Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

Colette's whereabouts were difficult to track - but this was not a problem for Lunicia at all. There was a performance at the Muirand Theatre the next day, and the heroine of the performance was Colette. So it would not be difficult to find her in person, even if their group did not have tickets. Even Galezo and the others were willing to provide tickets for this. How could the value of a ticket compare to Colette's life?

As a result, this seemingly perfect action plan ended before it even began.

Only the three girls, like fools, were left, hanging their heads in front of the empty theater.

"Ms. Luna, what should we do next?"

"Next... um... next..."

There seemed to be nothing to do next.

"Go set up a trap."

"That's fine..."

According to Lunicia's speculation, the reason for the unusual movements in the Northeast region was actually her "time travel".

It seems that every time she is able to return to the past under the influence of an unknown force after the ceremony is completed, it is equivalent to the ceremony never happening, but in fact it may not be the case. If the huge shadow is really related to the god Alexander, or if it really has the authority over time, then "time reversal" may not be able to completely eliminate the impact of the ceremony, and the ceremony cannot be simply and crudely regarded as never happening.

The ritual was indeed successful, and "that thing" was indeed awakened, but because time was reversed back to the past, the success of the ritual became something that had not yet happened, and the state of "that thing" was also reset accordingly. However, because it itself possessed the authority of time, the effect of the time reversal on it could not be fully exerted. Therefore, "that existence" was not completely reset to a dormant state, and its current state was equivalent to the moment before awakening - this was Lunicia's hypothesis.

In other words, if she goes back a few more times, even if Lunicia successfully jumps back to the past, "that existence" will have fully awakened and can descend directly without the ritual, so even if she goes back in time, it will be completely meaningless. Considering the relationship between the formation of the Northeast District and that ritual, this possibility is very high, so in order to avoid this situation, Lunicia needs to solve the problem within the minimum "number of times".

It will take Galeazzo a day to gather manpower. In other words, today is the final deadline for the activity.

Tomorrow, everything will come to an end again.

Chapter 60 Day 3: Subpoena

"Nervous, Lady Luna?"

"fine……"

Not bad, huh? Obviously not good at all. Her palms kept sweating, and her fingertips seemed to tremble as she thought of the only two possible directions. Was it because of fear? Of course not. Lunicia would be afraid, afraid of the dark, afraid of insects, afraid of disgusting monsters, but she would not be afraid of difficulties. If the difficulty was a wall that could not be climbed or bypassed, she would crash into it head-on, and it didn't matter if she got a bloody head. Lunicia was that kind of person.

She was just praying, praying that this matter would have the best ending, that no one would be sad because of it, no one would suffer because of it, and that everyone could move towards a bright tomorrow, such an ending.

There are only two possible outcomes of things. The first is the end of everything. The second is to step into a new tomorrow, the dawn after the third day that no one has ever seen.

Can you do it?

I have to do it even if I can’t do it. But I’m still not sure if I can do it. That’s why I get nervous and hesitate because of the next moment that has not yet arrived.

After all, she was just an ordinary human being, a rookie paladin who was forced into the abyss just after leaving home. But she must get rid of this label sooner or later, otherwise how could she do what she wanted to do, to save more people - and to make some people change their minds?

Taking a deep breath and then exhaling the foul air in his lungs, he repeated this meaningless act, but his heartbeat did not slow down, which meant that his tension did not ease with the rhythm of his deep breaths. Until that black iron arm gently patted his shoulder.

"Ashe? What's wrong?"

"I always feel a little uncomfortable watching Ashlee."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Before Lunicia could react, Ashlee had already grabbed her hand, as well as Ella's hand, and then, in their puzzled gazes, she entangled their ten fingers together and gently clasped them.

".........!"

"what……!"

Ella's face quickly turned red, and in Muirand's coldness, suspicious white smoke seemed to begin to float out of her forehead. After a while, Lunicia seemed to finally react, and her cheeks also flushed. She couldn't help but drift her eyes to Ella's face, but then because of the contact of their eyes, she bounced back as if she had been electrocuted, and even the sound in her throat became intermittent, and it was difficult to form a decent sentence.

