Man on the ark, forced to become king

With the help of gravity magic, the meteor's speed increased dramatically as it sped toward Kazimierz, the surrounding night sky being stretched into a blurry image as it moved at high speed.

The thick, dark clouds that obscured the sky were pierced by shimmering gold. A magnificent golden blade sliced ​​through the heavens, tearing through the darkness. A surging storm caused large swathes of clouds to churn, with flashes of lightning and a deafening roar echoing through the heavens.

Chapter Forty-Five: Stars Fall, Trees Rise

"I haven't seen this in many years."

The outer walls of Cavalliaki are higher than most of the buildings inside the city. Standing on the steel platform, Cyril can overlook the vast urban area below, its vibrant colors reflected in the water.

After a moment, he turned his head slightly, taking in the facilities around the platform, and sighed softly, "When did our city become like this?"

Large, flat surfaces made of metal are laid out, with embedded lighting fixtures dispelling the darkness, stretching all the way to the horizon, where occasionally one can see bulky devices also made of metal.

Those were city defense cannons; Cyril knew about them.

Even cities built on giant mobile platforms cannot completely escape some designs passed down from ancient times, such as city walls and cannons mounted on them.

However, with the continuous development of modern technology, their functions and materials have undergone some changes.

The city walls are no longer just a necessary barrier to block enemy invasion, but rather part of a mobile city's automated defense system. Many devices need to be deployed here to maximize their effectiveness.

The artillery has been transformed into electromagnetically driven heavy weapons, serving not only as important firepower against external enemies but also as a means of dealing with natural disasters. Their full-power salvo can directly blast away some small natural disasters.

These are all good, but there are too few.

Pegasus's eyesight is among the best of all races; standing on high ground, Cyril can see much farther.

Such towering city walls are only shiny on the outside, with hardly any defensive cannons, and not even any patrol personnel. How can this be considered a large city?

In stark contrast to the desolation on the city walls, the interior was an extremely noisy urban area, with buildings standing side by side, neon lights flashing, and a chaotic mix of noises.

People choose to let loose and indulge themselves at night, turning the entire city into a giant den of iniquity.

Everything was completely different from the Kazimierz of the old knight's memory.

He hasn't been out and about for almost ten years.

"The Business Federation felt that investing a lot of money in the city's defenses every year was unnecessary, because no enemy could reach this place. Instead of wasting money on meaningless military deployments, they thought it would be better to use it to build more intercity communication towers, which would allow their television signals to cover a wider area and increase advertising revenue. So, it is what it is now, a city wall that is only good for show and has almost no practical significance except for being a tourist attraction."

Russell was also observing the distant city, but unlike Cyril, her expression was very calm, so calm that it was indifferent, and even her voice was barely audible.

“Even I, an old man lying in bed, know that Ursus’s spying on us has never disappeared, and the conflict between Letania and Kazimierz continues to this day. How can they think they are so safe?”

"They are certainly safe."

This time, Russell smiled, a subtle curve at the corners of his mouth, his sarcasm evident.

“If Ursus comes, just cede the territory they want. Anyway, it has already been occupied before. Kazimierz is so big, even if the border shrinks a bit, it won’t affect their enjoyment.”

"Leytania is always provoking us, so let's go there to negotiate peace with money. As long as the benefits are enough, war won't really break out. Anyway, they already control the economic lifeline of the entire Kazimierz, so giving up some money is nothing."

"Then, Ursus once again acquired large tracts of fertile land on the border, temporarily halting its expansion. Letania gained enough benefits and had no intention of starting a war. The Merchant Federation achieved its goal and obtained the peace it had longed for."

"Bullshit! (Kazimir's profanity)!"

Cyril glared angrily, his face flushed, and he cursed a string of profanities, his chest pounding violently beneath his thin clothing.

"They don't even have the courage to pick up a weapon and fight anymore! What kind of peace is this! Doing this will only make Kazimir a piece of meat in the eyes of the enemy, allowing them to take whatever they want! Trash!"

"But in their eyes, this is peace."

Russell patted the old knight on the shoulder and said indifferently, "As long as it doesn't affect their ability to make money, that's peace. In fact, it doesn't matter to them whether Kazimierz continues to exist. No matter who rules here, they can maintain their high status by relying on their wealth."

"Perhaps, when we are all dead, there will be no more Kazimierz."

"Ha, I think there is no longer a country that can exchange peace for territory and reparations."

Cyril closed his eyes, calming his emotions that were boiling with anger, and said with deep sorrow, "This kind of peace is worse than death."

Have we been doing things wrong all along?

What's the point of right and wrong?

Russell shook his head, turned to look at the starry sky outside the city, where a few clouds drifted by, as cold as a machine.

"If it has never been right, then it cannot be wrong either."

Instead of spending time thinking about those things, let's look forward to what kind of reasons that so-called golden tree will bring.

