After Ivan walked out of the office and was led away by Orlando, Joshua invited Nostradamus to sit down and asked him to explain in detail what the Emperor wanted to tell him.
The old mage didn't talk nonsense after he sat down. He took a sip of tea and finished what he said concisely. Then he squinted his eyes, stroked his beard, and waited for the warrior's response.
After Joshua quietly listened to Nostradamus's narration, he said calmly: "They finally spoke."
There was no expression of surprise on the warrior's face, as if he had thought of this for a long time. When Nostradamus raised his brows and looked at him, Joshua smiled: "Originally, I thought, wait The affairs of the academy are over, no matter whether the Holy Mountain invites me or not, I will go to the Far South."
Knocking on the table, the old mage frowned and reminded: "Joshua, that is the Far South, where the Dragon Disaster originated, and is now the most chaotic place on the continent, and you are an imperial noble on the other side of the world - you What are you doing there?"
At this point, Nostradamus paused, as if he was thinking about the words, and then continued: "Seriously, why bother? The Holy Mountain of the Far Sea invites you. At most, it is because of your power of order, and it can replace There are many sacred weapons 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 this opinion is not bad - you see, they are willing to pay two holy weapons for this. As long as I go, I can enter the holy world." Don’t hesitate to choose.”
"To be precise, I don't want you to go to the Holy Mountain in the Far South." Nostradamus sighed and shook his head in confusion: "On the other hand, I don't understand why you want to go to the Far South. Now there is a mess there. Ranma, whoever goes there will have a headache, compared to a dangerous incident that requires the action of a very strong person, two holy weapons are not fair remuneration at all."
"If trouble doesn't come to me, I'll go find it." Shrugging, Joshua said calmly his life creed: "It doesn't matter whether it's fair or not, the most important thing is that my hands are itchy - I can't bear to stay here all the time. The Lord's Mansion is simply 'listening' to the battle reports from afar."
"Since the church is willing to pay me to invite me to fight, then why not?"
After speaking, the warrior raised his hand, and Joshua showed his fist to the old mage: "Did you see it, Master Nostradamus? What is this?"
"fist."
This is a bronze fist clenched with five fingers that has been weathered by wind and sun. It is as indestructible as the strongest piece of steel. The slightly pulsating blood vessels are filled with the breath of life. Not even Nostradamus can I have seen such a powerful fist, as if once it is swung out, nothing can stop it.
"Very powerful. You are worthy of being the youngest Jiyi-level expert in the history of the empire. Your life force is more majestic than a giant dragon."
He first praised him, but Nostradamus still didn't understand what Joshua wanted to express. The old mage asked with some confusion: "But, what next."
"There are many Jiyi-level demon dragons in the far south. You may not be able to defeat them easily."
"-Hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in the blockade area of the mad dragon in the far south. The central defense line is attacked by tens of thousands of mad dragons every day."
The soldier's answer was a little unclear. He simply recounted the battle reports of the past few days: "Of course, the situation is improving. The coalition forces of the kingdom and the elves have regained a lot of lost ground in the past few days, but we all know that all this is because of the five-color dragons. We are shrinking, concentrating our strength, and preparing to attack the Church of the Seven Gods first."
"If they succeed, there is no doubt that the Far South Kingdom, which has lost the support of the church, the largest human gathering in the south of the continent, will be invaded by aliens. All lives will be ruined, countless families will be torn apart, and the prosperous civilization in the past will be completely destroyed by barbarism."
Speaking of this, Joshua's eyes were profound. He recalled the time when he was fighting in the Far South, and he still remembered the passionate feeling.
"so now."
But he was not affected by the memories of the past. After a few seconds, Joshua's eyes returned to clarity. His tone was calm, without any excitement. The warrior looked directly into Nostradamus's eyes: "My fist tells me - power It should be used here, it has been tempered for more than ten years to get to this point, not just to watch this scene happen."
"...That's right."
I don't know what to say, the old mage has a complicated expression.
