A Remarkable Metal

Putting aside Wudo, even for a country bumpkin like Rein, this was the first time he had ever slept in such a comfortable bed.

Only then did he understand why the fairy tale described the "Princess and the Pea" as being able to clearly feel the little pea poking her under twenty mattresses and twenty eiderdown quilts.

Before going to sleep, Rein thought it was an ordinary goose down bed.

But when he lay down, he discovered that the extravagance of the nobility was simply extreme.

His senses were now so heightened that he could clearly feel a mosquito landing on his skin, and thus he could sense that there wasn't a single knot in the sheets or blankets. The exquisite texture, smooth and soft like a young girl's skin, was definitely not the product of mass production by a textile machine, but rather something painstakingly hand-picked by a great deal of manpower.

Lying in bed gives one the feeling of being immersed in clouds.

On a rare night, Rein didn't set up any training programs for the "Mind Core" and had a good night's sleep.

He then realized that this was the first time in the past two years that he had slept so soundly.

In my first year, I worked as an apprentice thief in the "Weasel Bandit Group," living in constant fear. I always entrusted my dreams to the "Mind Core" to learn survival skills. Even after escaping the Phantom Thieves and traveling west to City of Radiance, participating in the nationwide hunt, and then to the Kolman Tribe, I was always on the move and never stopped to enjoy a single day of life.

It was only because of Black Dragon City that he truly felt he had a safe haven where he could completely let down his guard and sleep soundly.

I slept very soundly.

Early in the morning, his biological clock woke Rein up on time.

When I came downstairs, Ymir was already waiting at the dining table.

Breakfast was plentiful, with beautifully made desserts and cheese bread.

Ymir saw Rein and greeted him with a smile, "Rein, come and have breakfast with us."

Before he finished speaking, the maids at the table had already pulled out chairs, and Rein sat down next to Ymir without any hesitation.

As the hostess, Ymir naturally wanted to show concern for her guest, so she asked with a smile, "Did you sleep well last night?"

Rein replied truthfully, "Thank you for your hospitality, Your Highness. This is the most restful sleep I've had in years."

Ymir blinked and asked again, "Where is Elder Wudo?"

Rein said, "Last night, around midnight, she heard the pterosaur calling out. She said that newly tamed magical beasts need to spend a lot of time together to build a bond, otherwise the beasts will feel lonely and all the previous efforts will be wasted. Then, afraid of disturbing your rest, she quietly went to the animal pen."

He knew that Ymir probably also knew about what Wudo had done in his room last night, so he didn't explain further.

Ymir seemed completely unconcerned and nodded, "Oh."

She paused, then continued, "After we finish breakfast, let's go inspect the city's construction together. I know you don't want too much trouble, but in the early stages of construction, it's always good to go occasionally."

Rein nodded. "Okay."

After a night of revelry, everyone started a new day of work.

The craftsmen of Omar brought tools and materials early in the morning to build sturdy houses for the Kolman Tribe warriors.

This wasn't just a task assigned to them by the Ministry of Urban Construction; it was also something they sincerely wanted to do for their saviors. Once they started interacting, they both discovered that the other wasn't as difficult to get along with as they had imagined.

Kolman was a simple and kind man, and the artisans were mostly commoners from the lower classes. They had no class consciousness and easily became friends.

Although the Kolman people were used to thatched huts, they also knew that they would eventually have to get used to life in the Mechanical City.

Now that the zombie horde is everywhere, only in the Mechanical City is there any hope for the continuation of tribal civilization.

Seeing the craftsmen at work, the Kolman Warrior joined in. They lacked technical skills, but they were strong enough to help carry materials, lift heavy objects, and dismantle old houses. Working together, in just half a day, a row of tribal-style totem-patterned steel huts began to take shape.

By the time Rein and Ymir finished their inspection of the various departments, including the Machinery Department, the City Defense Department, the Medical Department, and the Black Dragon Academy, it was already noon.

They arrived at the Kolman Tribe shantytown and were quite surprised to see the rudimentary houses. The two groups worked together with remarkable efficiency.

"Lord City Lord, Her Highness the Eldest Princess."

As Rein and Ymir traveled, they were greeted warmly by the craftsmen and Karl warriors at work. Last night's bonfire dinner had truly brought the people of the territory together.

