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It wasn’t something entirely new that popped out from nowhere, but an amalgamation of engineering research, scientific theories based on material engineering, and magic formation research, a magic system theory based on alchemy. In “history,” it shone in the intermediate stages of the Sacred War.

I had poached the two founders of the new study from Auland Empire. Putting aside Timmy Lade, who was still studying in the public school, Olivia, who had been studying under the great alchemist Yingou Beyar, was making great improvements.

The Goblin had often bragged about his genius disciple on private occasions (at the same time, he also laments that the inventions of his disciple aren’t reliable, and he had been a victim of them many times) and thus, as her sponsor, I gave her the research topic I wanted to embark on without any hesitation.

Without a doubt, this was cheating. Giving the original inventor her original research topic, even providing her with facilities beyond what she was able to lay her hands on in “history.” If she was unable to succeed even under such circumstances, then there was nothing more I could do.

Of course, they still weren’t as mature as they were in history when they founded the study either. Thus, I had prepared myself to wait patiently for the ripening of the fruits before harvesting them. However, upon hearing from Olivia that there was progress in their research, I was overjoyed.

“Your Highness Roland, those that involve the other fields are still in the midst of being deciphered by everyone else. However, the ‘Portable Energy Source’ that you had tasked me to create happens to be within the field of magic formation research and alchemy which I have expertise in. With the help of teacher and everyone else, I have already roughly grasped some leads on the subject.”

I was delighted. This “Portable Energy Source” happened to be the research that I was looking forward the most to. If this hurdle were to be crossed, then the progress of the research could be carried ahead.

In “history,” there wasn’t any newly developed technology that had had as much of an impact as Magic Machinery Research. The reason for it was because this technology was prepared for the physically weak humans, and humans were the main fighting force of the Order Faction.

The concept behind its design was that humans needed to train for a minimum of several years to attain supernatural abilities, while on the other hand, Magic Beasts were born innately with their own talents and magic. So why not create an energy source to power a machine that mimics the abilities of these Magic Beasts so as to save the time required for humans to attain such abilities?

The fighter who wields the equipment, the magic engine that serves as the energy source, and the external shell which serves as a medium to channel the energy, these three come together to form a perfect system. It was evident that the core of this technology was the portable energy source. When this system was formed, even the most everyday human was capable of using supernatural abilities.

Even the Magic Machinery Dragon which was capable of competing with true dragons that was developed later on was an extension of such a concept. The only difference that set it apart from the others was its powerful engine and its sturdy outer shell. However, there wasn’t any revolutionary change to the technology in terms of its concept map.

From the very beginning, the outer shells of the machines weren’t a problem at all. Liu Huang Mountain City’s engineering research had been leading ahead of the world, and the machineries behind Roland No.2 were formidable in and of itself. However, its energy source, Titan’s Heart, wasn’t a product that could be mass produced. The other machines of the Roland series were energy core burners and the energy required to drive them added up to an astronomical sum. That was also the main factor that was preventing it from going into the production line.

To my knowledge, the energy of the Magic Machines was derived from the kinetic energy of humans. One could also find a member of the spellcaster class to recharge the energy within the weapons quickly. This meant that as long as one had a charging port, it was possible to reuse the weapon over and over again, making it a worthy one-time investment for many. That was also the reason why it was able to become commonplace in the world.

Of course, making heavy machines from the very start was a foolish action that was unlikely to bring many benefits. My ambitions weren’t that unrealistic. Auland’s White Wolf Guards were able to reach an average strength of Silver-tier relying on their exploding Savage Javelins and their Savage Swords which were able to cut through everything. This proved how important an artificial magic weapon was to the fighting style of an average soldier, as well as the potential rise in fighting prowess it could induce in them.

I did have a large bunch of the standard equipment of the White Wolf Guards in my possession, but deciphering the secrets behind them wasn’t something that could be done in the short term. I reckon that even if I were to successful analyze the secrets behind them, the composition of the alloy and the high-level enchantment on them would still make them difficult to be produced on a large scale. Most probably, due to insufficient materials and lack of technology, the results of it would contribute nothing to the military strength of East Mist.

