“How many have you completed today, Jespa?” Moloch questioned as he was holding a tablet bestowed by the Empire Building Sub System to take note of the construction progress.
“…332 pieces of mixed Animate Dead runes,” Jespa grumbled as Moloch could see her hand shaking after all the rune making.
“Not bad, see you can do it if you put your will into it.” Moloch praised somewhat sarcastically as he checked off the list to oversee Jespa’s rune making.
“At this rate, I feel more like a contracted slave rather than a runesmith…” Jespa grumbled softly to herself but not soft enough for Moloch not to hear. For a moment, he put down the tablet and looked at the goblin lady in front of him.
“At the very least, you had the chance to work with mithril. If you think you had enough of this place, we can always let you return home. Else I shall ‘kindly’ ask you to continue. If you stick with us, you might get the opportunity to work on something… more exciting soon.” Moloch offered her the carrot and the stick, but it did not seem to work on Jespa a single bit.
“Heh, that’s what you’ve been promising from the start, but come on, even a six year old would know at this point, that you are just bidding for time. Heck, you might be making excuses.” Jespa gave her brutal feedback to Moloch. “Even my cousin, Hespesta, a master blacksmith felt her hands and back aching from all the work. And for what? Mere clay statues which do not appreciate her items.”
“How long will these versions of Animate Dead work?” Moloch finally decided to entertain this Runesmith since she had held up to her bargain. After days being busy creating different types, it had provided the System ample time to catalogue them and find out which type would be the best to recreate with its own NPC.
Hence, he agreed that it was probably about time to let her do something more significant.
“The latest batch of pure Animate Dead Mithril Runes can last between 90-120 minutes after being activated before they would need to be recharged. The mixed Animate Dead can last roughly half the time.”
“See, you did improve, right? Optimising your efficiency in the runes and making them even more effective in a long protracted combat. Not to mention you were able to create mixed Runes. The Magical Clay Craftsmen had also perfected their statue making procedure, and they are now able to make more improved statues in a shorter time frame.” Moloch argued back.
“So? Doesn’t that just mean that they had devised even more work for me? Even though I had improved, I alone can’t match the output of dozens of them.” Jespa folded her arms and challenged the purpose of the contract.
“We are not asking you to do that. If you are unable to suffer now, why should we believe in you for bigger projects? Now let me show you what we are capable of before you run that little mouth of yours again!” Moloch bragged that they were nowhere as talented as they once claimed to be. He then beckoned her to call her cousin to meet Moloch at Industrial Sector 1.
“Cuz, what are all these tall gigantic buildings?!” Hespesta was shocked to learn that the floating city had managed to hide these large warehouse like buildings from plain sight. Jespa was also shocked, even more so after they discovered a few goblins working together with the Orcs to create Sandroku Golem in an open workshop while waiting for Moloch to arrive.
“Have you goblins gone mad? Don’t you know that the Orcs are our enemies?” Jespa accused the team of Goblins and Orcs. It was one thing to work near their enemies, but it seemed preposterous to her to see them working along together. The Goblin Orc combi could only laugh at how small minded the goblin shouting was.
“Empty vessels make the most noise.” One of the goblins ridiculed her right to her face leading to more laughter amongst his fellow goblins while the Orcs just grinned to themselves. They had learnt the long and hard way that it was impossible to win over the goblins in a verbal competition.
“Why…you… Just because you are making some metal boxes working together, does not mean that you -” A sudden loud thud was heard from the Sandroku Golem and the floor broke into two as it split right towards Jespa and Hespesta.
“You are right.” The Goblin pilot inside the Sandroku Golem spoke through the speakers. “This is just some metal boxes mashed together and somehow we managed to get it to work. It’s best you leave us alone before these metal boxes accidentally crack your heads open.”
“Jespa! Enough! Let’s just wait for Lord Moloch somewhere else.” Hespesta pulled her pompous cousin away from the scene while putting her hand over the other’s mouth.
“Crazy goblin, right?” Moloch, who was behind the workshop doors, had observed everything.
“Lord, why would you want that arrogant Runesmith to work with us? We’ve just gotten used to tolerating each other’s presence. She is will be the real threat to teamwork.” The Goblin Pilot questioned as he came out of the cockpit.
“Do you have a choice? You’ve tried it yourselves, and her runes obviously made a difference for your creation. You’ve dealt with the Orcs, surely you can handle one of your own kind.” Moloch argued back as he told them to consider for a while as he tapped on the tablet before the crack on the floor got mended in an instant.
“Heh, I think I’d rather bash my head on the golems than listen to that female goblin ramble nonsense.” The Orc Lead said, and everyone started to laugh heartily.
“Whatever helps you tolerate her.” Moloch smiled from his stuff toy form and began to approach the gagged Jespa.
“You can’t seem to keep your mouth together, can you? Think twice before you speak. First impressions matter even here. Now follow me to your potential new boss.” Moloch led them to a building that was around 500 metres away and surprisingly got to enjoyed peace for a moment.
“Niu Lang, open up!” Moloch called as he banged on the hangar bay door loudly and pressed on the side door’s bell a few times. The loud sizzling noises faded away, and there was a faint voice shouting that he was coming.
“Sir Moloch? What are you doing here?” Niu Lang opened the side door and saw Moloch with two other goblins that he had no recollection of.
“Who are these goblins? New workers? They do not look skilled at all.
Their hands have yet to be seasoned with mechanics. You do know that I require someone to build the weaponry and not just two random goblins?” Niu Lang words were rather sharp that it stung Jespa, who was doing her best not to speak back, and even Hespesta.
“No, Niu Lang, they are just prospective goblins that might be useful for the incoming project. I just wanted to show them around so that they have some idea what they were aiming for.” Moloch tried to phrase it nicely to Niu Lang, who was terrible with words.
