Soul of Burning Steel

When Joshua returned to the Mycroft Continent from the turbulence of time and space, it was already the middle of May in Starfall 835.

Karliss pulled him from the turbulence of time and space into the star dome, the core of the world, where the flow of time becomes abnormal, a minute may be a day, a month may be an instant, which is why ordinary life cannot communicate with The reason for the steel python's dialogue is that it is difficult for them to maintain self-awareness in this extraordinary environment. Joshua was lucky. During the time he was talking with Calliss, the time lapse of the Star Dome was normal, but there was a little accident when the steel python sent him back to the Mycroft Continent. The outbreak greatly delayed his departure.

But no matter what, now he has returned to the Mycroft Continent, the Great Ajax Mountain Range, this familiar place.

With the opening of the blue door, time-space rifts appeared on the most magnificent mountain in the north, and the extremely obvious time-space fluctuations spread in all directions, attracting the attention of many people who had been waiting here for a long time. There was a wave of magic, and three mages and two gold-ranked fighters flew up at the same time, approaching the dark blue time and space gate.

The arrival of the Great Demonic Tide has greatly improved the strength of the entire world. Under the baptism of high-concentration magic power for nearly a year, there are already many high-level silver-level advancements that have become gold-level, but in any case, the gold-level The existence of the elite is still the high-level power of the entire world, and the reason why these elites are waiting respectfully here is naturally because they have orders.

An order from the emperor.

About a week ago, the Emperor of the Empire came to the Northland together with his trusted mentor, and met two legendary mages who had lost contact for a long time. They communicated with each other for a long time. From the mouths of Barnir and William, the two The highest level of the empire knew most of the things that happened in the sixth abyss. Israel was not surprised by what the soldiers did, whether it was killing demons or severely injuring the demon army, and Nostradamus was the same. They were not even shocked or worried about Joshua's sudden disappearance during teleportation. The ruler of the empire with dark golden hair only responded with a calm smile to Master Barnir's doubts.

"That's Joshua."

When he said this, he only said this sentence without giving any explanation, but this understatement is actually enough to explain everything, even the two legendary mages couldn't help but nodded in agreement after thinking for a while .

"That's right, if it's that guy, it's really no big deal."

William recalled what the soldiers did in the abyss, and said with relief: "This is the first time I have seen someone go to the abyss to slaughter demons—this kind of person will be fine."

And the fact is just as they thought, Joshua returned safely, but it was a bit late, and the warriors did not respond to the mages and golden warriors who had surrounded him respectfully since he stepped out of the gate of time and space. Too many emotions, he just said calmly: "Okay, go and tell His Majesty the Emperor and Master Nostradamus that everything is fine with me, nothing unexpected happened."

"In a few days, I will go to see them, talk about some things, and ask His Majesty to arrange a time." Joshua specially explained to a mage with a five-star ring sun emblem on his body, who was obviously a person close to the royal family: "The most Fortunately, in the Void Star Observatory, there are many things that can be used there."

"Yes, Lord Radcliffe."

Regarding Joshua's instructions, the royal mage immediately bowed his head and respectfully responded: "I will bring your majesty the complete words—is there anything else you want to ask?"

No. Joshua did not say these words, because he had already started to move towards the south, towards the Moldavian territory, towards the direction of the Lord's Mansion. Neither the high-level mage nor the golden warrior saw any process, and the warrior had already disappeared. It wasn't until the royal mage cautiously looked up at the place where Joshua was originally that he realized that he had left.

He came home.

And at this moment, on the roof of the Lord's Mansion, Hei Zheng was holding a ball on his head, lying bored on the concave and convex battlements on the edge of the tower, looking at the blue sky. In the past few days, the black dragon girl has always been so leisurely. After all, she doesn't need to deal with official duties like Rin, nor does she need to monitor the situation in the entire main city like Miss No. 3. Even Yingying is more important than her. Busy—at least the magical girl also works part-time as the head maid. Cleaning such important places as the study and bedroom has always been her job.

Only Hei, because it is positioned as a mount, has nothing to do except being taken out for a walk by the soldiers on weekdays, so in the days when Joshua is not around, there is nothing to do. If it is a time when the soldiers are busy and cannot accompany her, the black dragon girl In fact, she will still go to the extreme arctic ice field by herself, and she will even try to catch fish around the Blind Sea, but now, Joshua has not returned for a long time, not only the sisters and brothers of Shenji and the artificial intelligence girl are worried , even Hei, who has always been carefree, has no intention of going for a walk.

Thanks to the existence of the light sphere. Thinking of this, Hei stretched out his hand, and carefully stroked the beige light ball stuck between his two corners, which seemed very suitable, and a crisp jingle came, proving that the other party was in a good mood.

It's warm and comfortable. she thought happily. But if I continue to touch it, will it be angry? The black dragon girl was a little worried again.

