The Mech Touch

The D-arm survived the lightning baptism.

Ves knew how close it had been. Although the storm only struck 18 times, the power behind the bolts were at least partially scaled to the Bitter Scimitar's approximate power, quality and other parameters.

He understood a little more on how the lightning tribulations operated. They were never supposed to let off anyone or anything that broke the boundaries of cosmic ecosystem so easily.

The amount of rounds was probably determined by the severity of the supposed violations.

It was useful for Ves to know what to expect next time if he committed another 'violation' in the eyes of the heavenly authorities.

For example, anything that attempted a feat as bold as merging the 5 classical elements together would definitely attract the most severe 9-round multi-modal lightning tribulation!

The same went for a feat as bold as creating a god ship such as the Dominion of Man! Curiously, a masterwork D-arm that was inhabited by a particularly young and weak Middle Demon only attracted a 2-round single-modal lightning tribulation.

A part of Ves was relieved. If the severity of the tribulation event was any more severe, he would have struggled a lot more to keep his first proper D-arm alive.

The physical structure of the weapon was able to resist the tribulation lightning easily enough, but its fatal weakpoint in this situation was the demon that empowered the D-arm!

The Bitter Swordsman shouldn't have been vulnerable under normal circumstances. It was unfortunately that tribulation lightning played by different rules. It was not only able to bypass numerous layers of protection, but it was also intelligently driven to attack the demon regardless of all other factors!

It was clear to Ves that one but possibly all heavenly authorities disliked demons and sought to strike them down whenever people attempted to harness their power in a significant manner.

What was worse was that this was just the beginning. The Bitter Scimitar already met his expectations of what a D-arm was supposed to be, but it was just an early creation.

Once Ves studied the transformed and lightning baptized weapon and increased his comprehension of the Demoncasting process, he would steadily be able to produce stronger and more remarkable D-arms.

If he was able to improve the demon gu cultivation process and succeed in producing a Major Demon of the third major cultivation rank, then Ves could not imagine the power

Of the lightning tribulation that would beset his more potent D-arms! f

His ambition of creating a simplified Demoncasting Forge and training subordinates to mass produce relatively simple D-arms with the help of demons supplied by Helena became defunct.

If the heavens hated D-arms so much that they were willing to take action against a weapon at the level of the Bitter Scimitar meant that only high-quality works could make past their crucial life tests!

The main reasons why the Bitter Scimitar managed to survive its own tribulation was not because it was wielded by an oddball phase lord like Ves.

The real reason was because the product happened to be good enough that the Bitter Swordsman was able to exert a significant proportion of his strength and capabilities through his new vessel.

The two matched each other a lot better than the ancient maiden and Ketis' spare pocket knife.

If Ves and Ketis hadn't put so much effort into taking the Bitter Swordsman's parameters into account while designing the scimitar, the Middle Demon wouldn't have been able to demonize it so effectively.

Compared to the Maiden Knife, the Bitter Scimitar looked a lot 'cleaner' and less gaudy. While it still retained a few questionable spikes and other unnecessary protrusions, a much greater proportion of its design still remained useful and functional.

The weapon had still grown larger and heavier than before. The lightning baptism's attempts to purify the weapon had failed.

The Middle Demon had passed the test and absorbed the rewards. Not only had he managed to strengthen his foundation by a large extent, but he also received a surge of strength.

The physical D-arm reflected the demon's growth. It had grown harder, shinier and sharper. Its extraordinary qualities improved as well. Ves could feel that he could more easily take control over ambient E energy radiation.

"I understand." Ves stated as he continued to hold the mech weapon while remaining in his mech-scaled form.

"What do you understand?" Ketis asked as she slowly stepped forward in order to take a better look at the recovered and strengthened D-arm.

"I think I figured out the positioning of Demoncasting in the world of traditional craftsmanship." He said. "Look at this weapon. You have witnessed its performance earlier. Do you think that you can forge a major masterwork mech sword that can perform just as well as this scimitar?"

Ketis frowned. "That is not an easy question to answer, Ves. It depends on the materials and workshop conditions."

"Just assume that you are working under the best conditions that you can realistically attain at the moment. What can you create if you are able to design the weapon for as long as you want, with access to all of the tech and materials our clan can realistically procure. You can also assume that you can imbue your creation with an artifact spirit by using a hyper keystone that is filled with the spiritual remnant of a third order living mech. Furthermore, you can make full use of the Workshop of Creation to forge your mech sword. How powerful will your weapon become?"

These were fantastic conditions. Ketis could easily imagine herself reforging the Decapitator masterwork mech sword so that it incorporated the latest developments in phasewater technology, metallurgy, cultivation science and her groundbreaking theories in the School of Reformed Swordsmanship.

Yet even if she was willing to be generous in her assessment of the final output, she found it difficult to imagine that the much-improved mech sword would be able to match the extraordinary qualities of the Bitter Scimitar.

