Sword of Dawn

Page 309

As for now, although there are no railways and roads between the southern border and San Sunil, due to the convenience of the Gorgon River and the efficiency of new mechanical boats, there is no need to worry too much about traffic problems-the development of the Gorgon River transportation also makes Gao One of the reasons why Wen dared to move the capital at this time.

"One more thing," Hetty said again after reporting the progress of the road construction project, "Ancestor, the Iron Throne has been restored."

Chapter 0686 Euphemism

Restoration of the Iron Throne is complete.

This news made Gao Wen truly relieved.

That armored train is currently the most powerful land combat force of the Cecil Empire - the special attributes of the armored train allow it to quickly move to the area covered by the railway line, and support a considerable strength alone without additional support The defense line, its powerful firepower and shield system is no less than an additional border fortress in this era, and what the empire lacks most now is such a border fortress.

The Changfeng Fortress is sending back various news every day. The increase in troops of the Typhon Empire has risen to a blatant level. Although the peace agreement signed between Ansu and Typhon in the past has not been torn apart , but anyone with a discerning eye can see that the binding force of that piece of paper on the two countries is actually not as good as a few swords and guns, just as Gao Wen predicted at the beginning: peace between countries has never been based on an agreement between gentlemen can be maintained.

In this case, the value of the Iron Throne is self-evident.

"Where is the railway line now?" He raised his head and looked at Hetty.

"It has already run through the east and is currently approaching the Karon Valley area. A newly assembled construction train is advancing along with the railway line. The project will be shortened to [-] days to complete," Hetty nodded, "After the completion The Iron Throne will be able to be deployed to the Paramer Heights near Longwind Fortress, the artillery can cover the entire Longwind defense line, and other military trains can also quickly transport the follow-up armored troops to the border."

Gawain nodded as he listened, and after Hetty reported about the Iron Throne and the Eastern Railway, he asked again: "How is the cleanup of the polluted area in the Holy Spirit Plain?"

"Currently the purification zone has advanced to the fertile forest land, and the speed of advancement will be further accelerated," Hetty said with a smile on his face, "After the fall of the 'artificial gods', all the crystal cluster giants have experienced a significant decline, not only The strength has weakened, and the mobility has also decreased a lot, and it has lost the ability to actively spread the plague. Now the purification team is carefully investigating the polluted area on the Holy Spirit Plain, and there is no sign of pollution counterattack.”

Immediately after the death of the freak created by the Death of Everything, the druse giant army fell into a state of decline-this is the same as the previous staff members in the army and the scholars of Cecil City estimated.

Cluster giants have a special organizational form. Their lower-level units are controlled by the minds of the upper-level units, and even the thinking ability of the lower-level units must be endowed by the upper-level nodes. Action efficiency and communication ability even make them have a certain degree of telepathy, but their weakness is that once their upper-level nodes are destroyed, all lower-level nodes will collapse immediately-originally, the Crystal Cluster Legion was formed by the entire Death of Everything Association. A large number of bishops are controlled separately, and the destruction of a node will only cause a problem with a branch legion. This kind of weakness is not fatal, but after the "artificial god" lost control, its superior nodes were all concentrated on the "god". Weakness is fatal.

The fall of the man-made god directly caused the crystal cluster army to become a group of weak and loose beasts, which greatly reduced the pressure on the follow-up purification of the Holy Spirit Plain. Otherwise, there would still be nearly a million monsters remaining on the entire plain. It is not so easy to completely clean up the serious shortage of troops in the post-empire.

"A big rotten tree fell down, and the dead branches and leaves scattered all over the place...it still takes a lot of effort to clean it up," Gawain sighed softly, then raised his head, and said to the three archons, "Everything The Death Society has a huge structure and has been operating in this country for a long time. Even many small nobles, businessmen, and church priests have been corrupted by it. Now the backbone of this church has fallen, but the remnants of those branches must still remain. No, it’s not just the monsters on the Holy Spirit Plain that need to be cleaned up.”

Victoria lowered her head deeply, her voice was cold: "Yes, we understand."

"No, you only understand part of it." Gao Wen shook his head, "The remnants of the heretics will definitely be uprooted, but we must be vigilant that this process will evolve into extreme violence like the Church of the Holy Light burned the heretics - the empire has just been established , We are promoting a new order of justice and the rule of law. At this time, the old school style must not appear, we must not slap ourselves in the face, and we must not stir up panic and create chaos."

