First Master Blacksmith, Robot Blueprint (5000)

After pondering for a moment.

Cao Xing decided to use these 13 Expert-level Emblems first to max out Harold's proficiency!

Then, he would see if this dwarf blacksmith could break through to Master level.

After all, as long as he successfully broke through to Master, he could not only forge the materials dropped by the Lizardman Overlord last time into equipment and weapons.

But he could also repair the Legendary weapon in Liu Muxue's hands.

It could be said that the significance was quite substantial!

Thus, Cao Xing headed straight to the blacksmith shop and pushed open the door.

"Clang!"

As the door opened, a wave of heat rushed toward his face.

Inside the blacksmith shop, all three forging furnaces were in operation.

A 'clinking and clanking' sound of hammering echoed from the forging tables.

Three figures were currently holding forging hammers, sweating profusely.

To Cao Xing's surprise, the two little ones, Sarle and Boudi, had also started forging.

Taking a look at their attribute panels, a [Primary Forging Mastery] skill had indeed appeared, and their identities had changed to Blacksmith Apprentice.

A smile appeared on the corner of Cao Xing's mouth.

"With the Craftsmanship Insight talent, these two little ones are learning quite fast."

"They are indeed good material for becoming blacksmiths."

The three people working in the blacksmith shop also saw Cao Xing's arrival.

They simultaneously stopped what they were doing and bowed slightly in greeting.

"Lord, may you be well."

Cao Xing waved his hand and got straight to the point.

"Harold, what have you been forging recently?"

The dwarf blacksmith reported.

"Lord, during this time, we have forged a total of over a hundred [Barbarian Shields]."

"Also, the materials from the saber-toothed tigers you gave me last time have all been forged."

"Adding these materials together, we have forged 11 Golden-quality spears, 1 Epic-quality spear, and the cursed spearhead you gave me has also been reforged."

"Besides that, those tiger skins and tiger bones have also been crafted into some leather armor, light armor, and the like."

Harold finished speaking in one breath.

The smile on Cao Xing's face widened.

This was a resource of significant value.

With so many Purple and Golden equipment, if taken to trade with other merchant guilds, he could obtain a massive amount of crowns!

Of course, Cao Xing naturally wouldn't sell them; there were many people in his territory who needed suitable weapons.

Those shields could be given to the Silver Hand Knights as off-hand equipment.

As for the other spears, light armor, and such, they could be given to the Dragon Blood Warriors.

Greatly enhancing the warriors' combat power and survival capabilities!

However, Cao Xing's main purpose this time was to help Harold increase his proficiency.

He didn't immediately take these pieces of equipment away.

Instead, he first glanced at the dwarf blacksmith's panel.

[Life Skill: Expert-level Forging Mastery (5172/50000)]

…

In this month, just by forging a large amount of equipment, Harold had increased his proficiency by over five thousand.

It was equivalent to saving Cao Xing 1 [Expert-level Emblem].

Cao Xing praised, "Very good, you have worked hard during this time."

"Now, to reward your efforts, take this."

After saying this, Cao Xing took out 9 Emblems directly and handed them over.

Harold stared at the emblems in Cao Xing's hand; seeming to recall something, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"These… seem to be the items you used to help me break through to an Expert-level Blacksmith last time. There are actually so many?"

Cao Xing said, "That's right. These emblems should be able to bring your proficiency to the Expert limit."

"Of course, I know that to break through to Master, one needs to awaken the so-called Craftsmanship Soul."

"But don't be anxious, just do your best."

But Harold shook his head and said, "Lord, these emblems are already enough for me to break through to Master directly!"

His eyes held a look of confidence.

Cao Xing's expression was initially somewhat bewildered, then he asked uncertainly.

"Do you mean that you have already awakened the Craftsmanship Soul?"

Harold chuckled, "Yes, respected Lord!"

"In our territory, there is now a statue of the God of Forging. It has been of great help to us blacksmiths in awakening the Craftsmanship Soul."

"Recently, I have been going to observe this statue for half an hour every morning."

"Just a few days ago, by chance, I awakened the Craftsmanship Soul!"

