Rumble~
On the ground, steaming tanks rolled over the wheat seedlings in the fields. These thirty-ton behemoths were rugged to the extreme, like moving square coffins.
However, for the city-states of Sunset Land, this is a black technology that they cannot resist. Knights who are proficient in martial arts are not much stronger than ants in the face of the torrent of steel.
The Silver Wing Kingdom, the last pure land of the Black Sea, was also crushed into powder today before the steam army of the Iron Fury Empire.
The last king gathered the last one hundred silver-winged cavalry to charge against the enemy, but unfortunately they were still in vain and smashed in front of the tracks of the steam tank.
Before being ground into a pulp, the Silver Winged King looked at the steel monster in front of him in despair, and cried out sadly: "God, have you abandoned your people?"
Then there was the sound of metal sheets being squeezed and crushed.
The Iron Fury Empire, the City Forged by God.
This was originally the territory of the Ember Kingdom, but now it has become the capital of the Iron Fury Empire. Because the steam battleships descended here, the Iron Fury clan called this place a God-given land.
The original kingdom buildings were basically razed to the ground, replaced by factories with towering chimneys, and the roar of machines echoed in the streets of the city.
The clear sky turned dark and the fresh air became turbid. Pedestrians coming and going would cover their mouths and cough from time to time. They walked in a hurry, as if someone behind them was waving a whip to drive them away.
Different from the gray, black and dirty production area, the aristocratic area of the City of God's Forge is magnificent, and the palace is built with extreme luxury, making people feel as if they have entered another world.
There is no disease, no sewage, no smoke and dust in the sky, just the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers, and the gurgling water.
In the magnificent and solemn palace, Istar, dressed in fine clothes and wearing a crown, is quietly waiting for the battle report from the front line. He is slanted, half lying lazily on a pure gold seat, his narrow eyes , as if hiding a bloodthirsty edge.
He was the first emperor of the Iron Fury Empire, and on his way to the throne, he stepped on the bones of his father and brothers. Therefore, his imperial power was made of blood and bones, and he was loved by the subjects of the empire. He is known as the "Blood Emperor".
"Your Majesty."
The dusty messengers brought back the military information on the front line: "The holy light of the supreme will has shone on the last piece of land in the Land of Sunset, and the empire's territory has enveloped the entire White Sea and Black Sea."
"Congratulations to Your Majesty for completing such an unprecedented feat!"
"Long live your Majesty!"
"Long live the Empire!"
Listening to the compliments of his ministers, Istar said: "I have already ruled the west of the earth. Next, I will continue to lead the army to conquer the east and spread the glory of the supreme will on every land where the sun shines. ”
"Are we going to war with the East?"
"According to rumors, it is a country flowing with milk and honey, and gold is everywhere."
In the main hall, countless imperial nobles in military uniforms all showed greedy eyes, and in the depths of their eyes, there was bloodthirsty fanaticism: "The steam army of the empire is invincible. Even the far east will surely surrender to His Majesty's knees. Before!”
"We are willing to follow your Majesty and conquer the distant east for the empire!"
Like a pack of wolves, they have already regarded the mysterious East as a sweet pastry, looking forward to the roar of steam, that ancient and magical country.
Subsequently, a grand celebration banquet was held in the palace. Countless delicious foods were pushed into the palace on dining carts, and soon the plates were filled.
The nobles in gorgeous silk robes held up lead wine glasses, drank wine as red as blood, and talked about the great achievements of conquering the East.
Even some impatient nobles couldn't wait to start dividing the territory.
For them, the empire's army is invincible, and the great supreme will is the omniscient and omnipotent God. As long as they are guided by God, no enemy can block the empire's army.
Different from the lively palace, the slums of the City of God's Forge are like a silent tomb, and the low shacks are like dirty tombs.
Asbestos tiles and various industrial waste are common building materials. There is no sewage system here. When it rains, it is simply a nightmare for everyone.
