radicalducati Page 298
Page 298
Faced with this situation, the members of the Grerat family were undoubtedly very anxious.
They could sense the impending crisis, but apart from Rudeus and Loki, most of them had no way of participating in the creation of the Sky Garden.
Even Aisha, who was possessed by the demon Laplace, was too young to offer much help in creating the Sky Garden.
Under these circumstances, most of the Grellat family members, including Alice, felt anxious and eager to do something to prepare for the upcoming war.
Ultimately, under Paul's leadership, everyone began searching the world for powerful magicians, gathering all those capable of participating in the creation of the Sky Garden.
Because the Grellat family offered very generous rewards, and the construction technology of the Sky Garden was quite unique, the mages participated enthusiastically, whether for the money or to acquire further technology. In the end, even the Mage Guild took the initiative to get involved, using official power to recruit members for the Grellat family, truly leveraging the power of the entire world.
Moreover, even the gods provided some assistance in this matter, whether it was providing technology or helping to recruit more people.
In this situation, the construction progress of the Sky Garden can be said to have doubled. The huge fortress, which was originally estimated to take several years or even decades to complete, will have a great chance of being completed in less than a year.
Just when everyone was excited and felt hopeful about completing the Sky Garden, an unexpected incident suddenly occurred.
That was at Shirou's forging workshop, when everyone was putting in tremendous effort to complete the Sky Garden.
Suddenly, a blonde figure wearing a mask appeared on the scene.
"...Why are you here?"
Alice, who was on her daily patrol as a bodyguard, suddenly became alert and looked sharply at the newcomer.
Although Alice had never been to the Sky Fortress, she had seen this sudden visitor before the Great Transfer.
According to her memory, Alice could still remember the other person's name—one of the twelve elves under the Ankylosaurus, the Radiant Almanfi!
"Almanfi...?"
Upon seeing the other party arrive, Seven Stars and Rudeus's expressions changed abruptly, revealing obvious fear.
Because they knew perfectly well what the presence of this apostle of the Ankylosaurus meant.
Without any hesitation, Almanfi coldly said, "Rudius Grerat, and the Seven Stars, come to the Sky Fortress. Lord Percius has summoned you."
"..."
Upon hearing Almanfi's words, Rudius and Seven Stars exchanged bewildered glances.
Both of them had obvious fear in their eyes and were at a loss for what to do.
Chapter 378 Go ahead and build your fake sky garden, I will crush it head-on!
Percyus, the Ankylosaurus King, sent his familiars to summon Rudeus and the Seven Stars.
This incident undoubtedly caused a huge uproar in the entire Grellatt family.
Upon learning the news, everyone immediately gathered together to try and find a solution.
The first question is whether or not to meet with Ankylosaurus.
Without knowing Ankylosaurus's purpose, rushing to meet him in the Sky Garden would undoubtedly be an extremely risky undertaking.
Once Ankylosaurus learns that Aisha is Laplace, he will likely take control of Rudeus and Seven Stars the moment they head to the Sky Garden.
In that situation, their plan to create a floating garden to fight against Ankylosaurus would inevitably be immediately thwarted.
Therefore, when Rudeus informed the rest of the Grerat family, most of them immediately advised against going to the aerial fortress to meet the Ankylosaurus.
At the very least, one should not voluntarily set foot on territory that is about to become the territory of an enemy.
Rudeus and Seven Stars undoubtedly agreed with this idea. They both felt that doing so was too risky and that it would be better to pretend not to know and continue to delay.
However, their plan quickly fell apart.
Almost the very next day, all the mages in the Mage Guild resigned from their work on building the Sky Garden, stating that they could no longer continue the collaboration.
When Rudeus asked them for their reasons, all the mages replied with fear that the Ankylosaurus King had issued an order forbidding all mages from having any further contact with Rudeus Grellat. Since the Ankylosaurus King was the only god-level mage at present and a war hero from four hundred years ago, his orders had an unimaginable force of coercion on most people in the world.
Not to mention ordinary magicians, even the principal of the magic university, Genus, could only regretfully tell Rudeus after hearing the news that he would not be able to assist in the construction of the Sky Garden.
When all this happened, Rudeus naturally understood that these were all threats from Ankylosaurus. The other party was using practical actions to force him to go to the aerial fortress and confront Ankylosaurus.
Otherwise, with the prestige of the Ankylosaurus, he could easily have thwarted the Grellat family's plan to build a floating garden.
