After confirming the next exploration target, Duanmu Huai didn't act immediately. Instead, he brought Lorena, Melody, and the others back to the space station.
"This is... the residence of the knight, sir..."
Standing on the mirror-like smooth metal floor, Lorena gazed through the floor-to-ceiling window at the massive sapphire-blue sphere and the starry sky beyond. Her mouth hung open, nearly at a loss for words.
"That's right, this is my residence."
Duanmu Huai nodded. Just moments ago, he had returned to the space station aboard the Night Raven Black Star gunship and anchored the fragment world of the Holy City here. This way, people in the Holy City could use this anchor point to freely travel between Duanmu Huai's space station and the Holy City.
Simply put, it was like binding the Holy City's projection to the space station. The advantage was that Duanmu Huai's space station existed in a state that overlapped both the main plane and the Warp. With the planar protection of the Holy City fragment, the station wouldn't need to fear Warp corruption. And as long as they didn't leave the Holy City's area, people within the fragment could freely move around the space station without Duanmu Huai having to use psychic power to maintain their presence.
This was also why Soul Walkers always sought to expand the fragment worlds they owned. The larger the fragment, the more stable Warp territory they controlled. If one could possess a star-system-scale Warp fragment, it would mean the entire star system was safeguarded from the Chaos Gods.
And it could even move.
"Am I going to work here?"
Kukuru was also standing dumbfounded in the metal hall, not even sure where to put her hands.
"More or less. Come with me, I'll show you the Void Barracks."
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai turned and walked out of the hall toward the other side of the corridor. The others hurried to follow, curiously taking in their surroundings. Even if they didn't understand a word of what Duanmu Huai had explained, the sheer magnificence of the station was enough to inspire awe.
The Void Barracks were located beside the Void Dock. Unlike the vast open dock, the barracks were divided into several areas—training grounds for Adeptus Astartes, workshops for maintaining and manufacturing weapons, and zones for collecting, refining, and processing asteroid minerals. It functioned like a fully automated industrial complex. Of course, running it required at least several thousand servitors to maintain minimal operations.
Fortunately, after anchoring the coordinates, Duanmu Huai could purchase dolls from the Doll District to replace servitors in these tasks.
He had also integrated Sky City into the Holy City fragment, meaning he could use the mechanical soldiers and constructs made by Sky City here as well.
Then Duanmu Huai spent a large sum commissioning Doll District technicians to produce all kinds of dolls needed for the station's operations, which at least stabilized life aboard—for now. His money, however, was almost completely gone.
At present, the station was organized like this: Flower Dolls were responsible for station security, while a large number of Slaughter Dolls silently hid in various corners, acting like surveillance probes.
Cleaning and maintenance work was handled by Cleaning Dolls.
As for manufacturing weapons and equipment—normally the job of servitors—that was done by Mechanical Maids.
Though these dolls weren't human, their appearance alone was far more pleasing than the grotesque, machine-fused forms of servitors.
Mia was in charge of managing the dolls, while Kukuru had been invited by Duanmu Huai to oversee military production.
"I want you to work here."
"But... what exactly would I be doing?"
Faced with these strange tools and weapons, Kukuru looked utterly lost.
"On one hand, I want you to supervise weapon production. On the other, I hope you can use your skills and experience to improve them."
"But... so many things here, I've never even seen before..."
The first step is always the hardest, but I need a capable assistant. If you work for me, you'll be free to study any of the weapons here.
"Really?!"
At that, Kukuru's eyes lit up. As a gunsmith, she could instantly tell that many of these weapons were far beyond anything she had imagined. The idea of learning their manufacturing principles greatly excited her. If she could master them, she was certain her craft would reach a whole new level.
"Of course."
Duanmu Huai nodded. Choosing Kukuru was, in truth, a matter of necessity. Back in the game, he had always left this kind of military-industrial problem to the Adeptus Mechanicus. He himself didn't understand the factory equipment, and even if he could, he didn't have the time to manage it.
So finding the right subordinate was crucial. While Kukuru's technological background was completely different from this world's, he believed her intelligence and talent would allow her to figure things out—probably. The Empire's technology was supposed to be secret, but unlike the secretive, stubborn Mechanicus, Duanmu Huai welcomed more help.
In the end, Kukuru agreed to work aboard the station, even saying she would bring her sisters to join her. Duanmu Huai had no objections. With the anchor point and portal open, going home was as simple as entering the portal from the hall, instantly returning to the Holy City.
To avoid unwanted visitors, Duanmu Huai had set the other end of the portal inside Sky City, which prevented a lot of trouble.
In truth, every Soul Walker's station developed like this over time. Seeing his station now bustling with some activity, Duanmu Huai felt gratified. It reminded him of when he first built his station in the game—young and inexperienced, making many mistakes—but the feeling of watching a force he created slowly grow stronger was... truly satisfying.
At the moment, Duanmu Huai only needed to restock grenades and ammo for the Night Raven Black Star, so there was no rush. Lorena and the others, however, were brimming with excitement, asking endless questions. Duanmu Huai did his best to answer, teaching them a bit along the way. They were especially stunned when they learned that the massive sapphire sphere outside the window was their own world—they had never imagined their home was a round globe.
He also warned them of certain dangers. It was unlikely, but if Lorena or Melody ever opened the airlock out of curiosity... the consequences would be disastrous.
After satisfying their curiosity, Duanmu Huai once again piloted the Night Raven Black Star to the Empire. Following his map, he located Dunkelberg at the southern end of Reikland.
Before coming here, he had asked around and learned that Dunkelberg was an ancient and wealthy town in Reikland, ideal for vacations. The tale of "Manaria" was a local fairy tale, with many versions, but all centered on humans battling a dragon and ultimately defeating it.
Some adventurers had even come here searching for dragon bones, but of course, found nothing.
And now...
Duanmu Huai's eyes flashed as he stared down at the dark earth below.
Soul Resonance!
The world before him became hazy and dreamlike. Soon, a faint light appeared in his vision, like the first star in the night sky, flickering weakly.
There!
He maneuvered the gunship down toward the source of the light—a towering peak deep in the forest. On the far side of the mountain stood a tall, crumbling tower. Duanmu Huai leapt from the gunship to the tower's base and looked up.
The tower was in ruins, as if it had been caught in an explosion.
Activating Soul Resonance again, a multicolored crystal emitting a faint glow appeared in midair before the tower. Duanmu Huai reached out to gently touch it.
In the next moment, everything vanished.
A roaring wind and flames engulfed the world. All around came the sounds of battle and shouting. Duanmu Huai looked up to see countless dragons spewing fire from the skies, while on the ground, people fought with weapons and magic, clashing against the airborne beasts.
Then, a clear and commanding voice rang out.
"Dragon Princess of Regnis! Today will be your end!!"
On the tower's summit stood a small figure. The clouds split, and a black-haired woman with wings and a tail descended before her.
"At last... the day for us to settle this has come."
"That's right! This time, I will kill you! Heroic spirit, heed my call—destroy the hated dragonkin!!"
With the shout, a massive steel knight appeared behind her, roaring as it raised its arms to strike. The dragon woman clenched her fists and charged straight at it.
The world turned blinding white.
Duanmu Huai raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sudden flash. When the glare faded, a figure stood before him.
"Please... save them. Save this world..."
The sorrowful voice echoed in his ears.
"Human potential is the hope of magic... I beg you, save it all."
With those words, the world before Duanmu Huai changed once more.