The disappeared church, exchange blueprints! (5400)

The Old King continued to narrate.

"The Ice Crystal Kingdom has existed for nearly nine hundred years, and I have lived for over nine hundred years."

"More than nine hundred years… equivalent to the lifespan of twenty generations of an ordinary person—"

"I watched with my own eyes as the Ice Crystal Kingdom went from disorder to order, and as commoners went from being displaced and living in constant peril to having the right to survive. My heart is filled with relief."

"I also know that the oppression of commoners by the nobles still exists."

"But compared to that cannibalistic period, it is truly much better, and I also do not know how to completely eradicate these stubborn ailments."

"Lord Cao Xing, you come from another world. What is the situation like in your world?"

The Old King asked with a curious look on his face.

Cao Xing pondered for a moment, then replied, "In our world, there is no distinction between commoners and nobles, nor do people possess powerful personal martial might."

"Although classes still exist, people rely more on their own efforts and talent to cross class boundaries."

"Everyone has an equal opportunity to receive education, and they will not be buried and wantonly trampled upon just because of a humble birth."

"The barriers between classes are not strictly impenetrable; instead, there are many upward channels that keep society vibrant."

Upon hearing this, a contemplative look appeared in the Old King's eyes.

"Equal education and breaking down classes?"

"It is indeed a good method, but pushing it through is extremely difficult—"

"After all, our world still places supremacy on martial might. It's impossible to give Tier 5 or Tier 6 powerhouses the same treatment as commoners, and even more impossible to cripple one's own strength. Doing so would be equivalent to a tiger without its fangs."

Having governed a country for many years, the Old King saw straight to the point and pinpointed the biggest gap between the two worlds.

At this moment, the Old King's eyes lit up.

"Perhaps there is another method to achieve the egalitarian society you spoke of."

After a moment, he shook his head again, negating this thought.

"I probably won't live to see that time."

"After I die, I estimate that even the Ice Crystal Kingdom will cease to exist."

Cao Xing asked, "Is it that serious?"

The King nodded slightly, "As you can see, our world still prioritizes martial might."

"And I am the only Legendary of the Ice Crystal Kingdom."

"If a country lacks a Legendary powerhouse, it is simply impossible to suppress other countries. In their eyes, it is nothing more than a piece of fat meat."

Cao Xing asked, "Then has His Majesty the King never thought of cultivating a successor?"

The Old King chuckled, "Of course I have thought about it."

"However… breaking through to Legendary is too difficult."

"For so many years, the entire royal family hasn't had many existences reach Hero-level, let alone Legendary."

"Gaul, whom you met last time, has pretty good talent. I originally planned to cultivate him as the next successor."

"But there isn't enough time—"

Cao Xing also knew what the Old King meant by not having enough time.

At this moment, the King continued, "Therefore, I have been prepared for a long time."

"After I die, I will send Gaul to the Orchid Kingdom, and by the way, hand the Kingdom Holy Sword over to the King of Orchid as well."

"And then see if there is any hope of restoring the country."

"Of course—provided that we can all survive the impact of the Blood Legion."

He said it as if he were talking about a completely mundane matter.

On the back of the goshawk, everyone fell into silence.

At this moment, Cao Xing changed the subject and said,

"Right, Your Majesty the King."

"This time, I wiped out many members of the Church of Light and seem to have gained quite a few honor points again."

"Do you think you can let me exchange for some more rewards?"

He had a full 150,000 honor points on him!

Although the Church of Light had basically been eradicated by now, these honor points could not be wasted.

Every bit earned counts.

The Old King was slightly taken aback, glanced over, and noticed the number of honor points on Cao Xing.

Then he smiled, shook his head, and said, "I must be truly senile. Knowing that we were going to eliminate the Church of Light this time, I actually forgot to revoke this bounty."

"It really let you pick up a bargain—"

Hearing this, Cao Xing also laughed embarrassedly.

Of course, he wasn't worried that the Old King would renege.

After all, with the Ice Crystal Kingdom's vast wealth and power, it was impossible for them to withhold even these 150,000 honor points.

The Old King said, "Although these honor points of yours can be exchanged for rewards, I don't have any new Legendary equipment for you here."

Cao Xing said, "It doesn't matter, exchanging for other things is fine too."

"For example, those Neros Cannons and the like, giving me eight or ten of them is fine too."

The Old King glanced at Cao Xing again.

