Star Forge Titan

"I know your country still has a surviving fifth-level Perfecter, but he is too old and gradually falling into Gestalt collapse. It is almost impossible for him to repel the incoming enemy and his followers on his own."

Feeling the faint magical pressure that almost enveloped the entire city, the female paladin with long silver hair frowned slightly.

Although the opponent is old, he still reveals the aura of a fifth-level strong man. He is like a giant tree that has withered and collapsed after being eaten by the worms of time. Even though the inside has begun to rot and become hollow, it is still difficult to ignore it because of its huge size.

However, it is already a fallen giant tree, and the loss of vitality is irreversible. Perhaps even the power that is the ultimate trump card of the Perfect One cannot be used.

On the other side, Conrad naturally knew who the other party was talking about, so the expression on his face became a little unnatural.

After all, his relationship with his great-uncle was very delicate.

Moreover, the actual situation is somewhat different. The internal affairs reasons used by the diplomatic department to refuse the entry of the Paladins of the Temple of Knowledge are actually just superficial excuses.

The fundamental reason was that the demonic event involved the New Era Research Institute's underground headquarters at the Rock of Truth. As the most confidential department of Linde's magical technology, it was impossible to open it to outsiders, even if it was the Temple of Knowledge, which declared permanent neutrality and did not participate in any mundane affairs other than demonic events.

Realizing this, Conrad couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Ah, this is difficult. My head hurts and I really want to find a sofa to lie down on.

Oh my God, why isn’t my cousin here at this time?

I just want to be a playboy!

I can’t stand it anymore…

Chapter 63 Young and Old Visitors

Although I just want to be a salted fish that doesn't even turn over while lying down.

But even such a salty fish needs a piece of beach that can accommodate it to lie down.

It also requires bright sunshine and white, large amounts of sea salt. It would be best if there were a few sunny beauties on the beach who were dressed simply and sparingly.

However, all these beautiful scenes are based on the premise that the world is peaceful and quiet, and there are no lunatics who use smelly blood to draw magic circles to disrupt this peace.

With this in mind, Conrad quickly approved the entry permit for the Paladins of the Temple of Knowledge. However, regarding the investigation permit for the New Era Research Institute's underground headquarters at the Rock of Truth, he stated that further consideration was needed.

After all, that place is too important to Lind, not only because the most advanced magic engineering research is carried out there, but also because of other complex reasons that cannot be easily told to outsiders.

Some of them even involve top secrets that could shake the Central Empire of Linde and even the entire world.

Fortunately, the other party obviously did not expect to solve all the problems through a closed private meeting. After conveying important information and obtaining entry permission, Celestine's purpose of this trip has been basically achieved. The subsequent specific negotiations can be handed over to subordinates who specialize in this area.

So, after some polite farewells, the two sides ended the talks.

"Huh, that lady's serious look really makes me feel stressed." Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Conrad collapsed on the sofa as if exhausted.

"Your Majesty, your performance today can be considered excellent." Pouring a cup of black tea for His Majesty the Emperor, Alfredo smiled and encouraged:

"Come to think of it, why did she ask to be addressed as 'Madam'? That paladin looks no more than sixteen years old, right?" Conrad raised his head and looked at his butler curiously.

This old butler had been a court steward loyal to the Carolingian royal family since his grandfather's generation. The knowledge and information he knew was like an bottomless treasure chest that could always answer the various questions he raised.

However, even Alfredo, a champion swordsman who had reached the fourth level, couldn't help but tremble when he heard Conrad's question.

"Sixteen years old?" The old man looked at Conrad, who was tasting black tea, with the loving eyes of a silly child, and then showed a thoughtful expression as if recalling the past.

"Your Majesty, it may be hard to believe, but when I first met that lady at the age of sixteen, she already looked like this today."

"puff----"

Upon hearing this answer, His Majesty Emperor Konrad Karl Drusus Carolingian, the one protected by the God of Light, the ruler of the great empire, the happy supporter of the people of Lind, the direct descendant of the noble bloodline of the Carolingian royal family, was almost "murdered" by a mouthful of black tea.

“W-What!?!”

Conrad coughed repeatedly before he finally recovered. Then he immediately looked at Alfredo with an incredible look. The latter nodded slightly to confirm his previous statement.

After confirming that he had heard correctly, the Emperor's hand holding the cup began to tremble with shock.

"No wonder you have to address that gentleman as 'Madam'."

At the same time, the lady they were talking about, Celestine, had changed into casual clothes and was walking like an ordinary girl in the streets of Lutetia, the perfect city and the capital of the Central Empire.

"It's changed so much! I remember this used to be a bakery, owned by a chubby, silly guy with a smile all the time. I never thought it would become... well, they seem to call this thing a 'city rail train'." Celestine looked up at the train parked on the platform and said in admiration:

"If this big guy is equipped with armor and a team of elemental mages specializing in magic output are deployed inside, well, no, this is not a battlefield." The female paladin shook her head vigorously, throwing away the idea of ​​arming that naturally popped up in her mind.

Since the truth of the incident was still unclear, after completing her main task, Celestine, as the Grand Knight Commander, was actually somewhat idle for a short period of time.

