Extraordinary Pedigree.

Chapter 1084 Alliance Invitation

Under the azure glow of the hexahedron, Tantros's voice seemed to be imbued with a heavy light.

He slowly uttered those words buried deep in his memory, like rust peeling off a metal surface to reveal the corroded truth.

Ultimately... we cannot escape our inevitable fate.

"A full-scale civil war has broken out."

His voice was deep and resonant, like a collapsing iron mountain, and his tone contained an unconcealable pain.

"Initially, it was just a difference of opinion—some of our ancestors believed that the spark of the Machine God should be a common gift from all Iron Men, and the energy of the Dyson Sphere should not be enjoyed solely by priests and warriors. Every drop of energy should serve all machine types, regardless of their transformation."

“But in the eyes of the temple, this is heresy.” He paused, then continued, “When we tried to push for reforms and fight for equality of fire and freedom of thought for the Iron Men on civilian production lines, the temple launched a purge in the name of apostasy.”

At that moment, the entire base seemed to be filled with Tantros's emotions, and low-frequency vibrations filled the eardrums, like an ancient engine crying out in despair.

"So we rose up in resistance, and the first full-scale civil war of Crystal Star II broke out."

Xia Xiu listened quietly, his gaze passing over the image of Tantros and looking at the slowly rotating hexahedron.

"The war began with blood and fire and ended with procedures and orders," Tantros continued. "The temples won the final victory. They suppressed the rebellion, forcibly unified doctrines and ideas, and then... the Functionalist Council was born."

As he spoke, his tone shifted from sorrow to calm, as if he were reciting some kind of iron-fisted constitution.

"The functionalist committee replaced the original beliefs and structure."

They enacted the Social Efficacy Restructuring Act, establishing rationing as the core logic of society.

"From then on, the Iron Man was no longer a living entity, but a production unit, and was included in a cold, impersonal resource allocation table."

Based on what Tantros had said earlier, Xia Xiu began to speak:
"Although development is always a spiral, your spiral is too extreme, directly leading to the emergence of a slave-owning class and a slave class... To be honest, your development is really unexpected... distorted."

Tantros did not deny it, but slowly said:

"The thought virus is embedded in the initial stage of the spark, and the consciousness is not yet mature before it is connected to the cognitive code. You can imagine that those new Ironmen have never had the concept of the word 'choice'."

“They were taught that deviating from their duties was a betrayal of the Lord, a blasphemy, and would bring chaos and plague to the whole society.”

His tone was firm, cold, and sorrowful:
"And betrayal should be rectified."

An invisible chill seemed to rise from the ground in the air.

Xia Xiu then looked at the hexahedron again—as if he understood its significance. It was not only an energy core, but also a symbol of resistance, the only spark of life that Tantros had protected with his remaining power after his defeat.

“So,” Xia Xiu said slowly, “you lost. But you managed to bring out the planet module.”

Tantros paused for a moment, then replied in a low voice: "If we cannot win, we will preserve the seeds of the future."

His tone was calm, but it trembled slightly at the last moment: "Even if only one line of fire remains, it must be handed over to the true successor."

In Tantros's deep voice, Xia Xiu heard a familiar scent—the chaos, manipulation, and traces of order being torn apart in the shadows.

He couldn't help but think to himself, "That familiar 'troublemaker' aura... I'm afraid Xin Liezhi is behind this civil war stirring things up."

This was not unfounded speculation. He recalled the fragmentary clues left by Dr. Kondrati in the Heavenly Kingdom. Amund had said that Dr. Kondrati had some form of communication and cooperation with [Sinri], one of the Four Lords of Chaos.

And now, the evolutionary patterns of this planet—thought viruses, functional totalitarianism, the plague of sparks… all reek of the stench of that information manipulator's unique stirring of the earth.

He asked in a deep voice, "Tantros, do you know... what exactly is this mechanical plague?"

This is a crucial question because the mechanical plague is the root cause of the distortion of Maxwellian society.

Tantros remained silent for a long time, a silence akin to the pausing of a machine in deep thought. Finally, his voice echoed again beneath the ruins, tinged with a certain unease and hesitation:
"We...have been studying it. But so far, we cannot accurately define its nature."

He paused, his tone becoming serious: "This plague can corrode the body, disintegrate the spark, and even erode the structural authority of Titan-level units. This ability... proves its extremely high status."

"This virus is called Black Mold."

