The next morning...
A group of imperial knights rode towards Uro City again, but this group of knights was completely different from the ordinary knights of the previous two days. All these knights are women. They wore shining silver armor, and their faces were hidden by winged helmets. Their war horses were no ordinary steeds either. These horses had white fur and were much stronger than ordinary war horses. And above them hovered brown-feathered griffins, burly half eagle and half lion creatures. Riding these griffins are female knights in the same silver armor as the female knight on the white horses. They held sharp lances in their hands and long silver swords strapped to their waists. These female knights riding white horses and mighty griffins are the pride of the empire, the Valkyrie Knights.
All members of this knightly order are all beautiful maiden, and all of them are of noble birth to boot. But it would be a mistake to underestimate them because of their status as women and nobles. The Valkyries have received the most severe combat training since they were mere children, making them fierce and fearless fighters.
Another distinct characteristic of them is that all of them swore that as long as they are still in the Order, they will never marry for life, therefore they are all virgins. Once a member of the regiment wants to be married, that member must withdraw from the order and can never rejoin.
No one knows how this tradition came about, but this rule seems to have existed since the establishment of the Valkyrie Knights. With the passing of time, although the Valkyrie have long forgotten the origin of this rule, they still swore by this ancient oath nonetheless.
As the aces of the Imperial Army, they were sent by the commander-in-chief to carry out this reconnaissance mission precisely because they far surpassed in mobility and air supremacy compared to ordinary cavalry. The commander-in-chief believed that their excellent mobility could allow them to easily avoid those mysterious giant crossbow bolts and reach Uro City to find out.
Leading this reconnaissance mission are two young captains, Sophia who leads the White Horse Brigade and Tanya who leads the Griffin Brigade. Each brigade has sixty Valkyries, and the members of the team are all new members who just graduated from the Valkyrie training school this year, just like their brigade captain. Of course, they are all cream of the crop, which is the precise reason they were allowed to participate in this mission.
In the Lord's Mansion of Uro City, Marika, who was processing some official documents, learned of Valkyrie's arrival because of a somewhat unique task reminder.
"Task trigger: The Valkyrie Knights, the pride of the empire, have come to challenge the west gate by land and sky. Show them the power of the Golden Goddess and her warriors. Your mission is to defeat the two Valkyrie brigades without using the golems. Task difficulty: medium. Reward: multiverse gacha pull x1, unlock Boc the Semester, Kenneth Heights."
Seeing this generous bounty, Marika felt quite moved by its promise of reward. She wished she could fly out and fight them right now. But she knew that according to the system's intelligence, they would probably carry out a ground and air attack. And she could tell they would be difficult to deal with simply by their name, they must be the elite of the empire. So she can't guarantee that she can deal with both the land and air troops simultaneously. If she chooses to focus on one side, the other brigade will definitely attack the city while she is not paying attention. So she needs someone to deal with the troops on the ground, and herself, who has the ability to fly, will deal with the troops in the air.
She immediately had a best candidate in her mind, Artorius. As the strongest combatant currently on her side, he is the perfect choice to test their merit.
Marika immediately asked Siduri to inform Artorius to report at the west gate, and she herself rushed to the west gate with bio-telekinesis.
It didn't take long for Marika and Artorius to arrive at the west gate. Marika simply explained the current situation and her countermeasures to Artorius.
"Sir Artorius, do remember to bring two Banished knights to deal with them. Their numbers are many. Bringing two helpers will reduce the possibility of them slipping past your defense."
"I shall obey your order", Artorius had no complaints, so he and the two Banished knights hop on their steeds and prepared to meet Valkyrie's ground troops. The exiled soldiers on the side used the wheel mechanism to raise the city gate reinforced with iron blocks, and the remaining soldiers with bows and crossbows ran up the city wall to defend against the invaders.
Artorius looked ahead, took a deep breath, and ordered in a breathless manner:
"Move out!"