"What are you doing?"

Maybe because of shyness? Or because of something else? Lunicia's voice was as soft as a gentle lullaby, and it still couldn't form a perfect and elegant poem. Ella lowered her head slightly, making it difficult to see the expression on her face, but from the slightly raised corners of her mouth, at least she was in a good mood.

"What to do? Yes, what is the individual Ashetherin doing? A mysterious gift with a face, a body, a life, and words that are incomparable? A vigil dream held by Ash?"

Floating in the air, resting her body lightly in the gap between Lunicia and Ashatherine, looking around at their embarrassed and shy faces, the mechanical girl looked so proud today.

"All right, ladies." She clapped her hands. "How do you feel?"

"Feel……"

"Are you not nervous anymore?"

"what……"

Lunisia was stunned for a moment, and Ella took the opportunity to withdraw her fingertips from Lunisia's palm, and covered it with her other hand, rubbing it gently. Indeed, as Ashethelin said, Lunisia no longer felt nervous. After the shyness faded, her heartbeat returned to normal, her fingertips no longer trembled, and she didn't need to take stupid and ineffective deep breaths. Everything was so natural, not only because of Ashethelin's joke, but also because of the warmth of Ella's palm.

"Indeed, I'm not nervous anymore."

"It's good that you're not nervous." Ashlee's face still looked expressionless. It was unclear whether the smug look she had just shown was an optical illusion caused by the light or something else. "Today is the day of the mobilization meeting. If you act too nervous, the morale of others will also be low."

"Well, Ash is right."

Ella agreed with a chuckle.

That's right, today is no longer the second day. The clock will not stop, even if there is no energy, even if the hands no longer rotate, the aging of the parts will still show the passage of time. Yesterday, the second day, it seemed that nothing was done, but it also seemed that a lot of things were done, such as the completely unsuccessful plan to kidnap Colette, such as buying magic scrolls at a low price from the black market, such as setting traps in the basement of the cathedral according to the diagram provided by Lunicia, and such as recruiting some helpers from the tavern who are willing to provide assistance for this matter.

It cannot be said that what was happening in Galezo had nothing to do with them, but they could not provide any help either - that was indeed something only Galezo de Barbacro could do. Their biggest role was to help resist an attack that was even more fierce than yesterday on the second night and to buy time for Galezo, that was all.

To be honest, even they themselves were not sure whether these preparations were as effective as they thought, otherwise why would Lunicea feel uneasy and nervous? She always felt as if she should do something more, as if she had missed something crucial. It was precisely because of this feeling, this kind of uneasiness that seemed to be exactly the same as "last time", that was the substantial source of Lunicea's uneasiness.

But there's no point in thinking about this right now.

All she can do is make the best of everything today, right?

It was early morning now. After a day of hard work, they had spent a lot of energy to deal with the monsters that could attack them at any time. Lunicia and her group finally managed to get enough rest to restore their condition to the peak. Not only them, but all the people gathered inside the isolation wall in the northeast area were in a similar situation - some had exhausted their strength in the night battle, some were injured and regained their mobility after treatment all night, and some simply did not rest all night, such as Leopold de Liario. However, the importance of what they were about to do was far beyond anything they had done before.

"Have you ever saved the world?"

If they hear such seemingly nonsense questions, they can hold their heads high and proudly give their answers:

"Yes."

This might be the real thought of some people, while others, such as Galezo de Barbacro, even Lunicia, who was responsible for convincing him and beating him up, could not tell his thoughts from his face. Of course, it was not because he didn't think anything, nor did he really intend to hide his thoughts deep in his heart and not let anyone see them. It was probably just because what he thought was too complicated, so it was impossible to get a complete outline from the emotion at first glance.

But it didn't matter, because soon everyone would know his thoughts. Everyone gathered here for this purpose today, gathered in the morning light, stepping on the pure white accumulated by the snowfall all day, blowing the cold wind from the north, doing something that seemed to have no idea whether it was meaningful in the winter when the dew would freeze.

