Soul of Burning Steel

After Ivan walked out of the office and was taken away by Orlando, Joshua invited Nostradamus to sit down and asked him to explain in detail what His Majesty the Emperor wanted to tell him.

After the old mage sat down, he didn't talk nonsense. He took a sip of tea, finished speaking concisely, then squinted his eyes, stroked his beard, and waited for the soldier's response.

After Joshua quietly listened to Nostradamus' narration, he said calmly, "They finally spoke."

There was no surprised expression on the soldier's face, as if he had thought about it a long time ago. When Nostradamus raised his brows and looked at him, Joshua smiled: "I thought, wait The matter of the academy is over, no matter whether the Holy Mountain will invite me or not, I will go to the Far South."

Knocking on the table, the old mage frowned and reminded: "Joshua, that's Far South, where the dragon disaster started, and the most chaotic place on this continent, and you are an imperial noble on the other side of the world—— What are you doing there?"

Speaking of this, Nostradamus paused for a while, as if he was thinking about his words, and then continued: "Seriously, why bother, the Holy Mountain of the Far Sea invited you over, at most it was because of your power of order, and it can replace you. There are many sacred artifacts of the power of order, and you are not a necessary factor."

Joshua was not surprised by the old mage's attitude: "You don't want me to go to the Far South, but I think it's not a bad idea—you see, they are willing to pay two holy artifacts for this, as long as I go, I can enter The church chooses at will."

"To be precise, I don't want you to go to the Holy Mountain in the Far Sea." Nostradamus sighed and shook his head in confusion: "On the contrary, I don't understand why you want to go to the Far South. Luan Ma, whoever goes there will have a headache, compared to the dangerous incident that requires the action of a strong man, the two holy artifacts are not fair rewards at all."

"If you don't trouble me, I'll find trouble." Shrugging, Joshua said plainly about his life creed: "It doesn't matter if it's fair or not, the most important thing is that my hands are itchy——I can't bear to stay alone for a long time." In the Lord's Mansion, I just 'listened' to the battle reports from afar."

"Since the church is willing to pay me to invite me to fight, why not do it?"

After speaking, the warrior raised his hand, and Joshua showed his fist to the old mage: "Did you see, Master Nostradamus? What is this?"

"fist."

This is a bronze fist with five fingers clenched tightly, which has been exposed to the wind and sun for a long time. It is as indestructible as the strongest piece of steel, and the slightly agitated blood vessels are full of life. Having seen such a powerful fist, it seems that as long as it is swung, there is absolutely nothing that can stop it.

"Very powerful. You are indeed the youngest Ultimate-level powerhouse in the history of the empire. Your life force is more powerful than that of a giant dragon."

He first praised, but Nostradamus still didn't understand what Joshua wanted to express, so the old mage asked with some doubts: "But, then."

"There are many extreme-level dragons in the far south, and you may not be able to defeat them easily."

"—Hundreds of thousands of people in the far south are trapped in the blockade of the mad dragon, and the central defense line is hit by tens of thousands of mad dragons every day."

The soldier answered irrelevantly. He simply narrated the battle reports of the last few days: "Of course, the situation is improving. A few days ago, the coalition forces of the kingdom and the elves regained a lot of lost ground, but we all know that all this is because of the five-color dragons. They are shrinking, concentrating their strength, and preparing to attack the Church of the Seven Gods first."

"If they succeed, then there is no doubt that the Far South Kingdom, which has lost the support of the church, and the largest human gathering place in the south of the continent, will be overrun by alien races—people will be devastated, countless families will be torn apart, and the formerly prosperous civilization will be completely destroyed by barbarism."

Speaking of this, Joshua's eyes were deep. He recalled the time when he fought in the Far South, and he still remembered the feeling of blood boiling.

"so now."

But he was not affected by the memories of the past. After a few seconds, Joshua's eyes became clear again. His tone was very calm, without any excitement. The soldier looked directly into Nostradamus' eyes: "My fist tells me—— Strength should be used here, it has been honed for more than ten years to this point, not to watch this scene happen."

"...That's right."

I don't know how to say it, the old mage has a complicated expression.

