Wasteland Echoer

"I have emphasized more than once, Miss Melinare, that I want to become a real human, so I must be guided by the 'Daughter of the Mechanical Element'. The false god told me that he and I are both products of the Lord of Machinery. We have something in common, and He will definitely be able to give me guidance. Now I..."

As Luo Nie spoke, a purple halo shone in his sapphire eyes.

Immediately afterwards, he opened his mouth wide and stared blankly ahead, his consciousness suddenly in an erratic state.

In silence, with the accustomed expressions of Sai and Melinaer, a few minutes later, Luo Nie's eyes returned to their original state, and his consciousness that seemed to have been pulled away slowly reappeared on the semi-mechanical body.

"I'm in a trance again, right?" Luo Nie smiled bitterly:

"I'm not sure when I will completely lose consciousness and turn into a machine that can only kill. If you can't find the 'Daughter of the Mechanical Element', Say, just finish me off with your own hands. I have seen your power. , if I fall into madness, you have the ability to destroy me and kill me."

"Impossible, brother Luonie." Sai's response was very decisive, "I...can't do it."

Sai muttered as he spoke, his cheeks bulging, as if he was angry like a frightened pufferfish.

He was surprised at why Luo Nie, his always strong "brother" and his employer, felt so desperate, so lost, and so lonely. Luo Nie should be cheerful and always full of hope.

After all, he himself has told some experiences, and the most important point is that he wants to obtain the "wisdom" sequence core and become a real human being with flesh and blood.

"I think your persistence is justified. Of course I have interpreted the ancient books of the Lost Swamp and the content of the Determinator's Diary. Indeed, the mechanical core hidden in the body of the Girl of Tool Yuan may be the product of a mechanical heart. It can bring To achieve the 'unexpected dream' effect. Even if someone prays to Him devoutly in person, within His ability, she may indeed agree without hesitation." Melina added.

A hint of hesitation and worry flashed in her purple eyes. She opened her legs and took a few steps forward, accompanied by the "ta-ta-ta" sound of her high heels colliding with the ground.

She stared up at the dusty murals on top of the dilapidated palace, which had been painted long ago by some devout follower of the Lost using rare and expensive dyes.

He is a person who loves art. Although he has only lived in the Hope Church for half a year, he has used his youthful body and optimistic attitude to infect many lost people who were depressed to the point of self-destruction, allowing them to regain the ability to survive. hope.

Only half a year later, he left here with the elusive words "I want to pursue the truth. Learning art cannot save people."

However, although some of the gods in his paintings are difficult to understand, they do not appear evil or dirty. Instead, he uses warm colors and a more realistic painting style in many places.

On the left side of the pattern is the Lord in his imagination, who looks like a loving father, with a lighter beard, wearing an expensive red and gold dress, with a diamond-encrusted cross hanging on his chest, and on his head is a crown similar to the king of the Western Continent. .

The top of the crown is a brilliant sapphire, and the other parts of the hat are made of white cloth. The most unique thing is that what the "loving father" holds in his hand is not a cane or scepter that symbolizes royal power or divine power, but a A black rocket launcher with a rocket stuck in the tail. He pulled the trigger with his finger, ready to annihilate the criminal in front of him at any time.

On the right side of the pattern is a child, who seems to be modeled after the lost man who loves art.

He is ordinary, there is not much uniqueness about him, except that his eyes have no eyes or whites, they are just red, but there is a "gentle" smile on the corner of his mouth, and he is covered with a white gauze scarf. Completely cover up important parts.

Showing an abnormal "cute" feeling.

But now, Melina brought her thoughts back to reality and the present. The pattern in her eyes was not only covered with dust and some black and caramel-colored dirt, but also many cracked lines in the state of spider webs.

This palace has been abandoned for too long. Since the entire Zine Empire, except for the capital Sogra, has been launching attacks and raids on the Lost Ones' strongholds in recent years, they have been forced to focus on military affairs and have no time. There are no resources or money to estimate a small palace.

"Perhaps you don't know." Melinaer sighed, lowered her head, and gracefully fiddled with her neat and slender brown hair. She glanced at the strange sculpture, looking at the empty sculpture as if she had made up her mind. In the middle of the palace he said:

"There used to be a Lost painter here. A few years ago, this palace was a room where the Pope would meet other Lost dignitaries, and it was also a palace where artworks were stored. It's just that wars are becoming more frequent and intensive, and the form is different for us. It’s getting more and more serious, so after this place was abandoned, it was never cleaned again. By the way, when you found this place, was there someone guiding you?”

"No, I just followed my heart. If it's a guide, Sai told me that he passed by here accidentally and found it abandoned and empty, and the strong magic power in this castle could easily convey our prayers. Into the ears of the gods, so I came here." Luo Nie explained, turning to face Melinaer.

"I'm not blaming you, nor will I interrogate you endlessly like a 'security team' officer in a human city. Since you have decided to enter the central area of ​​the highlands wrapped in death and silence, I will not stop you.

