Chapter 446: Machinery Hivemind's Combat Style

In an instant, Klein switched to his unfathomable state as "The Fool who

overlooked everything." He nodded and said, "Not bad."

Ahead of him, the river surged, and the white words squirmed and changed

before taking shape again.

"What follows is the exploration process your loyal servant, Arrodes,

has recorded. You can choose to speed up or skip certain scenes at any

time."

This sentence froze for two seconds, and then the scene abruptly zoomed

in. Klein instantly appeared beside Ikanser Bernard, but no one noticed

him.

He looked around and felt that he was surrounded by living people with

lifelike scenes. Nothing about his surroundings looked unreal, making

him feel as if though he was there in person.

*I can even speed up or skip certain scenes... The original form of this

mirror, Arrodes, is a virtual reality family cinema...* Klein

couldn't help but lampoon.

He took another look at the Machinery Hivemind members and saw that it

was led by an old man in white priest robes and a cleric cap. His face

was unusually kind, and his expression was calm and gentle.

"Your Grace, everyone is ready," Ikanser approached the elder and said

with a bow.

*Archbishop... This is the archbishop of the Church of Steam and

Machinery's Backlund diocese, the demigod, Horamick Haydn? The Machinery

Hivemind really is cautious, and not careless...*

*Who knows, they might have even brought along a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact

and performed a divination in advance. After all, they're in control of

the Mystery Pryer pathway. Luckily, I can basically confirm that the

fog's anti-divination or divination interference abilities are similar

to the Cards of Blasphemy, allowing the result to be as ordinary as

possible and the least bit suspicious; otherwise, certain matters might

be exposed...*

*However, there's a certain probability that the meeting between Miss

Sharron and I will appear, because, to me, that isn't something harmful.

It depends on whether a Wraith's instinct to interfere with divination

will affect the Machinery Hivemind's attempt. Wait, the Machinery

Hivemind is highly likely to have relied on Arrodes, and based on its

performance from just now and previously, it isn't impossible for him to

curry favor with me by adding some mosaics...* Klein thought in

enlightenment.

At this point, Horamick Haydn drew a triangular Sacred Emblem on his

chest.

"Begin the operation. God will protect us."

Nearly ten Beyonders headed down as Klein followed closely behind. He

didn't "fast-forward" at all.

He had always been curious about the combat styles of Low- and

Mid-Sequence Beyonders of the Machinery Hivemind, and he wanted to take

this opportunity to experience it.

In addition, he was also greatly concerned about how a demigod really

did in combat, as well as the secrets hidden in the Amon family tomb.

After being ransacked by time, in a period spanning one or two thousand

years, the black marble staircase still retained its hardness without

any signs of corrosion. The Machinery Hivemind members followed it all

the way underground, where they saw the unique asymmetrical stone

pillars and axe-and-blade scuffing from the period of the Fourth Epoch.

The pillars stood on either side of the wide road, and in front of them

was a large, heavy, dark gray stone double door.

The stone door had already cracked open, wide enough for two people to

walk alongside each other. It was completely dark inside.

The Machinery Hivemind members were in no hurry to enter. They carefully

searched the surrounding area with lanterns, but they found nothing of

value.

"According to the plan, the first group will begin with a preliminary

clean-up." With the archbishop's approval, Ikanser pushed down his hat,

compressing his fluffy hair.

Clean-up? By the side, Klein ruminated over the word.

Amidst his puzzlement, the two strongest and burliest male Machinery

Hivemind team members each laid down a long black box on their backs and

opened them up.

Inside one long box was a sturdy, heavy, iron-black cannon-shaped

object. Its surface was engraved with dense and arcane patterns. In the

other box was a complex and exquisite firearm with a chain of pale

golden bullets inserted into it.

One of the two team members carried the cannon-shaped object and trudged

to the open stone door.

Another Machinery Hivemind member picked up the peculiar gun, adjusted

the bullet chain, and followed slightly behind.

After the two of them glanced at each other, the cannon-shaped object on

the former's shoulder rapidly lit up, outlining burning patterns and

imprints before a loud salvo.

Boom!

A golden fireball, akin to a miniature sun, flew out from the "cannon

barrel" and into the darkness.

Boom!

The ground trembled slightly, and intense light was emitted from the

crack.

The body of the Machinery Hivemind member, who was holding onto the

"cannon barrel," clearly sank a little as his feet trembled.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He repeatedly used the Beyonder weapon to launch one golden "cannonball"

after another at different spots, causing the tomb to sway without a

speck of dust falling.

After he came to a stop, the team member with the peculiar gun stepped

forward and pulled the trigger.

Da! Da! Da! Da! Da!

The sound of machine-gun fire echoed as one pale golden bullet after

another flew out, purifying the danger in the depths of the darkness.

*...Isn't this the bombardment effect I've always wanted? Furthermore,

they're using Beyonder expendables like purifying bullets and exorcism

cannonballs... How extravagant! Is this the combat style of the

Machinery Hivemind?* Klein's stared with his eyes wide open and

his mouth slightly agape.

