Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 135 Madman
"The Mechanicus was called the 'Eternal Crucible' back then." Ryan's fingertips rubbed the hilt, where a deliberately worn mark was found. "They mastered the technology of infusing souls into machinery, claiming it could allow people to transcend life and death." He suddenly sneered, "Until we discovered they were experimenting on the corpses of knights killed in battle."

There was a loud bang of a building collapsing in the distance, and a few stiff shadows could be vaguely seen moving in the smoke and dust.

Robin's knife suddenly pointed in that direction: "Like something like that?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the knife tip and saw three figures in knight armor crawling out of the ruins.

Precision gear structures were exposed at their joints, fluorescent blue liquid oozed from the gaps in their helmets, and a teeth-grinding metallic friction sound was made when they walked.

"Flesh puppet." Ryan's sword suddenly burst into a dazzling golden light. "A war machine made from the remains of a knight!"

The puppet in front suddenly accelerated and rushed forward, with the worn knight's emblem still on its breastplate.

He was once a great knight.

Robin's Tang sword collided with the puppet's metal arm, and the sparks illuminated the inside of the puppet's helmet - where the face should be, there was only a shrunken brain soaked in liquid.

"The Wizard Council joined forces with us back then, not out of justice." Ryan's sword slashed the second puppet's spine, and the broken part spurted out a foul-smelling nerve conduit. "They feared the 'Soul Furnace' invented by the Mechanicus, which can drain the essence of a wizard's magic!"

The last puppet suddenly exploded, and the flying metal fragments drew a bloody mark on Robin's cheek.

When he wiped away the blood, he found a metal plate on the ground with a double snake emblem engraved on it - it was the symbol of the Wizarding Council, but with a circle of gear patterns around the edge.

"It seems our former allies have secretly teamed up again," Robin said, picking up the metal plate with the tip of his knife. It was still stained with fresh motor oil.

Warden Odom's voice suddenly came from the shadows: "It's not a collaboration, it's parasitism." His chains were tied to a twitching mechanical body. The upper body of that thing was a wizard, but below the waist were spider-like mechanical legs.

"The Mechanicus is like rust." Odom's bronze mask reflected a cold light as the chains tightened. "Back then, we three forces had buried it in a steel tomb..." He suddenly slammed the aberration against the wall. "And now, it has been resurrected by a traitor in the Wizarding Council. The allure of eternal life, no matter the era, is a fatal attraction for those rotten old men."

The tip of Ryan's sword drew a burning golden line on the ground, and the image of an ancient relief emerged in the firelight. His low voice seemed to come from across time and space:

"In the first year of the Cataclysm, seven wounds opened in the sky." A golden line outlined the scene of the sky falling. "They were not meteorites, but some kind of living metal. They fell on the Gear Canyon, now the holy land of the Mechanicum."

Elina discovered that ice crystals had formed on her dagger at some point, while inscriptions synchronized with the illusion appeared on the surface of Robin's katana.

"At first we thought it was a weapon sent by God." Ryan's sword suddenly pierced the center of the illusion, and the fire suddenly turned blood red, "Until we saw those metals devouring the village. They turned living people into semi-mechanical monsters, like..." He glanced at the remains of the puppet that was still twitching not far away.

Odom's chains suddenly pierced the illusion, revealing a hidden history: "The first Speaker discovered the truth—those metals were collecting soul energy to open even larger rifts in the abyss."

The vision showed the three leaders swearing an oath, but Robin noticed a gear hidden at the bottom of the Speaker's cane: "So you're joining forces?"

"Temporary." Ryan's sword suddenly shattered the banner of the Mechanical Church in the illusion. "When they discovered that they were secretly transforming the knights' corpses, the first captain used his sword—" His sword suddenly revealed its true form, a spear made of light, "to pierce the heart of the Mechanical Pope."

The ground suddenly shook, and twelve pillars of light rose from the distant bell tower. Odom's chains trembled violently. "They've resurrected the Soul Forge! That madman, Cress!"

Robin's Tang sword suddenly emerged three inches from its sheath, and the blade reflected the horrifying scene inside the clock tower - hundreds of suspended metal cocoons, each containing an unconscious wizard, their magic power being drawn to the central gear device.

"I see." Robin held down the restless hilt of his sword. "The Mechanicus needs wizards as fuel, and the Wizard Council wants to seize the furnace technology."

Soon, Melinda and the others arrived. This matter was too big to be explained by a battle between wizards and knights. Melinda looked at the Soul Forge in the sky, shocked.

"This thing actually appeared in the remote Coroner Islands."

Robin seemed to hear something and looked at Melinda.

Melinda didn't explain. "We must act quickly. We must not let the Wizard Council seize the Soul Forge."

"Alan, contact the Round Table Council immediately."

Robin was shocked. She didn't expect that Melinda also knew about her relationship with the Round Table.

Robin's pupils suddenly contracted, and his fingers unconsciously clenched the hilt of the knife.

Melinda's words were like a sharp sword, piercing his deepest secrets.

"You," Robin's voice was a little dry, "When did you know?"

A silver light flashed at Melinda's fingertips, outlining the secret symbol of the Round Table Council in the air - a huge round table, with a crown in the middle and staffs and swords on both sides.

"Because I'm also a member of the Round Table Council, if I ask you to go and notify them, then go!"

She looked up at the Soul Crucible, which was taking shape. Twelve beams of light had already connected to form a cage. "The Round Table has long suspected that remnants of the Mechanicum were hiding here."

Robin took out the communication prop, which was a golden disk.

"Old Cat, remnants of the Mechanicum have appeared in Obedi City, colluding with the Western Wizard Council. We need support!"

After a long while, the communication disk finally responded.

"it is good!"

Robin's communication had just ended when a deafening explosion suddenly came from the direction of the clock tower - the twelve beams of light suddenly shrank and turned into a dazzling torrent of energy, rushing straight into the sky.

"It's too late to wait for backup!" Melinda shouted, "They've already started draining the wizards' soul energy!"

Odom's chains suddenly straightened, making a harsh sound of metal friction: "That madman Kress doesn't even know he's playing with fire!"

Robin took a deep breath, his eyes sharp: "Then just charge in!"

Before setting off, he added all his global experience to his swordsmanship, directly raising his swordsmanship to the fourth level and increasing his lethality by forty percent.

This is also his biggest trump card now.

(End of this chapter)