Chapter 167: Those Veteran Train Conductors Are So Cooked

["It should," Jade answered, "but not endlessly."]

["Each additional preserved state increases the burden."]

["Especially if I am preserving something that naturally consumes Scarlet’s stamina, bloodline power, and my own mana at the same time."]

[A faint seriousness appeared in Jade’s expression.]

["The more layers there are, the greater the instability becomes."]

["At some point, maintaining all of it together would exceed what I can currently handle."]

[Astraea calmly added from the side. "And Scarlet’s body itself may not tolerate excessive stacking even if the state is preserved."]

["A preserved state does not remove internal strain. It only prevents the chosen condition from collapsing immediately."]

[Scarlet understood that part well.]

[Even ordinary Lunar Ascendance already placed a noticeable burden on her bloodline depending on output.]

[If multiple layers were stacked, the resulting force inside her body could easily become dangerous.]

["Still..." Scarlet looked at Jade with clear interest.]

["Even two layers alone would already be enough to change a battle completely."]

[Jade nodded, "Especially if I only preserve the strongest stable point rather than every fluctuation. That would reduce the burden somewhat."]

[Astraea narrowed her eyes slightly, "If your mastery improves later, preserving not just enhancement but also acceleration, momentum, or regeneration will become possible."]

[Hearing that, even Scarlet’s expression changed slightly.]

[Because if regeneration itself was preserved in a heightened state, then her survivability during battle would rise even further.]

[You silently listened as they exchanged ideas.]

[Jade’s Eternal Dominion by itself already possessed broad conceptual applications.]

[But when combined with Scarlet’s straightforward Bloodline Magic, the result unexpectedly became far more practical than imagined.]

[A temporary enhancement becoming an extended battle state was enough to alter the combat rhythm entirely.]

[And if Jade’s control improved further in the future, the duration of that preserved state would naturally rise as well.]

[Of course, that also meant Jade herself would become the deciding factor.]

[After all, once her mana ran dry or her concentration broke, every preserved state would collapse together.]

[At that point, the burden accumulated on Scarlet’s body would likely return all at once.]

[In other words, the stronger the stacked enhancement became, the more dangerous the backlash if Eternal Dominion ended abruptly.]

[Realizing that while your power ranks didn’t improve, the Zenith Train Crew’s effective combat power had increased by another level, you couldn’t help but send condolences to those veteran train conductors and vampire participants.]

[You joked, "No matter what, the vampire participants and veteran Train Conductors are so screwed. The Vampire Progenitor should just hand us the Bloody Grail and the granted wish."]

["With our current combat power, the Millennium Vampire War is as good as a joke to us. It’s basically just a show for our train crew to flex our combat power on those casuals."]

[After you all awakened your Bloodline Magic, you just couldn’t see the possibility of the Zenith Train Crew dying at the hands of those vampire participants and veteran Train Conductors.]

[Jade replied, "While I do underestimate those vampire participants since they aren’t nearly as strong as Astraea, and it’s not even close, I still suggest we should be wary of those veteran Train Conductors."]

["Since they have visited countless worlds and still survived, they should have a lot of trump cards and life-saving means that they have saved for emergencies whenever their life is threatened."]

[You agreed with Jade’s words since those veteran Train Conductors can possess powerful artifacts like the Death Papyrus.]

[Of course, even if they possess such artifacts, you weren’t truly worried. The Passenger Safety Mechanism wasn’t just for show. It could even deal with the Death Authority of those Angels of Death, let alone a mere Death Papyrus.]

[With that in mind, you contemplated for a while before asking, "A day has already passed since we arrived in this station world. We have spent it learning and mastering magic."]

["All of us have become Six Circle Mages, and I feel like if I’m given enough time, it’s not impossible to become a Seven Circle Mage."]

["Everyone, what’s your opinion? Should we start slaughtering those veteran Train Conductors, or spend another thirty days in the training room carriage and use that time to master our bloodline magic?"]

[In response to your question, Astraea replied, "I’m not in a hurry to win the Millennium Vampire War. Keep that in mind, let’s not be hasty and make quick and reckless decisions."]

["As someone who lived quite a long time, I am quite confident in my patience. Even if this Millennium Vampire War has been prolonged for a decade, it won’t affect me much."]

[With Astraea, the person mostly involved and concerned with the Millennium Vampire war, already stating her view and stance, Scarlet added, "Since even Astraea doesn’t mind, then we can just stay in the Zenith Train until we become powerful enough to deal with all of the vampire participants at once."]

[Jade nodded in agreement, "There’s no point for us to risk our lives when we can stay here and master our newfound power until there’s no longer any room for improvement."]

[With the three girls already giving their opinions, your gaze shifted to Old MacDonald, who had remained silent.]

[Faced with your gaze, Old MacDonald shrugged, "I’m fine with anything. This old man will just spend most of the time in the train since I’m in charge of train guarding duty."]

["Either way, unless you lads lacked manpower, I don’t think I’ll even leave the Zenith Train."]

[Old MacDonald’s words did make some sense. Even during the Bloodthorne Clan Genocide, he only assisted you in manning the train turrets.]

[After all, he wasn’t the type to seek battle or any fights. It was only due to your requests that he was in station exploration duty with Scarlet before when you and Jade were busy.]

[Otherwise, if it were possible, Old MacDonald wouldn’t have wanted to leave his ranch. The only exception would be if you chose a station world filled with magical beasts, to which he’ll definitely be interested in exploring.]

[Receiving their opinions, you decided, "Then it’s final! We’ll stay in Zenith for as long as we can, until we manage to reach a point where we can no longer improve our combat power."]