Star Forge Titan

A dry wind blew in their faces. The two women engaged in a battle, one in the wheelhouse and the other in the engine room. Frey said she wanted to study local magical technology, while Diana expressed a desire to experience the driving experience of this unfamiliar magical vehicle.

They had seemingly reached some sort of temporary ceasefire and sharing agreement, but Afrediya, now sober, found herself taking it more seriously than she'd anticipated. Coupled with the thrill of the "present crime" scene, the dragon's possessiveness erupted completely.

Based on Fat Tiger's simple and unpretentious idea of ​​"what's mine is mine, if you dare to take it away, I will take back what you originally had as well", Her Majesty the Demon King, whose brain had snapped, chose to use the most direct method to take back what was "stolen", so she attacked simply and swiftly. In her own words, this was to "take back the top-secret treasure that belonged to the dragon."

A brief exchange of fire between Afredia and Diana quickly left both sides shaken by their outrageous behavior. Ivan, not intending to be a mere camera, immediately joined the fray. The aftermath of the exchange shook even the three-story-tall mountain spiders.

When everything was over, the two people entered a cold war state, and even if they communicated face to face, they had to go through Alvin.

As for how to resolve this conflict? The Titan descendant, sporting the bear-spreading gesture, said he had no idea. Fortunately, high-quality communication can effectively divert attention, especially when both parties are forced to cooperate under immense external pressure. The resulting tacit understanding can effectively resolve most conflicts.

Sometimes, the feudal and backward society is not completely without its merits. As long as you are down-to-earth and hardworking, you can use this stupid method to solve problems even if you are not good at speaking... right?

The Titan descendant, looking exhausted, thought so. He felt even more exhausted now than the last time he was a 'gray-beater' in the Celestial Realm. It wasn't physical fatigue, it was mental fatigue. Well, at least Ivan refused to think it was just physical fatigue.

Right now, they are planning to go to the Fallen God's Gate - Babelon. Along the way, they will pass by the tribe where Marian was born. They think they can learn more about this world from the elders of the tribe.

It must be admitted that the magical engineering technology in this world is quite advanced. Even after experiencing at least one apocalyptic-level destructive war, there are still many automatic golem puppets continuing to operate in various areas.

Due to some kind of war legacy, this magical device, called the "Iron Beast" by the local tribe, is theoretically uncontrollable. However, Diana forcibly hacked into the automatic tower spirit inside it and completely formatted and reprogrammed the underlying gear set, completely destroying the externally contaminated operating interface.

As for how to control this giant beast next, armored rider Diana relied on her job ability to resonate with it, and then forcibly drove it as if it were a part of her body.

In a sense, it is a case of using metaphysical methods to solve scientific problems.

Considering the durability of the flying carpet and its adaptability to the local magical environment, the group decided to use the super-heavy construction machinery, the Eight-Legged Stonecruncher, as a temporary vehicle. After all, the mountain spider's multi-legged walking mode provided excellent maneuverability over complex terrain, allowing it to swiftly traverse the Stone Web Wasteland, while its sheer size also prevented unnecessary trouble.

"How exactly was this terrain formed?" Alvin looked around curiously.

All you can see are gray concrete viaducts, which together form a complex recursive urban structure.

"Of course it's woven by mountain spiders." Marian answered as a matter of course.

"Huh? You mean, all these overpasses around here are built by this machine?" Alvin showed an expression of expectedness.

"According to tribal records, there's more than one mountain spider. There are over five hundred of them scattered throughout the Stoneweb Wasteland. The reason other powerful iron beasts don't dare enter this place is because of their presence."

"These big guys eat sand and rusty red dead iron every day, and then use the mortar they spit out and the bright living iron to weave a stone net."

The stone network that Marian mentioned is an above-ground transportation network composed of a series of reinforced concrete viaducts.

Hearing this, Ivan couldn't help but scrutinize the vehicle below. It was clearly a highly advanced piece of engineering machinery. From its exterior, one could roughly discern that the mountain spider's eight legs were equivalent to eight multi-purpose excavators, its abdominal cavity was likely a sand-crushing and concrete-incinerating furnace, and the mouthpart-like structure at the front was a fully automated rebar binding, welding, and weaving machine.

Wow, it can single-handedly do most of the work of an entire construction team, no wonder it can independently complete such a massive transportation network. Considering that decades have passed since the Apocalyptic War, if these automated construction machines have spent all that time repeating the last construction instructions they received, perhaps the ruins of the old city are at the bottom of the stacked elevated network.

