Mage And Wolf
Chapter 279

Chapter 279: Chapter 279

Lala is more than happy to comply, hopping back into the robot with a flourish, before locking the front hatch so nobody can change their mind and make her leave.

As the door locks the runes light up, activating every Inscription at once the moment she adds enough energy.

The cockpit isn’t sealed, there are small holes in the side windows for ventilation and air circulation. It doesn’t have a climate control system of any sort, so sealing it against the elements would just suffocate the pilot. They shouldn’t let any big bugs in though, and the front is solid and transparent, so it is reasonably safe inside, you just need to avoid poison gas and similar attacks if your shield is low.

"Let’s go. Hop hop. Where can I find a monster?" Lala demands, while double checking her security harness.

"To the north about two Kilometers there were some category 2 monsters. They’re a reptile type, not good for eating, but they should do for a test." One of the hunters suggests.

"Alright, let’s move out. Cultivators only, sorry kids. We don’t want anyone getting hurt during testing." I call, leading the way, with Lala right behind me.

A few dozen others follow us out, intrigued to see what a bunny can do in a war Relic, and I’m a bit worried that we might actually scare the monsters away.

I shouldn’t have been, they took the noise as a threat, or possibly a challenge. Rearing up on their hind legs and roaring at the sight of the robot, they’re the perfect target. Lala’s first shot hit one in the chest, leaving a gaping crater as the lizard falls down dead.

Lala blasts shots at another that has started moving, while most scatter and one charges her from the side. It takes her eight attempts to hit the moving target, and the most aggressive one is on her. It claws at the metallic chassis, lighting up the red energy barrier, which is holding for now, but will likely only take a few more hits.

There’s no missing from point blank range though, and Lala blows the over grown monstrous iguana apart in a shower of super heated gore.

Lala 3 monsters 0.

"Test successful. The rifle can eliminate category 2 Beasts with thick hides in a single shot, and the barrier can take multiple attacks from their claws. That’s the best case scenario for a low grade artifact like this." Elder Song declares.

"What happens if they get through the barrier?"

"The Artifact will slowly repair itself, unless it’s totally destroyed, but once the barrier is down they’ll be able to rip open that cockpit with relative ease. I don’t recommend letting that happen."

"Noted. At least we’ve got it for defense though. The extra range will be a real life saver. Most of us are only good with short range energy attacks, too far away and it gets hard to control."

"That’s the benefit of modern technology. If you’ve had time to learn the history of this planet, you’ll learn it was nearly impossible to cultivate here until recently, so the locals had to improvise, which led to things like that rifle being created. We just adjusted it to be powered by the cultivator."

"Is still a lot of energy to use though. Running isn’t bad, but the shooting takes a lot out of you." Lala sighs, wishing she could keep going, but she’s nearly exhausted already.

"It gets better with practice. If you’d only had to shoot three times you’d still have lots of energy left. I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do about that for now though. As the Artifact ages and gets more powerful the problem will solve itself." Elder Song informs her without looking up from his notes.

"Alright, everyone back to town. Someone grab any cores they might have had and let’s get back before we attract unwanted attention."

As we’re walking back, an idea occurs to me. "Karl, why don’t we give that thing a howitzer or something? If they stockpile enchanted ammunition then they won’t need to burn out the pilots in just a few shots. They can be a mobile artillery piece. It would be a much better use of them than putting them on the front lines."

"Like a walking tank? I don’t see why not. It’s not like they’re going to be abundant. We didn’t mention it to anyone else yet, but I couldn’t complete those inscriptions alone, you need a Divine Realm Inscriptionist to get enough energy control to successfully tie them all together. So the few that I make with Elder Song here all all that’s going to exist for the foreseeable future. Unless some other Divine Realm Cultivator takes the initiative to create more."

"So that’s why the team in Florida is failing? They don’t have anyone with enough energy control to create the needed inscriptions?"

Karl nods solemnly. "That’s what I believe is happening. I didn’t get a chance to inspect their design process, but they’re going to hit a plateau eventually if they haven’t already. That’s likely why they went with hydraulics and just had the cultivator power the pump, despite the limits that left them with."

At least they managed to inspire our resident mad scientists. Though, it does make me think that we’re actually seeding the planet with strange and unique things for cultivators thousands of years from now to find. Things that will make them wonder and marvel about ancient civilizations and question the history of the planet.

Since nobody can reach immortality while living here yet, and we don’t know how long it will take for the planet to change that much, it might be a story from their great grandfathers and Sect Elders by the time Earth has cultivated true immortals of its own.

That’s a lot of fun to think about. Searching for long lost relics is a favorite pastime for cultivators, but here we are at the other end of the spectrum, leaving them behind in uncertain situations where they might end up lost or forgotten, only to be found far into the future.