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Seeing Gotthardt Stahlgriff again, Ignis found him at a demolition site within an old metro hub being rebuilt under contract by Belobog Heavy Industries.
The Leviathan Dreadnought, standing five to six meters tall, had the lettering of Belobog Heavy Industries painted across both side armor plates, and every edge line of its main chassis bore red and yellow hazard stripes.
Although the two mechanical arms manufactured by Belobog Heavy Industries differed somewhat in style from the Dreadnought's original frame—the right arm a massive impact drill, the left a grasping claw similar to those on heavy industrial lifters—they at least allowed the old veteran to function again.
Ignis had informed Grace and the others ahead of time. Today was designated for the field test, confirming the mechanical limbs' operational performance and output.
He therefore brought along some snacks and magazines that the old veteran might enjoy.
During his campaigns in the Warhammer universe, as a veteran of the Sixth Company, he never participated in engagements fierce enough to witness a Dreadnought in motion. Let alone a Leviathan Dreadnought piloted by a ten-millennia-old veteran who had survived the Great Crusade and fought in the Siege of Terra.
His heartbeat quickened as he approached—no man could resist the sheer beauty of massive machinery in motion.
Even in New Eridu, heavy excavators operating on roadsides could attract men of all ages to stand and watch. A Dreadnought was on a level of its own entirely.
"You're right on time. We were just about to begin testing."
Koleda waved as Ignis came closer.
"Oh god… three ether-hybrid engines…"
Ben Bigger slapped a paw against his ursine face. "I just hope the old gentleman's work efficiency can justify his fuel consumption."
Seeing Ben's expression, Ignis guessed the recent financial books of Belobog Heavy Industries were probably not looking great. But with Grace's face glowing with excitement, she had no doubt cooked up some new innovation again.
"May I begin moving?"
Gotthardt's voice carried a clear eagerness; he had gone far too long without being able to move his body freely. After ten thousand years trapped within nightmares, every second here made him long to move.
"Don't rush. Let's check the sensitivity of each sensor first."
Grace opened her terminal; its screen filled with rising and falling bar graphs. "Alright, old sir—try raising your right arm."
"As you wish."
The Leviathan Dreadnought lifted its right arm, straightened the elbow, spun the impact drill at maximum speed, then rapidly extended and retracted it under hydraulic assistance to simulate a full-force strike.
Because the Dreadnought now used a cleaner power source, the thick, diesel-punk-styled multi-port exhausts at its back no longer belched black fumes.
Truthfully, Ignis felt slightly disappointed by that. Without the thunderous roar of an engine, without choking smoke, without the sharp tang of burning fuel, the massive war machine felt as though something essential was missing.
"Feels good. Low noise."
Gotthardt's voice came through the Dreadnought's vox array. "But I feel something lacking. The machine-spirit is too quiet. I'm… not used to it."
"Electric motors produce very little noise; it's better for the operator's long-term health."
Grace's eyes remained fixed on her terminal as she quickly read the data. "Excellent—sensors are nominal. You can try taking a few steps."
"Finally!"
Ignis felt the old veteran might burst from his sarcophagus with excitement.
"Please avoid overly large movements. This mechanical arm isn't as strong as your original one."
Grace warned quickly.
The Leviathan Dreadnought took a few steps, its motions remarkably smooth, and with mechanical arms restored, maintaining balance became far easier.
"This feels fantastic!"
The old veteran cheered, shifting from a walk to a brisk stride, then into a jog.
"This is incredible! No unbearable pain, completely free movement."
Gotthardt's exhilaration overflowed as he rotated the Dreadnought's waist, spinning its upper body like a massive metal gyroscope.
"Gotthardt, careful!"
Ignis ducked beneath a mechanical arm sweeping over his head, feeling inconvenience for the first time due to his own height.
The old veteran answered with hearty laughter. This young woman had truly solved the torment the Leviathan inflicted on its pilot, and just as she had said, with the ether-hybrid engines the overall output had not dropped significantly. His second body still possessed more than enough mobility.
