CK Simulation, Creating the Style of Tsukino Fumi

Page 94

The Viking warriors, backed by the "Chosen King," possessed a far greater morale than the Norwegians. Furthermore, the Knights of the Round Table within their army were seasoned veterans who had seen countless battles. Even when facing overwhelming odds, victory was a piece of cake. In fact, if Ragnar's army were to suffer a defeat on the battlefield, the Norwegians would truly understand what terror meant.

Because by then, these Norwegian warriors will not only be facing Ragnar's army, but also an overwhelming saturation attack led by Red Archers, Mordred, Lily, and Morgan.

[But in fact, the Norwegian counterattack did not even break through Ragnar's first line of defense, because with the arrival of formal war, Lancelot and Agrave, who were no longer required to play one-on-one duels, unleashed all the pent-up frustration of the past few days on the battlefield. Ragnar's army, led by two Knights of the Round Table, almost immediately breached the Norwegian shield wall and captured the Norwegian king in the very first engagement.]

With the Norwegians' counterattack failing, you are only one step away from rightfully occupying Norway.

When the captured King of Norway was brought before you, he challenged you to a duel in the name of all the Norwegian Vikings. Only if you personally defeated him would all the Norwegians willingly submit. You did not have Lancelot fight in your place, because these were the words of Odin's oracle. Only when you personally defeated all the Viking leaders would your trial be over.

So, in full view of everyone, you answered the challenge and allowed all the Vikings to watch.

Your duel with the King of Norway immediately attracted the Viking warriors who had gathered in Norway because of your rumors. Hundreds and thousands of Vikings gathered on the snowy mountains of Norway, wanting to see what kind of strength this man, who could provoke a divine oracle, possessed. And then, they learned what it meant that "strength is the reason for being king."

[When the King of Norway charged at you fully armed, you caught the axe and blade coming at you with your bare hands, lifted the tall, muscular Norwegian man like a chicken, and then performed a performance art that was too brutal even from a Viking perspective.]

[With brute force alone, the King of Norway's head and spine were ripped out alive. You casually tossed the "Viking spinal sword" onto the cold snow, indifferently watching the scalding blood stain the snow red. You surveyed the Viking warriors who had witnessed this duel that lasted only eight seconds. When you saw the fear and worship in their eyes, you left satisfied, not forgetting to publicly instruct Ragnar to send surrender letters to the various tribes of Norway, informing all of Norway that their king had lost, and now, Norway belonged to you.]

However, while your actions were remarkably effective, easily intimidating the vast majority of onlookers and making them realize your power, they had a different effect on your loyal followers. A very small number of exceptionally loyal Vikings refused to surrender. These people stepped forward from the crowd to challenge you to a duel, attempting to avenge their lord in a way that neither violated Viking tradition nor compromised their loyalty.

But now, your agreement with Odin has taken effect.

Just as these loyal Viking warriors were causing a disturbance, a bright rainbow pierced through the gray clouds.

When riders on winged horses, wielding long spears, descended on rainbows, all the Vikings were stunned. Even Ragnar looked up in astonishment at the flying figures in the sky.

Valkyrie.

Even though the riders didn't speak, the scene was enough to confirm their identities. And these were the figures that all Viking warriors dreamed of before they died, now appearing here, flying high in the sky while issuing clear announcements.

"The King of Norway has been defeated. From this day forward, Norway has a new master."

Chapter 217 Please Stop Talking

"Valkyrie, individual name Otlind."

After things calmed down in Norway, the Valkyrie who had descended from the sky to stand up for Quinn in place of Odin arrived at Ragnarok's army camp. When she appeared before Quinn, the Valkyrie knelt down before him.

"Trial seeker, you have completed one part of the task entrusted to you by the Great God. I have come to congratulate you and to fulfill part of the Great God's promise."

Wow, they even offer after-sales service.

Looking at Valkyrie before him, Quinn became even more convinced that the trials Odin spoke of were merely a way to satisfy his own divine pride. (The last two lines appear to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated text.)

