The sky above Steel City was gloomy.

As he looked at the rolling columns of pitch-black smoke rising from the enormous metal smokestacks both inside and outside Steel City, realization dawned upon Sein.

No wonder planar will did not exist in technological civilizations.

The environmental damage surrounding Steel City was the result of the relentless wartime demand for magitech and alchemy products needed to support the frontlines during the Clash of Civilizations.

In the end, Steel City still leaned heavily toward the mechanical and technological side, so it had inevitably picked up some of the “bad habits” common to technological civilizations.

For the time being, the Magus Civilization could still tolerate this level of pollution.

Purification-type creatures relocated by the guardians were now spread throughout the areas inside and outside Steel City.

Special plants with exceptional air-purifying properties, such as sunflowers, had been planted all over the city.

The purification magic arrays deployed across the region were also operating at full capacity.

Mid- and low-ranking mages often saw flickering white light and strange magic patterns appearing along Steel City’s outer walls. Those were clear signs that the purification magic arrays were at work.

In truth, the best way to deal with pollution was to eliminate it at the source.

That meant moving all of Steel City’s heavy factories out of Magus World altogether!

But doing so would create another problem—the secrecy of space fortress technology.

For now, all of the Magus Civilization’s space fortresses were still manufactured within Magus World itself before being exported to the various regions of the Magus Alliance.

As pollution around Steel City continued to worsen, it would inevitably push the Magus Civilization to loosen some of its restrictions on knowledge and technology and make decisions more quickly.

Of course, during the Clash of Civilizations, the Magus World leadership had no time to focus on pollution.

Winning the war came first. Pollution control and the relocation of magitech factories could wait until later.

If they lost the war, then none of this would matter.

As soon as Sein arrived in Steel City, he was personally greeted by a Rank Five mechanic named Babbage.

Sein recognized him at once. Babbage was the mechanic through whom he had previously sold the two technological secret treasure fragments he had acquired.

After that transaction, Sein had also purchased several high-grade materials from him for Yuri’s mecha.

This time, Sein had come to Steel City to choose two space fortresses—a major purchase by any standard.

Knowing that Sein might still have other secret treasure fragments in his possession, it was hardly surprising that Babbage had come out beyond the city gates to receive him personally.

“Greetings, Master Babbage,” Sein said with a smile as he greeted the mechanic before him.

Up to now, the two of them had only communicated through magic transmissions. This was their first meeting in person.

“Welcome to Steel City, Master Sein,” Babbage replied with a smile.

Of course, Babbage was not the only mechanic Sein knew in Steel City.

Sein had previously commissioned prism forts, ordered modifications for Yuri’s Burning Flame Unit, and purchased materials from Steel City on several occasions.

The main reason he had chosen to deal with Master Babbage this time was the latter’s repeated invitations.

Babbage had also mentioned that his mechanical divine tower maintained close ties with several magitech heavy factories. If Sein commissioned a space fortress through him, Babbage could arrange the most favorable price possible.

Sein certainly had money, but not so much that he could afford to squander it carelessly—especially now that the Magus Civilization had suspended the rewards it had promised him, and Sia had already begun preparing to establish her knightly order.

In truth, Sein’s financial situation was nowhere near as comfortable as he had made it sound to Reina and the others.

At Babbage’s invitation, Sein’s group headed straight for a heavy manufacturing plant in the central-southern district of Steel City.

This factory happened to produce the two space fortress models Sein and the two female knights had in mind: the Heavy Armor Mark II and the Steel Blade Excavator.

This trip gave Sia and Reina a chance to inspect the real thing for themselves, while also allowing Sein to offer his own suggestions.

Of course, their inspection in Steel City was not limited to just these two models. In total, they looked over eight different types of space fortresses.

Aside from space fortresses, they might also purchase prism forts, war airships, magic-powered puppets, and magitech armaments during this trip.

Babbage was clearly doing his utmost to serve Sein and the others well while promoting the space fortresses.

Even if he claimed he was giving Sein the best possible price, there was no way he was not still making a profit.

Sein knew perfectly well what Babbage really wanted. This guy was hoping to pry another one or two of those technological secret treasures fragments out of him.

***

Sein and Reina spent nearly half a year in and around Steel City.

In addition to the two heavy space fortresses, they also placed orders for twenty-two prism forts, three hundred fifteen war airships, three thousand magic-powered puppets, and nearly five thousand sets of magitech armaments.

Sein’s Ashen Fortress was itself a heavy-duty space fortress. Whether because of Sein’s influence or simply because Reina and Sia were knights by nature, the two women also preferred such heavy models over the more standard or slender designs.

Heavy-duty fortresses featured large calibers, immense offensive power, thick armor, and spacious interiors. Their weaknesses, however, lay in their poor mobility and extremely high energy consumption.

Still, with energy crystal prices across the Magus Civilization continuing to fall in recent years, it was no surprise that Babbage said these space fortresses had been selling exceptionally well.

It was not only knights buying them now—even many law-wielding mages had begun favoring this type of fortress.

Sein’s Ashen Fortress had been with him for many years, and after repeated wars, it was already showing signs of wear both inside and out.

This trip to Steel City also made Sein consider whether to upgrade his current fortress or simply buy a newer and more advanced one altogether.

The twenty-two prism forts were not all meant for Reina and Sia. Part of the order was for Sein himself, including several of the war airships as well.

As for the magic-powered puppets, their excellent performance in battle, along with the training value they offered to low-ranking mages, had made them increasingly popular among divine towers.

Marie had mentioned this to Sein more than once, so he took the opportunity to make the purchase during this visit to Steel City.

The Divine Tower of Ashes now had more than twenty thousand war mages under its command. Including the academy mages who remained in Magus World, their total number was close to thirty thousand.

With such a large number of lower-ranking mages under him, ordering three thousand magic-powered puppets was hardly excessive.

It was not that Sein did not want to buy more, but each divine tower had a fixed procurement quota, as these puppets were in extremely high demand throughout Magus World. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Whenever Sein saw low-ranking mages remotely controlling magic-powered puppets in battle, he could not help thinking of the Gallant Federation’s giant mobile suits and the Rosen Dynasty Civilization’s mobile suit legions.

The Clash of Civilizations had already influenced nearly every aspect of Magus World.

As for the nearly five thousand sets of magitech armaments, those were meant for the knightly order Sia was preparing to establish.