Chapter 162: The Method of Repair

"King, report on the status of the alchemy tower," Victor commanded the tower spirit in his consciousness.

"As you command, My Lord," the King replied. "Currently, there are 854 monkey militia, 149 bull militia, 183 alchemy auxiliaries, 37 alchemy war-hounds, 126 alchemy crows. The soul fire limit is 12,380, with 796 remaining soul fire, and 118,075 gold solars remaining in funds."

"In other words, soul fire has increased by 7,380 points, which means 246 ant-man chieftains were eliminated. That's not right. Calculating at an average of 9,000 gold solars per ant-man chieftain, there should be at least 300,000 gold solars left, shouldn't there?" Victor calculated the result instantly and questioned the King.

The King answered, "My Lord, please rest assured, I never make mistakes in calculations. According to the production logs, you have successively ordered the creation of 188 alchemy war-hounds."

Victor said awkwardly, "Is that so? So many war-hounds have already fallen."

Ten days ago, the alchemy tower's funds and soul fire limit stopped growing, and Victor knew the ant-men on the Black Castle's side had been completely eradicated. Meanwhile, in the direction of the Chapman Barony, no traces of ant-man chieftains had been seen for a long time, with only an occasional ant-man chieftain entering Victor's territory from the Briyat Barony. It could be said that the ant plague had basically come to an end.

So far, Victor's alchemy militia had surpassed 1,000 men, along with 183 alchemy auxiliaries skilled in construction and forging. Victor had deployed 450 alchemy militia and 80 alchemy auxiliaries within his territory, while all the remaining alchemy humans were left in the secret fortress deep in the mountains. They were primarily responsible for mining thorium and refined iron ores in the mountains, cultivating oil-wood and dark-gall fruit trees, gathering precious herbs, and surveying other mineral veins and resources. Compared to the mountain range stretching over a thousand kilometers, a mere 600-plus alchemy humans were indeed extremely limited. However, the alchemy tower's soul fire limit was no longer growing, which also meant Victor's alchemy creatures were approaching full capacity.

"King, halt unlimited production and terminate the rapid construction function," Victor ordered.

"My Lord, I must remind you that once the rapid construction function is terminated, this function of the alchemy tower will be permanently damaged," the King warned Victor.

"Do it!" Victor exhaled a breath and instructed further, "After the function is closed, produce another 80 alchemy crows and 30 alchemy war-hounds."

Rapid construction was originally a function enabled to cope with the ant plague. Once rapid construction was activated, production speed increased significantly, but production costs also increased by 50 percent. Now that the ant plague was basically over, there was no need to increase the manufacturing cost of alchemy creatures. With 796 soul fire and 118,075 gold solars remaining in the alchemy tower, Victor had to start living a frugal and carefully calculated life again.

"The rapid construction function has been disabled, and the new production tasks have been established," following the King's transmission, the rune formations above the elemental extraction platform changed accordingly. "Manufacturing 80 alchemy crows and 30 alchemy war-hounds costs a total of 28,000 gold solars. The alchemy tower's remaining soul fire is 596, and the remaining funds are 90,075 gold solars."

The mountain range on the western side of the Randal Barony extended all the way into the territory of the Tudor Kingdom, with a total length of thousands of kilometers. If Victor wanted to monopolize the resources in the mountains, he had to use alchemy war-hounds to replace the beasts and monsters in the mountains, while also intimidating those wild folks who attempted to enter the mountains to make a living. The combination of alchemy crows and alchemy war-hounds could achieve this. However, the reconnaissance radius of an alchemy crow was 400 kilometers; beyond this distance, the alchemy crow would return to the location where it originally received instructions. Therefore, Victor planned to set up five outpost stations in the mountain range, each consisting of 3 bull militia, 7 monkey militia, 30 alchemy crows, and 10 alchemy war-hounds. Each outpost would be spaced 300 kilometers apart to monitor and control 1,500 kilometers of the mountain range. He would also establish several mobile squads to patrol these outposts in rotation, providing support and supplies.

