Sword of Dawn

Page 158

Those honeycomb structures are the new energy used to replace the original energy core of the disobedient fortress after it failed—the second-generation magic net device.

The final encapsulation of these magic nets has not been completed. According to the lord, those densely packed hexagons seem to make people suffer from "intensive phobia", and they must be covered with a ceiling. But in Soldering's view, It is precisely this magic net that is not encapsulated and emits a faint blue light, but makes the whole room present an alternative and breathtaking beauty. This scene composed of neat geometric lines and advanced magic devices , It really looks like the treasure of elf civilization, the Temple of Stars known as the "inconceivable miracle of ancient technology"...

Who would have thought that this ancient Gondor facility built in the age of Starfire would be "resurrected" in this way today, 1000 years later. Just outside this hall, several adjacent large indoor spaces Inside, there are rumbling workshops and warehouse facilities for stockpiling supplies—after Kamel repaired the access control and isolation system in this area, and the lord sent enough guard soldiers, the middle-level area of ​​the fortress The safety of the city has been guaranteed, and now there are thousands of people working and living in this area. Although it is still far from the grand occasion of the heyday of the rebellious fortress, Kamel was really moved for a while at that time .

Slightly emotional in his heart, Soldering withdrew his gaze from looking around, and looked at the dozen or so capable soldiers he had picked out—these soldiers were wearing the special light armor of the Iron Rangers, and the armor made by precision punching machines. , full-covered helmets, the detection eyepiece in front of the helmets emitted a slight red light, they stood there silently waiting for orders, even though they were just a group of "mortals" without any magical talent, an indescribable aura emanated from them It radiated from the body.

——So far, this kind of momentum can only be called a bluff, but after a few bloody actual battles, this kind of momentum will become something real.

A subordinate serving as the deputy captain glanced at the mechanical clock on the wall not far away, and a slightly muffled voice came from under the helmet: "Sir, it's time for departure."

"Wait another five minutes." Soldering waved his hand. "The person sent by the lord should be here soon."

While speaking, the high-ranking ranger showed a slightly strange expression——Although the shadow master lady usually looks very inconspicuous, she has always been unambiguous in the concept of time. She has been used by the lord as an alarm clock for dinner, so how can she be late?

He was curious on his side, when he suddenly heard Amber's bluffing voice from the entrance at the other end of the hall: "Hey, I'm here, I'm here! You haven't waited too long—I met someone here. Something unexpected!"

Solderling breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately turned his head: "It's okay, it's just been a few minutes... huh?"

The slender golden eyebrows of the high-ranking ranger raised slightly, and he looked in surprise at Hu Po who was running towards this side...the arching figure behind him.

He couldn't help but curiously asked Amber who had already run in front of him: "Who is this...Miss Siren?"

Amber immediately rolled her eyes: "The team member who suddenly blocked - the old rice dumpling from the night before yesterday...Gao Wen only said to let me help you, but when he set off today, he suddenly gave me this sea caterpillar monster, saying Take her with you."

While talking, the half-elf lady glanced at the sea monster next to her rather dissatisfied: "I was traveling fast by myself, but in the end I could only walk slowly with her. Don't you know that this guy is going all the way How slow it is to arch over..."

Tyre immediately responded: "I have a plan to go quickly——if you don't like it, what can I do?"

"Nonsense! You roll yourself into a ball and let me kick hard behind you-you are so relaxed, I won't be exhausted?! And we are going to walk on a mountain road! Aren't you afraid that I will kick you into a ravine?"

Solderling looked at Tire with a different look: he rolled himself into a ball and was kicked away... This sea monster was just as the rumors said, he was so lazy that he almost died on the spot...

Tire didn't care about Soldering's gaze. She swung her long tail back and forth, looked curiously at the strangely dressed soldiers in front of her, and then happily waved to everyone: "I heard Lah! You found a new area in the south of the fort, right?! That's why I took the initiative to sign up - thinking about what if I can follow you to find some snacks or something..."

Soldering looked confused: "Small snacks?"

"Ahaha, don't worry about her, the creatures that are soaked in the sea have somewhat entered the water," Amber said haha ​​and quickly diverted Solderin's attention, "It's getting late, let's go."

