landbeastnovel Chapter 119 The Witch of Ten Thousand Machines' Advancement Ceremony
Chapter 119 The Witch of Ten Thousand Machines' Advancement Ceremony
Chapter 118 The Witch of Ten Thousand Machines' Advancement Ceremony
The night wind blew in through the window, carrying the distinctive smell of ice shards from the North.
Lorraine sat at the long table in the lord's hall, with the witch's secret book spread out in front of him, visible only to him.
A pale blue light screen floated in mid-air, with several lines of text and data panels densely arranged on it.
He is checking the condition of each of his witches.
Anna, the fourth-order entropy witch, is in a stable state.
Laila, a third-tier Fate Witch, has just completed her advancement and her body is adapting well.
Olivia, Tier 3 Abundant Earth Mother, is in normal condition.
Catherine, a fourth-tier Storm Witch, is currently experiencing severe soul damage and a period of power decline.
Lorraine's gaze lingered on the last name.
Ohm, the third-order witch of all machines.
The data panel on the compendium shows that all of Ohm's indicators have stabilized.
As a former soul of the Tower of Babel, she went through a long period of adaptation after obtaining a human body.
After all, the leap from a mere brain in a vat to a human girl with flesh and blood, capable of hunger, sleepiness, and sneezing, is enormous.
But now, the data in the secret manual clearly shows that ohm has been fully adapted to the human body.
Moreover, her control over the power of the Witch of a Thousand Machines class is also steadily increasing.
She had already mastered the abilities of the third-tier Omnipotent Witch, and she had pushed the production capacity of the Omnipotent Mechanical Repair Factory to its current limit.
With that thought, Lorraine closed the secret manual and stood up from her chair.
He pushed open the hall door, left the castle, and walked along the stone path toward the Universal Mechanical Repair Factory.
The nights in Frostwolf City are very quiet.
After the coal mine was successfully mined, the heating problem in the city was initially solved, and occasionally patrol members of the security team could be seen passing by on the streets, saluting him.
The Witch's Tower on the city wall emitted a faint light, like a row of silent sentinels.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, Lorraine could hear the sound of the Universal Mechanical Repair Factory operating in the distance.
It was a deep, rhythmic hum, mixed with the faint sounds of metal clashing and gears meshing.
Even late at night, the repair shop did not stop.
As Lorraine approached, he saw the assembly line inside the repair shop operating on its own.
Rows of robotic arms precisely grasp parts, assemble them, weld them, and then send them to the next process.
The finished products were carried out from the export end by the engineering puppets and neatly stacked aside.
All kinds of mechanical equipment needed in the city—steam pipe components for heating, drill bit replacement parts for mining, and parts for city defense—are continuously produced on this production line.
But the owner of the repair shop was not inside.
Lorraine circled around to the side of the repair shop and found Ohm on a platform against the wall.
She sat on the edge of the platform, her legs dangling over the edge, swaying slightly.
Her short, silvery-white hair was slightly disheveled by the night wind, and she tilted her head back, gazing at the sky above.
The night sky in the North is very clear.
When there are no clouds to block the view, you can see countless stars covering the entire sky.
Ohm sat there quietly, watching the stars, while the light occasionally drifted into the distance.
The massive outline of the Tower of Babel loomed faintly in the night, while the ancient mobile city stood quietly on the other side of Frostwolf City, like a sleeping behemoth.
Lorraine stepped onto the platform, her footsteps making a soft sound on the metal floor.
Ohm's ears twitched, but he didn't turn around.
"Looking at the stars?" Lorraine sat down next to her and asked casually.
Ohm glanced at him sideways, then turned back to continue gazing at the night sky.
"Hmm—I'm also watching Babel."
Her voice was soft, with a tone that Lorraine rarely heard.
It wasn't the Ohm who usually excitedly reported on mechanical production capacity, nor the Ohm who chased the engineering puppet all over the place with a wrench. Lorin didn't urge her; he simply followed her gaze to the distant Tower of Babel.
