A Circle of Steel patrol patrols patrol the perimeter of the colony.

The Ring of Steel soldier at the head suddenly stopped as he walked, turned around and said a few words to the others.

The group of soldiers suddenly took out a small book that was in their clothes, and then they all stood upright.

A member of the Ring of Steel wearing power armor planted the flag he was holding on the ground, the white flag fluttering in the wind, the special thing is that the pattern on it is not the regular Brotherhood of Steel pattern commonly found on Fort Maxson members, but there are some changes, the overall color of the pattern is gold, but in terms of color differentiation, except for the ring part of the pattern, all the parts have been watered down.

In other words, it was a white gold banner that emphasized the ring element in the pattern, and the soldiers' equipment also had patterns left over from the Fort Maxson period, but these patterns were painted and covered with white rings over the old patterns, and it was obvious that they could not afford to modify this pattern more elaborately, but they were eager to distinguish it from the members of the Fort Maxson Iron Brotherhood, so they used this more rudimentary way.

The patrol leader stood under the banner and looked at his teammates, put the notebook on his chest, and began to say some strange words in a chanting aria with a serious face.

"The Code says: outsiders cannot be trusted, and those who do not swear to the banner of steel, they are not to be taken lightly, and although their eyes are open, they are in fact blind and blind!"

As soon as these words came out, the members of the Ring of Steel who stood solemnly began to repeat the captain's words.

"Outsiders cannot be trusted, those who do not swear to the banner of steel, they cannot be taken lightly, although their eyes are open, they are in fact blind and blind!"

The captain nodded in satisfaction, and then spoke solemnly.

"Today's time of prayer has come, to sing the prayers of our sacred law, to salute the great Maxson, to the Supreme Elder Jeremy Maxson far away in the West, to show our loyalty, not to waver, not to fear, our loyalty to the Brotherhood of Steel is a testament to our own world, we will finally restore contact with the Elders, and tell the rebels of Fort Maxson all their infidelity, and when that day will clear us of all wrongs, and the wise elders will rule against us."

With that, he opened the book again, and it seemed that it was what he called the "Codex".

"The Code says: Give way to the wisdom of the elder, and you trust what he trusts."

A number of members of the Ring of Steel also stood up and repeated.

"Give way to the wisdom of an elder, and you trust whatever he trusts."

The Captain of the Ring of Steel listened solemnly to everyone's chanting of today's prayer excerpt from the Codex, and then motioned to the member wearing power armor to put away the flag, today's patrol mission has yet to be completed, since the scout sent back the news that Fort Maxson was suspected of launching a reconnaissance operation against their station, the Ring of Steel immediately entered combat readiness, they did not know that the main reason for this was that Andy revived Elder Blixley and found out the poisoning of Devon Mountain, It was thought that the Crimson Caravan's unauthorized actions led Fort Maxson to misunderstand that the incident was caused by their quartermaster, and in a follow-up investigation, he confirmed the identity of Devonshire Hill, believing that the attack was launched by the Ring of Steel.

But the result is the same, as far as the Ring of Steel is concerned, since they tried to support Elder Cosetti to seize the command of Fort Maxson but failed miserably and left Fort Maxson en masse, they were already destined to part ways with the members of the Brotherhood of Steel who remained in Fort Maxson, but the loss of Fort Maxson's protection still made the Ring of Steel uneasy, and the subsequent poisoning of Elder Blixley was to help the hard-line Elder Nils ascend to the throne, only in this way that the Ring of Steel had the opportunity to return to Fort Maxson.

When all plans failed, the Ring of Steel finally chose a path to the dark.

They have done their best to strengthen the fortifications as quickly as possible, 24 hours to keep scout sentry and mobile patrols to check for external enemy situation, all defensive posts are manned throughout the day, light machine guns, rotary machine guns and other heavy firepower are deployed on it, with the advantage of terrain can easily resist several times the attack of foreign enemies, if it is really impossible, the Iron Ring has also planned a follow-up evacuation plan, they will immediately break up into pieces and wait for the opportunity to regroup in other areas later.

