Sword of Dawn

Page 259

The headmistress whispered to herself, and then a cold expression appeared on her face.

What the Eternal Sleeper said might be true, and what she saw that night was probably just a phantom, but she still didn't want to completely let go.

From now on, she decided not to use the "Mind Projection" device unless necessary.

……

In Aldernan, Typhon's imperial capital, in a private lounge of the Imperial Manufacturing Association, Daniel in a black robe woke up from his meditation and blinked slightly.

He received a message from the lower-level priest in the church, knowing that the negotiations with "Bertila Augustus" had been successfully concluded.

The cautious and cunning Priestess might not fully believe it, but she would also believe most of it. At least, the effect requested by the master is definitely achievable.

The downtime is almost over, and meditating too much during the day may attract unwanted prying eyes.

Daniel glanced at the mechanical clock hanging on the wall not far away, then stood up.

The artificial nerve cord squirmed slightly behind him, and then stayed in a position that would not cause discomfort very obediently. The old mage felt energetic and in a very good state.

The crazy noise and tingling pain have not appeared for a long time, even if I seldom look at those "pleasure patterns" recently, the symptoms of headache and auditory hallucinations have no signs of recurrence.

"Thank you master for the gift..."

Daniel whispered to himself almost habitually, and then left the lounge.

Along the way, mages of lower rank bowed their heads in salute to him, craftsmen of low status took the initiative to avoid him, and scholars and assistants bowed to him.

But Daniel rarely responded to these greetings. He just walked quickly through the corridor and finally came to the laboratory of a project he was currently paying attention to.

In the spacious and bright laboratory, dozens of craftsmen, mages, or assistants in short robes are busy everywhere. Long tables full of scrolls, calculation tools, and writing materials are arranged around the room, and the large experimental table in the center of the room On the top, you can see that the mechanical devices and magic devices with complex structures are being laid out, and they seem to be semi-finished products.

This is a completely different environment from the traditional mage laboratory. It is more like a workshop of some kind of engineering and alchemy, rather than a place to study the mysteries of magic. In fact, even within the Imperial Manufacturing Association, something like this The research site is also the only one.

——In other laboratories, it is rare to see craftsmen at the lowest level participating in the research and development of magic devices. Although Emperor Rosetta set up such a facility for intelligent people to work together, the strict hierarchy The system, the classification of extraordinary people, and the barriers of talent are still deeply rooted in everyone's heart. Only in the project led by Daniel himself, this barrier was forcibly eliminated due to the strength of the old mage himself.

He imitated what he saw in the origin laboratory, imitating the "Magic Technician" system.

"Master Daniel," a craftsman who was busy by the experimental table noticed the old mage's arrival, and immediately got up to salute, "You are here."

Daniel nodded and looked at the mechanical parts on the test bench: "How is the progress?"

The craftsman looked nervous, bowed his waist and nodded repeatedly: "We are trying to figure out how to turn the two rear wheels separately. We don't have a clue yet, but it should be soon, soon..."

Daniel looked at the craftsman in front of him who obviously had excellent mechanical talent, but was habitually groveling due to the influence of the environment, and frowned slightly, but said nothing.

He just glanced at the semi-finished products on the test bench, and nodded slightly: "Don't be impatient, rigor is more important."

Then he glanced around and saw several sketches nailed to the edge of the wooden frame on a shelf not far away.

On those drawings, something that's still conceptual (at least here at least) is depicted:

A vehicle that is driven by a repulsion mechanism, relies on mechanical devices to transmit power, and can travel without relying on animal traction.

When Daniel came to Aldernan in accordance with his master's order to show the magic net skills to the ruler of the empire, he also brought some other technologies.

These include simple power machines powered by runes of repulsion.

The owner hopes to use these basic technologies to accelerate Typhon's "industrial upheaval", and these basic technologies have indeed achieved the expected effect, but as they enter the sight of Typhon's technical workers, subsequent development will become inevitable——

The principle of the repulsion mechanism is not complicated, and the simplest gears, levers, bearings and other things have already existed. When the craftsmen and mages of the Imperial Manufacturing Association were opened up by the magical "repulsion mechanism", they would naturally understand Thinking of using this thing in more fields.

Today, Typhon's self-produced mana engines have been used on mining machines, spinning machines, and looms. Merchants and nobles are lying on the machines and counting gold coins like flowing water, while more far-sighted and wise people are Thinking about the further development of machines—A court advisor realized that factory operations would inevitably have higher requirements for transportation. Under the suggestion of the court advisor, Rosetta Augustus ordered the Manufacturing Association to develop a A vehicle powered by magic machines.

Daniel readily took over this task. As a "very gifted genius mage" in the field of magical machinery, he set up this engineering laboratory.

