Chapter 235: Memories of the Past
Goliath usually took on a human form.
It was probably because it was an advanced form of a golem, but Leobold found it quite unnatural.
The fewer parts that could move in a weapon, the better.
Even the assault armors made with 22nd century technology had limited use of joints in the head unit, booster nozzle, and wing pack.
Leobold rode on Goliath because it was still not well established and also because Arma needed data for his research.
If those conditions were met, he would have sent out combat walkers and drones instead of Goliath.
In that sense, Goliath’s joints powered by magic circles were a major research subject.
Even the ancient Goliath that was lifted into the air by a gravity crane had a tail.
It was a mystery how they maintained dozens of joints with ancient technology.
Its appearance was also very ferocious, almost reminiscent of a monster.
“Is that really Goliath?”
「Zion said that was the mainstream appearance back then. The Goliaths that the champions of God rode were different.」
“Did they model it after a dragon…”
He wondered why they needed so many joints, especially in other places.
「There is a possibility that the champions shared their consciousness with the dragons when they received their power. In that process, the champions became pseudo-dragons.」
“I see. In that case, their tactics would be similar to those of dragons.”
He couldn’t tell if that was why he didn’t see any weapons.
Anyway, Leobold boarded a shuttle and entered the Settler.
The spec sheet of Goliath, which was stored in a restraint cage and undergoing cleaning, popped up.
「It is over 10 meters tall with horns and weighs 190 tons. The output of the core is close to 300E.」
“It’s a monster indeed.”
The output was only three times higher than that of the lowest Jagan class, but Leobold knew that the difference was bigger than he thought.
Even between the Jagan class and the Bephal class, which had only a 1.5 times difference in output, there was no match if knights of equal skill rode them.
Let alone a three times difference, which was like heaven and earth.
The reason for such a big difference was the ether heart of the knight who rode it.
「It’s not certain, but it seems that Goliath’s core resonates with the knight’s ether heart and amplifies the ether.」
It didn’t seem to be simply multiplied by arithmetic, but rather some coefficient was added.
“Can this thing handle me?”
「According to the current calculation, 100% of master’s power is too much. About 20% is estimated to be the limit.」
Leobold’s current state was not normal, so he could actually handle about 50~60%.
Anyway, it was impossible to ride this thing right away.
It had been buried for 200 years, so it might have broken down or it might be picky about its rider.
“Maybe that ancient man we dug up is the owner of this Goliath.”
「We are currently collecting DNA from inside and comparing it. The results will be out soon.」
“Thanks.”
Leobold looked at the ancient Goliath.
There wasn’t much he could do with something from 200 years ago at this point.
Even one assault armor loaded on the Settler could easily destroy such a Goliath without any number limit.
But somehow he felt that this Goliath would take him somewhere important.
“It looks like Altema’s prototype.”
Especially its head shape and horns were almost identical.
He looked at the monitor and saw Lucia’s main body searching for minerals diligently on the floating continent.
She could have escaped, but she didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so.
She enjoyed roaming around because there was no one on the floating continent.
She had brought so many subordinates that she had enough power to crush any country.
There were even flying ones, but strangely enough they were quite small.
He thought there must be something more than minerals for Plague’s evolution.
“I’m glad I don’t have to worry about resources anymore.”
It was easy to mine resources with mining ships, but he thought it would be better to build an outpost for external purposes.
Leobold looked at Lucia and her subordinates who were busy moving around and left the hangar.
Their appearance looked somewhat like beetles to him.
***
When Leobold became an count, more people visited his territory.
From Bagran’s nobles and royals to Galisto’s diplomats who tried hard to get their airships back, and even Zaium’s influential people.
They all tried hard to build connections and some tried to get something out of him.
The most desperate ones were Galisto’s diplomats.
They claimed that sending the airships was an unjust accident and tried to get them back somehow.
“The war itself was the result of Count Lantis’s rampage… I’m sorry. The former Count Lantis. We were just dragged into it, so we have to get the airships back.”
“Why do I have to give them back? You came into my territory and fought, and even fired cannons.”
“We admit that you destroyed three airships. But if you keep them, there will be more bloodshed in the future.”
It sounded like he was saying that it was not something for a lowly person like him to have and he should return it.
Naturally, Leobold’s attitude became rude.
“There’s no point in talking to you. You won’t get the airships back anyway. Stop wasting your time and go back.”
The diplomat seemed frustrated and raised his voice.
“Do you think the royals, including His Majesty, will let this go? The construction cost of the three airships is over 70,000 gold. It’s a huge amount.”
“So what? Do you want to start a war? Go ahead. I don’t care either way.”
The diplomat was embarrassed by his remark that he didn’t even care about war.
In fact, Galisto was not in a position to wage war.
They wanted to fight Bagran and break their nose someday, but Croitz, the count of the empire, came to Zaium and threatened them.
If they interfered with Bagran again, one of them would die.
He didn’t know if that was the emperor’s intention, but it was stressful enough that a great noble like Croitz showed interest.
Her power alone was enough to shake Galisto, let alone her many followers and big shots like Prozac who seemed to have joined hands with her.
