Star Forge Titan

Having participated in the entire design and manufacturing process, he knew better than anyone what a racing car that was ahead of its time that the black-haired boy in front of him had built.

"That's true, but I suspect other teams have already obtained relevant information through other channels. If that's the case, they'll specifically consider terrain factors when initially designing their cars, so we need to be more vigilant in this regard," Ivan said cautiously.

"Honestly, compared to the terrain, I still think the 'extra' parts those guys loaded onto the vehicle are more dangerous." Ka Yang complained with a strange expression:

"It's okay." The smile on Ivan's face became dangerous again.

"I also installed a lot of 'extra' accessories."

Chapter 196: Dawn Starts Part 2

Early morning, Darksela Town.

This inconspicuous little town has become the most eye-catching town in the entire Central Empire Linde today.

Large magical vehicles, rarely seen in normal times, roared into the town center. Large steam engines built based on the principles of magical engineering drove the heavy bodies of these man-made metal behemoths across hundreds of miles.

The chimney above the cylindrical black water tank spewed out a whole layer of white mist, as if a huge beast was breathing rhythmically, and the cargo boxes towed behind were hidden in the darkness one after another, and only the red lights on the rear of the vehicle could be vaguely seen. They were like the fat belly of a chubby livestock, with a very amazing capacity.

Arriving at the same time were groups of racing enthusiasts who came to watch the opening of the competition.

Countless people arrived in this town at night before the sun rose. The light from gas lamps, magic lamps, and even torches and candles made the whole town as bright as day.

The tavern, which was originally only occasionally frequented by the town residents, was now completely full. Even the watered-down beer that the owner had stored in the cellar until it was about to expire was snapped up by the enthusiastic crowd.

Sweet honey wine, sour low-quality wine, and watered-down beer that tasted worse than horse urine, all kinds of alcoholic beverages completely ignited the enthusiasm of the audience. Everywhere you could see were small vendors selling food and tobacco, as well as all sorts of people running private gambling games.

The whole town was bustling as if it was hosting a celebration.

This carnival-like passion cannot be suppressed even in the darkest moment before dawn.

The crowd gathered at the starting station of the track was noisy, and the various artificial lights emitted from the ground even blocked out the starlight.

Large magic vehicles powered by steam engines were parked in the waiting area a few hundred meters away from the starting line. Inside those rectangular cargo boxes were parked uniquely shaped magic vehicles for the competition.

When the sun rises, these sleeping contestants will wake up, and then complete a complex track with a total length of more than one thousand kilometers before sunset to determine who is the fastest and most powerful magic racing car in Linde, the Central Empire!

Soon, the first ray of morning sunlight rose from the distant horizon, followed by cheers that almost broke through the clouds.

Carrying a backpack-sized sound amplification device on his back, a middle-aged man with a slightly bald head finally climbed up the temporary platform.

"The sun has risen, ladies and gentlemen! Let us praise the great god of light, Jupiter, and then..." The host's voice was amplified by the magical mechanical device to the point of drowning out all the discussions in the audience.

However, after finishing his propaganda-filled remarks, he immediately nodded to the pastor in the audience who had brought him a number of "small gifts." It was obvious that the two of them had some secret dealings that were not convenient to announce to the public.

"Welcome to the First Youth Magic Car Competition! I'm Mike Bulling, the host from the starting station, Darksaila Town. Without further ado, please welcome our contestants!"

"The first to appear is the Wheel of the Father from the Great Temple of Light. Looking at the exquisite carvings, I can't help but recall the magnificent and ancient cathedral in the Holy Cathedral of Lutetia! Praise Jupiter! Praise the light!"

Handsome young priests in white robes stood in two rows in front of a rectangular container with smiles on their faces. A pure white racing car slowly drove onto the track. Its doors and other parts were even carved with exquisite silver reliefs depicting various mythological stories. It was like a moving chapel, which made all the audience subconsciously put their hands together in a prayer gesture.

When the pure white racing car named "Wheel of the Holy Father" stopped, Pastor Eddie, who was originally just a substitute, left the car and saluted and made blessing gestures to the audience in all directions. The audience also bowed in return.

