Ulrich looked back at his shattered spaceship. Theo said just in time, "Take my ship back."
Ulrich’s expression softened, and he nodded.
Three A-level life forms boarded the black spaceship thoughtfully. As the engine spat out bright flames, they quickly disappeared into the cosmos.
[Legion: Controlled Objects manufactured don’t need additional metal energy control. When the aggregate number exceeds 1000, a 25% overall enhancement will be obtained.]
So it was this kind of legion. Li Ming absorbed the metal energy while checking the instructions.
The [Material Reorganization Machine] trait was indeed powerful.
Just this feature alone could save him a great amount of metal energy over time.
That’s how it should be, tirelessly sourcing materials and managing the assembly line, only to have to spend extra metal energy on control—there’s no logic to that.
The subsequent 25% enhancement was clearly useful only for large-scale legion use, equivalent to a buff.
Li Ming muttered to himself as he studied it a bit.
In the case of using this item through Materialization, it could only consume metal materials, but if used through Control, it could consume both metal energy and metal materials.
However, it could only manufacture Controlled Objects of a grade lower than itself.
The [Material Reorganization Machine] is currently A-grade, so it can only make B-grade items or lower.
"Later, I’ll try whether it’s better to mass-produce ordinary items for upgrades or to use metal energy directly for upgrades," Li Ming planned.
And he had already realized that the best way to use this item would be to find a base and let it operate on its own.
Controlling it himself would consume a great deal of time and energy, a truly cost-ineffective endeavor.
Because of the [Legion] trait, manufacturing them meant they were under his control already, saving much trouble and time.
However, this matter still needed thorough consideration. The [Legion] trait was likely specifically meant for producing mechanical soldiers.
Creating complete mechanical bodies, he only needed to spend a bit of metal energy to quickly produce a massive mechanical legion.
Yet, it was predictable that the metal energy consumption would become increasingly enormous.
The Collector’s treasury, accumulated over many years, couldn’t withstand his spending.
There were many items here of high value, but they yielded little metal energy and were purely artistic, like a painting hanging on the wall, scorched by flames to less than half its size.
Reportedly worth tens of millions of Star Coins in some civilization, they held no meaning for him.
The best were still the refined ores, continuously supplying the [Material Reorganization Machine]. He only needed to collect the finished Controlled Objects.
He already had a rough outline in his mind. He had a special advantage—he could convert mechanical life forms and set up a force with less trouble than most, and they would all be utterly loyal.
Temporarily setting aside this issue, he pondered the [Particle Confinement Ship Cannon] and activated the [Strategic Support] ability.
Instantly, he hesitated slightly, the huge cannon barrel indeed disappeared from the control page, and wasn’t materialized, but he could vaguely sense its presence.
It seemed that with just a thought, he could make it appear and then strike somewhere near him.
So it existed in this form. Li Ming carefully felt it but found he temporarily couldn’t utilize it because it wasn’t charged.
"I need to charge it first..." Li Ming removed the [Particle Confinement Ship Cannon] from [Strategic Support].
Because of [Oversized Energy Storage], he could directly charge it on the control page.
Just starting, his complexion changed as his energy surged like floodwaters, nearly draining him completely.
"This is too intense..." Li Ming reluctantly moved forward, hearing the rustling sound coming from the elevator shaft, but no one came down.
Hesitating for a moment, he changed into all the gear that would boost his stamina, notably the [Mechanical Auxiliary Heart] providing major help.
Combined with [Battlefield Medical Care], charging while recuperating— though not truly balanced—filled it up after more than twenty minutes.
"One full charge can fire two shots, but there’s a ten-minute interval needed," Li Ming estimated, roughly the same as the main ship-grade cannons.
Feeling weak, the sensation of simultaneously exhausting and recovering energy was rather hard to endure.
"How should I test this..." He felt eager to try, his gaze gradually shifting towards the elevator shaft.
Outside the elevator shaft, Cassis had already switched back into Combat Armor, with guard soldiers stationed around.
Among them were many raiders, all fairly disciplined with the leader at least an C-grade Life Form.
There were also four B-grade Life Forms, each bearing some repute.
Cassis stared into the deep elevator shaft. All other areas had been cleared except the maintenance room, which, after a major disturbance, had many items missing, but there were no other losses.
Ulrich ordered a swift inspection of the castle’s subterranean area.
At the same time, not allowing anyone to leave the castle, the perimeter Energy Barrier was reactivated and set to a lockdown state.
However, Cassis wasn’t one to take the lead herself; looking around, she said, "Ten million Star Coins, who’s willing to scout this out?"
"Ten million?" A commotion arose among the remaining raiders, but it quickly settled down again.
They understood it was just a ruse. This woman was too cunning—there were definitely dangers below.
"Gentlemen, you’re all wise. I won’t deceive you: there could indeed be dangers below, but since I represent the Collector, there’s no need for me to take risks," Cassis spoke frankly, "But even if there’s danger, it will certainly be limited."