Chapter 981: Utter Humiliation
A month ago, only Gray Orc alchemists had tasted the rare, delicious fruits from the world of Northend for the first time—back then, only the strongest alchemists could occasionally enjoy a bite.
Now, just a month later, even ordinary Gray Orc families have enough spare coins to buy Northend fruits—once considered extravagant luxuries.
Gray Orcs who used to worry every winter about not being able to trade for enough food, about going hungry—even now, orphaned stray Gray Orc children have enough grain stored at home...
Life in the Gray Orc tribe has changed beyond recognition, and the Gray Orc alchemist teams have erupted with an unprecedented passion.
Leon offered Krovitz a handful of alchemical insights—just a bit beyond this era's reach, formulas not yet tested or derived. Krovitz, as if he'd downed a Berserk Mana Potion, buried himself in the lab.
The assembly line for Full Right-Angle Magic Reaction Cores is now operational. Those cores, forged by machines, are just a shade below the average quality of ones crafted by alchemists—and the failure rate hovers around five percent.
All the alchemical golems have secretly swapped in Full Right-Angle Magic Reaction Cores, boosting their mana output by at least one grade—and their combat power rises a grade as well.
The new weapons system—every alchemical golem rolling off the line is getting upgraded with fresh armaments.
Every newly produced alchemical golem is built to the latest specs. In just one month, the factory's machinery has already gone through two rounds of upgrades.
Alchemical golem technology is advancing at breakneck speed—the numbers and strength of the golem army grow by the day.
Not long ago, a minor beast tide struck Dilo Fortress. Monsters from the Dilo Mountains tried to break out, only to be wiped out by three hundred new-model alchemical golems guarding Dilo Fortress...
The human defenders at Dilo Fortress barely had time to react. Even the merchants trading inside didn't have a chance to flee—they simply watched the new-model golems put on a show...
Yes—a show.
Two hundred seventy level-30 alchemical golems, thirty level-35 golems, all wielding new weapons, lined up atop Dilo Fortress's walls—one synchronized laser barrage.
Three hundred rampaging monsters were slaughtered. Over a thousand beasts—from the moment they entered range to the instant they were wiped out—gone in less than twenty seconds...
Most of those monsters were only level ten or twenty—just a handful above level thirty...
Ordinarily, that kind of force would have left Dilo Fortress battered—every beast tide meant heavy losses, exhausting manpower just to drive them back...
This time? Just twenty seconds...
Only then did people realize just how terrifying those alchemical golems, always patrolling the heights of the fortress, truly were...
Instantly, some of the locals in Dilo Fortress pledged loyalty on their own. Anyone who'd had second thoughts now threw themselves into our camp.
Anyone with a scheming mind? Not a single one dared think of causing trouble...
Everything was developing fast. Leon took the fifty Black Dragon Scale Shields Dubois Charles had handed over as compensation and modified them, awakening a trace of fire essence within the materials. The black dragon's aura was refined into a single field, allowing the Mage Legion to use them in alchemical arrays.
And as the fire essence matured, these Black Dragon Scale Shields even showed a hint of evolving into true spirit artifacts. It might take a long time, but at least the chance was there.
Though these Black Dragon Scale Shields are soulbound relics, in the hands of the Mage Legion, they’re as powerful as any true spirit artifact—maybe even better, boosting their combat power.
And it wasn’t just the Mage Legion—everyone else was growing stronger too. Reina’s dragon core upgrade is nearly finished; once it’s done, advancing to Sky Rank will be just a matter of time.
Hubert is close to reaching Eighth-Rank Sword Saint. Lately, he’s been sleeping more and more—sometimes like a dragon, out cold for days at a time. Every time he wakes, his aura grows even stronger.
As for Leon—ever since he fused the rules of Flame and Earth, his power has soared. Now, he’s at the peak of Seventh-Rank Title Archmage.
He hasn’t broken through to Eighth-Rank Title Archmage yet—just needs another insight into the rules. Fuse one more, and he’ll advance.
But fusing rules isn’t just a matter of insight. No one can say when the next breakthrough will come—or when the chance to seize it will appear.
Stuck at a bottleneck—no clue how to fuse the rules—Leon started poring over the Spellbook of Ages again. So far, he’d only been studying the first-level spell incantations.
He’d lost track of how many first-level spell incantations he’d dissected. These low-level spells, unraveled and broken down to the basics, let Leon glimpse the roots of magic—sometimes even the fundamental rules of the elements themselves.
