Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

The dancing snowstorm was split apart, and a gap suddenly appeared between the earth and the sky. A mountaintop not far away that was used as a landscape was cut apart in the air. With a thunderous sound, the half structure composed of soil, rocks, trees, pavilions and street lights slid down along the mirror-like cross-section, and like a mudslide, it washed away the buildings below. The area of ​​the central angle of the "sector" was much smaller than the arc part, and Galezo's intuition based on a sense of crisis and experience was probably because of these factors that Galezo was not directly torn into pieces by the shocking aftermath.

Even if the "Echoes" themselves cannot move, they are just images summoned from the dissipated timeline. They can only "move" and "attack" under Sandria's control, so their performance is more rigid than his own. This degree of "disadvantage" is meaningless for both sides. "Echoes" only need to swing the sword continuously and tirelessly to make everyone present run for their lives.

call out----

Rather than focusing on stabbing to penetrate the human body and create fatal injuries, "Echo" focuses more on "swinging" - with just a casual swipe, a large area can be covered within the "slashing range". Even though the Swift Sword itself is not a weapon suitable for swinging, Sandria doesn't care. He just needs to let the Echo continue to create chaos, interfere with the actions of those "poor insects", and by the way, kill some soldiers from the City Guard who he doesn't like.

The purple "Sin", the black "Punishment", and the dark brown "Grimoire", these three objects were alternately in Ella Hepper's hands. When she needed to use spells as a "Mystic Mage", the grimoire would stimulate the spell model constructed in her mind and increase her magic power. When she needed to use spells as a "Cursed Swordsman", she would hold two swords in her hands at the same time, bringing her the blessing of the lord, even if that blessing was not well-intentioned.

She was the only person on the scene who could fight with the garrison marshal. Her own speed and agility were extraordinary, and even more difficult to match under the amplification of magic. Moreover, she could use the ability of the curse swordsman to teleport freely around Sandria, who was cursed by the "curse of the sword" and the "curse of fragility", thus having extraordinary mobility.

The tactics used "last time" to fight Rose were repeated "this time", but the effect was completely incomparable to before: Rose's fighting skills were completely incomparable to Sandria's. Although both of them could be classified as "legendary level", if the two were really allowed to compete on the same stage, Rose who did not use her full strength would only be suppressed by Sandria's rich experience. This was one reason.

The second is simple.

Sandria also knew that this half-elf was not the strongest among the people around him in terms of "panel strength", but was actually the most troublesome one. Hatred and judgment of the battle situation made him focus most of his attention on Ella. He, plus another black and white "Echo", was a unique and luxurious configuration in the entire battlefield, and this configuration was now used entirely to deal with Ella Heper alone.

If it was before, when she was facing the garrison marshal who was not serious at all, she still had the energy to consider finding an opportunity to attack, but now she can only rely entirely on her mobility to dodge and escape.

She was able to sacrifice her life for Lunicia without hesitation, but that didn't mean she would choose to die meaninglessly. In the current situation, a head-on fight with the garrison marshal would definitely be suicide. After all, their mission was to "stop the ceremony" rather than "destroy the Guards Division." Lunicia was delaying Rose, and what they were doing was actually the same: buying time for the lady of the agency who Ella thought was not very reliable.

But how long can this last?

How long can I keep up this tightrope-walking behavior in front of two monsters who are furious and have no sense of proportion and can flatten a mountain with a single sword strike?

call out----

The blizzard was split once again, and the sword cut vertically through the cliff opposite the cathedral and the cliff towards the main city of Muirand. A deep gash was cut in the cliff that had been polished smooth in the past, and the street was torn in half. The houses and high-rise buildings along the way were split open one after another, and as their structures were destroyed, they collapsed and fell down, turning into rubble and ruins. Fortunately, most of the residents here had already taken refuge in the shelter, and no citizens died in the aftermath of Sandria's "Echo". Instead, some wandering evil spirits were strangled by the sword, and it almost affected a nearby team of Guards Division troops who were chasing the monsters that emerged from the "pollution".

