The situation changed drastically in an instant. Inside the Glorious Cathedral that was in a mess, the bright red long knife in the female emperor’s hand became the most dazzling light. (TL: sorry, it was long knife not long sword)
…Her Majesty the Emperor, who had been fighting for many years, had a secret that was not a secret.
Her crystal bone strength was actually not very high, barely reaching A level. In the eyes of ordinary people, it may be viewed as excellent, but in the military department where there were as many geniuses as stars, it was not considered a top-notch crystal bone.
But she had a long knife.
This knife was not a new crystal weapon made from real crystal ore as per the universal concept.
Back then, the emperor led her army to expel the Lava Space Bandits and killed the then leader of the space bandits, “Red Fish”, with a laser spear. The leader of the Black Shark Base used special technology to remove the crystal particles – equivalent to crystal bones – from Red Fish’s corpse, and made this long knife to present to the emperor.
The name of the knife was “Thief Slaughter”.
It was unethical to use human crystal bones to make weapons, and was a more serious contraband in the empire than real crystal ore.
Only the “Thief Slaughter” in the hands of the female emperor was the only legal crystal bone weapon in existence.
The gentle sunlight of dawn pierced through the clouds and turned into bundles of bright threads, leaking from the holes in the roof of the Glorious Cathedral, illuminating the cold tip of the knife into a burning fire.
Lin Ge held the knife in her right hand, her thick black hair billowing with a fierce aura cascading down her shoulders. She pursed her red lips and said lazily behind her, “Don’t want to fight, step back.”
In fact, she didn’t need to say anything. Jiang Jianming reacted quickly and dragged Zheng Yue out of the church. He knew what kind of character the emperor was. Fighting between lunatics and cults was not something that a disabled human like him could get involved with.
But they had only taken two steps when several crystal bones of different colors suddenly generated a sharp wind and came crashing down towards them.
In the tens of meters from the prayer room to the church entrance, the Crystal Cult clergy blocked the way forward like ghosts.
Jiang Jianming narrowed his eyes and fired several shots. In the next second, he was pulled by Zheng Yue, and the two of them rolled into a blind spot behind the pillar.
At the same time, the Golden Sun Wheel soldiers outside the church also rushed in with machine guns. The new crystal bullets burst out of their barrels continuously, spewing dazzling sparks wildly.
The melee began. Friars and nuns were constantly having their crystal bones broken and their bodies penetrated. Blood splattered on their white robes, and they fell crookedly like puppets without strings.
But more clergy behind them rushed forward like in a daze, even willing to engage in battle using a “life for a life” approach. The Golden Sun Wheel and the Crystal Cult were in a stalemate outside the door of the prayer room.
“Damn it,” a brown-haired soldier cursed while holding a gun, “Aren’t these people afraid of death!?”
In the next second, his partner behind him screamed and fell down, and the crystal bone of a white-clothed female clergy shattered the young man’s skull.
“Xiu!!” The brown-haired soldier’s eyes went red, “You bunch of scum, I’ll kill you!!”
The soldier roared and rushed forward, and soon there was another series of bombings, and blood mist filled the air.
In this bloody mist that blocked the sight, shadows flew in from the door outside the church!
Taking a closer look, they were not living creatures, but a group of intelligent robots with small wings on their backs and iron shells.
The appearance of this group of intelligent robots was very familiar. Behind the pillar, Zheng Yue, who was breathing heavily, suddenly widened his eyes. “Little Excellency! These, could it be-”
Jiang Jianming, who was equally pale and struggling to catch his breath, said in a hoarse voice, “…Yes, the group of robots in the White Jade Palace. The Black Shark Base is controlling them remotely.”
Zheng Yue: “Black Shark Base!? Since when did the base…”
Within a few words, the intelligent robots had already rushed into the battlefield. With the ticking mechanical sound, some of them began to shoot lasers at the friars and nuns of the Crystal Cult, raising an even more rich blood.
Another group rushed towards the real crystal ores that was scattered on the floor of the prayer room, using mechanical claws to scoop it up and toss it into their storage compartments within their bodies.
Jiang Jianming: “Stop asking, let’s go now!”
Crystal bones, machines, and firearms continued to clash, and Zheng Yue, enduring the pain, released what remained of his crystalline bone to protect Jiang Jianming as they clumsily rolled out of the cathedral’s main doors.
Just a moment after they stumbled out, the ground shook violently!
