In the principal material world, on the vast continent of Cain.
Across this expansive continent, one could see numerous magnificent mechanical cities standing tall. Countless mechanical creations of various designs were distributed in every corner of the cities, both on the ground and in the sky.
However, the masters here were not the machines.
Machinists, the lords of mechanics, controlled these cities, where the machinery primarily served the machinists themselves.
This was the territory of the Imaskar Second Empire.
Among all the mechanical cities, the most magnificent was undoubtedly the imperial capital located in the northeast of the continent. The grand capital was bustling with activity, and the royal court, constructed like a cluster of massive crystals, stood in the center of the capital, emitting a faint glow.
However, this was not the original location of the Second Empire's capital.
Beneath the bustling facade of the current capital lay the twisted scars left by past disasters.
Near the site of the old capital, spiderweb-like fissures in the earth could still be faintly seen, radiating hundreds of kilometers out from the center where the old capital once stood, now replaced by a gigantic crater.
Within the crater, faint traces of the old capital could be seen.
Under the sunlight, mechanical and metal debris littered the ground, narrating the scenes of the past.
Countless bones lay buried beneath.
All of this stemmed from an ill-fated dimensional expedition by the Imaskar Empire, which had drawn a powerful enemy to its gates, leading to a surprise attack on the capital. As a result, the imperial treasures known as the Seven Secrets were stolen, nearly ninety percent of the royal bloodline was decimated, and the rest was too painful to recount.
But the people of Imaskar possessed a spirit of resistance.
When they first came to the continent of Cain, their situation was even worse, yet they rose from obscurity, defeated many native nations, and became the sole dominion of the continent.
Later, through the united efforts of the machinists.
Over the course of several years, thanks to the powerful productivity of the machinists, the Imaskar Second Empire finally recovered from the aftermath of the disaster, regaining the empire's vigorous state, albeit without further expansion.
The trauma of the devastation was still vivid, so the Second Empire no longer dared to invade other dimensional worlds casually.
After recovering its strength, the empire's magic ships still remained docked in their harbors.
Since the day of the disaster, these magic ships had not been activated.
On this day.
The new capital was unusually lively as the machinists gathered to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the capital's post-disaster reconstruction.
Across the entire empire, all entertainment venues operated by the royal court, such as taverns and brothels, offered many free drinks and services, and industries managed by machinist nobles also provided significant discounts.
It was a day of national celebration.
At this time, on a smooth street in the northwest corner of the capital, several machinists looked around at the mechanical creations and pedestrians, recalling the destroyer of the old empire as they observed the thriving new capital.
"Do you remember the Shadow of Disaster?"
"How could we forget? Anyone who experienced that day will never forget that dragon for the rest of their lives!"
"I heard that the Shadow of Disaster was only of legendary strength."
After Garon left, the people of the Imaskar Second Empire referred to him as the Shadow of Disaster, the main culprit behind the decimation of the old capital and the creator of the massive crater and debris on the continent of Cain.
"In our empire, thousands of legends, the mechanical guards of the old capital, and the legendary machinists numbered in the thousands, yet they couldn't stop the Shadow of Disaster from destroying the capital. The royal family was too incompetent back then."
A machinist who was not well-informed about the initial situation spoke indignantly.
His companion had a different view.
Looking at his friend who was complaining about the royal family, he explained solemnly, "The Shadow of Disaster somehow got hold of an Imaskar Crown, which suppressed the defensive forces of the capital at the time, and directly lifted the royal court into the sky, ten thousand meters high."
"The Shadow of Disaster came fiercely prepared. At that time, the entire royal court became hostages, and the guards of the capital were reluctant to act."
"It was an unavoidable situation."
"Who could have imagined that the empire's greatest secret would be replicated, and that it could stand equal to the true First Secret?"
The machinist sighed, seemingly recalling the events of that day.
"However, this also made the empire realize the great security risk posed by the First Secret."
"After the day of disaster, all mechanical creations were no longer controlled by the First Secret."
Pausing for a moment, the machinist said word by word, "If the Shadow
of Disaster dares to attack the empire again with the secret weapon, it will face the roar of the empire's mechanical legion."
"It will be turned to ash by endless gunfire!"
The machinist's tone was very certain.
In the common understanding of living beings, a mere decade had passed, and according to the growth rate of dragonkind, unless something unusual happened, the opponent wouldn't have become much stronger.
The Shadow of Disaster was undoubtedly a strong legend.
But any legendary creature, when surrounded by the empire's legions, would have no chance of survival. The Imaskar Second Empire was not lacking in legends.
Moreover, the tragic circumstances of the past attack had sounded an alarm for the empire.
After the disaster, the Imaskar Second Empire, with the effort of the entire nation, finally succeeded in creating the legendary machinist angel described in their heritage.
A Harbinger of Destruction.
