Chapter 365: Extraordinary Feat - Reinforced Iron Bones
Under Horak's bewildered gaze, Matthew raised his hand towards him.
"Consume one million Fate Power!"
Thus, the accumulated Fate Power Matthew had stockpiled during his three-month seclusion was entirely depleted.
Before Horak could detect any changes, an indescribable pain surged up, engulfing him.
All the bones in his body seemed to gain a consciousness of their own, growing outward frantically.
His entire body began to slowly expand.
His skin stretched, slightly taut.
The bulging muscles grew leaner.
His health points began to steadily drop.
Clearly, such a drastic transformation inflicted tremendous damage on the entire body.
Matthew meticulously recorded every detail of the transformation, keenly observing every element that posed a threat.
Deep down, he was already certain that enhancing the bones first was the right approach.
If the muscles were enhanced first, the strengthening muscles could potentially crush the bones.
Horak's face contorted in confusion, his mouth opening, but no pained cry could escape. His entire body shivered uncontrollably.
Splat!
The overstretched muscles tore apart, opening a vivid red wound, with blood spraying into the air, forming a mist.
Matthew suppressed his instinct to cast a healing spell, diligently noting down the critical data of muscle tearing, and highlighted:
"In the early stages of modification, bone and muscle enhancement must proceed in tandem; both must support each other to survive."
Purely reinforcing the bones could stretch the entire body from the inside out, leaving nothing but a bloody skeletal frame.
Muscle reinforcement was necessary to withstand and survive such an extreme enhancement.
Horak's pitiful state served as a stark warning to Matthew.
"In the future, no matter the experiment or surgery, I need more 'volunteers.'"
"Relying on self-mutation to grow stronger involves way too much risk..."
He pondered as he recorded Horak's responses bit by bit.
Gazing at the blood-soaked wounds on Horak's body, Matthew suddenly arched his eyebrows, thoughtfully stroking his chin:
"Hmm... I may have overlooked something. The risks of surgery will only increase in the future. I must integrate self-healing abilities as soon as possible."
"Horak won't do. The first experiment data should remain unaffected by external factors."
Seeing Horak's health drop to nearly half, Matthew submerged him in Old Li's newly refined advanced nutrient solution.
As the wounds absorbed the nutrients, the violent changes in Horak's body gradually subsided.
Matthew felt reassured, knowing that Horak had survived this experiment.
Once Horak's wounds healed, Matthew finally reaped the fruits of over a month's labor.
"Extraordinary Feat - Reinforced Iron Bones LV1: Constitution +2, Agility +1, Bone Strength +200%, Natural Healing of Bone Injuries Doubles Strength, Healing Time: 1 year!"
Matthew's lips curled into a smile, excitement and joy uncontainable.
With this extraordinary feat, physical attributes for melee professionals reaching extraordinary levels could be essentially satisfied.
With a deepening understanding of professionals, Matthew had grasped a crucial insight.
The advancement of strength to a specific level.
Not only required the mastery of spells (skills) for power utilization.
It also involved acquiring reinforcement abilities and feats (inheritance).
Bloodline abilities had to be awakened and manifested.
Physical attributes had to keep pace as well.
More precisely, physical attributes were the hardware that provided the foundation, determining how far a professional could go.
Comparatively, when strength advanced to higher levels, spellcasters were generally stronger than melee professionals.
It wasn't simply due to class disparity, but because it was harder for melee professionals to improve their physical attributes than for spellcasters.
After all, Strength, Constitution, and Agility—all three were indispensable.
But, nothing is absolute!
Gazing at the unconscious Horak, a smile of satisfaction spread across Matthew's face.
The robust physique of orcs does have its benefits—they can withstand the abuse!
Well, there are still many physical modifications to research next...
In his sleep, Horak involuntarily shuddered, as though sensing something terrifying.
Now that the bone reinforcement path was verified.
Matthew's next task was to refine the details of the bone reinforcement.
How could the human body adapt to the enhanced bones and ultimately acquire Reinforced Iron Bones?
This would be harder than developing the ability itself!
The reason was simple: Matthew wasn't looking to create a unique case—he needed a system to ensure that at least a part of the elite could successfully undergo the transformation!
Of course, before experimenting on the soldiers, Matthew would first test on orcs and trolls.
For the former, he would specifically select individuals whose strength and attributes were close to those of the Bay soldiers.
Attempting to minimize the influence of racial differences.
Next, Matthew would find some despicable human criminals to "volunteer" as the first batch of human subjects.
Only after completing the safest modifications and refinements would it be the soldiers' turn.
As for selecting trolls for the experiments, it was naturally due to their vitality.
When conducting experiments, Matthew could be more reckless, provoking all possible dangers.
If trolls bore the brunt of the risks, the soldiers would naturally be much safer.
While Matthew carried on with his experimental research,
the situation in the Carl Plains was becoming clearer.
After the orc army scattered,
the Eighth Legion pursued them relentlessly, wiping out nearly one-third of the orc forces.
In the end, only about twenty thousand of the million invading orcs made it back to the Crimson Fortress.
As reinforcements arrived, the Third Legion, stationed at Crimson Fortress, took the initiative, recapturing the northern part of Crimson Fortress.
The remnants of the Third Legion merged with the Eighth Legion, preparing to reclaim the strategically vital Crimson Fortress.
However, orc reinforcements, in alliance with barbarians and trolls, formed a new army of a million.
After capturing a large supply of food and resources from Crimson Fortress and leveraging their numerical superiority, they established a standoff at Crimson Fortress.
The Third and Eighth Legions launched an attack.
They fought the orc army fiercely for days but failed to regain the other half of the fortress.
Both sides suffered casualties, and although the Third and Eighth Legions achieved an excellent exchange ratio, they made no progress.
Netheril refrained from sending more reinforcements because they faced a significant crisis.
The Crimson Outpost on the northwest frontier was under combined attack by orcs and lizardfolk.
The Second Legion held the line but was attacked by a legendary black dragon, damaging the city gate.
Countless enemies poured in.
The Second Legion fought fiercely for half a day, losing over half their numbers, and eventually had to retreat through a large-scale teleportation array, abandoning the Crimson Outpost.
Over two hundred thousand orcs and lizardfolk stormed into the western mountains.
Dozens of noble territories, utterly unprepared, were destroyed.
The entire northwest plunged into a massive crisis.
The Netheril Empire dispatched two floating fortresses!