All current circumstances suggest that Odin was likely waiting from the beginning for an opportunity to destroy the Britannian Empire. Therefore, when the opportunity presented itself, the chief god was unwilling to wait a moment longer. He gave a random reason and began to openly take sides, hoping that the whole of Northern Europe would be unified and feudalized as soon as possible.

Faced with such a warm welcome from the Norse chief god, you naturally felt obliged, and thus, you inquired about the promise the Valkyrie spoke of from the so-called great god.

【Primordial Runes】

[Upon your inquiry, the Valkyrie produced some stones, stating that these stones contained the original runes Odin obtained after sacrificing his eyes. Mastering these runes would grant one insight into the mysteries of life and death, and control over the world of the soul and nature. These were precisely the things the great god had carefully chosen for you, the things of greatest value.]

You have to admit, there's a reason why the names of the Norse gods have survived to this day and appeared in so many cultural works.

Odin truly understands human nature.

These runes arrived at just the right time. You and Morgan were troubled about how to transfer your daughter's soul after defeating Europa II, and now, the runes sent by Odin are the answer to this problem. So, after thanking Otrind, you sent these rune stones to Morgan so that he could study the secrets of these runes.

As for you, you continue to plan the next steps for the Ragnar army, striving to resolve the issue in Northern Europe as quickly as possible.

As the Norwegians integrated into the army, Ragnar's forces grew to over ten thousand men. Meanwhile, Vikings from other regions who witnessed the miracle of the Valkyrie's descent enthusiastically relayed the news to their homelands. As a result, your status as the Chosen King became increasingly important in the hearts of the Vikings.

Taking advantage of this momentum, Ragnar's army, after a brief period of rest, set off again and launched an attack on Denmark.

Perhaps due to the arrival of the Valkyries, the Danes' resistance was significantly weaker than that of the Norwegians. The Knights of the Round Table didn't even get a chance to fight. Faced with Ragnar's overwhelming army, many Danish Vikings simply surrendered and joined them. In just half a month, Ragnar's army occupied the entire territory of Denmark, successfully bringing this archipelago nation under their control.

[From this point on, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, the three homelands of the Vikings, have all fallen into your hands. Only Finland, Estonia, and the obscure Sapmi region remain unconquered in Scandinavia. However, with the unification of the three kingdoms, the fall of these remaining territories is inevitable. You can now confidently entrust the conquest to Ragnar, shifting your limited energy away from Northern Europe and turning your attention back to the British Isles, which lie across the peninsula.]

Therefore, in order to obtain information from the British court as quickly as possible, you tried to re-contact your good student, hoping to learn from her about Europa II's understanding of the great changes that had taken place in Northern Europe.

However, when you activated the contact magic, something unexpected happened.

The call was hung up on me?

Quinn looked at the magic prop in his hand that had clearly taken effect but was being refused contact by the other end, a look of surprise on his face. Mordred, who was beside him, raised an eyebrow at the sight.

"What's wrong, Master?"

"Emiya Haku rejected my attempts to contact him."

Since Haku was going to the British court as an inside agent, Quinn considered that Haku might not be able to use the tool when he was contacting him. Therefore, he specially added the function that the contacted party could hang up. However, he did not expect that this function would work on his first time contacting Haku.

This made him a little curious about what his good student was doing in the palace. After all, according to the time difference, it should be late at night in Britain now, and there shouldn't be a situation where it was inconvenient to make contact.

"That's interesting. If he's not responding to you at this hour, he can't be having a late-night snack with another version of me, right? Hmm, thinking about it that way, it's quite possible. After all, being a magician's apprentice is much more promising than being a court magician in a great empire, especially for you magicians who only care about profit and have no sense of kinship. Pursuing the qualification to advance further is just instinct, isn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Mordred immediately became gloating. Quinn's astonished expression was a rare sight in her eyes, which made her want to make a joke.

Quinn rolled her eyes and retorted without hesitation, "You think that because of your experience?"

