Chapter 37

Chapter 37

"Hmph! You probably saw that we Earthlings were able to capture their Martian knights, so you were afraid!" In the meeting held because of this matter, a certain Earth United executive said casually, but he hit the nail on the head with the truth.

"But it must be Mr. Fang of Anaheim who captured this earl. Our coalition is not actually strong enough to crush the Martian Knights..." Someone raised some objections to this overly optimistic sentiment. Different views.

This is also something that most of the higher-ups on earth with clear minds can see.

The people on Earth do have advanced technology and weapons that are enough to defeat the Martian Knights, but these technologies and weapons are not in the hands of the United Earth Army, but are privately owned by a private entrepreneur.

Well, it’s debatable whether you can continue to call someone a “private entrepreneur” given Anaheim’s size, scope of operations, and the many privileges enjoyed by its owners.

"This is not a problem...Anaheim is a company of earthlings, and Mr. Fang is also an earthling. Their power is ultimately the power of earthlings. Besides, Martians may not know this...the key for us now is, We should thoroughly study the technology contained in that armored cavalry as soon as possible, and then develop a truly our own armored cavalry!" said a big boss in the military.

Although there have been cases where Fang Yuan defeated the Martian armored cavalry with "experimental equipment", these soldiers who actually participated in the last earth-fire war still covet the armored cavalry, a weapon that is not only powerful but also cool and handsome. .

Deep in the hearts of these people, the equation "Cavalry = Powerful" has been ingrained in their minds. Even though someone has reminded them many times through different channels on different occasions that giant humanoid robots are evil in weapon design, but These stupid robot chefs are still unwilling to give up their investment in this area.

"That's right!" Another person nodded in agreement and said: "We are now too dependent on Anaheim's scientific research capabilities. Those researchers who are eating from the public must also come up with a salary worthy of their salary. The results are here!" It seems that this boss is very dissatisfied with the official researchers of the coalition government.

It’s no wonder that the Martians picked up alien technology, so there’s no need to talk about it, but they are both earthlings and they also conduct research based on the current earth’s technology. Look at Anaheim, short They have produced so much results in just over two years, and look at their own official research institution... This person is so hard to compare with others, and he has to throw away the goods! "Well, everyone has no objections to increasing investment in the armored cavalry project, so it's settled. Let's move on to the next topic..." "So, as for the Martians who want to redeem Reinha Do you have any thoughts on this special matter?" At the end of the meeting, the leaders of the Earth Alliance finally talked about the matter that was supposed to be the subject of this meeting - poor Count Reinhardt. In the eyes of the people on earth, he The priority of the matter was completely inferior to the Martian subduing, or the cracking of Aldnoah technology and the additional funds for the armored cavalry project, so ten minutes before the meeting was scheduled to end, they talked about it as if they suddenly remembered it. this problem.

"Redemption... do they still think it was in the Middle Ages? After the nobles were captured, they could pay some money to redeem them? It's too beautiful to think!" Some people are disdainful of this behavior of the Mars Empire.

This is already the interstellar era, but they are still playing the same tricks as the knight era... Sure enough, the Martian Empire is a barbaric country that is turning the clock back on history! In the eyes of some people, every one of these Martian nobles who launched a war of aggression against the Earth should be convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and other crimes, and they should all be hung up on street lights. Those who should be put on the electric chair should be put on the electric chair, and those who should be put on the bottom of the prison should be put on the bottom of the prison.

This trend of thought cannot be completely eliminated even at the highest levels of the Earth Alliance.

"But, to be honest, we can't squeeze much profit out of this Earl of Mars. Keeping him on our side will only intensify the conflict between us and the Weiser Empire. If we can exchange him for If there's something good, just ask the Martians to redeem him."

Finally, the older and more stable politicians of the older generation put forward more pertinent opinions.

After all, the Earthlings have not yet reached the level of fully crushing the Martians, and sometimes compromises still have to be made.

What's more, it's just a Earl of Mars who doesn't have much luck. If he can be exchanged for some technologies or materials from the Visser Empire that people on earth don't have, it can't be said to be a disadvantage.

… Not to mention the upcoming negotiations with the Martians on Earth, the upper echelons of the Weise Empire suddenly became unstable because the old emperor insisted on suppressing many nobles’ requests for war.

