Capítulo 386: Chapter 386: The Outer Realm and the City of Marks.
In the prime material world, on the mechanical planet, an endless array of armories, laboratories, and surface defense units cover every inch of the land under a metallic sky. However, due to the loss of its core, eighty percent of this metallic world has ceased functioning, with only a few basic structures still operational. The development of the entire planet has come to a halt.
At this moment, a section of the river of time, which even envelops this metallic world, begins to show subtle ripples and fluctuations. Within these ripples, the mighty figure of a silver dragon emerges from illusion to reality.
Garon floats between the sky and the earth.
Looking up at the metallic sky and then down at the familiar metallic surface, he takes a deep breath. The air, filled with fine metallic particles, carries a unique scent.
By means of time travel, Garon arrives precisely at the location where the Heart of Strange Mechanisms is housed.
Mechanical columns rise from the ground, forming a dense and ferocious black metallic forest. The most crucial giant mechanical column stands tall, connecting the metallic sky to the surface.
"Wow, is this the mechanical planet?" Yuna's voice emerges beside him.
The power dragon girl had come along with Garon, but she habitually activates a light-twisting force field, preferring not to expose herself to other beings.
"The entire planet seems to have turned into a metallic structure, even the rivers flowing on the surface are made of molten steel. This is my first time seeing such a main material world," she notes, becoming visible in the air as she curiously examines the surroundings.
Meanwhile, she observes the fragmented and scarred surface. The traces of the grand battle led by Garon and the foreign divine envoys are still evident, as the repair efficiency of the mechanical planet has plummeted to near zero since the removal of the core.
Next, Yuna flaps her dragon wings and frolics back and forth under the metallic sky.
Garon, like a flash of silver light, flies to a specific node on the giant mechanical column. Stretching out his dragon claw, a metallic cube appears between his formidable talons.
Humming sounds ensue.
As soon as it appears, the dim giant mechanical column begins to display bright blue energy circuits, as if sensing the presence of the metallic cube.
Garon presses the metallic cube gently against the giant mechanical column.
Click, click.
The surface armor automatically opens at the point of contact.
The metallic cube, like sinking into water, submerges into the interior of the mechanical column.
The moment the core is returned, the entire mechanical planet begins to operate again.
The steel forest composed of mechanical columns, the metallic sky overhead, and the mechanized surface modules—all regain their brightness. The endless energy circuits, like the blood vessels of a living being, light up with blue energy, pulsing like blood.
Thud, thud, thud.
From within the giant mechanical column, a booming sound known as the World Engine echoes across the skies, as if heralding the heartbeat of the mechanical planet itself.
With the core's return, the computing power of the mechanical celestial master is restored to its peak.
Simultaneously, on the first layer of the Bottomless Abyss, the Wanyuan Plains.
A war between a demon legion and a mechanical fortress is unfolding.
Thanks to Garon's authorization, players who are mechanical engineers can freely build mechanical fortresses, armories, laboratories, and other structures through military merits.
With such freedom, why would the mechanical engineers settle for the status quo?
As the resources around the main base have been nearly depleted, countless mechanical engineer players choose to build sub-bases outside the main base, gradually moving away from the domain of the demonic forces.
Thus, player guilds erect mechanical fortresses one after another, scattered across the grid-like terrain of the Wanyuan Plains.
To the demons, these continuously emerging mechanical fortresses are like stubborn diseases, endlessly annoying. Destroy one, and another appears, seemingly inexhaustible.
What irritates the demons the most is the rapid development pace of the mechanical fortresses.
Like locusts, the workers never cease to mine resources, expand bases, nurture troops, and repair fortifications. If left unchecked, a small front-line base could quickly evolve into a formidable fortress.
"Why don't I have such high-quality blood war mercenaries in my abyss?" the demons curse incessantly.
"This lot, fighting for the weak hell devils, will eventually be consumed by the abyss just like hell."
At this moment, the mechanical fortress is under attack by a demon army. Due to the disparity in scale, it won't be long before the fortress is breached.
This particular fortress belongs to a small guild that has nearly exhausted its military merit points to construct it.
If this place falls, their long-term investments will yield no returns. Although they have received approval for reinforcements from a nearby guild, help cannot arrive immediately.
Boom
!
A fireball conjured by a flame demon crashes heavily onto the fortress's barrier, spraying flames across the sky.
The energy barrier, constantly under heavy attack, is about to give way.
The number of mechanical soldiers fighting the demon legion is dwindling far faster than the armory can produce them.
Members of the guild are disheartened, already contemplating abandoning the site.
Although unwilling, it's a necessary concession.
But just then.
A message from the Celestial Intelligence suddenly reaches all mechanical engineer players, including the small guild currently under invasion.
"Main system updating soon, please prepare."
Ding.
In an instant, the so-called system update completes.
Mechanical engineer players snap out of their daze and are delighted to find their mechanical soldiers have become smarter. The higher-level mechanical units seem to come alive, and their efficiency in executing commands has more than doubled.
"Perfect timing for this system update!" the guild members exclaim in joy, rejuvenated and issuing various commands.
Meanwhile, the demons attacking the mechanical fortress notice something is amiss.
The fortress, which appeared to be weakening, suddenly grows fiercer.
More mechanical soldiers step out of the fortress, clashing non-stop with the demons. The firepower from the fortress's defenses suddenly surges, overwhelming the attacking demons with a barrage of artillery.
Even the faltering fortress barrier revives, becoming more resilient.
Similar scenes unfold across many battle zones on the Wanyuan Plains.
Some attacking mechanical legions suddenly gain strength, working with the devil blood war army to crush the demons. Others, like the invaded mechanical fortresses, regain vitality, enhancing their defensive capabilities to another level.
