Chapter 413: Gun Modification

Hab heard the question and first felt great joy, then replied with some regret: "Lord, the Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope is a migratory type of demon beast, naturally loves to run free, and cannot yet be farmed, so the number of magic souls I have is not many; at present only a little over twenty."

Lei En nodded.

He checked the information on his phone, and it was the same as what the Minotaur said.

The Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope looks like a lithe, robust goat; standing upright it is taller than an adult, with a pair of straight, long black horns on its head that resemble two sharp swords, and a conspicuous gray stripe across its chest, hence the name.

This not‑particularly rare demon beast generally lives on vast tundras and gobi deserts, dwelling in herds whose size ranges from a dozen to several dozen, migrating seasonally each year; they have keen senses and cautious temperaments, making it hard for ordinary transcendants to catch them.

The Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope runs very fast, and its stamina is exceptionally outstanding.

From the Elements in their magic souls one can glimpse a bit: a second‑rank "Enduring Stamina" and a first‑rank "Swiftness", plus an attack Element "Rapid Shadow Assault".

Lei En is familiar with Rapid Shadow Assault; when he uses it, he bursts forward at extreme speed in an instant, thrusting at the target with his weapon.

One can imagine that when the Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope meets an enemy, it lowers its head and charges the foe with its long, sword‑like horns.

Hab brought three Sword‑Horn Antelope magic souls.

Each magic soul has four Elements; three of them are identical, while the fourth is respectively "Lightning Reflection", "Violent Leap", and "Rapid Run".

These are all very good and practical Elements.

For Super‑stage transcendants, a Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope with four Elements is a quite good set of Elements; if thorough research is done to explore its compatibility with other magic souls and develop a corresponding advanced system, using it as a Main Soul would not be bad.

But as a Sub‑Soul it would be overly powerful, inevitably causing severe conflicts, and ordinary transcendants dare not rashly fuse it.

Most transcendent professions have mature upgrade systems; the Main Soul remains fixed, while Sub‑Soul choices are more flexible, yet still cannot be handled carelessly—generally stability is prioritized, fusing magic souls that predecessors have explored, and only when encountering a very rare, powerful magic soul would one risk a trial.

For a combat Wizard like Lei En, each upgrade fusion of magic souls is done at will, one could even say haphazard, and only a tiny minority of outliers.

He knows without asking that Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope magic souls are certainly hard to sell.

The wooden crate contained over thirty beginner‑stage magic souls; Lei En had already examined them all with his Soul Eye. The Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope is not the strongest, but its radiation wave frequency is close to that of the Night Owl, so their compatibility will not be low, making it very suitable for fusing with Gunwing Knights.

Gunwing Knights have bronze bodies; their strength and defense far exceed those of transcendants of the same level, and are not inferior to Mid-stage transcendants, only lacking slightly in speed and stamina, which the Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope can readily compensate.

"Rapid Shadow Assault" adapts to the Gunwing Knight's long sword, enhancing close‑quarters combat power.

This combat‑technique Element can also be applied to spears; if the Gunwing Knight Corps later needs a coordinated charge, it can unleash even greater force.

Lei En did not look at the other magic souls and said, "Hab, send over all the Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope magic souls you have in hand."

"Very well, Lord."

The Minotaur's honest face broke into a smile, he scratched the mane at his waist and, a bit embarrassed, asked, "Is it just a matter of price?"

Lei En gave the shrewd merchant a glance and said, "State your price."

Hab pondered for a few seconds, then cautiously probed, "One hundred fifty Gold Shield?" Seeing Lei En not respond, he quickly explained, "Lord, wild‑hunted magic souls are far pricier than farmed ones; I collected these from soul hunters and am reselling them to you, merely earning a bit of commission."

"Alright, that price it is."

Lei En knew that one hundred fifty Gold Shield was certainly inflated; the Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope's Elements are all ordinary, and it contains no Arcane Element, so the normal price should be around one hundred twenty Gold Shield.

He would have to deal with Hab frequently in the future, so giving him a little sweetener would keep him quiet.

Anyway, he wasn't short of that money now.

"This is only the first batch; I need more Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope magic souls. You can keep an eye on gathering them, or even commission soul hunters to hunt them—I'll purchase them at today's price," Lei En said calmly, "but there's one thing you must note: I don't want to hear anyone linking Gunwing Knights with the Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope."

Hab, upon receiving the big deal, couldn't help but be thrilled.

He heard the latter half and promptly replied seriously, "Lord, rest assured, I, Hab, never speak recklessly, by the testimony of Mother Earth."

"I hope so," Lei En nodded slightly, exuding a faint aura of authority.

Hab felt a shock inside; as a legendary Earth Walker, he sensed an immense pressure and dared not meet Lei En's gaze.

"Thank you for your generosity, Lord; I'll send the magic souls over at once," the Minotaur said after bowing, hurriedly loading the wooden crate and departing.

Lei En sat in his study waiting.

In fact, it was merely a verbal warning; even if outsiders learned that the Gunwing Knights' fused magical souls were Night Owl and Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope, it would have little impact.

Whether two different magic souls can fuse indeed depends on their radiation wave frequencies; some have higher compatibility, some lower, but a more crucial factor lies in the transcendent themselves. Transcendants also possess their own soul wave frequencies, which alter the nature of existing magic souls, and the new magic soul's frequency also varies; without special media or methods, one can only rely on luck.

He has a Soul Eye, allowing him to clearly grasp magic soul frequencies and locate the best‑matching one among many, naturally boosting the success rate dramatically.

