Chapter 1 The Barrier and the City

The barrier was still the same barrier, Twilight City was still the same Twilight City, steampunk was still the same steampunk, and the Twilight Guardians were still the same Twilight Guardians—though the last group had changed a bit since their first meeting. For example, they all had bandages wrapped around their foreheads, and in some severe cases, the bandages went from their foreheads to their crotches, giving them the air of suicidal soldiers returning from the front. When Hao Ren saw them, he couldn't help but wonder why they were trying so hard. They were all injured like this; wouldn't it be better to go back and lie down? Standing in formation on the avenue to welcome them was just making things difficult for Galla-Thor and the others...

Of course, even if these people were deliberately trying to make things difficult for Galla-Thor, it wouldn't be of much use. The dignified Dragon Queen was an inspector with thousands of years of experience. What was the concept of thousands of years of experience? The term "old fox" was basically insufficient to describe it; it was at least at the level of fried oil dregs, the kind who wouldn't bat an eye even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of them. Their nerves were as tough as necrotic nerve endings. With hundreds of scarred and resentful Twilight Guardians standing on both sides of the avenue, Galla-Thor and Anthony strutted past these people they had just beaten up, praising them as they walked: "Young man, you fought well just now." "You are all brave people; this old man admires you greatly." "Soldiers, you've worked hard!" "Young brother, this old man sees that your bones are extraordinary and your eyebrows are majestic. Would you be interested in learning the study of magic tattoos with this old man?"

That was basically the situation.

Odin had awakened from his centuries of chaotic slumber. This great "Ancient God" had quickly regained control of the entire city, and the Twilight Guardians had now returned to the Iron Throne's command. After Hao Ren and Odin had a brief conversation, the group returned to the city openly through the main gate of Twilight City, and the Steam Council also enthusiastically—whether willingly or not—put on a welcoming attitude. The city's guards lined up on the Steel Avenue where the Seekers of Light had once embarked on their journey to welcome the heroes from Nibelungen. Steam chariots and armored soldiers lined both sides of the avenue for a long distance, while the residents living in the outer districts cautiously poked their heads out of the nearby buildings, watching what was happening on the avenue. For these numb miners, life had always been lacking in change, and the unprecedented scene before them left them a little at a loss.

Watching Galla-Thor and Anthony greeting the Twilight Guardians on the roadside with such nonchalance, Hao Ren, a newbie who had only been in office for a few years, was still a little embarrassed. He tugged at the Dragon Queen's sleeve from behind: "Say, sister, we just beat the brains out of these guys, is it okay to chat with them so intimately right now?"

"What's wrong with that?" Galla-Thor tossed her head indifferently. "I'm praising them sincerely—these guys are a bit indiscriminate, but to be honest, they're all pretty manly. I've fought so many battles in my life, big and small, but I've rarely encountered people who dare to raise their heads and curse at me when I swoop down in dragon form. Tsk tsk, they're a good bunch of soldiers."

Listening to the Dragon Queen's heartfelt sigh, Hao Ren curled his lips and didn't say anything. He thought that the Dragon Queen's way of thinking was really different from ordinary people, but looking at the old archmage next to him, who was grabbing anyone he could to take them as his apprentice, he suddenly felt that Galla-Thor was already quite down-to-earth...

The ranks of those who were forced to line up on both sides of the road also included the spider robots of the Steam Six Departments. These massive and intimidating black iron machines folded their mechanical legs and crouched on both sides of the Steel Avenue like small fortresses. The multiple compound eyes on their heads flickered with red light, vigilantly watching Hao Ren's group as they passed by. For these special elite troops, even orders from the Steam Council were not absolute. These scientific maniacs, who regarded the city's safety as their only mission, still maintained a considerable degree of vigilance against these "invaders."

However, one of the spider robots suddenly shuddered when it saw a certain little guy in Hao Ren's group, and then unconsciously took half a step back. The huge movement generated by the massive robot immediately attracted Hao Ren's attention. He turned his head and saw that one of the robot's mechanical legs was obviously newly installed—and not far behind him, the little demon Elizabeth was following Izhaks with a silly smile on her face. The little girl was also holding a complex mechanical sphere in her arms, which was some kind of stabilizer that had been removed from the spider robot's belly. As for the mechanical leg that the little girl regarded as a treasure, it had been put into the portable space after Hao Ren's persistent persuasion...

