Chapter 335: Approaching

Chapter 335: Approaching



At the border of Minster Province, Dragon Tooth Pass.

Two figures were sprinting rapidly, with dozens of staggering humanoid monsters chasing after them.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that these monsters were covered in colorful fungi of various kinds, and a yellowish-green putrid gas was emanating from them.

The two figures in front were the survivors of the 'Black Sword' Squad who had not ventured into the mine for exploration—Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice Medros and Sword Shield Paladin Luca.

"Medros, there are more and more of these damned things," Medros panted.

"Yesterday, we managed to slay a dozen of them, but now these monsters are becoming increasingly troublesome!"

"Where's the support from the division?" Luca asked, his face showing exhaustion as he ran.

"Indeed, the difference in materials results in a significant variation in combat power."

After regaining some composure, Ren immediately checked the description of Reanimation Technique Level 2: Reanimation Technique Lv.2 Effect: Consumes a certain amount of mental energy, activating mysterious side energy particles to bestow a lifeless humanoid or beast-like object with basic intelligence and a certain degree of mobility for one hour.

After crafting one, Ren, according to his previous idea, continued his work.

He had once served as a security consultant in the trade zone and knew that the position was essentially a sinecure.

On his way back to the mansion from the church, Ren didn't chat much with the middle-aged woman, his expression remaining rather grave.

In other words, whether he took on the additional role or not, it made little substantial difference to Ren.

However, as everyone looked up, they couldn't help but show astonishment.

Ren's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but guess.

Hanging below was a massive ship-like cabin, exuding a brass-like metallic texture.

The two of them paled instantly. —Minster.

Out of curiosity, he decided to add a little more to see the effect.

Just as the two were panicking, wondering if they should take a risk, the humanoid monsters suddenly stopped and quickly retreated the way they had come.

The effect of the reanimation technique in the morning left a deep impression on him.

At this moment, the system prompt rang out: 【You have learned the Steel Battle Puppet!】

Ren took a quick glance and then started crafting.

At this moment, the battle in the center of the arena had already begun.

Ren smiled, knowing he wouldn't have to test it himself.

"Additionally, judging from the speed, the Steel Battle Puppet's strength is quite impressive."

Just the cabin's surface, with its sturdy construction and exquisite craftsmanship, surpassed the Empire's standards by a whole level.

"There's a change in wording, too. 'A certain degree of mobility' seems stronger than just 'mobility.'"

"As expected, it's steam-powered!" Ren thought to himself.

The Duke of Mist, Admiral Edward, and a group of people surrounded an elderly man dressed in luxurious robes, standing at the forefront of the welcoming crowd.

This left Medros and Luca a bit bewildered, glancing at each other in confusion, not understanding what was happening.

"Not good! They're on the left too, they've surrounded us!" Luca's face paled as he spoke.

"Hmm? Different colors? Different materials?" Inoro narrowed his eyes, quickly noticing the difference.

However, the most troublesome aspect was its high infectivity.

But for Ren, a 'freak' wizard with the innate magic of metal transformation, the difficulty of crafting was no more challenging than crafting an entire set of knight's plate armor.

"No problem, just a test," Ren waved his hand. "That fast? Alright, Olena, let's go now."

From the cracked ground, a large number of mushroom men emerged, among them several with bodies the size of ogres. "This must be the source!!" Medros exclaimed, stunned by the sight.

"Not good! It's heading towards Brightshire County Town!"

"Hmm?" The three looked at Ren with some bewilderment, their eyes conveying a sense of incomprehension, as if saying, 'How come, Captain, you've taken a liking to crafting puppets again?'

Since the reanimation technique was a rare guiding-type magic, it was special.

As it was the first one, Ren used two iron shields hanging on the wall in the study as decorations and quickly transformed them.

【You have learned a new skill - Steel Battle Puppet】

"According to the principles of puppetry, if I cast the reanimation technique on the steel battle puppet, it should succeed."

This time, however, he changed the material.

After a few minutes, Vieri, feeling a bit embarrassed, unleashed a series of attacks, managing to sever the arm of the hardened mithril battle puppet.

After blocking two attacks, Vieri moved to the side of the steel battle puppet and delivered a slashing strike, instantly cutting through the puppet's waist.

"There's no experience bar."

"Clang!"

Since yesterday, the mine had been sporadically producing these humanoid monsters covered in fungi. Upon discovering a human village, they immediately launched an attack.

Even though the two were several kilometers away from the mine, they could clearly see that the ground suddenly erupted with a large amount of dust, followed by a colossal dragon bursting out from underground.

Ren nodded, and the primitive steel battle puppet moved forward and stood in the center of the arena.

The dragon roared loudly, its body surrounded by thick yellowish-green gas.

"With its incredibly high defense, fearless nature, and combat power comparable to a peak knight, it's like facing a novice knight when fighting opponents without magic."

