Sword of Dawn

Page 434

"No... Of course not, I can only be grateful, you... saved me," Melita lowered her head again, but her tone was a bit complicated, "It turns out that I almost got into a catastrophe back then..."

Dragon God was noncommittal about this, and neither criticized nor responded. He just asked casually after a brief silence: "So, you just want to ask me to confirm these things? Don't you have any more questions?"

"Is there really no way for us to completely destroy that tower or the 'Back Tide' inside?" Melita hesitated several times, and finally summoned up her courage and asked boldly, "With your strength, Is there no way to destroy it?"

"The power of a god is useless against that tower, and the power of a dragon is useless against a god, Melita, you know—from the day Backtide was born, it was impossible for Tarrond to destroy that tower and The things in the tower, and since the Reverse Tide Empire, this planet has never been able to give birth to a civilization that is strong enough to destroy the legacy left by the Voyager," Dragon God looked into Melita's eyes, this At this moment, the supposedly high god explained patiently, as if answering the questions of the people was her innate duty, "Probably only the sailors themselves can do this—but they may never be able to do this." Not coming back."

"The sailor..." Melita repeated the word subconsciously, and could only shake her head helplessly.

She said she had no more questions.

"If you don't have any more questions, go back," Dragon God said calmly while standing on the high platform, "Take good care of your body. After you recover, I still have things for you to do."

"You... have something for me?" Melita raised her head in surprise, "What is it?"

Then she heard the voice of the gods from above: "Invite that mortal named Gawain Cecil again to visit Tarrond—specifically, after you recover everything."

There was a mixture of surprise and doubt on Melita's face, but just as she opened her mouth to ask something more, she felt a light and shadow change in front of her eyes. After her eyes gradually calmed down, she found that she had returned to her own place on the mountainside. In a nearby lair—clearly, the god didn't intend to answer her any more.

……

In the sanctuary, the dragon god Enya was still standing quietly on the high platform, and a figure wearing a priest's robe gradually condensed in the air beside her.

The dragon priest Heragor paid homage to his god, and asked cautiously: "Do you want to invite that human being who rejected you once again?"

"Do you have any questions?"

"No, of course not, it's just...do you think he will refuse?"

"If he is really curious about certain things, then he will definitely come," Dragon God said indifferently, his eyes crossed the emptiness in the hall, a balcony overlooking the sea of ​​clouds, and the distant place outside. She seemed to be able to see through everything, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, "This world...it seems that there is going to be some turmoil."

"Unrest..." Heragor subconsciously repeated the words from the mouth of the god. As a dragon priest who has witnessed the ups and downs of civilization on this planet several times, he deeply understands that "some turmoil" in the mouth of a god means what.

It seems that a certain god has reached the "critical point".

……

After being sent back to the lair, Melita didn't stay at home for too long, she soon set off to the headquarters of the jury, and obtained permission to meet the supreme speaker Andal.

After confirming that everything was normal in her current state and that the gods had helped her decontaminate herself, she finally dared to say something.

On the round platform surrounded by a large number of mechanical devices, pipes, and cables, the old and majestic dragon Andal listened carefully to Melita's report. The terrible incident that had been buried made this well-informed old giant Long couldn't help but raise one eyebrow: "... I never thought that this kind of thing would have happened 600 years ago... If the gods hadn't personally taken care of you, you would have sunk in the sea around the No. [-] monitoring tower." Skeleton."

"I still feel scared," Melita said honestly. "What I'm afraid of is not being polluted by the reverse tide, but that all this happened so quietly. Even today, I don't know that I once wandered On the edge of the abyss."

"'Reverse Tide' has never stopped trying to infiltrate... Although 'He' has no sense, he has the instinct to break through the blockade," the old voice of Andal Speaker echoed in the circular hall, "being protected by the gods is Your luck—he will protect every dragon after all."

"But I didn't expect that He would protect that adventurer named Mordir..." Melita frowned in confusion, "I didn't dare to ask further—but why did He protect a dragon clan? What about other people?"

Speaker Andal fell silent for a while, his mechanical prosthetic eye stretched and stretched unconsciously, and tiny streams of light danced in the dark red photosensitive crystal.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that the old dragon who had witnessed the entire history of the dragon clan since the "failure to disobey" let out a sigh.

"Perhaps... until today, our Lord still expects the mortal race in the world."

"To expect?" The young Melita was a little puzzled by what Speaker Andal said.

Andal shook his head without answering anything.

There are some things that even the Dragon Clan who know well cannot say a word to their compatriots.

Faith is like a lock, mortals are on one end, and gods are on the other.

