Star Forge Titan

While avoiding unnecessary losses of combat units, it also temporarily prevented him and his legion from moving.

The magical turbulence caused by the collision of positive and negative energies formed a terrifying vortex in the sky. The terrifying vortex of multi-colored light mixed with thunder, flames and even hail rotated rapidly in the sky. Abnormal phenomena caused by various magical chaos occurred one after another, affecting all areas within several kilometers around.

The birds and animals in the mountains and forests fled in terror, as if a forest fire had broken out without warning. Even the fish in the rivers jumped frantically, a terrifying scene of natural disaster.

Flandel in the distance even activated a strategic spell for city defense. A shield composed of a huge magic circle covered the sky of the entire city, blocking the spell-like effects caused by abnormal phenomena outside the city walls.

But these few minutes of spell defense would burn up Flanders tax revenue for half a month.

Two high-level professionals who were passing by started fighting. Faced with such a sudden man-made disaster that was almost a natural disaster, the governor would probably be so angry that he would vomit blood and faint.

In the sky, the magical lights of the battle flickered, until a few minutes later, the high concentration of positive energy surrounding Gabrielle gradually receded, revealing the shattering projection of her body.

"Tsk, old man, you got away with it. Next time I change into my real body, I'll chop your head off with an axe!"

Gabrielle, her body in tatters, raised her hand and made a rude gesture, then, under the angry gaze of Lucius who seemed to want to ignite her, she laughed and returned to the upper plane.

The sudden encounter prevented the great wizard from preparing a ritual to imprison the opponent's soul. He could only watch as the hymn angel who had disrupted his plans returned to the upper plane with key information.

Where did this angel with the middle finger come from? And what about that barbarian who didn't look like a barbarian at all? How much hidden power does the princess have around her?

Moreover, with the reputation accumulated by this group of celestial beings over thousands of years, and the good relations they have with the righteous gods who placed the kingdom of God in the upper planes, as long as Princess Afrediya summons her to the material world again, she will be a living witness, and one that is supported by the power of the church.

Damn it, this is getting more and more troublesome!

Cold sweat ran down Lucius's forehead. Due to the various abnormal phenomena caused by the turbulent flow of magical power, he could no longer find any trace of the eldest princess. He could only send his many apprentices and low-level mages to spread out and search.

God knows whether he will be able to catch her before she returns to Avonmore.

Is this the only solution? Lucius pondered this inwardly, then waved his hand and activated the [Dark Sky Curtain] to once again obscure his undead army, transforming into dark clouds and disappearing into the horizon.

However, when passing through Flanders, he seemed to remember something, so he controlled a team of Death Knights to rush into the local Alchemist Association and lifted up a poor guy who was only in his underwear.

"..." Lucius's forehead veins bulged as he looked at this apprentice who seemed to be quite clever.

He raised his hand and struck Khayon with a [Torture Whip], causing him to writhe in agony for a long time before getting up again.

"I'm sorry, Master Sura, I'm too weak and couldn't hold them back." Khayang knelt on one knee trembling.

Although he was punished with severe pain, he still pretended to be heartbroken and regretful, but he calmly defended himself, as if his failure was entirely due to the fact that he was only a second-level.

"Get up, that angel is very powerful. You, a second-level angel, are definitely no match for them. You're lucky to be alive."

Although he had the urge to crush this useless guy to death, when he thought that the person who introduced him was also a fourth-level wizard of the School of Undead, Lucius Sura suppressed the anger in his heart and reluctantly said a few words of comfort.

After thinking about it, he sighed.

"Next, don't worry about this matter anymore."

Perhaps because of what Khayon said, Lucius felt that the first and second level soldiers under his command were indeed unusable.

Originally, when he was not promoted to the fourth level, out of precaution, he did not grant the students or servants the third level promotion ceremony, but now it seems that it is still necessary to promote some subordinates to become the new third level.

"After returning to the Mage Tower, prepare to undergo the promotion ceremony." Lucius said expressionlessly.

"Thank you, mentor!" Ka Yang looked excited, but he couldn't help but smile when he bowed his head to express his gratitude.

Putting aside the intrigues among the villains, Ivan, carrying the silent Afrediya, finally arrived at the next town before the stored water used as fuel in the magic carriage ran out.

