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"Watch out, a new attack is coming!" Jeanne warned Gisela loudly, her expression grave as she looked at the bushes opposite.
The four of them scrambled away from their previous spot, and a new white light exploded not far from them.
"This powerful magic cannon... the opponent has a magic user." Years of combat experience allowed Jeanne to quickly assess the opponent's strength.
As if to confirm Jeanne's words, countless soldiers in dark uniforms and several black magical armors emerged from the bushes, their Saint Stephen crown-style badges on their shoulders particularly glaring. They launched a massive attack on the surviving soldiers and staff of the Royal Train.
PS1: Ra!
Chapter 376 The Fall of Saint Stephen's Crown: Capter 92 Gisela's Martial Virtue (Seeking Votes)
As if to confirm Jeanne's words, countless soldiers in dark uniforms and several black magical armors surged out of the bushes, their Saint Stephen crown-style badges on their shoulders particularly glaring. They launched a massive attack on the surviving soldiers and staff of the Royal Train.
"Hungarian rebels?" Gisela couldn't think of anyone else besides those rebels who would still be using that symbol.
"These cowards dare to fight back?" Jeanne rubbed her silver hair and complained somewhat discontentedly.
When she dealt with those Hungarian divisions, they didn't dare to resist at all, which is understandable since Jeanne was in the air then, piloting a magic-powered armor.
But things are different now. Even for a mage without a mage armor, it is not easy to deal with a mage pilot's mage armor, let alone multiple opponents.
"Giselle Louise Marie, I heard you were quite the big shot in Budapest." At this moment, a white magical armor slowly descended from the sky, its ability to fly proving that it was also a magical user.
"Taking advantage of my absence from Budapest to attack us, you really know how to do it." The woman raised her hand and slammed her fist heavily into the train behind her, now a pile of scrap metal, her eyes filled with rage.
“I was wondering what your trump card was in launching this coup. I thought you would stand by and watch, protecting your own interests, but I didn’t expect you to get involved.” Gisela observed the woman in front of her calmly. To onlookers, the princess seemed to have anticipated all of this.
It is worth mentioning that the Austro-Hungarian Empire nominally had ten magical users: Empress Elisabeth, Selena, Gisela, Gisela's two older sisters Lana and Liana, and Trotlov of the Navy. It is worth mentioning that they were all loyal to the royal family, since the vast majority of them came from the royal family.
Of the remaining four, one was from Croatia, one from Slovakia, and two from Hungary. Logically, during the Hungarian uprising of 1867, Hungary alone was insufficient to counter Vienna's power. However, the Hungarians persuaded various ethnic groups in Translethalia, including Croatia and Slovakia, to unite against Vienna, and Gisela was not yet ready to act. Therefore, the power balance was five against four. Ultimately, Joseph, lacking confidence, was forced to sign the dualistic agreement, a symbol of compromise and humiliation.
This time is different. After all, Gisela had already won the support of two magic users, Croatia and Slovakia, in the initial propaganda war. So before Gisela launched her attack, the strength ratio between Austria and Hungary was eight to two (not counting Jeanne and her group). This only considers magic users, not to mention the number and quality of their armies, as well as their industrial and economic strength. Therefore, Gisela really didn't think the Hungarians could cause any trouble.
The sporadic uprisings in various places were easily suppressed, and the main force of the Magyar noble rebels, who were holed up in eastern Hungary, suffered repeated defeats. So Gisela thought that the two Hungarian magicians were either firmly trapped there or remained silent. Who would have thought that they would decide to fight to the death with him? But this is fine too. Loyalty that is not absolute is absolutely disloyal. Since he cannot win them over, there is no need to waste time trying to please them.
“Your abandonment of your companions to ambush me won’t change the fact that you Hungarians are doomed to failure.” Gisela gently drew his sword and planted it in the ground.
"Hmph! By killing you, we can regain more support and launch a new counterattack." The Hungarian magic user roared almost maniacally, seemingly trapped in a fallacy she considered reasonable.
