Road to Glory [Interstellar]

"Give me a library and a laboratory, and I'll be content for the rest of my life," Royce once said to his sister.That was before the previous life, when he was already 25 years old, and he was suffering from Irene's daily urge to marry him.

Although he said it confidently, Royce knew that it was a complete lie.The smoother the communication with numbers and codes, the feeling of powerlessness that may be called "loneliness" in his heart-he himself is not sure whether it should be defined as such-is getting stronger.This is true no matter which time and space or world you are in.

In his previous life, after becoming a mecha master, Royce owned a bionic mecha.The intelligent brain inside the machine can be regarded as an artificial intelligence that can communicate with him smoothly, but Royce is not satisfied.He felt that the other party was too stupid and timid.

In my world, I probably need a life whose way of thinking is exactly the same as mine, otherwise there will be no long-term fun.Probably sentient beings are unavoidable-after all, they are eager to embrace the outside world that has nothing to do with them.

It's unimaginable.

Royce played back in his mind the first face-to-face with Gustav in his previous life.At that time, the other party had become the king's assistant and came to the third planet to sign the truce agreement—the truce agreement that was torn up after only two weeks.Although they exchanged fire on the battlefield many times, there was only one real face-to-face conversation.In fact, it was Gustav who asked to meet him.

"You should have been on the battlefield earlier." The other party said, "You should have been flying in the universe."

At that time, I was just silent.But unlike this life, Gustav at that time just smiled. "Don't want to talk? It doesn't matter. We are enemies from the beginning, and you are not the one who will change your position because of other people's words, right? There is nothing to talk about between you and me. I just want to meet the one who can fight on the battlefield It's just someone who checks and balances my No. [-] machine."

Why don't I want to see you?To me, you're the only Imperial warcaster who deserves the title "tricky".However, you are not just an excellent mecha master; you are a successful usurper and an excellent politician.

Although I don't want to admit it, you are indeed the person I fear and yearn for.

Royce shook his head, pulling himself back to reality.

The person in front of him is indeed Gustav, but it seems to be different from the person he imagined.The tricky enemy who can be evenly matched with him on the battlefield seems to be synchronized with him only in terms of combat thinking.Maybe it's because he's too young, Royce speculated about the older man in front of him. "Gustav," he asked, "if you and I were separated, would you betray your mother country and join the enemy?"

"No." Gustav replied quickly, "People should not go down. In this galaxy, there is no country that has the power to rival the Principality of Ryan. You should also know this. And the first Three planets...with all due respect, you don’t have a good reputation.”

"for example?"

Gustav approached Royce.In the other's calm blue eyes, Royce saw the same calm himself.Immediately afterwards, he realized that his arm was being held.The feeling of being touched was so unfamiliar that Royce felt uncomfortable; but the other's grip was so tight that it was almost impossible for him to break free.

"For example, you disregard the interstellar conventions to study biological weapons, and you treat people as test subjects. Look at your own arm. It is impossible for a human being with normal body functions to continue to bleed after treating the wound." Gu Staff frowned in disgust, "The Principality of Ryan has never done anything similar, and I have no way of investigating it. However, as a soldier, you have been implanted with parts that do not belong to humans in your blood and body. Right?"

Royce didn't answer right away.On this sensitive topic, the other party is right: most of the soldiers on the third planet have implants in their bodies.And it's not suitable for me to talk about this, after all, a little careless speech may provide clues to the other party. "Joining the military is a matter of our own will, and it's not so scary that you don't know about it," he explained.

Gustav raised his eyebrows and let go of Royce's injured arm. "It sounds like you are like a group of patriotic young people who are willing to devote themselves, even if your enthusiasm is used, you don't care. So, what do you think? For the mother country that abandoned you."

"First of all, I want to clarify one point. We did not release biological and chemical weapons on other planets, so we did not violate the convention. No, in fact, so far, the third planet has not exported diseases, nor exported wars. The most important thing is ,” Royce raised his head slightly and looked at Gustav, “We didn’t point fingers at other countries.”