Through the tiny gaps between the different levels of the viaduct, Ivan's gaze reached the ground. As expected, he discovered a different structure than the viaduct.

A certain guess immediately came to mind...

"Marianne, have you ever been to the bottom level of the stone network?"

“…”Hearing this, the girl shuddered immediately.

"That is the most dangerous place in the entire Stone Net Wasteland. There are many dangerous and murderous iron beasts there, so the elders designated it as a restricted area."

"Unless absolutely necessary, no one in the tribe would approach without permission."

"Murderous iron beasts? What's the difference between them and ordinary iron beasts?" Alvin frowned slightly when he heard the new term, and he could clearly feel the smell of blood from it.

"Ordinary Iron Beasts won't attack humans unless you enter their alert range. Even if you do accidentally intrude, leaving in time will calm the Iron Beast down and prevent it from attacking again."

"But the killer iron beasts are different. They have extremely dangerous offensive organs that can fire iron teeth and explosive claws. They will even actively seek out and attack humans."

"In addition, any living person will be attacked if they are seen by the killer iron beasts. Even if they leave their alert range, they will be chased and killed until one of them is completely defeated." When she said this, Marian suddenly bit her lip.

"My mother encountered the killer beast when she was searching for medicine deep in the restricted area. That's why... Anyway, don't go near that place easily!"

Although it was very small, after telling about its own sad experience, it stood there and gave many instructions with a very serious attitude.

Ivan opened his mouth, feeling that he had done something too much.

"Feel sorry."

"It's okay." Marianne waved her hands repeatedly, then couldn't help sighing.

"There's nothing we can do about it. My family is the herb hunters responsible for collecting herbs in the tribe. Otherwise, even if my flesh hand is broken, I wouldn't be eligible to obtain the precious iron hand."

"Also, even though I'm only eleven years old, I've memorized most of the shapes, patterns, and designs of medicinal fruits!" Marian showed a proud expression and took out a very modern disposable sealed bottle from her backpack.

"The seeds of the fruit wrapped in soft gold iron can be used to treat colds. The juice of the fruit with a white bottle and green grass pattern can be used to treat wounds. You can distinguish these by the patterns and designs on them."

Regarding the fruit she mentioned and its unique patterns and designs...

Ivan widened his eyes and tried hard to suppress his inappropriate complaints.

That's basically the trademark and product details!?!

Chapter 194: Giant Beast God

"Can this trauma medicine, which has expired for thirty years, still be used?"

Looking at the ancient Norse characters on the label, Alvin couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Judging from Marian's attitude towards these expired drugs, they at least retained some of their properties. After all, these were magical potions whose production process involved magic, so having such a long shelf life... was still outrageous.

Conventional medicines have a shelf life of two to three years at most, depending on the type of medicine and storage method. Magical potions, due to factors such as the natural loss of magic power, have strict storage requirements. With proper handling, they can maintain their effectiveness for a long time. However, a little carelessness can render them useless in a short period of time.

Most alchemists would make special safes to store finished magic potions. Professional teams going out on adventures would do the same, at most replacing the boxes with backpacks or waist bags that were more convenient to carry.

In other words, this cheap, disposable medicine bottle in my hand, which looks like plastic, can actually function as a medicine safe? At least part of it?

This small detail showed that local civilization had indeed reached a high level of development, as expected. At least a large number of commonly used magical potions had been mass-produced, perhaps even industrially produced by machines, eliminating the need for alchemists to manually mix bottles one by one using the traditional method.

In addition, they also apply technology to all aspects, even the small bottles used to hold medicines.

But after the apocalyptic war, local civilization had clearly suffered severe damage. For example, Marianne's family-inherited method of identifying medicines depended on memorizing the labels and using the text on the detailed instructions as images to roughly identify the effects of the medicines. This showed that most locals had forgotten the written language of the old civilization.

As to whether the writing was lost or monopolized by a small group of people, we have to visit the local tribes and investigate the actual situation to determine.

"That's amazing." Afrediya exclaimed as she looked at the ordinary-looking medicine bottle.

"The local technology level was once very high, whether it was alchemy or magical engineering. I remember some things that were still in the laboratory stage, but here we have finished products with similar functions, and they are mass-produced."

"It's not surprising. It's normal to develop similar technologies when the needs are similar." Alvin nodded and returned the bottle of medicine to Marian.

Since the two were communicating in Huma, the girl, who only knew Norse, was curious about what they were talking about. Strictly speaking, Huma was also a variant of Ancient Norse, but over time, its relationship with Ancient Norse had become very distant, with only some similarities remaining in grammar and other aspects, almost like a very distant relative from the same family five hundred years ago.