"I can't refuse, I'm very interested."

"Of course, I'm very interested too."

Cyril opened his eyes and clenched his fists.

"I'm even more interested now."

A country whose former heroes have been stigmatized and whose people are entertained to death, which survives by ceding territory and paying reparations, has completely forgotten its former courage and glory. It cannot think of any reason to continue to exist.

It's better to perish sooner than to linger on in misery.

Order will crumble, chaos will ensue, but those who refuse to succumb will be able to unite and rebuild their homes from the ruins.

It's more dignified than drowning in a false bubble.

"Stop looking like you're about to punch someone, Cyril. You have no enemies here, and anger is pointless."

Russell looked at him and shook his head slightly: "You've already saved them once, there's no need to be angry about it again."

"It's been a while since I've come out for some fresh air. Why not look at the scenery in the distance and relax? Look, there's a shooting star over there, isn't it beautiful?"

"meteor?"

Cyril followed her gaze and saw that the clouds in the far distance were pierced by golden light, and the glittering stars traveled under the starry sky, a scene as beautiful as a painting.

“I can’t stay as calm as you, Russell. I—wait, is that thing flying this way?!”

The old knight stared wide-eyed as the shooting star that streaked across the night sky suddenly veered at an odd angle, changing direction in an incomprehensible way, and flew towards Kavaleriaki.

As a soldier with decades of combat experience who had faced countless artillery bombardments, he was absolutely certain that the object would land in this city!

But this is completely unreasonable!

What meteor would change its trajectory on its own? Especially such an absurd change as a near 90-degree turn.

That's simply unrealistic!

"I saw it, a meteor that can change direction. Maybe it's some new type of natural disaster? But there haven't been any reports of natural disasters recently."

Russell hesitated for a moment, then took out her personal communicator to notify the city defense forces. However, just as she raised her arm, Cyril grabbed her wrist.

The old knight's voice suddenly rose, booming like a large speaker in your ear.

"It accelerated! It went very fast! It's getting bigger and bigger!"

"what?!"

Russell, whose movements were interrupted, subconsciously looked up, his pupils instantly contracting.

The dark sky was sliced ​​open by a long, narrow trail of brilliant golden light, and a dazzling golden radiance illuminated the surroundings. It moved at an incredible speed, covering a considerable distance in the blink of an eye, and rapidly expanded in the field of vision, like a sun falling down.

too fast!

This speed——

After a brief moment of shock, before Russell and Cyril could even react, a brilliant golden light was already projected onto the steel-constructed city walls. The unknown object enveloped in the light plummeted from the sky to the plains outside the city, and a howling hurricane descended from the heavens!

boom!

A tremendous crash erupted, the soaring sound waves overpowering all other noises, and even those atop the city wall could feel the ground shaking violently beneath their feet.

The shock absorption device on the mobile platform failed to function properly—it may have been unable to withstand the vibrations from the impact and has already stopped.

Everything in sight was shaking. Cyril gripped Russell's wrist, fixing it firmly to the trembling metal platform like a nail. Looking out of the city, all he could see was the land rolling like ocean waves.

The plains crumbled and collapsed, and a violent hurricane whipped up countless pieces of earth, rocks, and dust, rising hundreds of meters high. Blinding light pierced through the smoke, illuminating large areas of space as if it were daytime.

The wind and waves, carrying debris, crashed down on the city like a collapsing mountain, obscuring the moon and stars.

In an instant, the sky darkened, and most of the city was covered by a dust storm, with piercing alarms blaring through the night.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

The sound of the impact drowned out the howling wind. The city wall shook violently as if it had been struck by some giant object. The sound of metal being squeezed and twisted surged underfoot, followed by a series of explosions.

With his body hunched over, Cyril struggled to secure himself to the platform, raising his arm to shield himself from the oncoming gust of debris. He opened his eyes with difficulty and was horrified to find that incredibly thick golden branches were climbing up the edge of the city wall, intertwining and twisting the solid steel into bizarre shapes.

The shaking stopped in an instant.

The extending branches seemed to act as a stabilizer, stopping the trembling of the city wall platform.

The dazzling gold, like the rising sun, dispels the smoke and dust, calms the storm, and illuminates the night sky.

The intertwined, enormous branches grow upwards, merging into a golden trunk tens or even hundreds of meters thick.

Then, the branches and leaves began to grow.

Countless branches extend outward from the main trunk, like arms reaching into the void.

Golden leaves sprouted and floated, their overlapping branches forming a massive canopy that obscured the night sky, resembling a pure gold curtain composed of branches and leaves.

Standing below, it's impossible to determine the exact area of ​​the tree canopy with the naked eye.

The dazzling golden light filled his entire field of vision. The incredibly thick tree trunks stood before him like mountains, and a heavy sense of oppression rolled down from above. Cyril straightened his body with difficulty, and a name emerged from the bottom of his heart.

Golden Tree.