Chapter 76: Eternal Faith

Chapter 76: Eternal Faith

After a violent shake, the left engine of the transport combat ship suddenly caught fire and lost control.

The long-abandoned transition channel was extremely unstable. During the transition, Iliad even thought they were about to be flung out by the energy field.

But fortunately, it seemed like they made it out successfully — albeit in a rapidly forced landing.

Iliad: “81! 81! Slow down, slow down!”

0781: “...The engine! The engine!”

Iliad: “Pull it up!”

0781: “The engine's been crushed!”

Yun Huai pressed down the restless cat head and placed his hand on the wall of the transport combat ship. A wave of soft energy pulsed out, and at the moment the ship was about to hit the ground, a huge water ball suddenly enveloped the entire vessel.

Iliad let out a huge sigh of relief: “The king is the most powerful after all!”

0781: “Yeah, yeah!”

Yun Huai chuckled, still slightly tipsy, his spirit appearing somewhat lazy.

He felt that this time, his body was more languid than ever before, perhaps related to the initial phase transition that Xieye mentioned.

But he had just found the entrance to the Third Star System. He hadn’t had the chance to do anything yet.

The young man didn't speak, instead looking outside.

Tall pine-like plants sparsely shot up into the sky, huge black stones scattered across the ground, with one or two weeds tenaciously growing through the cracks, their spines bent and twisted.

It seemed like they had landed in a desolate, uninhabited wilderness.

Iliad widened his cat eyes, “There isn’t even a single bird here!”

Yun Huai looked at 0781, “Do you recognize this place?”

0781's eyes flashed, shaking its head, “No. The Third Star System has many planets with harsh conditions like this. The warriors are not only skilled in combat but also excel in hiding their tracks.”

They are bound to complete their missions during wartime, but it’s rare for outsiders to find the people of Night Gold City during peacetime.

These are highly skilled but very mysterious Ita people.

Yun Huai rubbed his forehead, still feeling the effects of the alcohol, “Can the spaceship still operate?”

0781 tried it out, “Needs, repairs.”

Iliad: “There’s not even a ghost’s shadow here, where can we find someone to repair the ship?”

0781 touched the snowball on its head, ensuring it was unharmed before nodding, “Yes. Yes.”

Yun Huai turned and looked at the pile of war robots behind him, then said to them, “Everyone, wait here for a moment.”

The robots' eyes simultaneously flashed.

Iliad, distressed, exclaimed, “You’ve triggered their command!”

Yun Huai almost forgot that his voice alone could issue commands to the robots. He amended, “Feel free to move around, but don’t go far. I’ll be back soon.”

Iliad quickly said, “I’ll come with you!”

Yun Huai hummed in agreement, put on his mechanical mask, controlled the water ball to safely land the ship, and then withdrew his power.

The transport combat ship was very tall; Yun Huai felt dizzy again when he jumped down from it.

Iliad, keenly sensing the king's discomfort, said with a worried look, “You really can't drink anymore, wuwu.”

Yun Huai deeply agreed, “I should gauge my capacity in the future.”

Iliad: “(ΩДΩ)?” There’s a next time?

Yun Huai laughed, “The taste of alcohol is quite good.”

Iliad: “QAQ!”

But it realized it had cried too soon. Iliad was still confused when it saw the king open the transport ship's tool compartment, naive when it saw the king skillfully searching for wrenches, and was utterly shocked when it saw the young king carrying a toolbox to the damaged engine.

Iliad: “You!!”

The war robots that came down with them trembled in unison.

Although Yun Huai allowed them to move freely, the robots still tightly surrounded him. 0781, heartbroken, watched the king half-submerged in the engine, hastily raising its hand to hold up the damaged engine cover to prevent any pieces from falling.

Iliad cried loudly, not having a sadness system, but in this situation, it didn’t know what else to do but simulate crying.

The great new king, welcomed back to the empire, was once again doing his old job from his days among the alien underclass on his own territory—

Yun Huai started repairing the ship again.

The clinking and clanking in the wilderness felt eerie, yet the scene of all Ita creations staring with round eyes at a young man was both adorable and humorous.

Yun Huai, serious under his mask, assured that the engine’s nozzle had deformed due to the pressure of the energy field, stretched out a blackened hand and called, “81, hand me a new nozzle.”

AG-0781 mournfully carried out the king's command.

They were war robots from four hundred years ago, created only for slaughter and invasion. Repairing ships was supposed to be the job of spaceship mechanics in the Third Star System.

The robots could only watch as the king’s fair and slender hands got stained with oil, laboriously working inside the engine.

Yun Huai, used to doing such work himself, saw no issue with it. He adjusted the bent engine cover and clicked the new energy nozzle into place.

He even expertly applied lubricant to the nozzle before emerging with his hands dirtied by the grime.

"It should work now."

