Pillar of Yita

The ground was covered with a thick layer of dead leaves that curled and burst into flame as the bright fire licked them, turning them into scattered stars of ash. The fire elongated the shadows of the serpentine roots in the forest, and Tata pushed aside the leaves with force, raising her head to watch Fang Hong complete the assembly of the last part.

Fang Hong let out a breath, stepped back, and, propping his right hand under his chin, he tilted his head to scrutinize his creation.

Unlike the Clockwork Fairy’s miniature and intricate design, the Walker’s style was flexible and sharp. It crouched on the soft ground, reflecting a cold gleam in the flickering light of the campfire, and under its dome-shaped shell, one could see a set of intricate gears. Inside was a glass cover housing two shining Silver Rails and a rapidly spinning gyroscope.

Two metallic Blade Claws glimmered ominously, their tips piercing into the ground, but aside from the Blade Feet and the precise core components, most of this Walker Construct was made of wood.

Under the premise of ensuring design strength, the wooden structure brought a lot of unnecessary dead weight. In the end, out of necessity, Fang Hong opted for a more cumbersome but higher Combat Bearing six-legged system.

Moreover, due to the inherent fragility of the wooden structure, the benefits of the six-legged system’s better protection and higher durability were not reflected in this Walker, gaining only improved stability and Balance due to the added dead weight.

”Mr. Knight.”

Fang Hong nodded at Tata, taking the α Crystal from her arms.

He walked over, carefully opened the shell of the Walker, and inserted the Crystal into the slot on the base. With a ’click’, a page popped up, displaying the remaining Magic Power to support the actions of the Flexible Construct:

Under normal conditions—7 hours 44 minutes 12 seconds, under combat conditions—30 minutes 17 seconds

Seeing this data, Fang Hong couldn’t help but marvel inwardly; this was only a α Crystal with one-third of the Magic Capacity. It’s worth noting that the Walker had more than double the energy consumption of the Clockwork Fairy, yet under the support of a Non-Attribute Crystal, the Clockwork Fairy even had a shorter operating time than the Walker.

This shows the inadequacy of the Non-Attribute Crystals.

Moreover, the edge of the α Crystal over the ordinary Non-Attribute Crystal was not only in the Magic Capacity, but its burst output was also more than triple that of the Non-Attribute Crystal.

Fang Hong put on his gloves and tried to make it move. The Walker Construct emitted a light sound as its six legs spread out and it stood up—Fang Hong raised his middle and index finger, and it also ’clicked’ as it raised its pairs of Blade Claws high like a praying mantis, the blade tips pointing towards the campfire, reflecting a bright glare.

Fang Hong frowned slightly and silently cursed, ’Damn it.’

”This thing is difficult to control, there are more than twice the number of Flexible Constructs to manage than with the Clockwork Fairy,” he muttered to Tata while manipulating it, ”I shouldn’t have taken off all the Silver Rails. A pair of agile tracks isn’t enough to fully control it—now we’re in trouble.”

Tata frowned slightly and responded, ”I’m very sorry, Mr. Knight, I didn’t anticipate this issue in advance.”

”It’s not your fault.”

Fang Hong glanced at Miss Fairy, then suddenly smiled and said, ”Actually, there’s no need to worry so much, rest assured, watch this—” saying so, he pointed forward.

The Walker Construct sprang up in an instant, the Blade Claws crossed quickly as it moved forward, and then it leaped over several roots, its movements as swift as a nimble lynx spider.

”How’s that, reliable right?” Fang Hong turned his head back to boast, but before he could finish, the Walker Construct crashed into a tree and wobbled motionlessly; the entire episode lasted barely three seconds.

Tata raised her head to look at him.

The two exchanged looks, creating a somewhat awkward atmosphere.

”That... it’s probably some part that’s broken.” Fang Hong felt exasperated.

Tata had already flown over.

With a downcast look, Fang Hong could only follow and pick up the Walker Construct from under the tree to examine it. The Walker Construct was larger than a basketball but much heavier, the ordinary ones weighing a full fifteen kilograms, and this one weighed a hefty nineteen kilograms.

Of that, just the wooden structure of the Construct’s base accounted for almost two-thirds of the dead weight, while the remaining weight was mostly due to the water cooling system, with the gear assembly making up a small part.

As for the Strength Enhancement Constructs, visual linkage Crystals, and vibration sensors (used for Scouting)—all variable parts were spared wherever possible, just sufficient to meet the standard Combat Bearing of the six-legged system.

The highest Combat Bearing of the six-legged system was twenty-one kilograms, but a Margin had to be left to prevent disintegration during combat due to high Self Weight load.

Fang Hong checked for a long time but couldn’t find the cause. He suddenly slapped his forehead, realizing a mistake. Maybe out of habit, he then remembered he had a system and quickly opened the Craftsman’s inspection interface:

’Walker Model 170 [Six-Legged System]—(Equipment Level, F Grade)’

’Basic Attributes: Attack Power—23-30 (+6), Strength Modifier +34%; Melee Hit—43 (+11), Strength Modifier +37%; Balance—34 (+7), Agility Modifier +22%; Burst Strength—18, Output Modifier +50%’

’Protection Attributes: Armor Value—6 (shell part), Durability Rating—35, Shield Value—0, Evasion Value—132, Block Value—14’

’Core Attribute: Magic Capacity—130M, Magic Power Output—5.5M (Construct legs 33%, Flexible Constructs 25%, gear assembly 16%, water cooling system 15%, gyroscope 7%, others 4%); Self Weight—19.3Kg, Combat Bearing—21Kg; Core Heat Generation—0.2~2.5/S, Cooling System Load—14%’

’Additional Attributes: Balance +2’

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