Rhine's Machines

Rhine City.

The Empire's capital, a miraculous city raised from nothing, a paradise for factory owners and new nobles, the holy land of the Mechanical Cathedral.

Of course, those were all names from the past. Ever since the Empress was assassinated, people rarely mentioned them anymore.

At first, this place had been built single-handedly by the royal family. In order to bolster the Mechanical Cathedral and set it against the Candlelight Society, the royal family spared no expense.

Rhine did not disappoint expectations either. As bags upon bags of Leo were poured in, countless factories sprang up, and a new noble class centered around factory owners emerged. The old nobles gradually extended olive branches as well; many even lowered themselves and opened factories in person.

Back then, this place had brimmed with vitality. Though workers at the bottom were still little more than expendable material, the nobles had at least been willing to share a few scraps of their profits, dangling them like carrots before the people and leading them onward.

Back then, the city had been vast, chaotic, and dangerous, yet also full of opportunity.

But little by little, everything began to sink, with no turning back.

When Frey arrived before Rhine City, he felt as though he were looking at the corpse of a giant.

This was Rhine City's gate. Frey tugged at the stained hood over his head and cautiously poked his head out from within the line.

He had traveled by airship with Zoe and the others through the Empire for some time. They found a more secluded spot to land in secret, then split up.

Besides him, several soldiers under Erwin had come along. Their main task was to contact the Gray Alliance, while his was to infiltrate the city under his own identity as