"Yes sir!" The two lost knights also replied with great enthusiasm. This is their first real battle in the new world, thus a strong fighting spirit burns in their hearts. With the neighing of the war horses, the three knights rushed out of the city gate like a rainbow, heading towards the enemy in the west.
Marika watched the knights ride out to battle, leaving behind a gust of dust. She then sighed, flew into the air and took out Gandiva and waited in the skis in front of the city gate.
Meanwhile on the Valkyries' side...
"Sophia, don't you think it's a little too quiet?" Tanya asked Spohia with a shouting voice while she pilots her griffin to fly lower.
"I agree. According to the survivor's report, we should have entered the range of those giant crossbow bolts by now, but there is still no movement. This is definitely strange." Sophia replied.
"Could it be that they were too trigger happy and used up all the giant crossbow bolts?" Tanya guessed.
"It's possible, but don't let your guard down, and continue to help us scout ahead."
"Okay!" Tanya replied playfully.
Sophia and Tanya's personalities can be said to be completely opposite. Sophia is calm and serious, and follows the rules, while Tanya is more lively and active, and loves freedom. To some extent, the mounts of the two are quite suitable for them. When the war horse charges, it needs Sophia's rational composure, while the griffin soaring in the sky is more in line with Tanya's pursuit of freedom.
But at this moment, both of them were a little nervous, and they didn't know whether the giant crossbow arrows would appear, forming a faint pressure in their minds. And seeing the imperial soldiers pierced by those terrifying huge crossbow arrows along the way deepened their uneasiness.
In this uneasy atmosphere, the two Valkyrie brigades finally reached the outskirts of Ura Castle.
Sophia and Tanya soon saw three knights approaching them from the city at high speed, and Marika who was guarding in the sky.
Seeing Marika in the sky, the Valkyrie's sense of danger was pulled to the highest point. It's not that they haven't seen a mage who can fly. But for a mage to achieve flight on their own, they must devote everything on their magical career to learn such a difficult spell. Thus only a great sage, or an ordinary mage assisted by magic artifacts is capable of flight. Although a great sage is not impossible to deal with for the Valkyries, they are definitely not enemies that can be easily defeated, but if it is the latter, it will be much easier to deal with.
Seeing the knights getting closer and closer, Sophia decided to confront them and see just who they are. Seeing that Sophia decided to go forward, Tanya also led her own griffin brigade to face Marika.
[Recommended BGM: Fate/Apocrypha theme song]
Sophia and her team members rode their white steeds to face Artorius, stopping not far from where he was. Looking at the tall and menacing Artorias and Banished Knights, Sophia realized that the three knights in front of her were no simple opponents.
"We are the Fourth Ground Combat Brigade of the Valkyrie Knights of the Fakerhi Empire. I am the captain of this brigade, Sophia Louis Vuitton. Stranger, who are you?" Sophia asked with a serious and authoritative tone. She noticed that the armor of the three knights in front was far more well-made than any knight of the Inrud kingdom, and there were no insignia related to the kingdom on their armor.
"I am a knight in service to the Erdtree Dynasty, Artorius. Valkyrie knights of the Fakerhi Empire, you are currently trespassing on our territory, please leave immediately, otherwise we shall have to remove you by force!" Artorius warned, and released his powerful fighting aura with the two Banished knights.
The Valkyries present could feel their powerful strength, and everyone clenched their lances tightly. A fierce storm was also going on in Sophia's head.
'Erdtree Dynasty? How come I haven't heard of this country before? ' Sophia thought. With armor made of such advanced forging technology, do they have some sort of contract with the kingdom of dwarves? But in that case the intelligence services of the Empire should know, and besides, dwarves have always hated schemes. It is impossible for them to have secret allies. Could it be that this is their own technology? A country with such technology and financial resources should be well known. How could there be no news before, as if they just pop out of a rock?
No matter what the identities of the three knights in front of them are, the only way to know the truth is to defeat them now!
Sophia raised her lance, pointed at the silver armored knight in front of her and shouted:
"Then pardon us for intruding!"
