Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

"Damn Gaia, look what you've done!" So Tsurugi decisively shifted the pressure of internal conflict, pointing at the ground beneath her feet and cursing loudly.

However, cursing the Earth wouldn't solve the problem. He didn't dare to waste a moment, and without even paying attention to Hier, he turned around and rushed towards Rome!

He had a premonition that something terrible was about to happen. He had thought he could quickly resolve the conflict and set the tone for the situation, or at least intervene to stop it, but now—

On his way to Rome, he saw many abandoned and massacred cities.

Before Rome, he had already seen the burning city of seven hills and everything on the verge of destruction.

"Where is he?!"

With Nero's furious voice, the church doors were suddenly slammed shut as Nero, exuding a menacing aura, led her First Legion to surround the entire church.

This was the last place she visited before her star disappeared.

He has been missing for almost two months.

Nero could no longer bear it. She couldn't find Tsurugi anywhere, which terrified her. She feared that Tsurugi might have abandoned her and returned to her homeland.

She was also trying hard to recall if she had done something wrong, or if there was anything she had done that made Tsugumi feel disgusted.

264>>>>

However, as a tyrant personally raised by Tsugumi, Nero ultimately inherited the 'good' side of Tsugumi's personality.

That is, they will never engage in internal strife, but will only pass the problems on to others.

She will look for people, and she will also reflect on where she went wrong and where she did not do well.

But no matter what, someone must be held accountable for Tsugumi's disappearance before anything else happens!

So she found the church, simply because it was the last place Tsugumi visited before she disappeared!

Saint Peter looked at the young emperor who stormed in, full of anger and rage, sighed softly, stepped forward, and calmly offered advice and answers in the face of the emperor's angry accusations.

Although he couldn't say where Tsurugi went, he was sure he had gone to save the world, and he said he would be back soon.

Tsugumi's education of Nero was indeed effective. Although he became a tyrant, Nero restrained his desire to take his anger out on others.

"That would be best!"

She gave St. Peter a cold warning, then turned and left, returning to her palace.

Before leaving, she also snatched a golden cup that the Christians had offered as a sacrifice. Although she didn't know what it was for, she thought it would be useful to threaten these atheists.

She chose to remain secluded, and after seven days of seclusion, Locusta anxiously burst into the palace. Nero, who had been sitting idly for many days and looked haggard, did not reprimand her when she saw that it was her chief mushroom chef who had barged in.

She spoke only in a firm yet weak voice.

"I understand now. The reason he left me wasn't because of anything I did, but because—"

"I should break his legs so he can't leave me!"

Locusta, watching Nero chuckle coldly in the darkness, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He looked inexplicably at the ground, sensing that Nero's shadow was twisting.

265

Rome burned fiercely in flames

Black smoke rose from the low-lying slums of Subra district, rapidly devouring the starry sky above the seven hills. The wind, blowing from the southeast, carried sparks and heat waves, winding through the narrow streets, sending long tongues of flame into every wooden window and every thatched roof.

The arriving Dongjiang stopped on the burning Tiber River, gazing at the scene of destruction.

Hmmmm, this scene seems familiar.

Dongjiang was somewhat speechless, after all, he had also burned Rome not long ago.

In fact, if we convert the timeline, this moment is indeed the point at which Rome should have suffered a major fire.

But why did Rome suddenly catch fire?

Tsugumi wanted to know the answer to the question, and she also wanted to find out what had happened to Nero.

Is this love? Tsurugi doesn't know, but he does feel an urge to see this loli queen as soon as possible.

Flying towards Paladin Hill, past the golden theater, and through the burning marketplace, Tsurugi's gaze lingered briefly on the church.

The place was completely empty, or rather, it seemed that many, many people in the city had left long ago, so there were hardly any people burned to death to be seen.

Where did Peter and the others go?

Tsugumi harbored doubts, but also carried a heavy expectation—he hoped that Nero would not commit the same atrocities as he had done in history.

But will this Nero in this world be as cruel and inhumane as the original Nero in history? Especially after being educated by Tsugumi?

I don't know, but Tsugumi would never consider the worst-case scenario.

Even if something is possible, never think about the worst-case scenario before it happens. Thinking about the worst-case scenario before you are forced to make a decision is the most self-destructive thing to do.

Tsurugi's gaze swept over the fleeing crowd, passed through the gates of the Capitol Senate, and finally, he descended.

Amidst the burning ruins, Tsurugi shattered the encircling flames and encountered a familiar face in the collapsed rubble.

“Locusta…” Tsurugi looked down at the magician who loved to eat mushrooms, holy light emanating from her hands as she repaired her dying body.

Having been pulled back from the brink of death, Locusta struggled to open his eyes. His small face, covered in soot, lit up with excitement upon seeing Tsugumi.

"Quickly, quickly, Lord Tsugumi! Hurry to the Pantheon, hurry to His Majesty Nero's side!!!"

Tsugumi first carried Locusta on her back, and while treating her badly injured body, she frowned and said...

"I'm going there right now, tell me what happened first!"

Thanks to Tsurugi's continued treatment, Locusta's life was finally pulled back from the brink of death. After several difficult breaths, he said in a hoarse voice...

"Lord Tsugumi, you've been gone for a year, and His Majesty has been..."