Faced with this situation, not only Rudeus, but even the Grerat family felt a deep sense of powerlessness and realized the gap in strength and status between themselves and the world's top powerhouses.
If they relied solely on their own strength, they would have no chance against a powerful figure like Ankylosaurus.
"How about we ask Shirou for help?"
Paul took the initiative to speak.
Although he knew that his words were spineless and that casually dumping the trouble on Shirou was irresponsible, as the head of the family, he still had to stand up and propose a possible solution instead of letting the situation continue to worsen.
"No, we can't disturb Shirou-san at a time like this."
Rudeus shook his head; he didn't think it was necessary to bother Shirou with such a matter.
Most importantly, even if Shirou were told, it would be difficult for him to come up with any good ideas. After all, the diary given by Rudeus in the future clearly stated that if he could not create a floating garden, he would physically rush into the floating fortress and fight Ankylosaurus to the death.
Although Shirou is strong enough to defeat King Ankylosaurus, doing so would greatly deplete his own power, making it impossible for him to go all out in the subsequent battle against the Dragon God Orsteed.
Knowing all this, Rudeus worked so hard to build the Sky Garden, hoping to use his power in the upcoming battles so that Shirou wouldn't have to fight alone.
Unfortunately, due to the obstruction of the Ankylosaurus, the construction of the Sky Garden has clearly reached a stalemate. Rudeus alone cannot complete the Sky Garden.
With this in mind, Rudius already had an idea.
Since everything is now Ankylosaurus's idea, and he wants to stop the Grellat family from creating the Sky Garden, there is only one solution: find Ankylosaurus and persuade him!
Although doing so would certainly carry enormous risks, Rudius knew he had no other choice but to take the plunge!
"I will go and meet with Ankylosaurus."
Rudius made his decision silently.
His words surprised the rest of the Grerat family; they hadn't expected him to say such a thing.
Are you sure, Rudy?
Paul immediately questioned, "Since Ankylosaurus stopped us from building the Sky Garden, it means he probably already knows that Aisha is the Demon God Laplace. Sending you to meet him at this time is clearly a trap!"
Paul's words were endorsed by the others present, and most of them shared the same opinion.
But Rudius persisted, saying, "I understand, I understand everything, but why don't you think about it this way? Percius knows that Aisha is Laplace, so why doesn't he just send people to attack? He should know that Shirou isn't at the Magic Academy. With his strength, plus the Twelve Familiars and the Sky Fortress, defeating us should be a piece of cake, right? He didn't come directly to our door, but instead invited me to meet with him. He must have the intention of communicating with us, right?"
"Moreover, I have a feeling that Ankylosaurus might not really want to be our enemy. Otherwise, he could have immediately spread the news that Aisha is the demon god Laplace to the whole world, and then we would have been forced to be the enemy of the whole world."
Rudius's words silenced everyone present.
Although his words were largely subjective, they were not entirely illogical. In fact, it was precisely because his words were quite plausible that people were unable to refute them.
"In that case, I'll go to the Sky Fortress with you."
Qixing spoke silently, showing her determination to create the Sky Garden, after all, it was for her own sake so that she could return to her original world.
But Rudeus shook his head and refused, saying, "No need, Seven Stars, you stay here, I'll go alone. Because if the Ankylosaurus has malicious intentions, at least you can stay and continue building the Sky Garden, and even if something happens to me, it won't affect the construction of the Sky Garden too much."
"..."
Seven Stars hesitated for a moment upon hearing Rudeus's words, but finally nodded silently.
She clearly knew that this was the best option.
Rudius himself had a determined look on his face. He glanced around at everyone present, took a deep breath, and walked out of the room.
"This child... is becoming more and more like Shirou."
Paul spoke quietly.
His words were not derogatory, but full of praise. After all, even he, as a father, had always respected Shirou's will, but in the end, he still could not reach Shirou's level.
As someone who followed Shirou, Rudeus's will and personality were subtly influenced by Shirou, and now he even possesses a trace of Shirou's spirit.
This made Paul sigh deeply, marveling at how his child was growing up and even surpassing him.
Meanwhile, after arriving outside, Rudius quickly contacted Almanfi, who had been waiting for a long time, and asked him to send him to the aerial fortress.
Upon arriving at the aerial fortress, Rudius's expression clearly showed fear.
Although he appeared very determined and resolute when speaking to his family, he was ultimately a coward. When facing a truly powerful person, even he himself felt that he lacked courage.
