Star Forge Titan

When he saw Heidi also standing at the end of the line with a smile on her face, he had no choice but to scoop out a perfect ball of ice cream helplessly amid the exclamations of Cat and Bug.

"There's really nothing I can do about you." Alvin stuffed the ice cream ball into the fragrant egg roll.

In the sunlight, the icy dessert reflects bright light.

"What? That's quite interesting."

Chapter 12 King Chief

Licking an ice cream cone, Alvin stood on the deck and witnessed an imaginative flying vehicle show.

Although the catworms have inherited a lot of ancient knowledge through learning machines, this does not restrict the little guys' excellent creative ability, but instead becomes a solid foundation for their inventions and creations.

Despite limited materials and a restricted environment, these furry little creatures never stopped inventing, or rather, creating. They used various scrap parts and scraps of building materials they had scavenged from the Nunnris construction site to develop their own vehicles.

In addition, Catworm seemed to think that the big chief's act of watching his inventions at this moment was an encouragement, so he directly pulled out a carload of various flying vehicles.

At this moment, a vehicle that was obviously modified from a scrapped dining car was accelerating along the deck.

The main body of the food cart is a rectangular frame connected to rollers, with flapping mechanical wings installed on both sides. As long as the orange cat-worm lies on the roof of the food cart and repeatedly performs rowing movements similar to sit-ups, it can use the pull rod in its hand to drive the wings to flap.

A flapping-wing aircraft... a very pure manual flapping-wing aircraft at that!

Alvin held his forehead with a frown, unable to bear to watch the next scene.

Sure enough, accompanied by the orange cat-bug's terrified scream, the flapping-wing dining car began to fall the moment it rushed out of the deck, and soon disappeared in the rolling sea of ​​sand, leaving only a cloud of dust on the ground that looked very tiny from the air.

As for that cat bug, this guy is certainly fine.

As soon as it confirmed that the aircraft was not working, it immediately left the "cockpit" or released the lever and jumped off the dining car, then opened the handmade parachute bag on its back. Yes, the parachute bag was made of pure handmade cat and worm silk, and turned into a small white flower floating in the sky.

At this moment, although the little guy was crying because of the crash of the dining car ornithopter, he himself was unharmed and not even lost a single pound of weight.

The aircraft that appeared next was a uniquely shaped object. It had only four palm-sized wings, seemingly unable to provide sufficient buoyancy. However, its torso, which served as the main body, was unusually long, giving Alvin a vague sense of familiarity.

When he turned around and saw the main thruster of the Rogilas, he immediately realized why this thing in front of him gave him a sense of déjà vu. He had just smashed an ornithopter, and now in front of him came a rocket-propelled aircraft... a missile?

As expected, there was no catworm driving this "vehicle". Instead, the maker stood excitedly at the end of the rocket booster with a torch in hand. When he saw the big chief looking at him, he immediately waved the torch in his hand excitedly, and then accidentally ignited a fuse extending from the end of the booster.

Sparks flew around, then ignited the internal fuel and spewed out a large amount of flames, scaring the cat-worm so much that it ran around frantically holding its head with burning hair.

Fortunately, a companion nearby, seeing the bad situation, pushed it into the bucket of leftover ice cream, and a burst of sweet white mist extinguished the cat bug's anger.

On the other side, the rocket-shaped vehicle made a sharp and strange "whoosh" sound, and it rushed into the sky crookedly and began to perform irregular Brownian motion.

The useless Rocket even turned around and rushed towards the deck, but fortunately at the last moment it changed direction and rushed into the sky, scaring the cats and bugs so much that they screamed and huddled together. Until they were sure that everything was fine, they burst into laughter at their companion whose head hair had been burned off.

Although the latter jumped up and down angrily, when another cat-bug handed it a piece of reflective metal to act as a mirror, it was stunned for a moment and then started laughing.

As for the flying rocket vehicle, its final fate was to plunge into the sand and then turn into a rising mushroom-shaped cloud of dust.

Alvin looked at the scene in front of him in astonishment, and then began to wonder what these little things stuffed in as fuel, how could it have such amazing power.

The flight show did not end there. The cats and bugs then displayed many ingenious gadgets, many of which used technologies that even surprised Alvin.

But most of the things are probably just for fun or entertainment.

Looking at the Will Catworms jumping down from the edge of the deck in a jumpsuit, Alvin no longer wanted to complain about the thinking patterns of these little guys.

"A race with great potential." Heidi's voice came from beside him.

"Yes, they are happy, smart, and love life. They will make very good friends." Ivan nodded and said with a smile:

"Friends? I thought you would treat them as servants." The female mage looked at the black-haired boy beside her in surprise.

"Putting aside the fact that this condescending attitude is disgusting, even from a rational point of view, an overly strict relationship between superiors and subordinates may not necessarily have any benefits. The strong sense of oppression may even reduce their own enthusiasm, and ultimately lead to a decline in overall efficiency." Alvin frowned, but then very rationally refuted the female mage's words from the perspective of efficiency.

