"Right at the east gate."
The Silvermane Guard who delivered the message answered swiftly and then continued,
"Two women arrived along with the man who claimed to be a City Builder, and one of them even called herself a Sea Ranger."
"A Sea Ranger?"
The term was quite unfamiliar, and neither Gepard nor Pela had any corresponding memories, but anyone arriving alongside that City Builder at this very moment must undoubtedly be a visitor from beyond.
"Let's go meet them first."
He stood up, intending to tidy his equipment and head toward the east gate, when the office door was suddenly pushed open, and a voice followed immediately,
"Count me in."
The voice was exceptionally clear, even carrying the slight childishness of a young girl. Gepard raised his head, and what came into view was a young girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old. A cascade of quiet, grayish-brown long hair hung down her back, and a simple white military uniform tightly hugged her well-proportioned figure.
Her facial features were exceptionally exquisite, blending the innocent flawlessness of a little girl with the budding brilliance of an early-blooming maiden. Within her light-brown pupils revolved the steady, faithful gaze of a veteran soldier. She looked at Gepard, and her clear yet gentle voice resonated through the room once more,
"City Builders—rumor has it they are righteous groups who traveled across numerous planets to emulate the Amber King, and they are also one of the groups of builders of Belobog. They were once comrades-in-arms of Lady Alisa Rand... Some special documents also record that they once built the 'defense weapons' capable of defending Belobog against Void creatures and the Antimatter Legion, as well as the legendary 'Creation Engine'."
"The 'Creation Engine'!!"
Pela gasped aloud. She could not remain silent; for hundreds of years, Belobog's scientific research teams had countless times found traces of the existence of a giant machine spread across this land. Lynx had also repeatedly mentioned to her this legendary mechanical remains that resembled a mythological giant. In the records of the archaeological team and past Belobog texts, these mythological giants seemed to have once served on the front lines of battle, becoming Belobog's foremost 'solid walls'.
People had once dreamed of repairing these legendary mythological giants, letting them return once more to the battlefield against those Void creatures, but unfortunately, the efforts of several generations had been merely a drop in the bucket. For one, Belobog currently possessed very little scientific soil, and for another, Belobog lacked the abundant resources to invest in the repair of those Creation Engines.
"If that City Builder possesses the blueprints for the Creation Engine..."
Lingbao would definitely be very happy!
Yet recently Lingbao didn't seem to have returned... Did something happen?
The Intelligence Officer caught the first inkling of this thought flashing through her mind and, in the next second, clapped both her hands against her cheeks.
No thinking about Lingbao at this time!
Work! Work!
She quickly calmed herself down and spoke to the grayish-brown-haired girl,
"Lady Bronya, if that City Builder gentleman holds the blueprints for the Creation Engine, is there any possibility we could complete the repair of a portion of the Creation Engines?"
"I don't know, but, it's worth a try."
The girl named Bronya replied thusly, her pupils flashing with a hopeful radiance,
"If we truly possess the blueprints for the Creation Engine, the dozens of wrecks still existing outside Belobog might perhaps be pieced back together into one or two operational Creation Engines."
"By then, through these giant mechanical weapons, we will inevitably achieve a counteroffensive against the Void creatures!"
"Now that the Great Cold is receding, if there is a chance to hold out until the Great Cold fades away, perhaps we will no longer need to be holed up within Belobog, and then..."
Mother wouldn't have to be troubled to that extent anymore.
The girl harbored a very simple reason within her heart. As the adopted daughter of the current Supreme Guardian, her public-facing identity was that of the sole heir to the next Supreme Guardian. Publicly or privately, whether for the revival of Belobog or to share the pressure of Belobog for her own mother, she had to strive to touch that extremely faint possibility.
"If they truly are the City Builders, the power of the Preservation might descend upon Belobog once more."
"Lady Arisa, please bless Belobog so that it may recapture its former glory."
ps: Brothers, please cast your votes; the rating has been pulled down a lot. If you have any flowers, please cast them as well. The new book period requires some support, and this book will soon be preparing to apply for serialization. On the day of serialization, there will be a baseline of ten chapters. Please support it, brothers..
Chapter 34: It does not originate from us. (2/4)
"One City Builder, one Sea Ranger, one Galaxy Bat Hero."
In the temporary reception room, Bronya surveyed the three people present. Aside from Dan Heng, who looked exceptionally steady, the remaining two failed utterly to instill any sense of trust in her.
<div>Two, there are two Sea Rangers!</div>
Like an eager schoolchild eager to speak, Miss March 7th argued strenuously,
"We are Sea Rangers who have been active on many planets."
"If you can promise never to cause trouble in the city, I will dispatch a Silvermane Guard to accompany you and permit you to enter and exit Belobog."
