We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 494 [The Great Sage] and [The Rebel Army]

Inside the sanctuary.

The Great Sage's mechanical wings unfurled slightly, and its dark red steam core began to accelerate.

He looked down at Shane and the others from his vantage point.

"Tell me, what is your relationship with that witch?"

Why are you looking for her?

The atmosphere in the entire sanctuary suddenly became tense.

The Templars silently surrounded them, their weapons gleaming coldly.

Shaun knew that the answer at this moment was crucial.

He took a deep breath and spoke.

"In fact, we are by no means companions of the [God of Blind Folly]."

"On the contrary, He is very likely our common enemy."

"We are tracking Lyra in order to stop the plot of the [God of Blind Fools]."

"conspiracy?"

A hint of doubt flashed in the mechanical eyes of the Great Sage.

"Yes."

Xia En said in a deep voice, "As far as I know, the [Blind and Foolish God] collects fragments and samples of the souls of gods in various secret realms."

"Although we don't know what His purpose is."

"But my intuition tells me that once He has collected a certain number of fragments of the gods, something very bad will happen."

The Great Sage paused for a moment, seemingly analyzing the veracity of Shane's words.

Finally, he nodded slowly.

“Your heartbeat, body temperature, and fluctuations in mystical energy all indicate that you are not lying.”

Hearing this, Xia En breathed a slight sigh of relief.

His words just now actually avoided the main point and did not explain the relationship between himself and Leila.

Most importantly, he was telling the truth!

Shane's usual caution came in handy at this moment.

If he were to lie about his relationship with Lyra, the Great Sage would probably discover it immediately.

At that time, the situation will undoubtedly become extremely dangerous.

After confirming the truthfulness of Shane's words, the Great Sage seemed to finally lower his guard.

"It seems you are indeed not in cahoots with that witch."

"In that case, perhaps we can cooperate..."

But just then, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the sanctuary.

Immediately afterwards, a Templar rushed in.

"Great Sage! Something terrible has happened!"

"The Rebels have attacked the Energy Center!"

A hint of anger flashed in the mechanical eyes of the Great Sage.

"It's them again!"

He turned to Shane and spoke faster.

"I'm sorry, I have to deal with this rebellion."

"You are free to move around in the city for now, and we will discuss the details later."

After speaking, the Great Sage unfolded his mechanical wings and quickly flew out of the sanctuary.

Shane and his crew looked at each other in bewilderment.

"【traitor】?"

"It sounds like a resistance organization," Joey said, puzzled.

String Song excitedly interjected, "Should we go check out the excitement?"

Xia En shook his head: "Don't act rashly."

"We don't know enough about this world."

He looked at Karles and found her staring blankly in the direction the Great Sage had gone.

"Carles, what's wrong?"

Carles looked away and said in a low voice.

"That [Great Sage]... is a bit strange."

"His steam core gave me a feeling of... disharmony, incompleteness."

Xia En frowned slightly.

As a mechanical life form, Karlless's perception of its own kind is far more acute than that of humans.

Her intuition is likely correct.

"In any case, let's investigate in the city first."

Shane made a decision.

"Perhaps we can discover more clues about Lyra and the [Shards of God]."

Everyone nodded in agreement and then left the sanctuary.

……

The commotion on the streets of the mechanical city has subsided.

But a tense atmosphere still lingered in the air.

Shaen noticed that many mechanical lifeforms were whispering among themselves, their eyes revealing unease.

"Have you heard? The [Rebels] almost breached the energy center this time!"

"Shh, keep your voice down... it'll be troublesome if the Templars hear us."

Xia En looked in the direction of the sound and found two small mechanical beings talking in the corner.

He approached casually.

"Excuse me, what is a 'rebel'?"

The two mechanical beings were startled and looked at Xia En warily.

"Outsiders?"

One of the machines stammered, "We don't know anything about 'Rebels'!"

After saying that, the two hurriedly ran away.

Xia En seemed to be deep in thought.

It seems that "rebels" are a sensitive topic in this city.

Just then, Ann suddenly tugged at Xia En's sleeve.

"Captain, over there."

Following the direction she pointed, Xia En saw a narrow alley.

Deep in the alley, a blurry figure was waving at them.

"That is……?"

Xia En cautiously approached and discovered that it was a strange life form that was half mechanical and half biological.

Half of his body is a sophisticated mechanical structure, while the other half is made of flesh and blood.

"Outsiders".

The man lowered his voice and said, "If you want to know the truth, come with me."

Shane exchanged a glance with the crew.

Finally, he nodded: "Lead the way."

The man led them through a maze of alleyways until they arrived at a hidden metal door.

He entered a password, and the door slowly opened.

"Welcome to the stronghold of the Rebels."

Behind the door is a spacious underground space.

Dozens of mechanical lifeforms of various shapes and sizes gathered here; some were repairing equipment, while others were engaged in heated discussions.

Upon seeing Xia En and the others, they all stopped what they were doing and looked over warily.

"Ed, why did you bring outsiders with you?"

"A tall, mechanical body asked."

The guide, known as Ed, explained.

"They are not from the [Sanctuary], but travelers from other worlds."

"Perhaps... they could become our allies."

Xia En looked around and found that most of the mechanical lifeforms here had signs of damage, obviously having been through many battles.

"So you are the [Rebels]?"

he asked straight to the point.

The tall, mechanical figure stepped forward and looked Xia En up and down.

"Yes."

"To be precise, that's what the Great Sage calls us, but I prefer to be called... the Rebels!"

"We are an organization that resists the tyranny of the Great Sage."

“Tyranny?” Joey exclaimed in surprise. “But the Great Sage seems to be…”

"Does he look like a benevolent ruler?"

The tall, mechanical figure sneered.

"That's just the appearance."

