EFB Chapter 84 The Clock Tower of Destiny
Chapter 84 The Clock Tower of Destiny
Chapter 83 The Clock Tower of Destiny
sunset.
Inside the ore refining center.
Lorraine stood on the observation corridor on the second floor, her hands gripping the railing, looking down at the assembly line.
The ore transferred from the first floor is crushed, screened, and smelted, eventually becoming standard metal ingots neatly stacked at the end of the conveyor belt.
"Comfortable."
He sighed sincerely.
What day was it before?
Smelling the filth of engine oil, and covered in dirt, I ventured into the nooks and crannies of the Tower of Babel, rummaging through the garbage heaps of pre-civilization.
If you're lucky, you might find a few alloy plates that haven't completely corroded yet; if you're unlucky, you'll have to fight tooth and nail with the corrosive mechs and risk your life to scrape out any usable materials from the wreckage.
What now?
The ore refinery operates fully automatically. The raw ore mined by the rust-border mining machine is directly sent into the conveyor belt, and the finished product is a standard metal ingot that can be put into production.
These standard metal ingots are then transported via conveyor rails to Ohm's universal mechanical repair shop, where the machine soldier's parts can be mass-produced.
A complete industrial chain.
Lorraine whistled and turned to walk toward the warehouse.
Footsteps tapped out a light rhythm on the metal floor as he pushed open the warehouse's iron door, a scent mixed with mineral dust and the aroma of vegetation wafting out.
The warehouse is not large, but it is clearly divided into sections.
On the left, several rows of metal shelves were stacked with various mineral ingots, while on the right were magical beast materials sealed in specially made wooden boxes.
Lorraine walked to the right and casually opened the lid of a box. Inside were neatly arranged fragments of lava troll carapace and the segments of copper beetles, gleaming with a dark red luster.
"A large amount of metal materials have been consumed, but there are still quite a few monster materials left."
He rummaged through the other boxes and got a general idea of what was going on.
Previously, upgrading the city walls and building the universal mechanical repair shop mainly consumed mineral raw materials, and these monster materials were basically left untouched.
Enough to create something new.
Lorraine leaned against the wooden crate, her fingers tapping unconsciously on the lid, her mind going over the current defense system.
Anna's Ice and Fire Towers, with a full complement of twelve, have no problem covering all firepower.
Ohm's magic-powered heavy artillery turrets, also twelve in number, are sufficient for precise strikes.
Victor is a Tier 3 Knight; he can withstand direct melee combat.
Olivia is advancing to the third tier, and her combat power will further increase after she emerges.
Most importantly, the aforementioned witches each possess their own witch-exclusive buildings.
Only Lyra—
A second-tier Fate Witch, her power lies in manipulating luck. She bestows good fortune upon her allies and misfortune upon her enemies.
With the six Doom Watchtowers in hand, the effect was truly explosive. When we fought Haji before, those monsters from the Winter Legion were practically blind when they stepped into the trap zone. They stepped on every mine they were supposed to step on and avoided every pit they were supposed to avoid.
But the problems are also obvious.
Lyra's luck manipulation is passively triggered; whether good luck comes or bad luck comes, although she has some subjective intervention ability, she cannot precisely control the timing and intensity.
They're more than capable of handling small-scale skirmishes, but what they'll be facing next are two Tier 4 Fimbulwinters bringing their massive armies—
"We need to give her a custom building."
Lorraine pulled out the Witch's Tome, and a light screen popped up, allowing him to directly access the building page.
The Fate-related exclusive buildings have only one option.
The Clock Tower of Destiny.
The list of required materials was displayed on the light screen. Lorraine checked the warehouse inventory item by item, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.
That's enough.
He closed the secret manual, turned and walked out, shouting at the top of his lungs as he passed the door, "Lyra!"
The sound traveled along the metal corridor, bouncing back and forth several times within the first level of the Tower of Babel.
Not long after, a series of hurried footsteps came from afar.
Leila jogged around the end of the corridor; because of her short stature, she looked like a rolling shadow when she ran.
She stopped abruptly, panting, a hint of doubt in her heterochromatic black and gold eyes.
"My lord, you wanted to see me?"
Lorraine beckoned to her. "Come here, I'll make you something nice."
Leila paused for a moment, then jogged over. "What good stuff?"
"Your witch-exclusive building."
Leila stopped in her tracks, her heterochromatic eyes widening in shock. "Mine?"
"your."
Lorraine was already walking outside, saying as she went, "Anna has the Flame Altar, Olivia has the Plant Armory, and Ohm has the Universal Mechanical Repair Factory. You only have six Doom Watchtowers, but no witch-specific buildings. Your weakness is too obvious."