"We Sea Rangers are a famously chivalrous organization; how could we easily cause trouble?".
Miss March 7th continued to emphasize, but Bronya could still tell that neither of these two was a pushover, so she looked toward Pela and spoke,
"Officer Sergeyevna, would you please accompany them and take the opportunity to introduce them to some of Belobog's relevant deeds."
"Okay."
The cute, round-faced intelligence officer wearing round-rimmed glasses nodded. She rolled her azure eyes, let them fall upon March 7th and Stelle, and then spoke,
"Two Ranger ladies, please follow me. I will help arrange your itinerary and lodging in Belobog."
"...Stelle, what do you say?"
March 7th looked at her companion. Her companion was instead sizing Pela up from top to bottom, and after a long while, nodded with deep satisfaction,
"Superb symmetry, highly satisfying to me!"
"Symmetry?"
Little Pink Hair turned her head and also closely inspected Pela. A moment later, she cheered as if she had discovered a new universe,
"It really is so symmetrical! Complete satisfaction for my OCD!"
Even when Little Pink Hair put it that way, the Cold-faced Little Azure Dragon couldn't help but carefully look over the intelligence officer. After a moment, he too let out a long breath, revealing a trace of a satisfied, faint smile.
Balanced and symmetrical things always made people feel physically and mentally pleasant.
Witnessing the actions of these three visitors from beyond, even Gepard and Bronya on the scene couldn't help but let their gazes wander and fall upon the intelligence officer, whose expression had already turned somewhat shy and indignant.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Bronya coughed twice quickly, interrupting everyone's focus on Pela's symmetry. Gepard also quickly looked away; his previous behavior had been somewhat discourteous.
Although Pela felt a brief surge of annoyance in her heart, the professionalism of a Silvermane Guard intelligence officer allowed her to calm down quickly. She looked back at Stelle and March 7th, but this time, her gaze was no longer simply gentle; it carried a strictness akin to a teacher's. Stared at by such a gaze, the two problem children instantly recalled being 'dominated' by Himeko on the Express and quickly became much more well-behaved.
Thus, Pela smoothly led the two problem children away, leaving Dan Heng—the fake City Builder—face-to-face with the Silvermane Guard garrison officer and the next Supreme Guardian. After a moment, Bronya broke the silence directly, looking straight at Dan Heng as she spoke,
"Are you, truly a City Builder?"
"Is proof of identity required? If you can connect to the Interastral Peace Corporation's database, you should be able to search for my information."
The Interastral Peace Corporation...
Yet another term appearing in ancient literature.
Bronya suppressed the excitement in her heart and maintained a steady tone as she continued to ask,
"We cannot connect to the Interastral Peace Corporation's database here, but the City Builders once left behind quite a bit of heritage in Belobog. Our Supreme Guardians pass down 'Alisa Rand's Lance' from generation to generation. If you truly are a City Builder, you will surely be able to gain the recognition of that lance."
The first Supreme Guardian's lance—did it really exist? How on earth did that person know these things... Could it be that the Stellaron Hunters' script contained these details?
Dan Heng quietly calculated the feasibility of his action plan in his heart. After the three of them left, Shirou had privately sent him quite a bit of intelligence regarding the current Supreme Guardian Cocolia's involvement with the Stellaron, the past actions of the City Builders on this planet, and... a messy ledger concerning the Interastral Peace Corporation.
These elements would serve as his bargaining chips as he maneuvered in the Upper City.
Originally, for certain things, he would have needed to sneak into the Upper City's library to investigate before appearing openly before the Silvermane Guards. However, once Shirou directly sent him the crucial intelligence, he swiftly adjusted his plan and train of thought.
Next...
He had to win the trust of the Supreme Guardian and genuinely obtain intelligence on the Stellaron's location.
If it was truly as Shirou's intelligence suggested, his side of the plan might indeed be more actionable, but... for now, there was still room for maneuver. According to what Shirou had said, that lance had already been reduced to a mere ornament in the hands of this generation's Supreme Guardian.
A pitiful woman who had already abandoned the Preservation and devoted herself to the illusory new world promised by the Stellaron—how could she possibly win the recognition of that lance?
Therefore, the identity of the City Builder was simply impossible to expose; even if it truly reached that point, it would be fine...
He could also pull out the identity of an Interastral Peace Corporation employee. Dan Heng's temporary preparation to disguise himself as a City Builder was not without purpose; to be precise, in his previous Trailblaze Journeys, he had indeed interacted with City Builders and people from the Interastral Peace Corporation, and had even won the recognition of those City Builders. He indeed possessed a token from a City Builder in his possession that could prove his connection to them.
"Then, lead me to meet that Supreme Guardian."
