by <unknown>
"With such a database, the Colossus would be able to be switched to 'half-auto state', which will significantly reduce the burden of mental power and spiritual energy on the user, and thereby make them fight longer than before. It is even possible to divide a Colossus into multiple independent battle modules, making it carry out 300% of its combat ability!
"Although we have inferred it countless times on the crystal processors, we still can't wait to see the performance of the Colossus in a real battle. Chances are that it will be a super Colossus as good as Blackstar the Great's 'Blackhole's Heart'. No, no, no, it will be even greater than 'Blackhole's Heart'. People hundreds of years later will remember how it raged in the universe and tore apart the stars!"
"I look forward to it as much as you do."
Li Yao mumbled, trying to control his dry and shivering throat. "Right now, let's give it a shot!"
…
Five hundred meters below the underground shelter, inside the rock stratum that had the steadiest tectonic structure, dull noises were surging like tides, shaking the rocks that had been consolidated for billions of years.
It was almost like there was a wormhole deep inside the planet, and infinite thunders were being teleported from the other side of the wormhole and exploding brutally in this place.
As it turned out, it was the Colossus that had been reborn pushing forward in a tiny cave, punching the hardest rocks with the fists surrounded by spiritual energy.
The rocks were blown, broken, squeezed, and obliterated, and the cave began to look larger and larger, turning from no more than thirty meters in diameter at the beginning into a perfect sphere almost three hundred meters in diameter!
The black Colossus with snake-like hair waving and dancing behind the back and crimson, scary flames burning all over its body floated at the center of the sphere, as if it were a god that had the whole world under control!
Although it was three hundred meters in diameter, the room was still not sufficient to test a Colossus that was almost thirty meters tall.
However, Li Yao was too concerned about the safety of the workers of the Great Iron Plants and the Nepenthe believers to expand it anymore.
Repairing and modifying the Colossus had already consumed too much time. He could familiarize himself with the performance parameters and attack methods of the brand-new Colossus here for now and use the lives and souls of the Immortal Cultivators for further tests in the Great Iron Plants!
Shua!
Clusters of silver brilliance spurted out of both palms of the black Colossi at the same time. The silver brilliance on the left hand was like a crescent moon, while that on the right land was like a straight shooting star. When they were extended to the maximum, they were condensed into a giant saber and a chainsword more than ten meters long.
The saber was named "Broken Wing", and the sword was named "Folded Feather". When examined carefully, one would notice that the two glittering melee weapons were both made of metal feathers that were as thin as paper. The raw materials were all from the broken wings of "Gold Vulture".
The wings of "Gold Vulture" were the most important attack magical equipment that was made out of a lot of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures from the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum, which Li Yao asked from Queen Li Linghai. Many of the materials were unique and could not be found anywhere else in the entire universe. When the wings were broken, Li Yao's heart was almost broken at the same time. Thanks to Long Yangjun, some parts of the debris were packed and brought back. Li Yao naturally couldn't bear to throw them away easily but redesigned and produced the two pieces of melee magical equipment with the help of the two kids.
Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!
The two arms of the black Colossus turned into gray mists. Broken Wing darted out in one—no, thousands of streaks of brightness. Every metal feather of the weapon could be dissected freely. Under the restraint of magnetic force and Li Yao's spiritual energy, they could change into the most unbelievable forms to interfere with and confuse the enemy to the most extent.
Broken Wing, on the other hand, only boosted out one ray that shot out into the rocks straightly without any fancy effect, leaving a tiny hole.
However, if one were to release their telepathic thoughts and dive into the hole, they would discover that the hole stabbed by the sword had pushed forward for more than ten kilometers inside the concrete rocks!
While some of the super-heavy warships could be astonishingly dozens of kilometers long, considering cost, agility, and difficulty of production, most of the starships were within ten kilometers.
The shell of a starship was certainly a hundred times tougher than rocks, but the inside of a starship couldn't be concrete, and the cabin walls inside couldn't be as indestructible as the external plate armor, either.
Since the sword could stab through the rocks more than ten kilometers thick, it was certainly not a problem to stab through most starships.
Broken Wing was responsible for distraction and harassment, whereas Folded Feather was responsible for breaking the armor and launching the attack. They were the most daunting melee magical equipment.
Playing with them for a while, Li Yao shook his hands and absorbed the weapons into his Cosmos Rings again. The shoulder pads on his two sides that were decorated with the godly faces were quickly opened, revealing a launch system of mini flying swords that were as dense as a beehive.
Although they were called "mini flying swords", they were in fact the super-tiny spiritual puppets or "intelligent bullets" controlled by Li Wenwen and Li Xiaoming. After they were shot out by Li Yao at the highest speed, they could automatically adjust the attack route, angle, and even pattern halfway. They could also postpone detonation after they hit the target and keep on diving in until they reached the most critical parts of the target.
Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!
A large cluster of super-tiny puppets spurted out of the shoulders of the black Colossus, dancing like a swarm of wild bees and moving unpredictably. One second, they could be faster than meteorites, and the next second, they could be even more volatile than mists.
