Soul of Burning Steel

The cold wind swayed across the plain, setting off waves of snow and dust. In the long snow, a man rode a horse and headed north against the wind.

Along the avenue, Joshua steered the horse and entered the border of the Moldavian territory. The horse's hooves stepped down, splashing a little bit of ice slag.

Along the way, there are more and more people on the road, not only the traveling caravans, but also many carriages with various flags. They may be businessmen, or they may be rich people who just go for fun. After all, ordinary civilians will not consume precious calories in winter.

As for those driving winter wolf sleds on the roadside, they are basically fishermen or hunters. Since they have to go to the waterside and forest without roads, it is not convenient to ride a horse or car, so sleds are the best choice.

Winter Wolf...

Noticing the group of large white dogs running happily pulling the sled, Joshua couldn't help shaking his head. The name sounds handsome, but in fact its habits are similar to huskies. He remembered that he had raised one back then. Handsome is handsome...

My memory goes back to a long, long time ago. At that time, the Continent of Conflict had just opened its server, and I was still working alone in the Far South. I happened to see a winter wolf at an auction. He didn’t plan to raise a war pet at all, so he bought it out of nowhere. down...

Wait, who is that? A familiar black figure seemed to flash in front of him, and Joshua's memory was interrupted. He murmured, It's so familiar.

Just one glance made him feel familiar, and this situation couldn't help but make Joshua serious. He urged the horse to approach the slow figure, but the closer he got, the more familiar he felt, but he couldn't figure out who it was anyway.

It wasn't until a while later, when he was face to face with that person, that his doubts were resolved. Joshua said in surprise, Old butler...Fan?!

The old man named Fan, wearing a black housekeeper's uniform, raised his head in surprise when he heard the voice, and looked around for a while. After he found Joshua, he dismounted with a smile, and bowed politely:

Ah, long time no see, Master Joshua.

There was no reply, and Joshua's eyes were full of surprise and confusion. He also got off the horse, hurried over to help the old butler up, and then quickly frowned and said, Your hair...hands?!

He held the hand of the old housekeeper rudely, and looked at it seriously, while the old man just looked at Joshua with a smile and let him watch.

It was an old man's hand.

The skin has been slack, covered with wrinkles, and if you get close, you can even faintly see blue blood vessels and tendons, and the muscles on the arms have long since lost their former strength.

Looking at these hands, Joshua felt a nameless anger rising from the depths of his heart.

That was Joshua's anger belonging to this world.

Van, the old housekeeper of the Radocliff family, has been taking care of him since he was born. They have lived together for more than ten years, and their relationship is no different from that of father and son. It can even be said that Van is better than Joshua's father. care more about him.

In fact, it was because he was so familiar with this old butler who had lived with him for more than ten years that he was astonished and angry at these hands.

On the man in front of him, the traces left by time are everywhere. Even though the white hair is combed neatly, it still reveals the breath of aging, and countless small wrinkles are all over his face. His face was more angular, but it also reaffirmed his weakness.

According to common sense, it seems normal. This middle-aged man named Fan is no different from the old housekeepers of other families, and his appearance is just in line with his age—after all, Fan is the same age as his father, and his father It's already over fifty.

It is not a strange thing for a middle-aged man in his fifties and sixties to have a head full of gray hair after going through all kinds of hardships and battles.

But here's what's not normal.

Neither Fan nor Joshua's father is an ordinary middle-aged man!

Not to mention other things, the Earl of Winter, Berouo de Radcliffe, is a knight of the golden rank, which means that his natural lifespan is two hundred years, and it is not difficult to pay attention to maintenance for three hundred years. Fifty or sixty is even the prime of life for such a person.

And where...

When Joshua was born, Fan looked eighteen or twenty years old, when Joshua was running around the territory, and Fan who looked after him looked at eighteen or twenty years old, when Joshua was able to wield a huge sword Father While guiding with a cold face, Fan who was serving the tea with a quiet smile on the side seemed to be eighteen or twenty years old. Fan who ran out to welcome him and entertain him was still about eighteen or twenty years old.

