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Chapter 11 – AT-Field Integration

  Boom! Mizuki leaped from the pza towards the top of the lightcrystal tower, leaving a massive crater and dust cloud.

  Due to the incongruent feeling of donning a new body, his control is imperfect, making each of his movements exaggerated. It couldn’t be helped, his cultivation base is rapidly declining, there’s no time to get used to it. Nevertheless, he had reached his objective.

  Palming the fire-shaped lightcrystal, he tried to sense its texture. Unfortunately, the analog mortal shell isn’t equipped with artificial nerve endings, therefore the ck of precise feedback. He made a mental note to alter the body, but for now, his focus id upon the lightcrystal.

  “The idea of integrating my AT-Field with the lightcrystal is actually pretty simple…” he thought to himself.

  According to the Dao of Undeath pioneered by Lord Ancestor Grimsong Specter, every living thing possessing a soul has an Absolute Territory Field, in which the light of their soul shines upon. It has one of the most important abilities to any and all: bounding the ego and sense of self of a person from the external environment, allowing one to exist as a unique existence. Without an AT-Field, it becomes almost impossible for souls to define their own existences without substantial effort, causing the disintegration of souls into soul fragments, and eventually into soul nutrients scattered in various yers of reality.

  Back in the Human Imperium, most of the undead that exist could be considered heroic souls who have fallen due to various reasons, but their sense of self is so strong that they were able to hold on to their sanity even after death.

  Mizuki is no different, his desire to live has transcended even death itself that he was able to be revived by the necromancers of the Imperium.

  Despite this, not every undead can become an Armored Soul Tribe as it has an even stricter requirement than ‘persisting one’s ego after death’. The primary reason being: one’s AT-Field has to be strong enough that it could manifest in realspace. This base requirement filtered over 99% of Imperium’s undead from ever becoming an Armored Soul Tribe. It was also this basic requirement that birthed unique variations even amongst his kin, with the biggest unique identifier being their AT-Field’s.

  ‘According to historical records, Lord Ancestor Grimsong Specter’s AT-Field is constantly vibrating in such a strange frequency that even photon particles are shattered upon contact, making his figure seemingly draped in a permanent cloak of darkness…’ Mizuki motivated himself, ‘Learning the dimensional ws of this world and altering the frequency of my AT-Field to integrate with the Lightcrystal isn’t an insurmountable task compared to that…’

  As he began experimenting on his AT-Field, the barrier flickered in various hues. Sometimes, a certain part of the barrier ‘rejects’ alien life that are not registered under his consciousness, but other times, the AT-Field pushes back physical matter such as air, wind, or even rocks. The consequences range from insect or other microscopic creatures suddenly crushed to death, to colorful auras floating around.

  The speed of changes were so dramatic, erratic, and random that even those who can’t see the AT-Field could sense what happened.

  …

  “Fortunately, we have finished deploying the [Kekka.” Xuangu Wenren mused himself as he sensed the secondary yer of AT-Field secretly deployed by Mizuki started to wane. The invasion of the native dimensional ws were inevitable, but the two watched closely as the Omyoji’s barrier successfully protected the orbital drop pod.

  Sighing in relief, the white fox muttered, “In total, we used 13 seals instead of the original 9. The four redundant seals should be sufficient in repelling any undesired changes in the near future.”

  “Alright, I’ll leave the defense of the pod to you.” Xuangu Wenren took Omyoji's soul from his Soul Gem and released it into the air.

  With the [Kekka deployed, the pod has turned into a closed environment whose dimensional ws are simir to Holy Terra’s. Any Terran tech would be able to function up to a certain level. The only difference is that the Omyoji’s secret curse art allowed souls to roam freely within the cramped space. Nevertheless, he still preferred to stay within an anti-life container as the soul decay rate is significantly less, so the Omyoji quickly entered Mizuki’s Soul Phyctery, leaving only his shikigami on realspace.

  Closing the door behind him, Xuangu Wenren could feel the disturbance outside.

  The gray dwarves had been informed regarding the disruption, so they aren't bothered much. What worries him is the creatures outside the barrier becoming active.

  The lightcrystal projects some sort of barrier in the form of soft light that strongly rejects the dark miasma released by the Astral Beast. To the dwarves, this boundary of light is a safe haven that shrouded them from sight. However, when Mizuki’s AT-Field has its frequency altered randomly, it sometimes blocks or neutralizes the effect of the lightcrystal, creating a hole in this veil.