The Guards Corps did not deploy most of its troops here. Rather, they only brought about half of their troops this time. In addition, a considerable number of them were scattered in the city, the northeastern district, and the Geisenburg Fortress. They were responsible for the martial law outside the city and the hunting of evil spirits, so a considerable number of professionals at the core level were not here. Sandria did not care about this at all. He had sufficient confidence that as long as he was in charge, there would be no possibility of failure. He was a legend of a one-man army. It was so in the past, it is so now, and it will be so in the future. It was undoubtedly the right move for the four major families to win him over.

when--! ! !

The blow she used with all her strength hit the claws of the Dragon Girl hard, with a force heavier than the previous one, and unexpectedly made Rose lose her balance for a moment - it was obvious that neither the divine art nor the sword had brought such an impact before. Rose could only stare in amazement at the blazing orange flame in Lunicia's hand, and the orange light that expanded, surging, and exploded in front of her eyes. Her instinct told her to spread her wings to protect her body, and then she was blown away by the sudden impact.

"Well!"

Lunisia used the "Holy Slash" without hesitation.

Seize the opportunity to win?

No, that's not right. Her urgency made her take the most important action. After repelling and knocking Rose away, she immediately turned around and ran to the other side as fast as she could. She could not ignore the battle situation over there. Even though Rose might not have made up her mind yet and was still wavering between the two camps, Lunicia didn't care at all. All she wanted to do now was to rush over, hurry over as fast as she could, and stand on the same front with Ella again.

"Not yet!"

when----! ! !

The pressure was too great for Lunicia to ignore, but she was unable to immediately turn the blade of the giant sword so that it could once again serve as both a "shield" and a "sword". The chill that rushed straight down her spine made her extremely clear that if she could not take any action, even if Rose's blow could not kill her, it would be enough to make her temporarily completely incapable of action. Just as she was forced by the urgency of the situation to exert her full strength without reservation, Rose was also forced into a corner and no longer cared about Lunicia's safety, even though she was the one who was willing to help her.

What should I do? What else can I do? I have no idea, no solution, and I am so anxious that I want to cry.

"Can't pass!"

It shouldn't be like this. I can't do this. I shouldn't do this. But if I don't do this, what else can I do?

Do I really want her to regret her whole life?

Lunicia did not have such a conflicting mood. Rather, this situation made her feel funny and relieved. She knew very well that she could not cause any harm to Rose, so she could do whatever she wanted to Rose, whether it was a sword-to-sword fight or a full-strength fight. When Lunicia really wanted to do something, she could focus completely, without having to be restrained by contradictions like Rose, who was standing on the opposite side of her, and accomplishing nothing because of worries - she could freely use her full strength without hostility.

She stepped forward suddenly, mobilizing her waist strength to the maximum extent, tensing her body, turning every muscle into a spring ready to go, twisting her body, imagining herself turning into a storm, using that momentum and all her strength to turn the flawless white in her hand!

The Avenger followed her movements and swept towards the swooping Dragon Girl with all its might!

when----!

Rose was so startled by the figure swinging the giant sword that she had to flap her wings to slow down her charge. The white blade could cut her skin and flesh, and she could not treat it lightly like an ordinary weapon. She could only hastily put on a clumsy defensive stance again, and then was knocked back two steps without being able to regain her balance immediately.

But what happened next shocked her even more.

It was unknown what tricks Lunicia had played, but the giant sword in her hand suddenly underwent some changes that Rose could not understand. The sword body cracked and deformed, and the hilt was pulled out by Lunicia, as if it had turned into a long sword, and the remaining part seemed to have become a shield. Before Rose could react, the "shield" suddenly rushed towards her, and the power, which was not known whether it came from Lunicia or from the giant sword itself, once again forced her back a few steps, and then flew back to Lunicia's hands in a graceful arc.

——The opportunity has come!

Lunicia thought so and did the same thing. She jumped up almost immediately, intending to leap to another battlefield while Rose was not able to react, and rush to the location of those dancing black and white shadows. However, before she actually landed, the red shadow had already regained the initiative.

