Lu Mingfei Development Program

Chapter 517 Madness
Xizel was stunned. He found that he was not in an open-air test field. The magnificent castle hall showed that the owner here was extraordinary. The long cherry wood table was placed in the center of the hall, as gorgeous as a feast for the king. The devil was sitting at the end of the long table, on the high-back chair that should have belonged to the owner.

Xizel took a step back subconsciously. He knew where this was, Canterbury Castle, where he lived when he was still in Florence. Three years ago, he sat on the high-backed chair at the end of the long table that looked like a throne, silently watching the people coming and going in the castle.

And now, the devil was sitting there, with fiery gold flowing in his eyes, like magma or the sun, making people dare not look directly at him.

Xizel has rare purple eyes, and many people say that this is the color of the eyes cursed by the devil. But he knows that in the earliest scriptures of the Messiah Holy Church, gold is the color of the devil's eyes!
"Is this your true appearance? Devil!" César said hoarsely.

Without answering immediately, the devil held a glass of blood-red wine, and his noble golden eyes silently looked at him. His eyes revealed a scrutiny, between looking at a commodity or a trader.

Black hair and golden eyes, the devil looked very similar to him, but not as delicate and pretty as him. But the look of him tasting the wine of power was so noble.

The devil just proposed a deal to Caesar, but it seemed that he was more willing to treat Caesar as a commodity.

"Originally, you are not qualified to trade with me." The devil said, "After all, what you want to trade with me is mine."

Xizel did not let down his guard, but he also noticed something strange. This voice was indeed the devil-like existence that had occupied his body before. However, there was a hint of disharmony in his voice that he could not explain.

He asked cautiously: "What do you mean?"

"You don't need to know." The devil put away his scrutinizing gaze and said nonchalantly, "You just need to agree to the deal."

"But you haven't told me what the deal is?" Xizel also knew that he shouldn't talk to this devil.

But this was his first time to come face to face with the devil...or not really, face to face, because this strange castle was definitely not his Canterbury Castle. It might be some kind of spiritual world that he had seen several times when riding on the Seraph.

But no matter where this place is, this is the first time he sees the appearance of the devil, and it is also the best moment for him to understand what kind of existence this devil is.

"It's simple. I give you power and authority. And you give me your heart," said the devil.

"Heart?" Xizel was a little confused. Demons covet souls and bodies more.

"You don't need to know too much, nor do you need to be curious about my existence." The devil continued, "I come from the deepest part of your heart and hear your voice calling for power and authority."

Glancing at César calmly, he added: "I have to say, your voice, which has never tasted power, disturbs me."

"Never tasted it?" Cesar was stunned.

Canterbury Castle was his residence. From the prosperity of this castle, it can be seen that he once lived a life in Florence that his noble classmates at the Royal Marston School of Mechanical Engineering could only look up to.

He had conquered the Ceylon royal city and was admired and feared by millions of people. He had taken the sword of command from the nominal supreme leader of the Papal States and became the youngest officer in the country... If this was not considered as having mastered power, then perhaps no one in this country had truly mastered power.

The devil smiled slightly, his noble golden eyes full of mockery: "You don't have power at all, it's just the right to be given away. The real power is to be held in your own hands."

Xizel was stunned for a moment, his intuition told him not to listen to this devil anymore, everything he said would lead to depravity!
...But, as he believed that he had already made a deal with the devil, what right did he have to escape from a devil?

"In your opinion, what is power?" The devil suddenly asked. Seeing that César was not going to answer, the devil shook his head and said to himself, "The essence of power is fear and violence. Whoever controls these is the powerful one."

Xizel shook his head. He did not think that the essence of power was violence. It was the law that gave power to those who had power... at least that was what he was taught.

"Then where are the people who made the laws?" the devil asked quietly.

The devil is indeed a devil, and his ability to see into people's hearts frightened César. In fact, he realized this a long time ago, but some things that happened in Florence made him lose his last chance to gain power.

The devil suddenly sneered: "Admit it, you are craving real power."