Of course he knew that if the giant dragon really broke through the holy mountain, then the situation would be irreversible, and the human forces on the entire continent would fall into a real passive... But is it possible? The most powerful person on the continent, Pope Eagle of the Church of the Seven Gods, is there, and with the fact that the church has operated nearly a thousand years of formation barriers, even the arrival of the Dragon God may not be able to break through the holy mountain. The Seven Gods of the human race have been watching Far South, and they But I will not sit idly by.

In the final analysis, the old mage still believes that all this is too far away and has nothing to do with the empire.

"No man is a self-contained, isolated island." Regarding Nostradamus' attitude, Joshua shook his head, and he said seriously: "Everyone is a member of mankind, whether you or me, That's all."

"When the real death knell sounds, no one will be spared. Hesitation will not save those who wait and see, nor prudence will save those who hesitate."

Although the time is a bit out of date because of Joshua's changes to the world, the soldier still remembers clearly how critical the situation of the Church of the Seven Gods was in the previous life.

On a summer stormy night, taking advantage of the typhoon during the rainy season in the far sea, three legendary five-color dragons led nearly 100,000 berserk flying dragons to attack the holy mountain. The offensive was suppressed and unable to counterattack.

In this torrential rainy week, before the three legendary dragons made their move, the outer fortifications of the Church of the Seven Gods were all destroyed. Most of the priests abandoned the towns on the island and continued to defend against the strong temple on the holy mountain. .

Next, there will be a tug-of-war. Every day, a new army of mad dragons will come from all over the world, even from the far end of the sea. Their number is almost endless, and they are attacking all the time. No matter how tough they are, they are human beings, and they cannot bear the endless high tension for a week.

And just when all human beings were exhausted to the point of exhaustion, the three legendary dragons made a bold move, ready to completely destroy the defense line of the holy mountain.

Pope Eagle and the bishops could only fight, and the aftermath of the battle between the two sides even dispersed the raging typhoon. The battle between them lasted eight days and nights, but the priests in the holy mountain couldn't hold on for so long. Many knights who had been fighting from the beginning began to die suddenly due to exhaustion, and there was great confusion in the defense line.

Fortunately, at this time, an unknown priest received the revelation of the gods, and he developed a special teleportation array. Any priest who possesses the power of the holy light can locate them by echoing each other. With the help of a time-space holy artifact in the Great Temple, priests who traveled around the world came directly to the front line of the battlefield through this special teleportation array, and with the help of this new force, the front of the holy mountain gradually stable.

At the end of the battle, Pope Igor was even more powerful. With his own strength, he defeated all the high-end combat forces of the five-color dragon clan, and completely expelled the mad dragon army with his legendary power. too late.

After this battle, the vitality of the Church of the Seven Gods was severely damaged, and almost all the paladins and priests who traveled throughout the Mycroft continent disappeared, which laid the groundwork for the subsequent rampage of the cultists. Many sealed lands or chaotic eroded areas under their supervision began to spread gradually. Perhaps it was at that time that the Abyss of Anos, which was originally just a small gap, gradually grew into the gate of the abyss for later generations.

If at that time, there were strong men from other regions who were willing to help the Church of the Seven Gods, then things would never have fallen to this point.

"Take me back to the Lord's Mansion first, Master Nostradamus."

Standing up, Joshua raised his head and looked at the sunroof. The soldier narrowed his eyes. He didn't want to explain anymore, but said calmly, "I'm going to tell Hotaru and Rin that the rest is over."

"It's time to go."

Realizing that he couldn't convince the soldiers, Nostradamus also sighed helplessly and stood up, but Joshua who was at the side seemed to remember something, he took out a transparent spar from his bosom, looked at the A spar, the warrior seemed to be hesitant.

But then, he made up his mind: "Next, go directly to the imperial capital."

"It just so happens that I have something to tell His Majesty Israel."

——After half a day.

The Northern Empire, the Holy City of Three Mountains, and the Imperial Capital of Morlaix.

Sensing the teleportation fluctuations inside his palace, Israel, who was looking at a map of the Far South in the study, raised his brows.

"It came so fast."

He stroked his chin and said in a low voice, "As expected of a young man, his decisiveness is much higher than ours."

