Chapter 212

"Body Armed" is a special skill that improves alongside the user's physical strength, and even if it suffers damage, it can be restored through healing magic methods.

This is the most obvious advantage of this skill!

Especially Tang Zheng's "Degraded: Body Armed"; although its defensive capability is only half of Tang Zheng's own stats, it has broken through the limitation of being unable to be replaced.

This skill.

In Tang Zheng's hands, it has become a suit of full-body armor that can be summoned at any time.

It is just that the defensive level is a bit too low.

Tang Zheng had originally only treated this skill as a means to conceal his identity, however, after seeing the Gray Dwarf clan's damaged armor possessing four highest-rank Lu En characters.

An uncontrollable thought suddenly rose in his mind!

What if these four Lu En characters were engraved onto his "Body Armed: Full-Body Armor"?

Once this idea appeared.

Tang Zheng could not help but want to experiment, which led to the current situation.

Facing this group of still somewhat bewildered dwarf craftsmen.

"That's right, everyone, it is this armor capable of automatic repair that will replace the higher-rank metal you mentioned."

Tang Zheng spoke again, his tone earnest:

"You require higher-grade metal simply because ordinary metal cannot withstand the power of four Gao Jie Lu En characters."

"And this full-body armor of mine may not necessarily compare to the higher-grade metal you speak of, but it possesses the ability to automatically repair itself."

"Even if the armor sustains damage during the engraving process, it can be repaired to continuously ensure that the armor can withstand the power of the Lu En characters."

The situation of "not being able to withstand the power" and sustaining damage was, in Tang Zheng's eyes, merely a reduction in the durability of the Body Armed.

This kind of damage could be easily restored through healing-type methods.

"Can this really work?"

"How would I know?"

"I have no idea what this human is thinking."

"Why does it feel a bit crazy?"

"Hiss, did anyone see how this armor appeared? It was like it was conjured out of thin air."

"It can actually repair itself, what a magical ability. Shouldn't this human be a magic caster? Why is he wearing armor?"

"..."

Whispered discussions came from the surrounding group of dwarves.

All the dwarf craftsmen were somewhat bewildered; whether it was engraving the highest-rank Lu En characters or this method that completely defied common sense.

Both left this group of craftsmen feeling at a loss for how to proceed.

Wriggle~

A dwarf with a beard braided into three ponytails squeezed up from the back, panting as he stared at the full-body armor on Tang Zheng; it was the dwarf Gong De.

"You humans always come up with some strange and peculiar ideas."

Gong De couldn't help but walk forward, his beard blowing in excitement as he scrutinized the gray armor with shining eyes:

"This armor has a metallic luster on the surface, but it isn't actually metal, is it?"

"It's a special material I've never seen before. It can actually repair itself; it's truly beyond imagination. Is it magic?"

After observing for a short while.

Gong De suddenly looked up at Tang Zheng, whose face was covered by the helmet: "I think your idea is fantastic!"

As soon as he finished speaking!

Gong De turned around to look at the other dwarf craftsmen, saying with immense excitement: "Do you really intend to let our dwarf technology be lost!"

"This is an incredible opportunity right before us, isn't it?"

"I have always called myself a 'Lu En Technology Development Expert,' although I haven't made any progress so far; I have no way to shorten the magic-infusion time, nor any way to increase production."

"But these are just methods. The ultimate goal I pursue is to find technology that requires Runes, making Lu En technology unique so that it can be thoroughly passed down."

"Now there is such an opportunity before us, do you still intend to give it up!"

Gong De clenched his fists, looking at all the dwarves with intense emotion, his rugged voice echoing against the mountain walls.

The dwarf craftsmen stared blankly at Gong De.

"Seriously, we didn't say we wouldn't do it."

"Gong De! You're too excited."

"..."

Voices came from among the dwarves.

The next moment.

A dwarf craftsman who looked older stepped out from the crowd, passing the excited Gong De to arrive before Tang Zheng.

"Human lord, there is one thing I still want to confirm: can this armor of yours be taken off?" the dwarf craftsman asked.

"No."

Tang Zheng watched this scene quietly and shook his head.

"Then this is somewhat troublesome. Even if the material problem is solved, the engraving process will generate extremely high temperatures, which is far beyond what an ordinary person can withstand."

The dwarf craftsman spoke while taking out a fist-sized ore with red veins.

"This is a metal called Heat Ore; as long as you strike it with a high-hardness object, it will generate high temperatures. This temperature can easily melt steel."

