Development of Illusion Instruments

Of course, considering that the group currently stationed outside was the one in most need, Lan Qingyou personally crafted a batch of scrolls to distribute among them.

One per person, absolutely no more.

As for the remaining Town Portal Scrolls, Lan Qingyou’s plan was to place them all next to the teleportation circle. Every time someone needed to go out, they could collect one for free.

After all, she was also worried that if someone got their hands on too many of these scrolls, they might try to summon an entire army.

But then she thought about it—at most, she would only put out a few hundred at a time. The rest of her practice pieces were basically all destroyed.

So even if someone stole them, that small number of people wouldn't even be a threat to Eureka City. They’d likely be dealt with by any passing witch before they could do anything.

There was no need to worry too much about that.

As for the teleportation circles, they would, of course, be reopened.

They were placed on the branches of the Perching Giant Tree at the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west.

This way, once a witch teleported back, she would only need a flying magic broom to descend.

Anyone else, however, would have to jump from a height of over a hundred meters.

Furthermore, they would have to face a swarm of flying monsters nesting around the teleportation circles.

While these creatures would turn a blind eye to witches entering their territory, they certainly wouldn't do the same for anyone else.

It served as an additional layer of insurance against intruders.

So.

After finishing the first batch of urgent Town Portal Scrolls and handing them to Adele, the Tourism Minister, Lan Qingyou began recreating the teleportation circles.

Although the previous circles had been dismantled, the materials were still there. She only needed to contact Chariot to purchase four new coordinate teleportation equipment sets.

This was no longer a difficult task for the current Lan Qingyou.

The next day.

After completing a series of tasks, setting up the teleportation circles, and informing Diana of the situation, Lan Qingyou teleported to Emerald Ridge.

Originally, there had been ten teleportation circles in Emerald Ridge.

Eight of them were internal circles for the various clans.

The other two were located within Vivian’s castle shelter.

One was for the castle staff, while the other was for Vivian’s private use.

Now, however, only six remained.

During the time Lan Qingyou and the others were trapped, a rebellion had broken out in Emerald Ridge.

Although it was eventually suppressed, the Vampire Alliance had been severely weakened as a result.

The Phantom Mist Vampires, in particular, had been singled out and suffered heavy losses.

With Vivian absent and the clan decimated, some of the other clan leaders had begun to stir, each wanting to become the new leader.

Since Vivian was a True Ancestor, a supreme existence among vampires, no one naturally dared to defy her.

But if someone else wanted to take the lead, others certainly had something to say about it.

Consequently, another civil war erupted.

In the end, after all the fighting, only four branches remained: the crippled Phantom Mist Vampires, the Night Charm Vampires who specialized in intelligence and assassination, the Soul-eating Vampires who excelled in commerce and necromancy, and the equally crippled Shadow Demon Vampires.

Of course.

Their absence didn't mean the other four branches had vanished.

It simply meant they had been kicked out of Emerald Ridge, the area protected by the large magic shield, during the struggle.

Though they were all similarly crippled or on the brink of extinction, they had at least managed to preserve the remnants of their families.

Even if some clan leaders had died, they could still develop new members through the First Embrace.

Although members developed through the First Embrace usually started at a very low level, it was their only option.

That was what happened when the clan leaders who knew how to make evolution items all ended up dead.

To be honest, if Vivian hadn't returned later with over a hundred Level 50 reinforcements, this so-called Vampire Alliance likely wouldn't have survived.

Even now, the situation was only maintained with the help of the Giovanni family of the Soul-eating Vampires, who were experts in commerce.

Who would have thought that the Giovanni family, who had originally joined the alliance only as a last resort, would become the pillar holding it all together?

“Good morning, Her Majesty the Witch Queen. Her Eminence has already informed us of your visit. Please, follow me.”

The maid waiting by the teleportation circle in Brown Castle since early morning immediately associated the witch arriving on a broom with Lan Qingyou.

After all, she had been briefed by her superiors that the Witch of the Tower would be visiting today.

Since Lan Qingyou was alone, the maid made a bold guess about her identity.

While Lan Qingyou was happy to be recognized instantly, the title the maid used made her feel a bit unpleasant.

Witch Queen... that cursed title.

The worst part was that she couldn't even refute it.

Looking up at the blood moon that would never set due to the large magic shield and magic circles, Lan Qingyou fell into deep thought.

She was pondering.

Pondering whether she should sink the person who invented that term to the bottom of Little Tail Lake.

Walking in silence, Lan Qingyou was led by the vampire maid to the basement of Brown Castle.

This was Vivian’s laboratory.

While it differed slightly from an alchemist's workshop, the differences were mostly limited to the alchemy circles and crucibles.

Most of the other equipment was essentially the same as what one would find in a chemistry lab.

Of course, as a True Ancestor, Vivian also had many blood-related tools and materials here.

One could even see several torture devices.

“Those are just for decoration. They have no practical use.”

Seeing Lan Qingyou’s gaze linger on the torture devices, the waiting Vivian spoke up casually, making Lan Qingyou’s lip twitch.

This was really too much!

Did she really think I was suffering from a stuffed nose? Or did she think my Magic Eye was a fake?

With such a heavy scent of blood and those dark bloodstains on them, she actually had the nerve to call them decorations...

Her skin was certainly thick enough.

“Fine, let’s call them decorations then.”

Since the other party insisted they were decorations, she couldn't be a spoilsport.

If it were her old self, she would have started snarking immediately. It seemed that after going through so much, she had finally 'matured.'

With that thought, Lan Qingyou and Vivian wasted no more time and dove into their research.

According to Lan Qingyou’s idea, it was best to use instruments as carriers.

After all, the entire underside of Eureka City was already filled with thrusters, sensors, and other flight components.

So, adding some illusion instruments that could remain active indefinitely didn't seem like a problem.

For Lan Qingyou, who had already developed flying machines that combined magic, machinery, and biological cells, this was familiar territory. All she needed were illusion concepts from the Phantom Mist Vampires.

And for Vivian, a True Ancestor, that was a simple matter.

Thus, when two efficient people met to discuss, things moved very quickly.

About five days later, they had a preliminary plan and began their first production run.

While Lan Qingyou and the others were losing themselves in the research of illusion instruments, a new round of heated discussion had begun on the world channel.

...