Wasteland Echoer

"What, Your Highness? As the crown prince of the empire, do you want to personally shoot down the soldiers of the empire, your [soldiers] for your own selfish desires? You must know that if you do this, your name of 'tyrant' will be withheld." It's true." Wright said in a semi-threatening tone.

"But Wright, a [soldier] who does not agree with the monarch's ideals cannot be considered a true warrior. You... can only be called 'traitors'." Ivant leaned close to Wright's ear and spoke softly, but extremely intimidatingly. The tone retorted.

As the Crown Prince of the Empire and the actual person in power, he had information and had a brief understanding of Wright.

Of course, Evante had a rough estimate of the strength of the young man in front of him who was not afraid of threats.

Therefore, even though the situation was already at stake, he still chose to use intimidation as the main method, supplemented by real combat games.

However, Wright seemed to have completely failed to understand what he meant. In other words, Wright had absolute confidence in his own strength.

He actually pressed down Ivant's "Empire Core" pistol with his hand, looked into Ivant's eyes with his black eyes filled with coldness and gloominess, raised the corners of his mouth, smiled with a mocking smile, and retorted in a low voice. :

"How many 'traitors' have you seen who have not committed any acts of rebellion? As long as you commit acts of robbery, the [order] that the empire is trying to reconstruct will create hidden dangers at the beginning of the reconstruction. The generals around you will They will no longer serve you sincerely and loyally. Your men will always be surrounded by an atmosphere of terror. In this way, your final ending will never be like the great 'Leto I' and 'Ivan II' The twelfth generation is so admired by people, but will be even more miserable than the 'fool' Carter I."

"Lite! How dare you curse me!" Evante said angrily, but his voice remained very soft.

He didn't want a third person to hear such a conversation that was absolutely inconsistent with his character.

The two of them competed against the "Empire Core" pistol for four or five minutes. When their bodies were shaking due to excessive exertion, their breath was disordered, and they felt weak, Evante took the pistol completely back.

Immediately afterwards, he took half a step back, thought for a while, and then slowly said:

"Wright...did you know? In the core area of ​​Silent Highlands, only the 'Lake of Silence', which is not too large, has water sources. Therefore, the 'Silent Lone Wolf' and other beasts will choose to live here. Leave here, No matter which direction you walk, you will find no resources, a desolate and sandy place. Apart from the stinking and rotting bodies, the only things you can see are the "Careless Vultures" and "Heartless Vultures" that occasionally linger overhead, waiting for a meal. A careless bird'."

"Not only are resources scarce here, water sources are rare, but even the magic power is almost exhausted. If you try to escape here alone, your power will gradually be wasted in the desolate field. So, since you can't convince me, I won't We can’t take away the mechanical core by force, so how about a duel under Crusted’s rules, where the winner unconditionally obeys the loser?”

"A duel under Crusted's rules? How to proceed?" Wright asked curiously, but did not agree immediately. He was afraid that this was a conspiracy by Evante, so he chose to find out the details first.

"This is one of the ancient cultures of the Krusted Empire and us. I think you imperial soldiers must break away from such barbaric behavior in the future and pay more attention to our great and magnificent, thousand-year-old Precipitated history." After a few words of ridicule, Ifant explained:

"Our duel is different from the gladiatorial games in Ptoya and the Central Empire. As a place favored by the Lord, we pay more attention to the sense of honor of the 'knights' and the sense of ritual of the gods."

"A sense of honor... and a sense of ceremony?" Wright asked curiously, feeling a little more intense about the unique mystery and weight of Crusted culture.

"Of course." Evante's voice interrupted Wright's brief thoughts.

In front of Wright, he handed the pistol to Kaiwukski behind him and continued to explain:

"This kind of duel is called a 'humane duel'. The two parties in the duel do not need to fight for their lives, but the losing party must unconditionally obey the winner's orders, even if it requires death, the loser must obey. Of course, Wright, if If you fail, I will not ask you to commit suicide. After all, the Fighting Empire needs talents to rebuild, and you will be the force that the Empire needs most after its rebirth."

"You know, Wright? One era is coming to an end, and another is being born. Shamon once told me that the era of steam is long gone, the era of wasteland is coming to an end, and the era of electricity is coming. And even more distant The future is heading towards the glorious 'information age' before the stars and universe. Relying on the mechanical core of the 'Daughter of Mechanical Yuan', our great thousand-year empire will soon enter the electrical age, unlocking higher and creating more possibilities Sexual 'electrical weapons', when the time comes, the entire world will surrender under the double-headed eagle flag of the Zine Empire and move towards a greater and more resolute [order]."

