Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 904 Are you still afraid of death?
When everyone heard the voice, they turned around and saw the old butler Weber pushing a wheelchair at the door of the manor. The old man, who was already old but still dignified, was sitting in the wheelchair, quietly watching the source of the argument. The firelight in the darkness made his increasingly cloudy eyes seem to be rekindled at this moment, exuding some of his youthful aura.

"Master Patriarch!"

The knights all placed their hands on their chests, paying the highest courtesy to the family lords they were loyal to. Even the three alien leaders who were not knights were no exception. For a moment, the sounds of armor rubbing against each other and steel clanging were endless, just like the ancient tradition of the Kingdom Era. Before going to the battle, the knights expressed their determination to the monarch and raised a thousand weapons to the sky at the same time to swear an oath. The sharp and murderous aura made people's expressions solemn.

The only person who stood still was Xino. She rode on Brandi's back without any movement. She just looked at her grandfather from afar across the tree-lined path from the square to the door of the mansion. From his eyes, which were as old and gloomy as a lion's, but still exuded a majestic aura, she saw an emotion called helplessness, but in fact encouragement. So she nodded gently and smiled: "Thank you for your understanding, Grandfather."

The knights then realized that the old master seemed to have agreed to the eldest lady's willful request, so they no longer cared about maintaining their manners in front of their lord and began to persuade him. Their tones were either excited or sincere, but without exception they all expressed their opposition. This situation was very similar to the previous one, except that the object of persuasion had changed.

Everyone felt that the old patriarch was a more calm and prudent person. He must have agreed to the eldest daughter's request on impulse because he doted on her too much. Once he calmed down, he would change his mind.

However, the elderly Vandru Jean Gustaf thought much further than they did.

"Believe her." The old man's eyes looked particularly deep in the shadow of the firelight: "We should all believe her, but not because she is the heir of the Gustaf family, but because she is Xino - Xino Qin Gustaf, this is her name, but at this moment, you only need to see the first two characters. It is enough."

He looked at the young man who had spoken initially and said calmly, "Do you believe in Xino, Worzel?"

The young man named Worzel was stunned for a moment, and then he seemed to realize something from the old man's gaze. He slowly lowered his head and replied in a deep voice: "Since I met the young lady, I have never seen her do anything unwise or say anything arrogant."

……

In fact, at the beginning, the organizers had considered postponing the game, but this game was so anticipated that the tickets were sold out in advance, and the audience was eagerly looking forward to a wonderful game to help them relieve the bad mood in this bad weather. If the game was postponed at this time, the consequences would be unimaginable, so the referees and players could only hold on for a while - after all, it was not a severe natural disaster such as a blizzard or earthquake, it was just a little dark, it shouldn't affect the performance of both sides, right?
Ling Ge watched Gloria being taken away by the staff and entering through the special contestant channel. When her back disappeared, he turned around and said to the others, "Let's go. It's time for us to enter as well."

The old man nodded again, turned his gaze to the three alien leaders, and asked, "So, Shangquier, Sita, and Biberg XIII, are you and the aliens in the Loser Forest that you represent willing to believe Xino?"

The girl answered without any hesitation, as if the answer had already echoed in her mind countless times, and now she just repeated it in full: "I am willing to bear these trusts, and I will definitely respond to your trust, just as you told me before-"

The young man quickly looked away, but this brief glance still attracted Saint Xia Liya's attention. When others were not paying attention, she quietly walked behind Ling Ge and asked in a low voice: "Are you worried about Xino?"

Her gaze lingered on everyone for a moment, then passed them, passed the mansion, passed the dim firelight, and fell on the distant gloomy sky. The clouds rolled, the storm gradually rose, and the sad autumn of Grindelwald Field seemed to have arrived early, but the girl was sure that she was still living in that bright and shining summer, because the whitethorn flowers only bloom in midsummer: "We are born to live in response to expectations."

The three alien leaders looked at each other and quickly reached a consensus in the silent eye contact. Shangquier spoke up with a thunderous voice: "The eldest lady is a heroic figure like Baron Vince. Her care and protection for us are worthy of the trust of all the aliens in Loser Forest!"