There was no answer to that.
But they couldn’t give up on the expensive three airships, so they came here shamelessly, but count Banda didn’t seem to have any intention of returning them.
He ended the meeting as he pleased.
“You should be glad that it ended with three airships after joining hands with a traitor like Lantis and trying to cause chaos in Bagran. You should know when to back off. If you want your airships back, come and get them.”
It implied that he could even invade Galisto’s mainland.
The diplomat was outraged and kicked out.
“You will regret this someday.”
“I’ll wait.”
There were also some unusual guests, and among them was Veronica, the saintess of Palma from the Holy Kingdom.
As someone in a high position, he couldn’t refuse, but he honestly didn’t care to have an important conversation with her.
That was because Leobold had no interest in her, only wariness.
He felt the same way about Hermine, who was attached to her, and the concept of God itself, which was unpleasant and vague.
He didn’t understand why God would stick to a mere human, and he doubted if she was really a God. She was a very awkward opponent.
Veronica smiled brightly and faced him.
“You don’t seem to care much about the rumors that are going around lately.”
“Are you talking about Lantis and others finding out that I’m the hero? I don’t care. It’s probably someone in the church who spread it.”
“That someone is me.”
The saint…?
“Why… I can’t help but ask. Wasn’t it forbidden to reveal the trust of God?”
“There is no such rule. It’s more accurate to say that there is no need to worry about such implicit rules anymore.”
“Because of the situation of the church.”
“That’s right.”
The atmosphere of Palma was not good at all.
The death or disappearance of the Astera Pantheon for a long period of time caused a mass exodus of believers.
Losing believers meant losing money.
Considering that the main sources of income for the Holy Church were the subsidies from various countries and the pockets of the believers, this was an unbearable blow.
There were even deserters among the Holy Knights.
The power of the Knights came from the holy magic, but they couldn’t use it because of the absence of God, so they often complained that they were no different from ordinary knights.
Despite this, the power of the Holy Church was still strong, but no one knew if it would be so in the future.
Therefore, Arma guessed that the Pope, the Saint, and the leaders had a different mind…
「In the past, the Holy Church boasted a status comparable to that of Gram Empire. Now it is compared to Galisto Kingdom. So expanding their influence must be their top priority.」
The Saint openly took Leobold’s hand.
“You have warm hands. I hope you will bring peace to Astera with these hands.”
“Let’s get to the point. What do you want?”
“It’s not so much what I want as what I want to show you. Come this way…”
She led Leobold’s hand to her forehead.
He didn’t want to touch her head for various reasons, but in case of the worst, Arma would seal off this area, so there wouldn’t be a big problem.
As his hand touched her forehead, Leobold’s consciousness faded and was sucked into somewhere.
‘This is similar to dreaming.’
Was it Hermine’s power that controlled dreams, illusions, and nightmares?
Leobold wandered around in a white space and encountered something.
His home planet Earth.
He had seen it from afar by accidentally opening a warp gate, but it was touching to see it up close.
‘Which time period is this Earth…’
It was definitely the 21st century, judging by the space station he had ordered to launch in orbit.
His consciousness was sucked into the atmosphere and he found himself in a megacity.
He felt like he had come home seeing Earthlings who were clcounty different from Asterans.
They ignored Leobold and ran to one place.
‘What’s going on?’
The atmosphere inside the megacity was definitely not normal.
People were screaming and drones and walkers were scattered everywhere.
He understood why this happened.
It was natural that chaos would occur when Leobold and Arma, who had to control everything, left.
But he never expected such a huge turmoil.
‘Did a war break out between megacities?’
He wondered what happened to the legion strike fleet that returned from Pluto.
They should have followed the orders of the Supreme Council, including Bae Seong-min.
His consciousness moved to another place.
Someone was holding a microphone and giving a speech. It was Bae Seong-min when he looked closely.
He looked awkward because he was young, but he also had anti-aging treatment, so it was natural.
‘He’s talking hard but I can’t hear him.’
There were pilots and bureaucrats around him, including Sonya and Hwang Sun-young.
It seemed like a very important place.
People shouted and waved flags with his picture on them as Bae Seong-min yelled something.
The stage was noisy when suddenly a flag with Leobold’s picture on it appeared.
‘Why me all of a sudden?’
He wanted to know the time period and looked at someone’s nice watch.
It was January 2048.
‘It’s right after I killed Plague Queen and left for Nox.’
It hadn’t been long since the legion strike fleet returned to Earth, but it had come to this point.
It was really surprising.
Would it have been better if he had sorted everything out and left?
Leobold knew that it wasn’t.
Arma was not a system that could be replaced, and once he decided to go with him, this future was inevitable.
The only thing left was how well they could cope with the chaos caused by his absence, but it didn’t seem to go well from this atmosphere.
Bae Seong-min shouted something and people waved flags with his picture on them enthusiastically.
‘Were they shouting my name?’
Leobold wished that Earthlings would forget him.
He wanted them to break free from him, the dictator, and regain democracy and independence in the true sense.
Although there was no artificial intelligence, they should not have been materially lacking, considering the legion strike fleet, the megacities, and other facilities.