"In the future, I will ask Pittman to compile a booklet of methods for distinguishing the law of activities and magic characteristics of dark druids, and distribute them to priests and official druids everywhere. Ordinary people who have been deluded or low-level religious believers should try their best to deal with them through hard labor and thought remolding—the act of mass burning of heresies must be banned.”

Victoria blinked: "What if this mild approach can't effectively deter those believers? Thoughts that have been bewitched by cults are often deeply ingrained, and it is difficult to correct them in a short time..."

The duchess, who had captured heretics in the north and dealt with many heretics, obviously had a good understanding of those who had gone astray.

"First of all, you should have confidence in the Cecil-style labor + thought transformation project. We have used the same method to transform many people, and I have also prepared special spiritual food for the believers of the Death of Everything Society," Gao said. Wen smiled and said patiently, "I plan to show them the video of hunting the God of Creation repeatedly - from the trapping of the brave to the meal of the siren, the whole process will be played without any deletions, and I will arrange for someone to I will explain the knowledge about the man-made gods next to it, and it will be played once every morning, noon and evening. On rest days, you can also play a documentary about cutting the bones of false gods and processing the skull throne.

"Secondly, if there are really stubborn people like you mentioned - I believe there will be such people - then it doesn't matter, the empire now has mines that are short of people, those people can't finish the transformation in a year, and they can transform it twice. Years, 20 years if the transformation cannot be completed in ten years, and if the transformation cannot be completed in a lifetime, we will award them medals after they die to thank them for their outstanding contributions to the industrial construction of the empire."

Duke Baldwin Franklin listened to Gawain's words in a daze—his eyes widened when he heard the first half, and he exclaimed with an exaggerated expression after listening to the second half: "If it is really used If you use the 'spiritual food' you mentioned, I am afraid that no one can last for more than two years, unless they are not only blind but also foolish."

"Sometimes people brainwashed by cults are no better than fools," Victoria shook her head, "but I also think His Majesty's plan will be very effective."

Gawain smiled, and looked at Hetty again: "Hetty, is there any new progress regarding the underground 'nest' near Solinburg?"

What he was referring to was the lair where all things will die in the east of the Holy Spirit Plain-after the artificial god was killed, the search force discovered a large-scale crack near Solinburg. According to the information provided by Pittman, the crack below It should be the base camp of the Death of All Things Society. The size of the camp may be close to that of the Rebellious Fortress, and part of its structure may even extend to the East Territory, where countless secrets are buried.

"The surface and the shallow caves and passages have been cleared, but they haven't gone deep," Hetty shook his head lightly, "The structure below is too complicated, and scholars are currently trying to decipher its magic traps and mechanisms. The team didn't dare to rush in. In addition, after knowing this, Rebecca suggested that the expert team throw bombs underground to disarm the trap, please rest assured that they have already done so."

Gao Wen: "..."

"Ahem, I got it," Gao Wen coughed dryly after a few seconds, "This is indeed something Rebecca can do, but after all, the child is grown, so we should take her face into account when talking..."

"Yes, ancestor." Hetty nodded with a serious face, while the two grand consuls, Victoria and Baldwin, looked at each other with a tacit understanding in their eyes.

Seeing that the corners of Victoria, who hardly changed her expression on weekdays, turned up her mouth, Gawain knew that Rebecca's deeds might have spread in Saint-Sunil... That's right, if the girl didn't make one after another When the troubles come, Hetty, who is so stable, shouldn't have such a big resentment when reporting to work to make the ancestors pay attention to the evil deeds of the brat...

But it's embarrassing to say, in fact, when Hetty mentioned that there were many traps and traps in the underground lair, the idea of ​​blasting and troubleshooting came to Gawain's mind, but what he conceived was high-precision blasting technology. The fireball brewing in Ka's head may be bigger than the city gate...

"Rebecca..." Gawain couldn't help but sighed softly with a helpless smile, then turned his head and looked in the direction of the window.

The autumn wind blew through the towers of the castle, circling and shuttling between the complicated spiers and walls, bringing the autumn leaves and the cold air from the north. Unknowingly, this was his identity as Gawain Cecil. The fourth year of waking up is also the fourth year of knowing people like Rebecca and Hetty.

