Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

........

Lateran, the Holy City, the Papal Palace. Time: ? ? ?

Peter X personally brewed Mostima a cup of sweet black tea, but Mostima unusually refused to drink it. During the time Victoria and Wayne were dating, she had developed a liking for the clear tea from Yan. Perhaps it was because, at Wayne's request, she would always brew a cup at the inn while waiting for his arrival; over time, she had come to enjoy its slightly bitter yet fragrant taste.

It's strange that a Sarkaz likes bitterness. But Mostima shows no sign of changing back.

"Your Holiness the Pope, your special envoy Mostima reports to you."

Standing up, Mostima solemnly placed his right hand on his waist and bowed to the aged Peter X before him.

Although the Lateran Catholic Church suffered a major blow during the Protestant Reformation, it remains the largest church organization in Terra. After undergoing internal reforms and adjustments that were partly forced and partly voluntary, the Lateran Catholic Church has recovered and begun to consolidate its existing base.

No one had the right to question the old man's authority. Although the clergy had no children and their power could not be passed down like that of a secular empire, he was undoubtedly one of the most powerful people on the entire earth.

He is also the only one who could possibly save Prince Wayne from his prison!

“I’ve read all the reports you submitted. Thank you for your hard work, Mostima.”

The Pope picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and showed no joy or happiness on his face.

"But I'd like to know, can you vouch for everything you've said?"

Mostima did not hesitate for a moment: "I swear on my life and my faith, to God, the church, and the Bible, that what I have said and written is not a lie! It is my own experience and my own judgment!"

She had long anticipated that His Holiness the Pope would ask this question, after all, what she had experienced was far too shocking and unbelievable even in the mythological texts of the Holy Library.

But she was not afraid to swear an oath, because she had seen it all with her own eyes, heard it all with her own ears, and held it in her own hands.

Peter X seemed not to have expected Mostima, who was usually so composed, to answer so decisively and resolutely, even using the most solemn and serious oath. He could only nod slightly and no longer question the veracity of the matter.

"So, Victoria has actually undergone such a change?"

Peter X stroked his chin and beard.

"I've heard about Kazdel's reunion, but according to my informants, the conflict between Theresis and Theresa has reached an irreconcilable point, and civil war could break out at any time. Under these circumstances, the chances of Theresa marrying Wayne are slim."

“And, Wayne..…”

The Pope looked at Mostima and said,

“He saved you, Mostima. I know you will be grateful to him, but you should know that you lost the ‘hands of the clock’ to Vina in Victoria. At this time, proclaiming that Wayne is a friend of Laterano will only put our friend in a more disadvantageous position.”

"The most urgent task is to rescue him."

The Pope remained silent for a long time before finally making up his mind. He took out a roll of parchment from his robes, wrote his name at the end, and handed it to Mostima.

“This is my personal guard, the order to deploy the Wheel-Mounted Musketeers. Take this and gather five Wheel-Mounted Musketeers, then lead them back to Victoria. Do your utmost to rescue our friend from the Queen’s prison. Remember, be careful and seize the opportunity! The monks have reported to me that Wayne is currently in Dorron County in the North. This may be our best chance. Once we return to Londinium, everything will be over.”

Mostima accepted the order with a joyful smile on his face.

Having lost the Black Key and White Key, and having his emotions rekindled by Wayne, Mostima's recent emotional expressions have become increasingly straightforward and easy to understand.

The Pope's personal guard, the legendary wheeled cavalry, are knights no less formidable than the aces of Kazimierz—the Silver Spear Pegasus, hounds in the shadows of Ursus—the Emperor's blade, and the industrialized war machine of Victoria—the steam-armored troops.

Seeing Mostima's smile, Peter X also smiled and nodded solemnly to Mostima:

"These are Lateran's elite troops. With them, you can defeat any enemy!"

She bowed to the Pope once more and said sincerely:

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Surtr: You finally sold yourself out?

Kazdel, Veronia, Mercenary Street.

Accompanying Theresa back to the city buried in ruins were Shining and Mudrock, who had been away from home for a long time.