"If you strike it for a long time, the temperature will be even higher; this is also an important way for our dwarf clan to forge weapons."

Because the dwarf clan lives underground, they cannot use coal, firewood, or similar items to forge metal.

The dwarf craftsman's meaning was clear: if Tang Zheng wore the armor while they engraved it, the high temperatures generated by using the Heat Ore would be unbearable for a human.

"If it is this problem, then you need not worry; I possess a method to resist high temperatures." Tang Zheng chuckled upon hearing this.

Heat Ore can forge metal, so the high temperature generated is at least over 1500 degrees; if smelting metals like Mithril or Adamantite, the temperature generated would likely be even higher.

However!

Possessing the "Fire Attribute Nullification" ability, such high temperatures had no effect on Tang Zheng at all.

"Then everyone, let's begin together."

The Minister of Forging, who was standing to the side, stepped forward at this moment.

All the dwarf craftsmen looked at each other and simultaneously split into four groups, positioning themselves in front, behind, and to the left and right of Tang Zheng.

These were the exact positions where the four Gao Jie Lu En characters needed to be engraved!

"The four Gao Jie Lu En characters need to be engraved at the same time; there cannot be the slightest error during this process."

The Minister of Forging spoke loudly, directing and explaining, which caused the faces of all the dwarf craftsmen to show solemnity and anticipation.

Suddenly!

Several dwarf craftsmen moved at once.

Ding ding!

Dang dang!

Peculiar tools struck the "Body Armed" heavily at the same time, and the high heat released by the Heat Ore began to burn the surface of the armor until it was glowing red.

Tang Zheng sat cross-legged on the ground, letting these dwarf craftsmen hammer away at him, and took a deep breath.

He did not know if it would succeed, but facing the Great Tomb that would descend in the future, he had to try every possibility.

He glanced at the information for "Body Armed":

Skill: Degraded: Body Armed

Level: Low Rank (11-20)

Durability: 287

Physical Defense: 140

Magic Defense: 147

Effect: None

Description: None

Lu En characters do not look complicated on the surface, appearing like strange symbols, but that is only a superficial phenomenon.

In reality, every Lu En character contains special and complex magic patterns; the higher the rank of the character, the more complex and intricate the patterns.

This is why crafting a piece of Lu En equipment requires more time, rather than simply enchanting it like magic-infusion technology.

Days passed.

Tang Zheng remained sitting cross-legged in place, letting these dwarf craftsmen take turns engraving Lu En characters on him.

Food and drink had already been prepared in abundance; these dwarf craftsmen did not need to worry about eating at all, fully immersing themselves in the excitement of replicating Gao Jie Lu En equipment.

Tang Zheng, on the other hand, had a much more miserable time. Maintaining one posture for a long time was already a very painful thing, not to mention that he needed to constantly monitor the drop in durability and perform repairs from time to time.

As for eating, that was not a problem.

The helmet of the full-body armor looked like a closed type, but in reality, the faceplate could be opened; however, to avoid unnecessary actions, Tang Zheng basically only drank some water.

Thanks to him having reached the level of a "Transcendent," his physique had improved significantly, otherwise an ordinary person would never have been able to endure it.

This state continued until the tenth day.

Middle Earth Month, November 28th.

Lava Zone.

One by one, the dwarf craftsmen lay on the ground, exhausted, panting heavily, yet their faces were filled with excitement.

"It succeeded!"

"Such an incredible thing has actually been completed."

(Do not copy content!)

"So tired, I need to sleep!"

"..."

The Minister of Forging supported himself on the ground with his arms, his heavily breathing face also full of exhaustion, his eyes bloodshot as he stared tightly at the full-body armor on Tang Zheng.

"This great, masterpiece, has actually, been able to appear in this world once again." The Minister of Forging shouted in a mix of excitement and neurosis.

Crack!

"Finally finished."

Tang Zheng stood up and spoke faintly, shaking his arms and legs to stretch his body; the full-body armor constantly emitted creaking sounds from the friction.

He had originally held the thought of failure, and did not expect it to actually work; he was indeed somewhat excited in his heart, but not overly so.

After ten consecutive days, that feeling of excitement had long since faded.

Tang Zheng lowered his head to check the full-body armor converted from "Body Armed"; overall, there was no change from before, except for the addition of four Lu En characters.

It looked unremarkable and had no special energy reaction, but the information for "Body Armed" had undergone a clear change.

