Star Forge Titan

Chapter 32 Evan Moore

Avonmore, an ancient city with a thousand-year history.

The small urban area originally built by the immigrants has been surrounded by various new areas built later, and even the royal palace built by the ancient Smith royal family is not among them.

The new city area where the imperial palace was originally built was later surrounded by newer city areas, and the city walls were expanded many times, eventually forming a complex urban terrain with multiple layers of concentric circles nested in each other.

The carriage with the royal emblem drove into the city unimpeded, and the appearance of groups of silver knights made others realize that something big must have happened.

However, Ivan, who was sitting in the carriage, was in a very calm state of mind. He looked at the street scene outside the window through the glass with interest.

I still remember that the last time I entered Avonmore, I was not sitting leisurely in a carriage, but standing in the steel bridge covered with layers of armor above the Land Cruiser wearing magic power armor.

At that time, Evenmore had been occupied by the School of the Necromancer and the Undead Cult for many years. All that could be seen everywhere were various blasphemous decorations in the style of evil god worship, and the only things moving on the road were various undead and twisted demons.

But what appeared before Alvin's eyes was a vibrant and fantastical capital city from another world.

Unlike the backward medieval villages, or the crowded but featureless commercial city of Flanders, the City of Tears, Avonmore, has its own unique charm.

The Blood Order's advanced mystical transformation technology has enabled the Elrond people to tame and transform a large number of creatures for various production and life purposes. Therefore, the air in this city also carries a unique animal smell.

Not far away, a triceratops was pulling a large bus on the street. This huge herbivore has a small amount of dragon blood but a very docile personality. Its appearance resembles a combination of a rhinoceros and a lizard.

Its body is wider than three oxen laid side by side. The three curved horns on its head, distributed in a triangular shape, have their tips manually polished off. Then, reins and harnesses are hung on it, connecting it to a large double-decker carriage at the back that is filled with dozens of people.

This docile herbivore has received full training in pulling a simulated wooden cart since childhood, so it can chew the cud while pulling the rear carriage at a very stable speed on the right side of the road.

There is a pavilion-like structure fixed on the hill-like back of the Triceratops. This is the "driver's seat" where the driver is located. The high position allows him to see the road conditions clearly, and the long stick in his hand is the "steering wheel" that controls this animal bus.

At the end of the long pole is a metal bucket filled with ice and water, which can use the cool touch to command the trained rhinoceros to speed up or change its direction of movement.

Because of this characteristic, although Elrond's bus drivers do not necessarily have to be professionals, they must at least learn the zero-ring spell of using tricks to create ice cubes. This is also the upper limit of spellcasting that most healthy civilians can achieve through long-term hard study.

The tall silver knights quickly attracted the attention of the passengers on the bus, and then they saw the fiery red rose emblem on the carriage, which symbolized the royal family of Gusmith.

So, the people standing in the semi-open carriage on the second floor were the first to wave their hats or handkerchiefs towards this side, and the passengers on the first floor also hurried to the window to do the same thing.

As for the royal family of Gusmith, they obviously did not keep their distance from it like they did with other nobles, or rather, they kept their distance from it in fear, so they expressed their respect and love in this simple way.

Despite her worries, Afrediya still maintained a dignified demeanor, opened the window, and waved gently to the crowd with a smile.

And Ostolfo, who had been crying with tears and snot, and had lost his handsome appearance, now looked like a perfect little angel, standing on tiptoe to the window and waving outside.

The appearance of the two caused the crowd to cheer. After all, there are not many opportunities to see members of the royal family in person on weekdays.

"Little Otto, remember everyone's expressions. What they respect is not the secret techniques we possess or our so-called noble bloodline, but the result of generations of the Gusmith family, starting from our great-grandfather, shouldering the responsibility of being king." Afrediya said softly with a smile.

