Chapter 132: The Ascension Ceremony

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On the west side of Krat City Hall, Progress Square.

The special automaton known as the "Guardian" held two massive shields, its mechanical eyes flickering with red light as it observed the many automatons gathered in the square.

It had received orders from the Puppet King to come here immediately from Krat City Prison.

Alongside it, a large number of automatons had received the same command, converging from all directions in Krat City to eliminate a detestable human who had invaded City Hall.

The directive to exterminate humans came as the highest command from the Creator. Coupled with the Puppet King's summons, the Guardian and its fellow automatons had no choice but to assemble at Progress Square as ordered.

Curiously, the Puppet King only summoned the special automatons; the common low-level automatons seemed not to have received the command and remained in their original areas, not moving toward Progress Square.

The Guardian pondered briefly and found a plausible explanation.

It surmised that the Puppet King likely despised the weak strength of the low-level automatons.

To deal with the invading human—someone so formidable that even the Puppet King needed to summon large numbers of automatons to confront—it was clear that the low-level automatons would be of little help and might even hinder the operation to some degree.

Quality over quantity—that was the principle.

Yet, there remained a strange aspect that the Guardian could not rationalize.

The Puppet King ordered the multitude of automatons to stay at Progress Square and wait, only sending reinforcements to the City Hall to fight the enemy when specifically instructed.

Moreover, the Puppet King’s reinforcement calls were always for very few automatons—three to five, or seven to eight at most—never exceeding ten.

The automatons surged in waves to City Hall, engaging the enemy one after another, yet never managing to defeat them.

The Guardian had waited at Progress Square for five hours, from noon until the sun set in the west.

It watched helplessly as the once thick crowd of automatons gradually thinned until only a sparse few remained.

“Is that invading human really that strong?”

“Is there truly a human capable of overpowering so many special automatons?”

A chill ran through the Guardian’s mechanical core.

“Yet if the enemy is so formidable… why doesn’t the Puppet King let us overwhelm him with sheer numbers and crush him?”

“I just can’t understand. It’s perplexing.”

Among the special automatons, the Guardian was one of the top-tier. Its awakened self-awareness was potent and independent, often contemplating ultimate philosophical questions like: Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?

It had pondered these endlessly without finding answers, just as it failed now.

“The Puppet King holds the strongest self-awareness among us all. What seems difficult to me may be trivial to him.”

“His strategy may be beyond my comprehension, but it is surely deliberate and mature.”

“Yes… no matter how he arranges his forces or commands, his tactics must be well thought out, far more advanced than my own notions.”

“We automatons only need to obey orders…”

Lost in thought, the Guardian suddenly noticed all the other automatons turning their heads in unison, countless pairs of glowing red mechanical eyes fixed on it.

It suddenly realized it had just received the Puppet King’s command to move to City Hall as reinforcements.

“Finally, it’s my turn!”

“I must perform well in front of the Puppet King and kill that human invader!”

Gripping its twin shields tightly, the Guardian strode through its companions toward City Hall.

Suddenly, it halted, sensing something amiss.

“Why am I the only one in this reinforcement batch?”

Looking back, it saw the other automatons standing still, their mechanical eyes filled with expectation watching it.

The Guardian’s pace quickened involuntarily, its battle fervor surging to a peak.

“Why bother doubting? I just need to obey orders!”

Crossing streets and residential areas, it finally arrived before City Hall’s main entrance.

The setting sun cast a blood-red hue. Scattered mechanical debris lay piled in disarray, metal ruins battered by cold wind.

Two figures stood amidst the wreckage—one massive, the other small.

The colossal figure was an unprecedented super-giant automaton, while the smaller was a human wielding a heavy war hammer.

The Guardian did not see the Puppet King and felt some unease, but the powerful will behind the highest command compelled it to fight.

“Human!”

Its eyes instantly glowed red as it raised both shields and charged at the invading human.

Its charge was fierce and relentless; with every step, the metal debris beneath shattered into flying fragments.

The Guardian seemed a steel war machine powered by the sacrifices of countless comrades, determined to crush the invader beneath its weight.

“Why doesn’t he dodge?”

It was certain that even if an iron wall blocked its path, it would collapse under the force of its charge.

Yet the small human neither dodged nor lifted his weapon, as if utterly exhausted and resigned.

At that moment, the Guardian was confident it would kill the invader.

But at that very instant, a massive steel fist descended from above, shattering all its confidence!

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“Boom!”

