Ashen Dragon

Chapter 304: Chapter 227 Mechanical God Cult
 

“Did those damn knights come to raid us again?”

“Looks like we’ll have to relocate our hideout.”

In the dark and damp cave, the dim candlelight flickered, and Spark’s expression was solemn.

After several days of being hunted and blocked by the Carter Duchy’s army, the slave laborers he brought out from the Valir Mines had suffered heavy casualties, with hundreds of them permanently left there.

“They… were too powerful,” Nick said, lowering his head, his expression bleak.

His friend from the mines had died in the battle. The army sent by the duchy was terrifyingly strong. Nearly a hundred slave laborers who stayed behind were slaughtered by the heavy armored knight known as “Katte’s Eagle.” The bloody scene was unforgettable to him.

“They were professionals.”

“We can’t keep doing this. The gap between us and those with extraordinary strength is just too huge.”

Spark spread out a sheepskin map and said this.

After several days of brutal battles, he had also become a Level One Warrior, but he had no equipment and was no match for the heavy armored knights sent by the Carter Duchy.

“Wait—”

Spark folded his hands, holding his chin, seemingly deep in thought.

“Maybe we can leverage external forces.”

Nick gave a bitter smile: “The Northern Countries have all issued ultimatums; they would love to tear us apart. Despite the internal conflicts of these countries, they unanimously oppose us runaway serfs.”

“I’m not talking about the Northern Countries.”

Nick was dumbfounded: “You mean…”

Spark grinned meaningfully:

“Since they slander us as devils and beasts, we might as well cooperate with another group of devils.”

As a somewhat famous storyline player, Spark had contacts with many beta testers, and this became his network for finding a way out for “Fire Seed” at this moment.

He opened the panel and looked at the list for “Steel Torrent,” the well-known leader of the Mechanical God Cult.

…

Northwind Castle, Mechanical God Cult headquarters, “Mars” Hall.

The door bore a gear emblem full of technological sense.

Inscribed on its base were the words: “In the name of the sacred binary, loudly praise Omnissiah, glory to the God of Machines!”

The players of the Mechanical God Cult took cosplay to the extreme.

Steel Torrent was currently in the hall, reviewing documents, busy to the point of frenzy. Several ogre guards stood by his side—not so much protecting him as overseeing his work.

Ever since he embezzled public funds to make a mecha last time, Lord Ramp had sent several trusted aides to constantly supervise him, preventing similar incidents from happening again. Even large-scale fund allocations had to be reported to the higher-ups.

Steel Torrent felt like crying. As he said himself:

“I’m not a guild leader; I’m just a laborer.”

Recently, the Mechanical God Cult had recruited quite a few genuinely valuable talents, assigning them high-level technical positions. They quickly advanced the tech tree, combining real-world technology with magical reactions to create semi-automatic firearms, grenade launchers, and even designing a Magic Tank.

A new round of weapon iteration in the kingdom was foreseeable.

Steel Torrent reviewed the next document.

“Project No. 127: Early Internet Architecture Based on the Magic Web—Remote Magic Terminal Connection.”

He couldn’t help but gulp. Being the guild leader in such a talented guild often made him feel inferior.

“Holy crap, where did this big shot come from? Progressing this fast? Are we really going to start with sacred binary now?”

Suddenly, a message popped up in Steel Torrent’s system panel, making him temporarily put down the document.

Spark: Crazy Brother, are you there?

Spark: Interested in sponsoring some arms?

Steel Torrent: ?

Steel Torrent had heard of the “Fire Seed” organization led by Spark.

After all, the “Valir Uprising” had been featured in the special section of the Kingdom Daily, becoming a much-discussed event in the country and even receiving high praise from the kingdom’s officials, who referred to it as the “Mine Rebellion.”

Steel Torrent: Empty-handed wolf capture, huh?

Spark: That’s not fair! This is an investment in the future!

Steel Torrent: I don’t have that authority now. I was fined last time for making a mecha.

Spark: Why don’t you report it to your superiors? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I’m sure the kingdom’s leaders would be happy to aid us.

Steel Torrent: Alright.

Steel Torrent suddenly realized this was a great opportunity to scam some funds. Maybe he could get enough to make another mecha.

As for the arms support, they could just pack up some obsolete trash and send them over.

With this in mind, he closed the chat interface and patted the ogre beside him, who looked somewhat drowsy.

“Fatty?”

“What?”

“Don’t try any tricks, don’t get close to me. I trained in Lord Ramp’s accounting class, and you still owe the kingdom some funds.”

The ogre called “Fatty” opened his eyes, waved his hand impatiently, and said.

“I have something important to report to Lord Ramp.”

“Oh.”

Fatty grumbled, took out a crystal stone from his backpack, and skillfully activated it.

Soon, Ramp’s ugly and terrifying face appeared in the magic image.

“What is it?”

Wanting to repay his debts quickly and get rid of the ogres’ supervision, Steel Torrent immediately put on a fawning smile.

“Lord Ramp, the leader of the ‘Fire Seed’ organization from the Carter Duchy contacted me.”

“Oh?”

Ramp’s voice was calm.

He had long suspected that the rebellions were caused by the Starfallen and welcomed it.

Steel Torrent continued to report: “They hope to get some arms and supplies from the kingdom to resist the Northern Countries’ pursuit. Could you… approve some funds?”

Ramp said indifferently: “No need to approve new funds.”

“A few years ago, the army decommissioned a batch of smoothbore guns, which have been stored in the warehouse. Give them all to them. When the production line switches to semi-automatic rifles and the army’s equipment is updated, those outdated firearms can be sold to them at a low price.”

Ramp’s tone paused, and his eyes showed a warning look.

“Besides, the kingdom’s authorities naturally support these actions, so your Mechanical God Cult doesn’t need to worry about it.”

“Alright, alright, no problem. I’ll talk to him now.”

Seeing that Ramp had seen through his little trick, Steel Torrent immediately put on an ingratiating smile and repeatedly agreed.

After the magic image cut off, he slumped back into the chair, exhausted.

“Being crushed by the bigwigs in the guild is one thing.”

“How can I also be crushed by the intelligence of NPCs in the game—”

Steel Torrent silently wailed in his heart.