"My fireballs will tear you to shreds."
"Hah, have a taste of my guns."
In Arlo's Glory Arena, a battle between a high-level mage and an archer was underway. Normally speaking, the archer would constantly adjust the distance and angle, making all sorts of fancy dodging moves in search of an opportunity to land a killing blow. However, if the archer was riding an archer, they would have an obvious advantage in mobility and attack frequency.
Meanwhile, a high-level mage would often use the exact opposite strategy. They would first cast a large number of defensive spells on themselves and then summon a bunch of cannon fodder. Only then would they find an opportunity to kill the archer while maintaining a balance of attack and defense.
However, this time, it was still an elven ranger versus a mage. The audience was confused.
The purple-haired elven ranger wasn't using the elves' usual enchanted longbow. Instead, he was using the dwarven musket that the audience had always looked down upon. His mount wasn't a holy unicorn or a pegasus, either. Instead, it was a rumbling Iron Horse.
The high-level elf wore a black punk leather jacket and a leather hat. He held the front of his horse with one hand and spun in circles at high speed. He jumped, climbed up the wall, stopped suddenly, and stood on his hind legs.
His other hand held a silver shotgun. He took advantage of the gaps in the battle to continuously attack his opponent. However, unlike the dwarven musket's low-power lead bullets, this high-quality shotgun covered in silver magic paint and embedded with diamonds shot out colorful magic bullets.
The handsome elven ranger seemed to be quite confident. He was also quite calm and composed. His hand would shake from time to time and the shotgun would automatically reload. The wind caused his hair to flutter in the wind, making him seem even more carefree. This caused the girls in the audience to scream in surprise.
However, his opponent wasn't affected at all. The silver-armored mage ignored his opponent's attacks and simply cast spells from his stance. Blizzard, Frostfall, Chain Hailstones, Icicles, and many other high-level AOE spells kept raining down on his opponent. It was as if he was a nouveau riche who had unlimited mana.
Meanwhile, his opponent's magical musket would only leave a hole in the wall or a deep hole in the ground. However, when it hit the mage's armor, it would only create dazzling sparks. Meanwhile, the mage's random AOE spells caused the Iron Horse archer to panic.
The Archer's attack power was definitely not low. The Gold-ranked Archer Adde could already use these Magic Guns to perform the Magic Archery that was unique to the Elves. The only reason why his attack was ignored was because the opponent's armor was too ridiculously strong.
It was just a silver armor that covered his entire body. The result of being completely sealed was that even his face couldn't be seen. Under the black crystal protective mask was a face that was as calm as ice. The metal shell was flashing with the unique brilliance of mithril, and the magic field on it formed an additional three layers of protection. The dazzling dragon crystal in front of his chest emitted terrifying magic waves. Any tycoon who saw this armor would shout, "Where did this tycoon come from?!"
The silver thorny rose emblem on the back of the power armor undoubtedly indicated that this power armor was Thorn Garden's newest product — "Rich, Capricious!" Number 1. Yep, from a certain standpoint, this incredibly strange name was the best explanation for this full set of mithril armor.
The built-in energy source was currently providing three layers of protection: magic field, ice, and lightning. The thick and heavy mithril armor was the best material for magic. With these four layers of protection, it was impossible for Adde's magic bullets to pierce through the armor. He kept saying things like "We hit the opponent, but he bounced off" or "We didn't hit his armor", which made him quite annoyed.
Everyone knew that it was impossible to win if one only defended and didn't attack. Unless something unexpected happened that twisted the situation, Adde, who had recently become quite popular in the arena, would definitely lose.
"It's over!"
When the Iron Horse motorcycle slid over a thin layer of ice created by a snowstorm, its tires suddenly skidded. When the motorcycle lost control, an ice prison descended upon it. Adde unhesitatingly raised his hands and surrendered as he was locked onto by Adde's powerful magic.
"… That's fifteen consecutive victories. Even the 'Bloodmoon Hunter' Adde lost, and it's such a one-sided battle. Isn't this armor a little too ridiculous?"