  The result was the hidden creatures that couldn’t normally sense what’s happening inside to be aware that in fact, there were a few dozen meat bags, hidden from pin sight. In their perspective, a cn of gray dwarves without their lightcrystal hiding their presence is simir to a turtle with cracked shells. There was only the juicy meat inside, ripe for the taking.

  Thankfully, Xuangu Wenren and Mizuki were already aware of the risk. Mizuki has authorized the transfer of personnel from some of his cohorts into Xuangu’s command. The two wraith originally under Volkodav’s command have been used to scout around the area, whereas the ten soldiers from Captain Varkov, another one of Mizuki’s cohort, require mortal shells to function.

  Taking the position of a runner before their sprint, Xuangu Wenren prepared himself. Unlike his first arrival, he had acclimated sufficiently with his mortal shell, allowing greater control. When he made his move, he accelerated so fast that he broke the sound barrier, yet there was no crater left behind his wake due to his greater control.

  In less than a few seconds, he was already outside the boundary of the lightcrystal. His gaze scanned upon the approaching threat, highlighted by the wraith who were already out there extending the reaches of his senses.

  “These creatures… are part nyctor?” He questioned himself as he inspected them through his soul arts.

  The approaching creatures were a group of reptiles. Although they aren’t gigantic like the dragon lord, their body length is around 3 to 5 meters with almost 3 meters tall. Heavy sediments of earth and metal ores rest upon their back, acting as a camoufge in this environment, but the most distinguished features are the additional mandibles, chitinous scales, paper thin wings, or other types of insect body parts that protrude incongruently on their body.

  As far as Xuangu Wenren can tell, the mutations should be signs of corruption from being exposed to the Astral Beast’s miasma for too long. It should also be the reason why, despite the numerous nyctor assaulting the dwarven encampment recently, they are not devoured or are ignored by the nyctor.

  “The corrupted natives are either being kept as reserve forces by the Nyctor Queen, or are now considered as one of their own…” He made a drawing motion with his finger, using soul energy to engrave soul runes in the air. “In any case, I can’t allow you to get closer. Rank 2 bone-path killer move, [Death by Calcification]!”

  He unleashed his truesoul’s bone-path radiation, creating a milk-white light that spread more than 100 meters away. Anything that touches the pale soft light slowly turns or grows calcium minerals. The soil, rocks, or even fleshy body of the metallic reptile are slowly transmuted into calcium. The creatures screamed in pain as the radiation affected bones within their body the most.

  The strong metallic skeleton that supports their weight is now against themselves. The beasts suffered from extremely severe bone cancer as their own skeleton grew inside their body, eating themselves from within, debilitating and causing internal injuries such as hemorrhage or osteophytes.

  This Rank 2 killer move may ck raw destructive power, but it compensates with an immense area of effect. Like most saturation attacks, its activation demands a significant energy cost, as it indiscriminately transforms the rocky, metallic terrain into a field of razor-sharp bone spurs. The closer to him, the deadlier—the spurs grow longer, their edges honed to lethal precision.

  Not even his own mortal shell was spared. The analog metal body succumbed to calcification, its surface overtaken by creeping calcium growth. A quick assessment revealed that at least 40% of the metal had already been transmuted into bone. Yet, rather than a drawback, this transformation pyed to his advantage. After all, for one who wielded absolute dominion over bone, a skeletal frame was far preferable than metal.

  “Huh…” the lich whispered a moan of amusement at the realization, “Soul Arts are stronger than expected.”

  Xuangu Wenren couldn't help but reveal a faint smile. A significant drop in strength due to the differing dimensional ws was an expected consequence of stepping beyond Mizuki’s AT-Field. However, he quickly noticed an unexpected boon. The absence of light seemed to amplify the efficiency of arts that harnessed negative energy.

  Even so, despite the devastating effect of his saturation attack, he halted its method. The killer move, while potent, still cked the speed needed to swiftly exterminate the reptilian beasts, and time is the most precious resource that he has at the moment.

  Instead, he switched to a more specialized and precise art, “Rank 1 bone-path killer move, [Death by Piercing]!”

  The jagged bone spurs from his previous attack twitched unnaturally, as if possessed by an eerie will of their own. They subtly adjusted their aim, locking onto every lingering soul within the field. Then, without warning, sections of the spurs violently ruptured, splintering into a storm of razor-sharp shards. These bone fragments shot forward like guided projectiles, skewering the unfortunate creatures that had barely survived the initial saturation attack. The battlefield, once littered with struggling remnants, was now reduced to a grisly dispy of impaled bodies, each one a testament to the merciless efficiency of his craft.

