Soul of Burning Steel

The storm continued to rush from the north, mixed with unusually hot and metallic smell.

The gloomy sky was set off by black clouds, and Israel Diamond stood on the giant observation deck in the center of the East Banter Plateau, watching the hot and humid moisture stretch along the iron-gray horizon-the heavy rain fell, and the berth The creek turned into a raging river, and the lake that had been dried up in the winter was filled again. The accumulated water continued to expand on the black and green land, and the dry trees sprouted new shoots.

Spring is here, but this spring day is different from the past. The warm wind from south to north was reversed by a certain legendary power a few days ago. The law returned to the plain of Hergamos in the center of the empire, and it didn't even stop, it even came to the Banerte Mountains on the border between the Western Mountains and the Empire.

The emperor of the empire watched the rain fall on his head, and the downpour hit the ceiling of the watchtower, and also hit the gradually expanding mana base. More and more, they are burning tons of magic spar all the time, emitting colorful smoke, and the rain knocks the smoke down to the ground, forming groups of puddles of various colors.

The colorful light of magic power flows on the ground like a rainbow. Israel stares at the land and at his own empire. His eyes can sweep across the entire territory of the empire. If Leier is willing, he can see everything clearly, whether it is a druid hiding in the forest or a villager living in seclusion in the mountains, he knows everything clearly.

There is only one thing that he can't see clearly. people's hearts.

Under such heavy rain, most of the hard-working citizens will not go out. Only those who have to work outside for special reasons and businessmen who deliver supplies will grit their teeth and brave the rain. This kind of people especially like this kind of weather... no, they like any kind of weather, as long as it is not peaceful and sunny.

Israel could see that in the mountains on the south side of the Hergamos Plain, a caravan carrying purified Kamen white herb powder was driving in the rainstorm. Four guards were wearing leather armor and riding horses in the rain. The dragon car protected in the center ignored the wind and rain, strode across the rugged mountain road, and ran towards the city that was not far away—but just when the lights in the city could be seen from a distance, accompanied by the people on both sides of the road There was a rustling sound from the forest, and dozens of people with scattered clothes and tattered and inconsistent weapons jumped out amidst the whistle. They laughed and charged towards the carriage, with madness lurking in their numb eyes.

Bandits never cared about the weather when there was a worthy prey in sight.

Having been on the throne for decades, Israel originally thought he knew a lot about the crimes in his empire. Whether it was blackmailing the elderly, gangsters who extorted protection money, or nobles who oppressed civilians and robbed virgins, he had seen a lot. , Even in the army, there are villains who press the death report and drink the blood of soldiers. For them, His Majesty the Emperor has executed them for the first time, but this series of actions seems to be meaningless. One layer of haze, but one can see more darkness surging in the depths - selfish desires, customs, unspoken rules, blood, favors, interests... The whole system seems to be a breeding ground for evil. There are second batches, third batches, never ending.

Human society is not perfect, it is just hovering between being able to continue and getting by. Ordinary kingdoms are replaced every hundreds of years, and legendary empires will inevitably decline occasionally. It is born full of scars, and naturally it is impossible to grow. What a perfect flower.

In those years when he could only gradually move towards death due to secret injuries, Israel was extremely decadent. He sat on his throne with a wry smile, looking down at the eyebrows of his ministers and lords. The war against the orcs was over. The emerging nobles who rose up because of the war are naturally unwilling to lose power like this. They bribe ministers and even princes, and use various means to launch a war against the Western Mountains or the Eastern Plains.

— Let them go. His Majesty the Emperor thought so at the time. He didn’t have time to revise the empire step by step, and he didn’t even bother to care about where the empire would go in the future. Anyway, he had already eradicated the orcs, and sent this behemoth that had been wrestling with the empire for four hundred years. to hell. Israel felt that he had done enough to be worthy of the title of a great emperor. There was no emperor with such great achievements as him in the entire Mycroft Continent going back hundreds of years.

But, now, Starfall 837, March 10.

