"A real humiliation? That's alarmist!"
An elder with a fiery temper and a coppery-red fishtail shouted sternly, "The Eye of the Storm has protected our race for thousands of years. How dare you spout such nonsense here!"
"Millions of years?"
Crystal Linde's voice suddenly turned cold, like ancient ice colliding.
"In the face of the vast starry sky and endless time, millions of years are but a fleeting moment."
Your pride is laughably fragile in the face of a real crisis.
He ignored the elder's anger, raised his arm, and pointed at the floating, dark blue disc.
The rune array in the center of the disc suddenly lit up, projecting an incredibly clear holographic image!
The footage shows the desperate situation that Steel Sky is in right now!
The image shakes violently, and the perspective is from outside the giant ship.
Below is the "Skullcrusher Horn," a feature at the southern tip of the continent of Til that resembles the fangs of a giant beast protruding into the raging ocean.
The terrifying storm that had been raging year-round was now unleashed to its fullest extent!
The pitch-black clouds resembled an inverted abyss, connecting to the roaring, churning, and towering waves of inky black sea below.
Thick, purplish-red lightning bolts, like whips of creation, frantically tore through the sky, each strike triggering a deafening roar, as if trying to cleave the entire world in two!
The hailstones, as dense as locusts, were driven by the gale and pounded everything in sight with destructive force!
In this apocalyptic scene, an unimaginably huge steel structure, like a wounded ancient beast, struggles to move through the gaps between storms and giant waves!
Its massive hull was riddled with scars, with many sections of armor twisted and deformed, exposing the complex internal structure that flickered with dangerous electrical sparks.
The few remaining attitude engine nozzles spewed out eerie blue flames, flickering uncertainly in the raging wind and rain, like candles in the wind.
The massive ship swayed and rocked violently under the tearing of the gale and the impact of the giant waves. Each violent sway seemed as if it would lose control at any moment and plunge into the boiling, deadly sea below, full of jagged reefs!
The temporary reinforcing gel covering the ship's hull is dissolving and peeling off at a visible rate under the continuous impact of acid rain and hail!
The camera zooms in, focusing on a huge, damaged area on the ship's underside that is still emitting thick smoke and sparks.
Through the torn armor, one can clearly see that the complex and sophisticated energy channels inside are overloaded, flashing an ominous red light, and could trigger a chain explosion at any moment!
“Look closely, elders of the Sirens.”
Crystallind's icy voice rang out amidst the roar of the storm, carrying a strange penetrating power.
"This is the real crisis. It's not directed at you, but at... my home, my 'Star.' It's following an ancient trajectory, crash-landing here. However, the unusually active energy storms outside your Eye of the Storm are severely disrupting its trajectory and exacerbating its damage."
With a flick of his crystal finger, the image changed again, displaying a complex dynamic diagram of energy flow.
It can be clearly seen that a massive and violent abnormal magical energy flow originating from the core area of the eye of the storm is like an invisible giant hand, twisting and tearing the energy field around the steel sky, pushing it towards the more dangerous reef area and the center of the storm!
"This violent energy originates from the abnormal fluctuations in your Eye of the Storm."
Linde's voice was resolute: "It is pushing my 'Star' into the abyss of destruction."
"And when it is completely destroyed, it will inevitably have a great impact on the stability of the magic network, and your violent and fragile homeland will be completely pacified."
Here, Lind told a little white lie. Although he knew that the complete destruction of the Steel Sky would indeed cause irreversible damage to the Magic Network, he was unsure whether it would also affect this place.
But Lind believed that no one would dare to gamble on something like this.
The video abruptly ended.
The light from the azure disc dimmed, and the Elder Hall fell into a deathly silence.
The anger and vigilance on the faces of all the Siren Elders were replaced by disbelief, shock, and... a trace of bewilderment by the apocalyptic scene before them and the cold truth contained in Crystal Skeleton Lind's words.
That "flying metal island"...that "fallen star"...it actually exists! And it's enormous beyond imagination! It's suffering such terrible torment, and this torment is related to the power of their eye of the storm?
Elder Orodan's expression turned extremely grim. As one of the most powerful guardians of the Eye of the Storm, he knew better than anyone that the energy at the core of the Holy Land had indeed recently exhibited an inexplicable and abnormal activity.
But he never imagined that this enormous steel star could travel such a vast distance and affect their homeland.
"This...how is this possible?"
The Third Elder Serena murmured to herself, a strange light flashing in her eyes. Fragments of ancient songs surged wildly in her mind—could the connection between "Fallen Star" and the Eye of the Storm be a coincidence?
“So, you’ve descended here,” Orodan’s voice deepened, carrying an unprecedented gravity, “to… seek retribution? Or to make us responsible for the destruction of your 'star'?”
His gaze was fixed on Crystal Lind, the light on his staff poised to strike.
"To demand an explanation? No."
Crystal Linde slowly shook his head. The crystal particles around him seemed to adjust slightly according to his will, emitting a more stable and restrained luster.
“I have come here to give you an opportunity. An opportunity to become allies, not to destroy the witnesses.”
"Allies?" The elders looked at each other in bewilderment.
“Exactly.” Linde’s voice carried a sense of absolute certainty, as if he were in complete control.
"Your Siren race are the darlings of the magic network nodes, born with the talent to sense, channel, and even control the raging magic network energy. This talent is the key to saving my 'Star' from the brink of destruction!"
His crystalline finger pointed once again at the dark blue disc.
This time, the disc projected not images, but a set of locations.
“I need you,” Lind’s gaze swept over each elder, finally settling on the Grand Elder Orodan, the purple light spot like a burning star.
"I need your help to find the fragments from these locations."
He paused, his face, composed of crystalline remains, seemingly expressionless, yet the weight of his words was immense:
"In return, when my 'star' lands safely, I will share with you the wisdom and power it carries, which comes from the lost star."
You will gain unprecedented knowledge—deeper secrets of the magic network, more exquisite control of energy, and creation techniques beyond your imagination.
His voice carried an undeniable allure:
"Think about it, elders of the Sirens. You have guarded the Eye of the Storm for millions of years, but have you ever truly understood all its mysteries?"
Have you ever thought about transforming this destructive power into a more controllable and greater force?
By cooperating with me, you will no longer be merely guardians of the storm, but will become...
The master of the storm!
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