Shadow Trails in Azeroth

The Homecoming Celebration in the city of Mechagon went on all night, Blake also spent the night studying in the quiet Rustbolt Town, and the noisy gunfire rang out in Bondo's compound all night.

Early the next morning, Blake, who had slept for three or four hours, walked out of his room full of energy. While breathing heavily in the rising sun, he saw the black smoke rising from the courtyard.

It seemed like something was set on fire.

It smells very bad.

The black smoke soared upwards, almost staining the entire optically obscured sky black. It looked like it was highly polluted.

Haidaer oil!

Blake complained in a low voice, turned around, opened a bottle of wine to rinse his mouth, and walked briskly towards the coast.

In one of the gentlest bays on the Shineweaver coast, the Nag'far is docked.

There was an opening on the deck of the ghost ship, and a big golden robot was busy there. It used the cutting saw on its arm to cut the hole in the deck even bigger. Sparks were flying and a group of sea knights were moving it around. Some mechanical stuff.

The responsible first mate, Sephiel, was still monitoring the situation, and curiously poked his head around to take a look.

If you don't consider the style of painting, the scene in front of you is very much like an operation performed on the Nagfar. Of course, it can only be performed with the consent of the patient.

If they were cut randomly without the permission of the ghost ship's spirit, the Nagfar would definitely give them a good look.

Hey, how's the progress?

Blake stood on the shore and shouted something. Sephiel walked to the side of the ship and responded loudly:

Just after putting the main body of the mechanical thing in, Pascal said that the 'flesh purification device' assembled by the dwarves had some structural problems, and it fine-tuned it last night.

Now it only needs to be placed in the weapons bay on the second floor, and an additional lifting platform must be built on the second floor to accommodate the two aircraft units.

In addition, when will the high-energy charging pile for charging it be delivered? Pascal told me that without that thing to charge, our powerful weapon cannot be used.

It's not a reloader.

Trixie is 'processing' it over there.

Blake pointed to the black smoke rising behind him and said:

It also needs to be disassembled over there, and it may take a while before it can be delivered. Hello, Second Officer Pascal, how long will it take to reassemble the charging pile?

Hearing the captain calling his name, the engineering marvel of Mechagon Island that had just been assigned to the Immortal Fleet, the large robot Pascal K1N6, known as the wishing machine by the dwarfs, did not stop the work at hand that required precise maintenance.

The beam on its face jumped, and it answered in a very gentle voice:

“The estimated work completion time is 12-16 hours, and if weapons testing is included, the time may be extended to 20 hours.

Pascal suggested that Captain Black prepare enough high-energy batteries in advance to maximize the discharge efficiency of the charging pile when it is not used for combat.

Pascal detected that many parts of the hull of the ghost ship Nagfar could be mechanized and upgraded. Pascal communicated with the ship spirit to no avail, so Pascal applied to the captain for permission to modify it.

Well, please produce a feasibility report on the renovation.

Blake shrugged and said to the big robot with extremely complete thinking circuits:

It is not an easy thing to convince the Ship Spirit. She can think. She is as smart as you, but she is still learning to get along with us, so you have to tell her how this transformation will benefit her.

You have to be patient and treat her like a child.

Order accepted.

Pascal's body made the sound of an engine running, and it said:

Change the ship spirit communication system to the 'nurturing' mode.

“The parenting model is a little too much.”

Blake pouted and said:

Do you have a way of dealing with rebellious girls? That might be more suitable.

Thank you for your accurate advice, Captain.

Pascal replied very gently, and the engine in its body buzzed again, and then said like a report:

According to the information I collected on Mechagon Island, rebellious girls are always in trouble, so the communication system with the ship spirit has been changed and is currently in 'savior' mode.

Good, keep it like this.

Blake snapped his fingers and was very satisfied with the high intelligence of his robot. He looked happily at the golden robot Pascal busy on the deck, thinking that he had finally found the shipman on his ghost ship.

Next, we just need to find another cook, and maybe we can set sail to find the treasure of the Pirate King.

That's great.

The pirate laughed happily and looked back when he heard the buzz of the aircraft. The rusty Rustbolt Resistance aircraft was parked on the grass outside Rustbolt Town.

Prince Erazmin and several mecha-gnomish engineers jumped down from above, and they repainted the craft with Mechagon's machines.

Not only was the rust removed, but the aircraft was also spray-painted with a navy blue paint, and the undead fleet's combination of crows, skulls and daggers was painted on the surface.

It looks very beautiful, at least in line with Blake's aesthetics.

The weapon system of the Rustbolt Resistance has been re-examined. According to your request, we have enhanced its ammunition load, added an air combat module to it, and several small cannons.

Prince Erazmin used the propellers on his feet to push himself into the air, and landed accurately next to Blake. He introduced the modified aircraft to the pirates and said:

I transplanted the energy system of my father's air unit into this Resistor, which greatly increased its endurance. But after so many modifications, its speed was reduced.

But it's more than enough to deal with those slow rotorcraft.

The half-finished craft you captured from Bondo, as well as my father's air unit, were so badly damaged that they needed Mechagon's specialized equipment to mechanically replace them.

I have arranged this plan to the front of the process tree.

But my city is in dire need of renovation, so it will take at least more than two months for them to be repaired.

It's okay, I can wait.

The eyes on Blake's shoulders rotated, admiring the blue aircraft suspended on the lawn in front of him, and he said with satisfaction:

Anyway, there won't be any wars in the last two months. You guys repair slowly, and I know that slow work will produce fine work. I will place another order when your aircraft production line restarts.

Considering our good relationship, you must give me a discount.

Haha, of course, my dear savior of Mechagon.