"Ren gained a deeper understanding of the note on the Reanimation Technique, which stated, 'This spell is a guiding spell, and the casting time and mental energy consumption depend on the size and complexity of the target's form.'"

"If it weren't for the fact that the Imperial Dragon Knights were all occupied, how could they have the chance to show off like this?"

His right forearm extended into a blade-axe, combining the stabbing ability of a sword with the chopping power of an axe, while his left hand, where the palm should have been, was replaced by a thick tower shield.

"Captain, the puppets' combat abilities are not up to par. I alone can take on ten of these," one of them said.

When Ren entered the training room, he was surprised to find three people already inside—Angus, Inoro, and Vieri, all members of his squad.

Ren had never seen such a massive airship; it was about ten times larger than the Imperial military airship he had ridden before.

And Ren could understand much more.

At this moment, an elegantly dressed elder standing next to the Duke of Mist hummed and said, "The Federation is a group of arrogant people who aim to defeat the giants and the divine by researching the ancient dwarf empire's technology."

Otherwise, Luca would have already fallen in the previous small-scale battles.

"Hmm? The duration has increased from half an hour to an hour?" Ren's eyes lit up.

Ren's eyes sparkled.

"Additionally, ordinary Steel Battle Puppets are not entirely useless. If combined with powerful bombs, they become a formidable weapon—a self-destructing battle puppet."

This time, he used Mithril to create it.

Within half a minute, Vieri's consecutive slashes all hit the surface of the Mithril Battle Puppet, but after the sparks flew, only shallow marks were left.

"No wonder! Wow, Captain, you used so much Mithril to make a battle puppet. That's too extravagant!" Vieri exclaimed, his eyes widening.

At this moment, a knock sounded from outside the training room.

"Sir Ren, the Federation's envoy is about to arrive. The Administrative Hall has notified you to set off," the voice said.

"Clang! Whoosh!"

A massive airship approached from the distant horizon, and the escorting Griffin Knights seemed like tiny figures dancing around a cake in comparison.

At the same time, he wanted to verify several ideas in his mind.

A middle-aged noble pointed at a spot in the sky, seemingly astonished, and said,

"Left turn!" Medros shouted.

Ren spread out the parchment, and a complex and intricate blueprint of a Steel Battle Puppet appeared before his eyes.

As the airship drew closer, a buzzing vibration echoed from afar, gradually getting louder.

This caused the nearby nobles to frown slightly, as such loud and flashy behavior was considered extremely impolite among the nobility.

"Ding ding!"

(Note: The overall combat power of the Steel Puppet is related to its material.

Note: The level of the Steel Battle Puppet is synchronized with the level of the Reanimation Technique and cannot be directly upgraded.)



"Hmm? Interesting, is the Steel Battle Puppet considered a separate skill?" Ren was slightly taken aback by the system prompt but soon laughed.

Most wizards specialized in elemental spells, such as fire, water, and rarely, earth and ice spells.

The buzzing sound that had just reached his ears was the sound of the puppet's rotating mechanism.

She smiled and nodded at Inoro and the others, then approached Ren and said,

"This—" Hearing his companion's words, Luca's expression darkened. Although he didn't want to admit it, Medros's words made perfect sense.

At the same time, a new icon appeared next to the War Hammer Wizard (Legendary) panel below the 'Reanimation Technique'.

But now, it seemed that the future situation might be even more challenging than he had anticipated.

"Captain, did you make all these puppets yourself? I didn't even see the manufacturing plaque on them," Inoro asked curiously.

Ren couldn't help but follow the others' gaze, and he was also surprised.

"Yes, I made them myself."

In reality, Ren's family lived in Mist, and he had been the first to respond to the previous attack.

These ordinary villagers, after being infected and entering and exiting the mine several times, the number of mushroom men decreased, but the ones that came out again had their strength increased.

He was too familiar with this vibration. On the bustling streets, the cars that moved like the wind, their engines' low hum was much more pleasant than this.

Twenty minutes later, Ren completed the creation of a battle puppet with a body made of hardened Mithril.

The icon's pattern was almost like a photo of the Steel Battle Puppet.

Ren walked to the side, pondering the combat power demonstrated by the Mithril Battle Puppet.

"Whoosh!"

"Look, is that it?"

【Steel Battle Puppet Level 1】

He discovered that the mental energy consumption of Reanimation Technique Level 2 had increased, and the agility of the Mithril Battle Puppet had also improved significantly.

Fortunately, if they maintained a sufficient distance, the Top Steel Body's physique could barely withstand the attacks.

Facing the Steel Battle Puppet's right-handed chop, Vieri first waved his greatsword cautiously, but the next second, his expression relaxed, and he swiftly counterattacked.