Tyr immediately glared at Amber: "Don't think I don't understand! You learned the word 'water entry' from that lord—are you scolding me?"

Amber accepted all the accusations with her own face, completely ignoring Tyre's doubts, but Solderin approached her with a worried face and asked in a low voice: "Is there really no problem? I heard that this Hai Miss Yao is lazy by nature, what if she falls asleep halfway - we are not going on an outing, but exploring dangerous ancient ruins..."

But I didn't expect that Till's hearing was better than Soldering imagined. The siren lady waved her hands (and tail) carelessly before Amber spoke: "Don't worry, I'm more or less a tide master, and I'm not so good at it. It's dragging you little guys back. Besides... If I'm too lazy to go, I'll just roll myself into a ball and sleep, and you can send someone to push me behind..."

Soldering: "..."

Now he really feels that the prospect of this exploration journey is not good...

In the lord's mansion, Hetty came to Gawain's study with a stack of documents in his arms. Gawain nodded slightly after seeing her: "Amber and Tyre should have set off with Solderling's exploration team by now."

"According to the time...it's almost time," Heti said after a moment of pondering, and then frowned slightly, with a little doubt in her tone, "Ancestor, is it really okay to send the two of them to help?"

Gao Wen glanced at the eldest granddaughter who occasionally seemed too serious with a half-smile: "You don't think it's right?"

"You know Amber's personality. As long as no one is watching her, she doesn't matter where she is," Hetty sighed helplessly. Analyzing her, the last time I saw her awake was in the Whitewater River three days ago - she ran to swim in the river, and was caught with a net by the fishermen in the East End, and the nets were broken gone."

"...She still has such great achievements?" Gao Wen was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook his head, "Ahem, it's all about the details, you only noticed their unreliability, but don't Forget about their incomparable abilities."

Gao Wen became serious and looked into Hetty's eyes: "Although Amber is unreliable, she is a well-deserved shadow master, at least in the field of shadow specialization, she is as powerful as an elemental creature in her own elemental world , the 'shadow experiment field' discovered by Solderin may be quite dangerous to ordinary people, so the power of amber is needed; Tyr is an expert in fighting the power of gods, others don't know it, but you know it—the gang The sea monsters grew up eating gods raw, and they are highly resistant to gods. The rebellious fortress is a place to study the power of gods. The shadow experiment field may be related to the shadow goddess. Tire used to be a heavy insurance. If there There really are remnants of the gods, and only Tyr can safely dispose of them."

"...It is indeed as you said," Hetty thought for a while, and could only admit that what Gao Wen said was reasonable, "I hope they don't cause any trouble."

"Compared to this, is there anything more important to report?" Gawain looked at Heidi's expression, and when he entered the study just now, he noticed the seriousness on Heidi's face, "Which factory is in trouble?"

"The situation is probably more serious than that, ancestor," Hetty said with a serious expression, "Just now there is a report from the Military Intelligence Bureau - our spies in the Earl of Horsman and the Viscount of Carroll discovered that the southern border The behavior of the nobles is abnormal, various local nobles are holding frequent rallies, the leader of the rallies is Earl Hosman, and the knights in various territories are spreading some news..."

"what news?"

"...Duke Gawain Cecil is greedy and crazy. In order to plunder wealth, he deprived all the knights of the territory of their power and fiefs, and wreak havoc on Anzu's traditional order, and this destruction is spreading outward. Kant Territory is a Sacrifice, many 'brilliant and glorious surnames are dusting the land of Cecil'—this is the original words circulated among the knights and minor nobles in those territories, and the caliber is surprisingly consistent, obviously someone is spreading it deliberately."

Gawain listened silently with a playful smile, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly: "Interesting...Finally someone said that I had broken Ansu's tradition - I thought they could at least endure until Francis II returned home."

"Aren't you angry?" Hetty looked at Gao Wen in surprise, "Obviously you are the founder of the Ansu tradition, those people simply forgot who is their ancestor!"

"They haven't forgotten, and they're not stupid. They just saw greater benefits." Gawain shook his head. "Is there anything else besides these?"

