Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"Yes, yes, it seems that Dad is also very confident about the security of this position."

“That’s obvious.”

“Can you tell?”

"Father, I hope you won't let me die."

"That's true. As for the things in the city..." Roy thought about it and decided to explain it again, "...Who is the person in charge of the Erumu City Wall now?"

"Mr. Barnard again."

"Barnard...what about Clermont? Are there any changes to the department that the high priest is in charge of?"

"No, it's still the same as before. I'm in charge of the main city gate."

"Okay then - listen carefully, Little Millie, what I'm about to say is very important."

"Please go on. I'm listening attentively."

"As for the defense of the city wall, you don't have to worry about it after you return. Bernard can handle it."

"what do you mean?"

"You will be responsible for the defense of the palace. Stay in the courtyard. Don't be too defensive. At least pretend to be preparing for defense. Then, if you find that something is not going well, don't worry about defense or looking for someone to join you. Just rush out of the city with the guards guarding the palace."

"You are saying that Twick City will definitely not be able to be defended."

"I never said that. It's just in case."

"You are a priest of the Red Court, serving the god of war and hunting, the monarch of iron and blood, the commander of knives and swords, the source of bows and crossbows, the end of all conquests, the god of war, Hasar."

"Indeed."

"But now you want me, a fellow war priest, to escape, my brother?"

"I didn't say that was running away!" Roy's tone couldn't help but rise. "That was a strategic shift! The Hasar doctrine only says that you are not allowed to kneel down and beg for mercy when you are defeated. It doesn't say that you must fight to the death when the overall situation is unfavorable... In short, fighting to the death is absolutely not something in the doctrine. If you find that the situation is not right, I still hope that you can move with your troops, just to save strength for Mariai."

"..." Miriam opened his mouth but said nothing. His face was full of worry. It seemed that he had sensed something after all. "Then what should you do, brother? If something unexpected really happens, wouldn't you be in more danger than me, being isolated and surrounded by enemies outside the city?"

"Who am I to you, your brother?" Roy spread his hands. "I am the immortal Roy von Ivanov, a legendary figure who has wandered around Mari for twelve years without any harm... I will definitely return alive. You don't have to worry about it."

"But—I still don't quite understand."

"Any more questions?"

"I just don't understand why you have to do this. According to this statement, whether Brother goes or I go, we should be able to win, so Brother must not want me to lead the team because he is worried about my safety. If so, what is the real reason?"

"This... just treat it as intuition."

"Your intuition says...?"

"I'm not worried that something might happen to you because of seizing the position, but my intuition tells me that something will definitely go wrong in the end."

He couldn't tell his brother the real reason. Although Miriam was not as strong-willed and impulsive as him, she was just as upright. If he knew his guess, he might do something. For him who was inexperienced, less skilled than others, and had no direct evidence, doing so would do more harm than good.

"Ah ha ha……"

"Well, you don't believe it?"

"I really can't say I completely believe it. After all, what my brother said is indeed a bit..."

"What's the matter? Lack of persuasiveness?"

"That's true. Brother often says things that are out of context, and ends up making things impossible to resolve."

"Uh, well, if you put it that way..."

Now, Roy felt that he had to come up with a good reason, otherwise he would not be able to coax the young master in front of him back obediently.

"But, I believe in my brother."

"what?"

"Onii-sama must have said this out of consideration for my own good, so I will trust your judgment."

Miriam pulled out a piece of black metal from her arms and handed it to Roy.

This is a relic unearthed in Mariai. In the early days of the Nasalan Kingdom, during the most glorious days of the magic civilization, such metal tokens were manufactured in large quantities. Their function was very simple. They were just an object that could confirm its authenticity by sticking two pieces together. Even so, neither the so-called ancient Nasalan Kingdom that declined later, nor any individual wandering in Mariai today, have the ability to imitate this small token. It is precisely for this reason that the Mariai Kingdom often directly uses these unearthed tokens for its own use.

"...Well, since you said so, I can only do my best to bring you victory."

Roy took the half token from Miriam and tried to put on his usual signature smile.

"Then I will stay at home as usual, waiting for my brother to return victoriously."

Chapter 22: The Betrayer's Dinner (Part 4)

"…Why not just leave me here and let me send a signal to find someone to rescue me?"

The "Arbitrator" who was still held by Lunicia looked quite embarrassed. It was obvious that she did not like this kind of contact mode at all, especially when the other party was a stranger who was still hostile not long ago. Lunicia and Asheselin both looked indifferent. Only Ella, who was at the end of the team, would occasionally frown because of the close distance between the two.

