Making their way back to Teriu, Kuromi made sure that Shiro took a rest so that her energy reserves could be replenished. The main problem of using Celestial Energy is that it is very limited and would only regenerate once you started to rest your body.
Sure it may be more powerful than mana but in terms of accessibility and efficiency, Kuromi still preferred mana over Celestial Energy.
However, there were some positives that came from this. Namely the fact that their enemies wouldn’t be constantly reinforcing their bodies since the energy is limited. This gives them the opportunity to eliminate a large portion of enemies in an instant since without the reinforcement, they’re essentially normal humans with slightly improved physical attributes.
In other words, they’re babies with guns. As long as you deal with them quickly, they pose no threat.
As they arrive near the camp that some of the Shadow Guards had set up near where the battlefield is, Kuromi had them explain to her the general gist of what’s been happening so far.
“So you’re telling me that regardless of what the families in Teriu have been telling them, the opposing families don’t care?” Shiro raised her eyebrow.
Since Phillip had told them that the lord had given the fake spell to the enemies, they knew that they had nothing to prove their innocence. Plus, with things escalating to this point, many of the families won’t stop until they’ve checked through everything and made sure that nothing had been left untouched.
Not only that, even if they do believe in what the families in Teriu say, they still want to continue this battle since it’s a way for them to eliminate a few competitors.
“Hmm… that’s a little annoying. Well at least we’ve weakened the royal army a little. While it may not be much in the grand scheme of things, it will definitely help out with the next battle. If we can get ourselves some loot from the aftermath, that would be great as well. It’ll somewhat fund our next battles in a way.” Kuromi shrugged.
“But for now though, let’s find a spot for us to stay in Teriu so that we can set up camp without being detected.”
“If you’re looking for a spot for us to stay, maybe we can go to the old compound? While it’s been raided, we can use the ruins as a camp since we understand the layout well.” Phillip suggested.
“Sure, depends on how many people are near the compound when we teleport in. If they have people searching through the ruins in case the spell was left behind, it’ll be quite awkward now wouldn’t it?” Kuromi chuckled as Phillip nodded.
“Of course. It is merely an option that could be viable.” Phillip replied with a smile.
“Anyways, I’ll go do some scouting now and try to see if I can set up camp. If anyone wants to come with me, speak up now. Just keep in mind that you must be able to disengage quickly and leave should things go south. While I may be there to help you teleport away, if I’m in a bad situation, you’ll be on your own.” Shiro said as she twirled a dagger in her hands. Since Kuromi was fine with planning with the rest of the group, it was better that she made the most of their time by scouting and setting up camp.
Waiting for a few moments, Shiro had three people volunteer to do the scouting with her.
Bringing up their info in her mind, she realised that they were the best choices right now.
“Good. Kali, Liam, Cert, stay close to me so that I won’t have to use too much energy to teleport you to the city.” Shiro smiled as they stood beside her.
“I’ll see you later big sis.”
“Good luck.” Kuromi waved her hands with a smile.
Snapping her fingers, the portal appeared under the four of them as they teleported away.
“Say first young miss, has second young miss changed her way of calling you? I think she used to call you Kuro right?” Phillip tilted his head.
“Well I’d say Shiro is a bit of a tsun. She’s embarrassed by things she’s not used.” Kuromi chuckled.
###
After leaving the portal, they found themselves perched on one of the taller buildings in the city. Thankfully, they weren’t noticed since the people in this city were busy with battle preparations.
“Right then, who here knows their way around the old compound the best? As you know, me and big sis don’t exactly remember much of what happened.” Shiro asked with a smile.
Hearing this, Kali raised her hand.
“I know quite a bit about the compound since I was a normal maid at one point so I’ve memorised the layout.” Kali replied.
“Heh~ is that so? In that case then Kali, you come with me and we’ll go to the old compound. Liam, Cert, you two try to find a relatively large space for us to use as camps in case the old compound is a bust. Make sure that it’s not easily discovered ok?”
“Understood.” They both replied.
With the tasks handed out, they split up and started to search for spots that they can use.
Shiro and Kali started to dash across the rooftops since that was the fastest way around. Of course, they make sure to stay in the shade or else they’ll be spotted instantly.
“So while we’re making our way there, why don’t you explain the layout of the compound so that I can somewhat get an idea first.” Shiro asked as Kali nodded.
“The old compound was made up of three main buildings, 5 sub buildings, two training halls and a few gardens. The main buildings include one of hosting meetings and guest rooms, the main building for family and one for all of the servants including the shadow guards. As for the sub buildings, they’re made up of storage rooms, blacksmiths and experiment rooms where some of us go to try to make new spells. Each of the 5 sub buildings pretty much have the same thing. There are also a few ponds within the gardens to make it look more pleasing.
“In terms of layout, once you enter the compound, you’ll see one of the main buildings for guests in front of you. To your left would be a garden and to the right would be one of the training halls. Once you get past the guest buildings, family and servant quarters could be seen near the back. Most of the sub buildings are placed side by side for convenience. There are also a few hidden rooms scattered throughout the area which leads to different underground spaces. They hold the main training area for shadow guards.” Kali explained as Shiro nodded.
“Do you think we could possibly use one of the training areas as our new camp? Since it’s underground, we won’t be spotted as easily. However, there’s one thing that is bugging me. How many entrances are there to the facility? If there’s only one, it’ll be bad should we be discovered and cornered. While I can use my portals, once I run out of energy, we’ll be trapped.”
“There are a few emergency exits so you don’t have to worry about that second young miss.” Kali smiled.
“Alright, that’s one of my worries solved.” Shiro nodded as they continued their way towards the compound.
During this, they were forced to take longer paths since the roofs started to provide less cover. Sneaking their way through the different alleys, Shiro took a moment to get some high ground and look towards the compound to see if there are anyone inside. If there wasn’t, she’d use this chance to teleport in with a portal.
Narrowing her eyes, she could see the main buildings that Kali spoke about along with the gardens and training hall. Unfortunately, all of the buildings were destroyed to a certain extent which masked their initial beauty. Even at this stage, Shiro could tell that the gardens would have looked quite peaceful if not for the broken mini bridges and craters scattered throughout the place.
“Tch, brutes.” She muttered.
After a short while, she managed to spot a few decent locations for them to teleport in as she jumped down from the roof before she was spotted.
Making two orbs, she controlled one so that it would make its way into the compound without being seen. Once it was inside, Shiro activated her own orb and teleported the both of them in. Now that they were inside the compound, it was time to look around for a good spot to set up camp.
