HLnovel Chapter 113 The Voice of the Star Core
Chapter 113 The Voice of the Star Core
"Damn it... that damn Sambo! When I catch him, I'm going to shove the scythe up his nose!" Seele's anger surged as she listened to the rustling footsteps.
Xing thought for a moment and said, "However, this guy is still quite trustworthy."
"Huh? You mean that unscrupulous businessman, Honesty?" March 7th exclaimed in shock.
“Yes, it exceeded a thousand Winter City Shields. He really did sell us out.” Xing’s expression was very serious.
"Forehead....."
March 7th was suddenly bewildered, his mind going blank.
She really wanted to pry open this guy's brain and see what was inside.
“In a way, that’s true.” Eve nodded slightly.
"Oh, why does Eve say that too?" March 7th was immediately shocked.
Oh no, what's wrong with this world? Has it been taken over by pleasure? Is the world going to end?
Just as March 7th was feeling desperate, Eve's voice drifted over, "But that won't stop him from claiming the AFK rewards."
March 7 looked at Eve and saw that Eve had smiled. She keenly sensed the hidden danger in the smile.
Yes, it's confirmed. It really is the Eve she knows. The world is safe now.
At this point, Eve had already figured out what the AFK reward would be.
In addition to 100 free draws, you'll also receive a premium three-piece skin and an ice and snow main world scene.
Okay, that's decided.
"So what do we do now? Should we just surrender and then play bondage?" Xing asked curiously.
"Bundle, bondage play? Where did you learn these words?" March 7th blushed immediately.
Xing gave a thumbs up and gave a knowing look.
"Surrender? Hmph, how could that be?" Seele scoffed. "Of course, it's a real fight, a real battle, to see just how strong these so-called Iron Guards really are!"
Bronya called out to Seele, "Wait, Seele, don't be so impulsive."
"This is the Iron Guard's stronghold, which is disadvantageous to us."
"So what do you want to do?" Seele asked patiently after calming down.
“You all leave first, I’ll stay here and distract them,” Bronya said seriously.
"But this..."
Seele was about to say something, but Bronya stopped her with her hand.
“It’s alright, Seele. I’m the commander of the Silvermane Guards. They won’t do anything to me.”
“Perfect timing. I also want to take this opportunity to confront the High Warden face to face.” Bronya’s words were firm, as if she had already made up her mind.
Seele paused, as if she wanted to say something, but seeing Bronya's determined expression, she swallowed her words and nodded, saying, "Okay."
"Then let's hurry up and go!" March 7th immediately said.
Listening to the dense footsteps, March 7th felt like it would explode if it stayed for even a second longer.
She turned around, wanting to pull Eve along, but found that Eve had already disappeared.
"Strange? Where's Eve?" March 7 asked, looking puzzled.
Xing suddenly said, "I understand, go distribute the AFK rewards!"
"AFK...rewards?" March 7th was clearly still in the dark.
"Let's go quickly." At this moment, Seele grabbed March 7's hand.
"Eh?"
Before March 7th could react, she was suddenly pulled into an alley.
Xing followed closely behind, an excited expression on her face, and rushed into the alley.
Bronya was left alone on the spot.
At that moment, the guards who were there to make the arrest also arrived.
Bronya glanced at it, then said coldly, "I knew it. It was you, Dunn."
Clad in armor, the tall and imposing Dunn sighed silently and said helplessly, "There's nothing we can do."
"I hope you can understand, Lady Bronya."
Bronya gave them a cold look and snorted, "Tell them to put down their guns. I have no intention of resisting."
Upon hearing this, Dunn pressed his hand down.
The guards behind him immediately lowered their guns in unison.
Bronya still wields considerable influence over her former position as commander, and the Iron Guards never intended to take action against her.
At that moment, Dunn waved to the Iron Guards behind him.
"Don't worry, we'll go very easy on you."
Several guards immediately stepped forward, took Bronya away, and then brought her back to Kripper Castle.
...........................
On the other side, Cripper Fort.
In his office, Dunn knelt and said to Cocolia, "Lady Cocolia, Lady Bronya has been captured and brought back."
Cocolia's expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure. "Bring her here, and then you may leave."
"Yes, Lady Cocolia."
Dunn immediately got up and left the office.
A short while later, Bronya, wearing handcuffs, walked in.
Upon seeing Bronya, Cocolia burst into tears, "Bronya, are you alright? I was so worried about you. I thought I was about to lose you."
"I heard you were abducted to the lower city. How are you? Are you hurt? I'll get the butler right away..."
Before Cocolia could finish speaking, Bronya interrupted her.
She said coldly, "No need, Mother."
“If you were really worried about me, I wouldn’t be here like this.” Bronya raised the handcuffs on her hands.
“This…” Cocolia’s tone suddenly became hesitant.
"It's because you've been getting too close to those people who are deliberately stirring up trouble in Belloberg. This is the only way for now. You have to understand your mother's good intentions."
“Is that so?” Bronya countered.
“I have experienced a lot in the Lower District, more than I have experienced in the Upper District over the past ten years, and I have also seen some of the truth.”
"So Mother, please stop lying to me, okay?" Bronya's eyes were sharp as she stared intently at Cocolia.
Cocolia looked at Bronya, feeling a pang of emotion.
At that moment, her heart did soften a little, but she quickly recovered, becoming as solid as steel, impenetrable.
She replied just as coldly, in an almost official tone, "Then, tell me about your experiences first, Commander Bronya."
"I'd like to see what deception you've discovered that makes you say such things to me."