As the assembly whistle sounded, everyone started moving - Lunicia and her group were just spectators, they did not need to assemble with the soldiers, and therefore could not feel the shock of an entire group of soldiers marching in an orderly manner.

The night has retreated, the day has climbed back into the sky, and the invasion of darkness has receded like the tide. Now is a rare leisure time, but for those who have not slept all night, this leisure time cannot bring much comfort, not to mention that there are more important things to do next.

Sitting on the top of the isolation wall, Lunicia and her group, plus Regia Sforco, the four of them looked as if they had nothing to do. They did not seem to be in the same world as the soldiers lined up neatly below - this was indeed the case with Lunicia and her group. As for Regia, she was just standing guard at this position out of instinct. Anyway, she could hear what was being said below, so the loudspeaker on the podium was trustworthy.

"Aren't you going to join the other companions?"

Regia didn't even turn her head to answer Lunicia's question. She seemed to be still in a bad mood because of what Lunicia said the day before yesterday: "We still need to be alert here. God knows if those people from the four major families will have any sudden ideas..."

There was a brief pause in her speech, and her gaze drifted towards the queue under the isolation wall, filled with nostalgia and emotion.

"I never thought about it."

"what?"

"We can still get together in this way... and do what we want to do."

Ella asked, "Is this what you want to do?"

"You can say that... you will understand what Galezo said next."

"What do you want to do..."

Ella's mind was not here, she was still thinking about the traps she had set up under the Alexandria Cathedral yesterday. Lunicia did not want to cause accidental injuries or too many casualties, so even the idea of ​​setting the traps had changed. This was a new challenge for Ella, so much so that she was not sure whether everything she had set up would play the role she had expected.

"It's going to be OK."

"Does Lady Luna think so?"

"Yeah, it'll go well."

"Then I also trust Lady Luna's judgment."

"Alright." Ashlee clapped her hands gently, and the black iron palms touched each other, making a wonderful metallic sound. "It's about to start over there, so focus on that for now."

Thousands of soldiers lined up neatly, divided into squares one after another in squadrons. In front of them were figures that were familiar or unfamiliar to Lunicia's group - Leopold de Liario was among them. In addition, there were many more figures that they could not name, such as Giorgione, who was dressed like an iron barrel, Margaret with bright red hair, Charles de Valuna, who looked like a playboy at first glance, Midlaine, Francois...

It cannot be said that the unusual movements in the northeast region are completely without benefits. At least, using this as an excuse, Galezo's behavior of assembling troops will not be questioned.

“It’s so nostalgic.”

"They are all..."

"They are all good guys from the 'Mulland Young Officers Club'."

These people had attended military academies, served in the highlands northeast of Muirand, joined the joking "Muirand Young Officers Club", and finally went their separate ways after retiring. It was thought that some of them would never have the chance to meet again, but fate brought them together again to move towards a common goal that was proposed at the last minute.

"Thank you very much, everybody, thank you very much for being here today."

Standing on the podium, Galeazzo's expression seemed to be somewhat emotional - this was rare for him.

"I had already prepared for it, for example... 'After listening to what I said, some people looked uneasy, some were ready to call the police on the spot, and some turned pale, as if they were ready to get sick. When the roll call was taken the next day, the number of people was 90% less than before.' Situations like these happened, but nothing seemed to happen."

There were a few suppressed laughs from the crowd.

Galeazzo didn't care and continued, "That's great, everyone. Since you are all standing here today, I will make it clearer - from the perspective of the four major families, what we are going to do today is tantamount to rebellion. Of course, you are all accomplices and will not be held accountable afterwards. But it's different for me, the principal offender. You will probably see me doing labor reform in the quarry tomorrow."

Hearing this, the crowd burst into laughter again. When the laughter died down, Galeazzo said, "Regardless of whether my fate will be execution, forced labor, or returning to the countryside to stay at home, I must explain to you why I gathered you here, why I took you to suppress the Cathedral of Alexandria - why I did this.

