When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1165 The Holy Mechanized Court, The City of Never-Ending Clockwork (The End)
Angrok hadn't looked closely just now, but if you get closer, you can see the steel frame between the glass panes.

From a distance, the glass dome appears only to be transparent; its intricacies are revealed only upon closer inspection.

The supporting steel frame is a regular triangular truss, with smooth and straight steel bars, and rivets locking the joints to form a series of tight triangles.

This structure is the most stable; even with a dome spanning over twenty meters, it can steadily support the weight.

Flat glass panels are embedded between the frames, forming a half-person-high equilateral triangle with perfectly polished edges.

The gaps between the glass and the steel frame are fitted with slime strips, which can both fix the glass and keep it dry.

Sunlight streamed through the glass, casting crisscrossing shadows on the ground, making even the dust particles in the air clearly visible.

Angrok's gaze was fixed on the steel frame, and the corners of his mouth, which had been twitching with sarcasm, trembled slightly.

He grew up in France and knew all too well how precious steel was.

The top-tier ironworks in Franz produces not enough refined steel in a year to forge thirty suits of knight's armor.

Steel could only be found in the ancestral armor of ordinary noble families; only the most elite nobles possessed white crystal steel.

And here, the Holy Alliance is actually using tons of steel to build a dome.

He instinctively reached out to touch the steel bar, but withdrew his hand before his fingertips touched it.

His initial surprise was quickly masked by disdain: "Hmph, extravagance!"

Alexei frowned and glanced at Baleri; both of them saw mockery in each other's eyes.

Clearing his throat, Alexei looked at Baleri with feigned doubt: "Isn't it a waste to use so much steel in this dome? With that much steel, Norn could replace the entire ranged army's armor with steel armor."

Baleri, as if he had heard something strange, touched Alexei's forehead with a puzzled look: "Did you fall asleep on the locomotive or have amnesia? A ton of wrought steel from the Holy Alliance is only a few dinars more expensive than pig iron; even farmers can afford steel plows."

"What...you're lying!"

With a soft chuckle, Alexei grabbed a newspaper from the newsstand next to him and pointed to the price list.

"Look for yourself, this is from the Pravda newspaper. The Holy Alliance wouldn't joke around with its own reputation, would it?"

Angrok's expression changed instantly. He pursed his lips, wanting to say something but then stopped.

Seeing his distorted expression, Baleri slapped his forehead: "Oh right, you're from Fran, so it's understandable that you don't know about the Holy Alliance."

Pulling him to the steel frame, Barelli pointed to the stamp on it: "This is from the Holy Court Steel Plant. It uses an improved electric arc furnace steelmaking method and can produce several tons, even more than ten tons, a day."

Alexei immediately followed up with more damage: "The current annual steel production of the Holy Alliance is three times that of Fran and Leia combined, not even counting the small workshops."

After a pause, Baleri pointed to the glass dome again: "As for why this glass doesn't collapse, I think that's what you're most concerned about. I'll tell you now so you won't worry."

These are not small pieces of colored glass for flanges, but a new formula, produced in a factory, with dozens of large flat plates produced at a time, at a very low price.

The newly built Arts and Crafts Library in Rapids City has an entire wall made of glass, even brighter than the windows of the noble mansions you see in Fran.

Angrok stood there, his ears ringing.

With so much steel, how many military police and knights could be equipped? How many 100,000 soldiers could be armed?

If used militarily, who could stop it?

A chill ran from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.

But then he thought about it again and breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the Holy Alliance used the steel to build domes and make glass, and didn't turn it into weapons.

He opened his mouth, wanting to retort, "If the steelmaking process is flawed, it's all for nothing," but then swallowed the words back.

The steel frame before me is perfectly fitted together, and the glass is without a single bubble; even the best craftsman could not achieve this with a flange.

For the first time, the usually eloquent Angerruk fell silent.

Seeing that the time was right, the two didn't press further, but simply smiled and continued on their way.

Meanwhile, Angrzok followed Alexei and Baleri, walking forward with heavy steps.

Passing through the main street under the dome, the exhibition area ahead is even more lively, filled with shouts of vendors and exclamations of amazement.