After he completed this set of religious actions, the host breathed a sigh of relief and began to read out the name of the second participating car.

"How solemn! How dignified! However, the next entry is from the magic car manufacturer you all see most often in your daily lives. Please welcome the Borgasos from the General Magic Factory!"

As the host introduced the situation, a large magic vehicle with the "GM (General Magic)" logo painted in white on a blue background blared a shrill whistle, and two ramps lowered from the rear opening.

Immediately afterwards, a silver racing car with sharp lines like a blade drove into the track silently like a ghost. Even the bright red morning sun shining on the matte silver shell did not reflect much light, as if it was not a racing car but a ghost horse galloping in the dark night.

"This car, named Pegasus, demonstrated astonishing straight-line acceleration even in the qualifying rounds, just like the legendary winged Pegasus!"

According to the pre-race draw, the Borgasos pulled into parking space number two. The door opened, and a young man with a beautifully styled mustache stepped out. He wore a strange helmet. For unknown reasons, a round red crystal was embedded in the center of the helmet's forehead, seemingly some kind of special magical equipment.

Leaning against the car body in a somewhat deliberate and unrestrained posture, the young man was waving enthusiastically to the audience, mainly the young ladies and men in the audience, which in turn drew screams and cheers.

"Next up is the Bronze Chariot from the Daimler workshop! Oh, this is an incredible big guy! It's so huge!" The host Mike Breen deliberately screamed like a little girl, causing laughter from the audience.

But when the cargo box with the trident pattern printed on it, which came from the Daimler workshop, was fully opened, the laughter instantly turned into gasps and screams of true helplessness.

Rumble!

Amidst the sound of operation, which was far duller than that of ordinary magic engines, two rows of tall chimneys simultaneously spewed out black smoke.

Amidst the audience's continuous screams, a heavily armored magic car painted red and yellow crashed through the front railing and leaped directly onto the track.

This heavily armored magic vehicle has sharp-edged thick armor on both the front and rear. It can crawl over all kinds of rugged terrain simply by relying on its wide and thick front wheels and unique triangular tracks at the rear. The solid road surface seems to be suffocating under it, and the crisp sound of the road surface cracking can be faintly heard coming from under the heavy magic vehicle.

"Hahahaha, hahahaha, hahahahahahahahahahaha." The round hatch on top of the bronze chariot was opened from the inside, and an extremely strong man came out. But looking at his upper body with muscles swollen like a ball, people wondered how this guy got into the car.

"First place will definitely go to the Bronze Chariot!" the incredibly strong man shouted loudly:

Unlike the previous fans of the Bogasos, who were mostly young women, the supporters who responded to this muscular man were mostly adult men like him. They held up large wine glasses, waved betting tickets, and shouted the name of "Bronze Chariot" crazily.

"The audience's enthusiasm is amazing, but please don't get too excited. After all, we have subsequent contestants coming on stage. Please welcome the contestant from Tesla Rotor Company..." The host took a deep breath, and then shouted the name of contestant number four's car in a high-pitched and passionate tone.

"Triangle Lightning!"

With a crackle, a sharp flash of lightning directly penetrated the container towed behind the large magic vehicle. The metal plates that made up the container were instantly blown away like a torn cardboard box. A trademark logo similar to the ancient letter 'T' could be vaguely seen on the side, but people were then extremely surprised to find that there was no sign of a racing car in the container.

"Look there! It's in the sky! No, it's on the wall! Oh, Jupiter, how on earth did they do that!?!" The host exclaimed three times in a row.

The racing car with red flame patterns painted on its blue body was shining with electric light and was firmly attached to the flying container fragments.

Then, the electric lights wrapped around the car body were like tentacles, connecting with the ground and leaping rapidly, making this racing car with the word "lightning" in its name land smoothly as if it was not attracted by gravity.

Even before the starting line, the arcs of electricity dancing on the Triangle Lightning still did not disappear. However, after the windows were lowered, a driver wearing a strange all-metal protective suit leaned out of the car, completely unaffected by the electric shock, and made a victory gesture to the audience.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Every contestant's performance is so wonderful. It makes me look forward to the appearance of subsequent contestants even more. Oh, it seems he can't wait any longer!" The host's voice was quickly drowned out by a loud roar.