The most special Sarkaz guards of the Kazdel Royal Court, the masters of ancient earth and rock Originium arts. Although Vayne very much wanted to simply let Mudrock stay in the court of Lontinim and never leave again, Mudrock insisted on her own idea - she had to go back, there were people waiting for her at home.

More than half a year had passed since she left. When Mudrock stood again in front of her small one-bedroom apartment at the end of Mercenary Street, she felt as if she had lived through another world. For mercenaries, a mission that lasted half a year was not uncommon; some long-term escort missions, transport missions, and even assassination missions could easily take more than a year. But Mudrock dared to say that none of the mercenaries in all of Kazdel had experienced as much as she had in those short six months.

The coronation of the new Queen Victoria, the beginning of the "Victoria (Vina) Era", the prelude to the Anglican Reformation, the birth of the Ninety-Five Theses, and finally, the Demon King of Kazdel, His Highness of All Sarkaz personally went to Victoria.

Each of these events is worthy of being recorded in history and will become a subject of lifelong study for future historians. And surprisingly, she is involved in every one of these events that can be called great.

She witnessed the legend, and was immersed in it, becoming a part of it.

Taking a deep breath to calm his excitement, Niyan raised his hand and tapped the iron ring on the rusty old-fashioned security door.

"Bang bang."

The iron gate let out two heavy groans, and a few seconds later, light footsteps came from inside the house, accompanied by the click of a lock being opened. The red-haired Sarkaz girl muttered, "I don't have money to pay the water bill. I can survive as long as I eat ice cream!" as she poked her head out, intending to chase away the landlord who had come to collect the bill.

"Surtr, I'm back!"

Mudrock happily opened his arms, wanting to hug the girl before him. But Surtr frowned, took a half step back, grabbed the Twilight Sword lying by the door, and held it in front of him:

"Who are you? How do you know my name?!"

Mudrock froze as she opened her arms, a blank look appearing on her small face behind the mask. She frantically gestured for a while before suddenly remembering that her current appearance was different from before she went to Victoria.

Originating from the latest steam-source powered armor jointly developed by the Victoria Steam Armor Force and the Victoria Academy of Sciences, the armor features a heavy exterior with multiple source power units to reduce the burden on the wearer. The outer shell is made of the latest high-strength alloy, D32 alloy, which gives it a sense of stability while the cyan color adds to its aesthetic appeal.

In short, it was a world apart from the old-fashioned power armor Mudrock wore when he left Kazdel. Even the voice changer was a different model, no wonder Surtr didn't recognize him.

The simpleton swallowed back the tears that were welling up in his eyes, thinking that he had been away from home for too long and that Surtr no longer recognized him. Mudrock looked around to make sure there were no onlookers in the alley before reaching out and pressing the button on the closed helmet connection.

"呲-"

Like the sound of a steam train braking, the armor emitted a muffled thud, and a large amount of steam immediately spewed out from the surrounding connecting pipes, beginning to release pressure. Ten seconds later, when the steam stopped gushing out, Mudrock raised his hand, took the helmet off his head, and greeted him again with a smile:

"Surtr, I'm back!"

"who are you?"

Surtr asked warily. Mudrock's slightly smug expression froze on his face. After a long pause, he pointed at his nose and explained anxiously and sadly, "Mudrock, Mudrock, I am Mud..."

"Okay, okay! Look how scared you were."

Surtr suddenly dropped her wary expression, casually placed Leivatin by the door, and stood on tiptoe to examine Mudrock, who, after donning power armor, was actually a head taller than her. She asked curiously:

"Where did you get this outfit? It looks expensive, is it worth a few ice creams?"

"Aren't you going to ask me what I've been doing for the past six months?"

Mudstone placed the hammer on his back and Levadin side by side by the door. After turning around and checking that there was no one in the alley, he closed the door and took off his heavy steam armor.

Steaming from head to toe, Mudrock walked into the bathroom, took off her clothes, turned on the tap, and released her still impressive breasts, even though she was wearing a bralette. She took a long, refreshing shower, complaining to Surtr, who was just outside the door:

"Do you know what I've been through in the past six months? You don't care, you only care about your ice cream!"

