Chapter 52: Eye of the Storm (2)

What a masterful switch…

“Pull her biometric scan data.”

[Analyzing]

[Facial bone structure match: 93.7%]

[Height and weight match: 97.2%]

[Gait pattern match: 91.3%]

[Voiceprint match: 89.8%]

[Overall similarity—]

[93.0%]

Seraphina’s breath caught.

Ninety-three percent similarity…

This wasn’t just makeup or superficial disguise.

—They found someone who looked uncannily like Mili…

And modified her specifically…

Surgery, vocal training, behavioral conditioning…

What price did the Church pay to create such a human bomb?

More chilling—

How long had they been watching Mili?

She’d been in Eisenburg barely a week!

“[Oasis]…”

“They had their eyes on her back then…”

“Kirupa! Haven’t you pulled Kaia’s movements yet?!”

[Error: South District signal station unresponsive]

[Data link interrupted]

[Attempting to connect to backup nodes…]

“Switch feeds.” Seraphina forced herself to stay calm, fingers racing across the virtual screen.

On another display, Mili and Kaia’s last known position froze at a street corner.

Kaia shielded the girl, weaving through the chaotic crowd, heading away from the palace.

Their direction…

Southeast?

[Backup node connection successful]

…

Seraphina was too fast.

Even with the [Valkyrie] at max power, Lin Lan could only watch the silver streak fade into the night…

After a grueling chase, even she was panting, her cooling system buzzing loudly.

Pausing to scan her surroundings, Lin Lan realized she’d reached Eisenburg’s outer district.

Per her mental map, further in was the underground city…

Boom—

An unintercepted missile exploded among nearby houses.

A wave of heat and debris roared toward her!

Lin Lan glimpsed the targeting reticle on her visor for a split second before instinctively raising her arm to shield herself.

Shrapnel pelted her armored arm like rain, the shockwave rocking even her heavy suit.

Flames soared, smoke billowing.

A small building was bisected, leaving only charred rubble and burning furniture…

Orange fire licked the ruins, the air thick with a scorched stench.

Wasn’t this a residential area?

Why a missile here?

What game was Murphyxia playing?!

“Help! Anyone! Save…”

A faint cry came from the wreckage.

Following the sound, her armor’s AI locked onto the source—a man pinned under a concrete slab.

Blood oozed from where his legs were crushed…

“Your Majesty?!” Seeing the black armor on the street, hope flared in his eyes. “Please, save me!”

Lin Lan froze.

Your Majesty?

She glanced at herself.

—The towering black armor, gleaming in the firelight, did look imposing…

To civilians, distinguishing between armor models, especially [Valkyrie] variants, was impossible.

Being mistaken for Seraphina wasn’t surprising.

“Save…”

His voice weakened, his trembling hand falling limp.

Lin Lan hesitated, then stepped forward.

Grabbing the slab, she braced and, with the armor’s assistance, lifted the multi-ton debris.

“Get out!” Her electronic voice crackled urgently.

The man, gritting his teeth, dragged himself free, leaving blood trails on the ground.

Boom!

As he cleared the danger, Lin Lan dropped the slab, kicking up a cloud of dust…

He lay panting on nearby rubble: “Thank you, Your Majesty… thank you…”

Before Lin Lan could respond, rapid gunfire erupted from the street’s other end.

Rat-tat-tat-tat—

Muzzle flashes flickered in the night mist, bullets whizzing by, sparking off the ground.

Lin Lan spun, her visor marking over a dozen red hostiles.

—Church of Purification soldiers.

In gray combat uniforms, some with eerie camouflage paint, they fired rifles her way!

But… they weren’t aiming at her…

The wounded man behind her coughed in terror, his numb legs leaving him curled up, trembling.

“Bastards!”

She roared, stepping in front of him, bullets pinging off her [Valkyrie]’s armor in sparks.

She raised her arm’s autocannon, aiming at the soldiers.

Oddly, when she brandished her weapon, the Church soldiers stopped firing…

They exchanged glances, one removing his helmet, looking confused.

