Chapter 8

It has become a settled fact that he cannot return to the real world for the time being. No matter how uneasy he feels, it is useless to think too much about it. He should focus on how to deal with the current situation.

Having made up his mind, Liu Siyi was no longer panicked. Finding a place to spend the night was now the most important thing. Although he knew there were no troops around that could threaten him, he couldn't just sleep on the ground with the sky as his blanket and the earth as his bed. There were countless wild beasts here, and they would definitely eat him while he was asleep.

Summon a fierce tiger? Not only would it consume a portion of his mental energy each time, but the tiger's existence would not last long. From the summoning he did during the day, he could roughly deduce that it would last about an hour. He couldn't keep summoning every hour, could he? He still needed to sleep.

At this moment, the other skill he obtained from devouring the legendary mage,初级傀儡炼金术 (Elementary Puppet Alchemy), could play a significant role.

Elementary Puppet Alchemy: Sacrifice a certain amount of gold and resources to create first or second-tier puppet troops.

From the description, it was clear that as long as there was gold and resources, a mage with the Puppet Alchemy skill was like a puppet troop base. However, no alchemist would use Puppet Alchemy extensively because it required a large amount of extremely valuable resources.

Imagine, to create a first-tier wooden puppet using Puppet Alchemy, you need one piece of wood and some gold. To recruit a soldier from a castle, you only need the corresponding building and the required amount of gold. Not to mention the wooden puppet, but when the alchemy skill reaches a higher level and can create sixth or seventh-tier troops, the resources consumed would be many times higher than the normal amount. Therefore, unless it was occasionally necessary, few alchemists would use alchemy.

Of course, these were just the disadvantages of Puppet Alchemy, mainly the high cost of resource consumption. However, in certain necessary situations, it could play a very significant role.

For example, in Liu Siyi's current situation, if he had mastered not the elementary but the master level, he would definitely create a seventh-tier steel giant.

Elementary Puppet Alchemy activated, and tiny golden light points suddenly appeared in front of him. These golden light points increased in number, gradually converging and forming the lines of a vertical array about five meters in diameter. Each line of the array emitted a dazzling light, so brilliant that it was hard to see the space inside.

At this moment, Liu Siyi painfully counted out sixty gold coins and a piece of wood, throwing them into the array.

The golden light intensified, making it impossible to see the lines. After about ten seconds, the dazzling golden light gradually dissipated, and the array disappeared. A figure about two meters tall, made entirely of wood, including its eyes, stood at the center where the array had disappeared.

"Respected master, thank you for granting me life." The wooden puppet, similar to the wooden figures seen in TV shows, bowed its head to Liu Siyi, showing respect.

"Huh? It can actually speak?" Liu Siyi was surprised. He never thought a wooden puppet could express such feelings.

"Yes, master, we possess basic intelligence and can complete the basic commands you give us." The wooden puppet said again, its voice equally mechanical.

"Is that so." Looking at the wooden puppet, which was about two and a half meters tall and seemed powerful, it might not even be able to defeat a human spearman, but as a puppet for a mage, it was enough.

"First, pick up the three pieces of wood on the ground, and we will find a place to spend the night safely." Seeing the sun was already setting, Liu Siyi gave the order. Although he didn't know the extent of the basic intelligence and basic commands, he assumed simple commands could be executed well.

"Yes, master." The wooden puppet turned mechanically, and a series of "click-click-click" sounds came from its body. It picked up the three pieces of wood on the ground, but with only two hands, it could only pick up two pieces at a time, repeatedly dropping one piece to pick up another.

Dazed, Liu Siyi picked up one piece of wood himself. Since his hands were empty, it could serve as a tool for exploring the way.

"From now on, I'll call you Click-Click." Liu Siyi was too lazy to think of another name and found inspiration from the sound the puppet made while moving.

"Thank you, master." The wooden puppet's mechanical voice sounded again, devoid of any emotion.

It seems I still need to make my own puppets, Liu Siyi thought, frowning at the wooden puppet.

Making puppets and alchemy puppets are two different things. Alchemy puppets are puppets created by previous alchemists, which have been formed into various troops after being sacrificed to deities, such as wooden puppets, stone puppets, iron puppets, and seventh-tier steel giants, and even eighth-tier titans. As long as you have the corresponding strength, knowledge of alchemy arrays, and sufficient resources, you can summon them.

Making puppets, on the other hand, is like creating a new troop from scratch. Of course, you can draw on the experience and systems of your predecessors, making it easier to create a new puppet, but starting from scratch is not easy.

Liu Siyi thought about it. The most important parts of a puppet are two: hardware and software. The hardware is the material used to make the puppet. The better the material, the more solid the body, and the stronger the attack and defense capabilities.

The software, on the other hand, has two methods. One is to use a soul stone to create the "brain" of the puppet, which is the central control system. One method is to directly extract the souls of various troops in the world and place them in the "brain," or soul stone, to enhance the puppet's intelligence.

This method has obvious advantages. The intelligence of the puppets created this way is generally high, such as the seventh-tier puppet dragon, which is made this way.

First, the body of the puppet dragon is created, and then the soul of a dragon is placed inside, giving the puppet dragon high intelligence and powerful strength.

However, the disadvantages are also obvious. First, extracting souls is a technique that only eighth-tier alchemist heroes can achieve without the corresponding treasure. Second, souls are very fragile. Any slight damage after being placed in the brain can cause the puppet to malfunction or even attack indiscriminately. Finally, even if successful, the compatibility and adaptability of the soul and the body must be considered, so the success rate is very low.

The other method is for the alchemist to use soul power to "program" the "brain" of the soul stone, artificially creating a "brain" for the puppet.

This method also has obvious advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are clear from the organized troops. It is very practical and has a high success rate, but whether the troops can perform their intended functions is another matter.

Take the iron puppet, for example. A third-tier iron puppet is made entirely of iron, with important parts made of fine iron. In theory, except for its slow speed, its attack and defense capabilities should be very strong. However, because the "programming" is done by alchemists, who focus more on research than combat and have no experience with close combat, can they make the iron puppet excel in close combat? They even overlooked the iron puppet's weapons, thinking that two iron hammers would suffice.

Based on the legacy Liu Siyi received, he believed that these alchemists even naively thought the number of arms was a crucial factor in close combat ability. For example, the melee troops created by the Naga Queen, the Rakshasa King, have four arms, but this still didn't satisfy them.

In this regard, Liu Siyi felt that even though he had not received any legacy in close combat and didn't know how to better leverage close combat advantages, after being influenced by countless fantasy, martial arts, and action movies, the programs he wrote would be better than those of the alchemists.

Moreover, with the internet from the 21st century, finding information on making various puppets and puppet parts was not a problem. If necessary, he could even buy children's Transformers, which are ready-made puppet models.

You ask about the production of parts? Alchemy arrays are not just for creating puppets; they can also assist mental energy. As long as the required materials are placed inside, the caster can create puppet parts of various shapes according to their will.

Thinking this way, he felt that he might really be able to create a powerful new troop.

Liu Siyi thought about it, perhaps overthinking. Before the sun completely set, he still hadn't found a safe place to rest. Reluctantly, he found a stone crevice to shelter from the wind, with Click-Click blocking the entrance, serving as a temporary resting place.

The strength of the wild beasts was not high, generally equivalent to first or second-tier troops, but he couldn't be careless in case he encountered a stronger one. With Click-Click guarding, although he didn't sleep well in the first half of the night, he was so exhausted that he finally fell into a deep sleep in the second half. Fortunately, when he woke up, it was already bright.