Terra Tinkers Construct is fine.

The guerrillas surrounded him, chattering enviously around old Repin; Old Wolf Head didn't try again, but instead held the shield tightly in his arms, as if afraid his old comrade would dirty it with his claws.

The Yetis were also there to join in the fun. Several young Yetis were pulling at a guerrilla veteran that Milan didn't recognize, talking excitedly as if they were the ones who had fixed it. They were all puffing out their chests in front of their elders.

And just then.

"..."

The surrounding noise suddenly subsided.

Just as Milan was about to say something, she saw the bustling crowd disperse respectfully to both sides as the clear metallic scraping and footsteps approached; and on the opposite side of the parting crowd, a huge black figure and a slender white figure were casting their gazes.

Chapter 28 - Patriot Heavy Shield

It would be hard for anyone to say that Frostnova is a person who lacks presence.

However, it must be said that even with such a striking color contrast next to Patriot, Frostnova is unlikely to be the first person to notice – the towering Wendigo simply standing there seems to drain the brightness from the surroundings, leaving only a heavy aura of iron dust.

It is clear that he himself did not express any attitude.

But his armored body was like a mountain, and his crimson eyes beneath his helmet seemed tangible, piercing through the air and giving one a feeling of solidification.

Pressure is unavoidable.

But unlike before when they only caught a glimpse from afar, now that the real deal has come knocking, Milan is no longer nervous.

"You can fix it..."

His gaze swept over the revitalized shield of his old subordinates and the joyful expressions on the faces of his men, and he spoke in a low, hoarse, and somewhat strangely husky voice:

"The craftsmanship is quite good."

"Thank you for your kind words, but I dare not say that this is a good evaluation."

Milan smiled and looked at old Repin, who was holding the shield, and said, "The reason I only said 'try' earlier is because I can take the shield apart, fix the faulty parts as much as possible, and then put it back together completely; but Uncle Repin, this can only be considered a technical verification, don't use it in actual combat like this."

What is meant by "technology verification"?

A greeting appeared above Repin's head.

"To put it simply, I can handle some parts in an emergency, but for others that I really can't handle, I make substitutes out of stone and wood to temporarily fix them. It's okay to mess with them a bit for a short time, but wood and stone themselves lack material strength, and they don't meet the standards for load-bearing capacity or wear and tear. They can't be as reliable as you used to be."

"I need to make this clear to you first."

"..."

Milan's explanation was very straightforward, and the enthusiasm of the partisans visibly waned. Old Repin's joy faded a bit, and his ears drooped slightly... But soon he and his comrades perked up again, looked at each other, and laughed.

"It's alright, it's alright, it's nothing. I... we already knew it would be like this; back in the army, just the process of building the shield guards' equipment and maintaining it with the troops was quite a sight... tsk tsk, your conditions are indeed limited, we don't have any extravagant expectations."

"Even if it's just for a short time, it's good to be able to use it."

Their attitude was friendly, and Milan smiled back, pointing to the parts he had taken off and replaced and saying a few more words; Patriot watched silently, his gaze under his helmet different from that of ordinary people, making it difficult for anyone to see the emotions contained in his eyes.

After another brief silence, he looked at his ridiculously large halberd, as well as the heavy armor and shield covering his entire body, the mechanical structure of which was still vaguely discernible.

"My equipment... can it be repaired too?"

In an instant, everyone's eyes, filled with shock and anticipation, were focused on Milan.

"...Let me tell you first, sir, I'm not sure about this."

Meeting the patriot's gaze, which seemed to pierce through his soul, Milan took a deep breath to calm himself down and said, "The information is insufficient to make a judgment. Simply put, we need to conduct an analysis first."

He turned to the side, patted the three functional blocks that were impossible to block from the Patriot's perspective, and then said, "And I must first make it clear that under the current conditions, even if I were to do something, I could only do some emergency measures."

“I am a craftsman specializing in synthesis, metallurgy, and assembly. Under the current conditions, there is no craftsman's anvil, no smelting furnace, no casting furnace, not even a melting furnace, let alone suitable materials…”

They shrugged and didn't continue, but the bachelor's meaning was clear: with these conditions, it's up to you, sir.

"..."

Patriot remained silent, his crimson gaze steady, leaving one wondering what he was thinking; Frostnova pursed her lips slightly, as if the current situation held some other meaning—finally, Patriot raised his arm, which seemed enormous for such a distance, and lifted his massive shield, which was even more solemn than that of the Shieldbearer, and placed it lightly on the workbench.

"Craftsman...thank you for your trouble."

"...You flatter me."

Milan composed himself, nodded, and placed his hand on the shield, which was disproportionately heavy for the workbench.

A stream of information far more complex and dense than the shield guard equipment instantly illuminated his analytical vision! In his perception, the green modeling lines symbolizing the analysis progress seemed to wriggle on the surface of the shield. The feedback information was divided into two domains. On one side, he saw the dark matter and the entire process of minerals from mining to processing, to experimentation, and finally to being formulated into alloys and recorded.

