Terra Tinkers Construct is fine.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The team members who were attacking were still hacking away, putting real effort into every strike, but the shield bearers who were simply holding up the large shields were as steady as Mount Tai behind the shields, as if they hadn't even expended much of their strength; seeing this, Hrag's eyes flashed, and he suddenly reached out to stop the scene.

"stop."

"We can't get any more data like this... Mr. Jung, please let me try."

Chapter 67: Hellagur's Trial

Hrag's gaze was calm, fixed on the great shield like a rock.

The outer layer of the large shield is a dark brown color reminiscent of stewed bones, with a bamboo-green shield plate in the middle and a highly transparent, almost plastic-like top quarter. The inner layer, which he cannot see, is a white bone base, and this is the part that the shield bearer holds.

He could certainly see the relaxed expression on the shield bearer's face. The other two men's demonstration of slashing had failed to shake the shield in the slightest, posing no threat to the shield bearer behind. The shield bearer's composure clearly indicated that he had been mentally prepared for this outcome.

"We can't get any more data like this."

His eyes flickered for a moment, and he extended his hand first, saying, "Don't blame me for being nosy, but based solely on your introduction, I can't form a true understanding of the equipment's performance... Mr. Jung, if I may be so bold, would it be convenient for me to test it myself?"

He looked at Milan, paused, and added, "By the standards of actual combat."

"Please make yourself at home, sir."

Milan said with a smile, "I can't say how confident I am in them, but I'm quite confident in my own work."

"Then please forgive my rudeness."

Herag nodded slightly and said no more. At Milan's signal, the two melee fighters stopped and dispersed, leaving only the shield bearer on the field. Through the transparent part at the top of the shield, the shield bearer could see the scene in front of him.

Naturally, he could see Herag slowly draw his weapon: a greatsword with a style quite different from the equipment of Ursus. The fine wear marks on the scabbard told of the many trials and tribulations it had endured, while the blade, though seemingly ordinary, seemed to exude a faint aura of menace.

The shield bearer's relaxed expression vanished, and he subconsciously swallowed, gripping the shield even tighter—although he had witnessed Milan's equipment distribution demonstration and experienced team training, he knew that the shield, and even the armor on his body, were ridiculously sturdy…

But the oppressive feeling emanating from this old man was completely different from that of his companions—to put it bluntly, this chilling aura, as if it were touching his tail, was something even Milan himself could hardly match.

"Zheng——!"

Hellagur's katana, [Descending Slash], was drawn from its sheath with a clear, resonant sound!

A flash of cold light appeared like a ray of moonlight, and only after that did people realize that a seemingly simple diagonal slash had already been delivered, landing accurately in the center of the shield.

clang!

The great shield emitted a resounding hollow sound, and the shield bearer trembled all over. He felt an indescribable force coming through the shield, and his arm holding the shield suddenly felt hot. He couldn't describe the force, but it was exquisite and powerful enough that even if he didn't want to, he couldn't control his movement of holding the shield, and the entire shield trembled.

—Is this what a true professional soldier is like? Completely different from his ordinary comrades who came from working-class backgrounds!

He suddenly felt a bit unsettled.

But what he didn't notice was that Hrag's eyes also trembled slightly.

He flicked his wrist, the blade flashed again, and subsequent strikes followed; once the shield bearer's composure faltered and his breathing became disordered, the strength in his hands and the force he absorbed from his body also fluctuated—

Yet the shield performed as well as ever—through his superb sword control, Herag's successive strikes landed on different parts of the shield's surface. Even when the shield bearer's blocking motion was distorted, he still struck the shield in the stable direction of force, forcing the shield bearer to correct his posture.

After a few strikes, the shield bearer was surprised to find that, apart from the initial shocking impact, the subsequent attacks, while still fierce, did not seem so unstoppable.

The shield still provided protection; although the force transmitted was heavy, as long as I kept my balance, it seemed to be within my tolerance range.

