Chapter 1282
The battles among low-level Alchemical Golems are all about territory. The larger your territory, the more Rust-Eaters you have, and the more likely you are to find advanced components. That means you can level up faster...
Dean Gandalf led Leon out of the Scrap Fields that stretched for over a dozen kilometers. At the edge, they saw more than a dozen level-ten Alchemical Golems locked in combat—clearly fighting over territory...
These Alchemical Golems were nothing like the ones made by humans. Their bodies were patched together, with mismatched components in places, and their weapons and shields were just oversized parts slapped together, looking utterly crude.
The fight ended quickly. The victorious Alchemical Golem ignored its wounds, rushing to dismantle its defeated opponent. It stripped off every usable part, swapping out anything better than its own without hesitation...
Leon and Dean Gandalf moved through the Scrap Fields while cloaked in invisibility. Before them stretched a vast, pitch-black plain, the ground littered with exposed veins of steel ore. In some places, the ore was so pure that for kilometers, the earth looked like solid black iron.
Following the black plain, every dozen kilometers or so, they saw towering mountains formed from heaps of scrap, and even a sprawling range of Scrap Mountains stretching for dozens of kilometers...
Dean Gandalf was right—this really was the safest route in. After flying low for dozens of kilometers, all they saw was endless iron jungle. The strongest Alchemical Golem they encountered was only level thirty-three...
After flying over seventy kilometers, they came upon a colossal steel tower, rising over a thousand meters high. Terrifying energy flickered at its peak—lightning gathered into a ball of electricity tens of meters across, which was then fired into the sky.
"You don't see sights like this every day."
Dean Gandalf sighed, standing in place as he gazed up into the deep sky.
Three seconds later, Leon saw a massive meteor—at least seven or eight kilometers across—plummeting toward the earth at terrifying speed. That ball of lightning, dozens of meters in diameter, struck the meteor dead on.
Lightning, like countless flashing blades, instantly enveloped the meteor and sliced it into countless fragments...
The fragments exploded outward, scattering over dozens of kilometers. Given their size, the damage to the land was almost negligible...
Dean Gandalf watched the fragments burst apart, a trace of regret in his voice.
"Judging by the color of that meteor, it probably contained some rare metal—maybe even Eternal Dark Gold. What a waste. The Plane of Golems doesn't have any real meteor defenses, or rather, its protection against falling meteors is extremely weak. That's why you see them crash down so often.
Those Lightning Spires were built by Sky Rank Alchemical Golems to intercept meteors. This must be a Sky Rank Alchemical Golem's territory. Seeing a Lightning Spire means Ironhold can't be far. Let's wait here; with a thousand-meter Lightning Spire nearby, Ironhold must be pretty big. There could be quite a few Sky Rank Alchemical Golems around."
Leon said nothing, just stared at the Lightning Spire. That ball of lightning, dozens of meters wide, packed enough punch to rival a full-powered spell from a Sky Rank mage. Yet the Lightning Spire formed it in just a second and predicted the meteor's path perfectly...
Dean Gandalf looked at Leon's expression and couldn't help but laugh and cry.
"Archmage, I strongly advise you not to mess with the Lightning Spire. If you do, we might be facing an army of Alchemical Golems—and possibly some truly terrifying ones...
Alright, here it comes!
Just as Dean Gandalf finished speaking, Leon saw a seven-meter-tall Alchemical Golem flying in from the distance. Midair, it began catching the falling meteors—each one gleaming with metallic luster, clearly packed with high-purity metal...
Dean Gandalf dropped his invisibility and hovered quietly in midair. Instantly, the giant Alchemical Golem—over seven meters tall and sporting four arms—turned to face them. Its blue crystal eyes flashed rapidly as it dropped the metal ore in its hands, summoning four massive swords, each over five meters long, and charged at Dean Gandalf.
Dean Gandalf floated calmly, watching the Alchemical Golem—which had to be at least level forty-three. A blue Law Sigil hovered at his fingertip and flicked out. In an instant, a flash of blue light wrapped the Alchemical Golem inside a ten-meter-wide sphere of water. No matter how it struggled, it was like a bug trapped in glue—utterly helpless...
Dean Gandalf drifted over, pressing his palm against the surface of the water sphere. Instantly, the light in the golem's crystal eyes faded away completely...
