Chapter 119

The symphony of the North fell into chaos and was lost when Atlantis's rule collapsed... but it still exists... and can be utilized.

Boudica was a good queen, but not a good general.

Whether she's a good mother or not is still up in the air... After all, I think she's quite inclined to adopt Jeanne as her daughter...

"Nero deserves to die."

[... For whatever reason, Nero was destined to die.]

Hebe's calm voice and intermittent, fluctuating thoughts flashed through the screen.

"There are Pure Water Spirit here," Jeanne suddenly said.

"I see..." Hebe wasn't too surprised.

The Grand Symphony is collapsing in the North. If there are any remaining Pure Water Spirit, they will surely flee to the North... and so on.

In this way, Nero could justify his continuous military campaigns against the northern border.

Her main objective was actually to capture Pure Water Spirit to brew the Youthful Dew; the barbarians and rebels were merely incidental targets.

Hebe's thoughts echoed clearly in Jeanne's ears.

"I'll take you to see it tomorrow," Jeanne said.

Hebe remained silent, closing her eyes wearily, the endless rumble of the clock tower still echoing in her ears.

This is a consequence of the destruction of the clock tower.

The Philosopher King Remus encompassed the entirety of Atlantis under his command, with the clock tower serving as the node through which he transmitted his will.

Every clock tower that is demolished causes a disruption in the musical scale, which is the incessant echo that Hebe is hearing now.

[Um.]

But deep down, her voice remained calm and resolute.

Night deepened. Hebe suddenly felt a weight on her body.

She opened her eyes and saw Jeanne reaching her hand under her neck, her face resting against her chest.

Jeanne's brows were furrowed as if she had a nightmare, and she hugged Hebe even tighter.

"Ugh..."

Hebe pursed her lips and remained motionless.

A moment later, perhaps due to a high body temperature, or perhaps because she was choking, Jeanne rolled away and lay down on the other side to sleep.

After this little incident, Hebe couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.

Fortunately, she doesn't need to sleep right now.

When Jeanne woke up the next day, she yawned several times.

Her premonition from last night came true. Today, Queen Boudica began organizing her army, preparing to march south to fight Nero's four legions.

Before that, Jeanne asked Queen Boudica to let her see the "Pure Water Spirit".

The latter naturally agreed. She went to a well, pulled the wheel rope, and swung up a wooden bucket full of water from the well.

"This is our [Pure Water Spirit]." Boudica's smile was somewhat forced and bitter.

Hebe and Jeanne exchanged a glance.

"This is not Pure Water Spirit." Hebe sighed. "This is, uh, the body of Pure Water Spirit after its degeneration, a subspecies born from the combination of human obsession and resentment. More precisely, it should be called Muddy Water Spirit."

Hebe touched the water, and a bitter taste that made one's features wrinkle came from her fingertips.

The water in this well is purely bitter.

Boudica forced a smile, "This is my daughter."

"She went to the battlefield with her best friend... By the time I found them, only this Muddy Water Spirit remained."

"I am not a good mother," Boudica said softly. "What mother can't even protect her own daughter? But when I see you, I think of my own child, Jeanne."

She cast a meaningful glance at me.

"If it were a different era, a different identity, we might have become good friends, but history has no 'what ifs'..." Queen Boudica said. "I am no longer young. I can only eat a little at each meal, and I have to toss and turn for a long time every night. On rainy days, my knees and chest feel tight... If, I mean if."

"If I die on the battlefield, then you shall lead them in battle."

Boudica covered Jeanne's hand with her own, silencing her before she could explain.

"I know, I know, child," Boudica said with a reassuring smile. "I was just saying it in case."

She turned to look at Hebe and handed her the round, chubby Muddy Water Spirit.

"This child... sigh, I'm entrusting this child to you."

The turbid water ball bobbed gently in Hebe's arms, like a small fish.

"Does she have a name?" Hebe asked.

"Her name is Skadi." Boudica looked at her with affection.

It was 2 p. m. on a narrow strip of land bordering the northern border and the Burgundy Province.

The war broke out abruptly.

Boudica led his army to fight outnumbered, and after losing nearly a hundred men, he annihilated the twenty knights guarding the place.

Hebe and Jeanne were deliberately placed at the back.

At 2:15 PM, six squads of knights arrived as reinforcements, instantly turning the tide of the battle. Bizarre and fantastical scenes began to appear on the battlefield; terrifying miasma accompanied by strange illusions affected both armies.

But the North is still at a greater disadvantage.

How can a mortal body compare to a golem made of brass and white stone?

Nero has not yet appeared, but her legions are continuously joining the battle, with Boudica always charging at the forefront.

As a daytime being, she possesses a distinctive mark: the ability to summon semi-illusory, flame-burning wheels.

As the flaming wheels rumbled around the army, the soldiers' strength and defenses increased.

Hebe could tell that this was a mark of protection, and it must be a path belonging to the Fisher King's subordinates.

And she remembered that Eris had almost completely usurped the Fisher King.

"Ishtar!" Jeanne, holding a flagpole aloft, ran from a distance. "Queen Boudica is in danger. We must enter the battlefield now."

Hebe remained silent, merely observing Boudica as she fought valiantly at the forefront of the battlefield.

Could she be Eris?

