Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 142 Workshop
Alger's figure climbed out of the window like a ghost and disappeared into the night, leaving behind only a faint chill.

Robin took a deep breath, calmed the remaining fragments of memory in his mind, and walked towards the door.

"Hold on."

He quickly stuffed the ice crystal pendant left by Alger into his arms, sheathed his Tang sword, and the silver-blue engraving light disappeared.

The door opened, and Elena stood in the shadows of the corridor, her long golden hair loose, and she had shed her daytime knight's attire, wearing only a simple linen nightgown. Her eyes passed Robin and glanced around the room.

"Was there someone here just now?"

Robin looked normal: "It's just that the night wind was too strong and the window was not closed tightly."

Elina's gaze lingered on the slightly swaying curtains for a moment, then she retracted it and said lightly, "There's a problem with the garrison at North Wind Fortress."

She walked into the room, closed the door behind her, and lowered her voice to a very low voice:

"I checked the fortress's arsenal—their weapons reserves far exceed the standards of a normal border garrison, and... there are traces of the Mechanicus."

Robin's eyes narrowed: "Are you sure?"

Elina took out a twisted piece of metal from her sleeve, which was engraved with fine gear patterns.

"Found it in a secret compartment in the warehouse, embedded in the arrowhead of a crossbow."

Robin took the fragment, and the Tang sword immediately made a faint buzzing sound - things from the Mechanical Church would indeed trigger a reaction from it.

Elina stared into Robin's eyes: "You knew this a long time ago?"

Robin was silent for a moment, then finally spoke: "Alger Frosthawk was just here."

He did not hide Alger's warning, but he hid the part about Melinda's memory.

After hearing this, Elina frowned, "The Frosthawk family is indeed involved... but why would Alger help us?"

"Benefits, or betrayal." Robin said calmly, "No matter which one it is, we need him for the time being."

Elina suddenly took a step closer, the collar of her nightgown slightly opened, revealing a silver necklace - the pendant was a miniature knight's sword with thorns wrapped around the blade.

"Robin." Her voice was unusually soft. "Whatever your plan is... don't hide it from me."

Robin's fingertips unconsciously stroked the hilt of the Tang sword, and the silver-blue engravings became slightly hot.

"it is good."

Elina's fingertips brushed the side of Robin's neck, sending a subtle shiver through his tense muscles. Her breath was warm, with a faint aroma of wine—the scent of the iceberry wine that was unique to North Wind Fortress during dinner.

"What are you still hesitating about?" Her voice was soft, but like a blunt knife, it slowly cut through the calmness that Robin was trying so hard to maintain.

He didn't answer, but just picked her up silently.

Elina's weight was real, her warm body pressed against him, and the familiar scent of soapberries wafted through her hair - all of this reminded him of the summer nights in Viscount Wilk's territory, those moments when he didn't have to think about the future and could only indulge in the present.

Robin picked him up by the waist and walked towards the bed.

Because he might have to leave in two years, Robin was reluctant to give Elina a formal status, but the two of them had been husband and wife for a long time.

Before leaving North Wind Fortress, Robin asked Chamberlain to deliver the news of North Wind Fortress's preparations to Viscount Wilk. He believed that the Knights Guild and the Round Table Council would soon receive the news.

Alger also set out, and after about a day's journey, they arrived at Alger's fiefdom, a barony. Because the North was the second most developed area in the empire and had a history of three hundred years, land was very scarce.

The barony of Alger is actually even smaller in area than the knighthood bestowed by Viscount Wilk.

Alger's fiefdom, Frostdew Territory, sits on a barren frozen land. The simple stone fort is surrounded by towering icicles. The torches on the walls flicker in the cold wind, illuminating the rusty gate.

"Welcome to the shabbiest barony in the North." Alger spread his hands in self-mockery, a sharp glint flashing in his icy blue eyes. "However, the 'specialties' here are much more interesting than the wine in Wilk's barony."

When Robin dismounted, the silver-blue markings on the Tang sword suddenly became slightly hot - something was hidden underground in this stone castle that resonated with the Mechanicus.

The interior of the stone fortress was far more refined than its exterior. The candlesticks on either side of the corridor were all precision gear mechanisms, their flames trapped within crystal covers, never to be extinguished.

"This is the territory my father gave me." Alger casually turned a gear on the wall, and a secret door slid open silently. "It's nominally a punishment, but in reality..."

Behind the secret door is a spiral staircase leading downwards, and the cold air mixed with the smell of engine oil hits you in the face.

At the end of the stairs, there is a small mechanical workshop!
Dozens of broken gear eyes were nailed to the wall. On the central workbench, a still-beating human heart was wrapped in silver-blue mechanical veins - it was clearly a miniature version of the soul furnace!
Elina drew her sword instantly: "You are also from the Mechanicus——"

"Traitor? That's right." Alger raised his hands with a grin. "But I'm different from a madman like my father." He pointed at the Heart Forge. "I'm researching...how to kill them once and for all."

Alger ripped open his collar, revealing a gear mark below his collarbone that was similar to Robin's, but the color was darker than blood.

"The Frosthawk bloodline was branded three hundred years ago." His voice was unusually gloomy. "The closer we get to the mechanical core, the faster our flesh will disintegrate... unless we regularly feed it with living human hearts."

The heart on the workbench suddenly twitched violently, and a scarlet light flashed in its mechanical veins.

Alger pressed it down hard, pulled out a small bottle of silver powder from his pocket and sprinkled it on it - the powder had the same energy source as Melinda's key.

"Your knife..." He gasped and looked at Robin, "Can you give me a little 'shard' of it?"

Robin's Tang sword suddenly emerged three inches from its sheath, and a ray of light peeled off from the silver-blue markings and floated towards the heart furnace.

The moment the light threads touched, the entire workshop shook violently!
Alger suddenly screamed and fell to his knees. His gear marks began to crack, oozing blood like black motor oil. Meanwhile, the heart furnace was beating frantically, silver-blue and scarlet intertwining and battling within its mechanical veins.

"So that's how it is..." Alger laughed wildly in pain, "The Watcher's Key can not only seal... but also 'purify'!"

After the vibration subsided, the heart furnace turned completely silver-blue, and the mechanical veins retracted into the core like the receding tide.

Alger's mark had mostly faded, but the dark red mark on Robin's Tang sword had spread a little.

System warning: [Container synchronization rate +5%]

"Under the Frost Fortress, the First Forge slumbers." Alger leaned weakly against the wall. "My father wanted to use the flesh and blood of all the creatures in the North to awaken it in exchange for the 'eternal life' of the Frosthawk family."

He pointed northeast—through the air vent, he could see strange, gear-shaped clouds on the horizon.

"But the Watchers left behind more than just the key... they also left behind the 'Spark.'" Alger's eyes flickered with a silver-blue glint. "Those purified Gear Eyes will become our weapons."

Elina suddenly pressed her temples; her thorn pendant was burning hot. "A message from the Knights Guild... Grand Duke Frosthawk has blocked all roads leading to the Frost Fortress!"

(End of this chapter)