Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  The commander was full of sweat and was pointing at the door of the war chariot. “The last person is here. Get on board, quick!”

  Charles was still in a daze as he stepped forward. He was about to board the chariot only to realize that all the seats had already been taken. All that was left was half a frame that had just been welded on.

  “I’m sitting here?” Charles’ face had turned red. “I’m a knight!”

  All the soldiers in the war chariot were stunned for a while before bursting into laughter in unison. “No one here cares if you are a knight.”

  The commander sent him into the war chariot with a kick and shut the door. “Suck it up, soldier!”

  The war chariot rumbled forward towards the battlefield amidst the screaming and shouting of the headquarters.

  “Where… are we going?” amidst the rumbling of the machinery, Charles finally gathered up his courage and asked.

  “The frontline.” The conductor finished smoking his cigarette and said calmly, “We are going to invade the city hall to open up a path for those at the rear.” With that, he thrust the hanging aether balls in the war chariot to Charles. “You are in charge of surveillance and aiming. The Asgardians are equipped with new weapons against our war chariots. A single hit and we are doomed.”

  With that, he emphasized his point by making a gesture of explosion with his hands, “Boom!”

  Charles hesitated as he considered the fact that the safety of the entire war chariot would lie squarely on his shoulders. “I… I…”

  “Don’t worry, everyone’s lives are not entirely in your hands. There’s me.” A middle-aged musician, who was seated at the other front passenger seat, raised his hat to salute. “Soldier, which term are you?”

  When he saw that gesture, Charles’ eyes lit up. “Sixth term! I am Charles from the third class of the sixth term of the Royal Academy of Music. Sir, you are?”

  “Second term.” The middle-aged musician smiled gleefully. “You can call me Screw. From now on, you shall be called ‘Knight.’ Here, have one.” With that, he tossed a tobacco roll over. Charles had to stop himself from going against him and wisely accepted the senior’s offer and the nickname that was given in jest.

  In an army, it was essential to find someone that could be relied on. When this person happened to be a senior, one must treasure this fortune wholeheartedly. It would be foolish to do otherwise. Within a few minutes, everyone somewhat managed to be familiarized with each other.

  Just as Screw was reaching the climax of a lewd joke that he was sharing, Charles heard an explosion and his world began to spin into darkness. It was as if the entire war chariot had been flipped over by a giant and was now tumbling on the ground. Its final impact was with a shop, which somehow managed to flip it back into the correct orientation.

  There were ear-piercing screams all around him but all that Charles could see was darkness. He only felt as if someone was slapping him. The pain of the slapping woke him up and he saw Screw’s face.

  Screw breathed a sigh of relief and forced out a smile. He turned back and shouted back to the conductor, “Good news, the new soldier is still alive!”

  Amidst the stench of the leaking engine coolant, Screw dragged him up from the ground and kicked aside a bunch of corpses before tossing him into the driver’s seat. “Bad news, the lever’s neck is broken. The conductor is trying to repair it so now I’m in charge of weapons and you will drive the vehicle!”

  Charles was in a daze as he looked at the steering wheel in his hands. He looked like he was about to cry. “Me? I don’t know how!”

  “Do you see that thing below your feet? The red one is the accelerator and the blue one is the brake. There are three gears in total. Just choose one!”

  Amidst the roars around them, Screw was no longer in a good mood. When he saw Charles still hesitating, he immediately screamed, “Quick, Knight. No, that name has already died for you once. So quick, new soldier. There are no more new nicknames to die in your place anymore. Stop hesitating anymore. Just take it as you are saving yourself!”

  Charles dared not hesitate further and stepped on the accelerator. He connected his will to the alchemy formation behind the driver’s seat and he looked beyond the thick layer of armor and out onto the battlefield.

  “My goodness…” In that instant, a chill ran down his spine. There were flames everywhere as the city seemed to be bathing in fire. Underneath the grey sky, there were roars everywhere, and the city was like a fallen giant on the brink of death.

