CHAPTER 348: CHAPTER 348: CLAW MARSHAL, INTEGRATED ENCHANTMENT TECHNIQUES_1

Bloodshed and conflict erupted immediately.

The Revolutionary Party, of course, had military backing and was mostly made up of young, strong men. During their Impact on the Enchantment Workshop, the Enchanters were caught off guard. Enchanters don’t possess any Extraordinary Power themselves. They’re only masters of their craft, and having led privileged lives for a long time, they were no match for these young men and were immediately beaten back. No one ever imagined that anything like this could happen at Claw Cliff. Royal power has always been supreme, and the Enchantment Workshop has always been the backbone of Claw Cliff. After all, the Enchantment Workshop is an enterprise of the Royal Family.

At this time, Wang Linchi had successfully infiltrated the Enchantment Workshop.

I thought it was the Revolutionary Party, but now it seems very likely a dual attack of politics and force, Wang Linchi commented to himself. The first piece of evidence was the Revolutionary Party’s equipment: all standard military gear from the White Claw Empire. The second was the great disturbance they had created in Claw Cliff, yet no movements from the Imperial Guard or the City Defense Army could be observed—they all seemed pretty much dead. The politics of the White Claw Empire were divided into two factions: the Enchantment Workshop, which controlled core technology, and the Royal Minister Faction, who controlled the military and economy. The conflicts between these two factions were usually very intense. Of course, this was only the major division; there were also internal struggles within the two camps, and these struggles were often very brutal. No one expected it to escalate to bloodshed.

But could it be Zi Guang’s doing? He seems to possess such abilities, Wang Linchi pondered for a while but quickly put those thoughts behind him. None of this was of any concern to Wang Linchi. Whether it was a coup d’état, a palace revolt, or a rebellion, none of it would affect him.

Following the information he had obtained from interrogation earlier, Wang Linchi quickly arrived at the entrance to the third underground layer. It had to be said that this Enchantment Workshop was genuinely massive. Even with "Workshop" in its name, suggesting a small-scale operation, its actual area was at least the size of dozens of large stadiums. The number of Enchanters and apprentices combined was in the tens of thousands. How else were they going to meet the military demands of the entire White Claw Empire?

There’s a guard... but wasn’t I told there wouldn’t be anyone? Oh, right, no one had made an Impact on the Enchantment Workshop before, Wang Linchi thought, squinting at the beefy Lizardman guard. The guard was not alive but rather a modified corpse, covered in numerous Enchantment Techniques. I didn’t expect the people of the White Claw Empire to be so ruthless; even a hero could become a victim like this,

Wang Linchi mused. He recognized this Lizardman: the Claw Marshal who had recently repelled the Black Tooth Empire. Of course, he was later used as a tribute by a certain high-ranking individual. Wang Linchi thought that would be the end of it but didn’t expect to encounter him here. The Claw Marshal wasn’t part of the Royal Family, but he was highly respected in the military.

Speaking of which, is the Lizardmen’s Magic Enchantment Technique deviating from the correct line of development? Wang Linchi wondered, looking at the Claw Marshal not far away. After modification, the Marshal’s strength had undergone a qualitative change, reaching the power of a fully Elementalized Elemental Giant. From bones to organs and flesh, the entire Claw Marshal had been imprinted with numerous Enchantment Techniques, integrated through his Elemental Bloodline. Combined with his equipment, he was undeniably the strongest on the second underground level. But there’s a problem. Why use a dead body when a living person would be better? More importantly, how does a corpse move? Wang Linchi was certain that neither the Elemental Bloodline nor Magic Enchantment Technique contained any method to animate a corpse, having already tried to deduce such a possibility. Neither Magic Enchantment Technique nor Elemental Bloodlines involved necromantic aspects related to the Elements of earth, water, fire, or wind. Then, the ability that animated the Claw Marshal must be another technique or material, Wang Linchi thought, an image of the Illusionary God Mushroom and Zi Guang popping into his mind.

Control. That was Zi Guang’s ability. Of course, the Claw Marshal had also consumed the Illusionary God Mushroom. In the White Claw Empire, this was expected—if you didn’t consume it, you were considered an outsider. However, the Claw Marshal hadn’t consumed it under duress. Rather, as a leader who led from the front, he took the mushroom to enhance his own power.

The shadow of the Saint Master slowly appeared.

"Capture him alive," Wang Linchi ordered straightforwardly. The Saint Master was definitely the one to act; it wasn’t as if Wang Linchi needed to do it himself.

