Star Forge Titan

The three of them fell silent. Suddenly, the sound of a magic car passing by at high speed was heard on the distant track. One car after another, even the last-ranked Wheel of the Father passed by quickly.

The wind was sharp and piercing, like a final mourning for this inhuman driver who could no longer move forward.

Chapter 206: Unbreakable Iron Heart

"It's really stupid to stop and rescue your opponent."

Unable to understand each other's thoughts, the other racers muttered similar words as they overtook the stopped Hope one after another.

The victorious pioneer from the Sky Tower leaped over first, and the open glider behind it relied on the lift brought by the pressure difference between the upper and lower parts to offset most of the gravity, with only the tires slightly in contact with the ground.

"Humph, but this way, first place is mine!" said the smaller pilot in the round cockpit happily.

Then, in second place was the Bronze Chariot, whose front half of the armor was torn. Although the loss of most of the armor had greatly reduced the defense of this heavy magic chariot, the reduction in weight allowed it to unexpectedly burst out at a higher speed than expected.

The half-track structure is not easy to sink in the desert terrain, but it has higher driving stability, so it can keep up with the Victory Tornado.

However, the cab, which was completely exposed to the outside environment, also made the driver inside feel very uncomfortable. His eyes were dry and swollen due to the strong oncoming wind, and the bloodshot whites of his eyes were like the eyes of an angry bull, showing a red color.

In the mind of the driver who gained a strong physique due to the incomplete promotion ceremony, the promise made to him by the cigar-smoking workshop owner and the desire to bring a better life to his family, the two images intertwined into an extremely chaotic and crazy idea.

"I want to win... I want to win!" The continuous roar accompanied by spitting echoed in my ears. The overflowing white foam and saliva were blown back along the corners of his mouth by the strong wind until they dried into ugly marks.

The last one to rush out of the canyon was the Wheel of the Father, which was running in the last place with a steady posture.

This pure white racing car maintained a distance of about 100 meters from the two cars in front. Although it always remained at the end of the qualifying position, it was not completely left behind by the leading team in front.

However, when passing by the scene of the car accident, Pastor Eddie, who was sitting in the good carriage of the Wheel of the Father, could not help but cast a glance over there, and ended up exchanging glances with Ivan, who was standing next to the 'Golden Thoughts'.

Instantly, a stinging sensation spread from their eyeballs. Both sides felt an inexplicable threat. The smile that had been maintained on Pastor Eddie's face froze. A bloody wound appeared at the corner of his eye, and a turbid, sticky black liquid flowed out. He subconsciously muttered to himself, "We need to speed up."

As the pure white magic car passed by quickly and disappeared into the distance, Alvin seemed to realize something and couldn't help but frowning slightly.

He secretly kept this matter in mind, as he now had another matter to deal with.

As the three cars drove away, Diana and Ivan, who had stopped to rescue the Golden Thought, had also removed the rocks that were pressing on the cockpit.

"Are you not even human?" Diana whispered.

“…” Catherine was also a little surprised, but she quickly recalled some rumors she had heard, and then she understood a little.

The short-haired girl suddenly stood up and walked towards the Hope parked in the distance.

"time to go."

"Ah, that's true, but..." Alvin nodded, but did not leave immediately. Instead, he leaned over and moved aside the various parts scattered inside the Golden Thought.

Relying on his memory and experience, he determined that the large number of gears of varying sizes must have come from a splitter. In other words, this car was equipped with a small differential engine, which is extremely rare at this stage.

That level of precision processing technology is no longer something that can be achieved by simple engineering, and it is obvious that top alchemy is involved.

In addition, even if a splitter is miniaturized, some basic structures will not change.

Sure enough, with a little fiddling, Alvin dug out a small metal box from the scattered broken parts.

"What is this? By the way, theoretically, everything in this car belongs to the Alchemist Association. Is it really okay for you to take anything you want?" Catherine frowned and asked.

"It's probably a magic version of the black box, or as we say here, the 'soul' of this racing car." Alvin looked meaningfully at the complex metal box in his hand.

The box was not big, only about half the length of a palm, and was neatly filled with very thin metal cards.

Each card in the metal box was covered in dense, evenly spaced holes. The spacing and order of these holes varied, yet they seemed to hold a complex pattern.

"As for the Linde Alchemist Association." Recalling the attack launched by the Golden Thought just now, Ivan's face couldn't help but become serious, and at the same time, he showed a little weirdness.

Because in the virtual game Palladio, a certain lord who aspires to change the world has thirteen disciples, one of whom possesses a completely mechanized body. However, the mind that controls that body doesn't come from one of the many naturally intelligent races in Palladio, but rather from a newly born intelligent species unexpectedly born after the Magic Industrial Revolution.

As for the major event that was triggered by that gentleman and had a significant impact on the entire world of Palladia, it was called the Machine World Ascension.