Of course he knows that if the dragon really breaks through the Holy Mountain, the situation will be irreversible and the human forces on the entire continent will fall into real passivity... But is it possible? The strongest man on the mainland, Pope Eagle of the Church of the Seven Gods, is there. In addition, the church has operated a defensive position for nearly a thousand years. 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 the far south. They I won't sit back and ignore it.
In the final analysis, the old mage still believes that all of this is too far away and has nothing to do with the empire.
"No one is a self-contained, isolated island." Regarding Nostradamus's attitude, Joshua shook his head and said seriously: "Everyone is a member of the human race, no matter you or me, That’s all true.”
"When the real death knell rings, no one will be spared. Hesitation cannot save those who wait and see, and caution cannot save those who hesitate."
Although the time is somewhat inconsistent due to Joshua's changes to the world, the warrior remembers very clearly how critical the situation of the Church of the Seven Gods was in the previous life.
On a stormy summer night, taking advantage of a typhoon during the rainy season in the far sea, three legendary five-color dragons led nearly 100,000 wild flying dragons to attack the Holy Mountain. Although the church had long been prepared for the battle, it was also overwhelmed by the intensity. The offensive was suppressed and unable to counterattack.
In this torrential rain week, before the three legendary dragons took action, all the outer fortifications of the Church of the Seven Gods were destroyed. Most of the priests abandoned the towns on the island and relied on the strong temples on the holy mountains to continue their defense. .
Next, there is a tug-of-war. Every day, new armies of mad dragons come from all over the world, even from the other side of the distant sea. Their number is almost endless, and they are attacking all the time. The spirit of the church priests is no longer strong. No matter how tough they are, they are just human beings. They cannot withstand a week of endless high tension.
And just when all humans were exhausted beyond measure, the three legendary dragons took action boldly, preparing to completely destroy the defense line of the Holy Mountain.
Pope Eagle and the bishops could only respond. The aftermath of the battle between the two sides even dispersed the raging typhoon. The battle between them lasted for eight days and nights, but the priests in the Holy Mountain could not persist for such a long time. Many knights who had been fighting since the beginning began to die suddenly due to exhaustion, and there was great chaos in the defense line.
Fortunately, at this time, a little-known priest received inspiration from the gods. He developed a special teleportation array. Any clergyman holding the power of the holy light can locate themselves based on the response to each other. Relying on the help of a time-space sacred instrument in the Great Temple, the priests traveling around the world came directly to the front line of the battlefield through this special teleportation array. With the help of this new force, the front line of the Holy Mountain gradually stable.
At the end of the battle, Pope Eagle was even more powerful. He single-handedly defeated all the high-end combat power of the five-color dragon clan, and completely drove away the mad dragon army with his legendary power. But even so, it was really... too late.
After this battle, the Church of the Seven Gods was severely weakened. Almost all the paladins and priests traveling throughout the Mycroft continent disappeared, paving the way for the subsequent ravages of cultists. As the Holy Mountain in the distant sea shrank most of its sphere of influence, , many of the sealed places or areas eroded by chaos under their supervision began to gradually spread. 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 in later generations.
If at that time, there were strong men from other regions willing to help the Church of the Seven Gods, then things would never have reached this point.
"Take me back to the Lord's Mansion first, Master Nostradamus."
Standing up, Joshua raised his head and looked at the skylight that cast down the sunlight. The warrior squinted his eyes. He no longer wanted to explain, but said calmly: "I'm going to tell Hotaru and Rin that the break is over."
"It's time to go."
Realizing that he could not convince the warrior, Nostradamus sighed helplessly and stood up. However, Joshua on the side seemed to remember something. He took out a transparent crystal from his arms and looked at this The warrior seemed hesitant.
But then, he made up his mind: "Next, we will go directly to the Imperial Capital."
"It just so happens that I have something to say to His Majesty Israel."
—Half a day later.
Northern Empire, Three Mountains Holy City, Imperial Capital Morlai Palace.
After noticing the teleportation fluctuations within his palace, Israel, who was looking at a map of the Far South in the study, raised his brows.