As soon as Artorius heard this, he and the lost knight immediately drew their weapons. The two sides rode forward, and the battle was imminent.
At the same time they were confronting each other, Marika was also negotiating with Tanya and her griffin brigade.
"We are the Second Air Combat Battalion of the Valkyrie Knights of the Fakerhi Empire! Who are you?" Tanya asked impatiently looking at the silent Marika. She felt a little strange, the blond woman in front of her was obviously not very old. She looked neither like those gray-haired sages, nor like the ageless elves. Both are masters of magic, and both may possess flying magic. But the woman in front of her, who seemed to be human, was able to levitate in the air, so she obviously had the help of some kind of magic artifact. In addition, the white longbow in her hand is not quite right either. An odd design that Tanya had never seen before, and she wasn't carrying a quiver. A longbow without arrows is as useless as a burnt stick, so what is she doing with a bow without arrows?
"Don't you even know which country you invaded?" Marika sneered.
The irritable Tanya immediately got offended, and she immediately asked angrily:
"You! Don't play tricks on me, who are you?!"
"Didn't you receive the notice? I am the new mayor Marika."
"The new mayor?" Tanya's mind didn't quite get what she was saying for a moment.
"Look, Commander!" At this moment, one of the Valkyries noticed that the troops on the ground had already fought with the knights, and hurriedly reminded Tanya.
"Damn! How dare you make a fool of me! Sisters follow me" Tanya said angrily, and rushed towards Marika with the Griffin Valkyries.
Marika quickly fired her bow, the speed of the blue magic arrows was as fast as a bullet, and in an instant four Valkyries fell off their mounts. Marika flew to the side, avoiding the Valkyrie charging her while returning fire with Gandiva. Her bow rapidly fired magic arrows like a machine gun, and all the while she was still flying at high speed while maintaining perfect shot accuracy.
"Don't you get cocky! We Valkyries also have our own long-range attacks!" Tanya roared, and then the Valkyrie condensed the magic power into her lance, and then swung forward, shooting out wave after wave magic blades. It's a pity that the speed at which the magic bladesi is fired can't keep up with Marika's flight speed which has already reached near the speed of sound. Marika maneuvered to evade while drawing her bow to aim at several Valkyries gathered together, and condensed a scatter shot magic arrow with stronger mana behind it. Accompanied by a resounding sound of thunder, as soon as the scatter shots flew out, they turned into dozens of magical arrows and turned the group of Valkyries and their griffins into bloody honeycombs. Knowing that their opponent's long-range attack is more powerful, Tanya tried to regain their advantage through melee.
"Her weapon is only that bow, close combat is beneficial to us!" Tanya ordered while turning her griffin.
Soon the two Valkyries swooped down on Marika from a higher altitude, their lances ready to go. Malika sneered in her thought, 'Who said I can't attack in melee? '. She rushes towards the two Valkyries, and when they thought she was trying to dodge through the gap between them, Gandiva's bow tips condensed two magical light blades that resemble beam sabers.
"What!?" The two knights were extremely surprised by Gandiva's melee function.
But it was too late, Marika slashed at them with a magic light blade at high speed while passing by them, they were immediately chopped down with their griffin, both of their bodies were cut with scorched wounds.
"Damn! How dare you fool us again!" Tanya roared again.
Marika continued to rush forward and flew in front of the formation of Valkyries, and then suddenly braked, and condensed another arrow with stronger magic mana. The powerful arrow was shot again with the sound of thunder, and the arrow turned into a half-moon-shaped magical blade that is ten bodies wide, cutting in half dozens of Valkyries that were in the formation.
Seeing her teammates and their griffins being shot down by Marika one by one, Tanya gritted her teeth and cursed while trying to chase Marika on her griffin.