It is a unique technique; others cannot learn or achieve it.

A moment later, over twenty Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope magic souls arrived in Lei En's hands; he examined each with his Soul Eye, recording their radiation wave frequencies.

Lei En took the magic souls and teleported them to the meditation chamber of Jin Gang Fort, saying to a Gunwing Knight on guard at the door, "Bring the brothers whose souls have already ascended over here."

"Yes!" the Gunwing Knight ran out excitedly.

In under five minutes, a dozen Gunwing Knights arrived at the meditation chamber, each unable to hide their excitement and anticipation.

Lei En's gaze swept over them one by one; there were seventeen in total.

Most of these Gunwing Knights hold captain positions, have undergone ascension, their souls are full, and can reach second rank by fusing a new magic soul.

The Gunwing Knight Corps is organized as ten per squad, three squads per platoon.

He poured resources without counting costs; after eight months of grueling training and drilling, more than half the captains and three platoon leaders rose from first to second rank, a result he found fairly satisfactory.

Especially the three most outstanding platoon leaders, whose souls ascended first; without fusing a magic soul they continued cultivation, and should reach third rank before year‑end.

Unsurprisingly, future company and regiment commanders of the Gunwing Knight Corps will emerge among these two men and one woman.

Lei En's most promising candidate is Desen; the youngster's talent is the best in the corps, and he could have become a spellcaster—being a Gunwing Knight would be a waste of his talent.

"Desen," Lei En called.

"Yes, Lord!" Desen, the first to be called, did not panic, stepped forward proudly; his outward calm was betrayed by the rise and fall of his chest, revealing his feelings.

Lei En used his Soul Eye to look at him, confirming his soul wave frequency; among the over twenty Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope magic souls in the crate, four had frequencies closest, and unsurprisingly would achieve high compatibility. He selected from those four the one bearing "Lightning Reflection", as this Element is relatively stronger, granting lightning‑fast reaction speed and enhancing melee power.

"This is a Gray‑patterned Sword‑Horn Antelope magic soul; take it," Lei En handed the magic soul over.

"Thank you, Lord!"

Desen carefully took the soul stone, fearing he might drop and break it.

Lei En nodded and smiled; personally handing the magic soul to a Gunwing Knight is an excellent way to win hearts, making them remember who grants their power.

He continued distributing magic souls to the other Gunwing Knights.

Each person tries to match a demon soul whose wave frequency is closest, thereby reducing conflict; this not only guarantees a high fusion success rate but also retains at least fifty percent of soul power, achieving a medium fusion level. Some Gunwing Knights whose frequencies are closest can even retain over ninety percent of soul power, gaining ultra‑high fusion and a rapid surge in strength.

Lei En looked at the seventeen Gunwing Knights; they were all a bit impatient.

Nevertheless, he still warned them, his expression stern as he said, "These demon souls are carefully selected by me for you; they must not be exchanged with anyone, or you will bear the consequences yourself."

Some Gunwing Knights didn't understand, asking, "They're all gray‑patterned sword‑horn antelopes; what's different?"

But no one dared to defy the order, and they all replied in unison, "Yes, sir."

"Alright, each of you go to the warehouse to collect a Dragon Blood Soul Refining Elixir and a Calming Divine Technique Scroll. I wish you success." Lei En had already instructed Fabian to have the supplies ready.

The Gunwing Knights broke up in a clamor, rushing out one after another.

Lei En entered the adjacent mechanical alchemy chamber.

He had agreed that the Silver Star Title: Duke would send Extreme Warriors to the battle, but they could not go as is; to protect the secret of Lambo's Gun, the weapon had to be modified.

The initial idea was to replace gunpowder bullets with shell‑less fuel element bullets.

At present, thirty Extreme Warriors already have Flaming Dragon mounts; they have obtained "Flame Affinity" from the flying dragons, a supernatural Element that lets them cultivate meditation to gain magical power and use soul guns. The magical power need not be deep; a small amount as a trigger can activate fuel element bullets.

The supernatural Element can be activated by physical strength, so even when magical power is exhausted they can keep firing.

Gunwing Knights are the same.

The shell‑less fuel element bullets Lei En invented consume far less soul power, magical power, and physical strength than ordinary fuel element bullets—less than one‑twentieth.

A first‑rank Gunwing Knight can fire only three to four hundred bullets before stopping, whereas an Extreme Warrior's stamina is far greater; they can fire tens of thousands of shell‑less bullets in one burst without issue.

In the future, all Extreme Warriors will gradually switch to the new Lambo's Gun, phasing out pure gunpowder bullets.

With shell‑less bullets, Lambo's Gun no longer needs a shell‑ejecting mechanism, simplifying its structure.

This modification is not difficult for Lei En; the real trouble lies in bullet production.

Lambo's Gun's ammunition is not compatible with submachine gun rounds; its caliber is larger and must be entirely re‑produced. This time he plans to dispatch two squads of Extreme Warriors, twenty‑four loads of Lambo's Gun ammunition, which he estimates will take several days to ensure sufficient output.

The casings and projectiles are relatively simple; once activated metal is upgraded to third level, Lei En can hand‑craft over a million of them in a day.

Loading the propellant is the most tedious step; even with a progressive rotary press that saves steps, a skilled worker can press a bullet in a few seconds, but the efficiency is still low.

This matter cannot be handed to others; only the Extreme Warriors must toil for a few days themselves.

"Hope it will be in time."

Lei En muttered, then set to work.

(End of Chapter)