A few kilometers away, Mars smelled the pungent stench. He looked at his former hometown in confusion: "Is this the City of Embers?"
Today's old country has completely lost its original appearance.
The thick smoke emitted from the factory turned into dust, almost covering the entire sky, preventing the golden sunlight from reaching the ground, and making the streets gray.
"This is now called the City of God's Forge, a miraculous place that witnesses the blessings of the gods."
A bearded man wearing shabby overalls walked towards Mars. He was blind in one eye and had a long and narrow scar on the left side of his face, like a red and black centipede, which almost split his entire face in half. So hideous and terrifying.
However, Mars was very happy after seeing the other party: "Herbert, you are still alive!"
He stepped forward and hugged the former chief of the palace guard of the Ember Kingdom tightly into his arms: "That's great, I thought you were dead."
"Oh, I might as well be dead."
Herbert sighed, and then coughed desperately until the palms covering his mouth were filled with red and black blood.
"What's wrong with you?"
"I'm fine, I'm just dying."
"How can you say it's okay? I'll find someone to treat you right away!"
"No need, I have pneumoconiosis and it cannot be cured."
After Herbert rejected Mars, he asked helplessly: "Since you had already left, why did you come back? You also left a special mark and asked me to come out to meet you."
"I'm here for revenge!"
Mars' eyes were full of hatred. In the past seven years, he has never forgotten the blood feud of the Ember family for a moment: "Come on, Herbert, join me to restore the Kingdom of Embers!"
"Ahem~"
Herbert coughed weakly and refused with a sad smile: "What can we do alone? What's more, even if we can assemble a large army, in the face of the steam frenzy of the Iron Fury Empire, even the bravest knights will only be easily crushed. Broken. Forget about hatred, you should think about how to survive.”
"No!"
Mars' eyes were spitting fire: "If I can't get revenge, what's the point of my survival? And this time is different. I don't come back alone. Behind me stands a great emperor. You can't even imagine his power. , I even think he is already a living god.”
Seeing that Herbert didn't believe it, Mars took out a fine steel dagger he carried with him and crushed it into a ball of scrap metal with his bare hands in front of the other party.
This time, Herbert showed a surprised look, and then he looked excited: "A body of flesh and blood can actually fight against steel!"
"Hahaha!"
Mars showed a cheerful expression for the first time: "This is the power of martial arts. The emperor of Da Qi has unparalleled magical power and founded the Xinwu Sect. And I have also been granted this power."
"Great!"
Herbert burst into tears upon hearing this, and his last remaining eye once again ignited the flame of hope, looking at Mars with extremely hopeful eyes: "Can I also master such power? ”
"Yes!"
Eventually, Mars brought Herbert back to the stronghold.
At the Cunning Rabbit Merchant Group's station, Wang Junfeng took off his hood, revealing a blond and blue-eyed face, and beside him, there were also many followers who looked the same as the people of Sunset Land.
In fact, they are all citizens of Daqi with good roots. They just temporarily transformed some of the physiological characteristics of the people of the sunset through control of their bodies.
This store is actually Daqi's intelligence stronghold in the City of God's Forge.
Seven years ago, after Ye Qingzhou learned about the existence of steam technology from Mars, he began to make preparations for the coming battle of Taoism.
Glancing at Herbert who was brought back by Mars, Wang Junfeng asked in a deep voice: "Who is he?"
The moment Herbert was caught in the corner of Wang Junfeng's eye, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His muscles all over his body spasmed and he couldn't even move a finger.
He was horrified: ‘So strong! Just one look can shock me to the spot and make it difficult to move! ’
Mars quickly explained: "General, please don't worry, he is a trustworthy person."
Then he explained Herbert's identity to Wang Junfeng. As the former chief of the palace guard of the Kingdom of Embers, Herbert barely escaped death. Over the years, he worked as a coal miner in a coal mining factory to make a living. He was living a miserable life, even suffering from a terminal illness. He didn't look like a secret agent, so he should be trustworthy.
