Book Five: Return from the Other Shore - Nid's Spring (7)

The earth trembled more and more violently, and the pressure from above grew stronger. Ankri, who was already a little nervous, immediately looked up, while Valentina looked around innocently. Julia's vision switched to thermal imaging.

"What's going on!? What is it this time? I can't take it anymore!" Ankri yelled, clutching her head. Heaven knows how a small business trip could have caused so much trouble!

"It's alright, just one shot with the 183mm can solve anything / smug." A Floating Cannon Turret appeared beside Julia at some point, but the barrel caliber seemed a bit... large for Floating Cannon?

"What a vulgar robot, thinking only of solving things with violence."

"183 is justice! One day I will establish a religious organization that worships 183, and the god we worship will be called FV215B183! And I am not a completely mechanical being!"

"You used to say things like 'KV-152 is the truth, we should believe in KV-2'..."

"Times are changing / Valentina, you idiot."

"... I'll crush your balls!"

"Julia was modified based on a human girl, and she has a semi-artificial female reproductive system, but she doesn't have male-like [beep--] and [beep--][beep--] components implemented -- Ah! That's right!"

Julia's eyes suddenly flashed with a bright light like a flashlight, and she clasped her hands together—

"I can install 183 into my crotch, making this body and 183 inseparable!"

"Why did you hit me? I feel so wronged..."

"Accurate(*

￣￣)"

"You two, stop fooling around!!!"

Ankri yelled in frustration, "Can't these two idiots even look at the situation?! This isn't the time to play around!" The tremors, of unknown origin, grew stronger and stronger. The chandeliers on the ceiling jingled and swayed violently, and dust and pebbles kept falling, just like an earthquake!

"This looks very bad! Getting out of this trouble-ridden place is the most important thing!"

"Leaving here is actually quite easy, but..." Valentina's eyes darted around, "Where are Mr. and Bradwich? Aren't they your Grey Starlings' patrons?"

Ignore them.

"Eek~ Miss Ankri is so heartless~"

"It's not that I'm heartless... Sigh, I don't know why, but before I left, the President specifically instructed us that 'we only need to provide the money, and let them control their own lives; we must not interfere under any circumstances.'"

"Wow, those unscrupulous merchants are truly heartless."

"Don't you dare slander the President!!!"

"Yes, yes, yes... a boring, loyal dog type."

Just as the two inexplicably started bickering, Julia aimed her enormous 183mm cannon at the ceiling.

"Although I don't understand what's going on, firing a shot is never a bad idea / Full of confidence."

Boom!!!

"Take this Armor-piercing Shell!"

Flames and black smoke exploded at the muzzle, and Saboted Armor-piercing Shell, identical to any found on Earth, was fired, striking the ceiling squarely.

Julia!?

What are you doing!?

--Then a spectacular explosion occurred.

Crimson flames instantly engulfed the walls, a devastating explosion swallowed the ceiling, and infrasound shockwaves tore apart all the bricks and tiles, the sonic booms almost piercing eardrums! Valentina quickly created a space like a marble to absorb the "impact" and "heat" of the explosion. Ankri, unable to fight, could only cover her head and cower behind her, while the culprit looked up at this magnificent scene, his pupils contracting and clicking continuously, as if taking a picture.

"Hmm, performance is good/Satisfactory."

"Wait a minute!"

"What's wrong?"

Why did it explode so violently?

"Didn't you fire Armor-piercing Shell?"

Huh?

Julia tilted her head, looking puzzled.

"But a shell that can't explode isn't a shell, you know. Anything that claims to penetrate armor is a heretical approach. Just blow them all up."

"... Then why call it a 'Saboted Armor-piercing Shell- piercing projectile'...?"

"Sounds cool/smug... wait?"

Julia suddenly looked up at the blasted ceiling—or rather, the partition between the first and second floors. Her eyes, now switched to high-powered binoculars, emitted a glowing green light, and her pupils dilated and contracted as she adjusted the focus.

"What's wrong now...?"

"There seems to be something up there... Switching to thermal imaging mode -- Success -- Search failed... Strange, it seems like there are a lot of big things moving, but the temperature is very low, making it difficult for thermal imaging to capture them... Searching the database for the number 'Father' -- Switching to the Spirit Energy Oscillator Imager -- Capture successful -- Huh?"

"Did you see that? What's there?"

"No matching data... Ah, a few have jumped down, better get out of here--"

"Get out of the way!!!"

The three of them dodged simultaneously. Ankri tumbled awkwardly, Julia's propulsion wings had somehow deployed behind her, and Valentina stepped on a pile of marbles. The next second, a huge silver object landed behind them, shaking the entire ground violently! Ankri, her scalp tingling, slowly turned her head, dumbfounded.

