Chapitre 42: Last March
As Technobalde counted down his days, Orphania became stronger with each passing day. His secretaries were doing a brilliant job even without him giving them pointers. Everyone in his kingdom knew their part, and there was nothing for him to complain about. Even the rainbow sheep had been relocated to the massive underground sheep farm.
The increased villager awareness as they worked made them a little more life-like. Technoblade was proud to see them making decisions on their own such as expanding the farms when the population increased and demanded more food than his silo stores could produce. Someone would make new chests and expand the storage area if the chests were full.
The villagers still did not speak, but they could now nod at Technoblade whenever they passed him. It was the kind of interaction he missed. The guards often held their training by sparring with each other, and even graduated villagers were capable of increasing a stat or two after working for a while. Perhaps that was what experience did to someone.
The months he spent preparing for his final battle were filled with joy and apprehension. Would he return to Orphania after the battle? No matter how many times Technoblade read the detailed guidebook, there was no quest after defeating the dragon and turning in the egg to the system. Even the final quest reward was shrouded in mystery with only "???" mentioned.
Technoblade ran through so many what-if scenarios as he prepared for the raid. He knew who the best archers were, took all the useful potions his alchemist made and stored them in his potion bag and already had everything he needed apart from god apples. The aim was to buy a hundred god apples, even if it was unnecessary. Maybe it was Technoblade's excuse to remain in Orphania for a little longer, but the system admins did not rush him, so he would continue as he did.
The final raid party consisted of his priest, the crazy magician, an archer, an expert miner and a powerful guard with almost infinite health and very high defence. He was Technoblade's head guard and was the only guard who was capable of wearing diamond armour.
He had already formulated many battle plans against Jean. The dragon was capable of flight and could easily toss them into the air. Technoblade had the Weightless skill and a water bucket to save himself. Unfortunately, his villager party did not. Hence, Technoblade prepared many water buckets. He intended to flood the end as much as he could and keep the dragon within that distance so that the battle could conclude without casualties on his end.
The only other uncertainty was the dragon's ability to throw people into the void. Technoblade reasoned that if they could tunnel like rabbits, it might injure them during a dragon's charge attack, but they would not automatically die in the unreturnable dimension.
That's the only reason why he was bringing his fastest miner along. The tunnels were meant for his villagers and not him. Technobalde had plenty of ender pearls for void insurance.
Tomorrow, he will be able to buy his 100th god apple. He no longer had a reason to remain in Orphania after tomorrow, so Technoblade was going around his hometown one last time before his last march. It could be a trip of no return, so Technoblade wanted to leave without regrets.
He spent his last life with too many unfinished businesses. It was a mistake he did not want to repeat in Afterlife.
Going around, Technoblade made it a point to greet everyone in his village and write a diary. The book was the first of its kind in Aftercraft, and Technoblade didn't know why he did not do this earlier. It was probably only going to have one entry, and that was all. Writing a book in Aftercraft was different from Minecraft. He had to write them on individual pieces of paper first before binding the written papers with leather and string.
As Technoblade went around, recording the names of his villagers in the diary and what they did, he also inspected the territory. The walls were sturdy, but not for long. Thankfully, the senior architect was already working on a new design to improve the fortress and guard towers. With the help of the travelling merchant, Technoblade's kingdom now had steady access to other materials, such as glass and clay, even if the biome for these things were nowhere near.
There wasn't a lot for him to do as Orphania's king. Hence, Technoblade gathered his party and sat down at the newly built local tavern to have a last supper. The chefs outdid themselves this time with the stew after clay bowls and cutlery were introduced. He had to thank the master toolsmith for creating those. The AI in Aftercraft outdid themselves, and even their blocky faces were starting to look a little more life-like for Technoblade.
Then again, it has been a while since he saw anything apart from blocks since his arrival in Aftercraft. He was starting to forget many details previously. For instance, he knew he had a sister. However, he couldn't remember her name anymore. Some Minecraft recipes were also starting to elude him. For instance, Technoblade was no longer sure if he knew how to craft an armour stand without the help of the crafting workshop. It might be five sticks, or it might be four. It could also be six. He didn't know.
Supper was beef stew and baked potatoes with chicken soup. Everything in his little territory created this grand course, and Technoblade relished it. He'd been eating golden apples and carrots for so long that he forgot his villagers could make more profound and delicious things such as cakes until recently.
"Compliments to the chef," he told the unemployed villager who carried their food over. It was strange that even unemployed, these villagers still worked and gained stat points for the odd jobs they did.
Digging in, Technoblade thought about his long journey ahead. According to the stronghold compass he bought, they had to head towards the southwest when tomorrow came. He had enough horses for himself and the party. Only the best brave men were coming with him, knowing full well that this could be a trip with no return. The party he chose ate silently and returned at the same time as the sunset. The tavern was quickly closed as villagers scurried back to the underground bunker, and Technoblade ignored the sound of archers shooting at monsters outside the walls. He wanted to take this time to savour his meal before taking a long soak in his lava tub before he slept.
Goodbyes were never easy. His last goodbye came too suddenly, but maybe it was a good thing. Technoblade did not know how to deal with this properly. He hated grand official ceremonies, so he refused to give a speech. Instead, he assigned his best secretary to be in charge of Orphania in his absence, however long that would be.
Maybe he should leave by the backdoor tomorrow. That emergency escape route from his mansion had never been utilised before, but it was probably a good time to do so for what was possibly his last march in Aftercraft.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone