Muradin did not hesitate at all! His fervent pursuit of skill overwhelmed all caution.
He stomped forward with his massive foot, his molten lava-like gaze sweeping over the elders and captain of the guard behind him:
"Grom! Bring your 'Mountainheart Barrier' and come with me! Taran! Bring the people from the Rune Institute! And you, Gimli! Open your eyes wide!"
He took the lead, like a moving mountain, with an indomitable spirit, and stepped into the deep blue spatial portal without hesitation! His figure was instantly swallowed by the light!
"For the Mountain King! For Ironforge!" Captain Grom roared, leading twenty of the most elite Mountainheart Fortress warriors, following closely behind like an iron torrent. Their heavy footsteps vanished the moment they stepped through the portal!
"Storm above! Wait for me!"
The rune master with the longest beard, Taran, was so excited that his beard trembled wildly. He practically tumbled and crawled forward, followed by a group of dwarven rune masters, mineralogists, and engineering masters with equally bloodshot eyes and heavy breathing! Gimli, even more excited, roared and rushed in.
Nade took a deep breath, glanced at Lind, and resolutely followed.
Lyra Ryan's heart pounded, her grey-blue eyes filled with awe for the unknown and a sense of mission to record an epic. She followed Nad, her figure disappearing into the deep blue.
Linde glanced at Astaire one last time, who immediately ordered the Rock Guard to guard the jump device and the site to ensure its safety.
Linde then calmly stepped through the door he had opened.
---
The cold air, carrying a faint smell of ozone and metallic rust, instantly rushed into my nasal cavity.
When the vision of the dwarf king Muradin Bronzebeard adjusted to the scene before him, his heart of stone, which had been forged before the furnace for hundreds of years, felt for the first time the unprecedented shock brought about... a sense of weightlessness.
He stood on a metal platform that was unimaginably huge.
The platform is paved with an unknown alloy that is neither gold nor jade, and shimmers with a cold metallic luster. It is hard, flat, and smooth as a mirror, reflecting the countless crisscrossing, thick pipes and cable trays overhead, as thick as the spine of a giant dragon.
The platform's edge is protected by an outrageously sturdy metal railing, far exceeding the height and thickness of the crenellations of the dwarves' most magnificent fortresses.
Looking up, the spatial scale that can be seen is indescribable!
This is not a cave! Not a hollowed-out mountain! This is a steel sky entirely constructed of cold metal, complex geometry, and flowing energy veins!
The dome is dazzlingly high, at least several hundred meters high! It is not covered by rocks or starlight, but by huge, tightly joined metal panels, with countless huge rectangular lighting panels that emit a soft white light embedded on them like stars, illuminating the entire space as if it were daytime.
Supporting this terrifying space are twelve colossal pillars that seem to support the heavens and the earth! Each one requires dozens of people to encircle it, and its surface is covered with thick armor plates engraved with unknown geometric patterns. These patterns are not decorations; at this moment, they are flowing with a ghostly blue energy light and emitting a deep hum, like the breath of a sleeping behemoth.
They were much larger, colder, and more...inhuman than the runic pillars of the Soul Forging Hall!
What you see is unimaginable complexity!
The enormous pipes, like tangled steel pythons, ran along the walls, through platforms, and up giant pillars, their diameter large enough for dwarf minecarts to pass through unimpeded.
They carry unknown liquids or gases, emitting a low, rumbling sound as they flow.
The complex robotic arms, like the arms of giants, are fixed to the dome, walls, and platforms. Some are stationary, while others are moving and rotating silently, performing maintenance work unknown to anyone.
Countless complex control consoles flashing red, green, blue, and yellow indicator lights, massive energy cores (some areas covered with temporary repair gel, showing signs of past damage), and enormous equipment modules whose functions are difficult to understand... stand like a steel forest around the platform and further away, forming an industrial spectacle that surpasses the limits of dwarves' imagination!
The air was cold, carrying the distinctive smell of metal and energy, constant and lifeless.
In the distance, the deep, rhythmic hum of machinery and the subtle buzzing of energy flowing through pipes form the unchanging background music of this steel world.
“Mountains…above…” Muradin’s voice was extremely dry, trembling with disbelief.
His enormous hand unconsciously touched the cold, massive armor plate of a nearby pillar. The touch was hard, cold, and lifeless, yet it contained a powerful sense of strength that made his soul tremble.
"This...this is impossible..."
Runemaster Taran murmured to himself, gazing up at the dome patterns above him, which flowed with energy. To him, those patterns were not runes, but were more exquisite and profound than any rune array!
He tried to understand, only to find that his knowledge base seemed so pale and ridiculous at that moment.
“My beard…” Gimli’s mouth dropped open, his jaw almost falling onto his heavy breastplate.
His proud Ironforge, hollowed out of the mountain, seemed to have become... a primitive cave in the face of this cold steel sky!
The warriors of "Mountain Heart Fortress," these steel-willed men who dared to charge even against a giant dragon, instinctively gripped their weapons, their bodies tense, their eyes filled with an instinctive wariness and...deep awe of the unknown behemoth.
They felt as if they were standing in the forge of a Titan, as insignificant as dust.
Lyra Ryan forgot to breathe; her grey-blue eyes reflected the cold, steel wonder, and she was oblivious to the sketchbook falling to the ground.
The elegance and natural beauty of the elf were utterly shattered at this moment, and a new, cold, orderly "magnificence" belonging to steel and stars assaulted her soul.
She finally understood what Lind meant by "Iron Star"—it wasn't a ship at all, it was a...fallen star city!
Although Nad was mentally prepared, the shock of being there in person still left her deeply moved.
Looking at the enormous, unimaginably massive equipment and pipes, at the silently operating robotic arms, only one thought crossed her mind:
My brother's plan is indeed extraordinary!
Just then, a faint buzzing sound, like the flapping of a swarm of bees, came from afar.
Dozens of "Watcher" mechs, lined up in neat formations, silently glided in along the pre-set aerial tracks and ground guide lines.
Their eyes gleamed with a steady, deep blue light, and their movements were precise and uniform, like the most loyal steel worker ants, carrying out tireless maintenance work within the massive, god-like hull.
They passed by the dwarves without even stopping, as if the dwarves were nothing more than insignificant specks of dust in the ship's hull.
"These... are the iron lumps that were just teleported over?"
"I can't breathe," Grom's guard captain asked in a hoarse voice. He stared intently at the mechs' fluid movements and intricate mechanical structures, his eyes filled with a soldier's instinctive assessment of their "weapons," but even more so with a sense of powerlessness.
The sheer number, discipline, and environment of these mechs constitute a devastating war potential.
"They are the 'Guardians,' the basic maintenance units of the steel sky."
Linde's calm voice rang out behind the crowd.
He had appeared beside Muradin without anyone noticing, his purple eyes sweeping over his steel kingdom, his voice carrying a hint of detached control, "Your Majesty, gentlemen, welcome to the 'Iron Sky.' This is merely one of its heart regions. It once traversed the vast cosmos, bearing the wisdom and power of a lost civilization."
Today, it is scarred and battered, yet it still...possesses the power to change the world.
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