Star Forge Titan

"Well... my opinion..." Diana pinched her eyebrows and forced herself to calm down.

"It's hard to say. If I have to say, it feels like the activation method seems a bit arbitrary."

"How to say?"

Christina pulled the handbrake, which functioned like the accelerator of an ordinary magic car. For the director of the research institute with the body of a twelve-year-old child, it was almost impossible to step on the accelerator in the normal position unless she crawled under the dashboard.

"Can you at least add a starter key?" Diana asked tentatively:

"Oh, that's a valuable suggestion? Much better than someone else's." Christina teased, then sighed.

"It's a shame, but its value is very limited. Your Highness, do you think just anyone can get into the cockpit of the Giant God? Setting up a activation key for this is a bit unnecessary."

"I'm sorry." Diana lowered her head in shame.

"It's okay, it's okay. If the Colossus isn't kept in a highly confidential environment like the research institute, perhaps it will be necessary to add something similar." Christina waved her hand and said comfortingly:

While the three were discussing this, a figure no one expected was quietly standing at the entrance of the Giant God's cockpit.

The white-robed researchers and logistics workers passing by ignored his presence, as if the person standing there was just a non-existent shadow.

The visitor pushed the glasses on his nose and sighed sincerely.

"This is... the Giant God."

Chapter 112: The Knight Draws His Sword

"Open the door! The Temple of Knowledge is investigating the Fallen!"

Although he said to open the door, before he could finish his words, the Paladin of the Temple of Knowledge with short silver hair and a pair of bright red eyes had already kicked the wooden door in front of him away.

Then, a paladin wearing a white tights and light silver half-armor, holding a heavy shield that covered his entire body and a Morning Star Hammer that he wielded with great force in each hand, suddenly rushed through the door like an angry lioness, raising dust and rushing into the manor at an extremely fast speed.

Behind her were eleven Paladins of the Temple of Knowledge wearing the same equipment.

However, unlike the previous knight, they did not hold common weapons such as cold weapons or shields. Instead, each of them carried a magic steam gun with a metal hose connected to the end of the gun. The other end of this metal tube used to conduct high-pressure steam was connected to the portable compressed gas tank hanging on the paladin's back.

This makes people marvel that the Temple of Knowledge's fighting style is so up-to-date.

Moreover, judging from the model, it is not the common steam rifle on the market, but a strange model with a gun body slightly shorter than a rifle. It seems to be heavier, and the overall shape is very different from the rifle.

In addition, three of the paladins carried silver two-handed swords as tall as a person on their backs.

The blade of this greatsword is very broad and thick, but the decoration is very simple, with only different ancient imperial numbers engraved near the guard.

However, even without the decorations that add extra weight, the specifications of the greatsword used by the Paladin are far larger than the two-handed greatsword used by ordinary people. Obviously, it is specially used to deal with certain larger enemies. At the same time, it also places extremely high demands on the user's arm strength.

It is hard to imagine how these slender female paladins could use such heavy weapons in battle.

The Paladins moved very quickly. In addition to the assault team that broke in from the main gate, there were another two teams of 24 Paladins who entered the manor from other directions. The three teams of Paladins completely blocked all possible escape routes of the suspects in the manor.

They had used detection magic to confirm in advance that there were no underground passages, otherwise a fourth team of knights might have appeared.

"Wow~ It seems the beautiful Paladins of the Temple of Knowledge are very skilled at catching corrupted individuals."

In the distance, Conrad, who was watching the magical carriage shaped like a carriage surrounded by a group of heavy infantry knights, was holding a telescope and praising it.

"Kang... I'm sorry, I was rude. Anyway, they are professional in arresting corrupt elements and cultists." Outside the car window, Galar, the captain of the guard, immediately replied.

It was just that because he was used to calling him that, he almost called His Majesty's name outside, so he couldn't help but apologize before continuing to explain.

"Ah, don't worry about it. It's okay if you just call me KK like when we were kids." Hearing that Galar almost called the wrong name, Conrad was not angry, but instead teased him with a playful smile.

"...Your Majesty, please be mindful of the situation." Standing upright by the car window, Galar said with a sullen face.

In his hands, he held an extremely heavy shield, two palms thick. It was engraved with a lion's head, and two red magic gems were embedded in the eyes of the beast. Needless to say, this was a magical device with astonishing defensive power. Furthermore, while possessing amazing physical defense, it likely also possessed impressive magical defense.

Considering Galar's current position, it is obvious that if anything unexpected happens, this heavy knight and the shield in his hand will become the last line of defense to protect Emperor Conrad.

It seems that since the last Moulin Rouge incident, in which His Majesty the Emperor was almost physically destroyed and almost (probably) socially dead, he has finally listened to advice on safety. Even if he has to go out to watch the excitement, he knows to bring enough protective equipment.

By the way, the fact that the emperor himself is also a transcendent seems to have been intentionally or unintentionally ignored by all the guards responsible for security.

