It went without saying, but the Warforger's gears did not blanket the entire land.

Starting from the watchtower, they formed a network connecting various devices along the road.

Covering the entire ground with gears was not just impractical but outright impossible. No matter how great the gears were, applying excessive force would inevitably lead to their edges crumbling.

The assembly of gears was about distribution; maximizing each component's efficiency without pushing it to the breaking point.

It came as no surprise that Warforger played a key role in organizing the structure of the Military State.

From military branches to educational institutions, from organizational frameworks to weapons and devices—everything requiring meticulous design.

While others executed these plans, Maximilien, the Warforger, was the visionary behind them, pursuing his ideals freely within the Military State.

From a distant watchtower, he controlled the gears with a flick of his finger.

Even this road was under his control.

His pre-installed devices were always eyeing the automaton carriage.

As I narrowly avoided the emerging traps, I struggled to steer the slowing carriage.

“A carriage reinforced with Tyr’s power, yet it breaks down with just one hit?”

Built to withstand downward pressure due to its sturdy build, the carriage proved vulnerable to upward impacts.

It felt as if it had been sucker-punched from beneath, much like a person.

Even the faint sounds of its movement had now ceased.

The Thundergear had fallen silent.

The carriage continued forward through inertia alone, but it would stop soon.

In moments like these, you needed man’s best friend.

I turned and shouted.

“AZYYYYY! Dog sled time! Pull this carriage!”

The Regressor protested.

“Hey, isn’t that a bit much? Azzy is still catching up.”

“Why is she so slow?”

“What do you think? You threw her into the aqueduct.”

Tsk, why did Azzy have cooldowns?

It would’ve been nice to use her twice. We have no choice but to move on to the next option.

I called out to Tyr in the luggage compartment.

“Tyr! There should be a small, glowing golden gear at the center of the luggage compartment floor. Can you check it?”

[What did you say? A gear?]

Tyr, flustered by the unfamiliar term, searched around clumsily.

Tsk, expecting someone from the 12th century to handle modern technology might be too much.

Should we abandon the carriage and proceed on foot?

What a shame.

“Progenitor, this way.”

Luckily, Shiati was in the luggage compartment.

Shiati politely showed Tyr the interior mechanism of the carriage.

The Thundergear was a critical component that required frequent replacement. Tyr located the glowing cog beneath the panel.

[I found it. It is spinning uselessly. What should I do?]

“Please reassemble it! Just fit it into the grooves…”

[Understood.]

Tyr responded positively. Good.

Reassembling the automaton carriage wasn’t a simple task, but any problem could be solved with enough effort.

With Tyr’s strength, fitting a misaligned gear should be possible…

Crunch.

The automaton carriage lurched sharply to the side.

Gripping the suddenly rigid control stick tightly, I used mind-reading to grasp the situation.

Through Tyr's eyes, I saw the shattered gear under her grasp.

She had tried to reinstall the gear, but had applied too much force and shattered it.

Holding the broken gear in her hand, Tyr admitted anxiously,

[Hu, a minor problem has occurred.]

“Did you break it? No, right? Please tell me no!”

[It was more fragile than I anticipated. Shiny things are indeed, always fragile. It seems they prioritize aesthetics rather than durability...]

“No more excuses! What do we do now?”

[...Is it that serious of a problem?]

“Not that serious, but the carriage is about to stop completely!”

Tyr, disheartened, struggled to fit the shattered gear back in, but to no avail.

Her futile attempt only further disrupted the inner mechanism.

This is bad. Besides Azzy, who else could turn the gear?

Wait. There's one more. If it's about strength.

I took a deep breath and gripped the control stick tightly.

“There's more than one way to skin a cat! Tyr! The Thundergear is broken, so turn it manually!”

[Hold and turn it by hand?]

“Yes!”

[Understood. To make amends for my error, I must do at least this much.]

Right after her response…

Rumble.

The automaton carriage groaned as if its core had been grabbed.

A full-body scream followed.

Then, everyone in the carriage experienced an abrupt acceleration.

The carriage, meant to move smoothly,decelerated and accelerated as if caught in a tug-of-war.

Without the augmentation from the Sanguine Mark, the intense movement alone would have shattered the carriage.

The motion was perfect for making me dizzy.

The Princess and Historia, riding on the horse, trailed us with Azzy.

Drenched, Azzy, less cheerful than before, clambered onto the carriage and shook herself vigorously, splashing water that stung my neck.

“Huey? Are you using the Progenitor as a power source?”

“Yes! This is no ordinary automaton carriage—it's now powered by a vampire!”

