Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1318: Another choice to be made?
When Caraboss saw the young knight in white armor, with fiery hair and snow-white eyes, blocking her way, she wasn't surprised; in fact, she felt a sense of relief, as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted. Once, on the vast stage of the universe, she had unexpectedly encountered travelers aboard a cloud whale, which sparked a far-reaching battle. The stars and meteors that perished in that battle still wander alone in the storms of the astral plane, seemingly foreshadowing a path of no return.

But she did not see the knight.

The invincible knight, capable of taking on ten thousand enemies single-handedly, did not appear on the battlefield. Was he still confused? Or was he hesitant? That won't do. How can someone who wants to save the world and change destiny be afraid of sacrifice? If he still harbors the unrealistic hope of saving something without giving anything in return, he is being far too naive.

It's fine as it is now.

Her resolute gaze, silent face, and lips pressed tightly into a thin line revealed a hint of stubbornness, already bearing a three-tenths resemblance to the woman Carabosse remembered. As for the remaining seven-tenths, they had ultimately faded into the endless passage of time. The differences between people are so vast; even if the soul remains the same, memories and emotions will clearly distinguish them, let alone the earliest version of her, the one who only exists in vague impressions and archival records.

The power of a young girl's royal power is the power of her heart.

With this belief and awareness, you must be incredibly powerful. One day, you will become as perfect as the full moon, right? Just as a broken mirror can be mended in water and a broken sword can be reforged in fire, the wounds in your heart can also be slowly repaired and restored to normalcy through time, emotions, memories, ideals, and countless concepts that are difficult for ordinary people to understand.

pity.

not now.

Calabos said calmly, "You are not my target."

"Is that so? But I don't care who your target is." Hino held his spear level, the Holy Spear White Thorn releasing a dazzling flame, as if a sun were burning on the branch-shaped blade, blocking the approaching darkness. Light and darkness faced each other across a visible line, a scene reminiscent of the creation myth of Moriah, where the great deity separated light and darkness, thus giving rise to the concept of relativity.

The chief knight replied in the same calm tone, "As long as my goal is you, that's enough."

Caraboss shook his head: "That depends on whether victory or salvation is more important to you. Is winning a battle more important or saving everyone more important? Even a master knight must learn to make choices."

What does it mean! ?

Hino's pupils contracted slightly because she saw Caraboss make a simple gesture: raising his left hand, his pale and slender fingers slowly pointing to the sky, or rather, to the more distant universe.

This was an action representing absolute destruction and pure devastation. It evoked some unpleasant memories in Hino's mind. The young knight suddenly looked up, her gaze fixed on a corner of the sky. The light was intense and dazzling, while the darkness was obscure and profound. At the boundary between light and darkness, she vaguely saw the faint light of a star struggling to break through the blockade of the two, casting a deep red signal representing danger onto the world.

The crimson star, like the tail of a red dragon sweeping across the spear tip, within which the power to slay stars is brewing.

The witch did not come alone; she also brought with her the most terrifying war machine in the world.

“The Dyson Sphere,” Carabosse said expressionlessly, “is anchored in its outer orbit around Mirror Star. The straight-line distance from that orbit to the Eastern Continent is exactly within the firing range of the cation-destroying planet cannon. Its firepower will ravage the entire battlefield in a tenth of a second. And at this moment, only you have the ability to stop it from unleashing its barrage and save more lives. So, Shino Jyn Gostaff, what will you choose?”

She coldly called out the young knight's full name, giving her no time to think, and uttered a concise command: "Cation Destroyer Cannon, fire."

At this very moment, in every corner of this blue planet, whether in the astronomical observatory of the Greenwich Observatory in the Kingdom of Great Britta, or atop the tower of the chief astrologer of the Yalas United Empire; whether astronomers studying modern astronomical theories and operating the most sophisticated scientific instruments, or the Moria wizards following ancient secrets and attempting to glimpse the trajectory of fate from the stars and crystal balls, everyone gasped in astonishment as they watched an unnamed star, not belonging to the outer stars, appear on the cosmic veil shrouding the Mirror Star. Its light grew brighter and brighter, so clear even in daylight that more and more people could spot it simply by looking up. But the starlight was a dangerous and alluring crimson, strikingly similar to the doomsday star, the weeping star, and the star of mutual slaughter in the prophecy of destruction.

Legend has it that when a crimson star appears in the sky, it foretells a great calamity for humanity. At that time, chaos will erupt across the land, nations will wage war, and even the closest of kin will take up arms and slaughter each other. Perhaps it was a premonition, but the Eastern and Western continents, whose civilizations have diverged further and further, have unanimously regarded that star as a symbol of misfortune and mourning.

Although those weren't actual stars, the old stories weren't without merit, and one could even say they revealed the true meaning of fate long ago. In the distant universe, the Dyson Sphere roared, and 23,128 square ceilings arranged radially lit up simultaneously. An immeasurable amount of energy was transmitted through 12,914,128 magic-guiding cables of the link matrix to the central launch silo, and using the location of the Dark Witch on that blue planet as coordinates, it quickly anchored the firing range.

The next moment, starlight condensed into a beam, a dazzling crimson light piercing the universe, like a celestial being hurling a spear, splitting the sky in two. The pierced storm and clouds dispersed outwards in concentric circles, then surged and fell, forming a breathtaking spectacle. Countless people fled in panic, and countless others bowed their heads in worship, begging for divine forgiveness.

The main knight's pupils contracted like pinpoints. At this moment, her body's instincts replaced her thinking, causing her to roar angrily for the first time in battle: "Brandy!!!" The divine horse was of one mind with its master, and even before her roar was uttered, it already knew what to do. Its hooves pounded the void, and its figure flashed continuously in the void. After several leaps, it had reached an altitude of ten thousand meters. In this land devoid of life, at a height that even birds dared not climb, only the fierce storm howled past the two of them, blowing their fiery red hair and snow-white mane.

