Chapter 511: (Title missing in source, proceeding with [511-1])

Two days later.

Ning Zhuo was hiding inside the mechanical dragon.

At this moment, the surface of the mechanical dragon had changed drastically. Its entire body was covered with thick new deck plating, resembling layers of blood scabs.

This was Ning Zhuo using Python-Pattern Blood Cedar and Dragon-Scale Stone as the main materials, sparing no cost, re-enacting the past, and repairing the mechanical dragon.

In fact, Ning Zhuo only spent a day and a half to finish repairing the Ten Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon.

Next, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the work of refining mechanical puppets.

He set up the Xuanyuan Nine-Craft Platform, the Profound Palace Gear Platform, and the Giant Spirit Shaping Platform in three separate cabins.

A Giant Spirit God was invited out, sitting cross-legged on the floor tiles, surrounding the shaping platform, bowing its head and waist, shaping the materials.

It took a Python-Pattern Blood Cedar, stretched out its large hand, started from the root, and stroked all the way to the crown. The powerful strength, combined with the mysterious wonders of the shaping platform, allowed the Giant Spirit God to get a straight, smooth tree trunk with just one stroke.

The Giant Spirit God also handled metal.

It first took a large amount of metal and placed it in its palm.

Then, its arm muscles bulged, and its hands exerted force, compressing the metal fiercely into a ball. Both palms continuously applied pressure from all sides, pressing the metal ball smaller and smaller.

In this process, a large amount of impurities turned into molten metal, flowed out, became waste, and were discarded to the side.

After a burst of compression, the Giant Spirit God would again pry the metal ball open, crumble it, and then compress it into a ball again.

After several rounds like this, it obtained an alloy ball with a pure and bright color.

It held its palm in a virtual grip, forming a circle with its thumb and index finger. Subsequently, its middle finger, ring finger, and little finger exerted force to compress it.

The metal ball was immediately squeezed into a small lump, and the Giant Spirit God pinched the small lump out with the thumb and index finger of its right hand.

It placed the small metal lump on the Giant Spirit Shaping Platform, rubbed it with its palm, and rubbed it until it was perfectly round.

By following this method, a large number of small metal balls were manufactured.

After a large amount of materials were roughly processed in this way, they were sent to the Profound Palace Gear Platform.

This palace-like mechanical platform rotated slowly, and the countless precision gears and mechanisms hidden inside were also rotating closely, coordinating tightly.

Mechanism—Gear Scheduling Art!

Ning Zhuo urged this mechanical art, controlling it with his spiritual sense, and processed all the materials used.

Accompanied by Ning Zhuo running the platform at full power, the gears and other mechanisms inside emitted a faint roaring sound, as if some mysterious power was awakening.

Various materials were quickly combined, and a large number of talismans were struck into them. Accompanied by the integration of a large number of gears, these mechanical puppet prototypes had the preliminary ability to act.

Ning Zhuo spat out a breath of turbid air and opened the Profound Palace Gear Platform. Mechanical puppets flew out one after another, with forty-eight in one batch!

These forty-eight mechanical puppet prototypes were finally sent to the third cabin of the mechanical dragon.

The Xuanyuan Nine-Craft Platform was responsible for the final process.

One mechanical puppet after another lay on the simple, smooth platform.

Under the platform, a large number of talismans changed constantly, appearing and disappearing, combining and circling into various talisman arrays, so as to form different manufacturing processes.

Sky Fire Smelting!

A large number of flaws inside and outside the mechanical puppets were burned and refined by countless points of sky fire. Some sky fire was as large as a flame, while others were sparks, or even fire points.

The portion of each point of sky fire was just right.

Folding Forging!

The invisible forging force, like water waves, rushed toward the mechanical puppets in waves.

The mechanical puppets floated in mid-air at a distance of three feet from the platform directly below.

The forging force forged the mechanical puppets from all sides and all directions. So much so that layers of forging folds appeared on the surface of the puppets, which were quite beautiful.

