Chapter 673 - My Doomsday Territory

Chapter 673: Profiting from War The Purple Amethyst lineage has endured for over a dozen generations. Historically, the Purple Amethyst estate once faced an attack from rebel forces that reached the Earl's castle. It was through the fortress's increasingly perfected defense mechanisms, honed over generations, that the family withstood the insurrection and survived to this day. In comparison to an approaching rebel army, the meager threat of some lowly pirates was negligible to the Purple Amethyst Earl. It was only due to his trusted adviser, the 'Captain,' who insisted on the formidable strength and terrifying aura of these individuals, that he bothered to set a trap for them. To have a powerful earl stoop to setting a trap for an invitation — these pirates had indeed reached the peak of their lives. Lorrin surveyed the surroundings. Outside the courtyard walls and atop the castle ramparts, hundreds of archers were poised with crossbows that glistened with a cold, threatening gleam, revealing their special armor-piercing capabilities. Beneath her feet, a massive formation began to quietly appear, and an obscure mist gradually shrouded their vision, making enemies seem to lurk in every direction, unseen. However, 'Even though I'm only a dual-discipline practitioner, I'm still a high-level formation master.' Lorrin smirked. Recently, a more detailed skill classification system had been implemented in Green Shade. Basic, intermediate, and advanced levels corresponded to professional skill levels lv1-lv3; master level was lv4-lv5; grandmaster level stood at lv6-lv8, with lv9 and above being divine. In Green Shade, a lv3 formation level was nothing impressive; some outstanding academy students even passed runeology lv4 and alchemy lv4 before graduation. Outside of Green Shade, however, lv4 was still considered master-level, and lv3 was enough to stand independently as a professional. With a few glances, Lorrin identified several conspicuous weaknesses in the surrounding formations. The rune connections were clumsily linked, key nodes poorly disguised, and the mist meant to obstruct perception was substandard. She knew multiple ways to circumvent it. She took three steps back, two to the left, and stomped down, disturbing the castle's formation with a shockwave of energy. Drawing her revolver, she fired two magic-breaking bullets. Bang! Crack! Two crucial nodes shattered, leaving the Earl's private army stunned and uncertain whether to advance or retreat. The Purple Amethyst Earl's pupils contracted, his haughty demeanor faltering. Instinctively, he stepped back, thrusting his right hand forward. Family elites and his patron's aura erupted. Zzzz— A thick purple beam shot from one side, striking with a tremendous crash. Behind the Earl, the magnificent castle… collapsed! Energy from the purple beam scattered his elite troops, its sheer power striking even the two most senior Void-walkers with terror. They looked towards where the beam had originated, spotting a burly man kneeling on one knee, a massive energy cannon resting on his shoulder. The cannon's muzzle still crackled with arcs of light. The man nonchalantly rested two fingers, pinching a cigarette, under the cannon's muzzle, which flickered with purple light. He took a deep, satisfied drag. "I... I think there might be some misunderstanding. We can discuss this slowly, very slowly..." Turning, the family elites saw their pirate leader already beside the Earl, a gun pressed to his temple. ... "Are you buying?" "Buying!" "There are still twenty crates left..." "Buying, buying." "There are five different models over here..." "Buying... wait, you're selling actual automatons? Aren't you pirates?" Through close and amicable negotiations, the Purple Amethyst Earl braced himself for a substantial loss. Yet, surprisingly, the goods differed from what he had imagined... They were genuine?! And the quality… far exceeded expectations! "Miss Lorrin, might we test them... oh, I don't mean to doubt your products. I simply mean that such excellent automatons could be sold to the Grand Duke of Blue Water. Even if it's ten thousand or a hundred thousand units, the Grand Duke would still have a market for them." Standing before the Earl was a high-spec warrior automaton — more aptly, an enhanced version three warrior automaton. —This amalgamated blueprint of dozens of others, meticulously optimized countless times, now truly delivered a high-performance warrior automaton with standard supernatural combat abilities… Of course, none of them were in Lorrin's current batch — they were military-grade, non-sale items. The Earl then gestured to a bodyguard. The bodyguard stepped forward, armed with sword and shield, while the enhanced version three warrior automaton matched his equipment. "The automaton excels in speed, power, and resilience, but lacks human agility..." The Purple Amethyst Earl analyzed. His bodyguard boasted rich combat experience, adept in various tactics — an edge the automatons lacked. "Earth-Shattering Slash!" A shockwave traversed the ground, blasting towards the automaton. The bodyguard leveraged this ranged advantage, maneuvering agilely. Though unable to match the automaton's direct burst speed, he was more nimble in dodging. Suddenly, Whoosh! The automaton abruptly changed direction mid-air, accelerating by thirty percent in an instant. It appeared before the bodyguard, smashing down with its heavy shield. Boom! The bodyguard was sent flying, the automaton swiftly following with a downward sword strike. "How can it be? Aren't automatons supposed to be less agile?" The bodyguard, still bewildered, did not understand, while the Purple Amethyst Earl was thoroughly