Sword of Dawn

Page 361

The cold wind blows through the hills in the southeast of Wolf's Castle in winter, and the cold and majestic power near the end of winter is daunting. Even the soldiers stationed in this northern fort all year round can't help shivering when the cold wind blows .

But even so, the sentinels inside and outside the main castle still faced the cold wind and tried their best to stand upright, maintaining their majesty and aura as soldiers of the empire.

Because special guests are visiting this frontier fort.

In the main hall of the castle, Andersa Wendell, with long silver-gray hair, wearing a lady's armor, and a family sword on her waist, stood upright in front of the steps. Her silver-gray eyes, which were the same color as her long hair, were full of awe. .

In front of her was a team from the imperial capital Aldernan.

Leading the procession was a beautiful woman in a complex and gorgeous black court gown. She was fair-skinned, tall and tall, with straight black hair hanging down to her waist, and delicate gold chains inlaid with fine rubies hanging from her hair , Andersa Wendell's face was reflected in those eyes as deep as water.

This woman in a black court dress has a faint smile on her face, but she exudes a calm and noble temperament, which makes people around her involuntarily respect, but adds a subtle sense of distance.

"Your Highness Matilda," Andersa Wendell bowed in front of the flower of the high mountains of the empire, "welcome to Winter Wolf Castle.

"Crossing here is the land of the Cecils."

Chapter 0778

Matilda Augustus, one of the best children of Emperor Rosetta, is known as the flower of the high mountains of the empire and the most dazzling pearl of Aldernan.

These dazzling halos are superimposed on her extraordinary temperament, which can make many people involuntarily feel awe of her and dare not approach her.

But even so, she has her own bosom friends.

The Wendell family heir who inherited the title of General Wolf is one of them.

"We've already met Li, we can relax," the imperial princess smiled and nodded slightly to Andersa, "We haven't seen each other for almost two years, right? Last time you returned to the imperial capital, I happened to go to the fief Deal with things and just miss it."

"Necessary rules must be followed." Andersa relaxed a little, but still stood upright, with a somewhat meticulous look, "The last time I returned to the imperial capital... was because of the failure of the confrontation at Paramel Heights. Guanghui, when you and I meet at that time, I'm afraid I will be a little embarrassed..."

"The confrontation at the Paramel Heights...I heard about it," Matilda in a black dress said with a little sigh, "I can't blame you all, the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, your judgment At least almost all the soldiers were brought back to Winter Wolf Castle."

"...It's really hard to describe." Andersa recalled that rainy night, and finally stopped with a sigh.

The members of the mission that followed Princess Matilda were quickly arranged, and each rested in Winter Wolf Castle. Matilda and Andersa left the main hall of the castle together, and they came to the high wall of the fortress. On the road, along the road patrolled by the soldiers daily, strolling along the front line in the northwest border of the empire.

The cold winter wind blew across the city wall and raised the flags hanging on the city wall, but this cold wind could not affect the powerful high-level transcendent in the slightest.Andersa, who was wearing armor and holding a sword, walked steadily outside the city wall with a serious expression, as if she was inspecting the fortress. Matilda, who was wearing a black court dress, walked silently beside her. The skirt was supposed to be completely incompatible with the cold and windy eastern region and the mottled and thick city walls, but on her body, there was no sense of disobedience at all.

The Pearl of Aldernan walked slowly on the towering walls of Winter Wolf Castle, still as elegant and majestic as walking in the palace corridor.

"You look as if you are reviewing the troops, as if you are ready to lead the knights to the battlefield at any time," Matilda glanced at Andersa next to her, and said gently, "During the border, you have always been like this? "

"This place could become a battlefield at any time," Andersa said with a serious face. "The border cannot be relaxed."

There seemed to be a hint of helplessness in Matilda's eyes. She smiled slightly and then shook her head: "Tell me about the Cecilians, tell me about your impression of them. I was ordered to go to that country, but what I am familiar with is only the past. 'Ansu'—that new empire, how different is it from Ansu?"

