Chapter 576: Chapter 576. Testing the Mental Regulator
"Brother, they are here!" Xin Wuming rushed into the mayor’s office, where Amon dwelt.
Amon understood who Xin Wuming was referring to here. He asked, "What about Wu Di and Xu Bao’s regiments?"
"Thankfully, they arrived an hour ago," Xin Wuming reported. "They are safe inside the town."
"What about the gate and the barrier?"
"All repaired. Though Diao Xin warned that the barrier directly before the gate could be slightly weaker than the rest. She followed Zhong Yuan’s guidance, but Khode’s engraving technique was indeed advanced."
"We will work with what we have," Amon said. "Have our troops watch the citizens. Some of them might think about causing disruption. We will be in trouble if we are attacked from both inside and outside."
The two exited the town hall. Xin Wuming called his aides to relay Amon’s instruction, while Amon flew directly toward the town’s wall. Yong Baili, Wu Di, Xu Bao, and Yong Huan were atop the wall overlooking the outside. When Amon arrived, he saw a mass of soldiers at a distance from the city.
"They haven’t made a move?" Amon asked.
Xu Bao shook his head. "They stood like that since they arrived."
"They didn’t anticipate this situation," Yong Baili said. "They expected us to still be trying to get into the town. For us to already occupy this town must come as a shock to them."
"Hehe. They are most likely at a loss as to what to do," Wu Di remarked.
"They have finished assembling their Yuanxu Cannons," Yong Huan said. He was using Eagle Eye, the same perception-enhancing martial arts used by Liu Xun. "The cannons remain outside firing range, though. They don’t show any sign of moving those cannons."
"If they advance, they will enter the range of our cannons as well," Yong Baili pointed out.
"How many cannons do you see?" Amon asked Yong Huan.
"... Eighteen," Yong Huan answered.
"How many do we have?" Amon asked Yong Baili.
"Four on the Eastern Wall here and another four on the Western Wall," Yong Baili answered.
"We might have fewer cannons, but we have the higher elevation. Our cannons’ range is longer, isn’t it?" Wu Di asked.
Amon nodded in agreement. He continued scanning the enemy troops. He estimated their number at around thirty thousand. Amid the mass of soldiers were many battle puppets.
The others had the same estimation as he did. Xu Bao said, "If we include our battle puppets, we outnumber them. In a direct clash, we should win. Should we head out and fight it out?"
"We can win in a direct clash, but we will also suffer casualties," Amon said. "This town is just the first of many we will conquer. We can’t lose too many men in this battle."
"So, we play defense and wait for them to attack? So, we trim their number slowly?" Yong Baili asked.
"Time is not on our side," Amon said. "We are inside the enemy’s territory. The longer we wait, the more enemies will show up. I’m pretty sure there are other armies being mobilized to head here as we speak."
"We can’t clash directly, but also can’t reduce their number slowly. So, what can we do?" Wu Di asked.
"We will use their own tech against them," Amon replied. "For now, keep an eye on them. I believe they will wait for their allies to arrive before they act, but have everyone remain vigilant. Be prepared to defend for their assault."
Amon left afterward. The others wondered what his plan was. Considering he didn’t give them any command, they figured his plan didn’t involve them.
Amon flew to another facility, which was the town jail. Echos’ soldiers stationed at the entrance opened the door. He went in and walked through rows of full jail cells. The cells were full because this was where the surrendered town guards were placed, aside from their original occupants.
Amon walked to a door at the end of the facility. Behind the door was an isolated section where the jailors punished prisoners who kept breaking the rules. Another Echos Soldier guarded this door. He bowed to Amon and opened the door for him.
Amon entered and saw Zhong Yuan at the center of the room. The room had no window, and the only exit was where Amon had entered from. Zhong Yuan was not alone. A prisoner was next to him, strapped to a chair. On the prisoner’s head was the same helmet-backpack contraption used by Bright Rock City’s mind-controlled citizens. It was the device to receive the signal from the Mental Regulator.
Looming behind them, at the other end of the room, was the Mental Regulator. Amon placed the device here and had Zhong Yuan study it. Zhong Yuan turned out to be the expert Amon hoped him to be. Even though he only learned about this device from reports, he managed to understand how it operated after studying it for only a short while.
Zhong Yuan had some soldiers help him strip the machinery from other facilities and link them to the Mental Regulator. It could now be activated again. He was just about to test it on a prisoner when Amon entered.
"Can it work?" Amon asked.
"We are about to find out," Zhong Yuan answered.
The prisoner, who was strapped to the chair, didn’t like the sound of that. He asked, "What... What are you people doing to me?"
"Don’t worry. It is just a little test," Zhong Yuan replied. He walked to one of the machines linked to the Mental Regulator. "You won’t remember this."
He operated the machinery. A holographic screen appeared above. He used the screen to turn on The Mental Regulator. The words of power all over the device came to life. The large orb at its top glowed like when Amon first laid eyes on the device. It also started humming.
The strapped prisoner became more nervous after hearing the humming. He continued to demand they tell him what they wanted to do with him.
"Is it not working?" Amon asked Zhong Yuan.
"Wait, wait. I’m still working on the frequency," Zhong Yuan replied. His fingers continued to dart around the screen. "I sort of tweak it a little from its original setting. I have a feeling it will boost the signal output, allowing it to affect even one with a strong mind."
The prisoner could hear what they said. He became even more agitated after hearing their conversation. He yelled, "What do you mean affect a strong mind? Are you doing something to me? What is this helmet you forced me to wear? Why don’t you answer me? You can’t do this to me! I have..."
His voice suddenly trailed off before going silent altogether. Amon and Zhong Yuan returned to the strapped prisoner. They saw his eyes were still open, but his expression was blank. Amon snapped his fingers in front of the prisoner’s eyes. There was no response.
"It works!" Zhong Yuan exclaimed excitedly. He returned to the screen and did some other things. "Uh, can you untie him?"
When Amon looked at him, he added, "Please?"
Amon used his dagger and cut the straps binding the prisoner. The prisoner was free but remained still.
"Um, I will need to replace that strap now... Okay, show time!" Zhong Yuan exclaimed. The prisoner suddenly rose from the chair. He then ran around the room as if he were exercising.
"You can ask him to do anything?" Amon asked.
"There are only simple commands here," Zhong Yuan answered. "I can probably add more complex commands given time, but we should be able to order the controlled human puppets to fight using the current available commands."
"Okay, focus on installing as many of the prisoners with the receiver modules as you can. We need them operational soon."
"How many receiver modules have you plundered from Bright Rock City?" Zhong Yuan asked.
"Close to eight thousand," Amon answered.
Zhong Yuan whistled. "That will take some time, but I don’t think we have that many prisoners here."
"I will get you more," Amon answered. He filled up half of the room with the receiver modules from his black space ring. The room can only fit a small portion of his stock. "I will have people send more modules later. Try to install them on all the prisoners here before tomorrow."
"Damn it. You are asking me to forgo sleep," Zhong Yuan complained.
"You can sleep after the task is done," Amon replied. "I am going to the factory after this. Have you taught Shi Hei about the design we talked about?"
"I have even made a prototype with him. Smart kid, that one, especially about smithing. It is surprising to find such a talent outside of Khode."
"Of course, I only employ the best, like you," Amon said.
"I somehow didn’t feel like that was a compliment," Zhong Yuan said.
"Take it however you like. Remember, before tomorrow!" Amon reminded him and walked to the exit.
Outside, Amon told a soldier to send Xin Wuming a message. He then flew toward the Northern side of the town.