intrigued. Feigned weakness followed by sudden explosive power — the warrior automaton possessed not only high combat strength but combat intelligence as well. ... "Three thousand enhanced version three warrior automatons, ten thousand enhanced version two warrior automatons, one thousand Destroyer units, five hundred Oath Keeper units..." The unopened automatons were stored as small spheres, roughly the size of fists, lying quietly in crates. "The storage pouch contains five million source crystals, thirty thousand high-purity source crystals, various materials, and five Abyssal Sea Crystals." This was the transaction between Lorrin and the Grand Duke of Blue Water, with the Purple Amethyst Earl acting as an intermediary. "How's the production capacity on these automatons? The Grand Duke might want another large batch next month," the Earl inquired. Lorrin's eyes lit up. "How large?" "At least three times the quantity. Can you deliver by next month?" Lorrin felt a slight disappointment. Initially, she thought such a large order might warrant a meager 0.2% discount. But with a threefold order? The production department could complete that with full capacity in under three hours. "That's manageable." ... Briar Island, 1.5 times larger than Purple Amethyst Island, was a major landmass contested by the Blue Water and Red Tide Principalities for years. What were initially small skirmishes have escalated recently into full-scale war, the battlefield being Briar Island. This was a mutually agreed upon zone, avoiding maritime conflict neither side excelled at — in the Endless Sea, no one dared claim mastery of naval warfare; the loss of a ship often meant total annihilation. They arrayed their forces on the plains. The Grand Dukes of Blue Water and Red Tide kept their eyes fixed on each other, flanked by influential marquises and earls. Cavalry regiments charged from the flanks, their vitality surging skyward. Main battalions advanced steadily; within Red Tide's ranks, the mage corps harmonized their spells, and soon, meteor strikes plummeted from the sky. "Oath Keepers, anti-magic mode." "Destroyers, fire fully across the battlefield." "Cavalry warrior automatons, charge!" Lasers scanned, marking falling meteors, which were then precisely targeted by energy beams, shattering them aloft. Only small fragments trailed fiery tails across the sky, burning away before disappearing. Red Tide dispatched Void-walkers and Fusion experts, advancing midair. Yet no Blue Water elites met them; instead, a relentless barrage from Blue Water’s lines several kilometers away bore down on them. Boom—Boom— Red clouds painted the heavens as Void-walkers scrambled for cover, their protective fields rapidly cracking under relentless assault. Those slightly weaker, heavily targeted by Destroyers, plummeted from the skies, while the rest, sustaining varied injuries, saw Blue Water's elites emerge, engaging Red Tide's powers in fierce combat. On the ground, warrior automatons served as the infantry's edge, ripping through Red Tide's lines despite sustaining severe damage themselves. The two principality's conflict spanned three days and nights, concluding with a resounding defeat for the Red Tide Principality. In the aftermath of the battle, eleven of Red Tide's Void-walkers were lost, nearly 20,000 high-ranking awakened soldiers perished, and over 300,000 lower-ranking troops fell. The losses surpassed even the most devastating encounters in prior clashes between the two nations. "Someone tell me, where did Blue Water get those damned automatons from?" the Grand Duke of Red Tide vented furiously. "It seems... they were purchased from a group of pirates." "Hmm?" The Grand Duke of Red Tide glared, disbelief etched across his face. "Really, truly from a group of pirates. I... I even managed to get their contact information." ... "You are the sellers? We’ll take everything you can provide for Red Tide," stated the Grand Duke’s second son, tasked with the negotiations. "Indeed, we, the Galrel Pirates, have everything you desire, as long as..." Shea rubbed his hands together, barely able to suppress his grin, revealing a gold-capped tooth. The second son of the Red Tide Duke produced a storage ring filled with source crystals and various materials. In securing ten thousand automatons, they had depleted nearly half of the national treasury. This batch was deemed critical for crushing Blue Water in the next engagement. Even if these pirates continued supplying Blue Water, they couldn’t possibly have much stock remaining. Seizing this opportunity, Red Tide planned an immediate offensive... ... In the Blue Water Principality, "Our previous collaboration was fruitful; now we intend to purchase ten thousand automatons. Here are the source crystals for the order." The Purple Amethyst Earl beamed genuinely, "By the way, have those Red Tide scoundrels contacted you? You must trust us, Blue Water is the best partner for such dealings." Lorrin waved dismissively, "We, the Black Skull Pirates, pride ourselves on our reputation. Having signed with you, Blue Water, how could we possibly be in talks with Red Tide..." As for the Galrel Pirates selling to Red Tide, what concerns did that have with the Black Skull? ... "Inspired by soaring birds? Then Eagle Pirates it is!" "Dark clouds and skeletal humans? ...Let’s call them the Plague Pirates!" "A blood red flag... that’s an easy one, the Blood Sea Pirates suits it perfectly!" Zhu Shu Li was enthusiastically categorizing and naming pirate flags within the storeroom of the starting vessel. Known for their significance as akin to license plates before the apocalypse, Lorrin had preemptively prepared numerous flags before embarking, showcasing commendable foresight.