The First Shadow of the Mechanic Race, the Metal Tide, and Cracks in Order
The blacksmith shops in Gengxin City were brightly lit all night, with sparks dancing like fallen stars in the firelight of the forges. Tang San placed the black metal block he had brought back from Sunset Forest on the anvil, activating his Purple Demon Eye at full power, trying to see through the metal's internal structure—after being eroded by Chaos Energy, the twisted patterns on the surface of the metal block had disappeared, but fine silver threads could still be seen at the cross-section, like solidified energy veins.
"The molecular structure of this stuff is too stable." The old craftsman in charge of forging swung his heavy hammer and smashed it hard onto the metal block. Sparks flew everywhere, but the metal block only had a shallow dent. "It's ten times harder than black iron; ordinary flames can't melt it at all."
Lin Ye gathered Golden Crow Fire at his fingertips, the golden flames enveloping the metal block, instantly causing the temperature to soar. "Try my Lotus Flame."
The sound of flames burning metal was like hot oil dripping into cold water, making a sizzling sound. The surface of the metal block gradually turned red, but the silver threads inside stubbornly maintained their shape and even began to glow slightly, as if resisting the erosion of the high temperature.
"It's absorbing energy." Tang San frowned, his Purple Demon Eye detecting the faint energy flowing within the silver threads. "Like the Energy-Devouring Mystic Iron, this thing can also absorb external energy for self-defense."
Dai Mubai walked to the anvil, his Netherworld Thrust lightly slicing across the broken surface of the metal block. "Spatial power is useless against it. When I tried to cut it just now, it actually absorbed a sliver of my energy."
Xiao Wu squatted to the side, her fingers gently touching the metal block, when suddenly she exclaimed, "It's moving!"
Upon closer inspection, everyone saw that the silver threads at the cut surface were slowly wriggling, as if they were alive, attempting to repair the previous damage. Although the speed was extremely slow, it was enough to prove that this thing had not completely lost its vitality.
"This is troublesome." Oscar looked at the writhing threads with a grave expression. "If it can self-repair, then the Energy-Devouring Mystic Iron of Sunset Forest is likely just the beginning. Perhaps more Mechanic Race creations have already infiltrated the continent."
Tang San picked up the metal block and infused a wisp of Chaos Azure Lotus power into his fingertip. The silver threads immediately twisted violently, contracting as if stimulated, and a layer of white mist appeared on the surface of the metal block, clearly indicating its extreme repulsion to Chaos Energy.
"It fears Chaos Energy." A flash of understanding crossed Tang San's eyes. "The Mechanic Race believes in absolute order, while chaos represents disorder, which is perfect for countering them. But we can't rely on the Chaos Azure Lotus every time; we must find a way to mass-produce weapons to counter it."
He looked at the old craftsman. "If we mix Star Silver Ore and Deep-Sea Sunken Gold, and then add Chaos Energy to temper it, could we forge a weapon that can counter this metal?"
The old craftsman stroked his beard, pondering for a moment. "Star Silver Ore contains the power of space, and Deep-Sea Sunken Gold can absorb energy; the combination of the two is already incredibly sharp. If Chaos Energy were added... perhaps it could truly break its molecular structure. But how to stably inject Chaos Energy is a difficult problem."
"I'll figure something out." Tang San carefully put away the metal block. "Lin Ye, you and the old craftsman work together to develop a forging plan. I'll go to the council to retrieve all the records about other-dimensional planes and see if we can find the weakness of the Mechanic Race."
Just then, the alarm in Gengxin City suddenly sounded, its sharp siren piercing the night sky, accompanied by the loud clang of metal clashing and people's screams.
"Something's happened!" Dai Mubai's eyes sharpened, and he rushed out of the blacksmith shop first.
The crowd followed closely behind, and saw flames soaring into the sky from the west of the city. Countless silver-white metallic constructs surged across the streets like a tide—some resembled spiders with eight metal legs, spewing silver-white energy threads; others were like giant pythons, their bodies composed of countless metal rings that could twist at will; the most terrifying of all was a humanoid construct wielding a long metal sword, moving with incredible speed, devouring the metal parts of houses wherever it passed, turning them into part of itself.
"It's the Mechanic Race! They've really come!" Xiao Wu's face turned pale.
Tang San's pupils contracted sharply. His Purple Demon Eye revealed a faint silver light at the core of each of these metallic constructs, originating from the same source as the threads within the metal block. "It's not a large-scale invasion, it's more like... a runaway vanguard. Their energy is chaotic, as if forcibly activated by some force."
"I can't worry about that now! Stop them!" Lin Ye's Golden Crow Fire blazed fiercely, transforming into a wall of fire that blocked the path of the metal tide. The flames scorched the metal creations, emitting a pungent odor, and several spider-like creations were instantly burned into scrap metal.
But more metallic creatures stepped over the remains of their companions and charged through the wall of fire. Their bodies turned red in the flames, yet they remained fearless and even began to devour the energy of the fire wall. Flame patterns appeared on their bodies, clearly adapting to the attacks of the Golden Crow Fire.
"They're evolving!" Tai Long roared, transforming into Great Strength Gorilla and slamming his fists into the humanoid construct. The deafening clang of metal clashing echoed through the air. "These things feel no pain, they know no fear!"
