Chapter 147: The Dragon-Ascending Sword!

After Louis finished speaking, Prince Neff behaved as though he had heard nothing, casually continuing his conversation with those around him. He maintained an air of serene detachment, pretending completely not to have heard, and showing no intention of stepping down into the arena.

Louis blinked, bewildered, and looked toward the Witch Queen. "Your Majesty?"

The Witch Queen did not look at Louis, but a blazing fury surged within her heart—just what are you putting on such an arrogant display for!

She coughed lightly, signaling Prince Neff to take the stage, but the prince remained as if deaf. The person he had been talking to, noticing the Witch Queen's cold glare, hurriedly turned and walked away; yet Prince Neff simply grabbed someone else and kept right on talking.

The atmosphere became terribly awkward for a moment, and the Witch Queen's expression grew exceedingly grim.

At that very moment, a series of startled gasps erupted from the various viewing stands around the venue. Louis glanced down at the rampaging Dragon-Slayer Gundam below. Under the control of the wizards, the giant machine was furiously ramming into one of the viewing stands, terrorizing the Muggles seated there. It clearly wanted to witness these ant-like people scurrying about in panic, while also making Sorondo suffer a humiliating spectacle before the envoys of various nations.

Some wizards in the stands even began quietly sabotaging the maze enchantments protecting their sections. It seemed the insults of the day had profoundly enraged the aristocratic wizards, driving some of them to drag down a batch of Muggles for a blood sacrifice.

The audience had no idea what was happening, but seeing that massive monster furiously charging toward them, they were scared out of their wits. If they did not still place their faith in the spells cast over the arena by the mages (which were actually the maze arrays laid down by the Stoggs), and if they did not believe the propaganda from the Academy of Engineering and the mages proclaiming that the "Seraph" (the Son of Lant) would surely vanquish this monster, then even the Magic Association personnel stationed in the stands would have been unable to maintain order, resulting in a disastrous stampede.

Many court wizards looked toward the black dragons, silently questioning why they had yet to make a move. But Prince Neff had long been terrified out of his wits by the maddened, double-headed green behemoth, and was presently pretending he was nothing of a dragon at all.

The Witch Queen, conversely, felt a surge of secret delight. Thanks to this absolute fool before her, let the chaos unfold—as long as no one took the field today, no matter what magic was ultimately used to eradicate that monster, the Muggles would still be the losers. Wonderful, no match needed to be played, and Prince Chico wouldn't even need to fake a loss.

Well... he probably would have lost even without acting.

It appeared they would inevitably have to bombard this place with artillery to deal with the monster. Those idiot wizards in the opposing stands still had no inkling of the true power of the "Magitech Cannons" mounted on the battleships. Every coordinate within the maze array was held in the captain's hands; even if the Red Queen survived the bombardment, her wizards would suffer catastrophic casualties.

Just then, a sudden uproar broke out across the viewing stands. It seemed several brave Yordle pilots had just sprinted from backstage to the warehouse area and forced open the doors to where the Son of Lant was housed, intending to pilot the Son of Lant and defeat the monstrosity.

Yet when those doors swung open, a crude, paper-mâché clown mecha staggered out, wobbling unsteadily. The sight left everyone completely dumbfounded.

A deafening wave of mockery erupted from the opposing stands, while heads of state cast peculiar, sidelong glances at the nobility of Sorondo—was this so-called ultimate weapon merely a prop meant to fool people, intended to be palmed off on everyone through mages' illusions?

Archie and Chief Engineer Lant were likewise stunned speechless amid the jeering laughter.

The King's expression turned ashen, and the generals trembled with rage. The common folk of Sorondo, gazing down at the monster still battering the stands alongside that papier-mâché model, wore expressions of utter despair.

Perhaps the Seraph never existed at all.

Their last shred of hope was shattered. If only that terrifying demon would refrain from rampaging into the residential districts.

The generals sighed heavily, issuing new orders for the inhabitants of the surrounding neighborhoods to evacuate immediately.

The kingdom might well be forced to have the fleet bombard this very location, and that would inevitably engulf the nearby residential zones.

Under the direction of the Magic Association and the knights, the citizens abandoned their seats and began a slow retreat. Some residents whose homes stood right beside the arena, hearing that their hearths and homes were doomed to destruction, could no longer hold back; they buried their faces in their hands and wept in helpless despair. Many instinctively looked back time and again at the model of the Seraph, praying against hope that it might somehow move, praying that its exterior was merely a layer of paper.

The previously clear sky gradually darkened, and a fine drizzle began to fall.

The crisp click of a pocket watch snapping shut pulled the King back to his senses. He looked at Louis and noticed that a blessing of the Holy Oak had already been cast upon him—granting him near-infinite magical power for the next thirty minutes.

Louis offered a slight bow. "Your Majesty, the ace pilot requests permission to sortie."

Iger froze, then realization dawned. A complex expression crossed her face as she gazed at Louis.

She knew that her daughter's knight possessed the formidable personal might of a quasi-god-tier entity, and he was undoubtedly preparing to enter the fray in close combat. Yet whoever stepped into the arena today would face not merely the Dragon-Slayer Gundam, but thousands of super-wizards and a Red Queen who had once slain her very self!

Today's Twelve Noble Houses were infinitely more terrifying than they had been three thousand years ago; even without the God of Magic leading them, this lineup was enough to make the Moon Goddess turn and flee!

