Chapter Sixty-Five: Experimental Iron Golem (3)

“With this, the rise of the Block Kingdom is just around the corner!”

This wasn’t an exaggeration, but a simple truth.

In the previous life’s game, the iron golem was a bit of a dunce. Supposedly the guardian of villages, it mostly failed in its duty, often outmaneuvered and slain by monsters with ranged attacks, unable to truly fulfill its purpose of protecting the villagers. Instead, players found endless ways to toy with it.

Iron farms, golem laborers—industries related to iron golems sprang up one after another. If you could imagine it, those players could make it happen!

“No wonder they’re called the Fourth Calamity!”

But this was no longer a game; this was reality. In the hands of clever block people, the iron golem would be reborn, becoming the most formidable weapon this world had ever seen!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Standing atop the city wall, the crowd chatted as waves of monsters spawned below, launching charge after charge at the iron golem.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Rip! Rip! Rip!

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch...

The monsters charged furiously at the unyielding steel colossus—only to be sent flying or flattened into “meat patties” by the iron golem, each dispatched with a different technique. Though the golem took many hits, most were mere scratches, inflicting little real harm.

Out of a hundred health bars, only thirteen had been lost.

Mo Fangyuan couldn’t help but marvel—no wonder it ranked third in base health in the original game. What a tank!

“I never thought this experimental iron golem would be so fierce!” one of the night watchers exclaimed.

“If only we night watchers could have a few of these mechanical beings, the monsters wouldn’t stand a chance!”

“As powerful as it is, there are still some drawbacks,” another remarked, more rational and with a different perspective. “Have you noticed? The golem’s attack speed isn’t all that fast. In winter, when monster spawns are fewer, it’s fine. But come autumn, with that sluggish head of his, he’d be whittled down sooner or later…”

“Sigh, if Old Fang didn’t still need this golem for experiments, I’d be tempted to haul it over and put it to work!”

The group continued to analyze the golem’s uses and actual performance, each offering their own perspective.

Mo Fangyuan was among them, but his focus wasn’t on the golem’s fighting prowess—it was its cost.

The Block Kingdom was poor, resources were scarce, and every bit had to be stretched!

According to Fang Zhi’s data, manufacturing this experimental iron golem required at least seven iron blocks and two redstone blocks. Crafting and assembling the parts at the workbench would take a week. Add in the labor, and the cost climbed higher.

A bit pricey, but not entirely unacceptable.

If the Block Kingdom could produce its own redstone, the cost wouldn’t be so steep—at least it could drop another tier.

From the loot bags dropped by monsters, they’d managed to collect a decent amount of redstone dust, but not much—enough to craft only seven redstone blocks.

Even if they had the funds, they couldn’t build many experimental iron golems.

“But this is only the first generation! The block people are intelligent, ever-progressing beings! We can improve the iron golem!”

What intelligent species doesn’t advance?

“We can learn from setbacks and become stronger!”

“The second, third, and fourth generations of iron golems will all be improved. They’ll be more powerful, use fewer materials, and production will be more efficient!”

Mo Fangyuan firmly believed that technological progress could change their fate.

All that talk about science ending in philosophy, philosophy ending in theology—that was nonsense!

Science was the ultimate truth!

Even if the block world wasn’t scientific, it made no difference!

—A greeting from dialectical materialism

Thud! Thud! Thud...

As the group continued their heated discussion, the hard-working iron golem suddenly stopped, emitting a harsh, grating sound.

Click... click, click, click...

It was as if the golem had been shocked, freezing and jerking, freezing and jerking...

The monsters seized the opportunity to surround the golem, launching a frenzied “friendly exchange” upon the fallen giant.

“Teacher, what’s… going on?” Mustard tugged at Fang Zhi’s white robe, eyes fixed on the golem dancing its jerky, spasmodic dance. It was oddly fascinating, and Mustard suddenly wanted to build a dancing golem of his own someday.

“Well…”

Fang Zhi was at a loss for words.

If only he knew! The golem he’d meant to create was a combat model: a guardian of home and country, a monster-smashing juggernaut!

But this... if he’d known, would he have programmed these convulsive movements into the golem?

Clearly, it was suffering a mechanical malfunction.

The lively atmosphere turned awkward.

Suddenly, the iron golem flung the surrounding monsters aside with a violent shove.

Then, arms outstretched, it began to twist and gyrate, its legs moving in an oddly flamboyant fashion.

What on earth was this?

No one had a clue.

Except for Mo Fangyuan.

At first, he didn’t think much of it—a mechanical fault was nothing unusual, especially for an experimental model.

But as he watched, his eyes suddenly widened as if he’d seen something unbelievable.

Those familiar moves—if only they were set to that familiar tune...

In that moment, the golem’s shaking figure overlapped with a memory from his past life.

“This dance really looks like the ‘Shadowlord’...” Mo Fangyuan realized.

“Shadowlord” was the star of a viral meme video from his previous world, infamous for its flamboyant dance. Who would have thought he’d see such a similar performance in the Block World?

Staring at the golem, still “dancing” in the distance, Mo Fangyuan thought perhaps he could introduce the globally popular “Elysium” dance here, and have Aria, Lin Ye, and the others give it a try…

Ahem, to be clear, his intentions were pure—he simply wanted to bring new culture to the culturally barren Block World…

Bang!

Just as the dance reached its climax, the golem exploded, its pieces flying into the monster horde and smashing several flat.

It had been played to death…

At least, in its final moments, it managed to take a number of monsters with it.

“Old Fang… I think you’ll need to make some improvements to your golem design. Please, no more TNT inside. We need warriors, not single-use cannon fodder…” Aria offered a friendly reminder.

“I didn’t put any TNT in there…” Fang Zhi protested weakly.

But he knew this was his fault—such a grave safety hazard, and he hadn’t even noticed! Fortunately there was no one nearby, or the explosion could have taken someone’s life.

“This needs to be investigated thoroughly, or I won’t sleep!” Fang Zhi vowed, clenching his fist.

“Good! I like that attitude. You’re definitely working overtime these next few days!” Mo Fangyuan overheard Fang Zhi muttering to himself and was deeply moved.

As a benevolent ruler, he was determined to grant his subjects’ wishes.

“Night watchers, fall in!”

With the show over, the night watchers returned to work.

Mo Fangyuan shared much of his military knowledge with them: modern strategies, ancient wisdom from the wars of his ancestors, and a year’s worth of hands-on experience.

They were already a battle-hardened unit.

Fang Zhi, meanwhile, led his young apprentice away, carrying the remains of the experimental golem for further research.

“Mustard? What a strange name!” It was the first time Mo Fangyuan had met a block person named after food.

“Little one, I have high hopes for you… Study hard and bring glory to the kingdom in the future!”