This is a humanoid figure standing four meters tall, its appearance a combination of knight's armor and mechanical doll. The outer layer is covered by thick, Silver-white Armor, concealing its limbs and vulnerable areas. Inside, countless creaking gears and mechanisms are intricately designed, their complexity enough to give anyone a headache. Its head is a simple helmet, devoid of facial features, with only two small slits where they appear to be eyes, from which an eerie light shines.

"... Although we don't know what it is, it's always good to fire a shot first. Laser cannons, prepare--"

However, the humanoid object ignored the three people. Its simple-looking head swayed from side to side, and its narrow eyes locked onto the wary men in black.

"██████!!!!"

It emitted a piercing roar from some unknown component, sounding like a massive jumble of gears! A silver-white blade sprang from the junction of its arm armor and wrist, its edge gleaming with a chilling light that sent shivers down one's spine. It suddenly accelerated, its agility completely disproportionate to its enormous size! Sensing danger, the men in black immediately retreated, two of them who hadn't had time to use their movement magic being instantly severed at the waist! Spraying blood stained the silver-white armor crimson, and the scattered limbs were crushed by its heavy, massive feet. The silver giant, like a tiger among sheep, launched a frenzied attack on the men in black!

But the Inquisition was, after all, an elite force. Faced with this raging onslaught, they quickly calmed down, formed ranks, and used a variety of offensive and defensive divine spells to fight it. Although the giant was agile, its only attack method was sword slashing. The divine spell's light barrier kept it several meters away, and lightning and flames bombarded it one after another! Before long, the armor protecting the giant's vital parts was shattered, and springs and gears were destroyed, with fragments scattered all over the ground. It let out what seemed to be a roar of unwilling anger and fell heavily to the ground.

"Taken it..."

Selace, who was watching from the other side, breathed a sigh of relief. He had initially thought that this silver nugget was incredibly powerful, but it had crumbled so quickly under the collective attack of his subordinates. Apart from the two unlucky guys who died unexpectedly at the beginning, their Tribunal suffered no casualties.

"But what is this? Treasure Artifact made by the Bredwich Family? Or... Hey, Brad, you know what? I didn't see this thing in your report."

"..."

"Brad?"

"Really... Nid actually used... something I should have considered..."

Brad stared blankly at the fallen, silver-armored giant, muttering to himself.

"'Used'? Used what? Explain yourself!"

"It was found long ago by the Bradwich family, the Saint Emperor's most precious legacy... the Crown of the Saint Emperor, a symbol of his royal power!"

At that very moment.

A dozen or so identical silver-white giant soldiers flew down through the shattered ceiling and landed heavily in the hall.

To every historian, the Saint Emperor remains a figure shrouded in mystery.

As the first person in existing historical records to unify a continent, his life was a series of legendary events. However, it is precisely because there are so many legends about him that it is difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and there are still many mysteries surrounding his life.

One of them is his initial rise to prominence.

Born in a small coastal town in a small country, he launched an armed revolution and seized power at a young age—almost all historical records about the Saint Emperor begin with this account. But where did this commoner come from to launch an armed revolution? Moreover, according to records, the Saint Emperor was a No Supernatural Ability. Without any special powers, could he really have won over others to become his leader solely through wisdom and charisma at the beginning? Most incredibly, no historical records mention the "original army," and the Saint Emperor himself rarely spoke of it later, leading many to suspect that the army Saint Emperor initially used for the armed coup never existed at all.

This process is not officially recorded and is difficult to verify, but in unofficial historical legends about the Saint Emperor, it is mentioned that the Saint Emperor obtained a secret treasure from thousands of years ago in an ancient ruin during his youth.

Legend has it that the two secret treasures will only serve those they deem to have the qualities of a king.

One of them is a divine sword, the Emperor Slaying Sword.

The second is the crown, later known as the "Crown of the Saint Emperor".

The Emperor Slaying Sword is a symbol of power; its sharpness is unparalleled in the world.

The Crown of the Saint Emperor is a symbol of power; those recognized by it can command an "invincible army" at will.

"Giggle... ha... giggle... ha... uh..."

Nid knelt weakly on the ground, using the last of his strength to hold Loxue. His whole body was convulsing slightly, his features were contorted by the extreme pain, his skin was covered with grotesque blue veins, his eyes were bloodshot, and his jaw was trembling. It felt as if his internal organs were being stabbed and churned and pulled out with a fork, as if his brain was being shredded, and every nerve ending was screaming in protest.

Even so, Nid did not back down.

With a formidable enemy in front and pursuers behind, the main force of the Vatican has arrived. Under the control of Brad and the director, the entire mansion is shrouded in a barrier with a vacuum layer, which is difficult to reverse even though the weapon box is right next to him.

Unless, of course, the Crown of the Saint Emperor.

Only those beings recognized by it are qualified to wear it.

This silvery symbol of royal power was now gleaming above Nid's head.

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That's it for the next chapter; the next chapter will return to the protagonist's perspective.