"I am willing to provide these little guys with a safe haven, and in return they are very proactive in completing what they can. This kind of relationship is called symbiosis in a natural environment and cooperation in a social environment."

Recalling the team spirit and strong sense of responsibility that the cat-bug society has not lost even after the civilization was interrupted, Alvin felt that both he and the little ones could give each other full trust.

"Since we're collaborating, why do we need to distinguish between masters and servants? Excellent systems can solve most problems, and the rest can be driven and guided by advanced thinking."

"Don't you feel tired of living a life where you have to be superior to be comfortable?" Alvin shook his head with a look of disdain.

At least in this respect, he, who came from another world, had sufficient qualifications to look down on the vast majority of beings in the entire Palladia world, even the gods.

"You think the king is unnecessary? Respected Chief?" Heidi put her hands behind her back and smiled as she addressed Ivan as the cats and bugs called him, making the latter feel embarrassed.

"Don't say that. They just have the habit of calling their leader Chief. Sometimes I really don't know whether these little guys are advanced or primitive." Patting his cheek helplessly, Alvin did not answer Heidi's question immediately.

He walked towards the edge of the deck with his back to the sorceress, saying something short that made the latter fall into deep thought.

"King is just a title."

Chapter 13: The King's Collection

Just as Alvin and others were heading to the treasure trove, a bloody fight just came to an end in the arena in another city far away.

"The new champion has been decided!" the host shouted at the top of his lungs.

Blood splattered and the head severed by the sword was held high.

The eyes of the dead were still open, but there was still no light in them.

The city-state of Shakara, a gladiatorial city where death is exchanged for joy, has the largest gladiatorial arena in the entire desert.

At this moment, a new champion gladiator appeared in this bloody land covered with crimson colors.

Just like flowers growing on corpses, the emergence of new champions is inevitably based on the defeat of old champions, and their birth process is full of cruel draining of fresh life.

Cheers rang out from the audience seats, and in a hidden box with the best angle, a distinguished man with a strong figure but his face hidden by shadows was looking very carefully at the young champion in the arena below, who was holding the defeated man's head high and smiling.

The champion gladiator of this competition is skilled in swordsmanship, has a slender figure and very agile movements, is exceptionally young and strong, and can be described as handsome.

In addition, he could even read and recite a beautiful poem aloud after each fight.

Therefore, he is very popular among most audiences and even the aristocracy, and has the nickname of "Scarlet Bard".

There were many noble ladies and young ladies who gave large sums of money to the operators of their gladiatorial schools just to spend a night with this young and handsome gladiator and poet.

"Your Majesty..." A thin figure with a veil on his face came to the side of the distinguished audience and quietly read out his identity.

It turns out that this person is the Witch King Haupt, or to be more precise, the human body of the Witch King Haupt.

"This year's champion, well, barely qualified."

Looking at the young face, the Witch King Hopet scratched his chin irritably. Even his favorite gladiatorial performances could not make him smile brightly.

Then, he seemed to recall something and couldn't help but clench his teeth, making a sharp "crunching" sound.

"After the game, we took him to the 'locker room'. That was it."

The 'changing room' that the Witch King mentioned was naturally not a real changing room, and his close servants obviously knew this very well.

Thereupon, the skinny waiter immediately prostrated himself on the ground and knelt respectfully in response.

"I will obey your orders, Your Majesty, the Great and Most High Wizard King."

When the waiter raised his head again, the figure of the Witch King Hopt had disappeared in the box.

Not long after, the young champion gladiator was taken out of the arena by waiters and put on a carriage, and began to head for the Red Keep, the residence of the Witch King Hopt.

Sitting in the closed compartment, the young gladiator couldn't help but feel curious.

"Your Majesty, may I ask why His Majesty has summoned a lowly slave like me."

The harsh living environment forced this young man, even though he had become this year's champion gladiator, to lower his posture in front of a mere waiter.

"Of course it's because His Majesty admires young and outstanding gladiators like you the most." The waiter sitting in the front of the carriage and driving the vehicle let out a hoarse laugh.

"Rest assured, young man, you will receive a very rare honor and become one of His Majesty's most trusted and closest gladiators."

"Is that so? That's great. I mean, it's really my honor!" The young gladiator said helplessly, with an excited smile on his face.

Perhaps, today I can get rid of my status as a slave, become a respected emir, and become a nobleman.

Hearing the young gladiator's joyful voice, the waiter seemed to guess his thoughts and couldn't help but let out another particularly dry laugh.

At this moment, the wind blowing from the front just lifted the veil that covered the waiter's face, revealing a face as withered as a mummy, with an undisguised distorted expression on it.

Unfortunately, the young gladiator sitting in the carriage could not see this honor, otherwise, he would not be able to continue laughing so happily.

Soon, the carriage arrived at the palace of the Witch King Hopt.

