The High Lord Was Stolen

Tierney led his Treasure Hunting Squad in a patient search of the outer walls of the Steel Fortress. Based on his experience, Fortress several kilometers in diameter like this could not be a single, solid structure.

The entire building should be composed of several modules that are mechanically interlocked.

Tierney's fingers glided nimbly across the metal plate; having grown up in Vostonia, he possessed an extraordinary understanding of industrial structures.

After leaving the Auxilia and forming Treasure Hunting Squad, he became increasingly familiar with architectural structures through repeated missions.

After circling the dome twice, Tierney found a recessed crevice in the outer wall of the fortress.

After observing for a moment from the perspective of a "Marauder," he curled his fingers and tapped lightly.

[Adamantium, without a special alarm connection.]

Well, the Nal wouldn't have imagined that someone, like us, could silently infiltrate the dome over 300 meters high and make an opening here. It will take them much longer to confirm the situation after they discover it.

The Melta Bomb are too noisy... I've got it, we can use laser cutting...

Tierney turned on the Communicator and summoned the most dexterous "Marauder".

The "Marauder" adjusted the Yeld-type laser emitter handguard to cutting mode and aimed it at the recessed crevices.

The laser emitter of the Yeld-type Hunt-Master Suit was originally only able to fire laser beams to attack enemies. When Tierney was designing it, he proposed a multi-power requirement for the "Marauder," and the "Mechanic Expert" Rosicky Czech met this requirement.

He drew inspiration from the design of the Squats miner's prospecting suit, enabling a small range of adjustments to the output power.

Squats miners face a variety of unexpected situations when prospecting. Their prospecting suits must not only meet the cutting needs of mining but also be qualified Laser Weapon.

Tierney didn't do it himself because he and some of the "Swindler" upgraded the Missile Launcher to be more powerful.

The cold wind blew against the Yeld-type Hunt-Master Suit, but the "Marauder" was unaffected. His movements were quick and precise, like those of a seasoned worker.

Moments later, a crack appeared in the dome of the Iron Fortress.

Tierney folded her wings and slipped right through the crack, then spread them open and looked down at the blazing furnace.

The "Marauder" filed in, then flew around searching for targets.

Ismail, the High Lord manages all industrial facilities and related castes, has a body that shows little flesh and blood.

Unlike another High Lord, Stelacon, who underwent significant mechanical modifications, he did not possess the numerous weapon systems mounted on his Reliquary Armor, but instead had a more advanced brain and computing processor.

He has more Mechanical Prosthetic and can connect to multiple systems simultaneously.

Ismail's remaining golden eyes were filled with shock and anger.

Ten planets have fallen, and countless industrial facilities have lost contact.

With all mining stations and space elevators losing their orbits, raw material supplies were affected, and the industrial capacity of the Head of Gardinal dropped sharply by 13.72 percent.

Some Lower Caste rebelled due to the loss of food supplies, and industrial production capacity declined by 5.61%.

Eleven large industrial zones were occupied, and industrial capacity decreased by 2.38 percent.

The transportation system was damaged by a rail strike, and industrial capacity decreased by 8.04 percent.

Ismail's expression was grim; in his long life of 4,315 years, he had never lost so many industrial assets.

The "Shadow of Order" advanced much faster and had a greater impact than he had anticipated.

The flashing yellow runes broke Ismail's reverie, and he immediately noticed the warning report.

Damage has been found at the junction of dome sections B-174 and C-581.

A red alarm immediately went off in Ismail's mind; wartime was different from peacetime.

He immediately prioritized the report, reviewed the surrounding surveillance footage, and only lowered the risk assessment after finding nothing amiss.

Ismail pondered for a moment, then immediately issued the order.

"The Technician Repair Team will immediately proceed to the damaged area for repairs."

Normally, he would send Lower Caste ordinary workers to do the repairs, but now he needs skilled workers to complete the repairs as soon as possible.

Ismail saw on the screen that the mechanic boarded the elevator, climbed upwards, and then returned to his work.

Of the thousands of screens surrounding Ismail, not a single one displayed any unusual alarm symbols.

But outside his and his security personnel's sight, hundreds of figures were flying around searching inside the fortress.

The Treasure Hunting Squad quickly located the High Lord's control room and gathered outside the door.

Tierney flew to the control room door and found several "Swindler" gathered at the entrance, their discussions audible on the communication channel.

"The gate, forged from Adamantium, is our Missile Launcher; destroying it will take an unpredictable amount of time."

"The Melta Bomb can blast open the gate, but it will attract attention and lead to attacks from the guards and the High Lord's guard. We can only kill the target, not steal him."

"The gate has a mechanical lock, but it's a newer type."

Tierney frowned. Although Arsena Dunn had clearly stated when issuing the order that targets should be killed or captured depending on the situation.

He only needs to kill Ismail to complete the mission.

But Tierney knew that Ismail, who controlled all of Gardinal's industries, could accelerate the integration of the entire territory and would be more valued by the Black Emperor.

Tierney saw the maintenance elevator climbing below and decided to give it a try.

Tierney immediately flew to the gray gate several meters high, and the "Swindler" immediately stepped aside.

The "Cipher Scholar" stared intently at the mechanical lock and discovered that the Adamantium door had a rotary lock.

[The gate can only be opened by rotating the wheel so that the eleven patterns on the outer ring correspond exactly to the eleven patterns on the inner ring.]

But I only have one chance. If I Error, Ismail will definitely find out, and then I'll have no choice but to shoot and kill him.

The "Cipher Scholar" thought, his eyes wide as he stared at the roulette wheel.

After being promoted to "Cipher Scholar," his further enhanced "Superior Observation" allowed him to grasp details that ordinary people could not see, beyond the realm of metal.

The roulette wheel marks... Damn it...

He likely uses an irregular method to change the "password" periodically.

Hmm... there's some kind of pattern.

The "Cipher Scholar's" brain was spinning rapidly, and traces flashed and disappeared in his mind.

Time ticked by, and the "Cipher Scholar" quickly made connections and deductions.

As the elevator repairman passed behind him, Tierney's eyes trembled slightly.

The "Cipher Scholar" confidently gripped the roulette wheel and spun it forcefully.

As the hydraulic system whirred and the door opened, Tierney felt as if stars were shattering within him; he knew he had become a true "Cipher Scholar."

Ismail turned around in surprise, but he did not see the Guard Commander or the Industrial Consul.

He would change the password to open the door every day, and then only tell the two people the password, but he never saw them.

In fact, he didn't see anyone.

Ismail's head was immediately Heavy Strike, and he lost consciousness.

Tierney's wings enveloped Ismail's metallic body.

After bringing the High Lord out, he closed the gate behind him. Then, several "Swindler" grabbed him and flew up with him.

After the maintenance worker sounded the alarm, the Guard Commander rushed into the control room, only to be shocked to find that their High Lord had vanished into thin air, as if he had been stolen.