After the series of savage bombardments, Ikanser raised his voice above

the rumbling echoes and said, "Group two, do the follow-up clean-up."

There's more... Klein felt a little numb from what was

happening.

The second group was also made up of two team members who used scrolls

made of different kinds of leather.

They chanted simplified incantations, activated the scrolls, and tossed

them inside.

The construct behind the stone door was suddenly shrouded by gentle and

pure light. Droplets of golden holy rain pattered down, "cleansing"

everything in the area.

Klein looked at this scene and suddenly found it somewhat ridiculous.

*Wait, aren't you guys here to engage in archaeological studies? Aren't

you professional "archaeologists?" Aren't you afraid that the tomb would

collapse from using such clean-up methods?*

While these thoughts flashed through his mind, the second team was done,

and they shouted at Ikanser, "Deacon, as expected, the construct's

structural integrity hasn't been destroyed."

They were clearly prepared.

"Alright, continue forward." Ikanser gave the order.

Klein walked in the middle, through the stone door, and saw piles of

dirt and debris on the ground. It was impossible to tell what kind of

monsters had once been active here, and no one could guess the functions

of the mechanisms that had been set up here.

*After these "cleaning up" procedures, as long as one didn't dodge in

advance, no Beyonder below that of High-Sequence Beyonders would be able

to withstand it...* Klein once again gained a deeper

understanding of what the aesthetic of violence was like and what it

meant to be simple, direct, and unreasonable.

In what followed, the previous scenes were repeated over and over again.

The Machinery Hivemind team members smoothly approached, exploring one

area after another, occasionally harvesting some Beyonder

characteristics that were beginning to gather.

"There are no murals..." Seeing the main tomb chamber in sight, the

archbishop of the Church of the God of Steam, Horamick Haydn stopped and

muttered to himself in puzzlement.

Klein, who was considered half a historian, was equally puzzled.

Generally speaking, a noble family member's grave would more or less

express their position and honor when they were alive.

And when a grave became a tomb or even a mausoleum, it was very common

for a mural to be used to describe its master's life when it possessed

enough space. In even older and more obscure eras, this wasn't rare, and

it was even the most common method---the first thing humans learned was

drawings, not writing.

Thus, it really was a little strange that there were no similar murals

in the tomb of a Fourth Epoch noble family.

Upon hearing the archbishop's question, Ikanser immediately ordered the

men to spread out in groups of two to search the vicinity for relevant

traces of murals.

Watching from the sidelines, Klein couldn't help but want to "fast

forward" a little to immediately see the outcome.

At that moment, he noticed that the two Machinery Hivemind members in

the left corner had suddenly turned into three!

One of them looked identical to Ikanser Bernard, his fluffy hair

propping his hat high.

This... Klein was first stunned before he made a guess.

The moment he had the thought, Ikanser walked over to the team member

closest to him.

"Any discoveries?" He cleared his throat and lowered his voice.

The team member turned around warily, but immediately relaxed when he

saw that it was Deacon Ikanser.

"No..." Before he could finish his sentence, the "Ikanser" in front of

him suddenly turned into a piece of human skin and enveloped his body.

The pale human skin tightly wrapped around him, and his face began to

form the outline of his facial features. During this process, there were

no additional sounds, nor were there any abnormal movements that were

triggered.

All of a sudden, the human skin began to emit rays of light, just like

the rising of the sun!

The human skin immediately turned translucent and quickly soared into

the air as if it was being burned.

A black whip immediately lashed out, striking its body, causing its

movements to clearly slow down.

In such a battle, slowness was an "Original Sin." One Beyonder weapon

after another, burning scrolls, and pale golden bullets were released

towards the human skin.

After a brilliant burst of light, countless ashes fell from the sky.

All of them coruscated faint light and slowly "struggled" to gather

together.

It really is a Human-skinned Shadow... Klein turned his

attention to the Machinery Hivemind members who had just been attacked.

The man pulled at his collar and pulled out a protective charm. There

were many symbols and magic labels related to the sun on it.

"Thankfully, the archbishop got us to wear these things!" he held the

lantern and sincerely praised.

It was only then that Klein realized that his brooch had the quality of

the night, his ring had the intensity of the storm, and his belt exuded

the sense of physical strength...

*Although they aren't all mystical items, most of them are in the

category of charms and Beyonder weapons. Even if their effects will

quickly decline, they're still worth a lot! If you weren't an Artisan or

a rich Beyonder, there's no way to gather that much... Is this the

combat style of the Machinery Hivemind? Burning money...* Klein

felt a sudden setback, and it took him a long time to recover.

At that moment, the Human-skinned Shadow characteristic gathered and

took form. It was like a huge diamond with countless sides reflecting

light, and each side reflected a different face.

The faces were densely packed, layered, and left one dizzy.

I'm just short of it... Klein was overjoyed.

After the Machinery Hivemind handled the spoils, they continued to

search for the murals, but they didn't find any traces of them.

They had no choice but to gather again and head for the passageway that

led to the main tomb.