Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

However, just before that, the short sword that once belonged to Sam pierced her throat and pinned her to the ground.

The light in her eyes went out.

Along with it, Sam's naivety and inexperience also disappeared.

He died ten seconds later and then awoke again inside the pyramid.

"The results weren't very good this time either..." Patchouli frowned. "Perhaps I should change the scene again and lower the difficulty a bit."

"Wait!" Sam suddenly interrupted her. The boy, who had previously seemed somewhat timid, suddenly exuded the confidence of a mature adult. "Were those things I saw actually happened?"

“I don’t know either.” Patchouli smiled and shook her head. “But I’m sure there must have been a mother and daughter like that in that era, and perhaps only you can decide their true fate.”

“I understand.” Sam took a deep breath. “Then take me back, to the same place. This time I’m sure I can…” He shook his head vigorously.

"Take me back."

"It's wonderful that you have this intention." Patchouli clasped her hands together, and the white light enveloped the pyramid once again.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you something: there's a difference in the flow of time between dreams and reality. If you can live a little longer, perhaps spending a few weeks inside will only feel like a few minutes outside. So make the most of it."

Sam simply waved his hand.

Seconds later, his consciousness returned to the pyramid. This time, he remained silent, simply looking at Patchouli, awaiting the next dream.

And after this one ends, there will be the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that.

His temperament gradually changed from impetuous to aloof, and then from aloof to composed.

Patchouli waved her hand, and in the brief moment of the barrier shifting, she took out some potions from the Great Library and began to concoct them. She knew that the mental enhancement was on track, and the next step was to improve the physical body.

In Alice's plan, Sam's value lay in establishing contact with the Autobots and revealing the mystery to Optimus Prime, after which his existence should have ended. His life or death thereafter would be irrelevant to the two witches. However, since he's here, the witches intend to give him a chance—after all, he's the protagonist of this world and a friend of the Cybertronians. Helping him would be harmless.

“Alice probably won’t be back until dawn.” Patchouli’s gaze passed through the pyramids, glancing at the gradually shifting sun. “Well then, let me see what this anonymous student is capable of.”

She then began concocting a powerful enhancement elixir. This elixir originated in Greece, specifically with Medea of ​​Colchis. After decades or even centuries of technological development, it had evolved from an ointment that temporarily made one invulnerable to weapons into a gene-enhancing agent that permanently strengthened the body.

This medicine will likely come in handy soon.

Author's Note:

..........................................

A true Fire Keeper doesn't need to break the Lords of Cinder's legs to make them obediently roll back to link the fire.

Chapter Twenty-Five: You actually saw through my act!

A bolt of lightning struck down, creating a massive crater in the ground. The battlefield was thus torn in two, separating the witch and the machine by nearly fifty meters.

"That's enough. Continuing this way wouldn't be a mere test." Alice retracted the puppet strings and dispelled the floating magic array around her to show she didn't intend to continue fighting. On the other side of her vision, Optimus Prime also sheathed his energy sword and ray gun, ending the battle.

The wilderness around them had been shattered into the shape of the moon, riddled with fissures and craters. It was as if an entire regiment of self-propelled artillery had fired three rounds of artillery fire at them; every living thing that could be classified as natural life had perished, leaving only Alice and Optimus Prime unharmed.

“I apologize for what I said before. You and Megatron are indeed very different.” Optimus Prime bowed slightly to her. “At least you don’t have its intense competitive spirit. If it were here, even if we weren’t in a hostile relationship, it would still have to settle things with me.”

“It would be best if you could understand nature.” Alice nodded demurely in return. “Now that the fight is over, you should tell me about your plans. I think you should have made some preparations after knowing that the Retribution would be repaired. At least you won’t see the Source Energy Matrix as a lifeline.”

“We do have a plan. Let’s get in and talk.” Optimus Prime transformed back into a truck, and Alice took the driver’s seat as before. But unlike before, the atmosphere between them was much more relaxed.

The truck started moving and headed towards the next pyramid.

“You’ve already guessed where the Source Matrix is, haven’t you, Alice Margot Lloyd?” Optimus Prime’s first words made her raise an eyebrow.

She didn't speak, but remained silent—at this moment, she really didn't know what to say without causing the main god to deduct points.

