Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 430 Plant Mimicry: The Green Dragon

Locke said to the steel golems, "Begin the test."

Instantly, the eye sockets of the ten steel golems projected red gazes onto him, and red dots appeared on Locke's body, indicating that they had locked onto Locke.

Alicia stood in the safe zone inside the testing room. This green circle represented absolute safety, and no golem would attack this green circle.

Alicia said, "Locke, you must be careful. The logic of fighting these mechanical alchemical androids is completely different from the logic of fighting human wizards!"

Meanwhile, to Locke's surprise, the ten steel golems, whose entire bodies were forged from fine steel, did not move as slowly as apprentice-level golems, like sluggish giants. Instead, the gears on their backs turned, emitting a chilling meshing sound, and then six metal exhaust pipes appeared on their backs.

In an instant, the six metal exhaust pipes spewed out huge amounts of hot steam, scorching the ground and deforming its shape.

At the same time, the ten steel golems pounced forward like ten cars speeding across the ground, with spinning wheels appearing under their feet to help them move at high speed as they crashed into Locke.

'This is the first-stage golem created by the alchemist?' Before Locke could react, he was surrounded by ten golems. The steel golems raised their steel battle axes and swung them at Locke. At the same time, an exhaust pipe on the back of the steel battle axe emitted an astonishing amount of hot steam to increase the kinetic energy of the swing.

'Boom~'

With a huge explosion, a pair of banana-shaped wings resembling green dragon wings appeared behind Locke—the Great Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow!

With a roar like that of a dragon, Locke flew through the sky, easily dodging the attacks of the ten steel golems.

The botanical flight spell he currently uses is no longer the common banana wings, but a plant mimicry spell developed in collaboration with the botanical wizards of the Six Towers: Green Dragon.

Thanks to the excellence of the Great Blue Leaf Dragon Sparrow itself, although this spell was poorly designed, it still allowed Locke to achieve almost the fastest mobility at the first stage.

Locke flew through the air like a real green dragon, his dragon might spreading in all directions. However, the ten steel golems completely ignored this first-circle magic dragon might from the Mind School.

'A mechanical construct, capable of ignoring both illusion and mind magic?' Locke quickly realized. 'The Mekanis are a more advanced construct life form than these steel golems; fighting them has indeed been very beneficial.'

At the same time, the steel golems on the ground all turned their steam pipes downwards, and their two arms extended steel glider mechanisms, and they actually took off from the ground. The red light in their eyes continued to aim at Locke's body and chase after the target.

Locke wasn't too concerned. Although these steel golems could fly and transform into flying steel golems, their speed was too slow.

Locke flew with them in the sky for a while, testing the plant mimicry technique: the green dragon combined with the Great Blue Leaf Dragon Sparrow's flight limit ability, while observing the fighting style of these steel golems.

These steel golems had cannons protruding from their chests, constantly firing at themselves through the air a material called "Vulcan Crystal," developed by alchemists. This material turns into flames and explodes upon contact with air, making it a weapon used by alchemists in conjunction with the golems' attacks.

Locke looked at the golem behind him. “Indeed, the logic of fighting these constructs is completely different. These constructs are not living beings, nor are they wizards.”

"Their defense relies on multiple layers of different magical materials on their body surface, using magical alloy and magical ceramic steel to simulate the wizard's permanent defensive field."

"Their mobility comes from the mechanical transmission devices and magical steam transmission devices that the alchemists installed inside them. There should be a small solar transmutation array inside them, which drives these golems constantly by burning fuel."

"Their attack power comes from the power provided by the magic-powered steam transmission device, as well as the weapons mounted on their bodies."

"In other words, these steel golems have the characteristics of super long stamina, stable output, and stable defense. Fighting against wizards is all about seizing the opportunity in battle and quickly gaining victory."

"But these flying steel golems are all the type that attack head-on and fight steadily. Fighting them would be a war of attrition."

Locke took out some poisonous potions from his Astral Ring and threw them behind him, but the golems completely ignored them.

"Immune to toxins, immune to fire, immune to mind damage, high armor, high resistance, and while its mobility is straightforward, its flexibility is slightly lacking. However, the more advanced Mekanis may have solved this flexibility problem."

Locke thought quickly. In that case, if it were a competition against the Mekanis, then a large part of the botanical magic, including poison magic, would be completely out of the question.

And then there's magic that affects the mind, which is even less of a concern.

Locke thought for a moment, then threw a bottle of rusty potion behind him, but the potion had no effect on the steel golem.

Locke thought for a moment and then understood, "Its outer armor is some type of magical ceramic steel."

"This is truly troublesome. As expected of the ultimate weapon of war researched by alchemists, and a subcategory of magic that a third-circle wizard has dedicated his life to studying—golem science. It is indeed very profound."

Essentially, golem studies is a magical version of robotics.

The number of new articles and research findings in this discipline is increasing every year, and the discipline is becoming increasingly large.