"A group of missionaries of the Holy Light entered the southern border from Carroll in the north, and had frequent contact with the high-level members of the Church of Holy Light in the southern border. Those missionaries are spreading the word among the knights about Cecil's acceptance of alien believers—of course, They didn't use the neutral term 'believers of alien gods', but directly said that we are accepting believers of heresy and evil gods."

Gawain raised his eyelids and asked the only question he cared about: "The local nobles and lords acquiesce to the actions of these missionaries?"

"I'm afraid it's not just acquiescence." Hetty shook her head. "Without the secret help of the local noble lord, it would be difficult for missionaries to gather noble knights to carry out this kind of 'propaganda'. A commoner who can be summoned by ringing a bell."

Gao Wen nodded slightly: "Then it seems that the nobles in the southern border have joined the Church of the Holy Light - they really dare to do anything in order to take advantage of the opportunity. But this is also good..."

Hetty looked at Gawain in surprise: "Is this good? What's so good about this?"

Gao Wen smiled slightly: "We only need to hit them once, instead of hitting each of them once."

Chapter 0381 A Day That Changed History

Gawain was not at all surprised by the imminent actions of the nobles and the church in the southern border - in fact, in a way, he personally facilitated the actions of the nobles and the church step by step.

The alchemy medicine business that almost shattered the original market, the subversive magic net technology, mining machinery and equipment, these things have brought wealth to the nobles in the southern border that they never thought of, but at the same time, as long as those nobles have a little brains, they will also It is reflected that they are gradually being eroded and controlled by Cecil in the process. On the other hand, through Viscount Andrew of Tanzania Town as an "agent", almost half of the ore business in the southern border has fallen to Cecil. The nobles and lords who were suppressed because of this happened to be the ones with the greatest force in the southern border—after all, mastering ore is equivalent to mastering the resources for forging weapons, and it is equal to being able to establish and Keep a strong army.

Therefore, the nobles in the southern border, especially the richest and most powerful group of nobles, will regard Cecil as an enemy sooner or later.

"Gold and silver flow in Cecil's land, and the ruler of this land happens to have a 'weakness' that can be attacked." In this era, no one can refuse this temptation.

On the other hand, since last winter, the territory has received a large number of alien believers from the Holy Spirit Plain, which is constantly stimulating the nerves of the Church of Holy Light.It is difficult for those missionaries to make waves in the southern border, but if the nobles in the southern border want to deal with Cecil at this time, then the Church of the Holy Light will have a chance to enter this area-this is a matter of course.

Gawain is very clear that these changes are inevitable and will inevitably happen—as long as he wants to establish his own new order in this world, sooner or later, conflicts will break out with the original traditional forces. , there is no room for compromise, and everything must be spoken by force in the end, so after realizing this, Gawain knew what he was going to do - he silently prepared to speak by force, and then looked at those traditional nobles and others. When does the church can't help but do it.

Hetty is also a smart person. Seeing Gawain's attitude, she knew that the current situation was what the ancestor had been planning, but there was one thing she couldn't understand: "Ancestor, why do you have to wait for them to take the initiative? I know, from the perspective of legal rights, you will always have a reason to take the initiative without worrying about any moral issues—after all, all the nobles in the southern border currently occupy the fiefdoms you had back then..."

"It's very simple, because the land is vast and the population is sparse," Gawain replied casually. Seeing the puzzled look on Hetty's face, he shook his head helplessly and added, "Let them gather people together, A round of saturated bombardment and ray guns on our side will finish the job, saving the whole southern border and hitting them one by one."

Hetty: "..."

Of course, what Gao Wen said was a bit of a joke in it. You can despise the enemy strategically, but you must still pay attention to them tactically—even if they are just a group of old-fashioned old nobles who don’t know the power of Cecil’s guns, The force they have at hand is still somewhat threatening—so Gawain took out a piece of paper from the blank letterhead next to him, wrote two lines on it, and handed it to Hetty: "This letter is sent to For the Lady Glenn."

Hetty glanced at the content on the letter paper, and there was only a very brief content on it: "The time to clear the accounts has arrived, and the inventory will be counted soon."

After Hetty left, Gawain stood up, went to the map depicting the entire southern territory, and fell into deep thought.

