Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 261

Chapter 261: Construction Resumes

Lysette stood and stretched and rolled her neck several times before she and Mirae made their way outside to enjoy the golden glow of dawn.  But scarcely a minute had transpired before a disheveled, heavily-breathing Theo approached, blitzing through the empty streets at a pace that was far beyond his capabilities two months ago, let alone five months prior when Lysette first began instructing him in the study of Cultivation.

Theo had certainly changed since she and Mirae had first met him.  He still gave off a warrior’s air, but where he was bulky now, his muscles had shrunk somewhat.  Incomparably more toned, however, and the Essence within him confirmed that his muscles were no longer just for show when it came to battles with Cultivators as opposed to with wild animals.  He smiled, full of pride, before offering a small bow of the head.

“Miss Lyse, Sar Mirae,” he started.  Neither of them were a fan of such polite forms of address, especially Mirae, who felt equally and especially uncomfortable with either a masculine or feminine honorific.  But as Theo had insisted on such an address vociferously, Mirae eventually decided that they could abide by something vaguely resembling a portmanteau of the two.

“Is something troubling you?” Lysette asked.  “You seem a bit on edge.”

Theo ceased his fidgeting and stood at full attention.  “Not at all, Miss Lyse.  I was merely patrolling the village this morning when I saw you two standing out here.  Since you,” he said, bowing slightly at Lysette, “had retreated to your quarters shortly after your return, I was unable to inform you.  The day before yesterday, the grand council of elders had finally voted thirteen-to-one to go ahead with the waterway construction project.”

Lysette’s eyes widened.  She’d not forgotten about her and Lyon’s grand designs to divert the nearby river and some of the drainage of Spire Mountains’ snowcap into a large lake and irrigation project.  However, the project had been indefinitely postponed due to some concerns among the community.

“Did something happen?” Lysette asked.  “Why now as opposed to last week or, say, three months from now.”

“Nothing bad that I’m aware of,” Theo said.  “I think with the arrival of the spring, people are ready to start changing.  Winter is a time for rest and reflection, but spring is a reminder that we can’t remain idle and unchanging forever.”

Lysette nodded.  “A saying native to the village?”

“A variation of one, yes.”

Lysette squeezed Mirae’s hand.  “Do you have any other plans, or would you like to help out?”

“No, and I’d rather watch.  I have neither your talent for manipulating plants nor Lyon’s adeptness when it comes to architecture and design.  But don’t worry, love.  If something seems off or doesn’t look right, I’ll offer what help I can.”

“Thanks, love.”  Lysette took a deep breath.  “I suppose Lyon is going to want to oversee the whole project.  I don’t suppose you can let him know to expect us after breakfast.”

“O–  Of course, Miss Lyse.”  Theo fidgeted.  “And one other thing.  Can I get some advice on a Cultivation issue?”

“Sure thing.”

“Anyway, most of my Cultivation so far has been basic physical enhancement, with a particular focus on speed and agility.  I figure I’ve still got a ways to go before I can handle myself against all you guys with so much more experience, so better to focus on not getting hurt, right?”

Lysette chuckled.  “Sorry, not laughing at you.  You just remind me of myself when I was starting out as a Cultivator.  I’m reminiscing a bit about simpler times.”

“No offense taken.  Anyway, the biggest issue is that, while I do well enough in melee combat against a single opponent, I have trouble when I get surrounded by multiple opponents.”

Lysette nodded.  He and some of the other Ciricuans had been sparring and doing basic combat drills with the Domarian students over the past couple of weeks.  But she was surprised and impressed to hear that Theo had improved to the point where he was training against multiple opponents at once.  He truly was quite talented— and no less Devoted to his training— though some of that was the result of focused efforts Lysette had taken to improve and accelerate that Cultivation further.

“Have you come up with any ideas for some sort of projectile attack?  Or some way to extricate yourself from being surrounded?”

“I feel pretty close to developing my first techniques with the Earth element.  Just seemed the easiest for me to develop.”

“That’s probably where your strongest affinity lies.  Everyone has tendencies toward different types of techniques.  Which is to say, some abilities come more easily for some than for others.  I suspect it has something to do with our personalities.  I wield the power of nature and plants; Serrena and Solanna, wield Fire, Mirae wields Ice, and Rayleigh wields Wind.  Amalia and Gerald both use different types of Earth element techniques, so they might be able to provide you better insights on how to proceed further.”

“Oh, of course!  Thank you for your time!  And yes, I’ll let Lyon know you’re ready for him, straightaway!”

Theo ran off as fast as he arrived.  Once he was several houses past, Mirae leaned in and kissed Lysette.

“You know, we could have just let Lyon know ourselves.”

“After seeing how eager Theo was to help?  Besides, it’s better if I–”

“I understand, love.”

The two made their way down the main street in Ciricu at a leisurely pace.  They even took several breaks along the way, spending time engaging in smalltalk among the villagers and enjoying Aurie in her child form playing with the kids. 

The kids were tying their legs to those of another kid and then lining up and racing against one another not dissimilar to some sort of strange three-legged creature.  Though, with two brains and a lack of general coordination as is typical among the young, several in the group were falling down and bandaging up scraped knees and shins as they tried to run around.