He stepped onto the huge cherry wood table, holding the glass of blood-red wine that seemed to represent power. He was wearing a sophisticated suit that César had never seen before, elegant like a gentleman, but also like a king.

The devil came to César, who was sitting at the end of the long table, half-knelt down, and placed the glass of blood-red wine in front of César.

"Drink it, and you will truly taste power and strength." The devil said, "Those who have hurt you and bullied you will crawl at your feet and cry for your forgiveness."

"Your sister won't have to save money to make a cheap cake for you, and your friends won't fight against thousands of people just to cheer you up..." The devil whispered in César's ear, "Your mother's tragedy will not happen again."

Xizel's eyes widened, and the purple in his eyes solidified. This was his biggest secret, and even his sister didn't know the real cause of their mother's death.

Those old guys in Florence would not publicize this matter, they wished the whole world would forget about that woman. His father would not care about this matter either, he was climbing the peak of power, and he probably had forgotten about the woman who was not even his wife.

"Don't be surprised how I know this." The devil smiled slightly, "I told you, I come from the depths of your heart."

Xizel looked at the glass of blood-red wine silently. His purple eyes were dyed red, as if they were bleeding or burning.

The devil was right, he was indeed craving for power at the moment the Chakravartin stopped running.

He did not hate Byron, because he also threw away the gift he gave to Adele like garbage, just like Byron was treating him now. Even if Byron was not there, Fabio would probably stand up and prevent him from getting the scholarship.

Fabio is the president of another club in the college, the Masked Brotherhood. He also hates César because the girl he likes always has her eyes on him.

What he needed was not the power to deal with these people, because that would only make him more feared. What he wanted to fight was the damn fate that wanted him to kneel down and bow to those who didn't like him!
Cesare has already picked up the glass of wine. He smells the sweetness in the glass, but this sweetness is nothing in the face of power.

…Then he broke the wine glass.

The wine that represented power and authority was flowing at César's feet, but he did not even lower his head to take a look.

"Reason?" The rejected devil didn't seem surprised and looked at him with interest.

Xizel stood up and walked out without looking back: "Adele won't like me like that..."

……

The cold rain hit the already cooled armor, and the leaked red mercury flowed on the armor like blood. The Chakravartin half-knelt in the water, and the Vajra Warrior in front of him was like a victorious king.

Even those who were not interested in mechanical armor knew that there was no chance that the Chakravartin would ever stand up again.

After a moment of silence, enthusiastic cheers broke out outside the testing field. In everyone's opinion, it was the Vajra Warrior who stabbed the King with the decisive blow, causing the King to fall. Now that he was half-kneeling, wasn't he declaring his submission to the other party?
The arrogant César in the academy suffered the greatest humiliation since he entered the academy. His legend came to an end, and the sight of him kneeling on the ground now made people who didn't like him feel extremely pleased.

Bai Lun accepted this as he should, in fact, he was ready for a big battle with the Chakravartin. The opponent's lack of skill in martial arts showed that he was a wild man, but his proficiency in mobile armor was obviously better than his, so it would take some effort to win.

But no one expected that the martial arts performance would end in such a dramatic scene. The Chakravartin's energy pack was damaged, as if the Lord did not want Xizel to win.

Byron was not ashamed of this. As he said just now, luck is also part of strength.

Dean Poincare was stunned. Everything was going according to his ideas.

He had specially learned about César after last night and knew his situation. This was César's only chance to get a scholarship candidate. For this opportunity, he would undoubtedly fight with all his strength that he failed to do in the fighting arena yesterday.

But no one expected this to be the outcome, not even the principal, who was now distressed by the damaged Chakravartin. He was glad that César's spirit had been dampened, but the responsibility for the damage fell on him, as he was the one who allowed the martial arts performance to take place.

Xizel stayed quietly in the Knight's cabin of the Chakravartin, his body half-bent along with the Chakravartin's movements. It wasn't that he wanted to do this, but the Chakravartin now didn't even have the energy to open the Knight's cabin and let him out. The switch to open the Knight's cabin from inside the armor was also damaged in the previous battle. Before the new energy pack was replaced, he could only kneel here in this posture. And in the current weather, replacing the energy pack is a big job.