A light figure with wide wings spread out from the rear end roared out from the cargo box printed with the "White Pagoda in the Clouds" pattern. Its wheels even gradually left the ground as the speed increased, and finally landed in front of the starting line in an almost gliding posture.

"Tower in the Clouds! The Victory Tornado of the Tower in the Clouds! Oh my God, did that car just fly up? It really is a whirlwind just like its name!" The host praised in surprise.

The Cyclone hovered at the starting line, swirling in a whirlwind. Through the curved glass windows at the front of the car, framed in metal for increased durability, one could see the driver inside: a petite woman. She clearly had no intention of greeting anyone else, sitting quietly in the cockpit, controlling the balance of this special speeder.

"After seeing so many novel racing cars, I'm sure everyone is getting impatient, but we still have the most eye-catching contestant left!" The host seemed to pause for a moment deliberately to whet the audience's appetite, and then read out the name of the next contestant aloud.

"A philosopher once said that the speed of thought is the fastest speed in the world. The next contestant is the magical racer from the Linde Alchemist Association - Golden Thought!"

Like a shadow or a ghost, the moment the host finished reading the code name, the magic car named "Golden Thought" had arrived at the starting line. The entire shell of the car seemed to be made of liquid, and it was spreading out with ripples like water waves.

The next moment, the originally pure black car body was gradually stained with a hint of gold. This brilliant golden color continued to spread until the entire car except for the cockpit was transformed into a pure gold luster as dazzling as a golden statue!

However, what is a little strange is that the cockpit of this racing car is still shrouded in completely opaque darkness, which makes people wonder how the driver inside can see the outside scene clearly.

Printed on the pitch-black cockpit was a geometrically perfect golden ring, the well-known symbol of the Linde Alchemist Guild, symbolizing cycle and perfection.

"Breathtaking beauty, breathtaking speed, it is worthy of being the culmination of magical engineering technology known as the Linde Alchemist Association. Friends, those who haven't placed their bets yet should hurry up, our competition... Oh, well, I seem to have forgotten that there is one last contestant." The host's deliberately teasing words made everyone laugh.

"Let me see the name of that contestant." Mike Brin, holding a magic mechanical loudspeaker, searched left and right with exaggerated movements, and finally took out a crumpled piece of paper from his trouser pocket.

"Please welcome... A New Hope! This name doesn't sound very impressive." The host's odd performance made the audience burst into laughter.

Afterwards, everyone was somewhat surprised to find that the last contestant whose name was called did not come to the starting line immediately.

For a moment, a sudden silence enveloped the entire audience, leaving only the host performing an awkward comedy show with one hand cupped to his ear.

"Hope? New Hope? Hello, are you there? Oh, latecomers will be disqualified..."

hum! ! !

From the place where the sun rises in the distance comes a surging sound that attracts everyone's attention!

The sound was like the roar of the sea and the howling of a hurricane, as if a metal beast with fire flowing in its blood was making its first loudest cry towards this strange country.

"That's..." The host Mike Breen's voice stopped subconsciously, and the audience in the town also looked in the direction he pointed.

I saw a racing car reflecting the dazzling light of the morning sun like a streak of speeding light, with dust spreading to both sides like waves at the stern of a ship, suddenly passing through countless spectators and stopping in front of the starting line.

It was not until the light stopped that the strong wind it stirred up swept across all the spectators on both sides. The hats on people's heads, the tickets waving in their hands, and all kinds of things were all blown into the sky. The exclamations and cheers that followed were like the sea shrouded in a storm, and could not stop for a long time.

The last car to arrive was painted in a vibrant blue and white color scheme with red and yellow accents. Its central, streamlined oval cockpit cover opened forward, revealing two young drivers sitting one in front and one behind.

This made the other contestants secretly breathe a sigh of relief. After all, the different factions of Transcendents they represented had already devised a way to break through the limitations of the old magic engine before the competition began, successfully achieving a single-person control of the magic car without the need for a co-pilot to constantly regulate and balance the magic engine.