Despite her inclinations to rush in and heal them, Lysette honored her agreement with Auri from the previous day and decided to let such minor bruises and cuts heal in their normal course.  Only one kid, wailing about their head and with a rapidly-swelling welt near his temple, received a bit of divine intervention to ensure that such wounds didn’t become permanently incapacitated.

In total, it was about an hour before the couple finished their jaunt about the town and arrived at the home of the self-styled representative and advisor on matters of trade and commerce.  In truth, ever since Lysette’s arrival in Ciricu, he filled better the role of eccentric polymath.  The one time Lysette had seen inside his home, it had been filled with open books and diagrams and hastily-scribbled notes of devices that probably weren’t even structurally sound.  And he had always been pondering one potential idea or another that would revolutionize the town and lead it into greater prosperity.  Or so he claimed.

Lysette needed only to step on the trimmings in front of the property before the disheveled madman rushed out the door, his scruffy, unkempt hair— including his untrimmed facial hair— on full display.  He rushed out to greet Lysette, offering a polite nod to Mirae shortly thereafter.

“Happy day!  Happy day!” he said.  “I heard from Theo just a bit ago that you were ready to start construction on the waterway project!”  He paused and looked at himself.  “Forgive my rushed presentation, Lyse, but I had been awakened suddenly by Theo’s knocking after yet another too-long night attending to my studies.”

“I figured it was something like that.  Do you need another moment to–”

“Not at all.  Please, lead the way.”

Thankfully, very little of the late fall’s work had been undone thanks to Gerald’s tireless efforts of ensuring the soon-to-be river basin was resistant against the erosion of rain and snowmelt over the long winter.  Overall, the first phase of the project wasn’t too extensive: merely to divert the flow of the river— the Fliori River, Lysette had learned— about three miles westward, curving it just along the northeastern edge of Ciricu’s harvest fields before eventually having it twist back along its current northern flow.  That, coupled with a simple waterwheel and gristmill to aid in the processing of grain into flour.

But considering Lyon’s excitement, it appeared that the much grander proposal had been approved by the elders.  Diverting a portion of the Spire Mountains’ snowmelt and using it to fill a full lake just north of the town.  With that much in mind, not only would there be a powerful natural defense against Terean invaders, but it would also be perfect as a fishing spot and tourism destination.  A lot more money coming in for even more projects.  Lysette shuddered.  No wonder Lyon was all but quivering in his boots as the three made their way to the future riverbed.

“Love, would you mind summoning Lilia, Gerald, and Amalia here?  And if any of the others want to help and aren’t otherwise busy, they can join.”

“Part of the whole ‘delegation’ thing you’re going for?”

Lysette said nothing, Bionco’s words still weighing on her.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Lysette smiled and stretched her outstretched arms, as a mental crutch and a calming technique.  Then she tugged on the nearby trees with her Essence.  Gently, less a demand in the moment and more a quiet request to kindly move.  And after a bit of begrudging of her own, the trees obliged her.

Practice and far more Essence bonded to her technique had made the task far easier and less taxing than it had been months prior.  Rather than needing to painstakingly move each root and branch one at a time to guide the trees to their locations, now Lysette could do so with little more than general commands.  ‘Move this way’ and ‘Plant yourself there’ and so forth.  Better still, controlling three and even four at a time was not at all too arduous a task, speeding up the task considerably.

After twenty minutes, Mirae returned, with not just Amalia, Gerald, and Lilia, but also the former Terean soldiers Jules and Katie, along with a pair of other Tereans Lysette didn’t recognize.  One was a young man, probably no older than Mirae.  And the other a woman whose features were so similar that the two had to have been at least cousins, if not siblings.  Both were of thin— slender, even— build, with fair skin and light brown hair.

“And you two are?” Lysette asked.

“The man’s name is Rolf, and the woman is his twin sister, Beatrice.”

Lysette stretched out her hand.  “Lyse Barret.  I suppose we’ve met once before on the battlefield, but this is the first time we’ve been properly introduced.”

“So, you’re the madwoman who fights like a demon,” Beatrice said.  “A lot more sane and…  how shall I say… less imposing looking than when you’re slaughtering us on the battlefield.”

Rolf muttered with a snarl.  “Tricia, you can’t just call our conqueror a demon like that!  She spared us once, yes, but who’s to say we’ll get lucky the second time?”

“Just acknowledging her strength is all.”  Beatrice crossed her arms and condescendingly tapped her fingers near her elbow.

“It’s fine,” Lysette said.  “Neither the first nor the last time I’ve been called a demon.  It’s sort of growing on me, really.  In any case, I understand that the two of you are here to help?”

“To the extent we’re able,” Rolf said.  “Neither of us are anywhere near the strength we were six months ago thanks to whatever it is you did to us.  But I suppose we are still alive and I’m grateful for that much.  Now then, Tricia and I were nothing special as Cultivators before and whatever you did that night didn’t help matters.  But we do hail from a long and proud tradition of Earth Cultivators and the Colonel thought you could use our help, so here we are.”

Beatrice muttered some incomprehensible snarl under her breath.  “Well, whatever.  Let’s just get this shit over with already.”

Chapter 260: https://www.patreon.com/posts/115342349

Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101896170

Chapter 262: https://www.patreon.com/posts/115473246