"Only those who feel happy can have the energy to show blessings, respect, and other virtues to others. However, in areas outside of Avonmore, countless people are still living in misfortune. This is the dereliction of duty of the Gusmith family and it is also what we must do in the future."

"Yes, I remember it, sister." Ostolfo nodded solemnly.

“But shouldn’t the one who should remember this the most be my sister, the future heir to the Crown of Time?” He then looked at Afrediya strangely.

"Little Otto, no matter how the people bless us, among the recent demon kings of the Gusmith family, there hasn't been a truly long-lived person for a long time." The eldest princess sighed softly and said meaningfully.

You should know that the lifespan of professionals is much longer than that of ordinary people. Even those who have just escaped from the low-level category at the third level can live for at least two hundred years. Some special professions can even live for five hundred years.

As demon kings, all the members of the Gusmith family have been at least at the third level, and some of them have even reached the fourth level.

But they all died early due to various accidents, and the mystery behind this is self-evident.

“…” Ostolfo clenched his hands on his knees, and the neatly ironed cloth wrinkled into a large area.

"I want to be a patrol knight of justice. I don't want to be a demon king. Let my sister be the demon king!" said the boy who had not yet grown up stubbornly.

Swift Knights are a special type of knights. Their work is similar to that of the imperial censors in ancient times in the East. They have a certain degree of judicial power and can hold the iron scepter granted by the king to temporarily establish circuit courts in various places and try various cases in accordance with the laws of the kingdom.

"Okay, then little Otto will become a righteous patrol knight." Afrediya gently helped her younger brother smooth out the wrinkled clothes.

But then she continued in a steady and soothing tone.

"But when necessary, when the people need you, a demon king can do more than a wandering knight."

A group of Alvins who were listening to the conversation between the siblings couldn't help but sigh in their hearts. Only such an enlightened ruler could still gain the love of the people while still being limited by the backward feudal system.

In the past, those players who would rather switch to the Undead than stay in the Elrond camp were probably attracted by this unique charm.

"Don't worry, little Otto is free to choose who he wants to be." Ivan looked at Afrediya's gorgeous rose-red eyes and said seriously:

"As for the enemies that appear before my lord, as a knight I will make them disappear."

When saying this, the black-haired boy's tone was calm and gentle, as if he was explaining a reality that had already happened.

This is the willfulness of a player, the pride that cannot be erased in the heart of a time traveler, and the recognition of the girl's almost naive ideals.

"Woohoo." Feeling the seriousness in the other person's words, Afrediya couldn't help but raise her hand to cover her mouth and let out a strange sound, while her cheeks also turned slightly red.

"Hmph, just a barbarian." Ostolfo turned his head and looked at the person next to him and snorted unhappily, but then he took the initiative to sit next to Ivan.

After the conversation on the road, Ostolfo already knew about the contract reached between the two. As a member of the Gusmith family, he knew what the contract meant to the family members, and he also knew that it was probably too late for him to say anything now.

"Hey, tall big brother, do you keep your word?" The prince, who looked younger than his peers, squeezed out these words from between his teeth as if he was enduring something.

"People in the North are as good as their word." Alvin raised his eyebrows slightly and said calmly but affirmatively.

"I'm just a child now, so my sister's safety is in your hands." Ostolfo bent down slightly and said unwillingly.

"This is my mission, Your Highness." Alvin smiled slightly and felt that the serious look of the child in front of him was particularly interesting.

"Hey, I'm the highest-ranking person here, right? You're just a kid at the first level, so stop trying to show off." Afrediya said indignantly, puffing up her smooth and delicate cheeks.

"What was the person who only remembered to cast magical protection on his teammates after the battle talking about? I don't think I heard it clearly?" Alvin turned sideways and pretended to be hard of hearing.

"Yes, it seems that the person who drove away six sword teachers in a row when he was a child is talking." Ostolfo also turned sideways and put his hands behind his ears, pretending not to hear clearly.

Watching the two guys, one large and one small, moving in unison, Afrediya was speechless. When did you two become so close? Boys really are such strange creatures!