“Wake up! The Hungarian era is over. From the moment you overdraw trust, betrayed your comrades-in-arms Croatia and Slovakia, who once stood with you in the same trenches, and began the Magyarization of Translethalia, you were destined to fail. All I did was ignite their hatred for you.” And indeed, Gisela’s words proved true. His death would not revive the Kingdom of Hungary; instead, it would solidify Emperor Joseph’s resolve to suppress the Magyars. They would ultimately face even more frenzied retaliation from Vienna, this time not only from the Austrians, but from the hatred of four-fifths of the Empire’s population.
"Shut up! Shut up! Die!" The Hungarian magic user piloted her magic armor into the sky, then picked up her scimitar and swooped down towards Gisela. Relying on her immense gravitational potential energy, she could easily cleave her opponents on the ground in two.
"Jeanne, take them and get out of here! I'll handle this." Gisela's golden hair gradually faded, and the blue flames generated by her magical energy expanded further. Her scarlet eyes held an unquestionable expression as she commanded Jeanne.
“But…” Jeanne had witnessed Richelieu’s passivity when dealing with the magic armor, and that was only the magic armor piloted by a magic user. So she really couldn’t believe that Gisela could fight a magic user wearing magic armor with her bare hands.
“This is an order.” Gisela’s words were without the slightest hesitation. To fight to protect his woman, even if it meant dying for her, was not a regret for a man, but rather an unparalleled honor. Of course, Gisela had her reasons; forcibly sending her away was not her style.
It's important to understand that Gisela's power doesn't entirely come from the legacy of Western magic users, but rather from that ancient Eastern empire. In that land, there were no advanced things like magic armor in the past. Each generation of princesses protected the country with their own flesh and blood, just like Su Beiming hundreds of years ago.
"Understood." Jeanne didn't say anything more, and prepared to leave with Rita.
“Then may Your Highness be forever blessed by Saint Michael.” Aponia Gisela bowed and then turned to leave.
"Your Highness!" Rita cried out, struggling to break free from Jeanne's grip, but Jeanne wouldn't give her that chance. She watched helplessly as Gisela's figure receded into the distance and disappeared from sight.
Soon after, the Hungarian mage crashed into the ground, causing a huge tremor. Smoke and dust instantly enveloped the area. Due to the obstructed vision, Hungarian tried to fly into the air again. Just as she burst out of the smoke, Gisela, who had jumped up to dodge earlier, was about to land. A leg strike followed naturally.
PS1: Ra!
Chapter 377 The Fall of Saint Stephen's Crown: Capter93 An Ant Trying to Shake a Tree (Seeking Votes)
"Bang!" Gisela's leg strike slammed heavily onto the shield of the magic armor, causing the entire armor to shake violently before crashing into the ground like a meteorite, creating a terrifying crater.
However, Gisela wasn't feeling too good either. The pain of her broken bones struck her instantly, causing her expression to become unusually distorted.
"You madman, actually using your bare hands to fight against magic armor!" The Hungarian woman struggled to her feet, only to see Gisela kneeling on the ground, her legs bent from a fracture. Gisela's calves were deformed; her legs, which she had once narcissistically described as legs she could lick raw in stockings, were now covered in bruises and swelling.
"When facing an opponent, one should go all out." In her silver-haired mode, although she can use magic to heal her fractures and her wounds can be restored with her powerful regenerative abilities, the physical pain is still very real.
"Is that so? Then I'd be happy to finish you off myself." The Hungarian mage gently raised her hand, signaling her subordinates not to attack, and then gripped her weapon again, launching a new attack on Gisela.
The clanging and thumping of metal created a rhythmic drumbeat. Each of her opponent's deadly attacks was skillfully parried by Gisela, though at the cost of repeated fractures and dislocations. The intense pain repeatedly sent signals to her central nervous system, causing her eyes to become bloodshot.
