Chapter 893: Chapter 891: Improved Magic Puppet
“Hard to say.” Richard was skeptical of the words of the Witch Demon Elder, “Some special equipment on my side requires a very strong power to drive. Even if you create some Skeleton Centurion or Skull Centurion, they might not be able to operate it, and can only be assisted with other machinery.”
“Are you saying that my Magic Puppets are inferior to your iron mechanical things?” Witch Demon Elder Ah Fu felt a bit offended, raising his eyebrows.
Richard shrugged and spoke up, “Isn’t that the case? Just in terms of natural strength, they fall short. Bones are not as hard as steel.”
“I don’t deny what you’re saying, bones are indeed not as hard as steel. But in other aspects, our Magic Puppets are much more useful than your iron lumps, at least they can understand my words.”
“I don’t deny that either,” Richard said, “Magic Puppets are indeed more flexible in practical applications and possess a certain degree of intelligence. In fact, I think it would be better to modify the Magic Puppets a bit.”
“Modify?”
“Yes, modify.” Richard nodded. “In my view, the bones of a White Bone Skeleton like the one you have now, as the casting materials, are just media for storing and transmitting energy, equivalent to a channel facilitating the smooth casting of spell effects.
It can serve many purposes, but using it for storage and transmission of energy is the best. Using it for other supporting or even combat roles is too wasteful.
It’s like a person would never use their heart as a projectile to attack an enemy, nor would they use their internal blood vessels as ropes to try to strangle an enemy.
We can modify this White Bone Skeleton to have its bones serve purely as energy channels, like the Magic Origin inside a wizard, and then use metal as a strong support frame, with specialized Iron Armor as defense, wrapping the entire White Bone Skeleton for use.
Simply put, let the White Bone Skeleton act as a core, and then create more powerful and useful Magic Puppets from this core, adding attributes like high defense, high speed, and special attacks.
Doing so creates an advantage of effectively reducing the consumption of casting materials. After all, once the casting materials are used successfully, they are tightly protected, and even if they are damaged due to other reasons, the external defense and support structures can shield them.
Moreover, the external defense and support structures can be mass-produced, ensuring that this kind of Magic Puppet can survive for a long time. Ordinarily, they can perform a variety of functions relying on the external structures. In special circumstances, they can be quickly reorganized into an army and become the main force in the army.”
“Is that even possible?!”
The Witch Demon Elder listened, though he didn’t say the words, his eyes already expressed this meaning.
Afterward, the Witch Demon Elder seriously considered Richard’s proposal, and when he thought of the army scenes Richard mentioned at the end, his body shivered involuntarily.
To be honest, as a Witch Demon, stuff like the Skeleton Sea was entirely familiar to him. In his memory, he had created Skeleton Seas to face the enemy during his living days, letting thousands of skeletons rush toward the enemy and directly overwhelm them.
However, the more it was like this, the more he knew that the Skeleton Sea seemed grandiose but was, in fact, very fragile.
Because the skeletons that compose the Skeleton Sea have very low individual strength, they are almost like cannon fodder.
This means that while the Skeleton Sea might be able to deal with some ordinary enemies by virtue of its numerical advantage, it would be directly ignored once the enemy became too strong.
Thus, the core combat strength of a Witch Demon has never been the Skeleton Sea, but rather some more advanced Magic Puppets.
Such as Rotten Beldams, Skeleton Warriors, Ancient Corpse Beasts, and Black Knights.
However, Richard’s proposal changed this scenario.
If Richard’s proposal can indeed be realized, a group of two-meter-tall iron skeletons with sturdy shells that move at high speed and have various special attack methods, perhaps still weaker than high-end Magic Puppets, would nonetheless be enough to instill fear in many wizards if they number over a hundred.
After thinking for a while, the Witch Demon Elder suddenly had a thought and looked at Richard, “Hey, speaking of which, isn’t this proposal of yours what you told me before about those Magic Knights?”
“Indeed, it’s similar,” Richard said, “but Magic Knights still have a threshold due to physical reasons, which limits their numbers. If this modified type of Magic Puppet of yours could solve a few key spell problems, their number would be almost endless.”
“But solving these key spell problems isn’t an easy matter,” Witch Demon Elder Ah Fu realistically acknowledged, “not to mention anything else, just externally how to perfectly integrate the structure with the so-called core. I have no idea about this. Additionally, how to externally draw energy from the core and increase the amount of energy storage is also not an easy task.”
“In any case.” The Witch Demon Elder sighed and said to Richard, “To actually realize this matter, it will take a long time. To speak honestly, rather than waiting for these improved Magic Puppets to succeed, you might as well hire a few more people to help out.”
Here, the Witch Demon Elder suddenly noticed something peculiar, and looked up to ask Richard, “Yeah, why don’t you hire more people and develop your own force? Over these months, I noticed you are extremely busy, spinning around like a top. Developing a personal force and letting trusted subordinates help would be better, wouldn’t it?”
Richard smiled without answering.
The Witch Demon Elder earnestly asked, “Seriously, why don’t you develop a personal force?”
“Do you want to hear the answer?” Richard looked at the Witch Demon Elder.
“Yes.” The Witch Demon Elder nodded.
“Alright then,” Richard replied, “There are many reasons why I am not developing a force right now. One of the simplest is that the gains from doing so are not as high as you might imagine.
To give an example, if I want to develop a force and train subordinates, I must personally invest a certain amount of effort to ensure the quality of them, which would additionally consume my time.
One or two would not be much and could be seen as a leisure activity, but when the number increases, it becomes quite a burden. Moreover, a few people alone can’t be of great help; only when the number reaches a certain threshold can they be effective. How much time would I need to invest to reach this level? Half a year? A year? Or several years?
With more people, more issues will be involved. More things would need to be considered, like confidentiality issues, as there are many things I can’t reveal. Also, management issues, like how to utilize everyone reasonably and maintain a certain level of enthusiasm in them? Also, advancement issues, since my research is constantly evolving, how to let them quickly catch up with my thoughts and progress?
Of course, this is just one reason; there are others.”