Amidst the screams, the stained glass on all sides of the prayer room shattered at the same time, falling from a high altitude with shining lights.
Every piece of glass reflected the two figures fighting- Lin Ge’s long knife collided with Margaret’s crystal bone again!
“Little girl,” Lin Ge raised his red lips, “It seems that your Crystal Cult has secretly done a lot of bad things over the years. Don’t you want to talk to Zhen about why?”
Bishop Margaret didn’t say anything, but raised her hand and smashed another crystal bone.
Lin Ge let out a low roar, and the Thief Slaughter struck the crystal bone head-on, bringing up splashes of stars as the blade rotated. Pieces of marble floors were blown away by the explosion, and the flames and debris drowned out the two figures.
Jiang Jianming was supported back by two Golden Sun Wheel soldiers. His whole body was soaked with sweat, and he panted in disorder as he looked back.
Beside him, the old Lieutenant General Luther, who was commanding the overall situation, shouted loudly in anguish, “Your Excellency! Your Excellency ah!!”
“Lieutenant General, stop shouting.” Jiang Jianming’s voice was hoarse. “Have all the people evacuated?”
Lieutenant General Luther: “The three main streets leading to the church have been cleared of people, and the Golden Sun Wheel is blocking the street entrances.”
“Good, hurry up.” Jiang Jianming raised his head and looked at the slightly lit sky.
The strong wind smashed the clouds like a giant palm, and the morning sun poured overwhelmingly on the buildings of Star City, illuminating the dead branches and snow, and drawing pale shadows behind the people running for their lives.
The night was ending, and the day was dawning.
In the corner of the prayer room where the fierce battle was taking place, a young male bishop with gray temples ended his communication with his accomplice on the opposite side.
Bang, bang bang! Several robots that were close at hand were smashed by his crystal bones, and sparks danced among the exposed circuits.
Bishop Su bent down and picked up a piece of real crystal ore with a cold expression.
Crystal bones covered his palms, and Su slowly closed his eyes, seemingly muttering something.
The real crystal ore changed rapidly in his hands. Su raised his arms and threw the real crystal ore upwards, causing sunlight to refract dazzling white lights on it
Lin Ge, who was fighting with Margaret, caught this scene with sharp eyes. Her pupils shrank slightly, and she immediately stepped back and shouted, “All Golden Sun Wheels here, evacuate the church!”
At the moment when this colorless crystal reached the apex of the parabola, the crystal particles contained within surged out like wild horses breaking free!
When the rich stream of crystal particles rose into the sky, a mutation occurred.
The first one to undergo a change was the brown-haired soldier who fought with red eyes due to the tragic death of his comrade.
The second before this piece of real crystal ore fell in front of him, he was still holding a fire-breathing machine gun and releasing crystal bones from behind, as brave as a tiger descending from the mountain.
However, immediately after that, the brown-haired soldier emitted a sharp, ear-piercing scream, and the machine gun slipped from his grasp, falling to the ground.
As if the most cruel torture in the world had befallen him, the young man’s body twitched a few times like a malfunctioning machine, and then he fell straight down, raising dust on the church floor.
It was as if the organs in his body had been instantly punctured by millions of knives. He began to cry and twitch crazily, kicking his legs and feet on the floor. He whimpered and howled, beating his chest and scratching his neck with his hands – as if he wanted to get rid of more terrible pain. Soon, the soldier’s eyes lost focus, and large amounts of blood and foam spurted out from his mouth. Along with the foul smell, filth flowed out from under his twitching body, and blood gurgled out at the same time.
“Crystal Chaos…”
Outside the church, someone shouted the first call.
The voice was trembling with fear, “——It’s Crystal Chaos, Acute Crystal Chaos!!”
“Retreat, retreat!!” Lieutenant General Luther shouted, “cover Her Majesty the Emperor’s retreat from the church, quickly!!”
Inside the Glorious Cathedral, the same tragic situation happened to more Golden Sun Wheel soldiers.
The human body seemed to turn into a wooden stick that fell over with a push, hitting the ground with a crash. The frequency of the disturbance of crystal particles in the air became increasingly chaotic, swallowing up the soldiers one by one like a huge vortex.
“Destruction, that should be my job.”
Margaret was panting slightly due to the fierce battle with the emperor, but her expression was still innocent and ignorant, and her light gray eyes stared at Su in displeasure.
She said seriously, “His Excellency the Archbishop said that Death would do it.”