"They won't mind." With a strange expression, Alvin sat in the back seat of the Hope's cockpit without waiting for the blonde girl to react.

"Detection system."

"That's right." Diana said softly:

The fairing was lowered, and the two drivers in the front and rear seats completed the pre-start inspection in a very tacit manner.

hum!

The shockwave engine roared again. Before Catherine, who was standing outside, realized what was happening, she saw that the blue, white and red painted magic car had started.

Amid the roar of the engine, Diana suddenly asked:

"You don't blame me?"

"It's okay." Ivan's answer made the girl sitting in the front seat fall into silence again, but it seemed as if something was burning in her heart, and her heartbeat kept accelerating.

Then, the black-haired boy who was adjusting the car couldn't help but smile and suddenly continued:

"You know, I never care, especially about such a small accident that can't affect the outcome."

"Don't you think so?" Ivan asked with a chuckle:

Diana didn't look back, but a smile appeared on her usually expressionless face.

"I think so, too!"

Boom! As the words fell, the tires spun at high speed, the body of the car automatically deformed, and Hope set off again!

The incredible speed was like the best tribute to the deceased rival, rushing towards the finish line with a free soul chasing the wind and lightning.

...leaving behind a certain blond-haired guy with dust all over his face, stomping his feet and cursing.

As the car speed continued to increase, the smile on Ivan's face gradually faded.

As he played with the metal box in his hand, he recalled what he had noticed when he had just looked into the eyes of the new pilot of the Wheel of the Father.

The feeling is familiar, just like the fierce conflict that is bound to occur when hot iron and cold water touch each other.

The gold in the black-haired boy's eyes became as bright as flames.

"Ah, I see." Alvin murmured and nodded.

"We need to speed up."

As he was speaking, the taillights of another racing car could be seen ahead.

However, it was not the Wheel of the Father that was previously at the end of the list, but the damaged bronze chariot.

"Absolutely not allowed!" Tears welled up in the eyes of the muscular man sitting in the cockpit. He was like a deformed child whose body had grown up but whose mind was still that of a child. His face revealed a distorted expression that was a mixture of collapse and anger.

"No one will be allowed to pass again!" Along with the tears, the man's howl filled with madness appeared.

The man's name was Brocken, the same name as a very tall mountain range in Linde.

His parents hoped that their child would be as tall and strong as the Brocken Mountains, but the poor living conditions in the lower town made the boy grow up thin and sickly.

Fortunately, he seemed to have some talent for magical machinery, and he even taught himself how to drive a magic car.

So, by chance, Brocken was invited to become a laboratory worker in Daimler workshop.

However, while he was promised a salary that seemed quite generous to the residents of the downtown area, he also had to complete a laboratory work that was not easy.

Unlike the various research tasks that ordinary laboratory staff are responsible for, Brocken's job in the laboratory is to serve as experimental consumables, or to put it more nicely, an experimental test driver.

Every day, he needs to drink all kinds of strange potions and then drive the magic vehicle. Others will modify the potions according to the changes when Brocken drives. If necessary, they will occasionally use magic or divine miracles to roughly repair his body afterwards.

It is foreseeable that, if nothing unexpected happens, the fate of this man from the downtown area will most likely be a sudden death from a particularly severe drug reaction.

But an unexpected experiment gave Brocken a body that was exceptionally tall and strong, just like the origin of his name.

The overjoyed workshop owner immediately signed a new contract with him, promising that if Brocken was willing to accept a specially modified promotion ceremony and participate in the Youth Magic Car Competition, he would give him a very generous reward along with the previously promised remuneration.

But the prerequisite is to get a good enough ranking, otherwise you won't get a penny. As for what kind of noun is considered good enough, of course, the closer to the top, the better.

So, with this promise, Brocken participated in the Youth Magic Car Competition with hope.

But now he has to face the consequence of being the last one.

This was something Brocken absolutely could not accept.

then……

"Bronze Chariot! Crush him!" The crying muscular man shouted and suddenly turned the steering wheel to the left, trying to use the larger size of the Bronze Chariot compared to other participating vehicles to forcibly block the overtaking route of the Hope behind.

Maybe his past deserves sympathy, maybe he is a good man who loves his family, but——

"Heh." Diana and Ivan showed the same indifferent smile on their faces almost at the same time.

The Hope was like an elusive ray of light at the fastest speed, rapidly approaching before the Bronze Chariot completed blocking its route.

When the two cars were closest, the bodies of the cars were almost rubbing against each other to produce sparks!

In an instant, the short-haired girl nicknamed the Salt Witch spoke softly:

"First."

Whoosh—the strong wind blew, and the Hope was like a lightning streaking across the earth, overtaking in an instant!

Chapter 207 Dangerous Driving

"Have I been discovered?"

