I gathered the remaining robots in front of me. Their total numbers made me a bit disheartened, as there were only a third of the initial number prior to the war.

“ATA, how much destruction caused by this war? Project me the aftermath result!”

[As you command. The robot’s initial force of 2,500 was reduced into 824. As for the Warrior Robot, a sixth remained of the initial 120. On the other hand, we caught 10,374 Razel soldiers. In which there are 87 official Knights. Host, what shall we do to them?] ATA’s projection tilted her head, showing more intelligence.

“I had promised the Grand Duke of Razel to release them back to the Dukedom; thereby, I can’t use them to be my soldiers. However, I couldn’t let out the secret nor any detailed information about me to reach their ears. Just brainwash them so… Wait… I might have some 'good idea' about this…”

[Master~! Is it about planting nanobots inside their bodies, thus turning them into a puppet?]

“How… did you know?” I was kind of shocked to find out that her perception had grown so sharp. “Though, I couldn’t make it obvious. Although the nanobots are small and naked to the eyes. I realized that a simple spell from a Magus might be able to detect them.”

Guess, this leaves me no choice but to be passive on the controlled soldiers. After all, once they know that I used this kinda thing, they would make a countermeasure. Still, even if the nanobots are dormant, they could act as a spy and sprung up in times of need.

“ATA! Repair the robots that didn’t sustain big damage. As for the rest, melt them and begin reconstructing them. Moreover, try to collect as much information about Knight from the official Knights and Roderic’s memory. If push comes to shove, use them as experimental subjects and make sure to wipe their memories later. I want to produce a stronger type of robot, possibly equaling that of an official Knight!”

In this world, only by having strength would one be recognized. Having numerous robots as strong as an official Knights guarding the base would make one think twice before planning an attack.

[As you wish, my host.] ATA’s projection bowed into me before vanishing.

Wait! Did she just say, ‘my host’? Maybe this past month’s development and the intelligence merged between the backup and the main must have improved it even further. Maybe I can make further experiments with this… or should I not?

“Anyway, I don’t have anything to say about returning their soldiers and knights. But, the ten official Magus or more specifically Elementalist in this regard… I cannot give them back. Heck, the Razel Dukedom wouldn’t even know that they are alive… or are they?”

The possibility of them knowing about the condition of the Magus wasn’t zero. There were still countless mystical things that I didn’t know about this world; thus, I couldn’t just go and said, “They’re all dead. No question asks!” I think this leaves me no choice but just to extract their memory in the Mind Hall.

“Yup! I’ll do just that then. With enough information and knowledge about Magus. I might be able to create a magical robot or something in that regard. Wouldn’t that be awesome to have an army of robots that can wield magic?" With that possibility in mind, I began to daydream further.

And so, a week passed without something big happening. I had spent the time focusing on the reconstruction of the base. I didn’t want my backyard to be weak and thus had myself killed. So, in order to compensate for the gap, I had made something.

The new thing was none other than a giant crustacean monster. It was made from the Biological Hall while using the Clearwater Giant Crabs' biomass as the material. Since there weren't many other sources to use — as the other available materials were the Slime and the Invisible Beetle — the crustacean monster was made.

The crustacean monster itself had a size bigger than a minibus and a form resembling that of a sea lobster. The only difference was that the front part of the body was upright, towering anyone in front. It also only had six legs which were bigger than typical lobster legs. On top of that, the shell was so hard that electromagnetic weaponry would have a hard time to pierce it.

What made it so special was that it could go invisible just like the Invisible Beetle. Furthermore, it could even secret a green mucus all over its body with a texture resembling that of the Slime in which would negate a physical attack. On the other hand, the monster was covered with hidden weapons such as plasma cannon inside its claws.

“Truly a battle machine specially made for combat I would say.” I shook my head, amazed by the 8-meters-tall crustacean monster in front of me.

“Since it was made from biomass, would the Universal Measurement Device be able to measure it?" Curious, I used the Universal Measurement Device of the crustacean monster and got “1,500” points.

“Seriously?! That's stronger than a typical official Knight which stands at around 1,000. Moreover, the advanced weaponry inside it wouldn’t be added in the equation, since it wasn’t part of the creature — more like a human using a sword or gun in a sense. Though… maybe calling it CM-01 would be more fit. Sadly, with the available material right now, I could only produce ten.”

As I cast my gaze away from the crustacean monster, I began to sink on my thought. Would ‘that guy’ be making any contact soon? It’s been a week…

[Master~!] ATHENA’s voice and emoticon suddenly appeared.

“Huh…?”

[The ‘target’ that have been under watch for the past week have decided to make contact. He’s now on the north gate of the outer wall. He claimed to be an envoy sent here to negotiate.]

"Speak of the devil! Then, lead him to that 'room.' Time to use what I've prepared these past few days.”

[Yes!]

Well, as expected. It’s a good thing that the bug robots had caught his presence early. Although he tried to act undercover, he couldn’t hide from the countless bugs. But it’s not like he really tried to hide his identity from the beginning anyway.

Subsequently, I went into a certain building outside the inner wall but located not far from the main forces of the base. The building was put there so that when something undesirable happened, the robots and all the artilleries inside the base would react in the fastest speed possible. Also, I didn't want to endanger anyone in case he decided to act hostile.

It took a while before I saw a building that looked like a typical government building. It may look like that, but it housed countless hidden arsenals inside. Even if there were ten Arnolds, they would perish without being able to escape. Yet, that wasn't the main reason why this place was used as the meeting place.

Well, the details should be saved for later. What I must do is to keep up the image and 'play along.' Since this building is equipped with numerous of 'those' and designed to handle a force as great as a great rank spell, I didn't have to worry. Moreover, I have a plan.

The interior of the building wasn’t that unique in the least, so I immediately got into an underground secret room with an elevator. The secret room was filled with one simulation pod and some other tube-shaped glass pods with synthetic robots wearing a nano-suit inside.

No matter how many times I observed these synthetic robots, they looked no different than normal humans. Who would have thought that I’d found this technology in the Technology Cube? It’d be a hassle to get one in an orthodox way.

Without dawdling further, I went inside the simulation pod and activated the ‘consciousness transfer mode.’

Then, I could feel that my consciousness was transferred into one of the synthetic robots inside the pods. The pod was then opened and I could feel that my body was moveable. What a weird sensation, is this what it feels to have a synthetic body?

I immediately changed my appearance into that of a charismatic old man and went back into the meeting room above. I then sat on the largest chair behind the rectangle meeting table and had my nano-suit morphed into a magus robe.

With this, I can avoid the worst predicament. Even if this robot was destroyed, I wouldn't die since the main consciousness still remained in my body.

[Master~! Here’s the target's data that the outer wall scanner picked up.]

“Ah!” I scanned through the data on the HUD of the mask and found something intriguing. “He has many times the amount of spiritual power that Andrei had?! Aren’t that put him on the pinnacle of Great Magus rank? Though I’m not really sure either.”

Before long, a middle-aged man was seen outside the building from the surveillance system. He was wearing a 1800s attire: a black tuxedo, a black magician hat, and a long cane. If this wasn’t another universe with magic, I would have mistaken him for a magician that would do a magic trick in a show or maybe even a time traveler. Even though there isn't one anyways.

He raised his eyebrows for a moment, being frozen in place, then looked inside with a mysterious smile. Hmm…? Looking so confident. Did he have a way?

The man entered the inner room, gazing me up with interest before saluting, “Greetings, Cosmic Lord! I am here as the emissary of the Magus Institute of Ralonia. You can call me David, the messenger of Prophet Michael.”