After all, the empire's general offensive has just begun. Before any fighter jets and airships are dispatched, we will have to withstand artillery attacks for at least seven days and at most ten days. In these few days, you and Sai can only stay here honestly. Once you go out , you will be crushed into powder by the explosion in an instant. "

As she spoke, she turned to look at Sai and added:

"It's a suggestion to 'guest' Ronie, but it's a command to you. The Church of Hope does not abide by the saying 'The vassals of my vassals are not my vassals'. You belong to the Tenyin sect, and you belong to the Church of Hope. Direct leadership, and I am a high-ranking cardinal. According to regulations, I can intervene in any order that wishes to be subordinate to the church, do you understand?"

Sai nodded in confusion, and Melinaer understood that at a young age, he had already developed some kind of respect, or fear, for power.

Before he could express his emotions, Luo Nie retorted in a high-pitched tone:

"Ms. Melinal, I don't think the empire's attack will last more than five days, maybe only three days at most. Therefore, as long as three days later, when the empire's artillery fire changes from continuous intensive firing to focused firing at intervals, Sai and I can set off."

"Oh, why? Do you have such confidence?" Melinaer asked doubtfully.

Although she is proficient in magic and extraordinary power, understands theology, mysticism and history, and even has the strength close to that of a cardinal, she knows nothing about military science, especially about machinery and steam. Therefore, she chose to ask cautiously, Not eager to refute.

"Judging from the sound and density of the artillery shells, the empire has not used rockets called 'Gaul cannons' for the time being. When I was at the 'Mechanical Element' factory, I had a master, his name was Bude, the factory operator Tiede ·Sul, the father-in-law of the greedy 'wasteland entrepreneur'. I have been fortunate enough to read a lot of internal information."

As Luo Nie spoke, his sapphire-like eyes subconsciously scanned the dust scattered in the air that was illuminated by the sun, and recalled:

"The empire has 5,000 bazookas called 'Gaul cannons', more than 1,000 rocket launchers and howitzers, and a total of 350 large artillery pieces. Moreover, due to the shortage of resources such as brass, iron ore, coal and oil, it is difficult for the empire to Maintain high-intensity and intensive bombing. You know, one round of bombardment from one gun requires more than two thousand people to operate."

"The 'Replacement Eye' weakened my emotions, but strengthened my calculation ability and rational analysis ability. I estimated from the artillery fire that the direction of the artillery shells was in the south. The positions of several positions that you hope the church will lose arrived yesterday. Today's rounds of attacks involve at least more than two hundred large 600mm caliber artillery pieces. In other words, the empire's resources and manpower cannot sustain long-term bombing. With such density and resource consumption, the empire can only sustain it for three days."

"According to what you said, the magic shield will be removed in three days? Can we explore the gods with peace of mind? As a side note, you are really very similar to Pope Hope and Dylan. They support at all costs Those who explore the gods, under their influence, I also started to become crazy." Melinal sighed softly, moved her lips, and said thoughtfully:

"So, I don't want you to become the victims of the first wave. Useless sacrifices are the most pitiful. As long as you do something, you must gain something. We also rely on waves to detect gods and listen to 'songs'." The Lost One who became crazy and finally died reached the point where the secret is about to be revealed. Therefore, we must let the damned people take risks, and we will become the last ones to pick the sweet fruit."

"I think we should continue with the military topic first." Luo Nie said expressionlessly, trying to redirect the conversation to areas he was familiar with:

"Three days later, due to the depletion of artillery shell reserves, the production capacity of several underground factories controlled by the empire, and the harassment of the railway lines by you, the empire can only maintain some superficial and auxiliary bombing missions. The first two The 'thermite death' of the sky will be hard to see again, and the Empire will switch to planes and launch air strikes."

"Plane...air attack?" Melinaer took a breath of cold air mixed with dust and said worriedly:

"I have seen the power of airplanes and airships. They can continuously drop bombs one after another. They fly very fast and catch us by surprise. Several lost people died in their hands. And I heard that they obtained We are trying to imitate the aircraft documents and drawings left behind by the more advanced Crusted Empire.”

"There's no need to worry about this, Miss Melinal." Luo Nie's right face, which had light brown scars that remained like tentacles, finally regained a bit of a human expression. The right corner of his mouth was slightly raised. Said easily:

"The current empire's aircraft are stuck in the middle of the Steam Age. They are an era behind the Crusted Empire, which was proud of the world at that time. In short, the power of the aircraft cannot be maximized by them. The current air strikes It's not necessarily more powerful than a cannon, but it's more sustainable."

"Besides, the basic scientific development of the empire has not reached the level when the Krusted Empire existed. Even if it can be imitated, the power will be greatly reduced. In fact, if Sai and I were in the Lord of Machinery or the 'Metamorphosis' If we don’t fall into madness under the protection of God, and can meet Wright under the guidance of divination, and if the empire’s ground forces have not yet launched a full-scale attack, the time point of three days is just right.”

"In that case, how about I tell you a fairy tale? Just think that I am livening up the atmosphere." Melinaer maintained a doubtful look, but tried her best to show a relaxed expression similar to Luo Nie's, and said.

"What fairy tale? Does it have a name?" Luo Nie asked.

"Of course." Melinaer said confidently:

"It's called The Ugly Duckling."

The next chapter will tell a fairy tale, yes, just a fairy tale.