“Oh, no need to explain, I can guess.” Optimus Prime continued, “I sensed it from the first time we met. You seem to be a very opinionated person, with your own ideas and thoughts, and you execute them without hesitation. This is evident in what you have done for the human world since then.”

“But when you’re talking to us, you’ve always only wanted to be a guide. You should know a lot of things, but you only let us discover them ourselves. So I guess there must be some special reason for that.”

“I have read your human history and know that there have been many prophets in human history, and they often said something like this: ‘Heavenly secrets must not be revealed.’ Once revealed, they will be punished by the heavens. I think you may also be a prophet. Of course, this is just a guess. The reason I make this judgment is more because of my battle with you just now… I can sense that you are hiding many secrets in your heart. And these secrets have become your burden.”

Alice let out a long breath, as if she wanted to expel all the frustration in her heart.

"Your senses are very sharp," she remarked.

However, the deduction notification from the main god did not arrive.

She heard Optimus Prime's laughter, a cheerful sound mixed with the turning of machinery and the burning of fuel. It was very... memorable.

"So, should we continue our exploration? Or should we go find these pyramids?"

"That's right, we should go find those pyramids and then return."

"Return at dawn?"

"……………………"

“I understand.” Optimus Prime received a satisfactory answer. He quickened his pace slightly and began to explain his plan. “I intend to organize a raiding party to ambush the Nemesis when it attacks, delivering a fatal blow from within.”

"How are you going to get up there? I see you all have cars."

“We can fly too,” Optimus Prime replied. “Both the Decepticons and Autobots are equipped with anti-gravity modules, but we don’t have enough energy and we’re not very good at aerial combat.”

Alice lowered her eyes.

"Among the tools I previously had the various nations of humanity work together to create, a large portion consisted of aircraft and power supply devices."

How many?

"a lot of."

“It seems you are indeed the prophet I suspected.” Optimus Prime breathed a sigh of relief, a puff of white smoke rising from either side of the hood. “There are other Autobots on Earth, and I have more comrades on their way from outer space. I believe this is enough for us to form a strike team and take down the Nemesis in one fell swoop.”

"But how are you going to break through the Nemesis's firepower? The Nemesis's firepower configuration is extremely powerful."

“Victory always comes with sacrifice.” Optimus Prime’s tone was tinged with worry, but even more so with determination. “We may indeed pay a heavy price, but it will be worth it. Every sentient being has the right to freedom, and Cybertron’s mistakes should not be repeated on Earth.”

"Sometimes I wonder, who's Earthling, you or me?" Alice pouted, watching the pyramid that had been her target gradually enlarge before her eyes, and the car gradually slowed down.

“But I will not let you sacrifice yourselves alone. The nations of the earth will form an army to cover your participation in the orbital battlefield,” Alice said, and then she saw the angry look in Optimus Prime’s eyes as she had hoped.

“Ordinary people are different from us, Alice Margot Lloyd.” His voice was heavy. “I admit you are stronger than many of us. But those ordinary people are not, and their weapons are not good enough. They are as fragile as paper against the firepower of the Nemesis and the Decepticons. There is no need to send ordinary people to their deaths in vain.”

“So I gave them the technology,” Alice replied calmly. She made a gesture, and a wave of information, meant to disperse tourists around the pyramids, quietly spread out. At the same time, various electrical appliances around the pyramids malfunctioned to varying degrees; they might not be completely broken, but they would certainly be unusable for a while.

"I prepared blueprints for ground-based artillery emplacements for them. I also designed an internally circulating powered armor system equipped with a jetpack that can operate in near-Earth orbit—after all, the human body can only withstand so much G-force, it can't go very fast. So rather than flying up there and getting swatted like a mosquito, it's better to become a smaller fruit fly, at least you can live longer."

“Moreover,” she emphasized, “if a civilization needs the help of external allies to fight a war of annihilation while burying its head in the sand like an ostrich—whether it can win or not is one thing, but if it doesn’t even dare to fight, then such a civilization is better off dying out sooner rather than later. Keeping it around is just a waste of the universe’s resources.”

Optimus Prime fell silent.

