Unlimited Ambition

Kamijou: "...But I've been up all night and I really want to sleep now."

I punched him on the head: "Stop dawdling! I've been up all night too, and I'm sleepy now!"

So, I dragged Kamijou along and ran like the wind, arriving at the Dark Knights' gathering place just before he was about to pass out. A total of 295 elite Dark Knights were ready to go.

"What's going on? They don't look like combat personnel at all." Kamijou muttered to himself as he watched a group of lazy young people, roughly his age, huddled together. Suddenly, with a "whoosh," nearly three hundred Dark Knights all turned their gazes towards him.

Under the moonlight, blue or green eyes gleamed with an ominous light, and a malevolent smile could be vaguely seen. For a moment, Kamijou felt as if he were surrounded by wolves, and cold sweat poured down his back.

I chuckled inwardly, seeing that the boy, Kamijou, was sufficiently intimidated, so I stepped in to smooth things over: "Let me introduce you, this boy's name is Kamijou Touma. Although by Academy City's standards he's just an ordinary Level 0, he possesses what can be considered the greatest Primal Stone ability—"

"Hey, what nonsense are you talking about?" Kamijou tugged at my sleeve and whispered, "What nonsense are you talking about?! What do you mean, the largest Originium?! Isn't that the seventh-ranked LV5 Slicer King?"

I rolled my eyes and whispered to him, "Are you a real idiot or just pretending?! I'm talking about your Imagine Breaker ability, Imagine Breaker!! Compared to your Imagine Breaker, the Slicer Army is nothing."

“But I’m a Level 0…” Kamijou continued.

"That was Aleister's scheme. He's using you as his secret weapon. That's why he deliberately set your level to Lv0. Otherwise, Kamijou, think about it: your right hand is supposed to be an incredibly powerful weapon that can obliterate all illusions! How could it possibly be rated as such an absurd Lv0?"

Seeing that Kamijou looked somewhat skeptical, I continued, "The owner of the largest Primal Stone, 'Imagine Breaker,' is Mr. Kamijou Touma! He is now our ally. Let's give him a round of applause."

Scattered applause broke out. There were also some whistles and jeering. It seemed these guys didn't take Kamijou seriously at all.

"Ahem..." I coughed twice, feigning an apology, and that was the end of it.

"Alright, Kamijou, are you going to participate in the rescue of Sister Osora or not this time?!" As soon as the applause stopped, I chuckled and whispered to Kamijou.

Kamijou sighed, realizing he'd been tricked. But there was nothing he could do. What else could he do but agree?

And so, Kamijou finally changed his mind and joined the side of true justice.

Following this, the Dark Knights, having received external assistance, made contact with their comrades who were conducting reconnaissance. They learned that the Roman Catholic Church's Agnes forces were engaged in combat with the Amakusa-style troops. The Amakusa-style troops, being of untrained origin, were clearly no match for the elite Roman forces and were quickly suppressed.

Tsk, the Amakusa style? I almost forgot about these guys. They haven't contacted us since rediscovering Orsola... seems they still don't quite trust us.

I rolled my eyes: "Don't act rashly. Let's wait until things change before we make our move."

In other words, we'll wait until both sides have completely died before we go and take advantage of the situation.

The Dark Knight has a long history of swindling and cheating. He chuckled after hearing this, clearly understanding.

Kamijou, however, was just an unsuspecting bystander. He didn't even know what I was talking about. He just watched the Dark Knights move at an insane pace, a few hundred people dawdling along like on a school trip, and tried to speak several times, but was always scared back by their "wolf-like eyes." He muttered to himself, but it was all in vain.

By the time the Dark Knights arrived at Agnes's hideout, an abandoned theater on the outskirts of Academy City, flames were already raging, as if they were about to set half the sky ablaze.

I made contact with the Dark Knights who were conducting reconnaissance. I communicated with them telepathically. Then a cold glint flashed in my eyes, followed by a hint of helplessness.

