Star Forge Titan

In an instant, Dominic felt a buzzing in his ears, his vision became blurred and doubled, and the ground under his legs and feet seemed to have turned into soft marshmallows, making him lose his balance.

But that’s not all. Diana was like an extremely swift shadow. Her hands attacked continuously, and each punch seemed to catch up with the shadow of the previous one.

In just a few seconds, Dominic was hit in the chin, chest, ears and other vital parts.

Suffocation, fainting, nausea, tinnitus, and all kinds of negative stimulation caused this energetic young man, whose physical fitness was comparable to that of an adult man, to fall directly to the ground. The only reason he didn't faint completely was because the opponent didn't use his full strength.

Suddenly, a foot wearing specially made pointed leather boots tapped the ground next to Dominic's ear.

Crack! The solid bricks suddenly cracked into several deep cracks.

Facts have proved that the big sister is still the big sister after all.

And a younger brother can only be a younger brother.

"Linde's kicking and punching technique?" Seeing this dazzling change, even Alvin was stunned and subconsciously recited the name of that fighting technique.

This is a practical fighting technique that originally originated in the market. It was later learned and improved by Sheriff Lind and incorporated into some military fighting techniques. Finally, it became a combat skill with considerable practical value.

Because of its unique kicking method, it is also called 'Savatel', which refers to 'hard leather boots' in Linde folk slang, indicating that this technique requires kicking people with hard leather boots.

Before becoming a Transcendent, Ivan in the game had also learned some of these techniques. However, due to the low utilization rate of attributes and the need for precise timing, he was gradually abandoned by those like him who were used to relying on building a system of skills and talents to ultimately create an absolute advantage in combat.

But this does not mean that "kicking and punching" is very crude. In fact, it is a very practical fighting technique.

For example, the first move Diana used, the hand-pulling and spinning kick, is the most iconic "whiplash" in Lind's kicking technique.

It refers to a kick as swift and powerful as a whip. When used by an experienced person who is good at this, even a non-transcendent person can kick out a crisp sound close to the sound of a whip breaking through the air.

In other words, it is no problem to kick one or two dog heads off with ease.

It can be seen that Diana didn't really use any effort at all.

Moreover, in actual combat, the 'Linde Kick and Punch Technique' can also be used with a cane.

Because rattan canes are often used, it is also called "Linde Cane Technique", which incorporates many fencing, short spear and other techniques, and can launch effective attacks on the enemy's eyes, joints and other vital points.

Coupled with the matching boxing techniques and special kicks performed while wearing pointed boots, the user can easily defeat multiple opponents at once.

This really surprised the black-haired boy. In the plot, he had never seen the other party use such a down-to-earth, even rough, fighting method.

By then, Diana, already known as the "White Knight" and "Valkyrie," would manipulate magical weapons in every battle, using gorgeous and elegant swordsmanship or long-range, precise shooting without the slightest deviation to quickly defeat the enemy in an instant.

"Yeah." Diana nodded and admitted that she used Lind's kicking technique.

"When did old Frank teach you this?" Dominic asked with dizzy eyes.

The old Frank he mentioned was a low-level sheriff who was once in charge of the security of the downtown area. Compared with other sheriffs who did not take the residents of the downtown area seriously, he took good care of the orphans in the orphanage.

The old sheriff especially liked Diana, who was smart and courageous among the children. If he were not busy with his work, he would even want to adopt the girl as his heir.

"It happened two years ago, after you guys ran off to join gangs." Diana retracted her right leg that was stepping on Dominic's ear, then reached out and pulled up the boy who was still feeling dizzy.

"I want to go too." The short-haired girl repeated again, and her words sounded much more convincing this time.

The sturdy young man staggered to his feet, covering his swollen cheek, not knowing what to do. He could only look at Ivan with confusion.

Alvin thought about it, and finally nodded before the girl jumped up and kicked him.

"Yes, but you must follow orders."

Hearing his words, Diana, who usually had a stern face, suddenly smiled.

The short-haired girl raised her fingers to her eyebrows and performed a new-style Lind salute very handsomely.

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Chapter 35: Flesh Factory

Ding ding ding.

The crisp sound of metal colliding echoed in the orphanage all afternoon.

At night, the moon rises in the sky, but the night is still dark because layers of dark clouds block the bright moonlight.

Soon, two figures left the lower city quietly.

They walked along the quiet Seine River at night and came to the factory area downstream of the river.