In addition to this, the Circle of Steel believes that they must continue to carry out the final directives issued by the Council of Elders of Lost Mountain, and stop at all costs and by all means to stop the NcR's occupation of the Hoover Dam and its dangerous pre-war technology, which the Ring of Steel understands to be feasible to include the complete destruction of the Hoover Dam or the mass murder of the inhabitants of the Hoover Dam.

In their logic, this fact would prove their loyalty and competence once they regained contact with the Lost Mountain headquarters, helping them win the favor of the elders and giving them the opportunity to launch an accusation of disloyalty against the "weaklings" in Fort Maxson, led by Elder Blixley.

The Captain of the Ring of Steel glanced around his teammates, answering their members' questions about the Codex at the usual time.

"What do you have to ask today? Don't hide it, just ask, the code says: only through full verbal communication can we gain the invincible spiritual strength of our brothers! ”

A member of the Ring of Steel raised his hand and stepped forward.

"Captain Knights of Famas, I have a question."

The Ring of Steel, known as Famas, raised his chin and motioned for him to speak.

"Captain of the Knights of Famas, I recently came across a quote while looking through the sacred Code of Steel, which I couldn't understand, the Code says: Protect yourself from those who are not in chains of steel, they are blind, you have to help them as best you can, but at the same time don't neglect yourself. Captain Knights of Famas, I fully understand the first half of this sentence, but I cannot understand the second half of this sentence, why do we do our best to help those lowly fools who are not far from obeying the order of the great Brotherhood of Steel and do not agree with the ideals of the Holy Brotherhood of Steel? ”

Famas waved his hand outward, and the soldier immediately returned to the ranks, his brow furrowing and looking at everyone with a serious gaze.

This phrase was once quoted by Leon, a rebel Paladin as we all know, who used it to support his distorted view and deformed notions of the Brotherhood of Steel's sacred code, but in reality? The truth is that his misunderstanding stems from his ignorance and the viciousness that flows from his hubris! ”

The Ring of Steel soldier who asked the question immediately sweated and apologized loudly.

"I'm sorry! I'm not...."

Famas pushed his palm forward and motioned for him to shut up immediately, and the soldier hurriedly closed his mouth at the beginning of his words, his face flushed red, and his companions around him skimmed him with a mixture of contempt and suspicion.

"After returning to the camp to rest, you are to copy Chapter 52 of the Code ten times, and I hope you will give it to me before the day after tomorrow, and the transcription of the Code will effectively remove the spiritual filth from your heart because of the words of the disloyal elements. I forgive you for being shaken by your young age, but there is only one such opportunity, and if there is a next time, I will definitely report your situation to Paladin Levin. You must know that the crime of thought is the most hopeless crime, and the prisoner of thought is the most irreproducible crime. ”

When the soldier heard this, he said yes, his face full of shame, and he was almost ashamed of himself.

Famas didn't stop there, and immediately began to explain why he had said that before.

"You have all seen our flag, what is the meaning of the color of this flag and the image it symbolizes? Let me tell you, the white color symbolizes the absolute purity of our faith in the Brotherhood of Steel, and the gold color symbolizes our immaculate loyalty to the Codex of the Brotherhood of Steel. We all understand that there is only a difference between zero and countless regressions and distortions in the realm of thought, and that the imperfect purity of thought is complete impurity, in the same way! Loyalty to the Brotherhood of Iron Holy Codex is not absolute, that is, absolute disloyalty to it! ”

"The Code says: We don't help them, we don't let them in, we keep knowledge they can never have!"

The members of the Ring of Steel reverently repeated.

"We don't help them, we don't let them in, we keep the knowledge they can never have."

Famas waited patiently for the team to repeat it and then continued his explanation of the Holy Codex.