"Yes, yes, Your Highness, seeing you struggle so desperately, and the almost distorted expression on your face, I feel incredibly gratified." Nothing is more gratifying than seeing the pained expression of the person you hate. After all, some hatred cannot be alleviated by a simple act of killing. Clearly, the Hungarian woman was extremely pleased at this moment.
"Tsk." With Gisela's click of her tongue, she spun around in the air before landing back on the ground. She then concentrated her magical energy into her fist and unleashed a blue-glowing attack that slammed into the shield of the Hungarian magical armor, producing a loud bang.
"Crack." Gisela's arm snapped again before the naked eye could even register, unable to withstand the immense energy and impact. The horrific scene caused many of the Hungarians present to close their eyes; after all, watching a beautiful woman's arm break was hardly a pleasant experience.
"Enough, you bug!" The woman forcefully knocked the Saint Stephen's sword out of Gisela's hand, then grabbed her by the neck with one hand and roughly lifted her up.
“Although this is the first time I’ve killed a magic user, there’s always a first time. I can’t wait to see the twisted expression on your father’s face when he sees your corpse, and the thought of your Habsburg line ending.” The Hungarian woman said coldly to Gisela, and then applied even more force to Gisela’s neck.
"Look at you, with that seductive look of a vixen. You could have solved your problems in bed like your ancestors, but you insisted on coming to the battlefield and taking the lead, and now you want to oppose us." Seemingly having the upper hand, the Hungarian sorcerer mocked Gisela with sarcastic and incessant words.
Gisela didn't speak, but slowly raised her right hand and focused her attention on her right index finger. Soon, a small blue flame ignited.
“Even a mayfly can…shake a tree.” Gisela bit her lip and placed her index finger into the gap of her magic armor. She had experience with this; in a small village in northern Italy, she had used this trick against a French magic user.
"Struggle in your death throes, just die!" The Hungarian woman's tone became somewhat impatient. She quickly slammed Gisela, whom she had grabbed, into the ground. The immense force created a small crater in the ground. Faced with such force, an ordinary person would undoubtedly have become a pile of minced meat. Of course, Gisela, as a magic user, was not having an easy time.
"Pfft!" Gisela spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling as if her internal organs were churning and her blood vessels were being twisted into a tangled mess.
"I've decided. It'll be faster to use this knife than to crush you." With that, she swung down the white-glowing scimitar heavily. The scimitar sliced through the air with a terrifying sound, but the blade, which could have easily killed Gisela, stopped just inches away from the girl's delicate neck.
"Is that so?" Gisela's lips curled up slightly. Clearly, her method of using the foxfire of the magic armor to dismantle the magic armor from the inside had succeeded once again. She entered the magic energy circulation channel through the gaps in the armor, eventually reaching the heat dissipation vent, and then completely paralyzing the entire armor from there.
This tactic has no practical value in actual combat, because it's simply unrealistic to get close enough to an opponent's magic armor and then, taking them by surprise, infuse that power into it. However, the opponents' repeated carelessness and the common misconception that magic users wearing magic armor can easily defeat other magic users have allowed Gisela's trick to succeed time and again, making it her trump card for defeating stronger opponents.
"What have you done!" the Hungarian woman roared, trying to keep her magic armor moving, but no matter how much magic she poured into it, the armor remained motionless.
“A mediocre person should act like a mediocre person.” Gisela’s purple eyes were filled with disdain as she forcefully pried open the hand that was holding her neck in the magic armor and struggled to her feet.
Gisela only then realized that she was in quite a sorry state; her clothes were torn, she was covered in wounds, and even her skin seemed to be partially visible. But now was not the time to care about such things.
Even if they successfully dealt with the enemy's magic users, there were still hundreds of soldiers and several metal lumps piloted by magic users in front of them.
"Kill her right now!" The Hungarian woman, standing like a statue, roared noisily, but none of her men dared to step forward. After all, she had defeated the magic armor with just her bare hands, and they didn't know what other trump cards this powerful princess had up her sleeve.
Gisela was about to raise her hand to attack when a tremendous tearing sensation in her body caused her to kneel on the ground once again.