While they were talking, the carriage had already passed through the bustling commercial street and entered the heavily guarded palace area.

In the distance, a huge iron-gray palace stands behind the square. It is the place where the demon kings of all generations have participated in politics and made decisions - the Iron Palace.

This building is not as magnificent as the Neuschwanstein Castle in Linde, the imperial palace of the Central Empire. Its plain iron-gray walls and solid and powerful shape make it look more like a solid castle than a palace.

After entering the Iron Palace, Alvin was taken to a guest room alone to wait because of his identity.

Although Afrediya was willing to vouch for him, the palace had its own rules. The Black Knights and Silver Knights, the royal guards, would not allow a stranger who entered the palace for the first time to easily see His Majesty the Demon King.

Knowing this, Alvin did not make any trouble. Instead, he took the initiative to persuade Afrediya to go see her father first. After all, this was the first thing she should do as a child.

Looking at Afrediya being escorted away by a large number of maids and guards, Ivan suddenly felt a sense of strangeness.

She was a different existence from the distressed princess running on the ice field, and a different existence from the red-haired girl who frowned in the inn because the food was bad. She was the eldest princess of Elrond named Afredia Antonia Josephine Gusmith.

And it seems that I am just a barbarian boy who left the ice field for the first time?

Oh, don't be too embarrassed.

He chuckled inwardly, thinking that if he were truly a barbarian, he would probably be starting to feel inferior by now. Unfortunately, the person who entered the Iron Palace wasn't a true barbarian, but a traveler from another world.

Besides, no matter what kind of environment she was in, Afrediya was still Afrediya. Like Ivan, she wasn't the type to change herself easily because of the environment. On the contrary, changing the environment was the choice they would make.

This kind of person is born to be strong.

Putting the stupid thought that suddenly popped up in his mind behind him, Alvin began to think about how to deal with the current situation.

He pulled a tiny elemental crystal from his pocket, one of the rewards he had received for successfully playing the role of alchemist in Flanders.

Ivan threw up and caught the broken gem containing elemental power, and he slowly came up with an inspiration that might enhance his own strength.

At the same time, Afrediya, who had just returned to the Iron Palace, immediately went to visit her father. Accompanied by Ostolford, they passed through the Mirror Corridor where portraits of successive Elrond demon kings were hung, and came to the Schönbrunn Palace, which was connected to the Iron Palace and served as the demon king's bedroom.

"Father!" Seeing her father's haggard face lying on the bed, Afrediya couldn't help but have tears in her eyes.

She threw herself on the bed in a completely ungraceful manner, tears rolling down her eyes.

"Fre?" Hearing his daughter's cry, the demon king Gustav, who was suffering from injuries and illness, slowly opened his eyes.

"You're back? That's good, that's good..."

Although he was prepared to lose his daughter, when Gustav saw his daughter return safely, this strong man couldn't help but show a hint of vulnerability. It was not the expression of a devil, but it was the look of a father.

Soon, Gustav put away the slight fragility that only ordinary people could possess, and even when he was sick and weak, he maintained the demeanor of a demon king.

"Tell me what you encountered?" The devil Gustav asked in a hoarse voice.

"The Undead faction betrayed us." Afrediya began with such a shocking statement.

"Did you betray us or Elrond?" Gustav did not show any surprise at his daughter's shocking words. Instead, he continued to ask for details very calmly.

"They betrayed the entire material world!" Afrediya said angrily.

Then she told her father everything that had happened to her.

The expression of the Demon King Gustav on the sickbed became more and more serious, and his hands gradually clenched into fists. When he heard that someone was driving thousands of zombies to launch another assassination, his aura, even though he suppressed himself, had enveloped the entire Schönbrunn Palace. Except for his two children who were connected to him by blood, even the powerful black knights could not help but kneel on one knee to reduce this terrible pressure.