After a long while, it said in a dry voice, "But this will kill a lot of people, a lot of people."

"Victory is always accompanied by sacrifice." Alice returned its own words to it.

“Alright, this is your own choice, humans.” It shook its head slightly, then suddenly asked, “What do you plan to do with Sam? Your companions deliberately kept him behind; surely they weren’t really taking him to study the pyramids?”

“Ah… Sam…” Alice tilted her head slightly. “He must be very busy right now.”

Author's Note:

........................

翻页

Section Twenty-Six: You Can Take It Seriously

“The two hundred and sixth time.” Sam bit his tongue lightly, tensing his body. He gripped his sword and shield, but not tightly, holding back a few points of strength, ready to unleash a burst of power at the right moment. He looked at the door, listening to the footsteps approaching outside, the figures and movements of the three Kush men seemingly appearing through the walls into his field of vision.

He didn't turn around to look at the mother and daughter hiding behind him—even after two hundred and six reincarnations, he still didn't know their names.

He didn't need to know. All he needed to know was that he had to protect them.

[Countdown, three seconds remaining.]

He heard Kush laughter outside the door, the sound belonging to the two men at the back. They were talking, and the man at the front quickened his pace slightly.

【three】

The person at the front wore simple, hard leather armor, which was effective in this era at protecting against swords and arrows. It was also a symbol of status, just like the armor he was currently wearing.

【two】

The Kush man who was at the front approached the wooden door and raised his foot to kick it open.

【one! 】

Sam abruptly shoved down the wooden planks that served as a gate, catching the Kush man at the front off guard. He then took a step forward diagonally, his short sword piercing precisely into the man's side of the neck!

The metallurgical technology of this era was inadequate, making swords vulnerable in slashing combat. Therefore, knives were necessary.

He took a second step forward, naturally taking the scimitar from the other man's hand. The second man, holding a shield, swung it, and the sturdy edge of the shield struck the second man's throat.

The second man clutched his neck and fell to the ground, while the third man finally reacted, yelling and lunging at Sam.

Sam had been killed by this pounce six times. The first five times he was strangled after being tackled, and the sixth time he killed the attacker in self-defense, but was then hacked to pieces by other Kushmen who arrived at the scene.

Therefore, the curved sword is used at this time.

He took a big step back, just dodging the fierce attack from the front, and then quickly lunged forward, unleashing a vicious horizontal slash!

Crimson blood spurted out; the Kushman was dead, and Sam was the survivor. Without hesitation, he kicked the dead Kushman aside and pulled his short sword from the first corpse.

"Come, follow me!" he shouted quickly to the mother and daughter. After a couple of seconds, as they ran out, he turned and walked along the side of the house, tiptoeing towards the corner.

He knew that his shout had attracted the attention of a Kushman, so now he did something else—the next moment, he rushed out from around the corner and pierced an archer's throat with his sword!

Hot, blood splattered on him, but he was no longer as easily swayed as before. He quickly sheathed his sword, then took the arrows from the Kush man's body, and hurried back along the wall, drawing his bow as he listened intently to the cries of the mother and daughter.

Two Kush men discovered them and planned to capture them alive for their pleasure. This time, however, a surprise attack was impossible due to the terrain. And in a one-on-two situation, Sam didn't stand much of a chance.

Although I had never practiced archery before, after a few tries, I was able to hit a stationary target five meters away.

He leaped from the wall, his drawn bow aimed at an enemy in leather armor less than five meters away. He released it, and the enemy fell to the ground. He then hurled his short bow with all his might; though blocked by a second man's scimitar, it bought him a second. In that single second, he could draw his sword from his belt and fight this final obstacle to the death!

He had a sword and a shield. His opponent only had a scimitar.

He had sturdy leather armor, but his opponent was only dressed in linen.

He had courage, while the other man was wavering because of the death of his companion.

The outcome was already decided. Despite the difference in skill, the fearless Sam delivered a fatal blow to the Kush man, sacrificing a minor injury in the process. Once this final obstacle was removed, no one could stop him from carrying the mother and daughter towards the docks.

By the time the remaining Kush people arrived, he had already found a raft and was carrying the mother and daughter south along the Nile. Only then did he let out a heavy sigh and collapse onto the boat.