This is not mechanical ascension...

Chapter 374 Aftermath
Abel was gasping for breath, his body covered in blood and flesh. The fear of facing death up close was not so easy to erase.

This was the first time since he was born that he felt death at such a close distance, and naturally he would remember it forever.

Ryan's cold expression appeared before his eyes, and a seed of hatred began to sprout.

He will return it sooner or later!
Abel's body floated up uncontrollably, and was then taken away by the falling Gaint. He looked at Li Ming with lingering fear.

As Costat approached, a blood-red barrier rose up on both sides, gradually enveloping the two of them.

In the sky, Deus and Klaue appeared, one on the left and one on the right as Ryan stepped into the Imperial aircraft, as if to serve as a check and balance.

Li Ming was alert. Although Costat seemed to have no ill will towards him, many unexpected things happened to him, and he didn't know what the prince's purpose was.

"Are you still in touch, Lord Qinglong?" Costat asked calmly.

"Wait a moment..." Li Ming's voice came out.

Costat was surprised that Li Ming's voice was completely calm. After such a fierce collision, wasn't he injured?
To what extent does the kinetic energy and energy blocking of this mecha reach?
Then Li Ming said, "Can we open a small gap in this barrier..."

“Excuse me.” Costat was slightly surprised. A small crack appeared on the blood-colored barrier above his head. After waiting for a while, Qinglong’s voice came: “Sir Costat…”

"Sir Qinglong, I'm so sorry." Costat said sincerely, "I didn't expect Ryan to suddenly attack. I apologize to you on his behalf."

The apology has to be covered with a curtain, Li Ming muttered, a little surprised. He didn't expect Costat to be so humble.

This is very wrong. Even if Costat doesn't want to intensify the conflict, he doesn't need to be so humble.

"Don't worry, Prince. Some things are bound to happen." Li Ming hinted at something, then said, "But I didn't expect that Prince Ryan was so murderous that he even wanted to kill Abel."

Qinglong's attitude was very gentle, and Costat smiled bitterly helplessly.

Since Polk lied to him, Qinglong is still the first suspect for attacking the Imperial base and taking away or killing Nicholas.

In the past forty days or so, he has roughly figured out the whole story.

The feud between Qinglong and Nicholas is not complicated. It originated from the relics of a certain civilization and involved the death of one of Nicholas' descendants.

To be honest, he didn't think Nicholas had done anything wrong.

It’s just that Qinglong is hiding too deeply. If he showed his current strength at the beginning, Nicholas would definitely not fight him.

Both of them were tacitly aware of the matter of Nicholas, and Costat did not delve into it, but just said:

"I hope that Lord Qinglong can work with me to clarify this misunderstanding to the outside world later. After all, it is Prince Ryan's relatives who disappeared, so his impulsive behavior is understandable."

"It's my duty." Li Ming agreed decisively, and was also unwilling to continue to escalate the conflict.

Costat's eyes flickered, and he hesitated for a moment when he removed the blood-colored barrier. Having experienced two betrayals in a row, he had already been traumatized psychologically.

There was a big pit in the center of the battlefield, which was the center of the collision between Li Ming and Ryan. The edges were smooth, with black and white lines wriggling, flashing strange light, and changing in an elusive pattern.

Every wriggle is accompanied by subtle energy fluctuations, communicating with the surrounding space in some way.

The World Tree was repairing the damage caused by the recent battle, and there was a crack in the center.

If Costat hadn't stopped it immediately, the pit would have expanded hundreds of times.

The two men fell on the edge. Costat's face looked very bad. He could see many living creatures wailing with broken limbs. This was still a relatively far distance, and only a slight aftermath was affected.

A considerable number of living beings were directly annihilated in the energy fluctuations that exploded at the beginning.

"Your Excellency Prince Costat, what do you think of the damage caused by Prince Ryan's sudden attack and refusal to fulfill your promise?"

A reporter with blood all over his face came forward. He was pale, his legs were shaking, and one of his arms was gone, but he still struggled to ask.

"This is a misunderstanding." Costat's face was calm. He knew that someone was recording something farther away.

"In the recent attack, a close relative of Prince Ryan was killed without a burial place, so he had some misunderstandings about Lord Qinglong, but now everything has been made clear."

