Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

Viviana didn't want to think about it anymore, but...that was Noah. How could Noah be killed by that thing...

Even... dying without leaving any trace?

She sat dejectedly among the ruins, as if she had lost all her strength. The weakness from the soul made her unable to even lift a finger.

Tears fell from her eyes and shattered in the ruins.

A feeling of powerlessness filled her body. She wanted to get up and continue looking for Noah, but she couldn't even stand up.

Brent was standing not far from her, but he didn't dare to step forward to help... until Cora passed by him, helped Viviana up, and left the scene. During this time, Cora could have asked him for help, but she didn't... Cora didn't even look at him again from beginning to end.

Brent looked up at the sky... the dark clouds didn't disperse, and even... it started to rain lightly.

…it’s raining…

He closed his helmet.

He was very glad that it rained lightly at this moment.

Chapter 44: After the Heavy Rain

This incident was defined as another terrorist attack by the remnants of the Witch King. Like the previous concert hall attack, public dissatisfaction with the remnants of the Witch King reached its peak, and even spontaneous parades appeared, hoping that the Twin Queens would wipe out the remnants of the Witch King and publicly execute Arturo, Loris and others who had been detained as a warning to others.

Public grievances are irrational. They will not take into account Loris's popularity in the gendarmerie, nor will they consider that Arturo, as a citizen of Lateran, has not been deprived of his rights. It is obviously not a good idea to arbitrarily execute citizens of Lateran, at least not a good thing for Letania today. Moreover... the Twin Queens are not only worried about Arturo, but more importantly... someone went missing in this attack.

Under normal circumstances, the disappearance of a few people in this situation is not a big deal at all, but this person's identity is really special.

Noah Kyrielight.

This name may be relatively unfamiliar to most people, but for countries that have come into contact with Agor, this name can be said to be well-known. It can even be said that the reason why Agor is willing to show such goodwill to land countries and willing to transfer so much technology is because of Noah Kyrielet. It can be said that she single-handedly promoted the cooperation between Agor and land countries.

Such a special person disappeared in a terrorist attack... This is not the situation that Leitania wants to see.

So far, the Twin Queens have been unable to do anything but suppress the news and mobilize almost all available forces to conduct a blanket search, attempting to find the missing Noah before the news spreads. Of course, they also have to consider whether Noah really died in that terrorist attack...

After all, this concerns the Witch King, and the power of the black flame is obvious to all.

This situation... is like a situation where one stubborn thing ends up blocking both ends. The troubles that Leitania faces are far beyond what can be solved by just Helinmart's sword.

In comparison, the renovation of Lugvid University is actually the easiest task...

On a separate note, while the Twin Queens were worrying about what to do, in a secret underground room somewhere, Ermengarde lit a lamp and said to Noah behind her, "Anyway, you should hide here for the time being. The only people here who know about this are me and the teacher. You'll be safe here."

"Thank you for your help, Miss Ermengarde." It was Noa who responded to Ermengarde. Before the Witch King's Tower collapsed, Ermengarde had breached the void to enter the tower and taken Noa and Franz with her. As for the others, she didn't bother to care. Every one of these remnants of the Witch King deserved death. The lich's Void Wandering ability was enough to tear the veil apart, and Frémont had taken the initiative to cover up their tracks, making it impossible for the Twin Queens to find any trace of Noa. It was a complete cover-up.

Noah held a copy of the Golden Rule in her hand and sighed silently. She had to say that if Ermengarde had not arrived in time, she would have been exposed to the two queens... Although she had not agreed to succeed the Witch King, if the Queen broke into the tower and saw the Witch King's remnants kneeling to her, and she was still wearing the Witch King's robes, it would be really difficult to explain.

But the most troublesome thing is not this...

If he was just wearing the Witch King's robe, Noah could still explain it to some extent, after all, it was just a set of clothes.

But the most troublesome thing was the copy of the Golden Rule in Noah's hand. Ever since it transformed into a crown, even if Noah wanted to abandon it and run away, it would follow him like a shadow. By the time Noah realized it was completely bound to him, it was too late. This copy of the Golden Rule, while called a copy, was in fact identical in structure and functionality to the original Lethania. It was a "reversible version" specially created by the Witch King to prevent any major problems with the Golden Rule. Aside from the slightly lower version number, it was a true Lethania national treasure.