His panic quickly subsided thanks to the superior defensive capabilities of his equipment. His breathing became steady, and his trembling arms regained their composure. Ursus's innate ferocity was unleashed. He let out a low growl, gritted his teeth, took a half-step back, and slammed his great shield down, managing to regain his footing.

"Oh?"

Helag was even more surprised.

Based on his combat experience, he could probably react to the shield bearer's transformation even faster than the person in question; he knew very well that he was just testing the quality of the equipment, and he had not only not used any Originium Arts, but he had also not fully demonstrated his strength and martial arts skills—even so, [Descending Slash] was not something that could be taken for granted. Even if the Greatsword itself was not known for breaking shields, ordinary weapons should at least leave some decent damage.

But the fact that an ordinary civilian who had just been trained—well, perhaps even the title of "recruit" was a bit of a stretch—could maintain his stance after taking several blows from him meant that the shield's ability to withstand and cushion the impact was exceptionally good.

Not to mention the frontal view he saw with his own eyes: if he understood correctly, Milan should be referring to the material of this shield as bone, but apart from a few white marks resembling scraping marks on the surface of the bone, there was not a single decent injury to be seen.

—What kind of thing is this with such sturdy bones... and yet you're equipping a group of ordinary people with it?

Is this a first release from U705.COM, given their prolific output?

He felt as if he had truly returned to his days in the military, as if he were evaluating a heavily armed 50th corps officer, and his heart was filled with confusion.

Meanwhile, Milan observed silently from the sidelines, constantly verifying his many guesses:

In the past, he could only work behind closed doors, relying on his physical senses to calculate the theoretical performance of equipment, lacking reference and understanding of the performance of MC materials and Terra equipment in reality; now, the participation of a Terra native expert in the test undoubtedly provides him with valuable combat data.

--really.

Milan thought to himself: Even bones from ordinary MC livestock, once processed as identifiable materials, are stronger than wood and stone. The [Stewed Bone], which can be made simply by pouring meat broth over them, is even stronger.

Although these equipment could only be made of lightweight bamboo bone to accommodate the Terrans' carrying capacity, unlike the metal materials he could control based on his authority, they were still exceptionally strong thanks to the triple protection of armor value, attributes, and durability. Even a master like Hrag would find it difficult to damage them in a short period of time.

"..."

Having tested the waters, Herag had already made up his mind; he suddenly withdrew and sheathed his sword, and then, in the instant his continuous slashing rhythm was interrupted, his eyes narrowed, and he thrust forward with the sword and sheath together!

With 44 years of combat experience and countless battles under his belt, he naturally knew how to deal with large shields; this thrust was the product of his many years of sparring with shield guards, a move that concentrated his strength to disrupt the shield bearer's balance of power.

boom!

The shield bearer felt a tricky force strike him, and the force feedback from the handle made him feel as if the shield was prying him! His center of gravity shifted instantly, and he staggered back two steps before barely managing to stand, struggling to grip the shield handle firmly in his hand.

Through the transparent part at the top of the shield, Herag could see that the shield bearer's face, typical of an Ursus youth, was filled with surprise and lingering fear after the initial panic, which quickly transformed into deep respect for the strong.

--wrong.

Hrag's brow furrowed slightly.

Based on his understanding of the shield bearer's technique, he had expected this attack to send the rookie crashing to the ground, shield and all. However, the shield bearer, despite retreating, actually managed to regain his footing.

—So this is what he was talking about, the resistance to knockback?

"That's enough for the shield bearers... Now it's time for the melee fighters, both of you come at me together."

After defeating the shield bearers, Herag pointed out two melee fighters; the two instinctively looked at Milan, and after receiving her approval, they exchanged a glance, each took out a different weapon, and charged forward from the left and right.

The air was thick with the aroma of meat as bone pickaxes and axes were swung. One man swung his pickaxe downwards, while another chopped diagonally down—it looked quite fierce, but technically...

To him, these people's movements were full of flaws and crude, their moves were nothing but brute force and the advantage of their equipment—but when he drew his sword again, the blade flashing and deftly deflecting these attacks with parries and block, he truly felt it...

