Once again, there were three items.
A box, an object, and a sculpture.
Ye Zhongming opened the box. As expected, it was filled with the same brown stones that made up the flaming stone giants. The surfaces were too rough to discern any patterns, but they were smooth to the touch, neither scorching hot nor strangely cool.
The quantity was roughly the same as the stones obtained from the icy wasteland trial, suggesting this was a standard reward for each stage.
Not wasting time inspecting them further, Ye Zhongming turned to the second item.
In the first trial, the second reward had been the bizarre "Human Refining Furnace", which he hadnāt had time to examine. Now, he was genuinely curious about this one.
"Engraving Machine!"
This was a peculiar device with a circular platform and sixteen mechanical arms, each tipped with sharp alloy needles of varying thicknesses. Beside it were high-tech buttons with an unmistakably advanced aesthetic.
Human Refining Furnace. Engraving Machine.
Was there some connection between these two?
Ye Zhongming glanced at the swampy, lake-filled terrain ahead and ordered the team to rest and recover. He wanted to study these two itemsāif they could be utilized, the journey ahead might become easier.
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As for whether this place would allow Cloud Peakās warriors to restā¦ that was a concern for later.
The third item, the flaming stone giant sculpture, was simply stored away without a second thought.
Retrieving the Human Refining Furnace from his spatial storage, Ye Zhongming placed it beside the Engraving Machine and began his examination.
The morale of Cloud Peakās forces wasnāt low, but it wasnāt high either. They had lost more comrades, and everyone was injured. The magma burns hadnāt vanished with the molten hellscapeāinstead, they continued to fester, the lingering toxins resisting even healing potions and crystals.
Though the pain had been lessened, the wounds wouldnāt fully heal immediately. The persistent, gnawing discomfort served as a constant reminder of the uncertain path ahead.
The Female Guard women comforted the more emotionally shaken Youth Army soldiers. Over time, the two groups had grown closeāthe youngsters treated like little brothers by these battle-hardened women. To outsiders, they were ruthless killers, but here, they radiated a maternal warmth that even they themselves thought had long vanished. This camaraderie did much to lift the teamās spirits.
Despite the casualties and injuries, every member had grown stronger through these trials. The Youth Army, in particular, had matured significantly, shedding the forced ferocity theyād adopted in Black Dragon City and replacing it with a quiet, lethal composure. Their eyes now gleamed with the unyielding focus of true elites.
Though their numbers had dwindled, these young warriors had surpassed the average combat prowess of Cloud Peakās forces in just two battles, becoming fully-fledged mainline fighters.
"Swamps, puddles, lakes, reedsā¦ Whatās next? Mud men?" Xiao Min, on guard duty, muttered as she surveyed the terrain ahead.
"The terrainās rough. If we rush, weāll break formation." Xia Bai rarely spoke, so it was Red Hair who replied.
They had recovered the fastest, their injuries being relatively light.
"Weāll fight our way through."
Xia Baiās voice was flat, but the other two were used to it. The fact that sheād spoken at all was a rare concession.
"This is so much harder than the Sea King Wheel trial." Xiao Min sighed.
"Weāre also much stronger now." Xia Baiās fingers twitched, her battlelust barely restrained. She was the only one who hadnāt treated her injuriesāin fact, she resented her bodyās natural healing, as it would "weaken" her combat efficiency later.
"Does that mean the Heavenly King Wheel will be terrifying?" Xiao Min giggled, her eyes gleaming with the same eager bloodlust as Xia Baiās.
"Iām more interested in the abilities thatāll unlock when all three ruler artifacts are gathered."
"Thatās just because you have faith in the boss."
The exchange drew a flicker of amusement from Xia Baiāuntil she suddenly whirled around, sensing an odd energy fluctuation from Ye Zhongmingās direction.
ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦
Ye Zhongming stared at the stone cavalry before him, his lips twitching.
After some time studying the Human Refining Furnace, heād discovered it was a device for crafting puppetsābut with strict limitations.
It could only produce puppets from pre-set templates.
At first, Ye Zhongming had no idea what these "templates" wereāuntil he recalled the two sculptures. Placing the stone cavalry statue and the flaming stone giant statue inside, the furnaceās available templates jumped from zero to two.
But templates alone werenāt enough. Materials were required. The core component was the stones from the two cratesāone per puppet. The rest included magic crystals and various category-restricted items.
For example, crafting a stone cavalry required materials from riding-type lifeforms, binding agents, and special additives.
The specific items werenāt fixed, but the categories wereāthe resulting puppetās strength scaled with the quality of materials and magic crystals used.
Ye Zhongming happened to have all the necessary materials. Eager to test the results, he inserted the components and a stone, initiating the refinement process.
The process was swift and smooth. After a burst of flames, the furnace openedāand out came a stone cavalry.
Yes, it appeared.
If Ye Zhongming hadnāt looked down, he mightāve missed it entirely.
What the hell? A lapdog cavalry?
Not even a large breedājust a medium-sized one at best!
A quick assessment confirmed it: this was a trash-tier stone cavalry, barely Level 3 in strength.
And heād used top-tier materials for this! Including some Level 9 components just to see the effects!
Wasting materials that couldāve crafted gold-grade equipmentā¦ for this?!
Today might just be the most humiliating day of Ye Zhongmingās career as an Artisan.
But after a brief moment of disappointment, he controlled the Level 3 stone cavalry, directing it onto the Engraving Machine.