"...I never thought the Golden Rule would actually recognize you as its master." At this point, Flemont finally broke free and came to Noah's side. She looked at the faint golden crown of Golden Rule on Noah's head with a puzzled look. "Is it really not the work of your cheap teacher?"

"...I don't think so..." Noah complained softly, "Teacher said he would respect my choice..."

"You'd be crazy to believe him," Frémont said, puffing his beard and glaring. "Letting a Kuranta rule Leitania, is he really suffering from Alzheimer's disease?"

"..." Noah didn't dare reply. One was his teacher, the other his grandmaster. It didn't matter if they insulted each other, but a little Karami like him shouldn't get involved and humiliate himself. In terms of both sorcery and professionalism, both of them far surpassed a mere amateur like him. However, the Golden Rule Movement was a real hot potato. If possible, Noah would have preferred to drop it, or return it to the Twin Queens... but it didn't seem very obedient.

According to the teacher, the Golden Rule Movement will choose its own master, but there may be misjudgments. After all, it is a technique from thousands of years ago, and it is inevitable that there will be some bugs due to patching.

Anyway, Noah is now being roasted on the stove. If we tell the Gemini Queens that this situation is an accident, they have to believe it.

"Oh..." Life is not easy, Noah sighed. Although the teacher really wants to respect his own ideas, if even the teacher has not thought about the situation of the Golden Rule, then wouldn't he really be forced to wear the yellow robe?

You should know that this generation of Gemini Queens were not recognized by the Golden Rule, which is one of the reasons why the Gemini Queens' position was not so stable. The reason why the Gemini Queens were able to become the leaders of Letania was mainly because their record of killing the Witch King was too dazzling. As for whether there was any legal orthodoxy to succeed the Witch King, there really was none... All in all, that assassination was essentially a coup.

Although Leitania is still Leitania, compared with the previous orthodox succession... it is not an exaggeration to say that this is a usurpation of the throne.

If someone suddenly appeared at this moment, even if they didn't intend to become the monarch of Leithnia, it would be beyond her control. As long as they were exposed, Noya would have no doubts... and then the Twin Queens would no longer have the final say in whether or not she had the right to inherit. Noya, a foreigner, being recognized by the Golden Rule would be enough to become a scandal of Leithnia proportions...

"The Golden Melody was designed by our ancestors at Leitania. It's a thing of the past, but we have to admit that we haven't fully analyzed it yet—perhaps we haven't discovered its selection mechanism yet?" Flemont observed the crown on Noa's head with a spell-analysis lens. "It has some connection with your aura. They are entangled and exchange information with each other... Oh, by the way, why do you have a halo?"

"...If you ask me, I don't know how to explain it..." Noah said helplessly, "Anyway...is there any way to take it off my head?"

"Don't worry, we need to continue our research. Otherwise, we might have to rip your brain off—" Frémont made an unfunny joke. "Why? Do I need to address you as the new monarch of Leithania?"

“…Master…”

"Just kidding. Your brain is of no use to me. Do you think I'm a heart-eater?"

Frémont watched for a long time but couldn't come to any conclusion. After all, this situation was truly unprecedented. He needed time to analyze the problem with the Golden Rule. Until then, Noah would have to stay here.

There's no other way. Her mere presence would be a huge challenge to the Leitanian government...

The meaning of the Golden Rule music...is truly far more profound than most people imagine.

-

Twenty-three years ago, the Hochberg family suffered heavy casualties at the Sorcerer King's Tower. Due to his status as a Golden Rule Guardian, Brandt was unable to provide timely assistance.

This led to the death of his best friend, Ernst, the heir of the Hochberg family... and also resulted in your father, Woerner, having to succeed him as the Elector.

The guilt he felt towards Ernst and Wollner continued to eat away at his soul to this day.

Brent's lifelong regret was not doing his best for his friend, but now, for the sake of the Golden Rule, for Leithnia... he chose to close the curtain. Even if the price was that Viviana might never forgive him, he had to do it.

For Brent, there is only Viviana, only Viviana - the orphan of his old friend and the last heir of the Hogbain family.