Iliad in a daze: “If Xieye finds out you’re repairing ships in the Third Star System, he’ll surely clash with the local nobility and executors here…”

Yun Huai smiled slightly, “He won’t know if we don’t tell him.” The new king said in a low voice, “Don’t let it out.”

The mechanical beings were again given a voice command, a group of robots looking sadly in Yun Huai's direction with their flickering eyes.

Just as 0781 was about to go back up to try starting the ship, a rumbling sound came from behind them. The smaller black stones on the ground started to tremble and roll, 0781 instantly turned around, and Yun Huai pulled on the robot’s arm from behind.

Emerging from the protective circle of war robots, Yun Huai saw several colossal figures walking out of the black pine forest.

Each of them was about seven or eight meters tall, entirely black in color, with hard steel connecting their bodies. A glance was enough to see that they were fully equipped with weapons.

Yun Huai's eyes narrowed slightly.

Iliad whispered to 0781, “Do you recognize them? They look like a super plus version of you.”

0781 shook its head, and under Iliad’s exasperated gaze, said, “I’m just a damaged war robot from four hundred years ago, waiting for repairs.”

Yun Huai: “Shh, they are looking this way.”

The two currently cute robots instantly stopped bickering, while the colossal creatures of the unknown planet continued to approach, stopping their terrifying steps only when they reached the transport combat ship.

The steel giants had only their eyes in white, those powerful, energy-filled white eyes staring straight at Yun Huai, and then they began to speak following a beep.

“Scan complete, non-Third Star System Ita lineage detected. Patrol Black Warrior 333 at 12:43 on Dayuga Planet, near the Black Pine Forest, identified as suspected unauthorized crash-landing.”

Just as Iliad was about to meow in panic, Yun Huai held it and asked, “Dayuga, a planet?”

The two Ita creations following the king trembled, Dayuga…?

Is it that Dayuga which could blow up half a planet with a single explosion???

Black Warrior 333 raised its mechanical arm, “Unauthorized entry into Dayuga Planet is prohibited. Those without permission must be executed on the spot.”

Iliad: “?”

Has the Third Star System gone mad? Don’t they see whom they are speaking to?

0781's pale white eyes flashed fiercely, and other damaged robots also began to gather around Yun Huai.

Yun Huai patted the tense backs of the robots, “It’s alright.”

As he spoke, he looked towards Black Warrior, “The Third Star System’s mechanical execution settings shouldn’t include hesitation. You should have attacked intruders the moment you appeared, not stand here explaining planetary rules to me.”

Black Warrior 333 remained silent.

Yun Huai: “Did you hear me speaking?”

333 continued its silence.

Yun Huai frowned, “Is it broken?”

333: "No. Contemplating."

Yun Huai’s grip tightened subtly, cold, dangerous droplets of water falling through his fingers.

333 suddenly turned towards two identical super robots: “Requesting mutual system check and repair. Requesting, connecting, repair and check completed, mutual confirmation, system of 333 operational.”

“System of 334 operational.”

“System of 335 operational.”

“Good, continue with the mission.”

333 turned back towards Yun Huai, then froze again.

Iliad: “?”

0781：“。”

Yun Huai looked up, suddenly noticing their mechanical arms trembling, as if they were stuck in a strange state of wanting to raise lethal weapons but being forcibly suppressed.

A silent minute passed.

The massive black steel machine suddenly spoke, “Alert! Alert! System malfunction detected!”

333/334/335 all sounded simultaneously.

Then they moved again, stepping forward under 0781’s vigilant gaze, pushing aside the war robots, and sat down in a triangular formation around Yun Huai, their huge black heads still towering above him despite their lowered stance.

“System malfunction, reverting to primary directives, question, who are you.”

Yun Huai's expression shifted slightly behind the mask, “A mixed-blood Ita from the First Star System.”

“What were you doing just now?”

Yun Huai lifted his blackened hand, “As you can see, I was repairing my ship. It broke down.”

“What is your purpose here?”

“The purpose is to repair it, and incidentally see what’s going on here.” Yun Huai pointed towards the war robots and countered, “Do you have any advanced mechanics here?”

0781's mechanical head clicked, and Iliad whispered, “What's wrong, 81?”

0781 quietly said, “The king will not be in danger. The king’s voice is the absolute control command for all mechanical creations in the Third Star System, with higher authority than that of the local nobility executors.”

Iliad: “Oh—I knew that! It’s the same in the First and Second Star Systems.”

0781: “The Third Star System, known for creating dangerous war machines, has even stricter commands to prevent malfunctioning machines from offending the king.”

Iliad’s cat eyes fell on the towering Black Warriors, who promptly replied, “Yes.”

Yun Huai: “Can you repair war robots?”

333 glanced at 0781, “Model too old, need to check the core to know.”

Yun Huai then asked, “How many of these super patrol robots are there on Dayuga Planet?”

This involved absolute military secrets, but 333 still answered without hesitation, “There are 10,000 numbered units in total.”

Iliad: “!”