"Why did Your Majesty make such a decision!" More than one nobleman shouted like this after finishing the interview.

For most of the new generation of nobles who grew up under the propaganda and education that "Mars people are more noble than earth people", the old emperor's decision is equivalent to surrendering to the earth people, which is worse than a certain Martian knight being killed by the earth people. It is even more difficult to accept that a man defeated a prisoner.

Especially for the "Three People Concerned about the Country and the People", as three die-hard loyalists, the old emperor's order filled their hearts with resentment and injustice - couldn't His Majesty the Emperor see it? If we don’t interrupt the progress of the people on earth, the empire will be finished sooner or later! They have a depressing feeling of "I originally put my heart toward the bright moon, but the bright moon shines on the ditch." They feel that their decades of loyalty have lost their meaning.

')138'\u003eChapter 137 The Backstab of Justice

"Is His Majesty the Emperor a fool? He is actually unwilling to start a war even like this..." In the private meeting of the trio, Zazbarum also let go of his courage and said such treasonous words.

"Zazbarum, watch your words!" Sure enough, Kuruteo immediately criticized this behavior with a serious face.

"...Your Majesty did indeed make a mistake this time!" However, the only woman in the trio, the female Jue Woleyn, spoke out to support her fiancé.

"You...you...forget it, I also know that you feel uncomfortable, and so do I! But since His Majesty has issued the order, what else can we do besides faithfully executing it?" Kuruteu was somewhat agitated. He sighed helplessly. To be honest, he was no less disappointed than his two allies, but what could he do? They are not opposition nobles who have completely lost their loyalty. They cannot directly launch a rebellion and put a knife on the emperor's neck to demand a declaration of war... "We have to correct this mistake!" At this moment, Zha Zibarum said this unexpectedly.

"Correct the mistake?" A bad premonition arose in Kurt'o's heart.

"His Majesty the Emperor is only a human being after all, and he is already very old, so it is inevitable that he will make mistakes in certain matters.

As ministers, we should not blindly obey our lord when he makes a mistake, but we should fulfill our responsibilities and help the lord correct his mistakes! "The young black-haired nobleman spoke righteously, his face was full of righteousness and awe, without any gloom in sight.

However, after hearing these words, the shadow in Kurt'o's heart was about to turn into reality! "Sir Zazbalum, do you know what you are talking about?!" Kuruteu suddenly stood up and questioned his friend with a serious and even cold face.

He is not an idiot. The hint in Zazbarum's words just now... no, it should be an explicit statement. He understood it immediately - "Don't mess around! Have you forgotten the oath you once swore? We are here to the emperor." The knight who swore allegiance to His Majesty, do you want to be a rebel? "But if you don't do this, will you watch the empire being overtaken, defeated, and even completely annexed by the increasingly powerful Earth?" , we have to do some things that violate the rules, and even seem to be rebellious, but for the survival of the empire, I will not look back!" Yes, Zazbarum's meaning is very clear, he wants to rebel - no, that's correct! I think it should be a military remonstrance! "Then, my friend Kuruteu, will you join?" Zazbarum, who also stood up, stretched out his right hand to his close ally, waiting for the other party's reply.

Kuruteo looked at his friend's outstretched hand and did not step forward to hold it. Instead, he involuntarily took a few steps back.

"No... things shouldn't be like this! Zazibarum, I advise you to stop now before it's too late. I will treat it as if nothing happened..." Looking at Kurt'o's performance, Zaziba Lum shook his head in disappointment.

He put down his hand, lowered his head, and said in a helpless tone: "It seems that you are not willing to join us..." "Wait! Did you say 'we'?" Kuruteo paid keen attention When he heard the words from Zazbarum's mouth, he immediately reacted and turned his head to look in the direction of Warein, only to find that she had already disappeared from her seat! not good! This thought flashed through Kurute's mind, and he understood that today's meeting was actually a trap! As a noble, he still persisted in fighting instincts that he had trained for a long time. Kruuteo felt the wind coming from behind at the first moment. However, before the young earl could turn around and fight back, an unexpected attack came. Already present.