“Friendly! Cease fire!” a soldier shouted, waving:

“It’s a [Valkyrie], one of ours!”

Lin Lan frowned tightly.

Through her armor’s speakers, she growled coldly:

“What are you doing? Why attack civilians?”

“Ma’am, we’re under orders to clear hostiles in this area.”

The soldiers lowered their weapons, their captain jogging over: “The Divine Envoy said anyone obstructing the holy war is an enemy!”

“Enemy?” Lin Lan’s voice dripped with ice.

“Where’s Murphyxia now…”

“The Divine Envoy is in the southern district.”

His answer sank her heart deeper.

She realized Murphyxia might never have intended her involvement…

Feint attack…

Drawing the tiger from the mountain…

This was a full-scale, bloody invasion!

“You…”

As Lin Lan prepared to pry more about Murphyxia’s whereabouts, heart-wrenching cries came from the building behind.

“Your Majesty! Save us!”

“Please, save my child!”

She turned, seeing Church soldiers kicking down a door, dragging out residents like livestock.

“Make them stop…”

“Ma’am, we’re clearing—”

“Enough!” Lin Lan raised her arm’s machine gun, laser dot on the soldiers:

“Stop now!”

“Ma’am, you…” The captain froze.

“Open your eyes! Do you even know what you’re doing?!”

The armor’s menace thickened the air.

The soldiers, unsure how to respond, fell silent.

They’d been told this was a feint to distract Eisenburg’s queen—why had it become a full siege?

Why were they firing on civilians?

Why did the Divine Envoy’s plan differ from the start?

No answers.

Just follow orders.

Lin Lan took a deep breath, suppressing her fury.

Murphyxia…

What was that woman up to?

“Listen,” her voice grew low, dangerous, “I don’t care what orders you have. Stop attacking civilians now…”

“But, ma’am…”

“No buts!”

Her other arm’s cannon aimed at the captain, its dark muzzle glaring: “Ten seconds. Leave.”

The soldiers sensed the gravity.

Under the heavy armor’s threat, they dropped their weapons and mission.

The captain gritted his teeth, signaling: “Retreat!”

“Move faster,” Lin Lan muttered coldly. “Leave the way you came…”

The Church soldiers hurriedly gathered gear and left, the captain lingering for a final glance.

“The Divine Envoy won’t be pleased…”

“We’ll report this as is.”

“Go ahead, that’s my problem.” Lin Lan turned to the trembling wounded.

He said no more.

Soon, the soldiers vanished into the night.

Lin Lan waited until they were gone before returning to the injured man.

“Are… are you really Her Majesty?”

He gazed at her with awe.

Lin Lan didn’t answer, silently checking his wounds.

“Broken tibia, not severe, no shattering, you’ll heal,” she said. “You lot, make a stretcher from a door, get him to the nearest med station.”

Nearby able-bodied residents hurried to comply.

“Thank you…” The man’s voice choked. “Without you, we—”

“Save it,” Lin Lan cut him off.

“How far into the city have those soldiers gone?”

“There…”

He pointed southwest.

“But it’s dangerous, there’s a lot—”

“I know.”

Lin Lan stood.

She needed to find Murphyxia.

She needed her true intentions.

Seraphina was likely duped, and Mili might’ve slipped her sight…

Whatever that Church lunatic was planning, getting to Mili first was critical.

At the very least…

She couldn’t let Murphyxia near Mili.

“Stay away from here, follow the broadcasts—hide, don’t come out,” Lin Lan told the group.

“The war will end soon…”

She activated her armor’s locator, marking the Church soldiers’ retreat direction.

If Murphyxia was there, a confrontation was imminent…

Murphyxia…

Lin Lan repeated the name in her mind.

“You’d better have a good explanation…”

She sprinted southwest, her heavy footsteps echoing in the dark.

She’d thought herself tough enough, cold enough, to do anything for revenge…

But now, she realized some things weren’t worth abandoning, even for vengeance.

Like…

Conscience.