Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1315 A Power Beyond Mortals?

Even from a storytelling perspective, this should be the most surprising plot point.

Heroes in classical mythology are said to possess immense strength, unparalleled wisdom, and bravery. Their inner arrogance and pride often lead them down a path of solitary struggle against the world, ultimately resulting in either great glory or a tragic end, or both, only in a matter of order. Those standing on this battlefield never imagined they would one day witness a myth's re-enactment. But is that solitary figure on horseback a true hero, or merely a delusional madman?

The wind ceased its howling. All the clamor in the camp—the groans of wounded soldiers, the whispers of officers, the clashing of weapons—fell instantly silent, as if choked by an invisible giant hand. The only sound seemed to be the crisp, rhythmic clatter of Brandi's hooves, striking the cold, hard earth with a resounding thud. The sound wasn't loud, but like a war drum, each beat heavy and relentless, striking the hearts of every spectator, urging their blood to boil, or gradually cool.

The morning light sparingly outlined her and Brandy's silhouettes, casting long, lonely shadows behind them. The branch-shaped blade of the Holy Lance, White Thorns, pointed diagonally to the ground, its cold edge reflecting a deep, chilling gleam in the thin light, as if embodying all the world's enlightenment and conviction. A snow-white cloak hung motionless behind her, like a frozen waterfall.

There were no shouts of cheers from a thousand troops, no earth-shattering thunder of war drums, only her and her horse, with an almost resolute, unwavering demeanor, calmly approaching the blood-soaked city. This calm contained a power more chilling than any roar, as if she were not going to a war of uncertain fate, but to fulfill an unalterable promise etched in the river of time. She was Gostaff's knight, the executor of destiny; when she stepped onto the battlefield, the fate of the war was already decided. The fall of Suarez was merely a page inevitably turned in this grand epic.

The knight spurred her horse and slowly came to a stop at a distance from which she could see the entire city of Suarez. The guards on the city walls looked at this lone knight with a complex mix of surprise, tension, unease, and despair. They struggled to comprehend the meaning behind this solitude. Was she defying them? Did she not need comrades? Or was she, in fact, a deity, possessing immense power that commanded the submission of all? Yet, General Andrei had said that before Suarez's formidable defenses, protected by the magical field device, even a true god descending would have no chance of crossing this line.

The gods worshipped by the people of the Eastern Continent are different from the omnipotent deities depicted in myths and epics. They are merely more powerful mortals, cursed wretches, and madmen on the verge of losing control. They too can be injured, bleed, and die. So, if that guy really thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he's a "god," then let her try.

The defenders on the city walls consoled themselves in this way, while the knights below, after a brief moment of contemplation, reached out and gently lowered their visors. Her voice, like a clear breeze, echoed across the battlefield: "I hate war."

"But when war comes, I will still give it my all, because I understand that in this world, many things are not determined by choices, but by outcomes. Warriors from distant lands, are you swearing to defend this city to the death because you crave the glory of life? Liberators of the Ash Land, are you gathering under the same banner from different directions to defend your final resting place? The world cannot be predicted, just as the human heart cannot be fathomed, but I can be certain that the battle taking place here today is meaningful to me, so I will begin its beginning and end its end."

As always, the declaration before the battle, or rather, the prayer of the young female knight—

"I am Hino Jean Gostaff, the successor of the great ancestors of the Gostaff family, including Baron Vince the Pioneer, the White Knight Hibton, the Paranoid Leonard, and the guardian of the land of Grangenia. I am also the one who swore an oath of eternal friendship between humans and other races."

She casually untied the ribbon from her ponytail, and with a light touch, the vibrant, fiery ribbon billowed away in the biting wind. Each strand of hair, now freed, fluttered and, as if imbued with flames, rapidly ignited from the ends into a magnificent, lotus-like hue. In the blink of an eye, her snow-white hair was ablaze, like flaming hair. Simultaneously, beneath the helmet's visor, the girl's wine-red eyes began to lose all color, returning to a lonely and indifferent snowy landscape. In those frost-white, almost transparent eyes, only a resolute fighting spirit slowly began to melt away.