"Of course, Wright." Evante said, taking two metal long swords from Kaiwukski behind him, examining them carefully, and explained:

"The reason why it is called a 'humane duel' is that the desire to kill cannot be shown during the duel. In other words, no blood can be seen in this duel. Once one party's body is scratched , blood flowing out, even a little bit, can declare the opponent's victory. Moreover, hot weapons cannot be used in duels, only knight's swords can be used mainly. In order to ensure respect for the rules, the' on the combat aircraft behind me The Annihilation A-01' machine will be activated, and no magic will be able to be used within a circular area of ​​at least one hundred meters centered on it."

"'Humane Duel', 'Humane Duel', it really has a bit of black humor." Wright smiled bitterly, sighed and said:

"On the surface, it respects the lives of all parties, but gives the loser the authority to be punished absolutely. The duel method spread by Crusted not only does not want to be accused of being too barbaric, but also wants to show the barbarism itself. It can be said that on the surface, it wants to maintain Polite and gentlemanly, but trying to satisfy his rawest and ugliest nature.”

"Lite..." Ifant felt a little impatient and urged:

"I don't have time to listen to your irrelevant analysis. Now you have only two choices before you, either accept the duel or voluntarily hand over the mechanical core. Otherwise, when my patience is exhausted, I will no longer have any scruples."

Seeing that Ivant, who wanted to maintain his image as a "wise monarch" and did not want to be criticized for taking things by force in the future, was losing his patience, Wright smiled helplessly, nodded slightly, and agreed to the duel.

Immediately afterwards, a metal sword was easily thrown towards Wright by Ifant, and it was inserted directly into the soft soil at his feet.

Pulling out the long sword, Wright immediately felt the heaviness of metal. Looking at the silver tone, one meter long, sharp blade, rounded tip, and the blade of the sword that was dazzlingly mixed with the cold breath as it flipped, Wright unexpectedly An inexplicable feeling of familiarity arose.

Letting out a long sigh, Wright held the long sword with both hands and assumed a posture that he remembered people from the ancient Western Continent using for battle.

Ivant in front of him seemed to be quite familiar with the use of the long sword. He held the sword in both hands and tried to swing it a few times effortlessly. After getting familiar with the feel, he quickly adjusted his breathing and exerted force all over his body. Heading towards Wright.

when!

The first confrontation between the two long swords produced dazzling sparks. Wright, who was unable to use magic power and thermal weapons, truly felt the difficulty of the physical game.

With just one blow, he was shaken back several steps. After struggling to deflect Ivant's sword, he quickly adjusted his position to distance himself from it.

Yifante, who gained the advantage with the first blow, was not in a hurry to pursue the victory. After all, the game of strength and technology can be seen from the initial confrontation when the opponent does not deliberately hide the true strength.

Wright was not proficient in using the long sword, and in terms of physical fitness alone, he lagged behind Ivante.

With an absolute advantage, Ivant was not eager to give Wright a "key blow" to win, but suddenly came up with an idea.

He wanted to be an excellent hunter, like a certain warrior who led humans to victory in the war with the dragons.

He wanted to play with the prey in front of him and observe his miserable appearance, so as to relieve the depression that had accumulated in his heart for many years.

In his eyes, Wright is a talent, and he is also a minister who needs to be loyal to him in the future. Naturally, he needs to undergo gradual and long-term mental suppression in order to show complete obedience from the heart and better control himself.

Today's duel is better regarded as the first step of "loyalty training".

Thinking of this, Evante couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, revealing a sinister smile.

Immediately afterwards, he picked up the long sword with one hand, looked at the panting Wright with his purple eyes, and said in a voice so soft that it was almost twisted:

"Wright, do you think that the royal family of the empire is just a group of [scholars] who live in palaces, sit at desks, and only know how to point fingers at the country, talk eloquently all day long and then fall asleep? If you think so, you are wrong. As a As those who lead the overall situation, we must not only master the specific data of the country's political and economic situation, but also have a thorough understanding of the military. Physical training is a subject we cannot escape."

"Every year for more than a month of 'routine' training, I perform it according to the standards of the empire's most elite [soldiers]. As the supreme commander of the army, I must have strong physical fitness to ensure the long-term stability of the empire. stability. Otherwise, I will be like my unsatisfactory father Rekha I, who was attacked by the 'unintentional man' only once and then became paralyzed in bed and unable to recover from illness."

"So, Wright. I don't know if it's because of the war, your own weakness, or your over-reliance on magic power. Now you are at an absolute disadvantage in physical competition. Even so, you still have to persist here. A pointless, losing battle?"

"Your Highness..." Wright barely recovered his normal breathing and responded firmly:

"Victory and defeat often happen in a split second. No one can predict which way the balance will fall until the last moment."