"It came so quickly."
He rubbed his chin and whispered: "As expected of a young man, his decisiveness is much higher than ours."
After speaking, he put away the map on the table and hung it on the corner of the wall. Next, the emperor sat in his chair, waiting for the visitor who would 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 never liked red tape, so he has always been very casual in private. When he heard the master's voice, the door was opened, and the empire controller saw Joshua's face as expected.
"Did you accept the church's invitation?"
Without any extra courtesy, Israel asked Joshua with great interest. Different from the resistance revealed by Nostradamus, the Emperor was simply curious. Then, he shrugged and said, "Yes. , you are a person who can’t take any time off, and if you have a chance to fight, you won’t let it go.”
As a warrior, he understands the warrior's thoughts better than the old mage.
"But where is your magic machine? And that sea dragon. Don't they follow you?"
Compared with the exhausted and heavy-minded empire controller in the Holy Emblem Hall last time, Israel was in a very good mood now. Although Joshua didn't know why, he could tell that the man in front of him was His Majesty the Emperor is very talkative now.
So he did not salute, but simply explained: "Hotaro and Rin should still be taking care of Brandon and Verdani's children. I have informed the couple to come back as soon as possible to take them away, and Hei's volume It’s too big and requires a special portal to send it over. Master Nostradamus doesn’t have time now, and it will probably take tomorrow to open such a passage.”
"It's just a divine machine."
Hearing this, Israel's expression was a little confused. He frowned and said: "Last time, didn't I give you a shape-changing pendant? It should be able to change the shape of the sea dragon and become an ordinary one." It’s about the same size as a horse, and although it can’t be used for a long time, it will definitely be no problem passing through the portal.”
“…”
His breathing stagnated slightly, and Joshua suddenly realized that he seemed to have really forgotten this matter.
Yes, after returning from the imperial capital last time, he went directly to deal with the affairs of the cultists and dragon eggs, and then prepared for the academy's test. In the middle, he also had the Brandons come to visit and entrust his daughter to take care of other small matters. , he completely forgot about the Shapeshifting Pendant!
This is indeed a bad habit. Soldiers never bother 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: "Do you want to ask how to get to the Far South? Don't worry, the church and I have already made arrangements. After all, this is about the majesty of the empire. It’s a big event and will definitely give you a surprise.”
Having said this, he smiled and looked very satisfied with the so-called surprise.
"Part of it, but I'm here for another reason."
Realizing that the topic was straying further and further, Joshua quickly stopped the topic from straying. He stood in front of Israel's desk and said in a deep voice: "Your hidden injury."
When the soldier said these words, the atmosphere in the entire study immediately became stagnant.
But then, the pressure from the legendary powerhouse quickly dissipated.
"You can tell, it's not surprising."
Instead of continuing to sit in his seat, His Majesty the Emperor stood up and walked around the study. He said mockingly: "Last time in the Shenghui Hall, I did lose my temper. Too much fatigue and long-term pain made me lose my temper. You forgot to hide your emotions—perhaps you discovered this earlier, when you and I first sparred."
—Actually a little earlier, such as the past life.
Joshua did not answer, because in front of him, a detailed panel was slowly emerging.
At the beginning, with the warrior's gold-level strength, he could not pass the systematic appraisal and clearly see the face of His Majesty the Emperor in front of him. But now, Joshua has reached the realm of ultimate intention. Although he is still far away from the legendary realm, if If you just look at the panel, you can still see it clearly.
[Name: Israel Diamond]
[Template: Legend]
[Title: Lord of the Empire, Dragon Rider of the Apocalypse]
[Race: Northwest branch of humanity, special classification 'Apocalypse']
[Racial Skills: The Chosen One (all skills advancement speed × 1.1)]
[Level: LV94 Legend of Destiny]
[Challenge Level: LV90]
[Attribute: omitted]
[Life occupation: Fishing]
[Status: hidden injury (lower back), loss of life (suppressed state)]
(End of chapter)