End of the Magic Era

After entering the base, when he unexpectedly found out that all the Grey Beastmen alchemists had signed a contract, Crowitz also wanted to sign a contract no matter the price. It didn't even matter that Lin Yun said there was no need.

That guy was afraid that if he didn't sign, Lin Yun wouldn't trust him and wouldn't let him learn the new alchemy knowledge.

Shawn was stunned as he faced someone requesting to sign a contract.

He then watched as Crowits signed without even looking at the terms. Shawn didn't even know how to express his thoughts, because what he had just prepared was the same strict soul contract as he'd done for the other Beastmen...

'Damn, that's a soul contract! Is that guy really a Peak Artisan? How could he be so brainless and not even look at the contract's contents? Is it that easy to sell your soul away?'

Crowits' arrival immediately made the Grey Beastmen that had been forced to unenthusiastically sign their soul contracts thoroughly accept their situation.

It could be said that Crowits' fame and status among the ordinary Grey Beastmen were as high as the clouds. They wouldn't question or disobey him.

Regarding other things, Crowits might be considered eccentric, unreasonable, and unhygienic, but when it came to alchemy, no one in the fort would dare to say one malicious word against Crowits. If they did, just being able to remain alive would be considered good fortune.

Lin Yun announced that Crowits would lead these Grey Beastmen, and naturally, no one could say anything against it.

Only Wagner had a very bad expression. Out of nowhere, Lin Yun had put an old Grey Beastman that was almost bald on the same rank as him, dividing half of the base's power. It'd be a wonder if Wagner was happy about it.

But Wagner didn't dare to act resentful when Lin Yun said that. After Lin Yun walked away, Wagner rode on the spider puppet that was defending the base and swaggered his way into Crowits' laboratory.

That Heaven Rank Puppet had woken up after Wagner took control of the base, but sadly, the puppet's orders were to guard the base, so it couldn't leave. Lin Yun couldn't borrow that puppet's power for the moment.

For now, this spider puppet had become Wagner's bodyguard. With that Heaven Rank Puppet, Wagner didn't have to worry about his safety.

Wagner rode the spider puppet over, and no one dared to obstruct his path. The Grey Beastmen didn't dare to block the one controlling the base.

Wagner wanted to deter Crowits and make him know who was truly in charge of the base so that he wouldn't get any ideas about his place.

But when Wagner reached the door of Crowits' laboratory, he was completely stunned.

In the laboratory, Crowits put his hand on the surface of a Level 30 puppet before pouring in some mana. In two seconds, that puppet suddenly collapsed.

It turned into components in an instant. All the components dispersed, but they remained floating in the air, with over a thousand components under his control.

Crowits was fully focused as he studied these components. He then took out two fingernail-sized components and put them on some instruments before using two pairs of tweezers to hold needle-size pen tips.

With a shake of his hand, a large number of patterns and runes rapidly appeared on top of the two components.

It only took ten seconds for the two components to be completely altered.

Crowits then put the two components back in the air with the others, and with another surge of mana, the thousand components combined. Only three seconds passed before it transformed into a complete puppet.

The puppet's crystal eyes shone brightly, which completely stunned Wagner...

Just now, a Level 30 puppet actually gained one level just because two small components had been modified! It became a Level 31 puppet!

Wagner's alchemy was nothing great, but ever since he fused with this base's control system, he also started learning puppeteering, and he was learning at a very rapid pace. Furthermore, a lot of Grey Beastmen had arrived at this time.

He didn't have the ability yet, but he had the knowledge.

And he naturally knew that the seemingly simple actions that Crowits did a few moments ago were extremely difficult. An ordinary Artisan didn't have this kind of skill!

In an instant, his original bravado had disappeared.

Wagner courteously knocked on the door with a smile.

"Sir Crowits, I'm this base's commander, Wagner George. Wagner is fine…"

Crowits' expression became a bit milder. After coming here, he naturally had to be a bit polite to the place's Commander, but when he saw the Heaven Rank Puppet behind Wagner, attraction could be seen in his Crowits' eyes.

Wagner's gaze turned and he said, "Sir Crowits, this is the guardian of the base, a Heaven Rank spider-shaped puppet. If you are interested, you can study it, but you can't dismantle it... This is the rule of the base.

