Phantasia: The Princess Knight 177 Finding A Weakness Part One

After a long strenuous mission, Alicia and the rest dragged their tired bodies back to the capital. They were currently resting in a tea room in the castle. "I really wonder what the best course of action is for these new demonic beasts. Mostly all of the missions at the Adventurers Guild are to exterminate these things. But with how fast they reproduce and mature, it's like thousands to millions could be born in just a few days if we do not find where these things originated from."

"It's scary to think that millions of those things could be running around already. The village we were just at only had around two hundred and they were already very difficult to deal with. If it came to millions they could easily overrun the entire kingdom." Starla and Annelia were talking about the issue at hand, the Demonic Plagues. 

"Whatever the case may be, as it is now there are just too many of them. I have heard from Royal Father that some of the poorer villages were wiped out instantly. It seems to me that we will need to station knights and even adventurers at each town, just to try to ward off any attacks." Alicia grimly added.

"Only if there was a way to round them all up at once in an enclosed area and wipe them out for good." Rose's idea was not bad and could work but they would need to know what exactly the Demonic Plague likes the most.

"What if you girls went out and captured a few then?" A n.o.ble voice was heard coming from behind them.

"Royal Father, you came." Alicia said with a smile.

"I overheard your conversation as I walked by. Dr. Feanreal is in the process of trying to find a way to counteract the Demonic Plague. A way for us to lure them to enclosed places in large groups to make them easier and safer to fight. But she will need live specimens in order to do so. I was hoping I could request for you girls to go out and bring a few back." King Augustus was actually paying close attention to what was being said in the tea room. He had been standing outside the door for a while now as they talked. He wanted to see what the four girls thought of the situation at hand with the Demonic Plagues.

"Royal Father, we can try. But I am not sure if this task will be completed or not. The demonic plague, as it is, is very hard to kill because of their speed. To capture alive is a whole new story." Just to corner one and kill it took thirty minutes. To capture one alive could take hours and that was if they were lucky enough to actually get ahold of one.

"You will not be going alone on this mission. Besides Blake who is always by your side. Sue and Bridget will also be going with you. I have also selected a few more people for this mission as well who are specialized in speed. Each and every one of them will be under your command. Your mission is to lead your group of twelve to a village near the quarantine zone and capture as many of the Demonic Plague as you can alive." What King Augustus meant by quarantine zone was that the areas overrun by the demonic Plague have been closed off and magic barriers erected to try to keep them at bay for now. Due to how fast their population was growing it has become a major issue. King Augustus had no choice but to start blocking off access to certain parts of the kingdom to stop the reproduction process of the Demonic Plagues. If it was not for the fact that the lands that they held up in were very fertile, King Augustus would have tried to wipe the entire area clean of the things. But these lands were his farmlands that were essential to the kingdom's food supply. Even now they run the risk of famine if they did not take care of this issue soon. 

King Augustus's worries were not just the demonic plague. He had gotten word that other kingdoms and even the Blackstone Empire were having issues with these new demonic beasts. If they were not able to gain control over the situation and resources began to run dry they might start looking towards the outside for said resources. Whether by trade or by force…

The threat of war was a real thing if they could not handle the situation and then spread the word. Then they might be facing a desperate enemy that would stop at nothing to save its people. Not only war but also refugees. If one country is not able to contain the spread of the Demonic Plague, then refugees from said countries might start pouring in. This could be bad for many reasons. Since food shortage is already a cloud hanging over their heads if refugees start appearing then riots and disease might start to spread. Death from hunger will be in the thousands if not hundreds of thousands and maybe even millions. King Augustus had a lot to worry about.

"With the people who specialize in speed, we might be able to pull this off, especially with all the helping hands." Alicia said after trying to formulate a plan. She had been getting war tactics training under the command of the chief military advisor of the kingdom. King Augustus wanted Alicia to be able to handle any situation if it ever arose. In truth, he was secretly trying to groom her into a leader who could lead this kingdom in the future.

***

If you are not reading this at [W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l .c.o.m.], then the content you're reading is stolen! Please support the author at [w.w.w.w.e.b.n.o.v.e.l.c.o.m./.b.o.o.k./.14.8.1.3.6.1.6.5.0.6.7.7.8.9.0.5./.P.h.a.n.t.a.s.i.a.%.3.A.-.T.h.e.-.P.r.i.n.c.e.s.s.-.K.n.i.g.h.t.]remove periods for address since some sites monitor warnings like this.