Especially Galar, the captain of the guard, he never mentioned this from beginning to end.

Of course, the Emperor's actions made the person in charge of the Temple of Knowledge, who was in charge of commanding this operation, very dissatisfied.

However, Emperor Conrad belonged to the political force that supported their entry activities, so it was not easy to refuse immediately.

In the end, it was the Grand Knight who agreed to let Conrad go, but she also asked His Majesty the Emperor to keep at least 200 meters away from the target location.

"It's a bit far away, and the outer wall is so high. I can't see it clearly even with a telescope." Putting down the telescope, Conrad leaned on the edge of the car window and said with a bored look on his face:

If you're bored, just stay in Swan Castle and deal with the official documents! It would save so many people from running around with you.

Also, this Lionheart Shield is super heavy! You can just use a telescope, but as the captain of the guard, I have to hold it the whole time!

Galar kept a blank expression on his face as he roared silently in his heart.

"Hmm? Something's happening! Or should I say, is it as expected..." Conrad's face showed a hint of sarcasm, but it was obviously not directed at the Paladins, but at some guys who were not present.

However, the Emperor's voice also brought Galar, who was immersed in roaring (complaining), back to his senses immediately.

He raised his shield vigilantly, but his helmet was immediately hit by the emperor behind him.

"Hey, you're blocking my view!" Conrad held down Galar's helmeted head with one hand, raised the telescope in front of him with the other hand, and at the same time leaned half of his body out of the car window.

"Hey, hey, hey, aren't you afraid of being assassinated? Get back quickly!" Without caring about the emperor's face, Galar clamped his neck and stuffed the salted fish into the carriage.

As a third-level transcendent, with his eyesight he could see clearly what was happening in the distant manor even without a telescope.

The reason why the captain of the guard reacted so strongly was because a strange magical light rose into the sky from the manor.

At this point, the situation was very clear. There were indeed corrupted elements and cultists in the manor, and they seemed to be prepared for the attack of the Paladin.

A huge, twisted demon covered in tentacles rushed out from the building. It made a disgusting gurgling sound from time to time and kept extending its tentacles to grab the paladins fighting with it.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound of gunfire.

The magic steam gun in the hand of the Paladin had an astonishing firing rate. It fired hundreds of ammunition in a very short time, hitting the strange-looking demon so hard that blood splattered all over its body. However, the latter did not die. Instead, it let out a pleasant-sounding scream and rushed towards the defense line formed by the Paladins with an even more excited posture.

"Ordinary bullets are ineffective, unnumbered team members retreat, switch to Plan B! Large demon hunting mode! Permission to draw swords!" The paladin who took the lead in rushing into the manor immediately issued an order. It was obvious that she was the commander of this operation.

"Roger that, switching to Plan B."

The ordinary paladins holding steam guns retreated outside the manor while suppressing the fire, while the paladins carrying greatswords took the initiative to step forward and reach the front.

They raised their hands to grasp the hilts of the greatswords on their backs, and their bright red eyes seemed to light up with an even brighter red light.

"Number IVVII Cretia, draw your sword!"

"Number IIIV Trinity, draw your sword!"

"Number III II Heidemarie, draw your sword!"

As the three greatswords were drawn out one after another, the three paladins held the swords in both hands and held the silver-gleaming swords upright in front of them.

Then, they touched their foreheads to the swords in their hands, and the ancient imperial numbers carved on the end of the swords glowed slightly.

Finally, the silver-haired female knights shouted in unison:

"Hunting begins!"

Chapter 113 Political Animals

“Knowledge is power!”

The knights, who looked like beautiful girls, chanted prayers in praise of the ancient god of wisdom.

Along with the prayers recited in ancient Saga language, the originally faint light on the mark on the sword suddenly became stronger, until it turned into a dazzling blue light so bright that it was almost white, covering the entire blade.

At the same time, the white skin on the Paladin's forehead bulged slightly, and the rapidly growing bones pierced the skin, growing into a pair of inconspicuous small white curved structures.

Furthermore, their crimson eyes shone brightly, and the magical light emanated from the corners of their eyes like burning flames.

"Sword seal released, Paladin, charge!" The Paladin who served as the commander suddenly struck the large shield held in his left hand with the Morning Star held in his right hand.

A distant sound like a bell quickly spread in all directions, and a group of white halos also spread rapidly outward in a circular shape, originating from the commander's feet.

Every Paladin who was touched by the halo was covered with a similar white light, which provided additional defense and made their movements more agile than before.

The three paladins who released their sword seals and launched a charge instantly turned into streams of light, rushing towards the large, twisted and hideous demon one after another.

The demon's tentacles, waving until they made a sound of breaking through the air, were completely unable to capture their figures. Instead, they were broken one by one in front of the rapidly moving paladin.

Those huge swords flashing with dazzling light seemed to be extremely targeted at demons. The tough skin on the outer layer of the tentacles, which could only make a small groove with a bullet, separated without any resistance like butter under a hot knife when faced with the shining sword blades.