To be honest, although he had made preparations for a forceful confrontation with the traditional forces of this world early in the morning, if it was not driven by the changes in the situation, Gao Wen would not have planned to put the developing territory into a state of war so early.

According to his initial thoughts, he wanted to quietly develop the territory, continue to open up new land southward and establish industrial zones, until he had absolute crushing power at hand, and then jumped out to beat up the traditional nobles.

However, the plan cannot keep up with the changes after all. The negotiations between Typhon and Ansu have already started. Regardless of whether the peace agreement can be successfully signed, the current relatively stable situation in the southern border will change. Needless to say, if a war breaks out, if a peace agreement is signed, then it will be settled temporarily It is time for the free Ansu royal family to pay attention to Cecil, who is rising rapidly in the southern border and frequently challenges the traditional order.

Francis II is not a fool. He can tolerate the reappearance of the Cecil family and the vigorous activity of this ancient family that has been suppressed with great difficulty in the southern border. Adding a notoriety of disrespect to the ancestors to the "illegitimate child royal family", I don't want to give new words to those nobles who don't support the royal family.

In addition to the variables that may arise from Typhon and the Ansu royal family, there are also the increasingly weird and crazy actions of the Church of the Holy Light recently, and the intricate threats of various forces in the southern border...

The combination of all these factors made Gao Wen realize that he had to solve these external troubles in the near future, at least to completely control the situation in the southern border and make this relatively closed land his stable rear.

At that time, he promised in front of Francis II and all the nobles of the royal capital that he would not "voluntarily" make legal claims on the existing land distribution in the southern border. But Gao Wen still hoped to make his actions more legitimate.

It is best to let those southern nobles jump out by themselves.

Of course they have motives and reasons to jump out - not just because of the greed of the nobles themselves, nor because the system promoted by Gawain Cecil in their own territory really aroused their "righteous indignation", but because of Cecil The fact that the Searle family has re-emerged in the southern border is enough to make the hairs of 90.00% of the rulers on this land stand on end.

When Cecil was weak, they might not feel threatened, but as Cecil became stronger, the hostility from various noble forces in the southern border would become stronger. After all, they all relied on food sharing. Cecil's ancestral property was only developed. In a sense, the Cecil family has a legal claim to the entire southern territory.

Since their hostility would break out sooner or later, Gao Wen didn't mind helping them a little bit so that they could unite earlier.

Therefore, the No. 20 Production and Construction Office under the Military Intelligence Bureau formulated a plan, and the 25 Production and Construction Brigade (passively) who is good at brainstorming to collect intelligence and spread rumors and false military information carried out this plan.

Then those southern nobles who were already vigilant and hostile to the Cecil family really couldn't help it, and wanted to jump out...

Those aristocrats who follow the ancient rituals may not have the courage to go to war with their ancestors, so they probably just want to jump and use a low-intensity friction to demonstrate to the Cecil family, and then follow the "noble game" method, from The Cecil family swindled some profits, but...

As long as they jump out, the scale of this "friction" is not up to them.

Gao Wen withdrew his gaze from the map, then concentrated his mind, and a bird's-eye view from the surveillance satellite emerged in his mind...

In the Fort of the Treaty, in the long hall where history was established, a document was being read by ceremonial officials from two countries under the witness of everyone.

The voices of the two ceremonial officers echoed in the hall in almost perfect synchronization. With the blessing of magical power, the voices were not only loud and clear, but even seemed to have a daunting solemn and heavy texture——

"...we share the view that the restoration of peaceful relations is the first step in a joint response to the threat, and that the cessation of the current stage of border standoff is the first step in ensuring peace...from the date of signing of the agreement, the cessation of military confrontation and all mutual military infiltration Action... On the basis of restarting diplomacy, resume border commerce and people's movement, gradually lift martial law... jointly monitor the magnificent wall...

"...the above items are all witnessed by the gods and the spirits of the ancestors, and approved by the great and wise rulers of the two countries...

"...Anzu/Typhon 736, at the Treaty Fort on the Common Frontier...

"Long live peace."

The solemn final sound fell, and there was a sudden warm and sustained applause in the long hall.

Regardless of whether the people in this hall are still hostile, whether they were on guard against each other yesterday, or whether there will be estrangement from each other in the future, at least at this moment, everyone who has gone through the long negotiation is applauding sincerely, Excited for this hard-won peace agreement.