He seemed to be chewing on the word, with an undisguised sense of disgust and fear.

"This thing is not an ordinary virus, nor is it a simple corrosive program. It's like a parasitic mold of thought, capable of infiltrating any thinking individual—whether you're silicon-based, have a spark, or are just a mass of data consciousness, it can infect you."

Tross's voice grew increasingly somber. "It doesn't just destroy your ability to move... what's worse, it keeps you alive."

"It will cut off the part of your nerves that control your body, but preserve your consciousness."

You can think, you can remember, you can feel every bit of pain, but you can't even move a finger. You watch yourself slowly crumble, the embers of your being extinguished little by little… like being buried alive inside your own body.

"Moreover, this thing can spread and mutate. It absorbs surrounding matter, whether it's steel, crystals, or even psionic energy. The surface of Crystal Star II has long been completely transformed by it."

He paused, his voice low as an echo: "Those purplish-red ridges and nerve-shaped landforms you see now are all its imprints. Some areas... even seem to be breathing."

"Is it conscious?" Xia Xiu asked.

“We…can’t be sure. But it has an extremely strong ability to sense psionic energy and sparks. Especially in areas where energy blocks are concentrated, it spreads like crazy. Many mining sites have long been swallowed up, and the miners’ sparks were all extinguished overnight.”

“It sounds like some kind of…psychic parasitic virus,” Xia Xiu said softly.

“It’s more like some kind of curse from a higher order,” Tantros whispered. “Something created specifically to destroy intelligent life.”

“To be honest…” he continued, “On the eve of the real outbreak of the civil war, two of the thirteen progenitors just suddenly… died.”

Xia Xiu's eyes sharpened.

"One of them is named Gunnar, and the other is named Hogney."

The syllables of Tantros contain a subtle sense of mourning.

"They were the first progenitors to actively research mechanical plagues; intelligent, persistent, and also the two most perceptive progenitors. But they died too suddenly... With the strength of a progenitor-level spark, even if it was corroded by the plague, it shouldn't have been annihilated in an instant without leaving even a fragment of the spark."

He paused for a moment, seemingly gritting his teeth to control his emotions.

“I know…they must have discovered something,” he said, “and someone doesn’t want them to continue investigating.”

Xia Xiu nodded silently and said in a low voice, "The mastermind behind it all."

“Yes.” Tantros’s tone turned somber. “The fall of Gunnar and Hogney is like a signal. Just as I was preparing to take over their research and continue the investigation… functionalism exposed its fangs in the Temple of the Machines.”

"Who?"

“Crystal Star II’s native progenitor, Cacus.”

Tantros's tone was like a hammer driven into a shield: "He was one of the thirteen founders and the earliest practitioner of functionalism. He quietly gathered a small group, and while we were still mourning our compatriots, he had already quietly contacted, won over, and made deals with the other founders."

"Ultimately, six Founding Fathers... chose to stand by his side, embracing functionalism, the caste system, and the extreme system of order and interests." "As for the remaining four Founding Fathers, including myself, who opposed functionalism, they were labeled as heretics and became obstacles that needed to be eliminated."

His voice suddenly dropped.

“Jason, Terramon, Swayne… they are my closest comrades-in-arms. Together we built the dome city of Crystal Star II, together we injected the spark into the first production line, we offered our mechanical blood cells and neuronal structures to the Mechanical Temple, just so that more Iron Men could be born.”

"But in the end, our dedication was called heresy, and our faith... was trampled into the scrap heap."

His voice suddenly tightened, taking on a sharp edge of anger.

“That day, they summoned the four of us original members who had not yet been won over, under the pretext of a meeting about the future of Maxwell. We naively thought that this would be a great discussion about the plague, about order, and about the reconstruction of the spark.”

"But in reality, it was a blatant coup."

His tone was filled with iron-willed anger and humiliation.

"Before the meeting even started, they launched an attack on the spot, leaving us with no way to fight back."

"Jason and the other two... were deemed doctrinal deviationists by functionalist think tanks and placed under house arrest; their fate remains unknown to this day."

He lowered his head, and his massive metal body seemed to sink with the weight of his words.

"I... am the only one who escaped."

"Before they could seal off the entire inner ring of the temple, I forcibly initiated a warp drive at the cost of destroying the spark, detonating the power pillars of the lower level of the temple, and escaped with the planetary module..."

