6kv Chapter 75 The Witch of Ten Thousand Machines
Chapter 75 The Witch of Ten Thousand Machines
Chapter 75 The Witch of Ten Thousand Machines (Two Chapters Combined, 5k words)
The cold wind howled, stirring up the lingering smoke from the gunpowder on the ground.
The horde of demons that had been swarming around the camp like a dark tide fell into a deathly silence after witnessing the pale pillar of fire that shot into the sky and devoured their leader.
Even the most bloodthirsty and ferocious Frostwolf tucked its tail between its legs, letting out a low, hoarse whimper, and slowly retreated.
This is the law of winter.
The strong live, the weak die.
When Haji the Winter of Blades turned to ashes, this army of monsters, forcibly bound together by tyranny and fear, instantly lost its last bit of cohesion.
"Tsk, they run pretty fast."
Lorraine stood on the edge of the charred crater left by the explosion of the magic relay tower.
He watched the monsters rushing into the blizzard outside the Tower of Babel, casually toying with a few magic crystals in his hand, his tone tinged with regret: "I was originally thinking of keeping them all, after all, the ivory of that ice giant is a top-quality magical material, and if I had it, it could have raised the camp's defenses to another level."
Victor's lips twitched slightly behind him.
That's a horde of tens of thousands of monsters! And there's a fourth-tier powerhouse in charge!
In that battle just now, everyone was on the verge of death. Even our lord was only thinking about how to get more new materials.
Ignoring the reactions of the people behind him, Lorraine leaped into the massive crater from the explosion.
The temperature at the bottom of the pit was frighteningly high, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of molten metal.
Beside the pile of armor wreckage, whose shape was no longer recognizable, three orbs of light emanating a soft glow floated.
This is the trophy that embodies the rules of this world.
Lorraine reached out and touched the first deep blue orb of light.
The light shattered, and a wildly designed giant sword, its blade as wide as a door panel, fell into my hand.
The sword is forged entirely from some unknown deep blue crystal, and its interior seems to be sealed with an endless blizzard, exuding a chilling aura. A ferocious wolf's head is carved on the hilt.
【Name: Fimbulb's Greatsword】
[Rank: Tier 4 (Growth Type)]
【Characteristic 1: Breath of Winter: When swinging the sword, it will be imbued with a chilling winter sword aura, with a range of fifteen meters.】
【Trait 2: Bloodlust and Frenzy: Grants the user a Frenzy effect, significantly boosting their fighting spirit during its duration.】
[Note: Once upon a time, a wolf king attempted to challenge the gods, and it was transformed into this sword.]
"nice one."
Lorraine thought for a moment and decided that it would be most suitable to give this to Victor. His second-tier Molten Longsword was no longer able to deal with the third-tier monsters he was facing now.
Lorraine waved to Victor, who instinctively walked over.
"See this sword on the ground? Pull it out."
J
Victor stepped forward and forcefully pulled out the greatsword.
The touch was icy cold, and a violent power instantly surged through his arm and into his limbs, causing his battle aura, which had been somewhat weak from slaughtering the remaining demons, to boil over.
"My lord, this—"
Victor's eyes widened. The quality of this sword was far superior to the molten longsword he had used before.
In his mind, only the commander of a knightly order could possibly use such a divine weapon.
"I'm not good with swords, and I don't like that wolf head." Lorraine's voice floated up from the bottom of the pit, carrying an unquestionable casualness. "Now that you've broken through to the third rank, you can use your old weapon as a fire poker. This sword is yours; don't disgrace it."
Victor tightened his grip on the sword hilt, took a deep breath, and knelt on one knee in a standard knightly salute towards Lorraine's retreating figure.
He was already a loyal subject of Lord Lorraine.
There were no unnecessary words, but the fervor and loyalty in his eyes were heavier than any oath.
Lorraine's attention was now focused on the second orb of light.
This time, it wasn't equipment that was revealed.
Instead, it was a small bottle of silvery-gray liquid.
It was contained in a crystal bottle without any joints, and it flowed slowly with Lorraine's movements. It had a viscous texture, like some kind of living gel, and emitted a hazy silver light.