The Red Fort, as its name suggests, is constructed entirely of reddish-brown sandstone, becoming particularly striking at sunrise. Its vast ground area and its numerous individual buildings, each serving a distinct function, make it a truly classic palace complex.

In addition, this is not only the political center where the Witch King manages and rules the entire city-state, but also a top-secret place where he hides his own secrets.

The young gladiator was soon taken to the interior of an exceptionally dim palace.

Here, he saw many rectangular stones placed vertically.

These stones, without a single visible crack on their surface, are approximately fifty centimeters thick and, on average, over two meters long. Some, however, are so exceptional that their length, width, and height far exceed those of other stones, resembling, from afar, a silent and majestic sculpture.

The young gladiator couldn't help swallowing. The palace gave him an uncomfortable chill.

It wasn't the cold feeling caused by the drop in temperature, but rather a psychological feeling, or a sense of uneasiness that a warrior could perceive instinctively.

"..." When he looked back, he saw that the waiter who had brought him here had disappeared into the depths of the palace at some point.

You can faintly hear the whistling sound of wind blowing through the gaps between the stones.

Cautiously approaching the nearest rectangular stone, the young gladiator looked at it carefully in the light coming in from the palace gate.

Then he discovered that the seemingly seamless stone actually had a circle of very fine cracks on the side. In other words, this was not a completely solid piece of stone, but a sarcophagus with a single cover! The entire palace was filled with sarcophagi like this!

Realizing this horrifying reality, the young gladiator immediately felt his whole body stiffen.

He slowly raised his head and looked at the front of the sarcophagus, only to see a familiar name written on it.

At this moment, the young man had never regretted learning to read, because his own name was written on it.

"How about it, isn't my collection very impressive?" A joking voice came from behind.

The young gladiator slowly turned his head and saw that the light shining into the palace from the palace gate was blocked by an extremely tall figure.

He has very strong and well-developed muscles and an exaggerated height of nearly three meters. He looks like a breathing mountain of muscles.

"Please, may I ask...you are..." The young gladiator forced a smile with difficulty. That expression was more like a distortion on the verge of collapse than a smile.

"Haven't you guessed it yet?" The visitor smiled slightly, revealing a mouthful of white and sharp teeth in the darkness.

"Forget it, just become my new collection." A broad hand with sharp claws stretched out towards the young gladiatorial champion. The inexplicable fear made the latter unable to even put up a single resistance.

Then, a very shrill scream was heard in the darkness.

Chapter 14 Deciphering the Treasure Map

“My 1328 heavily peated privately bottled blended malt-fermented oak cask whisky from Loch Roman on Speyside, ahh ...

Like a fart spirit whose toes were stepped on by the orc chieftain's iron prosthetic limbs, Thorin clung tightly to the former oak barrel, which could no longer be transformed back into a cat-carrying aircraft, and cried all day and night, without a trace of sunlight.

In short, the dwarf burst into tears like an unlucky child who had lost an important relative.

It was not until the cats and bugs came to him with a cart of whiskey in glass bottles that Thorin was stunned and held back his tears and snot.

"No, it wasn't drunk? You even packaged it for me!?!" He hugged the cat and kissed it hard when it pushed a cart of wine over, but ended up getting scratched on the face by the cat.

Despite this, Thorin was still as happy as a fool, holding a bottle of whiskey in each hand, and kept shouting:

"Great! It's not lost! It's not lost!!!"

Alvin watched the dramatic scene in front of him speechlessly, feeling like there was something stuck in his throat that he had to spit out.

If the dwarves were truly new life forms created by the Titans to help build the planet, then the Titan ancestors responsible for this work must have made a small mistake during the production process, such as accidentally knocking over a wine glass and mixing it with the raw materials, most likely a whole bottle...

A few minutes ago, he was in the captain's private living room thinking about the experience of earth line calling.

At first, Alvin judged that this was an important part of the Witch King's secret method, and based on the details he knew, he believed that the so-called earth vein calling method was actually a special ritual for the user to communicate with the earth vein magic network.

The rhythmic changes in the magical fluctuations in the calling method are like a login password, a passcode specifically used to pass the first level of judgment.

But when he had some free time to study the Earth Vein Calling Technique in depth, he discovered that in addition to the part of communicating with the Earth Vein Network, this secret technique itself also had the effect of replenishing magic power.

Furthermore, it wasn't the same kind of destructive absorption that the Sorcerer King used, forcibly extracting the magic power of a large area of ​​the environment, or even the life force of other organisms. Instead, it was a method of perceiving and sensing a wide range of magical resonances, cleverly transforming a range of natural energies such as crustal vibrations and geothermal heat into magic power, which was then channeled into the user's body for sustainable recharge.

After realizing this, Alvin couldn't help but show an incredible expression.

This function of Earth Vein Calling is just like the user himself turning into a special kind of magic furnace, which can obtain external magic replenishment in a very environmentally friendly and sustainable way.

What surprised Alvin even more was the incompleteness of this secret technique.