"Well, I'll wait for you to destroy yourself!" Ivant said angrily, raising the sword with both hands again and assuming a fighting posture.

"Ouch!"

A non-human sound suddenly came out of Wright's throat, and his arms suddenly glowed with a faint, indifferent red light. He raised his sword with both hands, like a beast reaching out from its predicament, trying to break free from the shackles of the cage.

Then, pieces of warm, familiar, and gradually clear memory fragments flashed through his mind. They seemed to be dragged, intertwined, and combined by invisible forces, and they actually formed pictures that seemed to come from ancient times. Field, memory related to "swordsmanship".

"ah!"

With a roar, Wright took half a step forward. The air around him was compressed and released like a weak hurricane, and then spun to a limited extent.

Then, Evante suddenly discovered that Wright's eyes had turned from deep black to frightening red. He felt that his eyes, ears, skin, and even every pore began to accumulate and shrink due to inexplicable fear.

In a daze, he didn't know whether it was the fading of the sun's brilliance or the aura of fighting around him that was developing in an uncontrollable direction. He actually felt that the sky around him was dimming like before a heavy rain.

Subconsciously looking at the sky, purple lightning was rolling between the dark clouds, and bright arcs were traveling through it, like "giant dragons" with a strong oriental style.

Gradually, Evante felt that the sounds around him began to become noisy. The roar of steam, the roar of the wind, and the faint and shrill sound of rain gradually gathered in his eardrums.

The Wright in front of him began to swell and become distorted. In a few seconds, Wright seemed to have lost his human body and turned into a real beast with several terrifying creatures stacked on top of each other.

He felt his body getting colder and colder, the "beast" in front of him expanding more and more, and the surrounding space becoming darker and darker.

In a daze, he seemed to see a huge palm covered with sharp spikes hanging in the air, about to fall heavily.

Until a stinging pain in his neck suddenly brought him back to reality.

"You lose, Your Highness." Wright's deep voice reached his ears.

After coming back to his senses, Ivante took a closer look. The distorted hallucination that had just appeared was no longer there. Standing in front of him was Wright with a firm face and piercing eyes.

At this moment, he was holding a long sword and pressed the sharp edge of the sword against Evante's neck. Due to the rules agreed in advance, he did not slash down with the sword, but only slightly scratched the skin of his neck. , causing slight bleeding.

When blood flows out, the opponent is declared victorious.

Obviously, Ifant lost.

But he didn't have the magnanimity of an empire controller at all. The hallucination he had just had severely restricted his actions. He couldn't accept such a humiliating failure from the bottom of his heart.

"You cheated, Wright!" Ifant pushed away Wright's sword and shouted almost hysterically:

"You learned the 'seduce' skill, made me hallucinate, and then attacked me secretly. No... you found a helper, the Lost One who can 'seduce', right? Where is he? Where is he!"

"You were suppressed by fear, Your Highness the Crown Prince. You were afraid of my power from the bottom of your heart, so when you were extremely confident but extremely nervous in your heart, you were under too much mental pressure, which led to hallucinations. You lost, According to the agreement, you must meet my requirements. I am not greedy, Your Highness, please allow me to leave here with the mechanical core and go to the north." Wright begged.

"Dream!" Ifant roared:

"Traitor! Scumbag! A rotten fish! A coward who only knows how to cheat, an idiot who only wants to sneak attacks. You still want to leave here? Don't be delusional. Even if my generals are no longer loyal to me because of my actions, I will punish them." You, execute you!”

As he spoke, Evante tapped the "Time Wheel Watch" twice with his fingers. Then, a group of blue light like a ghost in the dark night emerged from the "Watch" and quickly formed a six-pointed star and Chamomile pattern.

A dark, deep sapphire-like light flashed from Evante's eyes, and as he breathed, the fluorescent "Empire Core" pistol was pressed against Wright's chest.

"The ability to pause time?" Wright guessed as he looked at the space around him that seemed to have the pause button pressed.

"Yes, this is the exclusive sequence monster that can only be used by me, who has the blood of the imperial family. The reason why I pull you into a space that transcends three dimensions and where time and space are static is to let you see the silver in my pistol with your own eyes. The bullet pierced your heart. I want you, a cheater, to know how desperate it is to gradually die when you are unable to move and have no power to resist." Ifant said viciously.

After Evante's reminder, Wright suddenly realized that in the still space, he was just an "observer" who could see, hear, and feel everything around him. He was unable to move his body or use his magic power to resist. Now he was nothing more than fish on the chopping board, a lamb to be slaughtered.

Watching with his own eyes Ivant loaded the bullets of the "Empire Core", adjusted the angle and pressed the gun against his already hot semi-mechanical heart, Wright's anxious heart grew up with the ultimate despair in the face of death.

