Mechanical Troops

"Father, there is something that has been troubling me. The King has passed away, and a new king has ascended the throne. What should our Family do?"

The Earl pushed open the door to the top-floor room, muttering to himself.

The familiar figure wasn't inside. Instead, a young man sat in the spot where his father usually sat, with his familiar, Little Fool father standing behind him as always.

"You..."

Before the Earl could speak, Li Yan chuckled and waved to the Earl of Wigster City Town, the patriarch of the greatest Warrior Family.

"What's wrong? What could possibly stump our genius little lion?"

The young man's words made the Earl's hands tremble. The young man in front of him looked remarkably like his father in the photo album when he was young, as if they were made from the same mold. He had previously thought that this was his father's illegitimate son, but the nickname the young man used made him think of an unimaginable result.

"Father...?"

The Earl tentatively spoke.

"What's wrong with you? You're acting like a coward! I'm your own father!"

Li Yan glared at the Earl, who was making a tentative inquiry, with annoyance.

"My previous appearance was just a magical effect, meant to make your mother feel a little better."

Li Yan covered her face with her hands, Reversal Magic. Her black hair instantly turned gray, and several wrinkles appeared on her face.

"Father!"

The Earl exclaimed excitedly. That familiar demeanor, that dignified face, that broad chest—it was his father, whom he was so proud of.

"You little brat! What's there to get so excited about?"

Li Yan walked up to the Earl with a hint of annoyance and patted him on the shoulder, Reversal Magic to gradually turn his body back into his youth.

After some pleasantries, the Earl finally learned everything. His father actually had Elf Clan blood. He also understood his father's current thoughts: in order to resurrect his mother, he would be researching the path of magic. He had recently found Magic Tome about Soul Magic and now needed test subjects to test the feasibility of the magic.

"Father, these things are not a problem, it's just what about the Royal Capital?"

The Earl couldn't help but ask, a hint of worry creeping into his heart.

"When soldiers come, we'll meet them head-on; when water comes, we'll dam it. No matter what tricks the Royal Capital has up its sleeve, just deal with them. And whatever they do to you, you'll retaliate tenfold."

Li Yan waved her hand dismissively.

"I understand, Father."

The Earl felt reassured, and his only worry vanished, for his father was by his side, and the image of his father's broad back, which had single-handedly vanquished countless demons, was etched in his heart from beginning to end.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Li Yan looked at the Mechanical Magic Puppets with a human soul in front of her and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. This Soul Magic not only required strong Mana to support it, but also the soul was rooted in the Machine Life and could not be easily replaced.

The physical body can also be sealed by the Eternal Statue Magic. Even without a soul, the Eternal Statue Magic can still effectively seal it. Simply extract the soul and release the Eternal Statue onto the body, and the body will be permanently sealed. The so-called soul can then be placed freely into Mechanical Magic Puppets or any other object.

Sometimes Li Yan even thought about putting her soul in a ring, just for fun.

The soul placed within an object can control that object. Depending on the strength of the soul, it can control the movement of the object. Powerful souls can even communicate telepathically, provided that the soul's strength is at least around level 50 in terms of Mana power.

An artificial cheat device, placing the soul of a top-tier magician within a ring and then gifting it to the Family's descendants—a complete version of Xiao Huohuo from the world of Frieren.

With a myriad of strange thoughts swirling in his mind, Li Yan ultimately abandoned this interesting idea and focused on building Artificial Intelligence Version Mechanical Magic Puppet. When a powerful Warrior of the Family was near death, his soul would be placed in a mechanical body, giving him a new life and allowing him to serve the Family forever. At that time, the entire Family would no longer be the most powerful Warrior Family in the Kingdom, but the most powerful Family in the entire world.

The Mechanical Magic Puppet needs an upgrade in all aspects. Looking at the ordinary, data-analyzing version of the Mechanical Magic Puppet —a model devoid of combat capability— Li Yan began issuing commands. "Ten push-ups!"

The Mechanical Magic Puppet, possessing a human soul, obeyed Li Yan's commands according to its programming and completed ten push-ups with perfect and standard form.

"Bow!"

The Mechanical Magic Puppet bowed deeply, and Li Yan clicked his Mechanical Magic Puppet and patted it.

"You have free movement; try to control your body."

The Mechanical Magic Puppet, possessing a human soul, freely manipulated its mechanical arms. Whether lying down, kneeling, or squatting, the Mechanical Magic Puppet performed flawlessly. In just a few minutes, the human soul completely mastered the Mechanical Magic Puppet's body, and it could even hop and jump and perform a ballet.

The experiment was a success. Li Yan waved his hand, signaling the other person to leave. As a servant in the Family, he was only the first step in the experiment, and several more experiments would be conducted.

The physical examination of combat-type Mechanical Magic Puppets, whether their combat experience can be replicated, and the outcome of battles between two opposing forces with different soul strengths dominating the same type of combat-type Mechanical Magic Puppets —these are all issues that Li Yan needs to study.

Over three days, Li Yan tested the attribute data of most of the combat-type Mechanical Magic Puppets. However, the data for the archer and assassin Mechanical Magic Puppets was not very accurate. Even experienced archers and assassins could not unleash their full potential by manipulating the cumbersome mechanical bodies.

Li Yan decided to modify the assassin-type and bow-and-arrow-type Mechanical Magic Puppets, adopting lightweight armor and forging their weapons from a combination of Anti-Magic Stones and Refined Iron. In the Northern Border, Anti-Magic Stones are somewhat scarce, but only in scattered pieces. Due to Anti-Magic Stone hardness, the scarcity lies in the scattered pieces; the more common resource is the Anti-Magic Stone mine, a symbol of sturdiness. Even blacksmiths who frequently forge weapons could not leave a single mark on them even after hammering them for dozens of days.

Fortunately, Li Yan possesses the perfect means to cut through the Anti-Magic Stone, making it an essential tool for any outing— Holy Sword that can be used for logging, Demon-Slaying Slash, and even chopping vegetables.

A year passed like flowing water, and relations with the Royal Capital gradually deteriorated. The Royal Capital even sent Assassination Troops to kill them. Under the surveillance of the Mechanical Magic Puppets, they were exposed within a day of entering the Wigster City Town. Pursued by the Mechanical Troops, the Magic Assassination Squad was completely wiped out and turned into Puppet-Type Mechanical Magic Puppets by Li Yan.

These Puppet-Type Mechanical Magic Puppet are unable to control their own souls. They are constantly overridden by mechanical commands. Li Yan deliberately erased a portion of their soul power, causing them to lose a large part of their Soul Power. This turned them into half-idiots, but their strength only decreased slightly.