Ren focused his attention on the small print below the new icon:

"The mental energy consumption is significantly different from that of ordinary spells."

Since Ren's new mansion was located in the noble district, it only took ten minutes for the carriage to reach the airship docking platform.

"Captain, why is this puppet so tough?" Vieri asked, breathless with surprise.

Only a select few would spend their time researching potions, raising pets, or crafting puppets.

Originally, Ren thought that after his class change to 'King of a Thousand Blades', he wouldn't have any major issues dealing with some risks in the short term.

"This is good news, because in that case, I only need to improve my Reanimation Spell. It's like saving a lot of skill points."

Apparently, the airship's power source was some kind of more primitive device.

Ren didn't push his way to the front but stayed at the back of the crowd.

In the morning, the object he reanimated was just a piece of deformed metal, and according to the level, it was just a dummy. But this time, it was different; it was a carefully crafted puppet.

He didn't mind the damage; his focus was on the performance of the Steel Battle Puppet.

After some assembly, Ren looked at the battle puppet that had taken on a humanoid form, and smiled.

Or perhaps, pursuing formidable killing power was the goal of most wizards.

Ren smiled and waved his hand, and the brass-colored battle puppet walked forward.

However, despite the damage, the Steel Battle Puppet remained fearless and launched an attack on Vieri.

Steel Battle Puppet Level 1 Effect: A small battle puppet imbued with basic wisdom and mobility through Reanimation Spell.

Even if the first one had a malfunction, it was unlikely for both to have issues, and the message must have reached them.

"What's that sound? It seems to be coming from the airship." A noble asked in confusion.

About half an hour later, a Steel Battle Puppet was completed.

Ren was quite excited about the metal-made and assembled battle puppet.

Ren recalled the guiding spells he mastered, including 'Scorching Touch'.

"Who wants to go first?" Ren asked, no longer dwelling on the issue. "I'll give it a try!" Vieri, also curious about the three puppets, immediately volunteered.

"Could it be a steam engine?"

This also explained why Captain Graylor, a near-legendary 'Black Sword', didn't make it out alive.

If the previous Reanimation Spell on the metal dummy consumed one unit of mental energy, this time, with the Steel Battle Puppet as the target, the mental energy consumption reached three units.

Even for a rare Metal Element Wizard, completing one would likely take at least three to four days.

"Fuck! There's another one!" Luca exclaimed, immediately alerting the others.

"Hmm!"

"Interesting." Ren nodded.

"Breakthrough! Cyclone!"

At that moment, the square on the airship platform was bustling with people, with red carpets laid out and honor guards and military bands arranged on both sides.

"Reanimation Spell!"

"Huff~ Huff~"

Additionally, as a gesture of gratitude for Duke of Mist's previous gift of a mansion, Ren thought for a moment and nodded, "Since that's the case, I'll agree."

"I know, it's about to recover."

"By the way, the battle puppet's effect synchronizes with the Reanimation Spell's level. After reaching Level 2, the effect will..."

"One isn't enough? Then ten, or even more."

So, they could almost confirm with a 90% certainty that the problem was with the Sealed Door.

Normally, the production of these iron puppets would take about three months for a master blacksmith, and issues were likely to arise during assembly due to precision errors.

But when they saw Ren bringing in three puppets, they were all taken aback.

Ren raised an eyebrow.

The one who entered was Deputy Chief of the Mission Hall, Olena.

With his excellent vision, Ren could clearly see the dense rivets holding large brass plates on the cabin's surface.

"I understand! Those Fungus Men are going in and out to infect humans, providing energy for this Dragon."

"Most likely, the division is waiting for support from the capital."

It was known that many Paladins didn't have a full set of armor made of hardened mythril. Yet, their captain had already started using it to craft puppets.

In the carriage.

"Medros, look where they're flying towards." Luca, after hearing Medros's words, suddenly thought of something, his expression turning grim.

Ren pondered, and as he walked up and placed his right hand on the damaged puppet, it restored to its original state.

"Ah! Sorry, Captain, I broke it." Vieri took a step back and shouted.

"It's almost impossible for a Dragon Vein Wizard to fulfill the class change conditions in a short time. But with these battle puppets, I wonder if it's as I thought, or if there's another way."

The two suddenly felt the ground shake beneath their feet, and soon, a sound like a mountain collapsing came from the Adaghi Mine direction.

He wanted to test three battle puppets of different materials to confirm his suspicions.

Moreover, at the back of the cabin, two giant bronze exhaust pipes were spewing out large amounts of white steam.

"This is Duke Victor, who came from the capital. He's in charge of welcoming the Eagle Federation delegation." Olena whispered to Ren.

This also made Medros and Luca certain that there was an infection source inside the mine, especially considering the Sealed Door within.

"But, I believe help should be here soon! At least, the advance party should be close!" Medros muttered, not sure if he was talking to himself or to Ren.

