Chapter 464: 464
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"Other than the Stone Statue Ghosts, what else is there?" This time around, the curious person was the female mage whom Saleen did not know the name of .
"Let me think . " Lex closed her eyes, sinking into deep thought . She possessed a swath of memory too, but in a mage's memory, they could not pick out the corresponding information at will . Most of the time, they memorized the information using rote learning . When the information was required, they would have to organize it one more time .
The interaction between Lex and Bifano did not take place overnight . Naturally, she would be interested in the intelligence from Titan Duchy . Lex had used the Memory Spell to remember all news regarding the Stone Statue Castle . In deep thought, she finally recalled what else was in the castle .
Lex smiled, and said, "Saleen, there is an even larger castle underneath this castle . It sunk due to an earthquake . Other than an abundance of materials, the Stone Statue Castle also has a complete alchemy laboratory . A pity that there aren't many powerful mages around, it got shut down in the end . It seems like even the earl controlling the castle doesn't know about this set of treasures . "
Saleen's eyes lit up, as he vaguely thought of something . Then he asked, "Could it be the alchemy mold?"
"How did you guess that?!" It was Lex's turn to be astounded .
"Heh…" Saleen laughed mysteriously . The magic notes which he obtained was dated back even further . If the Stone Statue Castle was a new town, he would not have known much about it . The Stone Statue Castle had a longer history than the Titan Duchy though, so Saleen actually knew some relevant information about it .
The alchemy mold was good, but creating it was almost as difficult as trying to create a piece of godly equipment . Across all types of alchemy, one had to rely on handwork and a bit of refinement if they wanted to create complex items . Just like how Aini tapped on the tools to mass produce alchemical arrows . The end product would be defective, and its shelf life would also be shorter .
In order to create true magic equipment, a mage would have to complete it bit by bit . The ancient humans saved on that trouble by inventing the alchemy mold however . They could simply pour the magic materials into the mold and create large quantities of magic equipment, just like how metal ingots were produced .
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Such an alchemy technique was dozens of times faster than relying on a mage to refine it . The number of mages required was also much less . Usually, the method of depletion was to use the magic nuclei in a magic array to power the alchemy mold . As long as one had magic nuclei along with a sufficient number of mages, they would be able to use the alchemy mold to craft magic equipment .
That being said, the equipment produced would pale in comparison to the ones which Saleen created using the Water Flame Alchemy . The price would be much lower . If the alchemy mold for producing armor could be obtained, Lex could even help all her swordsmen's camps obtain magic armor .
"Why would no one pay attention to such things?" Saleen asked, puzzled .
The alchemy mold was highly prized in Qin . Alchemy City had one and Holy Rock City had one, but there were no more complete alchemy molds . The one in Holy Rock City was used to create armor . On the other hand, the one in Alchemy City seemed to be used for producing fundamental materials . Even so, Alchemy City had used their mold to craft a large number of magic warships . It is for refining puppets, and the materials must be similar to the Stone Statue Ghosts . Creatures summoned from other planes can't be considered as death creatures yet . "
At this point in time, Saleen then realized that no one might recognize this piece of equipment anymore . Even if someone discovered it, they would regard it as an insignificant appliance . This item might be commonplace in the past, when humans could traverse the planes . Creatures which were low in value and did not need to be domesticated would be simply refined into puppets . If the ancient mages were asked to carry out such a refinement, they might not even have the patience .
Producing an alchemy mold to replace tedious handwork thus became a natural affair .
This item was tremendously useful for Saleen and Lex though . The mold could be used to refine the creatures in the interdimensional space into puppets . After refinement, these puppets would not need to consume meat anymore, they could survive solely on magic nuclei . More accurately, the ancient humans had created partial puppets .
Their offensive powers might not be higher than a pure puppet, but they could carry out very complex assignments .
They would be mightier than the death creatures as death creatures could be restrained by divine spells . A partial puppet was almost like a human, one had very balanced attributes . There were no particular spells nor Divine spells which could restrain them .
Only by getting this alchemy mold would the expedition by Saleen and Lex be worthwhile .
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When the rain started to let up, Bifano then organized his troops and changed their equipment . Metal armor was removed and replaced by waterproof leather armor . The leather armor had been soaked in a special kind of lipid . Not only was it abnormally strong, it could not be set on fire either . As for the aspect of defensive power, leather armor would never match up to metal armor, unless it had been blessed with very powerful magic . When troops were marching to battle, convenience took top priority though .
Once metal armor was drenched in rainwater for a long time, it would require maintenance, which exhausted time and effort . Only some high level metal armor was totally waterproof, but it was ridiculously expensive . A set of metal armor which would not be affected by moisture could fetch at least five-hundred gold coins, but it still required maintenance and conservation . The advantage of leather armor was that there were various methods of tanning it, it was also hundreds of times easier blessing it as compared to metal armor .
Not only were the troops clad in leather armor, they also donned waterproof capes . All of them also wore caps . Other than that, some low ranking commanders equipped themselves with waterproof glasses . These glasses were produced by polishing abandoned crystals . Once worn, the vision would not be affected, they could also guard against water, wind, and sand . They were considered a more valuable piece of equipment .
