"We are all murderers, aren't we? Edward... me... you... no matter how vicious or righteous we are, we are all essentially the same..."
Perlis's eyes suddenly became a little uncertain. Ivar gently put his mouth close to Perlis's ear and said:
"Tell me, how many people have you killed since you came to Dibet?"
Perlis was speechless for a moment. Although she wanted to refute Ivar's bandit logic, her brain was like covered with a layer of paste and she could not say anything.
"I just decided my position, which is no different from yours, and even less different from Edward's."
Ivar stood up and took two steps back:
"About Edward..."
"Shut up!" Perlis shouted fiercely, "You are not allowed to mention his name, you are not allowed to mention..."
"Oh, okay, I won't mention it..."
Ivar raised his hand in surrender, the mechanical arm and his normal arm were raised in the air, which made him feel weird. Ivar took two steps back, looking at Perlis's furious expression, he felt helpless.
"I will be returning to the Federation tomorrow. The old man seems to have deliberately chosen to delay the execution of you until after I leave..."
Not sure if it was an illusion, but Perlis seemed to see Ivar's gaze become a little evasive, which was not the expression that would appear on his face.
"【Pure White Fireworks】, it looks like your journey ends here..."
"..What does this have to do with you..."
Perlis' emotions had been slowly suppressed, leaving only the cold anger. She could not understand why Ivar came to see her and why Ivar said these to her.
"Don't pretend you care about my life or death.. You took me away from Wilkin just for Laplace's [Plan]..."
Perlis recalled the scene she saw in the diary: Edward and Laplace were confronting each other in the building of Ravis, the federal capital.
"It seems that Aleph gave you the diary... that idiot..." Ivar stroked his chin with the mechanical hand, "It's no big deal to be dead..."
"You are not allowed to...you..."
"Okay, Laplace will probably be very annoyed after you die, but this will give the Federation a good excuse to send troops in advance..."
Ivar looked down at Perlis, who was bound in the cell, and shook his head slightly.
"I don't hate you, little flower, you know? You are very similar to Edward, and even to her. I have to say that the days I spent with you..."
"Get out..." Perlis' voice trembled slightly, and the emotions that had just been suppressed surged up again. She raised her head and glared at Ivar, "Get out..."
"Ah... Uncle Ivar must be very sad to lose you... Don't you even say goodbye to me properly?"
"roll!!!"
Perlis roared hysterically. She stood up suddenly, ignoring the pain in her body and dragging her broken body desperately rushed towards Ivar. However, her hands were bound by iron chains on both sides of the cell. Even if she tried her best, she could only barely get closer to Ivar:
"Get out of here now!! You liar! Traitor!! I will find you again!! I will definitely find you!!"
Looking at Perlis's hideous and distorted face, Ivar shook his head slightly as if with pity, then he picked up his clothes from the ground, put them on hastily, and his light green eyes narrowed slightly.
Before leaving, Ivar looked down at Perlis's red eyes filled with anger and murmured in a low voice:
"It's not you... I'm so disappointed..."
Ivar only left these mysterious words, and then, amid Perlis's roar mixed with the sound of the chains struggling, he left the cell, leaving only his back as he walked away.
......
"This damn weather, I can't walk today..."
After passing the ice lake, the Iron Fortress stood on a mountain not far away. The Sventovitt 900mm cannon on the mountain facing the Charon Plain was looming in the blizzard at this moment, like the bloody mouth of a giant beast.
Following the familiar mountain road, Pace drove the carriage slowly forward in the snowstorm. The strong wind completely blocked the road leading to the Iron Fortress, and Pace could only find an inn to rest for a night and make plans tomorrow.
Although Pace was extremely worried about Perlis's safety, his mind wouldn't allow him to continue moving forward in the blizzard. If he was swallowed by the blizzard, he would really be unable to do anything.
Soon, Pace arrived at the inn where he had lived with Perlis. Driving into the courtyard, everything familiar inevitably reminded him of the various strange misunderstandings and quarrels he had with Perlis here. The vivid memories made his anxiety burn.
If anything happens to her, it's all my fault...
Pace would never allow himself to watch another little girl lose her life to this mountain. He would never allow it.
He got off the carriage easily and tied the horse in the yard. Then he slowly walked to the door of the inn. Before he opened the door, he heard the voice of the proprietress:
"I'm glad you're not hurt... Your mother must have been scared to death... Don't rush back to the legion, Tom, stay for two more days..."
"No..Mom..."
Tom? Pace's heart tightened. That was the son of the boss lady and one of the soldiers stationed at the Monarch mansion. Apparently, after Pace left, Vans had handed over the captive in exchange for the Monarch family's position and safety.
But I didn't expect that Tom returned here much faster than Pace.