Those of you who are well-informed must have known about that. That's right, the Seldon Wall and the Galano Wall protect the northern defense line of Muland and the entire southeast of the continent. A huge figure is approaching there. I am here to confirm all the ambiguous news you have received. It is not something that a legendary level can easily deal with. It is a 'God'! It is the closest existence to a true God that you can come into contact with in your lifetime! It is one of the dark kings who were conquered in the Hyperborean War! Its corpse has come to life, and it is moving south with the north wind, and is approaching the northern defense line step by step! "

No one spoke. The news even made them stop breathing. Except for Lunicia and others who had received the news on the first night, and the people from the "Muirand Young Officers Club" who had communicated with Galezo, most of the soldiers were probably hearing about this for the first time. This news was blocked by the four major families.

"Okay, now everyone knows what's going to happen. So I want to ask you, facing this situation, if you are sitting in the Grand Council now, ready to express your opinions on the solution to this matter, what ideas can you come up with? Giovanni Spedal!"

"Yes, sir!" The soldier whose name was called immediately saluted and answered loudly: "Fight to the last moment, sir!"

"That's a brave man, but this isn't a battle plan!"

"I'm so sorry sir!"

"Next! Juan Transway!"

"Propose an alliance to the countries in the mountains and the southern countries, and gather the strength of all countries!"

"Yes. Eleanor Batista!"

“I choose to work with the church and take charge!”

"very good!"

There was a brief pause in Galeazzo's voice.

"Very good! All very good! Your answers are courageous, thoughtful, and resourceful... and if they really can't do it, you still have backbone! The thousands of soldiers present can definitely think of more ways than me, which is very good. We can send envoys to the countries in the mountains, send invitations to the southern countries, and propose a joint battle to the Rocklia Alliance. Every country in the southeast of the continent is not capable of standing by and watching. If we gather the sages, warriors, and legendary strongmen of all countries together, the 'God' may also be able to fight. The church will not sit idly by. Whether it is the servants of the Three Seats of Glory, the servants of the Libra of Order, or the guides of the torrent of war, that kind of blasphemous thing is absolutely intolerable. If we gather all the forces that can be gathered together, perhaps we really have the ability to shoot down that false god!

Since you all have your own answers, I will tell you one more thing - this question has not only been answered by you, but also by the four major families, Stuart, Stock, Howard, Byron, who are in high positions in Muirand and worry about national affairs every day. They have also answered this question like you. I can directly announce to you that the answer they gave is not to unite the southern countries, not to seek help from the church, and not even to call on the heritage of the ancient country of Nasaland. Perhaps someone will ask, they are not going to do any of these, and are even hiding the situation at this juncture. How are they going to deal with this disaster? No, they have their own way, that is living sacrifice!"

Living sacrifice, offering living people as tribute to the gods, the moment this word came out, it caused an uproar below the podium, the effect was no less than throwing a nine-ring fireball. Some soldiers who had heard about this frowned, and most of those who heard about it for the first time were stunned, almost unable to believe the word echoing in their ears. The noisy discussions of their colleagues around them made them realize that they heard it correctly, that was "living sacrifice".

After the chaotic discussions calmed down, Galezo said, "In the distant past, before the founding of Myuland, this was the land where people who followed the footsteps of the hero Sildezberg lived. Warriors learned the spirit and martial arts of the Pendulum Knights in the city in the mountains, and sages built libraries, museums, and wizard towers to study the hero's journey. Until that day, the warning of the 'Magic Network Collapse' came, and people gathered together to discuss countermeasures. In the end, the sages came up with the final plan, the secret art 'Scale of Eternity' performed by four legendary wizards. The four legendary wizards offered their lives as a sacrifice in exchange for the blessing of the god Alexander, which resisted the aftermath of the Magic Network Collapse and saved the city."

This is the secret that Ashlee had not found in public documents. It is the secret before the founding of Muirand, and it is also the truth predicted by "Sunlight" Jeflin.

