The Saxon Imperial Guard Second Infantry Division, as one of the elite units of the First Army Group, had always been the vanguard in tackling tough challenges.
And bearing the title of ‘Imperial Guard’, they were all ‘sons of good families’ from Saxony.
At this moment, a company under the Fourth Imperial Guard Infantry Regiment was marching proudly through the streets of the 7th Arrondissement of Paris.
Their mission was to reconnoiter the area around the Eiffel Tower for the main force arriving later and, once safety was confirmed, to plant the Empire’s Black Eagle banner on the world-famous steel giant.
The Major leading the team was very young, in his early thirties, at the peak of his vigor.
It was precisely because of his status as an ‘Old Dresden Black Eagle Banner’ that he had entered the ranks of field officers at such an inexperienced age.
Currently riding a tall military horse, the Major sat upright, his gaze sweeping over the Haussmann-style buildings with closed doors and windows on both sides of the street, his heart filled with the pride of a conqueror.
“Look! We will be the first unit to reach the Champ de Mars! This is an honor for our entire division!”
The Major shouted loudly to his soldiers:
“Today, we will let all of Europa know that our Saxon military flag will fly at the highest point in Paris!”
“Greater Saxony!”
“Hoo—Ha!”
The soldiers let out a burst of excited cheers.
Most of them were in Paris for the first time.
Personally occupying the enemy capital was an honor sufficient for a lifetime of boasting.
Besides using aircraft for reconnaissance, the First Army Group had actually obtained some intelligence before attacking Paris.
Spies lurking in Paris and ‘crisis tourists’ had left the city during the great evacuation following the Battle of Amiens.
Then, turning back halfway, they approached the direction from which they heard the Saxon army was launching its offensive.
These ‘tough individuals,’ after crossing the combat zone, successfully found the main force of the First Army Group.
Among the intelligence they brought, the most important piece was that the Gauls’ ‘Eye of the Loire’ Mage Corps had also evacuated with the Gaulish government agencies.
This meant they had also abandoned their Mage Tower.
For the Saxons, this was like a ‘gift from nature.’
Even an abandoned Mage Tower, as long as it was built by the Britannians or Gauls, possessed extremely high research value.
Coupled with the fact that it was one of Paris’s landmarks, the initial order from the General Staff was to ‘occupy’ and ‘control’ the Eiffel Tower, not destroy it.
Theoretically, as the battalion commander, the Major should have been following in the third echelon with the battalion headquarters.
However, in the eyes of this leading Major, this mission was less of a reconnaissance and more of an armed parade, a ceremony to declare victory.
Therefore, he hoped to reach their destination as quickly as possible.
Soon, the troops passed through the last street, and the open Champ de Mars appeared before them.
The colossal Eiffel Tower stood quietly at the end of the square, casting a long shadow under the morning sun.
“Truly magnificent…”
Many soldiers exclaimed in awe.
Even as enemies, they had to admit that the Gauls’ achievements in architecture and art were indeed unique.
A height of 324 meters was, at this point in time, unparalleled.
“Halt! Deploy in platoon-level alert formation!” The Major raised his hand and issued the order.
Although intelligence indicated the enemy had evacuated, as a qualified officer, he maintained basic vigilance.
He didn’t want any mishaps at this final juncture due to carelessness.
The soldiers quickly dispersed, using the trees and benches at the edge of the square to construct a temporary defense line.
Several MG14 light machine guns were set up, their dark muzzles pointing toward the giant tower.
“First Platoon, follow me! Let’s go up and take a look!”
After confirming the perimeter was secure, the Major dismounted and led a platoon of soldiers cautiously toward the base of the Eiffel Tower.
Everything seemed so peaceful.
The square was empty, save for the rustling of wind through the leaves.
However, just as they reached a distance of less than a hundred meters from the tower, the Major suddenly felt something was amiss.
The surrounding air seemed to have become somewhat oppressive.
He even felt his hair standing slightly on end, drawn by static electricity.
“What’s happening?”
He instinctively looked up toward the top of the giant tower.
With that look, his life flashed before his eyes.
hundreds of meters high atop the spire, spots of blue electric light had begun to flicker.
“Zzzzt… Zzzzt…”
The sound of fine electric currents rang out in the silent square, becoming denser and louder.
“Something’s wrong! Situation! All personnel ret—”
Alarm bells rang in the Major’s mind. He turned abruptly, intending to order his soldiers to retreat.
However, before he could finish shouting.
A thick, blinding bolt of lightning suddenly erupted from the tip of the tower, screaming as it tore through the air, striking down instantly!
The lightning did not hit them directly but landed on the road ahead of their advance.
“BOOM—!!!!”
With a deafening roar, the entire Champ de Mars shook violently.
The lightning exploded on the hard stone pavement, and violent currents swept madly along the path they had come like a blue dragon!
“Crack-crack-crack—”
The glass windows of the buildings on both sides of the road were instantly shattered, and the sturdy outer wall bricks were peeled off piece by piece by the violent energy impact.
The Saxon soldiers of this company, caught in the path of the current, didn’t even have time to scream before they were instantly turned into charred, human-shaped charcoal in the blinding blue light.
