My Apocalypse System Arrives 10 Years Early

Chapter 457: Chapter 306: The Seven Kings’ Crown is Complete

”It was this Charlemagne’s father, Pepin the Short, who ended the rule of our Merovingian Clan.”

Erin de Merovingian sighed softly. But that was all ancient history from over a thousand years ago. No dynasty in history has ever lasted forever, so Erin felt no great hatred or resentment, only a sense of wistfulness.

In the great river of time, even the most prosperous families eventually face their decline.

In 751 AD, the Carolingian Clan replaced the Merovingian Clan, officially taking the throne of the Frankish Kingdom. During their subsequent golden age, the Carolingian Clan founded what would later be known as the Holy Roman Empire. This made the Carolingian Dynasty the most remembered of the Frankish dynasties.

Before this, the Carolingian Clan had merely held high positions within the Merovingian Dynasty. It is generally believed that the ancestor of the Carolingian Dynasty was Saint Arnulf of Metz, an influential bishop during the Merovingian era. His son, Ansegisus, later used his connections to become Palace Minister. From then on, the position of ”Palace Minister” was firmly controlled by the Carolingian Clan. Their power grew greater and greater, and the later kings of the Merovingian Dynasty were reduced to mere figureheads. They were nicknamed the ”Lazy Kings” for ”neglecting their courtly duties,” until finally, Pepin the Short successfully usurped the throne.

Charlemagne is Charlemagne the Great. ”Magne” means ”the Great.” He was the son of Pepin the Short, and the student surpassed the master.

Aachen Cathedral is located in Aachen City, the westernmost city in Germany, near the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands. It is a famous pilgrimage site. As for why a king of the Frankish Kingdom would be ”buried here,” it was because Charlemagne was a man of ”great ambition and strategy.”

In 796, Charlemagne allied with the Pope. He conquered the Saxons, destroyed the Lombard Kingdom, and annexed Bavaria. He launched an expedition against the Arabs south of the Pyrenees Mountains, establishing the Pannonia Border Region and the Spanish Border Zone. He was crowned by the Roman Pope as ”Emperor of the Romans.” His territory was nearly equivalent to that of the former Western Roman Empire, and his power reached its zenith. Consequently, he ordered the famous architect Odo to build a palace chapel, which became the center of the palace complex upon its completion.

When Charlemagne established Aachen as the center of his empire in 800, it naturally became the new Rome.

Li Xiang brought Erin here, so he didn’t need to lift a finger. Although the bronze display case was sturdy, it automatically disassembled under Erin’s ”Metal Manipulation” Superpower. The Griffin Iron Crown, forged from black iron, emerged, glowing with a faint light.

This crown featured a Griffin relief and had Meteorite Iron Magnets embedded on both sides. Erin gestured with her hand, and the Griffin Iron Crown automatically settled onto her head.

The runes inscribed on it emerged and disappeared into Erin’s body. The crown itself was now useless, no different from scrap metal, possessing at most some value as a historical artifact.

Meanwhile, Li Xiang had suddenly gone to a side chapel. He was drawn to a ”Tang Sancai Camel Figurine.” ’Holy crap, they have a treasure like this here?’ he thought, immediately storing it in his inventory.

Countless Chinese cultural relics have ended up overseas. Subsequently, Li Xiang also discovered many other Chinese artifacts in the cathedral. They were full of Chinese elements, and he could tell they were from his homeland at a glance. Li Xiang looted them all.

Just like before, to prevent anyone from suspecting a Chinese person was responsible, he plundered all the artifacts collected in the cathedral.

By the time security personnel discovered the scene and rushed over, all that remained was a total mess.

In reality, Li Xiang’s ”deception” was merely to fool the public. Just like with the previous thefts at the Louvre Museum and across North America, the higher-ups had already identified him. This was because the games played between nations are basically fought out in the open; there are very few ”unsolved cases” to speak of. It was just a matter of having evidence or not, of catching him in the act or not.

Even if he were caught in the act, whether or not to make it public would depend on the situation. Perhaps, due to some unavoidable circumstances, they might even have to proactively ”debunk” the truth.

Files on Li Xiang and his associates had long been on the desks of major global intelligence agencies, but they were still classified as top secret.

In the early years, the Eastern Great Power acted with more subtlety. On one hand, it lacked sufficient strength and was more cautious; on the other, it hadn’t figured out the international playbook. In recent years, however, its strength has surged. After a few more clashes, it finally came to a realization: ’Oh, so you like to be this direct. So these are your methods.’ And so, it gradually learned to ”integrate with international norms.”

Although Li Xiang’s current operation wasn’t officially sanctioned, his previous activities of plundering resources and causing a huge stir in North America had already led to fierce arguments and prolonged squabbling between national representatives at the Security Council. It could be said that this kind of behavior had long been tacitly approved, and perhaps even slightly encouraged.

But none of that was his concern.

It wasn’t that the various nations hadn’t thought about dealing with him, but sending assassins was clearly useless. And with his Extreme Speed of 12 Mach, it was also difficult to lock onto him with large-scale weaponry.

You have to understand, missiles traveling at 5 Mach or higher are considered hypersonic. Why 5 Mach? Because at 5 Mach and above, it’s nearly impossible to intercept with current technology.

