"Judging from the structure of the runes, this should be an Energy Core developed around a century into the Calamity."
"It was mainly used to power constructs for Legendary-tier experts."
"It provided the energy needed for Legendary-tier experts to operate their constructs in battle."
"Unfortunately, some of the runes have been damaged."
"This Energy Core can no longer power overly powerful constructs."
"But using it to power constructs developed before the Glory Era shouldn't be a problem."
Lilith held the black stone between her fingers.
Her eyes shone as she spoke.
But to Fang Yuan, everything she said sounded like an incomprehensible scripture.
With his shallow knowledge, weren't constructs basically things like drones and robots?
Why did they sound somewhat similar to mechs as well?
Fang Yuan was just about to ask.
At that moment, Lilith turned around and said,
"Lord, if you can obtain a construct built during the Glory Era,"
"As long as it isn't too badly damaged, you'll have a powerful guardian to protect your territory."
"It can not only patrol and stand guard, but also actively hunt down invading enemies."
"If you can find a construct built by the human Mage Towers back then, it will have even more magic engraved into it. Once activated, its power may even rival that of a high-tier Purple Mage Hero."
Fang Yuan heard Lilith's words.
His eyes widened.
He gulped.
"A construct equivalent to a high-tier Purple Mage Hero!"
"Is it really that powerful?"
Lilith nodded firmly.
"Constructs built during the Glory Era were usually exceptionally bulky, but they were also sturdy."
"If you can find one, Lord, its actual combat power may even surpass that of a high-tier Purple Mage Hero."
Hearing Lilith confirm it a second time,
Fang Yuan asked eagerly,
"Then where should I look for one?"
Lilith shrugged.
"That will depend on you, Lord."
"The War Mist restricts my ability to act."
"Other than activating this Energy Core, there's nothing else I can do to help."
Fang Yuan did not lose heart after hearing that.
"The Spatial Trading Market has all kinds of strange things. Maybe I'll get lucky."
Fang Yuan quickly opened the Spatial Trading Market and searched for constructs.
A moment later,
Fang Yuan backed out of the market.
It wasn't that there were none. They were simply too expensive.
Even the most basic construct cost tens of millions of gold coins.
And that was for a damaged one.
The prices of slightly more complete constructs were even outrageously high.
They all demanded Orange Items in exchange.
The reason wasn't complicated.
These constructs were themselves massive collections of rare alloys.
Even dismantling a construct and separating its metals held tremendous value.
Moreover, for Human Lords, that was indeed their only use.
That was why their value was so high.
Lilith noticed Fang Yuan's somewhat disappointed expression from the side.
She said with a grin, "Can't afford one?"
Fang Yuan nodded.
"That makes sense. Back then, a Legendary-tier expert equipped with a construct would dare to fight a Demigod Expert head-on."
"A Demigod Expert with a custom-built construct could even enter a god's divine realm and kill people."
"A single construct was worth as much as a super-large duchy."
"Even the first-generation constructs built during the Glory Era cost a fortune."
"But, Lord, you can settle for the next best thing and buy a construct built by goblins."
"I think they were called Goblin Mechs or something. Scrap-metal junk."
"They were made purely from machinery, but they can still be used after some modifications."
"Although they can't use magic or patrol and stand guard automatically,"
"you can operate one manually, Lord."
Hearing Lilith's reminder,
Fang Yuan asked in surprise,
"There's such a thing?"
Lilith nodded. "Of course. But since Goblin Mechs were invented by the goblins, a lower race, they basically have no combat power."
"They say the goblins once built a God-Slaying Goblin Mech."
"In the end, they failed to slay a god. Its mana went out of control, and the broken mech developed a consciousness of its own and slaughtered the goblins first."
"The technological goblin civilization they had painstakingly built was wiped out by a single rogue Mana Beast."
"They were mocked by all the higher beings for thousands of years afterward."
Hearing this,
Fang Yuan was speechless as well.
"Playing with technology in a world of magic really is asking to die."
He asked curiously,
"What happened to that God Slayer Goblin Mech afterward?"
Lilith shrugged.
"It was probably dismantled after rampaging for a while."
"I've forgotten. It was too long ago."
"But after that, no race ever built another one of those things."
"Ordinary Goblin Mechs were passed down, though, and various duchies used them to chop down trees."
"There should be quite a few of these Goblin Mechs."
"The price shouldn't be too high either. Buy one, Lord."
"I'll connect it to the Energy Core. That way, it can operate both automatically and manually."
"Automatic operation will be used to cut wood."
"Manual operation will be its combat mode."
"What do you think, Lord!"
Fang Yuan thought it sounded decent.
He opened the Spatial Trading Market and soon spent ten thousand gold coins on a Goblin Mech.
Just as Lilith had said, this thing was nothing more than a pile of steel junk.
It needed Source Crystals to run, and even after being powered up, it could only be used to chop wood.
It also had to be operated manually.
Its combat power consisted of two large saws, but they were too cumbersome, and the saws could not hit anyone at all.
Its combat power was therefore practically zero.
Almost no one on the market bought them.
He was probably the only fool willing to spend ten thousand gold coins on such a piece of junk.
When Fang Yuan brought out the Goblin Mech,
Lilith stroked her chin and said,
"It looks quite new."
"Huh, it even has grease!"
"It must be new stock dug out of a goblin warehouse."
Fang Yuan thought to himself, Of course it is. It cost me ten thousand gold coins.
At that moment, Lilith tinkered with it for a while, then dismantled the Goblin Mech's engine cover with her bare hands.
Not long afterward, she climbed back out.
"Done!"
"Lord, I've changed the mana engine's energy transmission to use the Construct Core Energy Transmission."
"This thing now has two modes. The first is automatic logging mode."
"That means gathering wood."
"The other is combat mode, which requires you to sit inside, Lord."
"Use these two large saws to fight."
"It can also draw on the Energy Core and hurl the large saws. That counts as a ranged attack."
After patiently listening to Lilith,
Fang Yuan eagerly climbed into the cockpit.
"This feels pretty good."
"The view is broad. It really is like a mech."
"But its combat power probably isn't anything special."
"It's actually operated with manual levers."
"No matter how fast my hands are, there's a limit."
"Huh, the automatic construct has become a mechanical Goblin Mech."
"Forget it~"
"I can forget about fighting with it."
"I'd better switch it to automatic logging mode."
Fang Yuan jumped out of the mech and shook his head slightly.
Clearly, he was not satisfied with it.
Lilith said, "There's no need to rush, Lord."
"This Energy Core is very advanced and basically won't wear out. Once we find a high-level construct in the future, it can still be used."
Fang Yuan said, "That's the only option, then."
As he spoke, he patted the big hunk of metal.
"Go dig up some wood."
The Goblin Mech spat out a burst of steam.
"Understood!"
"Logging command activated."
The Goblin Mech had barely left when,
suddenly,
Fang Yuan received a message.
"Ding! A hunter has been killed. You discovered a Half-Orc camp."
Before you continue