"Cecil... Cecil is far more dangerous than Ansu," Andersa paused for a moment, and then continued to walk forward, "Ansu is a decaying old beast, once powerful, It has had a good time, but it has become rotten with the rigidity of its own system and internal conflicts. Although it still retains the power to fight back, as long as it drags on for a while, it will be on the verge of death;

"Cecile is a newborn beast in the flesh and blood of this old beast, and it has developed and matured far faster than we imagined. It has a very intelligent, knowledgeable and experienced ruler, and a very efficient The high bureaucracy helped him to rule. From a military standpoint only - because that's what I'm most familiar with too - the military of Cecil's empire has undergone deeper reforms than ours.

"No, this statement is not accurate, it is not a reform, because the entire war system of the Cecils has been rebuilt, I have seen their mobilization speed and execution ability, that is, the old army cannot be achieved no matter how reformed Efficiency - at this point, perhaps we only have a few legions of superhumans that can match it."

Matilda couldn't help slowing down, and looked at Andersa with a little surprise in her eyes: "It sounds...you are not optimistic about the situation at all?"

"I'm just stating the facts."

"...Your temperament is really not suitable to stay in the imperial capital." Matilda shook her head helplessly, "Just the facts you have stated frankly are enough for you to receive countless doubts and criticisms in the parliament gone."

"Just playing tricks in the parliament won't increase our army," Andersa said straightforwardly. "Ansu was weak back then. That's a fact. Cecil is strong now. It's also a fact."

"...In your opinion, is Cecil already better than us?" Matilda asked suddenly.

Andersa didn't answer immediately this time, but thought for a moment before saying seriously: "I don't think so."

"Oh? This is inconsistent with your 'statement of facts' just now."

"I have been collecting their intelligence. Although the spies we placed there have been hit hard, they are still active today. With the help of these, my advisory group and I have analyzed the situation of Cecil," Andersa said. She stopped suddenly, and she looked into Matilda's eyes, with a kind of scorching heat in her eyes, "That empire is stronger than us, they are stronger in the more efficient official system and more advanced magic technology, But it takes time for these two things to transform into 'national power', and they have not yet fully completed this transformation.

"The order after the war needs to be reshaped, and a large number of officials are exhausted in this regard; a large number of people need to be appeased, the destroyed land needs to be rebuilt, and new laws need to be promoted; the rapid expansion of the land and the relatively small military force lead them to send a large number of soldiers. It is used to maintain domestic stability, and the newly trained troops have not had time to form combat effectiveness-even if the magic equipment is easy to operate, soldiers still need a learning and familiarization process;

"They have relatively advanced magic technology, but those blueprints can only be lined up in the factory, because the ore cannot be mined in a short while, and the steel cannot be turned into a machine in an instant. Their emperor set up a new school, But how many students can be trained at the same time, and how many of these students can be successfully transformed into workers, officials and soldiers?

"In the Paramer Heights, a war fortress blocked our knights. We once thought it was a trap prepared by the Cecils, but later intelligence showed that the war fortress arrived in the Paramer Heights The time may be less than an hour earlier than ours! Before that, Changfeng Fortress simply didn't have enough soldiers, nor did they have enough 'Skyfire Devices'!"

An Desha said a lot in one breath, but Matilda just listened quietly and seriously, without interrupting her friend. She didn't speak until Andesa stopped, "So, what is your conclusion?"

"The Cecil Empire is still weaker than us now, because we have professional superhumans several times as many as them, and we have superhuman armed forces, griffin legions, mages and knights that have been stockpiled for decades. These things can be fought against, and even Defeat those magical machines.

"But it takes us more than ten years to train a mage, and it can't be replenished in a short time after death. It only takes a moment for them to produce a machine, and the soldiers who operate the machine only need months or even weeks of training. Last time they only sent out A 'fortress of war', but I doubt very much, their second fortress of war is probably coming out of the factory! And do we have a second Knights of the Iron River?

"As I said just now, Cecil's advantage lies in their magical technology and the system called the 'government office', and these two things cannot be immediately converted into national power, but this also means that, Once these two things are converted into national strength, we will have no chance!"

Andersa's tone gradually became agitated.

In the cold winter wind, on the centuries-old walls of Winter Wolf Castle, the young female general in charge of the Winter Wolf Legion clenched her fists tightly, as if trying to grasp a passing opportunity, as if trying to remind The heir of the royal family in front of her made her and the royal family behind her notice the crisis that was brewing. Don't wait until the last chance is missed to feel that it is too late to regret.