Even though he was plagued by injuries, Gustav was still the Demon King of Elrond and the strongest Demon King in recent generations.

"Undead sect, evil god worship." Gustav slowly uttered these two words.

The evil god known as the Eternal Sore doesn't care much about human beliefs. He prefers to see a massively distorted ecological environment, or in other words, he only wants to see a land where mutations and epidemics are everywhere.

Therefore, the sects that believe in the evil god Narwhal have a strange way of spreading their faith. They usually do not form very large underground sects, but more often maintain their existence quietly in a master-disciple relationship, and use plagues or other means from time to time to demonstrate their existence.

Therefore, the Cult of the Undead is not so much a sect as it is a special heritage, a special concept that quietly circulates among those who fear death.

Since this involves the evil god, we can't delay any further...

The Demon Lord Gustav made up his mind, but he did not rashly issue an order to wipe out the School of Undead immediately. Instead, he prepared to continue investigating before making a decision.

Next, he turned his attention to another person his daughter mentioned.

"Having said that, I should thank that young man named Alvin. After all, he saved my most precious daughter." As he spoke, Gustav's face showed a subtle expression again, like an old father who saw a foreign wild boar wandering outside his vegetable garden.

"I heard you signed a contract, so...what kind of person is he?"

"A strange guy." Afrediya thought for a moment, a blush suddenly appearing on her face, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

This made Gustav look a little ugly. Ostolfo, who was standing quietly beside him, bit his lips quickly, trying hard to suppress his gloating expression.

Can’t laugh, can’t laugh…

This naughty little brother who had just reached a consensus with others was now dancing with ecstasy in his heart and shouting loudly.

"So, can he be trusted?" Gustav asked again.

"Trust." Afrediya's expression changed slightly as she chewed on the word.

"Evan is a strange guy. He calls himself a barbarian, but he knows a lot. He occasionally shows some Linde habits in his life, but he has obviously lived in the northern glaciers for a long time, and he also has many northern characteristics."

After a long conversation, Princess Afrediya took a deep breath.

"But I wanted to trust him, and I did."

"Because he is my friend!" Afrediya said in an exceptionally clear voice.

"I see." Gustav sighed softly.

"Please ask him to dine with us. I would like to meet the young man."

"Huh?" Afrediya was stunned.

"Why, as a father, is there anything wrong with wanting to see the friends his daughter makes?" Gustav looked at his daughter with a smile, a hint of fatherly majesty in his expression.

"Yeah, yeah." Although she felt something was wrong, Afrediya nodded to show that she understood.

After his children left together, Gustav slowly put away the smile on his face.

"Ashram." The Demon King whispered the name of his knight.

A slender figure then walked out of the shadows. He walked with his back slightly hunched, and had a bluish-gray stubble on his fair face. He looked like a gray wolf walking upright.

"I am here, Your Majesty," the visitor whispered.

"Let Gaius come to see me. I don't believe that old man's control over his faction is so weak that he can't even detect the existence of the cultists." The Demon Lord Gustav gave the order in a cold tone with no expression on his face.

"By the way, check that young man too. I want to know all the information about him!" At this moment, a trace of obvious anger appeared on Gustav's face. He didn't look like a devil, but just like an ordinary old father.

"Tataf, you will make little Frey unhappy." When it comes to such household matters, Ashram no longer pretends to be respectful.

In fact, he and Gustav had known each other for a long time.

Initially, Ashuram was an abandoned baby in the forest by his biological parents.

As a result, instead of starving to death or being eaten by wild beasts, he was taken back to the wolf den by a female wolf and raised.

It was not until he was nearly ten years old that he was captured and adopted by the Demon King of the time for trespassing into the royal hunting grounds. Gustav, who was still a prince at the time, gradually became friends with this strange wolf boy.

Although the two of them were lord and vassal in public, they were actually closer to brothers who had grown up together. That was why Afrediya and Ostolfo simply called him Uncle Ashram.