In this crossover anime, many ruthless and powerful figures reside in my territory.

……

Lister had no idea what the barbecue party he was subconsciously avoiding was like.

First, there was Muzan, whose face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, angrily leaving the venue, followed by Nakime.

Next, Kotini, who came out to host the event, immediately invited everyone to taste the new delicacies developed by Red Maple, thus diverting attention.

Lister's other close attendants, such as Nadia, Elsa, Betty, and Prie, also stepped forward to liven up the atmosphere.

Even Inoue Orihime tripped and fell flat on her face, clumsily trying to make everyone present forget what had just happened.

Yahiko shook his head, inwardly warning himself that he must never follow in the footsteps of his teacher, Liszt.

Teacher Ban did a good job in this regard. Before realizing one's ideals, one should give up unnecessary romantic entanglements, otherwise they will become a burden.

See, Liszt's illustrious image has been tarnished.

but……

I'm so envious of Liszt for having so many people spontaneously defending him!

Seeing that Aura, Morag, Chris, Melf, Pauline, Haytham and the others were all finding topics to talk about with others and tacitly forgetting what had just happened, Yahiko couldn't help but sigh again.

Liszt is quite popular.

Now, let's think about how to help the teacher salvage his image.

Should we say a few good words about it to others?

Well, it's probably best not to mention Liszt at this point.

Thanks to everyone's efforts and teamwork, the barbecue party ended successfully even without one particular person present.

Meanwhile, someone who is away is worrying about how to comfort their loved ones who will be returning soon.

How about... we go to the office and work all night?

Lister sighed and gave up on the idea.

No, a real man should dare to face the bleak reality!

At worst, he'll make sure everyone is comfortable and satisfied tonight, so they can completely forget about today!

With these feelings in mind, Liszt encountered the abyss tonight.

……

The next morning, when Haytham arrived at the lord's office at the appointed time, he was taken aback.

Lister, sitting at his desk, stared at his dark circles and his posture became slightly hunched.

"You...you've come..."

That hoarse voice...

Haytham dared not guess what had happened last night; he could only pretend he hadn't seen anything as he approached his desk.

Lister took a few deep breaths, his body flashed with holy light, and his complexion quickly returned to normal in less than a minute.

"It's nothing serious, just that I didn't sleep all night and lost too much blood just now."

"Now let's talk about the eastward exploration."

"Everything is ready, now all that's missing is you."

Chapter 122 Preparations for the Voyage

"You should know the general situation from Morag by now."

When Lister asked him a question, Haytham Kenway nodded.

"Yes, the goal of this eastward expansion is to establish connections with the port cities of the Kingdom of Mut."

"Yes, the Kingdom of Mut and the Kingdom of Renn both belong to the Perloren Empire, and their territories overlap."

"I received intelligence from the alien race that all twelve empires under the United States of Ahmora have been attacked by a coalition of alien forces."

"However, the alien races are too few in number, so they can only choose to occupy one of the empire's kingdoms first, and then use war to sustain their war effort. At present, only the capital of the Kingdom of Rennes is still in a half-dead state and has not been conquered."

"Therefore, the Kingdom of Mut has not yet been attacked by alien races, but the news of the alien invasion must have already spread to all the territories of the Kingdom of Mut."

Haytham saw Lister wave his hand, and a 3D projection map of the Kingdom of Renn and the Kingdom of Mut appeared on the table, which also included a map of the sea area east of the Winter Mountains.

"This mission requires you to use a hidden dock located in an underground cavern to board a sailboat and travel to the winter port of the Kingdom of Mut to investigate the situation."

“The Epsilon submarine exploration team has calculated that it would take a month to reach Winter Harbor by the electric-powered sailboat they built.”

"Because it is difficult to build a transit station on the sea, and the distance is too far, we cannot make contact until the communication facilities are built."

Lister pointed out the biggest problem at present.

With Epsilon handling logistics, establishing a transit communication station at sea is no big deal for them, but they won't be able to make contact until it's built.

"Therefore, I intend to let you decide for yourself all actions after arriving at Winterport."