Earlier, Lutetia's factories were not located in a specific area, but with the environmental pollution caused by industrial production, people in the city soon realized that they had to at least move those roaring machine factories to the lower reaches of the Seine.

Otherwise, they would have to live with sewage, dust and various pungent fumes all day long. Even the beautiful and elegant Neuschwanstein Castle could not escape the attack of the stench.

It was precisely because of this that Conrad Carl Drusus Carolingian, known as the Merry King, who loved balls, operas, and dramas, and occasionally even wrote his own scripts and directed the actors' performances, had to leave his favorite private library and shout orders to the Minister of Finance and the Lutetia Chief of Security, whom he had only seen two or three times in the past month.

"If you don't move the factory, then move your brain!" These were the Emperor's exact words.

Of course, the orders conveyed by the ministers were much more subtle. At least they persuaded the factory owners to move their factories to the lower reaches of the Seine on the grounds that the health of the people of Lutetia and the beauty of the city belonged to everyone.

At the same time, the Chancellor of Finance also creatively invented a new tax law - environmental protection tax.

Factories that do not pay taxes cannot discharge pollutants. Only after paying environmental protection taxes can they freely dump all their garbage and wastewater into the Seine.

Therefore, at this stage, factories that use magic machines for industrial production are concentrated in the industrial area located in the lower reaches of the Seine.

This also causes this ancient river to appear in very strange different colors at the entrance and exit of this area.

The river water before flowing into the industrial zone is so clear that it can even reflect the blue sky under clear sunlight.

The water of the Seine River flowing out of the industrial area is as colorful as the colorful nightlife of the pleasure streets in the suburbs of Lutetia.

In short, since Lutetia began to vigorously develop industry, the agricultural harvest in the lower reaches of the Seine has become less and less year by year, and more and more young people have been forced to go to the city to find new ways out.

Most of these honest people who could barely read and write went to work in factories. Only a few found jobs as kitchen helpers or servants and could live a slightly easier life, but they still had to get up before dawn to work.

But at least at this late hour, they were all asleep.

At this time, the two people who were moving in the dark also entered the factory area from the east side.

The tall, black-haired boy was dressed in plain clothes, his hands clad in metal gloves and armored arm guards made with [Reshape the World].

Steel, crafted from iron ingots and carbon powder in the perfect proportions, possesses a hardness and toughness far exceeding that of ordinary pig iron. Under the moonlight that occasionally filters through gaps in the clouds, it reflects a brilliant silvery-white metallic luster.

In addition, Ivan was wearing all black clothes and had a black mask covering the lower half of his face.

Diana, who was standing next to him, was also wearing the same dark outfit, and a carnival mask that covered the upper half of her face and was decorated with feathers on the edge.

The leather gloves on the short-haired girl's hands had a circle of spiked cones, and the tips of the hard leather boots on her feet were also inlaid with solid metal blocks to increase the power of her kicks.

Considering that it was impossible to "deal with" all the witnesses this time, both of them dressed in disguise.

As they were about to reach their destination, Alvin suddenly frowned.

Because gas lighting increased manufacturing costs, most factories stopped production at night and workers left the factories and returned home to rest.

The entire factory area was pitch black, with only light coming from the textile factory belonging to Abagnon in the distance.

It was the light emanating from the factory that made Alvin feel something was not right.

The light was orange-yellow, looking like the light of a gas lamp, but if you looked closely, it seemed to have a hint of red.

"Something's wrong." Alvin stopped.

He looked back at Diana, and saw no sign of retreat in her eyes.

"Be careful." The black-haired boy raised his hand and touched the wall.

The original magic power drove [Reshape the World] and turned into a dark golden light. The solid wall made of cement and bricks immediately deformed, and a gap appeared on the wall that was large enough for an adult to pass through.

The two walked into the factory, one in front of the other. Inside, there was an open space, with only a large factory building standing in the center of the wall. From inside, the rumbling sound of machinery completely drowned out their footsteps.

Even so, Alvin's movements were very cautious, because ever since he entered the factory, he felt a sense of omnipresent threat.

But when he looked around, he saw nothing unusual. There was only the continuous hum of machinery humming from the distant factory. Apart from that, no other sound broke the silence of the night.

It seems that if you want to find out the secret of this factory, you must enter the factory and take a look.

But the moment Alvin walked into the factory, the sound of the machines stopped abruptly without any warning.

"Get out!" The young man's eyes fixed, and he immediately ordered Diana behind him to leave the factory.

But before Diana could respond, the factory door suddenly closed automatically without any wind, and the walls and the ground began to move on their own, trying to completely separate the two.