However, if I were able to provide a magic sword that had low prerequisites to every single soldier of mine, just with the basic elemental enchantments, every single one of them could potentially become mobile rechargeable cannons. This would revolutionize the role of a soldier within wars and the basic firepower of an army would increase exponentially.

Thus, the first problem I had to tackle was the creation of a rechargeable magic engine, and the core technology behind it was its rechargeable energy source. At this very moment, Olivia was telling me that she had managed to overcome the first obstacle, so how could I possibly not be overjoyed?

My estimations were that it would take a minimum of three years to get to this point. However, it had been just three months since returning from Auland and I was already presented with such positive results. I could hardly believe my ears.

Perhaps due to my overly passionate gaze, Olivia felt embarrassed. She lowered her head and muttered.

“Lord, I didn’t do it alone. Teacher Beyar (Yingou) and Lord Kakana had contributed greatly to the research as well. It was a group effort by us all.”

Mistress of Plague, Lich Kakana? I was taken aback for a moment before a realization struck me.

Back in her time, Kakana was an ace alchemist among ordinary peasants. It was said that her goal back then was to become an alchemist merchant and sell beauty products and vitamin pills.

The stronger one’s will, the more resentment one will carry to one’s grave, the easier it was for one to become an Undead. She, who still had lingering wills in the world (she still refuses to reveal what the matter binding her to the world was), responded to my summons and became a member of the newly formed Red Hunting Hounds.

Alchemist and Saint were occupations that had a great demand on one’s accumulation of knowledge, and they were well-known for the slow progress one faced climbing up the ranks. Time and experience were one’s greatest limiting factor. At the very start, Kakana, who wasn’t skilled in battle, was only a young sister who everyone protected carefully. However, she eventually became one of the most fearsome existences in the army.

Alchemist was a job that became more powerful the more knowledgeable one was. The longer an alchemist lived, the more fearsome he became. With sufficient time, there were no dangerous experiments that one couldn’t do, no out-of-the-box ideas that one couldn’t try, and no poison that one couldn’t concoct. An accumulation of knowledge for 300 years made the tonics she brewed something that no Undead would dare to drink, much less the living.

She slowly progressed from a mere Skeleton Mage to a powerful Lich. Even I was unsure of how strong she currently was. After all, there wasn’t an opportunity for her to use her full strength. Given how Liches were existences that were at minimum Legend-rank, her strength was bound to be something not to be underestimated. Also, her title “Mistress of Plague” showed the impression the world had of her. The lives that had perished from her plagues were uncountable.

At the current moment, she had three apprentices, and one of them was a Lich just like her. Gold-rank alchemists were equivalent to a human kingdom’s national treasure, much less say Legend-rank alchemists. An incredible research team that comprised two Legend ranks and two Gold ranks was something unheard of in the human society.

It was precisely because of them being too capable—with their research directed towards poisons, plagues, and such—that I had been depriving them of an opportunity for them to showcase their talents. Otherwise, if they were to start a few destructive plagues there and then, even the Gods would collaborate with one another to deal with us.

The Goblin Explosive Alchemist Yingou Beyar, the Human Miraculous Alchemist Olivia, and the Undead Alchemist Mistress of Plague Kakana and her research team. Somehow, intentionally or coincidentally, a research team consisting of top-tiered alchemists that even large countries were unable to match up to was assembled.

“No, luck played too much of a factor into our success this time. It was all thanks to Olivia’s innovative thoughts.”

A faint, blue-green soulfire burns in the sockets of a skeleton, and concealed beneath the white robes were withered bones filled with magic. The very existence of the being struck fear in the hearts of the living. If it wasn’t for the slightly sharper voice synthesised by magic, no one would have thought that this individual was a female.

However, by the looks of it, it seemed that she was slightly unused to the doctor’s robe. As she walked, she would subconsciously tug on the cloth by her chest and her sleeves.