"...I was just joking."

Mordred suddenly remembered that she also had a history of rebellion, and for a moment she was speechless. Like a puppy whose fire had been extinguished, she puffed up her cheeks. If this appearance were seen by Nightmare, he would probably laugh and tease her. After all, if anyone else spoke to Mordred like this, Mordred's sword would probably already be at their neck. But when facing Quinn, Mordred couldn't muster any anger.

After this interruption, Quinn's astonishment lessened considerably.

Although Mordred was just joking, there was no guarantee that Shiro Emiya might actually be with Europa II at that moment. Considering this possibility, Quinn put down the magic prop in his hand.

Two hours later, when Quinn activated the item again, Shiro still did not respond. Compared to the direct rejection last time, this time the non-response was even more suspicious. Quinn waited for a long time without seeing the other party answer, which was really strange. Mordred, who was standing next to him, dared not joke anymore, for no other reason than that.

One instance of silence could be attributed to special circumstances, but the fact that there was still no response after two hours of contact was somewhat problematic. This was because, although Shiro Emiya claimed to be a spy and an inside agent, her identity had already been exposed. It was only because Europa II was magnanimous enough to allow her to stay by his side that she was able to take up a position at the London court.

Under such circumstances, both morally and logically, Shiro Emiya should not have failed to respond twice.

"Let's play one more?"

Seeing that Quinn remained silent, Mordred offered to speak up.

After glancing at Mordred, who had become serious, Quinn thought for a moment and tried to contact her again. This time, the call connected. However, when Shiro Emiya's lifeless face was projected, a rather familiar face appeared in front of them, and at the same time, a greeting echoed in Quinn's ears.

"It's been so long since I last saw you, Father. You're still the same. It's time to change your habit of using things to the extreme."

The calm words of Europa II, far away in Britannia, exploded like thunder through the projection.

Now Quinn understood why his good student hadn't responded, and almost instinctively, he turned and glared at his follower, his eyes filled with resentment.

Are you a jinx?

Chapter 218 I Really Didn't Trade to the Enemy

British court a few hours earlier.

Shiro Emiya sat in the Prime Minister's seat, skillfully handling the intelligence gathered from all corners of the Empire, integrating and sorting out the numerous messages, just as she had done when she served as Quinn's assistant at the Clock Tower. Sometimes, Shiro Emiya wondered if her teacher had foreseen this day and had specially trained her in this way.

But upon closer reflection, it seemed unlikely. After all, after these days of living in fear, Shiro Emiya, as a court magician working as the Minister of the Britannia Palace, genuinely felt that this life was much easier than being Quinn's assistant.

The reason is simple: compared to Quinn, Europa II understood better what it meant to be considerate of his subordinates.

Although the emperor made this court magician do the work of a palace minister, essentially making her do the work of two people, she knew how to allocate tasks.

At least during this period, Shiro Emiya's working hours were basically stable at around six hours a day, which was a leisurely life. Compared with the study time of at least ten hours a day in the Clock Tower, it was practically a retirement. In comparison, Shiro Emiya even had some doubts about who the villain really was. After all, Europa II's behavior really didn't seem like that of a bad person.

This emperor understood how to care for her subordinates and was even more aware of the will of the people. When she sat in the palace office, looking at the documents sent from all over the empire, she could clearly perceive the current state of this vast empire from these words.

Leaving aside grand pronouncements like the people living in peace and prosperity, having plenty of food and clothing, and the country being peaceful and the people not picking up lost items on the road, at least under this emperor's rule, the people of Britannia had the most basic standard of three meals a day. On this basis, thanks to stable trade between European countries, the living standards of urban residents on the British Isles also reached a level of moderate prosperity. Such a level of governance, placed within the scope of any feudal dynasty, would be enough to earn Europa II the title of "sage king".

Without a doubt, the Britannian Empire was a utopia; under His Majesty the Emperor's rule, the suffering of war, famine, and plague was virtually impossible. (The remaining text appears to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated gibberish.)