"Alicia, have the All-Metal Demon Hatchery in the sky release some more golems, from level 2 to level 6, all of them should be steel golems, and specifically the flying type."

"Only in this way can I better understand the combat characteristics of the Iron Golem School within the Golem School of Alchemists."

Alicia, inside the safe zone, paused for a moment. "Should we release it again? Wouldn't that be too dangerous?"

"No, I want to trust Locke. Then bring out the complete Flying Steel Golem system."

She hesitated for a moment, but still followed Locke's idea and released two hundred flying steel golems from the All-Metal Demon Hatchery at once.

Suddenly, pipes appeared in the metal eggshells in the sky, and flying steel golems were released. As they landed, the mechanical gears inside them turned, and the solar alchemy furnace continuously output hot steam. These terrifying war golems, four or five stories high and made of various magical metals, flew in the sky.

Moreover, what concerned Locke was that this time the two hundred golems were a complete golem legion with a strict division of labor and cooperation.

Eighty different-level steel golems are ground golems, eighty different-level steel golems are gargoyle-shaped aerial golems, and twenty golems have magical cannons mounted on their bodies, which are the result of some kind of alchemist research.

The twenty golems that caught Locke's attention even more were support golems. They seemed to have ten humanoid hands, each holding various repair tools, and appeared to be able to provide support, assistance, and repairs during battle.

Looking at the complete golem army before him, Locke felt the impact of a systematic war.

"The Flying Steel Golem Legion is not only durable and suitable for head-on combat, but it also has a strict division of labor, complete tactics, and standard parts. Any damage in battle can be replaced with standard parts, further improving its endurance." Locke pondered, "This makes wizards more vulnerable in terms of endurance when fighting Steel Golems."

"Therefore, when dealing with combat magical plants that are life forms of these mechanical constructs, these characteristics need to be taken into account."

"but……"

Faced with the flying golems trying to surround him, Locke's magical pressure continued to rise and boil. Every banana leaf of the Great Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow trembled, as if expressing joy. At the same time, a spiritual phantom of a green dragon appeared behind Locke.

When plant mimicry is fully developed, it will mimic the original green dragon's spirit. Moreover, Locke truly possesses the bloodline of a real dragon, and the spirituality within his bloodline overflows, enhancing this plant mimicry technique.

The Great Green Leaf Dragon Finch was nourished and became even stronger.

Faced with the attack from the flying steel golems, Locke freely weaved among them, letting them constantly adjust their exhaust pipes in an attempt to catch him.

"Too slow. These large golems also have a drawback: their massive size limits their agility." Locke looked down at the twenty golems that had set up their magic cannons. Because he was mixed in with the steel gargoyles, the golems were completely unable to attack him. The fire crystals of the ground golems also dared not fire at him.

“This flying golem legion would be very ineffective against miniaturized enemy forces with high mobility,” Locke keenly observed. “But the reason they are built so large is not because they were designed to be that large, but because the magical steam and solar transmutation furnaces inside them cannot be miniaturized, otherwise the power output would be insufficient.”

“That’s right. If we want to get close to the energy of a first-ring wizard, we have to build them bigger and bigger. Otherwise, we can’t provide energy equivalent to the first-ring stage.” Locke looked at the two level 6 golems. These two level 6 golems were almost as tall as a dozen stories. Like giants, every move they made could cause the air to surge outwards like a tide.

If a typical wizard were to use flight methods, they would likely be interfered with by the air currents created by the opponent. However, the Great Blue Leaf Dragon Sparrow can subdue all winds, thus having no effect on itself.

"In order to increase energy output, these golems can only increase their size. The energy core of the level 6 golems seems to still be the solar alchemy array furnace, but the transmission system is no longer hot steam, but some kind of high-temperature flame. This transmission system innovation has slightly reduced the size of the level 6 golems, which tends to become even larger, but there are still limitations."

Locke quickly understood.

These golems are essentially trying to use golem science to simulate wizards, but due to limitations in energy and energy transmission, energy loss along the way, and most importantly, the need to simulate a permanent defensive field, these golems can only grow larger and larger.

This is also normal.

A first-ring wizard is a racial transcendent, and the golem-making technology must also overcome such powerful forces to combine and use engineering technology to simulate a racial transcendent, resulting in golems that are ever larger and larger.

"By the way, miniaturization technology is almost impossible for golems at this stage. Even the works created by third-ring wizards in their first-ring crystallization stage when they were young could not solve this problem."

Locke pondered, "Although the Mecanians are an intelligent race of constructs that escaped from the laboratories of second-circle wizards, they must still be quite large."

"In terms of energy efficiency, golems have always been inferior to first-ring wizards. Therefore, it is impossible for them to be humanoid like wizards."

"Therefore, the only way to compensate for low energy utilization, high loss, and low transmission efficiency is to increase the volume."

