Isekai Adventure in the Dimensional Cube

Yoriichi Type Zero, the presence of this combat mechanical puppet, Reiger had only recalled after seeing Koutetsu.

It wasn't particularly conspicuous, but from the name, it was evident that this mechanical puppet had some connections with Tsukiguni Yoriichi.

The creator of this mechanical puppet had used Tsukiguni Yoriichi as a prototype, creating one with strength far surpassing that of an ordinary human.

Thus, the mechanical puppet had been in this world for quite some time, existing from the Warring States period to the present, at least three hundred years old.

That a mechanical puppet could exist for more than three hundred years was indeed incredible, but this also precisely demonstrated the puppet's extraordinariness.

The Koutetsu family had been maintaining this mechanical puppet from the Warring States period until today, over three hundred years later.

Thinking of that mechanical puppet, Reiger felt a strong interest and was also puzzled about Koutetsu's intent.

"Why seek me out?"

Reiger was puzzled about this particular point.

Indeed, the Yoriichi Type Zero was very old, nearly to the point of breaking down.

The art of maintaining and repairing the Yoriichi Type Zero was lost when passed down to Koutetsu's generation; hence, it was not strange that Koutetsu needed someone to help him fix the mechanical puppet.

The question was, why did Koutetsu not seek out the highly skilled swordsmiths from the village but rather come to find him?

This was what Reiger couldn't understand.

Unexpectedly, Koutetsu had said,

"In the village, apart from my father, nobody else could repair the Yoriichi Type Zero anymore, including me."

As he spoke, Koutetsu's tone was filled with reluctance.

One could imagine the level of skill contained within a mechanical puppet that had survived from the Warring States period to the present.

In the village, there were indeed many skilled swordsmiths, especially the village head, who could be considered the best swordsmith in the world.

Being a swordsmith, however, doesn't mean having an understanding of mechanical puppets.

There were many in the village skilled with swordsmithing, yet virtually none who were proficient in the Mechanical Puppet Technique.

This was already a very obscure skill in the village, obscure to the point of indifference.

Thus, before this, only Koutetsu's father still had the ability to maintain, care for, and repair the Yoriichi Type Zero in the entire village.

However, Koutetsu's father had passed away, leaving Koutetsu alone in the world, taking the last of the village's profound mechanical puppet skills with him.

Koutetsu himself completely lacked the ability to repair the Yoriichi Type Zero. He didn't even have a natural talent for swordsmithing, just a somewhat precocious child.

Thanks to this, in the original story, the Yoriichi Type Zero ended up getting damaged.

But here, Koutetsu saw a hope of repairing the Yoriichi Type Zero.

That was Reiger.

"You are the master of the Divine Sword, right?" Koutetsu almost hopefully said, "Many people in the village say that the Divine Sword was actually forged by you, although a part of the village, led by the village head, who are proficient in swordsmithing, have denied this, saying they don't smell the blacksmith on you. But I want to know, if the Divine Sword really was forged by you, do you then have the technology to repair mechanical puppets?"

That was the situation.

In other words, Koutetsu had come to Reiger, harboring a belief that it might be possible, clinging to the last bit of hope.

"You sure know how to cling to a straw."

Reiger chuckled and shook his head.

"So, can you do it or not?"

Koutetsu did not deny it, just staring anxiously at Reiger.

Reiger thought for a moment, then said, "First, let's go and have a look at the Yoriichi Type Zero."

"Okay!"

Koutetsu readily agreed.

"Can I come along too?"

Tanjirou quickly raised his hand to indicate.

"Let's go." Reiger glanced at Tanjirou, suddenly smiled, and said, "Perhaps you'll find something you can use there."

As he spoke these somewhat mysterious words, Reiger took the lead and moved forward.

Seeing this, Tanjirou and Koutetsu hurried to follow.

.....

Under Koutetsu's guidance, Reiger and the other two arrived at another part of the mountain forest.

There was an open space here, seemingly also specifically cleared for training purposes, but it seemed like it hadn't been used for a long time, giving the area a somewhat desolate feel.

"It's over there."

Koutetsu entered the clearing and pointed at a figure standing in the middle of the open space, calling out to Reiger and Tanjirou.

Reiger looked up and immediately saw the mechanical puppet that had survived from the Warring States period to the present.

It was clothed in a kimono, with a sword at its waist, resembling an ancient Samurai, styled with a high ponytail, and possessing the appearance of a human male. However, its expression was rather stiff and filled with a mechanical sense, making it vaguely discernible that its body was not filled with supple flesh but hard mechanical parts.

It also had six arms, each arm holding a sword, feeling like an Asura coming from hell. Even just standing there silently, it emanated a subtle sense of terror.

"Is this the Yoriichi Type Zero?"

Reiger observed the other party with interest.

Tanjirou did likewise.

"He..."

As he stared at the mechanical puppet's appearance, Tanjirou became somewhat astonished.