To be precise, this is just a small remote village.

Before entering the village, I heard crying coming from the fields.

"What happened?" Afrediya, whose face was blank due to self-blame, finally showed some expression. She leaned out of the car window and looked in the direction where the crying sound came from.

"It seems that the farmer's ox died." Alvin looked at it for a moment and said uncertainly.

In the field, an ox with its flank torn apart lay on the ground, blood and fragments of broken internal organs everywhere.

It must have been attacked by some kind of wild beast, so its internal organs and most of its flesh were torn and bitten off, leaving only the skeleton and the horned head intact.

A peasant woman with tattered clothes and arms longer than her knees, who looked like she had undergone cheap mass-production surgery, was crying while holding the head of a plowing ox. Several children wearing clothes or rags were also crying loudly around her.

"No, that's not a plowing ox." Afrediya's lips trembled slightly, and she seemed to have realized something.

"That's a human." The eldest princess' voice was very hoarse.

"It's the Elrond."

Chapter 21: Suffering of All Beings

Although Alvin learned from the background setting that some Elrond people, including civilians, would undergo a certain degree of magical transformation to adapt to the harsh environment of the North.

But understanding and seeing with one's own eyes are two different concepts.

Although the dead corpse lying on the ground had horns and a skeleton wider than that of an ordinary person, looking at the five finger structures at the end of the limbs and the vaguely visible human facial features on the remains of the head, it was not difficult to find that this was indeed an Elrond farmer who had undergone low-level spells to transform.

"The lifespan of an ordinary ox is about 15 to 20 years. The soil in the north is hard. If the ox is lost, it will be difficult for farmers to complete the cultivation of the land on their own." Looking at the miserable scene in the distance, Afrediya was silent.

"So when the oxen get old, farmers often spend money to find low-level wizards to perform very cheap spell transformation rituals to absorb the remaining blood, flesh and biological characteristics of the oxen, turning themselves into lower-level demons to take on the work that originally belonged to the oxen." The eldest princess's voice trembled slightly.

Although other reasons initially gave her the idea of ​​reform, it was after learning about the miserable lives of the lower-class people in Elrond that she finally made up her mind to stand up and directly confront those stubborn conservatives.

"If he's lucky enough to meet a qualified wizard, he'll probably retain a rough human form after the transformation, only gaining increased strength and endurance. He'll also be able to rely on his own strength to defend against invasions by wild monsters. This is also the main reason why the people of Elrond initially collectively accepted the transformation spell. After all, this land is not very friendly to us humans."

"But if it's a bad wizard who uses cheap materials or casts spells on an excessive number of people without regard for basic rules during rituals, then the transformed farmers will look like oxen." Afrediya's tone became increasingly serious.

"It's like sacrificing the rest of their lives in exchange for a cow that can continue farming. Moreover, because they are much larger than ordinary people, they can't even hide in the basement when they encounter monsters in the wild." Afrediya slowly recounted the tragedy that Elrond farmers often encountered.

"Won't the lord recruit people regularly to clean out the monsters in the territory?" Alvin was a little confused. In the game, most of the daily tasks that the lord issued to adventurers were to clean out monsters.

"That was in Linde or other areas. The wild monsters they encountered were nothing more than 'small' guys like goblins, gnomes or water ghosts." Afrediya shook her head.

"..." Alvin was stunned, and then recalled his original life memories in the northern ice field.

Because of the freezing cold there, the species that can survive are either agile and intelligent like the Demon Squirrel, or strong and resilient like the White Bear Beast. If they were placed in other areas, almost all of them would be the local overlords.

Elrond, also located in the north, is not as cold as the ice field, but it has various complex environments such as miasma and swamps.

This has also given rise to a group of equally difficult wild creatures, not to mention the various wild monsters that have mutated due to the chaotic magical forces in local areas.

"Furthermore, after the previous Demon King began changing his policies and reducing the power of the territorial nobles, they became increasingly unwilling to fulfill their duty to protect the people. The number of Kingdom officials who could take over some of the responsibilities was limited, and most of them were of lower professional rank. The transformation rituals they could accept were not comparable to the mystical rituals inherited by the nobles. This made it increasingly difficult to suppress the number of monsters in the wild."

