Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1745 Overlord
"Witch King Saturn, an interesting fellow. You say he killed the Earth Serpent?"

"Yes, his actions also show that the Tyren have completely lost their magic. And before killing the Earth Serpent [Earth of Terror], he had already devoured the Air Serpent [Earth of Escape], as well as [Fire of Foolish Wrath], which chose to disintegrate itself in order to fight him—aside from [Water of Concealment], which was never seen from beginning to end, all three serpents left to guard the world have perished."

"So until yesterday, this world was in a state without magic?" Apollonia asked.

"Theoretically, that's how it is—theoretically, this state shouldn't last too long, because the World Serpent is a natural phenomenon, like the ebb and flow of the tide, and it will revive even if it's destroyed. But now, they're all dead."

【why? 】

"Because the manner of death was wrong—the Fire Serpent wasn't killed, but rather it chose to sacrifice itself to the entire Fire Clan of the Vajra Continent, so it can no longer be resurrected. The Air Serpent was directly devoured by Saturn, and should have been resurrected with Saturn's death, but Saturn is now unkillable, so the Air Serpent naturally cannot be resurrected either. The same goes for the Earth Serpent; Saturn dissected the Earth Serpent's body, removed its stomach, and then carelessly discarded its remains on the ground."

"The stomach?" Shang Luo asked in surprise. "Why the stomach?"

Shangluo thought he would take the heart or brain, but unexpectedly, he took the stomach instead.

[He may have learned the method of mummification, which corresponds to the four internal organs: stomach, intestines, liver, and lungs. The core of the earth element spirit is in the stomach; only by removing the stomach can one truly obtain the power of the earth element. This is indeed true; the earth element magic did indeed wither as a result.]

"Good heavens," Shang Luo shook his head, "This guy really knows how to do things."

"That's not all. After he killed the earth elemental serpent and took the source of magic, he left it to rot in the wilderness. The enormous corpse nourished magical beasts, and the colossal skeletons are still exposed on the ground, like mountains. The monstrous beasts that spun from the serpent's body are now the target of heavy defense by the Vajra Continent."

This means that the Witch King, as the overlord, not only ended the hegemony of his own race, but also took the magic of this world with him. He himself, having devoured two World Serpents, became a formidable enemy lurking deep within the world.

"However, even without magic, it's not entirely impossible to obtain extraordinary power."

"They still kept some?"

Ao Zang nodded: "This is also why Vajra Continent was able to win—after the Fire Serpent completely sacrificed himself to the Fire Clan, his power began to flow along the Fire Clan's bloodline, generating an energy called 'Control Technique.' This energy is difficult to mobilize the world's response to, but it can enhance one's own abilities. As a result, the Fire Clan began to use a heavy combat armor called the Sword Armor, fighting like superhumans. They have a thrust of nearly one ton, a running speed of nearly 60 kilometers per hour, a jumping height of about 4 meters, and muscle reaction speeds that exceed the cognitive speed of ordinary humans."

"Their circulatory system has also been enhanced. The extra fire lungs allow them to breathe rapidly while running at high speeds, sustaining them for hours on end without fatigue. If their skin is injured, the fire element in their blood forces the wounds to heal and stop the bleeding through combustion. Their bones have been strengthened to the point of being indistinguishable from steel, and their cerebellum has been significantly enhanced, allowing them to maintain normal bodily functions while their two hemispheres take turns resting, thus enabling them to continue for seven days and nights without sleep." "Wait... is their entire race like this?"

"Not exactly. Only the descendants of warriors who used the Fire Serpent's blood during their self-sacrifice and survived the moment possess such abilities. Although these abilities accompany them at birth, they exist only as latent seeds within their bodies. These traits are activated through a metamorphosis ritual upon reaching adulthood. The ritual is extremely perilous; the subjects are placed in a dark coffin and subjected to the powerful consciousness of the World Serpent. If they are not completely corrupted, their bodies undergo a painful transformation. A new warrior is reborn from the old body—and even if they subsequently enter a near-death state, there's no need to worry. As long as the 'seed' left by the Fire Serpent within their bodies is retrieved, they can be resurrected in the ritual."

"????"

"By the way," Ao Zang said, "Today's Phoenix King is still the same Phoenix King from back then. Because he has lived and died, died and lived again. This is his sixth life, and each time he is stronger than the last, and closer to the state of the Fire Serpent. He is also one of the few who know the truth, because the information about the Heavenly Realm that the Witch King obtained back then is kept in his hands."

"Interesting. So he knows who you are?"

Ao Zang nodded: "That's why he 'sent' me to talk to you. Of course, he knows that I was the most powerful being in this world before. But now, you are the most powerful, Lord Shang Tian."

“Interesting. Bring him to see me; I want to talk to him about conscription.”

Now, these fire tribesmen are indeed eligible for conscription. Their abilities are comparable to those of a Qi Refining stage royal army commander. If their numbers were greater, they could become a significant asset to Shang Luo—this is crucial. Although the royal army is under his command, he can't rely on them for everything. Having his own retinue would save him a lot of trouble.

This was permitted within the royal army, which allowed senior generals to fund the retention of some of their own troops. This was a remnant of the old battalion system.

Of course, most of these units are currently either ceremonial or commercialized—the ceremonial ones mainly consist of orderly soldiers and ceremonial guards. The commercialized ones are mercenaries. Sometimes, certain generals will hire combat personnel from mercenary companies to handle some combat missions for them, such as rescue, reconnaissance, escort, and other tasks that are inconvenient to handle by mobilizing a large force and require rich tactical experience.

In such situations, using commercial mercenaries is a common practice within the royal army.

This also means that Shangluo can organize his own retinue to handle some tricky personal matters. He only needs to inform Zhu Xianxi.

“He has arrived,” Ao Zang said. “He guessed you were looking for him, so he came with me and has been waiting outside for an audience.”

(End of this chapter)