Richard had "appraised" the Precursors' armed puppets before.
Excellent energy barriers, sturdy crystal bodies, and potent anti-magic techniques capable of breaching energy shields in an instant—these armed puppets were so advanced that they could rival the finest Alchemy Golems crafted by Wizards.
Such high-tier Alchemy Golems were often jokingly referred to by Alchemist Wizards as the "Royal Guard." Even a Great Wizard could only afford to incorporate a small number of these puppets into their Puppet Legion, using them as elite vanguard units.
Yet, beyond the Fissure, Richard had just witnessed over a thousand of these armed puppets.
The sheer joy made him question reality.
Was this truly real? However, rationality quickly reclaimed his mind.
He hurriedly entered the Astral Fortress and immediately inquired about the armed puppets from the central control.
"Central Control, how many armed puppets are stored in the fortress?"
[The fortress currently houses nine hundred and thirty-two Arachnid Armored Puppets.]
Hearing the exact number, Richard took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down before continuing, "Can these puppets be deployed?"
[Authorization from the fortress commander is required to mobilize the armed puppets.]
"...Hog!"
Richard, nearly delirious with excitement, dashed through the corridors and soon arrived at the passage where Hog was. Seeing Richard in such a state, Hog was startled and instinctively hid behind Ulysses.
"Uncle Crow, what's wrong with the master?"
Ulysses flapped his wings and instantly appeared beside Richard.
"Richard, what's gotten into you? What has you so worked up?"
Richard stopped in his tracks, unable to suppress a grin.
"The fortress still has a batch of fully intact armed puppets! If Hog agrees, we can take them with us!"
"Gah?"
Ulysses was stunned.
Armed puppets left behind on ancient battlefields weren't uncommon—he had destroyed quite a few along the way. Logically speaking, these puppets could easily slaughter ordinary third-tier creatures.
Even a Wizard might fall victim to them in their first encounter.
With such a legion of armed puppets, they could practically dominate the upcoming Plane War.
"That's fantastic! Even if we run into those bugs, we'll have a fighting chance now."
Richard nodded, then submitted a request to the central control. Naturally, Hog approved it immediately upon receiving Richard's application.
"It's done!" Richard cheered before flying down the passage toward the fortress's lower-level storage.
To others, those armed puppets might just be tools. But to Richard, they were blueprints lying on the ground.
Fish may be delicious, but the fishing rod is far more valuable.
Passing through the obsidian corridor, Richard reached the fortress's lower levels. Here, gold-veined metal began replacing the black crystal.
Richard tapped it a couple of times, only to find these materials as unrefinable as factory-produced components—utterly worthless for extraction.
Soon, he arrived at the lowest level of the fortress.
This area reminded Richard of the slave quarters in a Wizard's Floating City, where slave legions were stationed at the bottom to absorb the first wave of attacks from native forces.
The Astral Fortress also had a pile of armed puppets placed at the very bottom. Did this mean the Astral Fortress was once used as an invasion weapon like the Floating City? Richard recalled the map detected by the reconnaissance array not long ago, and his conviction grew stronger.
In the warehouse, nine hundred and thirty-two Arachnid Armored Puppets stood silently in one corner.
Richard walked over to them and gently touched one of the puppets. The Miracle Furnace quickly provided information about it.
[Material: Arachnid Armored Puppet]
[Extractable Information: Arachnid Armored Puppet Blueprint]
[Extraction Cost: 250 Mental Energy]
Looking at the information from the Miracle Furnace, Richard's face lit up with joy.
This wasn't like the fragmented technologies of the past—this was a complete blueprint.
If he could fully understand this, who knew how many useful technologies he could derive from it.
However, Richard didn't immediately choose to extract it.
For one, there was no rush to extract it now; he had plenty of time later. Secondly, according to Ulysses, the Miracle Furnace used a spatial method for extraction, and using it inside the fortress could easily draw the attention of the main control.
Richard wasn't clear about the internal regulations of the Astral Fortress or the capabilities of its main control. If the extraction process was detected by the main control, it could lead to unnecessary complications.
The technology of the Precursors was unfathomable, and understanding it wouldn't happen overnight. A few hours wouldn't make a difference.
"Main Control, how do we use these puppets?"
[New permission system installation in progress. Once completed, the puppets will automatically recognize commander's orders]
As soon as the main control finished speaking, several metal tentacles tipped with crystals emerged from the warehouse floor.
These tentacles attached their crystal tips to the Arachnid Puppets, and soon, rippling micro-lights flickered within the puppets' bodies.