On the other side is a complex, exquisite, and profound craftsmanship process; from the moment natural minerals are mined to the time they are processed into materials, and then through various processes and techniques, with parameters specifically designed, constructed, and assembled for "someone," this amazing single-soldier fortress is finally formed.

The imagery of the information taking shape seemed to sketch out a book in his mind, which turned pages with a whooshing sound, and finally, as the information was interpreted and filled in, new pages were displayed.

[Tentative Name: Patriot Heavy Shield]

- Default parsing in progress... Recognition achieved.

-Related equipment blueprint [Heavy Shield (5-piece shield)], related module [Craftsman's Innovation]

-Heavyweight shield plate + Heavyweight shield plate + Shield base + Large plate + Durable handle

- Already unlocked as a prerequisite for the special equipment [Knight's Shield (5-piece shield)], associated with the [Floating Cloud Workshop] module.

-Large Plate + Sturdy Shield Plate + Knight's Circle + Shield Base + Large Plate

-Material iteration analysis...identification achieved.

-Tentatively named "Marching Blacksteel," based on compatibility with the materials [Shield Guard Blacksteel] (already recorded) and [Knight Crystal] (compatible with the "Masterpiece" module).

"..."

Knight Crystal, Milan is very familiar with this thing: as an "alloy material that can be smelted using only original Minecraft materials", it has commendable basic attributes, balanced support attributes with almost no negative effects, and quite excellent material attributes.

When used as armor, it increases "damage absorption" when hit; when used as a tool, it increases "damage absorption" when attacking... and when a critical hit is dealt, the existing damage absorption is consumed to increase the attack damage.

It is a material that is not expensive, has a low barrier to entry, and has balanced and comprehensive attributes. The more complete the set, the better it can cope with most situations. For a time, Milan himself was quite fond of a full set of armor made of this material.

Then he picked up his big axe and went to crack open the dragon's head.

Let me put it more bluntly:

Although experienced Tinkers' Construct players know that in multi-mod environments, "material levels" are often arbitrary, since there is no unified standard and each mod creator often has their own ideas.

Even so—in the original Tinkers' Conquest, the highest material level is 4, and this thing is a level 4 material.

At least it's been recognized by the mod creator as a level 4 endgame material comparable to the ultimate materials in the original Tinkers' Construct!

Chapter 29 - The Invitation (3/5)

—Hiss…this is a bit scary.

This was Milan's only idea at the moment: if I remember correctly, the alloy formula for Knight's Crystal was wreckage + diamond + amethyst...

The fact that they can compare this to something means that Ursus's metallurgical level has reached the point of touching the lower realm alloys? Or does it simply mean that they've touched upon the material attribute of the Knight Crystal, "Knightly Spirit"?

- The term "materials" does not refer to the explicit properties of the material itself.

Milan: ...

Oh, okay, then it's alright; it seems that it can only be said that Ursus's metallurgical technology combined with Terra's materials allowed them to access Nether alloy-level material properties.

TerraMaterials, isn't that amazing?

"how……"

Seeing him open his eyes and his expression change several times, Patriot asked in a steady voice; Milan came back to his senses, looked at the huge shield, then at the huge Patriot, and shook his head frankly and helplessly.

"No."

With the professionalism of a craftsman, he said very frankly: "The structure is complex and the materials are too strong. I have too many hardware deficiencies... It's easy to do maintenance by opening up the linkage mechanism, but I'm far from being able to repair it."

"I don't even have a furnace, where am I supposed to get more advanced materials?"

The furnace he was referring to was, of course, Tinkers' Soul's forge, but to others, it clearly pointed to a more specialized blacksmithing tool: in Terra, because the era of magic and melee weapons has never passed, the status of high-level blacksmiths is not insignificant in many factions.

Especially since those present were once the most elite regular troops in Ursus, they could better understand the value of their equipment and what conditions were needed to maintain and repair it.

Regardless of how disheartening Milan's words sounded, the fact that he could single-handedly repair their equipment with such rudimentary tools and calmly accept Patriot's equipment made them not to underestimate him in the slightest—he was equivalent to an entire senior craftsman team and at least dozens of apprentices from the Ursus Legion's logistics department. What more could they ask for?

"Master Milan."

The Patriot remained silent, seemingly lost in thought, when it was Repin, the first to enjoy Milan's craftsmanship, who couldn't hold back any longer. He weighed his shield in his hand and earnestly asked, "You just told me the same thing, but our old guys' shields can be repaired, can't the Captain's be repaired in the same way?"

"It's impossible; the material quality is far too different."

Milan shook his head and patiently explained, "Let me explain it in a simpler way. I used rocks and wood to make repair parts for your equipment, temporarily replacing the original metal components. However, due to the limitations of the material strength, its service life will be greatly reduced. This is a problem of load-bearing and wear, a hard problem of material properties."

