Chapter 43

Keith abruptly noticed movement below him.

Glancing down, he saw people hopping off the wall and picking up loot.

Oh right! Keith’s eyes lit up.

He almost forgot.

Last time, Keith fell unconscious for several hours, making him miss out on the chance to exchange for the best rewards.

Not this time.

After checking that he had 3.4 million contribution points, Keith swapped to the exchange list and searched exclusively for skill gems. Several rewards greyed out as he looked, signifying that someone had bought it. At the same time, new rewards popped up as people looted the battlefield.

Since time was short, Keith simply read the skill’s names.

Frozen Tempest? He shook his head. The ice element wasn’t his style.

Reflection Shield? Keith ignored it, uninterested.

Seconds passed as he looked for something that resonated with him.

Wind Lance? Keith’s expression changed, and he went to purchase the skill gem, only for it to grey out. Someone had beat him to the punch.

Forcing back his frustration, Keith moved on to the next.

Mythril Automaton? That’s the one! He didn’t hesitate to buy it.

This time, his purchase was successful, and a deep blue skill gem flashed into his hand.

Holding it up, he cast Inspect.

(Divine, Skill) Mythril Automaton

Description: Summons a Mythril Automaton to aid you in combat. It comes with four skills: Bulwark, Retaliate, Life Link, and Teleport. The summon lasts until it dies. You can have a maximum of two conjured at once.

Note 1: The Mythril Automaton’s stats are based on the casters.

Note 2: The Mythril Automaton can follow simple commands, or the caster can control it mentally.

Note 3: The Mythril Automaton has its own mana pool.

Keith read the Mythril Automaton’s four skills.

Bulwark was a passive skill that increased its physical and magical defense, Retaliate reflected a portion of damage it took, Life Link allowed it to transfer 20% of the damage the caster suffered to itself, and Teleport was self-explanatory.

Overall, the Mythril Automaton’s skill set heavily leaned toward defense, which was exactly what Keith needed right now. Before this, Mana Barrier was Keith’s sole defensive skill, and it was a low grade one. He also had Void Shadowstep, but Keith didn’t have any affinity with it. The last time it gained a level was over a year ago.

Gaining Mythril Automaton greatly increased Keith’s survivability, especially due to Life Link. It reminded him of Uncle Doven’s ability; however, unlike Uncle Doven, who could transfer 100% of the damage someone took to himself, the Mythril Automaton only took 20%.

Wait… Keith thought of something.

If he summoned two Mythril Automatons, the skill’s maximum, would they each take 20% of the damage he took? In that case, it added up to 40%!

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

And that wasn’t all.

Keith’s Mana Body boosted the skill by one grade.

When he changed the skill to the celestial grade version, the description changed slightly – he could now summon three at once, meaning he would take 60% reduced damage as long as the Mythril Automatons were alive.

With the recent purchase, Keith now possessed three divine grade skills: Arsenal of the Desert, Combustion, and Mythril Automaton. Each one gave him a huge increase in his overall combat power, mainly thanks to his Mana Body.

What amazed Keith the most was how he gained two divine grade skills in less than five days. It wasn’t hard to imagine that tomorrow, he would also pick up another divine grade skill.

A few minutes had passed since the battle ended, and Keith still needed to spend his remaining contribution points. There wasn’t enough to purchase another skill, so he bought the next best thing.

Elixirs.

Of the 26 he exchanged for, 2 were divine grade, 13 were ancient, and the rest were mythic. Keith did some calculations. At this rate, he wouldn't take long to reach the maximum stats he could gain from elixirs, maybe around a month.

With nothing left to do, Keith returned to the Blockade, his gaze lingering on some soldiers collecting the fallen corpses as he flew.

Hopefully, I made a difference, Keith lamented to himself.

Suddenly, a person atop the Blockade shouted at him, “Hey, great job out there!”

Followed by the shout was a round of cheers.

“Haha, you were amazing!” Another yelled. “I gained way more contribution points today, thanks to you.”

Keith was stunned by the response.

He forgot that he shared 75% of the contribution points he gained amongst those powering up his War Array Receiver. That’s why everyone was so excited by his performance during the battle.

Feeling flustered, Keith waved and flew out of sight.

“He looks so young. Does anyone know that lad’s name?” Someone asked their friend atop the Blockade.

“I know. It’s Keith Walker, rank 101.” A person nearby responded.

An elf wore a smug grin, “I bet you can’t guess who his father is.”

Everyone gathered around the elf, asking, “Who? Tell us, quick.”

The elf’s grin widened. “The High Commander!”

While everyone gasped in shock, one person didn’t believe it. “Yeah, right. He doesn’t share the High Commander’s last name.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” The elf wagged a finger before lowering his voice, “Don’t you know that the High Commander once got into an argument with his wife? I think she intentionally didn’t pick the High Commander’s last name for their son.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

At that moment, an officer listening at the side coughed, “Okay, that’s enough. It’s disrespectful to gossip about the High Commander’s private affairs.”

***

An hour later.

In a meeting room, an intelligence officer reported, “There were 22,000 casualties during today’s defense. Compared to previous projections, this is a significant improvement. We expect to lose less than 17,000 tomorrow.”

As the officer prattled on, Markus stood nearby with his arms crossed and eyes closed. The wounds he suffered from the earlier battle had yet to heal, and a faint scent of blood filled the room. Listening to the report, he held back from showing any emotions so as not to affect morale.

Nobody knew that his mental state was deteriorating.

All Markus cared about was that he had lost more soldiers in the past week than in the last hundreds of years combined. That fact weighed heavily on his conscience. It didn’t matter how good the projections looked. Facts were facts.

A week ago, he knew that the losses would be heavy.

He just didn’t know it would affect him so greatly.

It was to the extent that he started doubting his decisions and even thought of resigning once they crossed this hurdle. After all, too many had fallen for no one to take responsibility. It had to be him.

“Now for the good news,” the intelligence officer forced a smile in an attempt to alleviate the depressing atmosphere. “Of the troops participating in the defense, their average level is now 655. Many have also acquired ancient grade skills and other equipment. Due to all these factors, the overall strength of our military has doubled over the past week.”

Many in the room, like Frod and Major General Luca, were visibly relieved to hear that.

Markus was the only one unmoved. With a stern voice, he asked, “What of our ammunition? How much longer will our stocks of poison last?”

“A month,” the intelligence officer replied.

Markus nodded slightly in response.

Without the poison and mortar ammunition, the losses would be unbearably high.

However, a month later, they would no longer need it.

At the side, Frod glanced at Markus, worried for the other. He was unusually perceptive towards people’s emotions and sensed that Markus was troubled. Coughing, he gave the intelligence officer a meaningful look and said, “Yo, I heard that young Keith took up the role of a Guardian today. How’d he perform?”

“Oh,” the intelligence officer smiled, answering. “Even after taking four days off to recuperate, he placed higher than before.”

“What rank?” Markus opened his eyes at the mention of his son.

“101,” the officer replied.

“Hahaha!” Markus erupted in laughter, full of pride.

Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t give him special treatment, did you?”

The intelligence officer shook his head. “No, we provided him the same supply package as the other guardians.”

“Good.” Markus finally relaxed. Although he was the High Commander of the military, he didn’t want any of his subordinates to give Keith special treatment on his behalf. He disliked nepotism and always nipped it in the bud whenever it appeared in the ranks.

The intelligence officer spread his hands, “Well, that’s everything.”

Markus nodded. “Meeting adjourned.”