"I have already written to His Majesty the Emperor and clarified my point of view to Aldernan's noble council," Andersa said in a hurry, "Cecil is very dangerous to the empire, very very dangerous, I I can feel, I can feel that they are actually still preparing for war. Although they have been sending out seemingly peaceful signals, the changes in Longfeng Fortress are obvious to all on the border. I think the various things they are doing now Actions—whether it is to increase commercial circulation, or establish embassies, exchange students, railway cooperation, investment plans, there are problems in it..."

This time, before Andesa became more excited, Matilda suddenly interrupted her friend: "I understand, Andesa, I understand what you mean."

Andersa stopped, and she finally noticed the deep meaning in the expression on Matilda's face.

Solemn yet somewhat helpless.

"Magic technology and the government office will quickly increase Cecil's national strength, so they will soon become an extremely powerful enemy, and now may be our last chance to eliminate this enemy—otherwise, if we maintain the current The direction of development, every day of delay, this opportunity will be slimmed down—that’s what you want to say.”

Andersa nodded slowly: "...Yes."

"In Aldernan, similar conclusions have already been sent to the desk in Obsidian Palace."

Andersa looked at Matilda in astonishment.

"I wonder who came to the same conclusion as you?" Matilda looked at her long-time friend quietly, as if with a little sigh, "It's the aristocratic council that you call 'talking' and the royal family. Directly under the Advisory Group.

"The time to draw conclusions was three days after you last left Aldernan.

"Andersa, there are many more advisors in the imperial capital than here, and the gentlemen and ladies in the council are not fools—under the triple spire of the noble council, there may be selfish people, but there are no fools and mediocrities. man of."

Andersa's eyes widened.

Facing the truth that surprised her, she didn't feel embarrassed or ashamed, because before these emotions spread, the first thing she thought of was a question: "But...why..."

"It's late, for this reason," Matilda said quietly, "the situation is no longer allowed."

Andersa couldn't help but said: "But we still occupy..."

"If there were only two countries in the world, Cecil and Typhon, the situation would be much simpler, but Andersa, Typhon's border is not the only line of defense that you guard at Winter Wolf Castle," Matilda interrupted again In the words of Andersa, "We missed that maybe the only chance, after you left Aldernan, maybe even after you evacuated the Paramer Heights, we have lost the ability to easily defeat Cecil Opportunity.

"Now, even if we still have the upper hand, we will definitely be bitten by those steel machines to be bloody and bloody after being involved in the war.

"And in the south, the relationship between Gaoling Kingdom and us is not good, and there are silver elves... Don't you think that those elves living in the forest who love art also love peace?"

Andersa fell silent.

She is just one of the frontier generals of the empire, and she is able to sniff out some international trends, which is actually better than many people.

But she could only see part of it after all, the long border of the entire empire was too wide for her.

Beside her, Matilda said slowly: "We are no longer the only powerful empire in the human world, and there are no weak city-states and alien groups around us that we can annex, my royal father, and you His father, as well as members and advisors, are carefully sorting out the foreign policy of the Typhon Empire over the past hundred years, the current international situation, and some mistakes we have made, and are looking for ways to make up for it, and are responsible for contacting the Gaoling Kingdom The Earl of Hallmark is working hard for this-he went to the Blue Rock Hills to negotiate, not just to do business with the Highmountain Kingdom and the elves."

The city wall was quiet for a while, only the howling wind rolled up the flags, agitating endlessly behind them.

Matilda broke the silence: "Now, you should understand the meaning of me and the mission I lead, right?"

"Sorry, Matilda," Andersa breathed out, "I oversimplified some things."

"Don't worry about it—as a wolf general, you're just doing what you're supposed to do."

Andersa nodded, but her face looked very ugly.

"What's wrong?" Matilda couldn't help being a little concerned, "What did you think of?"

"It's nothing," Andersa sighed, "The embarrassment... came up."

Chapter 0779 Second Exploration

The defense line of Changfeng Fortress, the No. [-] railway hub.

Accompanied by a crisp bell ringing on the platform, a huge and majestic iron-black steel train slowly drove into the junction station and stopped smoothly at the side of the platform.

The barrier near the platform rises and integrates with the barrier of the track itself, blocking the cold wind blowing from the plain, and some disturbing light and dark stripes projected on the surface of the shield also block the prying eyes of eagle eye spells that may exist in the distance .

