"Then we will go to the Federation, smash their iron curtain with a giant hammer, and kill all those bastards hiding under the Tower of Babel!! (Thebit)"
"War! War! War! War!"
In this banquet hall where interrogations were constantly being made, Mikhail looked around at the enthusiastic lords. With his other hand, he drew the cold steel knife from his waist and raised it into the air:
"Will you follow me?" (Thebit)
"willing!!"
"For unity! (Thebit)"
"For unity!!! (Thebit)"
"..."
The restless environment was like a sound barrier in Perlis's perspective, hazy. Even so, Perlis saw Mikhail's powerful vocal cords raising a wave of fire, which had already formed a prairie fire under the absurd decoration of the banquet hall. Everyone raised their hands enthusiastically, loudly requesting war and calling for unity.
This was the fire ignited by Aleph Stro. In the steel fortress on top of the snow-capped peak, the banner of rebellion against hegemony was finally taken over by Mikhail and held high with his steel arms.
And Perlis is about to become the fuel for this fire.
Mikhail loosened his hand, and Polys felt her body suddenly suspended in the air, and then she fell to the ground with her limbs spread out. She lay on her back on the floor of the banquet hall, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"The Border Guard actually allowed a little girl like this to sneak in. It seems that Grizzly Bear really needs some education."
Amid the lords' enthusiastic war cries, Mikhail turned around and looked at his two sons:
"Go to the Federation, Ivar, and tell Laplace I'm here." Mikhail's voice returned to its previous low tone, and his face remained expressionless like a sculpture. "I will crush Dila first, and let Laplace take good care of his lackey."
"I will, father..." Ivar bowed slightly, and then his eyes looked at Perlis lying on the ground, "If you can let me take her back with me, maybe..."
"Don't be so boring, brother." Venia patted Ivar's shoulder, then kicked Perlis's unconscious body. Looking at her lifeless beautiful face, he couldn't help licking his lips greedily, "Let me play with her... Don't waste her face... I haven't tasted what a federal person is like... And she is the [Blade of Babel], just thinking about this makes me..."
"You've had enough fun," Mikhail glanced coldly at Venya, who was instantly petrified. "You call yourself a general, so it is your duty to participate in the war. You will follow me and cross the Dragon Vein River with me."
Then, Mikhail snatched the wine glass from the stunned Venya.
"As for this federal woman, she cannot leave. Put her in a cell and extract all the useful information from her tonight. Execute her tomorrow morning."
After saying that, Mikhail slowly tilted the wine glass in his hand, and the wine spilled on Perlis's lifeless face. However, Perlis just lay there silently like a corpse, motionlessly letting the crystal wine flow into her eyes, nose and mouth.
"Hang her head at the gate of the Iron Fortress, and let her look at the Tower of Babel, beloved by the Federation..."
......
6) Blood and Steel (Part 10)
Chaos, almost endless chaos.
In the pitch-black darkness that extended to the edge of the void, Perlis slowly opened her eyes, her blood-red pupils flashing a faint light in the darkness that swallowed everything.
"This is...there..."
The pain in my body disappeared, as if I had never been injured, and I even felt lighter and freer.
Subconsciously, Perlis moved her feet gently and touched the solid ground. She turned around and the scenery in front of her changed from endless darkness to a sea of flowers extending to the horizon.
This sea of flowers is very similar to Wilkin's sea of flowers, but there are some differences: even though there are countless white flowers everywhere, there is no shadow of the Tower of Babel on the distant horizon.
The stars in the sky suddenly lit up and fell on the petals. The air was filled with the charming smell of dew, which reminded Perlis of the scent of Wilkin's sea of flowers after the rain. She liked Wilkin's rain, which always gave her a sense of belonging. Slowly, her heart gradually calmed down.
Really...I haven't been home for a long time.
Looking along the endless sea of flowers, Perlis saw a figure: a white-haired figure surrounded by flowers not far away. The figure was much taller than Perlis, and his posture was more mature and elegant. His long pure white hair fell to his waist, and the ends of his hair blended with the white flowers.
"what..."
For some reason, the presence of that figure aroused an inexplicable sadness in Perlis's heart. She reached out her hand towards the figure, and her legs involuntarily took steps surrounded by flowers.
Who is that? Perlis didn't know, she was so similar to herself, and exuded an aura that made her extremely familiar.