Crackling——The thunderbolt sound of bursts of electric arcs penetrating the air sounded from behind, and Kuruteo's consciousness was instantly overwhelmed by the sting and numbness caused by the electric shock.

Plop——Looking at his former friend who was stunned by the Taser and fell to the ground, Zazbarum had no discernable expression on his face.

On the other side, Warein, who personally stabbed her ally in the back, took a few steps forward and used the handcuffs and ropes she had prepared to restrain Kuruteu.

"What should we do? Are we going to imprison him like this?" She looked at her fiancé, feeling quite uneasy.

After all, this was a violent attack on someone who was also a noble, and the other party was an earl whose title was one level higher than hers. It was impossible not to be nervous.

But when she saw her fiancé's still calm face, her heart also calmed down.

“Kuruto is our ally after all, we can’t really kill him.

But since he cannot participate in our plan, we must not let him go and ruin our affairs! I will send someone to disguise himself as him in optical camouflage and return to his territory. I should be able to cope with it for a few days.

After our operation is completed, it will not matter if we let him go free. "

Obviously, the two husband-and-wife teams, Zazbarum and Woleyin, had already secretly colluded. Today's routine meeting with Kuruteu was actually a test for him.

It's a pity that Kuruteu and the two of them are not really on the same page. His loyalty to the royal family is still too stubborn.

Therefore, in order to prevent this overly loyal Earl from doing bad things at critical moments, let him be "quiet" for a while first! ... Half a day later, the intact "Count Kuruteu" returned to his mansion. As usual, he nodded to his subordinates slightly reservedly, met his wife and children, and then got acquainted with each other. Familiarly, he entered the study room where he spent most of his time, and handled the daily affairs of the territory like a real lord and count.

No one noticed anything strange at all, as if this Earl was really Kuruteu himself.

In fact, it was not wrong for Kuruteu to be afraid of his allies. Zazbarum had already sent people to observe and monitor him for a long time, and had an in-depth understanding of every little habit and habit of his life and work. details, and used this as a model to train a "Shadow Earl" who could imitate him so vividly that with the optical camouflage, no flaws could be seen at all.

It can be seen that his friends and allies have been plotting against him for more than a day or two.

——I have to say that Kuruteu is really not good at looking at people! ')139'\u003eChapter 138 Suspicion and Mutation

Mars, the Palace of the Weiser Empire.

"Really? The reason why Reinhard went to Earth was because he found out that my son's illegitimate daughter was taken away by the people on Earth?" Just when Zazbarum gave his ally a backstab, When the Shadow Earl was confusing the truth with lies, the old emperor finally found out the cause and effect of Reinhardt's fall to the earth.

Of course, he also knew the reason why Reinhard went to great lengths to search for so-called "Earth spies" in the lunar city.

Actually for the illegitimate daughter of the second generation emperor? ! To be honest, the old emperor was skeptical about the news.

After all, it all seems too coincidental.

Reinhardt's attempt to take control of the second-generation emperor's illegitimate daughter was intercepted, which is full of doubts.

Originally, if Reinhardt had not been captured, the old emperor would still have thought that it was done by one of his own people within the empire, perhaps another noble family with other intentions.

But now that the people on earth have shown outstanding individual combat capabilities, he is not sure whether it was done by people on earth.

But regardless of whether it was an Earthling or a Martian who abducted his granddaughter, what happened next was a bit too weird.

Reinhardt's intelligence agents actually discovered them on Earth? ! Through the interrogation and investigation of Reinhardt's intelligence chief, the old emperor discovered that Reinhardt actually believed this matter based on just a photo.

Didn't he consider at all that someone or a force with the ability to bring two living people from the moon to the earth silently would make such a simple mistake, allowing the mother and daughter to be photographed in the street so easily? Got the photo? Not to mention, the old emperor had already had the royal technicians test it, and the photo that "proved" that it was indeed the people on earth who took away the royal illegitimate daughter and her mother was actually a forgery.

