She changed Europe

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Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Damn it!" Zhuo Ya raised her hand and used the magic cannon in her hand to blast the surrendered allied officer into pieces. Then she turned and walked towards her magic armor.

"Where are you going?" Anna stepped forward to block her way. "We have achieved our operational objective. Now we just need to wait here for our troops to be in position."

“Natalia can handle that kind of thing!” Zoya looked at the girl who was shorter than her. As a high-ranking mage, she didn’t show the same respect to Anna as she did to others. “If Your Highness is willing, I hope Your Highness will come with me to pursue the enemy!”

“Our operational objectives have been achieved,” Anna repeated. “Doing anything else would only be a waste of our energy. Just as the Allied commanders avoided unnecessary losses by retreating, we should cease our operations to avoid further losses. None of the parties involved are prepared to go to war, so this is enough.”

"Not enough!" Zhuo Ya's voice suddenly rose sharply. She pointed to the billowing smoke in the distance. "Do you see that?! They blew up everything here and related to supplies, and they even laid mines on the roads at both ends of the city! Look at this ruined city they left us; it's a mockery of us! I can't say that our operational objectives have been achieved after suffering such a huge loss! We've already suffered a loss; if we don't get our revenge, we'll become a laughingstock of the world! The prestige of the Russian Empire will be completely wiped out!"

Anna sighed, "We did suffer a loss, but it's precisely because we suffered a loss that we should actively consider how to cut our losses. Trying to win back what we lost by investing more resources is a typical gambler's mentality. Although the battlefield is indeed a big casino, what we should be doing now is obviously not to keep adding to our bets and make us lose even more, but to immediately give up this round and prepare to start the next one. Maybe in the next round we'll have good enough luck to win back what we lost in the last round."

“You’re right, but it’s pointless.” Zoya walked past Anastasia toward her magical armor. “I’m going to chase those damned Germans. They only started retreating last night, and their rear guard shouldn’t be far yet. I’m going to annihilate them and then demolish everything along the road! If Your Highness is coming, that’s fine. Just stay here with Natalia and wait for those slow-moving troops!”

Anna sighed.

“Alright, let’s go, but you must promise me that you will stop the pursuit before we reach Joru. It will be too dangerous to go any further. There are four confirmed international volunteer magic users in Erelisi, and a girl who is suspected to be a magic user.”

"What kind of bullshit international volunteer force is this? It's just a British and German coalition! Britain has been opposing us since the last century. They're in Central Asia and the Far East, and now in Turkey. They're everywhere. Their blockade of the seas has turned the great Russia into a crippled giant!"

PS1: The more I write history, the more I realize that the Russians, despite their different paths, all arrive at the same destination; their essence has never changed.

Chapter 631 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 129 The British Help (Seeking Votes)

Zhuoya, still grumbling, put on the magic armor and restarted it.

Just as Anna was about to sit back down, Zoya started the armor's engine, took to the sky, and flew towards Velikoy.

Anna shook her head and entered her armor as well.

Activating the magic stone on her armor, Anna used the magic communication system to tell Natalia, who was staying behind, "Zoya and I are going to pursue the enemy. You stay here and wait for our reinforcements. You can retreat to the high ground outside the town with a good view. It's safer there and less likely to be ambushed. None of us know if those guys have any new tricks up their sleeves against us magic users."

"Yes, Lady Anna, please be careful as well."

"Don't worry, we can protect ourselves without any problems if anything unexpected happens." Anna has easily defeated the new generation of Imperial Magic Users with overwhelming advantages in her training over the years. Her power to control ice and cold is enough to make any magic user from another country feel troubled and terrified. This is also the reason why Anna can go into battle with the experienced Zoya.

As for Natalia, as the Tsar's deputy, she had an obligation to prioritize the achievement of the empire's basic strategic objectives, which was essentially a safety net.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The international volunteer forces defending Velikoy had mostly withdrawn, with only one support unit remaining in the village to receive the feinting force that had completed its mission and provide them with supplies.

At noon that day, the feinting force arrived in Velikoy, and the waiting support force immediately began to replenish their fuel, food and water—they had also planned to replenish their ammunition, but the retreat had been very smooth and there had been virtually no fighting.

During the resupply operation, an observation post deployed near the village suddenly fired a warning shot.

Before the commander of Velikoy could figure out what had happened, Zoya’s wrath descended upon Velikoy.