"That won't work."

Naturally, Lunisia refused decisively.

"We still have to go find Sister Sestine."

"That has nothing to do with me, let me go!"

"As long as we use the excuse of returning prisoners of war, even the Iron Leviathan, which has formed its own faction and entrenched here, will have no reason to reject us."

Unlike a gentle character like Lunicia, Ashtherin calmly pointed out the actual value of Leah Efayeret, intending to make her give up all excuses for struggling and honestly accept the arrangements of the victors.

"So I'm a hostage?!"

"Yes, you are a hostage."

"If you have any bad thoughts, I will take off your remaining hands and feet, okay?"

"Isn't this torture of prisoners?!"

Ella simply threatened directly with a creepy smile.

"Alright, alright, stop scaring her."

Lunicia patted the Arbitrator on the back, as if to comfort her.

There is no road under your feet, only barren and dry land. The yellowish shallow grass lacks vitality. There is a false canopy in the sky. The distorted eclipse and the illusory blood moon alternate. In the distance, the winter wind from the end of the north can be heard, mixed with faint sounds of artillery fire, weapons, and the howling of dead souls. It is better to say that this is not a journey, but the torture of walking in the eternal underworld.

Even so, on the road surrounded by two friends and one enemy, the young girl who was not very worldly-wise still smiled, her eyes shining brightly, as if even such bleak scenery could make her feel surprised and shocked.

Looking at that face with an incredible look, Leah Efayeret turned her face away again, no longer looking at the breastplate with scratches, or the girl's face and neck.

"I don't know what to say to you...you are such a weirdo."

"Is it weird?"

"It's very strange. Very strange. Leah can't understand it."

"Should I say you are idealistic, gentle, or maybe an optimist? But you also seem very strong... I don't know how to evaluate you, weirdo."

"Since you're not saying anything weird, I'll let you go."

"Uh huh?!"

Ella said something out of the blue, which scared Leah again. Although when she was wearing equipment and had all her limbs intact, she was a battle breaker, a subverter of the battle situation, and a super weapon that could turn the tide alone, but now that she had no power, her personality as a machine, the kind of humanity simulated by the meshing of gears, was clearly highlighted.

The footsteps of the three echoed in the vast plain, mixed with the sounds coming from the faraway place, like a postmodern piece of music. On the other side of the gentle slope, a towering wall stood there. That was the wall that had long protected the ancient city of Twick. A vague black shadow could be seen, and a huge cannon stood there, intending to conquer this defense line that had never been breached. The distant black smoke rose everywhere, making the world in sight look like a ruin under the eclipse.

“I don’t think I’m weird…”

"Just like what Setin said, he really is a very strange person."

"Hey, Sister Sestin...?"

"If there really is someone like what she said in this world," Leah turned her face back and stared at Lunicia seriously, "then she must be the strangest person in the world right now."

boom--!

A huge roar came from afar.

First there was a flash of light, then a sound, and then a breeze blew from that direction - it was a shock wave whose power was infinitely weakened after traveling a long distance, so that when it reached Lunicia and others, there was only a touch like cold wind.

boom--------!

Then, there was another sound, this one was much louder than the previous one, and even the sound of tearing the sound barrier could be clearly heard. What blew over afterwards was no longer a breeze, but a whistling cold current that hit the group of people in the face.

They looked at each other and immediately quickened their pace.

……

………………

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

"How was the test firing?"

"No abnormalities. Jupiter is operating well. The operating rates of the cannon, accelerator, and base power supply are 82%, 88%, and 79%, respectively, all higher than the expected values."

"Very good! So how's the first shot going?"

"The energy supply is normal. The barrel has entered the overheating state as planned. The barrel damage rate is 1.2%, which is lower than the estimated value. The cooling operation is now in progress. The next shot will be fired as scheduled."

"Ah, no, no, you know, my assistant, I'm not asking about Jupiter. Tell me, did our fireworks satisfy the audience?"

"Opera House" Lusa Efayeret put on a brand new dress. Whether it was the masculine black tailcoat, or the red ribbons, gold medals, epaulettes, brooches, thin gold chains on the corners of the tailcoat, or even the black thrusters on her feet that were as tall as long boots, they were all polished and shiny, as if she was not on the battlefield, but in the top social scene, holding a press conference for her unique new work. Her clothes suppressed her crazy nature. She always believed that she was an artist pursuing perfection, just like the code she was given, just like her waterfall-like gorgeous hair.

