Alice in the Land of Steam

Should Chapter 1462 be a sad one?

"I've always considered myself a very good-tempered person, someone who wouldn't easily get angry no matter what. Only today did I realize that might not be the case; I haven't reached the level I idealized. But perhaps this is part of human nature—the more you define yourself, the easier it is to deviate from your true self. Thank you for making me aware of my arrogance. So, as a form of repayment, and to calm the burning fire within me, let me temporarily cast aside those unnecessary worries and offer you all a true battle. But, whatever the outcome, please don't forget—"

A sharp, cold glint flashed in the young knight's eyes, so intense that even the high and mighty demigods were stunned and dared not pursue her: "This is all your own choice!"

Having said that, she raised her hand and untied the ribbon at the back of her head. The loose strands of snow-white hair instantly ignited, transforming into raging, unquenchable flames. At the same time, her eyes beneath her visor were also stained by the cold of winter, turning into the most indifferent and chilling frost. Amidst the boundless darkness and rolling thunder, the young knight raised her ancestral holy lance high, her voice clear and resonant: "In the name of Baron Vince the Pioneer, Hiberton the White Knight, Leonard the Obsessive, and the great ancestors of the Gostaff family, grant me this glorious battle!"

Before she finished speaking, she and her horse vanished instantly, appearing directly in front of the stag-headed demon at the edge of the fog. A flicker of surprise flashed in Kapels's icy eyes. Its massive body retreated rapidly, spewing forth a frost powerful enough to freeze souls, which spread quickly across a large area ahead like sprouting branches. But Xinuo's spear was faster than the chilling breath; before the tip even arrived, a blade of light condensed on it had already torn apart the prelude to the chilling breath.

The frost, like withered grass, was completely annihilated, yet the spear's remaining power remained undiminished, piercing straight through the stag-headed demon's black robe and the chilling aura that had formed a shield beneath it. The ice shattered with a sudden, fine, spiderweb-like crackling sound, accompanied by a painful growl from Kapels. The chilling aura upon which he depended for survival was being forcibly dispelled and disintegrated, as if this single spear thrust had directly negated the very foundation of its existence; even demigod-level magic could not reverse the process.

"Kukulta!?"

The barbarian Kong Su reacted the fastest, calling out the names of his comrades to retreat while charging into the battle from the side like a wild beast. He had lost the power of the "Primitive Arbitration Law," and instead held a pair of pitch-black gauntlets as deep as the abyss. Wherever his fists passed, the space groaned under the weight of the blows.

Without turning his head, Xinuo clenched his left hand in mid-air—

"clang!"

The deafening clang of metal shattered a cloud of mist. Kong Su's fist was blocked by a phantom lance formed of condensed light; the phantom appeared fragile, yet remained completely still. Xinuo's right hand still pressed the lance against the deer-headed spirit's ice armor, while his left hand simultaneously received a full-force blow from the barbarian demigod.

"How is that possible..." Kong Su's sinister smile froze on his face.

"roll."

Hino used a word that he would almost never utter in his normal state, and at the same time, he suddenly exerted force with his left hand. The shadow of the light spear exploded in response, and countless fragments turned into a rainstorm that completely engulfed the barbarian who had betrayed his tribe. Wailing cries came from within, but no blood sprayed from the wound. Instead, it showed an eerie transparency, and the blood vessels and blood under the skin were clearly visible as they froze.

“If you no longer consider yourself a native of this land,” Hino sneered, something she would almost never do under normal circumstances. She had always been taught to respect her opponents, but today she was unwilling to do so, especially since these opponents in front of her didn’t seem to need her respect: “Then let this blood of the natives stop flowing forever.”