After recalling some past events, she simply queued up to buy a ticket to downtown.

Tickets for rail travel were printed on cheap red paper with jagged edges machine-cut to make it easier to tear them off the roll.

The word "ticket" is printed in the common language in the center of the ticket, with a blank area on the right. When purchasing a ticket, the conductor will use a rotary stamp that can adjust the printed numbers to press a row of numbers here, indicating the station where the ticket was issued and the number of stops the passenger can travel with the ticket.

The rail train, named 'Hardworking Charlie', rumbled forward. Through the windows and the occasional drift of steam and smoke, one could see traditional Linde-style buildings on both sides of the track. In addition, there were also some new buildings built with simple and practical designs after the Magic Revolution.

Two buildings with completely different styles stand side by side on the same street, giving people a wonderful feeling of the superposition and fusion of retro and modern styles.

Because of the spell released in advance, ordinary passengers on the train did not notice Celestine. She was like a shadow isolated from the world. After arriving at the target platform, she left the train quietly.

At this moment, standing before Celestine was the towering main gate of Lutetia - the Gate of Heaven.

On this tall city gate, there are a large number of exquisite reliefs depicting scenes of heaven. The prototypes come from Lind's most important belief, the scenes of the kingdom of God described in the texts of Jupiter, the god of light.

Looking at the statues, Celestine hummed softly and walked through the gate to the lower city without stopping for long.

Compared to the city, the environment here seemed much dirtier and messier, but the female knight felt somewhat familiar with it because she remembered that the earlier Linde capital Lutetia looked like this.

At that time, due to their enmity with the dwarves, they did not build a well-functioning sewer system. As a result, the entire city exuded an unconcealable stench all day long due to the accumulation of sewage.

Later, after the efforts of a certain Emperor Linde, this problem was finally solved.

However, as the downtown area is located on the edge of the city, this problem has not been perfectly solved. Except for Fallen Street, which is used to house casinos and amusement parks, there is always a lingering odor in the air of other streets.

Without disturbing anyone, Celestine went straight to an orphanage.

Looking at the newly renovated building and confirming that the words "Marilyn Orphanage" were still written on the doorplate, she couldn't help but show a look of surprise.

Sixteen years had passed, and this orphanage built in the downtown area had not fallen into disrepair, but had become so brand new. The unexpected change really surprised her.

Restraining the complicated emotions in her heart, Celestine walked forward and knocked gently on the door.

"Coming." A kind female voice came from inside.

There was a rustling sound, and Mother Teresa slowly opened the door. Even though the economic conditions of the orphanage had improved greatly, she still did not change her dress and still wore the simple nun's outfit.

"Diana?" Seeing the stranger outside the door, Sister Theresa was stunned for a moment, and then showed a look of surprise.

"No, you are..."

"Diana? Who is that?" Celestine was also stunned for a moment, and then subconsciously asked:

"I'm sorry, my eyesight isn't very good, and you look a bit like a kid I know, so I accidentally called the wrong name just now." Sister Teresa smiled apologetically, but still stood in front of the door with no intention of moving away.

Although she had a kind heart, she had lived in the downtown area for so many years that she still had some basic awareness of safety. Even when she opened the door just now, she made sure that it was a young woman standing outside before undoing the door chain.

"Excuse me, what can I do for you?" Sister Theresa asked cautiously.

"It's not a big deal, I just..." Celestine hesitated for a moment, sighed, and then continued:

"I just want to know if a child is doing well, but judging by the current state of the orphanage, I think she should be doing well."

Hearing this, Sister Teresa's eyes widened, as if she had guessed something.

At the same time, Diana, who was far away in the steel city of Vulcan, was standing in front of the bathroom mirror with some confusion.

She twisted her silver hair around her fingers, and only a small section of her hair remained at the ends of her hair, which had been dyed brown with plant dyes earlier.

So, she is considering whether to dye her hair back to a less noticeable brown color, which is also a way to protect herself in the downtown area.

But the situation is different now, and coupled with some of the girl's little thoughts, she seems indecisive, and her usually heroic face now reveals a lovely troubled expression.

Tangled, it really makes people tangled~

Chapter 64: Cold Fury

"That's amazing. I was completely fooled."

Leaving the crime scene, Kayang couldn't help but sneer and said:

"In a sense, yes." Alvin nodded, his expression grim.

The development of the matter exceeded everyone's expectations. At first, the sudden arrival of the devil made people feel clueless. This time they thought they had caught some clues, but these clues were broken by the death of related personnel.

Even I became a suspect because of my involvement.

At 19:30 that evening, Joseph Kerr was confirmed dead, and the original closed-loop reasoning logic was broken.

Because of this, even with Catherine's guarantee, even though Alvin was the one who prevented the previous demon's arrival from worsening, as a direct participant, he was restricted to his area of ​​activity for a short period of time due to his involvement in the case.

Except for the classes in the magician training program, he is not allowed to enter or leave any other areas of the underground headquarters of Truth Rock at will. The restrictions can only be lifted after the relevant investigation is thoroughly completed.

But the most pitiful person was one of the victims, assistant researcher Miss Meni Kaye.