According to the Goddess Church's internal statement, 'The calamity has arrived, and only the most devout will receive the Goddess's blessing.'

As the skill level increased, the Reanimation Spell instantly improved to Level 2, and memories of training in Reanimation Spell flooded into Ren's mind.

With his previous experience, Ren's crafting skills improved significantly.

Ren immediately noticed this, and after reaching Level 1, there was no longer any experience bar or bracketed content.

Ren wasn't particularly fond of such welcoming ceremonies, but he was curious to see what differences there might be between the people of the Federation and the Empire.

"About the strength of a formal knight, with no obvious weaknesses and a fearless fighting spirit, it's equivalent to the combat prowess of a senior knight. As expected, at the level of a formal wizard, these steel battle puppets are of little use."

"A man without distant worries will have near concerns."

His main responsibility was to respond to special incidents or emergencies within the city upon receiving requests from the Administrative Hall.

"Chief Security Advisor?" Ren nodded thoughtfully.

"The Eagle Federation was once part of our Empire, and now it has developed to this extent?" exclaimed a noble.

"Since you're all here, let's test the effectiveness of my battle puppet."

"By the way, Lord Ren, there's one more thing. Duke of Mist has proposed to Admiral Edward to invite you to become the Chief Security Advisor of Mist," Olena said. "Admiral Edward leaves the decision to you."

"Captain, is this a battle puppet? It's quite rare." Inoro circled around the steel battle puppet, amazed.

As Ren softly chanted a spell and pointed, the steel battle puppet quickly rose from the ground, its movements agile and swift due to its articulated joints.

"Captain, could this one be made of enchanted silver?" Inoro asked, recognizing the familiar metal color.

"Could it be hardened mithril?" Angus exclaimed as he touched it.

The massive air balloon resembled a plump, oval-shaped cloud, its surface a grayish-white, likely made of a special, durable, and resilient fabric.

Additionally, there was a large propeller at the tail, much larger than those used on ships.

"Whoa!" The three of them gasped, their faces filled with disbelief.

The blueprints included specifications, dimensions, and materials for the feet, legs, and torso, but due to being a battle puppet, it lacked hands.

"Improving one's strength should never be neglected."

Thirty-five minutes later, Ren had crafted another battle puppet made of enchanted silver.

"Oh? Then try this one."

Upon returning to his mansion, Ren took out the third and final item given by Mentor Mogaro—a scroll of steel battle puppet—from his drawer.

The third-rank wizard apprentice Medros named these infected individuals as 'Xun' people, meaning spore or mushroom people.

Since Bishop Shane and Sir Brandon shared similar views, even if His Majesty the Emperor recovered, the situation wouldn't improve much.

They had already released two messenger blood falcons.

Ren raised his eyebrows in surprise, nodding in satisfaction.

Ren then cast the Reanimation Technique on the hardened mithril battle puppet and issued some simple commands.

As the airship approached Mist, the mountain-like oppressive feeling caused many waiting nobles to change their expressions.

"Yes," Ren smiled and nodded.

"Aaaah!!!"

"This Reanimation Technique is quite unique."

[Your skill Steel Battle Puppet has improved. Experience +1]



In close combat, one would quickly be infected by the yellowish-green mist emitted by the opponent.

The correct version is available at 69shu.com! 6=9+shu_bar

This allowed the two of them to witness the entire process of the villagers transforming into these humanoid monsters.

"Come in."

The steel battle puppet stomped heavily and charged towards Vieri.

Although he knew his captain was a metal-type wizard, he didn't think his captain would spend so much time and effort crafting such a puppet, considering they had been practicing Extraordinary Combat Skills every day.

After crafting three battle puppets of different materials, Ren decided to take the steel battle puppet to the training room on the first floor.

"Boom!"

Ren nodded.

"This airship is enormous, three times larger than the biggest freight airship I've seen in the Empire." Another noble was equally shocked by the Federation's airship.

"I've never heard such a sound before, but it seems to have a pattern." Another noble shook his head.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

"Not so fast! Even within the Mist branch, the captain's strength is already top-notch. Do you think sending other Diamond Star Squads would help?"

Medros' expression turned solemn as he spoke while swiftly escaping with the aid of Swift Wind.

"You guys continue training, I'll think for a bit."

Ren glanced at the elder, thinking, 'The Imperial Dragon Knights are strong, but most people probably don't understand what steam power represents.

He knew that in his previous life, steam power was a symbol of the 'First Industrial Revolution.'

As the giant airship slowly docked, a band began to play.

Just as the welcoming ceremony was about to begin, Major Stanley, with a serious expression, quickly walked in and whispered something to Admiral Edward.

On the Duke of Mist's side, a guard quickly rushed to report, causing both their faces to change instantly.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end