In the Cloud City, mages and warriors who loved to fight had their own places of entertainment. It was even rarer to have gambling matches. The Abo Arena was such a place. Every day, countless battles would take place here. Some battles would simply be a competition of strength, some would be simulations to accumulate practical experience, and some would be teacher-student duels. Of course, there would also be battles where one's life was at stake. However, today's duel was the most common daily gambling match.
Both sides would place their bets on items of equal value. Not only would they accumulate combat experience, but they would also gain practical benefits and fame. However, since the arena wasn't suitable for mages, most of the competitors were warriors or rangers. They were either natives of the Mage Country or the personal guards of certain mages.
Adde was the personal guard of a certain High Elf prince. He was a rather famous ranger archer back in his hometown. After he obtained the Iron Horse and magic spear from Thorn Garden, he swiftly learned how to shoot arrows at high speed. Many opponents who were originally stronger than him were defeated by his high-speed and fast-paced attacks.
And after he obtained ten consecutive victories, he met the most difficult opponent of all. This was a mage who wore a full set of mithril mobile armor. This archmage was capable of making dragons seem so poor in front of Adde.
Adde didn't need any positioning or defensive magic. All he needed to do was stand there in his heavy mobile armor. Adde's enemies wouldn't be able to break through the armor's defenses. He then slowly chanted his own incantation and acted like a stationary cannon. If he ran out of mana, he could even draw energy from the energy pool. His defense was incredibly high, and his mana was limitless. This archmage was shameless to the extreme.
"Damn rich guy!"
"Be careful not to be robbed by dragons!"
The audience was also cheering for this new star. "Rich Man" was indeed the nickname of this unknown mage. Obviously, the highest spell that he used was only at the pinnacle of the Silver-tier. However, he managed to defeat many strong opponents, including two Legendary-tier opponents!
If Adde's ability to adapt to new technology proved that science and technology were combat strength, then this mage had proved an even more fundamental truth — those who were rich were the boss.
Of course, since this mage was so rich, most people guessed that he was at least a Legend-ranked archmage. It was even possible that he was a top-level archmage.
When the glittering mage slowly walked into his resting room, he collapsed to the ground. The vent on his chest spewed out a large amount of steam.
On the other side, several gnome and gnome engineers had long since prepared for this. They immediately started taking off the helmet's components. When the helmet was taken off, an abnormally young face was revealed.
"Cohen, how do you feel?"
That's right, this "Damn Rich Guy" wasn't some archmage. It was my little acolyte Cohen, a Four Elemental Swordcaster who might not even be considered a Silver rank.
"… I'm using dragon crystals to replenish my mana. I have an endless supply of mana, but dragon crystals are so precious …"
"Don't worry. Just keep playing. Treat it as a chance to practice. As for dragon crystals and mana information? Relax, someone's paying for it this time. "
In a certain world, war was the catalyst for the explosive growth of technology. Only when people were pushed to their limits would they bring out unreliable or unreliable technologies, and then think of ways to obtain results that could be used for slaughter.
Magical engineering was a new discipline that was born out of the fires of war. It was also destined to grow alongside war. When Thorn Garden released new products, all sorts of engineering tools became incredibly popular. For example, the two mechas called "Star Ranger", "Sith Warrior", and "Jedi Knight" were extremely popular the moment they were released.
However, this was unexpected. In fact, we didn't even list them as our main products. After all, although these two mechas greatly increased the user's mobility and defense, and they were even equipped with a miniature energy source, they were made of metal, which would have an obvious effect on mana transmission. If it were the "Four Elemental Swordcasters" or "Magic Archers" who relied on "peripherals" to cast magic spells, then they would be able to ignore the interference of magic, but pure mages obviously wouldn't be suited for such a casting environment.
However, I still underestimated how rich these mages were!
Indeed, current technology was limited, but the wealth of a tycoon was limitless. As long as all the mechas' components were made of top-level materials, materials themselves would have mana. Even if the blueprints were the same, if there was too much of a difference in the quality of the materials, then it would naturally be a completely different creation.