"Almost forgot, you also have your own territory. In sufficient quantities, this kind of cannon is indeed an excellent tool of war."

"Even we rely on Neros Cannons to wipe out many enemies on the border battlefield."

Speaking of this, the Old King changed the topic.

"However, if you want to have more Neros Cannons, you won't be able to exchange for very many just by relying on exchanges."

"I suggest you directly exchange for our cannon blueprints and then forge them yourself back in your territory. Are you willing?"

Cao Xing's eyes instantly lit up, and he replied without hesitation, "Of course I am willing!"

After all, compared to finished cannons, blueprints were much more important!

Hearing this, the Old King nodded slightly, "Since that's the case, the cannon blueprints will count as 100,000 honor points."

"As for the remaining 50,000, what would you like to exchange them for?"

Cao Xing was delighted. He originally thought that these 150,000 honor points could at most exchange for one blueprint, but it turned out there was a surplus of 50,000.

This was something he hadn't really thought through yet.

"Your Majesty the King, does our Ice Crystal Kingdom have any other powerful tools of war?"

The Old King chuckled, "Aside from Neros Cannons and Destroyer Siege Crossbows, there are also Demonic Bull Chariots, Fire Meteors, and so on."

"Specifically, you can go take a look at the Quartermaster Department."

"Alright, no problem!"

Cao Xing nodded, feeling a bit expectant in his heart.

At this moment, Cao Xing remembered something else and asked again, "Right, Your Majesty the King, I have another question I'd like to ask for advice on."

Through tonight's cooperation and the conversation just now, the Old King's impression of Cao Xing could be said to be getting better and better.

At this moment, besides being allies, the two of them had added an extra layer of identity as friends.

He chuckled, "If I said I wouldn't answer, would you not ask?"

"I would definitely still ask." Cao Xing smiled.

Then he asked directly, "I want to know if Your Majesty knows any powerful physicians or priests,"

"who can help repair physical injuries."

"There is a member in my territory whose vocal cords were damaged. I want to let her recover her voice."

Hearing this, a look of contemplation appeared in the Old King's eyes.

"Means to repair vocal cords?"

"The Holy See should have them. The healing abilities of those Saint Light Sages are still very strong; they can even achieve the regeneration of severed limbs."

"The Holy See?"

Cao Xing was slightly stunned, "You mean, that ancient organization?"

The Old King replied, "Yes, people from the Holy See once contacted me."

"They also wanted the demigod artifact in my hands, and promised me that after the Blood Legion descends, they would protect the kingdom."

"However, the condition is that all citizens of the Ice Crystal Kingdom must worship them."

"I do not want the Ice Crystal Kingdom to become a country ruled by religious belief, so I refused."

Cao Xing asked somewhat doubtfully, "What kind of force is the Holy See anyway?"

"Can they help fight against the Blood Legion?"

The Old King shook his head, "Useless, you can't count on them."

"This ancient organization was still very active ten thousand years ago, and its believers were spread across almost all parts of the world. If it were back then, they might have taken action against the Blood Legion."

"However, this organization, for reasons unknown, suddenly abandoned its long-managed forces a few thousand years ago. Overnight, all followers and priests completely disappeared."

"In recent years, they have gradually vanished from the continent. According to my speculation, they seem to be preserving their strength,"

"or perhaps waiting for something."

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

"Vanished and preserving strength?"

He turned his head to look at Isabelle beside him and asked, "Do you know what happened?"

This Saint Light priest also heard the Old King's words and shook her head, saying, "The time of my death was about ten thousand years ago."

"During this time, I also do not know what changes have occurred in the Holy See—"

Her brows furrowed slightly, because even she herself was hearing about the events that happened to the Holy See in recent years for the first time.

No wonder that for so long after resurrection, Isabelle had never encountered a single person from the Holy See.

The Old King continued, "The Holy See hides very well. Unless they voluntarily appear, no one can find the members of this organization."

"Therefore, if you want the Saint Light Sages inside to help repair your friend's injuries, it is estimated to be an impossible matter."

Speaking of this, the Old King changed the subject.

"However, it is not without any hope."

Cao Xing raised his head to look at the Old King again.

"This subordinate of yours has experiences quite similar to a friend I knew when I was young."

"She also lost her voice due to certain reasons."

"However, by a stroke of luck and with the power of a certain heritage, this woman recovered her voice and gained a special ability."

"Back when I was young, even I couldn't beat her."