It was my suggestion to have Undead put on clothes of ordinary humans. Of course, it wasn’t due to my unique interests of wanting to see an Undead fashion show or a zombie rabbit lady. One of the contributing factors why the living was estranged from the Undead was due of their tattered and gloomy clothings. With a change in that aspect, even though the Undead weren’t used to it, it helped to put onlookers at ease.

“I didn’t think that the product of a failed experiment would be of use. It used to be an ice maker in my storeroom.”

At this point, several Knights who had heard the explosion rushed over. They skillfully pushed aside numerous scattered fragments of the wooden house and pulled the half-fried Goblin out. The Goblin, who had been waiting a long time for them in the rubble, whipped out two bottles of medicine. Gulu gulu, he drank them and the scaldings on his body disappeared at a rate visible to the eye. Then, upon noticing my presence, he rushed here spiritedly with a smile.

“Old friend, a fat lamb... Oops, I mean respected sponsor, we have already completed the task you entrusted to us. It’s about time to talk about monetary rewards.”

As long as there was money to be earned, this Goblin became more single-minded than a zombie. I was slightly taken aback by how quickly he bounced back to his usual liveliness despite being severely injured a moment ago. On the other hand, everyone else had an expression that said that they were already used to this sight. This “Explosion–Swift Recovery–Next Explosion” cycle had already become a daily occurrence in their life. In fact, in order to make the reconstruction and rescue efforts more convenient, their temporary lab was reduced to this simple log house.

In their report, I soon understood the reason behind their swift breakthrough.

“That is to say, the original magic formation for portable energy source had been discovered by Olivia long ago, but she only remembered it because of the topic I gave her?”

“Yeah, I happened to stumble upon it coincidentally when I was still a rookie. It was a magic formation that allowed energy to flow cyclically so as to lower the temperature of an underground chamber for extended periods of time. Using that as the basic blueprint, we created a miniature energy source that could store energy for extended periods of time.”

The microwave was created in an experiment using the radar of the military. Penicillin was discovered accidentally due to a negligence in the lab. X-ray was stumbled upon while changing experimental conditions. A falling apple led to the uncovering of gravity. In a different world, facts have proven the importance of “coincidence” and “luck” in scientific progress. I didn’t expect that it would be the same for alchemy research in this world.

Probably, from the very start, Olivia was the key to opening this vault, and my action of looking for the inventor to “invent” this ending resulted in a successful replication of this “coincidence.”

“It is a magic formation comprising flowing liquid. Its structure contains sixteen layers, but its size is barely that of an egg. It should be sufficient to meet your requirements.”

Just by the outer appearance itself, it was a completely transparent crystal, and there was a light red liquid flowing slowly within. However, upon contact with the surface of it, I could feel the pulsating magic beneath its peaceful surface, as though it was alive and kicking.

“Well done, I will double the reward I promised you. Your next research goal is to put the energy source into practical usage in ordinary weapons. From the looks of it, it seems that we will have many new, powerful troops soon!”

————-

According to the others, I had been carrying a peculiar smile the entire afternoon. I would be smiling whenever I met others, shake their hands and return their greetings. Many people were shocked by my attitude.

However, I had reasons for my happiness. Other than the increase in the strength of our army that “Olivia’s Magic Box” (I had been named it myself, but the initial name of Olivia’s Vibrating Egg, which I came up with as well, had been vetoed) was going to bring, the breakthrough in this technology also meant that the massive fortune the Magic Machinery Revolution was going to bring in the future was already mostly in my hands.

“By that time, many countries will come knocking to purchase them. Going by my plans, we will definitely sell it to them. However, how we should go about doing it is a wisdom of itself. It is definite that we will have to extort a large sum out of them, and it might serve as an ice-breaker for East Mist in its diplomatic ties. After all, it is foolish to be making enemies out of the entire world. Even if it was very tempting to slice the other party apart, a friendly face should be shown on the surface. Only in this way can a backstab have the greatest effect.”

During this period of time, I had been thinking about how I could extort their money out of them. Naturally, a bizarre smile would hang on my face as a result. The only thing that caused the smile to crumble were the two news that I received consecutively.