On the ground, Sophia's brigade was in no better condition. When the cavalries of the two sides collided, Artorius and the Lost Knight unexpectedly made a gap in their cavalry formation. Artorias' cursed black sword sliced through them like a hot knife through butter, directly cleaving several Valkyries and their steeds in half. The Banished knights unleashed their storm ash of war, shredding the Valkyrie's bodies with their silver armor forged by magic, like paper. The two sides exchanged charges back and forth several times, but Artorius and the homeless knights were fine, while Valkyrie had several people cut down every time. The only small gain was that Artorius' horse was wounded in the thigh, causing him to fall off the horse. But this didn't affect Artorius at all, and Artorius continued to fight on foot with the cursed black sword in hand.
The Valkyries thought that fighting on horseback would give them an advantage over Artiorius who was on foot, but what they didn't know was that fighting on foot allowed Artorius to use his unique skill, wolf swordsmanship. Artorius leaned down and rested the great sword on his shoulder, grasping the ground with his left hand. The muscles of his legs were tensed, like a wild beast ready to pounce. Then, in a blink of an eye, Artorius tore into the Valkyries' formation, his great sword shredding the enemies in front of him like a wolf's fangs, bringing up a burst of blood and severed limbs. His hands crushed through their helmets like wolf claws, turning their heads into watermelons. They were as powerless as sheep in front of him. The Banished knights tacitly released storms around the Valkyrie, compressing their space of action, making it impossible for them to escape, while Artorius slaughtered them like a wolf in a flock of sheep. Everywhere he went was dismemberment and death, no Valkyrie could survive a round at his hands. The Valkyries had never seen such a ferocious fighting style, and they were deeply terrified, not a trace of their bravado left. The tall knight in front of him seemed to be transformed into a blood thirsty giant wolf, tearing them apart cruelly with his indestructible fangs and claws. Several Valkyries were frightened and wanted to run away, but the ash of war of the Banished Knight locked them together with the beast named Artorius like they were in a cage.
Returning to the battlefield in the air, Marika's arrows had already knocked down many Valkyries, severely reducing their numbers. Tanya knew the situation was bad, and quickly ordered the team members to use all-round siege tactics, so that Marika had nowhere to fly. But Marika was not in a hurry, she quickly condensed several blue magic light spheres around the battlefield, and then fired an arrow at one of them. The arrows bounced around like marbles on a pinball table, and killed a large number of Valkyries. Marika took the opportunity to fly out of the encirclement, and when she looked back, two-thirds of the Valkyries had been killed or injured.
Tanya now frantically gathers her last team members and prepares to charge again.
"Buzzing around like some damn fly! Stay still!" Tanya yelled angrily during the charge.
"This girl is so annoying! Well! It's almost time to end", after Marika finished speaking, facing the charging Griffon Knights, Marika began to transform the power of runes in her body into mana, preparing to release Gandiva's real name. A large amount of blue flame-attribute mana erupted from behind Malika, forming the shape of a sun. In the eyes of the Valkyrie, with the blue sun floating behind her, Marika, who is overflowing with mana, was like a god, ready to cast down divine punishment with the white bow in her hand. Marika drawed Gandiva, and the magic arrow on the bowstring contained a powerful energy far exceeding all the attacks just now. Gandiva was forged by Brahma, a divine bow that has been passed down for thousands of years among the Indian gods. It contains divine fire and divine thunder. This divine weapon once again demonstrated the mighty power of the gods in a different world.
"Agni Gandiva!", as Marika shouted out the true name of the noble phantasm. The magic halo behind her released countless divine magic flames and thunder, drowning the charging Valkyrie and their griffins,burning them to ashes.
The battlefield on the ground came to an end as Marika released her Noble Phantasm. Sophia's Valkyrie brigade has been almost completely slaughtered, and only Sophia and two other teammates, Misha and Bella, are left alive. But Sophia couldn't count on them. Misha's eyes were blinded by the storm ash of war and Bella's legs were cut off by Artorius' greatsword. Sophia was exhausted, and her helmet had already been struck away, revealing her black hair. Facing Artorius, who was covered in blood like a demon, even Sophia, who had always been calm and composed, couldn't help trembling with fear. But she knew that if she ran away now, she would be betraying her oath as a Valkyrie and her battle sisters who lost their lives. So she plucked up her courage and once again charged at Artorius with the last of her strength.