With these insights, Leon began creating new spells and perfecting the Fourfold Blast he’d invented earlier.
The newly improved Fourfold Blast—Leon finally had a direction for its final evolution.
Just as everything was advancing at breakneck speed, Joey and Heron showed up together at the Gray Orc Fortress...
The moment Leon saw those two together, he knew something big was up.
Heron couldn’t help but marvel as soon as they met.
"Lord Mafa, this place is truly astonishing. Just now, I thought I'd stepped back into Northend World—the pace of development here is astounding! If not for all the alchemical golems and the unique architecture, I wouldn’t be able to tell it apart from the most prosperous city in Northend..."
Joey was just as impressed—especially by the massive alchemical facilities. Even he found them breathtaking.
"Heron’s right. I always heard the Gray Orcs were masters of alchemical golemcraft, but I never imagined that, under Lord Mafa’s command, they’d become this formidable."
Leon just smiled, saying nothing, refusing to play along with their flattery. The Gray Orc Fortress’s rapid development owed not just to massive investment—Leon had also applied plenty of concepts from his previous life, boosting efficiency to unprecedented heights.
Even a simple division of labor let the Gray Orcs maximize their innate talents, raising their craftsmanship to a whole new level.
"Indeed, Lord Mafa’s recent gains are impressive—and his strength has grown beyond belief. I used to think he was about on par with us, but after just a short time apart, he’s already able to match Sky Rank powerhouses..."
Heron wore a wry smile—mostly, he was just amazed.
Heron, as Chairman of the Black Tower, knew all about the battles and tensions between Leon and Dubois Charles—better than anyone else.
The relationship between the Black Tower and its Sanctuary is nothing like the close ties between the Merlin Family and their own Sanctuary.
For bloodline clans, the Sanctuary is part of their heritage. But for the Black Tower, there’s no such close blood connection between the institution and its Sanctuary.
No one in the Sanctuary can claim to represent it, and internal conflicts abound—even this time, Dubois Charles and Heron are acting separately.
Dubois Charles controls his own fortress, and Heron controls his own—their connection isn’t all that close.
In fact, when Dubois Charles lost face, Heron was secretly a little pleased.
After all, when the Black Tower Sanctuary people arrived before, they almost tried to strip Heron of his authority, turning him into an expendable pawn.
Joey looked at Leon, eyes full of admiration.
"I’m not clear on all the details of Lord Mafa’s battle with Dubois Charles, but I have to admit—he’s left Heron and me far behind. Sky Rank... It’s hard to imagine anyone at the Title Archmage stage could fight a Sky Rank powerhouse."
Leon just smiled modestly and denied it outright.
"Joey, Heron, you really give me too much credit. There's no way I could stand against a Sky Rank powerhouse—I'm just barely able to protect myself..."
Leon always respected Star Sage Joey—a pure mage whose obsession with formulas had severely slowed his own advancement. Otherwise, Joey might have reached Sky Rank long ago.
Leon doubted that such a deeply dedicated mage would be blocked by the final insight into the rules. Breaking through to Sky Rank might be hard for others, but for someone like Star Sage Joey—who's had one foot in the Sky Rank for ages—it might just take a little more focused contemplation.
Besides, since his rebirth into this era, Cloudspire Tower and Joey had always treated him kindly and helped him often. Whatever Joey’s power, Leon always held him in high regard.
Heron, though not unpleasant, was just a decent acquaintance—mainly because the Black Tower had so many unlikeable types, especially those from the Sanctuary...
"Lord Mafa, you’re far too modest. I know exactly how strong Dubois Charles is—his demi-plane has already begun to nurture life, making him far more powerful than a newly advanced Sky Rank."
Being able to protect yourself from Dubois Charles is already far beyond what I could manage..."
Heron shook his head with a wry smile. Leon denied it, and Heron didn't press him. In fact, Heron had been worried before—Leon had suppressed one of Dubois Charles’s disciples and killed another, surely inviting Dubois Charles’s revenge. But the final result was jaw-dropping.
Dubois Charles struck himself, but not only did he fail to suppress Leon—he couldn’t even defeat him. A Sky Rank powerhouse personally attacking a fortress, and after a whole day, he still couldn’t take the Gray Orc Fortress.
Meanwhile, his own Windfire Fortress was conquered by Leon. In the end, it took a Sky Rank from Cloudspire Tower to mediate and finally bring the matter to a close.
That was more than just losing face...