The Awakening Heretic, the Mechanic Race's Civil War, and the Dawn of the Alliance
The underground chambers of Heaven Dou City have been transformed into special energy rooms.
Pale blue energy surged from the rune arrays in all directions, converging on the crystal container in the center of the secret chamber. Inside the container, the metallic corpse brought back from the Far North Ice Plains floated in mid-air. Nourished by the energy, the blue crystal on its chest shone brighter and brighter, and the fine lines on the silver "muscle" tissue began to slowly undulate, as if a dormant life was awakening.
Tang San and Lin Ye had been guarding this place for three days. They constantly adjusted the frequency of energy output to ensure that the injected Chaos Energy could awaken consciousness without damaging the crystal. Under the Purple Demon Eye, the fragments of consciousness inside the crystal, like scattered stars, were gradually re-aggregating under the pull of the energy flow.
"Its energy fluctuations have stabilized." Lin Ye's Golden Crow Fire danced at his fingertips, ready to respond to any unexpected events. "The aggregation rate of the consciousness fragments has exceeded 70%; it should be waking up soon."
Tang San nodded and adjusted the power of the Chaos Azure Lotus to its gentlest state. "It has been Ice Seal in the Far North Ice Plains for too long, and its consciousness may still be stuck in the moment of being hunted. After it wakes up, it will most likely be in a state of vigilance. We should not approach it rashly."
As soon as the words were spoken, the metal corpse in the crystal container suddenly trembled violently. The blue crystals burst forth with a blinding light, and the patterns on the silver tissue spread at a visible speed, covering the entire body. The previously closed eyes slowly opened, revealing a pair of pupils emitting blue light, which flickered with complex emotions—warning, confusion, and a trace of... weariness.
"It's awake!" Lin Ye subconsciously took a step back, the Golden Crow Fire poised to erupt.
The metallic corpse's gaze swept across the secret chamber, finally landing on Tang San. When it saw the Chaos Energy swirling in Tang San's palm, its pupils suddenly contracted, its body assumed a defensive posture, and a low, metallic grinding sound emanated from its throat, as if issuing a warning.
"We mean no harm," Tang San said slowly, his tone as gentle as possible. He then condensed a wisp of Chaos Energy into a sphere and gently pushed it towards the crystal container. "We're here to help you, just like the shaman did back then."
Upon hearing the word "shaman," the metal corpse visibly paused, a hint of confusion flashing in its blue pupils, as if recalling a distant past. It looked at the floating sphere of Chaos Energy, hesitated for a moment, and finally extended its metal hand to gently touch the energy sphere.
The moment the energy ball merged into his palm, the metal corpse trembled violently, and countless streams of information burst forth from the blue crystal, flooding into Tang San and Lin Ye's minds like a burst dam.
Those were scenes of internal warfare within the Mechanic Race: countless red-eyed Mechanic Race hunting down blue-eyed "heretics" who had embraced Chaos Energy, believing that absolute order would only lead to stagnation and annihilation; those were scenes of the main fleet's preparation: massive metal warships assembled in the nebula, the "Mastermind" at its core drafting a "Purification Protocol," planning to cover the entire continent with absolute metallic order; those were the rebels' secret base: hidden in a corner of the nebula, the blue-eyed Mechanic Race were researching Chaos Energy, trying to find a way to fight the Mastermind...
As the information surge subsided, the metallic corpse lowered its defensive stance. It looked at Tang San, and the sounds emanating from its throat became clearer, as if it were trying to mimic human language. "You... are... the... new... guardians?"
"You could say that." Tang San breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that a bridge of communication had been established. "The continent we are protecting is about to face an invasion by the main fleet, and we need your help."
The metallic corpse remained silent for a moment, the light from its blue crystals flickering, as if engaged in a fierce internal struggle. After a long while, it spoke again, its voice stiff yet resolute. "The mastermind... is wrong... Absolute order... equals... death... We... the rebels... are willing... to form an alliance."
This answer made Tang San and Lin Ye exchange a glance, both seeing the excitement in each other's eyes.
"Where is your base? How do we contact the rebels?" Lin Ye asked anxiously.
The metallic corpse raised its palm, and blue energy condensed in its hand, drawing a complex star map—at the center of the star map was the nebula connecting to the continent, and at the edge of the nebula was an inconspicuous vortex-shaped mark, which was the location of the rebel base.
"There... is... a spatial anchor point... activated... with Chaos Energy..." the metallic corpse explained. "The main fleet... is... seven days away... from arriving... and we must... rend in before then."
Seven days! This timeframe was even tighter than they had anticipated!
Tang San immediately made a decision. "I'll go with you to the Rebel Base. Lin Ye, you stay in Heaven Dou City and accelerate the mass production of the Blade of Chaos. At the same time, notify the Far North Ice Plains and Sunset Forest to prepare for battle."
"It's too dangerous for you to go alone!" Lin Ye objected. "Who knows if the rebels are really trustworthy?"
The metallic corpse seemed to understand Lin Ye's concerns, pointing to its blue crystal. "Consciousness... shared... no... lies."
