False Rebirth

As the battle at Goldglint Fortress drew to a close, the second wave of fighting broke out at the Goblin Coast Guard's base.

The coastal defense legion's base, officially known as the Goblin Navy Training Camp, is not a stronghold. It consists of only a few old training ships moored on a small, private dock. The camp itself has almost no decent fortifications, and the flat, layout of the buildings makes it an ideal stage for mortars to wreak havoc.

Since there was no need to capture a specific target alive, the Bone Machine Second Battalion adopted a tiered advance tactic.

Fifty Bone Model took their positions and quickly formed a semi-circular encirclement around the perimeter. The mortars roared first, and volleys of shells whistled as they crashed down on the beach.

Those few unfortunate training ships were torn apart in the continuous explosions and flames, and quickly sank into the murky seawater.

As for the few fixed artillery positions already present in the camp, they were quickly shattered under the shelling, turning into burning piles of scrap metal. Then, the Bone Model Force's cannons turned towards the densely populated area of elites within the camp, beginning a roll call.

The dense fog severely obstructed visibility; even using the "Fog Vision" spell given by Zijin, the mages could only see a little over a hundred meters ahead. But from the perspective of the sky, it was a completely different story.

This seemingly thick fog is actually mostly concentrated on the ground surface, appearing as a thin layer when viewed vertically.

Therefore, the attacks by the Bone Model were all carried out under the guidance of drones. They adjusted their artillery charges based on parameters provided by radar and observed the effects of the artillery fire through images from directly above.

The Second Battalion of the Bone Model in this other world experienced a completely different kind of information-based warfare for the first time.

On the goblins' side, they couldn't see where the attacks were coming from. They only felt as if the entire camp was shrouded in the wrath of the gods, with explosions rising and falling, and scorching shrapnel and shockwaves reaping lives.

Unable to tolerate this one-sided slaughter, the garrison commander launched a desperate last stand. All the officers who were still standing rallied the remaining troops, divided them into several groups, and roared as they launched a desperate charge in different directions, trying to break through the encirclement.

Faced with these goblins who were like moths to a flame, the necromancers simply leveled their machine guns.

A dense storm of metal instantly formed! Bullets rained down like scorching steel, sweeping down the charging goblin soldiers one by one, turning them into sieves like wheat being harvested.

In a short period of time, thousands of corpses covered the camp.

"Thank you, raw material supplier!" The members of the Radiation Heavy Battalion stepped forward with smiles, the Undead Summoning in their hands glowing intermittently. As the spells took effect, a large number of freshly "baked" undead, whose movements were still slightly stiff, crawled up from the pile of corpses and joined the attack sequence of the Bone Model war machines and the Radiation Heavy Battalion mages.

Soon, the remaining goblins in the encampment were separated and overwhelmed by the storm of undead and metal.

****

By the time the Radiation Battalion finally acquired enough "labor" to begin fulfilling their transport duties, Su Ming himself had already entered the Goldglint Fortress.

The air was thick with the acrid smell of burning and blood, and a few flickering flames still danced among the broken walls and ruins.

Two enormous dragons lay listlessly on the ground, their bodies covered in abrasions and bruises. Their heads drooped in dejection as the medical team treated their wounds and manipulated them.

"What happened?" Su Ming, somewhat surprised. "Wasn't the task assigned to the dragon to intercept it on the outskirts? And the report said it went smoothly."

"The injuries aren't serious. Those two dragons are incredibly stupid," a member of the medical team reported. "They were chasing the same flying target in the thick fog, and ended up colliding and crashing to the ground."

"What about their partner observer? What's he doing?" Su Ming asked hurriedly.

The necromancer next to him, also squatting on the ground with a clearly fractured right arm, awkwardly raised his left hand and said, "Report, I instinctively dodged to the left."

Another observer, whose forehead was wrapped in blood-soaked gauze, weakly replied, "I chose to go right."

Su Ming sighed, then uploaded a copy of the "Aircraft Avoidance Rules" to the combat communication group and requested that it be incorporated into the training subjects after the war.

In the council chamber at the core of the fortress's underground, Su Ming saw a group of high-ranking goblin prisoners. Almost all of them were wounded, lying face down on the ground, muttering something unintelligible.

Following their self-illumination, Su Ming saw a statue of the goblin spirit Maglubiyet hanging on the main wall of the council hall. This goblin war god, depicted as muscular and enormous, held a blood-dripping giant axe, and his waist and arms were adorned with dried goblin scalps, symbols of spoils of war.

