bookrebus Chapter 735 Mech Combination
Chapter 735 Mech Combination
Zuo De's muscles tensed suddenly. He didn't have time to react. His body instinctively veered to the side to avoid the attack. The airflow generated by his high-speed movement rippled his body's contours.
Even though he had made the fastest possible dodge, the beam of light still grazed his wing precisely, instantly piercing through the hard wing membrane and leaving a gruesome hole. The burning pain spread through his body, causing his movements to freeze for a moment.
Zuo De steadied himself, slowly turned his body, and turned his gaze to the priest not far in front of him who was continuously emitting a dazzling golden light. The golden halo continued to spread outward from the priest's body, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding aura. He stared at the unfamiliar and aggressive energy, and made a low murmur in his throat, his voice carrying a hint of astonishment and scrutiny.
"A wizard?"
Zuo De didn't think any further. The current situation didn't allow him to continue probing. Regardless of the other party's identity, only by launching an attack first could he seize the initiative. This had always been his survival principle.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, his massive body exerted force instantly, his heavy footsteps stomping on the ground with a dull tremor. Like a runaway beast, he charged toward the priest, the oppressive force of his high-speed charge almost crushing the air in front of him.
In the blink of an eye, Zod rushed to the priest's side. He raised his huge palm, his five fingers spread wide, and with the power to crush a boulder, he clenched it tightly toward the priest's body. If this blow landed, the priest's body would surely be crushed. But just as his palm was about to touch the priest, a transparent barrier appeared between them without warning, completely blocking his attack.
Zuo De slammed his palm heavily onto the barrier, and instantly, a violent burning sensation spread wildly from his palm, feeling as if his flesh was directly pressed onto a red-hot iron block.
The unbearable pain made him instinctively pull his hand back sharply. Looking down, he saw that the skin and flesh of his palm had become a blurry mess, and white smoke was rising continuously from the damaged area. The scorching energy left by the barrier still lingered at the wound, continuing to erode his body.
"That's interesting."
Looking at his injured hand, Zuo De showed no fear. Instead, a hint of interest appeared in his eyes. He pushed off the ground with both feet and jumped back sharply, creating a safe distance between himself and the priest. After regaining his footing, he moved his still intact limbs and felt the power gradually boiling within him. He had already made his decision.
"Looks like I'll have to get serious."
Zuo De's aura began to rise rapidly, and his already oppressive aura became even more intense. He stared at the priest in front of him, who was still enveloped in golden light, and prepared to launch a full-scale attack. Every muscle was taut to the extreme, waiting for the next moment to launch an all-out assault.
Meanwhile, in the magic experiment zone on the outskirts of Helmingen, a group of researchers were gathered around a giant armor, busily working on various debugging and assembly tasks.
The mech has a heavy, iron-shell-like texture. It lacks a conventional head structure, with only thick limbs supporting its massive body. In addition to the legs used for movement, the left arm is equipped with a steam-powered saw with cold, hard metallic luster on the edge of the saw teeth, while the right arm is fixed with a heavy power hammer with reinforced grooves covering its body.
On the ground to one side of the mecha, a simple stone coffin was quietly placed. The surface of the coffin was engraved with intricate patterns, echoing the magical equipment around it.
"Hurry up, we're about to start the assembly phase."
Stephen stood in front of the control panel, his eyes fixed on the busy researchers below, his tone full of urgent urging. He raised his hand and rubbed his already thinning hair. The high-intensity work of the past few days had left him feeling exhausted, and the news he had just received had plunged his mood to the bottom.
"Damn it, something happened again."
Just moments before, Stephen received a communication from Helming's headquarters. The border region had once again been under heavy attack by monsters, and the defense line was in dire need of attention. His Majesty the King had issued an order that all advanced weapons developed in the experimental zone be immediately deployed to the border operations without any room for negotiation. This also meant that mechs that had not yet completed their final testing had to be activated and deployed to the battlefield ahead of schedule.
Several priests surrounded the sarcophagus, holding containers of holy water in their hands. They slowly poured the holy water onto the surface of the sarcophagus while continuously chanting lengthy prayers in unison, with a rhythm unique to the ritual.
"Warrior of Heaven, the Lord calls you back to earth to fight against the devil..."
The prayers continued, but suddenly a clear sound came from inside the sarcophagus, breaking the solemn atmosphere of the ceremony. The soul inside seemed to be impatient with the tedious ritual.
"I have no objection, but can we skip this step?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Cross's complete ghost form slowly emerged from inside the stone coffin. His soul form was perfectly preserved, and he was the first pilot in this experiment to be able to fully integrate with the mecha.
According to the plan, the sarcophagus containing his soul will be sent into the pre-set groove of the mecha, and will be integrated with the various core parts of the mecha, ultimately achieving the fusion of soul and mecha, and precise control of all the weapons and equipment on the mecha.
"Hey, Minister Stephen!"
The dwarven rune master, Tangl, strode over to Stephen and interrupted his thoughts, holding a scroll containing rune data in his hand.
