Chapter 37: The Story of the Seven Knights
"Did Senior Victor see another mechanical pig head?" Leon looked at Victor with a face full of confusion and asked, "Was it that person named Quinn Ashford who went to find you?"
"Quinn Ashford didn't look for me. Also, that wasn't a mechanical pig head. That was the main control hub of the Seven Knights IV. Your Necromantic Architecture grade is most likely going to depend on that thing." Victor said confidently.
"Seven Knights IV?" Leon was at a loss, realizing that the situation was becoming more and more confusing.
Victor nodded and began explaining the legend of the Storm Isles to Leon.
It was a long, long time ago, back when the Storm Isles map had just opened. A princess was being hunted by her stepmother and escaped to the Storm Isles. She was protected by seven knights who helped her cross the stormy seas surrounding the isles.
With the protection of the seven knights, the princess settled on the Storm Isles and established the first kingdom there, and the seven knights each received their own fiefdoms.
Later, when the princess died, the seven knights came to her grave. They believed their strength was meant to protect the princess, but now that they had their own lands and had become lords, they could no longer guard the princess. So, they called their descendants and passed on their power to one of them, who would continue to guard the princess's tomb. This was the first generation of the Seven Knights.
Every generation after, when a knight died, they would pass their power to one of their descendants, who would continue to guard the princess's tomb.
One day, an external enemy invaded the Storm Isles, wiping out six of the knights' fiefdoms. When the enemy reached the princess's tomb, the Seven Knights stood up to fight, driving the enemy to the outskirts of the isles.
After restoring the knights' lands, the Seven Knights became the de facto leaders of the Storm Isles. Apart from assigning one person each year to guard the princess's tomb, they spent their time battling the enemies of the various races. Because of this, they gradually forgot their original mission and the duty to protect the princess.
Likewise, much of the Seven Knights' legacy was lost in the battles over time, and one lineage even came close to losing its inheritance entirely.
At this time, the power of the Seven Knights was crucial in fighting against the external enemies. A wise man proposed the idea of creating the Seven Knights' mechs as combat weapons.
It took thirty years to extract the final bloodlines and powers of the Seven Knights and to create the first prototype mechs of the Seven Knights. They were named Adrian Solis, Dorian Sandshade, Veridian Shardglass, Azrak Nightshade, Onyx Stonefist, Sylas Greenvine, and Violet Thunderstrike. The ancestor of Lady Ember's family was the creator and pilot of Adrian Solis's first prototype.
Later, using the prototype as a model, many mechs were built as tools of war, and soon, they swept across the entire Storm Isles.
At this time, the last of the Seven Knights remembered their mission. At his request, the seven prototype mechs were sent to the princess's tomb, becoming the final guardians. The Storm Isles then entered the mech era, and the mechs of that time were called Seven Knights I.
Because the Seven Knights I became the main force in combat, mass production of mechs became crucial for each territory. They extracted a vast amount of underground energy, depleting the resources of their lands, making them barren, and life became difficult.
At this time, another wave of external enemies arrived at the Storm Isles. These enemies were different from the previous ones; they were creatures that absorbed energy, draining all the energy from the places they passed.
Just like before, six of the territories were destroyed before they reacted. They gathered the remaining Seven Knights I mechs to fight the enemy.
In the end, they sacrificed all the Seven Knights I mechs to wipe out the enemies. However, the problem was that the enemies were just a vanguard, and the remaining territories of the Storm Isles no longer had enough energy to mass-produce more Seven Knights I mechs. So, they had no choice but to research and develop the Seven Knights II.
Compared to the Seven Knights I, the Seven Knights II were much larger. If the Seven Knights I were personal mechs, then the Seven Knights II were large-scale warships.
Typically, the Seven Knights II were operated by five people: one for main control, one for movement and evasion, and the remaining three for attacks.
With the Seven Knights II, they managed to protect their nation and defeat the enemies, even learning a method from them to forcibly extract underground mana and convert it into energy.
At that time, the people of the Storm Isles believed that without external enemies, internal wars would surely break out again. So, they studied this method and created the Seven Knights III.
As expected, with no external enemies, the seven kingdoms split into two factions and fought for a thousand years, turning the once hopeful Storm Isles into the wasteland it is now.
Of course, how much effort the players put into this is unknown, but in the end, the Storm Isles became an apocalyptic landscape, and people survived in small strongholds under the protection of the final Seven Knights IV.
Compared to the previous three versions of the Seven Knights, the Seven Knights IV were much larger. They were massive, armored mechanical beings designed for both combat and survival.
These mechanical creatures were covered in weapons on the outside, while people and seeds were hidden inside. They would move to safe places, and the Seven Knights IV would disassemble into tents or other structures. The head would be buried underground to absorb the remaining energy.
However, as the Storm Isles' energy dwindled and the map's level decreased, the number of Seven Knights IV also dwindled. By the time Leon and the others entered the Storm Isles, the inhabitants no longer had any usable Seven Knights IV.
This time, Lady Ember wasn't searching for a residence-type Seven Knights IV. She wanted the first prototype mech created and piloted by her ancestor, Adrian Solis.
But given the current state of the Storm Isles, not to mention reaching the princess's tomb, they might not even survive a couple of days outside the strongholds.
That's why Lady Ember needed to spend time mobilizing the Seven Knights IV buried near Aurelia Pinehold or other strongholds. Only a Seven Knights IV could take them near the princess's tomb.
This is also why Quinn Ashford wanted to obtain control from Leon. He likely wanted to have his own Seven Knights IV.
Of course, whether Quinn Ashford had other intentions was unknown to Leon. However, Leon was now also interested in the Seven Knights IV. But what he wanted wasn't complete control of a Seven Knights IV; he wanted the blueprints for constructing one.
Leon looked at Victor and asked curiously, "Senior Victor, you've explained everything in such detail. What exactly are you hoping to gain from this?"