Ironically, this goblin god did indeed invade the goblin world as a conqueror and destroyer.

Clearly, these trembling goblin executives were frantically praying to their gods.

"You never burn incense in ordinary times, but you only come to Buddha's feet when you're in trouble," Su Ming mocked.

Goblin faith has always been extremely utilitarian. They are never seen holding any religious activities or ceremonies, nor practicing any doctrines. Even the goblin church is just a few scattered and haphazardly constructed structures.

"Boss, thirty-seven targets have been successfully captured!" the member in charge of prisoners reported. "The other twelve were unfortunately killed."

"Where is Nilunke?" Su Ming immediately pressed, as this was the most important question.

"He's alive! He's been taken to the operating room," the member immediately reported to the leader.

****

A small gasoline generator had been placed near the ventilation opening of the council chamber, emitting a sputtering noise. Su Ming followed the power cord to a small room in the side wing of the council chamber.

As you push open the door, bright, steady artificial light instantly fills your field of vision, illuminating everything inside with crystal clarity.

In the center of the room was a short operating table with an adjustable surgical headrest. Surrounding the bed were a full set of vital sign monitoring equipment, including ECG, blood pressure, and blood oxygen saturation monitors, as well as intraoperative neurophysiological monitors and intracranial pressure monitors.

Stacy and Pulilade were organizing surgical instruments at the sterile operating table.

During this time, the two have been familiarizing themselves with the equipment.

"We've been working hard these past few days, and we've optimized a few more aspects that affect the success rate," Stacy said without looking up. "The mortality rate for the surgery is now down to about 30%."

"That's good. I hope King Nilunke has good luck," Su Ming said. "He's the more troublesome one. As for the other goblins, it doesn't matter if 30% die randomly."

As they were talking, several assistants brought in King Nilunke, who was bound hand and foot and whose eyes were filled with fear. They tied the goblin king to the operating table and began to shave the hair off his head with razors.

The staff removed the gag from King Nilunke's mouth and replaced it with a fixation method that wouldn't interfere with the surgery. The goblin was finally able to speak, his voice trembling with fear, "What—what are you going to do to me? Is this torture?"

"Lie down quietly." Su Ming didn't enter the operating area, but stood in the glass cubicle to the side. "It's not worth using such complicated equipment for torture."

"Then... you won't kill me?" he continued, his voice filled with terror.

"I won't kill you," Su Ming said calmly. "A living you is more useful than a dead one."

An assistant inserted an intravenous catheter into King Nilunke's arm. As the cool sedative was slowly injected into the vein, King Nilunke's eyes began to glaze over, and his body relaxed.

The operating room immediately fell silent.

The assistants began disinfecting the operating room, which was filled with a slightly pungent odor.

Stacy activated her Spirit Vision, a ghostly light flashing in her eyes. She picked up a marker and carefully traced the surgical incisions on King Nilunke's bald head.

Pulilade then activated the surgical robot; the stereotactic instrument emitted a soft hum, and the robotic arm slowly calibrated its initial position.

The core of the Nirvana technique is the implantation of a specially designed crystal nucleus in the most central region of the brain, serving as a new vessel to hold the soul. This requires extremely high precision in the surgery.

The Fate Manipulator possesses a terrifying talent in this area; he can consistently achieve precision down to within one millimeter. Stacy and Pulilade, despite their practice, are completely unable to reach this standard.

Fortunately, the equipment Su Ming brought from the technology side was capable of precise positioning at the 0.3 to 0.5 millimeter level, successfully overcoming this obstacle.

The assistant began injecting Nilunke with the anesthetic; everything was ready.

Su Ming, Stacy, Pulilade exchanged a knowing glance. Let's begin!

Inside the operating room, only the low rumble of the instruments and the clanging of various instruments could be heard.

****

Su Ming hadn't changed out of her surgical gown, so she could only observe from outside the glass wall.

This time, a minimally invasive endoscopic surgery was used to insert the peanut-sized crystal nucleus into the predetermined location through a tiny bone window.

Zijin and another member of the Final Bone Mad Machines, Annalise, also came in. They were also key participants in today's "surgery".

Under the skillful manipulation of the robot's robotic arms, the surgery progressed rapidly. Inside the cubicle, only the regular "tick-tock" of the vital signs monitor could be heard, and the cold electronic lines jumped steadily, indicating that everything was normal.