A look of surprise and joy appeared on Cao Xing's face!

Good heavens, I didn't expect this statue of the God of Forging to have such an effect; it was truly the right decision to build it.

In this way, he could immediately have a Master-level blacksmith!

"Very good, then use these emblems now and break through to Master!"

"As you command, Lord!"

Harold executed the order without hesitation.

Following Cao Xing's method from last time, he used every single emblem.

Every time an emblem was used, a large amount of forging experience flooded into Harold's mind.

After all nine emblems were used up.

Harold felt as if his head was about to explode!

The massive amount of forging experience turned into a surging torrent, and the intense impact made him feel as if he were constantly enduring the heavy blow of a giant hammer!

Countless forging scenes, techniques, and knowledge flashed through his consciousness like lightning.

Beads of sweat seeped out from every pore of this dwarf blacksmith, and his entire body was trembling violently.

The two blacksmith apprentices nearby watched their master's changes with uncertain expressions.

A look of worry appeared in their eyes.

However, this kind of emblem would not pose any danger.

It just required a certain amount of time to digest the memories within.

Soon, Harold finished organizing the massive amount of memories in his mind.

An invisible aura rose from within his body!

It was an aura interwoven with calmness and confidence, as if he had already become the master of the forging domain.

At the same time, a system notification appeared.

[Your territory member: Harold Iceberg, through forging, has finally broken through the bottleneck; Forging Mastery has been upgraded to Master-level.]

[Congratulations! You now have a Master-level blacksmith; Territory Prosperity +100…]

…

Harold, now holding his forging hammer with a glint of wisdom and calmness in his eyes, came before Cao Xing.

"Lord, I succeeded!"

"Thank you for your cultivation; your kindness to me is like that of a parent who gave me life!"

He solemnly bowed, performing the highest standard of etiquette for Cao Xing.

Cao Xing waved his hand, "No need to say more, Harold. I see your contributions to the territory."

"Just continue to work hard in the future."

This blacksmith nodded solemnly.

At this moment, he respectfully said, "Lord, now that I have become a Master-level blacksmith."

"If there is an opportunity, I would like to ask you to take me back to the Southern Continent."

"I will return to my clan to bring back the Epic blueprint that belongs to me for you!"

A look of contemplation appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

He had indeed heard Harold mention this before.

Like how their dwarf clan, after their forging skills reach Master level, as long as they return to their clan, they will all receive an exclusive Epic blueprint.

However… the Southern Continent…

The distance was simply too far.

Up until now, he hadn't even been to the Eternal Frost Main City.

However, that goblin Locke had also said before that he hoped to return to the Southern Continent to find his clansmen.

If he were to really go to the Southern Continent in the future, he could take Harold and the goblin Locke along.

Thus, Cao Xing replied, "Alright, I understand. If there is an opportunity, I will take you back to the Southern Continent."

Harold nodded respectfully.

At the same time, Cao Xing glanced at his panel again.

[Life Skill: Master-level Forging Mastery (172/200000)]

…

"Sure enough, it can still be upgraded after Master-level."

"It's just that to reach the next level, it requires a full 200,000 proficiency…"

"If there are no Expert-level Emblems to speed it up, forging until the end of time might not even be enough to max out the proficiency."

Moreover, there was one more thing Cao Xing wasn't too sure about.

That was…

Whether a Master-level blacksmith, continuing to improve, would directly become a Legendary-level blacksmith.

Or if it was the same as their strength classification.

After Master is Hero, and then Legendary?

If that were the case, then for Cao Xing to have a Legendary blacksmith would be even further away.

Shaking his head, Cao Xing didn't aim too high.

After all, having a Master-level blacksmith now was already very satisfying.

Then, he took out all the bones and sharp claws that the Lizard Overlord had dropped from his backpack.

Looking at the pile of materials on the ground radiating powerful energy, a look of admiration appeared in Harold's eyes once again.

However, during the previous period, Cao Xing would bring back some astonishing materials every time.

The dwarf blacksmith was already used to this.