Then he stuck the project just right-there are too many links in this project that can be stuck, differential, speed change, transmission, braking, heat dissipation, shock absorption...Daniel has seen the complete project in the origin laboratory Magic vehicle information, so he is confident that this project will be stuck in three to five years, and it will not arouse anyone's suspicion.

He is waiting for the master's next order, waiting for an order that can logically "invent" or "imitate" the magical vehicle.

The master is already preparing to meet Rosetta Augustus, so the next order should come soon.

Chapter 0597 Haze

In the eastern fortress Thorinburg, which is built of huge stones, Edmund Moen, wearing a black coat, sat down on his high-backed chair with a sinking face, and a letter that had been opened was placed in front of him. On the desk case, the brilliance of the magic spar lamp illuminated the emblem at the corner of the letter—it was crossed swords and plows, the emblem of the Cecil family.

The Doom cultists invaded and destroyed the vital functions of the Sentinel Tower...the earliest erosion may have occurred hundreds of years ago...

If the team led by Duke Gawain Cecil hadn't discovered the clues in the Shadow Realm by chance, the actions of those believers might never have been discovered—until the majestic wall collapsed, and until the destruction of human civilization. will be found.

The long hall of the castle was shrouded in a layer of deep pressure that seemed to be substantive. The bad mood of the high-level transcendent made the waiters and guards in the hall shudder, until a sound of steady and powerful footsteps came from the entrance of the hall, and the armored Dongjing Duke Silas Lauren walked into the hall, and the breath that shrouded in this space gradually loosened and returned to normal.

Silas Lauren went straight to the main seat in the hall, came to Edmund Moen, bowed and saluted: "Your Highness—what happened?"

"A letter from the south," Edmund didn't say much, pushing the letter forward, "Look at it, Duke Laurent."

Silas Lauren took the letter with the Cecil family emblem curiously, glanced at it hurriedly, and then frowned: "Your Highness, when was this delivered?"

Edmund's tone was low: "I arrived at Thorinburg this morning."

After the winter, the Royal Army and the Eastern Realm, which had already entered a confrontation, further reduced their respective forces due to the severe cold. Edmund also temporarily returned from the front line of the Giant Wood Crossing to Thoringburg, which was the temporary base camp. Therefore, letters from the Southern Realm should It was delivered to him later than usual.

Silas Lauren quickly calculated the journey of the letter on the road, recalled a series of news from the south, and said thoughtfully: "It seems that Duke Cecil has just arrived at the border of the wasteland. discovered these..."

Edmund took a breath and looked at Silas: "Mr. Laurent, that's not the point."

"The focus is on those dark believers," Silas Lauren said with a calm expression, and his eyes fell on Edmund calmly. "Your Highness, we have known this from the beginning."

"Yes, I know, they can't be trusted..." Edmund closed his eyes slightly, and when he opened them again, there was already a chill in those eyes, "Mr. Lauren, we should pay attention to Cecil." The duke's warning, isn't it?"

"Of course." Silas Lauren nodded expressionlessly. "Sweeping away evil and maintaining peace is what nobles should do."

"Very good... Belk should return to Solinburg in the near future. After he returns, I will leave this matter to him-I believe that upright young man will handle this matter well."

Silas Lauren lowered his head slightly: "Of course, as you wish."

Accompanied by the sound of steady and powerful footsteps, the Duke of the Eastern Realm left the long hall.

Edmund Moen sat quietly on the high-backed chair, his gaze once again scanning the warning letter from the south.

His gaze stayed there for a moment, then looked at the many documents and maps on the other side.

The Royal Army adjusted its deployment after the winter. A mountain corps stationed in the north of the giant wooden crossing. The winter atmosphere from that area was even worse than that on the plain. The Grand Duke of the North, Victoria Wilde, had obviously come to the front line, and the Grand Duke of the North The Mountain Guards under his command are said to be fearless of severe cold...

The law and order in some towns east of Solinburg has not improved, and the influence of the old lord has not completely dissipated.

The government reform in the Eastern Territory encountered an unexpected backlash, and a large number of farmers were resisting the land replacement bill—this obviously couldn’t be their spontaneous behavior, and the conservative lords must be behind it, but he couldn’t find it. evidence.

The plan to promote education is progressing slowly, the people have no active literacy enthusiasm, and the lower scribes and minor nobles who carry out the orders are hardly serious - even in many areas, they regard this task as a kind of "punishment" and "belittling" because "teaching untouchables to read is a disreputable job"...

The Royal Army is gaining a foothold, the Conservatives are resurging, the reformers are splitting, the people who implement the government orders are horribly slow, and the people... the people who he is trying to help, want to improve their situation, don't understand at all his bill.