And Reinhard, without even confirming, rushed to the earth alone? ! Well, maybe this is because he trusts his intelligence department very much, but it also shows that Reinhardt is actually very unqualified as a noble. He even his own intelligence system has betrayed him. He didn't even notice it, and he acted so impulsively. He deserved to be tricked into a trap! For the first time, the old emperor doubted whether there was something wrong with the aristocratic system he had established based on Aldnoah technology and blood theory. Why was the IQ of a dignified earl so worrying? This kind of little trick only needs a character. Anyone who is a little calmer and more suspicious will not fall into this trap, right? Putting aside the discussion of whether there was a problem with Reinhard's IQ for now, this is where the old emperor discovered that something was wrong.

Who infiltrated Reinhardt's intelligence department? Who faked this photo? Who lured Reinhardt to Earth? What is the purpose of this person or this force? Thinking of this time when the nobles collectively forced the palace, a word flashed in the old emperor's mind - war! Yes, what the mastermind wants is war, a war against the people on earth, and a total war! The old emperor immediately connected a series of recent events.

Indeed, the old emperor also knew that within the empire, especially among the aristocracy, there were not just one or two people who were dissatisfied with the armistice agreement before the Weiser Empire united with the Earth.

After all, in the last war, the Martians actually had an absolute advantage from the beginning to the end of the war. If it were not for the assassination of the emperor, they might have been able to destroy the entire Earth Alliance in one go.

But it is a pity that the internal conflict caused by the assassination of the emperor caused the Weiser Empire to miss the best opportunity to completely defeat the Earth United Nations, giving the earth people precious time to regroup. In the end, there was a tendency to drag the war into a protracted war. .

At that time, the old emperor made a decisive decision and immediately decided to sign an armistice agreement with the Earth, because he knew that if this continued, the Martians would definitely collapse first - after all, compared with the Earthlings, the Martian Empire was smaller in size and economic status. It’s too bad, I really can’t afford it! In particular, after the development of the past few years, the technological development of the people on earth is like the Martians who inherited alien technology. They are speeding up. Both the war strength and war potential are no longer what they used to be. I think If there is another war with the Earth, Mars has an even lower chance of winning.

However, it is such a simple truth, why don’t those damn nobles understand it! ! ! War, war, war - I think about war all day long! Doesn’t he himself want to defeat the United Earth in a crushing manner, and then completely surrender the entire human race to the rule of him and his descendants? It’s even a dream! But it can’t be done, it really can’t be done! He, Dr. Lelegalia, is the sole successor of super-ancient alien technological civilization, Emperor of the Visser Empire, and the holder of "divine power" in the eyes of Martians. He wears so many titles on his head, but in the final analysis He is just an ordinary mortal.

Some things can only be achieved if you work hard.

For example, the huge size gap between the Martian Empire and the people on Earth could barely be equalized in the past with the help of unilateral technological advantages. It even had a huge advantage in terms of record and exchange ratio in wars.

But now that the situation has suddenly changed, unless they break through to a new level in their exploration, development and utilization of extraterrestrial civilizations, there is no way to make up for this gap. At least within a few generations, the impact of Martians on the earth will be Human strategic disadvantage will always exist.

But the man behind the scenes who manipulated this series of events seemed completely unable to see it all, and wanted to push Mars into the quagmire of war.

Sure enough, this must have been done by some young and arrogant noble who doesn't take Earth people seriously... Reinhard's tough-talking intelligence chief needs to be interrogated again to find out the real mastermind... Just in time When the old emperor was thinking this, suddenly, noisy footsteps and shouts of people were heard outside the study room where his real body was.

what happened? Just as the doubtful thoughts arose, there were suddenly several undetectable blasts of air coming from outside the door, followed immediately by the sound of a human body falling to the ground.

——It’s a gunshot with a silencer! No, someone is rebelling! ! ! The old emperor was immediately alarmed that something was wrong, and immediately stood up and rushed to the huge bookshelf standing on one wall - that was where the entrance to the secret escape passage was.

Although it was a backup just in case when the palace was originally designed, the old emperor never thought that he would actually use it! ')140'\u003eChapter 139 I've been waiting for a long time

When the rebels outside the door burst open the study door, the last thing they saw was the almost completely closed bookshelf secret door.

"Damn it! There is a secret passage!" The captain who took the lead did not hesitate and immediately ordered: "Quickly, break down the door!" Several soldiers behind him immediately stepped forward, put on special perspective lenses to confirm the structure of the secret door, and then Special melting and cutting devices are placed at several key points of the secret door.