Artorius felt a little admiration for the courage of the female knight in front of him to overcome her own fear and continue to fight, and felt that it was a pity to kill her here. So Artorius decided to capture her, to see if she would submit to the Golden Dynasty, and maybe he could take her as his apprentice. But Artorius would not be soft on the battlefield. Artorius swung his sword swiftly and cut off her arms. Sophia screamed and fell to the ground, with blood spurting from the bloody stumps of her arms.
Putting away the blood-stained sword, Artorius looked at the other two female knights who were also seriously injured, knowing that if their wounds were left alone, they would bleed to death. So he informed the Banished knights, and the three of them took off the ropes that the horses had prepared for emergencies, and used the ropes to catch them to ensure that they would not move around, and then used clean bandages and emergency treatment incantations for their wounds to stop the bleeding. Finally, Artorius put Sophia on his shoulders, and the lost knights placed Bella and Misha on the saddles of their horses. After doing this, the knights walked back to Uro City with their captives.
Along the way, Sophia stared at Artorius who was carrying her with hateful eyes. Artorius was too tired to pay attention to her eyes now. At this time, Sophia suddenly said angrily:
"Have you no shame as knights?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Artorius was a little perplexed. Isn't it common sense on the battlefield that the defeated side is captured?
"You must have captured us because of our looks, and you want to use our bodies to satisfy your urges, right! You dirty men!" Sophia continued to curse bitterly, and Bella and Misha were also nodding in shameful and angry agreement.
Artorius was a little speechless, what unhealthy things were going on in this little girl's mind? But to prove his innocence he explained:
"Lady Sophia, as knights, my companions and I will naturally not have any unreasonable thoughts about you. We are just going to take you to meet our lord now."
"So that's it! It turns out that you want to present us as a gift to your master and let him play with our bodies?! You shameless dog! Shameless! Obscene!"
Sophia somehow completely misinterprets the meaning of Artorias's words. Artorius only felt headaches at this ridiculous situation. Could it be that this group of Valkyries are like this? Artorius somewhat regretted capturing them now.
In the end, one of the Banished Knights complained:
"Her majesty Marika is a woman, how could she be interested in you little girls?"
"Huh?" This time it was Sophia and her sisters who were caught off guard.
Another Banished Knight went on to say:
"That's right! And Her Majesty is a hundred times prettier than you girls, where did you get those funny ideas from?"
Under the relentless jabs of the two knights in turn, Sophia and her companions fell into a defeated silence. So everyone walked into Uro City in this awkward atmosphere.
At this time, Marika patrolled the air to make sure there were no more enemies and the task was completed, and saw Artorius, who was taking the captives into the city. So she landed in front of him. Seeing Marika, the knights knelt on one knee and saluted. Sophia, Bella, and Misha, who had been put down immediately, saw Marika who was as beautiful as a goddess in front of them, and the shame on their faces was beyond words.
But Marika just felt that the expressions of these prisoners were a little strange, so she ignored them.
"Sir Artorius, you did a good job today. I also saw the bravery of you two knights in the battle today."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your appreciation!" The three said in unison.
Marika nodded in satisfaction, and then let Arterius handle the prisoners by himself. Marika herself flew back to the City Lord's Mansion. Now it's her favorite gacha time again! Marika immediately turned on the system in her office and clicked on the draw.
Multiverse gacha Rewards: Servant Achilles (A), Thor's Hammer Mjolnir (A), Mother's Cooking Skills (F)
Well, the results of this lottery are a bit polarizing. But Marika still got another high-end combatant. Typemoon's heroic spirits are synonymous with insane power levels! As the souls of heroes who have been active in human history, Heroic Spirits are all powerful beings with unique skills, and the strongest ones can even directly explode stars! And a well-known hero of the age of gods like Achilles is naturally one of the top combatants among the heroic spirits. The Gandival in Malika's hand was forged during Type Moon's age of gods as well. The newly acquired Mjölnir is also a well-known divine weapon. It is the exclusive weapon of Thor, the god of thunder in Norse mythology. It can be seen in various games and movies.
