CHAPTER 207: CHAPTER 207: MECHANICAL GOLEM, SKILL REPLICATION

If you kill a Divine Soul, even a Divine can fall. No matter how strange or unique a consciousness-based existence is, it absolutely isn’t indestructible. Johnnie didn’t believe any being could achieve true immortality.

"Are you Mechanical Race or Demon Clan?" He asked curiously, but at the same time, quietly sent his mind to invade the mechanical behemoth’s mind and check its directives.

Buzz...

Johnnie’s head suddenly buzzed, pain stabbing through his mind, blood trickling from his seven orifices—his soul had actually been hit by backlash.

It felt like some kind of Soul Power.

He looked shocked. He sensed a vast Soul Power and a flood of memories from the other’s mind; this didn’t feel like the standard Mechanical Race.

The mechanical giant clearly knew what Johnnie had done, but didn’t care. It said coolly, "I used to be Demon Clan, but I fell. The Mechanical Race granted me new life. Now, I am Mechanical Race."

"You’re a living member of the Mechanical Race?" Johnnie asked, confused. He’d always thought the Mechanical Race was lifeless, acting on programming alone.

But this mechanical behemoth definitely had something like a soul.

"Human, the Mechanical Race is far stronger than you can imagine. Join us and you’ll gain endless benefits. Well? Want to join the Mechanical Race? I can guarantee your growth won’t be any less than mine." The mechanical giant didn’t explain further, just kept tempting him.

Johnnie sneered, rejecting him without hesitation. "Hmph, we follow different paths. Let’s just fight it out!"

As he spoke, his Demon Wings fluttered and he shot forward, raising the Skye Shield high and swinging it hard at the mechanical giant.

"Foolish!" A flash of cold light appeared in the giant’s crimson mechanical eyes. Without even moving, a massive bolt of lightning crashed down from above.

Crack!

Johnnie’s soul shuddered in terror. He hastily raised his shield to block.

Boom!

-2,450,010

A massive damage number flashed. Johnnie’s health was wiped out in an instant.

[Ding, you were instantly killed by Mechanical Celestial Dragon. Resurrection ring activated. You revive on the spot.]

A prompt message appeared. Johnnie revived on the spot.

He looked terrified and immediately retreated without a second thought.

That last strike had shaken his very soul, and the aura of death still lingered.

If he died in this place, he’d probably be gone for good.

Thankfully, his gear had been unlocked during the second trial.

But after the resurrection ring was triggered, there was a 24-hour cooldown. If he died again, that would be the end.

To make matters worse, the Skye Shield was a melee weapon. He wouldn’t even get close before getting one-shot again.

Luckily, the Mechanical Celestial Dragon didn’t attack again. It said calmly, "Human, I don’t want to kill you. Take some time to think it over."

Whew...

The giant’s body swept past, a surge of spatial power enveloped him, and before Johnnie could react, he found himself standing in a vast empty palace.

[Ding, you have entered a special, unknown space.]

Clank, clank...

Before he could get his bearings, a horde of Mechanical Golems appeared, all wielding longswords and rushing at him.

"Longswords?" Johnnie noticed their weapons, a bit puzzled.

Besides, these Mechanical Golems didn’t seem very good at fighting.

Whoosh!

A flash of cold light slashed at him. Johnnie quit overthinking, acted decisively, and unleashed the Cosmic Eclipse Blade—blasting one Mechanical Golem to bits.

[Defeated Mechanical Golem, Mechanical Perception +1]

A prompt popped up: the Cosmic Eclipse Blade only got a 1% boost to damage and attack speed—no permanent increase to physical damage or attack speed.

These Mechanical Golems were nowhere near his level of strength.

At least his Mechanical Perception was going up.

Johnnie stopped worrying about it and went all out, slaughtering them like crazy.

[Defeated Mechanical Golem, Mechanical Perception +1]

...

The prompt messages kept popping up as more and more Mechanical Golems were killed.

But soon, their shattered bodies would recover, and they’d charge at him again.

Johnnie frowned. Was that Mechanical Celestial Dragon trying to trap him in this hall by using these Mechanical Golems?

"I want to see if you can still recover after being completely smashed to bits!" He slammed his Great Sword down and unleashed Rupture the Ground from the Void Sword style at a Mechanical Golem.

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, that Mechanical Golem was blown to pieces.

Buzz!

A strange ripple of energy flashed, and the shattered Mechanical Golem reassembled itself, good as new.

It seemed to be some kind of special law or rule at work.

On top of that, more and more Mechanical Golems kept appearing. It really looked like they wanted to trap him here.

Johnnie frowned, killing the swarming Mechanical Golems while inspecting the palace.

The hall was vast and empty, with nothing in sight except the endlessly spawning Mechanical Golems.

The creepiest part was that there weren’t even any doors or windows.

If there’s no way out, then I’ll just destroy the palace!

Johnnie made up his mind in an instant. He summoned several flying swords with the Technique of Swordsmanship for Controlling Swords and sent them slashing at the walls and pillars.

Clang, clang...

The sharp clanging echoed around him, but the walls didn’t even have a scratch.

How is that possible?

