Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"That's the Mummy Lord, a legendary undead spirit. You don't seem to know what its properties are?"

"I don't know. How do you say it?"

"The Mummy Lord is an existence that will not completely perish until the conditions are met. Even if its head is blown up now, its limbs are cut off from its body, and it is nailed to the ground, it will not be destroyed. It may have once been a royal family or a general, or even a high priest of the dark gods. Its production is presided over by the most experienced and powerful priests. Its abdomen is hollowed out, its flesh is dried, and its heart is taken out separately - in the tradition of making mummies, the soul is sealed in the heart rather than the brain - and placed in a container called a canopic jar made of limestone or clay. The heart will be dried as proof of its eternal existence."

"Understandable."

Roy gestured, signaling Ella to continue. Of course, Ella's pause was not directed at him at all, but was based on her concern for the female paladin who was listening with great interest. However, the latter also nodded, so Ella continued her explanation.

"Now, due to the nature of the undead, even if the head is chopped off, the mummy lord cannot stop moving immediately. At most, its functions can be blocked. When the spiritual essence can no longer be maintained, it will be equivalent to its current body'death'. At that time, its body will turn into a pool of yellow sand, and then after another day, it will be able to be reborn next to the canopic jar where the heart is stored."

"Doesn't that mean that as long as the jar is not damaged..."

"To be precise, as long as the heart is not damaged, it can regenerate infinitely."

Not only Roy was dumbfounded, but even Lunicia was a little dazed.

It is true that she was a white knight who was trained specifically to fight against the undead and many evil spirits. Even so, mummies are rarely encountered by the outside world. For this reason, they are not mentioned much in the course. At most, they are just mentioned casually. Lunicia also took note of it, but naturally she didn't remember anything.

"Of course," Ella added, "the production conditions of the Mummy Lords determine that they cannot be mass-produced, and the production rituals of ordinary mummies can only preserve their souls permanently by setting strict awakening conditions. They cannot be used for normal military purposes, so there is no need to worry about seeing many mummies on the front battlefield."

"They are few in number, that is to say..."

Lunisia also captured the problem.

"It is impossible to deploy precious troops on a worthless battlefield. Compared with the strongholds in the great forest, the Mummy Lord is more likely to appear in other key locations. However, we have now met that Shuheberil here by coincidence..."

Roy couldn't help but press his temples as if he had a headache, closed his eyes, and looked quite distressed.

"That is, how is it?"

However, Lunicia, who was the first to notice the strangeness, did not react at all. What exactly did this mean? Ella looked at her deeply - her girlish romanticism and girlish living environment directly led to the lack of suspicion and curves in her character, and it was difficult for her to react even to this most basic conspiracy.

It's not about strategic conspiracy, but other aspects.

"Let me tell you straight, there is a traitor among me."

With a long sigh, Roy reluctantly waved his hand in response to Lunicia's worried look.

His complexion looked quite bad. Rather than being pale, it was even greenish, which really made people worry about his mental and physical condition. At least it seemed that his strong physique was not enough to withstand the factors that could bring him down.

"Indeed."

Ella was like the opposite of a mirror: she was neither worried nor concerned, polite but cold. She simply stated the facts in a plain and ordinary way: "Otherwise, there is no explanation for why they would appear here and prepare early to ambush you alone."

"No one should know about the expedition..."

"why is it like this……"

Even Lunicia became depressed.

"Do you have any opinion on this?"

With one hand on Lunicia's back, Ella's expression and tone remained unchanged.

"There was no speech, nor was there any large-scale deployment. The people I brought were basically my personal soldiers, and the security contractors who came at short notice... and before leaving the city, they didn't know where our destination was. I forgot to explain it to them in detail. It's impossible for anyone to know where I was going..."

At this point, Roy was stunned.

……

"Just now, the scouts sent me information that the traitors have captured three important strongholds in succession with today's dawn offensive. I plan to lead my troops to raid the stronghold in the Rafkai Forest to see if I can get any information."

"The Great Forest of Lafkai? Since you have come to this point, I cannot stop you. I can only wish you good luck in fighting."

……

"No way……"

His brows furrowed deeply, forming several deep furrows. It was not just sadness and the pain of being betrayed, but more, or most importantly, fear. A strong sense of fear distorted his expression. This was not based on his personal experience, such as fighting with vicious monsters or cruel bandits and endangering his life, or losing property, or his family being torn apart. This kind of fear was even greater and had a wider coverage, so much so that he felt suffocated.

"What did you think of?"

Ella keenly captured the meaning of that expression. Obviously, the situation was much worse than she had initially imagined.

"That Bernard... there's no possibility. It can't be him. The only possibility is..."

