Chapter 233: The Combat Style of the Machinery Hivemind

Chapter 233: The Combat Style of the Machinery Hivemind

In an instant, Klein switched into the Fool’s state—that lofty, inscrutable bearing that looked down upon everything—and gave a faint nod.

“Not bad.”

The river before him immediately surged. The white words wriggled and changed, forming anew:

“The following is the exploration process recorded by your loyal servant Arrodes. You may choose at any time to accelerate or skip certain scenes.”

After those words froze for two seconds, the image abruptly zoomed in. Klein suddenly found himself beside Ikanser Bernard, yet no one discovered him.

He looked around and felt that everything nearby—the people, the scenery—was utterly alive. There was not the slightest sense of falsehood. It made him feel as though he had truly stepped into the scene.

It can even accelerate or skip certain scenes… Is the true body of Arrodes the mirror actually a virtual-reality home theater? Klein could not help mocking inwardly.

He once again examined the members of the Machinery Hivemind and found that the one leading them was an old man wearing a white priestly robe and a cleric’s soft cap. His face was unusually kind, his expression calm and gentle.

“Your Excellency Archbishop, everyone is ready.” Ikanser approached the old man and bowed.

Archbishop… So this is the Backlund diocese’s archbishop of the Church of Steam and Machinery, the half-god, half-human Horamick Haydn? The Machinery Hivemind truly is cautious. They have not underestimated this…

Perhaps they have also brought a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, and performed divination in advance. After all, they have the Mystery Pryer pathway… Good thing I can basically confirm that the gray fog’s anti-divination, or rather divination-interference ability, is like the Cards of Blasphemy: it makes the result appear in the most normal, most natural, least suspicious way. Otherwise, certain things might have been exposed…

However, there is a certain chance that the scene of my meeting with Miss Sharron could be replayed, because to me personally, that is not something harmful. It depends on whether the Wraith’s instinctive divination interference can affect the Machinery Hivemind’s attempt. Wait. The Machinery Hivemind will most likely rely on Arrodes. Judging by its earlier performance and its behavior just now, it might not be impossible for it to casually add a mosaic to curry favor with me… Klein thought with sudden understanding.

At that moment, Horamick Haydn drew a triangular sacred emblem over his chest.

“Begin. God will protect us.”

Nearly ten Beyonders descended in succession. Klein followed closely behind them, without “fast-forwarding” at all.

He had always been curious about the combat style of the Machinery Hivemind’s low- and mid-Sequence members, and intended to use this chance to witness it.

In addition, he cared greatly about what it truly looked like when a half-god, half-human acted, as well as what secrets were hidden inside the Amon family mausoleum.

The stairs, polished from black marble, had endured the erosion of one or two thousand years while still retaining sufficient hardness, without the slightest sign of corrosion. Following them, the Machinery Hivemind members descended underground and saw asymmetrical stone pillars with distinctly Fourth Epoch characteristics, as well as patterns that looked as though they had been hacked out by blades and axes.

Those pillars stood on either side of a broad path. Ahead was a huge, heavy set of double stone doors in deep gray.

The doors had already cracked open enough for two people to enter side by side. Beyond them was profound darkness.

The Machinery Hivemind members did not rush inside. Carrying lanterns with rather good illumination, they carefully searched the outer region and found nothing of value.

“According to the predetermined plan, Group One will perform the initial clearing.” After receiving the archbishop’s approval, Ikanser pressed down the hat on his head, pushing his fluffy hairstyle down again.

Clearing? Klein, standing at the side, chewed over that word.

Amid his puzzlement, the two tallest, strongest male members of the Machinery Hivemind each put down the long black cases on their backs and opened them.

Inside one long case lay a sturdy, heavy, iron-black, cannon-barrel-like object engraved with dense, strange patterns. Inside the other was a complex and exquisite peculiar firearm, with a pale-golden belt of ammunition inserted into it.

One of the two team members shouldered the cannon-barrel-like object and walked with heavy steps to the opening of the stone doors.

The other Machinery Hivemind member lifted the peculiar firearm, hung the ammunition belt properly, and followed behind, staying half a step slower.

After exchanging a glance, the cannon-barrel-like object on the former’s shoulder rapidly lit up, outlining noisy, blazing sigils and patterns.

Boom!

A golden fireball like a miniature sun flew out from the “barrel,” flying into the pitch-black gloom.

Rumble!

The ground trembled slightly, and fierce light spilled outward through the crack.

The Machinery Hivemind member holding the “barrel” visibly sank, his feet trembling slightly.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

He repeatedly used the Beyonder weapon, making golden “shells” fire one after another toward different locations, blasting the mausoleum until it shook and swayed, though no dust fell.

When he paused briefly, the team member holding the peculiar firearm stepped forward twice and pulled the trigger.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

A sound like machine-gun fire rang out. Pale-golden bullets flew out one after another, purifying the dangers hidden deep in the darkness.

…Isn’t this the carpet-bombardment effect I have always wanted? And they are using supernatural consumables like purifying bullets and exorcism shells… So extravagant! This is the Machinery Hivemind’s combat style? Klein watched with eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

After a round of fierce bombardment, Ikanser raised his voice amid the rumbling echoes.

