Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?-Chapter 520 - 30: Golden Skull

Afternoon.

Following the suggestion put forth by Nora’s sister, Kapaxilin, Aske decided to accompany the security force "Golden Skulls" as a representative of the Lixini Family, to undertake "business negotiations" with the gang that had initially attacked Nora.

Of course, the so-called business negotiation method was to clarify the reasons, then kill them.

Considering that in the team, Peggy and Eleanor had successfully mastered the Law, Aske planned to take both of them along to use these gang members for combat practice.

Mia and Miel were going to find Rasul, and they would travel with Medea this time. Nora and Kapaxilin were going to fly to Sicily to see their parents.

Thus, only Thira and Sigrdrifa were left on Fire Island, as the former had lost control during her promotion process. Although rescued, she had sustained considerable injuries, so Sigrdrifa was in charge of taking care of her, who was bedridden.

Hmm, there was always a kind of ominous premonition.

Aske, along with Eleanor and Peggy, arrived at the basement of the Lysine Building, where the Golden Skulls had already started up an armored military vehicle waiting outside for them.

In Solomon City, the core city of the scientific faction, mechanical modification was a trendy and prevalent practice, generally equatable to combat capacity.

Ordinary people, for work reasons, might install a socket or wire on their head or wrist, with a modification rate of around 0%-10%.

Regular Temple Knights had a modification rate of 10%-60%, usually replacing arms, legs, and eyes to enhance their physical qualities. Once the modification rate reached 60%, almost all visible parts would have been replaced by mechanical structures.

For specialized forces even more advanced than Temple Knights, such as the Pope’s Guard (also known as Mountain Guard, mainly from the northern mountains), the rate of bodily mechanical modification was above 95%, preserving only parts of the cerebral cortex responsible for decision-making. Thus, they were genuinely "armed to the teeth."

This was also the highest rate of mechanical modification in human terms. Beyond this, one would be turned completely into a synthetic human. The cost of further modification wasn’t worth it compared to creating a new synthetic human altogether.

The Lixini Family’s specialized security force, "Golden Skulls," were all military soldiers with over 80% mechanical modification. Their entire skulls were painted in bright gold without any faux human skin layers, making them look quite horrific and intimidating.

The leader of the Golden Skulls this time was also a "Golden Skull," distinguished by a unique emblem etched on his forehead that set him apart from the ordinary Golden Skulls.

That emblem was a spread-winged eagle surrounded by a circle of garlands—the insignia of the ancient Roman Eagle standard.

"Lord didn’t say you could bring others," the Eagle Standard captain, his spherical camera eyes motionless, undeniably noticed Eleanor and Peggy, "She instructed only you to accompany us."

"Why don’t you check again?" Aske asked.

The Eagle Standard captain didn’t reply. After a moment, whether he had secretly made contact to ask or had already made the decision himself, he waved his hand, and the Golden Skulls in the rear compartment made room for them.

Aske climbed into the vehicle first, sitting next to a Golden Skull; followed by Eleanor, who, upon realizing there wasn’t enough space for two, was about to offer her spot to Peggy, only to hear Peggy who boarded last laugh and say,

"No worries, I can squeeze in with the Squad Leader."

With that, she sat on Aske’s lap.

Eleanor: ?????

With a simmering discomfort, Eleanor had no choice but to sit tightly next to Aske, then the armored vehicle’s rear door automatically closed and the vehicle started moving forward.

Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.

If it were a vehicle carrying Nora or Kapaxilin, the shock absorption could be so good that you couldn’t tell if the car was moving or stationary. But for a group of robots in an armored vehicle, there was no need for shock absorption.

Moreover, for bulletproof considerations, the entire armored vehicle’s chassis and weight were enlarged, so the shaking was much more intense than ordinary vehicles, causing Peggy, who was sitting on Aske’s lap, to blush quickly.

"Cough," Aske coughed softly, "I’ll get up, you take my seat."

"No need, I’m fine," Peggy said, her pretty face flushed, but she tried to act nonchalant and quietly pressed him down to keep him from getting up.

Next to them, Eleanor showed a subtly displeased expression. It was like a college guy watching the girl he was chasing suddenly being sweet-talked and fawned over by another guy. How to put it? Although there was no reason to be unhappy, it still felt quite unpleasant.

As for the rest of the cabin’s golden skulls, of course, they all wore impassive, cold expressions. Because the eyeballs inside their eye sockets were covered with spherical cameras, it was impossible to actually see which direction they were looking—at least the spherical cameras, with their uniquely broad field of view, left nothing in the entire cabin hidden, even more exaggerated than a fly’s compound eyes.

However, the amorous, awkward, and jealous atmosphere among the three was quickly disrupted by a sudden change: a row of connected helmets suddenly fell from the ceiling, each perfectly positioned for the occupants inside the vehicle.

The golden skulls silently put on the helmets, and on Aske’s side... Since Peggy was sitting on Aske’s lap, and quite elevated, a helmet directly hit her.

"Ouch!" she cried, holding her head and pretending to be in pain.

"Stop messing around," Aske patted her, "You, a Transcendent with Flesh Power, pretending to have a concussion? Put on the helmet."

"This one?" Peggy took the helmet, looking towards Eleanor.

Since the space was only enough for two people, only two helmets dropped down on their side.

"You put them on first, then relay the information to me," Aske said.

"Okay," Eleanor put on the helmet, and after hesitating, Peggy did the same.

——————

As soon as Peggy put on the helmet, a series of line-formed graphics appeared before her eyes.

It seemed... a three-dimensional map?

"I am Vesta," a clear female voice sounded in her ear, "I will now explain the specific combat plan."

"Target group: Voodoo Gang, a criminal armed group from Sardinia, mainly stationed at Outer City area G3, building number K7542, an unfinished abandoned building."

"The armed members stationed there are approximately between 187 and 200, with an average mechanization modification rate of about 45%-50%, possibly including some illegal Transcendents, with no special equipment weapons, overall threat level low."

"Note, your goal is not to kill everyone, but to leave some key figures alive for follow-up interrogation, so please do not use lethal weapons on these special targets."

"I will dynamically mark special targets. Also, Lord Aske, Miss Peggy, Miss Eleanor, the three of you are not connected to my tactical network, so I will have the golden skulls stop you if you encounter special targets, please pay attention."

"May I ask a question, Miss Vesta?" Eleanor asked.

"Just call me Vesta, please ask."

"What does ’criminal armed group’ mean?" Eleanor asked seriously.