1244 AH, Rome. The holy war against the East has finally come with good news. The heresy that had left the church was purged, and Constantinople was restored to the bosom of Christ.

As soon as the news came out, the entire city of Rome was in a state of flux. The joy of victory undoubtedly overwhelmed everyone's brains, and the Holy See granted the people of the diocese three days of revelry.

Looking down at the brightly lit Rome, a middle-aged man stands on top of a skyscraper Gothic church smiling. The man is about forty years old, and he is still handsome, but even if there is a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, there is still a yin owl atmosphere, especially the thin eyes that show a cold glow, which makes people shudder even more. At first glance, you would think that this man is standing in front of you as a real emperor, but he is dressed as a priest, a white monk's robe. If a priest wears a white monastic robe, there are only two possibilities. One shows that his immaturity shows that he is a man who has just become a servant of the Lord, while the other shows that he is the Pope of Rome, the being closest to God, showing his holiness. Obviously, the man belongs to the latter group, he is the youngest pope to date, and the most feared pope in the West, Ingway II. This holy war was also planned by him.

There was a soft knock on the door behind the "Potentia", and Ingway II turned to see Father Michel standing in front of the office door.

Father Michel is also the Pope's secretary, and this is not the time to be in office, and his presence at this time is clearly something important.

The young Pope nodded and motioned for Father Michelle to come in, while he slowly returned to his desk and sat down.

"Something happened." The Pope's voice was dark and powerful, as murderous as his armies in the East.

Looking at the pontifical throne with a calm face, Michelle couldn't help but admire the pope who was younger than himself, and reported: "It's the military district ahead of the urgent telegram, although Count Pierce has occupied Constantinople, but it seems that he has not found what we are looking for." The Bishop of Wales asked for next instructions. ”

"No way, no one can resist the temptation." The Pope was not angry in the slightest, but his categorical words were tough and irrefutable. "Even if you raze Constantinople, you have to find it. That thing can open up a new era. Enough to change the world. ”

Looking at the Pope, Father Michel shuddered, but he did not try to dissuade him. Because he knows that no one can change the will of this iron-fisted pope, not even God. The Pope is a complete madman at heart. But this is exactly what the Holy See needs.

In March 1244, the Crusaders received a telegram from Rome ordering the razing of Constantinople, the new Rome.

"The order of the Holy See, which arrived so quickly, seems to have been given directly without going through the cardinal's opportunity." Count Pierce, the leader of the crusaders stationed in Constantinople, couldn't help frowning when he saw the contents of the telegram. The four knights he led were nominally under the unified command of the cardinal. As soon as he received the order, he came to the Archbishop Wells, who was with him, to consult. The pope is not supreme, and there is no doubt that the power of the pope is constrained in the election of a cardinal pope. Whether or not this order was carried out was related to Pierce's attitude towards the two factions, and naturally put him in a dilemma.

"Razing Constantinople, impossible." The archbishop flatly refused, which was exactly what Pierce feared most.

"But the Holy See's instructions," muttered Count Pierce, embarrassed.

"This is New Rome, and if it is destroyed, the impact will be immeasurable. The Apostolic See's decision is completely improper, and we can refuse to carry it out. The Archbishop of Wales said sternly.

"That can't be. The Pontifical See will never spare anyone who disobeys him. Pierce would never agree with this, he was digging his own grave. Wells may have been a bishop to stand in the way, but he couldn't, and it would be easy for the Pope to strip him of his current position. The two sides were clearly at loggerheads, and the two looked at each other in silence.

"Maybe we can go and try again. It was only a matter of time before the Knights captured the palace. That secret, maybe only that person knows. This is our last hope. Suddenly, the Bishop of Wales broke the deadlock between the two men.

"That's all there is to it." Pierce was silent for a long time, sighed, nodded and agreed to the other party's words.

At this time, Constantinople, the only thing that was not in the hands of the Crusaders was the palace of the projectile land.