Meanwhile, the two little ones beside him were already pale and dizzy from the aura radiating from the materials.

After all, these were materials from a Tier 7 Sovereign-level monster; they couldn't even withstand the aura alone.

Harold examined them for a moment, then asked, "Lord, do you want all these materials forged into the corresponding equipment?"

Cao Xing nodded slightly, "That's right. Since you have now become a Master, I will leave these materials to you."

"There is one more thing…"

As he spoke, he took the two broken pieces of the sword out of his backpack.

It was the Legendary weapon: Magdale!

"This is a broken Legendary weapon that needs to be repaired."

"The materials needed for the repair are also ready."

"You're going to be busy for a while."

Harold took them solemnly.

He said in a serious tone, "I didn't expect that I would have the honor of repairing a Legendary weapon with my own hands in my lifetime!"

"Please rest assured, Lord, I will finish it as quickly as possible."

"Very good, you may continue your work now."

"Understood!"

After saying this, the blacksmith Harold directed his two apprentices, Sarle and Boudi, to walk over carefully and gather all the materials from the Lizardman Sovereign together.

As for Cao Xing, he went to the blacksmith shop's storage chest.

Then, he clicked to open it.

As soon as it opened,

more than a dozen spears immediately appeared inside, ranging from Gold quality to Epic quality.

Among them were also a large number of light armors, leather armors, and so on.

Cao Xing collected them all into his backpack.

[Obtained: Saber-toothed Spear (Gold) * 11]

[Obtained: Saber-toothed Storm Spear (Orange) * 1]

[Obtained: Soul-Severing Cursed Spear (Unknown Quality) * 1]

[Obtained: Tiger King Coat (Gold) * 5]

[Obtained: Tiger Bone Light Armor (Purple) * 27]

[Obtained: Tiger King Light Armor (Gold) * 5]

…

He had harvested a large amount of Gold and Purple equipment all at once.

Cao Xing was overjoyed.

These were the spoils from taking down those saber-toothed tigers last time.

He glanced at the attributes.

Those Gold spears and light armors provided high armor while also offering decent mobility and attack power.

They were very suitable for the Dragon Blood Warriors.

As for the leather armors, they could be given to the agile units in the territory, such as the Nightmare Archers, Frost Archers, and the like.

The two spears were quite special.

One was Epic quality, and the other was of unknown quality.

He looked at their attributes.

[Soul-Severing Cursed Spear (Unknown Quality)]

[Quality: Unknown]

[Attack Power: 1815 ~ 1972]

[Equipment Level: Level 50+]

[Unique Effect: Soul-Severing Curse (Reduces the target's armor by 10%, and causes them to lose 10% of their HP within 60 seconds; this effect can be applied to Legendary creatures at most)]

(Note: The HP loss effect can be triggered at most twice.)

(Equipment Description: Originally the spearhead of the Legendary weapon — Soul-Taker Spear; after passing through the hands of the expert blacksmith Harold, it has recovered a bit of divine power.)

…

Seeing the attributes above, a look of confusion appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

"I remember… wasn't the curse effect on this spearhead unable to affect Legendary creatures?"

"After being forged by Harold, it can actually inflict this curse effect even on Legendary creatures."

This was an astonishing improvement!

You have to know, Hero-level units like Dragon Speakers have HP that exceeds ten million.

And Legendary creatures must be even more terrifying!

However, this weapon could actually reduce the enemy's HP by a percentage. If you stabbed an enemy with it, it would be like hitting a major artery!

All he could say was that it truly lived up to being a Legendary weapon!

Even broken, it was still so powerful.

With a look of satisfaction, Cao Xing checked the other weapon.

…

[Saber-toothed Storm Spear (Orange)]

[Quality: Epic]

[Equipment Level: Level 50+]

[Attack Power: 1572 ~ 1641]

[Effect ①: Strength +300, Agility +200, Attack Speed +20%]

[Effect ②: Armor Pierce (Ignores 20% of the enemy's armor when attacking)]

[Effect ③: Saber-toothed Storm (35% chance when attacking to activate the residual power of the Saber-toothed Storm, dealing damage to surrounding enemies, lasting 60 seconds, with a 3-minute trigger interval)]

(Note: This spear was forged by forging expert — Harold Iceberg.)