Leila quickly caught up with him, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly.
"But—are we got enough materials? We've made so many things before—"
'
"That's enough." Lorraine said without turning her head. "I just checked the warehouse, and there are still quite a few monster materials left. We can use them."
O
The two walked through several connecting corridors and arrived at an open space in the center of the camp.
This area was specially reserved by Lorraine, surrounded by city walls and several witch towers, and the ground was cleaned very well by Ohm's engineering puppets.
Lorraine stopped and took out the Witch's Tome.
The light curtain unfolds, and the construction panel appears.
The icon for the [Clock Tower of Destiny] is quietly lit up, and each item in the material requirement list below has a green checkmark next to it – sufficient stock.
"Ready?" Lorraine turned to look at Lyra.
Layla stood half a step behind him, clenched her fist, and nodded vigorously, saying, "I've been looking forward to this for a long time!"
Lorraine reached out and pressed the build button.
The lord's talent instantly ignited the demonic fire within the territory.
A visible red beam of light exploded from beneath Lorraine's feet, spreading outwards along the ground, pulsating rhythmically like a heartbeat.
The humming sound of supplies being extracted came from the direction of the warehouse. The magical beast materials, drawn by the magical fire, turned into tiny specks of light and gathered towards the center of the open space.
The ground began to shake.
The black stone base rose from the center of the magic circle at a moderate speed, yet it possessed an irresistible sense of stability.
On the stone base, bricks are stacked layer by layer, as if a pair of invisible giant hands are building blocks.
Each brick was burned through by the demonic fire the moment it was embedded, and fine dark patterns appeared on its surface.
The main structure of the clock tower was completed in just over ten seconds.
Finally, there's the clock face.
Two enormous discs materialized from the void and were embedded on the front and back of the clock tower, respectively.
One clock is black, even the hands are black; the other clock is gold, even the hands are gold.
"bite"
A clear, eerily sharp bell rang from the top of the tower, echoing for a long time beneath the dome of the Tower of Babel before dissipating.
The whole process took less than fifteen seconds.
A clock tower of destiny, about ten meters high, stands in the open space of the camp. Golden and black lights flash alternately, and each flash carries an indescribable fluctuation of power that makes people's hearts itch.
Lorraine's eyes grew brighter as he looked at the building attributes that were refreshed on the panel.
"My lord? What exactly is this building for?" Leila looked up at the clock tower, her heterochromatic eyes reflecting the light and shadow of the double-sided clock face.
Hearing Lyra's question, Lorraine grinned mischievously like a creepy old man and retorted, "You usually manipulate luck, giving good fortune to your own people and bad luck to your enemies, right?"
Leila nodded.
"But you can't control the timing." Lorraine tapped the panel. "When good luck comes, you might not need it, and when bad luck strikes, you might miss the key target."
Leila nodded again; this was indeed a problem that had been bothering her for a long time.
Fate is a very unpredictable thing; it can influence the direction of things, but it cannot control them with great precision.
Lorraine projected the panel onto a holographic projector for Lyra to see.
"The core function of the Clock Tower of Destiny is to store luck."
"The gold clock face stores good luck, and the black clock face stores bad luck. When you don't need it, you pour excess good and bad luck into the clock tower, and it will store it for you. When you need it, it will release it all at once."
Lorraine swiped her finger across the panel, and rows of data popped up.
"The storage limit is linked to your rank. A second-rank Fate Witch can store enough for seven days. During the charging period, you cannot use your Fate Power and must focus on transferring it into the Clock Tower. But once it's full..."
He paused for a moment, then a smile spread across his face.
"At the crucial moment, imagine showering us with seven days of good luck and then showering the enemy with seven days of bad luck. What do you think the effect would be?"
Leila's breath hitched for a second.
Of course she knew what the effect would be.
Her misfortune could cause the enemy to fall into every trap, be hit by every shell, have their weapons explode at crucial moments, or slip and fall.
Her good fortune allows her side's attacks to hit vital points, and her defenses to block fatal blows at the most crucial moment.
These effects, combined with seven days' worth of treatment, result in a single, explosive effect.
"Isn't that—" Lyra's voice trembled slightly, "that in that moment, whatever the enemy did was wrong, and whatever we did was right?"
"almost."
Lorraine put the panel away, crossed his arms, and looked up at the double-sided clock face. The gold and black hands jumped a notch simultaneously, and the deep chimes echoed through the camp.
"In the past, your luck was like a trickle, a slow and steady stream. Now, with the Clock Tower of Destiny, you can turn that trickle into a flood and release it when you need it most."
.