“Group Two, perform follow-up clearing.”

There is more… Klein felt that he was becoming a little numb.

Group Two also consisted of two members. They used scrolls made from different kinds of leather.

They recited brief incantations, activated the scrolls, and threw them inside.

The structure behind the stone doors was suddenly enveloped in soft, pure light. Drop after drop of pale-golden sacred rain fell with a patter, “washing” everything within range.

Klein watched this scene woodenly and suddenly felt it was rather absurd.

Wait. Aren’t you here for archaeology? Aren’t you professional “archaeologists”? Clearing things this way, aren’t you afraid the mausoleum will collapse outright?

As thoughts flickered through his mind, Group Two finished clearing and shouted to Ikanser, “Deacon, just as expected, the structure of the building has not been destroyed.”

They had clearly made preparations.

“Good. Continue advancing,” Ikanser ordered.

Klein walked in the middle and passed through the stone doors. He saw stains and fragments scattered across the ground, making it impossible to identify what species the monsters that had once moved here had been, or to guess what purposes the mechanisms originally set up in this place had served.

After several rounds of “carpet bombing” like that, as long as one didn’t avoid it ahead of time, even Beyonders below High Sequence wouldn’t be able to withstand it… Klein once again gained a deep understanding of what violent aesthetics meant, and what it meant to be simple, crude, and unreasonable.

In the following process, the same scene repeated itself again and again. The Machinery Hivemind members advanced smoothly, exploring one region after another. Occasionally, they harvested Beyonder characteristics that had begun to gather.

“No murals…” Seeing the main burial chamber ahead, Horamick Haydn, the archbishop of the Church of Steam and Machinery, stopped and murmured in doubt.

Klein, who could be considered half a historian, felt the same confusion.

Normally speaking, the tomb of a noble would more or less contain things that reflected the owner’s status and glory during life.

And when a tomb became a mausoleum, or even a royal mausoleum, and possessed sufficient space, it was very common to use murals to narrate the owner’s life. In older and more ignorant ages, that had not been rare either. It had even been the most common method—humans had learned to draw before they learned to write.

Therefore, it was indeed rather strange that a Fourth Epoch great noble’s mausoleum contained no similar murals.

Hearing the archbishop’s question, Ikanser immediately instructed the team members to split into pairs and search the surroundings for corresponding traces.

Watching all this, Klein could not help feeling a little urge to “fast-forward,” wanting to see the result directly.

Just then, he discovered that the two Machinery Hivemind members in the left corner had suddenly become three!

One of them looked exactly like Ikanser Bernard, his hair so fluffy that it pushed up his hat.

This… Klein first froze, then immediately formed a guess.

Just as the thought appeared, “Ikanser” walked toward the team member closest to him.

“Any discoveries?” he cleared his throat and asked in a lowered voice.

The team member turned around warily. Seeing that it was Deacon Ikanser, he immediately relaxed.

“No—” Before he could finish speaking, the “Ikanser” before him abruptly turned into a sheet of human skin and covered his body.

The pale human skin wrapped tightly around him, and its face began outlining the contours of facial features. During this process, there was no excess sound, nor did it trigger any abnormal movement.

All of a sudden, rays of light shone out from beneath the human skin, like the light of the rising sun!

The human skin immediately became semi-transparent and flew upward rapidly as though burned.

A black whip followed, striking it and noticeably slowing its movements.

In a battle like this, slowness was the “original sin.” One Beyonder weapon after another, one burning scroll after another, and one pale-golden bullet after another arrived in succession, drowning the human skin.

After the brilliant light faded, countless ashes fell.

All of them flickered faintly with light, slowly and “strenuously” beginning to gather.

As expected, it’s a Human-skinned Shadow… Klein turned his gaze toward the Machinery Hivemind member who had just been attacked.

The man tugged at his collar and pulled out an amulet covered with many sun-related symbols and magical markings.

“Thank goodness the archbishop had us wear these!” he said sincerely, carrying his lantern.

Only then did Klein notice that his collar pin carried the tranquil meaning of night, his ring held the restless fury of storm, and his belt gave off a substantial sense of strength…

Although not all of them were mystical items, most being charm ornaments and Beyonder-weapon-type objects whose effects would rapidly fade, every one of them was valuable. Without being an Artisan, or a wealthy Beyonder, one could never get so many… Is this the Machinery Hivemind’s combat style? Burning money… Klein suddenly felt deeply struck. He was stunned for quite a while before recovering.

By then, the Human-skinned Shadow’s characteristic had already gathered into shape. It looked like an enormous diamond, with countless facets reflecting light, and on every facet was a different face.

Those faces were densely packed, layered upon one another, making one dizzy.

That is the only thing I am missing… Klein felt a burst of delight.

After the Machinery Hivemind properly handled their harvest, they continued searching for murals, but found no traces whatsoever.

They had no choice but to gather again and walk toward the corridor leading to the main burial chamber.