I must see her, yes, I must. This thought took root and controlled Perlis's consciousness. Her legs accelerated involuntarily. Unconsciously, she ran in the sea of flowers. The flowers under her feet were trampled down by her roughly, but she didn't care.
Must, must see her.
As if aware of Perlis's approach, the pure white figure was stunned for a moment, then slowly turned her head, staring at Perlis with her blood-red eyes, but Perlis could not see her face clearly.
No, it's too far, it has to be closer, it has to be——
While running, Perlis stretched out her hand, her breath becoming heavier as she ran——
The figure stared at Perlis for a long time, then lowered his head with a smile, his lips moving as if he was saying something, but Perlis couldn't hear clearly.
A little closer, a little closer.
It was almost in front of her.
Perlis ran wildly on the sea of flowers without caring how many flowers were trampled by her, she just ran and ran.
Just as Perlis was about to run to the figure, she suddenly felt empty under her feet, and the land that carried the sea of flowers began to disintegrate and turned into endless darkness again.
"and many more!!"
Perlis felt her body suddenly lose weight, and she fell into the darkness. She desperately stretched out her hand towards the stars in the sky, just a little bit... just a little bit...
In a trance, Perlis saw her again: the white figure looked down at Perlis among the stars, her lips moved slowly, but only a few words reached Perlis' ears:
"Perlis, you are from..."
The next moment, endless darkness completely devoured Perlis's vision, and her eyes suddenly became lifeless and lost their light.
......
"Uh-huh..."
Perlis's head was pulled out of the bucket. She suddenly spat out a mouthful of water and then coughed violently:
“Cough cough.. cough cough cough..”
A little bit of faint light finally entered the dark vision, and Perlis's eyes were blurred. The cold water in the iron bucket adhered to her cornea, making her feel difficult to open her eyes.
"Tell me, where is the weak point of the Iron Curtain?"
Behind Perlis, Venia was grabbing her hair viciously and putting his head close to her little face which was dazed due to choking on water.
Suffocation and choking made Perlis's entire nasal cavity hot. She gasped weakly, and it was not known whether it was saliva or water in the bucket flowing from the corners of her mouth and dripping onto the ground.
At this time, Perlis looked like a dying person, but the pain all over her body did not conquer her. She looked at Venia's hideous and distorted face, stared at him coldly, and said nothing.
"Fuck it, you should talk to me!"
Venia looked at Perlis's contemptuous expression and slapped her in the face in anger.
"Snapped--"
Perlis's eyes were full of stars after being hit by the iron hand, but she remained silent. She spat the blood in her mouth into the bucket in front of her, then raised her head and looked at Venia with contempt.
Seeing that Perlis had no intention of compromising, Venia shouted impatiently:
"Damn it, why do you let me do this kind of shit? Damn it."
Venia stamped his feet in anger, completely losing the elegant demeanor he had played at the banquet. He paced anxiously in front of Perlis, thought for a while, and waved his hand:
"Tie her up and do it after dinner."
"Yes!"
Several soldiers came forward and dragged Perlis to the center of the cell. They stretched out her arms and chained them to the walls on both sides of the room. Perlis just silently let them do all this. She felt weak as if she had fallen apart. She had no ability to resist at all and could only silently let them slaughter her.
Before leaving the cell, Venia took one last look at Perlis. Her legs were limp on the ground, her pretty face was extremely weak, and her red eyes were unfocused. But even so, she had no intention of obeying.
"Tsk... This dog has been trained really well by the Federation... It would be nice if I could play with it..."
After saying that, Venia took all his men out of the cell, locked the door, and left Perlis alone in the dark iron cell to survive.
......
The Iron Prison was located in the Wanren Mountain below the Iron Fortress. It was surrounded by the hard and thick rocks of the Wanren Mountain, and it was impossible for anyone to escape from it. Before the Unification War, it was used to detain prisoners of war, but after the Unification War, since all the warlords had surrendered to the Irenforno family, few people lived in this cell. Even if there were, they were only a few Thebite military rebels.
The iron prison was vacant and eventually fell into a state of lack of repair. As time went by, the environment in the iron prison became more and more horrible, almost to the point where it was extremely painful to just stay in it. Even though the iron prison had fallen into disrepair, the Iron Lord never thought of repairing it - in his opinion, the more horrible the cell, the easier it would be to destroy the enemy's mind, and it would also make any deliberate rebel carefully consider their fate before doing anything.
