When I awoke, we had crossed the Duchy of Borel, rounded the Saint-Teresa Mountains to reach the Duchy of Gaul, and then entered the country from the southern part of the Principality of Saints.

Along the way, the snow changed to a late autumn scene, and we were heading south, where there were not enough climatic conditions to allow for snow.

Along the way, he saw a stream of refugees, and several large cities close to Sanctuary were also said to have broken out in coups, and unlike the bloodless Sanctuary City, these cities had several major battles.

Coup/mutint forces and government forces fought fiercely in the city.

A large number of innocent civilians died in the fighting between the two sides, and those who could afford to do so began to flee. The sudden arrival of the turbulent situation has destroyed the happiness of many families.

The limousine carrying us soon arrived in Andrew, the Holy Country.

Naturally, we couldn't go directly to Sanctuary City, which was in chaos, and no one dared to travel on the railroad there if it wasn't for the armored train.

The railroad system around Sanctuary City has been completely paralyzed, except for those controlled by government forces.

André County is an important agricultural region in the country, providing about two-thirds of the country's food supply, and after the coup d'état, it was placed under martial law by the local army and became an absolute neutral zone.

In order to ensure that there was enough food to avoid the joke of famine in the industrial age, both sides of the coup also tacitly agreed to this place as an absolute ceasefire zone, and the grain trucks from André County would also be protected by both sides.

Of course, if it is some unscrupulous elements, or what appears to be robbers, the attack leads to the destruction of grain trucks and the loss of food.

The two sides only condemned and blamed the other for not being the other, because everyone knew that it was impossible for the army to defeat the army and steal the grain.

After the fighting gradually stopped, the two sides made great efforts in the war of public opinion, and the daily broadcast became a new battlefield.

Of course, it does not mean that the war is over, it is only the calm before the storm, and when it is ready, there will inevitably be several more large wars.

Countless refugees have come here, making this rural place as lively as a city. Countless tents have been erected on the roadside, and from a distance, it is a strange sight.

People from the same places come together to form several larger clusters, and there are mobile bazaars set up by merchants who see business opportunities, making it feel as if you have stepped back in time to the nomadic life of hundreds of years ago.

The limousine stopped at the Duke of André Station, the largest train station in André County. Duke Andrei, who was in charge of the place, and Major General Claydeman, the commander-in-chief of the garrison army, received us solemnly on the platform.

The Apostolic Council had not issued an apologetic decree for many years. This time, the holder of the Apologetic, that is, me, had a high level of power in front of the magistrate.

We checked into the Duke's Palace to recuperate and wait for the arrival of the follow-up troops. Our security is the personal guard of Major General Claydeman and the troops accompanying us.

。

The men in black walked through the hallway and began to descend the stairs, where they were soon attacked by the guards stationed at the door of the vault downstairs and immediately collapsed on the middle staircase.

The grenades on his body have been used up, and there is no way to deal with the defenders downstairs at once. The three men in black had to lie on the ground panting, paying attention to the movements around them.

The three of them glanced at each other, threw away their submachine guns, waited for the ceasefire downstairs, seized the opportunity to immediately roll up in the stairwell, and used the tumbling to avoid the threat of shooting, and went downstairs.

The uninterrupted fire of the defenders immediately tilted towards them.

Only one of the three had reached the door, and the rest of the men in black had been killed before him. The last survivor barely managed to kill four defenders before he was shot himself, with a bayonet in his hand.

It's just that he was shot in one hand and one of his legs. He inhaled the cold air and endured the excruciating pain. As a man who was protected with his life by his teammates, he carried a thermite bomb on his body.

Throwing away the blood-stained bayonet in his hand, he lit the fuse and leaned against the steel door of the vault, closing his eyes. In an instant, the heat melted everything. The steel door was broken, and he also lost everything in the heat.

The defenders inside hurriedly fired at the doorway, which was filled with smoke and fire, but did not kill anyone. Cecilia took Hecesia behind the couch.

After one of the defenders ventured out the door, they were moved to the deepest part of the vault.

After a while, a squad of four men in black came to the door, and the defenders began to exchange fire with them.

They immediately hid on either side of the door in a splash of sawdust.

After a while, several grenades were thrown in, and the defenders hurried to hide behind bunkers.

The shock from the explosion made the defenders close to the source of the explosion dizzy.

The man in black rushed in.

The lights in the evacuation room went out suddenly.

Amid a burst of screams and gunfire, the defenders' voices gradually diminished.

Their wails seemed to indicate that something terrible was coming.

It's definitely not just a cry of pain after being shot.

