Ever since news of the Templar Knights' expedition broke, Northland had prepared with blinding speed. The Hellfire Legion, along with massive logistics and research teams, arrived at the border the very next day.
The Templar Knights had come bearing the orders of the Cardinal, causing the war to erupt from the very start with an intensity far beyond ordinary warfare.
Hundreds of High Knights, thousands of Mid Knights, and three Holy Relics were brought onto the field.
A force like this was enough to overthrow a small nation's regime overnight, yet it was forcibly held back at the border by Northland's Hellfire Legion.
Eleanor gazed at the distant battlefield. The iron tide of the Hellfire Legion collided with the Templar Knights. Although the power armor equipped by the Hellfire Legion was merely a crude imitation of the Holy Relics, it still erupted with terrifying power on the battlefield.
The birth of every Mid Knight required going through immense tempering in blood and fire, but the Hellfire Legion faced no such trouble.
An ordinary soldier of the Hellfire Legion needed only to put on the armor to fight on equal terms with a Mid Knight. Even after death, the armor could be recovered, easily creating another war machine once again.
“My lady, Lady Amore is growing impatient.”
A slightly apologetic voice suddenly sounded from behind. Eleanor turned her head to see her squire riding up on horseback.
Eleanor nodded slightly, her calm voice laced with a thread of murderous intent. “In that case, go tell her she may join the battle.”
Amore was one of the Holy Relic adaptors who had accompanied this expedition. Although she herself was still merely a High Knight, her transformed state with the Holy Relic gave her more than enough qualification to become a nightmare in the eyes of the enemy.
“Hahaha—”
“You Hellfire Legion scum, your grandmama is here!”
Along with a burst of arrogant laughter, the figure of a young girl with pitch-black wings unfurled from her back, her entire body covered in pale, metallic bone, appeared in everyone's view.
In her hands, she swung a greatsword that far exceeded her own size. With a single strike, she smashed several Hellfire soldiers along with their metal armor into raw meat.
The intense visual shock stunned everyone present.
...
“So that's a Holy Relic Knight?”
At the Northland border, inside a Hellfire Legion camp far from the battlefield, Professor Mekal, who had insisted on accompanying the legion, was currently peering through binoculars at the young girl slaughtering everyone in the center of the battlefield while shouting excitedly:
“I want that one! Mary! Catch her! Bring her to me alive!”
“With her, I'll be able to develop the Generation Two 'Miracle' power armor in no time!”
Madi, commander of the Hellfire Legion, looked with utter helplessness at the disheveled, lunatic-like woman and could not help sighing.
“Professor, my name is Madi, not Mary. And... we don't know how many Holy Relic Knights the Holy State has deployed. If there are two more, forget about capturing them alive—we might even have to lay down our lives for the country.”
Madi deeply admired Professor Mekal in her heart. Without her research, Northland could not have become one of the continent's overlords in just a few short decades.
Yet she hated this person just as passionately. If Mekal hadn't thrown a tantrum insisting on coming to the front lines, how could she, the proud commander of the Hellfire Legion, have come here in person to face such danger?
“Who cares what your name is! Whether it's Mary or Mana, just make sure you bring me back a live Holy Relic Knight!”
Professor Mekal glanced at the noisy legion commander and raised her arm, wanting to slam the binoculars onto her face.
On second thought, if she threw the binoculars, she wouldn't be able to admire that graceful, beautiful figure anymore, so in the end, she couldn't bring herself to throw them.
Madi's teeth ached with rage at her words, but she couldn't lay a hand on her.
In the monarch's eyes, she was merely the commander of a legion, whereas Mekal was the future of the entire nation. Even if Madi died, nothing could happen to Mekal.
She didn't dare think about what that headstrong king would do to her if she returned to the capital as the sole survivor.
“I. Will. Try. My. Best,” Madi said, gritting her teeth word by word.
Mekal shot a sidelong glance at her and snorted coldly. “Not try—you must do it. Machi, you wouldn't want the king to find out about your embezzlement of military funds, would you?”
As those words fell, cold sweat instantly broke out on Madi's forehead. In that moment, a surging intent to kill arose in her heart, and she truly entertained the thought of leaving Mekal here forever.
Unfortunately, realizing that her end might not be much better if Mekal died—far worse than her embezzlement coming to light—she snuffed out the idea.
“Understood. I will catch a Holy Relic Knight.”
Like hell I will! Madi added silently in her heart.
Did she really think the Holy State had stood tall for thousands of years for nothing? Holy Relic Knights were undeniably armed forces standing at the apex of the continent. If their numbers weren't so scarce, how could the Holy State have allowed the various lords to act so arrogantly for hundreds of years?
Having confidence was a good thing, but being overly confident turned into arrogance.
Madi did not consider herself an arrogant person, nor did she ever feel that the Kingdom of Northland could defeat the Holy State relying solely on its own strength. Even a starving camel was bigger than a horse; she understood at least that much.
“And another thing: my name is Madi, not Mary, and not Machi either!”
“Got it, Mafei.”
...
The Holy City, Library.
Lu Li sat quietly by the window, slowly turning the pages of the thick book on the table.
For the past few days, he had spent all his time reading in the library. Although there was a book repository within the Holy Court as well, its contents regarding continental history were not as detailed as those here.
After waiting several times for attendants to fetch books, Lu Li found it tedious. After all, he only knew what book he needed to read next after reaching a certain point, so every reading session involved waiting.
Instead of that, it was better to sit in the library himself and look for whichever book he wanted to read.
Of course, because Lu Li stayed in the library every day, it was inevitable that citizens of the Holy City would run into him. Thus, news spread that the Holy See was studious and would always appear in the library.
The result was that every day before starting a brand-new day, a vast number of pilgrims would come to the library to offer prayers and pay homage.
They did not disturb Lu Li's studies; instead, because Lu Li came every day, it sparked a nationwide craze for learning.
Today, however, was a bit special. Several fully armed knights stood guard at the library's main entrance, sternly turning away anyone who wished to enter.
Inside the empty library, Lu Li closed A History of the Kingdom of Northland in his hand and looked up at the Cardinal sitting down across from him.
After parting on bad terms that day, the two had not spoken a word for several days. Today, however, Julia had sought him out on her own initiative.
“Looking for me? You're not planning to give me another blow, are you?” Lu Li asked, half-jokingly.
Julia pressed her lips together slightly, her voice betraying a hint of fatigue that was hard to hide. “Your Holiness, Professor Mekal—the Chief Professor of the National Academy of Natural Theology of the Kingdom of Northland—wishes to meet with you.”
“Mekal? You mean the Mekal who developed the Miracle power armor...?” Lu Li opened his mouth slightly in disbelief.
Mekal was a national treasure figure of the Kingdom of Northland. How could Northland so easily allow her to come to the Holy City of the Holy State?
Rate on N.U.