The resources in the mountains were abundant. For alchemy creatures designed specifically for gathering resources, controlling and surveying the mountain range presented no difficulty at all. Yet Victor always felt that a link was missing. The terrain of the mountain range was complex and the vegetation dense, with no roads to walk on. Although the alchemy militia, with a physique of 17 points, possessed boundless strength, how much mineral could they transport relying solely on their two arms and two legs? Even if they used single-wheeled pushcarts, how much time would it take to deliver various supplies to the auxiliaries' production and processing sites? If the alchemy militia were gathering units, the alchemy auxiliaries production units, the alchemy war-hounds vigilance units, and the alchemy crows reconnaissance units, then shouldn't there also be a transport unit?

"King, assuming the No. 7 Alchemy Tower was not damaged, what other alchemy creatures were there?" Victor asked.

The King replied, "My Lord, there were also alchemy dragon-lizards. An alchemy dragon-lizard is 4 meters long, stands 8 meters tall at the shoulder, weighs 1,200 pounds, and possesses the following skills:

Omnivorous: The alchemy dragon-lizard has a wide range of diet and can also store water and energy in its body, maintaining vigorous physical strength for up to 15 days without eating or drinking.

Freely Mobile: The alchemy dragon-lizard's limbs are thick and powerful. It can move freely even while carrying a heavy load of 6,000 pounds. Its claws are sharp and tough, allowing it to firmly grip rocks and climb steep slopes. It has the ability to breathe underwater and can also expand its body with air, enabling it to carry a heavy load of 1,500 pounds through swamps, lakes, or deserts. The alchemy dragon-lizard possesses strong excavation capabilities and can travel underground. Because it has organs for storing air, it can persist for up to 12 hours even in oxygen-thin environments.

Elemental Resistance: The alchemy dragon-lizard can resist 40% of elemental damage and is capable of adapting to extremely cold or extremely hot environments.

Transcendental Regeneration: The alchemy dragon-lizard possesses extremely formidable vitality. As long as the brain and the three hearts do not suffer severe damage, all other injuries can recover on their own, including the regeneration of severed limbs, though it consumes a large amount of food, and the recovery time is related to the severity of the wounds.

Alchemy dragon-lizard: Physique 25 points, Spirit 12 points, Perception 20 points, Life 5 points, Lifespan 12 years, Price 50,000 gold solars."

Even with mental preparation beforehand, Victor was still shocked. The power of the alchemy dragon-lizard exceeded his imagination. This kind of transport unit seemed capable of going anywhere except flying. Of course, its price was also shockingly high. But considering the elemental attributes of 25 points of physique and 0 perception, the alchemy dragon-lizard was already a creature comparable to a Bronze-tier knight, and its strength and speed would definitely far surpass a Bronze knight, given its massive physique. Buying a Bronze-tier ferocious beast for 50,000 gold solars was definitely not expensive!

Thinking that the alchemy tower only had 90,000 gold solars left, Victor said with heart-wrenching grief, "King, why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

The King answered, "My Lord, you never asked, and moreover, the alchemy tower currently cannot produce alchemy dragon-lizards."

Victor was silent for a moment and asked, "King, besides petitioning superiors, is there any other method to repair the alchemy tower?"

"My Lord, the alchemy tower was designed for war. Taking into account the fall of war zones, the Alchemy Empire also designed an emergency repair method. The Law Crystals of alchemy towers can merge with one another. The Law Crystal of a superior tower spirit can repair itself by absorbing the Law Crystal of an inferior tower spirit. However, this can only repair its own functions and cannot acquire extra functions," the King transmitted.

Victor hurriedly asked, "What level of tower spirit are you?"

"The lowest level," the King showed no sense of embarrassment at all.

Victor said deflatedly, "Then that's no different from having no way out."

"My Lord, I can absorb Law Crystals that lack a tower spirit. The problem is that I am the only alchemy tower," the King said.

Victor smiled meaningfully, "I can be certain that besides you, there is at least one alchemy tower that has survived to this day, and it definitely has no tower spirit!"

"My Lord, are you talking about the ant-men?"