The light of divinity flashed in Israel's eyes, and a series of rune data was reflected behind him. The light blue data flow surged like a waterfall, as if he was calculating and correcting——Israel watched The bandits who were thousands of miles away rushed to the panicked caravan, and then stretched out their right hand.

So, with the crazily surging rune data, his will turned into the light of divine punishment, causing the dazzling golden light to cross the space and become flaming arrows hotter than the scorching sun. Thousands of flaming arrows pierced the cloud, and as The rain fell out of nowhere, turning all the bandits into fly ash at the moment when the pain was too late to convey.

Seeing this scene, the corners of Israel's mouth curled up.

He found that he could actually do more.

"Hiss—" Not far away, violent space-time fluctuations caused waves, and with the faint blue light that suddenly appeared behind him, two terrifying and huge aura descended. At this moment, the entire production line of "Apocalypse" came to a standstill For a moment, because all the magic power within hundreds of miles was frozen due to the arrival of the two, and no longer obeyed the user's orders.

But Israel didn't look back. He knew who the visitors were and what their purpose was. Israel knew that one of the two people behind him was his most loyal and closest comrade-in-arms, and the other was also the most worthy friend.

"Mr. Nostradamus, Sir Radcliffe."

Israel stood at the top of the observatory, watching everything in the distance: "My dream is about to come true."

"Isn't your dream to lead everyone out of the world and to the other side of the sea of ​​stars?"

Monotonous and without emotion, as if the sound came from the friction of iron and iron, this is the voice of Joshua van Radcliffe, the successor of the sages, the hero given by God, his voice and his The person himself is boring and lacking in emotion, with a fearful aura that can make ordinary people tremble and bow their heads. He only has a little emotion when he is fighting and getting along with his family, like a person, not a god of death.

"Why, the Void Battleship has been built?" Joshua's voice sounded quite relaxed, and he approached step by step, and finally came behind Israel. Regarding this, His Majesty the Emperor sneered: "Who will I take to the other side? A group of liars, robbers, thieves, cowards, and sadists? It is not my dream to take a group of lunatics out of the world."

"One step to the sky, I will not dream such a pure dream, I will only walk slowly towards the goal I want, even if it takes my whole life."

At the beginning, Israel's voice was still a little emotional, but as he got further behind, his voice became more determined, until in the end, his voice was as calm as usual, but everyone could feel that the surrounding The air is gradually heating and boiling, and an indescribable momentum is spreading from the center of the emperor: "Everything should be thanks to you, Sir Radcliffe, without you, there would be no current empire, and there would be no such apocalypse base , there would be no information terminal and magic net—of course, there would be no all of this and me now.”

"You once told me, why didn't I start reforming right away? Because I know that the time has not yet come. If one group of people is washed away, another group will stand up. Sin is like a reed. You break it Without it, the next year will grow higher, and the strong will naturally oppress the weak, just as one class must oppress another class."

"So now, is it time?" came the soldier's doubtful voice.

"The time has come." Israel nodded slowly.

"Let him see the results of our hard work these days."

Nostradamus, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke. He stood beside His Majesty the Emperor with a smile, and then took out a strange-shaped steel bar made of unknown metal from his arms. Joshua could see It turned out that it was half of a prism, and on the other side, Israel also took out the same steel bar from his hand, and he took the other half from the old mage's hand.

——This is an information terminal! But why so big? ! Seeing this scene, the soldier suddenly reacted.

And at the moment when Joshua came to his senses, Israel clasped his palms together and combined the two into one. Immediately, a light blue radiance shot out from the lower end of this prism. It was a data completely composed of runes. Flow, the amount of information is so large that even Joshua cannot analyze it in an instant.

Israel's calm voice could be heard: "Joshua, just watch."

"It's time for change."

Immediately, the observation tower located in the center of Tianqi Base began to shake, and the steel plate on the top of the platform began to rotate and protrude outwards, forming a high platform. The bottom shoots out, blending with the light of this 'key'.

