Yes, Madam Prime Minister

However, Ronan did not expect that the three bullets would explode at a considerable distance from their impact, releasing a triple shockwave that forcefully pushed Ronan, who was flying at high speed, downwards.

In that instant of suppression, the little loli-form Grandine successfully caught up and locked onto Ronan, wielding a water dragon in one hand and a fire dragon in the other, like two giant whips lashing at Ronan.

Left with no other choice, Ronan could only control two floating shields, one on the left and one on the right, to block the water and fire attacks.

In that brief moment of defense, Alice, with her long legs and large breasts, had already taken the opportunity to move to a different position.

"I really underestimated you two," Ronan thought to himself.

He originally thought he could take down the two without expending much magic power, but in the end, he was too arrogant. Even without their own consciousness, the two in this state were still only at the fourth level. Although he was at the sixth level, he still couldn't kill them one by one with a single sword strike.

No longer holding back, Ronan multitasked, launching a barrage of flying swords at Alice while simultaneously charging through Grandan's dazzling magic with his shield, forcing his way close.

Elemental mages can fully transform into elements once they reach the fourth rank, and in most cases they are not afraid of close combat, but Ronan is not one of the majority.

His sword is capable of piercing and dispelling magic, and the Holy Son's left hand can directly drain magic from a distance.

"Hmm, steam mode?" Ronan's eyelids twitched.

Generally, when fire or water elements are simply transformed into their elemental form, the output power and recovery speed of one's own magic power will increase, but the speed will decrease. Furthermore, Ronan's sword ignores elemental transformation. However, Grandin's steam mode is very different; it accelerates the process.

On one side, Grand forced Ronan to increase his speed by adding more magic power. On the other side, things weren't going well either. Alice wasn't so afraid of being attacked at close range. When she merged with her summoned creature, her whole body could be transformed into guns. Her ten fingers, mouth, and eyes became gun barrels, firing all at once, bombarding Ronan's flying sword with concentrated firepower.

However, the gap in hard power cannot be bridged by these things.

A few minutes later, they finally managed to deal with the two.

After putting Zhao Yingqi down, Ronan bent over, pressing his knees and panting. Alice and Grand, two mages with relatively little combat experience, were actually stronger in their unconscious state than in their normal state. The magic power consumed to deal with the two of them exceeded Ronan's expectations.

Ronan straightened up again, took a deep breath, and was about to continue forward when the corpses of "Alice" and "Gran" did not turn into dust and disappear like the previous knights, but instead transformed into forms that were even closer to their original forms.

However, with her hair disheveled and her eyes bloodshot, "Golan" wore a half-open, deep purple mage robe. The gold print on the robe had faded due to bloodstains, and the hem was torn, revealing purple stockings underneath. "Alice" wore a tattered, blood-stained maid's dress with a torn hem, revealing white stockings with faint bloodstains underneath.

"Dad, don't you love me anymore? Why don't you come to see me? Am I worthless?"

"Why did you kill my father? Why implicate my friends while protecting the real villains? Why?"

Faced with such interrogation, Ronan merely smiled contemptuously. Glolan would never have such thoughts, and neither would Alice.

"Ugly illusions." Ronan no longer held Zhao Yingqi in one arm; he held two swords, and he was enraged. "Die!"

Ronan, unleashing his full power, dispatched the two monsters almost instantly.

After Alice and Golan died, their bodies disappeared, leaving behind red crystals. Ronan hesitated for a moment, then picked up the two crystals, put them in his backpack, and set off again.

Ronan fell silent without realizing it.

"Ronan, Ronan?" Zhao Yingqi saw Ronan suddenly fall silent and was worried that he had been provoked by those two sentences.

Ronan snapped out of his daze. "I'm fine. Let's go into town."

Hearing that everything was alright, Zhao Yingqi was slightly relieved, but still couldn't help asking with concern, "Should we take a rest?"

“There’s no need for that now,” Ronan said, continuing on his way.

Yes, Alice and Grandine didn't have those thoughts, and they wouldn't say those things. The one who truly had those thoughts was Ronan himself.

He indirectly caused Alice's father's death. He looked down on Alice's gossipy friends. In the last few years of his rule, during the war, Ronan orchestrated several major cases. Several of Alice's young official friends, who opposed reforms that had caused numerous social problems and even spoke out for certain individuals, were directly implicated in the cases. Ronan suspended Alice from her post, and these individuals even planned to commit suicide together to prove their innocence, stating in their suicide notes that Alice had nothing to do with the cases. Ronan never imagined that such people existed in the Western Continent at this time. During this process, several high-ranking officials "chosen the right side." These individuals violated countless laws, yet Ronan had Alice turn a blind eye until just before leaving, when he dealt with them to pave the way for Little Lucien.

