The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

Although unexpected, it was also reasonable.

Zhao Qing pondered this inwardly, not feeling particularly surprised. This was because the emergence and development of a new thing could never be without any trace. Given the level of technological accumulation and metallurgical materials and processes of the early Messiah Church, to create a creation like the "Seraphim" that far surpassed its time, it must have directly used a large number of parts left behind by prehistoric civilizations in Avalon.

Even the core design drawings might be readily available.

The so-called "manufacturing" is closer to "assembly" and "activation". The driver's body shape was taken into consideration later, and very limited modifications were made to adapt to human control.

So, why would a prehistoric civilization, which is highly likely related to dragons and Odin, develop technology resembling humanoid power armor? What were its historical developments?

With a slight thought, countless deep crystalline patterns in her eyes combined to form a mysterious prism, analyzing the internal and external structure of the "Seraphim" armor inside the iron coffin, and further penetrating to see its core.

Like the Wrath of God II and the Seraphim Iron Cavalry IV, the Seraphim armor also possesses the typical "knight's bone," and this "bone" is indeed aptly named. At first glance, most people would mistake it for the remains of some extinct ancient giant.

Because its structure does resemble the human skeleton, with all the necessary elements such as the spine, shoulder blades, lumbar vertebrae, and pelvis, but it is 30% larger than the human skeleton, which is just over two meters long. Only the remains of a robust human could be this size.

"The skeleton of a 'dwarf'?" Zhao Qing recognized its prototype.

As mentioned before, the "dwarf" race that often appears in Norse mythology is actually a branch of the dragon race that is skilled in alchemy. They transformed into human form in pursuit of more refined and dexterous skills.

They are called "dwarves" because they are much smaller than dragons, but far more robust than ordinary people.

These things that look like giant skeletons are probably... the remains of some "dwarves" from the past.

However, it was not the original product from back then, but rather it had been modified by bio-alchemy, and the remains had been carefully processed.

Dragon corpses do not decompose for many years after death. The dragon race uses alchemy to process the remains of their own kind, forcibly sealing the remaining life within the dying person's body. Afterward, they can live for hundreds or even thousands of years, acting as guardians of the city.

This is the origin of the characters "尸" and "守" in "尸守".

Normally, a Corpse Guardian is just a withered and decaying thing like a mummy. Although its torso and bones are more resilient than when it was alive, without the power of words and a brain, its combat power is far less than when it was alive. It has lost its mind and only retains a beast-like intuition and a bloodthirsty killing instinct, and cannot be driven to attack a designated target.

Simply put, they buried some zombies under the foundation, and released them outside when they encountered enemies, causing indiscriminate killing.

Unless it is a rare giant species, and is combined with the power of words such as precepts, corpse guards are always just cannon fodder.

Furthermore, the techniques for creating corpse guardians also vary in level. Lower-level ones may simply be able to control walking corpses, while higher-level ones involve a deep alchemical reconstruction of the essence of life.

As far as she knew, the latter basically used dead metal to replace the elements in the dragon's bones, and used dead metal solution to replace their blood. The end result was an alchemical golem, an enhanced version of the corpse guardian. The whole process was similar to the body plastination technique, where plastic is infiltrated into the human body to create specimens.

The regenerated metallized dwarven bones perfectly match the current state of the Seraph's "Knight Bones," giving them greater strength than ordinary high-grade "hard metals" and classifying them as ultimate metals. To this day, the Holy See is still unable to reproduce them.

The mineral red mercury may be one of the metallized products of dragon blood, and it also matches the advanced technology of the Corpse Guardian.

It must be said that the technology of the prototype of "Seraph" was even more advanced than that of the declining dragon civilization. Whether it was bones, blood, nerves, or muscles, they were all metallized.

Furthermore, by adding the driver unit, under the control of neural connections, the Corpse Guardian has also eliminated its mindless and bloodthirsty flaws, and can be used as a war tool with "intelligence" and "soul".

Looking back now, one of the reasons the White King recruited the weak humans during his rebellion was likely to have them wield these specially alchemically treated Corpse Guardian Armor.

"But after switching to steam power, with red mercury steam doing the work, the activity of the 'Corpse Guardian' should have been suppressed, and its spiritual imprint was almost dormant. It was difficult to truly stimulate the power hidden in the skeleton, and it was almost just a series of mechanical dead objects..."