“Oh sure, why not. I always welcome prospective goblins.” Niu Lang changed his tune quickly and let them in to have a look. The moment the goblins entered, the stench of oil and metal entered their nostrils. Something Hespesta was familiar with but not Jespa.
But the main thing that caught their attention the moment the stepped in was the gigantic mechanical body right in front of them.
It was none other than Mechataur.
With Jin paying for Niu Lang’s upgraded skills, the former cowherd had learnt how to fix his friend with the aid of the robot crawlers. Like a surgeon, Niu Lang had slowly ‘dissected’ and replaced every single part that was no longer functioning or burnt out from the previous battles.
All that was left was to improve the main engine as well as some performance upgrades, and Mechataur would be as good as new again.
“What is this…?! This is way more magnificent and majestic than the metal box the Goblin and Orcs were doing!” Jespa immediately fell in love with its colossal stature while Hespesta was excited to see the various parts lying around in the hangar. All the unfamiliar instruments and components that potentially made this giant robot tick.
“Before anything else, one more insult against my buddies in the Golem Workshop and I will kick you out personally and never allow you to step foot in here. ” Niu Lang overheard the incident briefly from Moloch and stared at them intently which they realised he was serious. When they nodded their heads, his demeanour turned cheerful again.
“This here. This piece of work is my war machine, my masterpiece and most importantly, my buddy. His name is Mechataur, and I am going to use him as the core concept for the production of other Mechas.” Niu Lang briefly introduced it to the two goblins.
While it was beautiful to look at, Jespa questioned Moloch about the meaning of this trip: “Why did you bring us here? We are just a Runesmith and a Weaponsmith. Not a mechanic or specialised craftsmen like the Goblin-Orc team or Niu Lang here.”
“Now wasn’t it you who wished to see what bigger projects we had in store? So here you go. Marvel at what you may be part of.” Moloch pointed at Mechataur, and Niu Lang suddenly rejected his proposal.
“No way! You are not letting anyone touch him!” Niu Lang opened his arms wide as if he was protecting his Mechataur from any external sources. Moloch laughed at how gullible Niu Lang was and told him that he was not letting them to perform anything on Mechataur at all.
“Don’t worry no one but you will touch the inner workings of your Mechataur. Instead, I want the two goblins here to create some accessories for Mechataur. Mainly its weapons.” Moloch explained as he looked at Hespesta.
“Me, you want to me to create weapons for the Mechataur?!” Hespesta felt her heart skip a little, and she hiccupped in happiness.
“Precisely. While not as talkative as your cousin, I’m sure you have also wondered why we wanted you to create weapons consistently. Not only was it, to equip our clay soldiers, it was also to increase your stamina and strength in preparation for bigger works. Starting tomorrow you will begin with the equipment for the Ogre Clay Soldiers, and we will work our way up until you can create something as large for Mechataur” Moloch answered.
“But I will need a furnace…way bigger than what I have,” Hespesta stated the obvious and Moloch laughed and told Niu Lang to show them the way. At first, the cowherd boy did not know what he meant until he realised that Moloch was talking about the Mechanised Factory they were building.
Niu Lang powered up his jeep (sponsored by Jin’s scraps but Niu Lang decided to repair it from scratch) It allowed faster transportation in this sizeable industrial sector where the transportation system was nonexistential at the moment.
“Remember to allocate some budget for transportation.” Moloch wrote a memo on his tablet as he sat beside Niu Lang while the two goblins sat behind. The ride was short, but the goblins were amazed that such a mode of transportation existed. The metal carriage was definitely faster than the wolves they use to ride.
They reached another factory which was still evidently under construction, but the bare bones were up. Hespesta could see the so called Mecha Furnace where Niu Lang explained that all she had to do was wear a set of Gearbox Suit and work just as usual. The modified suit would send a signal to the machinery and imitate what she did.
If the blacksmith were to hit the iron in her small little furnace, giant extended mechanical arms, that was hanging on the ceiling with a multidirectional conveyer belt, would do the same to the large piece of metal that was allocated hundreds of metres away from here. Currently, there was a delay with the mechanical arm response, but Moloch said it would be tuned within the coming weeks.
“Basically, you have the ability to control what kind of melee weapons will be created for Mechataur and the subsequent robots.” Moloch summed up her task and Niu Lang finally understood why Moloch had wanted to build this Large Mecha Furnace.
“Prefabricated weapons from modular pieces tend to break easier. But if a real blacksmith creates the weapon for the Mechas, they should be stronger, faster, and more durable. Maybe I should tell her what I want Mechataur to have. ” Niu Lang thought to himself.
“You are essentially making weapons for Giants!” Jespa was elated for her cousin but still wondered what her role would be in all of this.
“You, Runesmith. You are responsible for creating emergency power packs for these Mechas. Your Animate Dead can also be used as a power source, letting users have control, right? We want you to create these power packs as a sort of backup battery, in case of too high a power consumption….” Moloch continued to explain, but Jespa did not understand a single word as she only heard that she could take part in this large project.
“Not only that. We might need your runes to power up beam rifles and provide power as additional properties for weapons like your cousin’s creation. Of course, on a larger rune.” Moloch added, and the two female goblins felt excited they were finally doing something big.
“Why did you not tell us all this in the first place?!” Jespa asked, and Moloch smirked.
“Because we wanted to know if you guys were at least capable of pulling your own weight before showing you the fruits of your possible labour. Now that you know your next objectives, I expect you to finish crafting all those runes and weapons. After that it’s working with the Golem Team to create power packs and weapons for them as the experiment!” Moloch ordered, and the two craftsmen for once were happy to return to their monotonous work.