But the last contestant still chose the duo driving mode.

Logically speaking, even if this car had just demonstrated excellent instantaneous acceleration, the power limit of the old magic engine would still limit their top speed, making it impossible to compete with other players in the race.

However, although common sense would lead to such a conclusion, several contestants still looked at it with concern when they recalled the latest intelligence they had obtained before the game.

After exchanging glances, they seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding in silence.

Ignoring the looks from the others, Ivan, sitting in the cockpit, leaned back in his chair and smiled slightly:

"nervous?"

"Not at all," Diana's answer was simple and as calm as ever.

Unlike the contestants who were wearing various professional driving suits, these two young drivers were actually wearing very ordinary clothes at this moment.

Diana, sitting up front, was still dressed like a tomboy in overalls and a white shirt, with canvas patches sewn by Mother Theresa on the elbows. She also wore a slightly worn red beret today, a gift from Patton Sr. as a talisman before the race.

Judging from the fact that the old man usually puts this hat in the car every day, he probably carried it with him as a talisman a long time ago.

Today, Ivan was dressed in a black shirt and black pants, with a simple jacket draped over them. Strangely, the scale-like structure of his clothes reflected the sunlight, even giving it a faint golden sheen.

All in all, although the Hope, which entered last, started with great momentum, it became exceptionally quiet after it stopped.

In response to this, the host only made a dry comment.

"Uh, nice debut."

Then, Mike Breen shrugged, took a deep breath, and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Well, the competition is about to begin! Competitors, please take your positions. Ten seconds left, ready..."

At the edge of the starting line, the staff alliance erected three large, particularly conspicuous red magic lanterns.

"10!"

"9!"

"8!"

……

As the host counted down, the audience also began to cheer, and the racing cars continued to roar their engines.

When the number reaches 3, a large red magic lamp lights up.

"2!"

The second magic lamp lit up.

"1!"

All three magic lamps lit up, and the whole town was enveloped by a sharp whistle.

A large amount of dust instantly rose up at the starting line, as if ten thousand horses were running at the same time.

Then, the audience who had taken the trouble to arrive at the starting point early saw an unexpected "good show"!

Except for the Wheel of the Father from the Temple of Light and the Thought of Gold from the Linde Alchemist Association, several other magic racing cars crashed into the Hope, which arrived last!

The drivers showed expressions of either cruelty or indifference on their faces, and they wanted to eliminate the guy who might be extremely fast in the shortest time possible. This was the tacit consensus they reached in silent silence.

The Hope is in danger!

Chapter 197: Shield Charge (Part 1)

High-pressure steam passed through the brass whistle, producing a sharp and piercing whistle.

The moment the start command sounded, each car shot out like an arrow.

But the next second, or even a moment shorter than a second, their choices become different.

The magical racing car Golden Thought, affiliated with the Linde Alchemist Association, had ripples all over its shell like flowing spring water.

High-speed alchemy made the shape of this magic racing car immediately become as slender and sharp as an arrow. The second-generation magic engine inside quickly burned a large amount of extremely expensive high-quality alchemical fuel in a short period of time. The abundant magic power generated by this allowed the car to burst out at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary magic cars in a very short time.

In the blink of an eye, the 'Thought of Gold', whose entire body was radiant with pure gold, with only the cockpit shrouded in darkness, had reached the leading position at the front of the team!

It was as light as a shadow, without any of the bulkiness of mainstream magic vehicles, as if it were hollow inside.

However, what surprised the audience even more was the magic car that was right behind and temporarily ranked second.

Because it is not a member of any famous racing team, but a brand new racing car with a shape that is somewhat similar to the Golden Thought, but with a blue and white main color and red embellishments - Hope!

The sharp sound of the engine, like the breath of a strong wind and the surging sound of the sea tide, continuously emanated from the Hope's hull.

Along with the sonic boom that was far louder than any other magic engine, the Hope simultaneously erupted with a higher thrust than any other racing car. Diana and Ivan in the cockpit both felt a noticeable push from behind, and the scenery rapidly passing by at the edge of their vision seemed to become blurred.