Gustav, who had followed the old master to serve in the army and whose seniority among the retainers was second only to the old butler Waver, remembered something. His eyes changed several times, and finally he turned all his words into a helpless sigh: "I watched the young lady grow up. Her talent and character are truly second to none in this world."

The old man looked at the girl on horseback: "I entrust the seven hundred years of the Gostave family's mission to you, Xino, just as these people are willing to entrust their trust to you. However, everyone who deserves to be entrusted with trust must respond to that trust wholeheartedly. On the path you have chosen, there is no room for failure or giving up. Even so, do you still want to make this choice?"

This sentence made Ling'er's eyes flicker, and he subconsciously looked up in the direction of the Shadoli Manor, wondering if Xino had already set off for the ruins, or if he had been waiting there for the seal of the beast to be lifted. Just now, before entering the venue, Leila had specially found him and asked him a few questions. Although she knew that Xino would not come to watch her game today, she still showed obvious disappointment when she did not see her friend in the crowd.

"Yes, Grandfather."

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

"If that's the case, then we can draw a conclusion."

On the same day in Grindelwald Field, two important battles are about to begin, and the audience will not know the final outcome until the curtain falls.

The old man nodded slightly, turned his head and looked at his old friend, his tone still unhurried: "Do you believe in Xino, Gustav?"

However, unexpected weather conditions disrupted their plans. Before the game started, the Villyard Stadium was already in darkness, almost making people think that time had jumped into the night. The lighting conditions of the stadium alone were not enough to take care of the entire game process. Therefore, the stadium had to urgently draw a batch of kerosene lamps and torches, and divided 500 staff members into 50 groups to patrol the lighting, which barely ensured the normal progress of the game.

Dark clouds rolled across the sky, and the fierce wind blew up the huge posters on the tall buildings on both sides. The faces of the two contestants flickered in the light of the coal lamps, making it difficult to see clearly. The time was five o'clock in the afternoon. In a normal golden September, this time of day is when the sun is the most transparent, the vision is the clearest, and the temperature is the coolest. The tournament committee arranged the game at this time, which clearly shows the importance it attaches to it. It is hoped that these two players who have also become famous at a young age can take over the enthusiastic atmosphere after the opening ceremony of the championship and continue the heat of the game.

Alice yelled, wrapped herself up tightly, and muttered, "Why is it so cold today?"

Linger shook his head slightly but did not answer. Saint Xia Liya did not know whether he was denying her problem or expressing that he was not worried. After thinking for a while, she comforted him, "It should be no problem. Besides, Yieta and Nevi are here."

In addition to Yieta, Countess Nevill also stayed on the island. On the one hand, she was not interested in the Wind Flower Ball, and didn't care about the crappy fan club formed by Alice. She just wanted to quietly taste black tea and read world classics to cultivate her sentiments. On the other hand, it was Saint Shallia's request. She felt that although Yieta was powerful, she had no combat experience after all. She had to find an experienced person to support her. In terms of experience, who could compare to the Blood Fang Ancestor who had fought his way out of an empire among thousands of troops?

The angel Iyeta who blew away the mountains, and the silver-eyed Countess Nevill, with these two people, are enough to ensure that the situation will not develop in the worst direction. "Yes." Linger nodded, looked at the crowd gathering around the stadium, and said, "Let's go in first."

He led Saint Xia Liya to the ticket gate, and the others followed one after another. The backs of the group soon disappeared in the depths of the crowd.

……

"Wow, this weather..." Yieta stood on the balcony of the windmill tower room, and when she looked up, she saw the dark sky, the rolling clouds, the howling wind, and the rustling sound of the tide coming from the Loser Forest. It was the grass and trees in the forest that were blown by the wind and fell in the same direction. If it was the hot summer season in the past, hearing such a wave of leaves would definitely feel doubly cool, but now there is only the echo of emptiness and silence in the mountains and forests, wild animals hibernate in their nests, birds huddle at the bottom of the cliff, and a depressing and dull atmosphere is spreading.