Johnnie was shocked. With his Cosmic Eclipse Blade’s passive stacked up, his damage was over five hundred times stronger—over twenty million damage—yet he hadn’t made a mark on the palace.

No exit... do I need a spatial talent to get out of here?

Johnnie didn’t have any spatial talents, nor did he have any special items like a Celestial Mirror for crossing dimensions.

There had to be another way to get out!

Johnnie blocked the Mechanical Golems’ attacks while carefully scanning the hall for anything unusual.

"Huh?"

In the distance, a particular Mechanical Golem caught his eye.

It was a Mechanical Golem with a dark red body and glowing mechanical eyes, staring straight at him.

This Mechanical Golem was completely different from the others, even more agile and animated!

Maybe this guy was the key to breaking out.

Johnnie sprang into action, launching a flying sword at the dark red Mechanical Golem with his sword-control technique.

Clang!

The sword struck with a ringing sound, but the Golem was completely unharmed, not even a scratch—just like the palace itself.

What the hell is this thing? Is it immune to physical attacks or what?

But with his Sword Immortal class, both his physical attacks and skills also carried magic damage.

"Let’s try magic attacks!" He wasn’t ready to give up. He swung his longsword and unleashed the Five Elements Technique, a surge of elemental power instantly engulfing the Mechanical Golem.

No damage numbers appeared, and it didn’t take any damage at all.

It was immune to magical attacks, too!

"Damn it!" Johnnie cursed, gripping his Great Sword and charging straight in.

If it’s immune to physical and magical attacks, what about melee?

Clack, clack!

The surrounding Mechanical Golems surged forward, like they were trying to keep Johnnie away.

This dark red Mechanical Golem had to be the core. If he killed it, he might be able to leave.

Johnnie’s Demon Wings unfurled behind him. He shot up into the air—the hall was huge, so he had plenty of space to fly as he sped toward the dark red Mechanical Golem.

"Mountain Shatter!" he shouted, unleashing the Void Sword style as his blade came crashing down with unstoppable force.

The dark red Mechanical Golem didn’t dodge or even flinch. Its mechanical eyes glinted as it stared calmly at Johnnie.

Boom!

A thunderous bang rang out. The powerful backlash sent Johnnie flying backward.

The Mechanical Golem was knocked back as well, but it was still totally unscathed.

Johnnie caught a glimpse of its stats.

[Dark-Gold Mechanical Golem: Special mechanical lifeform, indestructible]

Indestructible?

Could this thing really be unbreakable?

"Master, the Skye Shield can destroy this thing." Maiev’s voice sounded in his mind.

Johnnie hesitated. He could only use the Skye Shield for three attacks, and it was meant for fighting Divines.

This dark red Mechanical Golem was weird, but it clearly wasn’t a Divine powerhouse. Using the shield here felt like a waste.

Maiev’s voice came again: "Master, stop hesitating! This thing is special. It’s copying your skills!"

"What?" Johnnie blurted out in shock. Copying skills?

He looked at the swarming weak puppets around him and realized something.

Looks like this thing was worth spending a Skye Shield attack on!

Johnnie made up his mind. Ignoring the attacks from the other Mechanical Golems, he raised his great shield and smashed it down on the dark red Mechanical Golem.

That thing seemed to sense the danger and stopped standing in place—it quickly retreated.

At the same time, the surrounding Mechanical Golems surged in frantically to block Johnnie, and their numbers kept growing.

Buzz!

A sharp buzzing filled the air as a longsword came slashing down fast.

Johnnie dodged in alarm and looked at the puppet in shock. "Cosmic Eclipse Blade!"

Maiev was right—these things really were copying his skills.

But the Cosmic Eclipse Blade used by the Mechanical Golem was weak, about the same as a half-baked version of the Great Transformation Sword Technique.

He wasn’t sure if it had the Great Transformation Sword Technique’s passive stacking bonus to damage and attack speed.

Even so, that was still scary.

Johnnie didn’t dare use his skills anymore and recalled his flying swords, relying on pure combat techniques to handle the Mechanical Golems.

They could copy his fighting techniques too, but that wasn’t much of a threat.

Boom...

Johnnie’s raw strength was on full display—he punched a Mechanical Golem to bits, spread his Demon Wings, and shot toward the dark red Mechanical Golem.

Demon Wing didn’t count as a skill, so he wasn’t worried about them copying it.

"Human, have you figured it out?" Suddenly, the dark red Mechanical Golem spoke, its voice cold and mechanical.

"Huh, are you alive too?" Johnnie was surprised. He could sense this dark red Mechanical Golem was like the Mechanical Celestial Dragon, just not as strong.

The cold voice came again: "If you didn’t have the blood of the Witch Clan and Demon Clan, you’d already be dead. I’ll give you one more chance. Join the Mechanical Race, and I’ll let you keep your memories. Otherwise, you’ll end up just like these Mechanical Golems—a walking corpse."

"Keep dreaming!" Johnnie sneered, suddenly speeding up as he shot toward the dark red Mechanical Golem.

"Stubborn fool." The cold mechanical voice echoed as a terrifying wave of gravity crashed down on him.