But Wang Junfeng didn't believe it, so he turned his attention to Mars: "Are you a secret agent of the Iron Fury Empire?"
"No."
"Then will you betray us?"
"No."
"Good, you didn't lie."
Wang Junfeng sensed Herbert's thoughts with his martial arts heart, and then confirmed that the other party was a reliable person.
Finally, he found a local who had experienced the changes in the City of God's Forge. Wang Junfeng then patiently asked Herbert to learn about the local situation.
Then, Wang Junfeng was stunned by all kinds of news.
It has to be said that the Iron Fury Empire, which has obtained steam technology, is very developed in terms of productivity, and it can even be said that its technical strength is superior to that of the rest of the world.
However, this increased productivity has not benefited the middle and lower class people of the Iron Fury Empire. It can even be said that they are far inferior to the people of Da Qi. Even in the late Liang Dynasty, the farmers in the Central Plains who were brutally squeezed and exploited were definitely living a better life. The workers of the Ironfury Empire were much better.
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Among the common people in the City of God's Forge, the average life expectancy of workers is only a pitiful twenty-two years. In other cities, workers are considered lucky if they can live to be nineteen years old.
In slums without sewage systems, workers' life expectancy is only thirteen years, and half of them start working at the age of eight.
These children were an important part of the workforce in factories, mines, and agriculture. They often worked the same twelve-hour shifts as adults, crawling under dangerous looms, hauling coal in narrow mines, or working in agricultural gangs. I work here and earn a meager income.
The remaining half have to work since they are two years old, such as unblocking narrow chimneys because adults cannot get in.
Of course, many times the factory does not shut down the machine when clearing the chimney, so young children have to work under high temperatures and heavy smoke.
Many children were smoked to death in chimneys until the next child came to clean up their bodies, or no one cleaned them up, leaving them "smoked" and "dried" alive until they were discovered many years later.
For factory owners, the compensation for the death of a child is much higher than the loss caused by the shutdown of the machine.
Herbert's description made Wang Junfeng's hair stand on end. The Iron Fury Empire was simply an indescribable industrial Cthulhu. It mercilessly devoured the flesh, blood and bones of living people, and then spit out countless cheap products to feed a larger population.
"A land of barbarians! What a land of barbarians!"
Wang Junfeng simply couldn't understand it. He looked at Herbert in disbelief: "Why don't you stand up and rebel?"
In Wang Junfeng's eyes, the people of Sunset Land were so tame that they could endure such cruel exploitation. If it were in the Central Plains, the people would have shouted, "Princes, generals, ministers, I'd rather have the seed."
Herbert smiled sadly: "How to rebel? In front of steam armor and steam tanks, the power of flesh and blood is meaningless. The empire's army can easily crush any resistance."
"Too cruel."
Wang Junfeng felt a chill in his heart. The cruelty of this deformed country in front of him simply exceeded the imagination of the Central Plains people.
Compared with the aristocrats of the Iron Fury Empire, the tyrants recorded in the history of the Central Plains all seemed so innocent and harmless.
No matter how advanced the production technology is, it cannot cover up the cruelty and violence that runs deep into the bones of the Iron Fury Empire. For the nobles of the empire, human life is just a bargaining chip.
When interests are greater than human life, they will choose interests without hesitation and scruple.
This kind of systematic persecution and oppression is enough to eclipse any tyrant. After all, compared with the killing efficiency of the tyrant, the factory is obviously superior.
But Wang Junfeng quickly thought about it and felt that this might not be a good thing for Da Qi.
‘The Holy One once said that where there is oppression, there is resistance. Regarding the cruel exploitation of the Iron Fury Empire, the people of Sunset Land were not without resentment, but they were unable to resist and could only choose to endure. And if they had the power to resist, would they still willingly accept slavery and oppression? ’
Won't!
Even cows and horses have tempers!
Wang Junfeng looked at Herbert: "Are you willing to join the Xinwu Sect?"
"Can I?"