Lyra stared at the clock tower, her golden and black pupils widening slightly at the same time.
She could sense it.
There is an invisible line between the clock tower and her, just as there is a connection between her and the Tower of Doom, but deeper, thicker, and tighter.
The clock tower of fate is calling to her; the clicking of the gears and the heartbeat of the pendulum are all waiting for her to pour them in.
"My lord," Lyra's voice held an unprecedented excitement, "this thing—this thing is outrageous."
"That's outrageous, that's for sure."
Lorraine patted her on the shoulder, her tone relaxed.
Haji the Winter of Blades is dead, but the Winter Lord still has two trump cards at his disposal: Modil the Winter of Annihilation and Serins the Winter of Fear, both of which are fourth-tier and will arrive within seven days.
Last time, when fighting Haji, I relied on the relay tower explosion, the delay tower slowing down, the camp relocation order to move the turret, and Anna's ice and fire switching to shatter the armor—a combination of extremely precise moves.
But that tactic was useless after being used once; the opponent wouldn't fall into the same trap again.
Therefore, he needs new variables.
The Clock Tower of Fate is that variable.
"Lyra." Lorraine's smile faded, his tone turning serious. "From now on, for the next seven days, you must not use any power of fate. No matter what happens, no matter who comes to you asking for good luck or bad luck, you are not allowed to use it. The only thing you need to do is recharge the Clock Tower of Fate."
Leila looked up and met Lorraine's gaze.
"The two fourth-tier beings will arrive in seven days."
Lorraine's gaze passed over her head, looking towards the distant northern horizon swallowed by the blizzard. "I will make sure that from the moment they step into the territory of the Tower of Babel, every decision they make is wrong."
Lyra's heterochromatic eyes reflected the golden-black light of the clock tower. She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling.
"Understood."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it was as steady as a rivet driven into the ground.
"Not a single drop of luck from the past seven days will be wasted."
Lyra walked to the foot of the Clock Tower of Destiny and looked up at the double-sided clock face.
The golden and black hands blinked separately, their rhythms different, but each blink resonated in her chest. The feeling was peculiar, as if her heart had gained an extra chamber, waiting to be filled.
She extended her right hand, palm facing up.
A wisp of golden light emerged from her fingertip, so thin it was almost invisible. It twisted in the air for a moment before being absorbed into the destiny patterns at the base of the clock tower.
The hands on the golden clock face jumped forward by a barely perceptible increment.
"The absorption rate is slower than I expected." Lyra frowned, withdrew her hand, and turned to look at Lorraine.
Lorraine was squatting next to the base of the clock tower, running his fingers over the interwoven gold and black patterns. A panel floated in front of him, displaying a string of data that he could understand but others couldn't.
"What's the rush?" He didn't even look up. "Seven days, take it slow. The first two days are for getting used to it, finding the resonance frequency between you and the clock tower, and the efficiency will increase as time goes on."
"Resonant frequency?"
"It's about the rhythm of your luck transmission needing to be in sync with the clock tower's gears." Lorraine stood up, dusting off his hands. "If you force it in now, the clock tower has to expend extra effort to process it, naturally reducing efficiency. Once you find that rhythm—"
—
He snapped his fingers.
"Achieve twice the result with half the effort."
Leila nodded thoughtfully and turned her attention back to the clock tower.
Lorraine glanced at her, making sure she was in the zone, then turned and walked out.
He had only taken two steps when he heard Lyra's voice behind him.
"My lord."
Lorraine stopped and turned around.
Lyra stood beneath the clock tower, her short figure appearing even smaller against the towering structure. But her eyes were bright, both her golden and black pupils fixed on him, a somewhat awkward smile playing on her lips.
"Thanks."
Lorraine raised an eyebrow.
"What are you thanking me for?"
"Thank you for considering my strength as something worth investing in."
"In the past, everyone thought that my constitution would only cause trouble, and they wished I would stay as far away as possible."
She looked down at her right hand—the hand that had been severed and then regrown during the awakening ritual.
A wisp of golden light lingered on his fingertips, still drifting towards the clock tower.
"Now I can save my luck and choose to use it at the most crucial moment." She looked up, her eyes shining brighter than the clock face above her. "It feels so good."
Lorraine looked at her for two seconds.
"Less sentimentality."
He turned and continued walking, his tone as casual as if he were remarking on the nice weather, "Filling up the clock tower would be the best thank you gift. If it's not fully charged, I'll personally stuff you into the clock tower as a battery in seven days."
Leila burst out laughing.
"Then I'll have to work harder."
Lorraine waved and walked away.
into the night.
With a soft moan, Lorraine suddenly felt a small, warm little creature crawl into her blanket.
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