The Major was the last to be consumed.
In the final moment before his consciousness faded, he only saw the devastating electric light surging toward him like a tide.
He finally understood that the intelligence was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Last night, when Captain Bastian led his remaining sixteen subordinates to the base of the Eiffel Tower with the middle-aged Mage, night had already fallen completely.
An apprentice of Master Eiffel had long been waiting there.
A Mage Tower is an extremely important existence for a Mage.
After most Mages in various countries ceased to be ‘wild mages’ and became members of national Mage Corps, Mage Towers also became landmark buildings for these corps.
And a Mage Tower was not merely a strange-looking building in the eyes of ordinary people.
It was a legendary existence filled with power, knowledge, and secrets.
A Mage Tower was a Mage’s fortress, as well as their laboratory, library, source of power, and final resting place.
The appearance of Mage Towers varied across different countries’ Mage Corps, entirely dependent on the style of the corps to which they belonged.
The Mage Towers of the Holy Britannia Empire’s Highland Mages were very retro in style, fitting seamlessly into any fantasy world.
The Mage Towers of the Saxon Empire’s Imperial Mages were less like towers and more like tall, slender buildings, with the classic stargazing platform at the top replaced by astronomical telescopes.
As for the Gaulish Mages, the Mage Towers they built by the Loire River during the classical period were actually quite similar in style to those of the Britannian Highland Mages.
However, after relocating to the capital, the Eiffel Tower, built under the supervision of Master Gustave Eiffel, became the most unique existence among all extant Mage Towers.
On the square directly below the tower lay another permanent Teleportation Circle of Paris, the location anchored by the Mages of the ‘Eye of the Loire’ Mage Corps when using the [Teleportation Circle] spell.
Theoretically, such a permanent Teleportation Circle could be ‘bound’ to another permanent Teleportation Circle to achieve ultra-long-distance teleportation.
However, constrained by astronomical costs and unsolvable technical issues, neither the Britannian nor the Gaulish Mages had yet overcome this difficulty.
In the few long-distance point-to-point teleportation experiments, the participating Mages only had half their bodies teleported—and that was the ‘best result.’
Most participating Mages only successfully teleported a few body parts.
Thus, progress on conquering this challenge had stagnated.
The first level of the Eiffel Tower was the main activity area for the Mages of the ‘Eye of the Loire’ Mage Corps.
Although this level looked quite large from the outside, like the ‘stereotype’ of all Mage Towers, the internal space of this level was likely far larger than it appeared from the outside…
Possessing impossible staircases, looping corridors, and ever-changing rooms.
The second level was the main control area of the Mage Tower, open only to a few high-ranking Mages.
The top level housed the offices of the ‘Eye of the Loire’ committee and Eiffel’s personal office.
It was precisely because of his achievement in overseeing the construction of the Eiffel Tower that Master Eiffel, as a Sixth-Circle Evocation-specialist Mage, became a member of the ‘Eye of the Loire’ executive committee.
Guided by the Master’s apprentice, the ‘Sentinels’ took a Magic Device transport unit hidden within the steel supports and arrived for the first time at the second-level main control area of this giant tower—usually, ‘Sentinels’ could only move freely on the first level at most.
It was completely different from what they had imagined.
There was no cold steel or exposed wiring, but a spacious area filled with soft light.
Beneath their feet was a warm, non-glaring white floor. Light bands flowed on the walls like a galaxy, and the air was permeated with a faint, calming energy fluctuation.
In the center of the space, an elderly man with white hair and beard, wearing a simple gray Mage Robe, stood quietly.
He was the creator of this giant tower, one of the Gallic Republic’s greatest Magitech Engineers, the Sixth-Circle Evocation-specialist Mage—Gustave Eiffel.
Standing beside him were several of his apprentices, along with twelve other Mages who had also chosen to remain in Paris.
Since most of the Mage Corps had followed the main army south after the war broke out, they knew very well that Paris’s defenses were extremely weak.
So when Amiens fell, the committee members remaining in Paris reached an agreement with those fighting in the south to have the Mage Corps follow the government to Bordeaux.
The Gaulish government supported this decision unconditionally—or rather, even if the Mages didn’t want to go, the government would have found a way to make them evacuate.
However, Master Eiffel ultimately rejected the persuasion of others, determined to stay in Paris, within the Eiffel Tower…
“Master Eiffel.”
Bastian stepped forward and gave the elder a standard military salute.
“You’ve had a hard time, children.”
Master Eiffel wore a gentle smile. His gaze swept over the seventeen scarred young warriors before him, filled with affection and regret.
“I heard about the Creil Line. You are all heroes of the Republic.”
“We only did what we had to do, Master,” Bastian said in a deep voice. “Now, please give the order. What should we do?”
The smile on Master Eiffel’s face slowly faded.
He was silent for a moment before speaking slowly:
“The government has abandoned us, and the high command of the Mage Corps has chosen to evacuate… But that does not mean Paris must simply wait to be slaughtered.”
After Master Eiffel patiently explained to the group, the ‘Sentinels’ finally learned some secrets they had not known before.