The winged dragon flapped its wings, and almost instantly closed the distance between the two of them. Lunicia only had time to put up her shield in front of her to protect her vitals before the dragon girl rushed over to her and threw her to the ground heavily. The impact and severe pain came from behind. Lunicia could not see the deep groove her body had plowed on the white brick floor, nor could she judge how many ribs she had broken in the collision just now. She only knew one thing: the dragon, who was holding her body tightly with his wrists and had a sad face, did not intend to let her go so easily, even though this place was only a few steps away from another battlefield.

Buzz————

At this moment, the small mechanism hanging on Lunicia's ear now made a slight vibration and sound.

This not only stopped Lunicia from struggling, but also stopped Rose from exerting force on Lunicia. However, one of them knew what was happening, while the other simply didn't understand.

"Luna, can you hear me?"

"—!"

"It looks like she's still there. So, is Miss Rose near Luna?"

"Ashe! I knew it, I knew you would catch up!"

"Touching words of farewell... Let's wait until the celebration party."

Ashlee's voice still lacked ups and downs, which made her words sound not nervous at all, and even seemed a little leisurely - if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, no one would have associated a girl with such a tone with the mechanical doll in front of them who was putting down her sniper rifle. She seemed to have an aura that kept people away, and her gun muzzle was even smoking, so that although Jian was clearly her ally, he could only pretend that he didn't see her at all, and continued to command the soldiers downstairs to repel the soldiers of the Guards Division who were launching wave after wave of attacks.

At least, the originally precarious situation did improve with the help of Ashlee.

"Give the headphones to Rose. Of course, Luna has to listen carefully too. After all, I have something important to tell Luna."

Although the voice lacked any emotion, Lunicia could hear a mysterious calmness and confidence in it.

"Ashe came to convince her—to convince her with decisive words."

call out----

The silver blade in Echo's hand swung down again.

The target of the sword was quite clear, it was the position that Regia and Leopold could not avoid. At the same time, on the extended line was a position of the city guards and the main battlefield of the battle between the two armies. Of course, there was a shelter built by the Muland government farther away, but the garrison marshal didn't care about such things at all. In his eyes, there were only enemies, those damned, fleeing, ant-like enemies.

Those self-proclaimed righteous guys who were running around exhaustedly under the pursuit of the echo, the outsiders who intervened in the internal problems of Myland without knowing the consequences, and the so-called loyalists who were no different from the rebels, began to concentrate under the deliberate guidance of Sandria, and concentrated until Sandria was confident that he could destroy them all with a full-strength attack.

This blow was enough to turn everything in his eyes into a purgatory-like pit.

It's time to end it - Sandria felt a mixture of disgust and irritation.

He was tired of it, bored and annoyed. Exercise can improve a person's tolerance to pain, but it cannot block out pain. The stinging pain from his shoulder stimulated his nerves all the time. He had forgotten how long it had been since he had been injured. The longer the time, the stronger the shame of being injured, so strong that it made him forget his principles, his position, and even what he should and should not do.

"—You don't want your head anymore?"

A grand voice came from the southwest of the city, but unlike the magnificent momentum, the voice was full of human emotions, anger, disdain, surprise, and a hint of helplessness. Along with the voice, there came the invisible barrier - no one could see the shape of the wall, and could only vaguely grasp a shadow shaped like a city wall from the deflection of light and shadow. The invulnerable and impenetrable force field wall rose from mid-air and completely swallowed up Sandria's sword with all his strength. Only the strong wind that blew away the blizzard and dark clouds and blew the soldiers to and fro could prove the existence of the sword.

The dean of the Bards Academy, Mark Cotanya, erected a "force field wall" that almost spanned the entire city.

As one of the legendary strongmen who remained neutral, he would not blindly intervene in this strange situation when things were unclear. Rose did not attract too much of his attention, and although Sandria's move was a bit over the line, it was not worth him to think about either side - at least until now.