He subconsciously glanced sideways. He was worried that Adele would see him obsessed with power, and he was also worried that she would see him in such a state of embarrassment that he was unable to get up.

Fortunately, there was no sign of Adele in the crowd. The lower grade students still had classes at the moment, so my sister didn't have time to come here to watch the armor martial arts performance.

What surprised César was that a girl seemed to be trying to get past the boy in front of the test field, as if she wanted to come to the front to check on him. He remembered that girl, Anne, the student council president of the Royal Mechanical College of Marston.

One of the most gentle, caring and beautiful girls in the academy. She was also the girl that César thought Fabio liked.

Anne had a pair of beautiful long legs, which made the boys in the college proud to dance with her. Before Adele came, she was recognized as the most beautiful girl in the college.

At the same time, Anne is also the girl who has stayed with César the longest in the academy except Adele. From the time she entered school until now, this is also one of the reasons why boys hate César.

But now, beautiful Anne didn't hold an umbrella. If it was normal, some boys would be very gentlemanly to hold an umbrella for her. But now the boys were cheering for the victorious Byron, who waved a wooden stick and announced his victory in a way that was almost like showing off his skills.

No one cared about Anne because she was so wet from the rain.

A pair of beautiful long legs were covered with rain and mud, and her pretty face was washed pale by the rain. No one associated this embarrassed girl with the gentle and beautiful Anne, nor did they provide her with any convenience.

The enthusiastic boys trapped Anne outside, and she couldn't get in at all. She could only shout out César's name, wanting to make sure he was okay. But her call was drowned out by the boys' cheers, and didn't go far.

But Cesare heard it.

He smiled. He rejected the devil's deal and lost the chance to be a candidate for the scholarship. But he was happier than ever before. If Adele saw the smile on his face at this moment, she would be so surprised that she would be speechless.

She had forgotten how long it had been since she saw her brother laugh so happily.

There is a saying in the Eastern countries that a person's true character is revealed in times of adversity. He is now in an unprecedented state of distress. Those girls who were attracted to him because of his eccentricity will turn to Master Byron after today.

They would speak ill of him in revenge for never paying any attention to them.

But Anne's appearance was beyond César's expectation, and he was even more surprised by her embarrassed appearance. Anne was not among the crowd watching the martial arts performance. She probably received the news halfway and rushed over. No wonder she didn't bring an umbrella.

Does this mean I have been through hardships with him?
César felt that this might be the second time he was so happy since coming to Marston. The first time was naturally when he made friends with Minet, a rather shameless person whom he could not hate.

The latter was now trying to climb over the fence of the test field and rush in to help him up, but was stopped outside by the teaching assistant who was in charge of order. With his small physique, he couldn't actually lift a big guy like the Chakravartin, but that didn't stop him from doing so.

And Anne... Cesar felt that he would gain a second friend after coming to the academy, and perhaps he would try to respond to Anne's kindness to him as Adele often encouraged him to do.

I forgot to mention that Anne is also good at playing the piano and poetry, which is what Adele likes.

But suddenly, Xizel's smile froze.

Farther away from the crowd, a lone girl was standing there. She was holding a red umbrella, which made her extremely conspicuous. But what was even more conspicuous was her beauty.

The rain soaked her skirt, which stuck to her slender legs like a flower bud. Her graceful body curves proved that this girl was an extraordinary beauty, and her flawless face like white porcelain made Adele's title of "the most beautiful girl in the college" feel insecure.

No one in the academy knew this beautiful girl, even though she was as beautiful as a lotus.

But César recognized that face, because that was the first time he experienced the so-called "heart-beating" feeling. However, the lotus-like girl in his memory had already fallen to her death from the Santa Maria Tower in New Rome as the last princess of Ceylon.

Seeing this face again, Cesar did not feel any emotion. His smile froze on his face, and his heart, which had been beating because of his new friend Anne, cooled down.