An unsuccessful struggle suddenly tightened the chain, locking up all possibilities, so that even the parties who knew something well could not say it, but could only speculate and confirm it with their tacit understanding ——

The gods have been looking forward to a mortal civilization that can develop, become extremely powerful, and develop extremely arrogantly.

Then...help the dragons complete the rebellious plan that could not be completed millions of years ago.

Now, let's see how the mortal civilizations will develop this season.

Chapter 0915 A Ship Comes From the North

Autumn is cold, and the short warm season in the northern part of the mainland has long ended. As the Frost Sky constellation gradually approaches the height of the sky, the vast Loren North Continent is gradually shrouded in cold wind. From the northern wilderness next to the endless ocean, to From the vast plains occupied by the city-states in the north to the moss forests where the gray elves have lived for generations, everyone is preparing for the coming winter.

Reserve fuel for the winter, seize the last sunny day to dry fish and make pickles, repair the houses damaged in the autumn rain, and dig out the cotton clothes and bedding for the winter... Except for the Cecil Empire whose magic technology has entered the civilian stage. In addition, people in most parts of the world are still living a life that is not much different from the past-even if the magic technology from afar has begun to change the way of life of some people, bringing many new things to these ancient lands, But these changes will take time.

Rupert, who had just moved to the city, was walking on the street pushing a cart of charcoal. A much colder wind than yesterday blew on his face, and some cold wind got into his collar, making this short gray elf man Couldn't help shrinking his neck.He raised his head, looked around this place that was still very strange to him, and couldn't help sniffling.

He's still trying to adjust to life in the city, and it's not easy.

Compared with the forest he is accustomed to living in, this "big forest" built by people is too large, too cold, too crowded, and too chaotic. Every day he has to deal with countless people he doesn't know and do strange things. Work, hear a lot of new news that I don't understand, and finally return to a strange place-the only thing that can comfort me is my wife and a pair of children who moved here with me. They let me live in this strange city, And the biggest motivator to finally make up your mind to put down roots here.

After all, in addition to the unfamiliar environment that is hard to adapt to, life in the city is far more comfortable and convenient than in the forest. As a gray elf who is good at handling herbal raw materials, his income in the distillation factory is enough to provide warm food for his family. Residence, the wife no longer has to worry about wild animals and poisonous insects that appear in the forest at any time, as for the children...

They really like this bustling big city.

Another gust of cold wind blew, and Rupert couldn't help sniffling again. He looked at the cart of charcoal in front of him: this cart of charcoal was bought from the charcoal burning field in the south, plus the quantity purchased before , the fuel needed for the family to spend the winter in the city is ready.Living in the city is no better than living in the forest. There is no way to go out to collect firewood here, and the fuel for heating can only be bought with money.The operator of the charcoal burning site is a very shrewd gray elf businessman. Rupert thinks that the other party is probably the richest person he has ever seen in his life. However, for some reason, when he recalls the details of the previous transaction, he always feels that The shrewd charcoal merchant is wistful...

Rupert pushed the cart through the center of the city, and a burst of pleasant and soft music suddenly reached his ears. He subconsciously looked up and saw a huge crystal device standing proudly on the square in front of the chief's longhouse. The runes on the surface of the large-scale magic device flickered, and a large crystal was slowly rotating on a base made of some kind of alloy, and the sound of soft music came from a certain structure of the device.

He recalled the name of this device, it should be called the Obelisk of Magic Energy—this was the thing that surprised him the most since he entered the city.Rupert didn't know how those Cecilians living in the east built this incredible device, but he knew that this square and a large area of ​​blocks outside the square were relying on this device to provide energy, and those unusually bright It drives the street lamps in the streets and the "machines" in some factories.

And this device will start to play the traditional music of the gray elves every day when the sun rises, and it will continue to play until the sun goes down.

This second function is said to be instructed by the patriarch himself, and was tinkered with by the gray elves' own "magic technicians".Rupert didn't understand concepts such as "technical exchange" and "guidance by foreign experts", but he knew that the residents of the city welcomed the music on the square, which made some citizens who were originally resistant to magic technology put down Many residents who are more receptive have already organized themselves, often dancing or playing musical instruments in the square when the music is played-just like during festivals.

A slightly hoarse and neutral voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting Rupert's association with the "Magic Obelisk": "Citizen, do you need help?"

Rupert was startled by the voice, and turned his head in a panic, only to see a very tall and strong woman standing next to him—this was an orc, almost as tall as three gray elves, beautiful Strong and bulging muscles are covered under the soft hair, and a terrifying chopping ax is carried on the back.The lady guarding the square was looking at her, not viciously - but enough to make a country gray elf not yet used to city life nervous.