"That's right, there must be an alchemy tower near the birthplace of the ant-men! You cannot communicate with it, which indicates that you should be the sole tower spirit. Of course, I am not going to throw my life away at the ant-men's place. However, since two alchemy towers have managed to survive to this day, perhaps there are alchemy towers in other places. Now, tell me, do all alchemy towers possess Law Crystals?" Victor asked.

"My Lord, the Law Crystal is the alchemy tower itself. As long as the Law Crystal is placed at the intersection of the four elemental attributes, alchemy creatures can be manufactured."

"Uh, how do you absorb a Law Crystal?"

"My Lord, you can bring me there, or bring that Law Crystal over here. As long as two Law Crystals overlap, the absorption can take place."

Victor frowned and asked, "Can I harvest other Law Crystals? How can I find Law Crystals?"

"My Lord, you possess the authority of the Alchemy Empire. Any ownerless Law Crystal can be harvested by you. As for how to search for Law Crystals, I do not have relevant information here," the King said.

Just as Victor was about to continue questioning, Reynold walked in and said, "My Lord, just received news that a team of 20 soldiers has entered that forest. Judging by their equipment, they are people from the Briyat family."

"Heh, they finally came after all. Send two war-hounds to go say hello to them," Victor smiled.

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Cambis Royal Capital, the Grand Duke's Estate.

"Solon, who do you plan to send to manage the viscountcy of the Horse-man Hills?" Grand Duke Williams asked a young man with a smiling expression.

"Grand Duke, I intend to let my younger brother, Anthony, manage that territory on my behalf."

The young man replied respectfully. He was precisely Williams's confidant, the commander of the Royal Capital Guard, Viscount Solon Wimbledon. Solon had a well-proportioned figure, a handsome face, black hair, and deep blue eyes. If one looked closely, they would see blue light swirling in the depths of his eyes, as if storms and lightning were constantly surging within—these were definitely not normal eyes.

Williams nodded and said, "Very well, I will arrange the related matters. You have just returned from Minsk, and the journey has been tiring; go back and rest first."

"Grand Duke, I shall take my leave." After bowing to Williams, Solon left the reception parlor under the guidance of the butler.

After Solon's carriage drove out of the estate gates, Williams asked his guard captain, "Solon's eyes have actually been infused by the wind element to this extent; does he seem able to charge into the Golden realm? Valrus, what is Marquis Goron's view on Solon charging into the Golden realm?"

"Teacher Goron says that Lord Solon is very talented and is also a rare Wind-attribute Great Knight, but if he undergoes normal advancement to the Golden tier, he will surely die!" Valrus replied in a deep voice.

"Is it because of the Wimbledon family's marquisate?" Williams muttered to himself.

Valrus chimed in, "Your Highness, although a court marquisate cannot compare to a fief viscountcy, it has special significance for Lord Solon. The entanglement between the old Marquis Wimbledon and Solon's father has a huge impact on him. Lord Solon once swore to take back the status and honor belonging to his father. If this vow cannot be fulfilled, no matter how high his talent is, pulled by the Elemental Sea, there is zero possibility of survival."

Williams himself was a Great Knight and knew very well that charging into the Golden realm required a firm will and single-mindedness; otherwise, one would inevitably be assimilated by the Elemental Sea. Even though Solon had already resonated with 36 elemental nodes, if he did not resolve the issues in his heart first, it would be ten deaths and no life.

"Speaking of which, I broke my word. When the Council of Elders proposed the plan for Sophia to inherit the marquisate, I originally wanted Sophia to marry Solon to achieve two goals with one stroke, which is why I didn't oppose that plan and even specially warned other competitors. I didn't expect Catherine to actually find that little fellow Victor from the countryside. The problem now is no longer Sophia, but Victor. Yet he is protected by Sylvia, and we cannot move against him. Apart from the life-and-death trial, Solon has no other way to become a Golden knight. This is truly a pity!" Williams shook his head repeatedly.

"Your Highness, there may not necessarily be no way!" Valrus said with flickering eyes.