"Moreover, Sir Merlin said that your energy is limited and that I should be taking care of the miscellaneous tasks so that you would have time to focus on your research. He also said that I should take the opportunity to learn from you…"

Wagner was a bit worried, as he didn't know how useful Lin Yun's name would be here.

Seeing the formidable power surging out of that petite body, Wagner became resolute. He had to learn, he had to apprentice himself.

Crowits didn't think much of it. Hearing that those were Lin Yun's words, he agreed without comment. He only looked at the spider puppet with regret.

From that point on, Wagner started learning puppeteering from Crowits...

With Crowits' arrival, the base's research rapidly progressed, and the puppet production became faster and faster while the puppets themselves became stronger and stronger.

The puppets manufactured weren't just limited to labor puppets and fighting puppets.

With the large number of Alchemists, more kinds of puppets became available.

There were now eight forts under Lin Yun's control, along with the surrounding resources. However, he hadn't been able to extract those resources because he lacked manpower.

But it was different now. A large number of puppets were being produced, some specifically made to exploit veins of ores, some used to uphold law and order, some sweeping away any threats in the surroundings, some transporting minerals, some performing construction and maintenance… All kinds of puppets were being produced.

A large number of puppets were scattered to the various forts, doubling the mining efficiency.

In barely half a month, the area where the eight forts were located, the Four Seasons Plain, was thoroughly operated by Lin Yun. The minerals produced here, all the known veins of ore, were being extracted by puppets.

The minerals were all delivered to the Radiant Fort before being used to produce a large number of puppets, forming an unending cycle.

Lin Yun was already running more forts than the other forces, and they were the best-operated forts.

Other forces didn't have all kinds of puppets they could use. They would only leave enough people to defend the forts while sending a small amount of manpower to extract the local resources.

A large number of people poured into the Raging Flame Plane, which put huge pressure on the logistics. As a result, defending the huge territory became more and more difficult. This was a vicious cycle. Thus, they obtained their greatest benefits from plundering the forts, while their gains afterwards couldn't compare to Lin Yun's.

Soon, other forces learnt about the situation of the Four Seasons Plain...

In a fort controlled by the Black Tower, a middle-aged 9th Rank Archmage with a flickering expression hurriedly arrived in front of a house and softly rang the bell.

"Sir Dubois…"

"Come in…"

The middle-aged man softly bowed, saluting Dubois, who was watching a map.

"Sir Dubois, there is news from the Four Seasons Plain."

"Speak."

"That Mafa Merlin thoroughly seized the Four Seasons Plain, and the eight forts there are under his control. Moreover, all the ore veins of the Four Seasons Plain are being mined by Mafa Merlin, and the wealth they produce every day far exceeds what our Black Tower is obtaining. It's comparable to what we produced in the entire Raging Flame Plane for a month before the general attack…"

Dubois put down the crystal ball in his hand, and the map that kept flashing instantly disappeared.

"Mafa Merlin? That damned clown? He was actually able to attack the Four Seasons Canyon? Larieth, are you making fun of me?"

Larieth promptly shook his head.

"Sir Dubois, how could I dare to make fun of you? I already confirmed the news. That Mafa Merlin has a huge number of puppets, and he firmly controls the eight forts. He even controls the Grey Beastmen's fort after having captured the Grey Beastmen, those odd Beastmen proficient in puppeteering...

"It must have been those Grey Beastmen who supplied Mafa Merlin with mining puppets. The Four Seasons Plain is a rare, fertile land in the center of the Raging Flame Plane. All kinds of magic ore veins are birthed there, and the climate is very gentle all year long. It is suitable for agriculture and the breeding of magic plants and medicinal ingredients.

"The wealth being accumulated there every day is comparable to a place with a dozen forts, maybe even more… After all, we don't have that many puppets…"

Dubois looked quite irritated upon hearing this.

"Hmpf, how could that clown be qualified to own the Four Seasons Plain? Go, tell that Mafa Merlin that I want the Four Seasons Plain, tell him to leave the Grey Beastman Fort and get the f*ck back to the front lines to keep attacking.

"Others are painstakingly attacking the Raging Flame Beastmen for the sake of victory, yet he is making money from the war! He even made the Grey Beastmen help enrich him. Isn't that betraying the allied armies?

"The control of the Four Seasons Plain definitely cannot be left in the hands of that clown. Have him hand it over, or he shouldn't blame me for being rude."