[Information terminal No. 00-00, the highest administrator authority intervened, and began to implement the No. 1 plan. 】

[Supreme manager-code name Israel, energy fluctuation is confirmed, soul resonance is confirmed. 】

[Plan begins——]

【May you shine on the world like the sun. 】

The metal prism in Israel's hand has been liquefied under the impact of high-intensity energy, but this is not destruction, but rather it seems to have returned to its original form. The silver metal with light blue light surges and changes in the emperor's hands. As unpredictable as the human heart that can never be measured.

There was a huge roar, and everything was ready. The towering watchtower changed shape as if it had life. Under the operation of the magic circle program that had been confirmed, the three legends watched the huge magic machine begin to deform. The noise caused by the friction between steel and steel, as well as the faint sound produced by the resonance of magic power, the lower part of the observation tower broke away from the huge steel base, it was suspended in mid-air under the support of huge magic power, and it continued to rise towards the sky.

Joshua and Nostradamus stood at the top of the unchanging watchtower, they didn't pay attention to the rising platform, their eyes still stayed on the person in the center of the platform - at this moment, His Majesty the Emperor Spreading his palm, the liquid metal in his hand began to slowly float up, and then spread rapidly in midair, turning into a throne that seemed to be made of light. Israel stared at the throne slowly falling to the ground, embedded in the early On the high platform reserved for it. The emperor sat on his throne.

Then, he issued his first command: "Expand the full detection lens."

[Obey, Supreme Manager. 】

The voice without emotion answered him with pure information language, and the next moment, as invisible energy fluctuations swept across every part of the empire, countless light curtains unfolded in front of Israel.

Joshua, who was full of doubts, opened his eyes wide. He and Nostradamus stared at these light curtains.

The Hergamos Plain has a panoramic view, from Lake Eversong to Thomas Canyon, from the Tataros Plateau to the Great Ajax Mountains, every region and every city in the northwest of the empire comes into view, even mountain villages and The subterranean dwarves were not missing, and the warrior could even see the mole-herding dwarves digging a passage into the depths of the earth, which was only a stone's throw away from another subterranean cavity.

In the southern fortress, the hot and humid air from the northern land has not yet arrived, but gloomy black clouds have already appeared in the northern sky. The families of the soldiers and civilians in the fortress are hurriedly taking back everything on the hangers to prevent the clothes that have been washed with great difficulty from being dirty. Wet with rain, the southeast swamp, thick gray clouds are slowly moving, just like cloud mountains, with lightning shuttles among them, the residents of the tribe are used to this, and continue their daily lives.

On the eastern coast of the empire, the golden afterglow of the setting sun is reflected on the sea surface of Shiwan Port, which is as moving as the purest real gold. The waves are layered, and the stars gradually emerging on the horizon can already be seen. On the distant island, the lighthouse The rays of light are guiding the passing merchant ships to avoid hidden reefs and go to their respective directions smoothly.

Every corner of the entire empire, whether it is famous or not, whether there are people or people, even the Hesse Jedi where there are only monsters raging, even the overcrowded commercial city, there are a large number of light curtains reflecting every change in it , the holy city of three mountains in the imperial capital, in the Palace of Morlaix, the silver-haired queen frowned. She felt a familiar sight, but she didn't know where it came from. In the castle of the ancient fairy island, among the empty elements There was nothing on the pillar, and the goblin who was stationed there had long since left, wandering around the empire with a certain boy.

The swordsman traveling with his family, the dragon girl wandering around in the mountains of the Northland, the mount who ran to swim in the Blind Sea while the warrior was away, the first team who completed the task conscientiously, wandering around the city with the silver-haired girl, buying miscellaneous books Artificial intelligence...familiar and unfamiliar, everything is in these endless light curtains.

"I am not a sage, nor a saint. Nostradamus and I know that enlightening the wisdom of the people is the first step in transforming society, but before this first step, I must smash all classes, which is almost Impossible task, because there are destined to be superior and inferior among people, and there are destined to be oppressors and oppressed."

