After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

On the wagon loaded with goods, the tin man pushed open a box, poked his head out, and greedily breathed in the fresh air.

It hasn't been an easy journey.

Paul beat up the soldiers who were forcibly collecting taxes and let the villagers of Mulun Village decide their fate.

As a result! No sooner had the villagers released these thugs than news spread that a villager from Mulun Village who was selling goods in town had been beaten to death in the street by the thugs.

By the time the nobles' army, under the pretext of purging heretics, headed straight for Mulun Village, it was already too late.

The villagers' hesitation, the believers' slowness, the incompleteness of their resistance, and all the various indecisivenesses ultimately led to a wrong outcome.

The mechanical church suffered death, flight, and injury, and the villagers were forced to leave their homes. So, the culprit is you, Mr. Paul!

That's what they said, but the tin man knew that Paul had already shown them a clear path.

The nobles have already slaughtered them like lambs to the slaughter. If they dared to fight back thoroughly and execute all those scoundrels, they would probably be able to leave with Paul at their leisure.

The atmosphere among the people of the Northern Territory is different from that of other regions. At least that young lady named Luna is quite nice. She is not only generous, but also treats everyone equally.

The swaying of the carriage caused the tin man's iron helmet to tremble uncontrollably. He clung to the edge of the carriage and spoke softly to Paul.

"You'd better assure me that the Duke of Oswald is truly welcoming us, Mr. Paul. We really have no way out now."

Paul, disguised as a groom, nodded and gazed at the distant Green Canyon, but his heart was far from as calm as it appeared.

Strange, our whereabouts should have been exposed long ago, so why has everything gone so smoothly along the way?

Are you really not coming? Are you really not coming to hunt us down?

Then we shall proceed into the Northern Territory.

Upon arriving at Green Canyon, Paul quickly removed his disguise, which soon attracted the attention of the guards.

Returning to the Northern Territory was like coming home. The guards warmly opened a special passage, waving to welcome Paul's return while quickly sending messengers to spread the news.

Northern Territory, your lead singer is back!

Turning to the tin man and raising an eyebrow, Paul, surrounded by the residents of Green Canyon, demonstrated what it meant to be treated like a star.

The tin man covered in children: ...

So, I'm actually a local specialty you brought, right?

The two finally bid farewell to the hospitable residents and crossed the vast lake by boat. Because the tin man couldn't open his crotch and couldn't ride a horse, they had to unload the goods from the wagon and transfer to the large horses of the Northern Territory to continue their journey.

Staring blankly at the roadside scenery, the tin man felt a strange sense of anticipation. From his conversation with Paul, he discovered that Duke Oswald's understanding of machinery far exceeded his expectations.

Could all of this be divine guidance?

The wheat fields stretched endlessly across the plains, and tall barns could be seen everywhere along the way. The villages in the northern territory were also different from those in other villages in the kingdom.

The villages here are not only vast in area, with their own vegetable gardens and fish ponds, but also livestock farms.

Occasionally, they would be stopped by a passing flock of sheep, which numbered at least two hundred. Young men, some of whom were only a few years old, would ride horses and share freshly picked berries with them, laughing and joking.

Perhaps because of the years of war, soldiers can be seen patrolling everywhere here. They will rush into the mountains and forests to hunt monsters, or gather together to help the villagers repair roads and cut down trees...

"Ah, it's Lord Paul. Are you going back to Ice City? Could you take us with you?"

The closer they got to the Ice City, the more carriages and pedestrians appeared on the road. After receiving an affirmative answer, the chattering girls climbed onto the carriage one after another, then stared at the tin man huddled in the corner.

The freckled girl mustered her courage and asked hesitantly, "Are you... human?"

The tin man immediately became angry, "Can you even talk?"

He had intended to intimidate the little children to prevent them from bothering him, but somehow he triggered something, and the sparrows all came up to him and started chatting.

"Are you sick? Why do you put yourself in an iron shell?"

"Lady Jane said that skin is very important, and if there are problems with the skin, a person will get a lot of illnesses."

"Does your metal shell cover your skin, or does it replace your skin? And your little tuft of hair, is it also encased in a metal shell?"

"What should I do when I need to use the toilet? Is it convenient to squat down?"

"If your back itches and you want to scratch it, what do you do? You would use a hammer to scratch it, right?"

……

With Paul's help, the tin man shakily stepped off the carriage, his ears still ringing.

After tormenting him for most of the day, the girls disappeared without a trace as soon as they entered the Ice City, leaving him, a battered tin man, to lie in a corner and soothe his inner pain alone.

He made up his mind that future human plans for mechanical flight must abandon the vocal organs.

"Hey, wake up! We still have to see His Majesty the Duke."

Paul lifted the tin man and shook it. This guy, I hope he doesn't let me down at a crucial moment.

"It's okay, it's okay, just let me calm down."

Staggering a few steps, the tin man grabbed the railing of the Duke's mansion, took a few deep breaths, and forced himself to regain his senses.

Standing not far behind Paul, Oswald and Eleanor, who were about to return to the Duke's mansion, silently watched the tin man slapping himself repeatedly in front of the mansion, making a crisp, metallic sound. They both took a step back in unison.

He dared not laugh, afraid of the other person... No, this guy is a truly abnormal person.

"How about we go get another drink?"

Alene calmly offered her suggestion: today and tomorrow, two days in total, should suddenly become statutory holidays in the Northern Territory at the unanimous request of the people...

The people's reasoning is simple: last year's prayer ceremony was very lively, so they must preserve this tradition.

Oswald could only nod in agreement, but forbade them from using the name of the prayer ceremony. So, after searching through historical records, a festival called the Meteor Fall Festival was born.

This is to commemorate the pioneers of the North who perished five hundred years ago today due to the fall of a giant meteor...

Oswald: Whoever brought that meteor shower, kick them out!

"That person must have been brought by Paul; he's a member of the Cult of Machines, right?"

Without agreeing to Elene's suggestion, Oswald pondered and turned his gaze to the tin man.

First, let me state that he does not agree with the plan to completely transform the human body into machines. Because before that technology was fully developed, he could have already taken the entire Northern Territory to the moon.

Moreover, the purpose of machines should be to serve humanity. No one in the entire other world understands the double-edged sword of technology better than him.

Matter determines consciousness. The system has drawn a strict line on his devouring and assimilating flesh and blood, let alone completely mechanical creations.

If souls become machine souls, will humans still be human?

The tin man's unusual behavior immediately alerted Oswald. It seemed he would have to properly guide this so-called mechanical church.