Cao Xing asked doubtfully, "Your Majesty the King, what is the strength of this friend of yours?"

The King said, "More than a hundred years ago, she was already preparing to break through to the Legendary realm."

"With so many years passing, given her talent, she should have reached Legendary by now."

Cao Xing felt a slight shock in his heart.

Good grief, yet another Legendary figure!

If it's an existence of this level, there might really be hope to help Gwyneth recover her voice!

Cao Xing asked again, "Then may I ask, where should I go to find her?"

The Old King thought for a moment, "I haven't heard any news of her for several hundred years either."

"As far as I know, she finally headed toward the Orchid Kingdom."

"Perhaps you can go take a look at their capital, Spirit Orchid Main City. Her name is Rosie of Riversea Castle."

Spirit Orchid Main City, Rosie of Riversea Castle—

Cao Xing memorized this somewhat peculiar name in his heart.

As it happened, he still had two acquaintances in the Orchid Kingdom,

Marita Vargas and the Princess: Fran Vargas.

Both of their statuses in the Orchid Kingdom were very high. With their influence, they should be able to find this Rosie of Riversea Castle…

"Many thanks, Your Majesty the King." Cao Xing expressed his gratitude solemnly.

The Old King waved his hand, then sat alone on the back of the hawk, beginning to adjust the chaotic aura on his body.

Meanwhile, Sarah came behind Cao Xing and said respectfully, "My Lord, these are the items dropped from that bishop. Please take a look."

A trace of a smile also appeared on Cao Xing's face as he took the things from her hands.

[Acquired: Archbishop Sullivan's Dominator-level Soul (Tier 8)]

[Acquired: Radiant Relic Staff (Orange)]

[Acquired: master-level elemental crystal * 85]

Obviously, the items dropped from Sullivan were likewise quite good.

However, Cao Xing did not check them immediately, but prepared to process them uniformly after returning to the territory.

The Spirit Vision Goshawk King was very fast. After about twenty minutes, they were almost arriving at the Eternal Frost Main City.

After a night of hurrying and fighting, the sky was already bright at this moment.

The dawn light shot out from the horizon, illuminating the backs of the dragon and the hawk.

Making the soft feathers and hard scales on their bodies shine brilliantly.

[Attention Survivors, you have reached the 29th day of the development period. There are still 16 days left until the next wave of monster city sieges…]

[Today's Weather: Sunny, accompanied by a breeze, with a minimum temperature of -56°C.]

As the system prompt rang out,

Survivors in the chat channel excitedly shared what they saw and heard, as well as their harvests from yesterday.

There were also some Survivors who discovered special areas or dungeons and were looking for other Survivors to form teams.

The chat channel was buzzing with heated discussions.

No one knew that last night, under the cover of darkness and wind,

a massive force had quietly perished.

The Spirit Vision Goshawk King and the dragon Seraphis were still advancing toward the center of the main city.

Soon, they descended onto the plaza in the center of the royal palace.

Everyone quickly jumped down from the backs of these two giant beasts,

The Old King turned his head and said, "Lord Cao Xing, you can just go directly to the Military Supplies Department to collect the blueprints you need."

"As for what you want to exchange the fifty thousand honor points for, you can also go discuss it with Officer Charles."

"I still have some matters to deal with, so I won't accompany you."

Cao Xing immediately replied, "No problem, Your Majesty the King, go ahead and get busy!"

As the words fell, the Old King disappeared from the spot once more.

Including that Spirit Vision Goshawk King, which also rushed straight into the high sky.

Then, Cao Xing looked at the people around him and said, "Alright, you guys go wait for me at the teleportation array of the East City Gate first. We'll return to the territory together in a moment."

"Understood!"

Everyone quickly turned around and left this place.

As for Cao Xing, he went alone and with familiar ease to the Military Supplies Department.

It was still that officer named Charles from before who came out to receive him.

Upon seeing Cao Xing, Charles immediately greeted him with a smile and said excitedly, "Lord Cao Xing! You're here again!"

"We meet again, Military Supplies Officer Charles."

Then, he got straight to the point and said, "We eliminated quite a few cultists last night and gained some more honor points."

"His Majesty the King said to let me come find you to exchange for the crafting blueprints of the Neros Cannon. Do you see any problem with that?"

This officer was stunned, seemingly not expecting the king to actually open up such precious blueprints for Cao Xing to exchange.