Herbert's eyes were full of desire. Who wouldn't want the kind of power that can crush steel with his bare hands?
"Haha, the Holy One once said that the world belongs to the people of the world. If you want to be an emperor, you must not only have unparalleled military force, but also have the virtue to benefit the people. Although the Holy One is the pioneer and forerunner of martial arts, he does not He does not monopolize knowledge and paths. He believes that everyone has the right to practice. ”
Wang Junfeng said proudly.
The more people who embark on the Way of Xinwu, the stronger the power of the Way of Xinwu will become. Therefore, as a pioneer, Ye Qingzhou is never afraid of others coming to learn the techniques of Xinwu Sect.
Even people from the Land of Sunset can embark on the path of martial arts as long as they are willing.
In this way, the Xinwu Sect began to settle down in the Land of Sunset, especially among the common people of the empire, it secretly became popular, like a spring rain, moistening things silently.
Another five years have passed in this way, and the power of the Xinwu Sect has continued to grow. It has begun to spread to every corner of the empire, and is even penetrating into the noble class.
After all, no matter how powerful the steam armor is, their bodies are still very fragile.
City of Gods, Cunning Rabbit Chamber of Commerce.
The once small chamber of commerce has now become a very large chamber of commerce, with more than 10,000 employees. With luxury goods such as porcelain, silk and tea shipped from the far east, the chamber of commerce has become a very popular among the aristocratic class of the empire. He also has deep connections.
In the study, Wang Junfeng had just sent away a nobleman who was purchasing silk, when Herbert came to inform him of important information: "Sir, the empire's railway has been laid to the Thousand Swords Mountains."
"It's true!"
Wang Junfeng instantly became very energetic.
The Thousand Swords Mountain Range cuts across the east and west and is a geographical chasm that isolates the two major civilizations. And the Iron Fury Empire's railway construction there means that the outbreak of war is not far away.
Although Herbert is a citizen of the sunset, he has a blood feud with the Iron Fury Empire, so he naturally sides with Da Qi.
What's more, if he hadn't cultivated the inheritance of Xinwu Sect over the years, activated his life potential, eliminated impurities in his body, and healed his pneumoconiosis without medicine, he would have been tortured to death by the disease long ago.
Therefore, he was very grateful to Xinwumen and was even willing to give his life for it.
It can be said that Herbert is already in the shape of the Xinwu Sect from the inside out.
"Alas, it's a pity that over the years, the mission entrusted to me by the Holy Father has not been completed."
Wang Junfeng was also a little anxious at this moment.
Ye Qingzhou sent him here originally to collect intelligence, especially the core information about steam technology.
However, although the officials of the Iron Fury Empire were corrupt and greedy for money, they had always been very strict in managing the steam core that drove the machinery.
Even if the machine is damaged, the steam core must be recovered on the spot, otherwise the person responsible will lose his head directly.
Therefore, for a long time, Wang Junfeng had no chance to succeed.
Seeing this, Herbert gritted his teeth and suggested: "Let's just stop doing nothing and let's grab it."
"Rob?"
Wang Junfeng is not a pedantic person, and he quickly came up with an idea: "In three days, Istar will hold a glorious ceremony in the Colosseum. If it can create enough chaos, it may create opportunities for our actions."< br>
Herbert repeatedly agreed: "I can activate the hidden thread that has penetrated into the palace over the years to carry out an assassination against Istar. Even if it fails, it will be enough to attract the attention of the city guards."
After these years of practice, Herbert's life has continued to improve, and now he has opened two doors. As long as he opens another door and penetrates a meridian, he can awaken his martial arts supernatural powers.
In addition to the initial three magical powers of copper skin and iron bones, dragon spirit, tiger ferocity, and Qianjun divine power, Xinwu Sect has continuously introduced new magical powers within the sect.
One of the bodies is called 'flesh-derived', which can regenerate broken limbs and heal itself.
Herbert longs to use this magical power to find his lost left eye! (End of chapter)