Zhao Qing analyzed and pondered: "However, with its inherent strength and the passive fusion of human and machine spirit, it has already crushed all weapons and equipment in the world today—to date, the world's strongest mobile armor is still the original generation from a hundred years ago!"

Undoubtedly, connecting and deeply resonating with the dragon souls remaining in the remains would have astonishing side effects on the pilot, tantamount to forcibly entering a "blood-boosting" state.

Once out of control, they will degenerate into Deadpools, turning into bloodthirsty killing machines, or into some kind of living dead.

It has breath and a heartbeat, yet it is forever asleep.

Those who don the Seraph's Armor often meet the same fate: nervous system collapse and failure of all organs.

The "Seraph" armor is like a bloodline refining technique that stimulates the dragon personality to take over, allowing hybrids to gradually exceed the critical bloodline limit of 50% and evolve irreversibly.

However, in a world rich in vital energy, bloodline refinement can effectively replenish energy from the external environment. But in a scarce region, energy must be supplied almost entirely by the human body itself, which is then squeezed to its limits.

The pilots of the Seraphim, such as Poincaré and Perón, possess physical qualities that are close to the limits of human physical ability, but the pilots of the Seraphim are often thin and appear unhealthy.

Her gaze swept across the entire "World Python" train, quickly examining a total of forty knight iron coffins. Twenty-eight of them were placed in a mixture of ice and water, while the other twelve were placed in low-temperature ice blocks. Clearly, the former were to be used in the "Phoenix Killing" plan, while the latter were spares and had not been used.

Inside the coffin lay the most outstanding knights of the Papal States, all young men around twenty years old. They were pale and thin, their skin as white as snow from frequent immersion in ice water, and their bodies had a translucent quality.

Fine, pure gold electrodes extend from the spine of the "Knight's Bone," inserting into the knight's spine and probing through small holes between the vertebrae to penetrate the most important nerve tissue in the body, the spinal cord gray matter, thus achieving the merging of the two into one.

“Within the ‘Seraph,’ the over-enhanced bloodline is no longer a burden for the time being,” Zhao Qing pointed out the key point, “The Knight’s Bone can help supply most of the energy…”

Seraphim's normal power exceeds 10,000 horsepower, and it can operate at 400% overload. Although the mechanical conversion efficiency is limited, it is also supported by the "Knight's Bone" and the ultra-high synchronization rate under the neural connection. Such power is still too great and cannot be borne by the human body.

Normally, a simple exertion movement can increase power by hundreds or thousands of times. If there is even the slightest incoordination, it would be good enough if one didn't suffer from severe bleeding or broken bones. How could one possibly control it normally? Even the human body couldn't withstand that, right?

It should be noted that among those who donned the motor armor for the first time, more than 50% were injured, with 10% suffering serious injuries, and even 5% suffering lumbar vertebrae sprains that resulted in paralysis.

No matter how advanced the technology, it is impossible to completely eliminate the reaction force.

The truth is that, due to the resonance and symbiosis, the driver's physique is enhanced, allowing them to exhibit the super S-class hybrid characteristics that they lack due to malnutrition.

For example, maintaining bodily activity at zero or even below zero degrees Celsius, achieving an incredible cryogenic hibernation recovery.

"Speaking of which, what's inside those four coffins that are a size larger than 'Seraph' and have a much higher level of secrecy? Prototypes of prototypes?" Zhao Qing thought for a moment and then walked forward.

……

Perón leaned against the carriage wall, smoking, as the train traveled through the mountains, a slight vibration beneath his feet.

Suddenly, the Seraphim rose from the icy iron coffin, its menacing iron hand reaching out, a sharp blade snapping from its wrist and locking onto the man's neck, seemingly about to sever his throat. "Stop! Rundstedt! I'm one of them!"

Belon roared and struggled, "Wake up! Ah!"

Seraphim, newly awakened from a nightmare, are unable to distinguish friend from foe and are prone to temporary loss of control. Therefore, they must be transported in icy water, in a form of dormancy. For this purpose, the Minerva Organization specially designed the World Serpent super train.

Peron, who was in charge of escorting the vehicle, was well aware of this and was extremely cautious. However, despite his precautions, he never expected that Rundstedt's attack was intentional.

Utterly unlucky, Belon's throat was crushed in a miserable state, and he was thrown into the icy water in the coffin, staining it red.