Ronan saw that Grandan had good talent and sent her to the magic academy. Later, when the Ministry of the Interior lacked reliable manpower, he arranged for her to work there. Later still, he put her in a job that was ostensibly for "education." But throughout it all, Ronan rarely asked about her affairs. It was a matter of trust, but it could also be said that he lacked care. To this girl, who actually really regarded him as her "father," Ronan was not a good father. What good father would act like that?

The two monsters blocking the road outside the city gate were not projections of Alice and Grand, but Ronan's inner demons.

The city wall was not high, but it was very thick. The wall was more than three meters high, and its thickness was definitely more than five meters. There was a gap in the top of the city gate passage, which should have been a pointed wooden gate that could be lowered quickly.

As Ronan stepped out of the city gate, a figure suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision. He felt a chill run down his spine and his hair stand on end. He instinctively reached out to protect Zhao Yingqi.

He drew his longsword, pointed it at his opponent, and said, "Don't move."

It's so strange. He had kept his senses active the whole time since leaving the spaceship, but he hadn't noticed a single person standing by the city gate.

This is a woman wearing a hat with a wide brim decorated with a blood-red rose, a dark red cloak, and a high-necked dress with a large skirt. She is completely covered up, and her hands and feet are not visible. Only her face can be seen.

Chapter 674 Not Human, Q&A, As Long as There's Something to Do.

She had the same snow-white light blonde hair as Dinia, and beautiful, delicate features, especially her emerald-green eyes, but they were a little too symmetrical. Ronan was actually very familiar with this kind of symmetry, because Faith and Caterpillar were both like this.

This woman is not human.

The woman, who was completely covered up, spoke up, "Hello, travelers."

The woman's voice was somewhat unexpected. It wasn't the sharp-tongued, mature voice of Faith, nor was it the kind of voice of Caterpillar that seamlessly switched between an intellectual queen and a rough factory worker. Instead, it was a slightly cool and aloof voice that could make people feel cheerful and warm. It was like the sound of water being poured into a cup when you get up in the middle of the night and feel thirsty.

However, what truly surprised Ronan and even Zhao Yingqi was that they actually understood what the woman was saying.

"Who are you?" Ronan demanded, his grip on the sword unwavering.

“People trapped in this world, unable to escape,” the woman replied. Her words seemed clear, but upon closer inspection, she seemed to have said nothing at all.

Ronan didn't expect the woman to be honest, so he changed the subject, "This world, what world?"

"Existence and non-existence, a dreamlike space-time between falsehood and reality," the woman replied.

Ronan frowned, deep in thought.

Zhao Yingqi couldn't understand at all.

"What do you want to do?" Ronan asked again. By this time, Ronan had realized that the woman was waiting for them here.

A long, black lace-patterned glove emerged from behind the cloak, revealing a slender hand with outstretched palm. A red crystal came into view. "I would like to ask you to help me collect this."

"Can't you do it yourself?" Ronan retorted.

“I cannot leave this city,” the woman replied.

"What are you going to do with collecting this stuff?" Ronan asked again.

The woman tilted her head and looked into the distance. "Once you've gathered them all, open the door to that temple over there."

Following her gaze, Ronan and Zhao Yingqi could vaguely see the outline of a building, but it didn't look like a temple; it looked more like a small military fortress.

As far as the eye could see, most of the buildings were rotten beyond recognition, but this fortress, though old, was at least intact.

Ronan and Zhao Yingqi both distrusted the woman completely, but Ronan only disbelieved her without saying anything. Zhao Yingqi, however, couldn't help but question, "That's a temple, but it looks more like a defensive fortress to me?"

The woman smiled slightly, without any extra expression, but it looked and sounded like she was mocking her.

"You need to know that in the beginning of human civilization, abstract concepts brought people together. Abstract concepts are the root of primitive religion, right? And primitive religion existed to organize and build up military power. Temples were military institutions, and so-called cities were just appendages of temples. Ha, that's it."

It was clearly a serious lecture, and with a woman's face, it should have been even more solemn. But there was a hint of playful mischief in her words, making Zhao Yingqi want to get angry, yet he couldn't bring himself to do so.

"What are you going to do by opening the temple?" Ronan asked again.

The woman's voice turned cold again, and she answered briefly, "Escape." After answering, the woman did not explain further.

Ronan pondered for a moment, then asked again, "How can we obtain this red crystal?"