Dean Gandalf dispatched the Alchemical Golem with effortless ease. Leon wasn't surprised; with Gandalf's power, eliminating a level forty-three Alchemical Golem—even one with an Innate Rune—was hardly difficult. But the way Gandalf did it, so subtle that Leon couldn't even follow the process, was something else entirely...
Landing on the ground, Dean Gandalf flicked out several Law Sigils, sealing off the area for a hundred meters in every direction. Nothing here would be noticed by anyone...
Dean Gandalf pressed his palm to the water sphere as he descended, and inside, dozens of smaller streams appeared. The streams shifted into water blades and tools, using gentle, persistent force to dissect the Sky Rank Alchemical Golem bit by bit...
(End-of-chapter message, not part of the novel. Skipping translation.)
But each tiny water blade vibrated at an unbelievable frequency, turning what would normally be a slow grind into a process of seconds. This method left every component undamaged—in fact, it even polished away rust, making the parts stronger than before...
The Alchemical Golem's limbs were the first to be dismantled into a pile of components, each one perfectly intact. They floated in the water sphere, spaced so closely together it almost looked as if the limbs had never been separated at all...
Dean Gandalf worked incredibly fast. The components attached to the Alchemical Golem were removed one by one, but when Leon saw the inside, he couldn't stay calm—his face was full of shock...
Dean Gandalf's method of dissecting the Alchemical Golem seemed simple, but as a top-tier creator, Leon could see the technical mastery behind it. This wasn't just about Gandalf's raw power.
Leon could manage this kind of dismantling too—doing it inside a water sphere had plenty of advantages. It wouldn't damage the parts, and just the benefit of polishing old components made it worthwhile.
But Leon couldn't match Gandalf's level. Inside the water sphere, dozens—sometimes even hundreds—of water-forged tools appeared every second, constantly shifting form. It was pure mastery of both golem anatomy and alchemical technique.
Knowing which tool to use where—something so basic—turned out to be the hardest part here. Leon's own method of 'instant dismantling' was really just brute force. If you wanted every component from a golem, that approach just wouldn't work; only in battle could you get away with it.
Because with instant dismantling, you inevitably destroy some fragile parts. What truly shocked Leon wasn't Gandalf's alchemical technique, but the fact that the Alchemical Golem was still perfectly intact!
Every component, every system in the Alchemical Golem was untouched. In other words, the golem was still alive—this was the real way to dismantle every part perfectly!
Gandalf carefully dismantled the golem's torso, and every component inside—control, power, intelligence, weapons—was flawless. Even after the golem's head was taken apart, Leon couldn't spot a single damaged part...
That was the truly terrifying part: without damaging a single component, a living Sky Rank Alchemical Golem had been reduced to its pieces...
Leon was a bit stunned. With his current skills, even dismantling a level-thirty Alchemical Golem, he couldn't avoid damaging at least some components or systems—let alone taking one apart while it was still alive...
Watching Gandalf work with such practiced ease, it was clear this was already a mature technique at Astral Academy...
After Gandalf finished dismantling every single component, the Alchemical Golem floated in the water sphere, looking only slightly bulkier than before. On closer inspection, every part was in its original place, separated by a thin gap.
If Gandalf wanted, he could probably reassemble the golem in an instant, bringing the level-forty-three Alchemical Golem back to life. And since every part had been cleaned and polished, the golem might end up even stronger than before...
Once Gandalf finished, he shook his head and let go of the water sphere. It collapsed, and all the components tumbled to the ground.
"Not this one. Let's go..."
Without even glancing at the parts on the ground, Gandalf turned to leave. Leon hesitated, glanced at the components, and casually scooped them all up.
Gandalf didn't care about the golem's components, but Leon sure did. He'd taken down several Sky Rank Alchemical Golems before, but after a fight, most of the parts were unusable—good only for raw material. Especially the fragile, crucial pieces—he hadn't managed to collect a single one until now.
The idea of upgrading the Patchwork Alchemical Golem had stalled for ages, but now, with a complete set of Sky Rank components, he could swap plenty of parts and definitely restore its full power.
So Leon, keeping a straight face, gathered up all the parts and followed Gandalf onward. Whatever Gandalf was planning didn't matter much anymore—just tagging along was fine. With a few more sets of pristine Sky Rank components, he could start modifying the Patchwork Alchemical Golem right away.