Unable to call for help, he slowly sank and suffocated to death.

Blood bloomed in the icy water, like a belated rose.

"Sorry." A deep voice came from within the Seraph's armor. It withdrew its sharp iron hand, its claws gripping a thin iron chain, the end of which hung a black cylindrical object.

This is the iron key that Belon always carried with him; only it could open every carriage of the World Python.

With it, Rundstedt could kill his dormant, yet-to-awaken, Seraphim companions most quickly.

Tonight, as the East and West engage in a decisive battle, he intends to become the greatest traitor in the history of the Papal States, willing to slaughter all his comrades and personally destroy the legions under his command.

The front carriage door opened, revealing a torrential downpour and howling winds. Rundstedt held the blood-stained key, rainwater flowing through the metal seams of the Seraphim armor, as if draping it in a layer of flowing silver sand.

He strode forward, his steps heavy, as if he were stepping on the ribs of the world. The mask of his motor armor popped open, and the Knight King smiled silently, revealing a handsome young face.

Her long, pale hair cascaded down, obscuring half her face, and the one eye that was visible held a dim light, giving off a strong sense of sorrow and bewilderment.

Like a quietly flowing river, it was a dark, oppressive blue, devoid of any vitality.

It's hard to imagine that such an eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy has already commanded the world's strongest knightly order, inspiring fear in monarchs of various countries and captivating the hearts of socialites from all directions. Even the Pope praised him as "our national hero" when he spoke of him.

But the "national hero" no longer considers that country his home.

星历1888年4月24日，晚间11点27分。

The "Phoenix Killing" plan failed before it could even be implemented.

The train, filled with seraphim, has completely collapsed from the inside.

There was an even more pressing task awaiting him.

It is a covenant concerning the spirit of chivalry.

……

Insert the key into the lock and turn it.

The gate slowly rose.

With the soft hum of machinery, the iron cover parted along the serrated lines, releasing a surge of cold, dark blue air. The second seraph began its countdown to awakening.

But what awaited him was not the mechanic's maintenance and the escort's smile, but a heavy, armor-piercing greatsword.

The "Dragon Fang Sword," part of the Seraph's standard weaponry, has a curved blade over two meters long. Even the mobile armor makes it difficult to wield with one hand, as it would cause a shift in the center of gravity and compromise stability.

Seraphim are a risky army, and they need to monitor each other. Therefore, Rundstedt did not equip himself with his own melee weapon, the "Excalibur," making him a low-threat force.

But after killing Belon and obtaining the crucial key, he quickly found a suitable weapon in the next carriage.

The faceplate fell off.

The active seraphim will raise their swords against their sleeping brethren.

This severed the ties with the old world.

"May you... no longer be driven in true heaven."

But at the instant the curved blade struck down, a chilling purple light flashed in Rundstedt's pupils.

The entire suit of armor sprang up suddenly, thick steam gushing from the seams, increasing its mobility exponentially. With a zigzag slide and leap, a sword light several meters long suddenly erupted, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.

"Good eye!" Zhao Qing said calmly, praising.

She had been floating behind the other person for half a minute, without making a sound or refracting or scattering any light. Being able to sense her own existence undoubtedly demonstrated her extreme mental acuity.

A pair of small tiger-tooth knives were summoned and spun forward, colliding fiercely with the serrated edge of the dragon tooth sword more than a dozen times, sparks flying everywhere, like a meteor shower compressed to a fraction of a second.

Then, Zhao Qing got tired of continuing the commotion and suddenly swayed in mid-air. The void energy burst forth and transformed into several dazzling diamonds, which condensed at the top, bottom, four directions, and six corners of the Seraphim. They connected with each other to form lines, and the intersecting lines transformed into a slightly oscillating membrane.

It erects a prison of amorphous curvature, constantly counteracting the opponent's momentum, causing them to exhibit a state of floating, sinking, stillness, and stagnation.

This is the bellows of the Nine Swords of Tai Su, which can move back and forth, controlling the movement of stillness and movement, and controlling the relative positions of the two.

She casually unleashed such a high-level move, not because Rundstedt was exceptionally strong, but simply because she wanted to.

“You think they are dead, but this matter may not be beyond saving.” Zhao Qing looked at another “seraph” that was also captured and placed in mid-air, and explained: “Even if the soul is devoured by evil spirits, it can be spat out again.”

...(End of chapter)