"The price paid was not only the lives of the four legendary wizards, but also the safety of Myuland." Galezo continued, "The grand ceremony smashed a hole in reality, and the pollution from the other world seeped in. Even the gods could not stop this change, and it eventually turned into a poison nest that lasted for a thousand years in the mountain city of Myuland. This is the Northeast District where you have been fighting again and again. This is the origin of the Northeast District!

Did you hear that, everyone? This is the kind of ceremony that the four major families are going to hold. This kind of ceremony will open another hole in the land of Myland and create a second Northeast District! Indeed, yes, what they are going to do is beneficial to Myland as a whole. The great secret method that can withstand the "Magic Network Collapse" can naturally defeat the corpse of a false god, but so what! ?

They simply had no ability to predict where the next hole would be. Naturally, even if another northeastern region appeared, the extent of the damage would not be comparable to the collapse of the northern defense line, but so what?! This was nothing more than a sophistry of "killing a few and saving a lot"!

If they really think their actions are justifiable, then they should present the proposal to the Grand Council, and in front of the public and the representatives of the Council, tell all the citizens of Muirand that they intend to hold a sacrifice ceremony, to carve out a second northeastern district in Muirand, to sacrifice some citizens to save the majority... They even ignored the existence of the Grand Council, bypassed the assembly representing all citizens, and did what they thought was justifiable!"

Even the four big families could not bypass the existence of the Grand Council and make such an overstepping act alone. Even if they felt that some things were difficult to disclose to the public, they should at least discuss the topic within the House of Lords. But they actually did nothing. To those who were interested, this was almost equivalent to the four big families publicly admitting that "their status was above the House of Lords and the Grand Council" - this was not a topic that could be fooled away by joking.

If that were the case, the problem would probably be confined to the political level, far away from most of the soldiers present, but...

"Okay, okay, even if we take a step back and admit that what the four major families say makes sense, and that killing the few and saving the many is indeed effective." Galezo couldn't help but sneered at this point, "Then they should also offer themselves as sacrifices, just like the four sages who took the initiative to sacrifice themselves to save the masses, right?"

"Isn't that so—?"

As if it was a coordinated plan, Regia picked up the megaphone from her side and asked Galeazzo who was on the podium.

"Of course not! The sacrifice they prepared was not some powerful person from their own family, not some hidden legendary master, nor most of the members of the four families. The sacrifice they planned to offer was Colette, Mulande's treasure, Colette Xi Caroline!"

The reaction caused by this sentence was even greater than the previous one. If the previous one was like a nine-ring fireball dropping on the crowd, now this message was like a meteor explosion thrown into the crowd, so much so that the leading officers gave up on maintaining order - after all, they themselves were now also provoked and could hardly control their emotions.

"Everyone, think back to why the Muirand Theatre arranged the performance time out of the norm, why Colette suddenly returned to Muirand after a long absence, and why Schitzberg compressed the performance into one night and one day, not giving the audience and actors time to rest. Don't you find these things abnormal? Don't you find them confusing?" Galezo's expression was very serious. "Ha! Ladies and gentlemen, what is this? Everyone present is an elite guarding the safety of Muirand. Maintaining the blockade of the northeast region is as important as the Guards Division. Of course, the same is true for the soldiers of the Guards Division. The heads of the four major families are telling you: You are useless! They are telling you: Muirand has fallen to the point where it needs to send an innocent girl to the stake in order to protect itself!

Soldiers wearing the same uniform as me, answer me! Can you accept this insult! ? "

"Can't! Can't! Can't!"

Everyone gave the same answer.

Myuland is a country that has been engaged in local wars all year round, fighting against the followers of the evil god, invaders outside the northern defense line, monsters, and the existence in the Sky Island ruins. Not only do the children of the nobles generally join the army, but ordinary citizens are also proud to be able to defend Myuland. Under this premise, the actions of the four major families, pushing their idol, an ordinary girl who is not even a soldier, onto the altar, slitting her throat, and claiming that this behavior can protect Myuland's safety, is simply an insult to every soldier present and a denial of their existence.

"Yes, neither I nor anyone present here can accept this kind of charity-like insult from the four major families!"