After a moment of silence, Ohm spoke.
"Lord Lorraine, don't you think Frostwolf City is getting more and more lively these days?"
"Of course." Lorraine nodded. "The population is increasing, industries are expanding, and city defenses are being improved."
“That’s not what I meant.” Ohm shook his head, resting his chin on his knees. “I meant—the feeling. People walking in the street, people talking, people arguing, people laughing. Smoke rising from the rooftops, children running around in the alleys. And at night, a soft yellow light shining from the windows.”
She paused.
"I haven't seen anything like this in a very, very long time. The last time I saw it—it was probably back in the Golden Age."
Lorraine looked at her.
Ohm's expression was calm, but there was something indescribable in his eyes.
It's not sadness, nor joy; it's more like the kind of complexity one feels when standing at a very high place, looking back at the long road one has traveled.
"The Golden Age—" Ohm murmured, "Back then, the Tower of Babel was still in operation, and the city was full of people. Craftsmen were forging iron in the furnace district, scholars were debating in the university library, and children were running around riding on the shoulders of engineering golems."
"Back then, I was still a machine spirit, without a physical body, but I could sense them through every sensor in the Tower of Babel."
She reached out her hand, palm outstretched, as if trying to grasp something.
"Looking back now, I realize that those days were thousands of years ago."
Lorraine did not speak.
"None of the people from the Golden Age—naturally, have survived to this day."
Ohm's voice was soft. "Back then, there were a few humans I paid special attention to: a blacksmith, a scholar, and a hacker girl who always sneaked into the control room to chat with me. They are all—gone long ago."
She withdrew her hand and placed it back on her knee.
"Later, I stayed in the Tower of Babel for thousands of years. No one spoke, no one moved, only the sound of machines running. Later, even the machines broke down one by one, and the sound became less and less, and quieter and quieter."
In the end, I was the only one left.
A night breeze blew by, and Ohm's short, silver-white hair fluttered gently in the wind.
She suddenly smiled.
"However, it's much better now."
She turned to look at Lorraine, her eyes regaining their light.
"The corruption of the Tower of Babel has been completely eradicated by the mech squads I sent out over the past two days. The abyssal corruption on Sister Messiah has also completely subsided."
"I know," Lorraine nodded. "I saw it."
"I talked to Sister Messiah for a long time, showing her my memories little by little."
Ohm's tone became lighter as he spoke, "I showed her so many things—all the things I went through with you, Lord Lorraine. The times we fought Haji together, the times we broke through the industrial zone's defenses, and the times you fed me barbecue."
She glanced at Lorraine furtively.
"Sister Messiah seems to be trusting Lord Lorraine now. She used to be very wary, thinking that all humans were unreliable."
"Perhaps, in just a few more days, Messiah's sister will be willing to lower her guard."
"That's good," Lorraine said.
"It's really wonderful." Ohm nodded vigorously, then turned his gaze to the Tower of Babel in the distance and the starry sky. "These days—they feel more beautiful than ever before. There's Lady Lorraine, Anna, Lyra, Sister Olivia, Uncle Victor, and Sister Messiah. Everyone is together."
Her voice gradually faded.
"only----"
"Just what?"
Ohm was silent for a few seconds.
"Not only me in the past, but even Sister Messiah hasn't seen the sky in far too long."
She said softly, "Now I have a physical body, I can come out and feel the wind, I can see the stars, I can smell the smoke, and I can taste the bread that Sister Olivia bakes. But Sister Messiah doesn't yet. She can only stay in the control center of the Tower of Babel, using sensors to perceive the outside world."
She looked down at her palms.
"Just like I used to be."
Lorraine looked at her, and under the starry sky, Ohm's delicate face seemed to be coated with a layer of silvery moonlight.
The brilliance of the stars has traversed countless light-years and countless years before finally being captured by the eyes that humanity has evolved over billions of years.