—This equipment is truly beneficial!

These young men were stronger and faster than he had ever imagined "ordinary recruits," and this standard had been raised again and again as the tests progressed; every time the weapons clashed, the feedback was that they were quite solid, with no signs of damage that inferior weapons should have.

The bone pickaxe has extremely strong penetrating power, even the brute force of the user's random swings is amplified into a sharp force; the bone axe's chopping is also powerful and heavy, making him unconsciously use more effort when they clash.

Keep in mind that his opponent in this battle is none other than Herag!

In his view, these seemingly simple weapons would be more impressive than those belonging to well-known legions within the Ursus Group; as for supporting the intensity of "the battles they should be facing"... don't be ridiculous, these people are only getting such high praise from him because the equipment's performance far exceeds the user's skill.

"Qiang!"

—Like this.

While dealing with two opponents simultaneously, he neutralized their attacks one by one, launching feints and counterattacks that left them scrambling, and even had time to weave in real attacks within those feints.

The good news is that even with such a seemingly illusory attack, the Qi-Qi IV could accurately hit their armored bodies.

The bad news was that even when Herag's blade struck the white armor, it only resulted in bone fragments flying everywhere—at most, it could only knock the person to the ground, not even close to being effective.

—What kind of armor is this?! Is this armor even legal?!

Compared to the already astonishing weapon performance and the supposedly astonishing quality of the recruits... ultimately, it was the armor that seemed to be worn by everyone that made Hrag almost question his existence.

He even took a moment to inspect his blade to confirm that the problem wasn't with the downward-slashing technique itself.

—So that's how it is... or rather, is that really the case?

Milan, watching from the other side, nodded in agreement.

As mentioned before, he has been considering the issue of weapon iteration. In reality, the terrifying kinetic energy brought by the 6-ton stone axe is indeed powerful, but even if the quality of future materials is not considered, at least in the short term, when iterating weapons, he has to face a trade-off between "kinetic energy" and "numerical relationship".

I previously mentioned a concept called "material confrontation": inferior materials, based on their own material properties, will experience a sharp increase in durability loss when faced with high-intensity confrontation, especially high-intensity confrontation that is "enough to damage the material itself".

It's fine when fighting small fry, but against opponents who can keep up with his movements, Stone Axe probably won't last long before he suddenly dies in the middle of the battle. For example, he could see that under Herag's few strikes, the weapons he was facing were okay, but the durability of the two people's armor changed quite significantly.

It's definitely more obvious than during their internal training exercises.

Even so, this is all under the premise that the lining of the plated armor uses [leather] as a base, which has the effect of [tanning], which is the attribute that "reduces the amount of durability loss in a single instance of damage when equipment durability decreases".

This essentially relegates "stone-based synthetic equipment" to the tool category and excludes it from the weapon selection list.

Another point is that after several days of testing with his own Terran subordinates as a reference, coupled with the data he observed today, he can basically confirm another thing, the performance of an important parameter.

[Attack Power]

As mentioned when discussing "resilience" before, there is a setting in the game Minecraft where "attacks gain a default percentage of armor penetration based on damage intensity".

Milan's tests show that this feature still exists in reality and seems to benefit all units using MC weapons, or rather, MC weapons made by him—making it easier for the user's attacks to damage physical targets.

And the actual manifestation of the [Attack Power] value in reality—it can directly reflect and enhance the user's own "strength"!

Although the lack of high-precision testing makes it difficult to confirm this magnitude, this point is not obvious in Milan, the blocky human with the privilege, but it is very clear in these Terrans!

Even among the same Ursus people, using a bone pickaxe with an attack power of 2.96 and a bone axe with an attack power of 6.46, their strength index can show a significant difference—so significant that it is close to 20%!

MC's power is terrifying!

"Mr. Jung."

As he pondered and drew his conclusion, Hrag's test seemed to be coming to an end: he sheathed his sword, and the field fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of the players panting. Milan came to their senses, and Hrag looked around before finally fixing his gaze on Milan.

