Chapter Thirty-Four: Breaking Dawn with Blood

Sun Licheng hurriedly led several subordinates to the assembly point, where the Lord of the Stars and the Earth God had already begun their work—installing CPUs into their own heads.

Being a supply ship, the resources here were abundant. The Lord of the Stars and his companions had gathered over a thousand CPUs, piled into an iron chest. Among them were not only standard units but also hundreds of oversized CPUs, even larger than the one inside Master Dexterous’s head—presumably the central core of some control unit.

“How are things?” Sun Licheng asked the Lord of the Stars, illuminated by the sparks of welding.

“The situation outside has changed. We can’t wait until midnight; we need to break out early,” replied the Lord of the Stars, still absorbed in his task without looking up.

“So what should we do?” Sun Licheng was not surprised. Ever since those two enormous rhinoceroses had appeared, he had prepared himself for a sudden deterioration, so he calmly awaited orders.

“Here, take this.” The Earth God handed him a short metal rod, evidently dismantled from some machine, with a magic crystal slot embedded in its tip.

“What is this?” Sun Licheng inquired.

“It’s a device for charging magic crystals. We found it in a compartment and modified it a bit; it should suit your use,” explained the Lord of the Stars, resolving Sun Licheng’s doubts.

“The details are already loaded into Unit 133’s head. Oh, I forgot—he’s now called Master Dexterous,” the Lord of the Stars added, then returned to his work.

Sun Licheng quickly ordered Master Dexterous to show him the specific charging method. Master Dexterous’s large round eyes projected a beam onto the bulkhead, displaying an image: within a magical array, a goblin sat at the center holding the short rod, while detailed steps for charging the magic crystal were highlighted alongside.

Ever since the two divine beings had acquired mechanical bodies, they preferred to communicate with Master Dexterous for greater efficiency. Seeing this now, Sun Licheng felt it made perfect sense.

With Master Dexterous’s help, Sun Licheng swiftly drew the magic array and sat within it. The charging process was mysterious; Sun Licheng felt himself and the magic crystal in his hand merge into one. Driven by the Taiji vortex, heat flowed continuously from his palm into the crystal, as if pouring water into a bucket.

It took about twenty minutes to fully charge a magic crystal. By the time he finished the second one, Sun Licheng felt dizzy—a clear sign of excessive mana depletion.

“I never expected Sun Licheng to charge magic crystals so efficiently,” the Earth God remarked in amazement. From what he knew, magic crystal charging was unpopular largely because of its low efficiency, high mana consumption, and lengthy process. But Sun Licheng’s performance turned his understanding upside down.

“It must be that peculiar Taiji vortex—it neutralizes all kinds of energy, overcoming the greatest hurdle in energy conversion,” speculated the Lord of the Stars amid the crackling of welding.

In truth, another crucial reason for Sun Licheng’s remarkable efficiency was his unique body, forged entirely from divine power, granting him natural affinity with elements and energy, thus further reducing resistance to charging magic crystals. The synergy of these factors made his charging abilities astonishing. Moreover, Sun Licheng had introduced the practice of meditation for mana recovery, giving him extraordinary talent in this domain, even surpassing some lesser deities.

While Sun Licheng began meditating to restore his mana, he ordered Master Dexterous and others to make further preparations and handed over all his magic crystals.

Two hours later, more than two hundred diverse mechanical puppets stood before Sun Licheng and his companions, accompanied by four magic crystal cannons.

“Master, these are all the usable mechanical puppets we could find. But we’re running low on magic crystals—only three remain,” said Master Dexterous, returning the now depleted magic crystal pouch to Sun Licheng.

Looking at the three small magic crystals in his hand, Sun Licheng felt as if he’d returned overnight to a time of deprivation. While he could now recharge magic crystals, such essential resources were never in excess.

When Mechanical One finished stowing a box of spent magic crystals in its belly, Sun Licheng remembered the mecha he’d found—the so-called half-puppet Master Dexterous had mentioned—a treasure he was determined to take with him.

Bringing the mecha down, he saw Master Dexterous adjusting a small cannon mounted on Dog Meat’s body. The cannon was exquisitely crafted, about as thick as a fireworks launcher, with a tiny magic crystal slot at the rear.

“This is a portable offensive magic crystal cannon, a special weapon of the elite goblin imperial assault forces. It can be fired single-handedly and packs a punch. We found nearly a hundred in a weapons compartment,” explained Master Dexterous, as several tentacles swiftly attached a conduit from Dog Meat to the cannon and secured it.

Dog Meat shook its head and steadied itself. The rear of the cannon glowed a ring of red light, indicating it was ready to fire. Fortunately, the red light soon disappeared; otherwise, Sun Licheng would have cursed them for wasting resources.

At last, the two divine beings completed their bodily modifications. Due to space constraints, only about six hundred CPUs could be fitted in each head; the rest were packed into storage boxes attached to their bodies.

Sun Licheng wasn’t about to let them take everything. After some bargaining, he kept back 150 CPUs—130 went into Master Dexterous’s head, Dog Meat’s smaller head received 20, and Mechanical One, luckless, got just 10.

The remaining CPUs, along with a handful of grayish-white crystals, Sun Licheng bundled into a small package and tossed into the mecha’s control cabin.

All preparations were now complete.

………………………

It was deep into the night. The Lord of the Stars called for final readiness before departure. In the cabin, Sun Licheng in his mecha, the Lord of the Stars, the Earth God, Master Dexterous, Dog Meat, Mechanical One, and 256 various puppets checked their weapons and equipment, loading magic crystals into their cannons.