Her adjutant, as always, ignored his master's exaggerated words and actions, and only selected the useful information from the conversation, translated it in his mind, and then responded:

"The test firing was blocked by the magic barrier. The composite spell shield directly bounced off the first test tungsten bullet, and it had no effect."

"And the first shot?"

"It penetrated the magic barrier, but the tungsten bullet was greatly slowed down and failed to cause damage to the Erumu Wall."

“It’s no different than expected.”

“As you can see.”

"It seems that the audience is very satisfied with the fireworks!" Lusa opened her arms with an intoxicated look on her face. "Erumu is so solemn, so cautious, and pure. He is participating in this performance with the greatest enthusiasm today! As the dean, I feel extremely honored. It is really exciting to be able to play opposite such a famous actor!"

"If we continue to increase the power, as long as we take the backup barrel into consideration..."

"Pointless."

The passion and crazy words faded away, and Lusa once again turned back into the lady in men's clothing.

"Haven't you heard? That city wall can regenerate automatically. As long as it cannot be completely destroyed at once, the magic core wandering inside the city wall can continuously absorb the magic from the remains of the Great Magic Net to restore it. Ah, I still remember that countless excellent actors gathered on this land. They were all excellent dancers of this drama of life. Magic was their acting skills and their clothes. The name of that drama was "Nasalan" - although they eventually left the stage regrettably, there were still traces of their performance on this land.

Yes, that's right, that's right, the Wall of Erumu is the absolute defense line used to ensure the glory of the capital. It can be said to be a perfect barrier, the honor of the kingdom, and the symbol of the royal prestige - ah, what a pity, what a pity, no matter which celebrity in the kingdom, whether it is the king or the people, whether it is a genius legendary wizard or a useless person like dust, no one finally achieved eternity. After the collapse of the old magic network, the decline of the ancient kingdom was inevitable. You see, in the end, only a wall in this city will be immortal!"

Her joy was morbid and insane, and no one would deny that, whether it was her deputy, her superior, or her colleague. Perhaps her sister might be an exception?

"So, what are your instructions? My personal suggestion is to use a warhead that can be accelerated twice to directly bomb the city by turning..."

"It's meaningless!" Lusha interrupted her adjutant rudely, "Does the current warhead reserve allow us to be so extravagant? What's the point of destroying a few houses if we can't take down the defense line? Okay, the script has been decided, don't make things complicated, don't let those actors do unnecessary things. Okay, okay, hurry up and report to the next one, where are those little actors holding swords and want to cause trouble for us?"

"They are on their way. The battle will begin in about an hour and twenty minutes. They have sped up the time and moved it forward by twenty minutes."

"A full hour! Then let Leah... Oh, right! Where's Leah? Where's Leah? Report!"

"The whereabouts of His Excellency the Arbiter remains unknown."

"Then tell me all the information the scout group has obtained from the forest. Don't hide anything!"

"Yes. We recovered some of the remains of the accompanying puppets at the Rafkai Great Forest node. The data from the combat recorder showed that they finally encountered 'Legacy of Natya' and exchanged fire with its undead forces. At 15 minutes and 31 seconds into the battle, 'Special Surveillance Subject No. 1' and 'Special Surveillance Subject No. 2', plus an unknown person, entered the recording range."

“Why is the number increasing?”

The "Opera House" was obviously stunned. This situation was somewhat inconsistent with what she had heard.

"After the battle of Nosavi, a new synthetic female was added as 'Special Surveillance Subject No. 2'."

"Okay, okay, who else is there?"

"unknown."

"Then we can't tell whether it's him or her or it."

"She is a female. She has short pink hair, a thin build, leather armor, and two swords. The detailed video information will be sent to you later."

"Women—go on."

"Yes. Judging from their expressions, they did not anticipate the situation in the exchange of fire. After a brief pause, Special Surveillance Subject No. 2 and the unnumbered subject provided cover while Special Surveillance Subject No. 1 and the Arbitrator engaged in direct combat. The four of them then entered the depths of the forest in the melee. The Guards Puppet was not able to match the mobility of the four of them, so we cannot confirm what happened next."

"'Special Surveillance Subject No. 1'... Lunicia, Lunicia Agueris... Okay, fine, I have no objection, let's just let it go. There is no place for them in the script, but it seems that I have no choice but to hand my sister over to them. After all, as you can see, I am tied up now and cannot play the role of a knight in white horse myself."