"Haha..."

Even with Surtr's personality, he was somewhat embarrassed by Mudrock's words and could only scratch his cheek and ask,

"So what missions have you been on for the past six months?"

"I'm going to become a legendary mercenary!" Mudrock exclaimed excitedly, "The most legendary kind!"

Surtr wasn't a mercenary and didn't know anything about this, so he tilted his head in confusion:

"What are the benefits of being a legendary mercenary? How many ice creams can you buy with the commission?"

"Do you know what I've been through in the past six months? You don't care, you only care about your ice cream!"

Surtr: "..."

She rolled her eyes. Whether it was Lungmen Dollars or those newly issued silver coins from the Kazdel Military Council, it made no difference to her; it all came down to how many ice creams she could buy. Surtr had thought this more than once: if the ultimate purpose of money was to buy ice cream, then why couldn't ice cream be considered money?

For example, the quests at the mercenary tavern: kill one person for 100 Kazdel silver, wipe out an elite squad for 1000 Kazdel silver. Surtr had no idea what that meant, but if it were changed to kill one person for 10 ice creams, wipe out a squad for 100 ice creams, wouldn't that be much easier to understand? Surtr was confident he could complete all the quests in a day!

"In short, I've been through a lot. Even the stories told by the most knowledgeable bartenders in the pubs can't compare to the legendary experiences I've had recently. But we can talk about those things later."

Mudrock dried himself off, wrapped a towel around his neck, opened the steamy shower door, looked at the bewildered Surtr, and asked:

"Surtr, we're moving!"

Surtr blinked. "Huh? Where to?"

“Victoria! At my employer’s house.”

Surtr's eyes darkened for no apparent reason as he looked at Mudrock and said with some sadness:

“Mudrock, I didn’t expect you to still be like this… Actually, it wasn’t necessary. I can reduce it to eating ice cream only once a week. You don’t have to sell yourself to your employer.”

Mudstone: "?"

"What are you talking about? Let me tell you the truth, Surtr. My employer this time is a super big shot, a member of the Victorian royal family, Queen Aslan and her brother... although he's a cousin, he's still the Prince of Wales, the kind of person whose blood is thicker than water!"

Surtr raised an eyebrow: "How big?"

"About... about the same age as Princess Theresa's brother?"

Princess Theresa's brother, General Theresis, the Executive Chairman of the Military Council. He is the undisputed second-in-command of all Kazdel.

Surtr's eyes lit up, and he nodded, "Great, the price is very reasonable! How are their salaries? How many ice creams can they eat in one meal?"

Mudstone: "Do you know what I've been through in the past six months? You don't care, you only care about your ice cream!"

After Mudrock finished complaining, he looked at Surtr, who had a smile on his face, and finally couldn't help but show a helpless smile.

Ah, forget it.

Surtr doesn't smoke, drink, gamble, or have any illicit affairs. Aside from her love of ice cream, she's practically an "angel" among the Sarkaz! Let her be.

Moreover, if Surtr hadn't unintentionally said it, Mudrock himself wouldn't have realized it. He accepted Wayne's kindness, wore the armor Wayne gave him, drove the vehicle Wayne gave him, and rode in Wayne's fiancée's flying machine back to Kazdel, and was even about to officially move into Wayne's house...

It looks like she sold herself out!

But Wayne shouldn't know his own gender... Mudrock carefully recalled the experiences of the past six months and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Wayne had indeed never seen his true face.

I guess I'm overthinking it. I accidentally sold myself out, and now I'm even trying to sell Surtr to a ruthless boss too.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Wei Yanwu: Let me see what Ah Chen is doing?

Victoria, Londinium City Centre, SWIRE Building.

Beatrice Swire watched as her grandfather, the true leader of the SWIRE Group, leisurely put down his fruit plate, picked up the phone that had been ringing for a while, pressed the answer button, and said sarcastically:

"Which one?"

There was silence on the other end of the line. The elderly man, Felin, gave a cold laugh and said...