"It's up to you to decide what to do."

Haytham's heart skipped a beat. Had they really given him so much power?

When he heard about the mission from Morag, he could tell how much Lister valued this project.

"However, your current strength is too weak, so I will give you special training first, and try to start the plan within a week."

After he finished speaking, Lister came to Haytson's side and put his hand on his shoulder.

The two instantly arrived at the Epsilon base, located across the Red Maple River.

After two months of construction, this place has undergone tremendous changes.

A magnificent Epsilon base has been fully completed.

New biochemical reaction chamber, Epsilon barracks, ore refinery, synthesis tank, war factory, radar tower, helipad, Pandora hub, crushing and recycling station...

Almost all of the buildings unique to Epsilon have been completed.

However, the situation here is unknown to the outside world because a huge barrier covers the area, preventing ordinary people from seeing what's inside.

Haytham looked around, his eyes filled with undisguised astonishment.

These purple-painted buildings look a little eerie, but they also have a strange charm.

"The base is covered by a mind network field, and your strength is too low to be affected."

As Lister was explaining, a young male sergeant in an Epsilon purple uniform strode over, followed by three identical female sergeants, each carrying a box.

"Lord Lister, it's been several days since we last met."

The visitor was the head of this base and one of Yuri's trusted disciples.

"Cotton, I'll have to trouble you again this time."

"No trouble at all. Lord Yuri has already instructed me that the highest mission of the Epsilon Army at the Red Maple Territory base is to assist you in developing your territory."

Haytham looked at the female sergeant who resembled triplets and felt something was off; they looked far too alike.

"They are clones, which are simply humans bred using machines."

After all, a large number of Epsilon's soldiers were created using cloning cylinder technology.

Haytham was genuinely startled this time.

This technology is unheard of and has already challenged human morality and ethics.

Cotton had already learned about Haytham's intelligence from Yuri, and he replied with a smile.

"Any technology that can help humanity progress is good. We should not be bound by ethics, but rather use it properly."

"Although clones are not suitable for creative and highly technical jobs with Epsilon's current technology, they are indeed the best workforce and are one of the cornerstones of Epsilon."

Just as Helsen was struggling with whether or not to respond, Lister spoke up.

"Alright, Cotton, we didn't come here to discuss this. Please give me what I need."

"of course."

Cotton clapped his hands, and three female sergeants dressed in plain military uniforms and black stockings stepped forward and opened the boxes in their hands.

The first box contained a vial of reagent. Haytham immediately recognized it as the life-extending drug Yuri had previously demonstrated.

The second box contained two identical hidden blades.

The third box contained a double-barreled pistol shaped like a flintlock pistol.

"The reagents are used to restore your physical strength. The hidden blade made by Epsilon is more robust and sharper, and the last pistol is Epsilon's latest experimental product."

After saying that, Lister picked up his pistol and aimed it at the target in the distance.

The energy of holy light was injected into it, and with a pull of the trigger, the holy light energy bullet flew out rapidly, shattering the distant metal target.

Lister then put the gun back at a distance.

"A pistol that uses energy as bullets, to compensate for your ranged attack methods."

"No matter what, the commander of the eastward advance needs to have some fighting ability. You should get used to fighting by now."

Lister looked at Hayessen.

"Relax, I'm going to inject the medicine into your body now."

As soon as Haytham nodded, Lister inserted the needle into the vein in the other man's neck.

With the healing power of the holy light, the effects of the medicine quickly spread throughout Hayson's body.

Hayson felt a sharp pain, as if his body was about to swell, but all discomfort was immediately dispelled by the holy light.

"This is a potion that can make you thirty years younger, so I need to be here to watch over you."

At this moment, Haytham's cells were undergoing dramatic changes, and his brain was struggling to maintain consciousness.

After an unknown amount of time, when Haytham woke up, he found himself covered in sweat and his clothes were sticky.

Moreover, there is an old epidermis on the surface of the skin, just like it has shed its skin.

But I also felt much more relaxed, as if I had returned to my most energetic 25-year-old self.

"open mouth."