Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 90 The Sleepless

A huge black tarpaulin obscured a hideous silhouette. The complex mechanical structures and dim runes all around created a solemn and majestic atmosphere, as if it were a demon summoned from an iron altar, ready to devour its prey once the seal was broken.

Xilun's breathing became rapid, as if something that should not be known was hidden under the black cloth. Its spikes and edges protruded on all sides, and its magnificent height was like a demon walking on the ground. The archangel was only a little over two meters tall, while it was definitely more than three meters tall. What kind of mechanical tyrant was it?
Aldridge gave a graceful bow, then reached out and pulled off the rain cover. At the same time, four searchlights lit up, illuminating the center of the altar as if it were daytime!
In that evocative center, Xiren saw something...

A... a tractor with six limbs?
Xilun was absolutely certain that it was the tractor he had driven before, but now its tires had been removed, four sturdy mechanical legs had been added to the steel chassis underneath, and two ugly mechanical arms had been added to the sides of the driver's cab. Other than that, there were no other changes.

Silen stared at it silently, feeling that it must have come from the Transformers set, or perhaps one of those poor, lowly workers who couldn't afford other cars, so they dug an old tractor out of a scrap heap and modified it into a Cybertronian model, the kind that gets killed as soon as it appears on screen.

Seeing Xilun's strange expression, Aldridge panicked slightly for a moment: "Although it's a tractor modified, its stats are great! It has a built-in red mercury reactor, can work continuously for more than 300 hours at full capacity, and has a maximum output of 500 horsepower. All the metal is made of heavy iron, and the rust is mainly due to its inherent properties. If you don't like how it looks, you can polish it and wax it!"

Siren smiled and said, "Great work, please continue."

He secretly lamented that his threshold had indeed been raised by the fantasy works of his previous life. When he saw such a walking mecha, his first reaction was that someone's tractor had become a Transformer, rather than exclaiming, "Wow, what an amazing thing!"

Aldridge relaxed a little and continued, "I already thought about it when I was modifying the tractors. These five big things have no other use. They are most suitable for being converted into walking mechs in the future, which will also save a lot of money."

Upon hearing this, Xiren immediately understood his painstaking efforts in managing the household frugally. Not long ago, this rune master was one of the designers of the Iron Angels, and he had the resources of the entire Messiah Church at his disposal. He could use an almost unlimited budget to squander his talent and create armor that could sweep across the world.

But now, even building a few walking mechs requires meticulous resource utilization, and those five tractors were probably already planned out from the moment they were purchased.

Aldridge walked under the mech and tapped on its fuselage.

"Its main structure uses a special alloy called 'sinking iron,' which was cast by Master Nicholas using ordinary iron ore and mercury. It looks like rusty scrap iron, but it actually has excellent hardness and flexibility. Most importantly, it has excellent heat insulation properties and can isolate the high temperature of the mercury reactor."

"I kept its glass windows because the angelic perspective of seeing from the inside out relies on a special rune called the Heimdallian Array, which had to be engraved on a fine gold base. I discovered that the train didn't have that material, so it still has three observation windows—I plated the outside with a layer of moon quartz, so that a typical 12-pound cannon can't threaten it."

"The four limbs of the lower body are equipped with circular saws to prevent enemies from attacking the feet. The upper arms have five joints that can be twisted at will to execute various tactics and postures that humans cannot do."

Xilun nodded and began to admire the violent machine.

The walking mech is completely different from the Steel Angel. The latter is an outer armor that covers the knight's body, essentially a super-evolved version of plate armor. The walking mech, however, is controlled by a pilot sitting in a cockpit and using a joystick.

Therefore, the walking mech Kong, despite its enormous size, is no match for the Steel Angel in terms of agility and combat power. It can only be used as a mobile fortress, rather than an invincible super knight.

But its advantage is that it requires almost no skill from the driver; once trained, one can drive it just like a car.

Looking at Xilun's excited face, Aldridge said casually, "This mech was forged from the tractor you once drove, and I named it [Holy Throne One]."

Siron's enthusiasm was almost shut down by Aldridge. Leaving aside the fact that the term "Holy See" is reserved for the Pope, what was with that inexplicable sense of incongruity—like "Holy See Number One, built by a tractor"? It was like after a peasant uprising, your subordinates saying, "Brother, this is the little donkey you rode; we call it Emperor Number One, please ride it to the throne!"

“Uh…isn’t this name good?” Aldridge noticed Xiren’s expression and asked with some regret.

Xilun hesitated for a moment: "I remember you said it was called 'The Sleepless'?"

“Yes, its prototype is the Messiah Church’s basic walking mech, the Sleepless.” Aldridge nodded.

“Let’s call it ‘Night Break Number One’,” Xilun said.

Aldridge found it strange. "The Sleepless Ones" was written in the ancient continental language, which was also the official language of the Messianic Church. It was very elegant and noble. "The Sleepless Ones" symbolized the vigilance and protection that never slept. They were the Church's first line of defense and the warriors on the front line.

But "staying up all night"... well, this phrase is indeed quite common among ordinary people. Old farmers may not understand the ancient continent language's "sleepless," but they definitely understand "staying up all night." Could it be that the bishop wanted to make it more approachable?
He kept brainstorming, but little did he know that Xilun, who was admiring his first mecha, was just casually coming up with a favorite idea.

"Does it have weapons?" Siren asked.

"Huh? Oh! Yes!" Aldridge snapped out of his reverie about the naming issue, turned the valve next to him, and opened the large cast iron box. "Melee weapon [Tiger Slayer], giant shield [Iron Guard], and ranged firearm [Holy Judgment Type VII - Mech Version]."

There, several enormous greatswords were mounted on a shelf, more intimidating than any two-handed greatsword, and only machines could wield them with one hand.

The giant shield beside it gleamed with a dark golden light like jade, but it wasn't gold; it was a special alloy called Hephaestus Bronze, the cheapest and most common magical alloy, usually used for large machinery and shields.

Finally, there's the enlarged version of the rifle.

It is entirely white, with an elegant and slender barrel, resembling the stunning curve of a ballerina's legs. A golden cross emblem is imprinted on it, inscribed with words of consecration. It lacks the usual trigger and grip, as it is directly inserted into the groove of the mecha's arm when mounted.

“With Master Zelo’s help, we are now able to produce it—the Church’s most famous rifle.” Aldridge smiled as he inserted the massive gun into the mech’s right arm. “It is powered by red mercury, has a muzzle velocity exceeding the speed of sound, and is extremely lethal. It can fire in automatic bursts, but its drawbacks are unstable ballistics and accuracy, and the sonic boom is not concealable.”

"But walking mechs don't need those things—they just need to charge in with the most terrifying weapons, the most effective kills, and the toughest stance; sonic booms will only be their symphony."

Aldridge bowed gracefully and introduced his outstanding work.

He was indeed a pure man, and Xilun could see the light in his eyes—he didn't look down on it just because it was made of tractor; it was as if every machine was a child he had painstakingly created, whether he used adamantite, mithril, iron, or bronze.

When he looked at his work, the pride, arrogance, and admiration in his eyes made Siren almost imagine that the young Aldridge had the same expression when he stood in front of the first Iron Angel decades ago.

(End of this chapter)