His eyes held a complex expression, as if to say: "Although it's supposed to be an advantage in terms of equipment, isn't this equipment a bit too overpowered?"

“I’m starting to believe that even if Chernobog is about to face the scenario you predicted, your subordinates will be able to accomplish something after that.”

"What are your thoughts on this short-term training for my subordinates, sir?"

Milan asked.

Herag thought for a moment, then revealed a hawk-like smile.

"I think...it should be an interesting time."

Chapter 68 - [December 1, 1096]

Chernobog, December 1, 1096.

The cold is getting stronger.

For ordinary citizens on the surface, life seems unchanged: the tense atmosphere caused by the search for infected people has faded away, and the occasional sharp frictions have disappeared—there are no gang members or military and police conducting large-scale checks, and life has returned to its original peaceful state.

For them, the only problem they need to worry about is the annual headache of heating and winter meals as winter approaches.

But no one knew that beneath the leaden clouds above them, undercurrents were surging; just as beneath their feet, an unease lurked in the shadows of the city.

A period of time has passed since Milan made that prediction—enough time for many things to change.

For the twenty-four new recruits at the Milan stronghold, every day was like being tempered in a furnace: General Herag—whom they had grown accustomed to calling with awe after Milan once let slip his name—trained them rigorously and efficiently. He didn't teach any fancy skills, but rather the most basic techniques from the Ursus army.

Blocking, slashing, footwork coordination, and basic formation drills—as Milan required.

Even before he had fully assessed the group's background and tested their fragrant equipment, Hrag had already developed some interest. He still didn't completely believe Milan's prophecy, but since the supplies Milan provided were genuine, he naturally changed his attitude towards the matter.

It's certainly a good thing that no natural disaster struck.

After these days of communication, Hrag had roughly figured out Milan's temperament: compared to the known forces in this land and even Chernobog, Milan could definitely be described as having a high moral standard, not to mention his extraordinary supply channels...

It's always good to make a good connection, and besides, to be frank, even if the relationship between Milan and Milan isn't temporary, Hrag also feels that Milan is a worthy ally to befriend.

On the other hand, if a natural disaster were to strike and Chernobog were to perish—he might even need this familial connection to ask Milan for a favor—then this ally, supposedly mainly used for "disaster relief," would naturally be as strong as possible.

In addition, Azazel has been on the defensive recently due to the heightened sense of unease, resulting in fewer tasks. With Milan providing virtually unlimited supplies, there's no need for the director, who has no medical expertise, to worry about anything—he's happy to take on the task of "conducting short-term training on a group of unevenly trained civilians."

As for the two and a half people he trained for at most ten or fifteen days, could pose a danger of overthrowing Chernobog?

...Don't be silly. It's more reliable to ask him to doubt whether Milan alone will rebel than to doubt this.

This is what life at the base has been like these past few days.

During the day, the workers start work at eight o'clock every morning, and by eight-thirty, most of the people in Milan can be gathered. Hrag usually arrives before nine o'clock and starts work on time at nine o'clock—leading the team members to train at the base, with shouts and the sound of metal clashing rising and falling.

The workers finished get off work at five o'clock in the afternoon, and Helag left with them. His daily routine was clear and regular, just like clocking in for work.

His training style was undeniably strict, and as he got to know the physical strength and willpower of these team members, he even increased the intensity of his training step by step. To his surprise, these ordinary people were unexpectedly strong and had an amazing ability to recover. They could always grit their teeth and persevere a little longer than the standard he estimated.

It was precisely because of his exceptional physique and resilience, which were remarkable even in the regular army, that he unconsciously became more serious.

Meanwhile, Milan herself was finally freed from the initial struggles of survival and organization, and immersed herself in her research in the stable environment that had finally been established.

The equipment includes a blast furnace, a forging table, a grinding wheel, and an anvil.

As tools for blacksmiths, the [Forging Table] and [Workbench] come with a hammer and tongs after being rendered in reality; the square grinding wheel on the [Grinding Wheel] has become a standard disc, a completely different change from the original version in the game that followed the art style.