For the existence of the light ball, whether it is Yingying, Rin, or No. 3, they all expressed considerable curiosity. The sisters and brothers of Shenji think that it has a nearly physical energy body just like their psionic body, and the artificial intelligence The girl felt that the other party's form of existence was very worthy of her reference. In fact, No. 3 had been in the central control room for several days, and seemed to be trying to imitate this repulsive force field that obviously only had energy, but could be touched as if it were real.

But no matter who it is, they all think that this unknown life brought back by the master is definitely of great value, otherwise why did Joshua of Nuoda Abyss bring back such a ball without bringing anything? So either out of curiosity or aggressiveness, they all began to improve themselves in their own way, intending to show it to their master when he came back—undoubtedly, just like Israel and others , everyone in the lord's mansion believed that the warrior would definitely return safely.

As for this, Hei was more powerful, and she didn't think about anything. For the black dragon that was kept by warriors in the Palmprint Lake of Nissier Snow Mountain most of the time, the master was always absent.

Therefore, when she saw a red long rainbow running through the blue sky and stopping over the lord's mansion—that is, in front of her eyes, Hei was not overly surprised and excited, but just raised his hand full of vitality and greeted the soldiers. Greeted: "Master! You are back!"

"Yes, I'm back, are you worried about me?"

Landing in the tower, Joshua habitually stretched out his hand with a smile, intending to touch the head of the black dragon girl, but when Heiye stretched out his head habitually, he found that his hand touched a piece as soft as jelly. And the elastic existence—the ball of light issued a series of crisp wind chimes, as if angry at Joshua's leaving without saying goodbye a long time ago.

"I didn't abandon you—everything was an accident." Joshua took the ball of light off Hei's head smoothly, stretched out his right hand, rubbed the other's head with the black dragon girl's comfortable expression, and turned his head to the other side. The light ball in his left arm said: "How is it? The Mycroft Continent should be much better than the Blood Moon. I originally thought that you would not adapt to the air environment, but now it seems that you are doing pretty well."

"Jingle jingle jingle!"

In the sound of the wind chime of the light ball, a wave of magic power quickly gathered in mid-air, and footsteps came from the stairs. Sensing the movement and familiar atmosphere on the top floor, the sisters and brothers of Shenji and No. 3 were all in the air. He reacted instantly, and then took the fastest action.

Without speaking, Joshua raised his head and looked at No. 3 who had just condensed the magic projection and Hotaru and Rin who came out of the entrance. He smiled and nodded.

"I'm back." He said, "I'm a little late."

"It's too late." The silver-haired girl pursed her lips in dissatisfaction, Yingying frowned, crossed her hands on her chest, and said angrily: "And the most important thing is not this, and it's not that you don't bring us— —but just left so suddenly without saying hello!"

"Farewell without saying goodbye will cause chaos, master!" Even Rin, who has always been gentle, showed a troubled expression. The housekeeper who has been handling government affairs for soldiers looks a little exhausted: "Oh my god, no one would have thought that you would be like this." Leaving suddenly, the Black Forest Fortress has issued three documents requesting additional supplies, and I dare not sign it without you, but this matter is extremely urgent, so I can only pretend to sign and settle this matter first—you won’t blame me?"

"Of course not, I even plan to praise you." Joshua blinked, how could he blame Rin, without this steward, the soldiers would be overwhelmed by the star-studded government affairs of the Moldavian leader, you know, He's always been a little ignorant of the fact that he's a lord. Joshua's character is easy to say, unrestrained and unrestrained, not bound by trifles, but hard to say, he just can't be a qualified leader. He can command a small team to charge on the battlefield at most, and it is impossible to stay in one place at all. Handle tedious government affairs.

The indignation of the Shenji siblings was mainly because they were not brought along on this adventure. As weapons, both Hotaru and Rin felt that they were abnormally disqualified. It took Joshua a lot of work to solve this problem, such as Promise them that if they have a chance next time, they will take the two of them out together and chop something, so that they will not forget their own responsibilities. After that, the soldier turned his head and looked at No. 3 who had been silent.

"Why didn't you speak?" Joshua asked a little strangely. He knew that in similar situations before, it was always Miss Artificial Intelligence who spoke first, but this time she remained silent, feeling a little different from before.

"...You are doing something dangerous again, Joshua."

Facing the soldier's question, No. 3 was silent for a while, and then murmured softly: "You didn't bring Hotaru and Rin because you thought it was too dangerous... Hei's speed is very fast, and he can avoid most dangers." That's why you brought her with you."

"The abyss is not dangerous to me, but it is different to you."

Regarding the words of the artificial intelligence girl, Joshua's expression became serious involuntarily, and he replied seriously: "Actually, it's a little thoughtless to wear black, but everything is fine. This trip to the abyss also let me A lot of potential troubles have been discovered."

Thinking of the divine runes engraved on the bones in his body, Joshua couldn't help but nodded slightly. Being able to clearly perceive the influence of divinity on him can be said to be one of the biggest gains of this trip to the abyss, second only to the information that the steel python told him.

"Speaking of which, No. 3, this is different. You actually care about my safety."