"It's been four years... This kid should learn to be more or less stable, right?"

The autumn wind blows through the courtyard of the castle, the tall and straight dragon leaf trees, neatly trimmed bushes and flower beds, a yellow fallen leaf swirls and falls from the sky, and is gently caught by a slightly slender hand.

The black-haired maid Maggie looked at the dead leaf falling on her palm. The leaf had a special asymmetry. Its shape was narrow on one side and wide on the other, and the jagged edges reminded people of the legendary dragon's wings. She still vaguely remembers that in her hometown, whenever autumn comes, the streets and alleys will be covered with such leaves.

The "Dragon Leaf Tree", which is relatively rare in Ansu, is extremely common in the Holy Dragon Principality.

Maggie gently held her fingers, and the withered and yellow fallen leaves shimmered between her fingers. After opening her palm again, the fallen leaves had turned into a bird composed of illusory dust, and flew lightly into the sky .

"It flies so well..." she murmured softly.

A sound of footsteps suddenly came from behind, and Maggie immediately restrained herself. She returned to her usual shrewd and decent appearance, turned around and saw the person walking towards her.

It is Her Royal Highness Princess of the Empire——Rebecca Cecil.

"Your Highness." After Rebecca walked a certain distance, Maggie bent down just right and greeted respectfully.

There are many rules in the upper class, and there are countless unwritten etiquettes in addition to the express rules and etiquette, so that this just right time to bend down is the homework of a qualified maid - when a noble person other than the master walks towards you , although the servant does not have to go to greet him, he must salute in time, and it is an offense to bend down too early, as if he is urging the other party to respond to himself quickly, but it is uneducated and unresponsive to bend down too late In terms of performance, it is hard to tell how many rules there are.

Although Victoria said that sooner or later, these cumbersome rules would disappear or be simplified along with the old aristocrats, but for Maggie, actions in this regard had already become her habit, and there was no need to deliberately maintain them.

"Hey, don't be so troublesome, don't be so troublesome," Rebecca quickly waved her hand. She didn't understand the details hidden in these rules. The maid she usually came into contact with the most was a dull Betty, but the latter was a celestial being. A girl who would have to go through a thunderstorm before she can get excited, so much so that Rebecca didn't know that there were a lot of tricks in Maggie's bow, "I'm not used to it..."

Maggie showed a gentle smile: "You are a member of the royal family, you have to adapt to this."

"Don't mention it, I'm still a little dizzy up to now, why did the ancestor go out to fight a war, and my title has changed when I come back..." Rebecca scratched her hair, the blankness on her face was not adulterated at all, " Let's not talk about this, I found an opportunity to talk to you - I didn't meet you at the dinner before, and you don't usually come out for a walk, I only found out that you were in the yard after asking the guards this time!"

Maggie frowned slightly. She had almost never been in contact with Rebecca, so she couldn't guess what this maverick princess was thinking: "What do you want from me?"

Rebecca thought about it for a while, and slowly burst into a very bright and pleasing smile, and leaned closer and said, "That... I heard from my ancestors, you are actually a dragon, right?"

Maggie was taken aback for a moment, her expression seemed to have changed, but in the end she breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her head slightly: "Yes."

She doesn't want to publicize her identity, and has always guarded her real body like a secret, but in the previous wars, her true identity has been exposed to many people in the Cecil Legion. None of the Silers had any strange attitude towards her because of her special status. Rebecca was usually a very likable and lively girl, but this humanoid dragon let go of her knots and admitted it frankly.

"Oh, that's good, that's good!" Rebecca nodded again and again, then opened her mouth, thinking about what to say next——

She still remembered that her ancestor said to be polite and try not to offend Maggie's self-esteem, because there seemed to be something unspeakable in the blood of this black dragon lady, so she had to be tactful when she spoke about it.

So Rebecca thought about it in her heart, and then said with a smile on her face: "Then let me see if you change yourself!"

Chapter 0687 Dragon and Sky

Be a... look...

Maggie looked at the "Her Royal Highness" in front of her with a stiff expression. She was used to the conventional way of thinking and couldn't keep up with Rebecca's rhythm at this moment. She didn't feel a little annoyed until she confirmed that she had heard correctly. Come.

Show her a change!