  Amidst the debris and chaos, a team of Water Tanks rumbled their way to the front, smashing down shops and walls. They drove over burning remains and debris and completely flattened the Asgardians’ defense. Behind the war chariot, the fourth regiment followed closely as they jumped into the trenches. There was so much dust everywhere that they were simply spraying their bullets with their eyes closed. In any case, their only job was to pull the trigger. Even children knew how to do that.

  They went into battle like children, so they would die like children as well. When their skulls were sliced open by shrapnel, they looked like lousy wine glasses that were chipped in a few places. Their brains were flying around and splashing onto the walls before mixing with blood and slowly dripping down. They formed the trace of a slanted curve. Like a smiley face.

  “Let’s go. Finish off those Asgardian b*tches!” Screw screamed while Charles gritted his teeth. But the fear and chill that followed behind them left him with no choice but to roar at the top of his lungs and jam his foot down on the accelerator.

  The war chariot staggered out of the debris in a weird curve as if it was drunk. After smashing down layers of walls and pillars, it dove headfirst into a huge pit before climbing out of it again like a ghoul. It drove directly into a small team of Asgardian reinforcements and completely flattened them.

  “Hahaha, good job!” Screw laughed uproariously. He pushed open the hatch cover of the Water Tank and lifted up the heavy iron weapon before stepping onto a pedal to reveal the upper half of his body.

  “Hello, friends of Asgard, how are you doing!” In the next instant, “son of Vulcan” shot out evil blasts of flames.

  With the initiation of the alchemy formation, aether began to flow, triggering a soldering effect. The six-barrel redemption machine guns devoured the cartridge belts hungrily before spraying devastating torrents of fire while spinning around crazily. This model was designed by the Chainsaw Fraternity as inspired by Hephaestus. There were six barrels and 13 layers of sleeves. Its design was exquisite and complex, which allowed it to shoot a continuous and lethal stream of bullets.

  It was like a burning metallic whip that was lashing about. Everything in its path was shot off cleanly and decisively. Within five to six seconds, those reinforcements and those that had been hiding behind the walls were all shot into corpses that could no longer be pieced together.

  The most useful aspect musicians’ perception was that they would be able to detect any living creatures within a few hundred meters without being hindered by any blind spots. As long as there was breathing, there would be aether waves and as long as they were alive, there would be the sound of heart. No matter how noisy or chaotic the environment might be, it was the musician’s specialty to detect such minute sounds.

  With the Water Tank paving the way in front, the army began to catch up from behind and charge towards the Asgardians. The knight that was leading the charge tossed aside both of his gigantic swords and drew the heavy weapons from behind his back. It was a huge metal cross. By utilizing the aether wave, a shield appeared from the cross to block off the Asgardian attacks.

  This was the aether shield, Mary MK-ll, which was an invention of the Royal Institute of Research for the knights. Newton’s proud invention had passed the test and in addition to the suppression job by Screw, this territory was taken over very quickly. The squad stopped for the time being to carry out reparation works and also to send the heavy casualties back from th
e frontline.

  “Good job, B95!” The knight that had led the charge took off his helmet thanked Screw, “These b*stards have been firing at me for the past half an hour!”

  Screw tossed over a tobacco roll and asked, “How is the situation ahead?”

  The knight chewed once and said, “Those fellows had set up a shelling position at the city hall. If we don’t eliminate it, the war chariots will never be able to pass through.”

  Screw put his head out to take a peek and could clearly see that behind the remains of the building was a plaza that was filled with pits. Behind the plaza was a region that was demarcated by rows and rows of aether heavy artillery. No one knew when did the Asgardians manage to create aether heavy artilleries that were lightweight. Main cannons that were usually set up on warships or huge military equipment could now be transported by a single chariot.