In the beginning, everything went smoothly. The successive victories and trophies of the legion made everyone's morale high, and the implementation of the decree did not encounter any difficulties, but since the war has reached a stalemate, since the New Deal began to involve "land" and "population ", countless obstacles and dilemmas appeared.

A sense of irritability inevitably came to his mind—Edmund Moen suddenly felt distraught. He reached out and picked up the water glass on the table, wanting to take a sip of water to suppress the irritability in his heart.

—he had been abstaining from alcohol for a long time in order to keep his head calm.

At this moment, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw an extraordinarily bright flame rising from the fireplace on one side of the hall. There seemed to be some illusory shadow trying to condense out of the hearth while the flame was jumping, and even the decorations on the nearby walls The candles on the sex lamp holder also seemed to be pulled by an inexplicable force, and the flame suddenly increased.

This is not a dark room without outsiders or the top of the sentry tower. There are attendants and guards everywhere in the hall, which makes Edmund Moen's bad mood even worse. He frowned and turned to the fireplace. With a wave in the direction: "Audacity!"

The flame in the fireplace returned to normal in an instant, no matter who was going to project it, it was obviously interrupted.

Edmund Moen snorted coldly, picked up his water glass and drank it in one gulp.

……

To the west of the giant wooden crossing, in Baisong Town, a town under the control of the Royal Army, Viscount Horn, wearing a dark red coat, was sitting in the carriage, listening to the soldiers outside reporting the situation to him with a very displeased expression.

Hell, it's a cold winter!A viscount actually wants to go to the streets where the untouchables live in such a ghostly weather, supervise the "eradication of evil", and listen to those stupid soldiers babbling - is there any law for this? !

Viscount Horn cursed inwardly, but he didn't dare to say what was in his heart, because these things were ordered by the Duke Regent, Victoria, and the Grand Duke of the North who possessed the power of the cold winter was stationed not far to the north , He felt that every word he uttered inappropriately here would immediately reach the ears of the Grand Duchess—that was not a good thing.

The cold wind seemed to blow in through the gaps in the carriage. Viscount Horn couldn't help tightening his already thick and warm coat—he was a low-level spellcaster, but the years of drinking had already emptied his coat. His body, even with the protection of the breeze shield, he still felt that the weather was unbearably cold, and at the same time, he heard the soldiers outside still chanting:

"...Three people were found in the cellar, all dead. They were obviously doing something profane. A blood-stained altar and a container containing a suspicious liquid were found at the scene...

"The whereabouts of the original owner of the house are unknown. People on the street said that they hadn't seen them since the beginning of winter. This is consistent with the description of the whistleblower...

"...The three cult members may have committed suicide, or they may have committed internal strife. This needs to be judged by you, my lord..."

A hint of impatience flashed in Viscount Horn's eyes, but he still spoke in an unhurried tone—this kind of speaking style that maintains a specific rhythm and strictly limits the tone of each word is a must for a qualified nobleman. The recuperation: "I've figured it out - in short, someone reported to the knights that they found the traces of the cultists, and then you really found the desecrated altar and three dead cultists here, clearly That's right, right?"

A soldier's voice came from outside: "Yes, my lord—there is another missing resident..."

"I know, I know," Viscount Horn interrupted the soldier, "I know about this, so let's deal with it as it should be, burn the corpses of the cultists, purify the altar with holy water, and return the house to the lord. that's it."

After finishing speaking, he was about to order to leave this place, but the unwieldy soldier was still talking: "But... But my lord, you... Do you want to take a look... After all, this is a rule..."

What a stupid mind, I don't know who put such an idiot in the inner city guard.

Viscount Horn cursed secretly, quickly pushed open the cover of the window of the carriage, and glanced outside.

He saw the dilapidated streets outside, the half-melted snow had soaked the walls of houses and garbage dumps beside the road, a few soldiers were guarding the door of a residential house, and three corpses that had begun to emit a strange smell were thrown in the On the grass mat, there are ritual daggers, pottery pots, stone flakes and other objects serving as "evidence of heresy" on the mat, while some cowardly poor people are looking at this side not far away—some standing by the roadside, some hide behind windows or doors.

Those fearful and stupid gazes are very uncomfortable.

Viscount Horn just glanced at it, and quickly lowered the window cover: "Okay, I have witnessed it with my own eyes, so do as I say——Mr. Pierre, give them money for their work."

Outside the carriage, the viscount's butler took out three silver coins—the money used to dispose of the cult members' corpses and purify the evil altar—and handed them to the soldier captain who was waiting aside.

Afterwards, the Viscount, his attendants and butlers left the street.

The few soldiers who stayed at the scene looked at me, I looked at you, or shook their heads or muttered a few words, then brandished their swords and drove away the poor onlookers who got too close, and the captain called a soldier to him, and walked over to him. Throwing a silver coin to the other party: "Okay, do as the lord said, find two people to deal with this place."