Dai Mubai's Netherworld Thrust clashed with the metal longsword, sparks flying. "Their attacks have a fixed pattern, like... following some kind of program!"
Tang San immediately understood. "Dai Mubai is right! They rely on programs to act; finding a loophole in the program will allow us to control them! Xiao Wu, use your Charm to disrupt their core! Oscar, buff Tai Long and Dai Mubai!"
Xiao Wu immediately unleashed her Charm skill, a pink halo enveloping the metal constructs at the forefront. The humanoid constructs visibly slowed their movements, and the silver light at their cores flickered violently, as if their programming had malfunctioned.
"It works!" Xiao Wu exclaimed in delight, "But their core is very stable; the Charm can only interfere for a moment!"
"Enough!" Tang San's Blue Silver Grass suddenly erupted, its power Entanglement the Chaos Azure Lotus, like a serpent coiling towards the core of the metal creation. The silver light rapidly dimmed under the erosion of the Chaos Energy, and the metal creation's movements slowed down, eventually coming to a stiff stop in place, turning into a pile of scrap metal.
"Attack the core with Chaos Energy!" Tang San shouted, channeling more Chaos Azure Lotus power into the Blue Silver Grass. "Their programs can't handle disordered Chaos Energy!"
Lin Ye immediately changed his strategy. The Golden Crow Fire, enveloped in Chaos Energy, transformed into countless fireballs, which accurately struck the core of the metal constructs. The moment the fireballs exploded, the Chaos Energy invaded like a virus, paralyzing the metal constructs one after another, and the streets were soon filled with silvery-white debris.
Half an hour later, the last metal artifact was smashed in the core by Tai Long's punch, and the chaos in Gengxin City finally subsided. The surviving residents emerged from their hiding places, still shaken, their faces filled with fear as they looked at the metal wreckage scattered on the ground.
Tang San walked to a pile of wreckage, picked up a piece of metal that was still wriggling slightly, and saw with his Purple Demon Eye that there was a thin black crack at the core of the fragment—a mark torn by Chaos Energy.
"These creations have cracks at their core," Tang San said gravely. "They weren't caused by us; it seems like... they were born with these flaws."
Lin Ye leaned closer to examine it, the Golden Crow Fire illuminating the depths of the crack. "There are remnants of dark energy inside, very similar to the evil magic of the Shadow Pavilion!"
"Shadow Pavilion?" Dai Mubai frowned. "Isn't Li Mo already dead? Shadow Pavilion was destroyed long ago."
"Perhaps it's not Li Mo." Tang San recalled the other timelines he had seen in the Spacetime Crystal. "It could be the Shadow Pavilion from another timeline, or... someone is using the Shadow Pavilion's evil magic to forcibly activate the Mechanic Race's creations."
He looked towards the blacksmith area of Gengxin City, the place with the highest concentration of metal. "It's no coincidence that they chose to attack Gengxin City. The metal energy here is the most concentrated, suitable for them to devour and evolve. Someone is guiding them, wanting them to grow in number here."
Xiao Wu picked up the remains of a spider-like creature and discovered that its legs were engraved with patterns similar to those of the Energy-Devouring Mystic Iron: "These patterns... seem to have been carved by humans to enhance their devouring abilities."
Tang San's expression grew increasingly grim. "The mastermind behind this not only understands the structure of the Mechanic Race and the dark arts of the Shadow Pavilion, but also knows how to manipulate the energy distribution of the continent. This is definitely not an ordinary enemy; it's very likely... someone we know."
This speculation sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Just then, the Proof of Balance on Tang San's chest suddenly became hot, and the light spot representing Gengxin City on it was flashing. At the same time, the light spots of Sunset Forest and the Far North Ice Plains were also flashing - obviously, similar metal artifacts had appeared in other places as well!
"They're attacking multiple energy nodes simultaneously!" Tang San gripped the Proof of Balance tightly. "Their target isn't Gengxin City, it's the entire energy circulation system! If they destroy the North and South Harmony Arrays, the continent will lose its barrier against the Mechanic Race!"
Lin Ye activated his Golden Crow Perception at full power, his face pale. "The energy fluctuations in the Far North Ice Plains are extremely intense, and the spatial marker left by Dai Mubai there is disappearing!"
"Let's split up!" Tang San decided immediately. "Lin Ye, you take Tai Long to the Far North Ice Plains and hold the northern magic array! Xiao Wu, you and Oscar go to Sunset Forest; the Soul Beast there can help! Dai Mubai, come back to Heaven Dou City with me; the council's defensive array must be held!"
"Be careful!" Xiao Wu gripped Tang San's hand, her eyes filled with worry.
Tang San nodded and turned to rush towards the teleportation array. He knew that this metal frenzy was just the beginning. The true purpose of the mastermind behind it was probably to use the Mechanic Race to completely destroy the balance of the continent. And the person who understood both the Mechanic Race and evil magic was likely the key crack that would break the order.
The flames in Gengxin City gradually died down, but the metallic stench and residual energy in the air foreshadowed an even greater storm to come. Tang San looked at the light emanating from the teleportation array, his eyes resolute—no matter who the mastermind was, he would not allow the balance to be broken, nor would he allow the continent to fall into the hands of the absolute order of the Mechanic Race or the dark magic of the Shadow Pavilion.
The path of protection has once again reached a precarious crossroads.