around in horror as he looked at the haphazard stack of canisters attached to the chain.  

 

If that chain was so much as pulled in the wrong way then the entire thing would go off, and once was set off then all of them would be. It was enough to make Rex want to pull out his gun and start shooting, he had never been so angry before.

 

This is why I need the dwarves to help in the weapons production plant! These things have no regard for their safety!  

 

Rex desperately wanted to be angry at them but then he thought of the primitive humans before they were truly educated. He took several deep breaths as he replayed things like bamboo cannons, round gunboats, duck foot pistols, and anti-tank dogs. The succubi were disappointed as they began to prepare this weapon for travel many of them were complaining.

 

“And what would you use to kill that creature? Well?!” The succubus in white robes asked in anger.

 

“Salt…” Rex said flatly.

 

“Salt?” The succubus priestess asked.

 

“It lives in that pool for a reason, it is freshwater. I bet it needs a lot of it to survive, so I would use salt to kill it.” Rex said flatly.

 

A lot of people have a misconception about salt and more specifically salting the earth. It isn’t even permanent, most countries don’t even ban the use of it. If you have a high concentration of salt in the soil, then a plant will not be able to perform osmosis which is how they get their water. This is what causes them to die, but salt is water-soluble so it will get washed away with rain. 

 

“I would use salt and vinegar, the same stuff I used on my driveway to keep weeds from growing in the cracks.” Rex looked around at all of the succubi. “It is dying because it can’t get enough nutrients, so I imagine this would be incredibly deadly to it.”

 

Rex pointed at the giant metal contraption that was in front of him. “We don’t need this, get it out of here. Tomorrow I will create something to deal with that plant, then we can try out the fertilizer on it.” Rex sighed as he watched them start to pack it away in a net. 

 

“Can we sell this to the mousemen?” Kira asked Rex with expectation.

 

“I don’t honestly care what you do with it, I just don’t want it here.” Rex said.

 

Rex looked around as the succubi started moving the weapon away, thoughts were already flying through his mind. When he got the small group of dwarves to help with the weapons factory he would try to use them to control the rambunctious creatures. Just like the goblins and the gnomes, the dwarves would be in charge of the succubi. The one thing he had to credit them for was all of the other things they had created. 

 

Walking over he picked up one of their mines and began to quickly disassemble it and inspect its various parts. Kira had a look of pride on her face, but Rex’s next words caused her to pause.

 

“It only looks good on the outside, holy shit is this a dodgy activation device. 15 pounds(~7KG) is all it takes to set off one of these landmines, do you have any idea how bad of an idea that is?” Rex said as he pointed at the spring that acted for the detonator. “A small animal could set this off, you don’t want that.”

 

Rex sighed as he looked at the rest of their products, they would all be classified as too dangerous for use on a battlefield. Rex couldn’t think of a single army that would appreciate weaponry like this on modern Earth.

 

“We need more people… skilled people…” He muttered in horror. "I don't have time to redesign all of this." 

 

Rex could only pray that their creations didn't cause many casualties on the mousemen's side.

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