The Guardian was flung backward uncontrollably, faster than its own charge.

Its twin metal shields shattered into countless fragments; its body cracked, chest cavity caved in, and its power core suffered a mortal blow.

“Why?”

It stared in disbelief at the super-giant automaton, which had delivered the punch and now lowered its arms, standing calmly as if performing a trivial task, seemingly accustomed to such scenes.

At the brink of death, it saw the human dragging the war hammer, stepping steadily toward it.

“Romeo, it’s almost dark. We need to hurry. Call in more automatons next time.”

Following the voice, the Guardian caught sight of a familiar figure emerging behind the super-giant automaton—the Puppet King, Romeo.

Its mechanical eyes widened. At the human’s request, Romeo responded with a muffled grunt, as though the two had long since forged a shameless alliance.

“Why?”

The Guardian’s silent scream of madness was finally drowned out beneath the hammer’s crushing blow, losing consciousness completely…

“Boss, I’ve gained a new ability.”

The cockpit door of the war machine opened. After absorbing the Guardian’s self essence, Pinocchio’s metallic left arm melted and reformed into a massive, solid tower shield, capable of protecting his entire body.

The continuous wave of special automatons throwing themselves into the fray not only allowed Pinocchio to absorb self essence rapidly and grow stronger, but also provided Li Nanke with a vast influx of source energy.

After a large-scale slaughter during their incursion through the automaton factory, the source energy from common low-level automatons had nearly dried up, rendering farming them ineffective.

Hence, Li Nanke had Romeo gather the elite and leader-class special automatons to expedite their strength growth.

The farming operation persisted until late at night, finally wiping out the automaton army on Progress Square and nearly every special automaton in Krat City.

The only regret was that many special automatons originally stationed inside City Hall had already been dismantled by Romeo.

Had they arrived earlier to eliminate those special automatons, the harvest would have been even greater.

Even so, Li Nanke and Pinocchio had achieved a remarkable bounty.

[Trait: Fanaticism]

[Level: 0 → 10 (MAX)]

[Primary Trait: Pain]

[Level: 4 (7%) → 8 (23%)]

Li Nanke’s second-tier human trait, Fanaticism, reached maximum level, bringing greater balance; the primary trait Pain was infused with abundant source energy, surging to level 8.

The upgrade speed was like a rocket.

Under normal circumstances, Li Nanke would never have allied with Romeo.

Now, such unrestrained, smooth farming was practically cheating.

Key Node Three required wresting control of the Alchemical Teleportation Array from the Puppet King Romeo. As a human, Li Nanke was supposed to engage Romeo in mortal combat, achieving a kill-or-be-killed victory to complete the node.

But Li Nanke circumvented this by forming an alliance with Romeo, exploiting the Puppet King’s powers to farm monsters en masse and level up swiftly.

Thus, they reaped abundant rewards.

After a full day of fighting—even if it was akin to suicide farming—both Li Nanke and Pinocchio were utterly exhausted.

Li Nanke spent the night recovering at the hotel, taking the opportunity to cash a loan and sweep the wealthy Sofia’s deposits clean, gaining over two hundred self essence crystals…

…

Krat City Hall Courtyard.

The ground was inscribed with intricate lines and symbols forming the Alchemical Teleportation Array.

Li Nanke and Romeo stood side by side at its center. A blue butterfly rested on Li Nanke’s shoulder, while Pinocchio piloted the colossal war machine behind them.

“Everyone, ready?”

The Alchemical Isle was undoubtedly the most dangerous place in this world. The “Completer” Laxia, the “Nameless Automaton” originally shown as the final node, and top-tier alchemists like Geppetto and Captain Simon resided there.

Calling the Alchemical Isle a den of dragons and tigers was no exaggeration.

The war machine’s mouth opened and closed, emitting Pinocchio’s affirmative voice. Romeo crossed his arms, responding with a cold snort.

Sofia’s voice sounded from Li Nanke’s shoulder: “Mr. Black Rabbit, let's depart.”

Li Nanke took a deep breath and inserted the self essence crystals into the array’s recesses.

One by one, the crystals around the array glowed brightly, radiating dazzling blue light.

Blue energy surged, filling the circular lines of the array, illuminating many strange alchemical symbols.

Then, the self essence converged at the array’s center, bursting with blinding light that engulfed them completely.

Li Nanke felt the world spin, countless streams of colorful light exploding before his eyes.

When he opened them again, he found himself on a desolate beach.