"That's right! This is the key, the Brotherhood of Steel protects the fate of mankind, this is the greatest help to all mankind, stand on a higher pattern to see, open your eyes and minds. The Supreme Elders are infallible, and they are great giants in thought! We must stand on their shoulders and follow their gaze to the past, present and future in order to sublimate our souls! Are these two sentences contradictory? Wrong! Miss by a mile! That's the opinion that only stupid philistines would have! ”

"The Code says: outsiders cannot be trusted, and those who do not swear to the banner of steel, they are not to be taken lightly, and although their eyes are open, they are in fact blind and blind!"

The team members immediately repeated in a fanatical and reverent tone and expression.

"Outsiders cannot be trusted, those who do not swear to the banner of steel, they cannot be taken lightly, although their eyes are open, they are in fact blind and blind!"

With his hands behind his back, Famas waited for everyone to repeat it and continue his preaching.

"You see, the Great Supreme Elder has long revealed to us the definition of those who are blind, and anyone who will not swear allegiance to our holy banner is a fool! Once they possess dangerous pre-war technology, they will immediately set the world back on the same path as it used to be, with no return to destruction. In order to avoid this possibility, in order to help human beings get out of the quagmire of the cycle of destiny and get out of it completely, we must stand on a higher and more far-reaching perspective to 'help' them. ”

"For those who are blind and foolish, the advanced technology of the pre-war period is like a high-risk object that they cannot grasp, they are like an animal that cannot understand things, gnawing at the bomb in their hand without knowing whether it is alive or dead, and if it goes wrong, it will not only lead to their own destruction, but also endanger everyone. We can't let them go, we can't ignore the situation, we have to be like a father who regulates a naughty child, we have to be like a mother who punishes a bad child, taking away what is not in their hands! With harsh words and tyrannical violence, the warning is engraved into their bones, and if they are dissatisfied, we condemn them to death in the name of the elders, which is their personal destruction, but the salvation of the fate of all mankind! The death of every blind person brings the fate of all mankind one step closer to a new life! ”

"In this process, we must not be confined to the narrow moral ideas of the world, we must not make irreparable mistakes because of any temporary soft-heartedness, we must reflect in our hearts on the ideas and ideals we believe in, and we must not ignore the voice in our own hearts that leads us to the right path, as the code says: you must do your best to help them, but at the same time do not neglect yourself."

The members of the Ring of Steel cheered feverishly, and then immediately looked down at the codex in their hands and whispered the prayers in the codex.

The soldier who had asked the question was the most fanatical of all, he trembled and tears welled up in his eyes, he was feeling ashamed and guilty of the spiritual wavering he had just produced because of his childish thoughts, and the soldier swore in his heart that he would recite the prayer of the Code of Law in his heart every hour of the day for the years to come, as a pious confession, and with this sincere faith he would mark his heart with a mark of purity, and the teachings of the knight captain of Falmars would surely become an unforgettable lesson for him to remember for the rest of his life.

He gritted his teeth and recited an excerpt from the most beloved codex in the Ring of Steel.

"We don't help them, we don't let them in, we keep the knowledge they can never have."

A moment later, the Captain of the Knight of Falmars asked everyone to continue to complete the patrol mission for the day, the members of the Ring of Steel in power armor walked in front with the banner, and the others followed behind with weapons, looking at the flag fluttering in the wind, everyone was constantly reciting the sacred words in the Codex, as a solid shield against the evil thoughts of the outside world, protecting their pure thoughts and immaculate loyalty from the erosion and pollution of all blind and foolish people in the outside world.

Several natives wearing explosive collars who were building military bunkers for the Ring of Steel saw the patrol passing by, and they fell to their knees in horror and did not dare to move, because they had to do so, because they saw their captured and enslaved companions being used to control the explosion of the explosive collar because of the play of several members of the Ring of Steel, and a large head turned into a cloud of blood mist on the spot, leaving only the headless corpse lying on the ground in a pool of explosive blood.