"That's right." Li Ming spoke at the right time, and his burly mechanical body made a humming sound: "This is indeed a misunderstanding. I can also understand Prince Ryan's grief over the loss of his loved ones."

Costat breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, there was someone who did not betray him. Then, he took over the conversation: "We are willing to bear all the compensation for the consequences caused by Prince Ryan's grief."

"Then what do you think about the accusations against the Holy Elephant and the declaration of the Guide, Polk?" Seeing Costat's gentle attitude, more media reporters came forward.

I have to say that these people are very dedicated. They dare to ask questions at this level.

Prince Costat frowned slightly. Diaz had already landed, and several external spokespersons, along with the gathered soldiers, took over the place.

The two were escorted away.

Afterwards, Li Ming also removed the mechanical body on his body, and the four heavenly kings fell down, with obvious signs of damage on their bodies.

The metal shell was full of holes and even cracked in some places. The jagged edges flashed with sparks and made crackling sounds.

The energy transmission pipeline was also damaged in many places, and the leaked energy light appeared and disappeared from time to time, appearing extremely unstable. The armor at the mechanical joints was shattered, and made a heavy friction sound when turning, and it could fall apart at any time.

Normal repairs may cost a lot of metal energy, but the kings can share his blessings and use the recovery blessings to repair automatically.

As the strength of the material increases, the recovery speed is a bit slower, but at least metal energy is no longer required.

But this time, raising Qinglong's potential level directly to the level of the master craftsman will bring immeasurable benefits, but it will take time to realize.

The most important thing right now is to leave here. All the weapons, including the tank guards, have been severely damaged. Whether they are worn or not, they cannot withstand Ryan's attack again.

But with the [Life Power Core], this thing can withstand a fatal attack and still have room for maneuver.

"Alas, your teacher has made a fool of himself." Costat's eyes swept over him, watching those mechanical bodies enter his body. He was puzzled and more and more surprised.

Li Ming actually only had minor injuries on his body.

Qinglong... Qinglong...

"I hope he won't hold a grudge against me," Costat continued.

"You're welcome." Li Ming muttered in his heart, Kostat's attitude was a little too gentle.

Don’t you suspect that Qinglong is behind this series of events?
Or is this old guy also planning something?
"The teacher highly respects the Empire and believes it is the leader of interstellar civilization." Li Ming echoed, pondering the other party's intentions in his heart.

Costat smiled and was about to speak when his expression changed slightly.

Li Ming also noticed it, but he looked up a step later. A crack appeared in the sky, and a silver river flowed in. Looking closely, it turned out to be densely packed mechanical bodies, like a surging metal torrent, each of which shone with a cold luster, and the complex lines and components on the body were dazzling.

There were so many of them that they were boundless, and soon they covered half of the sky. Among them, there were thousands of gigantic mechanical bodies that were a kilometer high, which were extremely eye-catching. They were not human-shaped, but resembled octopuses.

The huge body is like a suspended metal mountain, full of oppression, with thick mechanical tentacles stretching out wantonly, and each tentacle is inlaid with densely packed energy crystals, flashing a breathtaking light.

The huge head is a sphere composed of complex metal structures and light patterns, with countless sensors and scanning devices distributed on the sphere.

The body is covered with thick armor, on which are engraved mysterious patterns or energy transmission lines.

"The Master of Mechanical Souls!" Costat's face was gloomy.

The remaining media reporters are almost in despair. Is this not over yet?
boom!
A tall humanoid mechanical body descended like a meteorite, with an overwhelming momentum, and its eyes swept over Li Ming.

not dead?

The master craftsman was a little surprised. The previous carrier was not very powerful and was directly annihilated in the aftermath. He did not see what happened afterwards.

Did Costat intervene to stop it?

The Mechanical Soul Craftsman was thinking in his mind, and the shock and anger in his heart subsided a little.

Costat asked, "Mr. Godsmith, have you forgotten the agreement we signed? Without permission, your private armed forces are not allowed to enter the central world."

"I haven't forgotten, but Prince Ryan killed our carrier, which is equivalent to a slap in the face." The Mechanical Soul Master's attitude was very strong, "And about the death of the Forging Hammer Master, you must give me an explanation!"

They are really both enemies and friends, Li Ming sighed secretly, and the Mechanical Soul Master jumped out and fired the first shot.

