Automatic Defense System

"That easy?"

Li Ye wasn't happy despite achieving a victory in one blow.

It was too easy. Holmes didn't even bother to put on an act in front of them, directly leading Li Ye to this sand dune. Their journey had been completely unobstructed.

It was as if they had been here before!

"Mr. Holmes, this—" Li Ye gestured to the deep pit below. Holmes, standing beside him, understood and immediately chuckled, "Mr. Li Ye already knows about the existence of the Singularity, doesn't he?"

Hearing this, Li Ye's eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded in acknowledgment.

Holmes continued, "This is from a contract I took on in a certain Singularity to investigate the cause of this disaster. That's why I came to this Singularity. As for how I knew the location of the Atlas Institute, it was a simple deduction using the existing conditions—

This is common knowledge, my friend."

After Holmes finished speaking, Li Ye unconsciously clicked his tongue.

He didn't quite understand the deduction.

Holmes's thought process was still too difficult for Li Ye to grasp.

After Nitocris used her familiars to scout the area below and confirm there was no danger, the three of them jumped directly into the deep pit.

A silent tunnel appeared before Li Ye and the others. Flickering candlelight illuminated the darkness, and walls made of mottled bluestone stretched endlessly.

"This is the Atlas Institute?" Li Ye scanned his surroundings. He had expected the Atlas Institute, the treasure trove of knowledge praised by King Hassan, to be some kind of ultra-futuristic architectural marvel.

He hadn't expected it to look like an old cellar.

The air around them, however, was quite fresh, lacking the decay of years of disuse. It seemed there was ventilation connecting to the outside.

"Is this the anomaly the Pharaoh spoke of!"

The reactions of the three varied. Nitocris, with her mission, immediately summoned a familiar to quickly transmit information about the place back to the Holy City, informing Ozymandias.

"After all, the Atlas Institute can be traced back to before the Middle Ages, so this style is perfectly normal,"

Holmes, holding his pipe, kindly explained to Li Ye.

"Mr. Holmes seems very familiar with the Atlas Institute. Could you explain to me what exactly the Atlas Institute is?"

Li Ye didn't stand on ceremony and openly expressed his confusion.

Hearing this, Holmes lit his pipe and chuckled, "What exactly the Atlas Institute is, that's a good question, Mr. Li Ye."

"It is an academy of alchemists based on Mount Atlas in Egypt, also known as the Giant's Cellar; one of the three major branches of the Mage's Association, the Hall of Accumulation and Measurement."

Holmes lightly bit his pipe and continued under Li Ye's gaze, "Unlike the mainstream modern alchemy that has prevailed since the Middle Ages, it is a group of alchemists dedicated to investigating the origin of magic and the principles of the world.

It is said that although they are Magus, they are all apprentices with deficient magic circuits. The logical conclusion is that in their process of learning magic, they do not rely on magic power but on a large number of tools. This method is similar to the development brought about by science and technology. They create life with magic circuits, such as pseudo-spirits, by treating souls as observable energy, which are Homunculi."

"Their technology has developed to the point of creating life? For example, can they transform human bodies into other creatures at will?"

Li Ye asked curiously upon hearing Holmes's explanation.

Holmes's explanation reminded him of Magi and Aleka he had encountered before. Were they using this type of alchemy?

"Naturally, they can achieve that. The alchemy of the Atlas Institute has reached a peak of human intellect."

Holmes chuckled lightly, "『We don't need to become the strongest; we only need to create the strongest.』 This is the motto of the alchemists of the Atlas Institute. With this as their creed, they have created numerous weapons.

There are long-standing rumors in the magical world that the Atlas Institute created seven weapons capable of destroying the world—

Of course, at that stage, they recognized their own limitations and sealed these weapons away."

'Weapons that can destroy the world, just how powerful are they?'

Li Ye's breathing hitched slightly, but he continued listening with a calm expression.

"The reasons why they created such weapons are debated, and it remains an unsolved mystery in the magical world—"

Regardless, this place is a repository of unparalleled Mage's Dress on Earth. Although in reality, it's just an abandoned site, the alchemists of Atlas repeatedly invented and created failed works, resulting in piles of terrifying weapons.

As they chatted, the three continued to venture deeper into the tunnel. Apart from the candlelight, there was only endless silence.

"Something is approaching—"

Li Ye, walking at the forefront, stopped dead in his tracks, staring intently into the tunnel ahead.

A very distinct fluctuation of magic power emanated from the depths, and in great quantity!

The air vibrated as if some colossal entity was approaching.

Soon, Li Ye and the others saw three giant machines of peculiar design flying out of the darkness.

They hovered half a meter above the ground in a manner that defied gravity. The three green machines, each a full three meters tall, seemed to lock eyes with Li Ye!

Their entire bodies were a verdant green, appearing as mysterious machines composed of several cubes.

"It seems the defense system is still operational. Coming along with Mr. Li Ye was indeed the right decision!" Holmes said with a smile, retreating behind Nitocris. "My existence is not very stable right now, so I can't fight. I can only count on Mr. Li Ye's combat power!"

'He wants to see my strength—'

'Then I can't use the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception—'

Li Ye didn't look back. The moment Holmes said he couldn't fight, Li Ye understood his intention.

He simply wanted to gauge Li Ye's current strength. The punch that shattered the yellow sand wasn't enough for him to make deductions, so he needed Li Ye to reveal more information.

"A straightforward, open strategy."

Li Ye's lips curled into a smirk. Even knowing it was an open ploy, he drew his sword and shouted, "Mr. Holmes! What are the weaknesses of these familiars?"

With Li Ye's current knowledge, he could tell these automatic defense systems possessed immense defensive capabilities. Coupled with the magic power they exuded, they were almost on par with him!

He felt it would be difficult to finish the fight quickly in this confined space.

His current combat style was too broad and powerful. Furthermore, he wasn't sure if the Atlas Institute had other security measures in place. The best approach would be to find the automatons' weaknesses and strike precisely!

Finding weaknesses required a very high level of magical knowledge, which Li Ye clearly lacked. But luckily—

"Mr. Li Ye, I need time to observe—"

The world-famous detective, Charlotte Holmes, was standing right beside him!

"Alright! Miss Nitocris!"

Receiving Holmes's reply, Li Ye wasted no words. He stomped his feet hard!

A dull thud erupted as Li Ye charged towards the approaching automatic defense system like a leopard!

"Mirror of the Underworld—Reveal yourself!" Nitocris wielded the Staff of Vance, striking the ground heavily. The rapidly spreading obsidian mirror seemed poised to swallow all light.