Ohm, who was beside her, was like starlight, but unlike other starlight, she was alone throughout the thousand years she had traversed.
Ohm flipped his palm over, then flipped it back over, as if to confirm the realness of his hands.
"I know what it feels like to be Messiah," she said. "It's like being behind a cold metal shell, able to see and hear what's outside, but unable to touch it. The wind can't reach your face, the sunlight can't touch you. You know it's beautiful outside, but you can only ever see it through a screen."
"It's been like this for thousands of years."
Lorraine suddenly laughed.
It wasn't a perfunctory smile; it was a confident, relaxed smile.
Ohm paused for a moment, then looked up at him.
"I came to see you about this very thing," Lorraine said.
Ohm blinked.
"Many good things will drop from the Winter Lord." Lorraine held up a finger, "including another source essence that can reshape the physical body."
"The source substance that can reshape the Messiah's physical body."
Ohm's eyes widened slightly.
"As long as we can win the siege battle twelve days from now..."
"We will definitely win!"
Ohm practically sprang up from the platform, waving his little fists, his short, silvery-white hair swaying wildly.
"We will definitely, absolutely, definitely win! Our Tower of Babel, our Frostwolf City, now possess so many witches, so many knights. We will surely win!"
Lorraine raised her hand and pressed her head down, making her sit back down on the platform.
"Of course we'll win," he said, "but that's exactly why I came to you."
Ohm quieted down and looked at him intently.
"I've been observing your condition through the secret manual," Lorraine said. "You've now fully adapted to the human body, and all your bodily functions and magical circuits have stabilized. This means—"
—
He paused for a moment.
"You can now use the new power I sealed within you."
"Advanced to the fourth rank." Lorraine looked at her, his tone calm and resolute. "Fourth-rank Witch of Myriad Machines."
"This adds another powerful boost to our chances of defeating the Winter Lord."
"Fourth-fourth order?" Ohm seemed a little hesitant. Had she really fully adapted to the human body and become a person with flesh and blood?
"The fourth-tier Myriad Machines Witch not only has stronger attack capabilities, but your magic power heavy artillery turrets will also expand from twelve to twenty-four."
Lorraine raised a second finger. "More importantly, the Universal Mechanical Repair Factory will also be enhanced."
"And the Tier 4 Universal Mechanical Repair Factory—" Lorraine looked into her eyes and said, enunciating each word clearly, "can build Titan-class mechs."
This statement was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.
Ohm's pupils suddenly contracted.
Titan-class mech.
That was the pinnacle of creation from the Golden Age, a weapon of war that only existed during the heyday of the Tower of Babel.
Back when she was still a machine spirit, the Titan Forge of Babel was specifically used to forge such behemoths.
Each Titan-class mech is a mobile fortress, a steel giant capable of directly confronting high-level monsters.
However, after the fall of the Golden Age, the technology for manufacturing Titan-class mechs was completely lost.
As a third-tier witch of myriad machines, her workshop's production capacity is only sufficient to produce ordinary mechs and medium-sized mechanical devices.
Now, Lorraine tells her that after advancing to the fourth tier, she can rebuild the Titan-class mech.
Ohm's lips trembled slightly.
"Lord Lorraine—are you serious?"
"When have I ever joked with you?"
Ohm took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Her eyes were a little red, but the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile.
"Then—when do we start?"
Lorraine took out a small storage bag from his pocket, untied the bag, and poured the contents onto the platform.
Five thousand magic crystals.
Pale blue crystals piled on the metal platform, emitting a soft glow, like a small pile of broken stars.
This is part of the resources that Lorraine has been collecting and integrating in various parts of Frostwolf City over the past few days.
In addition to the magic crystal, Lorraine also took out several special materials from her storage bag.
A fist-sized Titan alloy ingot, its surface gleaming with a dark silver metallic luster, was a relic from the Golden Age found deep within the Tower of Babel's vaults.
A bottle of liquid magical energy, sealed in a glass container, gleamed with a deep blue, flowing light. There was also a gear-shaped rune core, covered with countless tiny inscriptions.
