Chapter 42: Awakening Successful!
Moria Ironbody was pondering in the laboratory of the detached residence.
He lay comfortably on a recliner beside a large forging platform, holding a long smoking pipe in one hand and a water cup in the other. The old dwarf stared at the ceiling with a composed expression, though his brows were furrowed. Yet from time to time, the wrinkles on his face would relax, and he would blow out a smoke ring or two.
This time of smoking while thinking was what Moria found most pleasant. Although Joshua had told him it was best not to smoke when the children were around, Ying and Lin rarely came to the laboratory anyway, so it didn't really cause any issues.
Besides, they were both Divine Mechanisms. The old dwarf sighed helplessly, took a deep drag from his pipe, and blew out a perfect circular smoke ring. He watched the ring rise slowly until it touched the ceiling, thinking to himself: Those two might look young, but they should be over twenty by now, right? This lord always judges by appearances.
A few weeks earlier, the old dwarf had returned to the dwarf settlement south of the Great Aias Mountains. After confirming some countermeasures against dragon-beast attacks, he had come back to the main city of Moldavia.
As early as a decade ago, actual power in the settlement had gradually shifted to the next generation of dwarf leaders. He only possessed prestige and a certain degree of decision-making authority; most policy implementations had nothing to do with him. So this time, when Moria stayed at Joshua's detached residence for many days without returning, it didn't cause any major consequences.
And the old dwarf didn't think there was anything wrong with this approach. Anyone could manage the dwarves, but creating a new era required him specifically.
As a blacksmith and a designer, Moria had lived for a very, very long time. But it wasn't until he met Joshua that he suddenly realized forging could be so efficient, and the word "industry" was so fascinating.
Assembly line production, industrial chains, rune armor plates, mana armor—one novel term after another was spoken by the young lord in a calm, flat voice. The exquisite concepts contained within made the old dwarf's blood boil. Sometimes, while listening to Joshua describe the potential achievements of these technologies in the future, he couldn't help but feel that this wasn't just a possibility—it was a genuine, undeniable future.
In short, to describe it in one word: it was shocking (zhenhan).
For many days, the two had been in this laboratory converted from the detached residence, further debugging and simplifying the mana circuits required for mana armor. Two Gold-rank warriors argued endlessly beside the anvil like ordinary craftsmen.
The most important thing about mana armor was its enhancement capability; everything else could be simplified. The warrior believed that all aesthetic designs were irrelevant. Even his custom armor needed no artistic structure—only the simplest, most practical design would do.
In short: hard, black, rough, and sturdy.
But for the old dwarf, a good set of armor needed not only excellent performance but also the ability to boost morale and look good. The awe-inspiring effect of a majestic set of armor on subordinates couldn't be achieved by a slight advantage in capability. Besides, some minor decorations didn't require much extra effort.
But facts proved Joshua was right. Simplicity didn't mean it couldn't be beautiful, but overly complex designs would reduce the efficiency of assembly line production—and that was originally the greatest advantage of mana armor. After the warrior listed several possible formulas, the old dwarf had to admit that not all craftsmen had his skill; speed would be severely affected. His ideas were indeed somewhat outdated.
During their arguments, Ying had been beside them, organizing tools and serving tea. Occasionally, she would wipe Joshua's sweat and hand him the tools he needed. This scene made Moria, who had come alone, feel exceptionally envious.
Divine Mechanisms truly are the best assistants. He thought this, then sighed regretfully. Although Divine Mechanisms were universal assistants, without extraordinary willpower and spirit, the contractor could easily be suppressed by the Divine Mechanism's own energy, even causing the collapse of their internal energy circulation.
Every failed contract would cause a future Gold-rank potential powerhouse to collapse. So, aside from the Radcliffe Family, who inexplicably managed to contract safely with every generation, no other family aware of the Divine Mechanisms' existence had considered popularizing this powerful weapon.
After all, Divine Mechanisms were nothing more than powerful weapons. Transcendent-rank magical weapons were, to some extent, not inferior to Divine Mechanisms. Even if they had some disadvantages in capability, their ease of popularization far exceeded that of Divine Mechanisms, which were extremely troublesome to forge.
Just as the old dwarf's thoughts were drifting further and further, to the point where he was about to fall asleep, a violent fluctuation of energy suddenly came from the city center, jolting him awake.
The earth trembled—a pulse that felt like an earthquake yet was completely different. It came abruptly and vanished just as swiftly. The entire detached residence shook slightly, and almost all mana-related devices instantly emitted their own radiance.
"Mana pulse?"
A hint of confusion appeared in Moria's eyes. Of course, he could recognize this phenomenon. A mana pulse was the manifestation of some powerful magical item or lifeform displaying its power. If he himself were to activate his battle qi, it would produce a similar effect.
But at this moment, there were only two Gold-ranks in all of Moldavia, and the aura of this pulse clearly wasn't Joshua's. So who was it?
He shook his head, sat up from the recliner, straightened his clothes, and planned to go out and see what was happening.
On the way, he saw the equally confused No. 3's mana projection. This artificial intelligence girl, a mana construct from another world, stared into the void, seemingly using magic to detect the distant situation. Moria was about to ask what was going on when an even greater tremor rapidly arrived.
Boom——
This time, the commotion was far more intense than the previous sudden tremor. If the earlier phenomenon might have seemed like an illusion to commoners without mana or battle qi, then this was a genuine earthquake. Tables and chairs shook, the water in cups sloshed violently, even splashing out.