・・・・・・

A lonely tower with a touch of classical art. The marble building is like a magnificent goddess standing between heaven and earth. But her surroundings were full of devastation and smoke, painful and sorrowful. New Rome has lost its former prosperity and beauty, and has fallen into turmoil like never before. The tower was surrounded by the Knights Templar, and if it wasn't for the general's ban, the tower had already been destroyed many times by heavy artillery. They were waiting, waiting for the royal family, protected by the remnants of the Praetorian Guard, to come down and surrender. However, they apparently underestimated the determination of the new Roman Emperor, and repeated attacks were repulsed, draining the patience of the Templars.

"It's really tenacious." Pierce said. It is astonishing that the remnants of the army of New Rome, with its limited weapons and ammunition, could support it until now.

"Your Excellency, General." The leaders of the four knights, who were under the direct jurisdiction of Pierce, followed him, waiting for orders.

"Let's go out, you haven't used those things for a long time since the city was broken, I'm afraid you've run out of patience for a long time. Let it all be done today. Pierce said calmly as he looked at his subordinates.

"Really!?" The captains of the Knights looked happy.

"Yes, it can be over."

"Your Majesty, you..." The scarred Praetorian Guard soldiers were no longer the iron and bloody courage they had when they were no longer on the battlefield, and now the old tears were cramped in front of their king, one by one prostrate on the marble floor.

"Let's leave, the secret passage here is your only way to live, and you don't need to accompany me here to die." The old king's voice was still loud and powerful. "I am decayed, and I am unworthy to lead you forward. But you are the last hope of the Empire, so go away and cherish yourself. For the sake of the motherland, you are not allowed to die. ”

"Your Majesty, please let us stay! This is our last duty. "These old Praetorian Guards were the early followers of Emperor Scipio, and after escorting the prince and princess, they did not want to live alone anyway, and swore to live and die with their king.

"You..." Looking at them, the elderly emperor was speechless for a long time.

Suddenly!! A violent explosion rang out. "Your Majesty, be careful!" The statue of the double-headed eagle, a symbol of empire, collapsed at the top of the tower. The Praetorian Guards hurriedly rescued the emperor and moved him to a safe place.

"Your Majesty, let's go with us." The soldiers persuaded.

But only the emperor replied to them. "I am the emperor of the empire, and I will never escape." "Boom" was another loud bang, but it didn't look like an explosion.

"Look! What is that? Suddenly, someone shouted pointing to the smoke and dust not far away. I saw that a huge and incredible figure suddenly appeared in front of me, and it was as tall as a tower.

"It's a giant soldier!" One of the Praetorian Guards who approached the side suddenly shouted, grabbed the fire bolt and fired a fierce fire at the black shadow.

But before the others could react, the place where the Praetorian Guard was standing collapsed with a bang. The smoke was blown away by the powerful air currents, and Constantinople, which had not seen the light of day, vanished, and the huge black shadows finally revealed their true colors.

What a horror the sight was, unspeakable fear hanging over the head of New Rome. It was a giant of steel, each with a bronze sheen, incomparably hideous, incomparably magnificent. It is reminiscent of the Titans in the clouds in Greek mythology, and they are the only ones who have the power to fight the gods.

"Hallelujah!" One of the guards shrugged and whispered helplessly, the fire gun in his hand thrown to the ground. It was these demons who easily destroyed the defenses of Constantinople, and this time they appeared again. Now, with the movement of their arms, these giants can easily annihilate everything.

"Your Majesty, now we can talk." A giant soldier placed his hand on the tower, and a valve appeared on the chest of the mechanical giant and slowly opened. Pierce walked out of it slowly, smiling. Apparently, the mechanical giants worked. "You won." Emperor Scipio sighed and threw down the sword in his hand, which was nothing more than a decoration in the war of firearms, but also showed the king's helplessness.

"What do you want? You already have the land and the wealth. The old emperor asked calmly.

"Your Majesty has seen that this is the power of the kingdom of God, and in just fifty years, we have had such power. And that's undoubtedly thanks to your gift. Pierce was impassioned, while the Emperor looked at him coldly.