Accompanied by the "sizzling" sound of molten metal, several locking structures of the secret door were destroyed in a few seconds. The captain of the action team ignored the unextinguished flames on the bookshelf, stepped forward, and pulled it open with force. A deep tunnel behind it was revealed.

Through the infrared tracker in the goggles, he could even see the traces left by human body temperature in the air, so he immediately knew that the emperor himself was not far away.

"Hurry, follow up!" Time waits for no one, let alone such a major event of rebellion. As a loyal confidant of Zazbarum, everyone present knows that every second at this time is crucial.

Therefore, no one was delayed at all, and they all followed the captain into the dark tunnel, following the trace of the temperature difference displayed on the tracker, and followed closely all the way.

"I saw it!" After all, these soldiers were all strong young people, and they could run much faster than the frail old emperor. In less than five minutes, they had already faintly seen the stumbling front of the tunnel. The figure moving forward.

"Your Majesty, please stop! We will not harm your life!" The operation captain, who had already received the order from his lord, immediately shouted loudly, intending to make the old emperor easy to capture - after all, the essence of their operation was Military admonishment, rather than a real attempt to usurp the throne, cannot really hurt the old emperor.

But when the figure in front heard the voice urging surrender from behind, he had no intention of stopping. Instead, he immediately quickened his pace and ran forward staggeringly as if he had squeezed out the last bit of strength.

"Tsk!" The captain was a little annoyed and took a tranquilizer gun from the subordinate behind him, intending to knock the old emperor down directly.

Ding——Ding—— I don’t know whether it was the old emperor’s good luck or the captain’s poor marksmanship. The two consecutive shots and the tranquilizer bombs failed to hit the target in front. They only made two crisp sounds on the wall of the secret passage. The pursuers could only watch helplessly as the old emperor turned another corner ahead, and had to rush to keep up again.

"Hurry up and follow!" Everyone followed the old emperor's footsteps and turned the corner in front of them, but what caught their eyes next was not the figure they expected, but an oncoming axe! Stab——The sharp ax head with cold light struck the human body like a knife cutting through rotten wood. In an instant, it split the leading captain in half diagonally.

"...Ah——————!!!" The captain who was slashed in half from the shoulder did not die immediately. After more than half a second of silence, his still conscious will drove him to say Unprecedented screams echoed continuously in this narrow secret passage, which made people feel particularly frightened.

However, nowadays, no one cares about this little problem.

When the action team members in the rear who were lucky enough not to be hacked to death because they were half a step slower saw the axe-wielding murderer, they all took a breath of air and were froze by a chill from the bottom of their hearts.

Is it...a cataphract? ! ! Looking at the tall figure wearing heavy metal armor and having a humanoid figure in front of them, the surviving members of the action team were filled with surprise and uncertainty.

No, not the Cataphract! This size is wrong! Although its appearance does resemble the armored cavalry that the Knights of Mars are proud of, its body size of just over two meters is too small, and is far inferior to the seventeen or eighty-meter-tall armored cavalry. body shape.

"What... is this?" Seeing this humanoid weapon that looked like a miniature armored cavalry put away its blood-stained axe, and slowly approached step by step, some soldiers with weak psychological endurance were so trembling that they could hardly stand. Stop.

"Don't be dazed, attack, attack quickly!" In the end, it was the vice-captain who woke up quickly and immediately raised the gun in his hand, pouring firepower towards the slowly approaching armored figure.

For a while, the sound of gunshots was heard in the secret passage, but after a few minutes, accompanied by screams, the gunfire finally stopped - all the operators died under the sharp ax of this humanoid machine.

"Have they been eliminated?" The old emperor, who was still stumbling forward in the secret passage, heard distant noises behind him. He knew that all the rebels who had tried to take him hostage had been killed, and he was safe for the time being.

But he did not choose to turn around and go back, but continued forward, seemingly to reach the end of this secret passage.

Because he knew that since those rebels had decided to take action, they would never send out only such a small number of people. Although the mechanical guard, which looked like a miniature version of the armored cavalry, could block it for a while, it would never be able to block the continuous attacks that followed. .

After all, this human-sized mechanical guard was just a by-product of his research team's development of the armored cavalry.