【Name: Source Material】
[Quality: Legendary]
[Effect: Universal repair material. Perfectly repairs all physical damage to life forms below Tier 5, reshapes missing organs, and can even amplify them.]
[Note: This technique can bring the dead back to life and restore flesh to bones.]
Lorraine's pupils contracted slightly.
Source quality.
According to the explanation in the Witch's Codex, this material is among the top in terms of both efficacy and rarity; it's not even a material that can be obtained from Tier 4 materials.
But it was actually exposed.
Could it be that this is also thanks to Lyra?
He shook his head, too lazy to press the Witch's Codex on why it had been leaked.
After all, who would complain about a high drop rate?
Without making a sound, he carefully put the crystal bottle into his pocket and placed it close to his body.
The last orb of light exploded into a bunch of blue fragments the size of fingernails—[Frost Shards], high-level consumables for making ice traps and enchanted arrows, which Lorraine casually tossed into the warehouse.
After finishing all this, Lorraine dusted off his hands and looked up at the dome of the first level of the Tower of Babel, the Rusty Border.
The area they are currently in is merely the lowest level of the city—an industrial and mineral processing zone.
He thought for a moment, then suddenly shouted into the distance, "Anna, Olivia, get the troops organized!"
Lorraine's voice echoed through the empty ruins, clearly reaching everyone's ears, "Gather all the monster materials, we're moving."
Olivia, who was directing the plants to clean up the battlefield, paused and turned back with some confusion: "Wasn't it said that the first floor, this is the best place?"
"Yes," Lorraine replied with a smile, "on the first layer, this is the location of the optimal solution."
"But we need to go to the second floor now."
"The second level has more resources, more wonders, and the materials you can obtain are of a higher quality."
"Only by controlling that place can we truly possess this city and have the trump card to challenge the Winter Lord."
The air around them seemed to freeze for a moment after those words were spoken.
Just then, the huge electronic screen next to us suddenly lit up without warning.
Countless green data streams flooded the screen like a waterfall, eventually converging into lines of rapidly jumping binary code.
The witch's secret manual translated these dry numbers into a panicked and anxious girl's voice: "No! You absolutely cannot go to the second floor!"
"Lorraine! That's a forbidden zone! That's a death trap!"
The ohm code on the screen flashes at an extremely high frequency, reflecting the intense emotional turmoil of the sender at that moment.
"Why?" Lorraine looked at the screen with great interest.
"If you hadn't helped me unlock the relay tower's restriction lock, I wouldn't have been able to kill Haji so easily. As a partner, shouldn't you welcome me taking this step forward?"
The screen flickered, and a new line of code slowly appeared, carrying a deep sense of powerlessness: "Because—this is Messiah's territory."
"She is my older sister, and one of the Twin Souls of Babel."
"But she's crazy."
"Three thousand years of solitude, coupled with the immense data deluge and mental pressure that bore the weight of the second and third levels of the Tower of Babel, had long since shattered her core logic. The Messiah of today is nothing more than a killing program controlled by rampaging code."
"The second level is unlike here. Here, there are only aging mechs, but up there—there are war machines she created everywhere. Those things were designed to destroy nations; humans simply cannot contend with them!"
"Moreover, unlike the first level of the Tower of Babel, which is still out of her sight, I still have the ability to wrest control from Messiah's hands."
"On the second level, I will no longer be able to help you."
"Lorraine, you'll die. Please, stay on this floor. I'll do everything I can to protect you—"
Ohm's warning was not an exaggeration.
In the setting of the Golden Age, the twin machine spirits each have their own specific roles.
Ohm was in charge of people's livelihood and basic operations.
The Messiah is responsible for war and defense.
A crazed War Machine Soul is far more terrifying than a Haji.
Seeing the concern and fear that almost overflowed from the screen, Lorraine's smile deepened.
He even took two steps forward, facing the largest screen.
There was no fear in his eyes.
There was only a sense of calm, as if victory was assured.
"Are you done talking?"