Nangong Wuyue couldn't help but cover her forehead with her hand, sighing softly: "Alas, why do I suddenly feel that our sins are so deep?"

"Deep my ass," Nangong Sanba said with his arms crossed, "We're here to help, they're the ones who attacked us first."

This unlucky half-baked demon hunter was the only injured person in the previous battle. He was卷住摆了十六个姿势的时候被自己妹妹一尾巴卷住甩到了旁边的柱子上，此刻满肚子怨念。

At the end of this welcoming queue, Hao Ren saw a small group of people. Many of them were wearing the uniforms of the Steam Council, and they seemed to be the legendary high-level members of the council. In addition to them, there were some figures wearing black robes and thorny crowns, who were undoubtedly the spokespersons of the Ancient God Odin: the Caretakers.

From the composition of this small group of people, it could be seen that the city's power handover had been completed. However, how much internal operation and thunderous means were involved in this power handover, which was completed in such a short period of time, was unknown to outsiders.

Lily stretched her head and looked around the group of Steam Council members, and then turned to Wendell with regret and muttered, "Grandpa, your prodigal son isn't here."

Wendell smiled helplessly: "Hopp... he's just an ordinary治安官队长(zhian guan duizhang, police captain) in the Steam Council, he's not qualified to be here. And I guess he doesn't want to see me right now."

"Oh oh, I know, his worldview has collapsed," Lily nodded with a look of understanding, "I was pretty devastated when I first found out I was a husky, I couldn't sleep for half the night—luckily, I forgot about it after thinking about it for the second half of the night..."

Wendell: "..."

"Angelica," Hao Ren came to that small group of people and finally found an acquaintance, "I didn't expect the Ancient God to get things done so quickly. I thought I would have to spend half a day dealing with the people of the Steam Council."

Angelica gave a gentle smile, but her answer seemed a little off-topic: "The Ancient God is the foundation of the survival of the entire city."

When approaching this female Caretaker, Lily couldn't help but twitch her nose. She saw that behind Angelica were several Caretakers dressed a little strangely. These Caretakers wore black steel masks, their black robes were thicker, and the crowns on their heads were not thorns, but a circle of decorations that looked like spear tips. From these gloomy Caretakers, Lily smelled a faint scent of blood, which made her thoughtful.

Hao Ren also noticed this. He looked at the several Steam Council members beside Angelica, but unfortunately he didn't know what the previous council members looked like—if he did, he would have noticed that one-third of the high-ranking council members were not present.

But even without knowing the inside story, Hao Ren could guess some things.

Human nature is like this. After the Ancient God had been dormant for hundreds of years, the members of the Steam Council had forgotten who the real ruler of the city was. For short-lived humans, a "king" who hadn't spoken for hundreds of years was equivalent to an ancient legend. If the Twilight Barrier above their heads wasn't still shining, perhaps some people would even deny the existence of the Ancient God altogether. This tendency existed not only among the common people, but also in the Steam Council.

Moreover, the people in the Steam Council who had this tendency were even more stubborn: they had an extra share of power in their hands, which made them even more reluctant to have an Ancient God suddenly wake up and order them around.

Humans are so fickle.

But in any case, the wise people still accounted for the majority, and the same was true within the Steam Council. The city had completely returned to the control of the Ancient God and his Caretakers before Hao Ren's group returned from Nibelungen. Odin had paved the way for Hao Ren's subsequent work.

At this time, a ball of white light "whooshed" out from behind Hao Ren. The white light circled around everyone, and then curiously wandered around, muttering as it wandered: "This place... looks different from a different angle."

The members of the Steam Council became nervous when they saw another "unknown life form" suddenly appear. To be honest, they hadn't recovered from the major events of "the Ancient God's awakening, the restoration of etiquette, and the reorganization of order." At this time, they were confused by everything they saw. Seeing this, Hao Ren quickly said, "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous, this is the soul of the World Tree—Bai, don't wander around, there are steam engines everywhere in this place, you'll get lost in the steam."

Nangong Wuyue sighed: "The soul of the World Tree has really become Xiao Bai..."

The Speaker of the Steam Council was a calm and serious middle-aged woman named Lavinia. Hao Ren only told her one sentence:

"The sky will clear up within twenty-four hours. After it clears up, you need to prepare, this city will soon be uninhabitable."