Before long, the tentacles retracted.
The Arachnid Puppets, which had been lying on the ground, instantly stood up, their polyhedral crystal tops projecting a red beam of light toward Richard.
[Commander confirmed. Puppet qy9743 has been added to your command sequence]
"A new permission system…"
Richard noted the main control's specific wording.
If there was a new permission system, then naturally, there must have been an old one.
Combined with the main control's earlier statement that it had nearly suffered a system crash due to the erasure of The Supreme… Richard's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Was that giant floating mother entity roaming the ancient battlefield killing indiscriminately because of a system crash? If he could update its system, could he bring that giant floating mother entity under his command as well?
The giant floating mother entity had left a deep impression on Richard. Those swarms of floating cannons would force even a Third Circle Wizard to flee—if they could even escape at all.
If he could command it, its combat power would likely rival that of the entire warehouse of armed puppets.
With this idea in mind, Richard immediately asked the main control, "Main Control, is there any way to update the permission systems of the armed puppets in the wilderness?"
[Affirmative. Two options are available]
[Option 1: Have the armed puppets return to the fortress and use the information transmission tentacles to update their systems]
[Option 2: Install information transmission crystals into the armed puppets' data interfaces to perform system updates directly in the field]
"I choose option two," Richard said without hesitation.
The giant floating mothership was surrounded by a massive number of floating turrets, making it extremely difficult to lure it toward the Astral Fortress. Moreover, there was no guarantee the giant floating mothership would even be attracted. After all, as something akin to an aircraft carrier, charging into battle was hardly its forte.
Upon receiving Richard's choice, the main control system did not respond. Half an hour later, a metallic tentacle emerged from the ground and approached Richard. At its tip, a multifaceted crystal dropped with a click right in front of him.
Richard caught the crystal, and the Miracle Furnace immediately relayed a message.
[Raw Material: Information Transmission Crystal]
[Extractable Information: New Permission System]
[Extraction Cost: 10 Mental Energy]
Richard pocketed the crystal and then inquired about the giant floating mothership. However, this question seemed to touch upon a blind spot in the main control's knowledge. It only provided the location of the information interface—nothing else about the mothership was known. This struck Richard as somewhat unusual.
"Main Control, where is your crystal array located?" Richard suddenly asked.
[Non-Fortress Master, entry to the Main Control Array Chamber is prohibited.]
"Even with permission?"
[No such application exists.]
"What about a repair technician?"
[The Fortress Main Control has an adequate number of repair drones. No additional technicians are required.]
Richard nodded slightly, thinking to himself, "So it's not a case of database corruption—the data simply wasn't input into the main control's system."
His question about the array's location wasn't born of any ulterior motive. In truth, he had little interest in the main control array itself. His path wasn't aligned with Alchemy Machines, and a mechanical intelligence like the main control held little value for him. Besides, a Wizard's tower spirit could serve as a functional substitute.
Most importantly, if he examined the fortress's main control but lacked the resources to extract its technology, it would only lead to frustration.
Out of sight, out of mind, Richard decided it was best not to invite unnecessary trouble. After all, beyond the main control, there were plenty of other things worth exploring in this Astral Fortress.
"Main Control, guide me to the fortress's secondary artillery."
...
Beyond sturdy walls, defensive weaponry was naturally indispensable for any fortress.
Though damage to the energy conduits had caused the main cannon—along with most secondary weapons—to detonate during the battle that led to the fortress's downfall, a handful of weapons had survived. Among them was the defensive secondary cannon now before Richard.
It was an exquisite construct of metal and crystal. Its base, crafted from colorless crystal, connected directly to the fortress's energy supply lines. Above it sat an inverted funnel-like metal barrel, linked to the base via a simple yet reliable mechanical apparatus that allowed for adjustments in elevation and azimuth.
In short, it resembled a turret.
The design seemed somewhat incongruous—the metal barrel, though finely crafted, exuded the intricate beauty of complex machinery, while the crystal base appeared seamless, as if all components had fused into one.
This was a somewhat contradictory creation, but after using it, Richard immediately sensed its unique beauty—power.
When fully functional, this thing packed a punch of ten thousand energy levels.
And this was merely one of the most common and numerous defensive weapons in this fortress.
So much so that even the chain explosions caused by the energy conduits couldn't completely destroy it.
Despite having witnessed the terrifying creations of the Precursors before, after testing the power of this defensive secondary cannon, Richard couldn't help but murmur in awe:
"An ordinary weapon with ten thousand energy levels... What a formidable civilization."
(End of chapter)