Syra watched the mist settle inside the upper tank. The gauge on Rubedo's monitor barely registered the addition. Another Tarnstead soldier crumbled into dust on the floor of the vault.
"The yield is dropping," Syra noted, stepping over the remains. "The machine requires density. These common fighters lack the life force to sustain a high energy output. We are burning through them too fast for minimal gain. We need concentrated mana to fuel the recovery."
Rubedo processed the telemetry from the Bastion. The rapid evolution of Krug demanded a massive, continuous influx of pure soul-mass. Draining average infantrymen was incredibly inefficient.
He pulled up the sprawling map of the Tarnstead coalition on his primary monitor, studying the interconnected territories leading toward the capital.