"I hope you will give us the gift of God from Jerusalem."

"I don't understand what you mean, it's a demonic curse that we haven't touched, and if the Holy See wants to get something, it's a pity that New Rome doesn't." The old emperor shook his head, his expression determined.

Pierce, who had been kind and pleasant before, immediately looked cold when he heard the other party's answer, "Then I don't think there is any need for us to continue talking!" The giant arm of the mechanical giant was raised in mid-air and was about to fall.

"Your Majesty!" The Praetorian Guards shouted in amazement and stood in front of the Emperor.

"Then go die!" Pierce, who didn't ask anything, was almost hideous.

"Wait." The old emperor seemed to struggle for a moment, and finally suddenly shouted at Pierce.

Pierce nodded as I expected, and the giant soldier stopped attacking. "My Honorable Majesty, you have finally figured it out."

Scipio looked at the smug Pierce and pointed at the Praetorian Guard and said, "It's nothing to do with them, let them go." I'll tell you what I know. ”

"Your Majesty, we will never abandon you!" One by one, the Praetorian Guards were determined not to leave.

"It's easy." Pierce snapped his fingers, and the palm of a giant soldier trapped the Praetorian Guard like a cage. "Now is the time to fulfill your promise, Your Majesty." Pierce said with a smile. In this way, the Pope's task can finally be accomplished.

"But this secret is of paramount importance, and I hope that His Excellency the General may know it alone in front of me, and not make it public."

Scipio made another request, causing Pierce to furrow. "Are you kidding me?"

"Are you afraid of an old man who is dying, or are you flouting the promises of the Roman emperor?" The emperor showed his pride by holding his head high despite his old age.

"Okay." Pierce did not hesitate to respond to this, and was escorted by the giant army to the new Roman Emperor, confident that even if the other party played tricks, he would be able to subdue the half-cut old man by himself.

Count Pierce came to the Emperor, "It was fifty years ago, in Jerusalem. We dug up a monument that we didn't know about. The old emperor suddenly recounted the past. No one could have imagined that the world would change forever. ”

"The Giant Soldier of the Gods, an ominous deity who is said to be the union of angels and humans. When the first giant was excavated, everyone knew that everything had changed. In addition to this, there is a large number of unknown technologies that allow us to learn to forge powerful weapons and explosive gunpowder and nitrate. The strength of the emperor has skyrocketed, but those giant soldiers have been abandoned by us, and no one will use them, but I didn't expect that they would exert such power in your hands. ”

"It's really a trick."

"Tsk, I don't want to listen to that. The Pontifical See says that there is still something about the giant soldiers, and that it is in New Rome. Tell me, what is it? Pierce interrupted the other man's tirade impatiently, and asked eagerly, looking a little angry.

"Then let me tell you, what the Holy See needs are prototypes and drawings of these mecha to achieve the purpose of mass production." Emperor Scipio's face suddenly had a hint of mockery, and Pierce felt a chill in his heart.

"Where?" Pierce grew to the side of his guts, and drew his short hammer and pointed it at Scipio. But the old emperor was not afraid to spread his hands, and said with a smile: "Your Excellency, General, do you know a proverb of the Empire? An emperor's best mourning clothes—"

"It's this purple robe." With that, Emperor Scipio slammed the vial he was hiding in his hand and threw it to the ground. And his face was full of determination and courage as a king.

"Greek fire!" Pierce recognized the ancient Byzantine weapon, but he didn't have time to say anything, for in that moment he was engulfed in flames along with Emperor Scipio.

Everyone was so stunned by this tragic scene that no one reacted. Awakened by Pierce's screams, the elderly emperor was heard praying.

"May the Father of Heaven grant the new Rome forever. Whoever destroys her land will be destroyed, and whoever defends her will be given bread and a sword to drive away evil. May Jehovah bless you・・・・・"

The faint whisper faded away, but one could still hear the mourning for Constantinople in the sky.