Mars Accords (Second Update)

Salomon walked forward along several meter-wide tread tracks in the red sand, gradually approaching the iron-gray fortress standing in the red-soil desert wasteland. Unlike the other small mobile fortresses assembled later from modular components, this mountainside fortress was a castle built from steel-frame prefabricated parts personally made by Malphas and poured concrete. It had several enormous steel Airtight Doors dozens of meters tall and countless smaller airlocks, used to connect with small mobile fortresses serving different functions and form the main departments of the Mars Foundry. Automated anti-aircraft gun turrets and plasma turrets had been installed outside the fortress to defend against enemies from the sky.

So far, no force had been able to threaten this place. The automated guns' only confirmed kill had been an innocent Mars rover from afar. The rover's wreckage still lay in a small crater blasted out by autocannon shells, and its scorched United States flag was barely recognizable. Salomon did not care if Earth's governments discovered the foundry. They simply lacked the ability to stop it.

The Fifth Demon Pillar was the project's chief overseer, but no one on Mars knew Malphas's true identity. The only hint was the golden lion statue outside the iron-gray concrete fortress. The steel doors slowly opened, splitting the gilded steel eagle insignia down the middle as stark white light poured through the man-wide gap. Malphas, dressed in a dark red robe, stood behind the doors to welcome his master—Demon Pillars all possessed the ability to assume human form, and Phoenix was no exception. Malphas's human form was that of a middle-aged man carrying extensive mechanical equipment, which suited his tastes perfectly. The demons and devils of the lower planes had no need for machinery. All they needed were armor and swords. Before Salomon recruited Malphas, he could only