Afrediya's eyes gradually became determined.

"Elrond is now at its weakest, so it is necessary to disclose extraordinary information to cultivate more qualified professionals, so that civilians will not have to accept inferior transformations, and there will be more strong people who have the power to protect their fellow tribesmen." The eldest princess said firmly.

"At the same time, it can also open up promotion channels, alleviate the pressure brought about by the solidification of social classes, activate the overall population class within the kingdom, and enhance the people's subjective initiative." Ivan, who received nine years of compulsory education, nodded and immediately understood her reform ideas.

"Yes, that's what I meant. Hey?" Afrediya agreed.

Then, the eldest princess was suddenly stunned. She realized that the person who was discussing social reform with her was actually an illiterate barbarian who had just begun to learn to read and write.

But the words he just summarized, although the terms used sound a bit strange, if you think about it carefully, they point out the key to his improvement plan very concisely, and can even be said to point out the essential elements.

How did he know that? How could a barbarian know that? It couldn't have been instinctive, could it?

Oh, what a mysterious guy! Afrediya sighed in her heart, and suddenly saw Ivan jump off the carriage and walk towards the crying peasant woman.

Seeing a man over two meters tall walking towards her, the peasant woman immediately became very afraid. She even used her arms, whose strength and length had been enhanced by a low-level spell ritual, to quickly pick up a dirty pitchfork and point the tip at Ivan.

But Alvin calmly took out some candies he bought in Flanders. Because of his experience in the game, he knew how to communicate with these farmers whose living environment was close to that of the Middle Ages.

He slowly placed the candy in his palm and said a few friendly words. The farm child, who was hiding in the nearby bushes, hesitated for a moment, but finally, driven by hunger and greed, took the candy from his hand.

Seeing that Alvin did not take any further action, the peasant woman lowered her pitchfork and started talking to him.

After a few brief exchanges, Afrediya saw Ivan helping her bury her husband's body without caring about the blood.

At this time, the simple-minded children had even become so familiar with Alvin that they would hang on his arms and swing.

"Incredible guy." Afrediya muttered and walked out of the car.

Seeing her coming, the peasant woman wiped her muddy hands on her equally dirty apron again and again.

Although Afrediya was now only wearing the clothes of the urban middle class, to the peasants, she was no different from the noble aristocratic lady they imagined.

"Miss, this aunt said there is a well in the nearby village where we can draw water. After we refill the magic car with clean water, we can continue on our journey." Alvin said calmly, making it impossible for others to tell that they were being chased.

It was as if the two of them were really just a noble lady and her coachman and bodyguard on an outing, and they were asking nearby farmers for information because of some unexpected incident.

"Ma'am, thank you very much for your help." Afrediya expressed her gratitude to her gently.

Unexpectedly, her actions made the peasant woman even more nervous and even at a loss.

"Don't be so formal, it will scare them." Alvin shook his head and felt more and more like he was leading a new member of the guild.

"..." Afrediya was speechless for a moment and didn't know what to say.

"Okay, leave the communication with the villagers to me." Alvin stepped forward and said in a low voice.

"Then I'll leave it to you." Afrediya finally nodded and returned to the carriage.

Then, despite Afrediya's invitation, the peasant woman and her children refused to get into the carriage, preferring to squeeze in the front driver's seat or simply walk on their own.

So, Alvin had to drive the semi-magic carriage at the slowest speed towards the village, but the water in the carriage ran out halfway.

With a grunting sound, the engine completely stopped, turning the magic carriage into a horseless carriage that was even heavier than an ordinary carriage.

So, Alvin had no choice but to shrug his shoulders, get off the carriage and walk to the back. Then, amid the cheers of the children, he raised his arms to support the carriage and pushed the carriage and the little ghosts climbing on the roof directly into the village.

When the other people in the village saw a strange-shaped carriage approaching, they hurriedly picked up their farm tools and simple weapons and gathered at the village entrance. They didn't have any bad intentions, they were just simply on guard against robbers and bandits.

Apart from the monsters in the wild, these two types of animals pose the greatest threat to farmers.