But they were still shouting his name.
‘Did they need me, or was it just a symbol?’
He couldn’t tell because he couldn’t hear the sound.
He was getting complicated when his consciousness was sucked somewhere and his vision recovered.
Leobold took his finger off the Saint’s forehead and sighed deeply.
“This is the dream I had. It must be your past memory.”
“…I don’t understand. Why are you showing me this all of a sudden?”
“Are you going to hide it until the end? Why don’t you join us now? The Holy Church is willing to be your stepping stone.”
“I’m not a hero.”
“Hermine told me. That you are the hero. The agent of God who will save Astera.”
“…”
This confirmed that she had God attached to her.
As long as there was such an ambiguous existence, he had no reason to cooperate with her.
“I’m sorry. Saint. Let’s end it here for today.”
His attitude was too firm for Veronica to continue the conversation.
“I understand. I hope we can have a constructive talk next time.”
After she left with the Holy Knights, Leobold immediately called Arma.
“Watch the Saint 24 hours a day from now on. If there is a place where you can’t enter because of a barrier or something, at least record her whereabouts.”
「How about kidnapping her? The Holy Church is quite far away, so they won’t notice us if we erase the traces.」
“It’s not time yet.”
Leobold had to establish a foundation of at least a national level before revealing his true colors.
By then, he would start the conquest project in earnest, so he could ignore any resistance, but not yet.
Above all, he couldn’t ignore Hermine, the God who was attached to the Saint.
She didn’t seem to withstand the anti-tank baptism, but the fact that she had no substance was holding Leobold back.
“What are you trying to do by bringing up my past memories and confusing me? What do you ultimately want?”
「The goal of the Holy Church is to expand their influence, but they seem to have another purpose. They are digging up various lands inside the church.」
“Don’t tell me they are looking for dragon bones like Elvrande?”
「Maybe not dragon bones, but various artifacts… relics of God that were used in the Great War.」
“Keep an eye on them. Be ready to blow them up if necessary.”
He had left them alone because they weren’t interfering too much, but it might be better to quietly blow them up if they got worse.
He didn’t want to make a fuss in the temple, but if someone kept bothering him, it would be natural for him to punch them.
As he watched the Saint Veronica leave the territory, Arma reported urgently.
「Master, the ancient man in the capsule has opened his eyes. He has recovered from his coma.」
“Can he talk?”
「Yes. His mouth movements were not much different from the continental language.」
“Bring him here. I have some questions for him.”
***
As soon as he woke up, the man looked around and curled up in a defensive posture.
Considering that he hadn’t fully recovered from the drug, he must have had amazing physical and mental strength.
Leobold stepped back with Arma and signaled that he was not hostile.
“You’re awake now. I don’t mean to harm you.”
He scanned their faces slowly and said.
“What era is it now? Who rules Astera?”
“Elvrande and Zaium. The two empires rule half of Astera.”
“What about Gram Empire?”
“It’s been 200 years since Gram Empire disappeared. Now Gram Kingdom is continuing their legacy.”
“Damn it.”
The man spat out some coarse words that they couldn’t understand and asked for one thing.
“Can I have some water? My throat is burning.”
Arma brought him some water and he drank it gulp by gulp and shook his head.
“Hu… I feel alive now. By the way, are you the ones who saved me? Do you know who I am?”
“We guess that you are Altima’s champion. We don’t know your name though.”
“If you know that much, it will be easier to talk. My name is Valgard Gram. I am Altima’s champion and a member of Gram royal family.”
“Your surname is Gram… You might have descendants in the current Gram Kingdom. By the way, my name is Leobold Vandas. This is Arma, my exclusive maid.”
Arma bowed her head, but Valgard didn’t even look at her and asked.
“Where did you find me? Why did you wake me up?”
“We found you by chance. You were in a temple under the sea. You were in a coffin made of adamantium. What kind of end did you face that you were there?”
“I… I…”
Valgard closed his mouth.
“I’m sorry. I appreciate that you saved me, but I can’t tell you. It’s a vow I made with Altima.”
“Altima is dead. It’s been 200 years since the Great War ended. What’s the point of your vow then?”
“It has meaning until my life ends. And my life hasn’t ended yet.”
“That life has meaning because I saved it.”
Valgard glared at Leobold for a moment and said.
“Do you want to die? You say that even though you know I’m a dragon’s champion?”
“I don’t care what others fear, but not me.”
“That’s impressive.”
Valgard stood up from the bed and it felt like a mountain was blocking him.
Leobold was like this, so ordinary people would fall into fear.
He rubbed off the sealing magic circle on his chest.
As the ether heart started to operate fully, Valgard’s eyes widened.
“This power…”
“Sit down. I’m not below you.”
“Are you… a dragon?”
“I have a dragon who helps me. Not as much as Altima though.”
“You’re not a dragon, but how can you have this much ether…”
“Don’t stand there and sit down, will you? Be sane.”
“…”
The situation was reversed in an instant.
He growled and got up, but Valgard sat down like a puppy who had done something wrong, looking around.
Now he could have a conversation.
Leobold opened his mouth with a smirk.
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