Chapter 61: Clay Golems

Jodon was highly efficient, delivering the materials Sunan needed the very next day. Sunan promptly directed the workers to transport the materials to the temporarily constructed laboratory, preparing to manufacture his first golem puppet.

The main material for the clay golem was clay—a soil that was sticky and contained very few sand grains, making it difficult for moisture to pass through and offering excellent plasticity.

To create a clay golem, approximately 0.5 tons of clay was required, along with a small amount of silver, crystals, and the most crucial item: a soul core.

The lowest-tier clay golem could use a gemstone as a soul core, but such golems would have extremely low intelligence and could only perform simple tasks.

For instance, they could clean a designated area, move objects, or even smash things.

In his previous life, Sunan had crafted numerous clay golems, and now, revisiting this familiar task, he quickly became adept once again.

After more than half an hour, a clay body approximately two and a half meters tall had taken shape on the spacious workbench.

Its face was somewhat square, lacking a neck, with a broad and sturdy chest. Its thick arms hung down to its knees, with short but relatively nimble fingers. The legs were only about one-third the length of its body, and its large, flat feet provided stability.

The chest of the clay golem was still open, revealing a complex array of enchanted runes within.

Sunan placed the engraved gemstone inside and closed the recess, then began to chant the activation spell.

The final step in creating a golem was to activate it, imbuing it with life.

As the incantation flowed from his lips, the energy particles around him suddenly surged to life, swiftly converging from all directions and rushing into the clay golem's body.

Also flowing in was elemental magical energy from the ley line node.

As the energy poured in, the clay golem's body gradually began to change, a vitality unlike that of living flesh began to grow and swell within its clay form.

The entire process lasted over ten minutes.

Eventually, the magical energy began to wane, and the energy particles settled into calm.

*Rustle!*

The clay golem on the workbench suddenly moved, and its massive, bulky body sat up, its rigid face staring blankly at Sunan.

"It worked."

A smile of satisfaction appeared on Sunan's face as he pointed at a nearby box and commanded, "Move the box outside."

"Yes, master."

The clay golem responded with a deep, muted voice, then jumped off the workbench, landing heavily on the ground with a thud.

Its movements were a bit clumsy at first, but it quickly adapted, effortlessly carrying the heavy box outside.

Sunan nodded inwardly.

Clay golems were incredibly useful laborers, especially since they consumed little energy.

With a full charge of energy, they could work continuously for four or five days.

When their energy was nearly depleted, they could quickly recharge by connecting to the ley line node's array.

They were truly the best kind of laborers!

"The most expensive part of creating a clay golem is that gemstone. The rest—clay, a bit of silver, brass, and crystals—are relatively inexpensive."

"The cost to create a clay golem is only about ten gold coins. In the long run, it's much more cost-effective than hiring workers, and the efficiency is higher."

Sunan immediately decided to produce ten clay golems in the next couple of days to expedite the construction of the base.

As for iron golems, he would have to wait until the puppet factory was up and running before he could start making those.

After all, metal golems required more advanced skills and equipment.

Unlike clay golems, which could be made with just a simple workbench.

Time flew by, and the Month of Revival arrived.

The snow melted, and the fields began to show signs of vibrant spring.

With ten clay golems dedicated to the construction, the speed of the base's development surged dramatically.

Heavy stones that required several workers to lift could often be handled by a clay golem in one go, leaving the uneducated workers gaping in astonishment.

Kyi visited several times and, after witnessing the clay golems at work, his eyes immediately lit up.

"These things are born to be heavy lifters!"

Kyi instantly entertained the idea of forming a clay golem logistics unit. Even after learning that the cost of a clay golem was over ten gold coins, he remained undeterred.

"Even if it's expensive, it's still cheaper than the Blackrock Cavalry! The impact on our logistical capabilities during warfare would be revolutionary."

"If we could build a logistics unit with these, the pressure on logistics during battles would be greatly alleviated!"

Unable to resist Kyi's enthusiasm, Sunan eventually agreed to supply him with a batch of clay golems once the base's manpower needs were satisfied.

It was worth mentioning that after reclaiming Shimmering Territory, Kyi had swiftly halted the export of Blackstone Iron.

The black iron produced in the Blackstone mining area would now exclusively supply Shimmering Territory, to arm the military and expand the Blackrock Cavalry.

Expanding military strength remained the top priority for Shimmering Territory.

After all, there was still a watchful Marquis Jinyan nearby.

To expand the Blackrock Cavalry, the first issue to address was the supply of secondary dragon blood potions.

Currently, Shimmering Territory had only around sixty or seventy Blackscale Lizardmen captives, and the amount of blood that could be extracted each month was limited.

The resulting secondary dragon blood potions were far from sufficient to support the rapid expansion of the Blackrock Cavalry.

Kyi had fretted over this matter and approached Sunan to discuss it several times.

In response, Sunan had considered numerous solutions.

For example, extracting blood from the Invisible Dragon.

The bloodline concentration of the Invisible Dragon far exceeded that of ordinary Blackscale Lizardmen.

Just one dragon could provide more blood materials each month than that group of captives combined.

However, after much thought, Sunan ultimately dismissed this idea.

If he continually extracted blood from the Invisible Dragon, it would significantly slow its bloodline enhancement rate.

That was unacceptable to Sunan.

While helping his territory grow was essential, his own strength improvement could not be neglected.

Hodge's appearance had served as a wake-up call.

Though the Starlight Continent was currently an elemental desert, many hidden powers still existed.

A legendary knight like Hodge had forced Sunan to expend nearly thirty rune stones to defeat him; if a stronger enemy appeared, he might not even have the luxury of escaping.

Thus, for his own safety, he could not afford to slow down his growth!

After thorough consideration, Sunan finally devised a feasible solution.

That was to find a substitute for the secondary dragon blood potions!

Given that the Blackrock Cavalry would likely continue to expand, this substitute needed to be mass-producible and cost-effective.

This ruled out potions.

After much contemplation, Sunan's gaze finally fell upon magical plants.

Though he didn't recall any magical plants that met his criteria in his memory, it didn't matter; if none existed, he would cultivate them himself.

With the Synthesis Cube in hand, he naturally had a greater advantage in cultivating new magical plants than other wizard apprentices.

"I've got some ideas regarding the potions; give me a bit more time to figure it out," Sunan said.

Kyi, who had complete faith in his brother, visibly relaxed at his words.

Suddenly, Kyi remembered something and asked Sunan, "You mentioned before about recruiting apprentices from the territory. What's that about?"

"Once the base is completed, many areas will require dedicated personnel for maintenance. I plan to train them myself and see if I can uncover a few wizard apprentice prospects along the way."

Upon hearing this last line, Kyi's spirits lifted.

Blackstone City had rapidly developed and reclaimed Shimmering Territory largely due to Sunan's presence as a wizard apprentice.

The importance of having a wizard apprentice for the development of a territory had been proven.

If they could cultivate a few more wizard apprentices, it would be a tremendous boon!

With that thought, Kyi immediately patted his chest and promised to ensure that Sunan had a good pool of candidates.

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