"At this moment," the Holy Lance White Thorn is raised high, the divine steed gallops like thunder, and in an instant, with lightning speed, "in the name of Gostaf, grant me a glorious battle!"

……

"Fire!"

The officers on the city walls roared hoarsely, and the soldiers operating the magic-powered turrets seemed to awaken from a dream, driven by some survival instinct, immediately adjusting the turrets' output power to the highest level. In an instant, the silent city of Suarez, like a steel behemoth awakened, let out a deafening roar. The energy accumulated in the magic-powered turrets transformed into blinding beams of light, tearing through the air and emitting piercing shrieks; the rapid-fire magic machine guns spat out tongues of fire, and the dense magic projectiles intertwined to form a massive net of destruction, completely sealing off the space in front of, above, and to the sides of Hino. Smoke and magic particles instantly filled the air, obscuring the faint light of dawn.

A suppressed gasp rippled through the rebel ranks. Even seasoned veterans, faced with such dense firepower—enough to instantly vaporize a heavy cavalry company—couldn't help but hold their breath, their hearts pounding for the lone female knight charging forward. Grayhill Eagle clenched his fists, Neville narrowed her eyes, while General Franz Sand remained expressionless, his gaze fixed intently on the fiery red figure.

However, Shino Chin Gostaf, the White Knight of Blood, the Lord Knight bestowed by the heavens, seemed to disregard the devastating barrage.

"Brandy".

As the soft call faded, the Snow Mountain Steed let out a clear, resonant neigh, its four hooves gracefully pawing the air, leaving ripples like ice crystals, as if space itself were folding and shifting beneath its feet. One moment it was weaving through a dense barrage of bullets, the next it had appeared dozens of meters away in another gap. Its hooves struck the air several more times, each stomp precisely avoiding the most lethal concentrated fire, each flash deflecting the defenders' meticulously woven web of fire. Its holy white armor, reflecting the flames of the explosions and the glow of magic, shone with a cold yet sacred light, like an unsinkable boat in a storm.

The defenders on the city walls, initially firing wildly, gradually descended into disbelief, terror, and stunned silence. They realized they weren't firing deadly weapons, but merely engaging in a futile struggle. Compared to the clueless soldiers, Major General Andrei and the other officers, possessing basic magical knowledge, were even more incredulous. From beginning to end, the magical interference field hadn't reacted to the young knight's charge. What did this mean? Was she using neither supernatural abilities nor magic, but purely relying on her own strength to fight against the defenses of a city?
He's just a human being...

"Monster! Monster!" A piercing scream echoed from the city wall, and soldiers dropped their weapons in despair. Hino remained unmoved, spurring his horse forward. Sun Snow's mane shimmered like a silver streak in the harsh sunlight, aimed directly at the towering, sturdy wall. Just before impact, Brandy's forelegs slammed into the ground, sending shards of stone flying. Simultaneously, his hind legs propelled him forward, as if invisible wings had sprouted from his back, carrying him into the air. He leaped over the nearly thirty-meter-high wall, soaring above the whistling bullets and the stunned heads of the defenders. The scene evoked the most traditional and classic plot of chivalric drama: the knight and his beloved horse, alone in battle, rescue their army from dire straits; friend or foe, all bowed in reverence, witnessing a divine miracle.

After breaching the city walls, they reached the defensive zone of fortresses and towers. The defenders had erected temporary fortifications between fortresses and towers, ready to use their flesh and blood to block any enemy attempting to break in. But when they saw the knight emerge unscathed from the hellish barrage of fire, fear instantly overwhelmed them like a cold tide, leaving them momentarily unsure whether to fight or flee.

