Chapter 729: Melee Mage

Lei En immediately sensed Fan Dusi's thoughts.

He can at any time grasp the clone's thoughts and have absolute control.

This kind of master brain's control over the heart‑soul is not an attack on the mind, nor a negative effect; essentially a soul has multiple bodies, and the True Will naturally does not react, ending the relationship between the two. The heart‑soul must cling to the master brain; if the link is severed, the heart‑soul will perish.

Therefore, Lei En has no need to worry about the clone's betrayal.

He, in order to focus on practicing the Creation Technique, temporarily and unilaterally cut off mental synchronization with the clone; upon hearing that he named himself Fan Dusi, he was surprised and instantly showed a knowing smile.

"Thundercast Divine Soldier is indeed a very good name."

Lei En turned back to continue creating the clone and thought, "After all, I am mortal; I must still have taboos toward deities. Calling it Thundercast Divine Soldier is too arrogant and might invite unnecessary trouble."

Fan Dusi, possessing autonomous thought, replied, "Then call it Thundercast Celestial Soldier."

"Fine."

Lei En responded in his mind, and the two finished communicating within a second.

Fan Dusi no longer watched Lei En cast, turned and left the alchemy chamber, inventorying the alchemical materials in the adjacent warehouse, preparing to forge a batch of standard weapons and gear for himself and the Thundercast Celestial Soldier.

He paced around the warehouse and soon got an idea.

Previously, among the materials Lei En had gathered were large amounts of "Aojin Iron," a magical alloy primarily made of refined gold, dense and hard, with high magical conductivity, especially offering a great amplification effect for the Thunder Element.

The Thunder Warhammer in Lei En's hand was forged from Aojin Iron.

Fan Dusi moved several crates of Aojin Iron into another alchemy chamber, pulling out blocks of magical alloy that looked like gold, along with a dozen or so auxiliary materials.

He thought for a moment and picked up a piece of Aojin Iron.

Then, he activated the metal.

The hard, heavy magical alloy rapidly softened, becoming dough‑like and pliable; Fan Dusi focused intently on shaping the metal, occasionally grabbing various materials from beside him and mixing them in, the whole process flowing like clouds and water, and within minutes he forged a rough hammer blank.

As more material was added, the hammer's shape gradually stabilized.

Fan Dusi carefully controlled, his palms emitting bolts of lightning, gathering Thunder Element runes into the hammer, constructing a rune array inside the hammerhead, thereby enchanting the weapon.

A roar of thunder.

With the final flash of lightning fused into the Aojin Iron, a hammer almost identical to the Thunder Warhammer was completed.

The hammer was entirely dark‑gold, its one‑meter‑long handle engraved with anti‑slip diamond patterns; the hammerhead's sides were wrapped with dozens of lightning‑shaped rune lines, and at its center lay the golden emblem of the Augustus family, emitting a subtle lightning energy.

This is its biggest difference from the Thunder Warhammer: the family emblem replaces the dwarf forge god Moradin's visage.

Fan Dusi grasped the hammer and swung it a few times, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

The Thunder Warhammer is a replica of the Thunder God's Hammer.

And the hammer in his hand is a replica of the Thunder Warhammer.

The Thunder Warhammer originated from the dwarf rune lord Grunus, Master of the Bronze Ring, a painstaking work honed over years, reaching epic‑level quality. The hammer Fan Dusi forged is considerably inferior, at best a top‑tier enchanted weapon.

It has only one enchantment effect: Thunder Strike.

It is also much lighter, weighing only two‑thirds of the Thunder Warhammer, under seven hundred pounds.

Even so, it is a rare premium weapon; the materials alone are worth tens of thousands of Gold Shields, more than enough as the Thundercast Celestial Soldier's primary weapon.

"A replica of a replica of the Thunder God's Hammer shall be called the Lightning Warhammer."

Fan Dusi set the hammer down.

Then he picked up Aojin Iron again to continue forging, this time not a hammer but a set of armor, his mind already having the design ready.

Moments later, an exquisite armor set composed of helmet, chestplate, shoulder guards, arm guards, gloves, belt, greaves, and war boots—eight pieces—was forged.

Fan Dusi put it on; the fitted armor covered his entire body.

Because the primary material was Aojin Iron, the whole set shone with a bright golden hue; the chestplate's front was sculpted into muscle‑like lines, a blue‑silver cloth battle robe was worn underneath, its blue hem hanging from the waist between the legs, shielding vital areas.

Besides the robe, the shoulder guards forged from Titan Blue Iron were also blue, engraved with the Augustus family emblem, surrounded by golden lightning, which will become the Thundercast Celestial Soldier's insignia.

