Just as the hand was about to touch her, a white hand grabbed the soldier's arm.
"Don't be violent with girls, soldier~"
The soldier felt as if his hand was being held by a huge force. He turned around and saw the girl named Aoi holding his arm with the hand that was not holding the umbrella, looking effortless.
The hand covered with exoskeleton was held by a girl with bare hands? This is impossible, how could this be possible...?
"you..?"
The soldier tried hard to break free from Aoi's arm, but found that the slender white hand was as unshakable as a mountain. At some point, the blood vessels in Aoi's arm began to emit a faint red light, giving off a strange aura in the rainy night.
"I'll say this one last time, let us in, or we break in."
Carly stared straight at the soldier, with a cold and sharp light flashing in her icy blue eyes, making it difficult for the soldier to look directly at her.
Seeing this, the other soldiers in the queue came over and surrounded the three girls, with countless R-42 "Jackal" double-barreled shotguns pointed at them:
"Let him go! And put your hands up!"
"Yoho...Looks like we have to fight~"
Although Aoi complained, her tone actually revealed she was very happy. She applied a little force with her fingers, and cracks appeared on the steel arm she was holding.
"I'll count to three. If you don't surrender, we'll shoot!" The soldier surrounding the three people began to count down, "Three..."
"This is a bit difficult, Rin, can I leave it to you to solve?"
Aoi turned her head and spoke to the black-haired girl cheerfully, as if they were not facing a blockade by the legionnaires at this moment.
"Got it. Protect Carly."
Ibuki Rin, who had been silent the whole time, agreed. She shook her black hair and lifted her cloak, revealing a gilded sword hanging from her waist. The girl held the scabbard with one hand, and slowly lowered her other hand to the edge of her skirt, slowly reaching for the hilt.
"...two...one..."
The border guards counted down loudly, and everyone aimed their rifles at the three people. However, before the countdown was over, a rough roar came from behind the border guards:
"Stop the fucking thing!"
This roar seemed to carry some kind of mandatory order. All the soldiers immediately put down their guns and mechanically stepped aside to make way. Aoi also let go of the mechanical arm in her hand. The captured soldiers took two steps back in anger, glaring at the grinning Aoi.
Carly turned her gaze to the gap in the crowd, and a huge figure wearing black giant armor appeared from there, and then slowly walked towards them.
[Grizzly Bear] Andrei Ivanov is a head taller than everyone else, and his big face full of flesh always looks like someone owes him money. The black giant armor he wears is full of primitive mechanical feeling. There are three scratches on the chest of the giant armor, which adds a bit of barbaric atmosphere to the armor.
"Prototype-04 'Black Scratches' eh..." Aoi looked at the giant armor of the newcomer, with stars twinkling in her eyes, "It's cooler than I thought... I want..."
"This can't become your toy, [Red Devil]."
Andre slowly walked up to the three people and looked down at them.
"【Blade of Babel】Eighth Seat..."
"Wow~ You know me~"
Aoi spoke in a perfunctory tone, her eyes fixed on Andre's giant armor, as if she was sizing up her favorite toy.
"So cool... I have to talk to that guy Evans and ask him to make one like this..."
"Mr. Grizzly, these bastards from the Federation want to enter the country. I am going to arrest them. Since you are here, then..."
The soldier whose arm was grabbed by Aoi walked towards Andre and asked him for instructions, but Andre just smiled and said:
"Arrest them? Brat, do you have what it takes?"
Andre pointed at Ibuki Rin, who had been taciturn. She had hidden her sword under her cloak again. She fell silent again, her red eyes flashing faintly in the rainy night.
"The moment before you pull the trigger, her knife will cut off the arms of everyone here - and if you expect, your heads too."
Andre looked at Ibuki Rin. The soldier had almost never seen [Grizzly Bear of the Iron Guard] be so wary of someone, not to mention that the person he was wary of was a young girl.
"she is...?"
"【Falling Cherry Blossom Sword】Ibuki Rin, 【Blade of Babel】second place."
The... the second seat? The second seat actually appeared in Lorton...?