…

"Percentage-based armor ignore, very strong!"

As an Epic-level weapon, its damage output was still very terrifying.

Cao Xing put it into his backpack with satisfaction, then walked straight out of the blacksmith shop.

In the territory, he began to consider what to do next.

"In my backpack, there are still four Expert-level Emblems that can be used."

"This thing can directly transform high-level talents into Expert-level, and there are many people in my territory who need this."

For example, the Poison Master Sabina, the painter Edward, and the Tree Spirit Encyclopedia, Juliette.

Besides that, Cao Xing could also use it to upgrade his [Command] skill.

This skill could increase the attack power and morale of all friendly units by a percentage, which was still very powerful.

Just as he was preparing to use it on himself,

a petite figure walked over quickly.

"Big Brother."

A crisp voice rang out.

Cao Xing looked up and asked with confusion,

"Little Chuchu, what's wrong?"

The little girl trotted to Cao Xing's side and said with an innocent face,

"Um… Big Brother, last time you gave me the Master-level Heart of Power, and after I broke through to a Tier 6 Mechanic, the system rewarded me with two blueprints."

"At that time on the Oracle Battlefield, the battle was quite intense, so I didn't give them to you…"

Cao Xing was stunned, and then he remembered this matter.

After a Mechanic breaks through to Master, they obtain two blueprints for creating mechanical creatures.

At this point, the Mechanic truly begins to show their edge!

As long as there is an Advanced Mechanical Factory in the territory, combined with these two blueprints, one can achieve large-scale unit production.

This is also the main source of troops for most lords in the mid-to-late stages of the game.

Moreover, the resources required for this type of unit production model are much less, making it much more convenient than training a resident.

Even if they die in battle, they can be produced again, so it's not painful at all.

"It's okay, Little Chuchu, let me see the blueprints."

"Okay, Big Brother…"

Tong Chuchu stretched out her little hand, took out two blueprints from her backpack, and handed them to Cao Xing.

[Obtained: Predator Robot Production Blueprint]

[Obtained: Counter-Attacker Robot Production Blueprint]

…

He glanced at the attributes.

[Predator Robot Production Blueprint (Elite)]

[Blueprint Effect: Can batch produce Level 50 Elite Predator Robots in the Mechanical Factory, possessing skills such as 'Environmental Camouflage', 'Small Missile Launch', 'Mechanical Claw Attack', 'Self-Destruct', etc.]

(Note: Each Predator Robot will occupy 2 population.)

[Materials Required: Advanced Mechanical Factory, Frost White Crystal * 100, Refined Iron * 100, Copper * 100, Mithril * 20]

…

…

[Counter-Attacker Robot Production Blueprint (Common)]

[Blueprint Effect: Can batch produce Level 50 Counter-Attacker Robots in the Mechanical Factory, possessing skills such as 'Mobile Shooting', 'Blade Cutting', 'Self-Destruct', etc.]

(Note: Each Counter-Attacker Robot will occupy 1 population.)

[Materials Required: Advanced Mechanical Factory, Frost White Crystal * 50, Refined Iron * 30, Copper * 30, Mithril * 10]

…

The strength of the robots in these two blueprints is different.

One is a Common creature, and the other is an Elite creature.

Of course, their areas of expertise are also different.

However, they have one thing in common: both types of robots have a self-destruct skill.

This is also one of the most troublesome points about Mechanics in the late game.

After each robot's HP hits zero, it enters a self-destruct state, dealing damage to surrounding enemies.

Moreover, the damage coefficient is very high.

If a Mechanic, regardless of cost, makes all the robots self-destruct, even a Commander-level creature of the same tier cannot withstand it.

Of course, this would be very expensive.

Average lords simply can't afford to play like that.

But given the strength of Cao Xing's territory, he could actually try playing this way.

Cao Xing thought with a smile on his lips.

"The materials needed to produce these two types of robots are quite simple; I can enter unit production mode next!"