In the past, Joshua asked his father this question—even if this is a magical world, youth is still a problem. Except for elves, it is difficult for him to think of any race that is born with eternal beauty , but there is no need for the former Master Radcliffe to answer, he actually knows that a person with black hair, golden red eyes, and normal ears cannot be an elf.

But it is definitely not a human being. There is no doubt about this, he must be a long-lived species.

Until the end, the Earl did not answer his question directly, but said a few vague words, Anyway, you will know later. This kind of question is meaningless. and other words.

In fact, humans on the Continent of Conflict don't care about this kind of problem at all. Joshua is the same. There are so many immortal species around you. Maybe the owner of the bar you often go to drink is an elf. Who has the patience to ask for proof one by one?

But this time it's different - the thing that can make a long-lived species age like this is undoubtedly related to a series of recent events - and the death of Joshua's father.

What happened in the guarded place?

Fan, what's going on here? Joshua looked up into the eyes of the old man in front of him, with an aggressive attitude: Answer me!

After crossing, the soldier has always felt an unreal sense of confusion. Although everything here is undoubtedly true, but he has no real feelings.

But it was different now. His heart was beating violently, and his blood was rushing all over his body with anger. Joshua's eyes were extremely cold, as if he wanted to pierce through the void, pointing directly at the unknown enemy.

The guarding place... The white-haired housekeeper seemed to be hesitating, he pondered for a while, and said, My young master, you still don't know.

Why? The words were almost threatening, and Joshua took a step forward, as if to question without the slightest sympathy.

Because you are not 'qualified', young master. Not caring about Joshua's questioning, Fan replied in a brisk tone as in the past, If you want to know, then you must inherit your father's title and become Moldavian The master of this land, the lord who guards this land, this is a contract that cannot be violated, engraved in my bones.

qualifications?!

After a brief exclamation, Joshua felt an unbelievable absurdity, The Earl of Winter, Beruo, has only one descendant, and that is me, the only heir! After his death, he will automatically inherit the title without even being granted the title by the emperor. , I, Joshua, am the natural lord of this land!

Now you're telling me that I'm not qualified? Then who has it? That uncle who doesn't know where he came from? Joshua couldn't help showing a ferocious smile, and said with a fierce look in his eyes: That's right, he also has the right to inherit , then just kill him.

Without answering this question, the white-haired old man looked at Joshua's left and right wrists with slightly dull golden-red eyes, then frowned, and shifted his gaze to other places.

'Qualification' is not some kind of illusory title, but a real object. As if considering his words, Fan spoke slowly after a while, and Joshua also listened patiently: I don't Know where the master put it, but you ought to know.

What exactly is it? Where is it? How could I know!

Please believe me, young master, all this is not because I don't want to say it, but because I can't say it.

Joshua is not the kind of person who can talk long-windedly. After realizing that it seemed that he was really unable to speak because of the 'vow', he didn't bother to talk, and simply called up the system. If he didn't agree with him, he would throw out an investigative technique. .

[Investigation judgment...level crushing advantage, attribute crushing advantage...]

[Successful investigation]

【Name: Van Amos】

[Template: Excellence]

[Race: Divine Machine-Racial Skill: Divine Machine Transformation, Contractor Resonance Connected with Blood, Transformed into a Weapon]

[Level: The contractor is dead, the level is forced to 1]

[Attribute board: The contractor is dead, all attributes are forced to be the base value]

[Body shape: medium humanoid alien life form]

[Health value: The contractor is dead, and the health value is forced to be the basic value]

[Physical value: The contractor is dead, and the physical value is forced to be the base value]

[Avatar weapon: Amos Dragon Slaying Sword]

[Status: Life elapsed (remaining life 10 days)]

[Occupation: The sixth generation of the God Machine/Housekeeper against the Rage God]

[Talent: The contractor is dead, all talents are forcibly erased]

[Skill: The contractor is dead, all skills are forcibly erased]

[Equipment: Black Butler Clothes]

[A powerful weapon, a loyal steward. 】

Wait... stop! Please stop for a moment!