"My apologies—I may be too excited."
The Leviathan stopped spinning, but then suddenly burst into a run.
Though its main chassis looked like a rectangular armored loaf—thick, heavy, immovable—once those metal legs began pumping, the Dreadnought accelerated astonishingly fast.
In urban ruin terrain, its sprint could rival that of a tank. Luckily today's test site lay in an isolated section destined for demolition; otherwise, seeing a multi-ton humanoid war machine performing acrobatics would undoubtedly hit every newsfeed.
"This is extraordinary!"
Grace's eyes gleamed. "What a superb support structure and motion system! A machine weighing dozens of tons—transportable only by heavy-lift helicopters—executing a backflip! Amazing!"
Koleda, however, stared at the widening cracks under the machine's rampaging run, wondering if the old man might be too happy.
Ben stood frozen like a crashed terminal. Grace's engineering marvels were already excessive, but this—this was on a whole different scale.
The accountant of Belobog Heavy Industries was clearly running through numbers in his head already, calculating how to carve a new budget to pay for damages caused whenever the old veteran spontaneously went wild.
Their financial books were already unhealthy enough.
But no one present noticed Ben's psychological collapse. The Bear Thiren felt he was about to shed a whole season's worth of fur.
"All right, old man, enough playing around. Time to get to work."
At last, Koleda halted the rampage. They had additional tests scheduled; today was not merely a playground session for the old veteran.
"Oh, of course!"
Gotthardt stopped. "This building's demolition—yes, I remember showing you, my calculations."
"You did. But we still need to see results."
Koleda pointed at the thirty-story residential building before them. "Let's see if your drill really performs as well as you claim—and if your calculations are correct."
It seemed the old veteran had personally computed which structural points needed to be destroyed to collapse the building. Ignis had no doubt: for a ten-thousand-year veteran of the Imperial Fists, demolishing a civilian residential structure was child's play.
"Go for it! I believe in you!"
Grace pumped her fists, thrilled. "I'm also counting on the drill's data!"
A hearty laugh boomed from the Dreadnought's vox array. The massive machine circled the building twice, pinpointing the structural weak points.
The impact drill spun up, and under the immense torque of the hybrid engines, a light swing of the mechanical arm shattered several load-bearing pillars.
The frame reacted instantly, instability rippling through its structure. Gotthardt quickly struck the remaining critical points, destroying each one with precision.
In less than three minutes, the thirty-plus-story tower collapsed straight downward—like a perfectly executed controlled demolition—with zero damage to surrounding buildings.
"Ben, I think this trade was absolutely worth it."
Koleda patted his stomach. "A superb piece of engineering machinery—and an equally excellent engineer. Their value to our future development is immeasurable."
"But I hope so." Ben sighed. "Our construction schedule is already behind. There's a gap between our current progress and what we planned. Getting the progress payment from the client may become troublesome. If we don't catch up soon, we might need to pay things out of pocket."
"President Koleda, you know our account balance is running low." Ben spoke helplessly. "The repair budget for the prototype, the repair budget for Gotthardt's Dreadnought, and the expenses we spent coordinating with other departments… we don't have much money left."
"But look—Mr. Gotthardt's demolition capability is far superior to those smart engineering units. With his help, we'll soon make up for the lost progress." Koleda remained optimistic. "How's the compensation we applied for? I recall the payment should be on its way. And didn't we recently find some ether resources inside the Hollow? We can sell part of it. The contract clearly states that any discoveries inside the reconstruction zone belong to us."
While the president and the accountant discussed finances, Gotthardt was testing his mechanical claw. Though it wasn't as powerful as a Siege Claw, Grace's improvements increased its strength significantly, making heavy lifting effortless. Based on field tests, the arm's maximum lifting capacity was around a hundred tons—clearing construction debris would be trivial.
Grace herself was surprised. The hundred-ton limit was due mostly to the materials used for the mechanical arm, not the engine output. After all, it wasn't structured like a crane, but like a human arm. A hundred-ton load was an extreme test of its structural strength. The old veteran even tested the claw's crushing power; under hydraulic force, the main concrete structure of the building was pulverized with ease.