Metal affecting magic spells? Wouldn't all enchanted mithril affect magic spells?! These were all top-level mithril created by great alchemists. The only difference was that they were slightly more expensive, probably a hundred times more expensive than gold of the same weight.
Lacking mana amplification materials? Just take out a basket full of dragon crystals! Do you have phoenix feathers or demon hearts wholesale!? Do you have the fur of a gigantic wolf king that was only produced in the North Plane? As long as you wanted to, you could even find the dragon eyes of a inferno dragon in the lower planes.
Don't you know how to inscribe defensive magic arrays? If a Truth-level enchanter were willing to serve you, would you need to inscribe "Absolute Defense", "Super Long-Range Precise Teleportation", or "Meteor Shower" or something? Only a fourth-circle spell? You dare to look down on me?
The mechas would be too heavy and slow to move? Are you joking with me? What about the goblins' rocket backpacks? We could just inscribe a few more anti-gravity magic arrays that would reduce the mechas' weight. We had top-level materials anyways.
Right, don't forget to hire elven smiths to do some more work. I want angel wings on the helmet, and the mechas should be the most popular steampunk style. I want two volcanoes on the mechas' shoulders and illusions that spew out flames at regular intervals. How cool would that be! I also want an eyepatch with three red glowing emeralds. I want an Evil Dragon's Eye!
Alright then, apart from the last mage whose request made me doubt his sense of aesthetics and chuunibyou, the other archmages were quite reliable. They were all aiming for practical combat effects and survival. The most important thing was that they had money and had many years of savings. They discovered that it was highly likely that they would have to go onto the battlefield soon and face opponents that they weren't confident in defeating. Yet, they valued their own lives, so of course they were willing to spend money to save their own lives.
After doing some calculations, I unhesitatingly gave the job of making the mechas to be done by others, while I personally took charge of the most profitable part, the custom-made mechas.
However, the prerequisite for long-term business deals was that you would get what you paid for. High-priced mechas had to be of the same quality as high-priced mechas. If the archmages wanted to continue spending money at all costs, and even continuously invest in mechas, they would at least have to prove that the quality of their mechas was worth the price.
That was how the novice Cohen came to wear the "Rich, Willful!" Mecha No.1 went on stage for the competition. There were many top-level mages watching the competition. In fact, there were even some top-level mages who personally went on stage to test the true defensive capabilities of this priceless "Golden Armor". After learning that the owner of this mecha was a novice who had only been in contact with magic for less than two years, he unhesitatingly increased his investment by more than three times. He wanted to ensure that his own custom-made mechas would surpass this mecha No.1.
Actually, this made me heave a sigh of relief. Otherwise, I would have to think of a way to make up for the lack of materials.
Where would the lack of materials come from? I hadn't even started custom-making yet, had I? Back in the olden days, tailors would always have an unspoken rule when buying materials to make clothes. When buying materials to make a custom-made cucumber, each roll of cloth would be slightly more than what the tailor expected. Then, as long as they made a few more pieces, the tailor would mysteriously have an extra piece of cloth for themselves.
I didn't have any top-level magic materials here. This "Willful" Mecha No.1 was made from the scraps from all the orders that I had received. If I didn't receive more orders in the future, this would be quite a large hole.
I gave Cohen a few words of encouragement and told him to continue accumulating combat experience here while continuing to show off the power and combat strength of the Economic Garden. He would also be able to test out the mechas. I couldn't help but sigh.
"Mechas are far more useful than expected. Even the inventor can't predict what his creation will be like in the end? I originally thought that this was nonsense, but I never thought that I would actually see it one day. "
Whenever I thought about how, due to my butterfly effect, top-level mages would be armed to the teeth on the battlefield in the future, transforming these weak firepower points that were protected by their comrades into impenetrable mobile turrets. Even the shadow assassins wouldn't be able to kill the Forbidden Spell Mages one by one. I felt that "history" might have already taken a different path.