“The plan has already failed.” Su’s face looked grim, as more intelligent robots swarmed in to attack him. These things were not affected by the Crystal Chaos.
He said darkly, “Eliminate these people in front, and then temporarily withdraw from here.”
Those who suffered Crystal Chaos were scattered on the floor. The brown-haired soldier who suffered first was almost dead. His left eyeball moved upward uncontrollably, and the other eye was already bleeding profusely.
Ka-chak…ka-chak.
Accompanied by spine-chilling, faint sounds, colorless crystal clusters grew out of his right eye socket, covering most of his face like an insect net in the blink of an eye.
His skin cracked and oozed blood as strange-shaped colorless crystal clusters grew, flesh and hard crystal blending together, no longer resembling a human.
The soldier wriggled and crawled forward on the floor, reaching the door of the church. The morning sun fell brightly and ruthlessly on his face covered with blood and tears. He silently repeated three words in his mouth: kill, kill, me——
The several Golden Sun Wheel generals guarding outside the church all turned pale.
This is……
Submerged in history, the scene of hell in the past.
In this era, it was almost impossible to see such a large-scale Acute Crystal Chaos outbreak firsthand.
But in the early days of the Old Empire before tranquilizers were developed, once Crystal Chaos broke out, there would be corpses everywhere and tens of thousands of people crying… The current scene was just a glimpse of the tragic scene of that year.
Jiang Jianming suddenly clenched his teeth, knowing that the soldier was beyond saving. A hint of pity flickered in his eyes as he abruptly drew his silver-gray pistol again.
One hand pressed down on the muzzle of his gun and took it down.
The female emperor stood beside Jiang Jianming at some point. Lin Ge’s eyebrows were cold and she pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
The bullet penetrated the soldier’s temple perfectly, giving him the happiest relief at the moment.
Lin Ge continued to shoot. Her hand was steady and her shooting technique was accurate. She even had time to glance at Jiang Jianming. “It’s you again, Mingming, why are you still standing here?”
“……Your Majesty.”
Jiang Jianming had not been called “Mingming” for several years, and was stunned for a moment on such a critical battlefield.
Lin Ge sneered, and there seemed to be sparkling light in the depths of her upturned eyes. “Zhen’s empire is really a waste. When Crystal Chaos broke out, a disabled human was actually required to be at the forefront.”
She shook off the smoking muzzle and placed the Wings of Venus on Jiang Jianming’s shoulders, “Hey, Zhen is asking you, what about the family’s little monster?”
The front line was forced to retreat, and Jiang Jianming was also pushed back by Lin Ge.
He pursed his lips, and beneath his sweaty messy hair was a pair of deep black eyes, “…Your Majesty, please forgive me for answering the question with a question. Did you, the Chief and the Old Marshal anticipate that this would happen?”
Lieutenant General Luther’s roar, the chaotic footsteps of the Golden Sun Wheel soldiers, the sound of gunfire and bombardment…these noises were all far away.
Jiang Jianming whispered to the emperor, “At this point, you let Garcia return home because you want to take advantage of the current situation to force him to take over Ryann’s position, right.”
“Whether it is the future of the empire, the safety of Aslan Star City, or the lives of the ignorant people who have been incited…including the Golden Sun Wheel soldiers who are now suffering from the Crystal Chaos and have died, they are all chips in the scale.”
Lin Ge looked at Jiang Jianming with interest for a moment and suddenly smiled.
“You’re protecting him.”
“Even if you know in your heart, that indeed only his power can break the current situation,” she sighed in a low voice, “…is his joy more important than the lives of millions of people, hm?”
Jiang Jianming lowered his eyelashes and stroked the military emblem of the Golden Sun Wheel with his hand. “I don’t know, Your Majesty….perhaps I’ve made a mistake.”
“Even though I believe that he is him on the soul level, Garcia and Ryann are different after all. There are some things that I don’t want him to get involved in too much. I want to do it for him… but I am just a disabled human being, and there are too many areas where I fall short of capability.”
Whether it was when he started to appear at noble banquets to attract prestige, or by joining the Golden Sun Wheel Army to establish authority.
From the ordinary and undisciplined civilian military cadet back then, he took the initiative to step into the center of power.
On the one hand, it was to explore the puzzle left by Ryann; on the other hand, it was also to try to extract Garcia from the undercurrent of the empire that he was tired of.
If… if, he could “hide” Garcia in his bedroom forever, feed him some apples and comb his hair every day for a lifetime, that would be great.