As for the language used by Marianne, although its grammar and word roots were closer to ancient Norse, there were still differences, so that she could not understand what the two were saying at all.

"Ancient Empire! If you trace back to the origins of all the countries in Palladio, you can find connections with this country. Whether it's customs and habits, magical techniques, or even ascension rituals."

Afrediya was well versed in history, so after grasping some information, she immediately realized that the seemingly ruined land in front of her was actually a precious treasure trove buried with countless gold.

Civilizations may fade, but the traces left on the earth will not vanish immediately. The nations of Palladia, heirs of the ancient empire, can leverage these remaining "traces" to save countless hours of technological development, even advancing various fields directly to a level approaching that of the old civilization.

Therefore, the two were not in a hurry to go to the ruins of "God's Gate - Babylon" on the other side of the horizon, but planned to explore along the way. It would be great if they could find valuable technological artifacts from the old civilization.

Furthermore, compared to the common household items found in the ruins, they were actually more interested in local magic and rituals related to the Supernatural. For a civilization to even popularize magic potions, its Supernatural-related aspects must be extremely valuable.

As for Diana, she was now very interested in driving the magical vehicles of the old civilization. Even a limited-speed engineering vehicle like the Mountain Spider made the silver-haired girl very happy. She vaguely felt that this also improved her utilization of her professional abilities, and that this pleasure was even conducive to the awakening of her soul power.

Even though it's a cramped cab filled with knobs and levers, she can stay inside for an entire day without coming out. Of course, shyness and embarrassment might also be a factor.

Regardless of the driver's current thoughts, the mountain spider, walking on its eight legs, was now moving at a remarkably steady pace. As a specialized engineering vehicle with excellent ability to navigate complex terrain, the stone-webbed wasteland dotted with reinforced concrete viaducts posed no obstacle at all.

"The big beast head is in front." Marian suddenly pointed forward.

"This is a very famous place. Sometimes people from other tribes come here specifically. Well, in their words, it's called sightseeing?" The girl's tone was full of uncertainty, and her cute little face was wrinkled. It was obvious that she seldom used such words in her daily life.

Following the direction she pointed, Alvin immediately understood why the place was called the Big Beast Head.

On the ruins in the distance, a "building" stands quietly. The multi-story elevated transportation network surrounding it, which is dozens of meters long, cannot hide its shape, but instead further highlights its grandeur and size.

"Is that the... head of the Great Beast God?" Alvin was a little uncertain. If the head alone was as big as a building, the complete Great Beast God would probably be dozens of times more exaggerated than expected.

Even from a distance, the general outline of the beast god's head can be seen, but it seems to have nothing to do with animals. I don't know why the locals call it the beast god.

"Well, during the Sun-Breaking War, the twelve great beast gods tore each other apart in the sky, and their body parts were scattered all over the earth." Marian couldn't help but shudder. Although she had heard the elders talk about related legends, her little brain could not imagine what a shocking scene that would be.

"Did any of the great beast gods survive?" Alvin asked the question that concerned him most at the moment.

"The elders said that there is no real winner in the fight to the death between the beast gods. The last great beast god also died after landing. However, its remains did smash a large hole in the ground, which is called the 'God's Crater'. It is located on the edge of the Stone Net Wasteland, closest to the Gate of God - Babylon." Marian repeated the elder's words verbatim. In fact, she had never really been to the so-called 'God's Crater'.

"Oh, I see. But the remains of the Great Beast God must be quite large too, right? Why can't I see them at all from here?"

Afrediya stood on tiptoe, straining to see Babelon, the Gate of God, far out on the horizon. However, aside from a narrow mountain range stretching for countless kilometers, there was nothing resembling man-made structures there.

"Actually, you've already seen it." Marian showed a somewhat strange expression.

"Wait, you're not talking about that mountain range, are you?" Ivan's eyes slowly widened, and Afrediya's mouth beside him also slowly opened.

"I've heard from people who've been there that the God Crater is very, very deep." Marian tried to describe the exaggerated depth of the God Crater, then pointed to the mountain range in the distance.

"So, only a portion of the Great Beast God's back is exposed."

Chapter 195: The Day of Destruction

The shocking fact made both of them freeze in place.

"How is this thing made?" Afrediya muttered, looking frequently at Ivan beside her.

"Don't look at me, it has nothing to do with me." The descendant of the Northern Titan who did not want to take the blame immediately denied it, but his tone did not sound certain.