While the "wild bees" stalled the enemy, the plate armor of the black Colossus from the chest to the abdomen suddenly glided open, revealing a particularly hideous face. From the bloody mouth on the face that had been wide open, an extremely powerful mental wave was shot out and swept over the entire sphere space like a surging tide.
In the meantime, from the six Cosmos Rings embedded to the back of the black Colossus, pieces of round magical equipment that had been painted black emerged and began to play the deafening music that sounded like drumming from hell.
It was exactly the mental attack system on the black Colossus!
Li Yao had been an expert on mental warfare in the first place.
"Hellstar" was also a Colossus that was installed with powerful mental attack magical equipment. In the battle at the underground royal palace, Blackstar the Great used the mental attack magical equipment on "Hellstar" to awe and suppress dozens of experts in the Nascent Soul Stage and the Divinity Transformation Stage.
It was needless to mention Li Wenwen and Li Xiaoming, who were better at cracking the defense systems of crystal processors and the brainwaves of humans than anything else.
When the three factors were combined, the extremely powerful mental attack system was created. It would certainly be any enemy's nightmare.
Therefore, Li Yao had named the mental attack system as "Nightmare Bringer"!
Huala! Huala! Huala! Huala!
When the mental attack reached the highest point, the hair on the black Colossus that was waving crazily like vipers couldn't hold back any longer, and the strands of hair extended to all directions. The attack magical equipment at their ends that looked like chrysanthemum was opened, and it was as easy to rip apart the hardest rock as to tear a paper box apart.
The greatest feature of the massive attack system that had been named "Hydra" was that it did not require Li Yao
's personal control but could be controlled by the mental devil independently.
The black Colossus controlled by Li Yao, the "wild bees" controlled by the two information lives, and "Hydra" controlled by the mental devil were three different combat modules. In such a way, everyone's computational ability would be optimized.
In the more extreme cases, "Hydra" could even be separated from the main body of the Colossus and used as an independent combat unit.
After "Hydra" was separated, the black Colossus would be able to put on a brand-new "Ares Extension" and enter the mode of hyper firepower output to blow out the destructive "Ultra-Galactic Cannon"!
The most fatal shortcoming of "Ultra-Galactic Cannon" was that the preparation was too long. The enemy would certainly not be silly enough to wait for Li Yao to prepare for ten seconds but would escape in a hurry or launch a critical counterattack to disrupt in preparation.
Right now, with "Hydra" under the control of the mental devil, and together with the interferences, scourges, and locking of the two information lives, the precision of the "Ultra-Galactic Cannon" would be significantly increased and more or less be used for a real battle.
However, it was his last resort, and there would be quite a noise when it was performed. Chances were that it could really tear apart the rocks and raise an inestimable chain reaction, leading to a catastrophic earthquake.
He might as well not test it in such a dangerous environment below the ground!
Broken Wing, Folded Feather, Wild Bee Attack System, Nightmare Bringer, Hydra, and the ultimate Ultra-Galactic Cannon… All the attack modules and units were done testing.
Hu… Hu… Hu… Hu…
Inside the spiritual residence of the Black Colossus, Li Yao breathed heavily, but he couldn't have been more excited.
He could feel the great changes between this Colossus and "Gold Vulture" as well as "Hellstar".
Even if Blackstar the Great saw the Colossus, he would be greatly surprised, wouldn't he?
Right now, there was only the last step to finish.
"What are you going to call it?"
The mental devil asked, "The Platinum Vulture, the Super Tartarean Skeleton, or the Gold Hellstar?"
Li Yao was in too good a mood to argue with the mental devil. Ignoring the sarcasm, he thought carefully for a long time and said, "Do you remember what we discussed when we were in the federation? Even if the universe is truly a bloody, cruel dark forest, there are bound to be civilizations that are unwilling to be trapped in the darkness like us. We will establish an alliance of arsonists and ignite ten thousand fires, burning the whole dark forest to the ground!
"At that time, it was just a hope, and I never thought it could come true.
"However, the arrival of the information lives gives me a slim chance of hope for brightness. Perhaps it will be sooner for the civilization of mankind to break out of the three thousand Sectors to find or create an 'alliance of arsonists' than everyone thought, right?
"So, the Colossus will be named 'Arsonist'!"
Chapter 2407: Li Yao, the Arsonist! |
"That does sound better than 'Tartarean Skeleton' or 'Gold Vulture'."
The mental devil observed, somewhat in surprise, "However, in most contexts, 'arsonist' is not a word of approval. While sparks of fire may eventually drive away darkness, you'd better make sure that the fire does not spread out uncontrollably and burn everything to the ground.
"Why, have you come up with such a name because you subconsciously have concerns about the first Colossus in history that is installed with a control and attack system maneuvered by information lives?"
Li Yao rubbed his nose. "Do I?"
"Just think about it."
The mental devil said, "There is a hero who is also a leader who is in a high place on the surface and has made great contributions. He has deeply-rooted forces in his country and is deeply admired and trusted by the people.