The soldiers looked at Ibuki Rin with some horror, but Ibuki Rin did not take the legion in front of her seriously. She just raised her head slightly, watching the rain falling on the transparent umbrella, slowly sliding down the ribs to the edge of the umbrella, and then dripping, as if everything around her had nothing to do with her.
The girl in front of him turned out to be the legendary Ibuki Rin who "cut the dragon boat with one sword and caressed the cold steel with fallen cherry blossoms". She had single-handedly wiped out the branch of the Thebite Legion that attempted to invade the Dila Empire many years ago. She killed the Iron Alliance Guard who was in charge of the offensive at that time with just one sword, and split the dragon boat that was the site of the decisive battle into two and sank it into the Dragon Vein River.
The soldier was speechless. Andre looked at his useless appearance and said "huh" with disdain. Then he looked at Carly and asked:
"So, what is the purpose of [Eye of the Federation] Carly Fellowes coming to Thebes with two [Blades of Babel]?"
"I'm here to look for someone," Carly said, "I'm here to look for Pure White Flame."
"Oh? Are you talking about the little white-haired girl who broke into the Iron Fortress tonight?" Andre sneered maliciously, "Then you may be late..."
"What do you mean!?"
Hearing the words "too late", Carly's icy blue eyes suddenly widened. She took two steps forward, her slender body almost touching Andre. Carly looked up at the Grizzly Bear standing in front of her, but her momentum was comparable to his.
"Perlis...what did you do to her?!"
"It is said that she was beaten half to death and thrown into an iron cage. She will be executed tomorrow morning..."
"Beat him...half to death...?"
Andre looked at Carly, whose body began to tremble. He was very satisfied with the suffering of the federal people, and added with a lingering feeling:
"She will probably be beheaded, right? I don't know if she can survive the execution, but in either case, we'll see her head hanging at the gate of the fortress tomorrow."
"You...how dare you..."
Carly clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, her body shaking.
Seeing that Carly was a little out of control, Aoi patted Carly's back gently and comforted her:
"Don't worry, Carly, Pure White is so strong, she will be fine..."
Carly lowered her head slightly and took a deep breath. When she raised her head again, her ice-blue eyes were once again filled with coldness, as if the emotional fluctuations just now were all an illusion.
"So? [Grizzly Bear of the Iron Guard], can you move aside? Or are you ready to die?"
Carly stared straight at Andre, and her eyes met with the tall Iron Guard.
Andre fell silent. He first glanced at the merchants who were enjoying the fun in the distance, then glanced at the Wanren Mountain behind him. Then he sighed and shouted loudly to the people behind him:
"Make way for Miss Carly, stop the merchants behind, maintain order, and don't let them get in."
Andre paused for a moment and added:
"Private, take a message to the Iron Fortress..."
After giving the order, Andre bowed to Carly. His huge and bulky body made the bow look a little awkward. He raised his head slightly, glanced at Carly with a solemn face, then glanced at Aoi who looked helpless, and finally glanced at Ibuki Rin who was still looking up at the raindrops on the umbrella, and said:
"Welcome to the [Burial Frozen Land], ladies, be careful not to be eaten by the Wanren Mountain."
......
7) Blooming on the Mountaintop (Part 3)
Can't...stop...
The sky gradually darkened, but this probably had nothing to do with time. The blizzard that covered the sky and the sun swallowed up everything within Pace's sight, placing him in an absolutely closed area.
The horses had fled in panic when the snowstorm came, and Pace had no choice but to pull the cargo they left behind and move forward slowly in the gray and white.
The snow was knee-deep, and every step was like walking through a quagmire, requiring several times more effort than before. The cold snowflakes, driven by the strong wind, were like icicles, ruthlessly piercing into Pace's face.
But..can't stop..
In the wind and snow, Pace raised his head with difficulty. The steel fortress on the distant mountain was still a vague shadow, out of reach.
Can't...stop...
The calves below the knees gradually lost feeling, and the lower body seemed to have merged into the snow, without any feeling that a flesh and blood body should have, as if the blood in all the blood vessels had solidified.
His black pupils narrowed slightly, and the blizzard gradually engulfed Pace's consciousness, bit by bit, bit by bit...
Can't stop..can't..
cannot
The vision became increasingly darker, and the coldness gradually climbed up my spine through my blood vessels.