Tang San nodded. "I believe it. Chaos Energy is the best lie detector; any deception will cause energy disturbance. Its crystals are very stable and it's not lying."
He looked at the metal corpse. "What do we need to prepare?"
"Chaos Energy... enough..." the metallic corpse said. "The spatial anchor... requires... a large amount of Chaos Energy... to... open..."
Three days later, the energy circulation system of Heaven Dou City was adjusted to maximum power.
Tang San stood atop the council tower, beside him the metal corpse that had regained its mobility (it had given itself the name "Blue Crystal"). The Proof of Balance floated in mid-air, resonating with the two magic arrays to the north and south. The energy of the continent flowed along the Star Orbit, continuously converging at the top of the tower, merging with Tang San's Chaos Azure Lotus power to form a massive energy pillar that shot straight into the sky, connecting with the spatial anchor point in the nebula.
"Now!" Blue Crystal shouted, and the blue crystal burst forth with intense light, injecting a pillar of energy.
The vortex marker in the nebula lit up instantly, and a blue spatial rift opened at the top of the energy pillar. The outline of the rebel base could be seen through the rift—a strange building made of metal and plants growing together. The blue-eyed Mechanic Race stood at the edge of the base, waving towards the rift.
"I'll be back as soon as possible," Tang San said to his companions who had come to see him off.
Xiao Wu held his hand, her eyes filled with reluctance. "Be careful, we'll wait for you here."
Tang San nodded and, together with Blue Crystal, stepped into the spatial rift. The rift slowly closed behind them, leaving only a faint blue halo that shimmered in the starry sky.
Lin Ye gazed at the halo of light, gripping the Blade of Chaos tightly. "It's time for us to act. Notify all Soul Master units; prepare for war in seven days."
Dai Mubai, Oscar, Tai Long, and Xiao Wu nodded in unison, their eyes shining with determination.
At the other end of the spatial rift, the sight of the rebel base amazed Tang San.
There are no cold metal fortresses here, but a symbiosis of metal and organic plants—silver metal supports Entanglement with vines that emit blue light, and energy pipes flow with a liquid similar to Soul Power. Some of the blue-eyed Mechanic Race are studying plants, while others are forging weapons, which shimmer with the light of Chaos Energy, much like their Blade of Chaos.
A tall, Mechanic Race approached. His blue crystal was brighter than Blue Crystal's, clearly indicating he was the leader of the rebels. He extended his palm to Tang San, his tone much smoother than Blue Crystal's. "I am Tie Sen, the leader of the rebels. Thank you for coming, Guardian."
"The main fleet will arrive in seven days." Tang San cut to the chase without further ado, "We need to devise a plan to attack from both inside and outside, and destroy the mainframe."
Tie Sen nodded and led Tang San to the sand table in the center of the base—the sand table displayed the deployment of the main fleet and the defensive formation of the continent in three dimensions.
"The core of the mainframe is on the flagship ' Order,' surrounded by twelve escort ships, each equipped with a ' Purification Beam ' capable of instantly melting organic life," Tie Sen pointed to the metal warships on the sand table. "Our forces can only hold off half of the escort ships; the rest... will require your defensive array to hold them off."
Tang San pointed to the nebula on the sand table. "I have an idea. The mainframe relies on absolute order and cannot comprehend the disorder of Chaos Energy. We can inject a large amount of Chaos Energy into the continent's energy cycle, luring the main fleet into the most chaotic energy region, and then..."
"A pincer attack from both inside and outside, using Chaos Energy to corrupt their programs!" A glint of light flashed in Tie Sen's eyes. "A brilliant plan! Our weapons can channel Chaos Energy, and combined with your Blade of Chaos, it will be enough to paralyze the ' Order's ' defenses!"
The details of the alliance were gradually finalized in tense but orderly discussions. When Tang San saw the weapons forged by the rebels, his confidence increased even more—these weapons were strikingly similar in principle to the Blade of Chaos, clearly indicating that both sides had long since arrived at the same destination in their fight against the Mainframe.
On the morning of the seventh day, the nebula in the starry sky spun violently, and the outlines of countless metal warships emerged from the darkness. The main fleet had finally arrived.
The defensive array of Heaven Dou City rose to its highest level, with countless Soul Master wielding Blade of Chaos, ready for battle. The magic arrays of the Far North Ice Plains and Sunset Forest lit up simultaneously, forming a triangle with Heaven Dou City, preparing to meet the approaching storm.
The spatial rift opened again, and Tang San and Tie Sen led the Rebel Force to appear above Heaven Dou City. Blue-eyed Mechanic Race and human Soul Master stood side by side. Although they were different races and had different forms, their eyes burned with the same flame—a yearning for freedom and a desire to protect balance.
"Are you ready?" Tang San asked Tie Sen.
Tie Sen nodded, the blue crystal gleaming with unwavering determination. "To... break... the absolute order!"
"To maintain the balance!" Tang San replied.
In the starry sky, the main fleet's first Purification Beam shot towards the continent, and the war officially began. But this time, humanity was no longer fighting alone; the dawn of the alliance was piercing through the metal's shadow, illuminating the end of the path of protection.