But he was not able to watch until the end. The Garrison Marshal's attack, regardless of the impact on civilians, forced him to intervene in the battle and block the opponent's full-strength attack. Otherwise, who knows how many people in Myuland would be killed or injured by his sword. This is not only a protection for the people of Myuland, but also a statement and warning. If Sandria continues to do this without thinking, the Bard College will immediately join the city guard camp and subdue the "crazy" Garrison Marshal at all costs.

Sandria could only snort in response.

No matter how angry he was, he could clearly realize the consequences of this development. No matter how much he despised those bards who were far away from the front line and called themselves artists, he could not ignore the existence of the "Glorious Song" hidden among them. He could only gather his strength again and shift his attention away from the warning force field wall and back to the ants he was so eager to destroy.

That scene made his already ugly expression even colder.

The gap just now diverted Sandria's attention from the battle, which gave Ella, Galezo and others a chance to reorganize their formation. Sandria could have anticipated something of this magnitude, and his unconscious arrogance gave the enemy a chance to breathe, but what really made him incomprehensible was - why did all his echoes disappear from the battlefield, and the only ones that were there were quite far away from that group of people, so he didn't seize the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to them?

"Why are you still alive?"

This was a question that came from the bottom of his heart.

"Because there are 'Spirit Guardians'."

As if he was mocking Sandria and deliberately provoking his anger, Leopold was obviously seriously injured and had to use his sword as a crutch to support his body, but he still answered the garrison marshal's questions with a smug look on his face.

"Spirit Guardian" is one of the many divine arts that a priest can cast. It summons spirits as their guardians to guard the area around them. Once someone enters the area without the caster's permission, it will automatically attack the intruder. It is a very practical divine art, but its significance is not limited to this in the current situation.

If it was Sandria himself who stepped into the range of the "Spirit Guardian", no matter how the phantoms as guardians attacked, they would not be able to cause any harm to him. At least with Leopold's level, at most he would suffer some minor scratches. But if it was not Sandria who stepped into this area, but Sandria's "echo" - then the situation would change dramatically.

"Echoes" can be said to be things that essentially do not exist in this world. No matter how close they look to their original owners, they are essentially just black and white phantoms from the passing of time. They can exert power equivalent to that of the Echo Knight himself, but their illusory nature determines that they are actually shattered at the slightest touch. The "Spirit Guards" who cannot cause effective damage to Sandria, however, have deployed an absolute and insurmountable line of defense against Sandria's "Echoes".

"so what?"

The garrison marshal shrugged it off.

"Now that I know your tricks, this is meaningless."

It doesn't matter if "Echo" can't step in, he only needs to launch a casual attack to force others out of the area protected by the "Spirit Guards", or even directly "shoot" the caster Leopold from a distance and let the magic dissipate naturally. Not only can he do this, but the endless echoes can do the same. As long as he knows what they have done, Sandria has no interest in continuing to struggle with them.

The intervention of the Bards College made him even more unhappy, and now he just wanted to get rid of those troublesome guys as soon as possible.

"No sense? No, of course it does."

Ella once again clenched the sword in her hands. Her body was tense and she looked ready to launch an attack.

Where did her confidence come from? Just when Sandria was about to deny it, an extremely dangerous alarm suddenly sounded in his heart.

“Keep your focus here—that’s the point.”

The blood-red dragon flapped its wings, and the speed that broke the sound barrier tore apart the whistling wind and snow between heaven and earth, leaving the world around it with only the sound of her speeding past.

On her back, the white paladin held high the white long blade in his hand.

The paladin's blade shattered the phantom of another time that covered him.

The dragon's claw pierced through Echo Knight's abdomen, splashing a striking bright red in the flying snowflakes.

Chapter 82: Brilliant Poetry

I am the daughter of a concubine.

No, now that I think about it, that was after my mother died.

If my mother were still alive, I would probably only be called a “descendant of a maid” which is not respectful at all. Even now, my last name is the same as my mother’s, “Caroline”, and “Byron” is just another family that is too far away and has nothing to do with me.

This kind of thing should be very common in Muirand, right?

