Snow roses wither in full bloom

The strong men outside the Spring Palace waited there for a whole day.

At noon the next day, the only person inside still showed no sign of coming out.

Mackay Olin placed the sword on the ground, held the hilt, and said in a deep voice: "We can't wait any longer."

*“No matter if she’s level nine or ten, you’ll know how powerful she is once you get in.” Elena grinned.

Alex pulled the sword out of its sheath and whispered, "Oh! I smell a lot of blood again!"

Duke Leon of Mond silently drew his sword and stood beside Ola. He had already broken through to level eight before the Southwest War.

They were followed by a large number of high-ranking knights and wizards.

Enough combat power to overthrow a large kingdom.

Inger didn't want to object at first, but suddenly, he felt the change of magic.

He held out his hand to stop the people.

"She's moving!" he shouted. "Towards us!"

The wizards around him simultaneously deployed a defensive formation.

Leonardine stood between Alex and Aura and whispered, "You should be prepared. The magic of stopping time may not work on a ninth-level wizard, who can already see into the realm of God."

Sacrificing dozens of high-ranking knights was more efficient than slaughtering several cities.

Alex's face darkened and he suddenly drew his sword.

Chijian yelled without caring, "This is not good! Very bad————" His tone changed, "But——I like it! The title of God Slayer is not for nothing, hahahahaha! Let's chop her off!"

Alex: “Shut up.”

Chijian curled his lips.

After a few blinks, the person they had been waiting for appeared before them.

The hem of her skirt was completely stained red with blood, her skin was like a fresh pink rose under the rain, and her black hair was no longer tied into a neat wreath, but was let down, fluttering in the wind.

She came rushing towards me with the wind, with a strangely sweet smile on her face.

Soon, Inger, Miria, Leonardine, and Vito all raised their heads at the same time.

"No! Get out of this area!"

The four of them activated the teleportation array.

The next second they scattered and appeared hundreds of miles away.

As time was too tight, they had no time to agree on a location.

The moment they landed, they simultaneously saw a huge magic circle rising in the sky.

The pattern was engraved with divine language and English that Inger was familiar with as a spell, and the pattern looked like a huge bleeding eye.

It came down from the sky with a heavy, bloody aura.

Not slowly, but falling to the ground like thunder.

Inger raised his hand and put it down dully.

Milia rode a knight's dragon trunk into the air to observe the situation and was also shocked.

Such a huge spring palace.

Disappeared.

razed to the ground.

The centuries-old palace was reduced to nothingness.

Ashes and dust quickly dissipated in the air, taking with them buildings, history, records, glory, corpses, sins... all disappeared completely.

Lucia rose up, and she looked at the traces of destruction with a gentle and gratified look.

Miria got goosebumps all over her body.

The black dragon Ogust jumped out and opened his mouth. At the same time, Elena threw the sword in her hand at his back.

Lucia looked at her and raised her hand reflexively, but paused and did not use any magic.

The sword made of insulative stone pierced through her body, and she fell from the air.

The flames spewing from the black dragon's throat were swallowed alive.

Elena was dumbfounded.

The other knights or wizards who were ready to attack after seeing this scene were also stunned.

Only Inger raised his hand and created a gust of wind.

Lucia's body slowly fell to the ground.

She landed in a pine forest outside the palace.

Everyone immediately gathered in that direction.

Inger tried to move closer but was stopped by Alex.

On the snow-white ground, she bloomed coldly like a blood-red rose.

Alex and Elena stepped forward first.

They crouched down beside Lucia.

Lucia glanced at them and smiled as usual.

It was like the spring breeze blowing across the snowfield again.

Alex frowned deeply.

Ola ignored Duke Mond's objection and walked over, looking down at Lucia lying on the ground.

Alex felt a strange sense of disharmony in his heart, and a possibility kept appearing in his mind.

Aura said it for him: "You are not the queen."

After she finished speaking, she clenched her hands.

What a ridiculous statement.

But her intuition told her that she was not the queen.