The two responded to each of their responses and continued walking.

Finally, they arrived at the enclosure where the pterosaurs were kept.

Wudo was feeding the pterosaurs given to her by several Kolman Warriors and treating their wounds.

As they saw Rein and his companion approaching, the four pterosaurs let out a low, wary roar.

Wudo turned around and saw the two of them. She smiled brightly and called out, "Doctor Rein, Your Ymir, you've arrived!"

She put down the herbs she was using to wipe the pterosaur's wounds and walked out of the animal pen.

Seeing the radiant smile on her face, Rein was reminded of the little barbarian girl who had cried her eyes out last night; it was as if they were not the same person.

Ymir looked at the pterosaurs that had been "unyielding to the death" just yesterday and asked in surprise, "Elder Wudo, you've already tamed them?"

Wudo nodded and said, "Yes. I had the tribe's warriors try to interact with them, and after they get used to them for a while, they should be able to try riding them."

Rein looked at the pterosaurs that were now willing to let Kolman Warrior touch them and found it incredible.

A beating will make them behave? Weren't they like a bunch of hedgehogs yesterday, pricking everyone they saw?

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he asked, "Wait, weren't there five yesterday? Why are there only four?"

Wudo blinked and said matter-of-factly, "We killed one and ate it!"

"Ah?"

Ymir, standing to the side, was taken aback, not understanding Kolman's method of animal taming.

But then, as if struck by a sudden thought, Rein asked, "Is this also a method of animal taming?"

"Yes."

Wudo nodded and said, "I told them that if they promised not to cause trouble, they would get meat; if they didn't, they would be eaten. Then there was one that was the most disobedient and caused the most trouble, so I killed it and shared the meat with everyone. The others then behaved."

She paused, then continued playfully, "Sometimes scaring them a little will make them behave better."

Intimidation is also a method of taming beasts. To make these not-so-intelligent magical beasts submit, sometimes you have to be simple and brutal.

Obey and you'll eat meat; disobey and you'll be eaten.

Upon hearing this, Rein smiled knowingly.

Indeed, professionals do professional things.

When it comes to animal training, Kolman is the real professional.

Because of Wudo, a crucial link was added to Black Dragon City's list: Air Superiority!

Whether for combat, transportation, or intelligence gathering, the pterosaur is the best choice.

Moreover, now that they have obtained the Treasure Map to the Tomb of the Black Emperor, the search for the tomb has been put on the agenda.

Previously, the Kolman Tribe's domesticated Blue-tailed Hawk couldn't venture deep into the basin to gather intelligence because of the various pterosaurs in the sky. Now, with domesticated pterosaurs patrolling from the air, it's much easier to find areas densely populated with human "zombies."

And it's safer too.

Pterosaurs are the aerial overlords of the "Karatva Basin," and are virtually immune to attacks from any monsters or undead in the sky.

The only threat comes from higher-ranking wild pterosaurs.

Of course, the pterosaur nest on the snow line on the mountainside has already been targeted.

Early in the morning, Kolman's warriors set off to pinpoint the location and gather intelligence on the pterosaur's lair.

Once the time is right, a large-scale dragon hunt will be organized.

Just as Rein and Ymir were patrolling the tribe, they suddenly received an urgent message saying that there had been a major discovery in Tuster's territory and they needed to go there immediately.

Thinking something had gone wrong in the Mechanical City, they rushed over, only to find Old Man Tuster in the spoils warehouse, holding two dark shields, his face extremely grave. A group of people were rummaging through the pile of spoils stripped from the "living corpses."

"What's wrong, Grandpa Tuster?" Rein asked.

"Look at this shield."

Tuster handed over the two small round shields, each nearly a meter in diameter.

Rein also vaguely guessed that this shield must be something extraordinary, since it could make Tuster disregard his mechanical designs to study it.

He picked it up, tapped it, and suddenly frowned. "Huh?"

Surprisingly light, it felt like only half the weight of a steel shield.

Tuster's eyes flashed, and he smiled, saying, "Isn't it very light?"

Seeing the two's expressions, Ymir picked it up and examined it briefly, saying, "What kind of metal is this? I feel like it has very strong magical properties, just like Mithril?"