Fear spread in his heart, and along with it, the devil's laughter.

"I forgot to tell you, with power and authority, the fears buried deep in your heart will no longer dare to disturb you..."

……

Poincare regretted his actions, but he did not regret putting Cesare in such an embarrassing situation. After all, it depended on how far the boy would go, which was the result of his discussion with the colonel.

He regretted that he had progressed too fast, so that he didn't even notice what was so special about César.

Poincare stood up and walked towards the Chakravartin. It was not a good idea to let César kneel there. The Chakravartin made of high-grade alloy was not afraid of rain erosion, but the boy inside might not be.

He did not forget that physical fitness was César's weak point, and being washed by such heavy rain would cause him to get sick. This was something that neither he nor the colonel wanted to see, as it would interfere with their future tests on him.

Suddenly, Poincare felt a little uneasy. He looked up suddenly and met the golden eyes of the Chakravartin. He was stunned, because the Chakravartin did not have such a golden spyglass.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, as if to prevent the birth of something ominous, and struck the Wheel King fiercely. The leaked red mercury was ignited, and the bright flames stunned everyone.

The Chakravartin was burning fiercely, and even the heavy rain from the sky could not extinguish it.

Red mercury is one of the few means used by Orientals to deal with mobile armor. This versatile liquid is flammable. After being made into a bomb, it will burn once it comes into contact with it, even mobile armor made of high-level alloys is no exception.

Byron, who was showing off his power, was stunned. What was even more dramatic than the Chakravartin's dramatic fall and defeat was that he was set on fire after his defeat.

Everyone was stunned, including Annie and Minai. Such flames were simply not something that the mobile armor could stop. The boy inside had undoubtedly been reduced to bones in the flames... not even bones existed.

The most desperate person was the principal, who had agreed to the martial arts performance. No matter how much he hated César, if a student died because of his mistake, his teaching career would be ruined.

"Everyone! Retreat!" Dean Poincare's voice made everyone react.

At first they thought that the Dean was afraid that they would be affected by the aftermath of the armor explosion, but it was not until the Chakravartin stood up bathed in flames that everyone understood what the retreat meant.

"Throw away your stick! Open the knight's cabin and run away!" Poincare reminded Byron before leaving. The latter was still dancing with his stick, and he did not stop the action when he was stunned just now.

Byron also wanted to do that. The Chakravartin reborn in fire was no longer within the scope of mechanics.

But when he met those golden eyes that looked like the king of lions, he became as frightened as a little white rabbit and subconsciously threw the martial arts stick in his hand away.

The stick turned into charcoal in the flames, and the reborn Chakravartin's movements changed. It was originally a bit lazy, as if patrolling its own territory, but when the outsider, the Vajra Warrior, showed its fangs to it, it changed from a lazy big cat to a deadly king of beasts.

The King Kong Warrior was lifted high up and then thrown heavily onto the test field. A large hole was created on the metal floor, and the King Kong Warrior, with lightning all over his body, lay in the hole and stopped moving.

Disdaining to execute the clown who dared to show his claws to the lion king, the Chakravartin continued to move forward, the flames burning on his side like a lion's mane. His blazing eyes swept through the panicked crowd, searching for the figure of the lotus-like girl.

Heavy stomping sounds were heard, and the third mobile armor appeared on the test field, blocking the Wheel King. The principal, who had not yet left, looked up in surprise. It was the Blazing Sky Iron Cavalry Type 4!
Just by looking at the name, you can tell that this is the latest and most advanced armor directly under the Papal State Seraph Knights. It is also the most advanced mobile armor in the world, which is coveted by countless mechanics.

In the Knight's cabin of the Blazing Iron Cavalry, Poincare took a deep breath. He originally just wanted to see where Caesar's limit was and what the abyss called Caesar looked like.

Now, he finally saw the abyss as he wished, but the process of seeing the abyss gave him a headache, and the abyss did not seem to be willing to be peeped into by him.

(End of this chapter)