Marika quickly checked the reward info card to learn about her new power and partners.
Mother's Cooking (F)
Anyone who eats the dishes made by the host will taste their mother's cooking. People who have never eaten the dishes made by their mothers will feel strong maternal love in the dishes.
Hmm... It doesn't feel useful, no wonder it's only an F grade.
Mjolnir (A)
From the action video game "God of War 5: Ragnarok", it is the exclusive weapon of Thor in Norse mythology. Unlike Marvel's shameful hammer god next door and his meow meow hammer that can be crushed when squeezed, Mjolnir in God of War 5 is closer to the historical versions' invincible existence. When the host uses Mjolnir, she can exercise the power of the god of thunder, call forth wind and rain, and send down thunder. No matter where the hammer is thrown, it can be recalled by the host.
'The power of Thor? So am I sort of a god of thunder now?' Marika thought.
Character name: Achilles
Sex: Male
Race: Greek God/Human/Heroic Spirit
Character Rating: A
Servant class: Rider
Skills: Melee Weapon Use (B), Unarmed Combat (A), Pancrasin Combat (A), Army Command (D), Mount (A), Anti-magic (C), Divinity (C), Combat Cont. Action (A), Favor of the Goddess (B), Courage (A)
Special Items: Armor of Achilles (B), Shield of Achilles (A), Hero Killer Spear (B), Undead Chariot (A)
Noble Phantasms: Dromeus Kometes (A), Andreias Amarantos (B), Troias Tragoidia (A), Diatrekhon Aster Lonkhe (B), Akhilleus Kosmos (A)
Character introduction: From the anime "Fate Apocrypha", a hero in Greek mythology, the son of the sea goddess Thetis and the mortal hero Peleus. After Achilles was born, his mother Thetis held Achilles by the ankle and immersed him in the River Styx when she learned from the goddess of fate that he would die in battle. So Achilles is invulnerable to all attacks except for the deadly fatal spot on his heel or attacks from enemies with higher divinity than him. After Achilles participated in the Trojan War, he used only two battles to tilt the scale to the Greek army, and killed the Trojan defender, Prince Hector. However, due to the feud with Apollo, the god of light, Achilles was shot in the heel by Apollo's arrow and died. Achilles can now be summoned by the host as a servant, with the rank of Rider, and the host will also get three-strokes of command spells.
Um! What luck of her to get the great hero Achilles, who is really ridiculously strong! But Marika looked at the introduction of the newly added noble phantasm on the character card, and suddenly had a whim, she asked the system:
"System, can I also get a noble phantasm for Artorius?"
"Theoretically yes, but it will cost you a lot of runes!" the system replied.
"How much?" Malika had a bad feeling in her gut.
"30,000 runes."
"Uh... alright! Deal!"
Marika looked at the exorbitantly expensive price, gritted her teeth, and decided to buy a noble phantasm for Artorius. Artorius with a noble phantasm is definitely better than one without a noble phantasm.
"Ok! Please check the character card of Artorias, the noble phantasm has been added."
Malika endured her bleeding wallet and opened his character card.
Character name: Artorius "Abyss Walker"
Sex: Male
Race: Primordial Vulcan of the First flame
Character Rating: A
Skills: Wolf Swordsmanship (S), Unarmed Combat (B), Melee Weapon Use (B), Greatsword Weapon Use (A), Abyssal Contract (A), Unyielding Will (A), Army Command (C) , Wolf Bond (A), Riding (B)
Special Items: Cursed Black Greatsword (B), Artorius' Full Armor (B), Artorius' Covenant Ring (B)
Noble Phantasm: Siúl an Duibheagán) (A), Rince na Mac Tíre(B)
Biography:
From the RPG game "Dark Souls", one of the "Four knights" under the command of Sun King Gwen. A legendary figure with a strong will and unparalleled swordsmanship. Artorias has the ability to walk in the endless abyss after making a vow with the monsters of the abyss, thus earning his name "The AbyssWalker". With his unyielding will, even though his whole body was injured, he still did not forget his mission. He is a brave and unparalleled hero. After the tuning from the system, the pollution of the abyss on Artorius' body has been removed, and the injury on his left hand has also been healed. It is a pity that the influence of being infected by the abyss on his spirit cannot be perfectly eliminated, which makes him taciturn.
