Chapter Forty-Five: The Seven Knights IV (This unexpected extra chapter)

The Type IV Seven Knights was the pinnacle of mechanical invention during the Storm Isles’ golden age, shaped in the likeness of a colossal wild boar. Typically, it stretched about sixty meters from snout to hindquarters, with its height ranging from nine to thirteen meters depending on its attributes.

The undead Type IV Seven Knights before them had originally possessed the attribute of yellow sand, making it not the tallest of its kind, standing at just eleven meters. Apart from its distinctly boar-like head, the rest of its body was comprised entirely of shifting yellow sand.

Without a solid outer shell, the sand visibly flowed within the core of the Type IV’s body. Occasionally, small clumps of sand would ‘drip’ from its form, only to be swiftly replenished by more sand drawn up from the ground.

Within the sand, several spaces had been solidified using a combination of mechanical parts and magic—these were the main compartments of the Type IV Seven Knights. In the original design, such chambers were intended for residents to live and work in, but those functions had long been lost; most now served as storage holds.

On the boar’s back were several fixed platforms, particularly along both flanks, where the primary weapons were once mounted. At present, Zhu Yan could not produce the original weaponry, but many of the daily tasks she had assigned to the players lately had involved weapons in some way. According to her, as soon as they returned to their base, she could have the main weaponry installed.

With those weapons fitted, even facing a boss in the future would no longer be the exhausting ordeal it had been last time.

Liu Zong, however, did not particularly care about Zhu Yan’s assurances. He could tell that she now had full control over the Type IV Seven Knights, likely thanks to the control circuit board she had inserted earlier—it must have been a command module of some kind.

If Zhu Yan had acquired those components from the settlement’s residents, it would be no great difficulty to have them help fabricate more heavy weaponry as well.

[Type IV Seven Knights—Yellow Sand]

[Race: Undead Mechanical Armored Vehicle]

[Level: Lv0 (max)]

[Attributes: Strength 10, Agility 8, Constitution 10, Spirit 0]

[Description: An undead mechanical armored vehicle boasting immense kinetic power and extraordinary vitality. It is said to be invincible on land; as long as it stands upon the ground, it cannot be toppled…]

Liu Zong was surprised by these attributes—he had not expected the Type IV Seven Knights to be affected by the Storm Isles’ map, unable to break through the Lv1 limit.

Even so, Liu Zong believed that if he faced the Type IV head-on, a single misstep could mean instant death. For beyond its four basic stats, all its other attributes were at Level 3 or 4.

With his tasks complete, Liu Zong did not hurry back to the base. He understood that with the Seven Knights Type IV secured, they would likely set out for the next destination tomorrow. There were several spots he had noticed while doing quests, places he had never had the chance to investigate—now, with all other matters settled, he did not want to squander the opportunity.

After sharing his intentions with Zhu Yan, she nodded in agreement. “You know we leave tomorrow,” she reminded him, “so don’t be late. If anything comes up, just find Xiao Chun—he’ll help you figure it out.”

With that, Zhu Yan took the Type IV Seven Knights and departed.

Once she was gone, Liu Zong set off in another direction, toward a location he’d stumbled upon while completing his daily tasks. He had a sense that something lay buried beneath these sands. At first, perhaps because of the harsh winds or the depth of the sand, no one had noticed it. But now, with the sands saturated by negative energy, and Liu Zong being one of the two players most sensitive to such energy, he could clearly feel that something beneath the sand was utterly impervious to its corruption.

Had it been a small object, he might have retrieved it at once. But this thing was far too large, and its shape, as sensed by his ability, intrigued him. So he had filed it away in his memory, waiting until now to investigate.

Arriving at the spot where he had first detected the object, Liu Zong wasted no time digging swiftly into the sand, soon uncovering the first layer.

Before him was an item untouched by the corruption of negative energy. It resembled a weapon—a great scimitar forged entirely of metal, much like the one Liu Zong had found from the lava worms. The resemblance was only superficial, for this weapon was so massive no ordinary person could wield it.

The hilt of the scimitar alone was as tall as Liu Zong himself. He examined its blade using the method taught by the fortune-telling crone, only this method was even more advanced: not only had hundreds of metal layers been forged together, the original properties of the wild boar’s tusk had also been perfectly preserved. Liu Zong could even sense the latent energy within the tusk.

Such a fine artifact was not something Liu Zong intended to hand over to the authorities. With a flick of his wrist, he sealed the scimitar within a card.

[Battle Scimitar—Green Vine]

[Quality: Lv3 (Purple)]

[Attack Power: 31–46]

[Attributes: +2 Strength, +3 Agility, +7 Constitution]

[Equipment Trait: Attacks have a chance to entwine the target with vines, immobilizing them for 3–10 seconds]

[Equipment Trait: Reflects 10% of incoming damage back at the attacker]

[Usable by Classes: Swordsman, Blade Master, Rogue…]

[Usable by Races: Humanoid Machines, Titans, Giants…]

[Equipment Level: Lv3]

Judging from these stats, Liu Zong realized this must have been a weapon used by one of the earlier models of the Seven Knights. Why it had been buried here, undiscovered for so many years, was a mystery.

With these questions in mind, Liu Zong returned to the Golden Pine Valley base. Outside, he found another Type IV Seven Knights. Compared to the undead one he had seen before, this one, undead-ified by Liu Chun, was smaller but glowed with a crimson brilliance, as if formed from molten rock.

The tusks of its boar head gleamed a vivid red, magma dripping continuously to the ground like sweat, hissing as it landed.

[Type IV Seven Knights—Crimson Blaze]

[Race: Undead Mechanical Armored Vehicle]

[Level: Lv0 (max)]

[Attributes: Strength 9, Agility 9, Constitution 8, Spirit 0]

[Description: An undead mechanical armored vehicle possessing overwhelming offensive power. Any creature struck by it suffers burning flames that persist even in death…]