"In reality, he used the name of the God of Steam and Machinery to oppress all disobedient individuals."

"Forced faith, deprivation of free will... this is the truth of the [Sanctuary]!"

"Moreover, you outsiders certainly don't know that hundreds of years ago, the [Intelligent Territory] actually had living humans just like you."

Shain's pupils contracted slightly: "Humans? Then what are they now..."

A trace of sorrow flashed in the eyes of the tall, mechanical creature.

"They were all transformed into cyborg servants by the Great Sage, or... they disappeared completely."

“Some of us in the [resistance] are descendants of survivors from that time.”

He displayed his half-machine, half-flesh body: "This is proof of their evil."

Xia En was shaken.

No wonder he always felt there was something inexplicably off about this city.

It turns out that this place was once a world where humans and machines coexisted!
Moreover, upon closer reflection, Shane realized that this tall mechanical being might be hiding something.

Compared to...

Was the owner of this "Intelligent Territory" truly an omnic from the very beginning?

Perhaps a rebellion of omnics once broke out in this [Secret Realm], which led to the change of masters for the [Omnic Territory].

Although this was just Xia En's guess, he felt that he had vaguely touched on the truth.

Karllais suddenly spoke up: "Aren't you afraid of being suppressed for rebelling against the Great Sage?"

The tall mechanical being gave a wry smile: "Of course we're afraid. But we'd rather fight freely than live numbly."

"and……"

He lowered his voice: "Ever since that witch took away the [Fragment of God], the power of the [Great Sage] has clearly weakened."

"This is our best chance!"

Shane keenly caught this information: "Layla...when did that witch arrive?"

About three months ago.

The tall mechanical being recalled: "She disguised herself as a pilgrim and infiltrated the Central Sanctuary. During the Divine Revelation Ritual, she suddenly attacked and stole the Fragment of God."

"After that, the Great Sage became unusually irritable and tightened his control over the city."

Xia En seemed to be deep in thought.

It seems that Lyra's actions have indeed had a profound impact on this secret realm.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out on the other side of the underground space.

"Quick! Get ready to fight!"

"The Templars have discovered this place!"

Amidst the urgent alarm, red warning lights appeared on the metal walls, and the entire outpost instantly went into combat readiness.

The tall, mechanical figure's expression changed drastically: "Damn it! We're being tracked!"

He turned to Shane and the others, speaking rapidly.

"You now have two choices—either leave immediately, or... fight alongside us!"

Shane and the crew exchanged glances.

Vivian said softly, "Captain, this may be our chance to gain your trust."

An nodded in agreement: "Moreover, we need more information about Leila."

Shane quickly made a decision: "We'll stay and help."

A hint of gratitude flashed in the eyes of the tall mechanical being.

"Thank you!"

"I am the rebel leader, Iron Fist! Follow me!"

The group followed Iron Fist through the busy mechanical warriors to a strategy room.

The surveillance footage on the wall showed dozens of Templars approaching the stronghold entrance.

"They deployed their elite troops this time."

[Iron Fist] said in a deep voice, "It seems they are determined to wipe us out."

Another person said, "Fortunately, no [Sanctuary Angels] appeared, so we can still handle it."

Xia En observed the screen and suddenly asked, "Do you have an underground passage?"

"Have."

[Iron Fist] nodded.

"However, if we cannot eliminate this group of Templars who are following us."

"We will be constantly locked onto by the Sky Eye system."

Xia En's gaze sharpened, and he quickly made a judgment.

"Then we must deal with them here."

Shaen stared at the leading Templar.

"The strongest among them can be given to me."

[Iron Fist] looked at Xia En in astonishment, and felt an extremely strong confidence and pressure from him.

That is something that ordinary people cannot possess.

Moreover, it wasn't just Xia En; many of his crew members also showed signs of fighting spirit.

just like……

Such battles were nothing more than commonplace for them.

[Iron Fist] couldn't help but ask.

"Who...are you?"

Xia En smiled slightly: "Just a group of travelers passing by."

Before the words were finished, a violent explosion came from the entrance of the stronghold.

The metal door was blown open with a bang, and through the smoke, several fully armed Templars rushed in.

"Rebels, surrender!"

The lead warrior held his energy weapon aloft, its cold, mechanical sound echoing through the underground space.

However, they were met with a scorching dragon's breath.

"Roar--"

From the mouth of the stringed instrument, scorching flames erupted, instantly engulfing several warriors.

Joey then brandished his staff, and illusory waves swept through the air, blocking the left passage.

The Yusei couple moved through the shadows like ghosts, each appearance accompanied by the fall of a samurai.

"Enemy attack! Unknown forces have intervened!"

The Templars were clearly unprepared for such strong resistance, and their formation immediately fell into disarray.

Seizing the opportunity, Xia En flashed into the enemy ranks.

The longsword in his hand was wrapped in the power of the void, and each swing tore through space, easily slicing through the mechanical warrior's armor.

Carles displayed astonishing combat skills.

Her mechanical body was exceptionally agile, and her steam core operated at an overclocked frequency, unleashing power far exceeding that of ordinary mechanical bodies.

With a single punch, he pierced through the chest of a samurai.

"This...this is impossible!"

The surviving samurai retreated in terror: "Your steam core... how can it withstand such a load?"

Carles did not answer, but continued to move forward.

The battle was one-sided.

In less than ten minutes, the invading Templars were completely wiped out.

During the battle, Shane was able to get a general idea of the strength of these Templars; they were generally around the sixth rank.

Even the best among them are only just entering the legendary realm.

Such combat power would have been difficult for the former Black Swan to deal with.

But for Xia En and the others right now, there is really no pressure.

Without even Shaen lifting a finger, these Templars had already fallen.

Inside the underground stronghold, the rebels stared in disbelief at the scene.