Skill: Lu En: Body Armed

Level: Low Rank (11-20)

Durability: 287

Physical Defense: 140

Magic Defense: 147

Effect: Lu En Enhancement: Abundant Blessing—Can absorb substances of the same type to continuously strengthen and improve.

Description: An unexpected product created by using "Lu En Technology" to enhance "Degraded: Body Armed."

The stats did not increase at all, but an "Abundant Blessing" ability appeared in the effects.

Tang Zheng's spirit was jolted.

The description of the effect was not long, but it reminded him of the ballad the Minister of Forging had mentioned when they were in the Valley of Despair.

The last two lines of which were:

"The armor that devours ore, clinging to the soul of the Gray Dwarf."

"That is a greatness that even Ancient Dragons gaze upon."

The reason that piece of armor was called a failed work was because the ore used to make the armor material was extremely rare.

This resulted in the armor being unable to improve by devouring ore from the moment it was created.

Tang Zheng had speculated at the time that the ability fused by the four highest-rank characters might be related to "absorption" and "strengthening," and now this point was further confirmed.

"'Absorb substances of the same type' to strengthen."

Tang Zheng muttered these words in his heart, his gaze becoming increasingly bright; it was indeed not much different from what he had speculated.

Armor made of special metal needs to absorb metal of the same type, and if the material is something like "Body Armed," then what it absorbs is naturally the same material as "Body Armed."

And what is the material of "Body Armed"?

Skin, teeth, nails, and other such substances.

"I'll just experiment."

Tang Zheng glanced at the exhausted and sleeping dwarf craftsmen, and with a flash, he had entered the central area of the Lava Zone.

"Since this ability comes from you, then I will use your corpse." With a wave of Tang Zheng's hand, the corpse of the Forest Sage King, Hamsuke, appeared on the ground.

The scorching temperature in the surroundings immediately caused the fur on the Forest Sage King's corpse to curl, and a faint smell of burning permeated the air.

Tang Zheng walked forward, raised his palm, and pressed it onto the corpse of the Forest Sage King, Hamsuke, while silently chanting in his heart: "Abundant Blessing."

Swish!

The four Lu En characters on the gray full-body armor suddenly flashed with iridescent luster, and immediately after, centered on the point where Tang Zheng's palm contacted the Forest Sage King, Hamsuke.

An invisible force was triggered.

Suddenly!

The fur on the Forest Sage King's body turned into a liquid-like substance and was rapidly absorbed by the gray armor; it was not just the fur.

The 20-meter-long tail, the hard teeth, the one-meter-long sharp claws, and even the bones were all absorbed by the gray armor.

In just three breaths of time.

The corpse of the Forest Sage King, Hamsuke, before Tang Zheng had already turned into a pool of pure flesh and blood, spreading on the ground and emitting a bloody scent.

And the original gray color of the full-body armor became a bit deeper.

Withdrawing his palm.

Tang Zheng fell into a brief silence, closed his eyes for a few seconds, and then reopened them.

"Jungle Acceleration!"

A verdant light flashed across the full-body armor.

Tang Zheng's figure moved rapidly, flashing back and forth on the empty ground a few times, and then his figure paused:

"Tail Strike!"

Whoosh!

With lightning speed, a 20-meter-long, arm-thick gray whip extended from the chest of the full-body armor, striking the air violently and emitting a thunderous explosion.

Hiss!

This thick whip vibrated, and a layer of razor-sharp scales emerged on its surface, hissing as it cut through the surrounding air.

Swish—

The 20-meter-long gray whip retracted back into the chest of the "Body Armed" and disappeared.

This was no whip; it was simply the tail of the Forest Sage King, Hamsuke.

Skill: Lu En: Body Armed

Level: Low Rank (11-20)

Durability: 287

Physical Defense: 140+65 (205)

Magic Defense: 147

Skills:

——Jungle Acceleration

——Tail Strike

Effect: Lu En Enhancement: Abundant Blessing—Can absorb substances of the same type to continuously strengthen and improve.

Description: An unexpected product created by using "Lu En Technology" to enhance "Degraded: Body Armed."

The skill information had undergone brand-new changes.

Not only had the stats increased, but these two skills had also been added; they were exactly the abilities originally mastered by the Forest Sage King, Hamsuke.

"Is it because of the level of 'Body Armed' that I can only choose two skills? It seems I can also erase skills."

"Completely beyond expectations."

Tang Zheng looked at the Forest Sage King, who was now just a pool of flesh and blood on the ground, and then looked at the information on the panel, his face full of astonishment.

(End of chapter)