Why does she feel somewhat powerless? Unlike the sense of fullness she used to feel in this state, Gisela now only feels her body becoming increasingly clumsy.
In fact, Su Beiming's power, though seemingly inexhaustible, is not limitless. It needs to be restored periodically in conjunction with the phases of the moon. The depletion of magical energy caused by his recent overuse has naturally come to Gisela's attention.
PS1: It's almost the weekend again 0v0!
Chapter 378 The Fall of St. Stephen's Crown: Capter 94 The Hero Arrives (Vote Requested)
"Tsk!" Gisela muttered under her breath, watching the magic armor gradually raise its gun and turn its cannon. Gisela sighed helplessly. So her strength was ultimately limited after all? However, her record of fighting the magic armor with her bare hands was enough for her to brag about for a lifetime, provided that she survived.
"Attack!" With the command shouted by the Hungarian officer, artillery and bullets flew toward Gisela, and then a huge explosion resounded across the open space, uprooting the surrounding trees.
Gisela raised her hand to activate her shield, wanting to make one last desperate attempt, since surrender was not an option in her vocabulary.
Thick smoke rose from the explosion, and at that critical moment, a hand suddenly appeared from behind her, grabbed her waist, and carried her into the sky. At that moment, Gisela could feel her body breaking free from the ground and the pull of gravity.
Who is it? This was the question Gisela most urgently wanted to ask. Chloris? No! She's in Berlin now. Jeanne? Impossible, she, Rita, and Aponia couldn't have gotten to Vienna so quickly. Although it's less than five kilometers from the outskirts of Vienna, it's still a considerable distance on foot, especially since they've only been walking for less than fifteen minutes. So who could it be?
As Gisela thought about these things, she turned around and saw a woman wearing a mask that looked like a Venetian masquerade mask. Although she couldn't be sure of her appearance, her bright eyes were so familiar.
"Thank you for your help. May I ask your name, miss?" Gisela's purple eyes gradually faded, and her hair returned to its original color.
Unfortunately, the woman holding her didn't speak. She simply shook her head slightly and then aimed the magic armor's cannons at the area where the Hungarians were gathered. While the armor was French in appearance, it had a Sardinian influence compared to French weaponry, and the cannon barrels were British. The overly mixed and bizarre design and combination made it impossible for Gisela to determine the equipment's origin.
As white light burst forth from the cannon muzzle, countless beams of magical energy crashed to the ground like meteors, engulfing everything on the ground—people, train wreckage, and magical armor—into the raging flames.
As for whether the Hungarian woman lived or died? Gisela had no interest in caring at the moment.
"Your Highness, where would you like to go next?" The woman's overly calm and stern voice sounded exceptionally familiar to Gisela, but she just couldn't recall where the voice came from.
"Send me to Vienna. While my wounds haven't healed, I can still make use of them." Despite her serious injuries, Gisela didn't seem like a wounded person at all, with an incredibly calm smile still on her lips.
"Yes, Your Highness." With that, the woman took Gisela and flew towards Vienna.
Meanwhile, the upper house of the Vienna Imperial Diet.
Joseph, who had just recovered from a serious illness, had no time to rest before hastily summoning the empire's nobles to discuss the matter of his daughter abolishing the Hungarian Parliament.
This act, almost entirely bypassing his own authority, was, to some extent, a challenge to the very power of Emperor Joseph. Had it been anyone else, Joseph could have easily dismissed or exiled them, but it was his own daughter who did it. More importantly, it abolished the Hungarian Parliament. Restoring the unity of the empire had always been something he wanted to do, but he didn't know how.
His daughter not only accomplished this, but she did it exceptionally well, which put Joseph in a somewhat delicate position. He was now unsure whether to praise or criticize her. The meeting was bound to happen sooner or later, but it shouldn't be now, because his daughter's overly arbitrary behavior had already infringed upon the interests of many nobles.