"I think it is nearly impossible for me to close the gap to this work." Ketis admitted. "All of the other conditions are either the same or better than with our latest project. The only exception to this rule is the source of artifact spirit. Not that I have anything against the idea of repurposing your third order living mechs. It is just..."

"They're not particularly strong." Ves readily admitted. "This is highly dependent on age. You cannot expect a third order living mech that has only experienced a year or several years of life to possess the same richness and power expressions of an expert candidate that is several decades old. When that expert candidate died and received a second chance by turning into a Middle Demon, then the gap between the two widens even further. Add in the lightning baptism, and the latter's various shortcomings have become a lot less severe, making it even harder to surpass its strength."

The female mech designer understood the point that Ves was trying to make.

"I see. So the true difference lies in the sourcing of artifact spirits. You need to capture a strong and well-developed soul in order to empower your artifact. Otherwise, it will just turn into a work that is hardly different from a minor artifact, at least at the start. Even if the artifact is able to grow more powerful over time and usage, the one that starts out with a much stronger artifact spirit will always maintain an advantage. As long as D-arms are able to survive their lightning tribulations, they begin their new existence at a considerably higher starting point, and their growth potential is also higher due to their stronger foundations. Even without the benefits of lightning baptisms, these D-arms still remain fairly formidable, as evidenced by the Maiden Knife.

Ves nodded in agreement. "Demoncasting can therefore be regarded as a shortcut. It allows us to craft major artifacts at a level or two beyond our current capabilities. Even if the two of us can work together to design and forge a mech sword of exquisite power and capabilities, we will have to invest a disproportionate amount of effort and resources into making it. We may have to acquire and use up ludicrously super-class materials. We have to obtain a much more powerful artifact spirit candidate by using up

One of our older design spirits such as the Solemn Guardian or the spiritual remnant of an older and more developed living mech like the Quint. We may even have to commission the aid of a Master Mech Designer that excels in craftsmanship." These were unrealistically demanding conditions. It may be possible for Ves and Ketis to meet one of them, but it was far too difficult to meet all of them at the same time.

The outcome of all of this collective effort would be a major artifact and masterwork that may be a lot closer to meeting the standard of a grand work than their previous creations, but wouldn't necessarily be better than a D-arm that Ves and Ketis cobbled together in a handful of days!

"It is the demons that make most of the difference." Ketis said as she comprehended the value of Demoncasting. "The demonization of a soul always makes it a lot more powerful at the cost of corrupting it. The Demoncasting process is an attempt to make the most out of the former while trying to control the impact of the latter. If done correctly, you will end up with a D-arm that is a lot more powerful than any artifact that you can make through conventional means. Aside from the risk of backlash and other complications, it is actually well worth it to wield a weapon of greater power."

The Bitter Scimitar therefore represented the first of many D-arms that could grant additional power to the heroes of the Larkinson Clan and perhaps beyond. Venerable Joshua and the Everchanger would be the first pairing to enjoy this new benefit. Their experiences and subsequen performance while wielding this new weapon would directly show whether Ves' optimistic expectations for D-arms were justified.

"The debut of the first D-arm designed for a mech cannot come soon enough." Ves eagerly said as he finally approached a large rectangular box and carefully placed the D-arm inside before closing the container that worked decently in isolating the activity of the remarkable weapon. "As long as Joshua doesn't screw up, the Bitter Scimitar will generate a lot of interest... as well as demand. Since you contributed to its development, a lot of people will inquire about the new weapon. I hope that you will remain discreet about it. There are many people who are only interested in wielding this kind of power for themselves, but there are also a lot of annoying people who will create a lot of unnecessary distractions and put up a lot of hindrances if they learn the truth about the

D-arm."

Ketis gaze Ves a measured stare.

"I will not lie about the D-arm, but I suppose I can help you keep the nature of the Bitter

Scimitar a secret for a while longer by not answering at all. I will try to direct all inquiries about the weapon to you. I will probably be too busy with designing the First Sword Mark III Project and spreading my new Manual of Reformed Swordsmanship." "That is good enough. You don't need to do anything more."

"You won't be able to keep it a secret for long, Ves. Anyone who is powerful and perceptive enough will be able to detect the malice and hostility from your D-arms. The mech pilots who make use of them will learn the truth regardless. The greater the

Amount of people who are clued in, the greater the chance of leaks. I don't think it will take more than a year for the truth to spread."

Ves shrugged. "That is better than nothing. The Red War is about to reach a critical

Point. I really cannot afford any distractions at the moment. Saving red humanity comes first. I can deal with the consequences later on when we have overcome the most acute challenges. Besides, I only need to buy time to prepare more countermeasures. For example, I am thinking about offering D-arms to the Red Association, Red Collective and several other major players. As long as I can convert them into stakeholders, they will have a vested interest in Demoncasting."

"Are you sure that will work?" Ketis questioned. "If these people learn where you are able

To obtain your demons..."

"I will deal with that problem when it arises." Ves dismissively waved his hand.

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