Chapter Fifty-Eight: Talents of Redstone?
“Village Chief! Village Chief! Our village is saved!”
The village chief’s house was a small, flat-roofed stone dwelling. Led by Er Gou, Mo Fangyuan and Zhang Lingyun entered the humble abode. There were not many items inside, and even with three people squeezed in, there was still room to spare.
“This village chief might not be so simple,” Mo Fangyuan thought.
Unlike the other village houses he had seen, the walls here were covered with what looked like design diagrams, and wooden parts were stacked in the corner. The elderly chief wore glasses, marking him as a learned man.
“Brave heroes, Er Gou has already told me of your deeds…”
“…Thank you for everything you’ve done for the village. I have little to reward you with…”
Supported by Er Gou, the old chief managed to sit up on the bed.
“As you can see, I fear my time is nearly up.”
His white beard drooped sadly, and a bitter smile tugged at his lips.
“The diagrams on the wall are my lifelong efforts to repair and perfect the creation plans for the Iron Golem. They may not be entirely flawless, but it’s the only thing of value I possess…”
“Iron Golem???”
Mo Fangyuan was taken aback; he hadn’t expected anyone to know of such things, let alone have the skill to improve upon them.
“Believe me, it may not be perfect, but if you truly manage to build it, it will be a formidable force…”
Seeing Mo Fangyuan’s doubtful expression, the chief struggled to explain its power.
“It is a true machine, fearless of death… Its attacks are potent; a single punch can slay a zombie…”
“No, I’m not doubting you…”
Mo Fangyuan had thought his journey would only yield some useful helpers, but now…
He stared at the old chief, his eyes practically glowing with greed.
From the chief’s words, Mo Fangyuan was certain this elder possessed real talent!
To create something like an Iron Golem in such a closed-minded era was proof of genius.
“This is talent! Extraordinary talent!”
“The matter of the Iron Golem can wait! This person, I must have!”
He could barely suppress the urge to salivate.
Stifling his drool, Mo Fangyuan spoke righteously.
“Chief, how can you speak so gloomily?”
“What inheritance? That’s nonsense!”
“Your village has now joined our Block Kingdom; you are one of us now. Your life is something we must protect!”
“Rest assured, your illness is not serious; we can cure it!”
The particle effects and cold body weren’t considered grave illness in the Block World.
It was merely extreme cold and frostbite.
It wasn’t too troublesome—just staying somewhere warm for a while would help. But that wasn’t possible now; the chief’s condition was clearly very advanced. Even warming him up now would hardly save him.
“Zhang Lingyun, your task awaits! Failure is not an option; use the same method as you did for me yesterday!”
This was the moment for Zhang Lingyun, the fire mage, to shine.
Upon reaching level thirty, Zhang Lingyun had gained an active skill called Warm Current, which could dispel negative cold-related effects from block people.
“Ah, but I still haven’t recovered from yesterday…”
She began to protest, but seeing the chief’s condition, she fell silent.
“Leave it to me!”
With a deep breath, Zhang Lingyun approached the bed, pressing her hands together and exhaling long and slow. Under the surprised gazes of Er Gou and the chief, red glowing particles began to appear between her palms.
She opened her hands and touched the chief’s pale, stiff thigh.
The Warm Current skill activated, sending several red particles into the chief’s body under her control.
Gradually, his pale thigh regained its normal color, and the floating white particles beside it faded, some disappearing entirely.
“This is truly miraculous!”
The chief felt his strength returning and could now sense his legs again.
“Is this the healing magic the books spoke of?”
“A true genius!” Mo Fangyuan thought.
For a native to know about magic was rare; Mo Fangyuan’s confidence in the chief grew stronger.
After a while, Zhang Lingyun stopped casting Warm Current; by now, the chief’s leg had fully recovered.
“Your Majesty, I feel drained…”
The chief felt refreshed, but Zhang Lingyun was exhausted, her legs weak, barely able to walk.
“Hahaha! You’re the hero today! Once we return to the kingdom, I’ll grant you a day—no, half a day—of leave!”
Mo Fangyuan offered his most enticing reward.
“Your Majesty?”
Er Gou was puzzled, but the chief caught the term instantly. Realization dawned, and he was startled, immediately rising from bed and kneeling.
His newly healed legs were not yet accustomed, making his movements awkward.
“Your subject, Fang Zhi, thanks Your Majesty for your healing! Unable to repay, I pledge myself to your service!”
The words of a learned man were indeed different; Mo Fangyuan barely understood him, but realized he had inadvertently revealed himself.
“Your Majesty?”
Er Gou, hearing this, was shocked as well. To think he had been traveling with the king! He promptly knelt beside the chief.
“Your subject, Er Gou, greets Your Majesty. Long live the king!”
The chief had once taught him how to address royalty, and Er Gou remembered every word, never expecting to actually use it.
“Hahaha, why say such things? All block people are equal; there’s no need for such formality.”
Mo Fangyuan laughed awkwardly, unable to explain further.
“No, Your Majesty! You saved us! It is only right for subjects to do this…”
After some back-and-forth, Mo Fangyuan finally persuaded Chief Fang Zhi and Er Gou to rise.
“It’s late already. Zhang Lingyun, you must be exhausted—go find a room and rest. Er Gou, distribute these supplies to the villagers.”
With the two gone, only Mo Fangyuan and Chief Fang Zhi remained.
Mo Fangyuan wasted no time.
“Old Fang, can you tell me about the Iron Golem?”
He was curious how the chief had managed such a feat.
“Your Majesty, please, just call me Fang Zhi…”
“The Iron Golem plans were found when I was young, amid the ruins of an ancient kingdom, along with a paper about redstone.”
“When I found the plans, they were severely damaged, much of it illegible.”
“I learned about redstone from the accompanying paper.”
“It’s been over thirty years now…”
“Unfortunately, redstone is too profound; I could only grasp a little, but in these thirty years, the Iron Golem plans have been nearly perfected.”
As if presenting a treasure, Fang Zhi took out the plans he had spent thirty years refining.
“I knew it! The Iron Golem has indeed been modified…”
Mo Fangyuan was delighted.
A quick glance showed the materials required: iron, redstone, and a bit of gold.
Iron was the main component, redstone secondary, and gold the least.
The Block Kingdom still had one block of redstone left—enough to craft a single Iron Golem.