But just like before, the tremor came abruptly and vanished quickly. Within a few seconds, the shaking completely stopped, with no further aftershocks.
"It's over?"
Moria muttered to himself in confusion.
"Not yet."
No. 3's projection shook her head. Countless rune symbols flowed in her eyes: "Powerful fire elements are gathering in the city center. The energy has already exceeded the Silver-rank upper limit and is about to enter Gold-rank."
"No, it has already entered Gold-rank."
As soon as she spoke, a wave only detectable by transcendent beings swept through. Just as No. 3 had said, an intense aura of fire elements radiated from the city center, spreading outward. It had now affected the entire main city of Moldavia. Additionally, a faint pressure caused all the hidden rats, insects, and other small creatures in the houses to frantically flee their hiding spots, running aimlessly outside. This caused even greater commotion than the earthquake, immediately filling the city with shouts and curses.
"I'll go take a look."
The old dwarf quickly decided.
"Take me along too."
No. 3's projection pointed to her main body placed in a small handcart—a violet-colored rune core.
The old dwarf naturally had no reason to refuse. So, a dwarf, a core, and a mana projection quickly headed toward the city center.
And by the time they arrived at the backyard of the Lord's Mansion in the city center, everything was in its final stages.
Violent fire elements transformed into a golden-red halo, swirling around a black warhorse. Veins like molten lava flashed across its body. The surrounding air seemed to boil, rippling violently, and the distorted atmosphere blurred the light above the entire Lord's Mansion.
Joshua stood before this warhorse, holding an empty bottle and a rune box in his hands, watching the scene with a serious expression.
Moria could naturally tell that this was the warrior's dragon-blooded warhorse named Black. And the tremendous commotion earlier was likely caused by this dragon-blooded warhorse awakening its bloodline.
But what kind of bloodline could produce such a grand phenomenon?!
No one answered the old dwarf's question. Black stood on the ground, letting out a loud neigh. The sound was impossible to tell whether it was pain or joy, but it carried a hint of terrifying pressure. As this sound spread, the surrounding fire elements seemed to heed its command, pouring into its body endlessly.
Having eaten the fruit of the Tree of Life and drunk a bottle of ancient dragon blood, Black's body now contained an endless surge of violent life energy being released. Driven by this power, its body underwent various mutations. The molten veins were just one of them. The warhorse's life form was fundamentally changing.
The first change was its physique.
Although the change wasn't enormous, it was clearly visible. Under the influence of bloodline power, the warhorse's skeletal structure underwent a noticeable transformation. Previously, a glance at Black's body would still reveal some horse-like structure. But now, upon closer inspection, it was clearly a dragon.
On Black's sides, a bony ridge was slowly growing. However, it seemed the bloodline power within its body wasn't thick enough, so the ridge stopped growing halfway, only forming the rudiments of wings.
Other scattered changes need not be detailed—for instance, multiple bony spines appeared on its neck, and its horse tail began transforming into a true armored tail. These were all obvious changes visible at a glance.
"Hsssaaaaaah——"
Having endured to its limit, Black let out a long cry and stomped heavily on the ground. The terrifying impact shattered the stone floor into spiderweb-like cracks. Endless fire elements surged upward, transforming into a crimson mist that gathered above its head, making the surrounding air scorching hot.
The maids watching from the Lord's Mansion had long since hidden inside, observing the scene through walls and windows. Some weeds and fragile wooden structures in the backyard had already begun to spontaneously combust. As mana further converged, visible flames ignited around Black, forming a crimson pillar of fire.
The pillar of fire raged violently across Black's surface. Heat sufficient to melt steel surged through this dragon-blooded warhorse—no, now it could be called a half-dragon dragon-horse. This heat had already turned the ground beneath Black's hooves into golden-red molten rock. But it was contained by Joshua's power, preventing it from spreading around the Lord's Mansion and destroying streets and buildings.
"Excellent. One more push, and you can completely stabilize the Refined Black Dragon bloodline, becoming a promising Gold-rank half-dragon."
Even Joshua couldn't help but get excited at this point. Regardless of whether Black could understand, he began encouraging his mount: "If you succeed in advancing, I'll take you hunting fire dragons next time and use their dragon blood to enhance your strength!"
Whether it was because Black understood Joshua's words or simply its own effort, the moment the warrior finished speaking, a golden light flashed in the dragon-horse's eyes. The raging pillar of fire quickly retracted into Black's body, proving it could gradually control the immense energy within. On its originally black carapace, countless golden-red vein-like patterns appeared.
These patterns flashed briefly before converging at the center of its chest. Immediately, a visible golden-red core gradually formed, and its heartbeat grew stronger and stronger.
Finally, the intense heartbeat could be clearly heard even several streets away. The core in Black's chest gradually stabilized and fully took shape.
"—Hsss!"
Raising its head and letting out a long neigh, Black stomped its feet excitedly. Scorching flames splattered along with the still-uncooled molten rock. Its now golden-red dragon eyes were filled with the satisfaction of successful awakening.
Joshua burst into laughter. He casually tossed aside the bottle and rune box in his hands, then stepped forward. The warrior embraced his mount's head, paying no heed to the heat that could melt rock, and patted its back excitedly.
The expressions of the man and the horse proved one thing.
Bloodline awakening was successful!
(To be continued.)