Just as the delicate tendrils on the crystal nucleus pierced precisely into the designated area of the brain, King Nilunke's body suddenly convulsed violently!

The robotic arm instantly retracted and hovered.

Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the figure on the operating table. Fortunately, the trembling subsided quickly.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Pulilade immediately activated his Psionic Power Vision, carefully examining the changes in Nilunke's brain energy field. He quickly gave a thumbs-up, a relieved expression on his face—everything was normal!

Stacy confirmed the connection to the crystal core and gave Su Ming an "OK" sign outside the glass.

Not bad, the part that was most prone to problems was successful. Su Ming nodded, "We can begin the second stage now."

Annalise took a deep breath and stood up. She walked to the glass partition, the closest spot to King Nilunke, clasped her hands together, and slowly closed her eyes. Her profession was that of a medium, and with the growth of the Final Bone Mad Machines, there was no shortage of people like her who were proficient in the realm of the spirit.

As Annalise chanted incantations, invisible Psionic Power began to gather. Soon, she successfully and forcefully peeled away about one-third of King Nilunke's soul, like unraveling an onion, and firmly anchored it to the newly implanted crystal core.

In a complete "Nirvana" at the Temple of Light, the soul is entirely stored in the crystal core because of the new body. However, Su Ming is not a true Nirvana, so the soul does not need to be transferred entirely.

They merely used the technology of the Temple of Light to artificially create a gap between King Nilunke's body and soul that they could exploit.

Annalise opened her eyes, took a step back, and said, "I've finished this part!"

"The hardware has been cracked; now it's my turn to implant the software," Su Ming said, using jargon that the others couldn't understand at all.

He raised his left wrist, Dawn and Dusk Bracelet flashed slightly, manifesting Sequence 11 constructed by Abigai, and the "Thread Puppet Prison" domain unfolded!

Invisible spiritual tendrils began to invade King Nilunke's soul. Although Su Ming was still somewhat strained in controlling the power of the domain, Nilunke was not exactly a spiritual powerhouse.

Before long, the puppet silk had completely permeated the opponent's mental world.

Zijin came to his side and raised her right hand. On her fair wrist was a dark alchemical bracelet.

"So, is this considered packaging?" she said half-jokingly.

"----It seems about the same."

The Zijin unfolded in sync with Su Ming's Mind Synchronization, simultaneously infusing Magic Power. The intricate runes on the bracelet lit up, and the light began to flow.

"Mental Imprint - Solidified!"

As Zijin cast her spell, a long string of shimmering, forceful runes was rapidly engraved on the surface of the crystal core that contained a portion of Nilunke's soul!

The alchemical bracelet on her wrist also shone brightly. The control mark created by Nilunke's invasion by "Thread Puppet Prison" was copied and written into the core of the bracelet through Mind Synchronization, encased in runes.

As the light gradually subsided, Su Ming also withdrew the power of "Thread Puppet Prison".

Zijin sighed and severed the telepathic link. She took off the bracelet and handed it to Annalise, "Try it."

Annalise took the bracelet and put it on her wrist. She closed her eyes and focused on trying to connect.

Under the slightly tense gaze of everyone, she quickly reopened her eyes, a joyful smile spreading across her face. "Connection successful! I can sense his consciousness fluctuations!"

The three of them gave each other a high five in celebration.

This control system originated from the scholar's design. By using the "Nirvana" technique of the Temple of Light, a portion of the target's soul is forcibly pulled into the crystal core, thus leaving a gap between the recipient's soul and body that they can intervene at any time.

Su Ming used the "Thread Puppet Prison" ability granted by Abigail to implant control marks into the souls of those targeted.

Finally, Zijin stepped in and solidified these marking interfaces onto the crystal core and the corresponding control bracelet.

From then on, mental mages who wear this bracelet and know the manipulation techniques can interfere with King Nilunke's cognition at any time. They can even forcibly take over control of his body when necessary.

The assistants quickly stepped forward to treat Nilunke's wounds, using water-based healing spells to soothe them and light-based magic to disinfect them.

Ten minutes later, the surgery was completed, and the still unconscious Nilunke was wheeled into the adjacent observation room. Immediately afterward, a goblin official with a deathly pale face was wheeled in.

Stacy washed her hands, changed into a new pair of rubber gloves, and stood face to face with Pulilade on either side of the new "patient".

"Next!" she announced.