At this moment, Zhao Yingqi couldn't help but glance at Ronan, wanting to speak, but she didn't. She felt that Ronan was now caught up in this suspicious woman's rhythm, which was very wrong. She was going to remind him, but after thinking about it, she realized that what she realized, Ronan must have realized as well.

The woman pulled her hand back into her cloak, then extended it again, now holding a parchment scroll. "The location has been marked. You'll understand when you get there. After all, you've already obtained the red crystal, haven't you?"

Ronan took the parchment map, looked at it, and saw that the marked points were all outside the city. After putting the map away, Ronan did not turn around and leave the city, but walked straight towards the temple.

After walking a distance, Ronan looked at Zhao Yingqi and asked, "Yingqi, you were about to say something, why didn't you?"

"Huh?" Zhao Yingqi was taken aback at first, then said, "There's not much to say. What I can understand, you can definitely understand too."

Ronan sighed softly. Zhao Yingqi was just like that; she had many opinions, but she didn't like to express them. She was the kind of person who would always think of the answer in her mind if there was a question in class, but she would never raise her hand to answer. Even after so many years on the Western Continent and her lifestyle had become Westernized, she was still very much like Seris in this respect.

“It’s okay, say whatever you want. No one will think you should stay silent just because your words aren’t insightful, especially not me,” Ronan said, though he didn’t expect it to work.

"Oh," Zhao Yingqi replied.

Ronan continued, "Whether she really intends to get our help or is setting a trap for us, we are doing something. The worst thing right now is not facing a crisis, but not knowing what to do."

After entering the city, proceed straight along the main road that follows the central axis. Before long, you will arrive at the temple.

After a brief inspection, Ronan found nothing unusual about the temple, which ran along the central axis and was near the city gate. He couldn't cross the temple either, as red mist walls stretched across both sides, extending to the side walls in the distance, blocking the way. As for flying over, Ronan had already tried it at the beginning. While it was possible to fly at extremely low altitudes outside, it was impossible to fly in this city. As soon as he took off, he experienced a rapid loss of magical energy and a feeling of his consciousness being disrupted.

"Let's go, out of the city, let's fight monsters." Ronan turned around, preparing to leave the city.

After leaving the city and going outside, Ronan took out the parchment map and looked at it with Zhao Yingqi.

According to the map, the area covered by the map is a basin, and the area outside the map is unknown. The entire city is located in the very center of the map, and the very center of the city is the giant tree.

If we take the initial entrance of Ronan's group into the cliff as due south, then due north is a waterfall and a lake, the northwest and northeast are the main distribution areas of villages. If this was once a normal city, then the northwest and northeast should be farmland, the west is a mountain range that connects to the south and partially surrounds the city, and the east is a forest.

All the places marked with red dots, except for the one near the city gate located on the main road leading from the city to the outside, which is the previous "Alice" and "Golland", are scattered in different locations, quite a distance from the city. Some are on mountains, some are in forests, and some are in waterfalls.

“We walk clockwise around the mountain, starting from the south, going north along the mountain range, and finally going to the forest on the east side.”

Ronan made a decision.

His idea was simple: in this strange world with very low visibility, the forest was dangerous, but the danger was saved for last.

“Okay,” Zhao Yingqi agreed, and took Ronan’s backpack. These were the only trivial things she could help with these days.

With the parchment map tucked into his pocket, Ronan set off toward the nearest red dot.

Chapter 675 Slaying Monsters, Starting Class, and the Past That Cannot Be Returned To

In the dream world shrouded in red moonlight, halfway up the western mountains, Ronan and Zhao Yingqi were positioned on the edge of a platform that had been artificially excavated and leveled.

Previously, at the foot of the mountain, Ronan had already dealt with "Falek".

She is a person without a voice.

At this moment, Ronan sat on a stone platform, resting, drinking water and eating dried meat. Along the way, the mountain path was narrow and he could not fly, so he had to face the monsters blocking his way.

The most numerous were dwarves carrying pickaxes, hammers, axes, or iron spikes.

The dwarves have large bones and should be strong, but they are skin and bones. Their faces are covered with hair, making it impossible to see their features. Their bare upper bodies have metal-like objects growing out of their skin. These dwarves still have human-like shapes on their outer skin, but their insides have been parasitized and corroded by something with a metallic texture. When you stab them with a sword, it doesn't feel like you're piercing their internal organs, but rather like you're sticking your sword into a piece of iron.

However, they were still just small fry; Ronan beheaded them with a single sword strike, one head at a time.

What's troublesome are other things: blond hair, golden eyes, and tattered armor that doesn't seem to be worn but rather grows out of the flesh. A small giant over two meters tall, wielding two massive swords over two meters long, his attacks are ferocious with almost no defensive movements. He is exceptionally agile, able to dodge Ronan's counterattacks while attacking. Despite the immense weight of his swords, they are as flexible and versatile as foils.