The soldier holding the silver coin shrugged as his captain turned his head away.

Then he noticed that there were still a lot of onlookers standing there—those ragged, yellow and thin people who were driven away by swords just now, but most of them didn't run far. They just stood there blankly. On the side of the road, he was looking at this side with strange, numb, and empty eyes at the moment, at the three corpses on the ground, and at the house that had lost its owner and was about to be taken back to the lord.

The soldier who was left behind froze for a moment, and suddenly shuddered inexplicably.

In this damn cold weather, the brains of these poor people may have been frozen unconscious.

In the inexplicable uneasiness, the soldiers gave up their plan to search the unowned house—anyway, the people living on this street should have nothing of value.

He raised his head, looked past the numb and sluggish poor, and saw the two corpse draggers who had already been waiting outside the crowd—the dirty gray-black blouse and the death amulet hanging around their necks were the most distinctive features of the corpse draggers. These guys who deal with corpses have always had a sensitive sense of smell. I am afraid that within half an hour after the news of a corpse spread here, the two corpse draggers were already waiting nearby.

"Today is really bad..."

The soldier grumbled, called the draggers to the front, handed them a few copper coins, and ordered: "Drag the corpse outside the town and burn it—remember, it must be burned, this is an order from above."

After saying this, he didn't care how the dragger answered, and left the place with a step.

The main reason why he walked so fast was that he knew that the corpse dragger would definitely bargain—burning the corpse required extra money for firewood and grease, and those few copper coins were not enough.

But after he left, it had nothing to do with him.

The lord left, the steward left, the soldier left.

On the street, there were only dozens of poor people standing scattered in the cold wind, three corpses of cultists lying on straw mats, messy footprints, and two corpse draggers.

Chapter 0598 Visit Typhon Camp

A huge eagle flew across the chaotic and dirty sky. The eagle brought messengers and messages from afar. Under the watchful eyes of the soldiers and craftsmen, the iron-gray bird of prey circled twice in the sky, and then guided the lights on the ground. With assistance, it landed steadily on the landing platform on the side of the Jianfeng base.

"Cuckoo!!"

The giant eagle that had successfully completed its mission uttered a loud and excited cry. Although it was embarrassing, the owner of the giant eagle was obviously used to it—Sonia jumped off the broad back of the raptor, her steps were light and elegant, and then she gently Patted the drooping feathers of his partner, and walked towards the camp.

On the way, she looked up and saw a hexagonal tower frame tens of meters high standing on the open ground not far away.

The frame was obviously not yet completed, and various structures were still being added to the upper floor. Under the dim light, she saw the jagged steel bars and rune columns extending and interlacing within the frame, like the bones and blood vessels of a giant, slightly The rune radiance of the frame circulates near the base of the frame, providing a stable source of magic power for the entire construction site. Inside and outside the stable scaffolding, powerful mechanical devices and weight-reducing pallets are constantly transferring various building materials And personnel are transported to various parts of the frame, the tower body is cast, and the magic mechanism is buried.

And a little farther away from the construction site, in a long and narrow area extending towards the direction of the Black Forest, you can also see a series of small towers that have risen from the ground or have begun to take shape—that is the "pressure relief point" Or where the "purifier" is located.

Even in the cold winter, these projects did not delay at all. On the contrary, because all the machinery and personnel were in place, several temporary front-line factories in the base started construction, and the efficiency was greatly improved.

Even a high-ranking messenger from the Silver Empire couldn't help sighing: "The efficiency of the Cecils...is really terribly high..."

A voice came from not far away, interrupting Sonia's exclamation: "You've only been away for two days, so there's no need to sigh like this—the construction changes in two days don't seem to be that big."

Sonia turned her head when she heard the words and saw Gawain standing not far away with a smile on his face. She couldn't help but smiled, and walked over and said: "Elves are good at accurately perceiving changes in things from details. I can even count Find out how much those workers raised those buildings in just two days..."

"How many?"

"...That's the thing, I was using a metaphor...You didn't take it so seriously 700 years ago, didn't you!"

"Occasionally making a joke can help maintain your mentality, which is very valuable in this wasteland," Gao Wen casually changed the subject, "How about the reply?"

"You should have guessed it earlier, Rosetta Augustus welcomes you to visit at any time, he will entertain you with the highest standard - the standard of welcoming heroes and top nobles from neighboring countries," Sonia said from A letter sealed with magic thread and wax was taken out of the exquisite hollowed-out wooden barrel, "This is his reply letter."

Gawain's eyes fell on the scroll with the emblem of Typhon's royal family.

After a pause of a second, he took the reply, opened it casually, and quickly glanced at the content on it.