"Gentlemen, do you think what Governor Gisela Louise Marie of Translettania did in Budapest was reasonable, and what measures should the Empire take to deal with the possible rebellion by the Hungarians?" Joseph slowly rose from his throne, looking solemnly at the hundreds of cornerstones of the Empire's rule before him.
“Your Highness, since we’ve already started, why don’t we go all the way and completely wipe out those noisy Magyars?” The first to stand up was a nobleman serving in the military. These military nobles generally held Gisela in high regard. After all, contrary to her delicate appearance, this princess possessed a talent for warfare and a unique strategic vision, all of which aligned perfectly with their values and interests.
After all, nothing is more suitable to represent the interests of the army than a royal heir with martial virtue.
“No! This will cause internal strife within the empire. Our most urgent task now is to stabilize the situation in the Kingdom of Hungary. First, to show our sincerity, we should have Her Highness release the detained Hungarian nobles and allow the army suppressing the riots to slow down its offensive.” A middle-aged man with the demeanor of a civil official stood up and refuted the other party’s point of view.
“You weaklings, don’t you understand that rebellion is inevitable? At this point, it’s pointless to offer such a hypocritical compromise. The only way to deal with force is to resort to force.”
The two sides quickly took sides and began arguing and debating.
Joseph sat back down with a sigh, rubbing his forehead as he watched the argument below.
Just then, the doors of the council slowly opened, and a young girl, covered in wounds and looking weak and disheveled, staggered into the hall.
Have you ever had this experience as a child? When you were bullied by someone stronger than you and couldn't solve the problem on your own, what was the first thing that came to your mind? Did you tell the teacher? Or your parents? Or did you seek help from an older sibling? But no matter what, when you know your own strength is limited, asking for help is not something that children would find shameful.
Following this line of thought, there are actually similar aspects in adult logic, such as standing up for a junior member in a gang, or asking a senior colleague with whom you have a good relationship for help after being suppressed by other competitors in the workplace.
Gisela is now trying to do something similar, but she wants to mobilize not just a company or an individual, but an entire class and a nation to stand up for her.
The nobles present, initially puzzled, looked at the disheveled figure who entered the hall before frowning.
Because of the distance, many people couldn't clearly see who the girl was. However, this didn't stop them from expressing disdain for the figure beneath their friendly smiles, or complaining about the dereliction of duty by the guard who had abandoned his post—why put such an inappropriate girl in this noble and sacred place?
PS1: Ra!
Chapter 379 The Fall of St. Stephen's Crown: Capter 95 The Fox's Performance (Seeking Votes)
Gisela, clutching her bleeding wound with one hand and using her scabbard for support, staggered along the central path of the hall. Crimson blood slowly trickled down her wound, dripping onto the white marble floor. Her golden hair was disheveled, her fox ears drooped, and her usually lively tail hung limply as well. If you looked closely, you could even see a charred patch on her tail (which she had set on fire herself, of course).
Just then, the two soldiers who opened the door for Gisela shouted, "Princess Gisela Louise Marie has returned!"
"She's our princess!?"
"Impossible! How could the jewel in our Austrian crown have become like this?" Such voices immediately filled the hall. Almost all the nobles in the 109 seats stood up. Now they just wanted to increase their height so that they could observe and confirm more clearly whether the swaying girl in the distance was their princess.
When Emperor Joseph heard Gisela's name, he suddenly looked up and saw a wounded girl walking towards him in the distance. His eyes were filled with pity and anger.
Rudolf's tragedy had become an unforgettable shadow in his life. Now, seeing his second daughter in the same state, the emperor was furious. Disregarding his dignity, he stood up and decisively left his seat, then walked towards Gisela under the watchful eyes of his ministers and members of parliament.
As Emperor Joseph approached, Gisela's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile, for she knew that her adoptive father still cared for her. Thinking of this, Gisela deliberately stumbled forward as if falling to the ground. The middle-aged man opposite her, his face showing a hint of panic, hurriedly pulled off his shawl, which was hindering his movement, and rushed towards Gisela, catching her in his arms before she collapsed.