Alright! Buy one and get one free! Now Marika felt much better about the deal, and she went on to check Artorius's noble phantasm.
Siúl an Duibheagán (A)
Type: Anti-human (self) Noble Phantasm
Range: 0
Max capture: 1
Its origin is the oath between Artorius and the monsters of the abyss, and it is a Noble Phantasm evolved from his ability to walk in the endless abyss. When using this Noble Phantasm, Artorius' defense and attack power will be greatly enhanced when facing enemies and environments with dark type magical energy.
Rince na Mac Tíre (B)
Type: Anti-Army Noble Phantasm
Range: 10
Maximum catch: 20 people
Its origin is Artorius' world-famous wolf swordsmanship. When this noble phantasm is activated, Artorius will release a series of ultra-high-speed and powerful magical slashing strikes, tearing apart a large number of enemies around.
'It seems that they are two quite mediocre noble phantasms. But two are better than one.' Marika thought.
Artorius, who was far away in the barracks, felt a mighty power suddenly appearing inside him at this time, a power called Noble Phantasm, and the way to use them also emerged in his memory. Artorius knew that it was Marika's handiwork. He looked in the direction of her mansion and bowed deeply to express his gratitude.
Marika figured she had seen enough, so she used the system to summon Achilles, as well as the demihuman Boc the seamster and Kenneth Height too. After a burst of summoning golden light, three people with very different styles appeared in Marika's office. And while she didn't noticed, a command seal silently appeared on her left hand, than disappeared.
Boc is a short, ugly demi human who looks a bit like a cross between a mouse and monkey. But Bok, with his rucksack, shabby clothes, and yarmulke, was much more lovable than his menacing compatriots. Coupled with his gentle and polite personality, he is actually quite cute.
Kenneth Height is an aristocratic man with neat curly blond hair and a beard. He was wearing a purple overcoat and a green aristocratic robe, a vivid image of an aristocratic gentleman.
The most conspicuous of the three is Achilles. He is an extremely handsome young man with green hair and golden pupils. His Greek armor gave him the fierceness of a warrior, and the red scarf gave him a rebellious look. There was a confident smile on his face, and he looked like he was not afraid of anything.
But it was Kenneth who spoke first.
"By the Erdtree! How lucky I am! I never thought that I, Kenneth Hyde, the heir to the throne of Limgrave, would have such an honor to meet the great goddess herself Queen Marika today! Oh! Your Majesty! I hereby offer you my greatest respect!", Kenneth introduced himself in a dramatic tone, and gave a deep noble salute. Although his performance was a bit exaggerated, the sincerity in his voice and the tears in his eyes all showed that he was really touched by meeting Marika. Moreover, Marika liked this nobleman who was honest, trustworthy and had a sense of justice.
"Your Majesty, is it really you? I, I, I, I am not dreaming, am I?" Boc said tremblingly, until now he still couldn't believe his eyes.
"Of course Boc, this is not a dream!" Marika said gently.
Hearing Malrka say his name, Burke fainted from excitement.
"By the Golden Order! My demi-human friend, are you alright?!" Seeing the fainted Boc, Kenneth hurried forward to help him, not caring about the difference of their status.
"Yare, yare, it seems that I really met an unusual master!" Achilles sighed with a smile while watching this scene, shaking his head.
"Sorry, my subordinates are a little too excited." Marika apologized a little embarrassedly.
"It's okay. I can probably understand it. After all, it's not every day that you can see a god alive in front of your eyes." Achilles said casually.