Pace gave up pushing the door and leaned against it to eavesdrop:
"Thom... the snowstorm is getting worse. Stay one night before leaving. Spend more time with your mother..."
"Well, I will definitely come back to serve you for a while after I'm done with this busy period, but I can't delay now... I really can't..."
It seems that because of what happened to Tom in Monarch Mansion, the landlady doesn't want him to take risks again. Pace understands this very well, but he doesn't care about this information. He wants to know more about Perlis. If Tom hasn't mentioned Perlis yet, it means she is still safe. There is no-
"Just an hour ago, a Federation soldier broke into the Iron Fortress and almost killed the Iron Lord's adopted son..."
Upon hearing this, Pease's heart suddenly stopped and his body, which was lying on the door, began to tremble slightly.
Perlis...had already broken in...? What does "almost" kill Ivar mean...? Could it be that she had already...
Pace's black eyes widened in shock. Without even giving him time to prepare himself, the conversation between the proprietress and Tom continued:
"Federal? How could a federal... Then what about this federal now..."
"Don't worry, mom. She was beaten half to death by the Iron Lord and thrown into the iron prison. She will probably be executed tomorrow morning..."
There was a slight note of regret in Tom's voice, but it wasn't too strong. The death of a Federation man was certainly not a big deal to him.
"That federal guy doesn't seem to be that bad... He just gave us a lot of things to do... So we'll be busy tonight..."
"Nonsense, there are no good people from the Federation, they are all demons, you, just don't..."
Pace no longer had the courage to listen. He staggered back two steps from the door of the inn, and the blizzard enveloped him again.
Perlis... was beaten half to death... will be executed tomorrow morning...
It's all my fault. Why can't I -
This time, his numb legs did not freeze in place. Pace suddenly turned around like crazy and jumped onto the carriage.
Lianna's face appeared before his eyes again. It seemed as if all this was a drama arranged by a God with a bad taste. He was put into this absurd scene with a sense of déjà vu again and again, and kept repeating the same mistakes.
No, at least this time, he absolutely could not let another girl be taken away from him——
All rational considerations vanished in that instant, and Pace let the gushing emotions take over the reins in his hands. He roared "Gee!" and drove the carriage into the blizzard in the frozen land without looking back.
...END...
7) Above the Mountaintop
On a rainy night, a blockade had been set up at the border of Loton, and countless legionnaires wearing MK21 "Fortress" giant armor were blocking the main roads leading to the city in rows. The cold rain hit the steel armor, slowly flowed down the equally cold steel, and fell onto the asphalt road, splashing a tiny amount of water.
In front of the steel-made mountain of Thebeth, what could be more than a tiny splash of water?
A large number of merchants from set up tents outside of Loton. Most of them were unwilling to return to through the Grau Yad Wasteland where thieves were rampant, and even more unwilling to settle in Wilkin where prices were high. So they could only temporarily stay at the edge of Loton and wait for the blockade to be lifted.
Countless merchants went to the blockade to plead with the soldiers, telling them their difficulties and begging them to let them in to clear their goods. But the soldiers always kept a steely indifference on their faces, allowing the merchants in front of them to go from humble pleas to cursing and leave without saying a word.
This branch of the legion stationed on the border of Loton is by no means a bunch of scum like the Inquisitors. They are the [Border Guard Corps] commanded by [Grizzly Bear of the Iron Guard] Andrei Ivanov. As the strong shield of Thebit, fortitude and silence are their only characteristics.
There was a time when some insane merchants tried to force their way through the defense line. They drove their trucks and rammed into the blockade array like crazy. The next second, the R-42 "Jackal" double-barreled shotguns from the border defense array, which covered the main road with firepower, instantly turned the iron front of the truck into a hornet's nest, and the crazy merchant driving the truck was killed instantly. Then, with a large number of merchants watching, [Grizzly] personally used his terrifying strength to drag the truck into the city.
"Want to go into the city, bastard? You're welcome at the Lorton dump." That's what Grizzly said at the time.
After that, no one dared to drive onto the main road and try to test the Legion's bottom line.
Even on the edge of the city, the rain in Lorton kept falling, as if it was the tears of the mountains, or as if the suffering of the merchants made God pity them.
Tonight should have been an ordinary rainy night. The soldiers in the border defense corps array stood behind the roadblocks, silently watching the main road in front of them. The air was silent, and the only sound that could be heard was the sound of raindrops hitting the ground.
However, in this rainy night atmosphere that was made somewhat serious by steel and gunpowder, a car light broke the tranquility of the rainy night.
"Buzzing..."
