The eldest rune master was so excited that his beard trembled violently. He stared intently at the warp device and the reappearing mechs, his eyes filled with fanatical light, his previous doubts long forgotten.
For the first time, the steel-like composure of the guards at the mountain's heart fortress was shattered! They gripped their weapons tightly, leaned forward slightly, their eyes filled with horror at the unknown power and the instinctive vigilance of warriors! This tactic was beyond their understanding of combat!
Nade gasped. Even though she was mentally prepared, witnessing this "magic" that transcended space still shocked her.
Lila Ryan was completely unaware that her sketchbook had fallen to the ground. Her gray-blue eyes were filled only with the dark blue vortex and the reappearing mech. She felt that her career as a "dream weaver" had encountered an unprecedented challenge—the scene was too "real" and too "illusory"!
Muradin Bronzebeard, the dwarf king who ruled Red Mountain with strength, majesty, and the wisdom of forging, felt as if his heart had been struck by an invisible hammer! His tall body swayed slightly, and he had to hold onto the armrest of his throne to steady himself.
He glanced at the six quietly standing mechs, then at the warp drive emitting a cold, eerie light, and finally, his burning, molten gaze locked onto Lind.
In that gaze, the previous inquiry and curiosity had long been replaced by a more primal and intense emotion—a flame that erupted from a master craftsman standing at the pinnacle of skill, suddenly glimpsing a higher, more magnificent hall of skill constructed entirely of unknown laws, a flame that was almost greedy, mixed with extreme shock, desire, and a trace of... fear!
“Lind Truk…” Muradin’s voice was as deep as the earth’s crust rubbing together, each word seemingly squeezed out from the depths of a furnace, carrying scalding heat and the weight of a mountain.
“What you showed me… wasn’t skill…” His thick fingers pointed to the warp device, to the reappearing mech, and finally to Lind himself. His voice suddenly rose, booming like thunder in the grand hall:
"What you've shown me is the future!"
"tell me!"
He took a step forward, his massive foot slamming onto the edge of the throne with a dull thud, his furnace-like eyes almost burning. "Tell me everything about it! Everything about this 'Star Power'! What do you want? The treasures of Ironforge? The friendship of the Mountain King? Or... the dwarven's finest hammer and fire?!"
His demeanor was no longer that of a high and mighty king, but more like that of an apprentice excited beyond control before the gates of truth, a fanatical believer who saw an opportunity that could elevate the entire dwarven civilization! The shock brought by the Crystal Warhammer seemed so insignificant in the face of this power that transcended space!
Linde looked at the dwarf king before him, who was so excited he was practically burning with rage, and at the dwarf masters and warriors behind him who were equally caught up in the frenzy and awe. The all-controlling curve at the corner of his mouth finally transformed into a resolute and profound smile.
“Your Majesty,” Lind’s voice, like a stone thrown into a deep pool, clearly conveyed an unquestionable will, “what I seek is not a secret, nor a simple friendship. What I want is cooperation. A great cooperation that can shake the foundations of the world and forge an eternal legend…”
He took a step forward, his purple eyes seemingly reflecting the starry sky, the vast ocean, and the torrent of steel:
"Let us speak of the rebirth of the Iron Star... and how, with the hammers and fire of the dwarves, and the power of my stars... we can forge a new era together!"
Lind's words were like fragments of starlight thrown into molten lava, creating a silent roar in the deathly silence of the Soul Forging Hall.
Shaking the foundations of the world? Forging an eternal legend? These words echoed in the mind of the dwarf king Muradin Bronzebeard, igniting a molten fire in his eyes and also igniting the deepest desires in the souls of all the dwarf masters and warriors of the Mountainheart Bastion present.
"cooperate?"
Muradin's voice carried the roar of the furnace and the tremor of the mountains as he leaned forward, his gaze fixed on Lind.
"With our hammers and fire, forge your age of stars? Lind Truk, your ambition... is grander than the deepest ley lines of Red Mountain! But empty talk is useless!"
He abruptly waved his hand, pointing to the warp device that had just completed its astonishing performance, his voice resolute and unwavering:
“Prove it! Prove that the ‘Iron Stars’ you speak of are not just a vague dream! Prove that this power that ‘crosses the sea of stars’ is enough to carry the future you envision! Let my eyes, let the most discerning eyes of Ironforge, see for themselves your so-called ‘Ruins of Bokou’! Let them touch that ‘Iron Sky’!”
Lind smiled.
It was a smile with a cold, knowing edge, one that suggested he had everything under control. This was the moment he had been waiting for.
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
Lind bowed gracefully, his movements unhurried. He turned to the warp device, and in his deep purple eyes, golden data streams flowed silently once more.
[Deconstructing the Halo] Operating at full capacity, mental energy acted like a precise probe, instantly calibrating every energy node of the device and locking onto the coordinates of a pre-set, sufficiently spacious receiving platform inside the Bokou Ruins—near the core area of the Steel Sky, in a sturdy cabin originally used for the transfer of large equipment.
"Target coordinates: Bokou Ruins, Steel Sky, B-3 Sector Reception Platform. Warp Mode: Mass Teleportation. Energy Output: Stable Level, Increase Channel Capacity." Linde's voice, like a cold command, was clearly transmitted to the central core.
Buzz—!
The core of the teleportation device erupted with an unprecedentedly brilliant, deep blue light! No longer the previous two-meter vortex, a deep spatial portal with a diameter of five meters and edges flowing with the luster of liquid energy suddenly opened in front of the device!
The interior of the door no longer features rotating stars, but instead presents a cold, metallic passageway scene, with the outline of a huge pipe and a ghostly blue indicator light faintly visible in the distance!
The passageway exuded a cold metallic aura and a strange, faintly pulsating "fresh air," creating a stark contrast with the scorching, heavy air of the Soul Forging Hall! The sense of spatial tearing was even more pronounced, and even the air itself seemed to groan under the weight of the pressure at the edges of the doorway.
"Your Majesty, esteemed masters,"
Linde stepped to the side, making an inviting gesture towards the deep blue door, his voice carrying an undeniable confidence mixed with a hint of amusement, “The gate to the ‘Steel Sky’ has been opened. Please, witness for yourselves… what a ‘creation that transcends the stars’ truly is, what the ‘foundation of the future’ truly is.”
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