The royal family suffered heavy casualties, but their souls were fused together to form the intelligence of the Harbinger of Destruction, surviving in an alternative form.
Although the Harbinger of Destruction did not possess full demigod powers, being only a pseudo-demigod and unable to compete with true demigods, it had reached the threshold of demigod creatures in terms of destructive power.
When facing legendary creatures, the Harbinger of Destruction had an overwhelming advantage.
"The empire will eventually find the Shadow of Disaster."
"The humiliation we suffered will eventually be washed away, and the Seven Secrets taken by the Shadow of Disaster will return to the capital!"
The machinist spoke with rising morale.
At the same time.
A streak of silver light shot straight from the sky, tearing through the clouds and the fierce winds.
In just a moment, before the citizens of the capital could react, the silver light reached the airspace of the capital, paused there, and simultaneously, a dense shadow blocked the sunlight from the sky, enveloping several machinists within it.
After a brief pause, these machinists, like all others who noticed it, looked up.
In an instant, as they saw the huge beast circling in the sky, their pupils contracted.
The body of the silver dragon, at least eighty meters long and resembling several tall buildings, hovered above the capital, its indifferent platinum dragon eyes surveying the entire city.
Under the sunlight, its dazzling silver scales.
The rings of black scales around its body.
Multiple majestic horns.
A presence as if from a deep abyssal purgatory.
These features combined, and the machinists at the scene immediately recognized the identity of the dragon.
The Shadow of Disaster.
The very being that, more than a decade ago, had descended upon the continent of Cain, obliterated the old capital, and left behind a giant crater and wreckage!
In the hearts of countless Imaskar machinists, this dragon had left an indelible shadow, with some machinists still waking from nightmares in which the royal court was lifted into the sky, turning the royal family into a horror dragon in the abyss.
Today.
On the tenth anniversary of the construction of the new capital.
On this day of national celebration.
The Shadow of Disaster descended once again.
After a brief pause, flames flickered in the eyes of the machinists, their faces turning fearful yet excited.
Fear, because of the deep-seated fear of the Shadow of Disaster.
Excitement, because they could not believe that this dragon dared to come again.
Now, the Imaskar Second Empire would not again have its main defenses stripped away by the First Secret. The mechanical legion of the capital would surely turn the Shadow of Disaster to ash, or even capture it alive, to avenge their past humiliation!
Facing the enemy that brought shame in the past, there was no need for any hesitation.
Buzzing!
Countless machinist engines roared continuously.
One by one, the mechanical colossi guarding the eight directions of the capital opened their crimson eyes, raised their heads to look at the sky, their bodies creaking.
A protective dome enveloping the entire capital rose from the ground.
Boom!
A deafening sound of air exploding came from the location of the royal court.
In the circular shockwave, a blinding beam of light shot straight out, surpassing the machinist creations that had risen from the ground, and in an instant, it met the dragon in the sky.
This beam of light was the trail of light pulled by the Harbinger of Destruction as it moved at high speed.
Its body bright white, humanoid in structure, with six pairs of iridescent energy wings, the Harbinger of Destruction, under the hopeful and expectant gazes of the machinists, was formidable and unmatched.
As if it could pierce through stars, shattering the dark shadows.
Time seemed to slow down.
In the eyes of countless exhilarated onlookers, the trail of light from the Harbinger of Destruction charged forward relentlessly, armed with a kind of light spear, heading
straight for the Shadow of Disaster.
Then, when it reached within a thousand meters of the Shadow of Disaster, under everyone's watchful eyes, the body of the Harbinger of Destruction suddenly stiffened, and countless chaotic lines appeared on its smooth, mirror-like face, its metal body trembling uncontrollably.
Seeing this sudden scene.
The entire capital's machinists felt a sinking feeling in their hearts, unsure of what to do.
"What, what's happening?"
"The Harbinger of Destruction seems to have malfunctioned."
"Damn, after all, it's a new type of machinist creation, untested in real combat, and it breaks down at a time like this!"
Immediately.
The citizens of the empire looked towards the nearly thousand roaring mechanical guards.
Mechanical Titans, Mechanical Lions, Mechanical Dragons, Mechanical Tigers, all legendary mechanical creations without exception, formed a surrounding circle, densely packed, and continued to advance towards the Shadow of Disaster.
The machinists, feeling downhearted, saw a glimmer of hope in their eyes once more.
Even the strongest legendary creature, when facing creatures of the same level, cannot withstand a thousand on one!
Without the suppressing power of the Imaskar Crown, facing many mechanical guards, what basis do you have to invade the heartland of my empire alone!
The machinists roared in their hearts.
"Such a strong reaction."
"I came with a friendly attitude, intending to persuade with reason."
At this moment, the silver dragon shook its head slightly, looking at the mechanical army.