Exquisite Carving!

The rough surface of the mechanical puppets became as smooth as flowing water. The impurities left behind during the previous sky fire smelting were all accurately removed.

The structural parts such as gears and grooves in the mechanical puppets were carved to be smoother and fit together better.

In this way, the three mechanical platforms matched each other and cooperated together.

A large number of mechanical puppets were manufactured, saving Ning Zhuo a massive amount of time and energy!

Ning Zhuo had consumed more than two hundred mechanical puppets in battle before. Now he had replenished them, and there were thirty more than before.

*Clang, clang, clang! *

Suddenly, a warning sound came from the camp.

"Enemy attack!"

"There is an enemy attack!!"

Ning Zhuo's heart tightened; he immediately left the Ten Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon and returned to the outside world.

The alarm sounded throughout the entire military camp.

Ning Zhuo urged his magic arts to bolster himself, then immediately stimulated multiple magic tools to protect his body, and ran out of the military advisor's tent.

The Three Generals, Liu, Guan, and Zhang, had already taken their respective positions, mobilizing the soldiers to fill the defense line.

This battle was different from before; it was a camp defense battle.

"Where is the enemy?" Ning Zhuo walked onto the sentry tower, came to Liu Er's side, and used magic to look into the distance.

Soon, he saw a large mass of purple-black poisonous mist slowly rising at the foot of Dice Bone Giant Wood Mountain.

The inside of the poisonous mist was bottomless, and it was unknown what was hidden inside.

The Three Generals Camp was currently stationed on the mountainside, and although there was a certain distance from the poisonous mist, according to this posture, being eroded by the poisonous mist was only a matter of time.

Liu Er's brows were tightly furrowed, his face full of worry: "Military Advisor, you've come!"

"You are clear about our side's background."

"If the enemy army attacks and we clash head-on, even if we are not a match, we can make the enemy pay a price."

"But now, the other side has only unleashed poisonous mist, and several of our battle formations are not suitable for such a situation."

"Sigh!"

"The enemy came prepared and specifically deployed means to restrain our army."

Ning Zhuo put away his gaze and spiritual sense: "What's more critical is whether there is an army ambushed within this poisonous mist."

"Fortunately, we have the camp to rely on and possess a certain geographical advantage."

"In my view, we should first attempt to defend; if the timing is wrong, then we will proceed with a plan to withdraw."

Liu Er nodded: "That is all we can do."

Currently, the enemy's strength is unclear, and the Three Generals Camp is in a passive situation.

Building the camp was not easy, and it contained many defensive powers; this was one of the advantages of the Three Generals Camp.

In this situation, the Three Generals Camp choosing to defend on the spot was the best strategy.

If the enemy was ambushed all around, and they rashly abandoned the camp and left, it would be equivalent to actively abandoning their own advantages and plunging headlong into the enemy's ambush circle; the Three Generals Camp would definitely suffer a huge blow.

"All troops, obey the order, hold the position!" Liu Er ordered loudly.

Immediately, he used his spiritual sense to ask: "Who can go out of the formation to test the background of the poisonous mist for our army?"

Zhang Hei immediately responded loudly.

Immediately, Guan Hong also indicated that he could be dispatched.

Liu Er pondered without speaking. Ning Zhuo smiled slightly and immediately said: "General, I have mechanical soldiers who do not fear sacrifice. Let me first dispatch a mechanical squad to kill into the mist."

"If that doesn't work, it won't be too late for Generals Guan and Zhang to strike."

Liu Er nodded immediately, expressing his approval and expectation for Ning Zhuo's action.

Ning Zhuo acted immediately, throwing out a squad of mechanical puppets from his storage belt.

The mechanical puppet squad immediately rushed out of the Three Generals Camp, rushed to the foot of the mountain, and plunged directly into the poisonous mist.