Somehow, he always felt he had seen this puppet somewhere before, a sense of inexplicable familiarity and closeness.

Koutetsu then began to introduce it.

"The Mechanical Puppet for combat, 'Yoriichi Type Zero', was the greatest masterpiece by my ancestor in his lifetime. To this day, no one has managed to create a puppet that surpasses it."

"According to the records my family left behind, the Yoriichi Type Zero was modeled after an extraordinarily powerful swordsman from the Warring States period."

"Because this swordsman was so strong, he deeply impressed my ancestor, which led to the creation of this puppet."

Pride filled Xiao Tie's voice.

"Apparently, in order to replicate the swordsman's sword-handling skills, my ancestor not only programmed various action modes into Yoriichi Type Zero but also equipped it with six arms and six swords."

"Otherwise, I hear it could not even display one-tenth the swordsman's power."

"Therefore, Yoriichi Type Zero looks like a Six-Armed Warrior."

Upon hearing this, Tanjirou, who was rather dense and slow-witted, finally caught on.

"Yoriichi Type Zero... Yoriichi...?"

Tanjirou looked astonishedly at Reiger.

"It's exactly what you're thinking," Reiger nodded at Tanjirou and said, "This puppet is modeled after Tsukiguni Yoriichi from the Warring States period, the very person who taught the beginning breathing technique to both you and me."

With this statement, Tanjirou finally understood why he found the appearance of this mechanical puppet so familiar.

Because it was a great predecessor who once fostered a close relationship with his ancestor, saved his life, and left his family the legacy of the Sun Breathing technique.

The blood and lineage flowing through him were telling him that this person was a great benefactor to his family.

In essence, this person was his master and the master of generations of his family since the Warring States period.

"......"

Tanjirou was silent for a while but then bowed deeply to Yoriichi Type Zero as a gesture of respect.

Reiger, however, was not as moved as Tanjirou and continued examining Yoriichi Type Zero. Although he could vaguely see the figure of the swordsman who demonstrated the Sun Breathing in his dreams, his fate was not as deeply intertwined with Tsukiguni Yoriichi as that of Tanjirou's family.

So, Reiger asked Xiao Tie, "It can still move, right?"

"It can." Xiao Tie hesitated but nodded and said, "But the Yoriichi Type Zero is really old. It doesn't matter if it moves a bit, but once it's engaged in combat, it's very likely to break down immediately."

"If that's the case, it can't be helped," Reiger said indifferently. "We need to see what it can actually do before we can conclude whether it can be repaired. If it breaks down before that, then that's just its fate."

Although Xiao Tie was saddened by this statement, he knew it was true.

"Okay, I'll get it moving."

Xiao Tie took out a key from his pocket, stepped forward, inserted it into a hole in the puppet's body, and turned the key to activate the puppet.

"Creak creak..."

The next instant, sounds of metallic components being activated resounded within Yoriichi Type Zero.

Yoriichi Type Zero's eyes also flickered slightly, as if a soul had been injected, and it lifted its head.

Seeing this, Xiao Tie hurriedly ran back.

Reiger promptly grabbed Tanjirou.

"Huh?"

Tanjirou was stunned.

"Big Brother?"

His voice carried confusion and a trace of foreboding unease.

"Go and try."

Sure enough, Reiger ruthlessly uttered those words and threw Tanjirou toward Yoriichi Type Zero.

"Ahhh ahhh ahhh ahhh—!?"

Tanjirou immediately left behind a string of shouts, and then he was thrown in front of Yoriichi Type Zero.

"Whoosh!"

Yoriichi Type Zero immediately moved.

It drew the six swords at its waist and spread its six arms, rushing towards Tanjirou with astonishing speed.

"Wait...!?"

Tanjirou, startled, quickly drew his sword.

"Clang!"

The next second, blade clashed against blade, producing a sharp sound of collision and sparking flames.

In the nick of time, Tanjirou hastily raised his sword to block the godlike strike coming straight towards him.

But Yoriichi Type Zero's other five arms and five swords also moved, sweeping out a storm of blade lights like a torrential downpour, attacking Tanjirou.

"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!".....

For a moment, the sound of swords clashing intensely echoed throughout the open space.

Yoriichi Type Zero, like a War God possessed, completely transformed its six swords into meat-cleaving butcher knives. It unleashed layers of blade lights, slicing out multiple chops, with tremendous speed and high frequency of attacks, forcing Tanjirou to barely parry.

Seeing this, Reiger's eyes grew increasingly bright.

"It's already nearly broken, yet it still has such strength?"

He had basically figured it out.

Yoriichi Type Zero probably possessed combat strength equivalent to Level 4.

This was already the strength of a Pillar, yet manifested in a mechanical puppet.

"Interesting."

Reiger was interested.

Or rather, he wanted the technology to create that mechanical puppet.