Chapter 88: A clash of two worlds (1)
Yao Shen found himself surprised by Vondars unwillingness to break his flow as he explained one invention after the next, only interjecting in between explanations, only to tell him to continue to the next one.
It stood in stark juxtaposition to Yao Shens own barrage of queries as Vondar the Scholars remnant soul had explained to him the technique required to engrave the greater rune schematic onto the Lumenite Armor. Memorizing the grooves he had to carve out for each of the five schematics didnt take him long and the cylindrical ends of Runebound Oresplitters baton were designed to aid in said process.
Once that was accomplished, Yao Shen had to fill the depression in the metal with multiple different types of Qi, in a ratio that Vondar had already disclosed to him. If the entire process was conducted correctly from beginning to end, then invoking the Greater Runes true name would serve as an invocation to solidify its form upon the Lumenite Armor.
The complexity involved in the process was such that Yao Shen was forced to admit that his ambitions to have the Mortal School of Spycraft and Warfare decrypt Greater Runescript might have been too ambitious, at least in the short term.
There were many questions that he had posed towards Vondar. Most of them had been broadly framed to fill in the lacunae in his own understanding of Greater Runescript and Vondar had been gracious enough to answer almost all of them, even though they technically fell outside the purview of their agreement.
However, there was one question that had chipped away at his sense of curiosity since the moment the Five Greater Runes true names and functions were revealed to him.
Can the Lumenite Armors four Greater Runes function in unison? Yao Shen had asked, leaving the Self-Destruct Rune out of the equation.
Vondar had taken a few long moments to consider the question before finally replying, How much do you know about the Dao of Formations? He had asked.
It was only after taking a measure of his limited understanding of the Dao of Formations did Vondar give him the answer he was seeking.
Formation Masters were a well-sought out commodity even in the bygone era. Though I was not personally alive to witness the Era of Turmoil, our generation saw the consequences of the devastation wreaked upon Ionea. What used to be knowledge freely given came to be bitterly guarded and most races chose to value immediate strength over scholarly pursuit. As such, even among the Dwarves, whilst there were many willing to learn the Dao of Formations, those secrets were reserved only for Tellurarchs The Children of the Earth.
While Yao Shen was not well-versed in Dwarven Polity, he had heard enough whispers about the terrifying might of the Dwarven Nobility, a direct consequence of their unparalleled mastery over the Dao of Earth.
Even Basic Runescript formations can be useful in delaying or distracting an enemy, among other utilitarian purposes. Greater Runescript Formations rely on a single Greater Rune around which an array of basic runes are built to modify its exact effect until the desired outcome is reached. A true master of the Dao of Formations can deploy one such formation after the other, the preparations for them likely having been made beforehand leaving no weaknesses in offense, defense, speed or concealment. As for formations with multiple Greater Runes, the complexity involved in balancing the formation likely exceeds what a Soul Emperor can accomplish, even if they were to acquire one.
The revelation had left Yao Shen shaken, proving once again how important it was to maintain amiable relations with Vondars soul.
His own explanation had begun with the handgun. While Yao Shen had only seen guns from afar in his previous life, in the hands of police officers and army personnel, it would be a miracle if he had lived through the modern world without understanding its basic mechanics. He had begun with a brief overview of history that was narrated to the best of his ability, describing the evolution from sharpened stone weapons to the dawn of the bronze and iron age, the advent of the bow and arrows resulting in the eventual creation of the far deadlier crossbow. The deadliness of siege weapons like catapults and ballistae against enemies hunkered down behind the security of large fortresses and the variety of melee weapons- from swords of all shapes and sizes to more eclectic choices like spiked maces and war scythes.
Predominantly, the common thread across all these historical weapons was the simple fact that physical prowess would offer a most definite advantage to the wielder, whether it be the draw weight required for a bow or the strength and agility required to wield a sword.
The gun, from its humble beginnings as fire lances and hand cannons after the discovery of gunpowder to matchlock and then flintlock mechanisms, changed that. The industrial revolution refined both design and make after which, finally, the hand gun offered all the destructive potential of a high speed projectile shooter that fired a bullet at a speed no mortal could react to, in a compact package.
While physical prowess was still required for the armed forces, the effectiveness of a handgun was not dependent upon the wielders build, weight or size. It was an equalizer that changed the nature of mortal combat permanently, an equalizer almost unlike anything seen in history before.
Grenades were easy to explain with hand guns as references and Yao Shen described a sniper rifle as a long range counterpart of the handgun, with its purpose primarily being assassination from a distance with ideally minimum risk to the wielder.
Tasers and Drones were more recent inventions and Yao Shen could not claim to fully understand the intricacies of the design and engineering that was required to create the two. Their general purpose, structure and guesses were all he could offer.
It was only after his explanations were concluded did Vondar pose his questions.
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