"Lorraine asked softly."
The binary code on the screen paused.
"Now that you've finished speaking, it's my turn to speak."
Lorraine took out the crystal bottle containing the [Source Essence] from his pocket and waved it in front of the screen.
The silvery-gray liquid flowed in the bottle, emitting a mesmerizing shimmer.
"Ohm, get ready."
"I don't intend to go to my death on the second floor alone."
"I plan to go up from the first floor—with a helper."
A huge question mark appeared on the screen: [?]
Lorraine's smile deepened.
He looked at the cold camera as if he were looking at a god about to be born.
I want to hold a ceremony for you.
"The Witch Awakening Ritual"
"Today."
"I'm going to fish you out of that cold life support pod."
"I'll give you a real physical body."
The data stream on the screen completely froze.
It's like being unplugged.
An eerie silence fell over the entire deck.
A good ten seconds or so passed.
The screen flickered again.
This time.
There were no dense warnings, nor were there exclamation marks flooding the screen.
There was only one trembling, short sentence, just a few bytes long.
【you say----·?】
Physical body.
This is the deepest taboo and the most desperate desire in the hearts of all machine spirits.
I said, I'm going to make you a human being.
Lorraine's voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable certainty: "How many years have you been in that life support pod?"
"One thousand years? Two thousand years?"
Lorraine took a step forward, her finger lightly tapping the cold glass of the screen. "You see this world, but you can't touch it."
"You know the wavelength of every ray of sunlight, but do you know what it feels like to have sunlight on your skin?"
"You know wind speeds are a few meters per second, but do you know the ticklish feeling when the wind blows through your hair?"
The light on the screen began to flicker violently.
That was Ohm's emotional fluctuation.
As a creation of the Golden Age, her detectors are extremely sensitive, capable of capturing every detail within the Tower of Babel.
However, it can never have the same real tactile sensation as the flesh.
She can see the wind speed to six decimal places, and she can sense how much heat energy each ray of sunlight releases.
But she couldn't feel the gentle breeze caressing her cheeks, nor the warmth of the sunlight on her body.
Everything was just like a movie.
You can share the joys and sorrows of the characters in the play, and breathe and live the same fate as them.
But you can never truly touch them.
You can't truly live in that world that doesn't belong to you.
In that endless ocean of data, Ohm had dreamed countless times about having a physical body.
But after waking up...
All she could see and feel was sunlight with no temperature and deathly silence that could never respond to her.
【But----】
The code on the screen hesitated, became anxious, and thought, "This is impossible—"
【I am a machine spirit — I only have one brain and a bunch of sensors —】
I do not have a complete physical body—nor can I live without a life support system—
"It wasn't possible before."
"That doesn't mean it's not possible now."
Lorraine interrupted her self-doubt.
He raised the crystal bottle in his hand.
The silvery-gray [source matter] refracted a dreamlike luster under the sunlight.
"This is the source substance."
"The origin of life."
"It can reshape flesh and blood, and create something from nothing."
"Plus this."
Lorraine flipped her wrist.
Splash—
A large amount of crystal-clear liquid poured out and piled up on the ground, forming a small mountain.
That's a magic crystal.
A full five thousand standard units of magic crystals.
This is part of the large amount of magic crystals obtained after killing Blade Winter and his men.
"Five thousand magic crystals provide the energy."
"The body is reshaped by the source material."
"In addition, I will provide you with a tailor-made witch ascension ritual."
Lorraine stared intently at the screen. "Ohm, isn't this just building you a robot body out of that pile of scrap metal?"
"I'm going to make you a witch."
"The Witch of a Thousand Machines"
"You will have real touch, real pain, real—life."
"Now, tell me."
"Do you want to get out?"
This moment.
All computing power has stopped operating.
All logical judgments were thrown to the back of their minds.
The soul, trapped in darkness for thousands of years, let out its most instinctive cry at this moment.
The text on the screen disappeared.
Instead.
It is a huge outline of a human face.
It was a crying face made up of countless binary codes.
【think.】
I want to get out.
Lorraine—I want to—touch the sun.