Even from the outskirts, a strong stench of blood could be smelled. Keen-eyed observers could even spot some people lying on the ground in the dim moonlight… but it seemed the attackers had shown mercy. Most of these people only suffered superficial wounds and weren't dead.

I rolled my eyes. I stared at the boy next to me, making him quite uncomfortable. Finally, I let out a barely perceptible sigh.

Damn it, Kanzaki showed up at a time like this. Looks like she still can't forget those Amakusa-style guys.

The power of a single saint was sufficient for such a small-scale battle. The Yannis forces, who had initially held the upper hand, lost all advantage after Kanzaki joined the fight. In contrast, the Amakusa-style troops were incredibly fierce, as if they'd been injected with adrenaline. They quickly breached the outer defenses of Yannis's forces. With a few fire mages throwing fireballs, a massive fire broke out.

It seems there's no room for us to intervene. I rolled my eyes. Then I waved my hand: "Saving lives is the priority, do what you think is best."

The Dark Knights exchanged glances. They had no problem killing people, but saving them... well, His Highness the Crown Prince had given the order, so they had to bite the bullet and go.

Fortunately, it was around two or three in the morning for Lin Chen, the time when most people are sound asleep. Those who stayed up all night were probably too tired to continue and were slumped over their desks. The suburbs were also very quiet. It's possible that Aleister had ordered the area cleared out beforehand. After all, with something so significant happening, he couldn't possibly be unaware.

Wait a minute! Arest knows about this?! Then why isn't he getting involved?! So far, the only one who can barely be considered a representative of Academy City is that dim-witted Kamijou. Considering the Angel Cross incident a few days ago, I already have a very ominous premonition.

Good heavens, did I just make a wasted trip again?!

With that thought in mind, I gritted my teeth and ignored everyone else. I ran straight towards the center of the theater. Along the way, I dealt with the remaining nuns of Agnes's army, showing them mercy. At most, they only suffered concussions from my sword sheath.

Although I felt I had held back, the boy Kamijou, who was running wildly behind me, didn't think so. Watching each beautiful young girl being struck on the forehead with a "thud," Kamijou felt a throbbing pain in his groin. It felt like the scabbard had hit his head. His ribs, which should have healed long ago, also throbbed with pain.

In that short time, Kamijou and I had run about two hundred meters. Seeing that there was no one around, my heart skipped a beat, and I immediately slapped Kamijou away with my sword sheath. I barely dodged the flying wooden wheel.

"Ouch!" As a result, Kamijou fainted.

I made a mistake and used too much force.

I rolled my eyes, then pointed and counted the lightning bolts in the sky, directing them towards the ambush site. Immediately afterward, with a cry of "Ouch!", two nuns, blackened by the electric shock, ran out.

This level of strength is roughly equivalent to that of a typical elite knight. She appears to be a high-ranking member of the enemy army. She's a short, slender girl with a chubby face that makes you want to pinch it. Her golden hair is tied into two braids.

The other one had a good build, with a decent height and bust size. He had a cold expression, short blond hair, and seemed slightly larger than the other one. He was holding a wheel that was disproportionately large for his size. This must be the one who ambushed and knocked out Kamijou earlier (wait, weren't you the one who knocked him out?).

Faced with such an opponent, he had absolutely no desire to fight.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes: "How about we make a deal? Move aside, and I'll let you go."

"Stop joking! Prepare to die!!" After saying this, the wheel girl ran over, holding up her wheel. At the same time, on the other side, the loli-like nun took out a few coins from her pocket: "Show yourself, one of the twelve apostles, the lowly servant who destroyed magicians as a tax collector." Then, with a "bang," she self-destructed.

"Angelina, what are you doing?!" The wheel-wheeled girl, who was fighting fiercely with me, shouted anxiously during a break.