"When the time comes, we'll be facing a group of demons wielding ancient greatswords and Evil Gods riding gigantic beasts, while we'll be facing archmages wearing mechas, archers riding motorcycles, taurens with heavy cannons, and zombies with electric saws. If we fight as a team … I just feel like something's wrong."
After I left the arena, my work wasn't over yet. I had unknowingly become the largest arms dealer in the Cloud Tower, but I still had another project that I needed to check on.
But this time, it wasn't a place where I could do it openly.
We traveled for more than two hours in a horse carriage, crossing several mountains and rivers. The sky was almost dark when we finally arrived at a graveyard on the outskirts of the city. That was our destination.
The moment dusk arrived, a chilly wind blew through the mountains, causing the surrounding trees to shake as if they were demons. Our horses seemed to be possessed by something as they collapsed to the ground, unwilling to move.
"Sigh, every time we arrive here, we can only move on our own."
"No wonder the 'Hell Demons' like this place so much. The negative energy here is comparable to the Undead Planes. It would be strange if the corpses here weren't haunted. Judging from the environment here, these corpses are probably the result of a failed experiment. "
As a half-undead creature, Heloise would always be especially spirited whenever she came here. A black cat would appear and disappear in the shadows in such a remote and desolate area, making it seem like something out of a ghost story.
"Look over there. It's so remote, but there's actually a farm here."
"Hmph, it must be the Hell Demons' hidden scouts. Do you really think that farming here will yield anything? You'll only produce ghouls. "
Alright then, I also knew that unless there was something wrong with their head, who would want to set up a farm here in such a haunted place with chilly winds?
Although we had cooperated with the Hell Demons and bought this land of the dead where negative energy gathered, it was evident that they still hadn't given up on collecting additional information.
But our target is on this piece of land.
"How's the big guy's condition?"
Heloise quietly sat on the ground, her eyes somewhat wooden. Meanwhile, her clone was collecting all sorts of information for her. Soon, her eyes were filled with energy again.
"Excellent, he's already entered a dormant period. He'll be able to move out in about half a month."
I nodded in satisfaction. Since everything was going smoothly, we could come back in half a month to reap the fruits of our labor.
"… It's just that those Hell Demons brats came to check several times. It seems that they still haven't given up and want to know why we bought this land. Ha, no wonder. After all, this is the Lord of Yongye's goal. It's only natural that ordinary undead mages would be quite tempting. "
"Let them take a look. It's not like they'll be able to tell anything. After all, who would've thought that all we really want is this land filled with negative energy? We don't even need individual corpses. Our new creation is this graveyard. "
Graveyard Demon was the name that we gave it not too long ago. It was a half-undead, half-earth elemental creature formed from graveyard dirt that was filled with negative energy. It was a powerful source of negative energy pollution. Not only could it greatly increase the undead's combat strength, it was also the home of small to medium-sized undead.
These Undead Beasts are not our original invention. There should be similar existences among the Undead in ancient times, but there are no such Giant Undead Beasts in modern times. It is an experimental product that we made with reference to ancient documents and current technological conditions.
When I was in the Forest of Dreams, I was most envious of the Forest of Dreams' buffs and Jill's ability to modify the environment. Since I couldn't choose the battlefield, I would think of a way to make the battlefield my home ground.
Graveyard Demons were useful here. They were mobile graveyards that the undead could replenish their negative energy, change their limbs, and strengthen their combat strength at any time. As long as an injured undead didn't die on the spot, they would be able to quickly recover their combat strength in this graveyard.
The wood spirits' combat style gave me some inspiration. Perhaps the undead didn't need any powerful troop types anymore. What they lacked were healing and support types like Druil and priests. The undead army was already skilled at attrition battles. If they could obtain the ability to replenish themselves on the battlefield, they would be far more effective at increasing their combat strength than any other powerful troop type.
Of course, this wasn't the only reason why we left the city by ourselves.
The crow in the sky had already landed on the black cat's head. Then, it transformed into a silver liquid and disappeared. Harloys, who had received the information from the Female Worm's aerial reconnaissance, nodded slightly at me. I was instantly overjoyed.
"So the big fish has finally taken the bait?"
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