Upon hearing the report, Gisela stood up abruptly.

"Russian magic users directly attacked Vericoy?" He frowned, asking the communications officer who had come to report, "How many magic users were in Vericoy? Did they report that?"

"Before communications were cut off, they reported visually confirming two magically powered armors," the communications officer immediately responded. "Our reconnaissance aircraft are currently flying in that direction, but we haven't received any updates yet..."

At this moment, another communications officer entered the room: "Report, reconnaissance aircraft report confirms two Russian magical armored vehicles are advancing in a west-southwest direction from Velikoy, and their target may be Villemetz."

"Damn it." Gisela turned back to the map, quickly checking it. "Our feint has been discovered. They're going to intercept our main force retreating from another route. Two fully armed magic users have broken into the marching formation; this is going to be a huge loss..."

When troops are in combat, they need to deploy. When marching, a large number of troops gather on the road, which makes them easy targets for the enemy.

Gisela's brows furrowed into a tight knot.

At this moment, Jeanne and Marta exchanged a glance, and then they both stood up.

“Darling,” Marta spoke first, “isn’t this precisely the purpose of asking the British to modify the armor?”

Gisela turned to look at the two men, her expression very complicated. Sending them out could solve the immediate crisis, but they would still be at a disadvantage in the fight. She absolutely could not take the risk unless it was a last resort.

She was hesitating when someone pushed the door open and came in.

"I heard you're going to spar with the Russian magic users?" The British magic user Grania Jericho appeared in the room, looking around with interest at everyone. His gaze lingered on Gisela's daughter, Mia, and her fellow countrywoman for a while before finally settling on Gisela. "My orders are to observe from the sidelines. However, if the two ladies here intend to take action, then I think, as a proud British naval officer, I cannot stand by and watch you ladies face a fully armed and ruthless enemy with inferior equipment. Therefore, I can temporarily lend my magic armor to one of the ladies present."

Gisela was stunned.

What are these British people up to now, acting all different and trying to pull this stunt?

The group went outside—

The British armor was in excellent condition; it was a force to be reckoned with just standing there.

"Let's go, one of us in British armor, and the other in a modified magic-powered armor." As for Gisela, no one intended for her to participate in the attack, since the opponent was now a ****, not the princess who could slack off at will back then.

“Such a configuration will definitely be suppressed, but it shouldn’t be a big problem if it’s just a diversionary tactic. After all, the Russians have already flown such a long distance and engaged in a series of battles,” Marta suggested to Jeanne.

“I think the British girls will also assist you on the retreat,” Grania said with a smile, holding up one finger. “Our British Empire’s magic warriors have a fine tradition and style.”

Marta and Na looked at each other, and then Marta said, "The problem now is..."

As she spoke, she glanced at Gisela.

Currently, Gisela lacks magical armor protection, making her vulnerable to being easily put on the defensive if faced with threats.

The smiling Ms. Jericho clearly understood Marta's meaning instantly.

"Regarding this, I will be responsible for protecting His Majesty's safety while you two are on the offensive..."

“No need,” Gisela shook her head. “I will ride in our plane and observe and record your heroic battle from the air.”

The air force's personnel were all handpicked "good guys" favored by the Empire, making them all trustworthy. As long as Gisela was in the air, his safety was fully guaranteed, unless the aircraft experienced mechanical failure. But Gisela trusted his ground crew; in his view, the chance of a malfunction was certainly lower than the chance of assassination.

"It seems I haven't gained their trust," Grania said with great regret.

Gisela shook her head: "Of course I trust you completely, but I would much rather witness my dear girls fighting bravely with my own eyes."

“As you wish.” Grania said, making a gesture of lifting her skirt—of course, she was currently wearing military uniform and didn’t have a skirt to lift, but she was simply making a gesture required for court etiquette.

After curtsying, Grania turned and walked toward Erelisi's headquarters. It seemed that she intended to observe the operation of the Allied Command System openly in the headquarters before the Russian magic users withdrew. However, she had lent Gisela a magic-using armor in her "personal" capacity, making Gisela indebted to her and unable to send her away.

In reality, only London and Grania themselves know whether this was at London's behest or a decision she made on her own.

Gisela shook her head and turned to Marta and Jeanne.

"There's no time to lose, you should set off."

PS1: Ra!