  After the shelling position had been set up, the lands within firing range were completely plowed through. Just now, Screw’s war chariot was flipped over by the impact of one these shelling. If they had been struck directly, they would have exploded on the stop and there would never have been any survivors. Before he could even rest for a few minutes, there was a shrill in the knight’s terminal. He spat, “Damned it, all they know is to keep pushing us.”

  He waved his hand in farewell. “Take care, my friends. Before their knight reinforcements arrive, we must take down the city hall. We still have an hour’s time. How I wish our Archangel Armor can make it in time. These people aren’t even willing to grant us the permission of a musician of distortion level…”

  “Good luck, friend.” Screw had also received his orders and scrambled back into the chariot.

  Very soon, the Water Tank rumbled forth and gathered with the squad of chariots that were supposed to provide reinforcements. The grand torrents of steel ran across the streets, spraying destruction everywhere. They were like invisible little shovels that were removing all the little red coordinates on the map, one by one.

  The siege was shrinking gradually and they were finally about to commence their attack on the city hall. Under the cruel pressure of a countdown, the headquarter sent down their commands to every single person. The final attack had begun! Against the explosions of destruction at the shelling position, a row of men would charge ahead only to end up dying. Yet another row of men would charge and the same fate would follow…

  Thick pools of blood began to form on the ground until the entire plaza was painted a devastating dark red color. If one was to look down from above, it would seem like a gigantic dining table. The gigantic mouth of war was chewing on flesh and muscle and spitting out broken remains. It was devastating.

  Under the musician’s gaze, the images of the battlefield were being transmitted through the net of aether to all locations, including Privy Council, the headquarters, the frontline command division, the south, the north, and even the depths of the World of Dark. Finally, they were even transmitted to a water mirror that was floating in mid-air.

  …

  In the silence, blurry projections were moving without a sound. But the two observers that were seated in front were extremely focused. After a long time, they finally drew back their gazes and raised the teacup in front of them. Both cups were filled with bitter medicine that was so disgusting that one would immediately begin to doubt the meaning of life after the first sip.

  “The children seem to be doing well.” Shi Dong touched his metal head and sighed quietly. “Although I hate to grow old, when I see that the youngsters are so brave and courageous, it really warms my heart.”

  The person beside him sighed. “It warms your heart to see the growth of our future generation?”

  “No, it’s because they are shedding blood on the battlefield. It’s the same horrible fate that I had to go through in the past.” Shi Dong pursed his lips. When he tasted the metallic taste at the tip of his tongue, he smiled contentedly. “To be able to see how the weak amongst them will die and how the strong will survive. It’s moments like these that I feel like I have companions, that I’m not lonely after all.”

  “Ah, I get it, I get it!” The old man, by the name of Caligula, slapped his thigh excitedly. “It’s just like how we attended our first party when we were still kids, right? The thrill and excitement of making new friends are just unforgettable!” With that, the two old men looked at each other approvingly, just like the reunion of two soulmates. Caligula searched through his pocket and took out two small paper bags. His smile became strange, “Want a puff?”

  “Sure!” Shi Dong nodded.

  Two old men, that represented Anglo and the winged people separately, began to sniff drugs together at a diplomatic occasion. After a long time, Shi Dong rolled back his eyes and sighed with satisfaction. “That’s some awesome stuff!” It was just like drinking with a confidant; even a thousand cups would seem too little. Caligula smiled proudly. “I planted this myself. Only the World of Dark can harvest such strong flavor! Next time, I’ll give you two packets!”

  “Sure, sure!” Shi Dong clapped his hands happily. “May our friendship be everlasting!”

  “Yes, yes, everlasting!”

  741 Trade

  Then, after a few trivial matters, Shi Dong finished his medicinal tea and the topic shifted to work.

  “So, my dear consul, these days we’ve already talked about everything that we should talk about, and we’ve started talking about things we shouldn’t talk about. So when will you let me present myself before Her Majesty?”