Blood was flowing from Lucia's mouth and nose, but her eyes were as gentle as a mother looking at her child.

Everyone in the Spring Palace is dead.

She had no struggle at first.

No treatment, no resistance.

From nowhere, a fine flake of snow began to float in the grey sky.

Lucia didn't say anything. She looked around at the group of people around her and raised her head to the sky.

Clear tears involuntarily flowed from his closed eyes.

Those eyes lost focus and became completely blurred as time passed.

It's quite similar to the color of the sky.

The sun did not break through the clouds and shine on her.

The air in autumn and winter is cold.

No one came to rescue her.

No one scolded her.

A man who shouldn't have a funeral.

They watched her die.

Alex confirmed her body's death.

Elena glanced at Mackay Olin, who nodded and let the dragon flame burn the body to ashes.

The snow had also melted, revealing muddy black soil underneath.

Everyone was unusually silent.

They looked toward the person coming from the other side of the pine forest.

She was wearing the bishop's attire of Qune, her hair was a little messy but still neatly tied up, she was holding a long single-winged staff, her dark green eyes were slightly raised.

There were some undried tear marks on her face. She looked at them, and the curve of her eyebrows and the corners of her mouth were just right for sadness.

Like a person who has been tortured and finally completely liberated.

She took only a few steps before she collapsed to the ground.

Inger ran over and helped her up.

Alex came to him and took her in his arms.

Ola came up to Alex and whispered something in his ear.

Inger couldn't hear clearly.

Alex nodded and said, "I see."

The people around him seemed to be relieved only after they realized what was happening.

But no one will feel happy.

Many people are wondering why this witch gave up resistance.

Of course, some people do not delve too deeply into the reasons for this and are just glad that there is no need for a major war.

In their eyes, Bixi was just an abducted and brainwashed Archbishop of Quene.

Mackay Olin, Elena and others vaguely guessed something but didn't say much.

Afterwards, Alex took Bixi back to their temporary resettlement house in the capital.

He had her shackled and placed in a room under guard by knights.

Inger objected. "You're suspicious just by looking at it?"

Alex said, "Ying, if you saw it, you would think so too."

Inger: "You're the one who won't let me pass!"

Alex: "As long as she doesn't do anything suspicious, it's fine. We won't do anything to her."

Ola also patted Inger's shoulder and said, "Besides, the fact that she is Lucia's clone has not changed. Who knows to what extent she has been influenced by her? It's hard to say whether she is still the same person."

Inger bit his lip and said, "How long are you going to keep her in prison?"

Both of them were silent.

Inger said coldly, "I am 90% sure that after the original Lucia died, she became a completely independent personality. She is the original person."

Aura suddenly asked, "What about the last possibility? Who can guarantee that the Queen will not take her body away? If this possibility comes true, can we afford the consequences?"

Inger's expression suddenly turned grim.

He himself is also inhabiting this body. If they knew this, would they say the same thing?

Alex's expression was also complicated, but his decision was unchanged: "We won't abuse her..."

"…Is it just to deprive her of her freedom in the future?"

“…Yes.”

The temperature in Inger's words dropped sharply: "Alex, I said you were right. But instead of doubting, you should be more proactive in trusting a person. Bixi is not our enemy. You have experienced it, and you know what kind of person she is better than me. You would not have made such a decision before."

Ola frowned and tried to stop them.

Alex yelled, "That man put a knife to your neck!"

Inger: "That's Lucia! Not Bixie!"

Alex swallowed hard and controlled his temper: "But she is still controlled by her. How can you guarantee that it is not Lucia in this body?"

Inger took a breath and said, "Well, let me ask you, if you two are so sure that the bodies of the two people and the souls inside them have been exchanged, let's not talk about how they did it. If you think so, who is the person who died in the snow? Why didn't you save her?"

Alex: “…”

Aura: “…”

Inger looked at them in disbelief: "Just because she is that person's clone, she should die too?"

Alex saw the look in her eyes before she died. That was not the look of a survivor. It was her own choice of death, and she did not want anyone to save her.