Joshua didn't feel well - he was taken aback by the unexpected amount of information, and his expression became weird.

Divine machine? Joshua vaguely remembered that this word was often mentioned in his battle group before crossing, and it was also very popular on the forum. It is said that it is a super-precious contracted race. The specific ability he focused on opening up the legendary dungeon [Millions] World Sacrifice Ground] I didn't care much.

The memory gradually became clearer, and Joshua recalled a lot of information. The contract mission of Shenji was indeed in the Northern Empire. It was very difficult and time-limited. No more than ten people succeeded in the contract, and those lucky ones deliberately concealed the information together. The whole mission process was full of fog, time passed, the craze cooled, and the magic machine became a rumored race.

But now it seems that the ability of the magic machine should be transformed into a weapon! And the level must be extraordinary, just like the dragon-slaying sword of Amos incarnated by the old housekeeper. contract!

And the initiator of the Divine Machine mission... seems to be the Radcliffe family in Moldavia!

The information buried deep in his memory gradually recovered, and Joshua felt a sudden realization. After comparing the information of the two worlds, he suddenly discovered that the Radcliffe family he belonged to had participated in the historical process of the game. Through the scattered information, he can even guess what is guarding in the land guarded by his family, and what is going on with the so-called mutation now!

If he didn't guess wrong...that's really something amazing.

But compared to these, what is more important now is the passing state of Fan's life.

Fan. Joshua looked at the old housekeeper in front of him, and frowned. Now that the truth had been roughly guessed by him, he said plainly, Your time is short.

... Fan remained silent.

Even if you don't tell me, I can probably guess it... But it doesn't matter anymore. You know, I used to think that when I inherited the family, you would still be our steward. My son inherited the family, and you would still It's our housekeeper! Joshua just looked straight at Fan: You are my most important family member, I just want to know what happened to you, that's all!

... Fan raised his head and looked at Joshua. The original pair of red eyes with gold rims had lost their brightness due to the loss of vitality. They were cloudy, but still sharp.

I'm very touched. Finally he spoke, he seemed to have made up his mind, and said in an extremely serious tone, But an oath is an oath, and the most I can tell you is something unimportant.

I—as you can see, I am not a human being. A long time ago, my elders and I made a contract with the Radcliffe family to serve you. This contract allows us to live and die together. Now Master is dead, so naturally I will die soon.

Having said that, the white-haired old man bowed: I'm sorry, I failed to protect the master well.

I can't say anything else, even if you guess it, I can't say it. Unless you become the head of the family, unless you take on the heaviest responsibility of the Radcliffe family, I will not be able to tell you the truth.

In the heavy snow, silence spread.

After a while, Joshua said, I probably understand.

The soldier sighed and shook off the snow on his body. The sigh was blown to pieces by the cold wind and disappeared into the snow: Then, you who only have ten days left to live, where are you going now?

Don't be sad for me. After stroking his horse, the white-haired old butler looked at the expressionless Joshua and said with a chuckle, Dying to fulfill your duty is the most glorious end of a soldier. Whether it's the master or me, we have no regrets.

Now there is only one thing I want to say. Turning his back to Joshua, Fan said this in a meaningful tone: Now, there are a group of uninvited guests in our home. It is a pity that , I'm in a bad state right now.

Then, I will sweep away the rubbish, just like you did before. Joshua understood what he was saying: It's clean, no one will be left behind.

Good luck, then, my lord,

...Goodbye, Van.

The old butler got on the saddle and galloped in the opposite direction to the Moldavian territory.

And Joshua looked indifferently into the distance.

Become the lord of that town. He whispered, then sneered.

At the end of the field of vision is the main city wall covered by heavy snow, with only blurred shadows.

The uncle who traveled thousands of miles to the North to try to compete with him for the title was there.