In the face of such an emergency, both Ivan and Diana appeared very calm and collected.

Instead of falling into panic due to the sudden situation, the short-haired girl stepped on the suddenly rising wall and used the force to jump upwards. She jumped to a height of several meters and tried her best to look into the distance.

As a result, the scene she saw made her face turn pale, her feet slipped and she lost her footing on the wall and fell straight to the ground.

On the other side, Ivan, who was separated by several walls, remained calm. He raised his right hand with metal gloves and armored arm guard and suddenly threw a straight punch.

Instantly, the wall cracked like a grenade, radiating from the point of impact. Then, the entire section shattered and collapsed. Several stone spears shot out from the ground, smashing through the remaining walls.

Immediately afterwards, Ivan's tall figure broke through the flying dust and caught Diana who was sliding down the wall.

Without any inappropriate thoughts, he supported the short-haired girl with one hand and immediately asked:

"What do you see?"

"Monster!" Diana blurted out with a pale face, but it only took her a few seconds to regain her composure.

After standing firm on her own, the short-haired girl described what she had just seen in the briefest words.

Hundreds of workers were tied to the machines, their legs fused to the concrete floor. Despite their exhausted faces, they dared not stop working. It was as if they had become part of the massive machinery, working alongside the magical machines to continuously produce a wide variety of textiles.

What’s even more terrifying is that some workers are so tired that they accidentally get caught in the running machines.

The next moment, the workers' flesh and bones were crushed into minced meat by the rotating gears. The sound made by this was like a wild beast chewing its prey, harsh and terrifying.

Afterwards, the endless machine produced one piece of blood-stained cloth after another.

This is a real flesh and blood factory!

Chapter 36 Demonic Machine

There was a loud rumbling sound in the factory.

Ivan's expression changed, and he suddenly raised his hand and pushed Diana away. He also used the reaction force to step back a distance.

The next moment, a huge gear spun at high speed like a chainsaw and whizzed past the position where the two had just been.

At the same time, a large number of staggered low walls rose from the ground, completely separating them.

Want to defeat them one by one?

Ivan's mind raced, and he instantly realized the other party's plan. He even guessed that the factory had been transformed into some kind of underground city.

In the world of Palladia, the underground city born from the ruins of ancient civilization is a very special ecological environment.

Some wizards even speculate that the dungeon itself is an enormous underground life form, and the monsters living in it and the various mazes constructed are essentially special ecological chains artificially designed and modulated by ancient civilizations for certain purposes.

At present, this factory also has certain shadows of an underground city.

Workers and magical machines are the basic environment that maintains its existence, and the changing terrain and rising low walls are nothing more than the stress response of its outer warning zone to invaders.

However, compared to a complete dungeon, it is relatively limited in both area and capabilities.

Even if the two people were separated by changing the terrain, it would be impossible to directly create a desperate situation like a cliff.

They could even only react in the outer area, while the actual factory area inside remained calm.

The surrounding walls grew taller and thicker, but Ivan didn't rush to react. He was a little worried about Diana, who hadn't yet become a Transcendent. Yet, for some reason, he felt that this expressionless girl could handle any situation well, and might even bring him unexpected surprises.

The rising walls quickly covered the surroundings, and even the area directly above was blocked by the horizontally extending walls, not letting in even a bit of light or air, and soon completely enclosed Alvin within the layers of walls.

On the other hand, perhaps because most of the power was used to control Ivan, Diana's situation was relatively safe.

Although she was also trapped in a small maze with no exit in sight, the thickness and height of the walls were relatively limited, and she could even see the roof of the factory building high above her head through the small empty space.

But the good times didn't last long. A deadly threat quickly emerged. Two high-speed rotating metal gears were approaching the girl from both ends of the corridor.

The sharp edge can cut a person in two like a chainsaw with just one touch.

Faced with such a dangerous situation, Diana did not rashly wander around looking for an exit.

She simply estimated the distance and height between the two walls. Then, the girl with pretty short hair made a surprising move.

Diana took a deep breath, and after a run-up, she jumped towards the wall on the right side of her body.

The next moment, before actually hitting the wall on the right, the girl suddenly stepped on the wall, kicked her legs and used the force to jump diagonally to the wall on the left, then used her left foot to kick the wall again and jumped diagonally back to the right wall again.

After repeating this set of movements several times, the girl jumped silently to the top of the high wall like a nimble and light black cat.

The high-speed rotating gears passed by underneath without sawing anything at all.