But even so, it is a fact that he still chose not to help.

It is not okay to say this now.

Inger thought that even if Bixi stayed with Lucia, she was only saving people. Whether she was helping the evildoers or just standing by and watching, she should not be treated like this when she was obviously being controlled.

Ola held her forehead and said, "They are the same person."

Inger looked at them: "What about those people she saved before?"

Aura said: "A doctor who has saved people all his life and then deliberately kills an innocent person doesn't need to be tried?"

Inger said, "I think Andrenon and Sampsis deserve to die because they have committed unforgivable crimes. From birth to now, Bixi has never stained her hands with the blood of an innocent person. As an avatar, she has an independent personality. She was controlled by Lucia for only a short time. Even so, she did not let her kill people herself..."

Alex interrupted him: "How do you know she didn't? Didn't Lucia say all those things?"

Inger held his breath: "..." Then he said with difficulty: "Alex, let me ask you, in the first time, after Lucia died, what did Bixi do?"

Ora rolled her eyes between them in confusion, but they continued.

Alex: “…”

Inger answered for him: "She was saving people until she died."

Alex: “……Yes, this time is different from the last time.”

Inger finally asked, "If she had possessed me and it was she who was living in this body, would you still make the same choice?"

Alex blurted out: "Impossible!"

Inger said coldly: "Can you give an absolute guarantee?"

Alex didn't know how to answer. He had always trusted his intuition, but this couldn't be considered evidence.

How could he not tell who he was? Even if he changed his appearance, he would be able to find him at a glance.

He had already noticed Inger's uneasiness, so he took a step back and sighed, "I'm sorry, I..."

Inger said angrily, "I told you! Don't apologize!"

Alex wanted to explain, but Inger had already turned and ran away.

Alex didn't chase after him to explain.

He wanted to say that if it was Inger, there was no way he would let both bodies die, even if there was only a slight possibility.

But Inger was obviously out of control and had lost his rationality. He knew that he would not listen to anything you said to him.

When Alex felt uneasy, he subconsciously held the nameplate on his chest.

He has always been strange. It seems that in Inger's mind, he is always tolerant and kind to everyone, just like the ocean that can accommodate everything.

But he clearly has selfish motives.

They stayed in Saranqin for some time to provide relief and help to the devastated country.

The people have reached the point where they can no longer survive.

Telles took the lead in organizing the remaining knights and former rulers, selecting those who really wanted to get things done, and selecting some people from the people who were willing to do something for everyone. He pieced together a team and started from scratch.

At first, people were afraid of the soldiers who had crossed the border, but later they did not dislike the soldiers from Cune and Livil because they were the ones who brought them supplies and food.

Chugne and Riviera implemented the strictest military orders and strictly managed the army's discipline to prevent any chaos. If any soldiers from the two armies oppressed the people, they would be executed on the spot to serve as a warning to others.

However, Qiu Nie and Li Wei'er can only solve the urgent problem temporarily, but not for a long time.

Inger took on the responsibility of educating Ninifer and taught her some basic knowledge about the growth and cultivation of agricultural plants, which she absorbed quickly.

They planted the collected seeds in the fertile black fields. Ninifer was held by the wizard and flew through the air, spreading green dust.

People began to work hard to harvest food, and batches of food were produced quickly within a few days.

People cried with joy as they looked at the crops covered in dirt.

Ninifer was full of energy. She never complained of being tired or needing to rest. She felt satisfied with rescuing her people.

However, Tells knew that although he could use Nineveh's abilities, he could not rely on his own abilities, and people had to learn to grow their own food.

He and a group of people began to assign positions, and although it was a mess, they slowly started the reconstruction work.

Things to do are piling up like a mountain.

Mackay Olin and Ola put forward their own demands and suggestions for governing the country, and soon they would prepare to return home.

It is impossible for their troops to remain in this country for long.

What this young man and the people he represents will face is a ruin, completely different from what they were a dozen days ago, and they will build their hopes for the future on it.

It is precisely because we are at the bottom that every day is a climb upwards.