"In short, I am the servant Rider, Achilles. The fastest hero in Greece! Let us get along well in the future, Master!" Achilles introduced himself straightforwardly and confidently.
"Well, it's a pleasure to be your Master, Achilles." Malika also responded with a smile.
"Please forgive me for being rude, but I have never heard of this place called Greece. I wonder if Your Majesty can point it out to my humble self who is unlearned?" Kenneth said. He was setting Boc on the office sofa when he heard Achilles' self-introduction, so he asked curiously.
"Greece is a country beyond the Lands Between. It is a country rich in powerful warriors and wise philosophers. Achilles is one of the most famous heroes there." Marika explained patiently.
"So that's the case, then I, Kenneth Height, on behalf of Limgrave, welcome Sir Achilles to joining the Golden Dynasty"
"Well. Thanks!" Achilles and Kenneth shook hands.
At this moment, Siduri walked in.
"Ah, it seems that the goddess has recruited a new servant! I believe this is the first time we met. I am Siduri, and I am currently assisting her majesty as her head priestess." Siduri introduced herself with a lady's salute.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Kenneth Hyde, the heir to the throne of Limgrave. It's a pleasure to assist HerMajesty with you.''
"I'm Achilles, servant class Rider, nice to meet you."
The two introduced themselves.
'A heroic spirit? It seems that her majesty has another reliable ally,Siduri thought happily.
"Siduri, do you have anything to report when you come in?" Malika asked.
"Ah yes, the prisoners captured by Sir Artorius are ready to be interrogated. Since their military ranks are higher than the previous prisoners, does the goddess want to interrogate them personally?"
"Hmm… sure, Achilles and Kenneth, you two come with me."
"Oh! And Siduri will send a maid over to take care of this unconscious demihuman. His name is Boc, and he is a tailor." Malika reminded before leaving.
"Understood."
So Siduri led the crowd to the dungeon where the prisoners of war were held. Along the way, Marika explained to Achilles and Kenneth their current situation in a different world, which caused them to be amazed.
Everyone came to the dungeon. Sophia, Bella, and Misha were all put in the same cell for the convenience of care. The armor and weapons of the Valkyries have been confiscated, leaving only their uniforms. All three were guarded by a few Godrick soldiers assigned as jailers.
Across the cage, Achilles looked at the horrific wounds on their bodies and their beautiful appearance, and secretly thought who would be so cruel. Artorius sneezed in the barracks, but he straightened himself quickly so that no one would notice, guessing who was thinking about him.
Sophia looked at Marika and pretended to be strong and said:
"Hmph! You must be Marika! The empire won't let you off easily!"
"That's right! That's right! Sooner or later, the empire will know that we have been captured. When the army sent by the empire launches a general attack on you, you will be finished!" Misha echoed.
"That's right, you may have those three powerful knights, but it's impossible for you to defeat the empire with your scarce troops. If you let us go, we can still make the empire accept your surrender." Bella tried to persuade too.
The faces of the Godrick soldiers and Kenneth became gloomy because of the female knight's speech, and they couldn't help but want to teach them a lesson for daring to contradict their goddess.
"Who said we only have three powerful knights?" Marika tilted her head and said, the female knights were all surprised by her words.
"Impossible! Those three knights are all legendary class fighters. It is enough for a country to cultivate a legendary class warrior. How can you have more!"
Misha retorted in disbelief.
"So all the people in the empire are this weak?" Marika was a little surprised by this news, and she thought out loud to herself while pinching her chin, but she didn't know that her speech had been heard by everyone.
The Valkyries are becoming more and more curious and fearful of the Golden Dynasty led by Marika. What kind of country can have such rich conditions to cultivate so many strong warriors?
On Marika's side, looking at the performance of these three little girls, she probably guessed that they would not want to surrender to her for the time being. After all, they were injured like this by her own troops, so she and her companions left.
On the way, when she thought of their injuries and the Valkyries she killed, Marika felt a little uncomfortable, and she didn't know what was wrong with her. Obviously she was the one being invaded, so why did she feel bad for them?