Yun Huai was also momentarily shocked, but considering the planet's dangerous nature, it seemed reasonable to have 10,000 Black Warriors patrolling.

Crashing here without immediately encountering the Ita of the Third Star System was somewhat lucky for Yun Huai, as he felt robots were sometimes easier to communicate with than sentient beings.

“Alert, query content too private!” 333 realized belatedly.

Yun Huai quietly remarked, “But you've already answered me.”

333 also fell silent, then looked towards 334 and 335. The three large steel giants checked each other again and then resumed their eerie stillness.

They were facing the most difficult situation since their creation.

They had violated their programmed orders and revealed military secrets of Dayuga Planet to a strange, mixed-blood Ita.

But they couldn’t control themselves, and their actions felt somewhat off.

“Your skin, it’s so white,” 333 suddenly said.

334 quickly followed, “Your ears, so small.”

335 chimed in, “Your voice, pleasant.”

Yun Huai slightly tilted his head, and the three large Black Warriors followed suit, “Cannot process, cannot process, anomaly detected, system crash.”

Yun Huai didn’t believe that the mechanics stationed on Dayuga Planet couldn’t repair a few war robots. It would be a good opportunity to settle 0781 and the others here while he investigates what the Third Star System’s nobility executor is up to.

Thinking this, the overly young king spoke solemnly, “Rather than complimenting me, I’d prefer if you could help me.”

“Help you,” 333’s massive mechanical arm rested on its bent knee, Yun Huai only reaching half its leg height.

333: “But you are an illegal entrant.”

Yun Huai: “So you’re unwilling?”

333's eyes flashed, “Willing.”

The young man smiled slightly and said clearly, “Then take me to find a mechanic of the Third Star System, right now.”

The three super robots, each seven or eight meters tall, froze momentarily, then all their weapons began to tremble, “Voice command activated successfully, at your service, my honor.”

333 extended its palm, and Yun Huai noticed its eyes shift from pale white to icy blue. He found this color familiar; in the abyss of K420, when he controlled 0781, its eyes would turn this same unrecognizable color.

Even after so many years, and countless generations of updates, the Third Star System’s mechanical beings still seemed to have the absolute command of the king intact.

Yun Huai felt slightly relieved, starting to believe that even if the Third Star System had advanced far, there must still be some belief remaining.

He stepped onto 333’s broad palm, which resembled a small platform. As Yun Huai stepped on it, the hand carefully curled up, the fingers forming a natural protective barrier.

Yun Huai noticed 333 still trembling slightly, perhaps the newly activated system needed time to adapt. He leaned against 333’s knuckles and yawned, “Relax big guy, you can go slower, I’m a bit sleepy and want to take a nap now.”

Iliad flew into the king’s arms and nestled there. The Black Warriors weren’t programmed to protect outsiders, but Iliad noticed that 333 activated its combat balance and shock absorption mode because of the king’s words.

Cat ball relaxed, looking back at 0781, “Leave the ship here for now. Robots, you are about to be reborn!”

Yun Huai’s drowsiness mingled with the effects of alcohol uncontrollably surged, as he hugged the cat ball, feeling the steady power of the patrolling Black Warriors.

The wind through the pine forest carried a hint of the scent of trees. To any observer, this place would not be recognized as the legendary Dayuga loading zone. A seemingly insignificant little butterfly finally fluttered its wings as Yun Huai dozed off, quietly and obediently landing on the king’s scarf, like a beautiful specimen decoration.

333 started slowly but began to speed up, as if afraid of losing something. On its way, it encountered other patrolling Black Warriors, and the small group of three patrol robots grew to over ten by the time they reached the hidden mechanical door.

They didn’t know what had happened to them, but every super patrol warrior who saw the person in 333’s palm fell into absolute silence.

Dayuga military stronghold, the war robots were stopped at the door and did not enter.

The huge mechanical door was opened layer by layer by 333. After passing through countless previously dangerous sealed doors, Iliad finally heard the sound of someone talking.

The heavy footsteps of the group of Black Warriors were so intense that they drew the attention of even more powerful black warriors patrolling underground.

A leading Ita, covered in black armor, approached coldly in the mechanical corridor. 333 recognized the newcomer’s identity and finally halted its advance.

“Target located, target located, Dayuga senior mechanic Veidt Pollett, please serve this distinguished individual.”

Veidt’s brows furrowed coldly behind his mask, suspecting the Black Warriors had malfunctioned and picked up some random wood or stone from the surface. Carefully and slowly, 333 crouched down, then opened its palm to the pure-blooded Ita of the Third Star System.

A beautiful young man wearing a silver-white mechanical mask was sleeping there, seemingly feeling an itch, he raised his blackened hand to lightly scratch behind his ear, murmuring sleepily.

Under the surface, a silent mix of black rye aroma began to spread invisibly.

Iliad lifted its cat eyes, unsurprisingly seeing a trail of golden light.