Chapter 632 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 130 Steel and Crimson Lotus (Seeking Votes)

Jeanne nodded, then turned to look at Marta: "That woman Zoya has a grudge against me, she'll definitely come after me with all her might, so I'm using the Magician's Magic Armor, you..."

“As a multinational spy, I have never served any particular power, but I am well-versed in the magical armor of various countries,” Marta interrupted Jeanne. “I can use the magical armor of the Magician better, using technology to offset the disadvantages of the equipment.” Jeanne was French, and she certainly had never used British equipment. Compared to her, Marta did indeed have a more obvious technological advantage.

Jeanne pursed her lips, and after a few seconds she agreed.

“You’re right.” She paused. “I will do my best to keep the enemy’s two aircraft occupied, and you will keep them occupied from the side.”

“Yes, yes, I know.” Marta said, reaching out to push Jeanne’s back, half-pushing her onto Grania’s armor.

As Grania's armor activated, Gisela said to Mata, "Don't die, my safety will depend on you from now on."

“There’s no need to look so scared at a time like this. Little fox, I promised to help you, and I will always help you.” As she spoke, Marta leaned in somewhat presumptuously and kissed Gisela on the forehead.

Meanwhile, the Russian army...

"I see it!" Zhuo Ya shouted excitedly, then directly made the low-flying aircraft jump upwards, and then dive towards the enemy column moving on the road.

The "tin toys" that had been gathered on the road immediately turned to both sides, their wheels kicking up a lot of dust and carrying the heavy vehicles off the roadbed.

"It's too late!" Zhuo Ya fired her main weapon, only to find that it was still in flamethrower mode. By the time she turned the barrel to the correct position, most of the tanks on the road had driven into the fields and were racing around in the open.

Zhuoya's beam of light swept across the fields.

Anna's voice entered Zoya's ears almost at the same time: "Be careful to conserve your mental energy, Lady Zoya. The enemy's magic users could appear at any moment."

"Yes, Your Highness is right." Zhuo Ya's magic armor swept over a chariot. She only had the legs of the magic armor slightly hook, and the chariot overturned and landed upside down on the grass, its tracks spinning futilely in mid-air.

The Germans began firing ammunition of various calibers at Zoya, but the vast majority of the shells struck Zoya's thick armor, producing no effect other than clanging sounds.

Zhuo Ya readjusted the barrel, switched back to flamethrower mode, and sprayed deadly flames at people and objects on the ground as she flew across the land.

Many tin toys exploded into fireballs shortly after touching the flames, and a large number of soldiers, their bodies engulfed in flames, rolled and struggled on the grass, filling the entire land with mournful howls.

"This is retribution for your insults to the great Russian Empire!" Zoya roared, laughing as she spoke. "You think you've won? Don't be naive!"

At that moment, a beam of light struck the front of Zhuoya's mech. The magic runes on the surface of the mech activated all the magic shields, and the absorbed energy formed a mental shockwave, which slammed into Zhuoya's cerebral cortex like a heavy punch.

Zoya steered her machine toward the direction from which the beam was coming, and then fired the bomb hidden in her gauntlet at the British who were trying to evade it.

The smoke and dust from the explosion immediately obscured the British mech, and Zoya seized the opportunity to boost her thrusters to maximum output. Her magical armor shot out like an arrow, instantly piercing through the smoke and dust, appearing before the astonished British.

The empty left ring struck the British soldier's breastplate directly, the force of the impact shattering the breastplate, the fragments all caved inward and embedded themselves in the cockpit.

The British magician must have died on the spot; blood spurted from the crack beneath Zoya's fist, staining the ugly blue-gray paint of the Russian armor.

Zoya maneuvered her armor and continued charging toward another British mage.

For a mage to restrain a mage, they either need to use lighter, more mobile light armor or flying armor. On the ground, a mage using standard mage armor is simply a group of lambs to the slaughter for a mage. The difference in flight and short-range assault capabilities makes this battle completely devoid of any technical skill; it's just a one-sided massacre.

In just five minutes, fifteen British magicians perished under Zhuoya's iron fist, and an entire magician squad was completely wiped out.

Zhuo Ya tore off all the arms of the sixteenth British armored vehicle, completely disarming it. Then she ripped off the armor's breastplate and pulled the girl sitting in the cockpit out.