Although the Aldnoah core is also used as the energy source, it is impossible to fit a driver inside due to the limited volume. Only artificial intelligence AI is used. Not only are the tactics very dull, but the actions are also very mechanical. On the frontal battlefield There is almost no fighting power in the world, and at most they can only show off their evil in terrains such as secret passages where one man can't open it and no one can open it.

And because this mechanical guard has been placed in the secret passage for a long time, the AI ​​level and weapon system installed inside are still very primitive. Although it can easily kill a small group of light-armed infantry, once it encounters heavy weapons, it still cannot stop it for long.

He also needs more powerful weapons, something that truly belongs to him, to the emperor, the truly strongest armored cavalry! …  It’s close, it’s close! Right in front, as long as he pushes open that door, he can sit on the most powerful weapon that belongs to him alone, enough to suppress all rebellions... Creaking - struggling to push open the thick iron door that was slightly rusted due to disrepair. , the old emperor took a breath a little tiredly, and then raised his head and looked at the trump card for which he had high hopes... An unexpected figure stood in front of the old emperor, just in between him and the machine hidden in the shadows. among the armored cavalry.

"Your Majesty, I have been waiting here for a long time!" "...Sir Zazbalum, is it you?!!"')141'\u003eChapter 140 The Emperor and the Missing Princess

When the old emperor saw Shi Shiran standing in front of him, Zazbarum, and the shadowy figures in the surrounding darkness, he knew that the situation was over.

"I didn't expect it to be you... I thought you and Mr. Kurutou would be my right-hand men..." The old emperor did not ask how the other party found this place. This question was meaningless now.

The left and right are just various methods of spy intelligence infiltration and the like. After all, the existence of this secret passage and this secret room does not leave no trace at all. If someone wants to find it, it will indeed be possible to spend a lot of time and resources. Find out.

As for the group of people who broke into the palace and fought head-on, the old emperor also understood that they were just abandoned sons and cannon fodder, used to test whether the old emperor had any other pawns to cross the river.

In the end, these pawns successfully accomplished their mission. Not only did they test out his backhand, but they also forced him into a desperate situation.

"Your Majesty, my loyalty to the Empire and the Royal Family remains the same as before, but you did make a mistake this time. We are helpless to ask Your Majesty to withdraw your order. You must not compromise with the Earthlings. You must send troops to Earth as soon as possible to interrupt their upward momentum!" Although facing the emperor's face-to-face questioning, Zazi Barum still did not feel guilty at all. His tone was firm and his words were firm, as if he was saying "I am doing this for the good of the Empire and Your Majesty."

"Humph! It's still rebellion after all!" The old emperor ignored Zazi Barum's words and scolded him bluntly.

Zazibarum did not get angry or anything like that, but continued to speak to the old emperor in a well-mannered manner: "...It seems that Your Majesty does not agree with our loyalty to the country...But please rest assured, Your Majesty, we will prove with practical actions that what we do is correct."

As he spoke, Zazibarum waved behind him, and then another "Emperor" walked out of the darkness. Whether in appearance, clothing, or behavior, he was exactly the same as the real emperor himself, and was very lifelike.

"...Is this your method? Let a fake take my place?" The old emperor's tone was quite disappointed: "You don't think that this fake can deceive others forever, right?" "Of course not!" Regarding the old emperor's words, Zazi Barum was confident: "This is just a temporary buffer measure. At the right time, 'Your Majesty' will abdicate because of old age and declining energy and unable to handle state affairs, and pass the throne to Her Royal Highness the Princess. At that time, we will naturally return the power of the empire to the royal family, and will never do anything to usurp the throne!" Then, he said to the soldiers around him: "Your Majesty, please go and rest, and pay attention to protecting his safety!" "Humph!" The old emperor also knew that in the current situation, no matter what he said, it would be meaningless. Facing the muzzles of more than ten guns, he could only follow Zazi Barum's people to another exit.

But in the end, he couldn't help but ask: "Do you really think that waging war on Earth is the right choice?" "Yes, we must wage war on Earth, and we will win! I firmly believe that!" Zazbarum's answer was still as firm as at the beginning, without any hesitation.

"...You won't get what you want!" This was the last sentence of the old emperor before he was taken away.