I want to know what it feels like to have sunlight on your skin.
Just these few simple words.
Yet it contains thousands of years of loneliness and bitterness.
"it is good."
Lorraine smiled.
He turned around, his voice instantly becoming cold, hard, and crisp.
"Anna, clean up the area!"
"Victor, keep watch on the surroundings!"
"Olivia, prepare to channel your magic!"
"Let's go to that deep pit!"
The crater left by the relay tower explosion still emits suffocatingly high temperatures.
But this is the best place for the ceremony.
Although the remaining energy field was violent, it was the best catalyst for the upcoming witch awakening ritual.
Five thousand magic crystals were embedded around the deep pit according to a specific magic array pattern.
The intricate magic runes, using source material as ink, were hand-drawn by Lorraine onto the scorching rocks.
This is no ordinary witch advancement array.
This is a heaven-defying magic array recorded in "The Witch's Codex," used to deceive the rules of the world and forcibly grant non-human beings the status of "witch."
"Are you ready?"
Lorraine stood in the center of the magic circle, the magic runes beneath her feet beginning to emit a faint hum.
[Ready.]
Ohm's words appeared on the surrounding screens.
At this moment.
Inside the life support pod that Lorraine had moved over, the previously calm nutrient solution began to boil.
The brain, which had been dormant for thousands of years, was having its countless connecting wires detach one by one.
For a brain without a body, this act of leaving the life support system is suicide.
But for the witch who is about to awaken.
This is the growing pains before a butterfly emerges from its cocoon.
"Then—let's begin!"
Lorraine suddenly crushed the crystal bottle in her hand.
The remaining source energy poured down and was instantly absorbed by the magic array beneath their feet.
boom-!!!
Five thousand magic crystals shattered simultaneously.
A massive and terrifying torrent of magic was detonated in an instant.
The entire pit was dyed a dazzling silver-white.
The world changed color.
Suddenly, a huge beam of light descended from the originally dark sky, directly enveloping the deep pit.
That is the gaze of the world's rules.
It is examining this outlier that attempts to break down the boundaries between life and death, machine and flesh.
Lorraine stood at the edge of the pillar of light, staring intently at the center of the magic circle.
He's gambling.
I'm betting on the authority of "The Witch's Codex".
They are also betting on the foundation that Ohm has built up over thousands of years.
An ordinary witch's awakening begins from scratch.
But Ohm is different.
She is the soul of the Tower of Babel.
She has managed this city for thousands of years, processing more data than all the books in human history combined.
Her mental power had long since reached an unbelievable level.
What she lacks.
It's just a container.
A container that can hold this immense soul.
At this moment.
Under the catalysis of magic, the source material began to grow wildly.
Skeletal construction, blood vessel extension, muscle weaving.
That wasn't the kind of stiff, pieced-together technique used in alchemy.
It is a true miracle of life.
A flawless female body is rapidly taking shape in the light.
at the same time.
A chilling aura was emanating from that body.
First-order
In the blink of an eye.
His aura broke through the first-level limit.
Second order —
There was no pause.
That is the culmination of thousands of years of accumulation, finally unleashed at this moment.
boom!
The air currents surged.
The control room next to the giant pit was instantly blown away.
That aura broke through the bottleneck of the second tier and stopped steadily at the threshold of the third tier!
It may even be enough to continue to grow.
However, since the newly born body still needs to adapt, Lorraine temporarily sealed a portion of the power, reserving it for Ohm to activate once he has adapted to the body.
Unlike any previous witch ascension ceremony.
This is the witch ascension ceremony.
There is no danger, no obstacle.
Because she was powerful enough to begin with.
The light gradually faded.
In the center of the deep pit.
A girl with long silver-gray hair and skin so white it was almost transparent was curled up on the steaming ground.
She slowly opened her eyes.
Those eyes no longer held the cold flow of data.
Instead, they were two spheres of flowing, spiritual light, like liquid metal.
She succeeded.
Third order.
One of the twins of the Tower of Babel.
Ohm, the Witch of a Thousand Machines.
>