Chapter 298 Mechanicum
"Are those damn knights here to raid again?"

"It looks like we have to move our base again."

In the dark and damp cave, the dim candlelight flickered, and Xinghuo looked solemn.

After several days of pursuit and blockade by the army of the Principality of Carter, the slaves he brought out of the Valier Mine suffered heavy casualties, and hundreds of them have remained there forever.

"They are too powerful."

Nick lowered his head, his expression gloomy.

His friend in the mine died in the battle. The army sent by the Principality was surprisingly terrible. Nearly a hundred slaves who stayed behind were slaughtered by the heavily armored knight known as "Carter's Eagle" alone. The bloody scene is still unforgettable to him.

“It’s a professional.”

"We can't go on like this. The gap between us and these guys with extraordinary powers is just too big."

Starfire said as she spread out the parchment map.

After several days of fierce fighting, he had become a first-level warrior, but he had no equipment and was no match for the heavily armored knights sent by the Principality of Carter.

"and many more--"

Starfire crossed her arms and held her chin, seeming to be thinking about something.

"Maybe we can use some outside help."

Nick smiled bitterly. "All the countries in the north have issued an ultimatum. They want to cut us into pieces. Although these countries have their own internal conflicts, they all share the same hatred for us, the rebellious serfs."

"When I say 'external forces' I don't mean the countries in the North."

Nick was surprised and said, "You mean..."

Xinghuo grinned and smiled meaningfully:
"Since they slander us as demons and beasts, we have no choice but to cooperate with another group of demons."

As a relatively well-known story-loving player, Xinghuo has the contact information of many internal test players, and at this moment, this has become his network of contacts for finding a way out for "Spark".

He opened the panel and looked at "Iron Tide" in the list, the famous president of the Mechanicus.

Borean Keep, headquarters of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the "Mars" temple.

On the door is a gear emblem that gives off a sense of technology.

The words engraved on its base read: "In the name of the Holy Binary, praise the Omnissiah, and all glory to the God of All Machines!"

This group of artificer players from the Mechanicus have taken cosplay to the extreme.

At this moment, Iron Frenzy was busy reviewing documents in the hall, and there were several ogre guards beside him - they said they were protecting Iron Frenzy's safety, but in fact they were supervising his work.

Ever since he embezzled public funds to build a mecha last time, Trump has sent several confidants to monitor him at all times to prevent similar situations from happening again. Even large-scale funding transfers must be reported to superiors.

The Iron Frenzy was in tears, in his own words:
"I'm not the president at all. I'm just a laborer."

Recently, the [Mechanicus] has absorbed a lot of high-quality talents of real value and assigned them senior technical positions. They have rapidly advanced the technology tree, combining real-world technology with magical reactions, and have created semi-automatic firearms, howitzers, and even designed magic tanks.

It can be foreseen that a new round of weapons iteration in the kingdom is about to begin.

Steel Frenzy flipped through the next document.

"Project No. 127: Early Internet Architecture Based on Magic Network - Remote Magic Terminal Connection"

He couldn't help swallowing his saliva. Being the president of this guild full of talented people always made him feel ashamed.

"Holy crap, where did this big guy come from? Is his progress so fast? Now we really have to start the sacred binary."

Suddenly, a message came from the system panel of Iron Frenzy, which made him put down the documents in his hand temporarily.

Spark: Brother Frenzy, are you there?
Xinghuo: Are you interested in sponsoring a batch of arms?

Steel Frenzy:?
Iron Frenzy had also heard of the "Spark" organization established by Spark. After all, the "Valir Riot" was published in the special section of the Kingdom Daily, becoming a major event that the country talked about with relish, and even received great praise from the Kingdom's officials, who called it the "Mine Uprising."

Iron Frenzy: Getting something for nothing, right?

Xinghuo: How can you say that? This is an investment in the future!
Iron Frenzy: I don’t have the authority to do so now. I was fined the last time I built a mecha.

Xinghuo: Then you can report this to the higher-ups. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I believe the high-level officials in the kingdom will be happy to help us.

Iron Frenzy: Okay.

Iron Frenzy suddenly realized that this was a good opportunity to defraud funds and obtain additional funds, which might allow him to build another mecha.

As for the aid firearms, wouldn't it be enough to just pack up those obsolete junk and send them over?
Thinking of this, he closed the chat interface and patted the sleepy ogre next to him.

"Fat skin?"

"What are you doing?"

"Don't try to play any tricks or try to get close to me. I studied accounting in Mr. Trump's class, and you still owe the kingdom a sum of money."

The ogre called "Fatty" then opened his eyes, waved his hands, and said impatiently.

"I have something important to report to Mr. Trump."

"Oh."

Feipi grunted, took out a crystal from his backpack, and activated it skillfully.

Soon, Trump's ugly and scary face appeared in the magic image.

"what's up?"

In order to pay off the debt as quickly as possible and escape from the ogre's surveillance as soon as possible, a flattering smile suddenly appeared on Iron Frenzy's face.

"Lord Trump, the leader of the 'Spark' organization in the Principality of Carter has contacted me."

"Oh?"

Trump's voice was calm.

He had long suspected that the rebellions were caused by the Falling Stars, and was happy to see it happen.

Iron Frenzy continued to report, "They hope to obtain a batch of arms and some supplies from the Kingdom to resist the pursuit of the northern countries. I wonder if you can approve another sum of funds?"

Trump said calmly: "There is no need to approve a special fund."

"A few years ago, the army eliminated a batch of smoothbore rifles, which have been piled up in the warehouse. This time, we can send them all. When the assembly line is upgraded to semi-automatic rifles and the army's equipment iteration is completed, those obsolete firearms can also be sold to them at a low price."

Trump's tone paused, with a warning in his eyes.

"In addition, the Kingdom's government will naturally support these actions, so you, the Mechanicus, don't have to worry about it."

"Okay, okay, don't worry, leader. I'll go talk to him right away."

Seeing that Trump saw through his attempt to defraud funds at a glance, Steel Frenzy immediately put on an apologetic smile and agreed with him.

When the magical image was cut off, he sat down on the chair exhausted.

"It's okay to be crushed by the big guys in the guild."

"How can I still be outsmarted by the NPCs in the game——"

The Iron Frenzy wailed silently in his heart.

　Write some player reactions to enrich the content of the interaction between players and natives, and start pushing the main storyline in two chapters.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)