The soldiers of the border army looked at the end of the road. A micro-suspended express car powered by factor energy was approaching the border defense line along the rain-soaked asphalt road. Merchants on the roadside all ran out of their tents and looked at it with wide eyes. Cars powered by factor energy were extremely rare. They could only be seen frequently in places like Wilkin and Academi where the rich were rampant.
The car drove straight to the front of the defense line, which made the soldiers of the border defense corps a little annoyed. They had become not good at speaking under the training of [Grizzly Bear], but they had to repeatedly explain the problem of road blockade to the merchants who came here for the first time.
Under the watchful eyes of the border guards, the car door slowly opened. First, a transparent umbrella was opened, and then a chestnut-haired girl came out from the driver's seat. She trotted briskly to the passenger seat, opened the door, and then reached out to the person inside:
"Come on, Lord Filos~"
"Stop it..Aoi..."
Somewhat reluctantly, a hooded girl was pulled out from the passenger seat by the girl named Aoi, her ice-blue eyes flashing with a complaining look in the rainy night.
Girls? In the current chaotic world of Charon's rebellion, what are two girls doing in Loton? They can't be here for tourism, right?
Just as the border guards were wondering, the back seat of the car opened and another black-haired girl came out, holding open a transparent umbrella.
Well... plus one more, a total of three girls, what are the three girls doing in Lorton during this period? Check in at tourist attractions?
The hooded girl tried to open her umbrella, but Aoi warmly hugged her and squeezed her under the same umbrella, so she was very reluctant to squeeze under the same umbrella with Aoi. The group slowly approached the defense line and stood in front of the border defense array.
A border soldier stepped out of the line and greeted the three girls. The giant armor made his figure look extremely burly, and also made the three girls in front of him look even smaller.
"The Legion has ordered that Lorton is under blockade and no one is allowed to enter. Please return the same way or wait for further notification."
The border guards looked at the group of people in front of them sternly. The hooded girl in the lead took two steps forward and took off her hood, revealing a pair of pink low ponytails.
"My name is Carly Fellowes."
Carly raised her head and looked at the border soldiers with her ice-blue eyes. The soldiers were a little surprised at the determination in the girl's eyes: you know, those merchants always looked timid when looking at the legion soldiers, and they didn't even dare to look them directly at them.
However, this determination would not grant them permission to enter Thebeth. Thinking of this, the soldier cleared his throat and said:
"Miss, I'm afraid that no matter what your name is, you can't enter the territory of Thebes. Please..."
"I am affiliated with the Academi Federation [College], and this is my Charon Pass."
Carly interrupted the soldier coldly and took out a holographic card from under her cloak with the words "Carly Fellowes" printed on it.
The border guards looked at the card in Carly's hand and thought. Those who have Charon Pass are all high-ranking people in the Academi Federation. If the pass in her hand is indeed real, it means that this young girl does belong to the Federation's administrative research institution [Academy]...
But even so, she was not eligible to enter Lorton.
If it weren't for those Federation bastards, Charon District would probably still be there...
The border guard recalled the end of the Charon Rebellion, when he and countless legionnaires stood on the high ground outside Thebite, watching the nearby Charon District being reduced to ashes by the red annihilation light waves emitted by the Tower of Babel on the other side of the continent. He still couldn't forget that hell, the hell created by the Federation.
All the federals deserved death.
Thinking of this, the border guard cleared his throat again, suppressed his anger, and said:
"Thanks to you, the Federation, the Charon District has been destroyed. Miss, if you want to enter Loton, I'm afraid no pass will work, so please..."
"I think you misunderstood."
Carly interrupted the soldier again, taking a step forward, a chill in her voice.
"I'm just reminding you of my identity. I'm going in no matter what. I hope you'll cooperate."
There was something extremely cold in the girl's blue eyes, and she stared at the soldier without any intention of retreating.
"Otherwise...think about the cost of Charon's battle..."
7) Blooming on the Mountaintop (Part 2)
"Oh? You're coming in anyway?"
The soldier's anger was ignited, and he remembered the brothers who were taken to Charon by Aleph Stro to start a rebellion, and they all died under the attack of the Tower of Babel. He expected the Iron Lord to use this opportunity to start a full-scale war with Academi, but the Thebite government was just silent, like the rain that kept falling in Loton, and did not make any changes.
"Just try it..little bitch..."
It was enough to swallow the humiliation. Some time ago, a federal bitch broke into Lorton and killed so many search officers. Although the border guards had no sympathy for the search officers, he could not tolerate the federal people continuing to do whatever they wanted in front of him.
"In the name of the [Infinite Steel Legion], you are arrested. I will take you to Lorton now..."
The soldier raised a hand covered with giant armor and stretched it towards Carly:
"As you wish, go to jail and complain about your federal master—"
Carly stared fearlessly at the hand reaching out to her, her icy blue eyes determined.