After everyone left the prison, Perlis was the only one left inside. She was already covered in wounds, so the Thebits didn't even leave anyone to guard her: in their opinion, it was impossible for this little girl, who was almost torn to pieces, to leave the prison alive.
Perlis looked at the floor of the cell with a dazed look. The rough rocks made her legs lying on the ground very uncomfortable, but she didn't have the extra energy to adjust her posture.
I failed in the end...
The dislocated right wrist still felt burning and numb, and the broken ribs in her chest irritated her from time to time. Fortunately, the broken ribs did not pierce her organs, otherwise she would not be as relaxed as she is now.
But what difference did it make? Although she didn't know the time, she would be executed once the sun rose. Death was just an imminent fact for her, and the pain in her body became somewhat meaningless.
I really can't accept it... I actually lost to Ivar. He didn't even use his own weapons. He defeated Perlis with just a table knife. Does this mean... that's all she is...?
Yes, that's all. I'm nothing special. I can't even avenge Edward.
Thinking of her father's smile, tears flowed weakly from the corners of Perlis' eyes. In this empty iron cell, she sobbed:
“Wuwuwu…Wuwu…”
What's the point? It's just crying, no progress at all.
Over the years, Perlis thought she had changed, become stronger, and became above everyone around her, so she faced everything with her growing self-esteem, walking alone in the jungle of this world without mercy, looking down on everyone.
It was not until now that she realized that she was still the same as the little girl crying in the icy rain eight years ago.
I can only cry. That’s all I can do.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"
Perlis cried helplessly. What could she do? She had never felt so humble and insignificant. She broke into Thebit alone, but she never realized one fact: in front of the mountain of Thebit, let alone revenge, she couldn't even survive.
Through tearful eyes, Perlis remembered Carly's anxious voice. Yes, she would never see her again. Not only could she not avenge her father, but she would also bring pain to her only remaining friend in the world. She was so useless.
Cry!! Just cry!!
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"
"You're crying so hard...Do you want a handkerchief?"
A familiar voice came, and Perlis raised her head suddenly. Unknowingly, Ivar was standing at the door of the cell, his light green eyes silently staring at her.
......
6) Blood and Steel (Part 11)
Perlis held back her tears, then stared at Ivar fiercely, anger burning in her red eyes.
"Wow... so fierce... she was crying just now..."
Ivar opened the cell door and slowly walked to Perlis. He slowly bent down and took out a handkerchief from the banquet from his waist to wipe Perlis' tears.
"Go away!"
Perlis shook her head in resistance, not wanting Ivar's handkerchief to touch her face, which made Ivar somewhat dissatisfied:
"Why don't you appreciate it, little flower?"
"You liar! Traitor! Murderer! Leave me alone!"
Perlis' voice was hoarse and she had almost no strength to speak, but the hatred in her heart drove her to speak.
What is he doing here now? Is he here to laugh at me? If it weren't for him, if it weren't for...
"Hey...I'm telling you...do you have to be so righteous..."
"Get out! Get out now! I don't want to see you... You killed my father, you are not a human... You..."
"Do you think I'm human?!"
Ivar suddenly roared and tore off his shirt, exposing his entire upper body to the cold air of the iron prison. Seeing Ivar's upper body, Perlis gasped:
"you..."
That was not a human body: nearly half of Ivar's skin, from his right arm to his chest, was made of a strange black material. His right arm was a pure mechanical prosthesis, and the highly modular black mechanical structure was covered with battle damage, which only made it more terrifying.
In an instant, Perlis understood why Ivar's right arm was able to instantly block the knife she stabbed from behind, and also instantly understood why the fatal blow she stabbed at Ivar's heart did not cause him any harm at all: this is the Federation's prosthetic technology, and it is at least military-grade. Even without the existence of the factor shield, the skin made of unknown material can block a certain degree of damage for him.
If Perlis' butterfly knife had a stronger factor at that time, there might be hope of piercing this layer of armor, but unfortunately...
Looking at Perlis's blank eyes, Ivar roared:
"How does it look like? This is the mark your father, the famous [Red Shadow] Edward von Valantia, left on me..."
Ivar waved his mechanical arm, and the steel joints made a strange "crunching" sound:
