Section 7: Reunion

A whole group of armed soldiers emerged from the corner, all sweating profusely, full of anger and murderous energy. The soldiers looked left and right, and immediately fixed their eyes on the strange outsider in front of them—a man leading a tall horse, wearing a long sword, and a gray cloak that shielded him from the sun. Through the gap in the cloak, you can see the very common single garment underneath. It's just an ordinary out-of-tlander, and there's nothing to doubt about it.

"You," the leader of the soldiers gestured with his hand toward Ashrufat. "Did you see a little monster?"

Ashrufat didn't speak, but just made a gesture with his hands, indicating that he didn't understand what the other was saying at all. The alley was surprisingly neat, nothing was moving, and the soldiers immediately understood that their goal was not to flee here, so they immediately pursued it the other way. The metal clanging sound faded away. Now in the alley, there was only one person left in the alley.

Ashrufat lifted his cloak, "It's all right. He whispered. "Mimilu, they're gone. ”

A creature emerges from under its cloak. This mysterious creature was not even as tall as Ashrufat's waist, and looked a lot like a human child. However, part of its body is covered with fur, and it has a pair of furry ears like a cat on its head, and a tail hanging down behind it, making it look half-human, half-cat.

These creatures are often called "half-beasts", but they are actually creatures with advanced intelligence, just like humans. It's just that now this creature has vanished from this world, along with their civilization, and only remnants remain in some of the most remote areas. Ashrufat had helped the half-beasts fight the greenskins in the Danden Mountains, so he knew this half-beast named Mimilu.

In fact, at that time, the half-beasts gave Mimilu to him as a slave girl. However, Ashrufat did not like this decision, so he did not say goodbye. Seriously, Ashruphat had never expected to meet Mimilu again in this place.

"Master!" ...... Mimilu cried as she rubbed her face against Aerufat's body, leaving one mark after another on his cloak and clothes. "I've finally found you!"

"You're looking for me?"

"Yes!" Mimi looked at each other with tears in her eyes, "I followed your scent and left, but lost track of you halfway." I had to wander all the way and look for you everywhere......"

Mimilu's appearance was indeed different from what she remembered, she had become much thinner, and there were many scars on her body that had not yet healed, and there were even a few fresh blood marks on her arms. There is no doubt that the wandering days in the Anthropocene world have not been a good life, and she has to face hostility and hunting all day long. Although the half-beasts have a talent for hiding and stealth, it is difficult to survive in the hostile world.

"Mimilu, I'm ......" Ashrufat touched Mimilu's head, hoping not to hurt Mimilu's self-esteem as much as possible. After all, she has suffered so much. “...... Actually, I don't need a slave girl......" he scrambled the right words in his stomach. “...... Because...... I don't need a scout. ”

Mimilu looked up at each other, her eyes widening.

“...... For some reason...... I'm no longer a knight of St. Jean. Ashrufat continued. "And...... I don't think I'll ever have the chance to command an army to fight again. So, although you are excellent, your abilities mean nothing to me. ”

"But the Great Elder, they have already given Mimilu to the master, so Mimilu belongs to the master. ”

"I free you from your obligations, you are no longer my slave girl, go back to the tribe. Ashrufat said. Mimilu didn't move, but more tears seemed to overflow from her eyes.

"Master, this is too conspicuous for you. In her mind's eye, Carrie unceremoniously pointed out Eshurufat's mistake. "Not only will you not convince Mimilu, but you will hurt her. ”

"And what should I do?" Ashrufat asked rhetorically in his mind. "Carrying Mimilu all day, waiting for her to discover my secrets, discovering that I'm a vampire, discovering that my horse is undead?"

"The right thing to do is to take her on a short trip and prove that her abilities are of little value to you. Then you can break up with her. It's a good thing for you, it's for her. ”

“...... All right, Mimilu," Ashrufat sighed inwardly. Mimilu has very keen senses and observational powers, and she will soon discover the truth about the Nightmare Pony. When the time comes...... Well, think about it when the time comes. "If you don't think it's appropriate to go back now, then spend some time with me first. ”

Mimilu happily continued to rub her face full of tears and other things on his clothes.

"But I'm ...... now," Ashruphat looked at himself and the horse, he didn't have anything around him for Mimilu to hide.

"It's all right, master, I can follow you, and I promise no one will notice. With that, Mimilu immediately used her talent for stealth, and her body quickly became the same color as her surroundings - the only problem was the fresh blood marks on her arms. The bloodstained wounds on these arms seem to have been left by some claw-shaped weapon, and they are also Mimilu's biggest flaw now. Under the sun, as long as you look closely, you can notice these conspicuous red lines, and finally notice the existence of Mimilu.

But if it's night, this flaw doesn't exist.

"Mimilu, don't do this. Ashrufat took off his sunshade cloak and stacked it on horseback in a seemingly random manner, creating a space for Mimilu to hide. Mimilu can step on one stirrup and hide under the cloak. "Hide here. ”

"It's not a good idea, host. In her head, Carrie complained.

Mimilu jumped onto Nightmare's horse, her hand grasping the horse's back. Ashrufat realized that she could realize in a few minutes that the horse was unusual by the touch of her hands. However, if Mimilu had followed him for a few days, she would have sensed the immortal nature of the horse.

He led the horse out of the alley, and the dazzling sunlight shone directly on him at the moment, making him feel burned. But he couldn't tell for a moment if it was because the sun was too poisonous, or if it was something else. However, this feeling is not particularly strong, so he also ignores it for the time being.

The square is right in front of it. Due to the heat and heat, the square was empty at the moment, except for the statue that the former tailor shop owner had spoken of, standing alone in the middle of the square. From afar, you can see that the statue was erected for a short time, because the color of the stone is still very new.

For a moment, Ashruphat couldn't find the right thing to describe the strange statue. It doesn't look like anything known, the top half is a cone, the bottom half is a flat cube, and no analogy can be found other than that it is an unnatural product at a glance. And it's easy to get the gut feeling that it's not so much a stand-alone thing as an integral part of something bigger.

He walked around the statue, looking around, back and forth, left and right. This sculptor is of a good level and has carved every detail into it. Eshuruphat was able to make out the strange patterns on the creature's surface, as well as a few strange components, not too small, and a few other things.

"Is this a holy thing, what can it be used for?" Ashrufat asked Carrie in his mind, but Carrie rarely answered.

"Carrie?" he continued. Since the Church considers this thing to be a holy thing, this strange thing must have some effect, otherwise it would not have been shipped here with great difficulty. Ashrufat felt that if this thing was of any use, it should be some kind of vehicle, because half of the relic's shape was flat, and people unconsciously felt that there were many things on it.

However, judging from the description of the lady of the tailor shop before, it is obvious that this thing cannot be moved by its own strength, otherwise it would not have to be transported with so much effort.

"Emergency, preset program unlocked!" A sweet female voice suddenly sounded in Ashrufat's mind. Ashruphat was almost startled, and came back to his senses to remember that it was the voice of what Carrie called a "generic user interface". However, Ashrufat didn't understand what the title meant, and could only guess that the female voice called the "Universal User Interface" was the same existence as Carrie, and was created by Kotoshin with some kind of magic. Compared to Carrie, it appears mechanical and lacks flexibility, but seems to have more force than Carrie.

"The hosts. Carrie finally replied, her voice pitiful. "Report you a very bad news. ”

"Bad news?"

"That's right, according to the situation that Kotoshin-sama presupposed, you must shoulder the responsibility of destroying this so-called 'holy artifact', which is the order with the highest priority. ”

"Destroy?priority?" Ashrufat was taken aback.

"Kotoshin-sama's order. ”

"But she's dead...... What happens if I refuse this order?"

"Master, if you refuse, then there is a year as a buffer...... When the year is up, the artificial intelligence in your head, that is, me, will detonate...... That is, you will die. So I suggest you accept it as well. ”

"For what...... It's not like ......"

"This kind of thing is also beyond the unexpected, master, it wasn't done deliberately by Lord Qinxin. Carrie replied aggrievedly. "It was supposed to be set up just in case, but I really didn't expect them to find it. ”

"What the hell is this relic?" said Ashrufat, staring at the strange sculpture.

"It's an antimatter engine...... I can't provide further explanations because you don't have the relevant permissions. You understand that if Kotoshin-sama were in your situation, she would have sacrificed her life to destroy this thing. ”

"How are we going to destroy this thing?" said Ashrufat, recalling the shopkeeper's introduction, imagining the true appearance of this "antimatter engine" - it was made entirely of some kind of metal, without cracks or blemishes......

"You just have to come to it, find the control unit, and I can overload it and destroy it. Carrie replied. "But to do that, I suggest you find a way to organize an army and take the city by force. Once everything is under your control, we can slowly solve the rest of the problem. ”