On the throne, Israel gradually became indifferent, and a voice with heavy echoes sounded, his tone was cold, and a strong killing intent emerged in the words: "I have thought for a long time, but I can only think of one way. "

"That's me being the oppressor—the only one."

The divine brilliance danced in Israel's eyes, and the emperor's originally deep pupils began to gradually turn into pure light—at this moment, his eyes completely turned into two groups of golden flames, burning everything like the sun. The person who looked at him, Israel was sitting on the throne, watching all the light curtains, he said softly: "Thank you, Mr. Radcliffe, you brought the magic net, you brought the Void Battleship production line , we joined forces to create the last step of this plan - a surveillance network covering the entire empire."

And at this moment, Joshua also understood, he raised his head and looked towards the void, his pupils also flashed with silver light, he saw countless rune light chains rising from all over the empire, and then went to Somewhere in the void, that is Void Battleship 1, which was just completed by the Empire. Israel named it and the entire production base 'Apocalypse'. Signals from the detection circles throughout the empire, before being relayed to Israel's throne.

The fighters back then didn't know why he took that name, but now, he does.

"It's no wonder the server always crashes from time to time... Obviously there are several legendary powerhouses strengthening and repairing it day and night, so you are the one who is experimenting."

Joshua muttered to himself, he turned his head and looked at Israel: "Nostradamus must be your accomplice, Barnier and William also know?"

"After all, I paid for the construction of the information terminal. They just followed professional ethics and didn't ask me what I was doing."

Israel nodded slightly to Joshua as an apology for concealment, but then he pointed to the light curtain and said softly, "Look, Sir Radcliffe."

"These evils are everywhere."

Following Israel's words, Joshua looked at the light curtain, and at this moment, the lenses on the outermost layer of the light curtain all changed into countless different images, and the soldiers saw them At the first glance, he subconsciously clenched his fists, and uncontrollable anger rose from his heart.

He saw the evil hidden under the entire empire, covered by the appearance of prosperity.

Those are the bandits who roam the wilderness and deep forests, robbing caravans and lone travelers. Countless missing persons on countless lists are born because of them. Countless old people have lost their children, and countless children have lost their children. Father, one caravan after another went bankrupt because of them, and thousands of people were ruined because of this.

It was the adventurers who were hidden under the friendly smiles and shot out by their companions in the old forest squadron in the wilderness. They pretended to be kind and took the inexperienced newcomers who were full of hope for the future to the inaccessible wilderness, and then killed them in their sleep. Killing them one by one, they reaped the dreams of others and enriched their own pockets. The blood on their hands could not make them feel guilty at all, but could only make them laugh with disdain.

In addition, there are nobles who hide in the secret room and think that no one knows them. They have tried all the excitement and tasted all the delicacies. Demons have been bred in their hearts. Hunting wild beasts and monsters can no longer satisfy these people. Finally, they turned their attention to their own race, so every month, every week, or even every day, one or two teenagers and girls would disappear in a slum area in a certain place, and a group of people in a certain mountain village would be masked. Knights kidnapped, their end is to become 'novel' material in the bloody basement of the castle, to satisfy the tyrannical desires of these people that cannot be described in words.

"Human-trafficking gangsters, merchants who train female slaves, nobles who persecute civilians for fun, and mages who are interested in dissecting humans... They think they are hidden and have a protective umbrella, so they can do whatever they want."

In the name of usury, the villain who dragged the crying girl out of the house is mocking the stupidity of this family; the slave trader who uses magic potion to destroy the mind of the slave and rebuild his personality is full of excitement; The crackling nobleman shouted freely, and increased the strength in his hand by the way; while on the test bench, the magician who did not administer any paralyzing potion, but simply wanted to see the extremely terrified eyes of others showed an inhuman smile.

Israel's indifferent voice echoed in the observation tower, and His Majesty the Emperor sitting on the throne sneered: "But now, everything is in my eyes—the laws of the empire—and I will judge them."

