Chapter 33: Bionic War Machine

When discussing a mage, what is the most fascinating aspect?
Elemental explosions?
Alchemical reconstruction?
The mystery of curses?
None of these.
For the great mages whose names are etched into the epic poems of vast history, the most captivating quality is none other than their precise prophecies.
Merlin, the court mage, prophesied the birth of the Red Dragon of Britain.
Prophecy is the foreknowledge of the future, the plucking of the strings of time, and the foundation upon which the present is grasped. Any mage proficient in prophecy will immerse themselves in history, facilitating the occurrence of all things, fulfilling the prophecy, and shaping the future into the image they already know.
To Qian Gu, the power of prophecy is the acquisition of intelligence.
A whole host of divination spells—from "True Strike," which provides an extra 20 points of insight, to "Comprehend Languages," which reveals the meaning of any tongue; from "Speak with Animals," which allows communication with beasts, to "Commune with Nature," which asks questions of the wild; from "True Seeing," which pierces through all disguises, to "Precognition," which reveals a limited glimpse of the future.
Most of these spells lack direct, overwhelming destructive power and exist primarily as support.
But!
Their utility must never be underestimated!
Used well, they can directly reverse the tide of battle, determine the outcome of a fight, or even decide life and death.
Hm?
Just as he rounded a corner, Qian Gu’s heart skipped a beat.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he acted decisively, waving his hand to cast a shroud of darkness. He enveloped the group in a field of light-suppression, blocking the lasers firing from some unknown source.
Those lasers were dense, woven together like a spider’s web, far thicker than the laser corridor in *Resident Evil*. If they were to hit, they would likely tear a person into a pile of charred, minced meat.
At the same time, a massive mountain of muscle leapt out from the darkness.
It was Arnold!
As Qian Gu’s created being, whose initial purpose was that of an absolute bodyguard and killing machine, he was now fully utilizing all the knowledge and cognition instilled in him by Qian Gu.
With four buffs still active and the "Enlarge" spell in effect, his four-meter frame and eightfold increase in weight allowed his every movement to easily shred the gelatinous air and crush adult Xenomorphs.
His opponents, however, were "human."
Yes.
"Human"—androids.
They stood three meters tall, featuring six spider-like articulated legs. On their ribcages were high-energy laser emitters and Gauss weapons, with a small rocket launcher at the abdomen. Their heads were the only parts that could be considered human, yet even their eyes had been modified to transmit received audio and video signals back to a control console.

They were less like androids and more like terrifying machines of war.
And there were three of them!
They stood side by side; the laser emitters paused for a fleeting moment before lighting up again, intent on shredding everyone who emerged from the darkness.
But!
Arnold had descended.
With his massive size and immense weight, a single touch sent the middle war machine flying seven or eight meters away. Its super-alloy skeleton twisted, and the energy reactor housed within was nearly shattered.
At the same time, two flames bloomed behind Arnold.
It was Zheng Zha and Mou Gang!
Using Arnold’s massive frame as cover, the two closed the distance and unleashed their own fierce attacks as they neared the war machines.
Evil flames soared, and red fire flowed like water.
Mou Gang took a step, stamping his footprint into the alloy floor. With a wave of his hand, he struck with a classic palm and fist technique, his internal energy erupting into that searing, malevolent flame, engulfing the war machine on his right.
In just a few seconds, the outermost bionic shell melted away, exposing the internal structure.
He followed up with two piercing kicks, bending the war machine’s front legs and forcing it to crouch. He then launched himself for a knee strike, grabbing the machine's bionic skull and slamming it against his own rising knee.
The malevolent flames on his hands scorched the synthetic skin, and the collision of his hard kneecap nearly punched through the war machine’s cranium.
*Crack—*
With a twist and a pull, the entire head was ripped from the war machine, dragging half of a sparking mechanical spine along with it.
His flaming hands then performed a "Black Tiger Steals the Heart" maneuver, ripping out the head and then the energy reactor as well.
On the other side.
Zheng Zha’s fighting style was significantly more aggressive than Mou Gang’s.
He was enveloped in a layer of red flame that flowed like water. Compressing his vampiric energy and the red flames to his current limit, the color turned increasingly dark, yet the temperature and corrosiveness only grew more intense. He simply barreled straight into his target.
*Hiss, hiss, hiss—*
It sounded like a massive amount of boiling water instantly vaporizing.
Every inch of the war machine’s bionic skin, and even its super-alloy skeleton, was corroded and ignited upon contact with Zheng Zha, leaving it almost no ability to resist.
Within five or six seconds, Zheng Zha had sunk entirely into the machine. Half of it had already melted, pooling on the floor, with the energy reactor lying lonely in the molten iron, seemingly on the verge of exploding at any moment.
As for the one Arnold had initially struck, it had been dismantled into such a scattered mess that its original form was barely recognizable.
[Destroyed bionic war machine, obtained 300 reward points.]

Hearing the "God" prompt in his ear, Qian Gu raised an eyebrow slightly: "Three times that of a standard Xenomorph. That seems reasonable."
Bionic war machines.
They carried a number of high-tech weapons, such as laser emitters and Gauss guns; their sheer deterrent power was far higher than that of a Xenomorph.
However, in front of the current Zhongzhou Team, this level of intensity didn't amount to much.
All three war machines were destroyed, but their energy reactors remained intact, lying on the ground. Qian Gu picked one up and tossed it into his magical rope space, intending to study it once he returned to the God’s space.
Chu Xuan picked up the remaining two reactors, pushed up his glasses, and a flash of white light glinted across the lenses.
"Continue forward."
...
"Shit!"
In the central control room, Perez was furious.
"Is this the war machine you built? You spent all these years of funding just to produce this piece of junk?"
Disgrace!
It was an absolute disgrace!
Supplied with massive funds every year, yet the war machine they researched was torn to pieces as if it were a toy. If that wasn't a disgrace, what was?
"Report, sir!"
The head of the research department stood up. "The war machine is qualified!"
"Then what is this?"
Perez pointed at the monitor. "Tell me, you call this qualified? A qualified oversized toy?"
"Sir, the test subjects are too strong."
The research head braced himself and gave the answer: "The individual strength of the test subjects far exceeds the specifications. A small number of war machines cannot secure victory; we need to deploy more units."
"Tell me, how many do you need?"
"Thirty."
"I’ll give you the authorization, but!" Perez sneered, "I want you to deliver those test subjects to Dr. Griman’s lab within six hours. Otherwise, you will be the one serving as the test subject."