Chapter 72: Revisiting the Ancient Ruins, the Chicken-Stealing Plan Fails…

Lynn: “……”

His divine sense had long detected that a massive creature was hiding beneath the ground.

He simply hadn’t expected it to be this patient.

It had actually waited until another predator landed before striking with one fatal blow.

One arrow, three kills!

“One at second-tier, one at third-tier, and that monstrous bird should have the strength of the fourth-tier.”

“And the one underground—its outline resembling an insect or ant-lion-type beast—must have at least fifth-tier strength!”

“And this combat power… it’s far more ferocious than humans or undead of the same tier!!”

The recent battle had made Lynn’s heart pound wildly.

It was a pure, primal life-and-death struggle driven by beastly instinct.

No fancy techniques—just the most direct, efficient, and lethal attacks!

And from what he saw, these beasts weren’t stupid either!

No wonder humans in this world trembled at their mention~

These beasts were truly deadly!

“Miasmic poison fog, disorientation, ferocious beasts…”

“And those colorful poisonous insects hiding in the mist…”

His divine sense swept once again across the lurking, hideous insects.

Lynn’s scalp tingled.

This was the true terror of the Mistwood!

Before, they had only wandered around the outskirts and hadn’t ventured deep.

That ignorance had actually been the wisest choice—otherwise, they wouldn’t even know how they died…

“No wonder some people outside speak of the Mistwood as something mystical—nine deaths for every life.”

“But for most, they just treat it as an ordinary dangerous zone.”

“It turns out they’ve never even reached the true core area!”

“In the end, those who lingered on the periphery, in their ‘beginner villages,’ spread false tales—creating what we now call the ‘Mistwood.’”

“Even I was almost misled…”

Having understood the true nature of the Mistwood, Lynn no longer dwelled on it.

His strongest subordinate was only third-tier; he had no qualification to venture further in.

Besides, he hadn’t even collected all the resources from the outer zone.

Why risk his life in vain?

With that in mind, Lynn turned his divine sense toward another dangerous place—

—the ancient ruin that held the mechanical maid he couldn’t stop thinking about!

Indeed, ruins were rare treasures~

His divine sense now spanned a radius of ten kilometers, covering over three hundred square kilometers.

He could even scan most of the trade routes outside.

Yet he still hadn’t found another ruin within the forest!

“It’s likely there are many ruins deep inside the Mistwood, but finding one on the outskirts already makes me lucky.”

Lynn was practical.

For now, it was more realistic to deal with the ruin before him.

He directed his enhanced divine sense, smoothly piercing through the earth.

Then, silently, it infiltrated the ruin’s solid alloy walls.

The internal defense systems—like gargoyle puppets and intelligent alarms—

—showed no reaction.

Such a high-dimensional divine sense probe was practically a dimensional suppression.

And this time, Lynn finally got a proper look inside the ruin.

Previously, he had only taken a hurried glance—seeing only the central laboratory and the cylindrical container that held the mechanical girl.

Now, with his full-range scan, the layout of the entire ruin appeared clearly before him.

The central lab was merely the core section, surrounded by several functional rooms.

Judging by the remaining equipment and items, he could roughly distinguish them as—a storage warehouse for materials, a workshop for constructing constructs, a research table cluttered with instruments and blueprints, and a small resting area.

On the table in the rest area, there was a dust-covered metal cup and a few yellowed pages scattered nearby.

As if the owner had only stepped out for a moment—and never returned even after a thousand years.

“This Alchemist Eldwin was quite the scholar. Everything’s so well-equipped—it’s no wonder his technological tree advanced so wildly.”

“I wonder if, once I obtain it, I can reverse-engineer some of this technology to use in my town.”

Lynn’s heart burned as he stared at the equipment.

Yet after checking each room, he found no particularly useful clues.

The yellowed papers—were just the only parts not fully rotted away.

The rest had decayed beyond recognition, let alone readable text.

Helpless, Lynn’s gaze finally returned to the central laboratory.

He focused once more on the cylindrical container.

Inside the faint blue life-sustaining liquid, the silver-haired girl floated quietly.

Delicate features, a flawless bionic body, faintly glowing veins within…

“Tsk tsk, this technology… even in sci-fi films of my past life, it’d be top-tier.”

The more Lynn looked, the itchier his heart grew.

A perfect maid who could fight, look good, and clean the church— cough, no— a powerful ally!

Right before his eyes!

But guarded by those near–sixth-tier gargoyle puppets…

Recalling how his last avatar had been instantly annihilated made Lynn’s teeth ache.

“My avatar’s strength is now third-tier. Considering I can fight two tiers above…”

“I should be around fifth-tier peak—about equal to those gargoyles.”

Still, avoiding a head-on fight would be best.

Lynn only wanted to quietly secure his maid!

And now, with the entire ruin within his divine sense range—the advantage was his!

He could directly manifest an avatar beside the mechanical girl, grab her, and flee!

“Alright, let’s do it!”

The wealthy Lynn immediately poured out another thousand units of Holy Radiance, swiftly generating an avatar right beside the cylindrical container.

The moment the avatar formed—a piercing alarm blared across the central laboratory!

All four gargoyles turned in unison, their eyes brimming with killing intent as they glared at Lynn.

“Break for me!”

Knowing time was tight,

Lynn unleashed his full power in an instant. A blinding Holy Light formed into a massive Holy Sword, slashing directly at the container’s transparent glass.

Crack!

A sharp sound echoed.

The transparent glass split into fragments—but didn’t completely shatter, still holding together by a thread.

“So tough?!”

Lynn was startled.

Just as he was about to strike again—the four gargoyles had already lunged at him!

Their claws, brimming with magical energy, tore toward his avatar in a flash.

There was no other choice.

Lynn was forced into combat.

A minute later—

—the avatar collapsed.

His consciousness snapped back to his body.

“Damn it, four against one—how’s that fair!!”

Lynn’s divine sense rippled with frustration.

His “chicken-stealing plan” had failed.

Still, at least he confirmed one thing—the gargoyle puppets were indeed at fifth-tier peak.

They hadn’t broken through to sixth-tier. That was good news.

“Phew~ no rushing it. I’ll just bide my time.”

“When I’ve got fifty or sixty thousand Holy Radiance, I’ll drop a ten-thousand-point avatar on them—drain them to death if I must!”

Lynn forcibly suppressed his urge to continue.

For now, what mattered most was securing that iron ore vein!

Once he built a proper production line, he could finally develop in peace.

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