The stall owner was fiddling with a fist-sized brass monkey, dressed in a red velvet jacket, with a wind-up key on its back.

After twisting it a few times, the monkey raised its paw and clapped its hands, its black, glassy eyes darting around.

"This is the latest wind-up monkey, and it even makes a squeak!" The stall owner grinned from ear to ear as he held up the wind-up monkey.

As for the children who came with their parents, they had never seen such high-end toys before, and they cried and begged for them. Before long, a large number of them were sold.

The stall next door was even more interesting, displaying metal finger sleeves with adjustable spring mechanisms. The stall owner shouted, "These are head-flicking aids!"

A young man in overalls flicked a melon, and with a crack, the melon split open.

He replaced it with a wooden board, and with another flick, it split open once more.

The stall owner shouted, "Three power levels, great for playing around with friends or disciplining apprentices!"

Further ahead, there is a miniature theater, with a stage only the size of a table.

Inside stood palm-sized mechanical dolls dressed in exquisite silk robes, including a king, queen, and knight.

The craftsman winds up the spring on the side of the stage, the gears click, and the puppets begin to move.

The king sat on his throne and nodded, the queen lifted her skirt and twirled, and the knight brandished his small sword in a "battle".

Amazing.

Alexei was overwhelmed with excitement as he looked around, grabbing Baleri's arm and exclaiming, "With the Holy Alliance's level of machinery, if they develop for a few more years, they won't even need people to farm!"

Angrok followed behind without saying a word, but he was also attracted by the novelty.

The corner stall was surrounded by people, so he went closer to take a look.

It was a "fully automatic slime filter bed," containing light blue slime and a pair of rotating blades in a wooden box with glass.

The extractant flows in from one end, and after filtration, it flows out from the other end in three layers: slime juice, liquid, and gel.

Meanwhile, a group of agents from the Black Serpent Bay wizarding families were slamming drafts and banknotes onto the table.

On one side, a bicycle with round wheels as tall as a person, driven by a spring, brazenly passed by.

Further on, a four-wheeled land canoe travels on the wide road, attracting the admiration of countless tourists.

Because they are within the coverage area of ​​the ether clock, these spring-loaded mechanisms do not require bulky reservoirs of lunar mercury damping fluid.

Naturally, they also do not require any sealed enclosure to prevent the damping fluid from leaking out.

As a result, almost all the parts were exposed to the air, and the intricate mechanical transmission was visible to the naked eye.

Brass gears turning one click at a time.

The spring and transmission rod move back and forth.

Mechanical joints that open and close vertically.

A silver instrument panel with a clock face resembling a mainspring barrel.

Everything was exposed to the sunlight, even the buildings next door had wind-up elevators.

The slowly turning gear was exposed before our eyes; such a huge gear was driven without any livestock.

In a daze, Angrok had a feeling that this place was not a foreign land, but a future era!
Lost in a rare state of confusion, he simply walked forward numbly.

Whenever I feel like showing off my knowledge, the image of the crystal dome flashes through my mind.

"Quick, get out of the way!"

Angrok raised his head blankly, and as his thoughts returned, he heard a chaotic sound of horses' hooves, mixed with the creaking of metal.

"Get out of the way! The mechanical horse has gone berserk!"

As he turned around, Angrok's pupils trembled.

It was a horse, and it was actually a mechanical horse that was half the height of a person!

Damn it, the mechanization of animals is an unsolvable problem for the Empire for a thousand years. This balance can only be achieved if there is a real biological brain inside the machine.

But what about right now?

Its body was made of sheet metal, with streamlined horse-leg shells, gears protruding from its joints, and its eyes glowing with the red light of fluorite.

Its front legs would occasionally get stuck, but it kept running faster and faster.

Has the Holy Alliance's machinery really reached this level? If they can build clockwork mechanical horses today, won't they be able to build clockwork mechanical humans tomorrow?
The roadside stalls were knocked over and toppled, while the inventor, his face flushed, rushed after them, shouting desperately, "When did you learn to run? My design can only walk!"

The passengers screamed and scattered, while Baleri's expression changed drastically. He grabbed Angrok and pulled him behind a pillar, shouting, "Get out of the way! The mechanical horse's gears are stuck; it's out of control!"

(End of this chapter)