After all, the Neros Cannon was already considered one of the top war tools of their kingdom and would not be easily given to outsiders.

But thinking of this lord's strength and identity, Charles also felt it was only natural.

"Since it is the order of His Majesty the King, naturally there is no problem."

"I will have someone fetch the blueprints right away."

Having said that, he turned around and walked toward the warehouse behind him.

"Wait a moment."

Cao Xing stopped him and continued, "In addition to that, I still have fifty thousand honor points and don't know what to exchange them for."

"Does Officer Charles have any good suggestions?"

A faint smile carried on the officer's face, as if he also understood something.

"Since that's the case, I recommend that Lord Cao Xing exchange for another powerful blueprint, one that is not even inferior to the Neros Cannon. How about it?"

"Oh? What is it?" A trace of interest also appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

"It is the Third-Generation Steel Colossus!"

Charles's eyes carried a look of pride, and then he began to explain, "The Third-Generation Steel Colossus is a war tool recently newly developed by our Kingdom's War Research and Development Department."

"In terms of rarity and R&D difficulty, it far surpasses the Neros Cannon."

"But similarly, if this kind of Steel Colossus can be crafted, it is a massive weapon of slaughter on the battlefield!"

"Not only do they possess Tier 7 destructive power, but they are also huge in size and fearless of pain and death."

"If one thousand units can be batch-produced, the destructive power they cause on the battlefield will be no less than an army of one hundred thousand people!"

Cao Xing also understood the power of this Steel Colossus and immediately said excitedly, "Officer Charles, then exchange this for me!"

"However… I only have fifty thousand honor points left on me. Is it enough to exchange for this blueprint?"

Military Supplies Officer Charles laughed, "It doesn't matter, Lord Cao Xing. Actually, that Neros Cannon blueprint of yours is not open to the outside world at all."

"Since His Majesty the King asked you to come find me, I will definitely give you the best things!"

Hearing this, Cao Xing also laughed.

This was the benefit of having favorability above Intimate.

"Then many thanks to Military Supplies Officer Charles."

The officer waved his hand, "You're welcome."

"Lord Cao Xing, please wait here for a moment. I'll go fetch it for you right away."

"Alright."

Cao Xing stood in place and waited silently.

Before long, Military Supplies Officer Charles brought over two boxes.

Cao Xing opened the boxes and immediately saw two yellowish blueprints.

On one of the blueprints, a huge cannon was depicted, alongside the manufacturing methods for various parts and the assembly process.

On the other blueprint, a huge steel puppet was depicted, with many parts and manufacturing processes alongside it as well.

Unlike ordinary steel puppets, it had a melee weapon slot in its left hand, which could load melee weapons such as greatswords, giant hammers, and flails.

And the right hand was a huge muzzle.

This shape was similar to the [Predator Robot], but even more threatening!

[Acquired: Neros Cannon Crafting Blueprint (Orange) * 1]

[Acquired: Third-Generation Steel Colossus Crafting Blueprint * 1]

With both blueprints in hand, a trace of a smile appeared on Cao Xing's face.

"Many thanks!"

Charles laughed, "Lord Cao Xing is too polite."

"Since your honor points have all been exchanged here, I won't disturb you for now."

"Alright, go get busy."

Soon, this officer left this place.

As for Cao Xing, he took a look at the attributes.

[Neros Cannon Crafting Blueprint]

[Quality: Epic]

[Blueprint Description: Can craft a powerful Neros Cannon, causing large-scale explosive damage to enemies]

[Attack Power: 81,867 ~ 92,317]

[Maximum Range: 15 kilometers]

[Attack Interval: 7.2 seconds/time]

[Attack Power: 81,867 ~ 92,317]

[Attached Effect: Firepower Coverage]

[Armor: 1,500 points]

[Durability: 80,000 / 80,000]

[Required Materials for Construction: Level 21 Energy Tower, Advanced Blacksmith Shop, Fine Iron * 100,000, Copper * 50,000, Mithril * 10,000, Eternal Gold Ingot * 5,000, master-level elemental crystal * 2,500]

"Sure enough, if one wants to craft this kind of cannon, the materials needed are unimaginably numerous!"

"This is far more terrifying in material requirements than a Frost Catapult."

Moreover, Cao Xing discovered one thing.

That was, this kind of Neros Cannon was not crafted in a machinery factory, but forged in a Blacksmith Shop.

In other words, crafting this gadget was the job of a blacksmith like Harold.