After finishing speaking, he put away the map on the table and hung it on a corner of the wall. Then, His Majesty the Emperor sat in his chair, waiting for the visitor who will come soon.

A few minutes later, regular footsteps sounded in the corridor outside the royal study, and then stopped at the door.

Sensing the powerful life force outside the door, Israel smiled slightly, and then said, "Come in, the door is unlocked."

He has always disliked those red tapes, so he has always been very casual in private. Hearing the master's voice, the door was opened, and the ruler of the empire saw Joshua's face as expected.

"You accepted the church's invitation?"

Without extra politeness, Israel asked Joshua with great interest. Unlike the resistance revealed by Nostradamus, His Majesty the Emperor was simply curious. Afterwards, he shrugged and said, "Yes. , you are a person who can't be idle, and if you have a chance to fight, you will not let it go."

As a warrior, he understands the mind of warriors better than the old mage.

"However, where is your magic machine? And that sea dragon, don't they go with you?"

Compared with the exhausted and heavy-hearted ruler of the empire last time in the Holy Emblem Hall, Israel is in a very good mood now. Although Joshua doesn't know why, he can also tell that the man in front of him His Majesty the Emperor is very easy to speak now.

So he didn't salute, but simply explained: "Firefly and Rin should still be taking care of the children of Brandon and Verdani. I have informed the couple to come back as soon as possible to take them away, and the black volume It is too big, and a special portal is needed to send it over. Master Nostradamus has no time now, and it will probably be opened up such a channel tomorrow."

"It's nothing more than a magic machine."

Hearing this, Israel's expression was a bit puzzled. He frowned and said, "Didn't I give you a shape-changing pendant last time? It should be able to change the shape of that sea dragon and become more ordinary." The horse is about the same size, although it can't be used for a long time, it is absolutely no problem to pass through the portal."

"..."

Breathing slightly stagnated, Joshua suddenly realized that he seemed to have really forgotten about it.

That's right, after returning from the imperial capital last time, he went directly to deal with the cultists and dragon eggs, and then prepared for the college's test, and the Brandon and his wife came to visit and entrusted his daughter to take care of other small things in the middle , he completely forgot about the Changing Pendant!

This is indeed a bad habit. Soldiers have always been too lazy to look at what equipment they have on them. Anyway, as long as they have weapons, they are all the same.

However, Israel did not pay attention to Joshua's expression. He said calmly: "Are you here to ask how to go to the Far South? Don't worry, the church and I have already made arrangements. After all, this is a matter of the majesty of the empire." It will definitely surprise you.”

Having said that, he showed a smile, and seemed very satisfied with the so-called surprise.

"Partly, but I'm here for another purpose."

Noticing that the topic was drifting away, Joshua quickly stopped the topic from drifting. He stood in front of Israel's desk and said in a deep voice, "Your secret injury."

When these words were uttered by the soldier, the atmosphere in the whole study immediately froze.

But then, the coercion from the legendary powerhouse quickly dissipated.

"As you can see, it's not surprising."

Instead of continuing to sit in his seat, His Majesty the Emperor stood up and took a stroll in the study room. He said with a self-deprecating voice: "Last time in the Shenghui Hall, I did lose my composure. Too much exhaustion and long-term pain made me You forgot to cover up your emotions—maybe earlier, when you and I were fighting each other for the first time, you discovered this."

——Actually a little earlier, such as the previous life.

Joshua didn't answer, because a detailed panel was slowly emerging in front of him.

At the beginning, with the strength of a warrior at the gold level, there was no way to pass the system appraisal and see the panel of His Majesty the Emperor in front of him clearly. But now, Joshua has reached the realm of ultimate intent. Although there is still a long way to go from the realm of legend, if If you simply look at the panel, you can still see it clearly.

【Name: Israel Diamond】

[Template: Legendary]

[Title: Master of the Empire, Apocalypse Dragon Knight]

[Race: Northwest Branch of Humanity, special classification 'Apocalypse']

[Racial Skill: Chosen One (All Skill Advancement Speed ​​x 1.1)]

[Level: LV94 Legend of Destiny]

[Challenge Level: LV90]

[attribute: abbreviated]

【Life Occupation: Fishing】

[Status: dark injury (lower back), loss of life (suppressed state)]