There was no enemy army in the poisonous mist, only one Jin Dan cultivator.

It was the Corrosive Poison General, Diao Ye.

Diao Ye's skin was dark red, his face like an evil ghost, and seeing the mechanical puppets killing into the poisonous mist, he immediately urged his magic arts.

The poisonous mist wrapped around the mechanical puppets, infiltrating the interior from every crevice, advancing inside and out, carrying out violent corrosion.

Soon, these mechanical puppets were like violently burning candles, becoming shorter and slower in the process of moving forward, until they stopped halfway and were completely unable to move.

Ning Zhuo felt it and reported back to Liu Er: "We did not encounter a large enemy army. But this poisonous mist is violently corrosive; if it really drifts into the military camp, our army will likely suffer heavy casualties."

【Note: This line appears to be a garbled or placeholder text in the source.】

Liu Er nodded: "We must use means to block the poisonous mist."

Ning Zhuo advised again: "I fear there will be a great battle, so military strength must be cherished."

"I can set up an altar to perform rituals, or set up a static array specifically to guard against the poisonous mist."

Currently, the Three Generals Camp is in a defensive posture, fixed in the camp and not moving. The scope of using the array has expanded a lot; it is not just a dynamic array, but also a static array.

Truth be told, the types and content of static arrays are far more numerous than dynamic arrays!

Liu Er thought for a moment: "The Military Advisor's magic power also needs to be cherished; setting up a static array is the first choice."

Thus, Ning Zhuo commanded some cultivators and began to set up a static array around the camp in a tense and busy manner.

*Pfft, pfft. *

A series of flying spears were projected, hitting many cultivators from the Three Generals Camp who were out setting up the array, nailing them to death on the spot!

"Hahaha." An arrogant male voice came, "You are all too naive! Setting up an array under my nose? You all must die!"

Ning Zhuo's pupils shrank, and he immediately identified the owner of the voice: "It is the Poisonous Savage, Wu Lan."

The soldiers of the Three Generals Camp became slightly chaotic.

They hadn't been able to discover Wu Lan, but their own people were killed one by one by the latter, which was a strong blow to morale.

Liu Er immediately spoke up to boost morale, while sending more soldiers to participate in setting up the static array.

"Wu Lan, get out here!" Guan Hong received Liu Er's military order and killed his way out of the camp alone.

He held the Blood Dragon Blade in one hand, patrolling all around, pretending not to know, when suddenly his wrist turned, and he slashed with the single blade.

A dragon's roar arose.

Blood splashed everywhere!

Wu Lan snorted coldly, nearly being slashed. At the critical moment, he raised the poisonous thorn spear in his hand and struggled to block the heavy and sharp blade edge.

Guan Hong kicked out, sending Wu Lan flying.

The soldiers of the Three Generals Camp saw Wu Lan's wretched appearance and immediately cheered loudly, and morale began to clearly boost.

"Quick, set up the array according to what I said." Ning Zhuo seized the time to command the soldiers to set up a static array in various places.

Wu Lan was chased by Guan Hong, while Diao Ye saw the opportunity and unleashed poison arts.

Groups of poisonous mist, like huge rolling balls, rolled from the foot of the mountain all the way to the mountainside.

Liu Er and Zhang Hei struck one after another, detonating many poisonous mist giant balls halfway.

"Bed crossbows ready, shoot for me!" Ning Zhuo used his mind for multiple tasks, commanding the cultivators to operate the multiple bed crossbows in the Three Generals Camp, shooting huge crossbow arrows.

The crossbow arrows also shot and exploded many poisonous mist giant balls.

Just as the static array was about to be built, a fishy wind suddenly arose, and a large patch of black clouds surged out of thin air, quickly covering the sky above the mountaintop!

Poisonous water fell from the black clouds, drizzling down, forming a patch of poisonous rain.

The poisonous rain wet the mountain land, corroding patches of poisonous water pools, and then pitch-black poisonous snakes swam out from the water pools.