The helmet's design was also very unique; the face was a dignified golden mask with only two eye holes, a semicircular golden ornament set on top of the helmet spanning its width, with five metal spikes evenly spaced along the semicircle.

The central upward‑pointing spike was the largest, shooting straight skyward, its tip tied to a tuft of pine‑like blood‑red tassel.

A wide blue cloak draped behind.

The cloak was also woven from blue‑silver cloth, its texture sturdy, and could later be enchanted with Thunder spells.

The entire armor set weighed over three hundred pounds, currently unenchanted, yet its superior material granted it formidable defense.

After Fan Dusi donned it, his whole figure seemed cast from gold, both imposing and beautiful.

"The Thundercast Celestial Soldier naturally wears 'Thundercast Armor'," he thought, "This is only temporary gear; later we will enchant it, add functions, and improve performance."

He paced back and forth in the alchemy chamber a few times, and Fan Dusi quickly adapted to the armor.

At that moment, a naked figure walked in.

The second clone was completed.

Fan Dusi glanced at the clone; like himself, it had a split brain loaded, minds linked, but its appearance was no longer Lei En's.

When Lei En created it, he adjusted the facial features, giving it a new face.

Aside from that, the two clones had no differences.

This clone named itself Jia Dusi, walked over unabashedly without a word, picked up Aojin Iron and began forging its own weapons and gear.

Fan Dusi instinctively assisted.

The two Thundercast Celestial Soldiers collaborated, doubling efficiency, and soon forged another Thundercast Armor set and a Lightning Warhammer. When a third Thundercast Celestial Soldier named Suo Sitousi entered, it immediately donned the pre‑made Thundercast Armor and joined the forging line.

One Thundercast Celestial Soldier after another walked out of the alchemy chamber.

After completing the fifth set of armor and weapons, Fan Dusi halted, as the remaining set could be forged by others.

He entered the meditation room and sat cross‑legged.

He opened his phone interface; thirty‑one Elements appeared before his eyes, feeling the body and power—undeniably strong, yet in reality these were his innate abilities, unable to conduct a Soul Transformation ceremony, nor belonging to any transcendent profession.

Fan Dusi pondered that Thundercast Celestial Soldiers cannot ascend to Legend, but it does not prevent them from acquiring new Elements.

Most crucially, Thundercast Celestial Soldiers lack the Blood Soul Curse.

Thus one can, through training, master the Element of physique and combat skills, just like non‑human intelligent races such as elves and dwarves, choosing a profession according to one's talent.

The best choice is naturally a Mage!

Even if one can only master up to fourth‑ring spells, as long as the number of spells is large, the boost to a Thundercast Celestial Soldier's power is still significant.

Moreover, becoming a Mage does not affect melee strength, nor does one need to seek Law Seals and magic souls like a Wizard.

Thundercast Celestial Soldiers possess the "Thunder Form" and the "Key of Doors."

These two super‑exceptional Element‑level affinities, combined with powerful physical traits, are enough to forge a Thundercast Celestial Soldier into a rare melee Mage!

Fan Dusi's mind runs the "Lake of the Constellations" meditation method, along with experience from Reslin's practice of this meditation.

He closes his eyes and begins immediately.

A Mage's meditation requires no medium; through repeated practice, one creates a meditation space within one's own soul.

This is extremely difficult for ordinary people, demanding a very high level of Willpower.

Yet Fan Dusi succeeds in meditation in less than half a minute.

His originally chaotic soul world splits in two, upper and lower, with a profound space between. Above is a dark night sky, stars lighting up, emitting starlight that reflects onto the tranquil lake below. The starlight falls into the mirror‑like lake like droplets, rippling outward in concentric circles.

Tick—!

A silent, faint chime sounds in Fan Dusi's mind; this drop of lake water is his mana, signifying that he has become a Mage.

The soul space changes dramatically.

The constellations in the night sky grow ever brighter, more soul energy converts into mana, and the lake expands outward, deepening.

A few minutes later, Fan Dusi opens his eyes; the meditation ends.

The soul space in his mind has fully stabilized; the massive soul power, half of which has turned into mana, allows him to control spells more precisely when casting, employing techniques such as arm‑to‑finger gestures to enhance potency.

Without mana, he can still cast spells, but they are released instinctively like a beast—crude, inefficient, of mediocre potency, and waste soul power.

Compared with a Mage's casting ability, the difference is as vast as heaven and earth.

Fan Dusi senses his own condition.

"Ninth‑rank Mage."

He cannot ascend to Legendary Mage, but he can construct spell models and master more spells!