"No...it's nothing, I'm distracted, distracted..." Rupert waved his hands in a panic and said.

"Okay, then don't be in a daze for too long," the orc lady said casually, her eyes casually fell on Rupert's cart of charcoal, and she frowned, "Hey, I hope I really don't need to burn charcoal in the future Now, this thing is not friendly to hair."

"Ah?" Rupert was a little surprised that the guards in the city were friendlier than he imagined, and he was a little curious because of the other's words, "Ma'am, what are you talking about? Are you not allowed to burn charcoal from now on?"

"I mean, there is no need to burn charcoal from now on," the orc lady glanced at the gray elf who seemed to be confused, "Haven't you heard? Mana heat stations are being built in the north and south of the city. According to the contractor's statement, after the heat station is built, the whole street can be warmed up with only a few heat pipes, no need to worry about fire, and there will be no choking smoke, and there will be no more bald tails burned by charcoal fire The orcs are unlucky. Of course, at least next year..."

Rupert listened to the square guard's description as if listening to heaven, those terms and concepts were completely another world to him—and he believed that even people who had lived in this city for a long time might not He can understand what the so-called "Magic Energy Heat Station" and "Heat Energy Conduit" are. After all, in the past few days in the tavern, he has heard the locals use eight different versions to brag about the "Magic Energy Engine". The principle of ", the things brought by the Cecil merchants... It's really hard to understand.

Rupert can only be sure that those seemingly miraculous machines are all man-made. When disassembled, they are just a pile of iron blocks and crystals that are nothing special. There are no little devils living in them, and there is no need to absorb any souls. Those Cecilians emphasized over and over again, and even the patriarch himself assured the citizens.

He shook his head, and temporarily put aside the confusion about "how to keep warm without burning charcoal". Anyway, it sounds like it will happen next year. At the same time, he subconsciously glanced at the tail of the tall orc lady in front of him—— The cautious glance obviously failed to fool the eyes of a professional fighter, who immediately flicked his tail behind him while glaring in one direction.

Rupert shrunk his neck immediately, and hurriedly pushed the cart forward.

Although he couldn't be sure whether the majestic soldier had been burned bald by charcoal fire, now he understood why the shrewd and rich charcoal merchant was always frowning...

……

Morelina looked at the gray elf who was not very bright, who seemed to have just entered the city from the countryside not long ago, pushed the car away, and let out a cat-like whirring sound from her throat, and then she looked at the long house of the leader not far away. Glancing at the mechanical clock hanging in the front, after confirming that the time was approaching, she strolled to the huge crystal device in the center of the square.

Next to the fel obelisk that powers most of the city, there is a smaller device—a magic net terminal with a triangular base and clear crystal components.

It has been three days since this terminal was installed here, and countless citizens have speculated about its function, but until today, it will come in handy for the first time.

Several technicians are debugging this complex magic device here, two of them are humans with obvious foreign accents, they are checking the crystal while explaining some details to the people around them, the other few are wearing The gray elves in short white robes, short like children, held pens and paper in their hands, and listened nervously and attentively to the instructions of the two strangers, like apprentices.

They didn't care about the female guard leader who walked to the side - a female warrior who was full of curiosity but knew nothing about magic technology could not affect the working status of these technicians.

With the tinkering of these people, the relatively small magic device finally activated—not much different from the scheduled time.

Accompanied by a slight buzzing and disturbing sound, a bright light curtain appeared out of thin air, and a large magic projection instantly appeared in the center of the square, and brilliant colors and pleasant sounds burst out at the same time——

Morelina, who was carrying the chopping axe, puffed up her hair almost immediately, jumped out like a keen cat hunter, and almost took off the weapon behind her back, but she soon realized that the device was just a It just created some harmless projections, and what appeared on the projections was a gray elf with a nervous face.

She felt a little ashamed, even the fine white fluff couldn't hide her slightly flushed face, but the citizens who were suddenly startled around obviously didn't notice this small detail, they watched in surprise and curiosity The magic image, heard a voice coming from inside:

"This... here is the moss forest magic web broadcast, the first broadcast. Today we are broadcasting the picture from 'White Feather Port', our patriarch, Ms. Wenna Baizhi, will..."

……

The autumn wind blows through the bushes along the coast, and the air full of moisture rolls all the way between the residential houses next to the port and the outposts near the port. The long trestle bridge extends from the land, all the way to the endless sea, and the blue sky The blue ocean slowly undulates at the end of the trestle bridge, full of texture under the sun.