Although the Claw Marshal was a corpse puppet, it was loaded with the necessary recognition program. Upon discovering the Saint Master, it took action immediately. However, compared to the Saint Master, the Claw Marshal fell far short. The Saint Master’s strength was dictated by Wang Linchi; the stronger Wang Linchi was, the stronger the Saint Master naturally became. The current Saint Master could possibly annihilate all Elemental Giants single-handedly. As for the Titan King, he wasn’t even in the same league. In sheer size alone, the Saint Master couldn’t compare.

With one swift motion, the Saint Master pinned down the attacking Claw Marshal. The sound of breaking bones echoed as the Saint Master effortlessly shattered the Claw Marshal’s four limbs. The battle ended in less than ten seconds. This was a complete rout. If it had been an evenly matched fight lasting half an hour, it wouldn’t have been a rout at all. The Saint Master dragged the Claw Marshal, like a dead dog, before Wang Linchi.

Core energy...

Wang Linchi thought, feeling around the Claw Marshal’s body, searching for what he wanted. The Claw Marshal seemed heavily wounded. In reality, the damage only affected its combat capabilities, and the Enchantment Techniques on its body were gradually assisting it in restoring its combat power. With so many Enchantment Techniques, there had to be a comprehensive and complementary system. Therefore, it must possess recovery abilities. Thus, what Wang Linchi had to do was find the energy core and cut off the power to the Claw Marshal. This wouldn’t just reduce its recovery ability but would cause it to shut down from lack of energy. Found it. It’s in the spine, Wang Linchi quickly located the Enchantment·Elemental Integration. Even if this Enchantment Technique isn’t the core energy source, it’s a port. Once it’s sealed, it will result in insufficient energy, even if it doesn’t shut down completely.

Integrated enchantment. These enchanters aren’t stagnant; this technology doesn’t even exist in the Blade Palace, Wang Linchi realized. He found that it could not be shut down individually; a tug at one part would affect the whole system. All the Enchantment Techniques on the Claw Marshal’s body were not scattered but formed an integrated system. Each Enchantment Technique was interlinked, similar to the workings of his Elemental Bloodline Potion. Fortunately, Wang Linchi had studied the fundamentals of Enchantment Techniques, specifically the Elemental Bloodline. So, if he couldn’t disable the Enchantment Techniques directly, he would address it from the source. Taking out a surgical knife, with one stroke, he severed the connection between the Enchantment Techniques and the Elemental Bloodline in the Claw Marshal’s body. If it can’t be shut down, then I’ll just pull the main breaker, he thought.

I seem to understand why the enchanters don’t promote this integrated Enchantment Technique for Transformed Humans, Wang Linchi mused after severing the Elemental Bloodline connection. He realized it wasn’t that they didn’t want to, but that they couldn’t. Lizardmen whose Elemental Bloodline concentration can reach that of the Claw Marshal are probably few and far between. With such a high threshold, it can’t be promoted at all. Even mass production is impossible. No wonder they use it for guarding.

At this point, Wang Linchi finally understood why the Claw Marshal, who held significant military authority, had died in such a frustrating way. If it had only been a high-ranking individual from the Royal Minister Faction seeking to use him as a token of allegiance, the Claw Marshal, with his capabilities and affiliation with that faction, likely wouldn’t have died. However, the enchanters also coveted the Claw Marshal’s body. When high-ranking figures from both factions struck a deal, his fate was sealed. To be transformed after death to guard the source of the White Claw Empire’s calamities for the enchanters... how tragic, Wang Linchi reflected.

So, the Royal Minister Faction is manipulating the young people of the Revolutionary Party, perhaps having sensed some of the enchanters’ secrets. However, their target was the Illusionary God Mushroom, aiming to indirectly suppress the Enchantment Workshop. But I guided the conflict directly here. The Royal Minister Faction probably never anticipated things would turn out this way. But they should thank me. Otherwise, if there were ten more Claw Marshal Transformed Humans, not to mention the White Claw Empire, even the Black Tooth Empire might not be able to withstand them.

Wang Linchi understood the gap between Elemental Giants and Lizardmen, especially the power of an Elemental Giant after Full Elementalization. However, if these Transformed Lizardmen and Elemental Giants were to fight, the fully Elementalized Elemental Giants would most likely win. After all, Elemental Giants hunted from a young age. While Transformed Lizardmen might meet the physical standards, their behavior and logic were very rigid. Lacking combat experience and being difficult to produce in large numbers, they posed little threat to the Elemental Giants.

After handing the Claw Marshal to the Saint Master to carry, Wang Linchi finally looked at the entrance, which had been sealed by the enchanters using Enchantment Techniques and various Smelting Techniques.

It seems I can only resort to violence now, Wang Linchi muttered.