If Shiro Emiya hadn't known that the beauty of this world was built upon Europa II's individual will and that the future could collapse at any moment, she would have already developed the illusion that she was the villain, the destroyer of the world, rather than a righteous ally.

Even so, the young magician's will would occasionally waver.

This was because every night after she entered the palace, about an hour before the end of her workday, the emperor would bring a bottle of fine wine and a few plates of snacks into the office, chatting with her like a close sister. And every time it was time to leave, he would let her go on time without any delay. Such a boss was simply the dream of every working person.

The same is true today.

"Minister Wei, is there any bad news today?"

"It's all good news. The reconstruction of Vienna has already begun, and the situation in Germania should be calmed down in a few months."

Therefore, when Europa II personally carried a plate of milk cake, a bunch of grapes and half a bottle of red wine into the government office, Shiro Emiya skillfully pushed the documents on his desk aside, preparing to enjoy the last hour of leisure before leaving get off work with him.

However, today's situation is a bit special. Perhaps because Empress Europa II had already drunk quite a bit of wine before coming, the emperor was unusually talkative tonight. Even after the end of the workday, she was still chatting with Shiro Emiya about everyday matters.

In the past, Shiro Emiya might have been unhappy with a boss who would keep people chatting after get off work, but facing the slightly flushed Europa II, she was unusually willing to work a little overtime. However, it was this overtime that led to the trouble.

Just as the two were chatting, a subtle magical fluctuation suddenly appeared in the government office.

"Um……?"

Europa II immediately looked toward the source of the fluctuation, which was Shiro Emiya's waist.

Shiro Emiya, who had been feeling quite relaxed, was now sweating profusely. She immediately realized that Quinn wanted to talk to her, but looking at Europa II in front of her, Shiro Emiya didn't dare to respond. Her only option was to end the communication. Therefore, she immediately cut off the contact and explained, "This is a gift from my teacher to tell the time."

"Oh, that's how it is."

Europa II nodded, looking understanding.

This relieved Shiro Emiya, who prayed that the emperor would leave as soon as possible.

However, this was just wishful thinking on her part. As the emperor of the empire, Europa II would never believe such a claim. She merely glanced at Shiro Emiya's slightly flustered face and guessed the truth. She then pretended to be interested and continued to stay in the government office without moving.

Seeing that the emperor was not moving, Shiro was extremely anxious. He could only hope that when Quinn contacted him again, the emperor would sober up and leave. Unfortunately, this hope was destined to be in vain. Europa II, who had realized the truth, simply stayed and refused to leave by making small talk. As time passed, Shiro's heart sank as if it had fallen into a lake.

Several hours later, when the unique aura of fairy magic once again echoed in the government office, Europa II looked at the sweating Shiro Emiya with amusement.

"Is it the time announcement again? Have I been here too long?"

One sentence was enough to make Shiro Emiya break out in a cold sweat. She dared not hang up, dared not answer, and dared not reply.

Looking at his junior sister's anxious expression, Europa II, feeling a mischievous sense of satisfaction, finally spoke, "Go ahead and answer it. It's definitely Father looking for you. Don't worry, I won't blame you for this. I was just teasing you."

'Teacher, I really didn't mean to trick you.'

Now that things had come to this, Shiro Emiya, realizing he could no longer hide it, had no choice but to respond to Quinn's call.

When the magic was activated and Quinn's astonished expression was projected, Europa II was somewhat dazed as she looked at the figure of the man she had been longing for. Even though she had previously vowed to defeat this man and imprison him, she instinctively felt a sense of fear when she actually saw his face.

But soon, the emperor regained his composure and spoke up calmly, "It's been so long since we last met, Father. You're still the same. It's time for you to change your habit of using things to the point of exhaustion."

As she uttered those words, Shiro Emiya, caught in the middle, closed her eyes with a sense of relief and peace. At that moment, she had only one thought in her mind.

Oh no, now the teacher will think I've defected to the enemy.