"Sorry, Rukia, I'm still in the midst of my studies, so it's normal to make a few mistakes." The little girl stuck out her tongue and acted cute.

"Rukia? Pretty nice name." At this point, I'd lost all patience for further entanglement. The next moment, the girl with the wheel suddenly realized I'd disappeared from her sight. A jolt of fear shot through her, followed by a sharp pain in her head, and she was knocked unconscious.

After that, I turned around, looked at the little girl called Angelina with ill intent, chuckled, and walked over step by step.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Feelings of Jian Gongzhai

Seeing that the little girl was almost crying from fright, I grabbed a handful of flying items and threw them at her without a second thought.

The result was naturally useless; most of the flying devices malfunctioned, and a few were blocked by the light shield I set up.

The little girl was on the verge of tears as I approached. It was too late to use magic. She could only close her eyes and await her death.

……

The little girl closed her eyes and sobbed, but after a while nothing happened.

The little girl tentatively opened her eyes and saw me bending down, smiling, and getting very close to her face, almost touching the tip of her nose.

The little girl then exclaimed "Ah!" and immediately felt something on her head gently stroking her hair. It felt very comfortable.

I patted the little girl's head, and seeing her blinking and staring blankly at me, I couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Stay here obediently, okay?"

The little girl nodded subconsciously. Then, seeing me withdraw my hand, she seemed a little disappointed for some reason. But she offered no further resistance.

Next up is the boss battle. Of course, I mean Kanzaki and I are the bosses. As for the opponent... a half-baked mage, Agnes Santis.

The outcome couldn't be more obvious, right? In fact, I didn't even need to lift a finger. When I arrived at the place where Agnes and Kanzaki were fighting, I saw that Kanzaki had already slashed Agnes down with the back of her sword.

"You guys...aren't you afraid of the Roman Catholic Church's retaliation?" Agnes was still being stubborn even after losing, though one of her eyes was swollen from being punched by Kanzaki. She looked quite comical at that moment.

So I laughed: "Pfft..."

"What's so funny?!" Agnes raised her voice a little, which aggravated her wound, causing her to cry out in pain.

"What's so funny?" I said to her.

It's strange, really. This girl spoke to me in English, mixed with Berber, Albanian, and other less common languages. But not her native Italian. Her voice, however, had a very strong Italian accent.

"Do you hate Italy?" I asked.

“Is there anything wrong with hating a hateful country?” Agnes replied.

"I heard you're quite a devout priest. You even use your salary to print Bibles. Do you really like the Roman Catholic Church?" I continued.

“…” Agnes nodded firmly: “After all, it was the Roman Catholic Church that took me in while I was wandering after my parents were killed.”

So I couldn't help but laugh again.

"What's so funny?!" Agnes was truly enraged this time. She stood up, supporting herself with both hands on a silver staff topped with a lotus flower design. "This is my faith! An absolutely inviolable faith!! What do you heretics know?!"

Seeing this guy so badly injured yet still trying to stand up, I felt a little sorry for him. I sighed softly, then took Kanzaki's hand, signaling her not to speak.

Then, with a smirk, I said, "The Roman Catholic Church secretly controls the Italian government."

Then I saw that Agnes was stunned, motionless, staring blankly at me.

"So it's really funny. The thing you hate the most, and the thing you love the most, is just one thing."

After I finished speaking, I laughed again.

"Stop laughing!!!" Agnes roared, her battered body barely holding on as she raised her staff with one hand: "Liar! Everything you've said is a lie!! I absolutely won't believe it!!!"

Believe it or not, I rolled my eyes and released Kanzaki's hand: "I'm just stating the facts. Besides, given my status, why would I lower myself to deceive a girl like you?"

The way I said it made Kanzaki roll her eyes. She'd been with me the longest, so naturally she knew I was a master at saying one thing to one person and another to another. Sometimes, even when both humans and ghosts were together, I could speak in a way that was neither human nor ghost and still not give myself away.