"And... well, Captain, the equipment we have presents an even more severe problem: if we use the same method, then we need materials that can at least meet the minimum load requirements—unfortunately, if I use the same materials as you, it might be crushed by its own weight in just a few uses."

"Then it's better not to use it, what do you think?"

As he spoke, he casually picked up a string, first stretched it straight with his hand, flicked it a few times to show his intention, and then suddenly pulled hard—the string snapped with a snap, immediately explaining the problem in a more intuitive way than anything else.

The old shield guard was speechless for a moment, and could only show the same somewhat disappointed expression as the others.

The surroundings then fell silent for a moment.

Froststar's gaze shifted between Patriot and Milan, while Patriot remained silent, his crimson eyes unwavering, the brief silence lasting only a dozen seconds seeming to linger for an eternity.

Finally, Patriot's deep voice broke the silence. He spoke slowly, his voice still carrying an unusual, almost frictional quality.

"it is good."

"You, come with me."

[Qi Er 3. The Rise of the Dead (Part 3)] "Let's talk."

The outsiders were somewhat surprised that the Patriot had summoned Milan, but they quickly put it out of their minds: the guerrillas and the Yetis were all one family, and those present were the acknowledged leader, the acknowledged next generation and the leader's adopted daughter, plus a skilled craftsman...

Perhaps there's some kind of decision-making arrangement?

With Milan gone, everyone present went back to their own tasks; those checking inventory had to check inventory, and the patrol and sentry teams had their own duties to support other tasks—everyone was so busy that they only had time to cheer around Old Repin for a short while.

The Yeti Squad's main tent.

The torchlight inside the tent burned steadily and brightly, illuminating Patriot's imposing figure, which sat astride, and Froststar's almost pale complexion beside him—this was the scene Milan saw when she entered. There was no one else in the tent, which silently conveyed a solemn and serious atmosphere.

Milan probably had some guesses... or rather, he had anticipated this for a long time, but he didn't expect it to come to light so soon.

"Craftsmen, Milan."

Patriot's voice was deep and resonant, like the grinding of rocks. His gaze was not scrutinizing, but even his indifferent gaze was enough to create a sense of oppression.

"Yeti, report your worth."

"Froststar, I invite you to join... I don't object, but I need your confirmation."

"Is such that."

In the Yeti squad, Frostnova is usually the more taciturn one, and her mouth double is usually Petrova, her second-in-command, who has more interaction with Milan. This time, however, it's a high-profile change, even though the core content hasn't been revealed yet—Frostnova, who always needs a mouth double, has become someone else's mouth double, which feels rather subtle.

But Frostnova herself naturally didn't have this idea. It seemed that she had already discussed it with her adoptive father beforehand. At this moment, as if decompressing Patriot's short sentence, she said in a cool but gentle tone: "What Father means is that our Yeti Squad and the Infected Guerrilla Squad are essentially subordinate to a larger organization... an Infected organization called Reunion."

"We are now formally extending an invitation to you to join us and become one of our members."

Her smile wasn't obvious, but compared to her usual expression, her eyebrows and eyes had a noticeable curve now. She said jokingly, "Not just like now... Sometimes being too formal does make you seem a bit distant."

"Does this count as formal organizational recognition?"

When his expectations and reality overlapped, Milan simply smiled... His smile was somewhat complicated. He first nodded in acknowledgment, and then said, "First of all, thank you both for your recognition."

"Then... could you elaborate on what kind of organization Reunion is?"

Chapter 30: The Difference Between Ideas

"The Reunion Movement... exists to give a voice to all the Infected. In Ursus, and in so many other places across this land, people treat the Infected as slaves, as garbage, wantonly oppressing, expelling, and even slaughtering them!"

"Our Unity Movement is about uniting to fight against this injustice! We want to ensure that those infected can live with dignity, and we want to... we want to reclaim what belongs to us!"

Ok.

It's clear that Frostnova isn't a very good speaker, so much so that she stumbled a bit while delivering even this short, pre-prepared speech.

But at least the content has been clearly explained.

However, while Milan listened, he was not moved by the content of the speech at all. If it were before he transmigrated, he would have been completely unmoved because he could see the whole script from beginning to end and knew what the so-called prank movement (no doubt) was all about. He even wanted to laugh a little.

But things will be different after you travel through time.

Even though the time spent together was not long... Thinking of the simple Yeti members who had been with me day and night, Frostnova and Patriot before me, and the guerrilla fighters outside, all of them had genuinely embarked on the path of resisting oppression for simple ideals, only to have it all destroyed by a ridiculous conspiracy.

He felt a sense of sadness for some reason.

"Is that so? That's certainly a catchy slogan."

Seeing Frostnova looking a little awkward but still quite excited, at least she was excited herself... Milan clapped her hands to her satisfaction; Frostnova came back to her senses, and gave a rare, unfriendly look, before she couldn't hold back and turned her face away.