Chapter 179: Alliance

Fengling's pocket watch hands spun wildly, and the dial displayed a live image of Duke Huo Ke's castle: hundreds of mechanically‑augmented knights were marching in the courtyard, their exposed spines embedded with star‑marrow crystals, and their pupils flickered with the same gilt light that appeared in Meilinda's memory.

"Duke Huo Ke has fully inherited the Mechanical Church's legacy and has transformed all the Knight Guard," Fengling said, plucking the Acacia seal from Robin's palm with tweezers and soaking it in a silver liquid. "Guess why they suddenly care so much about the investiture ceremony?"

The seal in the liquid suddenly reshaped, unfolding into a miniature map.

Robin's Tang Sword automatically slid out half an inch, its tip precisely pointing to a spot on the map—the entrance to the castle's basement, marked with a crimson gear emblem.

"Because," Robin said, staring at the lingering burn of the seal on his palm, "they intend to implant mechanical star marrow into all the newly‑inducted knights during the ceremony."

"Exactly. The coming war is no longer our concern; we only need to figure out how to kill Duke Huo Ke," Fengling finished, then wrapped her arms around Robin's neck.

"You once promised to take me away to a place where no one knows us—does that still count?"

Robin gave a stiff nod.

"Fine!" Fengling said, then leaned in to kiss Robin before pushing him down.

Western Frontier Knight Guild Headquarters.

Lady Aishar's Acacia cloak draped over the crimson carpet; she tapped the round table with her fingertips, and twelve holographic knight emblems hovered above the surface.

Opposite them sat three Order Knights of the Western Frontier Knight Guild, their armor still stained with fresh blood from the recent suppression of the Mechanical Church stronghold within the city.

"Duke Huo Ke has gone mad," Chief Lei Ao said, removing his helm to reveal a feral white pupil in his left eye. "He implanted star marrow into the elite guard's spines; those knights now feel no pain and have become killing machines."

Lady Aishar chuckled softly, sliding a memory crystal from her sleeve.

In the crystal's projection, Duke Huo Ke stood before the Mechanical Church altar, embedding a Dragon‑head token into the star‑marrow crystal on his chest.

"He never wanted the Western Frontier," Lady Aishar's voice was cold as a venomous snake. "He covets the entire kingdom, to become the ruler of the new world."

Cold light flashed in Lei Ao's eyes: "So you propose an alliance?"

"Not an alliance," Lady Aishar said, smashing the crystal; the shards rearranged on the table into a star‑gate pattern. "It's a purge."

She tapped lightly, and the pattern revealed the battlefield where Allen Wilke once cleared the Mechanical Church's remnants.

"Or perhaps we still need him," Lady Aishar squinted. "He is the key Meilinda left behind to suppress the Mechanical Church."

"The Wilke boy," Lei Ao fell silent instantly.

He also had high hopes for the boy, but his deep ties to the Round Table Council made him worry that the Knight Guild, freshly cleansed, might become tainted again because of him.

Lei Ao's white pupil reflected the scene in the memory crystal—young Allen Wilke brandishing twin swords, cutting through the Mechanical Church headquarters with heroic vigor.

"That boy indeed inherited his father's talent," Lei Ao's knuckles rapped the table. "But will he truly help us? You must remember, the Round Table Council is..."

"He will," Lady Aishar said, pulling a pocket watch from her bosom; its cover sprang open, revealing a miniature portrait of Meilinda inside. "Just let him see this."

Meilinda in the watch suddenly opened her eyes, her gilt vertical pupils indistinguishable from a living person: "Allen—Key."

Lei Ao sprang to his feet, the chair screeching across the floor. "Is this... a mind projection? Is Lady Meilinda still alive?"

The Knight Guild's original strongest was Meilinda; after losing this Third Tier powerhouse, the guild, though it seized control of the Western Frontier, could not fully dominate it.

Duke Huo Ke is the prime example.

"Indeed, she has already prepared a new foothold for us on the Bavier Continent," Lady Aishar snapped the watch shut. "If we wish to go further, we must leave this closed world."

Outside, lightning flashed and thunder roared as a torrential downpour hammered the sky.

Lady Aishar's Acacia cloak moved of its own accord without wind, revealing a star map embroidered on the lining—clearly the coordinates of the Bavier Continent!

"The investiture ceremony in three days," she slid the pocket watch toward Lei Ao. "I want you to lead the assault on the castle's east wing yourself. As for Robin—"

A bolt of lightning struck, illuminating the eerie smile at her lips: "He will draw all of Duke Huo Ke's attention away."

Before the morning mist fully lifted, the sound of iron boots crushing frost flowers rolled across the wasteland like muffled thunder.

The silver armor of the Acacia Knight Order was the first to pierce the fog; three hundred knights bearing Iris‑emblem cloaks advanced in a wedge formation.

Their breastplates were entwined with Acacia vines that glowed with a poisonous hue in the sun, and hanging beside the saddles were not traditional lances but mechanical crossbows etched with runes, their quivers loaded with Lady Aishar's custom neuro‑paralysis arrows.

Clack!

A uniform metallic clatter rang out as the knights simultaneously lowered their faceplates. The star map etched inside the helmets resonated with the pattern on Lady Aishar's cloak, casting a pale violet navigation beam through the fog.

The ground trembled.

The heavy‑armored iron cavalry of the Western Frontier Knight Guild trampled the entire thicket flat.

These colossal figures clad in dark heavy armor rode on the kingdom's heavy warhorses; each stride left a web‑like fissure in the ground.

Chief Lei Ao's white pupil swept over the formation; when he raised his hand, five hundred knights simultaneously brandished their knight lances.

"Third squad, display your emblems!"

Clang!

One hundred elite knights lifted their left arm guards, revealing sword‑and‑rose brandings burned into their skin.

This honor mark, granted only to veterans who fought in the Mechanical Church's annihilation war, now glowed blood‑red as it absorbed nearby star‑marrow energy.

These were all elite of Lady Aishar and the Knight Guild; even the lowest‑ranked knights possessed Great Knight cultivation.

Both sides deployed fifteen Legendary strongmen and four Second Tier strongmen.

Clearly, they were determined to pour everything into crushing Duke Huo Ke once and for all; failure could cripple both factions.

Lady Aishar stood before the thousand‑strong army, her Acacia cloak flapping in the gale. With a light lift of her fingertip, a bizarre Acacia blossom unfurled from void, and as its petals spread, the battlefield within a ten‑mile radius fell into sudden silence.

The Second Ring Wizard's oppressive aura rolled over the earth like solid matter, freezing even the birds mid‑flight.

"Knights of the Acacia!" Her voice made no sound yet rang clearly in every ear, chilling like a venomous snake's hiss. "Today, we are not going to die."

(End of Chapter)