However, Kanzaki is still one of my people, and I wouldn't do something like openly undermining her. Besides, what I said is indeed true. The Roman Catholic Church has a significant influence on the Italian government. So, what I said isn't entirely wrong.

The power of shattered dreams is truly immense. Agnes collapsed instantly. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted. I went over to check on her; she was still breathing. It seemed she had only been overcome by extreme anger and was otherwise unharmed.

I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it's true that it's okay to annoy people. Even if it kills someone, it's just one less stab in the back. But to annoy a lovely girl to death is a much bigger sin. It might even send you to hell.

Only after that did I stand up, turn around and walk to Kanzaki's side, take her hand, and say with a hint of reproach, "Why are you here?"

Kanzaki snorted softly, unusually throwing a tantrum, and forcefully pulled her hand away: "If I hadn't come, the Amakusa-style people would probably have been killed by your schemes."

I chuckled, but I felt really upset inside. I never expected that the usually gentle Kanzaki would argue with me over this.

Thinking of this, the idea of ​​wiping out all the Amakusa-style people resurfaced. My killing intent grew stronger, but my smile deepened. I gripped Kanzaki's hand again, refusing to let go: "Nothing happened, right? They were the same, rushing out to rescue people without contacting us. Come to think of it, it's because they don't trust me."

As I say this, it sounds like I've been wronged.

Kanzaki scoffed, "You're not trustworthy to begin with." Deep down, however, she believed a little of what I said, secretly blaming the Amakusa-style group for being overly cautious. They didn't seem to consider my reputation outside. Besides, they were ready to fight on the spot. There was no way the Amakusa-style group would trust me.

"What should we do with this guy? Should we capture him?" Kanzaki and I chatted for a while longer before Kanzaki pointed to Agnes lying on the ground and asked.

"Never mind that for now. Let's leave her here. It's not the time to confront the Roman Catholic Church yet," I thought for a moment and replied. At the same time, I asked, "Where is Orsola? And is the Book of Law safe?"

“Don’t worry, I rescued that nun beforehand. The Book of Law is with her. I’ve entrusted it to Amakusa for safekeeping,” Kanzaki replied.

Hearing her say that, I almost fainted. This spendthrift old woman, is she messing with me?! She knows perfectly well I don't get along with the Amakusa gang. Who knows, my mission is going to go wrong again. Damn it.

Kanzaki noticed my change in expression and immediately understood what I was thinking. She felt a little embarrassed. But honestly, it wasn't her fault. It was my own fault that the Amakusa-style people got there first.

"Forget it, let's talk to the Amakusa-style people again. What was that uncle's name again? Kenmiya Saiji?"

As I said this, I pulled Kanzaki's hand and walked out. We exited the now-empty theater. But as soon as we came out, we saw the Dark Knight and Amakusa's group facing off. The Dark Knight, with its superior numbers, had Amakusa's group surrounded. And in the very center of that center, wasn't that little scatterbrain, Orsora?

Her clothes were disheveled, and there were several bruises on her face, as if she had been abused. But the Amakusa-style person, with this posture, seemed to be about to die a glorious death.

Kanzaki and I exchanged a glance, then immediately ran over. The Dark Knights, not daring to offend those around me, parted to let Kanzaki pass. I then found the captain of this large group and asked, "What's going on?"

"Your Highness," the Dark Knight captain bowed first, then said with some resentment, "It's all because of these heretics. The original agreement stated that Orsola and the Book of Law would be handed over to us. But these guys changed their minds halfway through. Of course, the brothers wouldn't stand for it. If it weren't for Lord Kanzaki's sake, they would have already started fighting."

Hearing him say that, my dissatisfaction with Amakusa-style people only intensified. They were truly a group of arrogant fools. A prince of the Holy Land, humiliated by a bunch of country bumpkins—who would believe it? If it weren't for Kanzaki's sake, there might have been a massacre here.