Hino ignored them and instead steered Brandy, lightly tapping his hooves as Sun Snow gracefully leaped back and forth between the fortress and towers, easily reaching the highest point. From there, one could see the magical interference field in operation, shaped like a giant crystal tower, reaching to the heavens and the earth.

The young female knight slowly raised the holy lance, White Thorn, in her hand.

As if summoned by some unseen force, the spear blade instantly became wreathed in raging lightning. Deep purple electricity danced and flickered wildly on the silver-white blade, emitting a hum that shook the very air. In the sky, the previously scattered clouds seemed to be drawn in, gathering in a dark, oppressive mass, obscuring all light. Thunder rumbled in, forcing even the Cloud Whale Sky Island to retreat, avoiding the area ravaged by the storm. It was Torgon, the "Thunder Master," the "Lord of the Heavens," and the symbol of the constellations Anemo and Hydra, from the ancient mythology of the Feathered Elves, who was issuing a decree of destruction upon the world.

“In the name of Gostaff,” her fiery red hair billowed in the wind like a burning banner, and at this moment, the knight’s voice could only be heard by himself and his beloved horse, “Ray, baptize all things.”

Thus, the will of mortals transformed into divine thunder, and the magnificent lightning became a giant hammer, firmly grasped by an invisible hand, crashing down upon the colossal tower standing in the central square of Suarez City. The deafening roar instantly tore through the air, leaving those nearby deaf and ringing in their ears. The terrifying thunderstorm even disregarded physical properties, conducting through the earth and rock, penetrating thirty meters underground to the control center. In an instant, the sturdy bunker, reinforced with multiple defensive barriers, became as fragile as sand before this pure power of heaven and earth. Bricks and stones shattered into dust upon contact, steel reinforcements melted into flowing, red-hot iron, and the intricate magical circuits and energy core within emitted a piercing scream under overload before being completely vaporized. The shockwave of the explosion, carrying debris and scorching plasma, swept in all directions, blasting away and carbonizing the garrison, craftsmen, and even the most sophisticated magical instruments within the bunker!
"Click——"

That was the wail of the energy structure of the magic interference field being completely destroyed.

The deep, swirling vortex of low-energy magic at the top of the tower collapsed first, showering down countless fragments of magic shimmering with a ghostly blue light. Then, the cracked tower could no longer maintain its shape, silently disintegrating and dissipating from its apex into primordial magical particles, leaving not a trace of dust or debris. The process was astonishingly fast, yet appeared incredibly slow and awe-inspiring to onlookers.

The magical interference field that enveloped the entire city, an invisible barrier specifically designed to suppress supernatural powers and relics, dissipated. The sense of interference that had been lingering on the battlefield, causing stagnation of magic and mental oppression, also vanished.

The entire battlefield fell into an even deeper, more deathly silence than before.

No one expected that one of the four force field devices that had hindered the rebels' offensive for three whole days would come to an end in such a way. Although three force field devices were still in operation, after witnessing what had just happened, no one doubted whether the young knight possessed the power to destroy them; she even seemed to handle them with ease.

Because it's neither a supernatural ability nor magic, it's unaffected by magical interference fields. But what exactly is it? A true... miracle?

People tend to attribute things that cannot be explained by common sense to some kind of great power above an individual, even though sometimes the answer is simpler than they imagine.

A calm voice broke their reverie.

"The magic interference barrier has been broken, and the enemy's morale is low. It's the perfect time to attack."

General Franz Sander breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression betrayed no joy, only a hint of melancholy. Perhaps he had suddenly realized that all the tactics and strategies he had learned in his life were useless in the face of such overwhelming power. Both he and Major General Andrei had meticulously planned and schemed against each other, using all their trump cards and methods, but in the end, what decided the outcome of the battle was a force that neither side dared to imagine.

The only consolation is that such power is rare in the world, or rather, unique.

"Pass down the order," he calmly commanded, "the entire army will launch an attack to coordinate with Miss Xinuo's offensive and retake Suarez City."

　Give me some cats
　　(End of this chapter)