The Thunder Giant Mohoro unleashed a torrent of lightning. As a born elemental being with Sequence 2 power, his manipulation of lightning could almost cover half of the Interdimensional Sea, creating a devastating thunderstorm. General Lionheart Leonhardt held a sword in one hand, while the other conjured a scale—the extraordinary ability [Judgment] of the [Knight] pathway, Sequence 4. This scale placed the beliefs of both sides on equal footing; the greater the tilt, the more damage it inflicted on the enemy's soul, potentially even disregarding differences in physical strength and magical power, resulting in immediate death. The Black Witch Katerina, having recovered from the backlash of the destruction of the object in the box, retrieved another relic from her bosom—the last one they carried on this mission. For this operation, the Axis powers had sacrificed two legions, while the Empire had gambled five demigods, three relic, and the safety of the Black Blade Legion and even the remaining two legions. It was difficult to say whose resolve was stronger, but failure would undoubtedly result in devastating losses for both sides.

The final relic transformed into a pitch-black canopy, shrouding the edge of the Intersea and once again blocking the young knight's retreat. Before her vision was completely obscured by darkness, she vaguely glimpsed the Axis engineers setting up force fields on the perimeter. It was clear that even if she destroyed the last relic, she would still face endless blockades and interceptions. Such a situation would have undoubtedly annoyed her before, but now she was somewhat delighted.

Just as she said to these people, whatever the outcome, it's your own fault.

She will defeat all those who stand in her way here.

Whether it's the demigods of the empire or the army before them.

……

Inside the joint command post of the Eighth and Eleventh Corps, the commander issued the order to attack. When his adjutant asked him in bewilderment why they didn't take this opportunity to cross the sea and attack the enemy's main camp, the commander merely glanced at him and replied in a flat but somewhat disappointed tone, "It seems you still don't understand. The true purpose of this war has never been to annihilate the so-called Holy War Army. We are left here only because someone is needed to keep that guy occupied."

"That guy?" The adjutant looked at him strangely, pondered for a moment, then looked at the battlefield shrouded in darkness, and said incredulously, "You mean, our enemy... is only one person?"

The Imperial Army drew its most elite Eighth and Eleventh Legions from the Mikkelsen Corridor, mobilized a large amount of manpower and resources, and even resorted to physical means to clear obstacles, achieving a landing that can be called a miracle even in modern military history... but was the ultimate goal just to stop that person here?
Even those self-proclaimed gods in the Eastern Continent have never received such treatment.
"Don't overthink it." The commander sighed softly. "There are many things in this world that are best left unexamined unless you can uncover the deeper truth. But we are soldiers, and a soldier's duty is to obey orders. If you find this order utterly absurd, try to comfort yourself by saying that we are not fighting against humanity..." He also glanced up at the battlefield, his gaze complex, as if recalling something. It was a memory from his youth, when he had the privilege of serving as a garrison officer of the Kingdom's military stationed with the Holy Army. He had personally boarded that colossal machine that traversed the five seas and four oceans, and was deeply awestruck by its power that surpassed human intelligence—a memory he still vividly remembered. "But we are fighting against a humanoid construct mech... right?"

……

This is nothing more than an exchange.

Five Imperial demigods, three sacred relics, and two elite Axis forces in exchange for a right to be free from interference. It must be said, this bargaining chip is quite heavy. If the other party weren't the Victorious King, even with Tentis's support at the meeting, Victoria and the others probably wouldn't have agreed. Moreover, the so-called exchange is only one-sided; if the Victorious King doesn't have this intention, it will likely involve further complications.

To Perec's surprise, the process went unexpectedly smoothly. The other party seemed to have accepted the exchange and didn't try to chase after her, which was a pleasant surprise, but caution was still necessary. After all, based on past experiences, the young knight from the Gostaff family was not the type to give up so easily, unless this was exactly what she expected, or perhaps the other party was also plotting something?
Atorica, the Fesser Mine, the Holy War Army, the Cult of the Goddess of Creation, the Fairy Sword Hydras, the Imperial Army, the Travelers, the Maiden's Royal Power... On this chessboard, are there any factors that I have overlooked?