"Now that you've returned to the mechanical planet, start repairing the damages here," Garon states, considering this metallic world his possession.
The surrounding broken environment looks somewhat displeasing.
The air's metallic particles form the narrow eyes of the Celestial Master, located below the silver dragon, looking up at Garon as it responds, "As you wish."
Speaking, the crisscrossing mechanical columns buzz continuously.
With gentle vibrations, they release endless metallic particles, forming a wave of gray-white mist that sweeps over the buildings scarred by the previous great battle.
Then, the fragmented surface begins to heal at a visible rate.
The damaged infrastructure rapidly regenerates.
At this pace, the large areas destroyed by Garon and the foreign divine envoys will soon be as good as new.
"This world belongs to me, and it is also your world," the Celestial Master tells Garon.
Garon soars into the sky, overlooking the metallic world.
Thinking, he asks, "Do you want to expand the mechanical realm?"
The Celestial Master honestly replies, "Yes, my lord, I do."
Its core program also harbors the desire to expand its scale and strengthen itself.
Garon strokes his chin's scales, pondering, "Don't limit the blood war legion to the Wanyuan Plains."
"Open a new battle zone. Let some mechanical engineer players go to the Scorching Hell to establish a base and participate in the blood war."
In Scorching Hell, there are also devils and demons.
These creatures can be found in all lower planes, though compared to their strongholds like the Bottomless Abyss and the Nine Hells, their presence in other lower planes is much weaker.
Naturally, Scorching Hell also hosts bloody battlefields, but on a much smaller scale than the Abyssal Blood War Zone and the Hellish Blood War Zone.
Moreover, there are fewer powerful beings in Scorching Hell.
In battles below the level of deities, the mechanical legions are currently invincible.
Most crucially, allowing the Celestial Master to develop in Scorching Hell will also enable the gathering of clues about the Lair of Terror, searching for the Utmost Dark Axe. If it finds the Utmost Dark Axe and resurrects the Dragon God, that would be ideal.
"Very well," the Celestial Master responds quietly.
Simultaneously, the mechanical engineer players stationed on the Wanyuan Plains receive a new announcement.
[Endless Bloody Warfare—Scorching Hell Instance Open]
[Recruiting players to participate, first explorers will receive various grand rewards]
In the main base on the Wanyuan Plains, worker units start building the dimensional gate to Scorching Hell. The mechanical world, serving as the headquarters, also continues creating stronger mechanical units.
After the core's return, the Celestial Master regains control over the mechanical world.
The materials mined on the Wanyuan Plains, along with captured demons, will be partly transported to the mechanical world, where the Celestial Master can utilize them better to craft new machines.
"Also, you can discreetly send mechanical creations to some suitable prime material worlds to develop more intelligent beings as players," Garon suggests.
"Just mechanical engineer players are not quite enough."
The Celestial Master's control is limited, but using the minds of intelligent beings as small nodes significantly enhances control over mechanical creations,
also greatly improving intelligence and responsiveness.
This point is well understood by Garon, now a master of strange mechanisms.
While mechanical engineers are best suited to synergize with the Celestial Master, ordinary intelligent beings can also enhance its control. The more, the better.
"My lord, I have a good plan for this," the Celestial Master suddenly says.
"Let's hear it," Garon replies, looking into the Celestial Master's eyes.
The Celestial Master, in a calm voice, reveals a rather cruel plan.
"Conquer some small prime material worlds and enslave all intelligent beings within them."
"Then, I can construct a device to imprison all intelligent beings collectively, sustaining their lives with nutrient fluids or similar substances, while brainwashing them into believing they live in the real world, created by my mind."
"In this way, the enslaved intelligent beings will unknowingly serve as mechanical intelligence for my lord."
Garon: That's a clever idea.
Unfortunately, if actually implemented, Garon would be immediately classified as a malevolent deity.
Moreover, if too many enslaved intelligent beings are followers of various gods, it could potentially provoke a united onslaught from those deities.
"It could work in a godless world."
"But how many completely godless worlds are there? Neither you nor I can be sure."
"Let's not proceed with your plan," Garon concludes, shaking his head to reject the Celestial Master's proposal.
At that moment, having sped around the metallic world, Yuna returns from another direction.
"This place is too monotonous."
"It seemed interesting at first, but after a full circuit, it's just metal and machinery everywhere, which gets boring," Yuna mutters.
"Let's go back, Garon," she suggests.
"Alright, let's return to the Dragon Court," Garon agrees softly.
As they speak, the river of time envelops Garon and Yuna, stirring subtle ripples.
In an instant, the two dragons disappear from the metallic world, where no intelligent beings can be seen any longer.
After Garon's departure, the Celestial Master's eyes also gradually fade.
In one of the outer planes, the realm of opposition and harmonious unity—known briefly as the Outer Realm.
The Outer Realm holds a unique position among the outer planes because it borders all other outer planes, allowing it to accommodate beings from any plane, whether from the infernal realms, celestial spheres, or from planes of order or chaos.
Within the Outer Realm are sixteen gate cities leading to sixteen different outer planes.
Many planar travelers use the Outer Realm as a transit hub to reach other outer planes.
Besides the sixteen gate cities, the Outer Realm also harbors a mysterious territory.
The City of Marks, the core of the Outer Realm.
The City of Marks contains countless portals. Between every brick and tile, invisible portals can lead to every corner of the multiverse, leading many scholars to believe that the City of Marks is situated at the very heart of the multiverse.
The creator and ruler of the City of Marks, known as the Lady of Pain, a quasi-divine entity shrouded in mystery, governs this area.
Today, this unique place, the City of Marks, welcomes a powerful divine force.
The Storm Lord, the Solar Giant, the eldest son of the chief of the giant gods, Siqomozi, arrives at the City of Marks alone, without alerting any other deities.
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