The same was true for Cora, so she could understand Brandt and why he ignored Viviana's opinion and forcibly closed the curtain. In fact, it was not only because he was the Golden Rule Guard, but also because if the situation at that time continued, Viviana would be in danger.

He took the initiative to close the curtain -

Fortunately, everything did not go to the worst. The man who was taking care of Viviana who was lying on the bed due to exhaustion sighed softly, stood up, groped his way to the door, and spoke to the black and gold pillar who had been standing at the door but did not dare to come in.

"Since you're here, come in. It's raining outside. Even if you serve as an armor rack here, she won't forgive you—" Korra's eyesight was not good and she could only sense faint light, so she could know the situation outside just by listening. The sound of raindrops hitting the black and gold armor rack had long exposed his whereabouts. How could she not hear it?

"I'm not in a position to ask for her forgiveness—" Brant replied, "I just need to know that she's okay."

"You guys, one by one, are all living too hard... Responsibility, is something like responsibility really that important? She's already lost her parents and her friends, and now she needs company even more."

"So here you are, Cora. ​​Please," Brant replied. "She needs you more than me."

"how about you?"

"I'm just a sinner. If you need any help, just tell me. I'm always here..." Brent lowered his head, shook off the rain, and turned to leave. "Kora, I'll leave her in your care. I hope she can live a happy life."

"Coward," Cora uttered as she heard her departing footsteps. Then, she heard a strange noise coming from within the room. She turned immediately, thinking it was Viviana waking up, but soon, she heard two breaths. She instinctively pressed the spellcasting button and quietly stood outside, her ear pressed against the door. She didn't dare alert the enemy, but she soon realized—the newcomer wasn't a threat.

"...Ms. Noah, I'm very happy to see you here." She put away the spell unit and walked into the room. The one who appeared here was naturally Noah, but this time, she wore a hat to cover the illusory crown on her head.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, but I wasn't in the position to appear before the Queen at the time, so I had no choice but to resort to this." Noya had come specifically to see Viviana. Although she couldn't appear in person, Viviana's situation had reached her through Ermengarde, so she naturally couldn't sit idly by. She placed the music box next to Viviana's pillow. It contained a piece of music for soothing the mind. While it wasn't a large-scale ritual like the Terra Suite, it was enough to help Viviana sleep well. "Judging from the results, I'm sorry to have worried you."

"No, you must have your own plans..." Korra shook her head. "But can I ask you something?"

"Please ask... You are someone Miss Viviana trusts, so I will naturally trust you as well." Noah nodded, "I will tell you everything I know."

"...Is the Witch King truly resurrected?"

This question made Noah silent for a while, and after a long time, she spoke.

"No." She shook her head. "At least, the real Witch King didn't appear that night."

"I see..." Korra nodded. "Then where did the Golden Rule go that night? We didn't find it in the ruins."

"...For now, it's in my hands." Noa couldn't explain how the Golden Rule had become a crown, now fixed on her head. She could only vaguely say, "Miss Cora, please allow me to keep the Golden Rule for now. Please rest assured that I have no ill will towards Leitania. It's just... it's not convenient to return it right now."

"I understand." Korra didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she came to the bedside and said, "I can trust you to be here at a time like this, Miss Noya. You are a person who values ​​friendship very much."

"There's no need to praise me like that... This time... I'm not just a victim." Noah shook his head. "I can only say that everything is fate."

"...Indeed, it's fate."

The two of them were silent for a while, even the sound of raindrops outside became noisy. After an unknown amount of time, Noah stood up and said, "I'm sorry, I have to go."

"Aren't you waiting for Viviana to get up?"

"I can't stay here forever. Please tell Viviana on my behalf that I'm fine. Don't worry. I will return to her sooner or later."

Chapter 45: Confrontation

Noya didn't rush out of the gate, or rather, she couldn't leave so easily. Before she could, a figure had blocked her path. It was none other than the Black Queen, Helinmat, who had shattered the Witch King's Tower with a single sword strike. Her own Queen Warlock, accompanied by her, had completely blocked Noya's path, clearly not intending to let her go easily.

"...I didn't expect you to guess I'd come to see Viviana." Noya had sensed the presence outside from her room and had just said goodbye and left, but she hadn't expected such a big scene. "Where's the other queen? Is she here too?"