"Yes?"

"Clemont!"

With every word Roy von Ivanov's expression grew paler.

"It can't be Bernard! That guy, he and I have been in Marie for so many years, and he has no chance to come into contact with those rebels. Almost all of his subordinates are here with me. He can't accomplish anything alone... Clermont, it can only be Clermont!"

He couldn't help but stand up and paced back and forth in his original position with an anxious look on his face. Even though the cold wind was howling through the ruined forest, he was sweating profusely and he was completely unaware of it.

"Clemont? Who's that?"

Although Lunicia was worried and anxious and wanted to do something, she unfortunately knew nothing about the situation and could only turn to Miss Ella, who seemed to know everything.

"Clemont... Clemont of Marie, Clemont of Tweck, Clemont in a high position... There should be only one Clemont that I know of."

"That Clement! Marie's military adviser, Twick's city defense commander, the great general, the chief priest of the Red Court! Hasar is my witness. If there is no evidence, I absolutely cannot doubt a chief priest in this way, especially to question his loyalty to the camp, his beliefs, and the possibility of his betrayal. This is really too blasphemous..."

Now, even Lunicia could immediately realize the seriousness of the situation.

"Hey, Ella, if the high priest betrays us..."

She was not familiar with the Crimson Court, but if the Glorious Court used its words, the high priest would rebel on the spot. She shuddered at the thought of such a possibility.

"Twick City is in danger."

Ella nodded without saying anything more.

"I can't stay here any longer. No, I have to go back and confront him."

"Wait, wait, Mr. Roy."

It was not Ella who spoke, but Lunicia who had been listening on the side. She made a soothing gesture to Roy and pointed at Ashlee who was beside her - and of course, Leah who was beside Ashlee - she was gradually opening her eyes, and it seemed that she had already left the bottom of her mind and her consciousness had returned to her body.

"Why don't you listen to it together? The information about the Iron Leviathan might be useful to you."

Ella couldn't help but reach out and gently pinched Lunicia's lower back. Although Lunicia wore full body armor all day, she had just been through a battle, so it was inevitable that some parts of her armor were not covered. However, she didn't seem to notice it at all. It wasn't that she was paralyzed due to the serious injury, but she had no idea what Ella was doing. She could only blush and pretend that she didn't feel it at all. This was naturally not a lie, and it was consistent with the White Knight's oath, so there was no risk of losing power.

"Um...Luna?"

"I'm here."

"Well, um..."

The mental dizziness unique to synthetic humans slightly lingered on Ashetherin, causing her to stretch out her black bone-like palms and gently grasp Lunisia's palms with her cold fingertips. The latter did not resist at all, but gently held those cold and hard steel fingers.

"I already know the general situation."

Chapter 20: The Betrayer's Dinner (Part 2)

"What? What did you say? Hey, wait, hey hey hey hey hey, you are kidding me?"

"Opera House" Lusa Efayet rarely showed a look of loss of composure. She was pacing back and forth in the middle of the command center. The tone of her mouth was greatly deviated from her usual playfulness and calmness. It would be better to say that she was now on the verge of hysteria. As a commander, this behavior was really inappropriate.

"No, we are not allowed to act rashly. Do not send any reinforcements to the Rafkai Great Forest node!...Except for the minimum reconnaissance force, gather as many leading actors as possible on the western front as quickly as possible...Is the salute ready? Let the audience on the stage see it clearly and make sure they can recognize our carefully prepared gifts at a glance. Are you sure?...Then wait for them to leave. Before they enter the stage, do not take any action other than assembling troops. Bluffing is fine, the more the better, but nothing else is allowed...I'll find a way to deal with Leah's matter! Just act out your own script, that's it! Communication ended!"

She roughly shut down the communication module. It seemed that venting like this still couldn't relieve her irritability, so she had to pace in the center of the command room again, completely ignoring the fact that she was not the only one here.

"So, how about it?"

"Just as planned! Even if they are third-rate actors, as long as they follow the script, they will be just as good—"

"You should know clearly that I am not asking about combat."

With her cheek in one hand and her legs crossed, Systine looked down at her, Lusa Ephayeret, in a condescending manner.

"I don't want to see my commanders lose their composure - tell me, what is the situation?"

In name, Sestine and the Opera House were equal here, and they both had the highest command authority over the combat troops. It was just that Sestine handed over almost all the command work to the Opera House, and she herself did nothing. Even so, in the current situation, Sestine relied on complete oppression to create a feeling that she was the supreme commander here, and Lusa Ephayrete of the Opera House was inferior to her.

"Oh, ma'am! . . . "

Sethine didn't reply, but just stared at her coldly.

"...Okay, it's just as you said."