Compared to the Giant Kingdom, which existed so long ago and experienced devastating disasters, the Ancient Empire's history is much clearer, with more complete documentation. Considering this information, even from the most optimistic and idealistic perspective, accounting for the impact of civilizational discontinuities, a mere few hundred years wouldn't have allowed the Ancient Empire to develop to such an outrageous degree.

The Great Beast God, a giant creature of this size that needs to be measured in kilometers, does not look like something that can be created by a primitive civilization that has not yet broken out of the planetary realm.

What's more, there are not just one but twelve great beast gods.

Just mining the necessary minerals would leave a planet riddled with holes. Unless the ancient empire borrowed external forces.

As for what exactly this external force is?

Frey's immediate glance at Ivan spoke volumes. She suspected the Ancient Empire had unearthed a Titan artifact. Given the Titans' unreasonably powerful strength, their lost magical artifacts were undoubtedly quite significant. Thus, the Ancient Empire had successfully crafted twelve Titans.

But they obviously overestimated their control over creation. The twelve great beast gods fought to the point of causing the sky to collapse and the earth to split. The war was even given the terrifying name of "Sun Shattering".

Ok?

Afrediya remembered that Marian once said that the reason why this war was called the Sun-Breaking War would be known as soon as she waited until the next morning.

She looked up at the gray sky. The clouds hung low today, making the world seem especially dim and gloomy, revealing a kind of oppression unique to the days before rain. Therefore, she didn't see the sun. The great fireball that could bring eternal light to the earth was now completely obscured by the dark clouds. Aside from the few remaining rays of light that shone through the clouds, there was no trace of the sun.

He raised his hand and nudged someone next to him who was thinking about something. The person who was hit by Gu Long's powerful elbow had no choice but to look up, and then he saw the clouds getting lower and lower.

"Frede, you should know that even if I do that, it will take some effort, right?" Ivan slumped his shoulders and deliberately acted reluctant.

"Is it not possible?" Frey blinked, and with just one sentence, someone who was sitting there like a salted fish jumped up from the ground.

"How can I not believe it!?!" After saying that, Alvin waved his hands towards the sky, his movements as casual as if he was chasing away a group of annoying mosquitoes.

The wind whistled and rose against the wind.

The clouds split open.

Dazzling light pierced through the cracks torn apart by the force of the fist formation, like countless swords of light piercing the earth. But what was even more difficult to look away from was the sun in the sky, a shattered sun!!!

The daytime, which should have been dazzlingly bright, was now occupied by large and small black blocks. No matter how you looked at it, it was not normal. The whole sun was like a lamp that was about to break down completely. Only a few gaps still emitted a dim orange-yellow color, barely allowing the earth to appear different from the night.

Even with a cloudless sky, this decaying, lightless, and broken sun alone couldn't appear bright. So, it wasn't that the weather was too gloomy, but that something was wrong with the sun itself.

"Could a battle between great beast gods have transformed the sun into this?" Ivan stared motionlessly at the shattered sun hanging high above him. Its light, though faint, was still blazing. But it had no effect on him. Something stirred deep within his dark golden pupils: curiosity, or perhaps nervousness.

The last existence I saw that could do this or that to a star cluster was called the Pure Color Ultra Beast, and the existence that could make the white dwarf fragments left over from the former into an immortal holy artifact was called the Adult Titan Giant.

So, how does Alvin feel now?

The answer is no feeling.

Although he was initially shocked, Ivan quickly realized the situation wasn't as dramatic as he'd anticipated. The name "Sun-Shattering War" had misled him, but after a moment's reflection, he realized the sun above wasn't truly shattered, otherwise the entire galaxy would have been in turmoil.

More likely, it was some kind of facility covering the sun's surface. The battle between the great beast gods had destroyed the facility, resulting in the tragic scene of shattered remains.

This answer was certainly shocking, but still within the acceptable range. As for how the ancient empire built an outer space structure of this scale, Ivan personally tended to believe that they didn't build it, but rather found it.

"The ancient empire's technology shouldn't be that exaggerated, right?" Frey made a similar judgment at the same time.

"Well, at least from this giant spider, I don't see that the Ancient Empire has the technology to build a Dyson Sphere."

"Dyson sphere?" Afrediya was curious about the unfamiliar words mentioned in her boyfriend's words.

"A device that blocks the sun to collect energy. I originally thought it was just some unproven speculation, but I never expected someone, or something else, to have turned the theory into reality."

Ivan had no intention of hiding anything. With his power growing exponentially, many secrets he once considered absolutely untold gradually became topics of daily conversation he could share freely with those close to him. In a sense, this was also a sign of confidence and trust.