If there was a rainstorm at this time, it could wash away the irritability and chaotic thoughts. However, let alone raindrops, there was not even a flash of lightning in the rolling clouds, and not even a thunder was heard. Such an abnormal astronomical phenomenon inevitably made people feel panic.

"The wind is afraid." The angel murmured. This scene reminded her of the scene when the Great Lord Yuanrang descended on the Salya Plain: "Some terrifying existence is about to awaken. Because it is taboo, it is hated and feared by people..."

"When did you become as weird as Xiao Xia, Yieta?"

The Countess's voice came from the room. She put down the book in her hand, walked slowly to the balcony, and stood side by side with Ieta. She also took in this abnormal celestial phenomenon, but did not panic at all. Instead, she was very calm, because similar scenes were not uncommon in her long life experience: "Natural disaster... Compared with the bloody scene on the Taguao Plain during the founding war, or the cruel method of the religious alliance to burn the city with fire in the dark ages, it is still a little worse."

The lunatics of the Inquisition released the Last Fire, which burned the entire Void Root Swamp in an instant. Tens of thousands of lives wailed and died in the fire; Alexander, the mecha god who interfered with time and space, denied the future, returned again and again from the wrong time and space line, and evolved into a more powerful form... That was the real despair, and what was before us were just small scenes.

As if affected by her nonchalant tone, Yieta's inner anxiety eased a lot, but she still looked a little worried.

Nevile glanced at her, as if she had guessed what the girl was thinking, and added: "Don't forget, she is the girl's royal power."

……

Girl royalty.

At this moment, Xino looked at the silver gauntlets on her hands, a pure light flashed quietly in her eyes, and the same word emerged in her heart. Because of a special machine, whether it was the eccentric Miss Alice, the calm and reliable Mr. Linger, or even Miss Saint Shallia, they all unanimously believed that they were the so-called girl's royal power, possessing some incredible power above the law, but also carrying some cruel curses.

The girl had been in denial all the time, claiming that she was just an ordinary person, nothing special about her. But in her heart, she knew very well what her royal power and curse were, but she just didn't want to face them - or rather, she was not sure whether those travelers from the sky would be able to face her with a normal mentality after knowing her royal power and curse.

Miss Saint Shallia had revealed to her intentionally or unintentionally that as long as she gathered the seven royal powers of the girls, she would be able to open the road to the Holy Temple of Heaven and meet the goddess who created the world, who was also her other mother in the distant past. She would ask her to rebuild the foundation for the chaotic order of the world, punish the wanton witches, and remove the curse for these innocent girls so that they could return to normal life.

After listening to this, she was naturally very excited, but the hesitation far outweighed her excitement, because once she embarked on this journey, it would mean facing a cruel war, which would be far more cruel than the Republican War that the ancestors of Hibernton faced when they followed the Saint.

She is not afraid of war, but she is afraid that war will inevitably bring sacrifices.

Who defines and distinguishes those sacrifices?

Those who died in wars, those who died for themselves, those who died selflessly, those who died noble, those who died meanly, those who died weakly, those who died in wars, those who died in wars, those who died selflessly, those who died noble ... selflessly, those who died noble, those who died in wars, those who died selflessly, those who died noble, those who died

Shino Jean Gustaf, a girl who has experienced death three times, is still afraid of death.

"Huilulu?"

Brandi cried out in confusion. She didn't understand why her master was in a daze for so long after putting on the armor. Was he thinking about the next battle method and strategy? Or maybe he was digesting the heavy trust. The only thing she didn't think her master would be afraid was that she had never seen a knight braver than her.

Those who say that sacrifice is glory do not actually understand that the fear of death is the real courage.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Brandi." Shino came back to his senses, grabbed the reins with his silver gauntlets, and gave his beloved horse an apologetic smile: "It seems like it's our turn to take the stage."

"Let's go."

With a light squeeze on the horse's belly and the sound of hooves, the knight and her beloved horse rushed to the destined battlefield together.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)