The young pastor Eddie Brock whispered to himself as he raised his hand and used his fingernails to scrape off the sticky black liquid that had now mostly solidified and was oozing out of the broken wound at the corner of his eye.

The half-dried sticky liquid spread out on his face like a dark eye shadow, and then dense granulations quickly grew out of the shadowed skin.

These buds entangled and swallowed each other as they grew, until they turned into a red flower made of flesh and blood that adorned the corner of the young priest's eye.

The flower is gorgeous and enchanting, with thick petals like a succulent plant, but in the center of the flower there is a bloody mouth that keeps opening and closing, full of jagged and sharp fangs.

"It seems we have no choice but to speed up. The remaining power within the 'Chapter of Fraternity' can no longer be concealed for much longer. It's a pity for this holy relic bestowed by the Holy Father."

Pastor Eddie, whose half face had turned into a terrifying appearance, looked at the bronze badge embedded in the flesh of his palm, which was now covered with cracks, and couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Fortunately, those new family members who have just been embraced by the Holy Father can help me attract the attention of the false god believers." As he spoke, Pastor Eddie couldn't help but reveal a terrible smile that tore half of his face.

At this moment, the pure white Wheel of the Father was speeding across the middle of the plain track, but the scene inside the carriage was completely different from the holy and flawless appearance outside.

Plants similar to the flower of flesh and blood on Pastor Eddie's face kept growing from gaps in the ventilation ducts, the bottom of the driver's seat, and other places. They bit each other, treating each other as nutrients, and at the same time merged with individuals of equal strength and coexisted with each other until the entire car turned into a nursery filled with the warmth of flesh and blood.

Pastor Eddie, dressed in a white robe, stepped on the pedal at the same time. In an instant, all the plants opened their different mouthparts, making a chorus-like harmony filled with chaos and strangeness.

A strange force acted on the car body. The roar of the engine covered up the abnormal sound made by the flow of some liquid in the car body. The Wheel of the Father with a pure white appearance seemed to be pushed by an invisible big hand, and its speed suddenly began to increase.

"You must be kidding! How come it suddenly got faster?"

In the cockpit of the Victory Tornado running in the front, the energetic young girl driver wearing a windproof leather hat and goggles saw the rapidly accelerating Wheel of the Father through the rearview mirror and couldn't help but let out a sound of disbelief.

But the pure white magic car was like the divine horse king that was responsible for towing the chariot driven by God in the legend. It suddenly overtook from behind with the momentum of breaking through the sky.

This was followed by a dizzying buzzing sound.

"Hiss!" The driver of the Victory Tornado covered her forehead with her hands. When she came to her senses, the Wheel of the Father in front of her had run to a place where even the taillights could not be seen clearly, and the dizzy feeling just now disappeared like an illusion.

"Damn it, what the hell is going on?" Before she could think about it, another voice suddenly sounded from behind, bringing another wave of vigilance.

In the rearview mirror, you can see a ball of light that looks like a burning flame approaching.

"The bronze chariot and that big guy? No, it's another guy!" Cold sweat broke out on the female driver's forehead. She still remembers the dazzling beam of light that seemed to completely wipe out the opponent on the physical level.

There's a monster that uses that thing to accelerate!

"Damn it! I won't let you overtake me so easily!" the female driver roared. Her originally cute face immediately twisted as if she had aged twenty years in an instant, turning into a menopausal female Tyrannosaurus Rex on the spot.

But the Hope, which was chasing behind, revealed a contradictory and oppressive feeling, as cold and hot as a frozen flame.

The pedal that controls the transmission of magic power was stepped down to the bottom, and critical light stones were released continuously!

At this moment, in the cockpit of Hope, even Alvin felt the oppression brought by the rapid increase in load, but he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

Because Diana in the front seat didn't show the slightest bit of emotion even under the intense G-forces of the secondary thrust. The girl, bearing the immense load under the unparalleled thrust of the Hurricane thrusters, showed no emotion at all.

Even though she was feeling unwell, Diana, with the help of her intuition, still managed to keep the Hope running on the track in a path that was almost the theoretically optimal one.

The short-haired girl is like an indifferent iceberg, floating on the cold sea with an unstoppable and unmoved attitude. Facing all floating objects and obstacles on the route, she shows the coldness without any mercy as if she is an ice queen.

Isn’t the track spacious?!

Facing the increasingly approaching Hope, the Victory Tornado and its pilot seemed to go crazy at the same time. The 'Hurricane 3 Magic Engine Improved Version' specially researched and manufactured by the Cloud Tower for the Magic Competition, referred to as 'Hurricane 3 Modified', completely entered the full-power operation mode.

Coupled with the pair of flying wings that can generate lift through air pressure, this magic car is almost completely off the ground, flying forward with an almost floating-like lightness.

"I won't let you pass, never, ever!"