Many thoughts flashed by, and Joshua came back to his senses. He looked at No. 3, who was still a little worried, and said with a smile: "You had full confidence in me before this, so how could you suddenly care about my safety? ?”

When Joshua said this, he felt very relaxed. He just casually said to No. 3 instinctively. This sentence did not even go through his brain's thinking. On the contrary, after listening to Joshua's question, No. 3 seriously thought about it for a while , and then answer.

"Joshua."

When she said this, the artificial intelligence girl's tone was very sincere and serious. This emotion was so obvious that even Hei, who was constantly stroking the light ball and making it jingle, stopped subconsciously. The movements of her hands, not to mention Hotaru and Rin who were very serious from the beginning, No. 3 seemed to be considering her words, and after a few seconds, she said softly: "Now, we are all happy."

"Firefly, Rin, Hei, this ball of light, the old bishop of Artanis, Mr. Brandon, Ms. Verdani, the two ladies of the Scarant family, Master Nostradamus and the emperor who don't come often His Majesty."

No. 3's voice was not loud, but it was very clear. She glanced around at everyone present, and then continued to speak in a calm voice: "A year or two ago, everyone's face was not pretty. They, us, We were all worried because there were so many things that weren't resolved. But now it's different, our lives are back on track."

Hotaru and Rin have adapted to their roles as head maid and butler. The silver-haired girl is no longer the ignorant genius who knew nothing about everything, but a leader who can skillfully handle housekeeping and coordinate issues in the lord's mansion. And the young man has also become a housekeeper who can take care of himself. The government affairs handled by Rin are getting better and more perfect day by day, which is enough for anyone to entrust the work to him with confidence.

The black dragon girl has learned the human way of life. Of course, she prefers to become a dragon and play in the wilderness, but this cannot deny her hard work, and the elderly Archbishop Artanis is no longer in charge of the church. Several former apprentices and current students began to preside over mass and prayers in his place, and led the clergy to inspect the traces of cult members.

Not to mention the Brandon couple and their daughter, as well as Israel and Nostradamus, the former group of people have a happy family and are no longer harassed by beast hordes and cultists, while the latter are all advanced to legend, There is no longer anything in the entire empire that can influence the thoughts of the two of them. They both got the life and strength they wanted.

"The world has tended to be stable, so why put yourself in danger? It is obviously unnecessary."

Telling all this softly, No. 3 looked at Joshua, her eyes were shining with a blue light, and the artificial intelligence seemed to be a little puzzled: "Because it is already perfect, so I, Hotaru and Rin all hope that you Be safe... because without you none of this would mean anything."

Facing No. 3's never-before-sharp question, Joshua was silent for a while. Of course, he knew that his actions would not be understood by his acquaintances. In the eyes of everyone, all dangers had gone away, the orcs were extinct, the mad dragon was defeated, the cultists were driven out, and the demon believers were also silent in the mountains. The entire Mycroft Continent has ushered in a long-lost true peace, and even those who know the truth understand that the flames have been rekindled, and the problem that has plagued these powerful people for thousands of years has been eliminated by him. It was solved by him, Joshua.

Indeed, the era of unprecedented stability has arrived, and everyone only needs to enjoy the long-lost happiness. This is especially true for the artificial intelligence girl who has been driving in the already destroyed world of Karlis for thousands of years. Her expectations are not full of ups and downs The legendary adventures of life, but the calm and boring daily life.

Why did Joshua deliberately put himself in danger? It was difficult for her to understand this, she would not have asked this kind of question originally, but an unknown impulse—an impulse that artificial intelligence would never have, drove her to ask this question abruptly.

"……You're right."

Yes, number 3 is right. The world has ushered in a stable and prosperous age. Even demons will never invade after more than 20 years according to the previous history. In response, Joshua closed his eyes, then opened them again. He didn't know how to explain what he knew to his family members—even if they were not related by blood, they were more like relatives.

What to say? The abyss is just an evil neighbor that needs to be guarded, and the real threat is the evil god that may come decades later? It's too ridiculous, and I can't say it out. This is information about the evil god, and I can't say much to anyone.

Joshua couldn't help but sighed deeply in his heart when he thought of the majestic and majestic God of deep evil and indescribable terror that made the whole world tremble in the memory of the steel python Karlis. It is precisely because he knows more that he thinks more and does more. Even if what he does seems unnecessary to others, it must be done. Decades may seem like a long time, but for the gap between legend and evil god, it seems extremely short.

Not enough, far from enough. Precisely because you feel happiness now. So I have to do these things as soon as possible.

Not knowing how to say these words, Joshua could only step forward, and then hugged No. 3 floating in mid-air. Under the power of the warrior, the ethereal projection of magic power was embraced by him like an entity.

"I was reckless this time, but it's okay." He said so, then let go of his hand, turned around, and gave a hug to Hotaru and Rin who were already approaching. The soldier thought about the entrustment that Karlis had said to him , said seriously: "From today on, I will not let you worry."

This chapter is really difficult to write... 5000 words, I will revise it later

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