Locke noticed that he hadn't even started fighting these golems yet, but during the battle, the auxiliary golems were rapidly replacing joint parts for these golems.

"By the way, because of their large size, the joints are under too much load and are wearing out rapidly. Also, because of insufficient joint technology, these golems are not flexible enough."

Locke swung the dragon's tail and used the botanical magic [Plant Mimicry: Dragon Tail] developed by his research group. Instantly, the dragon's tail, made of artificial wood, automatically extended and lashed out like an iron whip at a flying steel gargoyle.

The gargoyle was suddenly knocked to the ground.

At the same time, Locke flung out some seeds of Eleusine indica, which scattered in the joints of the golems. As Locke chanted the incantation, all the Eleusine indica grew wildly in the joints of these giant steel constructs, further reducing the golems' agility. The workload for repairing the golems exploded instantly.

"The information about the Mecanians does indeed often describe them as being huge and needing to have their mechanical joints replaced. So it seems that the Mecanians also have the same drawbacks as these steel golems."

After all, the original technology of the Mekanis came from the technology of manufacturing steel golems.

At the same time, Locke flew into the sky, and the ten diamond succulents that swirled around him like discs automatically fell down and began to rotate in a circle.

"The testing is almost complete. The maximum data of the Great Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow has been perfectly tested under the pressure of these level 6 flying golems. It's time to test the defensive magic [Photosynthesis] that I developed for the Golden Eye Grass, as well as the Mayfly Bomb and Symbiotic Bonds that I developed for the Diamond Succulent."

The ten diamond succulents frantically absorbed the surrounding light elements and poured them back into themselves. Because of Locke's incantation, they were connected to each other, so the scale of the original element influx was multiplied tenfold.

Ten diamond succulents merged into one, and due to the special properties of the light element inversion, its growth was increased tenfold, not just slightly. If other elements had been inverted, the effect would never have been so good.

In an instant, a massive burst of light transformed into a mushroom cloud.

A powerful burst of light became the only beam of light in the room, blasting away a large number of golems.

A gust of air struck the ground and walls, and a defensive barrier automatically rose within the safe zone, protecting Alicia. Alicia covered her eyes with her hands, feeling as if an earthquake had struck the ground.

"Locke... the power of your spell is truly outrageous. Wait a minute, Locke, you're still within the blast radius. Are you alright, Locke?"

At that moment, Locke, who was flying in mid-air, had a Golden Eye Grass in front of him that transformed into a golden magic mirror, blocking his way. The Golden Eye Grass was surrounded by a photosynthesis magic model, which actually blocked the intense light burst from before and absorbed the light from it.

As Locke chanted the incantation, the beam of light fell to the ground again, striking the still-movable, damaged golems.

Suddenly, the golems exploded one after another.

The entire golem army was wiped out.

Locke let out a soft breath, a look of exhaustion flashing in his eyes.

In this test, he went all out, except for not revealing many of his trump cards.

Fortunately, whether it's Diamond Succulent, Plant Mimicry: Green Dragon, or Photosynthesis Magic, the results are all very good.

Furthermore, I have gained a deeper understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of mechanically constructed life forms.

This is very important for a weapons designer.

Locke reached out and summoned back the diamond succulents. These succulents were already half-crippled due to the excessive power, and would soon wither and die if left untreated.

The all-metal demon incubation workshop in the sky quickly dispatched a large number of non-combat type small golems to begin collecting parts and rapidly repairing them in the incubation workshop.

Therefore, it doesn't matter how many golems Locke and Alicia destroy here, they don't have to pay compensation.

Locke used the universal enhancement frequency of the Magical Co-frequency Cultivation Method to slightly strengthen the ten Diamond Succulents, and then quickly transplanted them into his Druid Ring, ordering his Forest Sanctuary to share nutrients with the ten Diamond Succulents to prevent them from withering and dying.

“Alicia, I’ve almost finished testing. You’re right, fighting these steel golems was indeed very meaningful, and it taught me a lot about construct lifeforms.” Locke said to Alicia, “Now it’s your turn to test.”

Alicia looked at the mess on the ground and gave a wry smile. "Locke, you just destroyed all the steel golems in the All-Metal Demon Hatchery. We can't choose any more steel golems for now, so I'll practice with the flesh golems."

Locke nodded and said, "Alicia, I'll be going now. I still have a project to work on. It's related to your grandfather."

"I'm afraid I won't have enough time today."

Alicia nodded understandingly and said, "Okay."

Meanwhile, the dwarf alchemist inside Joseph's Golem Shop felt the ground tremble. He immediately looked up at the room upstairs and exclaimed, "Is it really that serious?"

"The vibrations even reached the entrance of the shops on the first floor."

"The wizard that Miss Alicia brought this time... I knew I was right from the start, he is very dangerous."

“Aren’t all botanical wizards gentle and kind? He’s an anomaly, he looks tougher than me, an alchemist.”

(End of this chapter)