People who have experienced near-destruction disasters will know that they must rely on their own strength to stand up, and that power must be kept in a cage and under the supervision of all the people.

History has proven that even if there are stumbles, Tels Nabuchi will lead these people to lift up this fallen country again and again.

After all, a country is made up of people. Where these people exist is the country and the family.

Telles first discussed the official name of the country and announced it urgently. Because Zalambra annexed many ethnic groups and neighboring small countries during Andrenon's administration, it was eventually renamed the "Salanqin United Democratic Republic". The official name was a bit long, so there was an abbreviation: Sahe.

His idea was that the neighboring countries should help each other and become a large collective to overcome the difficulties first and then discuss the issue of independence. Because those small countries also suffered enough and needed the support of the food produced by Nineveh, they had no choice but to agree.

Before the two countries withdrew their troops, Telles signed a 100-year non-aggression treaty with the two countries on behalf of the newly born Saha.

Neither Liweil nor Qiune asked for compensation from Sahe, but even if they squeezed them now, they wouldn't get a single drop of profit, and Saranqin's land was also difficult to control.

In international affairs, the three countries spoke with one voice.

Brantasa, who claimed to be Andrenon and a blood sacrifice, was defeated by the coalition forces of the two countries and committed suicide. The two countries helped Saranqin rebuild.

In fact, most of it is true.

However, many people still think that Li Wei'er and Qiu Nie jointly selected a puppet to control Saranqin.

Of course even if this is true, when the two strongest empires on the continent join forces, which country can resist?

After completing all the necessary formalities, Qiu Nie and Li Weier returned to their respective homes.

Alex and Inger have continued their cold war since their last argument, but they will still actively communicate on purely official business.

Ola was very upset in the middle, but also felt at ease, because people like them would do what they were supposed to do no matter how much they quarreled.

December 30, 1894, the last day of the year.

Elena escaped from the torment of preparing for the royal banquet and came to Dragon Canyon with Auguste. She fed him whole sheep and cattle, washed the blood and dirt on his body in the river, flew with him in the sea of ​​clouds, and finally lay down on the dry grass to take a nap together.

In the slightly warm winter sunshine, August moved his ears.

August wrinkled his nose, "Elena, stop making noise!"

Elena: “?”

She didn't do anything?

Elena looked around. Except for the occasional chirping of birds, it was very quiet here.

After a while, Auguste couldn't stand it anymore and opened his eyes.

"I told you to stop making noise! ​​I want to sleep!"

Elena jumped up and stared at him: "What's wrong with you?"

Are the temperaments of dragons always so changeable when they reach middle age?

August stared at her for a moment, frowning.

Elena heard the roars of dragons not far away, one after another, shaking the valley, and she opened her mouth wide.

Augst raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound. He said, "I heard the wall breaking. Soon, it will all break."

Ola put the work on hand aside and stretched her back. She thought, at least on this one day a year, she should take a break.

However, just like a footprint on her face, a report came from outside the door, and the voice was trembling unnaturally: "Your Majesty... The Pope is here..."

Ola was just about to put on his battle robe and go out, but he instinctively thought that another battle was about to begin. He was confused by the second half of the sentence, "… Your Holiness? Why are you so frightened? Please come in."

Seeing the appearance of the person coming, Ola was also shocked.

The Pope, who was originally upright and dignified, and who was not even defeated by his disciple’s accident, now had his back slumped down, and he spoke hoarsely with sobs: “The oracle of the goddess... the disaster for mankind... is about to come...”

At some point, Christine ran in and hugged Ola, holding what she had drawn in her hands, her whole body trembling.

She had only shown the dream scene she had predicted to Inger and Alex, and she wanted to confirm what it was.

Their expressions changed drastically, but they didn't tell her anything.

Yet, it wasn't until today that she finally understood what Alex and Inger had been hiding from them.

At this moment.

In the Western Continent, the popes of the goddess churches of various countries told the oracle with tears in their eyes that a world-destroying disaster was about to come.