"Go and summon the royal physician!" Joseph's words echoed in the council. This time, not a single nobleman present objected to or misunderstood the emperor's roar. They all returned to their seats and refocused their attention on the center of the hall.
"Little Gisela, are you alright? Who hurt you? Tell me quickly." Emperor Joseph knelt on the ground and gently held Gisela in his arms, stroking her cheek and checking her wounds.
"I'm fine, Father. I was just ambushed by some... Hungarian... villains on my way back." Gisela's voice trembled slightly. Although there was some acting involved, the pain in her body was real. Now, seeing the gentle middle-aged man in front of her, Gisela felt that her performance was very natural, without any awkwardness, whether it was due to her own subjective reasons or the influence of her body's instincts.
"By the way, Father! I wasn't late today, was I?" Gisela didn't think that acting like she was dying would evoke Joseph's sympathy, so she did the opposite. She gently placed her hand on Joseph's face, gave the old emperor a smile, and then fell into a "sleep".
"Don't worry about the child, you should rest well first. Your father will definitely deal with the person who hurt you today." After saying this, Joseph picked up Gisela and handed her to a beautiful black-haired physician who had arrived, before continuing his steps toward the high platform in the center of the council.
"Gentlemen, look at this!" After taking a deep breath, Joseph raised her hands, which were now completely stained crimson with blood. At this moment, the expressions of all the nobles present became extremely solemn.
"This is blood! This is the blood that flows in our veins, the blood that sustains our lives!" Joseph shouted in a tone he had never used before.
"Whose blood is this? Is it yours? Or yours?" Joseph scanned the two nobles, who had been arguing incessantly, with his icy gaze.
"Neither! This is my daughter's blood, and the blood flowing in her veins is also my blood, the blood of our Habsburg family, filled with six hundred years of dignity and glory! You are fighting to the death here for some petty calculations, while my daughter is shedding blood and sacrificing herself for you, for this empire!"
“Rudolf! My only son has died in Italy, and what about you? You’re sitting here talking about morality, about mercy, about reconciliation with Hungary? Those laughable Magyar herders, they think they’re something now, don’t they?” Joseph raised his arm into the air.
"When the proud Hungarians were defeated by the Turks and their country was destroyed, who took them in? Who struggled to uphold the glory of God? Who formed the Holy Alliance to counterattack the Ottomans? Did the Hungarians reclaim the lands of central Hungary, Transylvania, Slavonia, and Dalmatia on their own? No! It was thanks to the blood of countless imperial soldiers and the collective efforts of one Habsburg emperor after another!"
"Four years ago, I was ridiculous and arrogant. In my helplessness and compromise, I tried to believe that by giving up these lands to the jackals of the Magyars, I could satisfy them and make them behave themselves. But I found that I was wrong. I have never been so completely wrong as I am now."
“They not only harbor malicious intentions and want to overthrow our rule, but they also want to harm my family.” Joseph clenched his fist.
"Gentlemen, as you have all seen, we cannot pin our hopes on reconciliation with those ingrates. The only way is to completely crush these thugs. We have now accomplished half of that, and the remaining half depends on your support so that we can completely eliminate these Hungarian rebels and bring new life to this country!" Joseph's voice echoed in the huge parliament hall. This emperor, known for his diligence but ultimately leading to the decline of his country due to his lack of ability, made the most correct decision of his life today, at this moment, with a determination he had never had before.
"Long live your Majesty!"
Long live Austria!
"Long live the Empire!" The nobles stood up and raised their hands to express their support and recognition for the emperor. The end of the Hungarian nobility had truly arrived.
Outside the parliament hall at this moment —
A woman named Harriet Mata was leaning against the wall, listening to Emperor Joseph's impassioned speech inside the room. She was wearing a white robe and brown glasses. If you looked closely, you would easily notice that her attire was almost identical to that of the royal physician who had previously received Gisela.
"Your Highness, congratulations. You have enabled your father to take a very decisive and correct step." Marta pushed up her glasses, looking at the girl who was standing against the wall with a slight smile on her lips.
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