But there was nothing he could do. Rudeus knew that this was who he was. Even though he had become the relatively reliable person he was now under Shirou's influence, he was still the same weak person he always was.
However, perhaps due to his growth over the years, or perhaps due to the influence of the regrets left in old Rudius's diary, he did not back down this time and chose to face the Ankylosaurus King Percius head-on!
In any case, he absolutely cannot let Shirou fight alone again this time!
"Come with me."
When Rudeus arrived at the familiar castle gate, his familiar Shivalier nodded to him and led him step by step into the audience hall where Percius was.
The main hall looked exactly the same as before, and so did the armored dragon king Pergius, who sat on the throne in the center of the hall, accompanied by twelve familiars.
"You've arrived, Rudius Grerat."
Compared to Shirou, Ankylosaurus was noticeably colder towards Rudeus, but this time it seemed there was something to discuss, and he showed a serious attitude.
"Long time no see, Lord Percius."
Rudius bowed in greeting.
"Did you come alone?"
"Yes, because I feel that I should be the one to handle this matter."
"Heh, you're quite confident, even though you're a spineless coward."
"...I may indeed lack courage and backbone, but I will never shirk the responsibilities I should face. Even if it takes all my strength, I will definitely do what I should do!"
"Hmph, talking big won't do any good."
Ankylosaurus still didn't seem to respect Rudeus, even though the latter knew there were risks involved and still chose to come alone, he still treated Rudeus with disdain.
But he still wouldn't let business get in the way, and took the initiative to say, "Judging from your expression, you seem to know the reason for summoning you here."
"Is it about the sky garden we created?"
"Ha, there's no point in pretending to be ignorant. That aerial garden is nothing compared to my aerial fortress; it's not worth my attention. What I care about is your sister, Aisha Grerat. According to the information I have, she may be the host of the demon god Laplace."
"..."
Faced with Ankylosaurus's bluntness, Rudeus broke out in a cold sweat.
Although he knew that the other party probably already knew everything, when Ankylosaurus revealed the truth, he still felt an indescribable terror.
Seeing Rudeus remain silent, Ankylosaurus revealed a displeased expression and tapped the dragon head armrest of the throne repeatedly with his fingers.
He finally spoke up, saying, "Why don't you hand Aisha Grerath over to me willingly? You should know my hatred for the demon god Laplace, right?"
"Because she's my younger sister."
Rudius gritted his teeth, struggling to overcome the fear that made his legs tremble, and spoke loudly.
"younger sister?"
"Yes, because she's my sister, an important member of my family, I can't abandon her no matter who I'm facing. I have to protect her until the very end! That's what Shirou taught me!"
"Hmph, as expected, so that sky garden you built was also to deal with me?"
"……Yes."
Since the other party already knew everything, Rudius was too lazy to pretend anymore and simply revealed everything.
Upon hearing his words, the twelve familiars around him unleashed terrifying auras, and the exaggerated pressure made Rudeus almost instinctively draw his wand.
But Percius stopped his men and spoke quietly: "I know that your sister is Laplace. I was expecting you to kill this demon's host, but I didn't expect you to be so stubborn. Don't you know what kind of disaster will be brought after the demon's resurgence? The war between humans and demons four hundred years ago will be repeated, and the world will be plunged into a torrent of despair!"
"That kind of thing has nothing to do with Aisha."
Rudeus overcame his fear, "Aisha didn't become a demon willingly. The one who's wrong is that evil demon, not Aisha at all!"
"Idealism is unacceptable. Regardless of whether she did it willingly or not, the result is devastation and loss of life."
"Then we'll stop Aisha then!"
"Oh? Now you want to protect the child possessed by Laplace, and then stop her after she actually becomes Laplace? Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"
"No, that's the key point, because what we need to protect is Aisha, not Laplace!"
Rudeus spoke from the bottom of his heart, having made the same resolve as Shirou in protecting Aisha: "I must protect my family no matter what. This is the only thing I can never forget. I once neglected this love that is so close to me, made a terrible mistake, and became a scumbag that my brothers and sisters hate. But this time, I will never make the same mistake again. I will trust and protect my family until the last moment of my life!"
After saying this, Rudeus was ready to fight the twelve familiars, and even Percius.
Unexpectedly, after listening, Percius smiled and said quietly, "Hmph, you've become as principled as Shirou now. Although I can't understand why you humans value family so much, I'll accept your beliefs."