As Pereke traveled, she pondered, but to no avail. In the end, she had to admit that she was indeed not talented in this area. She was neither as far-sighted as Tentis nor as deep-thinking as Caraboss. If their plans and schemes were based on the entire Mirror Star as a chessboard, then she at most possessed the wisdom of a mortal, focusing on the small steps of advance and retreat, agonizing over temporary gains and losses, and doing her best to patch things up, but she dared not say that she was foolproof.

If these are just ordinary flaws, acceptable even though they cannot be remedied, then what frightens or confuses Perec the most is... that she seems to be gradually losing her humanity.

Ever since learning of Caraboss's death and deciding to protect her sisters, even going against her own will to return to the battlefield, this tendency had been brewing, growing stronger with each passing moment, each second, fueled by the torment in her heart. Now, it was simply too intense to conceal, too obvious to ignore, to even deceive herself.

Once upon a time, the girl who felt pity and cowardice when facing the unconscious wood elf boy on the experimental table could remain expressionless when pushing the lives of tens of millions onto this chessboard? The fall of the Mikkelsen Corridor, the advance of the Imperial Army in the Atoliga Province, and the soldiers she had recently traded away as bargaining chips—what was growing and what was dying? The growth was unstoppable, the death irreparable; everything was beyond the girl's control. She could only sink deeper and deeper until she fell to the bottom.

Now that we've hit rock bottom, will there ever be a time for us to rise again?
Pereira hoped it would be that way, but reality often falls short of expectations, doesn't it? After experiencing so much, she should have gotten used to this by now. There's nothing to be sad about in losing, and nothing to be happy about in gaining. If she had understood this sooner, perhaps she wouldn't have had to go against her own principles in the first place. But it's not too late to learn now, and not under anyone's interference, but guided by herself towards that cruel answer.

The teacher is right.

Years later, Pereira belatedly realized that, just as the wise yet ruthless High Priest Moria had said, she was the most indifferent person to life in the world, yet she always feigned kindness, as if she couldn't bear to harm even the flower buds on the branches or the ants in the grass. Who could say whether her kindness was based on fear or a disguise? Only ancient and mysterious witchcraft could see through all things and glimpse the great secret that had existed in the human heart since the birth of the universe.

Competition, elimination, and evolution are the essence.

She had the opportunity to control this cruel competition, to become the master of life, to rise above all things, to indifferently watch them tear each other apart for a single qualification. The slaughter between claws and teeth was no more savage than the stirrings within her, for in a sense they were equal. Those who consider this phenomenon normal and therefore embrace it wholeheartedly are undoubtedly afflicted with an incurable disease. But are those who consider this phenomenon abnormal and therefore refuse to step into it, even against the very will of living beings, any different? Illnesses always lurk slowly, erupting only when they touch the part you fear most—in the blood, in the bone marrow, in the heart, in the brain, even in the depths of the soul… everything is a harbinger, and mortals always ignore these harbingers because some inner intuition tells them that even if they confront them, it will be useless.

When some people take the lead, others are destined to fall behind; when some people survive, others are destined to be eliminated. If there were no differences, how could there be elimination and evolution?

Pereira suddenly sensed something, slowly stopped, and looked up at the sky. Heavy clouds obscured everything, seemingly about to bring a terrifying storm to this parched land, and the shadow of a colossal creature could be vaguely seen within the clouds. Sensing the gaze from the ground, it also lowered its head, fixing its gaze on its controller.

Despite its cold, steel body, Pereike seemed to see a glimmer of reason in its eyes. At this moment, it no longer acted like a killing machine, but rather like a wise philosopher, silently asking: Now that things have come to this, do you regret what you did?
It is said that mortals are always short-sighted, so why is it that you, as a young queen, can only see the fog in front of you?

The witch silently shook her head.

I have never regretted it—she told herself.

But if that's the case, then what are these turbulent emotions surging deep within my heart right now? If it's not regret, not confusion, and not fear, then it must be...

Sad, isn't it?
Give me some cats