Is this treating oneself as some kind of rare animal, as some interesting landscape? !

She herself had a certain resistance to her dragon form because of her physical deformity, and now she heard Rebecca's speech, which sounded like a no-brained request from a noble child. Let her forcefully restrain the anger in her heart. After all, the girl in front of her is the legal heir of the new empire, and even her mistress needs to be polite when facing this princess, so she suppresses her emotions, Trying to reply in a calm tone: "Why do you want to see my dragon form?"

It's a pity that Rebecca, who has thick lines, didn't feel Maggie's emotional changes at all—if she could feel other people's emotional changes, she wouldn't be beaten every now and then—this girl just continued happily Smiling, with a bright face: "I want to fly too!!"

Maggie's follow-up words were all condensed into six points and a question mark: "...?"

Then, under the more confused and stunned eyes of this Miss Black Dragon, Rebecca suddenly took out a large scroll from nowhere, and it shook in front of Maggie's eyes with a clatter—it was a hand-drawn scroll. The mechanical design diagram also contains a large number of rune array patterns.

In the next second, Rebecca spread the blueprints on the ground and explained enthusiastically in front of Maggie who looked confused: "Look at this, this is not an awl, this is the aircraft I designed, the following The ring is called the anti-gravity ring, which can provide a lift force. It has been fixed and is very stable. Next to it is the magic wing... Do you know the magic wing? There are also battleships. This is the aircraft version I designed... Hey, why don't you squat down? Can you see clearly while standing?"

Maggie thought about the servant etiquette she had mastered, including how to accompany the nobleman when he was standing, and how to accompany the nobleman when he was sitting, but what if the nobleman squatted down in the open space in the middle of the courtyard... It seems that there is no corresponding rule...

Because nobles with normal brains would not squat on the ground in public!

After thinking about it carefully, Maggie squatted down next to Rebecca - anyway, it was Rebecca who spoke first...

"That's right," Rebecca glanced at Maggie happily, and continued to move her fingers on the peculiar conical machine on the blueprint, "I refer to the anti-gravity technology of elves here, their levitation spell The efficiency is much higher than that of humans, but I haven't figured out how to make this thing move freely. The anti-gravity ring can only provide lift, or strictly speaking, it can only provide reverse gravity. This is the same as the repulsion trick Not the same - if you tilt the force field of the anti-gravity ring, it will not get a tilted propulsion, but it will just go out of control, I smashed the prototype to the ceiling last time...

"I also studied how the Elven Temple of Stars flies, but that thing is really too complicated. It is a device called a 'wave engine'. Each propulsion group is bigger than a house! The key is that there are There are many structures that even the elves can’t understand, and they can’t be disassembled. It is said that they are their ancestors’ technology. Very suitable..."

Maggie thought suddenly: You asked me to change it just now, is it suitable?

Rebecca was still babbling, as long as it involved the technical field, she seemed to have endless words: "...I found mages who can fly, but their flying spells are simply 'feeling' , it cannot be transformed into the machine at all. I also designed a method of "fireball pulse propulsion", but my aunt rejected it, saying that it is easy to blow up my own people. A magician under my hand thought of a way to use it. The plan of wind runes to create airflow to propel it barely works, but the strength is pitiful, and the test machine is literally crawling... But having said that, I always feel that although the plan of airflow propulsion does not seem to be very useful now, But it might be a good thing in the future, if the power can be solved..."

Maggie heard that Her Royal Highness was going further and further away, and she had already reached a field that she couldn't understand at all, so she hurriedly interrupted: "Your Highness, what you said...has something to do with me?"

"Ah? You..." Rebecca was stunned for a moment before realizing, "Ah yes, it does matter, it does matter! How do you dragons fly?"

"Of course with wings..."

"But your wings can neither provide enough lift nor enough propulsion, right?" Rebecca looked curious, "Your wings are indeed big, but your body is bigger, and more importantly, I I have seen how your dragon race accelerates and brakes. It was a blue dragon. When accelerating, a force field appeared on the edge of the wings, and then a magical glow passed, and it accelerated to the point where the eyes could not catch up. She only flapped her wings once in the process...it can't be the speed that can be obtained by flapping her wings."