The first one was within expectations. It was with regards to the restlessness among the Beastmen due to the arrival of the Earth Elemental God. The territory of the Beastmen was already filled with spies from each and every country, and Rosemary’s news came at a timely moment.

“The internal conflict among the Beastmen will be concluded by winter this year. The frost will make it difficult for the Beastman army, which is lacking in rations and clothes, to conduct a southern expedition. However, the moment the ground starts to defrost next year, it is very likely for the Beastmen to journey down the mountains.”

Upon receiving the news, I sighed. What that will come eventually comes. In any case, the good news was that they wouldn’t be coming in the winter, so we had half a year to make preparations for it. On the other hand, if they really came during the winter, it would be easier to deal with them by making use of the adverse conditions.

However, the other important news was a completely abrupt massive bomb.

“Xiluo Empire has suddenly declared war upon its surrounding countries. Its Undead army had traversed across the death swamp, the freezing highland, the sweltering desert, and numerous other forbidden zones of the living to assault the other countries. This time, eight of the twelve Senators were involved in the attacks, and the size of the army was uncountable. The sudden raid was extremely successful, the human kingdoms were caught off-guard. The armies of several kingdoms that were involved in the fight were pushed back continuously, and of which, one of the victims of their attacks was a superpower of the continent, Solo Federation.”

If the assault of the Undead was within expectation, then what happened afterward left the intelligence groups of the various countries perplexed.

“The newly appointed 3rd Senator who was less than three months in his position, Pride Omar, has rebelled. He led the army he was just granted control of in a coup d’état, and at this crucial moment, the Royal Faction chose to remain neutral. As a result, the Council was forced to face him head-on. At present, the Xiluo Empire is divided into three factions and is mired in an internal struggle.”

They were making good progress in the battle and two smaller kingdoms were already on the verge of destruction. Yet, at this opportune moment, an internal conflict broke out among them. Furthermore, it was a chaotic battle involving three factions in its midst. What were they up to?

The Seven Deadly Sins, Pride Omar Mist, was a powerful expert who, despite his sudden appearance, was able to prompt the Bone Dragon Queen Gria to give up her position as the 3rd Senator to him. In an instant, the attention of the entire continent was focused on him.

When he proclaimed himself to be the son of Yongye, the head of the Seven Deadly Sins, and the news of him once rebelling against Emperor Yongye was dug up, everyone had a “The heck, so he is a formidable figure after all” epiphany.

“Still the short-sighted Feyland as always. Did you think that by releasing Omar’s seal you would be able to use him to suppress the Royal Faction? Yeah, it is true that he would be able to suppress them, but had you not thought that Omar would be able to suppress your Council of Dark Night as well? By handing him an army to lead by himself, aren’t you giving him a chance to start a coup d’état?”

I could roughly fathom the thoughts of Feyland. He probably hoped to use Omar to keep Lionheart and the others of the Royal Faction in check. After which, making use of the chaos from the Sacred War, he would focus all of the strength of Xiluo into starting a war with the living.

He probably thought that the reason behind Omar’s rebellion back then was to obtain greater authority and strength. Thus, he promised him the world. As long as the main force from the Death Dimensions were to arrive eventually, it would mean nothing even if he failed to fulfill his promises.

“Other than me, it is impossible for Omar to obey the commands of anyone else. As the incarnation of Pride, it is impossible for him to accept anyone being of a higher standing than him. For him, there’s no need for any reason to start a coup d’état. If someone were to question his actions face-on, he would just find any random excuse such as ‘You are an eyesore,’ ‘You are too ugly,’ ‘Despite being born so ugly, you dare to command the suave me’. Words that seem to have come from damned rascals would pop out from his mouth and drive the other party into a rampage.”

I know that darned rascal and that Undead Control Ability named as “The Highest Authority of the Dark Prince” too well. Any Undead that came under his control would serve him faithfully for eternity. Perhaps, just like back then, several Undead Lords might already be under his control. If so, then this internal conflict would probably drag on.

For some reason, I felt sympathy for Feyland. After planning so tediously for many years, gathering sufficient military power, gaining control over the twelve Senators, waiting until an opportune moment—the prelude of the Sacred War, perhaps even checking the points of entry for the invasion multiple times—, they all gone to naught.