Now, Lusa was at a loss.

"explain."

"My sister has lost contact. The advance reconnaissance team is at the node of the Rafkai Great Forest... and there has been no response."

"Then, it seems that the whole army was annihilated. Judging from the scale of the battle, it seems that they encountered... um... it's not likely."

"What are you talking about?"

"'Legacy of Natya' is not that mobile. If their main target is Roy von Ivanov, then they won't have the extra combat power to deal with the 'Arbiter'. Putting aside the puppets as consumables, a mummy lord must not be able to fight two opponents at the same time, given that the 'Arbiter' is at the same level as the war priest."

“Your idea makes sense.”

The "Opera House" bowed slightly and saluted to Sestine.

"Okay, I don't want to explain too much. 'Legacy of Natya' also doesn't have the ability to block signals. They are the only ones who can do it."

"They! Ah, no matter who they are, I can't accept it. I can't accept that Leia was damaged without any backup. Her memory, our shared memory, shouldn't have any gaps. We..."

"The Arbiter won't have any problems."

"Oh! Is that your assurance?"

It seems that the "Opera House" still holds a pessimistic attitude towards this.

"I'm not the one responsible for the guarantee."

Without raising his eyes, Sestin just extended his index finger and pointed upwards.

"The one who is responsible for the guarantee is the Lord of Light and Thunder, the Lord of Wrath, the King of the Heavenly Palace, the witness of the arbitration, the eternally glorious Zelti, not me. At the same time, as a former teacher, I have the obligation to be responsible for Lunicia Agris's conduct, morality and sense of responsibility as a white knight. Are you satisfied with this?"

"No objection, ma'am, you have successfully convinced me."

The Opera House bowed once more, and at least from her tone, she was indeed not as anxious as before.

"That's enough pleasantries."

Slowly getting up from the chair, if there were other onlookers here, looking at the lady in heavy armor, they would have an illusion that she was not a living modern person, but a relic from ancient times, covered with thick fossils. It was just that there had been no fighting, no fighting, no bloodshed for a while, and she looked like she was wrapped in the amber of time, becoming a product that could only be used to describe the past.

Now, she only needs one movement, one look, to clear away the constraints brought by the long and unbearable time, as if they had never existed. Her gaze, the subtle movement of her fingertips, the metallic sound of her armor, are all the announcement of the beginning of war, the order of artillery fire, and the prelude to the drums of war.

"Next, it's time to wrap up this drama."

………………

"What?! Is this information confirmed to be true?"

"It is absolutely true. You may ask the messenger yourself; he is still waiting in the gallery."

"Okay, I get it..."

Bernard took two steps back and forth, as if he had gone through a rather intense struggle. Then he remembered that he had not yet explained the situation to the newcomer, so he turned around again and said, "We will discuss this intelligence right away. You take him down first."

"As ordered!"

As the adjutant saluted and left, Clermont also walked out of the shadow of the curtain. What greeted him was not Commander Barnard's usual smiling face. On the contrary, the latter's expression was now quite unpleasant. Even the most unfavorable battle situation could not make his mouth angled and his brows furrowed into a deep frown. Without asking too much, just by looking at this face, Clermont could feel the degree of trouble.

"It looks like you've heard some less-than-ideal situations."

“It would be better if I could describe it as ‘less than ideal’… I don’t have the authority to do so, so I hope you can gather the other responsible persons and read out this report.”

As he spoke, Bernard handed over a roll of documents and asked Clermont to look through it himself.

"What did they say? ... Oh, Hasar, if the report is true, the situation is indeed a bit dangerous."

"There won't be any problem with the content. With such a big commotion, we can just find an observer on duty on the city wall to confirm it." Bernard smiled bitterly. "The target is too conspicuous to be faked. Let's think of a countermeasure."

"Then before summoning the officers, I would like to ask for your Majesty's opinion."

Clement passed the document to the direction behind the curtain, and then an invisible force grabbed it and made the document float behind the curtain. First there was the sound of paper flipping, and then there was a silent silence.

………………

"That is to say..."

Roy looked at Lunicia blankly, then at Ashetherin, and then at Ella with a blank look - of course Ella didn't respond to him - and finally looked at the "Arbitrator" Leah Efayeret, who was still sitting on the ground with a look of despair on her face, and finally slowly moved his gaze back to Lunicia.

"Iron Leviathan has now set up a cannon at the best projection point, ready to bombard the Erumu defense line?"

"That's about it."

Lunicia seemed a little embarrassed. After all, she didn't understand the situation as well as Roy, who was in charge of the city defense. She had never been to Twick City, so it was hard for her to understand why Roy was staring at her with such a dazed look.