"No, she didn't know you were here." Helinmart answered every question, a hint of mockery on his cold face. "I just took a gamble and happened to catch you."

"Gambling isn't a good habit. Aren't you afraid of losing everything?" Noya wasn't in a rush. She still had plenty of time to deal with the Black Queen. She looked more than frail in her cloak. As her wings of light shone faintly, a rune appeared in Noya's palm. While there were other methods, this one was just the right one: it wouldn't hurt anyone, and secondly, it wouldn't reveal anything. "Although it's unlikely, I still want to ask politely—can you let me go?"

"That depends on your ability." Helinmart drew his sword. "Noa Kyrielight, I, one of the Twin Queens of Leithania, suspect you of colluding with the remnants of the Witch King. I formally arrest you here! Surrender! If you surrender, I promise not to harm a hair on your head!"

"Your Majesty, just say these polite words." Noah was helpless. If possible, she didn't want to be an enemy of Leithnia. But if she was caught by her, and the crown on her head was discovered, it would be impossible to explain it. "Then I can only fight stubbornly."

"That's just what I want." Helinmart raised the corners of her mouth. It seemed that she came to find Noah not only to capture Noah, but more importantly... she seemed to be very interested in Noah himself.

"Trouble..." Noah stretched out his hand and whispered the name of the rune.

"Ur!"

Bang! In an instant, a puff of smoke suddenly rose up from the entire venue. Ur's repulsive force shattered the floor tiles, raising dust and obscuring his figure. Helinmart's reaction was also extremely fast. He immediately thrust out a sword, instantly cutting the oxygen dust in half. The momentum and sword intent, like the momentum of a river and sea, just brushed the corner of Noya's cloak, easily cutting off a corner of the fabric. Noya was shocked, and immediately increased his speed. With a tug of his fingers, countless shadows condensed into a longbow in his palm. In mid-air, Noya twisted his body and used the archery skills of the Kirilet family to shoot six shadow arrows in the air. Once these arrows hit, they would turn into restraints, binding them in place.

Noah called this spell "Fix Shadow", which is a very effective control spell among the shadow magic she is good at. However, Helinmat seemed to have seen through Noah's intention to fight her to the death. She did not retreat but advanced instead, not caring about the trajectory of the shadow arrows. With a swing of the sword, she immediately cut off four arrows, but the remaining two were like living things. The moment they passed by her, they turned into a net and enveloped Helinmat tightly.

This kind of arrow that can be released by hand can actually be controlled again during flight?

No, Helinmart realized immediately that from the very beginning, the opponent had no intention of using arrows to attack him. The magic of this net was probably hidden in each arrow. The opponent predicted his actions, or she quickly read Helinmart's body language and completed the plan two or three steps in advance. This kind of combat intuition and ability to control details are absolutely rare even in a warlock capital like Letania.

"Interesting—" But how could such a shadowy web possibly stop the Black Queen, capable of withering the Witch King? The web, blocking her, was shattered in less than a second. A flash of sword light instantly transformed into dozens of sword energies composed of Originium memories in mid-air, striking Noya. However, Noya ignored these sword energies. Or rather, she didn't need to care—because she wasn't alone.

These dozens of sword energies were cut down by a golden light in mid-air. The next thing that arrived at the scene was the mace that had been observing the battle situation for a long time.

This warrior from Leithania, holding two maces, stood in front of Noya, like a high wall.

"This road is blocked."

"...You are... I see, Black Knight, Mace. I know your name."

"What a coincidence! I know your name too."

The two have very similar temperaments and are both outliers in Leitania. However, if Jian is completely unable to use magic and can only devote herself to martial arts, then Helinmart is the complete opposite. Her Originium skills can be hosted on her sword blade, and her powerful melee ability also comes from her Originium skills. It can be said that if Jian is a warrior, then Helinmart is a magic swordsman, and Helinmart may even be the strongest magic swordsman in Leitania.

The two fought for only one round, and they both understood each other's tactical style. Mace licked his lips, suppressed the urge to challenge the strong, and instead protected Noah in front of him and spoke.

"Noah, you go first, I'll stop her."