“Using the Progenitor as a gear is reckless. If you upset her...”

Historia voiced her concern, but Tyr answered instead.

[Hu! This is quite fascinating! I am not pushing the carriage from behind, yet the more I turn it, the further we move forward!]

Well, that's how it's designed.

But for Tyr, it must be a surprising revelation.

Vampires weaken under the sun, and their very existence eroded in its presence.

Though Tyr, having regained her heart, was more resilient than the average vampire, sunlight still limited her strength.

Yet here she was, lying in the luggage compartment, propelling us forward simply by turning her hand in the darkness.

How astounding.

“Thank you! As expected, there's no one like you, Tyr! I'll handle the direction, so just keep turning it! The faster you turn, the faster we go!”

[You and I, working together... Hehe, understood.]

“Yes! teamwork! We’ll sync up together!”

[No need to shamelessly emphasize that... I understand.]

More power was applied to turning the gear.

The automaton carriage, now powered by the Progenitor of vampires instead of the Thundergear, accelerated once more.

Though faster than before, neither I nor the Regressor could relax.

If the Warforger could break the bridge from such a distance, who knew what else he could do?

With the Regressor scanning the surroundings, I remained focused on driving.

Then, the Regressor urgently shouted, spotting something.

“Watch out! Something’s coming!”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know! But a gear is turning over there!”

“How am I supposed to be careful if I don’t know what it is?!”

There was no time for complaints. Soon, the unidentified threat revealed itself in a peculiar manner.

The world tilted.

Usually, when something went wrong, it tended to be my fault rather than the worlds’.

The vast world wouldn't go wrong just for me.

But this situation was undeniably strange.

The seemingly flat ground suddenly tilted, causing the carriage to slide off course.

The ground, previously steady, seemed to mock my confusion.

In my confusion, I arrived at a simple conclusion: the ground was stable, I was fine, but this section of the road was definitely skewed.

“The road is tilting!”

The sound of gears grinding reached my ears.

The solid block supporting the road was moving.

As the gears rotated, the block flipped, sending the carriage sliding sideways.

The slope transformed into a nearly vertical drop.

Azzy, perched on the carriage roof, dug her claws in to maintain her grip.

“Woof! Woof! No rest for the weary!”

“He actually installed something like this on the road?! What a sick hobby…!”

The Regressor muttered, drawing her sword.

Anticipating her intentions, I steered the carriage up the inclining path.

Upon reaching the peak—a bizarrely fitting description for a summit in the middle of the road—the Regressor leaned out and gently lowered her sword.

Terra Firma Art, Iron Root.

The weight equivalent to a thousand pounds, but actually thousands of times heavier, descended from the tip of Jizan.

If it were merely heavy, it would have cracked the road surface outright.

But Jizan, rooted in this massive structure, distributed its immense weight evenly.

The road, flipped by gear-driven force, resisted against the weight of Jizan.

A brief moment of stillness.

It wasn’t for long. Jizan overpowered the gears, shattering the teeth and transmitting its force.

The holy artifact of the Order of Gaia that symbolized the very earth itself, Jizan.

Only those deemed worthy could wield it, and the gears were clearly not up to the task.

The flipping ground, as if paying homage to Mother Earth, settled back into place.

Simultaneously, the Regressor returned to her seat.

“Phew. Well done. If we get out of here like this…”

The Regressor, about to praise me, fell silent as a thought struck her.

｢Now that I think about it, he drove up without being told. As if he knew I’d use Iron Root?｣

I read your thoughts, and you've been relying on Jizan a lot lately.

Isn’t it obvious? But I can’t say that, so I’ll make something up.

“Isn’t that the technique the Earth Sage used to flip Tantalus? By distributing weight evenly?”

“Good catch. Yes, that’s right.”

｢Come to think of it, he's handled Jizan before. His instincts and observation are sharp. I have to pick up Jizan in the next timeline too. If we cooperate in the next timeline, maybe… he could be a companion.｣

No, thanks. I need a break too.

This boss spends lavishly but works you to the bone and will chase you even into the next timeline.

“Anyway, if we get out like this, no proble–”

The Regressor cut herself off mid-sentence. She turned sharply, disbelief written across her face.

Unable to look back while driving, I used her vision to see what shocked her.

“The Warforger is chasing us directly?”

Maximilien, the Warforger, was walking along the interconnected gears.

How can I describe this scene? It was like he was skipping over stepping stones.

The gears extended from the tall watchtower like roots, and Maximilien tread lightly on the fiercely spinning gears as he approached the carriage.