Dan Heng looked at Bronya. The latter nodded gently, but after pausing for a moment, she couldn't help but speak up,
"However, before that, I have one personal question I wish to have answered by you."
"Ask away."
"The Creation Engine."
Bronya directly uttered the question she cared about most. At this stage, Belobog's defensive forces had already suffered visible reductions: veteran soldiers were severely wounded and retired, new recruits lacked training proficiency, weapons and equipment lacked mineral resources, and so on. If things continued at this rate, Belobog would likely slide back into the cold weapon era, leading new recruits into bayonet charges against Void creatures.
<div>May I ask, do you know of the Creation Engine?</div>
"Of this object, I indeed have some knowledge."
Dan Heng nodded. The materials sent to him by Shirou clearly pointed out that the Creation Engine was precisely the greatest contribution the City Builders had brought to this planet. The City Builders had brought materials to assist the Jarilo people of that era in manufacturing these giant machines.
At its peak, Jarilo possessed over a hundred of these "Creation Engines" resembling mythological giants. These Creation Engines were the crystallization of the collective efforts and wisdom of local City Builders and scientists under the call of the City Builders, and were originally "Planet Modification Engineering Giant Machines" meant for planetary modification.
<div>However, during the Antimatter Legion's invasion seven hundred years ago, these engineering machinery originally meant for planetary modification ultimately had to be reduced to weapons of war, standing on the front lines against the Antimatter Legion.</div>
"Then, do you happen to have the design blueprints for the "Creation Engine" in your hands?"
Her voice already carried an uncontrollable tremor. Bronya clenched her fists, stared fixedly at Dan Heng, and spoke word by word,
<div>We need it! Belobog right now urgently needs to restart those Creation Engines to fight external threats...</div>
Gazing at the girl whose expression struggled to conceal her anticipation, Teacher Dan Heng was silent for a moment before shaking his head,
"The "Creation Engine" does not originate from us."
"What?"
"It belongs to yourselves, rather than anything outside of Jarilo-VI.".
Chapter 35: I prepared a surprise for you on Everwinter Peak. (3/4)
"The Creation Engine is part of the technology brought by external City Builders, manufactured by gathering tens of thousands of local scholars and experts of Jarilo into a 'Planet Modification Engineering Giant Machine'."
"Although its design referenced the technology of external City Builders, both its underlying code algorithms and its operational logic were designed locally by Jarilo."
"How to repair it, and how to make it stand up once more—we have no plan. The only ones who can accomplish this are you Jarilo people yourselves. Regarding the feasibility of this matter, perhaps you should directly ask the current Supreme Guardian."
Dan Heng's words seemed to still be lingering in her ears. Bronya sat desolately on the chair of a roadside café, her mind continuously pondering the truth of everything Dan Heng had said.
If the Creation Engine was truly something manufactured locally by Jarilo... by Belobog, then why did that literature record it as a gift brought by the City Builders?
Perhaps the record was erroneous.
Yet, even if it were only that, it would not matter.
However, if the Creation Engine was native technology, why had Belobog failed to restart it for a full seven hundred years? Could it be that Belobog's current industrial might truly could no longer support the startup of the Creation Engine?.
Yet, aside from the Creation Engine, many other mechanical soldiers could still be put into use to this day. Even if their power consumption was high, they shouldn't be left completely idle.
Anyone with discerning eyes could see that even with tens of thousands of small mechanical soldier legions, their combined utility would definitely fall far short of a single Creation Engine.
"Isn't this Bronya? Why are you sitting here all by yourself?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice interrupted her train of thought. Regaining a glimmer of light in her eyes, Bronya hurriedly raised her head to look at the newcomer.
Under the refraction of a sliver of silver light, hair as bright and brilliant as gilded gold came into view. Bronya unconsciously narrowed her eyes. The blond woman standing close to her spoke again with a hearty smile,
"To actually sit here alone and daydream—it's not like you at all."
As she spoke, the person naturally took a seat beside Bronya. Within her cornflower-blue eyes—identical to Gepard's—a hint of tender affection emerged,
<div>Did something happen?</div>
<div>...A little.</div>
Bronya nodded gently at the newcomer, her expression still slightly dazed and bewildered, before speaking in a low voice,
"Ms. Serval, do you know about the "City Builders"?"
"Of course I do. I once swore an oath to the City Builders, you know; don't forget that I also served as a Silvermane Guard for a time."
The blond older sister named Serval replied thusly, her exceptionally dashing facial features also revealing a trace of nostalgia,
"Cocolia and I joined the Silvermane Guards in the same batch. At first, I actually didn't know she was the adopted daughter of the Supreme Guardian. Our relationship used to be very good, and we once marched toward the same ideal."
"Then how much do you understand about the "City Builders"? Do you have an in-depth understanding of the "Creation Engine"?"
Before you continue