Fan Dusi instantly recalls dozens of spells: Mage's Hand, Flight, Spell Counter, Detection, Magic Alarm, Secret Seal, Summon Star‑realm Steed, Restoration, Giant Strength, Acceleration, Mirror Image, Arcane Barrier, Invisibility, Lightning Wall, Fear Technique, Heart Rocket, and so on…

These spells top out at fourth‑ring, each with different effects, all very useful.

However, spells limited to fourth‑ring are somewhat underpowered.

Thundercast Celestial Soldiers are clearly unsuitable for the Mo Du faction.

"It seems we must follow the Naiser doctrine," Fan Dusi chuckles silently, noting that as a Weizelan Wizard he never expected to join the Naiser faction one day.

Lei En is still creating clones; Fan Dusi wastes no time and begins constructing spell models.

Half a day later.

Lei En looks at the six Thundercast Celestial Soldiers before him, forged like gold, his face a bit weary yet unable to hide his joy.

Casting a single Creation Technique consumes one hundred units of power; the phone's fission requires another twenty units.

Together, creating one Thundercast Celestial Soldier needs a total of 120 units of power; he raises the Core Mind to level seven, leaving eight hundred units, enough for six Thundercast Celestial Soldiers.

Now the soul‑energy pool is depleted.

Lei En suddenly says, "You are now qualified clones; you should learn to absorb power yourselves."

Six Thundercast Celestial Soldiers— you look at me, I look at you.

"That joke is really cold," says the fourth‑born Ying Parisi, while beneath the helmet of the nearby Wei Ke Cui An a flamboyant laugh erupts.

Lei En shakes his head helplessly, "Self‑entertainment is truly boring."

Each Thundercast Celestial Soldier is essentially oneself; they possess autonomous consciousness yet remain synchronized with his thoughts, needing no spoken communication—just a mental impulse, and all the soldiers instantly comprehend and act.

He ponders briefly and assigns the Thundercast Celestial Soldiers their first mission.

Proceed to Shield Island to establish a teleportation array.

At the same time, hunt evil creatures in the Dark Realm en route, harvesting souls for charging. Upon reaching Shield Island, set up a teleportation array linking to the Obsidian Tower, begin clearing the island's undead, and lay preliminary groundwork for future city building.

Lei En takes six Bolt Guns from the Nebula Ring.

These are his recent productions, mostly equipped to Extreme Warriors; a batch remains in his hands, perfect for the Thundercast Celestial Soldiers. The Lightning Warhammer and Bolt Gun will be their primary weapons—one hand holds the hammer, the other the gun, suitable for both melee and ranged combat.

Then, Lei En triggers a castling maneuver to return to Glamorgan, and shortly swaps back.

He gives Fan Dusi a Dimensional Space Ring containing food, fresh water, and some essential adventuring supplies, enough to sustain six people for half a year.

Dozens of large crates land around.

Inside these crates are forged mithril plates, over a thousand pieces, enough to assemble two teleportation arrays.

During this period Lei En has not been idle; he works more than twenty hours a day, forging a large quantity of weapons, equipment, and ammunition, including over a dozen teleportation arrays for future needs.

After dropping the items, Reslin swaps back again.

He empties his Nebula Ring, loads the mithril plates for the two teleportation arrays into it, hands them to the Thundercast Celestial Soldiers, waves to open a portal, and sends them out of the cavern housing the Obsidian Tower.

The six Thundercast Celestial Soldiers appear in the cavern, silent, instantly orient themselves, and advance through the Dark Realm.

The distance from the Obsidian Tower to the surface is not far.

Three days later, Lei En awakens in Glamorgan Castle, glances at the soul‑energy pool, sees the power level rise by over a hundred units; the Thundercast Celestial Soldiers are nearly at the Dark Realm's exit. The upper layer of the Dark Realm has fewer evil creatures, so even if the soldiers detour, they cannot harvest much power.

He enters the castle's alchemy chamber.

Soon after, a brand‑new Thundercast Celestial Soldier is born and walks out with Lei En.

The Extreme Warrior stationed at the door sees a Thundercast Celestial Soldier identical to Lei En in appearance and attire, and shows a look of surprise.

"This is my duplicate," Lei En instructs, "Treat him as me."

"Yes, boss!"

The Extreme Warrior replies loudly, only then sensing the original's aura on the Thundercast Celestial Soldier, making it almost impossible to tell which is real.

Lei En finished his instructions and then left Gela Morgan alone.

He altered his appearance, disguising himself as an iron guard, stepped onto Flower Mist Island on Mo Du's eastern sea, after four long‑range teleports arrived at Bear Island in the northwest of the New Continent, opened a portal in an uninhabited corner, crossed the strait, and set foot on the New Continent's land.

Boom—.

Lei En grasped the Thunder God's Hammer and thrust it skyward, braving the cold wind, soaring high and speeding northward.

(End of chapter)