"But in secret, he is doing clandestine things for a certain 'lofty goal'. He even has a massive plan that has inestimable influences, and it will change the entire civilization of mankind profoundly once it is implemented!
"There is also a ferocious-looking, destructive Colossus that he uses. Who do you think I am describing?"
"It does seem so!"
Grabbing his hair and thinking for a long time, Li Yao said, "It can't be helped. In the past, there were people like Xiao Xuance, Lu Zui, and Extraterrestrial Devil Mo Xuan who led the charge and explored ways in the infinite mists. All I needed to do was to hide in their back as a comfortable opposition who pointed out their mistakes now and then and moved forward on their dead bodies.
"But right now, they have all been taken down. Like you said before, there is not a single person ahead of me right now. It is truly my turn to carry their responsibility and walk on so that other people and history will point out my mistakes and give me a fair ruling.
"I don't know whether or not I have chosen the right path, but I do know that we will be forever trapped in the three thousand Sectors where resources are being exhausted if we stop, and there will be no future for mankind. Our best outcome will be to become a second Pangu or Nuwa civilization, before our decline tens of thousands of years later!
"'Arsonist' does represent high uncertainties and high dangers. One moment of carelessness, and the overwhelming fire will consume everything.
"But don't forget that when the Pangu and Nuwa civilizations collapsed and perished, and the newborn mankind was just awakened and faced with the unknown world independently, our ancestors made the hardest first step exactly by burning the trees to the ground and farming on the land.
"The glory and grandeur human beings have today are all thanks to the ancestors who burned the mountains and transformed the desert into fine lands. Fire and civilization are inseparable in the first place. If the ancestors were scared of the heat and dangers of fire, the civilization of mankind wouldn't have achieved what it has today at all!
"There has to be a bold guy who set the first fire in rashness when everybody wavers. Let's view it in retrospective a hundred thousand years later whether it is a fire of destruction or one that illuminates a new age!"
At the moment, Li Yao's soul was clearer, firmer, and more condensed than ever.
The bloody stripes on the half-transparent black texture of the Colossus "Arsonist" that had been reborn on the basis of "Gold Vulture" and "Hellstar" also turned into furious flames. All the killing intent and brutality turned into ambitions to break out of the space and conquer the universe!
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Countless bizarre-shaped spiritual puppets showed up. The larger of them were a couple of meters long, like mechanical spiders and mantises that had been installed with crystal cannons, blast drills, and chain claws. The smaller ones were only the size of a thumb and hummed in the midair like metal bees and flies. They all crawled to the sphere space around the "Arsonist", like an obedient, well-trained army waiting for Li Yao's instruction.
They were exactly a miscellaneous troop that Li Xiaoming and Li Wenwen had gradually established by gathering all the garbage in the relics thousands of kilometers around.
Although their combat ability was not high enough, Li Yao believed that they would be very useful to evacuate and protect the ordinary people, or to help the ordinary people with their daily life below the ground, say, the maintenance of the basic civil magical equipment.
"Dad!"
Li Xiaoming and Li Wenwen clambered to the spiritual residence of the Arsonist.
The four pieces of the breastplate of the Arsonist opened helically. Little Black, which had turned into a pool of black liquids, extended two tentacles and pulled the two little kids into its body.
Little Black was some sort of "weak artificial intelligence" in the first place. It was not inappropriate to call it a "liquid crystal processor". Naturally, the two kids could improve its performance like two "strengthening plugins".
While the two k
ids boasted computational abilities and hacking abilities that far exceeded human beings, their bodies were only of children no more than ten years old after all, and their own combat abilities were limited. Li Yao thought for a long time and still believed that it was safest for them to stay in the spiritual residence of the Colossus with him. It would also be much easier to control this very special Colossus in such a way.
"There's something that I need to make clear to you in advance."
Thinking for a long time, Li Yao said carefully, "Since you have read a lot of information from the Spiritual Nexus of the Star Glory Federation, you must know many villains who emerged during the decades around the establishment of the 'New Federation', such as Xiao Xuance, Lu Zui, and Extraterrestrial Devil Mo Xuan later.
"They were not necessarily evil in nature, and they probably had been doing what they did thinking that they were doing the right thing. However, they made the same mistake, which was that they trusted only themselves but not anyone else. Their plans were all sleazy and clandestine, and when their plans were revealed, it was the end of their cause.
"Your existence is certainly a huge shock and challenge for the civilization of mankind right now. It is exactly because of the sensitiveness of the issue that I do not want to make the mistake that Xiao Xuance, Lu Zui, and Extraterrestrial Devil Mo Xuan made. I do not feel that what I'm doing is clandestine, nor do I feel that the two of you must be kept a secret!
"So, while I will not vehemently introduce you to the world, when we counter the crucial persons, such as Long Yangjun, Li Jialing, or Boss Bai, to create a good start for our sincere cooperation, I do not want to hide your identity from them.
"Can you live with that?"
The kids were silent for a moment before Li Wenwen said in a soft voice, "We can accept that. Even if human beings are indeed very hostile to us or even try to destroy us, we will not be scared.