This caused the large demon to roar in anger, and the angry voice seemed to be real, shattering all the remaining glass windows on the manor building not far away.

Although the demon's brain, twisted by the evil god, was filled with pleasure transformed from severe pain, this could not offset the intense frustration and regret it felt from not being able to catch the female knight.

At this rate, in a few minutes, this demon will become fresh demon sashimi, just like a fresh octopus that has been caught.

In addition, both of them have tentacles, which makes the onlookers' sense of déjà vu even stronger.

"Different from the human body transformation technology of the Demonic Kingdom's 'Elrond Mysteries', and the powerful magic sword forged with the technology of the lost ancient empire, the Temple of Knowledge really does hide a lot of good things..." His Majesty the Emperor watched this scene excitedly, feeling that this trip was really worthwhile.

Although he was forced back into the carriage by Galar, and the other guards also quickly retreated with the magic carriage to keep a distance, Conrad still held a telescope and observed the battle between the paladin and the demon through the rear window.

"They're not from the Warp; they're transformed from heretics or corrupted elements." Galar, who was hanging outside the carriage and watching the battle behind, suddenly said:

"Are you sure?" Conrad frowned as if he thought of something bad.

"Your Majesty, at least I have studied abroad in the City of a Thousand Towers." Galar sighed helplessly.

It's okay for others, but why does Conrad, the Emperor of Lind, think that warriors are all about brawn?

If the late emperor knew that his eldest son was so ignorant and unlearned, he would probably curse him and even let Her Highness Catherine succeed him in a fit of rage... Well, I can't think about that, otherwise I would feel very sorry for my friend.

"That matter may be more troublesome than expected." Putting down the telescope, Conrad's expression became more and more worried.

"Why do you say that?" Galar asked in a low voice, wary.

"If it's a human transformation, then it means there are some collaborators behind them. Otherwise, how could they have passed through Lutetia's various inspections and hidden in the capital of the Linde Empire for such a long time without being discovered?"

"Also, thanks to my almost nagging push, the Paladins of the Temple of Knowledge were able to enter the country to investigate, but their recent operations haven't been smooth. Do you know why the Grand Knight of the Secret-Keeping Angel Knights didn't show up for today's operation, even though it's clearly very important?"

"..." Galar's face turned ugly. He knew that most of the information related to it was not suitable for external transmission, and it would be no good for him to know too much.

But in the end, the captain of the guard, who was Emperor Lind's childhood playmate, shook his head and motioned for Conrad to continue.

"Because that sir is fighting something more formidable than a demon."

"You mean?" Cold sweat broke out on Galar's face.

"Of course, it's the most famous and troublesome specialty of our great Central Empire, Linde - bureaucracy."

As he spoke, Conrad couldn't help but laugh, but his smile was full of mockery, and Galar, the only one who heard these words, looked even uglier.

Although Galar was only a small captain of the guard, as Emperor Conrad's most trusted subordinate and friend, he knew the various difficulties faced by the Paladins through what he had seen and heard during this period.

Since they are legally foreign forces, even a small Linde officer may refuse some of their requests for assistance, and even institutionally, those people did nothing wrong.

Normally, lower-level bureaucrats would not make enemies with others at will. Even if they wanted to refuse because they wanted to avoid more trouble, they would have to consider the threat posed to themselves by possible demonic events.

To sum up, it must be because some hidden forces are interfering behind the scenes.

Judging from the various problems the Paladins have encountered recently, the opponent's influence seems to be omnipresent, like a venomous spider that has spent countless years weaving a vast and dense web.

While the Webspinner himself may not be here yet, the fine web he weaves is enough to cause more trouble than anyone can imagine.

And don't forget, the essence of a spider web... is a trap.

Galar felt a headache, but didn't know what to do, so he looked at Conrad in the car.

Although he had obtained a place to study abroad in the City of a Thousand Towers with his excellent grades, and although he never thought of himself as a fool, at least not among the warriors, Galar understood one thing at a very young age.

Conrad is a genius, a lazy genius.

Obviously, many problems could be solved as long as he was willing to use his brain and hands, but he just liked to lie on the ground and enjoy, well, enjoy the feeling of breathing.

"Perhaps, I can only..." Conrad looked hesitant.

Hearing his words, Galar was stunned at first, then showed an ecstatic expression.

"Your Majesty, do you have any good ideas for solving the problem?"

"It's not really a good idea, but, um, I was wondering if we should wait until the end-of-year military parade and ask Catherine to come back first...?"

These words made Galar's eyes gradually widen, and the hand holding the shield made a creaking sound.

"Alas, I've had it so hard lately." Conrad spread his hands with a dejected expression, looking like he was about to collapse, "What else can I do?"

"She's more adept at this kind of thing. After all, she's the Duchess who's worked at the grassroots level in various departments."