However, upon seeing that a villager was traveling with them, the villagers' vigilance dropped by half. After realizing that the other party simply needed some water, they put down their weapons and helped push the carriage into the village, then gathered around the magical carriage as if they were observing something strange.

When Alvin poured the well water into the machine, the magic engine replenished the water and began to make rhythmic running sounds again, and the surrounding villagers exclaimed in surprise.

Considering that the School of Undead would not give up so easily, the two did not stay in this unknown small village any longer. After buying some food as supplies, they set off again.

Instead of taking the main trade route, Alvin continued along a winding mountain road towards Evanmore under the guidance of Afrediya.

When night fell completely, they did not encounter any other village or town, so they had to find a relatively flat open space near the woods to camp.

Ivan stood up and picked up some flammable dry moss. Seeing this, Afrediya also got out of the car and offered to be responsible for making the fire.

As a result, when he returned to the clearing with the dry firewood, the other party was still struggling with the two dry branches.

Afrediya kept a straight face and continued to turn the branch with her hands.

"I say... can't you cast a spell?" Alvin looked at the other person speechlessly, and swallowed the second half of the sentence 'You are a wizard, you should have some shame'.

Afrediya lowered her head and pointed at the pile of firewood. A tiny tongue of flame shaped by magic quickly ignited it.

Then she sat aside with her hands on her knees in silence.

"Am I...useless?" The eldest princess suddenly asked after a long while.

"Why do you bring this up suddenly?" Ivan, who was preparing dinner, looked at Afrediya in surprise, but found that her expression was a little gloomy, without the sharpness as before, and even seemed a little... fragile?

"When that fourth-level person caught up with us, I couldn't help at all, and I even forced Gabrielle to fight the enemy with her ultimate song." Frey lowered her head and buried it in her chest.

Ivan handed over a handkerchief at the right time. The eldest princess took it and just held it in her hand. She raised her head but did not shed a single tear.

"Whether it's Gabrielle or other members of the reformist faction, why are you willing to take such a big risk to help me? I'm not a very smart person, I just want to do the right thing." Afrediya's voice was a little low, but the light in her eyes never went out.

Seeing this scene, Alvin once again sighed that anyone who achieves great things has a heart as firm as iron.

Even though she was under immense pressure that was far beyond what an eighteen-year-old girl should have to bear, Afrediya remained calm and rational, not even showing any sign of anxiety when she was most relaxed.

At the moment, she had just escaped from the pursuit of a fourth-level strongman, and the life and death of her close friend was unknown, but she still did not collapse under the pressure.

Therefore, the person in front of us will become the 43rd Demon King of Elrond in the future. So even if she transforms into the terrible Blood Queen in the plot, she can still sweep across half of the continent with her army of skeletons.

"That bunch of stupid! Inflexible! Useless old nobles! Don't they want to open their eyes and see the world outside Elrond? Earlier this year, they were frightened into embarrassing looks by Lind's spring parade, but now they all bury their heads in the ground and pretend to be blind and deaf!" Afrediya scolded with a cold brow.

Every sentence and every word contained a burning anger, the anger of a future queen, a princess embracing her ideals.

"The people of Elrond are suffering! Don't they see it?!?" The angry question of the future 43rd Demon King echoed in the deserted forest for a long time.

"It's a grand military parade. The magic troops displayed by Lind in the year 1885 of the new calendar are indeed terrifying to the armies of the old era, although they actually..." Ivan's voice gradually lowered so that Frey couldn't hear the rest of his sentence.

Afrediya closed her eyes and said nothing more. She suddenly leaned towards Ivan and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Sorry, just a moment, just a short while." The girl said quietly in an almost inaudible voice.

Looking at the fair face so close to him and the only tear in the corner of her eye, Alvin couldn't help but sigh silently in his heart.

Afrediya can lean on his shoulder temporarily when she is under too much pressure, but who can he lean on?

The terrible secrets in my heart that no one in this world knows are absolutely secrets that cannot be told to anyone.

Whether it is the well-reasoned and meticulous reasoning of plot parties on the forum or the few words leaked in the official trailer, it shows that the essence of the world of Palladia is far deeper and more difficult to describe than what is revealed on the surface.

This is the fundamental reason why Alvin cannot feel at ease after traveling through time.