The blue sea and blue sky, the chopping waves, the constant sound of the wind, and the chirping of seabirds—all these are rare sights in the depths of the moss forest.

Wenna Baizhi stood on the trestle of this small port, beside her trusted guards and advisors.

Not far from her, there are representatives of the dwarf kingdom who came from afar.

"It should be almost time..." Wen Na muttered to herself.

"Yes, sir," a human in brown robes and a silver headband nodded, "The last signal indicated that they were only an hour away from the port, and the watchtower in the north also reported that I saw the shadow of a boat on the sea—it should be coming soon."

Wen Na hummed, and looked back at the open space not far away—a group of technicians were gathering there, surrounded by a brand-new magic machine that looked quite expensive, and the crystal device fixed above the machine Shining brightly in the sun.

The machine made the leader of the gray elves a little nervous, but she easily resolved the discomfort. She knew that her figure should have been recorded by that wonderful device and sent back to Windsong in the depths of the moss forest. City and Sangbitoke City in the east of the woodland—these are the only two cities in Moss Forest that have established a magic net and are connected with communication devices.As the main promoter of the whole project, she knows that she must perform perfectly and outstandingly enough today.

"I hope that the citizens of Fengsong and Sangbitok won't be too nervous when they see the magic web broadcast for the first time," she whispered in a voice that only the consultants beside her could hear, "this thing is different from what they have come into contact with so far." Magic machines are different."

"New things always make people nervous. Cecilians will still exclaim when they see the magic web broadcast for the first time," the human advisor with a silver headband on his head also replied in a low voice, "but when you are nervous After that, brave and curious people will appear, and as long as we encourage and guide well, new things will grow rapidly."

Wen Na hummed, and raised her head again to look at the distant sea, but her attention was on the small trestle in sight.

This is only a small port, and if it had not been for the recent emergency repairs and additions, its current situation would be even worse.

After all, its original function was only for local fishermen to dock some small boats, and the furthest sailing distance of those boats would not exceed the dividing line of the offshore.

"Baiyu Port is just a fishing village..." Wen Na said softly, "But maybe starting today, it will no longer be just a fishing village..."

A loud and clear flute sound that seemed to penetrate the sea suddenly came from the sea and reached everyone's ears.

"I'm coming!"

Onlookers at the port shouted loudly, and even representatives of the gray elves on the trestle bridge and the representatives of the dwarves who came from afar stretched their necks for a moment, and they all looked at the sparkling sea in unison. Between the waves and the brilliant waves cast by the sun, a ship made of steel, covered with a shimmering magic shield, and with strange wings spread out on both sides, is sailing here through the wind and waves.

There are ships coming from the north.

Chapter 0916 Three-Party Contact

The vastness of the sea is unbelievable.

It is wider than the Baishui River, wider than the Gorgon River, wider than any river or lake on land.

Standing on the high platform on the front deck of "Curiosity", Byron let the cold sea breeze blow towards him, and the unique salty smell in the sea was blown into his nostrils. The sound of churning waves, the sound of wind, the mechanical sound of ships, and the chirping of unknown seabirds all surrounded him in all directions.

He glanced back and saw that the sailors were busy at various positions on the ship. Some technicians were checking the connection between the mana wings and the upper deck mechanism. The Naga "sage" with deep and melancholy eyes was Observing the sky in the distance through some kind of magic device, and in the waves beside the ship, there are several beautiful and ghostly figures swimming in the water.

He suddenly remembered his experience as a mercenary in those years—it was something completely irrelevant to the scene in front of him, but it brought inexplicable nostalgia in the heart of this half-way knight. In those days, I remembered those partners who followed me through many strange lands and were finally buried in strange lands...

When the sea breeze blew, he squinted his eyes, smiled and said to the sea monster Viola standing beside him: "I originally thought that I was already a middle-aged man who pursued stability, but I didn't expect that I still have a bit of an adventurous spirit in my bones. "

"Humans have always been full of adventurous spirits—you are not as powerful as sea monsters, but you are more courageous than us. This has surprised us for many years," the deep-sea witch with long blue hair said seriously, "but probably It is precisely because of this adventurous spirit that you can develop so fast and always full of changes."

Byron smiled, looked up at the distant sea, looked in the direction of the distant sea, and said casually: "We have only taken the first step today... It is far from a challenge to go around the land along the safe sea area near the sea The ocean, at best, is only testing the performance parameters of Curiosity, and in terms of truly challenging the open sea... at least it must be close to the dividing line."