Noah knew that Mace came here probably with the same judgment as Helinmart. When the remnants of the Witch King built the Witch King Tower at Ludwig University, she and Mace did not act in sync. She arranged for Mace to protect the students and the people, but now, she returned to her side as soon as possible. As expected of her, Mace knew Noah's habits too well. If Helinmart guessed that Noah's actions were a gamble, then Mace completely [read] Noah's way of action.

There is no need to explain its value. If we were to talk about the person who knows Noah best in the world, Mace would undoubtedly be the one.

"Okay—" Noah didn't let Mace down and nodded directly, "Thank you for your help, Mace."

"We don't need to talk about this." Jian was quite pleased. She hadn't been able to intervene in any of Noya's recent troubles. Physical solutions were her forte. As for those metaphysical matters... honestly, even with Jian's exceptional martial arts skills, it would have been difficult for her to intervene.

So now, she was quite excited - on the one hand, she could fight against the best magic swordsman in Leithania, and on the other hand, she could help Noah, and the latter was of course more important.

"You think you can stop me?"

"How will you know if you don't try?"

Neither of them was talkative, and before they could finish their words, they started fighting. Both of them were top-level warriors, and were good at speed. Mace burst into the ghost-like form without hesitation. Compared with before, her ability has been transformed. When she faced the Blood Demon Lord, she was able to rely on speed to gain the upper hand. At this moment, she was even better than Helinmart. The ghost-like power and the figure with a faint electric light made Helinmart unable to cope with it.

Although she could see at a glance that the transformation into a demon could not last long, it was enough to stop her from chasing Noah. When the swords collided, the golden electric light and the dark sword energy intertwined with each other, as if a painting exploded in mid-air.

And those Queen's Warlocks were not there to sit around and do nothing. From the very beginning, they were ready to encircle Noah. These Queen's Warlocks were considered the Queen's personal guards. They were loyal only to the Black Queen herself, and their magic skills complemented the Black Queen's. These warlocks all carried swords, and when they saw Noah planning to evacuate, they drew their swords and stepped forward at the first opportunity. Several of them were well-trained, and their advance and retreat were seamless. Through rotating swordsmanship, they actually managed to hold Noah back. In terms of combat effectiveness, these Queen's Warlocks were obviously not comparable to Noah.

But Noah didn't want to hurt anyone, which was very troublesome. These Queen Warlocks coordinated too well, and it was even difficult for Noah to find a chance to escape.

Is this considered... a formation?

It was the first time that Noah saw this kind of Royal Guard-level combat power display such a unified fighting method. It must be said that it really achieved the result of 1+1 being greater than 2. Although he was very reluctant, Noah could only use some bad means.

Noya had originally intended to use her mental shock to knock one of them unconscious and then withdraw from the fight. However, strangely, the moment her mental shock was launched, these people, as if prepared, simultaneously raised their swords and rubbed them against each other, making a loud noise that interrupted the mental shock before it could be launched. This was clearly not an accident, but a technique deliberately developed to target Noya's Originium skills.

"It seems... you know something about my Originium skills?" Noah covered her ears. Before, she couldn't see, so she developed very good hearing. However, such hearing was completely a debuff in this situation. Now, as soon as she showed signs of releasing Originium skills, these queen warlocks would activate the spell. These swords were obviously engraved with special spells, and they would make a loud noise when they collided with each other. This noise was completely aimed at the Originium skills.

"When a lion fights a rabbit, it must use all its strength." Helinmart was parrying the attack of the mace, but he was able to find time to answer Noah's question.

"So I said, surrendering is your best option." Helinmart warned again, "Now, you still have one chance to choose."

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I have my own plans." Noah sighed. If he couldn't use the Originium technique, was there nothing he could do?

If this was true, then he was not worthy of being called the disciple of the Witch King. As everyone knew, magic had never been completely invincible. Although these specially constructed blades had the ability to destroy magic, Noah did not believe that these queen sorcerers could release the source stone skills themselves. There was gain for loss. Noah's eyes instantly turned golden, and the Eye of God instantly saw through all the trajectories of the opponent's sword formation. With the blessing of a large amount of information, Noah drew his sword from the shadows, and fell into the enemy formation like a ghost, blooming from the inside. With an elegant rotation, he avoided all the opponent's blades and delivered a sword to everyone. Immediately, the queen sorcerers' sword formation was instantly dismantled. In the final analysis, their individual strength was just like this.