不 ...
The final sight was focused on the edge of a rock not far away, where Pace saw half of a skull buried in the snow.
Then, he felt himself losing consciousness all over his body, and fell into the whiteness below him, merging into one with the coldness.
......
"Escort prisoner No. 317."
"Yes."
The vague and chaotic voice pierced Perlis's eardrum like a sharp blade without an edge, and a dull pain with a slight sense of cutting stimulated her brain. When she slowly opened her eyes, her hands had been freed from the shackles. Two Thebite soldiers wearing giant armor stood on both sides of her, each holding one of her hands.
Is it time...
Perlis raised her head with a dazed vision. Venia was standing at the door of the cell. He was wearing a set of exquisitely crafted giant armor, and his ugly face forced out an ugly smile.
"We have arrived, proud Pure White Flame," Venia looked at Perlis with a gloating expression, "Tell me, what color is the blood of the Blade of Babel?"
Perlis lowered her head slightly and did not respond to him. Seeing this, Venia laughed frivolously, then waved his hand, and two soldiers dragged Perlis out of the cell.
The corridor, the endless corridor.
Perlis's neck drooped limply, her limp legs dragged on the rough corridor floor, the shackles on her ankles hurt her, but she didn't even have the strength to raise her head and look at the end of the corridor.
Perlis knew that once she walked out of this dark corridor, her life would come to an end.
Is there anything else to complain about? There is nothing to complain about..
After crying enough and her anger gradually fading away, Perlis narrowed her eyes slightly, and countless images began to flash before her eyes:
"I won't be late this time, baby. I won't be late this time."
Perlis silently looked at the man in front of her who was holding her in his arms. Tears on his face were extremely rare, but at this moment they were hanging there without any reservation.
Ah...Dad...you're a liar...
"where are we going?"
"Your new home."
The light green eyes and the blood-red eyes reflected each other's pupil color, and the icy rain hit the skin, absurd and powerless.
Ivar... the liar...
"Trust me! I can do anything for the honor of my family. Why would I lie to you about something that is mutually beneficial?"
In the shabby tavern, the white-haired girl and the black-haired down-and-out young man looked at each other. Even though she knew the approximate ending at that time, she nodded slightly.
Young Master...you are also a...liar...
Perlis closed her eyes tiredly, letting gravity drive her spine down. From Wilkin to Academi, across the entire Grau Yad wasteland, and then to Thebite, which was made of steel and heavy hammers, there were countless... countless liars along the way...
I always feel like a clown. I choose to believe and invest again and again, but I keep getting extremely real disappointment and despair.
In the end, a moat was built around her feet, separating her from everyone else.
Walking alone on the continent of Ademir, the yellow wind of the desert, the scorching sun of the Federation, and the snow of Thebit all mercilessly slapped her still tender face. A 17-year-old girl, no matter how many titles the world has given her, no matter how powerful she is, after stripping away all those fictitious exteriors, she is still just a girl.
Perlis Haflergaard, a girl who is being dragged ruthlessly towards her death.
"Open the door!" Venia's voice rang out, and Perlis could hear the irrepressible excitement in it.
A faint light shone on Perlis's face. She raised her head slightly. Venia was standing at the door on the stairs with his back to the light, looking down at Perlis with an ugly look of a smug villain.
"Welcome to the banquet prepared for you, [Pure White Fireworks]."
The soldier lifted up Perlis and dragged her up the stairs. Perlis raised her head slightly, narrowing her red eyes as she faced the wind and snow blowing in from outside.
Even in the dim light, Perlis found it increasingly difficult to open her eyes, but she forced herself to do so, as if she was struggling with something.
Her blood-red eyes gradually adapted to the strong light. The moment Perlis was dragged out of the iron prison door, she saw the scene clearly:
This is the execution ground, set up on a small cliff at the edge of the iron fortress. On both sides of the execution ground are wooden viewing seats, where countless lords are sitting, watching Perlis.
Perlis's eyes swept over the lords one by one, and then looked to the end of the execution ground - on the small cliff, there was a wooden execution platform.
The sun had not yet risen completely, and in the grayness before dawn, the execution platform looked even more terrifying.
