Cath Palug's revelation made me think about what kind of poison the dragon was producing for it to contaminate the lake, but then it turns out, the dragon is not intentionally trying to poison the lake, it was trying to wash off the poison by submerging into the lake. The problem is that the poison has now mixed with the water and turned the water into lethal poison. And since this is a Primordial Poison, it's going to be impossible to remove, or if it is not, it's going to be a big work to do.
If that is the case, this will be a really hard job for all of us. But I have a plan to do and although this will be the first time I will be doing this, I needed to employ everyone's help. But first, we will have to remove the dragon from the water and ensure this particular dragon either get the help it needs or if possible, mercy kill it.
Either solution is fine but I have to ask for ideas on how to do this. The dragon is going to be the huge obstacle we will have in terms of completing this request. After all, with its size, hauling it out of the water will be a difficult thing. We either try to provoke it, or find a way for it to awaken and move out of the water voluntarily.
Thankfully, after mapping the lake, the dragon didn't wake up. It seems the dragon is in a very deep sleep that dulls its senses to the point that even if something is near it, it can't sense the presence of anything or anyone at all. And with its eyes being blind as well, this dragon is in a very bad predicament.
Returning to the mansion, I saw the others are also returning as well. Some are not yet back, while the others are already here and they are hauling some carcasses of the beasts they killed. We will have a feast once those bodies get butchered and processed later.
"Looks like you are back, Manato. How's the lake looking?" Almira asked.
"To be honest, it's not a good thing. The whole lake is contaminated, the surrounding flora and fauna are either dead or have been dissolved from the corrosion of the poison and I don't see any ideal position we can use to launch an attack on the dragon or even get close to it without relying on our wings. The location of the dragon is currently in the very center of the lake, and since the lake is circular, all of the existing lands that surround the dragon are all in equal distance to the dragon."
Almira frowned at hearing this. "Looks like we will have a bad time on this one then, huh? Guess we have to ask for the opinion of the others on this as they might have some good idea on how to do this. Let's wait for everyone to arrive before we start our meeting."
Since not everyone has arrived, I helped out Akira and Sora who arrived first to butcher the monster carcass they gathered while the others arrive one by one.
The others returned one by one after an hour later. It turns out, there are more monsters in the vicinity than usual. My Father and Mother also returned after getting a water sample from the lake as we will need it for later. With Mother having her focused class, Alchemist capable of analyzing some stuff like a scientist, she decided it's worth looking at the water and finding out a way to neutralize it fully for later.
As for the others, they are tired after the extermination. Riko and Rika didn't bother to bring any monster carcasses as all of them are either burnt to a crisp or contaminated with some poison. Mr. Teddy and Pandora returned as well, carrying a few butchered monster meat as well, though she apologized for the small haul since some of the monsters are not fit for consumption.
On the other hand, the elves have ensured every route in the forest near the lake is safe for all of us later on. We let everyone have a rest and a change of clothes first before we went to do the meeting. We held it outside as we will be cramped up if we do the meeting inside the mansion with all of our paraphernalia we needed to explain the plans.
"Alright, since everyone is here, we will begin our planning. Take a look at the map that Manato made while everyone is doing their jobs," Almira then put the machine she made that acts very similar to a projector, but the only difference is that it isn't connected to a laptop or desktop but more on magnifying the item that was placed in.
The map is in full display after the final touches I made after the prototype. I made sure to make it as detailed as possible while keeping it more of a map that can be explained easily.
"After the mapping and scouting process, we soon realized a big problem here. We don't have a good land we can stand to get near the dragon on the lake as the lake has no islands or any little landforms we can land on. It's just pure water full of poison so the only way to get near the sleeping dragon is by flying there," Almira then turned to look at everyone else to hear their sentiments.
"Just full poison? No safe place aside from flying?" Riko frowned.
"How about we create something like a raft or a boat? Maybe a floatation platform for us to fight on?" Akira suggested.
Almira then pointed out Akira's suggestion. "It's a great suggestion but it's not a good idea to do. How do you plan to keep the platforms stay afloat without drifting away? Not only that but if the dragon goes on a rampage, the platforms get either destroyed or sink into the water. Besides, the water is corrosive, so there is a chance the platforms will just break to pieces and sink."
"Ugh..." Akira shook his head in disappointment.
"Is the distance on land and on the dragon quite far for us to comfortably use?" Sora asked.
"Not necessarily far, but not necessarily near either. One thing is for sure, if we decided to use the land, we will have to rely on ranged attacks and put down our melee attacks on the drain as that will be useless here."
"But most of us in here are melee users and only a few are long-ranged attackers," Rika protested.
"Yeah, that's why I also scrapped that idea as well. There's no way the melee attackers will have to switch to range attacks due to this."
"How about landing directly into the dragon and attacking it there? We can just fly away back to the mainland and lure it there..." Pandora suggested but Almira immediately shook her head.
"Although it's a good plan, it's not a good idea either. But luring the dragon on land is a much more plausible idea. But this one has a big risk and we have to be prepared for it."
"A big risk?" Pandora tilted her head.
"Apprentice, tell them," Almira then gestured to me.
"Yes. During the investigation, I soon realized that the dragon is blind, and based on further investigations, the dragon has less sensitivity to its surroundings, which means any attacks that barely do anything to it will not make the dragon move, which is why if we wanted to make the dragon move or get angry, we will have to do a very big move.
But that is not the only problem. One of my followers stated that the poison is not being produced by the dragon but the dragon has it on its body as a foreign substance. In short, it was used as a thing to harm the dragon. The poison it got is also the reason for its current color as well and if my assumption is correct, the poison might flow out of its body while we fight it, which will then be spilled into the land. This will result in the destruction of the lands the poison gets a small drop into and kills the flora and fauna that get in its way."
"You mean, the poison was not coming from the dragon as its natural substance?" my mother was shocked.
"Yes. It is not a natural substance from the dragon."
"Then the calculations I got after checking the water samples indicate that this is from the dragon itself."
Almira shook her head, "My guess is that the dragon's blood spilled out of the water after so long. Its injuries are causing those spills and with the poison dripping out of its body, everyone will assume that will be what will happen. But if we take Manato's statement, then the water of the Grand Lake has been either replaced with blood and poison, or the water has blended together with the blood of the dragon and the poison itself, causing the current situation and also the findings we found."
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