At 12 Mach, Li Xiang was invincible. Moreover, he was a person. Compared to a missile, he was smaller, could speed up or slow down, change direction at will, and had unlimited stamina. He was ten thousand times more agile than any missile.

It wasn’t that no one in the higher-ups considered Li Xiang’s personal power a threat. However, the patriotism he displayed, along with the emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills he had shown during his time in office (as head of Li Family Village, a member of the county’s political consultative conference, etc.), were all reassuring.

If someone with such immense personal power were a madman who did as he pleased and couldn’t be reasoned with, they would naturally have to find a way to eliminate him. But, in terms of personality, Li Xiang was just a normal person—the kind who is pleasant to talk to. What reason was there to move against him?

Li Xiang once again carried Erin, hopping between the remaining coordinates. With his Extreme Speed of 12 Mach, no distance was too far; he could arrive in a short time. After all, Europe was just a small place.

Every time, Erin would shriek and marvel with great exaggeration, repeatedly praising Li Xiang as the most amazing man on Earth, maxing out his emotional fulfillment.

Li Xiang thought to himself, ’This foreign girl can really compete with Sister Yao.’ However, her style was slightly different from Yao Yao’s. After all, one was an Eastern girl, and the other was a genuine Western beauty.

Although Yao Yao could also transform into a Western beauty—and she had the nickname ”Hundred-Change Demoness”—it was only a change in appearance. Her ”soul” remained the same. And even when she transformed into a Western beauty, she still spoke Chinese.

But Erin was a different soul. She had received a Western education from a young age, been immersed in Western culture, and screamed and shouted in French. The experience was completely different.

It wasn’t a matter of one being better than the other, just a different experience.

At the Toledo Ancient City Sun Clock Tower, Erin used Alchemy to melt the protective net entwined around the Mithril Thorn Silver Crown.

Erin took this Visigothic Thistle Silver Crown, which had miniature crucifixes hanging from the tip of each thorn, and placed it on her head. Mysterious runes emerged from it and sank into her body.

Li Xiang, meanwhile, casually took the Ming Dynasty Blue and White Lotus Pattern Plum Bottle that was part of the Sun Clock Tower’s collection.

Erin turned and saw him, Treasure Sword in hand, precisely cutting through bulletproof glass. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of his heroic posture.

In the underground wine cellar of the Dijon Duke’s Castle, the Burgundy Blood Diamond Wolf Crown was hidden in a secret compartment of a hundred-year-old oak barrel. When Li Xiang lifted the five-ton barrel with one hand, Erin stared in a daze, hastily lowering her head to hide her blushing cheeks.

In truth, a mere five tons was nothing. Li Xiang now possessed a full 110 tons of Giant Power.

In the tidal secret chamber of Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, the Giant Whale Saint Armor glowed blue the moment seawater flooded in. Erin pressed herself tightly against Li Xiang’s chest. Listening to the hum of the North Sea Giant Whale Jawbone Crown resonating with the Armor, she suddenly wished this journey would never end.

This ”North Sea Giant Whale Jawbone Crown,” also known as the ”Norman Sea Dragon Bone Crown,” was carved from the jawbone of a North Sea giant whale and inlaid with sapphires containing Viking Runes.

After Erin obtained it, the Viking Runes sank into her body, erasing another small piece of the ”curse” from the Gothic runes within her.

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By dawn, all seven crowns had been collected: the Merovingian Iris Gold Crown, the Carolingian Griffin Iron Crown, the Byzantine Double-headed Eagle Crystal Crown, the Visigothic Thistle Silver Crown, the Burgundy Blood Diamond Wolf Crown, the Norman Sea Dragon Bone Crown, and the Lombard Gear Copper Crown.

When Erin placed the final piece, the Lombard Gear Copper Crown, in her hair, the last of the runes entered her body. Her silken gold hair floated as if weightless, and her whole body radiated light, making her look just like an angel.

She kicked off her boot. The last piece of silver-gray metal on her previously metallic right calf melted like wax, the dripping liquid metal vaporizing into indigo smoke before hitting the ground. Her elegantly curved bare foot suddenly straightened, and her toes flushed with a long-absent rosy color in the morning light.

”I’m healed! I’m healed, respected Mr. Armor!” Erin was overjoyed. She stepped barefoot onto the wild grass; it was the first time in five years she had felt the soft touch of grass with her right foot.

The beating Alchemy Heart beneath her collarbone suddenly became transparent. The Gothic curse runes that had covered her body swarmed like tadpoles toward her heart. When the seventh Iris totem entered the chamber of her heart, the sound of mechanical gears turning transformed into the chime of church bells. Twelve streams of gold blood pumped from her heart to every corner of her body.

Erin de Merovingian’s blue eyes sparkled with joy. Her crystal-clear earlobes flushed a coral pink. She took the initiative to embrace Li Xiang and kiss his Face Armor, murmuring in a muffled, bewitching tone, ”Mr. Armor, aren’t you going to take off this cold shell?”

Li Xiang’s Giant Whale Saint Armor vanished, retracting into his body. He fully enjoyed the tenderness offered up by this Western beauty.