Costat's face was grim, and he shouted, "This matter... still needs to be investigated."

He wanted to deny it, but he couldn't. The self-destruction of the Holy Elephant was witnessed by countless living beings.

He is the most loyal servant of the Hammersmith.

"What else is there to investigate? The Empire must give us an explanation." The Mechanical Soul Master said in a strong tone, his eyes fell on Li Ming again, "Also, a prince is shameless and attacked an A-level life form."

Is this to support yourself?

Li Ming was surprised, but soon realized that this was an attempt to win over others, so he remained silent.

"Are you trying to go to war with the Empire?" Prince Costat stared at him coldly.

The Mechanical Soul Master snorted coldly, "Threatening others with war is really the end of the road."

He did not press further, but turned and left. The mechanical army covering the sky quickly sank into the crack again.

Li Ming watched with envy. Wherever he went, millions of mechanical bodies followed him. This was a true master craftsman.

"I'm sorry, the Mechanical Soul's attitude was a bit bad." The God of Creation appeared out of nowhere, replaced the carrier with a similar one, and spoke in a gentle tone.

Costat's expression eased, and the God of Creation looked at Li Ming, "Tell your teacher that we look forward to meeting him."

"Also, Your Excellency, I'd like to inform you in advance that the association is already drafting an inquiry statement. Perhaps, we will withdraw from the empire."

Kostat's relaxed expression froze again. Compared with the Mechanical Soul Master's tough attitude, this soft knife made him more uncomfortable.

He wanted to say something but stopped himself. However, as things had come to this point, a gentle attitude was no longer of any use and he ended up with a blank expression on his face.

"My teacher also highly respects the two master craftsmen and often mentions them in front of me." Li Ming said immediately.

Respect? The creator nodded with satisfaction.

From the side, it can be seen that Qinglong should be a rising star. Qinglong is very mysterious. His only point of contact with the outside world is Li Ming. Any words can reveal some clues.

However, it now seems that he has only been a master craftsman for a short time, and his accumulation and foundation are still lacking.

The two talked for a while, and Li Ming's modest attitude won him a lot of favor. The God of Creation also said to Costat: "He is a good candidate for a mechanic. I hope there won't be any more accidents."

Costat just snorted.

Li Ming carefully considered his words. It was enough to blow Qinglong up to the level of a master craftsman. He did not want to make him too powerful.

After today, StarCraft will inevitably usher in a wave of major changes. If you are too strong, you may be paid special attention to.

It’s better to slowly fill in the bragging.

After the Creator left, Li Ming chatted with Costat for a while and then prepared to leave.

I won't feel at ease unless I leave here. I always feel that old bastard Ryan is watching me in secret, ready to give me a fatal blow at any time.

Costat insisted on sending someone to take him to the spaceship dock, but Li Ming declined as he did not want to attract too much attention. He simply changed his camouflage appearance and disappeared into the crowd.

After finding a secluded place, Li Ming directly started the [Dimensional Shuttle Engine] and ran away first.

Before leaving, he did not forget to send a message to Robin and agreed to meet up there.

……

In the Imperial aircraft, Prince Ryan looked at Deus and Claude in front of him with a cold expression, "You also have a relationship with Qinglong?"

"To be honest, I haven't seen it." Diusu sat in mid-air, with a lazy posture and his left leg resting on his right leg.

"Then why did you stop me?" Ryan asked coldly.

Dius smiled and said, "First, it was because of Costat's request. We are all old acquaintances, so we can't just ignore it. Second, it's a small favor to sell it to that master craftsman whom I have never met."

The sides of Ryan's cheeks twitched. There was a third reason. They would love to see the Empire embarrassed.

He suddenly turned his head and looked at Costat who was walking in, and said sarcastically: "So, what benefits did that Lord Qinglong promise you?"

Costat ignored him and looked at Deus and Klaue, saying in a deep voice: "You two, I will suggest that the Empire apply for an emergency blockade order from the Interstellar Alliance to block relevant information on the interstellar network."

"Otherwise, if these events are allowed to spread on the interstellar network, it will lead to unpredictable consequences."

"I hope you two can explain the pros and cons to the higher-ups. You are all eyewitnesses, and you should be able to see that there are extraordinary forces behind today's incident."

(End of this chapter)