Running atop such gears, where a misstep meant getting shredded, he seemed to be propelled forward by the synchronized motion of the gears.

I recalled a rumor about the Warforger. One mentioned he was the mastermind behind the Meta Conveyor Belt.

The Earth Sage shaped the land, and the Mage Marshal moved it, but the initial idea… was from the Designer, the God of Gears.

Warforger Maximilien.

“What’s his plan?”

“Not sure, but it seems we can’t shake him. Look, he’s closing in fast. All exits are blocked.”

“Face him head-on. The Warforger’s strength lay in his preparation. Without preparation, he’s not so tough. Let him come.”

“Such confidence. That was cool.”

“Stop the nonsense.”

“By the way, you talk as if you’ve fought all the Six Star Generals. Were you a notorious criminal?”

｢A criminal, yes. In a previous timeline. Honestly, pure-skill fighters like the Sunderspear or the Gunmater are the toughest. They fought with instinct, without a clear strategy.｣

Honest thoughts are charming.

Just admit that you’re weaker in pure combat, right?

Can we handle them like this?

The enemy is the Military State, but with you, Tyr, and Historia, we should be okay.

But if you’re this uncertain, I’m worried.

｢The Warforger, with his gears, and The Envoy, whose existence is shrouded in mystery… They are manageable. The Camarilla… I’m still not quite sure. I can overpower him, yet he’s a Star General?｣

Are you the benchmark for the Six Star Generals?

Why does this thought sadden me?

Well, the Regressor was more of a strategist than a warrior.

A strategist was surprisingly amazing.

She believed the remaining three Star Generals were manageable to her.

If that was the case, there was no need to worry too much.

“He’s here.”

The Regressor glanced back.

Maximilien, running on the gears, landed 30 meters behind the carriage.

He looked part-human, part-machine.

If gears took on human form, he was the embodiment of that fusion.

Gears sparsely adorned his body.

The carriage was 30 meters away, and the gap kept widening.

Considering the carriage’s speed, catching up on foot seemed impossible.

But the opponent was Maximilien, the Warforger, a one-man army even when stripped naked.

Twisting his ankle, a gear clicked from his shoe’s heel, spinning rapidly.

Small explosions echoed as the gear propelled his body forward.

What the…?

I glanced back.

“…Is that a gear?”

The Regressor nodded.

“Yes, a gear. All the gears embedded in his body move according to his will. Even those on his feet. That's how he achieves such feats.”

“Incredible. His body must be lighter than this carriage, making him much faster?”

“On roads, yes. But on rough terrain, not so much. Certain Qinggong, like Gon Qi Art, can't be used with gears, so his feet are faster over short distances. But... he shouldn't be underestimated.”

As the Regressor pondered, Maximilien glided along the road, swiftly overtaking us.

He turned to face us, moving forward.

Finally, I could see Maximilien’s face clearly.

Smiling, he tipped his officer’s cap in greeting.

“Hello, Tantalus escapees! Pleasure to meet you all! I am Maximilien, the Human Regime, a proud human!”

Despite his youthful, almost childlike appearance, he had achieved mastery.

Age seemed to have left barely a mark on him.

A gear-shaped monocle hung over his left eye.

Adjusting the lenses for distance, he studied us.

Moving smoothly, he spread his arms. There was a golden Thundergear spinning slowly at his solar plexus.

“Now! Sorry for interrupting your journey. I dislike external noise, and I dislike being that noise even more! It’s unsightly! But I just had to see you!”

The Regressor gripped her sword, ready to spring into action at any moment.

“How shameless! You’re the one who blocked our path!”

“I had no choice. You kept evading! Destroying bridges, altering paths, yet you still advanced steadily. I had to come personally!”

“What do you want?”

“Ah, curiosity! Excellent! A sign of willingness to converse!”

Stepping back, he moved effortlessly, never breaking his stride.

Standing as if the ground moved beneath him, he attempted conversation.

The Regressor frowned.

｢Tsk, likely that’s what he's after. He’s the leader of the Human Regime. The one he wants… surely.｣

Sliding forward, Maximilien raised his arms, tilting his head.

His gaze settled on Azzy.

“King of Dogs! Humanity's oldest friend!”

Soaked, and lying on the carriage, Azzy perked up at her name being called.

“Woof? You called me?”

“Yes! My friend, everyone’s friend! The wisest beast who chose to serve humans! Now, tell me!”

Ignoring the onlookers, he focused solely on Azzy, his gaze piercing through mechanical lenses.

Adorned with gears, his eyes gleamed with a joy contrasting with the cold steel.

“Who among you is the King of Humans?”