Chapter 131: Beast-Shaped Magic Puppet

Since Chariot took on a portion of the material cutting process, the production of the magic puppets saved Lan Qingyou a considerable amount of effort.

It was not that she was incapable of crafting these components by hand.

The point was that since machinery could process the materials in batches, there was simply no need for her to waste time doing it manually.

Of course, she still had to personally manufacture some of the core components.

For example, the core drive area of every magic puppet, which was the designated compartment for storing the Magic Crystal and mana core.

No matter how exceptionally a magic puppet was designed, it would all be for nothing if this specific area was flawed.

After all, this core drive area was not just the power supply center, but also the central hub for command processing.

Acrylic boards... or more accurately, "transparent toughened boards", were the perfect material for this section.

Initially, Lan Qingyou had wanted to find a way to coat it with Thorium, since that material was significantly stronger than the transparent toughened boards named by Chariot.

Thus, she had no choice but to settle for the next best option and use Chariot's acrylic boards, which were even harder than steel.

Fortunately, Orichalcum served as the second layer of defense. Otherwise, a single punch from any reasonably powerful attack would completely shatter it.

After inscribing all the commands, magic crests, Magic Circuits, enchantments, and other necessities onto the materials, Lan Qingyou began the assembly process.

Naturally, Lan Qingyou had delegated the task of enchanting to Ruan Qingyi.

She was not about to show off her own enchanting knowledge when she had not even finished reading the relevant books.

Click-clack...

Securing the material latches one by one, Lan Qingyou let out a long sigh of relief.

She was somewhat unpracticed since this was her first attempt, but she had managed to complete the entire process from design and production to engraving and assembly. Because of this, Lan Qingyou felt an inexplicable sense of accomplishment.

This particular magic puppet was cone-shaped, resembling a triangular barrel.

Indeed, it looked exactly like the traffic cones commonly seen on roadsides or construction sites.

It appeared very simple on the surface, but it actually contained a hidden universe of complexity within.

Not only was it equipped with Chariot's Thruster for propulsion, but it also housed a dedicated weapons system.

To put it bluntly, it was something similar to a Funnel.

Lan Qingyou gently stroked its surface, and the triangular barrel wobbled slightly as it floated into the air.

Following that, Lan Qingyou retrieved a fist-sized Stone from her Magic Desk and placed it on the ground.

Zap!

A red beam of light shot out from the tip of the triangular cone, striking the Stone with pinpoint accuracy.

Bang!

The Stone exploded the instant it was hit. Fortunately, Lan Qingyou had kept her distance, otherwise her face would have been pelted by flying gravel.

Lan Qingyou floated out from her hiding spot, her brows tightly furrowed.

The red beam appeared to pack a massive punch, but she was far from satisfied.

According to the attack parameters she had programmed, the Stone was not supposed to explode; it should have been melted and cleanly pierced through by the beam.

Clearly, this attack had failed to achieve the desired effect.

"Was it because the mana convergence during the magical energy conversion was not handled properly?"

Muttering to herself, Lan Qingyou dismantled the device and inspected it thoroughly before finally identifying the problem.

It was not an issue with her Magic Circuit inscriptions, nor did anything go wrong when converting non-attribute mana into fire elements using the energy converter.

It was simply a matter of insufficient material durability...

After just a single shot, the "muzzle" at the tip of the triangular cone had melted...

Under these circumstances, the beam that was supposed to be highly focused dispersed slightly the moment it was fired, ultimately turning what should have been a piercing attack into a localized explosion.

As a result, Lan Qingyou relayed the issue to Chariot.

Since he was in charge of materials, it was only natural for her to provide immediate feedback on her "customer experience".

After discussing it with Chariot and receiving his promise to redesign the durability of the muzzle materials, Lan Qingyou turned her attention to the other components.

The triangular cone was nothing more than the first weapon.

She still had several other types of magic puppets waiting to be engraved and assembled.

Thus, while Chariot sorted out the new materials for the "muzzle", Lan Qingyou assembled all the remaining components, leaving only the triangular cones aside.

These magic puppets came in three different forms.

The first had its head fused directly to its body, forming a neckless, round, and chubby figure. It possessed two arms with a pair of massive blades welded to its hands, and instead of legs, it moved on two wheels.

This was the Rolling Blade Beast, a melee-focused magic puppet designed by Lan Qingyou, boasting a solid block of Orichalcum as its frontal defense.

The second was humanoid in shape, wielding an enormous hammer. This was the Copper Hammer Beast, which also served as a close-combat magic puppet.

However, compared to the highly offensive Rolling Blade Beast, the Copper Hammer Beast was geared more toward being a close-quarters guard.

The final variant was a four-legged beast with horns on its head, sporting an appearance that resembled a cross between a leopard and a tiger. This was the Horned Lion Beast.

Because both horns on its head could launch magical attacks, its primary role was roaming and harassment, designed to create openings for the Rolling Blade Beast to strike.

Among the three variations, there were ten Rolling Blade Beasts, six Horned Lion Beasts, and four Copper Hammer Beasts.

Additionally, every single one of them had two recessed slots designed to mount the triangular cones.

That was right.

Strictly speaking, those triangular cones were not considered magic puppets themselves, but rather the armaments equipped onto the magic puppets.

This meant that the twenty magic puppets carried a total of forty triangular cones as weapons, and all of these weapons could be directly controlled by Lan Qingyou.

It was essentially a way for the magic puppets to carry her weapons for her, and there were even times when the magic puppets themselves could utilize these weapons based on command requirements.

However, expecting them to achieve the same level of attack as the "Funnel" maneuver Lan Qingyou had just demonstrated would be impossible.

After all, executing such a feat required Lan Qingyou's innate talent.

Even though each triangular cone was equipped with a Thruster capable of achieving a "brute force flight" effect, maneuvering them into an effective attack posture remained incredibly difficult.

Alternatively, one could simply say that Lan Qingyou's craftsmanship was still lacking.

Lan Qingyou was well aware of this fact, of course, and she would not even attempt to argue against it.

After assembling the twenty magic puppets, Lan Qingyou tested the functions of each one.

Whether it was accelerating or attacking, their movements were entirely smooth.

Naturally, in addition to physical strikes, each type of "bronze beast" possessed its own unique magical attacks.

For example, the Rolling Blade Beast had a D-rank spell called "Quadruple Strike", allowing it to slash four times in a single second.

Then there was the Horned Lion Beast's "Lightning Connection D". Although its attack power was low, it came with an innate paralyzing effect that provided excellent support for the Rolling Blade Beasts.

As for the Copper Hammer Beast's "Iron Wall Defense", it served as an impenetrable wall meant to buy Lan Qingyou crucial time during critical moments.

Truth be told, if the outside world was not currently experiencing a period of Mana Turbulence, she absolutely would have taken a squad of her magic puppets out for a stroll.

As for the components of the forty triangular cones, they were sent back to Chariot for a factory rework.

Of course, while she called it a rework, it was really just a matter of reinforcing the durability of the thruster nozzles. It was not a particularly complicated task for Chariot.

It was nothing more than figuring out another material capable of withstanding extreme high temperatures.