The sky was dark, thick black clouds blotting out the sun. Though it was morning, the gloom was like twilight after sunset.

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A chilly wind mixed with icy moisture howled mournfully by his ears, tossing his hair and billowing his coat sleeves.

Behind him, waves surged and rolled; the sea was a deep, ink-black expanse.

Looking across the sea, endless mist and gray fog stretched far into the horizon, occasionally pierced by streaks of light connecting sky and sea, with distant rumbling thunder.

This was an island forever shrouded in fog and storms, seemingly isolated from the world—a forgotten land where gods had fallen.

“That is the Prime Monastery, the headquarters of the alchemists.”

The self essence butterfly fluttered, tracing a brilliant blue arc in the air. Sofia took on the role of guide, leading Li Nanke.

Following her direction, his gaze passed through the coastal jungle to a towering, magnificent fortress standing at the island’s center.

Atop the fortress’s round tower sat a massive arched metallic device.

As if sensing their arrival, the strange device began to activate!

The sturdy fortress trembled and shook as streams of self essence flowed from the void, gathering into a torrent of energy that surged toward the device.

Suddenly, the clouds above the island churned, forming a colossal cyclone, as if all the world’s energy was converging on the Prime Monastery.

“What is that thing?!”

Pinocchio’s eyes widened in shock as the war machine voiced his disbelief.

“Has Simon advanced this far already?” The blue butterfly beat its wings, and Sofia’s solemn, grave voice spoke.

“That is Simon’s divinity ritual. He has grafted the God’s Arm onto himself and is only one step away from evolving into a higher lifeform!”

Li Nanke’s ears twitched. Even at this distance, he could faintly hear the pitiful wails emanating from the island’s center.

The agonized cries were not from one person but many, their screams born of torment and struggle.

A bad premonition gripped him, and he hurried toward the island’s heart.

The great cyclone above swirled with endless blue energy, pouring steadily into the metallic device atop the Prime Monastery.

“Simon’s divinity ritual is missing some crucial element; he has yet to reach the final ‘Enlightenment’ step. But even so, he is already very powerful.”

“Mr. Black Rabbit, you must stop Simon!”

Li Nanke knew Simon sought Pinocchio’s power core.

“Enlightenment… If Simon reaches that step, is there any way to stop him?”

Sofia’s voice whispered in his ear: “Only if you can defeat the ‘human’ part of Simon beforehand, inflicting mortal wounds on him, might you have a chance to kill the ‘god’ part during Enlightenment, thus halting the divinity ritual.”

“Mr. Black Rabbit, it’s best not to hope Simon reaches Enlightenment. I promise you won’t want to witness the horrors that would follow.”

Li Nanke said nothing further, his gaze deep in thought.

When they arrived before the fortress-like Prime Monastery, the guards lay strewn across the ground in disarray.

Removing a guard’s helmet, Li Nanke saw a human face, shriveled and desiccated like a dead tree drained of all moisture and nutrients.

Not only the heads and faces, but the entire bodies of the guards were like mummified corpses.

“These guards are no ordinary men; they are Trackers!”

Li Nanke’s dread grew as he pushed open the monastery doors, ready to delve deeper, but Romeo suddenly grabbed him.

The Puppet King Romeo said expressionlessly: “You promised me you’d kill Geppetto first. If you can’t, I won’t help you deal with Simon.”

Li Nanke shrugged off his hand and entered the monastery without looking back.

“Is this really the time to haggle?”

“If you won’t help, then go find Geppetto yourself. Don’t block my way!”

Seeing their leader enter, Pinocchio piloted the war machine through the gate without hesitation, following closely behind Li Nanke, calling back to Romeo.

The Puppet King muttered curses, gripping his scythe tightly, and angrily followed.

Inside the monastery was utter silence. Robed humans lay scattered on the floor, faces twisted in agony, their deaths tragic and cruel, transformed into withered corpses like the guards outside.

Li Nanke noticed the robes bore the emblem of the “Sacred Ouroboros”—these were the monastery’s alchemists!

Some had been in their laboratories conducting experiments when they suddenly perished, their bodies shriveled as if all life energy had been drained.

Not a single living person remained in the entire monastery!

Li Nanke led the group swiftly to the fortress’s top floor.

At the end of an open-air corridor stood a hollow round tower, its strange device still gathering self essence energy.

Guarding the round tower’s entrance was a pale knight clad in spiked armor.

She carried a massive sword and shield, making it impossible to imagine beneath the armor was a nun.

She was the Completer—Laxia!