To deal with them, Ronan had to wield his sword and shield while simultaneously controlling his flying sword to attack from other angles.

However, this significantly increased the energy expenditure of the battle.

Along the way, Ronan had only encountered seven or eight giant sword giants, yet his energy expenditure was not much less than when he faced "Alice" and "Gran".

Now, they were not far from the second red dot, so Ronan decided to stop and rest. Fortunately, the magic in this space was exceptionally abundant, and magic recovered very quickly. As a magician, having magic was enough; as for eating and drinking, it was just a formality.

After resting enough, Ronan stood up. "Yingqi, you stay here." The surrounding area had been cleared by Ronan and was basically safe. Even if something else appeared, Zhao Yingqi wasn't afraid. These monsters, including the giant sword giant, wouldn't be able to get close to him if he just wanted to run away.

Leaving Zhao Yingqi behind, Luo Nan continued on his way.

Five minutes later, on a platform in front of a mine entrance, a woman was asleep with her eyes closed, leaning on a sword. When Ronan approached, the woman opened her eyes and woke up. She got up, picked up the sword she was leaning on with one hand, and with the other hand, she made a grasping motion, and another sword flew into her hand from a distance.

Her flowing blonde hair was adorned with small Northern-style braids, and her visor seemed to be part of her face, though it was partially broken, revealing half of her face—it was indeed Elena's face.

Originally, it should have been full-body plate armor, but now only the right arm gauntlet, chest armor, lower body armor skirt, left knee pad, and boots are still intact. The entire left hand, waist, and most of the right leg are completely bare, revealing smooth, fair skin.

This "Elena" is over 2.5 meters tall, also a small giant, but her overall proportions are still the same as her original proportions.

Without a word, Elena was already in front of Ronan, wielding her twin swords.

In just a few seconds and a dozen or so exchanges, Ronan already felt the pressure. The long-lost feeling returned. "Teacher E is about to start class."

Elena was a swordsmanship prodigy and considered Ronan's half-swordsmanship teacher. She met Ronan when she was ten years old, and by then she had already learned all the moves and theories of her family's swordsmanship. However, her pure swordsmanship skills were still lacking at that time. Ronan, who had inherited the original owner's haphazard swordsmanship, could defeat her without using magic or brute force.

But Elena's swordsmanship improved rapidly. By the time she was sixteen, she had completely mastered the family's sword techniques and theories, and Ronan could no longer beat her in a pure swordsmanship contest.

For the next few years, until I met Dinia, it was all Teacher E's teaching time.

Elena has now lost her supernatural abilities, magic, and independent consciousness; all of these have been transferred to her physical body, turning her into a ruthless swordsmanship machine.

In close combat, a minute passed, and Ronan, whose speed and strength were a level above hers, was completely unable to hit her and could only parry.

“A sword is not such an inconvenient thing.” Ronan changed tactics, gliding on his shield, creating distance and circling around, constantly attacking from different directions with his flying sword. Whenever Elena lunged at him and tried to get close, he would use his shield to knock her away, just like the tactics of light mounted archery combined with heavy cavalry charges of steppe cavalry.

Shooting a sword is also a swordsmanship.

Ten minutes later, "Elena" knelt down. Her armor and flesh cracked and peeled off like weathered clay, revealing Elena's naked body like a peeled egg.

What appeared in Ronan's sight was Elena, who was thirteen years old and just beginning to develop, looking like a young girl. She was tall, but not very prominent in the front or back. Her maid outfit looked a bit loose, and her calves, wrapped in black stockings, were quite slender under the skirt.

“We’ll never go back to that simple, happy, and warm family, will we?” The young girl, Elena, drew her wooden sword and pointed it at Ronan. “Give me back my master!”

Ronan closed his eyes, held the sword in both hands, and stabbed it through Elena's chest as she charged at him. The wooden sword struck his face without causing any injury, but it did bring a fleeting glint of tears to Ronan's eyes.

That year, in Wright City, by the sea, Ronan was eighteen, just starting out in the city hall, a lowly secretary on the fringes of the hierarchy. Elena, carrying a shopping basket, had just gone to the market to buy groceries and catch up on the latest news in the city. She told him that a down-on-his-luck nobleman like him, with no one to rely on, had no future and would just drift along in Wright City for the rest of his life. Elena said that such a life was fine too.

But, one person's fate...

"Goodbye, my maid." Ronan said goodbye, drew his longsword, and with a gentle push, the girl Elena fell to the ground.