But he also knew it was impossible.
When Garcia asked him not to go to the battlefield, when Garcia was angry for his hard work, when Garcia let him hug him but said “use me”.
Lin Ge stared deeply at the black-haired officer in front of her. She took his arm and put the Wings of Venus in his palm. “You are right.”
The emperor raised her eyebrows and cast her gaze towards the high clouds. “You will know from now on that when you stand with him, you will never be wrong.”
“Because you both…”
She said, “complement each other and also love each other.”
In the next second, the clouds above the city were blown away by air waves, causing the sky to become completely bright.
Rumble…
A steel starship, like a giant dragon, protruded from the sea of clouds and mist. It lowered its body and quickly landed, approaching the city’s buildings.
“A starship!?”
“Look at the sign, it’s a starship of Black Shark Base!”
“Wait a minute, that mecha is…”
“Zhen is a bad emperor.” Lin Ge said with certainty.
“Cruel and evil, have a belly full of black water, and a cunning woman who uses all means to achieve her goals.”
A silver-black mecha drove out from inside the starship, and was faster than the starship.
It was the Slash Comet. The M-Slash Comet, which was already known for its speed, was now traveling at full speed, passing over the heads of the fleeing people!
“Those chips you mentioned, they were not forced on him, but on you.”
She held Jiang Jianming’s wrist firmly, “You are his bargaining chip. Since you are here, he will come to you willingly.”
The cockpit hatch of M-Slash Comet suddenly opened.
Under the dazzling sunlight, a slender figure stood in front of the mecha’s wing. His face couldn’t be seen clearly in the backlight, only the high bundle of platinum curly hair dancing wildly in the wind. Countless people raised their heads… Pedestrians running chaotically on the streets and alleys stopped to stare, and residents hiding in their houses looked out the window with their eyes wide open.
They seemed to be vaguely aware of something, but they couldn’t believe it because it was too bizarre and absurd, so they could only watch and stare blankly like this.
“Neither of you can keep the other in captivity, nor can you leave the other behind. You can only overcome obstacles and cut through thorns, and move forward side by side with each shedding blood.”
Lin Ge said softly, “This is the fate of two souls meeting.”
On the mecha Slash Comet, a dazzling red gold light suddenly lit up.
Just like the fallen sun rising again, and the phoenix crying from its nirvana in mythology.
In the strong wind of late winter, the long crystal bones stretched rapidly, and their length soon exceeded that of the mecha. It could be clearly seen even from a few areas away from the city.
A girl by the window unknowingly made a praying gesture with her fingers intertwined, her mouth opened foolishly, and tears flowed down from her eyes.
Perhaps the world was forgetful, but there were always some characters whose shadows would be deeply engraved in the minds of the world, waiting for a revival.
“Highness……”
“His Highness…”
“——His Highness Ryann!!!”
The sound shook the sky at this moment, one wave higher than the other. The calls of tens of millions of people shook the earth, and countless people rushed out of their homes regardless of the danger, raising their hands and shouting wildly.
“Is it really His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!?”
“His Royal Highness Ryann is not dead, His Highness is back!!”
The video of the red gold crystal bones bathing in the morning sun instantly spread across the Intelligence Network, suppressing all the indignant comments made a few hours ago. The whole empire was boiling.
“It turns out…it turns out that what Her Majesty said,” someone shouted with choked sobs, “that a new crown prince will be established this winter. This is what it means!”
“Yes, yes, it must be that His Highness the Crown Prince survived back then, was recovering from his injuries before he could show his face in front of the people again…”
At the street entrance in front of the Glorious Cathedral, Jiang Jianming stood side by side with the emperor. He looked up at the sky quietly, and his ears were surrounded by the fanatical shouts of the Golden Sun Wheel soldiers around him.
“…Really? Your Majesty believes that it is destined.”
The huge crystal bone under the sun were too dazzling. The black-haired young man squinted his sour eyes and said with a bitter smile. “I have made my choice, and it seems that he did the same.”
Maybe the emperor was right, he thought. Perhaps there are some things that are destined to be unavoidable.
For example, the waves of the current situation, the giant palm of fate, the encounter in the dark, or the love that is without hesitation.
“Since this is his wish.”
Jiang Jianming put the Wings of Venus back into the holster, picked up his white gloves again and put them on.
He said lightly, “Then I’ll go and drive the mecha for him. It’s been a while since I’ve piloted the Slash Comet.”