The flash of light from beyond the sky was falling at a speed countless times faster than human thought, and the shadow of death enveloped the earth in a fraction of a second. The knight on horseback remained silent, only gripping the hilt of the Holy Lance, White Thorns, tightly. The winding patterns on its surface resembled the withered branches of an old tree, and a warm sensation emanated from her cold gauntlets. She took a deep breath, leaned back slightly, and exerted force from her shoulders, elbows, and wrists simultaneously. In the next instant, she hurled the sacred lance—forged by the hands of the forge dwarves and silver elves, blessed by the spirit of fairies, and inherited from the pioneer Baron Vince—throughout the heavens, tracing a sharp and straight trajectory.

Astronomers, astrologers, and wizards, who were frantically flipping through ancient books and trying to find answers from the knowledge of their predecessors, were once again astonished to see a beam of starlight rising, shooting out of space from the Mirror Star, as if to confront the destructive starlight descending from the heavens.

Before we could even ponder the origin of the silvery starlight, or feel any tension or anticipation, the two beams of starlight had already crossed a vast distance and silently collided in the blink of an eye.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no stalemate of clashing energy; what appeared was a spectacle more breathtaking than any myth.

The destructive torrent that swept across the universe seemed to have struck an infinitely long, incredibly solid, and insurmountable wall of sighs when it came into contact with the rising silvery starlight. It roared angrily, trying to drown out this tiny resistance, but could only create billions of dazzling sparks at the tip of its spear, like the most violent nebula storm at the beginning of creation being forcibly restrained between two invisible banks.

The crimson light, as if severed by a sacred spear, split apart, diluted, and gradually dissipated along the silvery-white canyon that stretched between heaven and earth. The earth below witnessed this miraculous scene: the red dragon's tail swept across the spear tip, its crimson breath splitting in two. The two streams of dragon flame swept across the Mirror Star's atmosphere, carrying boundless fury, instantly vaporizing the already thin air and leaving two brief but scorching marks on the cosmic curtain. But this was merely a death throes before its final, desperate struggle. When its energy was exhausted, the remaining dragon flames transformed into countless tiny meteors, falling from outer orbits, raining down like a mournful downpour upon the saved lives.

The ominous star in the sky dimmed, and the dangerous crimson light silently disappeared. This was because the Dyson Sphere's guidance and propulsion systems had entered a cooling state after the energy burst. If observed with the highest precision astronomical telescope at this time, one would surely see a large area of ​​spectacular cumulonimbus clouds covering the crimson ominous star, as if they had existed since the beginning of the century. However, it was actually a strange sight produced by the Dyson Sphere's hydraulic cooling system expelling excess heat. What fell from it was not rain, but a nearly liquid, scorching magic.

Hino breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, I caught up.

Having witnessed the terrifying power of the Dyson Sphere in shattering an extraterrestrial monster with a single shot in space, she found it hard to imagine the consequences of letting this cation-destroying planet-destroying cannon land. However, she felt something was strange. The Dyson Sphere's firepower was still astonishing, but she sensed an unusual trace within that massive amount of magic power—something difficult to describe, but undeniably present.

As far as Hino knew, super-sized constructs like the Alien Philosopher Dyson Sphere couldn't be powered by ordinary magic cores alone. Therefore, their primary energy source depended on the magic of the Deep Linkers—the power of the Maiden's Royal Authority. If there were any issues with the Dyson Sphere's magic output, it would only be related to one person: the Dark Witch Caraboss.

Although she didn't know what exactly was wrong with the other party, this might be an opportunity for her.

Hino, with no time for deep thought, raised her hand and summoned back the Holy Lance, White Thorn. A silvery meteor responded to her call, tracing a graceful arc across the still-flecking sky before settling steadily into its master's hand. Gripping the branch-shaped Holy Lance, the familiar feel brought the young knight a sense of security. No matter what unexpected events she encountered along the way, she firmly believed in her ultimate victory. This confidence didn't even stem from royal power, but from her own self-understanding. Even if in another world, another time, another destiny, the knights of the Gostaff family weren't the victorious kings, she would still hold onto this unwavering belief in herself.

The knight gently pulled on the reins, intending to return to the battlefield with her beloved warhorse to stop the Dark Witch Carabosse's advance. But suddenly her expression changed slightly, and she looked back in disbelief. She saw that the star in the sky, which had dimmed, had suddenly lit up again with a deep red light, like an omen of the end of the world, after a brief calm. Dangerous magic was gathering, and terrifying energy was about to brew the next destructive bombardment.

How can it be! ?
How could there be continuous firing in such a short time when only one shelling has been conducted? As we all know, the larger the aircraft, the more bloated and complex its control system becomes. Even with the assistance of thousands of operators, this fact cannot be changed. It is no exaggeration to say that every process, from energy operation before launch to engine load during launch and aircraft heat dissipation after launch, is crucial, and the slightest carelessness could even lead to catastrophic consequences.

Overloading the magic engine, increasing the output power, or simply using the armor strength to withstand the excess heat... there are indeed many ways to circumvent this limitation, but without exception, these methods will cause irreparable damage to the machine, and in extreme cases, it is not impossible for the machine to collapse.

Or is it that Karapos values ​​this battle so much that he'd rather sacrifice a precious construct mech to ensure victory?
Xinuo didn't understand what she was thinking, but that was irrelevant to the current situation. At this moment, she was facing a difficult choice.

A choice, yet another choice.

Since the knights of the Gostaff family left their hometown, it seems that every step they take forward is a choice. This is the true meaning of life, which cannot be simply summarized by victory or defeat.

So, what choice will she make this time?

Give me some cats