Once they were nearly ready, Master Dexterous flew to Sun Licheng.

“Master, I hope you will address us before we depart. Though we are artificial souls, we have our own spiritual home. For over ten thousand years, we slept in endless darkness. When we awoke, the goblin empire we fought for was already destroyed. Now, we fight our enemies once more. Master, as our leader, our commander, our general, we ask you to give us the final order.”

Master Dexterous’s request took Sun Licheng by surprise. He had always regarded these mechanical puppets as soulless machines, disposable at any moment. But he realized he was wrong. A soul is a soul, whether naturally born or artificially created; there is no difference—they are all equal.

At this moment, his understanding of artificial souls underwent a qualitative shift. The notion of equality among all sentient beings, perhaps a concept he brought from Earth, now extended to these artificial lives, fundamentally changing his thinking and having a profound impact on this world.

Having been a senior executive before, Sun Licheng was adept at public speaking. Yet faced with so many destined to be sacrificed, he found himself momentarily at a loss.

After a brief pause, Sun Licheng raised his voice:

“I, Sun Licheng, am an outsider. Yet here, I feel the glory of the goblin empire and your own radiance. Soon, I will lead you into battle against our enemies, fighting to the death. Witnessing this glorious moment with you is my fortune and my honor. Whatever the future holds, I will remember today and all of you. Comrades, let us strive together and bravely slay our foes!”

With that, Sun Licheng raised his war hammer high.

As he finished speaking, light flashed brighter and brighter from the puppets’ optical eyes. Suddenly, they began rhythmically beating their chests with their weapons, filling the cabin with a thunderous, unified roar.

Ten millennia later, the goblin mechanical legion that once terrified the gods had returned to this land.

The Earth God turned to look at the Lord of the Stars, red light flickering in his eyes as if conveying some message. The Lord of the Stars shook his head, and both fell silent.

………………

In the night, the moonlight flowed like water. Before the fractured opening of the supply ship’s wreck, an ugly centipede monster looked around, sensing some impending crisis in the air.

Suddenly, a burst of light nearly blinded it, followed by a muffled roar. The monsters clustered at the hole were instantly reduced to blood and flesh.

“Go! Go!” Amid the shouts, the Lord of the Stars charged out in the lead.

Close behind, the Earth God, Mechanical One, Master Dexterous, Sun Licheng, Dog Meat, and the puppets hauled three crystal cannons through the opening, heading toward the distant ring of towering miniature mountains.

That ring was actually the wall of the goblin airborne base, ruined in the great war and now a chain of small hills.

Sun Licheng’s charge was like stirring a hornet’s nest; great swarms of monsters converged from all directions to block their way.

From above, countless monsters surged in waves, layer upon layer crashing toward Sun Licheng and his companions.

Not far outside, the mechanical puppets fought desperately, clearing a patch of ground. The three crystal cannons were swiftly positioned, aimed at the hills, ready to blast a path.

Three thick beams shot from the cannons, sweeping the monsters ahead aside like giant brooms, temporarily forming a narrow passage.

“Charge!” The Lord of the Stars shouted, directing everyone to sprint toward the hills along the path.

Enraged, the monsters went berserk, swarming the group. Dozens of huge black shapes appeared behind them.

“Hold them off!” At the Earth God’s command, more than a hundred clumsy puppets twisted around, blocking the pursuit at the cost of their lives.

Suddenly, a barrage of fireballs rose from behind, exploding near the group, shattering several puppets to pieces.

“Fireball spell! Don’t stop, keep charging!” Before the Earth God could finish, bolts of lightning struck, hitting a mecha beside Sun Licheng, sending it crashing to the ground, sparks and smoke pouring from its body.

“Great Lightning spell—speed up!” Alarmed, Sun Licheng quickly cast a flame shield on his mecha.

He suddenly noticed Dog Meat falling behind and urgently ordered Master Dexterous, “Master Dexterous, carry Dog Meat ahead—don’t worry about us!”

Jet flames erupted from beneath Master Dexterous, and with a swift turn, he soared above Dog Meat. Two tentacles reached down, scooped Dog Meat up, and with a whoosh, the pair sped forward.

The closer they drew to the hills, the more frenzied the monsters became. Every step claimed a fallen battle puppet; rear magical attacks burst like festival fireworks, painting the night sky in dazzling colors.

At last, after the Lord of the Stars felled a beast, the way ahead cleared—they had reached the foot of the hills.

Leaving nearly fifty slow-moving puppets to cover the rear, the rest began climbing. Now, Sun Licheng had fewer than thirty battle puppets by his side, most wounded.

Suddenly, a massive fireball exploded nearby. Mechanical One, halfway up the slope, was caught in the blast and tumbled down.

“No!” Sun Licheng cried in agony. Mechanical One’s belly held most of the spoils, and it was his companion, faithfully at his side these days—a bond had formed.

“Don’t stop. Let it intercept the enemy. Keep running!” Just as Sun Licheng moved to rescue Mechanical One, the Lord of the Stars’ cold voice echoed in his ear.

The two battle puppets flanking Sun Licheng grabbed him and dragged him toward the summit.

At the foot of the slope, Mechanical One glanced up at the group atop the hill, light flickering in its two eyes. Then it turned and swung its giant axe at the oncoming monsters.

In the distant east, the sun had just risen above the horizon, bathing the sky in red. Sun Licheng and his companions had finally reached the dawn.