At first, these poisonous snakes were only at the Qi Condensation level. But soon, Foundation Establishment-level poisonous snakes were produced, as large as galloping horses.

In several of the largest poisonous liquid water pools, Jin Dan-level aura was brewing.

The four of them, Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Ning, immediately had their expressions become grave.

They all identified it.

Divine Ability—Ten Thousand Snake Poison Flow!

This was the trump card of Tu Ming, the Poison Abdomen High Priest of the Hundred Poison Tribe.

Once this divine ability appeared, it meant that the enemy side had at least one Nascent Soul-level True Monarch.

The static array was just a little bit away from being formed.

But the poisonous rain fell head-on, and the poisonous snakes attacked everywhere, creating extremely strong resistance.

While Ning Zhuo hesitated, Liu Er decisively ordered the array setup to be terminated: "This is clearly Tu Ming's scheme, wanting to use the success of the array as bait to lure us into continuing to invest troops."

Ning Zhuo strictly followed the military order and immediately withdrew the soldiers, sighing in his mouth: "Sigh, if only my mechanical puppets could set up the array under my command, that would be great!"

His tone was urgent: "Tu Ming once clashed with the Bai Yu Camp, and his poison arts were very remarkable. Our army does not have the foundation of the Bai Yu Camp, and the military equipment cannot defend at all. General, I propose to strike immediately, fighting while retreating. At the very least, we cannot let the poisonous mist cover us!"

Liu Er nodded repeatedly. On this point, he and Ning Zhuo saw eye to eye.

Although the military camp is good, it is difficult to defend against poison arts.

Clearly, the enemy army that planned this attack has brains and specifically dispatched Tu Ming, Diao Ye, and Wu Lan to deal with the Three Generals Camp.

Without a doubt, the Three Generals Camp is at a huge disadvantage.

Liu Er began to mobilize the army and form a battle formation.

In this situation, Ning Zhuo's Light Body Gale Array was very suitable. Unfortunately, Ning Zhuo rarely participated in military training on weekdays, and the Three Generals Camp had not practiced it many times at all.

Liu Er chose the Triangular Arrow Formation, temporarily leaving Generals Guan and Zhang to block Wu Lan and Diao Ye, while he occupied the center of the formation, and Ning Zhuo occupied the formation eye.

The Triangular Arrow Formation successfully condensed, the trenches outside the military camp had been filled with poisonous liquid, and the anti-horse obstacles had all been corroded away.

Liu Er gave a whistle, and both Guan and Zhang gave their opponents a fierce blow, then quickly retreated into the military formation.

Ning Zhuo immediately retreated to the central area of the military formation, with Generals Guan and Zhang taking over the two formation eyes.

Unlike Ning Zhuo, who was a novice, as soon as the two Generals Guan and Zhang entered the formation, the entire army felt their military power soar, and the battle formation became several times smoother.

Seeing the Three Generals Camp kill their way out of the camp, Wu Lan and Diao Ye did not dare to approach.

Currently, military power was bolstered on the three of them, Liu, Guan, and Zhang, making the individual combat power of these three people very powerful.

Wu Lan had dared to engage in close-quarters combat with Guan Hong before, wielding weapons. Now, as long as he detected any sign of any of the three generals rushing out, he would immediately retreat far away.

This was not a matter to be joked about!

A little carelessness, and one's life would be lost.

The previous ambush battle made both the Two Kingdoms and the Thousand Peaks Forest realize the means of their own side and the enemy side.

The powerhouses of the Thousand Peaks Forest had a quite profound understanding of the power of the military formation, and now when fighting, they were all very cautious!

The Three Generals Camp rushed to the foot of the mountain.

Liu Er held the Profound Yellow Sword high, deploying military tactics to bolster the entire army's protection.

Ning Zhuo urged his magic arts to blow a great wind to resist the approach of the poisonous mist.

(End of chapter)