Regardless of whether it was true or not, Hebe had no intention of saving her.

Hebe doesn't want to gamble, so Boudica must die on the battlefield today.

185 Boudica

Jeanne's eyes shifted from hope to disappointment.

Just before she could say anything, a deafening battle cry suddenly erupted from the tense battlefield at the front.

"Kill them!!"

Queen Boudica raised her arms.

The heavy headband she wore on her forehead sprouted barbs that seemed to come alive, piercing her skin and penetrating deep into her skull.

Intense pain, along with decades of pent-up anger, erupted from her chest.

The First Mark: The Victorious Queen

She roared forward like a lioness, plunging the longsword in her hand into the core of the Golem Knights, pushing him backward!

She rallied the already crumbling battle line, and miraculously, it was brought back to life.

Boudica twisted her wrist, trying to pull the longsword from the core of the Golem Knights, but it was blocked by the latter's body.

Taking this opportunity, several knights charged forward, only to be met with the rolling, roaring wheels.

Dark blood trickled down Boudica's forehead, and the rolling wheels began to combine and form a chariot.

[The Second Mark: The Chariot of Oath-Bound Protection]

The valiant warriors of the North leaped onto their chariots.

Then blue flames coiled around their bodies, penetrating deep into their flesh and bones, like a suit of armor.

The flames also spread to the short swords in their hands, the round shields on their arms, and the bows and arrows hanging at their waists.

The Third Mark: Andraste's Blessing

Nearly a hundred roaring chariots sped from the north, each carrying four fully armed northern warriors. They were fearless and, protected by their flame armor, were even able to briefly contend with the Golem Knights.

This is Boudica's secret weapon, which she has kept hidden for a long time. As long as she fully unleashes the Daylight Mark on the battlefield, she can instantly generate nearly a hundred chariots that move like the wind.

By this time, the centaur-shaped knight captains were already deeply entrenched in the narrow battlefield, having lost the deterrent effect of their high-speed charges.

Even on uneven terrain, these wheels moved as if on flat ground, and their speed did not decrease at all!

Nearly a hundred chariots crashed into the battlefield from the side, instantly shattering the army that Ys had painstakingly organized. The centaur knights, who had lost their speed advantage, were no better off than ordinary knights when fighting against the chariots!

Boudica reached out, grabbed a chariot that passed by him, and easily jumped aboard.

With one hand holding the fiery reins, she maneuvered the chariot back and forth across the battlefield. Her long, blood-red hair fluttered in the wind like flames. The semi-illusory chariot glided lightly over the Golem Knights, yet its heavy wheels managed to crush their heads.

Just like the atrocities these Golem Knights committed in the past, now that atrocity has befallen them.

The situation changed dramatically, and Jeanne was eager to rush into the battlefield, but Hebe held her back.

"Ishtar, now is the perfect opportunity to press on!" Jeanne stared at Hebe. "The fact that Nero hasn't come out yet means she probably hasn't come to the front lines herself..."

"Quite the opposite," Hebe replied, "Nero has already arrived."

She had already arrived at the front lines.

Jeanne was stunned when she heard the news from Hebe's inner thoughts.

Instead of heading to the battlefield, she turned her gaze to the vast, undulating ocean in the distance.

Jeanne felt a chill run down her spine.

As Hebe's voice rang out, strange phenomena began to appear on the battlefield— the Golem Knights gave up resistance and knelt down one after another.

This is by no means a surrender, but rather a welcome to the arrival of a Grand Harmonizer.

The warriors of the North seized the opportunity to kill some more Golem Knights, but at that moment the wind on the battlefield changed in an instant, and a strong wind came from the opposite direction, making it difficult for the flaming chariots to move.

The tides surged up from all directions, forming whirlpools.

The originally narrow land began to grow at a visible rate, and gradually rising from the vortex was a towering pipe organ-like structure, as tall as a theater.

Gold gleams, while statues cast in white stone stand atop the theater ceiling, where magnificent melodies resonate.

This is Atlantis's wide-area combat instrument; when it roars, it can easily shatter even an island.

Of course, it is also possible to easily create a new island or reef.

Clad in white silk robes and wearing Laurel Wreath, Nero stood with her arms outstretched in the center of a high platform surrounded by pipe organs, a look of enjoyment on her face—for this battlefield, and for the warriors fighting on it.

The entire legion of Golem Knights solemnly praised and chanted prayers.

"Holy! Holy! Great Compassion, Great Majesty, the sacred song ascends to the highest heaven!"

"Truly so! Truly so! Great mercy, great courage, may the divine king protect this righteous man!"

Nero slowly lowered his raised arms, as if welcoming the cheers of the audience, and slammed his hands onto the piano keys in front of him.

—The Crucifixus!

The deafening sound spread out, the organ's chamber vibrated, and it sprayed out a rainbow-like burst of light, stirring the clouds and turning the sky into a colorful sea.

The earth was pitch black, the ocean was dusky yellow, and the sky was dazzling.

Countless knights gave up resistance, kneeling devoutly on the ground and offering hoarse praises to Nero as he played the Crucifixus.

"Make us your Servant, so that we may see your presence in hatred and receive your forgiveness in pardon."

"In giving, we gain; in death, we enter into eternal life!"