Bronya paused for a moment, then said, "Lady Cocolia, before this, I had another one, Lady Cocolia."
"explain."
"Are those outsiders really people who deliberately stirred up Beloborg and attempted to overthrow the Builders' rule?" Bronya asked sharply.
“Of course, without a doubt,” Cocolia said calmly, raising her hand.
"But I saw them take up arms for justice and risk their lives for the ideals of others. I can confirm that they did come for the Star Core, to end the disaster it brought to Beloborg."
“But, Lady Cocolia, all I saw in you was your indifference and disregard for the Iron Guards, the confession obtained through torture, and the misery of the Lower City.”
"For the people in the lower city, getting medical treatment or a hot meal is a luxury. Is this really the Belloberg we hoped for, the Belloberg the builders hoped for?"
Bronya spoke eloquently, her words carefully chosen, as she continued to think of Cocolia.
But Cocolia remained unmoved by these words, her expression completely calm.
At this point, Bronya continued, "And, Lady Cocolia, you've always known the truth about the Star Core, haven't you?"
Suddenly, Cocolia's expression changed drastically, turning grim.
"How did you know?" she asked in a low, somber voice.
"In the Lower City, I defeated a prehistoric robot named Swaro. Its memory contained data on previous generations of High Guardians, as well as research on the Star Core."
Bronya spoke calmly and confidently, her expression remaining unchanged throughout.
"Hmph, very good, very good, Bronya." Cocolia was immediately somewhat angry, but she didn't lash out.
“Go on, Bronya.”
"Therefore, I believe that, Your Excellency the Great Guardian, your decision to order the extermination of these outsiders was a mistake."
"The builders have been waiting for hundreds of years to solve the problems caused by the star core, and they may be the key to breaking the deadlock."
Bronya spoke these words calmly, not because she harbored any illusions or hoped that Cocolia would retract her decision, but to confirm a thought in her heart.
An idea that could shatter her inner pillars and then rebuild new ones.
Suddenly, Cocolia flew into a rage and slammed her hand on the table in front of her. "Enough, Bronya!"
"Arrogance, ignorance, I am so disappointed in you, Bronya."
"You've only glimpsed a corner of the snow-capped mountain, yet you think you've seen the truth of what's lost."
"You only got splashed with mud in the lower city, and you dare to question my orders?"
“It seems my order to arrest you was correct. You betrayed Beloberg, Bronya.” Cocolia said agitatedly, abruptly standing up.
"It was not I who betrayed Beloberg, but Lady Cocolia."
“My past, those things you never told me… I remember them all now. So, Great Guardian, it is you who are stubbornly clinging to your delusions,” Bronya said clearly.
"You, you...you're utterly unreasonable! Iron Guard!"
“Mother!” Bronya cried out, “This is the last time I will call you Mother.”
“I know you have been carrying a lot all this time, but don’t be misled by that voice. It’s not a way to save the world, but rather to drag it into an endless abyss.”
"this....."
At that moment, Cocolia hesitated for a moment, but then the Star Core's voice rang in her ears.
"Don't listen to her, Cocolia, we're almost there."
"Soon, we will be able to save this broken world."
Cocolia covered her head, seemingly in great pain.
Bronya immediately rushed to her side. "Mother, tell me what you heard and saw. Why did you send the Iron Guards to their deaths in the Rift? Why did you abandon the people of the Lower City? What did that voice say to you?"
"Please stop hiding things from me, okay?"
The moment Bronya finished speaking, Cocolia calmed down and lowered her hand from her head.
She sighed, as if using all her strength, and said, "...I understand."
"I never imagined that the innocent little girl would grow up to be this mature."
"Back when you first came here, you were just this small, only able to hug me and call me 'Mommy,' but now..."
"Okay, I understand what you want to know."
"But I'll ask you one last question: do you really feel ready to confront the truth?"
Bronya nodded firmly. "I'm ready."
With a flick of her wrist, Cocolia unlocked the handcuffs binding Bronya.
She walked to Bronya's side and said to her, "Then come with me, Bronya."
"It's time for this dying world to hear her voice."
The moment she finished speaking, a high-frequency sound appeared in her mind.
Like the call of a bluebird, it never stops and is extremely sharp.
And it was amidst these chirping sounds that she heard it.
"Come on... come on..."
"Join us, and together we'll rebuild this dying world..."
.........................
On the other side, behind the perpetual motion machine house.
"Ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, one hundred thousand!"
Sambo was sitting on the trash can, legs crossed, leisurely counting the Winter City Shields in the bag.
But at that moment, he didn't notice that a bright green vine had quietly sprouted from the ground behind him.
This shade of green is a color that Belloberg has never used before.
"Hahaha, I wouldn't sell it for a fortune, but how could I, old Sambo, possibly lose money?"
After counting, Sambo tightened the bag and then put it in his pocket.
"Making this much money just by bringing people up to the Upper City once, this kind of lucrative business is rare these days, right, Brother Vine?"
Sambo held his head in his hands and asked the vines that had appeared beside him.
The vines nodded in a human-like manner.
"Hahaha... wait, something's not right!" Suddenly, Sambo realized something.
These vines look so familiar. I feel like I've seen them somewhere before.
"Um... Brother Vine, see you later!"
After saying that, Sambo immediately jumped out of the trash can, ready to run away.
But the vines didn't care about any of that; they hooked onto Sambo's leg, pulled him over, and hung him upside down in the air.
Sambo suddenly realized that he was doomed!
Just then, Eve slowly walked out from behind the alley, smiling at him.
"Kid, you're pretty good at having fun."
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Hi, hi, oh o(*////▽////*)q