Tell other countries what to do - in a sense, this is what the Principality of Lane is passionate about.

"What you said is good, but it's useless." Gustav didn't feel embarrassed, but simply said, "No one cares about the truth. For example, if the Principality of Ryan is replaced by your country tomorrow Everyone will think that we are right and just to launch a war on the grounds of violating the convention. After all, your 'secret' is terrifying."

"Justice?" Royce repeated the word.He remembered what the princess of the previous life had said to him. "In the Principality of Ryan, officers from the middle class cannot be promoted to high positions. Those who control the army are young masters of noble origin like you. The so-called correctness and justice have not been realized even within the Principality of Ryan." He shook his head. Shaking his head, "If you have studied mathematics, you should know that functions with wrong coefficients cannot be used to analyze problems."

Gustav felt the ridicule from the other party.However, he smiled sincerely, with a bit of interest and appreciation in his smile. "Although the positions are different, you are actually an interesting guy. Now I really plan to keep you by my side as a deputy."

"Well. You intend to order my execution."

Gustav laughed. "You don't have to say it. You see, you're too smart to have a pleasant conversation with people if you don't hold back your words."

Royce shrugged. "I meant to mention that you haven't changed your mind now, but since you said so, I won't mention that."

You have already said it.Gustav raised his forehead. "I really don't understand. You come from a country with insufficient power but a strong attitude, and the people in power in this country have abandoned you. But you don't seem to be going to turn from the dark to the bright. Or is it because of a personality cult? Protecting your princess in front of others has personal feelings, so..."

"Your Highness, she is a scheming person. She is gentle, beautiful, and intelligent, and she can be willingly become a pawn and die for her. It is a pity that those people probably will not know her true thoughts until they die."

"What?" Gustav frowned.He also looked at that dangerous little girl in the same way, but he didn't expect that Royce would state this cruel fact in such a calm tone.

Royce turned to Gustave. "I understand," he said, "I understand what it's like to be in power. But my attitude has little to do with her."

I still clearly remember what Christine said to me in the previous life.At that time, the other party had become the queen, and a decree was issued to delegate some powers to the common people.

[Look, Royce.The soldiers who are working hard and fighting outside the window, or the ordinary people outside the military department who maintain our peaceful life, are the forces that push the third planet forward.I'm just temporarily sitting on the throne and walking down with everyone.But how could this individual named "king" be more important than the tens of thousands of people belonging to the "people". 】

"This thing called 'country' is not equal to the person who controls it. If the planet and the people living on it do not exist, then this 'country' will cease to exist."

"So," Gustav understood what the other party meant, "do you care about the people living on the third planet?"

Royce smiled at him.It was one of the few smiles he gave others. "To be honest, I only care about scientific research. But I need a place that I can return to and can be named 'home', and my relatives also need it; this place can't be done if it's not the third planet." He lifted Pointing to his own face, "The difference between us is obvious. I am a person from the third planet, and I do not belong to the most powerful country in the galaxy where you are. If I stay here, then my name will be Become a 'traitor', not a Lane Duchy."

If...if, like in the previous life, the third planet was reduced to the point of destroying the country, then everyone's name would become "slave".

Thinking of this, Royce's eyes turned cold.

Keeping that firm gaze with chills in mind, Gustav turned and walked out of the cell.

When he stepped out of this corridor, Carmen greeted him and asked him, "How is your chat?"

"My plan is to carry out the execution in four days."

Carmen's eyes widened in shock; but she recovered quickly. "Although it's a little bit sooner, it's not bad before the New Year." Probably out of curiosity, she lowered her voice and asked, "Have you lost interest in this person?"

Gustav glanced at Carmen.

I have not lost interest.Even, my desire to know "Royce" is stronger than before.

However, this is a guy who won't compromise.If the other party is alive, I will have to treat it carefully all the time, and a little negligence may bring changes to the things I plan.

"This is a big trouble, it's better to kill it now." Gustav said, his right hand touched his chest involuntarily.