Was there a bigger secret hidden in the Disobedient Fortress?
No one could say for sure. Even Kamel, who had worked in the Disobedient Fortress and was sealed together with the Disobedient Fortress in the Realm of Looming Shadow for a thousand years, did not know the full picture of this huge plan and building.
Back then, the Disobedient Fortress had a very strict authority control and access control system. Each area in the fortress had its own person in charge, and the highest authority in the fortress was in charge of the control. Although these areas and departments jointly carried out different parts of the Disobedient Plan, they were actually in a semi-isolated state. Unless they had the permission of the highest council and went through a series of extremely complicated inspection and 'purification' procedures, the personnel in each area were strictly prohibited from moving. According to Kamel's memory, it was very difficult to get such permission. It was only possible under extremely special circumstances. Ninety percent of the people in the fortress had never entered the area outside their area of responsibility.
Gwen could only think of one reason for such a strict internal control: to prevent the power of the gods from invading.
Now that a thousand years had passed, according to Kamel's guess, except for the remaining god samples in the Disobedient Fortress and its related facilities, the entire fortress should have been completely evacuated. Nothing related to the gods would be left behind. However, in some areas, less important research materials and 'safe samples' should still be sealed. Gwen was very curious about what else he could find in the huge ancient facility if he continued to send people to explore deeper.
Byron nodded and was ready to continue the exploration of the Disobedient Fortress, but Solderlin suddenly interrupted him. "Wait a minute. Can the mission of exploring the Disobedient Fortress be left to me and the Steel Rangers?"
Gwen looked at Solderlin, who explained, "The scale of the combat force is getting bigger and bigger, and there's a new round of expansion and training plan recently. Byron Knight, as one of the commanders of the combat force, is not suitable to carry out this kind of exploration mission himself. It's better to leave it to the newly established Steel Rangers. This kind of mission in an unknown environment suits the role of the Steel Rangers. I can use it to train my new subordinates."
"Hmm … You're right." Gwen thought for a moment and agreed with Solderlin. "Then I'll leave this mission to you. Byron, hand over the progress of the previous exploration and the detailed information. Also, Solderlin, you should make some preparations before you set off. This mission isn't urgent, and you can set off within a week. The southern and eastern parts of the Defiant Stronghold are heavily abandoned, and the situation there is complicated. Don't act rashly. "
In response to Gwen's advice, Solderlin nodded solemnly. Although he was an experienced and powerful high-grade ranger, he couldn't let his guard down in front of an ancient ruin that had a history of over a thousand years.
…
After the meeting in the Lord's Mansion, Solderlin did not return to the military zone. Instead, he went to the mechanical manufacturing factory in the east of the territory.
The mechanical manufacturing factory had undergone several expansions and renovations. It was no longer a simple factory, but a large facility that integrated research, testing, and manufacturing. There were two large laboratories and several workshops with different functions. Gwen's knowledge deduction and the "simulation test field" of the Network of Eternal Sleep were the blueprints that he drew up after many tests in these laboratories and workshops. These blueprints were then gradually transformed into industrial products and introduced to the entire territory.
Solderin went straight to the 'Craftsman Hall' of the Machinery Manufacturing Factory. This was the heart of the entire factory. This circular hall was where the wooden shed used to be when the Machinery Manufacturing Factory was first built, but it was no longer the same as it used to be. Various mechanical processing desks and research tables were arranged in an orderly manner in the spacious hall, but the most eye-catching one was the circular platform in the middle of the hall that was slightly higher than the ground. The platform was about ten meters in diameter, and there was a small pit in the center. Other than that, there were no other facilities. There were many different kinds of metal ingots piled up everywhere on the platform, and the sunlight from the patio above was shining on the center of the platform, which was empty.
Solderlin did not see Egg Nicholas on the Mechanic's Round Table. He only saw a lot of busy Mechanic's Scholars (this was the name given by some people in Cecil to those who specialized in the study of machines). Out of curiosity, Solderlin came to a Mechanic's Scholar in white overalls and asked, "Where's Mr. Egg?"
The bearded mechanic scholar was stunned for a moment before he responded, "Mr. Egg … Oh, you mean the director? The director just went out. "
Solderlin frowned and asked, "Where did he go?"
"Over at the Gear Square." The mechanic scholar mentioned a place with industrial characteristics. "If you go there now, he will still be there."
Solderlin did not expect Egg Nicholas, who rarely left the factory except for working with metals, to go to the crowded square. But he still thanked the mechanic scholar. "Gear Square … Okay, thank you."
After that, he left the Machinery Manufacturing Institute and headed straight for the Gear Square.
The Gear Square was not far away. It was located opposite the factory and the Steel Foundry. There was a special wall of shrubs between the square and several factories to absorb and isolate noise. After crossing the square, there were several main residential areas where the factory workers and their families lived. Every day, the workers living in the residential areas would cross the entire Gear Square and the high wall of shrubs to go to work in the factory. On weekdays, the square was also an important place for the factory workers to kill time.
The wall of shrubs that isolated the factory from the residential area was planted and catalyzed by Pitman and his apprentices under the instructions of Gwen.
When Solderlin arrived at the Gear Square, he immediately realized that there might be some kind of activity going on.