Tuster: "That's not all."

As he spoke, he casually took out a short-barreled musket and fired a shot at the shield.

"Bang!"

After the thick plume of gunpowder smoke, to the surprise of Rein and his companion, the bullet was embedded in the shield!

Just as they looked on in confusion, the bullet was slowly squeezed out and fell to the ground.

The most amazing thing happened: the bullet holes on the shield slowly began to flatten out again!

"This"

Upon witnessing this miraculous scene, Rein exclaimed inwardly: Memory metal?

But this was different from the memory metal he remembered from his previous life. The memory metal from his previous life was like a fluid, mercury-like substance. This black shield, however, was a solid, like putty.

"The city defense department said they found two well-preserved shields when they were clearing the loot from the zombie horde. They didn't know what material they were made of and wanted to have them appraised by our mechanical department. But nobody recognized them, so they brought them to me."

Tuster said this, an unusually excited look appeared in his eyes, "When I looked at it, I realized it was a treasure!"

Rein quickly searched his mind, but even the "Mind Core" had no record of this metal, so it was obviously some kind of rare metal.

He then asked directly, "Grandpa Tuster, what kind of metal is this?"

Tuster, unable to contain his excitement, cut to the chase and said directly, "This metal is called [Angelas Black Iron], a rare metal extracted from a special ore called 'Godblood Ore'. It possesses extremely high magical conductivity, similar to 'Mithril,' and the amazing regenerative ability you just saw. Because it looks like a lump of soft mud, it's also called 'Iron Mud.' Usually, this metal is only used as a high-end material in Ancient Alchemy."

Although he didn't understand what Rein was saying, it sounded really impressive.

Ymir murmured thoughtfully, "I've seen this metal before in the royal treasury. It seems to be a very precious and rare metal."

"It is indeed very expensive."

Tuster nodded, pointed to the shield, and said, "A fist-sized piece of [Angelas Black Iron] is worth about one hundred million gold coins on the alchemist's black market."

"Huh? One hundred million gold coins?"

Rein was stunned. If this was only the size of a fist, then this shield must be worth tens of billions.

So expensive, who the hell is so extravagant as to use it to make a shield?

However, he immediately understood what was going on.

This is something that an ancient corpse brought out of the mud!

Mineral resources are regional; in some places, the minerals that are found are worthless, while those that are not found can fetch exorbitant prices.

Rein's eyes darted around, and he thought to himself, "Could it be... there's a 'Godblood Ore' near this basin?!"

The fact that this metal could be used so extravagantly to forge shields means that there must have been a considerable quantity of it.

Is this the start of a fortune?

Clearly, the metal that Tuster was interested in was definitely not just about making money.

The old man continued, "The most important material for the 'Arc-Vibration Alloy' of the four black swords on my mech is this [Angelas Black Iron]!"

Upon hearing this, Rein's face immediately lit up with excitement. So it was the main material for that black blade?! When the mechanics in the territory all had one, wouldn't they be invincible?

"These two shields are enough for me to craft over a hundred 'Arc Vibration Black Blade.' Originally, the entire City of Radiance might not have been able to find that much black iron."

Tuster smiled mysteriously, "But that's not why I called you here."

Upon hearing this, Rein and Ymir's eyes grew even more expectant.

The old man continued, "I've studied this amazing material before. From a mechanical point of view, this metal has another very impressive property: 'impedance reduction and vibration damping'!"

He paused, then pointed to the completely healed bullet crater on the shield and said, "In terms of specific effects, it's just like the shield was hit by a musket earlier. This metal doesn't deflect the bullet; instead, it uses high-frequency vibrations to gradually neutralize the impact. And this metal weighs only half as much as steel, yet it can withstand more than ten times the impact force, and it also naturally possesses superior magical conductivity. This means that whether it's a physical attack or a magical elemental attack, this is the best armor material!"

"Armor?"

After this explanation, Rein and Ymir finally understood why the old man had called them there.

Tuster indeed said, "I suspect there's a large 'Godblood Ore' deposit nearby. If there's enough of this metal, I plan to use it to build the main armor of the Mechanical City!"

I feel like there's something wrong with the plot I've been writing lately, so I might revise the outline. I'm not sure if I'll continue with three updates tomorrow.