  Caligula looked reluctant. “That, I’m afraid that’s very difficult.” He sighed. “Her Majesty has been very busy lately.”

  “There’s always time.” Shi Dong picked up the small box next to him and smiled at him. “Just let me present a small gift on behalf of my family.”

  “And then make a ‘small’ request?” Caligula smirked at him.

  “Of course.” Shi Dong nodded and looked him in the eye.

  The two of them were silent for a moment, and then Caligula couldn’t help but sigh. “Do you really have to make things so difficult for us, Bishop Shi Dong?” He tapped the teacup in his hand and said softly, “We were abandoned by this world, so we left the ground. We were no longer were Romulus’s sinners. All that was left were the winged people. Human wars have nothing to do with us. Everything that happens on the ground can stay on the ground. Now we stand on our own in the world of dark, bettering ourselves. Why would we need to talk about something so ridiculous as an alliance?”

  “Because you owe us,” Shi Dong answered indifferently.

  The sound of an “eternal friendship” breaking rang out.

  Caligula’s eyes went cold, and his smile disappeared. He just looked at the old man and said, “We don’t owe anyone.”

  “No?” Shi Dong smiled and reached for the small box next to him but grasped only air. He was stunned. He turned around in shock and saw that a slender figure had appeared behind him at some point.

  Flames. She was like flames…

  The young girl looked to be even younger than his granddaughter, but gave him a painful sensation like flames, like if he got too close he would get burned.

  His skin tingled.

  He winced involuntarily.

  It was like a fierce flame had suddenly ignited in the darkness.

  The case was in her hands. She was fiddling with it.

  “Is this a present for me?” The young girl played with the box happily. “Can I open it?”

  Shi Dong looked away to hide his discomfort. He bowed to her and said, “This is for you, Your Majesty. Naturally, it’s at your disposal.”

  She opened the case.

  There was a moment of silence.

  The Queen seemed shocked.

  “It’s him. Didn’t I say you were hiding something from me granddad?” She took the straw doll that was about to fall apart out of the box. She held it in her hands, touched its button eyes, then asked, “Is my friend still alright?”


  Shi Dong smiled.

  …

  Above the ruins, Ye Qingxuan stared at the divine armor before him.

  “Long time no see.”

  “Yes, long time no see.” The old musician’s regretful voice came out from the steel. “You truly are the Hand of God. Even though I knew the Saints couldn’t stop you, now it seems I missed the best chance.”

  Ye Qingxuan knew what he meant.

  He knew more than anyone how powerful the old musician’s Scepter could be if used correctly.

  Observing everything through a lens that could nearly stop time, he would never be so careless as to give his enemy a chance. When dealing with such an opponent, you could never expect him to make any mistakes. This was because he always had enough time to consider, to observe, and to find the best solution.

  Now the old musician was regretting having made the safest choice when the Saints had Ye Qingxuan surrounded, rather than the riskiest one…

  He had predicted that the four Saints’ attack would have left Ye Qingxuan wounded if not dead. Instead of rushing in and giving Leviathan an opening, why not let the Sacred City waste Ye Qinguxuan’s power? After he had used his superior power to absolutely crush Mary, the mortally wounded Ye Qingxuan would have to face the combined might of all of Asgard in the divinity armor.

  Unfortunately, the Saints’ enemy had not been Ye Qingxuan, but Hermes, who had already died, or rather, the countermeasures he had left behind to protect his work.

  Under Hermes’s calculations, the four Saints were disposed of easily. Ye Qingxuan had not only not been wounded but had wasted four of his precious weapons.

  It had been a mistake.

  This was probably the old musician’s biggest weakness.

  He was old.

  Old people had too much, they carried too many burdens, so they would play everything safe. They could not be careless like young people, nor gamble everything on a single move like them.

  If he had not cared about the risk of him and Leviathan perishing together at that time, he could have killed Ye Qingxuan with Gungnir at the moment that he was trapped.