There was a large open space next to the square where many people were gathered. From time to time, cheers and shouts could be heard from the crowd. It seemed that there was some kind of competition going on in the open space. Solderlin easily made his way through the crowd and saw the scene in full swing. Two teams of people were running in the rectangular open space. They had two different colored strips of cloth tied to their heads to separate them into two teams. They were fighting for some kind of ball made of animal leather. They were kicking the ball around, trying to kick it into the two rough wooden door frames at the edge of the open space.
The scene was very chaotic. There was almost no order and cooperation between the two teams fighting for the ball. Moreover, the person who stood on the side of the open space as the "referee" did not seem to understand the rules. Most of the time, he was shouting with the surrounding audience. However, these people were still playing in high spirits. The surrounding people were also very excited. The cheers never stopped. Most of the time, they were not cheering for the goal, but just cheering for a person who suddenly made a funny face or a wonderful fall on the field.
Even though Solderlin had lived in human society for seven hundred years, he had rarely seen such a scene, especially among the civilians. They might gather together and cheer for some reason, but they would never participate in such a passionate movement. The reason was simple: how could the civilians, even the pariahs, who did not have enough to eat, waste their precious energy on such a movement?
What's more, it was still cold in spring. Physical strength was particularly precious.
Solderlin was a little stunned as he watched the sport in the open space. The relevant information slowly emerged in his mind. This … seems to be called football. It was invented by his old friend not long ago. After it was popularized, it was very popular among the people in the territory.
To be honest, Solderlin preferred the several chess games invented by his old friend. However, he could still feel an inexplicable attraction from the seemingly barbaric sport in front of him. This sport … would probably be very interesting to the energetic dwarves in the west of the continent.
Just then, a bright metallic reflection in the crowd interrupted the high-tier ranger's train of thought. He looked up and finally found his real target — the egg Nicholas was floating in the middle of the crowd. The huge and funny smile that was shining under the sun was clearly visible no matter how far away it was.
After some time, the citizens of Cecil's territory seemed to have completely adapted to this strangely shaped "master craftsman". In fact, they had recently adapted to Kamel's sparks and lightning. The only thing that they were not used to was the siren lady who walked in a very arrogant manner. After all, Tyre had not gone out much.
Solderlin quickly went through the crowd and greeted the egg Nicholas loudly (after all, the cheers were too loud), "Mr. Egg, Mr. Egg!"
After a few shouts, the egg Nicholas shook as if it had just woken up from a dream. Then, the giant metal ball slowly turned around. A buzzing sound came from the ball, "Oh my … That's too exciting …"
"Mr. Egg, what's too exciting?" Solderlin asked loudly. "By the way, can we find a quieter place? I have something to talk to you about … "
"Okay, okay, let's leave here …" The egg Nicholas made a buzzing sound, but its body was obviously not very stable. "You … Can you help me by the side? I'm a little weak …"
Solderlin looked at the round and naked body of the egg Nicholas and was confused. How the hell am I supposed to help him?
Fortunately, the egg Nicholas did not ask about the details. After Solderlin put his hand on him with a strange expression, the egg Nicholas fluttered away from the crowd with the high-grade ranger.
After leaving the crowd, the Iron Ball's condition improved a little. Then, he sighed again, "Oh my … That's too exciting …"
Solderlin turned his head and looked at the egg Nicholas. "So what's too exciting?"
"Twenty-two people fighting to kick a ball. Sometimes, even the referee would kick it. That's too exciting …" The egg Nicholas' voice was filled with fear. "Football is so brutal …"
Solderlin's seven hundred years of experience and wide range of thinking still took him a long time to understand what Mr. Egg meant. The high-grade ranger's expression had never been so strange before. "You … Watching this should be similar to watching people kill people on the street, right?"
"It's more serious than that. You people kill people on the street, but it's not like there are more than twenty people, each with a knife …"
The corner of Solderlin's eyes twitched. "I understand how you feel … Then why did you come here to watch football? Are you looking for excitement?"
"Of course not!" The egg Nicholas sounded like he was going crazy. "I just heard that a ball game is popular in the territory. I thought it was for me, so I wanted to sign up. Luckily, I didn't! They don't lack people now, but almost every team lacks balls … "
The corners of Solderlin's eyes twitched even more violently. He looked at Egg Nicholas from head to toe and thought to himself, You don't have to be so nervous. With your size and weight, only the legendary giants of ancient legends can kick you in the ring …
However, considering the huge shock that the Iron Ball had just suffered, Solderlin did not dare to say what he was thinking. He quickly changed the topic. "Actually, I'm here to ask you for a favor."
"Ah … Ah, a favor?" The egg Nicholas finally reacted. "What is it?"
"You should already know that I'm forming the 'Steel Rangers', and the Lord has given me a task. He wants me to design or improve a new type of magic-powered equipment based on the combat experience of the rangers." Solderlin's expression became serious. "I'm here to ask you to help me design a few 'orders'."
"Oh? You can design magic-powered equipment? " When it came to his profession, the egg Nicholas immediately became spirited. The trauma from before seemed to have healed in an instant. "Do you have a concept map or a list of requirements?"
Solderlin smiled. "I can't give you a concept map, but I do have some goals."
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