The Mechanical Prince made the signature dwarf cackle. He glanced at the Pascal robot busy on the deck of the Nagfar, and said with a nostalgic tone:

Pascal K1N6 was sent to your ship as a droid pirate, much to the grief of his creator, Lord Pascal himself, Mechagon's finest mechanical master.

He couldn't bear to part with the prototype he built.

Fortunately, we cracked the encryption of the large database and found the drawings left by my father. Maybe you can see an improved Pascal next time you come over.

It was only after I looked at the drawings that I realized that Pascal's design concept actually came from some strange creations in the City of Titans, which were mechanical miracles that my father had seen long ago.

I actually recognized who it was imitating right away.

Blake shrugged and whispered to the Mechanical Prince:

If I have the opportunity to go there in the future, I will definitely take you with me. Go visit the place where your father fought, and help me solve some troubles that require extremely high engineering knowledge.

I mean, you must be very interested in the ‘ancestral journey’ in Titan City, right?

I will definitely keep the appointment!

Prince Erazmin said firmly, then he sighed and said:

But my city has been severely damaged, and I don't know how long it will take to restore it to its former glory. After experiencing my father's perverse behavior, we have too few manpower available.

Aren't there still your compatriots?

Your compatriots in Gnomeregan, although they seem backward to you and stubbornly unwilling to accept the concept of mechanical transformation, you are the same race after all.

Blake raised his eyebrows, took a few steps forward, sat on a stone, played with the wine bottle in his hand, and said to the Mechanical Prince:

You see, when you are transforming yourself, you can obviously replace the machine with a more powerful posture, but you still stubbornly keep yourself in the form of a dwarf.

It's enough for one or two people to do this, but the problem is that the mechanical gnomes I have seen, including your crazy father, have not given up the appearance of the dwarf, which shows that you have no intention of breaking away from the dwarf race.

You can actually ask them for help, and there's no shame in that.

I believe that by opening up a little bit of Mechagon's technology to them, we can attract enough small gnomes to contribute to the reconstruction of Mechagon.

The prince remained silent and did not answer. Blake looked around, then lowered his voice and said:

Furthermore, the mechanical gnomes have lost their ability to reproduce after transforming themselves, right? You can't really 'create' offspring in the laboratory.

Although replacing your organs and body can make you immune to the invasion of time, if you can make up your mind to undergo a full-body transformation like your father did, you can basically call yourself 'immortal'.

But the lack of numbers has always been a big problem that plagues racial civilization.

Since you can't reproduce by yourself, you can only look for ways to continue civilization from the outside. So whether you are willing or not, you have to go to Gnomeregan.

Whether it's persuasion, preaching, or even deception, you always have to add some fresh blood to the dwindling civilization of Mechagon and Mechanognomes.

You are a ruler, don't tell me, you have never thought about this?

Then you are so incompetent.

I thought about it. In fact, when my father was still rational, he would talk to me about this matter.

Prince Erazmin seemed to be discussing a taboo.

His voice was very low and he said:

“My father believes that only dwarves with qualified intelligence and creativity are qualified to enter Mechagon, but I think that is a stupid ‘blood theory’.

I believe that any dwarf has the right to accept mechanical transformation. As long as they are willing, as long as they apply, Mechagon welcomes every compatriot who is willing to join us.

No no no.

When Blake heard this, he shook his head and said:

Your Highness, you still can't let go of this pattern! Since you are willing to accept all dwarfs into Mechagon, why are you still limited to dwarfs?

There are too many people in this world who are old and afraid of death.

Due to various reasons, there are too many people who are unable to enjoy life healthily.

There are many people in all races who long for a body that can carry the power to pursue their dreams.

Now that we have mechanical gnomes, why not mechanical humans? No mechanical dwarves? What about even mechanical elves? Your technology is fully capable of doing this, but you have never thought about it.

Do you know what the technology in your hands means?

Eternal life!

We are talking about eternal life!

Even if noble spellcasters want to escape life and death, they have to risk everything to perform the Lich Ascension Ceremony before they can step into eternity.

But for you, this process is nothing more than lying on a mechanical operating table and going through an operation.

Having said this, Black took out the dwarf pipe, took a deep breath of smoke, and said to Prince Erazmin, who was standing in front of him blankly:

You have never realized it, but the key to ruling the world or destroying it is in your hands. I do appreciate your father's plan to return to the origin, but I am very disappointed with the strategy he adopted.

He chose the worst possible path to realize his dream of 'cleansing the world', but he could have had a better choice.

do you understand me?

As long as you 'resurrect' a person who should have died in another form in any human city in front of those people, my compatriots who are sufficiently ignorant will regard you as mechanical gods.

Death is the end of life and all good and hateful things. It is a powerful force that is equal to everyone. It is enough to make the king kneel down, the kingdom to overthrow, and it is enough to make all things wither and the world die.

Because of this, the opposite of death naturally possesses the same great power.

All lives will fanatically sacrifice everything for you, just for a chance to escape death.

For this opportunity, they will even have the courage to cleanse the entire world with your will. You can start wars, you can end wars, you can rule, and you can destroy.

Knowledge!

Your Highness, knowledge is power!

And what you hold in your hands is a force that is enough to change the world. Even a lousy pirate like me would be afraid of such power, so I'll tell you.

Black reached out and patted Prince Erazmin on the shoulder and said:

A better tomorrow and future? Or the catastrophe that will come at any time? All these choices are in your hands. Your father's great cause failed, but you still have a second chance.

Use it with caution.

Or hide in the shadows and never spread this forbidden death-defying secret.

Once you make death unhappy, it will punish you.