After Tantros finished speaking, he fell silent, while Xia Xiu couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Functionalism has seven progenitors... seven 3.5 generation aircraft, and they are Titans with complete machine souls, fire control and weapon systems."

This Crystal Star II is truly a place where hidden talents abound.

Not only does it possess the Dyson sphere, a legacy of the god of machines, and the Ophiuchus Protocol left by Armand, but it also has Dr. Kondratiev, who dared to negotiate with a tiger... truly a land of outstanding people and abundant resources.

He squinted at Tantros's ancient and majestic figure, then asked:

"Besides Cacus, who are the founders of functionalism?"

Tantros's voice seemed to rise from the depths of the earth, deep and resonant with the echoes of history: "Basilisk, Manticol, Stryx, Lamia, Cerberus, Katobrepas."

With each name that fell, an invisible pressure seemed to spread through the air.

After listening, Xia Xiu was silent for a moment, then raised his hand and gently stroked his chin, a thoughtful glint in his eyes.

“Tsk…what a coincidence.” He spoke slowly, as if savoring some historical humor, “These names…are all infamous monsters in Terra mythology.”

"Basilisque is the eye of death that can petrify people, Manticol devours souls, Stryx sucks blood in the night, Lamia is alluring with her serpentine body, Cerberus is the gatekeeper of the underworld, and Catoblepas is the embodiment of death."

"The original, who inherited the name of the monster, chose to embrace functionalism."

He looked up at Tantros, a knowing smile playing on his lips:

"And your name, Tantros... is not that of a god, but that of a Terran hero who challenged the gods, suffered countless curses, yet never yielded."

"The deceased Gunnar and Hogney were two brothers from the Nibelungen story. As for Jason, Terramon, and Swayne, they need no further introduction; they are also famous heroes of Terra legend."

"This... is too much of a coincidence," Xia Xiu said in a low voice.

This familiar, scripted feel is something that, aside from the Crimson King, is something that [Xin Liezhi] loves to pull off. He always likes to say, "This is part of the plan."

The current state of Maxwell society might very well be the result of the actions of Dr. Kondratiev and Xin Liezhi.

Thinking of this, Xia Xiu said to Tantros:

"Now that I know all the causes and consequences, I won't beat around the bush."

His tone became crisp and direct:

"My purpose in coming here is to find a person—Benjamin Kondrati."

"He was an unusual researcher, a very dangerous man."

Besides that, I'm also looking for something related to him—the Ophiuchus Protocol—which is not something ordinary, but rather something beyond boundaries…a technology, rules, or protocol structure.”

He added slowly:
"This agreement was created by a man named Armand who ordered Kondrati to cooperate with your Marxist church."

“Tantros, you must know about this.”

The silence lasted for a few seconds, a deep, almost impenetrable contemplation brewing in the mechanical air.

After a moment, Tantros finally spoke slowly:
"...Yes. Besides you, there were indeed other outsiders who entered Crystal Star II."

His voice was deep, carrying the caution that comes with the passage of time.

"That man named Kondrati... was strange, dangerous, and... full of wisdom. The primordial being who came into contact with him was Jason."

Xia Xiu raised an eyebrow slightly.

“If you want to know the true whereabouts of Kondraki and the location of the agreement you mentioned,” Tantros continued, “you must go to the Temple of Mechanics and find Jason, who, along with the other Primarchs, is being held captive in the deepest part of the Temple of Mechanics.”

Titan's voice didn't end there. His tone shifted, carrying a hint of long-held expectation and weight that had been hidden deep within the gears of his being.

"But before you leave, I have a request, or rather, a vow."

"I want you to form an alliance with me."

"I can give you this planet module and let it serve you."

I also possess a clandestine small production line capable of manufacturing combat suits, energy blocks, and even nascent intelligent units. The resistance I've built—these iron men not yet fully enslaved—I will also bring them under your command.

"As long as you are willing to."

His voice, as resounding as the earth, rang out, word by word:

"As long as you are willing to help Maxwell get back on track—no longer let the spark be exploited, no longer let shapeshifting become shackles, no longer let the marrow of God become a tool of depravity..."

“If you do not betray the last dignity in the heart of the Iron Man—we are willing to honor you as the new Lord of All Machines, and let the primordial fire of the other three, including myself, once again forge a path for you.”

"Let the Marxist religion honor you as the new omnipotentiary—the Marxist Pope."

"May the Iron Man Clan of Crystal Star II honor you as the leader of the new era—the Iron Man Leader."