Maggie looked at Rebecca in astonishment, she had almost forgotten the initial sentence "Take a look", she realized that the reckless princess in front of her didn't have any malice at all, let alone a hothead The unreasonable request she made was to study something, something of extraordinary significance even though she couldn't understand it—and this Her Royal Highness has devoted all her heart and soul to these researches.

"I heard from Master Kamel that the dragons don't fly by flapping their wings and moving the air." Rebecca didn't care about the change in Maggie's expression, but continued enthusiastically, "Actually, are you flying?" Swiping the 'magic power' is to create some kind of force field, and then ride the force field to slide between the ripples of magic power at a very high speed, so you can fly very, very high, even fly to the clouds where the air is very thin, and that It is a height that no human mage or bird can reach...

"I want to refer to the flying method of the dragon clan and create a device that can glide in the magic ripples. If your magic system can also be compatible with rune logic... Maybe I can fly too!"

Suddenly, Maggie recalled a sentence she once read in a book in her hometown: Dragons can soar through the sky on waves of magic power, and even reach the end of the sky and reach the top of the atmosphere, where they are far away from each other. They are only one step away from this planet, so they are qualified to be called the masters of the sky - because under this sky, no creature can fly higher than them.

She took a breath and nodded slowly: "You are right, dragons do not fly by pumping the air, or in other words, pumping the air is just an auxiliary way for us to adjust the direction and perceive the environment, our real flying power , is magic..."

As these words fell softly, the black-haired maid raised her left hand slightly, and in the air behind her, a giant black wing suddenly emerged from the void, swinging slightly in mid-air.

The huge wings were smaller than her fully dragonized wings, but it still made Rebecca's eyes widen.

Rebecca saw many magic runes faintly emerging on the edge of the giant black wing, and lines of magic power also faintly emerged between the skeleton and veins of the giant wing.

"Becoming a dragon in the castle courtyard would make a big mess, but I can project parts of myself," Maggie said slowly. She felt a little impulsive. After all, this is the courtyard of Silver Castle, although there are no Who, but there must be many guards and attendants who can see what happened here, but she is enjoying the feeling now... Except for the time when she left her hometown, she has not done impulsive things for too long, "Watch it all you want, but it may not be complete."

Yes, the runes on Maggie's wings are not complete.

Rebecca just glanced at it, and realized that there was something wrong with Miss Black Dragon's wings—a part of its edge was incomplete, and the main skeleton also showed signs of shrinkage and deformity, as if it had suddenly grown halfway through. It stopped growing, and then was roughly destroyed by some external force, such a miserable appearance... No wonder Maggie has a grudge against her dragon form.

And the incomplete wings undoubtedly caused the incomplete rune array.

Rebecca's gaze swept between the runes and magic lines, and finally she slowly retracted: "I saw..."

Maggie waved her hand, took back some of the projected limbs, and then shook her head: "Sorry, I only have these incomplete things, so if you want to study the flying ability of the dragon, you'd better find a real one , healthy dragon, I am not a qualified research subject."

"...My ancestors said that unless it is necessary, it is best not to do business with giant dragons. They are picky and greedy," Rebecca said seriously, "and I think ordinary dragons should not be willing to accompany you. Should I do research?"

"Picking and greedy..." Maggie blinked, and suddenly couldn't help laughing out loud, laughing very happily, "Haha, that's really good of you, it's really picky and greedy...and those proud Healthy dragons really shouldn't be happy to accompany you to do research, after all, they are to be studied..."

"I think these rune samples of yours are enough," Rebecca continued, "Any rune array that can operate has certain self-explanatory and self-supplementary characteristics. This feature is also used by the Rune Academy. To rule out the common reference nature of invalid structures in traditional magic circles. I will go back to Jenny to borrow a few experts, and maybe we can complete all the runes you are missing-and those parts that are stacked and distorted due to deformities, should It can also be repaired and restored. In theory, as long as 70.00% of the runes can be restored, we can create the first generation of usable prototypes. Things like machinery and equipment need to be gradually improved..."

Speaking of this, Rebecca thought for a while, and suddenly became happy: "And maybe we can make a set of things that you can use!"

"I can use it?" Maggie didn't realize it for a while, "What?"

"Try to fix your wings," Rebecca thought wildly, "People who are disabled can use artificial limbs, although it is inconvenient, but they can also stand up, maybe we can build you mechanical wings, although it is not easy to use , but at least you can fly yourself - I heard you have to rely on extra airflow or glide off a cliff to take off? If we succeed, maybe you can take off on flat ground by yourself! !"