By the time the lights returned, the vault was covered in blood, and the clothes of the men in black were almost stained red, their eyes were red, and there seemed to be blood on the corners of their mouths.

The corpses on the ground were mutilated, and the look of horror remained on the faces of the defenders.

。

Ludwig hadn't been able to rest since he was woken up in the middle of the night by an urgent message.

I thought it should be a foolproof defense, but as a result, the enemy tore open the gap, snatched Hecehia away, and injured Cecilia.

Cecilia seems to have been hit in the shoulder in the firefight, and is being rescued in the hospital at this time, and the family's hidden forces have been dispatched, so there is no need to worry about safety there for the time being.

According to the reports of the personal guards who rushed to intercept them, it is likely that this group was the Templar Guard of the Apostolic Council. According to the family's report, the Apostolic Council broke the rules and sent out a secret force.

This is a group of the most elite soldiers, each one of a thousand, and some of them have hidden powers.

Their disappearance also led to the rapid destruction of the Council of the Apostles, after all, the old men thought that the Templar Guard was protecting them.

originally thought that they would guard the side of the old immortals who were not caught, but they were sent out on a mission like their own personal guards.

Due to the fact that the enemy was in the dark and I was in the light, and because of the sudden situation, the personal guards, who were not familiar with the surrounding situation, were not able to stop the group.

Ludwig sat at his desk, frowning deeply, looking at the papers in front of him.

With the dissolution of the Council of the Apostles, he temporarily became the nominal supreme ruler of the Holy Kingdom, but the secrets of the Holy Kingdom could not be understood by him for a while.

Those hidden powers shouldn't have been used so easily.

Besides, he didn't know why someone wanted to attack Hessexia, so naturally he couldn't think of where the gang would take Hessehia with him.

Although he had ordered the area around the mansion to be cordoned off, it is likely that the elite Templar had already escaped the blockade.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he called for an attendant and brought an old box.

This was brought to him by his sister before he fell unconscious, saying that there was something that could contact a person through this device. He opened the box, and inside was a radio-like device, and it was hard to imagine such a small radio communication device.

Following the handwritten instructions placed in the box, Ludwig began to operate rustily.

It's a dedicated way to connect with a stealthy powerhouse who fled with her sister to a foreign country. The original blockade was broken by that person alone.

Finally, it was hard to connect.

"Hello." A familiar voice appeared, it was following Kimchi, the butler called / Aishuur!

Ludwig suppressed the surprise that rose in his heart and said:

"Hello, Hecehijah has been robbed."

"Hessehya? I'm going to rescue her. Please tell me who took it? Eschuur still said calmly.

"It's the Templar Guard of the Council of the Apostles, the hidden power of the Holy Kingdom, they...

"Okay." The person on the other side hung up the communication before Ludwig could finish speaking.

Ludwig is now even more overwhelmed.

It seems that he must take advantage of the opportunity of becoming the temporary titular supreme ruler as soon as possible to quickly know more secrets.

For example, the patriarch of the family has not fully revealed to him information about the secret power until now.

I don't know if I'll be able to learn about this through my current clearance.

Ludwig rubbed his head and began to process the piled papers.

。

After receiving the call, Eschuur began to prepare with Clevisia and Reinhardt.

Since Kimchi was tasked with commanding the counterinsurgency, he was healing while learning about the situation in Sanctuary City, and did not notice the abnormality here.

"This time it's likely to be a battle with the hidden power of the Apostolic Council." Aishuur said.

"Which troop?" Reinhardt asked with a rare opening.

"It could be bloodthirsty, or it could be an alien legion planted with ghoul flesh." Aishuur said.

"It's a bit tricky, it's hard for them to kill all at once." Reinhardt frowned, seeming a little distressed.

"Well," Clevisia began, "what are you talking about?" ”

"Secret, a shadow hidden in the shadows of the world. If it weren't for the advent of the Age of Steam, they would still be active in the present world. ”

Aishuur explained.

"Simply put. Bloodthirsty are things that have been transformed by alchemical surgery to strengthen themselves by devouring the souls of others. Because the soul of ordinary people is connected to flesh and blood, it looks like bloodthirsty.

Ghouls are one such strange thing, using black water to preserve their flesh and blood and then planting them into human bodies to create alien demons. ”

“。。。 That, doesn't that mean that black water can only be used by those who are qualified for gray eyes? Clevisia asked.

"It was pure black water. This kind of black water, which preserves the flesh and blood of strange things, is only one thousandth pure. Aishuur explained.

"I see."

Clevisia quickly accepted it all. After all, family lineage is not an ordinary thing.

They continued to prepare silently, ready to set out to rescue Hessehijah.