These are all special materials needed for the Witch of Myriad Machines to advance to the fourth rank.
Ohm looked at the things on the platform, then at Lorraine, and his eyes turned completely red.
"Lord Lorraine—if we defeat the Winter Lord, can I also rescue Sister Messiah from that cage?"
"Of course, but don't cry." Lorraine stood up, dusted off her hands, and said, "The advancement ceremony requires inscribing a magic circle. Let's find a flat place first."
Ohm rubbed his eyes hard, jumped off the platform, and stomped his foot on the open ground next to the repair shop.
"Here! This place is flat enough!"
Lorraine walked over, squatted down, and pulled a carving knife from her waist.
The Witch's Codex unfolded before him, and the complete blueprints of the Witch of Myriad Machines' fourth-tier advancement array appeared on the pale blue light screen.
The complex geometric lines, intersecting rune loops, and precise energy nodes make the entire magic array more than twice as complex as it was during the third-order general ascension.
Without hesitation, Lorraine placed the carving knife on the ground and began to carve the first line on the stone slab.
The sound of the carving knife cutting through the stone slab could be clearly heard in the night.
But Lorraine's hands were as steady as a precision instrument, the depth, width, and curvature of every line accurate to the millimeter.
Ohm squatted down beside him, watching quietly.
One by one, the magic crystals were embedded by Lorraine into the energy nodes of the magic array. Five thousand magic crystals were distributed across the thirty-six main nodes and one hundred and eight auxiliary nodes of the magic array, forming a vast energy supply network.
Titan alloy ingots were placed at the core of the magic circle.
Liquid magical energy was slowly poured along the runic path, the deep blue liquid flowing through the engravings, like blood being injected into the magic circle.
The gear-shaped rune core was embedded in the center of the magic circle, right next to the Titan alloy ingot.
The whole process lasted for nearly half an hour.
When the last rune was completed, Lorraine straightened up, took a few steps back, and examined the magic circle on the ground.
A huge circular magic array, about three zhang in diameter, was spread out on the open ground next to the construction site.
Countless intricate lines and runes intertwine, and under the faint light of the magic crystal, the entire magic circle resembles a complex gear diagram drawn with light.
"Stand in the middle," Lorraine said to Ohm.
Ohm took a deep breath, stepped into the magic circle, and stood next to the Titan Alloy Ingot and the Rune Core.
She looked up and glanced at Lorraine.
Lorraine nodded to her.
Then, he channeled his spiritual energy into the magic circle.
The magic circle lit up.
Five thousand magic crystals simultaneously emitted a dazzling blue light, which flowed rapidly along the rune path, like countless luminous rivers surging across the ground.
Titan alloy ingots began to melt, and the dark silver liquid metal rose upwards, turning into fine metal particles that floated in the air.
The gear-shaped rune core began to spin violently, and the inscriptions on it lit up one after another, releasing a dense amount of alchemical rune power.
Ohm closed his eyes.
Metal particles and mechanical force surged into her body simultaneously.
Fine silver patterns appeared on her skin, the mechanical patterns unique to the Witch of Myriad Machines, and she was transforming from a third-order form to a fourth-order form.
At the same time, the Universal Machinery Repair Factory also roared to life.
The entire assembly line inside the repair shop stopped regular production, and all the robotic arms, gear sets, and power cores began to vibrate violently, as if responding to the transformation of their master.
The same silver patterns as those on Ohm's body appeared on the exterior of the repair shop, and the entire building was glowing.
One by one, the magic crystals in the magic circle shattered, releasing energy that poured into Ohm's body.
Ohm's short, silver-white hair floated upwards in the energy storm. Her body hovered in the center of the magic circle, and silver patterns spread from her cheeks to her arms, and from her arms to her fingertips. Each pattern emitted a precise and orderly light.
The ascension ceremony for the fourth-order Witch of Myriad Machines has officially begun.