Maggie opened her eyes wide and looked at Rebecca in a daze.

What a wild idea and an optimistic imagination is this—how many years has she not had such a dream?

After being dazed for a few seconds, Rebecca's voice suddenly came from the side: "Hey, Maggie, why are you silent? Are you scared by my thought?"

"No, I'm just... well, I was a little scared," Maggie said a little helplessly, she felt that she had managed to maintain her calm temperament for many years and was quickly beaten in front of this maverick princess Shattered, but she didn't have the slightest regret, "Your idea is very bold, but it is not easy to realize it. The runes on our bodies are not the same as the runes commonly used by you humans. They are the basic elements of dragon language... "

"We have already cracked the rune language of the elves, and we don't mind having more dragon language runes. No matter what the system is, at least the mathematics is unified," Rebecca said confidently, "and as far as I know, The earliest magic of human beings was created by referring to the patterns on monsters in nature. The original "ancestor runes" were the natural patterns on monsters. Since our ancestors have already succeeded in monsters, we modern people who have modern tools Why can't it be done again?"

Maggie looked at Rebecca for a while, and couldn't help showing a smile: "Your remarks almost treat dragons and monsters on the same level. If other dragons hear it, I'm afraid they will fight."

"……Wow!"

"But don't worry, I know you didn't mean to."

"Oh, that's okay," Rebecca patted her chest quickly, "Don't mind me, sometimes I speak a little too smartly, and my aunt and ancestors usually keep saying that I will be beaten sooner or later when I speak like this, but Can't change..."

Maggie looked at Rebecca with a slight smile—this is such a lovely girl, it was incredible that she thought she was a brainless and rude and arrogant nobleman before.

"Then do you want to come back to Cecil City with me?" Rebecca Balabala continued, "My research facilities are all over there..."

"I need to get permission from the hostess first," Maggie thought, "as far as I know, she will stay in the north for the time being."

"Then I'll go and tell her~ I'll take it as if you agreed!"

Chapter 0688 Tarrond

The dragon's wings swept across the sky, and the pale golden glow seemed to be shattered by the giant wings, turning into countless sparkling lights and plating on the broad and majestic blue scales. The traces draw a magnificent arc between the clouds and the clear sky—ridden by the ripples of magic, the ruler of the sky crosses the borders of the continents, the endless sea, and the never-ending barrier of storms. In the brilliant rays of the huge sun in the sky, he flew quickly towards the extreme north.

The cold wind howled, and the bitingly cold air in the extreme north showed that the destination was approaching. The blue dragon slightly lowered its height, and in the huge pale golden pupils, it reflected the many icebergs and icebergs floating on the Arctic ice sea. All kinds of permanent alloy creations protruding from the sea, some weak and harmless creatures were jumping and playing on those icebergs and platforms. When the dragon shadow swept across the sky, some of the creatures immediately jumped into the sea to hide, while others He looked up at the sky blankly, as if he didn't know what fear was.

The continuous ice floes retreated quickly in the field of vision, and the surrounding area became colder and colder, but suddenly, the number of ice floes decreased greatly, and the surrounding temperature also rose abnormally. The blue dragon slightly reduced the flying speed, and At the end of her vision, a magnificent continent was floating on the empty and calm sea between glaciers.

It was a piece of land that was much smaller than Loren Continent, but there were still mountains, forests and rivers on it, and countless elegant towers exuding metal texture stood on the edge of the continent. Arcs jumped between the towers, and the light flowed.

On top of this, a huge shield that is large enough to stun human beings and is far more spectacular than a magnificent wall extends from the sky above the tower, covering the entire continent, and in the air part of this large shield, you can still see A large number of silver-white devices floating in the sky hovered at specific positions, maintaining the integrity of the shield in a certain way, and countless shadows flying in the air walked among those devices, looking busy and orderly.

The blue dragon let out a pleasant growl, and flew towards one of the areas of the big shield. When she got close to a certain distance, the big shield automatically opened a gap, and a long guiding light beam extended from the gap. In the dim light of the sky, it guided the direction of returning home, and a huge metal ring flew out of the shield, followed the guiding beam to the blue dragon, and flew together with the blue dragon.