She and her subordinate mages would indeed intervene today, but the numerical disparity was vast, and she did not wish to risk Louis's life by forcing him to act as the primary tank.

This young man still had a vast future ahead of him.

Oxyclis was also watching Louis with eyes full of anxiety. She knew that if someone truly had to step forward into the arena today, only Louis possessed the strength worthy of such a heavy burden.

Yet Louis had a brilliant path ahead of him—if he took the field today, he would make an enemy of every single wizard in existence!

Nor did she wish to send Louis into danger. He was a foreigner, a prince of the Cloud Kingdom; he had no ties to Sorondo, and no obligation to lay down his life in a reckless gamble for her homeland.

And yet... Oxyclis looked once more at the weeping citizens retreating in despair, and at the countless homes surrounding the arena.

Oxyclis closed her eyes in agony.

The expressions of the assembled nobles, generals, and wizards were altogether different. Upon hearing Louis declare that the ace pilot was requesting permission to sortie, they cast strange looks at the paper-mâché model, then turned their gazes back to Louis as if he were a complete lunatic.

If you claimed you could resolve this with some bizarre spell, we might conceivably believe you; but now you're telling us you intend to pilot that paper model? Are you playing a sick joke on us?

The Witch Queen could not help a scoff of derision, remarking, "Our ace pilot appears to be suffering from severe myopia."

Iger suddenly turned her gaze to her daughter Oxyclis, who sat beside her with a complex expression, watching Louis.

Iger had heard the silent cry within her daughter's heart.

Abruptly, Iger stood up, took her daughter's father's broadsword, handed it to Oxyclis, and said, "My daughter, Louis is your knight. You shall make the decision."

Oxyclis parted her lips, wanting to say something, but at that exact moment, she caught sight of the fierce blaze of wrath in Louis's eyes. In those eyes, she also saw her own reflection.

He is my knight!

The princess of Sorondo drew her longsword, handed it to her knight, and delivered a stirring declaration.

Amidst the princess's words, the surrounding crowd was swept up in a tragic, heroic atmosphere. One by one, they cast complicated, lingering gazes upon the knight.

Even the court wizards found a trace of bleak melancholy welling up in their eyes.

To think that the black dragons had ultimately proved too cowardly to fight, leaving this deeply irritating young man to step into the breach.

Do not worry, we shall do everything in our power to preserve your life.

The knight took the sword, and Oxyclis felt a sharp pang in her heart as she closed her tear-mismisted eyes—if Louis were to die today because of her, she would follow him into the afterlife.

Oxyclis gripped her magic staff with agonizing tightness.

Seeing Louis offer a slight bow before walking toward the viewing platform, Chief Engineer Lant and Archie both burst into loud sobs—if the Son of Lant did not take the field, what meaning was left?

And as Louis reached the edge of the viewing stand, planted one foot on the railing, and raised his longsword high, Iger let out a silent sigh.

The wizards had already won, because no matter what transpired today, the Son of Lant in the hearts of Sorondo's people would be reduced to a humiliation, and the crystallization of magic and steam, the magical civilization and future championed by the Sorondo Kingdom, would become a laughingstock in the eyes of all nations.

"Come forth, warrior of Sorondo! Divine Dragon Sword!"

The knight raised his longsword high!

Streaks of golden light suddenly pierced the gloomy cloud cover, forming towering pillars of illumination. They shone down upon the Stogg Dragon Arena, enveloping the paper model waiting within the warehouse gates.

At that very moment, tens of thousands of gazes locked onto the Son of Lant. Amidst the collective focus of the world, it slowly rose into the air, opening its arms toward the royal viewing stand.

In a fraction of a second, a blinding radiance flared across the body of the Son of Lant, forcing everyone to avert their eyes.

When the light finally faded, the Son of Lant gleamed under the sunlight with the unmistakable luster of cold steel!

Ten thousand voices cheered, and the wizards in the stands dropped their jaws in utter shock.

"Mommy! Mommy!" A child holding a balloon pointed up at the Son of Lant amidst the deafening roar of the crowd. Dangling from the hand of the Son of Lant was a massive object resembling a black balloon, marked with the characters: 1000t.

The child cried out, "Does the Son of Lant like balloons too?"

The mother shook her head blankly. She saw that a colossal hammer had begun to spin, and amidst a howling, tearing shriek of wind, a terrifying tempest had materialized in the sky above.

Then, blinding flashes of electricity erupted across the frame of the Son of Lant. Propelled by the raw, violent force of the lightning, the Son of Lant shot forward like an arrow, dragging that monstrous, giant meteor hammer behind it as it began whipping around the arena's airspace in ever-faster circular orbits.

The kinetic energy of the meteor hammer grew steadily, terrifyingly vast.

In the blink of an eye, the weightless Son of Lant and its meteor hammer broke the sound barrier!

The Dragon-Slayer Gundam dropped its jaw, staring blankly at the horrifying tornado brewing in the sky from the flight of the Son of Lant and its colossal hammer, paralyzed by sheer terror.

Oxyclis and the others blinked fiercely.

What on earth are you planning to do?!

Wasn't this supposed to be a heart-wrenching, tragic tale?

What happened to the epic three-hundred-round duel, the defiance of death, the one-way trip of no return?

People were over here weeping their eyes out in profound sorrow, and you suddenly whip out something this massive?!

........

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