At the inception of its construction, the Eiffel Tower was actually considered for use as a decisive weapon for the capital.
Like other large Magic Devices, in an emergency, the Eiffel Tower could become a super-large stationary Magic Device with extremely strong spellcasting capabilities.
Just as Patricia had once explained to Morin in the Saxon Imperial Magic Technology Research Institute:
The higher the circle of the spell, the more complex and unstable the structure, and the requirements for materials and craftsmanship increase exponentially.
Conversely, a Magic Device with sufficient size and complexity could also massively amplify low-circle spells.
Since the day it was completed and activated, the Eiffel Tower had been absorbing free mana from the surrounding air.
Over more than a decade, the entire tower structure had not only completed charging but had also transformed the surrounding environment into a high-density magic field.
Master Eiffel’s idea at the time was to have this tower support other Mages and the army in defending the capital at critical moments.
He just hadn’t expected that today they would be fighting alone without support from anyone else.
“Then what do we need to do?” Bastian pressed.
Master Eiffel was silent for a moment, then his gaze became profound and heavy.
“This tower possesses earth-shattering power… but it lacks a ‘will’ capable of guiding and controlling this power.”
“It needs a… ‘brain’.”
He looked at the seventeen ‘Sentinels’ before him, and the Mages and apprentices who had voluntarily stayed behind, speaking word by word.
“It needs you. You must become part of the ‘High Tower’.”
The command room instantly fell silent.
No one was a fool, they immediately understood the implication in Master Eiffel’s words.
Becoming part of the ‘High Tower’… that didn’t sound like simply operating equipment.
“Master Eiffel, does this mean death?”
A young ‘Sentinel’ mustered the courage to ask.
“No,” Master Eiffel shook his head. “Not death, but a kind of… ‘fusion’.”
“Your will and spirit, along with your magic power… will merge with the Magic Core of this giant tower.”
“You will no longer be independent individuals but will become a unified, powerful collective consciousness… You will feel, think, and fight through this tower…”
“You will become the shield and sword of Paris, fighting this last, most glorious battle for this city.”
The old Mage’s voice carried an irresistible infectiousness.
Bastian looked at his subordinates. Though young, there was no fear in their eyes, only resolve and composure.
They had long been prepared to die for their country.
Where they died and how they died no longer mattered to them.
What mattered was that their death had value.
“We understand, Master.”
Bastian took a deep breath and gave Master Eiffel another solemn military salute.
“We… are ready.”
Master Eiffel closed his eyes, and two lines of murky tears flowed down his aged face.
“Gaul… will remember you.”
Master Eiffel said no more. He turned and led the group toward a door deep in the main control area.
Behind the door was an even larger circular space.
In the center of the space was a circular pool with a diameter of over twenty meters.
The pool was not filled with water but with a mysterious liquid emitting a soft white light.
Mana, so dense it was almost tangible, emanated from the pool, making the entire space feel like some kind of domain.
“This is the Magic Core of the ‘High Tower’, its ‘heart’,” Master Eiffel explained, pointing to the glowing pool.
“Go in, children… Empty your minds, do not resist. Leave the rest to me.”
Bastian was the first to step forward. Without hesitation, he took off his tattered combat suit, revealing a muscular upper body covered in scars.
Then, step by step, he walked down the stairs, immersing his body in the light.
It was neither hot nor cold as imagined, but an indescribably warm and comfortable feeling, like returning to a mother’s embrace.
An irresistible drowsiness washed over him. He slowly lay back in the pool, leaving only his head above the surface, then closed his eyes as his consciousness faded.
With the first, came the second.
The remaining ‘Sentinels’ and Mages walked into the pool one after another.
Like travelers about to embark on a long journey, with faces calm and composed, they surrendered their bodies and souls to the giant tower to which they were about to dedicate themselves.
Soon, the pool was full of people lying down.
They all had their eyes closed, appearing to be in a deep sleep, with peaceful expressions on their faces.
Master Eiffel stood by the pool, looking at these young faces, and extended his hands, calloused from years of precise magitech experiments.
Immediately, the light bands on the walls emitted an unprecedentedly dazzling brilliance.
The liquid in the pool began to boil. Flickering spheres of light rose from the bottom of the pool and merged into the bodies of the sleepers.
“Hum—”
A massive psychic wave erupted from the pool, instantly sweeping through the entire Eiffel Tower.
As the creator and highest authority of this tower, Master Eiffel could clearly feel the spirits and wills of the sleepers rapidly merging with the tower’s Magic Circuits through the energy core.
If the Eiffel Tower before was merely a machine with massive energy but no one to control it,
Now, this machine finally possessed its own ‘soul’.
Master Eiffel could feel the steel behemoth, which had been silent for over a decade, slowly awakening.
It seemed to let out a low, powerful roar to its creator.
The entire process lasted nearly an hour.
When the last rune sphere of light merged into a sleeper’s body, the boiling pool finally returned to calm.
Master Eiffel stopped chanting. He leaned wearily on his staff, his forehead covered in sweat.
The ritual was complete.
From this moment on, the Eiffel Tower was no longer an inanimate object.
It had come alive.