"Oh, what a beautiful girl, and with red hair, such a rare hair color." Zhuo Ya exclaimed, then tightened her grip on the magic armor, crushing the Englishman to pieces. Blood spurted from between the fingers of the giant steel hand.

"Hate those noble gentlemen and ladies who sent you to the battlefield!" Zhuo Ya shouted into the field through the megaphone, "It was their mistake that made your deaths so meaningless!"

At that moment, Anna's voice reached Zoya's ears: "That's enough, isn't it? We've killed at least several thousand people and destroyed countless pieces of equipment and supplies along the way. It's time for us to..."

“Not enough!” Zoya interrupted Anna. “We must continue along this road, destroying everything in our path, until we see Chollu! Let’s go, Your Highness Anna! Let the Germans and the British taste the fury of Russia!”

As she spoke, Zhuo Ya made her armor fly up, rising two hundred meters into the air, looking down at the land in front of her.

She saw Anna's aircraft clearing another wave of "scramblers" more than a kilometer ahead of her, while further away, she could see the dust and smoke from the advancing troops.

"Forward!" Although no one but Anna could hear her "command" now, Zoya still gave the order in a passionate tone, "Forward, Cossack Regiment! Mother Don is watching us! Hurrah!"

Zhuo Ya pushed the engine to maximum again, and her armor accelerated suddenly, rushing towards the billowing dust on the horizon.

In the blink of an eye, a beam of light shot out from the side.

Zhuoya's first reaction was to use her armor to withstand the attack, but an ominous premonition that surged in her heart at that moment made her activate the defensive force field against the energy weapon.

The surging energy flow was dispersed by the force field and deflected into countless fragmented small jets.

Many jets of energy struck the ground, leaving behind damage resembling that of several magical weapons used by magic users.

This undoubtedly comes from the weaponry of the magic user.

“Zhuoya!” A girl’s voice came through the magic communication to Zhuoya’s ears.

Zoya vowed she would never forget that voice, because it was the biggest stain on her life, and the biggest stain on her reputation in Crimea.

“Jeanne de Darc!” Zoya gritted her teeth as she uttered the name.

Zhuoya suddenly turned in mid-air, rushing towards the direction from which the familiar magical energy fluctuations were coming.

Her gaze caught a blurry figure, which, judging from the outline, appeared to be a British-made magic user armor. However, the voice just now, and the magical energy fluctuations that were currently occupying all of Zhuoya's senses, definitely came from the woman whom Zhuoya regarded as a thorn in her side!

Zoya charged toward the newly appeared British armored vehicles at full speed, roaring, "This day next year will be your death anniversary!"

"Hmph! You think you can take me?" came the voice from the other end of the earpiece. "The thing I regret most in my life is that I didn't kill you that day!"

Immediately afterwards, the two let out a battle roar, and the magical energy communication waves generated by their roars instantly filled the entire battlefield.

This is a clash between steel and fire.

PS1: Ra!

Chapter 633 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 131 Marta's Changing Mindset (ra!)

Marta took a moment to wipe the sweat from her hands and quickly gripped the controls of her machine again.

The armor of the mage is cumbersome and lacks flexibility. Even the British armor cannot compare with that of the mage. As for the vision, it is also extremely poor, with only a viewing window for the naked eye. This greatly limits the range of her mage perception. In order to add more amplification devices, this latest British mage armor has reduced the thickness of the armor and increased the power limit of the weapons to meet the mage's mobility and firepower.

She could see with her naked eye the Russian mage's magical armor hovering in the distance.

"To be so nervous that my palms are sweating, how embarrassing," Marta muttered to herself. "As expected, worries are a burden on the battlefield." (I) Lin I Qi Si Ou Su Jiu Ba

Above their heads, two guys with magical armor were already locked in combat. The exaggerated sound and light effects, as well as the stray bullets constantly falling to the ground, fully demonstrated the intensity of the battle.

But at low altitude, the other Russian girl showed no intention of making a move, which made Marta suspicious.

She turned off the magical communication, leaving only the external loudspeaker, and then shouted to the Russian magical user in front of her: "Beautiful lady, are you not going to attack me like your comrades have?"

“Miss Harley Mata, you could very well be a friend of our Russian Empire.” The Russian girl in front of her spoke calmly, replying to the woman through a megaphone.

"People always change, just as the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, no one ever steps into the same river twice."