At both ends of the platform, there are soldiers guarding the tall sentry towers, and the muzzle of the orbital accelerator and the firing port of the scorching rays protrude from the bunker level with the platform, and there are heavily armed soldiers patrolling everywhere, secretly sentry All over the platform and inside and outside, the entire hub station has been turned into a front-line fortification that is armed to the teeth.

"Iron Throne: Python of the World," Maryland stood on the platform, watching the heavily armed black train stop by the platform. Many technicians stepped forward to check the condition of the train, showing a slight smile, "there is a second armored train to supplement At this line of defense, the defense of Changfeng Fortress can finally let people breathe a sigh of relief."

"Iron Throne Zero can also have a chance to be repaired," Philip, with short blond hair and wearing knight armor, also smiled beside Maryland, "Its overload damage from last year has not been completely repaired until now. The No. [-] arsenal section at the rear was shaking like it was about to jump out of the rails."

Then he paused, and then said: "After the delivery of these two standard armored trains, the heavy-duty factories in the rear will temporarily focus on the production of civilian trains, and the second-tier factories in Kant and Gülen will be responsible for manufacturing your trains." The 'downgraded armored trains' mentioned earlier. They should be produced much faster than the Iron Throne.

"In addition, the higher-ups have finalized the shape of this type of light armored train. They are named 'Iron Scepter' corresponding to the Iron Throne. Since the number of Iron Scepters will definitely be much more than that of the Iron Throne, it is also easier for various modifications, variants, so unless there is a special case, they will probably only be assigned numbers and will not be named separately."

Maryland nodded as she listened. The construction of the Changfeng Defense Line has been progressing smoothly, which greatly relieved the pressure on the middle-aged knight. However, while the pressure was reduced, he had to face up to the other side of the border. The changes in Winter Wolf Castle from last winter to now.

The "Wolf General" who was forced to retreat and was called back to Aldernan for accountability has long since returned, and not only has she returned, it seems that she has not been hit by the last defeat. She is still firmly in charge of the Winter Wolf Army , controlling the entire defense line, and is actively strengthening the strength of Winter Wolf Castle.

"That little wolf general... is more troublesome than I imagined," Maryland frowned. "When she returned to Aldernan last time, she must have brought back a lot of key information and sought a lot of support. More and more magical vehicles and various advanced machinery have begun to appear on the side. Typhon people use them to build fortresses and strengthen defense lines, and it seems that the wolf general intends to use these new technologies to improve her troops—she She has never seen a tank, but she must have seen information about it. With the magical background of the Typhon people, coupled with the sharp mind of the wolf general, they will find an alternative to the tank sooner or later."

"Technological progress is the general trend," Philip shook his head, "According to what His Majesty said, the Typhon people have already started preparing for the industrial explosion more than ten years ago, and their burning rock acidification factory is earlier than our alchemy factory." Five years, the reserve of literate workers is seven years earlier than us, and the agricultural reform is ten years earlier than us. It's a miracle, it's easier to expect the Typhons to be dull and stupid than to expect their emperor to die suddenly tomorrow."

Maryland looked at the supreme army commander in front of him with some surprise: "...it's rare for you to joke around."

"I'm not joking," Philip was stunned for a moment, and said seriously, "I heard that the Typhon royal family had family diseases, and most of them fell into frenzy and died in their later years. Now Rosetta Augustus is over middle-aged, In terms of probability, the probability of his sudden death tomorrow is indeed higher than the sudden loss of intelligence of millions of Typhon people..."

Maryland: "..."

After a few seconds of astonishment, Maryland, who felt deeply that the current topic could not continue, could only shake her head, and forcibly shifted the topic to another direction: "According to the scheduled plan, Typhon's mission will arrive at the Fort of the Treaty in two days... Yes Now, do you have any other plans?"

"Everything can be done according to the plan set before," Philip said casually, "make a good reception, take over the mission and escort it to the car safely - pay attention to driving the two Iron Thrones to Paramel and the northern hills in advance, Do a good job of keeping secrets in the military area.”

As he spoke, the young army commander turned his head and looked into Maryland's eyes.