He saw Evante's finger slowly pull the trigger...

Phew!

The desperate Wright did not hear the crisp gunshot he expected, but instead heard a dull, flesh-piercing sound.

After gradually regaining consciousness, Wright opened his eyes and saw that Evante's hand holding the pistol lowered, and a stream of blood spurted out of his mouth.

After shaking his body and taking two steps back, Evante lay down on his back with a very unwilling expression.

Looking closely, Wright discovered that there was a dark red hole on Evante's chest, with bright "dye" flowing down.

Looking up, Wright saw a familiar body, and the "heart" he was holding in his right hand, covered in blood, filled with endless desire for control and anger, and still beating desperately!

As the blue flames rose between the palms, the "heart" suddenly turned into black ashes flowing down from the fingertips like sand.

Immediately afterwards, a weak, slightly delicate and hoarse voice came from the throat of the young man in front of him:

"Brother Wright, we finally meet again. You were so close to being killed by this 'tyrant', so close... I was so close to never seeing you again."

Looking at the man in front of him who was wearing a military green uniform of the Imperial Army, wearing the "chimney" badge of the Chekavsk Industrial Party, with short dark red hair, a boyish appearance, and a fair background but a face covered with small scars, Wright completely lost his flash of emotion just now. Instead, he suppressed his body that was slightly shaking due to excitement and said with tears in his eyes:

"Miyou, you're here."

"Yes, Brother Wright." Miyou showed a pure smile. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said:

"Ever since we were separated after being attacked by Melinaer and 'Mad Body' in Donusk, I have been looking for your traces, Brother Wright. Do you know? You have red magic power and the profession of [Order] You are an unparalleled asset to our Hope Church. Mr. Aaron told me that you are a messenger enough to lead the lost people to an extraordinary future. My task is not only to keep an eye on you and assist you in executing battle orders, but also to The important thing is to protect your life from threats."

"Ever since the nuns in the Dark Night Church learned that you had entered the core area of ​​Silent Highlands, I deliberately avoided Mr. Aaron and tried to break in from another way alone. Near the altar at the end of the sea of ​​sunflowers, I It's a pity that I almost caught up with you. But fortunately, we finally met again in the 'time lag' area." Miyu widened his crimson eyes that were very Vampire style, and said with joy on his face:

"Do you know, Brother Wright? The 'time lag' area created by Evante's sequential monster 'Time Wheel Watch' is not an unbreakable existence. Having stolen the ability of the [Delayer], I happen to be immune to 'time stasis' The influence. Even if you are unable to move, I can still come and go here freely and move freely. This arrogant and arrogant 'tyrant' probably did not expect that before he died, he had absolute advantages, including the forbidden demon, To die in his own field in such a humiliating way, haha."

"Miyou." Wright, who was just about to reminisce about the past, suddenly realized that the things around him began to break away from stagnation and moved slowly, "We have to escape from here before the 'time stasis' disappears. Ivant's death is no joke. , those generals and the surrounding imperial soldiers will not let us go."

"Don't worry." Mi You said with a smile:

"There are only three combat aircraft here. The other air and space forces have not landed next to the Lake of Silence. They are at least half a kilometer away from here. It will be several hours before they discover the situation here. Moreover, just now you and the 'tyrant' During the duel, I had already killed the two generals with my gun. In other words, the only people left alive here are you and me."

As soon as Miyou finished speaking, the time around him quickly returned to normal. The ripples spreading on the lake, the branches moving in the wind, and the "careless birds" hovering in the sky, these moving objects still make Wright feel very nervous.

Being able to move freely, before he could move his body and pull Miyou away from the "Lake of Silence", a deafening roar that seemed to come from deep in the clouds had already reached their ears.

boom--------

The two looked up and saw an unusually bright "fireball" emitting scorching light heading toward the "Lake of Silence" at a speed faster than sound.

Quickly, the fireball became larger and larger, and the surrounding space was instantly enveloped in a shocking red color. The temperature also increased rapidly within a few seconds, becoming extremely hot.

As the frightening red light around him completely overwhelmed everything, and the scorching flames devoured everything, the moment before he lost consciousness, an unusually ethereal girl's voice suddenly appeared in Wright's ears that haunted his soul like a nightmare:

"The real 'Fire of Punishment' was born in the Steam Age... Its power is enough to destroy half a country."

"It turns out that Evante had a backup plan a long time ago. As long as his life force is exhausted, the 'Fire of Heaven's Punishment' will bombard the Silent Highlands and destroy everything..."

Smiling bitterly, Wright closed his eyes tightly. At the last moment, he chose to hold his head high, open his arms, and calmly accept the arrangements that the goddess of fate made for him.

…

…

It’s the final chapter of half the first volume.