Frankly, given the military strength of the Imaskar Second Empire, if a typical demigod had come alone, they would not fare well under the united siege of the opposition, and the risk of falling would be extremely high.
Of course, their intense reaction seemed insignificant to Garon.
Compared to the terrifying forces of the Mechanical Grandmaster's metal world, which were measured in the billions, the mechanical army of the Imaskar Second Empire was nothing.
Because Garon intended to subdue the Imaskar Second Empire, he did not want to further damage it.
As for the malfunctioning Harbinger of Destruction, it was the handiwork of the Mechanical Grandmaster.
It had invaded the intelligence of this machinist angel and did so very quickly, taking only a few breaths to gather chaotic lines on the Harbinger of Destruction's faceplate into the narrow eyes of the Mechanical Grandmaster, and the trembling body also paused.
At the same time.
Garon looked down at the mechanical army, and an ethereal Imaskar Crown appeared above his head.
Boom!
A curtain of azure light erupted from the blue gemstones embedded in the Imaskar Crown, enveloping all mechanical creations within it.
What surprised Garon was.
The Imaskar Crown's control over machinist creations did not work this time.
Seeing this scene, the machinists around scoffed, seemingly mocking the dragon's actions.
The Imaskar Second Empire would not fall in the same place twice!
"Ugh, it's probably specifically designed to counter me."
Seeing the Imaskar Crown ineffective, Garon no longer used it, withdrawing it.
Looking at the mechanical creations in the sky, the silver dragon's face showed a peculiar expression.
"Pity, although the Imaskar Crown's power is gone, this time I have the Heart of the Mechanism."
Garon did not directly descend into the airspace of the new capital.
He didn't know the address of the new capital initially; he arrived at the ruins of the old capital through time teleportation.
Then, the Mechanical Grandmaster directly sensed the gathering place of high-energy mechanics.
Which was the location of the new capital.
Following the guidance of the Mechanical Grandmaster, Garon flew over.
At the same time, Garon also learned that the Mechanical Grandmaster possessed a terrifying ability to control not only its own creations but also other mechanical beings, its power almost akin to a divine domain.
The ancient Imaskar Empire had started a mechanical deification project.
When the Heart of the Mechanism was dispatched, the ancient Imaskar Empire stripped the divinity collected from the machinist angels and infused it all into the Heart of the Mechanism.
However, Garon could not see any divine light on the current Mechanical Grandmaster or the Heart of the Mechanism.
Upon questioning, the Mechanical Grandmaster provided Garon with the answer.
It had already fused the divinity with its own will, turning it into a unique sovereign domain, which is its ability to transform metal materials directly into mechanical creations or to control other mechanical creations.
Moreover, this domain would grow stronger with the increase of mechanical creations under its control.
Garon's dragon claw spread open.
The metal cube spun and rose, tiny cubes pulsating like breathing.
Buzz!
An invisible ripple radiated from the metal cube, sweeping over the surrounding mechanical creations.
From then on, all mechanical creations that had just included Garon in their attack range,
preparing to strike, paused in their movements. After a brief shaking and trembling, including the Harbinger of Destruction, all were under the control of the Mechanical Grandmaster, turning their accumulated attack energy towards the capital below.
In the realm of mechanics, the Mechanical Grandmaster was akin to a deity.
It was already the ultimate machinist masterpiece and had developed alone for thousands of years, creating a metal world, long surpassing ordinary mechanical creations.
It was like a collision of fate, or perhaps just a coincidental opportunity.
For the Second Empire, which had inherited the name of the creator of the Heart of the Mechanism, the Mechanical Grandmaster was the greatest nemesis.
At the same time.
The domain of the Mechanical Grandmaster's sovereign power had not yet ended.
The invisible power domain encompassed the entire capital, and many machinist creations following the machinists suddenly showed their ferocious nature, transforming their weapons towards their original masters.
The previously docile and cute mechanical dogs opened their mouths, extending a cannon barrel between the crisscrossing metal teeth.
The petite mechanical birds spread their wings, with dark red scorching light glowing within their steel feathers.
Even some non-combat creations like mechanical vehicles clacked and transformed, inexplicably turning into tall humanoid mechanical golems under the Mechanical Grandmaster's modification, now armed with combat capabilities.
Numerous machinists held hostage by their own creations looked around at the scene, still somewhat bewildered and at a loss.
"What, what's going on?"
"Why are our mechanical creations out of control?"
"Oh no! What has the empire done to repeatedly encounter such a dragon?"
Realizing that their own mechanical creations were again suppressed, this time even directly turned into enemy weapons, countless machinists felt as if they were about to suffocate.
Looking up at the silver dragon in the sky.
On this day, under the shadow of the dragon's wings, the subjects of the empire recalled once again the fear of being dominated by the Shadow of Disaster.
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