He smiled: "Typhon and Cecil are rivals, the more so, the more we have to show our chivalry - we will pick them up politely, send them away politely, and Your job is to keep them from seeing anything in the process."

……

In Cecil Palace, Gawain received a secret contact from Daniel.

The Eternal Sleepers have finally completed a series of preparatory work, completed the strengthening of the sandbox and the analysis and arrangement of the last "Phantom Town" exploration report. Today, they will launch the second projection of the mysterious uninhabited town explore!

After arranging the things in the real world, Gao Wen did not waste time, settled down his mind, and connected to the spiritual network of the Eternal Sleeper.

——As the creator of the eternal sleeper's mind network security system and the biggest loophole maker, he is already familiar with the whole process.

After the chaotic changes of light and shadow, Gawain arrived at the dream city that was always in a perfect state, and followed the address left by Daniel to the assembly site of the eternal sleepers.

It is still the circular square surrounded by fallen leaves and decorative columns from last time. The three main figures on the square are still the familiar three archbishops, Daniel, Yuri and Selina Geerfen. A middle-aged mage, a gentle young man, a lady in a white dress with a lantern in her hand, and besides the three of them, Gawain also saw a strange face this time:

An exceptionally tall man stood next to Daniel. He looked about 30 years old, wearing a black robe with complicated patterns, and short red hair. He looked quite imposing.

His name is displayed as Archbishop Magnum, a high-level peak, and his location is in Typhon.

Gawain glanced at the red-haired archbishop of the Eternal Sleeper, and quickly matched it with the information submitted by Daniel - this is an older archbishop among the Eternal Sleeper, who is said to have a bad temper. Being irritable, he has unique insights in the field of consciousness.

Gao Wen couldn't tell if he was grumpy or not, but the other party's name sounded quite big...

Gawain complained about the opponent's name, and Gawain couldn't help but glance at the opponent's height—the red-haired archbishop was very eye-catching when he stood on the square because of his height, which was almost the same as Gawain's. The average figure is wearing a spellcaster's robe, which made Gawain subconsciously think of Wright wearing a priest's robe——

Such a figure really doesn't look like a spellcaster, but the several eternal sleepers standing on the square at the moment should be the images in the spiritual network used, and they don't know what the archbishop with a big name looks like in reality.

Gawain's thoughts diverged for a moment, and he glanced at the high-level tool men wearing owl masks behind the four archbishops. The number of priests has increased to six, and their robes are all embroidered with eye-catching patterns-everyone has a different pattern.

Is this to avoid the "extra person" situation from last time?

But relying on this kind of pattern... Does it really work in an environment like Phantom Town that can affect judgment and tamper with thinking?

A little doubt flashed in Gao Wen's mind, and during the few seconds he observed and thought, the ten-person exploration team in front of him also completed the preparations and negotiations before departure.

Just like last time, Archbishop Yuri was in charge of opening the "passage" leading to Phantom Town. He opened his hands, and pale golden runes then outlined a complicated circular magic circle on the ground of the square. Daniel and others stood in the center of the magic circle , the red-haired Archbishop Magnum said: "This time, be vigilant, and don't trust your first impression too much."

"Of course," the golden rune in Archbishop Yuri's hand flickered, the gentle man smiled, and his eyes swept across the ten-member exploration team, "Not only are we more vigilant, this time the monitoring team at the rear will also carry out more Active, more effective tracking and surveillance, no extra people will mix in with us."

The Eternal Sleeper also updated the monitoring technology this time?

Gawain still had a fresh memory of the "extra person" last time, and was deeply surprised by it. At this time, he felt a little relieved when he heard Archbishop Yuri's words, so he walked into the range of runes with a smile, and stood at No.11 personal location.

When the teleportation light and shadow began to flicker, Gawain turned his gaze slightly and landed on Selina Geer's avatar.

This quiet lady with a lantern just stood there quietly, holding a lantern in her hand, looking ahead quietly, unresponsive to outside gazes.

Gao Wen's thoughts fluctuated—did Selina Geerfen really participate in the mysterious voyage 700 years ago?If she really participated, how much did she know about what happened back then?If she even knew about that "deal" with Gawain Cecil, then did she know the truth about "Wanderer"?

If she already knew that the "Wanderer" had occupied the body of Gawain Cecil, then she had been silent until now, what exactly was she waiting for...