While still weaker than a Siege Claw, this level of performance was satisfactory enough for Gotthardt.
"Excellent. Everything is within the margin of my calculations." Grace nodded in deep satisfaction as she read the terminal data. "From what I can see, the restoration of this Dreadnought is exceptionally polished."
"That's great to hear." Ignis waved at the Dreadnought. "Old veteran, I may have something I need your help with soon."
Hearing that the Salamander needed assistance, Gotthardt turned toward him. "You've encountered trouble?"
"Yes. A major threat is moving. They attacked an armory—Razor's people." Ignis organized his explanation. "They're hiding inside the Hollow, and now they've secured a batch of heavy firepower. Breaking through alone could be difficult."
"Understood." Gotthardt's voice hardened. "You need heavy armor support to break their defensive line. When do we depart?"
Seeing how eager the old veteran was for battle, Ignis felt genuinely relieved. If Gotthardt joined the operation, Razor's weapons would pose no real threat to him.
"I've found someone to decode the data disk that contains the location of their hideout. Once it's cracked, I'll notify you." Ignis said, then turned to Koleda. "By then, I'll need your help transporting him with a helicopter."
"That's fine." Koleda nodded. "Razor… wasn't he a pretty notorious gang leader recently? What feud do you have with him?"
"A personal issue." The Salamander shrugged. He couldn't exactly explain Warp corruption to these people. "Don't worry, I'll pay you fairly. I won't waste your efforts."
"No need for payment. Just cover the fuel costs." Koleda waved generously. "Helicopters and the old man's Dreadnought burn a lot of fuel."
"Assaulting fortified defenses, eliminating resistance." Gotthardt let out a cold chuckle. "No one knows this kind of battle better than we Imperial Fists. Even without my proper weapons, this adamantium body is a weapon. Ah… I do miss my Storm Autocannon Array. Not many fortifications could endure its purging fire. I don't know how many traitors I destroyed along with their laughable cover positions."
Just as he was about to drift into old veteran reminiscing mode, a cluster of Ethereals gathered nearby. It seemed the demolition noise had attracted them. This area hadn't been fully cleared, so seeing Ethereals wandering wasn't unusual.
"Ah, those are Ethereals, right?"
The old veteran sounded thrilled as the mechanical claw began rotating. "Perfect. I can test my current combat capability."
Koleda had been preparing to act herself, but the five-to-six-meter-tall giant had already charged forward. His massive frame alone was a terrifying weapon; one charge was enough to crush the majority of the Ethereals. Gotthardt then swept his mechanical claw, flinging the remaining creatures aside, and caught a Farbauti in his palm.
The large Ethereal, massive by ordinary standards, looked like an oversized toy in the Leviathan's grip. A squeeze from the mechanical claw crushed it flat.
To be honest, Ignis was seeing true panic on an Ethereal's face for the first time. The way the Farbauti flailed before being crushed was… almost pitiful.
"I think our operational safety inside the Hollow just increased dramatically." Koleda stared blankly at the Dreadnought treating Ethereals like toys.
Though she'd heard from Ignis that this machine was a terrifying war engine, seeing its destructive power firsthand was shocking. And this was merely using engineering equipment supplied by Belobog Heavy Industries—if its full weapons systems were restored, what kind of nightmarish monster would it become?
Koleda felt that even that strange Sacrifice she had once encountered—a special variant created using three combined smart engineering units—wouldn't last three exchanges against this old man.
Ben nodded. "I think this was money well spent. A superb engineer, a powerful piece of engineering machinery, and a bodyguard with overwhelming performance."
"Do you think the Defense Force of New Eridu would try to forcibly purchase him from us if they saw this?" Grace suddenly raised a new concern. "Should we ask Mr. Gotthardt to tone it down when he's working?"
The proposal from the Iron Witch received unanimous approval from the management of Belobog Heavy Industries.
Gotthardt would need to keep a low profile during work—otherwise, it would be far too easy to attract official inspection.