Contrary to Tsugumi's worst expectations, Nero did not descend into madness after Tsugumi's departure.

His teachings to Nero were truly excellent, giving her the power to be a tyrant, but also the compassion to protect her people.

Although she inevitably took her anger out on Christians, she ultimately did not commit the persecution that occurred in history.

But all of this was ruined by another big problem.

"The Blood Queen, the Goddess of Death, the Demon of Britain... that monster named Boudica nearly destroyed most of the Empire's colonial rule in this year."

Locusta's voice was filled with hatred.

That terrible monster, which specifically targeted Rome, ravaged almost all of Rome's colonies within a year.

She visited everything from Britain to Gaul, then to Germania, from Spain to Greece to Asia Minor, and even the colonial capitals of Africa.

And in the capital of each colony, what was done inevitably led to a certain result.

Kill them all, burn them all, let them all go.

Boudica's slaughter was almost unstoppable. After destroying Gaul, she had long become a major threat to the empire. After Nero recovered from a period of turmoil, he also tried to mobilize all his forces to wipe out Boudica!

However, the embarrassing thing is—

The Pantheon's vital forces were all wiped out by Tsurugi, while the Empire's other mystical forces were negligible.

At this point in time, the Clock Tower hasn't even established a specific location yet. The magicians of the Age of Gods have either gone to the Wandering Sea, the Atlas Academy, or traveled around with the Clock Tower's dean, leaving none of the remaining personnel capable of handling this problem.

Adding to Boudica's inherent skill of 'Roman Day of Death', her special attack on the entire empire was written all over her face, and even when Nero found a way to start summoning a large number of local Roman Servants, it was to no avail.

265 >>

None of the Roman Servants who descended and benefited from the local buffs could do anything to Boudica. When he fought his way to Alexandria, even Caesar, who descended as a Rider alongside Cleopatra, was torn apart and devoured by Boudica despite being severely wounded.

As for summoning more power, the Counterforce is no longer willing to engage in such a losing proposition. However, it's likely that it doesn't understand the true intentions of Tsugumi, who created the Blood Queen Boudica.

The more he slaughtered, the stronger he became. By the time the empire's encirclement and suppression began, Boudica's spiritual foundation had already reached an extremely terrifying level, nourished by the deaths of millions of Roman colonists!

It may not reach the beast level, but it's probably already at the level where it can easily reach the ocean of milk.

Rome's centuries-long oppression and rule over its colonies was utterly appalling. After Boudica's rampage, the local barbarians rose up in rebellion and even followed Boudica to fight the Romans.

Therefore, when Boudica's army finally turned its attention to Rome, the entire empire was already truly on the verge of collapse.

In short, Tsugumi missed about an entire singularity's plot!

"How could there be such an unreasonable monster?" Locusta exclaimed, both excited and indignant.

For a rare moment, a look of embarrassment appeared on Tsurugi's face.

But then he inquired about Nero's condition.

Nero was very ambitious and worked very hard, but unfortunately, he just couldn't win.

Boudica's direct attack on Rome prevented Nero from even mobilizing the strength of her other legions. Forced to do so, she had to evacuate all the civilians by boat to avoid disaster, and then, with the nobles who were trying to escape bound, she led the few remaining legions outside the city to fight Boudica.

Who knew that the moment Boudica saw Nero, her 'Roman Anniversary' skill was greatly enhanced, and under the influence of the mysterious black mud, it became several levels stronger, turning her into a mad dog and starting to destroy without regard for the cost.

Nero's legion was defeated, and she herself was seriously wounded. If it weren't for the Christian apostles who stepped forward and chose to die, with expressions of 'I'm finally free' as they chose to fight against the Blood Queen, she wouldn't even have had the chance to be carried back to the city by Locusta.

But what's the point? No one in Rome at that time could stop such a monster. The apostles of Christ might have been able to, but their Lord had prophesied that they should die here as martyrs.

These apostles who fought against Boudica managed to reduce most of her health bar, but she still managed to break into the city.

“Those atheists, although their beliefs and philosophies are unacceptable, their sacrifices are great.”

Listening to Locusta's感慨 (gǎnkǎi, deep feelings of emotion/reflection), Tsugumi felt completely numb.

It feels like—maybe, no, no, this is all my doing!

Before they could finish speaking, Tsugumi had already arrived inside the Pantheon.

The circular temple had been burned to the ground and was now wide open. In the deepest and largest part of the temple, the Temple of Jupiter, Tsurugi sensed two life forces.

He set Locusta aside and immediately entered the temple. The first thing he saw was Boudica, who was covered in blood. Her body looked as if it had been pierced by countless tiny, sharp things, and there were things that looked like wooden thorns in her wounds.

At this moment, she had been beaten to the limit and was on the verge of death, while opposite her was Nero, who was unconscious but otherwise unharmed.

How come Boudica is suddenly about to die?

With a puzzled look on her face, Tsugumi went over and began to cast holy light on Boudica to heal her.

As for what will happen when Boudica wakes up and faces Nero, who cares? We'll deal with that later! At worst, let them keep fighting, kill each other and revive to keep fighting, until either side is satisfied, until either side doesn't want to live anymore!

As long as it's not ravioli, it's fine!