  It was instant death.

  Be it snakes, minor insects, and even the metallic reptile herd, they were pierced by the bones from all sorts of angles.

  “Who wants to go first?” Xuangu Wenren threw the inquiry towards his soul gem.

  It took a few seconds before a unique fluctuation was expressed from it, in which the lich immediately complied.

  “Great!” He rushed. “Rank 2 bone-path killer move, [Death by Virulent Corpse Explosion]!” he spoke as he pointed towards one of the biggest reptile corpses amongst the herd, his finger propelled a silvery spark that flew too fast for the mortal eyes to see.

  BOOM! A loud explosion of metal and gore resounded as the one he pointed combusted in silvery confgration. The burning scraps of metallic flesh of the original corpse that fell into any of the nearby corpses spread this silvery fmes. In merely a few seconds, the burning corpses exploded, further spreading the virulent silvery fmes to other locations.

  What’s interesting is that, despite the unnatural force of the explosion, the bones of the corpse that exploded were intact.

  The potent rank 2 offensive killer move was activated in a macabre yet efficient manner, ‘deboning’ corpses with ruthless precision. Xuangu Wenren had no time to spare, and his mastery over bone-path arts shone through, unfettered by the changing environmental conditions that had suddenly enhanced his methods.

  With a sharp csp of his hands, dozens of tons of metallic skeletal bones from the fallen beasts wrenched free from what remains of their corpses, ripping through the air as if drawn by an unseen force. They swirled together, colliding and fusing into a singur, grotesque lump of bone mass. Then, with a seemingly simple snap of his metal-bone fingers, another killer move was activated.

  “Rank 2 bone-path killer move, [Bonesoul Reversal]!

  The grotesque bone mass ignited in pale purple fmes. Under this cold-heat, it convulsed, the rigid structure liquifying at a rate visible to the naked eye. The strange, viscous white liquid produced from the bone mass churned and reshaped itself in a haunting dispy, its ever-shifting form defying the ws of nature. Slowly, the molten bones solidified as the fmes died down, sculpting themselves into a towering figure—a four-metal-tall knight, cd in an unnatural armor of fused bones.

  The most striking feature of this entity y in its grotesque dual torso. The first, human-like, seamlessly connected to the second, a horse’s torso, forming a monstrous centaur-like abomination. Grasped in its massive hands were an oversized nce-and-shield set, far too heavy for any mere mortal to wield. But what truly set this construct apart from other undead horror of this world was its inner workings. Within its slightly exposed ribcage, intricate bone mechanism slowly tickled and shifted, resembling the gears of a machine rather than the ethereal forces of magic or soul arts.

  Xuangu Wenren gazed upon his creation with satisfaction. “Model CK-6, the 6th Generation of Mechanized Undead Cavalry unit, the Bone Centaur Knight! Equipped with three different furnace generators, it boasts unparalleled operational time outside the logistical range of the imperium.” With a sharp flick of his finger, he cast forth one of the undead soldier’s souls from his soul gem.

  The pale monstrosity stirred. Its hollow eye socket fred to life, igniting with a ghastly purple soulfire that burned with eerie intensity. The fmes flickered and coiled, not like ordinary fire, but like grasping, sentient tendrils anchoring the soul into its new mortal shell. The moment the undead soldier's truesoul fused with the construct, the entire armored frame trembled, as if awakening from an eternal slumber.

  A slow, deliberate shudder ran through the bone-pted limbs, joints cracking and locking into pce. Then, with a deep, mechanical groan, the bone centaur knight took its first step, but no more as an empty husk of bone machinery, but a sentient bone mecha, piloted by one of the most elite undying soldiers of the Imperium.

  The knight’s massive nce descended with mechanical precision, its stance shifting subtly as if recalibrating its bance for optimal efficiency. The intricate bone mechanism within its partially exposed ribcage cnked and whirred, their movement eerily smooth, constantly adjusting, compensating, and fine-tuning the minute details with a level of fluidity that should have been impossible for something made of mere bone. It did not move like a construct, it moved like something alive.

  “Command us, lich!” the pale war-machine rasped, its voice distorted, a chorus of spectral wails yered beneath its guttural tone.

  So-sama

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