Adam found it hard to grasp the logic of the Windflame 222 language, but he understood the previous sentences. So he asked, "Are all patrol teams made up of ten people? What do you do when you encounter more Metal Eaters?"
"There aren't many Titans in Ironburg left with fighting abilities, and we haven't received any reinforcements. Usually, a patrol team consists of twenty to thirty Titans. If we encounter more Metal Eaters, we fight if we can. If we can't, we ask for support. If we're surrounded, we'll just have to fight and see. We can't just wait to die. It's hard for a Titan to pass on the flame if they die in the wild."
"What about today?"
Windflame 222 said carelessly, "Today falls into the category of 'not knowing if we can win'."
"Why not ask for support?"
"Because there's no support to ask for. I and 457 are still on vacation, yet we still have to go on missions. I know what you're thinking. Intelligents always think too much," Windflame 222 said, attributing Adam's many questions to his Intelligent identity. "No Titan is afraid of death. If we can't win, we might as well explode our spark. Who knows if a new life will be born because of me? Just like you were born because of Flame 123's team."
Bluewater 457, also looking like a truck, drove up to Adam and gave him a few pieces of alloy. "Leave these behind and decide what to evolve into next time you return. Passing down the Flame is the mission of every Titan. As long as the last spark of fire burns, Titans will not perish. You're still young. After a few advancements, you'll understand."
After saying this, Bluewater 457 drove away leisurely, seeming very pleased.
Adam stood there alone, the flames in his heart leaping.
The Titans weren't very good at speaking, and some of their answers felt off-topic. But in every Titan's heart, the idea of passing down the flame was paramount. As long as they could pass down the flames, they didn't mind their personal life or death; they even considered death as the final extension of their lives.
The devil whispered softly, "Master, they are so foolish." His tone was somewhat emotional.
...
The journey back was much faster than the journey there. In one day, everyone returned to Ironburg fully loaded.
For Windflame 222 and the others, not losing a single person and gaining so much loot was a great victory.
The Titans showed great kindness and affirmation to Adam because of this. They gave Adam most of the spoils of war, regardless of whether he could use them or not.
Adam only kept a little of each item for research and returned the rest to them. The Titans didn't decline, patting their chests and saying, "Since you don't want the spoils, we'll give you a greater share of the Honors. We'll give it to you after the settlement. If you need these metals, feel free to ask us for them."
After nodding, everyone parted ways in front of Ironburg's gates. Adam constructed a mithril backpack on his back and filled it with alloy samples, then headed towards the place where he had been resting for the past month.
There was a small figure sitting in a corner against the wall, probably newly born. Windflame 222 was right; Ironburg was short on hands. Except for the newborns, the rest of the Titans had heavy work to do.
Adam felt helpless about this. His current level was indeed low, so he was not that useful too. In large-scale battles, he couldn't even maintain more magnetic fields, and in small-scale ones, there was a risk of being surrounded by large groups of Metal Eaters and suffering a defeat.
So, he decided to stay in Ironburg and do some research until he evolved into a Knight. At that point, Ironburg would naturally assign him tasks.
Adam sat down on the ground and moved the backpack to his front, looking like a kangaroo's pouch. He then took out several pieces of Metal Eaters' wastes.
He discovered that these wastes were high-purity metals. He was curious about the kind of chemical reactions inside Metal Eaters that could purify ores with many impurities to such an extent through flesh and blood.
These metal blocks could be directly used to build bodies without secondary processing, if collected in larger quantities. No wonder the Titans gave Adam so many---they wanted him to strengthen his body.
However, Adam could purify metals himself, and his process was as good as that of Metal Eaters. So, he just looked at the metal blocks and set them aside.
The truly magical substances were the energy alloys transformed by the Metal Eaters with their bodies.
Adam kept some of each type of alloy, which emitted different energy fluctuations. The strongest reached level-three intensity, while the weakest was even inferior to ordinary alloys.
It seemed their quality was closely related to the Metal Eaters' strength and energy at the time of death.
The properties of the few hundred small alloy pieces all fell into the four basic elements of earth, water, wind, and fire. The more advanced ones were merely combinations of two types of energy, so their practical value was not that high.
Adam quickly put them back into his backpack. He was now most interested in how Metal Eaters achieved this and what the transcendent Intelligents used to modify those cells?
"Um...Mithril, are you a newborn too?"
While Adam was thinking, the other newborn walked over and sat next to him. He tried to move as quietly as possible, but his iron alloy body made a lot of noise no matter how careful he was.
Adam nodded at him, then calmly looked at him.
The newborn seemed very nervous. "My body is made of ordinary iron ore and some impurities, I...I..."
Seeing the newborn's longing gaze fixed on his backpack, Adam casually pushed it forward. "Do you want these?"
The newborn seemed startled, his body retreating rapidly, making a harsh scraping sound.
Then he shook his head frantically and said, "No, how could I take your things? I just want to know where you got them. I have no Honors, and when I want to go out mining, other Titans say it's too dangerous nearby and stop me. So, I don't want to go back inland, nor do I want to work in the factory."
Adam was used to the way Titans spoke in a disjointed manner. He found it odd that the benefits for newborns did not include the metals needed for advancements. Windflame 222 hadn't told him how ordinary Titans were supposed to acquire these resources. Adam wondered if the newborns really had to find these resources for themselves.
"Where is the Titan responsible for you?"
"He left the city for a mission half a month ago and hasn't returned yet."
Adam understood. The current situation in Ironburg was indeed not suitable for newborns. It was probably unique for someone as careless as Windflame 222 to take a Titan born just a month ago on a patrol mission. Other Titans, once tasked, had no time to care for the newcomers.
He pushed a basket of metals towards the nameless newborn. "These are of no use to me, so I'll give them to you. Actually, don't worry. Windflame 222 mentioned that more forces will soon be mobilized to Ironburg. Then, you'll be able to go out and mine."