"I discussed with the 'philosopher' the plan for exploring the high seas," the sea monster Viola, who was serving as a technical advisor, nodded, "From the experience of the Church of Storms, we believe that human beings should start from two directions when sailing in the high seas—one , is to conduct remote observation and early avoidance of the "disordered turbulence" that has been formed, and one is to ensure the survivability and navigation capabilities of the ship when the disordered turbulence suddenly forms out of thin air and envelopes the ship, and timely Return to the safe sea..."

Byron nodded earnestly: "It makes sense - His Majesty sent a batch of information to Beigang earlier, which also mentioned the importance of remote discovery of disordered turbulence, and how to survive if one is involved in turbulence Well, the former is actually easier to say, now we have the help of Naga, they have the spell model of the Church of Storms, and the research department at the imperial capital has begun to try to reverse-engineer the relevant spells into the equipment available for the ship, but the latter does not. easy……"

Speaking of this, Byron shook his head: "The Sons of the Storm rely on their own fine perception of the ocean as extraordinary beings, coupled with the blessing of the 'power of faith' to ensure safety, especially the latter, allowing them to travel even in the infinite. Finding those narrow safe paths in the event of turbulent turbulence, the current magic technology is not able to do this, and we do not intend to establish a belief in the sea and storms-although we all know that it is now pointing to your race. spirit, but it is our basic national policy to try to avoid introducing theocratic forces into the military and scientific research systems.”

"I hope your magic technicians will find a way, thicker armor, stronger shields, higher speed... These methods may help your human ships resist the chaotic turbulence at sea," Viola said. He said unhurriedly, "Of course, we will also provide some 'sea monster' technical ideas, but those ideas may not be applicable to your land creatures..."

Byron recalled the scene of discussing "how to deal with a sea accident" with Kraken technical experts before, and shook his head dumbfoundingly: "If the boat breaks up, everyone will swim back... We really can't use this..."

Viola shrugged expressionlessly—this was a movement she had just learned from anthropology recently—and then looked into the distance: "We are already approaching the port."

……

Accompanied by Curiosity's second whistle, this huge and advanced steel ship began to slow down while adjusting its bow orientation, gradually approaching the port trestle of Baiyu Port like a giant beast.

Paladin Huishanyan standing on the trestle bridge looked up at the giant beast getting closer, a surprised and envious expression gradually appeared on his face, and then his already red nose became more rosy, a smile bloomed on his face, and his beard The decorative metal ornaments at the end all rattle with this smile.The temporary envoy from the dwarf kingdom in the western part of the mainland said happily to his companions: "Hi! I want one of these too—those 'Cecilians' are a bit capable!"

"I want to know how this boat moves!" another dwarf shouted loudly. "If those Cecilians will teach, I can give my nephew a 20-year apprenticeship with their craftsmen!"

"Enough, your nephew has been given to others as an apprentice by you at least a hundred times with various excuses! If every time counts, he will be apprenticed for at least 500 years-forgive your nephew Bar!"

"Quiet," Paladin Huishanyan immediately glared at the clansmen behind him, "We are standing here on behalf of Forge City, don't lose face in front of humans."

The noisy dwarf representatives finally calmed down, and Wenna Bai Zhi, who was standing next to them, also breathed a sigh of relief.

Dwarves, this group of optimists living in the far west of the continent are a race that is very good at causing trouble. Although most of them like to nest next to their ancient melting pot and knock, there are still quite a few dwarves who come out. Their kingdom is running around in this world, and the Ogulei tribal country, which is adjacent to the dwarf kingdom, has the most dealings with these guys, so Wenna is also very clear about the temperament of the dwarves-the natural optimism and adventurous impulse make them Dare to try anything, even in such a serious and formal occasion, it is difficult to guarantee that these "messengers" who are stuffed in will not cause any trouble...

After all, the dwarves who call themselves the "Iron People" have always been dismissive of the red tape of the human world.

She withdrew her attention, looked at the magic ship that had docked beside the pier and was lowering down multiple steps and springboards, and took a deep breath.

The dwarves were envious and surprised when they saw it, and she just felt a little suffocated.

She seemed to suddenly understand the means by which Emperor Gawain Cecil and the magical army under his command settled a war and established an empire in a short period of time, and understood the reliance of all these great achievements, or in other words, Rely on one.

She is a little thankful, thankful that the various races of the Ogure Tribal Country chose to provide help during the most difficult period of the Cecil Empire's civil war, and thankful that the gray elves in the moss forest have always been based on business and people. Therefore, she didn't have any conflicts with this neighboring human kingdom, but she was fortunate, but she couldn't help feeling uneasy.