Because she had a close relationship with the deceased and had contact with other related people, and most importantly, during the approximate time of death estimated by professionals, she went alone to commemorate Gena Cohen, who died in the Devil's Advent incident, so she has no reliable alibi...

To sum up, Meni Kaye became the most suspected person in this case and was directly placed under house arrest by the intelligence department responsible for investigating the matter.

Although they took Meni away in the name of "assisting the investigation", and the gentlemen from MI7 did not use any words like "arrest" in the relevant announcement, their actual actions were not much different from arrests.

If there were not enough evidence and motive, perhaps the investigators, under pressure from their superiors, would have hastily closed the case by labeling her the murderer.

After all, the New Era Institute's underground headquarters in Truth Rock is a top-secret area, and any case occurring in the underground headquarters must be properly resolved.

Therefore, the intelligence and security departments responsible for the investigation are under tremendous pressure and urgently need to conclude this case as soon as possible. Otherwise, many people will be punished and reprimanded.

By then, whether it was the gentlemen of MI7 or the senior leaders of the New Era Institute, especially the managers of the security department, their reputation and interests would be greatly damaged.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that these guys even refused to believe that the new type of illusion proposed by Alvin really existed. They judged that the patterns on the letter as physical evidence were just his own guess. It had no reliable theoretical basis, and no actual magical fluctuations were detected, so it was completely untenable.

After realizing that the other party refused to admit it for reasons other than the case, Alvin gave up the idea of ​​arguing with them. Under Catherine's sympathetic and helpless gaze, he turned around and slammed the door and left.

He, who was always calm, even couldn't control his emotions. The door that was shattered into pieces along with the door frame was the most direct manifestation of this.

However, the next moment after walking out of the investigation office, the anger was like a rapidly frozen flame, and was controlled by Ivan with his strong will.

There was no longer any anger on the black-haired boy's face, but his golden eyes, blessed by the gods, were like melted gold, emitting a circle of hidden scorching light around him, which contained a rage that could melt even steel.

Seeing this scene, Ka Yang couldn't help but swallow his saliva and swallowed back the joke he wanted to make to ease the other person's emotions.

A young man who is extremely angry, if he behaves in a furious manner or keeps cursing to vent his anger, although he may seem as difficult to approach as a porcupine with its spines spread out, it is often only a short period of loss of control. It is an extreme state that cannot be maintained for a long time and is also a manifestation of his own lack of ability.

But if a young person who is extremely angry can suppress all his anger and deal with the highest priority matters with the same attitude as usual.

The one who should be worried is perhaps the person who angered him.

Because this kind of anger will not disappear with the passage of time. Instead, it will be like a nuclear fission reaction temporarily suppressed by a speed bump, and will erupt violently again in a completely destructive way when needed.

"What are you going to do?" Ka Yang quickly followed behind Ivan and asked in a low voice:

"It's not suitable for me to continue participating in the investigation now, but I suspect the other party's plan has been completely disrupted." Ivan's voice was very steady, and there was almost no emotional fluctuation.

"What do you mean? Oh wait, I understand." Ka Yang was a little surprised, but as he had the potential to be the king of traitors, he immediately showed an expression of understanding the moment he asked this question.

"Yeah, so the current situation is not the worst." Alvin laughed lowly, but there was no smile in his eyes.

"Ever since the Great Train Robbery, we have become the biggest variable for the inevitable mastermind behind the incident." Ka Yang touched his chin, and his tone became a little subtle.

Indeed, they chose that train completely randomly.

Judging from the caution and intelligence shown by the mastermind, since his purpose was the precious materials transported on the train, he would certainly have anticipated that there might be unplanned extraordinary people on the train.

The mastermind who can obtain the list of freight materials on the train can naturally also obtain the list of passengers on the same train, so it is not difficult to avoid possible unplanned extraordinary people.

But the gang of thieves still attacked the train, which means that the mastermind behind the scenes was not aware of the strength of Ivan and the others at the time, and might not even know that they were extraordinary people.

If that guy's later actions were due to the previous train robbery, then his plan would obviously be affected in many aspects due to the series of changes that resulted from it.

Joseph's death was probably the biggest impact.

That person obviously has a very direct relationship with the mastermind behind the scenes. Alvin, who has a lot of clues, only needs to clarify the ultimate goal of the mastermind behind the scenes to completely confirm their relationship, and thus deduce the true identity of the guy standing in the shadows and arranging everything.

And this may be the fundamental reason why Joseph was killed directly.

"Although I don't know what his original plan was, it's obvious that he wouldn't cause such a big commotion as now. Even a train robbery is just a relatively low-probability public security case for Linde in the Central Empire. As long as not too many people die, it won't attract the attention of other official departments except the Public Security Bureau." Alvin said as he walked.

"So what are you going to do next?" Ka Yang asked directly:

"Interests. Any action has a motive, and interests are often the most direct motive." Ivan's voice became calmer, but his eyes became more serious.

"Let me ask you, what is the most valuable interest in the New Era Research Institute's underground headquarters at Truth Rock?"

"The research results of magical engineering... are technology!" Ka Yang raised his eyebrows and said in an extremely affirmative tone.