He stretched out his right hand and held it in the air. Immediately, with the suddenly increased energy fluctuations, every sinful place that appeared in the light curtain ushered in his own punishment—the scorching flaming arrow. It fell from the sky, precisely killing all the bandits and villains, and the lair of the gang turned into a sea of ​​flames in the shocked eyes of many numb onlookers. Under the laser light, they were dismantled into pieces, including the nobles themselves, and the magician in the mage's tower spontaneously combusted out of thin air, turning into black coals in the bewildered eyes of the next undissected experimental subject.

Countless evildoers are still staring at the sky in panic before they die. They are praying and confessing their sins to God, but the emperor's anger will not be weakened by this powerless confession. Withered grass, turned into ashes in the flames.

"Thirty days."

After finishing all this, Israel suddenly said in a raised voice: "As long as the materials are sufficient, the Apocalypse base can produce a second-level air cruiser, which can carry four high-energy magic crystal cluster guns and serve as a transfer station." , Carrying my power, thirty thirty days later, I will establish a monitoring and strike network covering the entire empire, as long as it is a crime that can be seen, I can send airships, or directly suppress it."

"Ultimate dystopia..."

But at this time, Joshua was whispering such a word to himself, because he said it in the language of the earth, so whether it was Nostradamus who was watching all this with a smile, or the calm Israe Er did not understand, and when the two showed puzzled expressions, the soldier closed his eyes slightly, then he opened his eyes to look at Israel, and asked in a deep voice: "This is your choice? Israel, Use absolute power to oppress the entire empire? Use information terminals to monitor everyone?"

"Yes, this is my choice."

Answered without hesitation, Israel showed an extremely determined expression, he opened his eyes wide, and looked at Joshua: "There will be no more crimes, no more oppression, bandits will disappear, and gangsters will disappear." All will be imprisoned, all nobles who tortured and killed civilians will be sentenced to death by me, and any criminals who attempt to murder will be burned to ashes by me—I am the legendary strong Israel, and I have the ability to do so!"

"There will be no more classes in this world, civilians can live in peace of mind, caravans will not have to worry about making peace and robbers, upright people can hold their heads high, and despicable people can only go to hell. This is what I want!"

Joshua stared at Israel's face: he wanted to find even a trace of selfish desires in it, but he didn't have any. The emperor had no selfish desires from inside to outside, and he was consistent with his words and deeds. ——What if this is really what he thinks from the bottom of his heart?

"It's absolute power."

The soldier took a deep breath, and many thoughts flooded his mind. For the first time, Joshua was not clear about his thoughts—his rationality told him that absolute power would lead to absolute corruption, and Israel would never No exception, but on the other hand, he believed in the will of a legendary powerhouse. Israel said that he could achieve eternal justice, so Radcliffe was willing to believe that he could do it.

contradictory? No, trust itself is unreasonable.

"Mr. Nostradamus, Sir Radcliffe."

As if feeling Joshua's complicated emotions, Israel slowed down his tone, stared at the light curtain in front of him, and said in a voice with heavy echo: "I know, this kind of absolute power is nothing Good thing."

"But now, I do feel the 'justice' brought by 'power'."

Sitting on the "Seat of Apocalypse" formed entirely of information terminals, Israel looked down at the earth and his empire from the high-altitude observatory 12,000 meters above the ground. The emperor's body poured out, Israel slowly closed his eyes, and a huge, gear-like black ring holy emblem appeared behind him.

That is the holy emblem of the god of might and justice.

In the boundless heaven, a certain great will trembled slightly.

"God Awakened..." He murmured softly, watching the world of Mycroft with complicated eyes, but then he diverted his attention and continued to immerse himself in the process of merging the boundless heavens.

As for the Mycroft Continent, above the Eastern Banerte Plateau, Israel opened his eyes again, his eyes burning like the sun releasing a glow that made it impossible to look directly at.

"I won't leave this seat until the day I envision comes."

Said the emperor thus: "I will watch over this country."

"Until it becomes what I want it to be."

We're all bad people, but what does it matter?