The Core Furnace Hub connected to Belobog's sewers. The great city had an enormous underground drainage system, spacious enough that walking through it felt anything but cramped.
A cannon blasted open the manhole in the Administrative District's central plaza. This was the closest point to Kliperburg, making it ideal for launching an assault.
It was morning, and the few people scattered across the plaza were stunned by the sudden disturbance.
The cast-iron manhole cover flew high into the air under the cannon blast, then fell and rolled across the ground on its edge with a loud clanging.
White smoke gradually dispersed around the opening. A red light pierced the thinning haze, and a towering mechanical soldier stood there, its armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
It was a model the Upper District had never seen before.
It stood at the opening, and no one dared approach. More and more Automaton Soldiers poured out behind it.
Many were industrial robots used in the mines. But if industrial robots could cut through ore, why couldn't they be used in combat?
The Silvermane Guards also employed some Automaton Soldiers. Their weapons were simply more lethal; the basic models were the same.
The origins of the robots appearing in the plaza were soon obvious to everyone-
The Underworld!
People scattered across the plaza, fleeing and shouting that the Underworld had rebelled!
Svarog did not attack these ordinary people. Instead, he ordered his automatons to establish a temporary passage.
More and more human soldiers poured out.
They had no decent weapons, and they could not even scrape together a full suit of armor.
But at that moment, their eyes burned with fighting spirit!
Many soldiers could not help lifting their heads, sunlight falling across their youthful faces.
They gazed at the blue sky and white