"All connections of the mech have been checked and are in good condition. There should be no damage when the soul connects to it. If any unexpected situation occurs, please activate the rune array to protect the soul."
Stephen glanced down at the data on the scroll, then looked up at the ready-made sarcophagus and mech, and made his decision without hesitation.
"Okay, let's start assembling."
After the command was issued, the alarm bell in the experimental area sounded on time, and the heavy sound echoed throughout the entire experimental area. All personnel not involved in this assembly immediately and orderly evacuated the site, leaving only the core operators and executors.
More than a dozen soldiers worked together to lift the heavy stone coffin, and with orderly steps, slowly lowered it into the pre-set groove on the abdomen of the mecha. After adjusting its position, they slowly lowered the fixed lid, completing the placement of the stone coffin.
Another bell rang, and the steam pipes around the mecha instantly started. A large amount of white steam gushed out from the pipe joints, enveloping the entire mecha. An operator stared intently at the constantly fluctuating liquid columns on the instrument panel in front of him, broadcasting the mecha's status data in real time.
"The soul compatibility level has been met, and all values are stable. We can proceed to the next step."
Stephen stared at the stable readings on the dashboard, took a deep breath, and issued the most crucial instruction.
"To establish a soul connection."
The moment the command was issued, the runic array beneath the mecha was activated. Pale golden runic light spread upwards from the ground, wrapping around every joint and component of the mecha. At the same time, soft golden light began to emerge from the gaps between the various connections of the mecha, and the connection between the soul and the mecha was officially initiated.
"Connection in progress!"
A burst of intense light suddenly erupted, completely enveloping the entire mecha. The blinding light caused everyone present to instinctively squint, unable to look directly at the core area.
After a long wait, the light enveloping the mecha slowly dissipated, and the red warning lights on the mecha's body went out completely. In their place, the green operation lights remained lit, indicating that the connection process was complete. Then, the mecha, having achieved soul fusion, slowly raised its legs and strode down from the fixed platform, each step causing a slight tremor in the ground.
"Success."
Stephen finally breathed a sigh of relief. He wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead and shouted loudly in the direction of the mecha to test its basic control and communication functions.
"Cross, move your limbs and test the communication device on top to see if it works."
Upon receiving the command, the mech first slowly raised the steam-powered saw on its left side, then rotated the power hammer on its right side. Subsequently, the entire body smoothly rotated a full circle, completing the movement test of its limbs. Immediately afterwards, a muffled sound came from inside the mech, clearly reaching the ears of everyone.
"No problem, we can go into battle."
Upon hearing the response, Stephen did not hesitate and immediately arranged subsequent transportation and combat deployments.
"Alright, then immediately transport the mechs to the airship for combat testing."
On the border battlefield, the battle had entered a fierce stage. Zod swung his limbs again and again, launching fierce attacks on the priest's barrier. Each impact carried earth-shattering power, and the heavy impact caused the barrier to tremble continuously.
The long, continuous attack gave him a long-lost sense of exhilaration. It had been a long time since any opponent had been able to withstand such a dense and powerful barrage of attacks, and he unleashed all of his offensive techniques.
Punches, charges, wing strikes—all available attacks were used against the barrier. Under the continuous onslaught, the light on the barrier, which the priest was supporting, grew thinner and thinner, and fine cracks appeared on the transparent surface, threatening to collapse at any moment.
Zuo De sensed the fragility of the barrier, and a fierce fighting spirit ignited in his eyes. He raised his head and roared, the sound shaking the surrounding air.
"Roar, the final blow!"
Zuo De pushed off the ground with both feet, and his massive body suddenly soared into the air, flying rapidly towards the sky. After reaching a sufficient height, he adjusted his posture, gathered all his strength into his body, and like a falling meteorite, he swooped down rapidly towards the priest, his target being the priest in the center of the barrier.
As the priest watched Zod swooping down, he moved his hands rapidly, continuously firing golden beams at Zod in an attempt to stop his attack. However, after the long exchange, Zod had completely adapted to the priest's attack frequency.
He skillfully adjusted his dive trajectory, easily dodging beam after beam of light; no attack could stop his advance.
In an instant, Zod rushed to the barrier and slammed his body, which was already fragile, into it with all his might. With a crisp sound, the barrier, which had been holding on for so long, shattered completely. Zod's momentum did not diminish, and he slammed the priest into the wall behind him. The huge impact made the priest instantly lose his ability to resist, and his body went limp and collapsed.
Zuo De stretched out his large hand, grabbed the dying priest, and lifted him into the air. Looking at the priest's powerless appearance, his tone carried an approval of his opponent.
"You are a worthy opponent. I will give you a swift and decisive death."
Just as Zod was about to make his move, he suddenly felt the light above his head being completely covered by something, and the originally bright space instantly became dark. He subconsciously looked up and saw an enormous body in the sky that covered the entire horizon, and the huge shadow completely enveloped him and the priest.
Immediately afterwards, dozens of black dots of light fell rapidly from the colossal object in the sky. One of the black dots, which was particularly large, was falling straight down in his direction with a whooshing sound.