Chapter 3448: A Single Exchange
God’s Hammer was the most powerful machine that the dwarves had ever created, piloted by the finest dwarven knight in the Bournvyrne Empire at any given point, decided by an extraordinarily scrupulous competitive process.
The identity of the pilot was not important as the pilot was not the source of the power.
The artifact was the source of the power.
The artifact itself was the sole reason that it was considered one of the top ten combat assets on the entire planet. The armor of the mech was comprised of compressed invintium.
Yet its durability far surpassed that of what invintium could give it.
Such was the trait of all dwarven products.
They were made from titanium, carbon fibers, and other alloys and compounds that, while remarkable, were still made of ordinary matter comprising protons, neutrons, and electrons.
And yet, the dwarves could make a piece of metal more than a thousand times tougher than it normally would be with their touch.
It was a phenomenon that boggled the other five, or now six, races. It was why they were extraordinarily dominant exporters of weapons, armor, and even protective clothing and other such products. Weapons forged by their hands seemed to magically be able to withstand the power of pathwalkers. So much so that even Rui realized that all Martial Artists could get their hands on premium artifacts if the Panama Continent forged a bond with the Bournvyrne Empire, an undoubtedly ongoing process with the Emperor of Harmony’s labor.
With a single glance, however, Ieyasu could tell that God’s Hammer was of another caliber entirely. He felt like he was looking at an indestructible artifact of unparalleled power. One that he could potentially lose against.
The air boiled with tension as the powerful machine drew closer to Ieyasu’s Abyssal Mirror.
For a moment, nothing happened.
And then, everything did.
In the blink of an eye, God’s Hammer emerged before Ieyasu, unleashing a single blow of extraordinary power.
And yet, it was within Ieyasu’s prophecy.
WHOOSH
His MECHA spun out of the way of blow, evading the simple attack devastating momentum, before launching a powerful plasma beam at the powerful artifact’s armor.
BOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!!!
A destructive explosion ensued, covering the entirety of the skies. The blindingly bright light from plasma illuminated the dark continent while shockwaves of destruction spread through heaven and earth, only to be negated by the dwarven environmental control technology, absorbing the energy with a degree of efficiency second only to the elves and their flora technology.
God’s Hammer itself was entirely unharmed.
Even on a molecular level, Ieyasu couldn’t detect even the slightest ounce of deformation.
He hadn’t even chipped away a single particle.
It was an absurd kind of durability that he had never seen, even if the attack he had launched was far from his strongest. It was a single exchange, and yet both sides gained a more intimate understanding of each other.
VMMMmmm...
God’s Hammer powered down before extending a hand to the Abyssal Mirror MECHA, uttering a single remark with a generated electronic voice, speaking in the Panamic dialect.
"His Majesty accepts your offer out of respect for the great power that you have displayed." The machine continued. "Halt your resistance and follow me. We swear to treat you as a guest in our country in the name of the Bournvyrne Empire, Hephaestus, and the dwarvenkind across Sirinwel."
Just as Ieyasu had hoped.
Ever since he stole the Eye of Prophecy from the Silas Clan, he had been able to effect outcomes that were more in his favor. It helped him evade the hunt for him that had been ongoing in the Panama Continent ever since his betrayal of human civilization.
It had allowed him to go to Acherialis and to parts of the continent that wasn’t controlled by the Imperial Tekvorian Federation to empower his Martial Path. Assimilative evolution had proven to be a powerful commonality between himself and more reasonable tekvores that allowed him to make use of their cyborg technology in his own body to assimilate a pair of cybernetic eyeballs vastly superior to his biological eyes.
However, the tekvores were less inclined and able to help him with his MECHA. They barely managed to help him with a replacement for his esoteric energy cores that could allow him to regain functionality of the powerful machine, but it wasn’t perfect.
They were entirely unfamiliar with esoteric technology, after all. It was nothing short of alien technology to them. While technology was their forte, it was different from the pure path of creation that the Dwarves had. Integrating technology and assimilating it into their body was their forte, while the concept of a MECHA was the exact opposite, leaving them in a blind spot when it came to servicing his MECHA.
He ultimately came to the conclusion that the only people who could truly help him were the dwarves of Sirinwel. And that was precisely why he had gone out of his way to approach the dwarves, so that he could service his MECHA and restore it to perfect functionality.
Another thing that he sought from them, however, was their prowess in creation. Their diminutive bodies could create the most powerful technologically sophisticated artifacts in the world, and he sought to strengthen his MECHA by a huge margin.
He also hoped to gain a permanent ally that could help him with servicing. It was the most annoying part of adopting MECHAs as a platform. While his power grew, he was constantly shackled, constrained, and even paralyzed every moment.
With human civilization hunting him down, however, he needed the power desperately. He couldn’t afford to have it when he knew for a fact that there were many powerful Martial Artists out there to kill him, and while he was a powerful Martial Sage, he alone couldn’t fight against them with his lone power.
And thus, he followed God’s Hammer into the depths of dwarven civilization, hoping to gain that what he sought from them, all in search for more power.