“Who will be the final victor? If I were to gauge based on the strength of the two factions, 3:7 for Omar to Feyland. However, if Lionheart doesn’t make use of this chaotic situation to play some tricks, the years he had spent by my side would have all been for naught. Forget it, it doesn’t really matter anyway. No matter who wins, all that matters is that Xiluo has lost.”

The intelligence network of the ambitious Auland Empire was truly formidable. However, the news that those elite spies risked their lives was sent to me at first time’s notice through Rosemary’s phylactery.

The situation of the various lands differed from one to the other. However, there was a common point between them all. That was that none of them were peaceful.

“The storm is already brewing, we have to speed up our preparations. What that is of utmost importance now is... the autonomous region of the hybrids and the Northern Altar. I mustn’t drag the matter on any longer. After I’m done with the miscellaneous work here, I will have to set off once more.”

———–

Due to the very few members of the royal family, the East Mist Royal Palace’s sparring field was opened to the Royal Knights as practice grounds. However, it was closed to them today. Other than the sparring experts on the field posing a threat to spectators, today was also the day for the experimentation of the newest weapons.

The specifications demanded the new weapons weren’t too high. Most of them were engineered magic swords with an inner core inscribed with a Fire Conversion Magic Formation.

Both flames and machines were the expertise of the Goblin Engineers. As long as they were offered sufficient rewards, the efficiency and passion they showed in their work were incomprehensible to the other races, to the extent of even toiling 23 hours a day. As such, in less than half a month, the prototype I had requested had started to take shape.

The crimson-red magic sword carried with it the might of crushing mountains and billowing oceans. Radiant flames shrouded the blade of the sword and the hot wind it generated caused its adversaries to feel suffocated.

After the wooden dummy sustained a single blow, it started burning furiously. It was swiftly reduced to ashes.

“Is this a success?”

At the next moment, the gemstone “vibrating egg” placed on the hilt of the sword flashed before extinguishing altogether. At the same time, the blade of the sword started to melt. After a few seconds, along with the diffusion of heat across the entire sword, the melting portion started to expand. It didn’t take long before the sword was reduced to a puddle of metallic liquid.

“Another failure? The results are a little disappointing,”

The wielder looked at the hilt of the sword in his hand in pity, completely oblivious to the scalding metallic water dripping onto his body. After all, the temperature achievable by his physical body was not something this mere magic sword could ever hope to match.

“Of course. How can it possibly endure the infusion of your full strength? I simply wanted a SemiGod like yourself to test the limits of its might. How is it?”

Adam scratched his head.

“Bronze pinnacle. No, grudgingly, it should pass for a low Silver.”

Clearly, the firepower was far from satisfactory for him. While lament could be heard from his words, the scribes by the sidelines cheer in delight. The result was already far better than their expectations.

Those who were on the field were the top fighters of East Mist, and the reason why I had them here wasn’t just to view the testing of the weapons.

“Alright, since the Magic Engineered Sword and Magic Engineered Firearms have passed the primary test, the next job is to develop two new forces with these at the core of them. In order to allow these troops to truly leave a mark on history, I have an idea in mind.”

Heroic Spirit Bastlar, Adam, Old Ferdinand, and Fayde. The four of them were highly qualified Sword Saints. Furthermore, none of them were purely physical Sword Saints. On top of their swordsmanship, they had their own expertise as well.

At this moment, even if I didn’t say it out loud, they would have probably guessed it. After all, most of them knew that I had requested Bastlar for the complete information on his Nightfall Blade.

“Is it about the Magic Swordsman job advancement?”

“Yeah, we will open up a new path for everyone else. At the very least, this path shouldn’t lead to a dead end after a certain point. Every single job has its own techniques and battle style that is suited to them. Thus, we have to develop a job advancement suitable for these Magic Swordsmen. The job advancement will be between Gold rank and Silver rank and it must be far superior to those useless Mage Knights. It will be called Four Elemental Swordcaster, and I am willing to become the very first Swordcaster!”