The shadow of extinction loomed over those noble nobles, who were afraid of the inevitable end. Even so, in order to maintain their superficial glory, they would still push their children to the battlefield, to the northern or eastern fronts. Things like adoption became commonplace, and children like me who should have been secretly disposed of also had room to exist. Perhaps this is a good thing, I can continue to exist, which is also a good thing for others.

My half-sisters did not need to feel anxious or fearful about their backgrounds, because the candidate for the sacrifice had already been decided, and it was an insignificant child. They must have been relieved to hear the news, after all, they had sent those gifts to express their blessings... or should I say, their secret joy?

Father, Ludovit Byron, called the gifts "proof of a hero".

I heard that after this ceremony, the tradition of raising children as ritual sacrifices will be abolished, because Muirand can no longer afford the damage of a third ceremony. In this way, I will be the last person who needs to be sacrificed in this city and this country. No one will die because of this, and no one will spend their lives in isolation because of this. Can it be considered that I have ended all this? My father, Ludovit Byron, said that it was possible, and that all this could be passed down as my merit.

As "proof of heroism".

I like heroes.

I have always loved heroes since a long time ago, since I was a child.

I can recite the stories of those heroes verbatim. They set out on journeys, they fought evil, they went to the battlefield, they fell in love, they brought peace to a place, they gained praise and wealth, and they greeted death surrounded by people. Their stories inspire me, motivate me, and give me the motivation to continue living - the motivation to live until that day. They will feel relieved, they will feel happy for me, they will express encouragement and praise for me, for me.

That's it... Schitzberg, the "Knight of the Pendulum" Schitzberg.

I am a priestess born for rituals, and I am a life that came to be sacrificed.

So, I don’t know who I am.

My birth was not expected by others. That is why my mother died and my father was unwilling to face me, right? Children should get the love, embrace and blessings of their parents, but those are things I don’t have. I am not a child born with blessings. Since children should get those things, who and what would I be without love and blessings?

My father had been teaching me, telling me the responsibility of being a priestess, being a priestess full of glory, being offered up in the expectation of everyone, and entering the holy land of the gods is something that no one can replace and is full of glory. My father's statement was very vague, and he did not directly link the ceremony with death. However, at that time, I had already realized that the so-called offering was actually going to the place where my mother was, a place where I could no longer meet others and no one could touch. However, at that time, I did not know that it was called "death", I just thought it would be a lonely thing.

I don’t know if it was because he was disappointed and felt that such education was useless, but my father gradually gave up telling me about the glory of being a sacrifice. He told me that if I became a sacrifice, I could become a hero of Myuland and a hero of everyone.

"In that case, you should read more stories about heroes."

In this way, maybe you can become a hero one day.

Work hard to become a hero—that’s what my father once said.

So, I'll do that.

I will be a sacrifice, a priestess of God, offering myself for the day that is approaching, becoming a hero.

I like heroes.

I have always loved heroes since a long time ago, since I was a child.

I am a figment of others' imagination. My life and everything about me are designed. I have nothing that can be called my true self. After all, even my desire to become a hero was arranged by others. My father calls me a "hero", but I know very well that it is only because I was born to be a sacrifice. "Hero" is just a duty assigned by others. Is the concept of "hero" something I understand myself, or was it something my father told me? I am a false hero created by my father. Not only is my self false, my desire is false, but even my identity as a hero is false.

I am a soul shaped by others, so I do not have a real "me".

I like heroes.

But I will never be a hero.

In order to become a hero, the fake me chose to leave Muirand, travel, wander, help others, uphold justice, and punish crimes, because heroes do this, because real heroes do this. Perhaps, as long as I keep doing this, as long as I take righteous deeds as my duty, I will not be just a "self" that has been created, but will become a real hero one day. I have not changed anything, and I can't change anything. I sent criminals to jail, took the lives of bandits in the wilderness, and destroyed the conspiracy of the evil god believers. People may not necessarily give me praise and blessings. Sometimes I will even be suspected, hostile, and look down on me. I have not been able to become a hero. What I did was just to use such behavior to maintain the self that was created as a "hero".