It was impossible for the soldiers to stop marching just because of a torrential rain . The warhorses were fed medicine in order to prevent colds and rickets . Thereafter, the soldiers put on armor for the warhorses, as they prepared to carry on with the journey .
That was the distinct difference between elite troops and normal troops . Elite troops possessed complete equipment, and had practical solutions in the face of unforeseen circumstances . Finally, the soldiers draped a blackish item on the surface of the wheels . That made the wheels larger, preventing them from sinking into the sloshy ground . This black substance was a type of gum, produced in small numbers . It was only produced in the southern seas of Cloudflow . Only in special situations would the troops bear to use such an item .
Before the rain could stop totally, Bifano's team had continued on their journey .
Saleen had mosaicked a level-3 magic nucleus into one of the magic arrays onboard the magic war chariot . This caused the crystals located on the hollow part atop the windows on both sides of the chariot to look like they had melted, as the whole window became transparent . This transparency was one-sided, it was impossible to look into the chariot from outside .
Lex's swordmasters stood on both sides of the chariot, while Wild Bear had boarded the other magic war chariot . Even though he was unrefined, he was extremely respectful of mages . He would never act in a manner which would displease a mage . As a result, all the mages serving Lex were very fond of the guy who had absolutely zero talent in magic .
The worst was Jola . He was following closely behind the magic war chariot which Saleen was in, his magic armor filled with water droplets .
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In the evening, the convoy was approaching the next town already . Be that as it may, the soldiers did not let down their guard . They maintained their strict formation . The clouds were less thick, there was even a hint of sunlight shining onto the ground . As the crimson sunlight shone across the land, reflecting on the puddles of water, a mesmerizing glow was produced .
The soldiers were also fatigued . Seeing that the town was just up ahead, they sped up unknowingly . As the wooden huts catered for traveling guests came into view, a shrill magic alarm suddenly sounded .
The scouts actually did not discover the presence of the enemy, it was revealed by the magic alarm .
A dense rain of arrows descended from the sky, it was not known how many arrows were fired at the approaching convoy . Bifano snorted unfeelingly through his nose, he was too lazy to give any orders .
This was a blatant act of harassment . Their current location was less than twenty miles from the town, it was impossible for the enemy to attack now . The town up ahead was licensed to contain an emblem group's worth of cavalrymen since this place was proximal to Titan's borders . Such militarized towns were commonplace hundreds of miles from the Princess' Castle .
Bifano's trusted soldiers did not let him down either . When the sound of arrows piercing through the air first sounded, the soldiers had already set up their shields, protecting their bodies . The water vapor in the air was so thick it could almost condense onto one's skin . In such weather, any other kind of crossbow would be adversely affected, with the exception of the alchemical crossbow .
The enemy was smart knowing the soldiers in leather armor were more susceptible to an attack by arrows . Bifano's troops carried shields with large surface areas and were wrapped in glittery metal though, so they could not be penetrated by any arrows .
As the razor-sharp arrows descended on the shields, the clanging of metals filled the air, and the arrows fell to the ground lifelessly .
The arrows had originated from a hill on the left, with a height of about one-hundred meters . All of a sudden, a team with only forty men branched out from the group of soldiers . This team rode on horseback towards the hill .
The mountains in Titan were mostly mounds, very gentle and not arduous . These forty men were not cavalrymen . The moment they reached the peak of the mound, they immediately abandoned their warhorses and shields . Drawing their longswords, they leaped off their warhorses and charged towards the location the archers were hiding in .
Another two groups of forty cavalrymen went around the hill, with the intention of cutting off the enemy's escape route .
In the chariot, Lex told Saleen, "Do you see this? These are real soldiers . "
Saleen thought to himself, "If I am wealthy, I will never cultivate such an army . I will simply command my soldiers to use a magic cannon to bombard the peak, or I will get a grand mage to set the hill ablaze . No matter what traps the enemy has, they will be destroyed, why go to so much trouble . "
As if to humor Saleen's thoughts, a blistering explosion occurred abruptly on the peak . The flames became widespread, countless of rocks flew into the air and spewed in all directions .
Horrifying screams spread for more than a mile, and Bifano's expression changed abruptly . The enemy did not fire a second wave of arrows, it seemed like a batch of contraptions had been installed, and it was detonated on contact . The peak did not have many enemies, there was only a large magic trap .
The commander of the pink army was a ruthless mage .
Out of the forty soldiers who charged uphill, half of them were obliterated in that instant, while the remaining eighteen men were supporting their injured comrades . They had abandoned their weapons as they escaped from the hill . Some magic traps were sequential, so none of them dared linger atop the hill for more than a minute .
"The pink army was trying to rile Bifano," Saleen said plainly . Saleen might not have any talent in warring techniques, but his understanding of other people was not inferior to anyone else . In such a small battle, Saleen had an even keener intuition .
Setting a perfect large scale magic trap was pretty expensive, but it would not actually create many fatalities . This was just the first harassment, and if Bifano continued getting tricked, he would get extremely jumpy . When that happened, the real offensive would then be unleashed .