The peace agreement witnessed by everyone left the marks of the rulers of the two countries, and then a magician engraved the agreement on two fine gold plates on the spot, and handed it over to the two countries for preservation, while the original manuscript of the agreement, It will stay in this "Contract Fortress", sealed in a safe made of mithril, and sunk deep in a well-protected secret room below the fortress.

But these follow-up and ceremonial things are no longer what Duke Silas Loren is concerned about. He just watched the king and Emperor Rosetta shake hands and talk with emotion, and then presented each other with decorative swords , In a peaceful and eager atmosphere, this historic negotiation came to an end.

Then came the banquet with a slightly relaxed atmosphere, and the grand banquet lasted until late at night.

Even though the negotiations have ended, Duke Silas Roland has not let up in the slightest. He is well aware of how many people are staring at this peace negotiation, and many of them are those who do not want peace—so even after the agreement is concluded, As long as the king is still in the Fort of Treaty and on the border, he cannot let his guard down.

It must be the same with Typhon - because during the entire dinner, Duke Lauren noticed that the guards around Emperor Rosetta Augustus were always close by, and there were even a few more people.

But in the end, everything ended peacefully.

In a state of high nervousness among all the guards, the two rulers spent their last night safely in the Fort of Treaty. On the 736nd of the Moon of Recovery in Ansu 52, King Francis II of Ansu and Emperor Rosetta of Typhon • Augustus left the Treaty Fort.

Changfeng Fortress welcomed His Majesty the King with a grand welcome ceremony—for this martial frontier fortress city, Francis II, who returned from the Treaty Fort, was a general in another sense. , the general who returned from victory.

But the old king, who was exhausted physically and mentally during the negotiations, did not appear in public for too long. After a brief meeting with some prominent figures in the fortress, Francis II returned to his resting room.

Prince Edmund was not with him. The one who entered the room with him was the legendary mage from Saint-Sunil who was in charge of protecting him personally.

During the days-long negotiation process, the legendary mage has always maintained a life-link with Francis II. It can be said frankly that for Francis II at this moment, this man has served the Ansu royal family for several years. The legendary mage of ten years is even more trustworthy than all his children.

Stretching his creaky and stiff joints, the old king sat on a wide and soft platform, his somewhat cloudy eyes looked at the old magician standing beside him - a thin, black-haired, calm temperament, The old man in the purple starry robe: "You have worked hard these days, Master Duke."

The old man in the starry robe nodded slightly, his voice was low and hoarse: "This is my duty."

"End the life link," said Francis II. "Although this illusion of physical strength is very good, it lasts too long, and it is about to affect my sleep."

"As you wish." The old mage waved his hand, and a thin layer of magical brilliance flashed over him and Francis II, and the effect of the life link disappeared immediately. The old king couldn't help but feel the weight of his body becoming heavy again. He exhaled lightly.

He used to be a powerful spellcaster, and his talent was not inferior to that of the legendary mages beside him. However, as a king, he was destined not to take the last step on the road of magic—his body had inevitably fallen into decline.

"Your Majesty, I'll go outside and set up a warning rune for you." After ending the life link, the old mage bent slightly beside Francis II and said.

"Okay, hard work."

The old mage left the room, but Francis II was about to close his eyes and squint for a while, when he heard the sound of the door being pushed open again.

"Master Duke, what else..." The old king opened his eyes and looked at the door curiously, but he didn't finish his sentence - the one standing at the door was not the legendary master in the starry robe, but a A strange man in squire costume.

During his departure from Saint-Sunil City, in theory, no strange face should appear in front of him alone.

Francis II's right hand gently stroked a ring on his left hand calmly, and he looked into the waiter's eyes: "Who are you?"

"Your Majesty the King," the waiter came forward, bowed slightly, and was very polite, "Thank you for your efforts for peace, and all things will greet you at the end of their lives."

As soon as the words fell, the waiter's head suddenly split into pieces, and the cracked flesh formed a bloody mouth, and rushed straight at Francis II!

Chapter 0382

Fortress of Disobedience, southern region.

The magic spar lamp set at the end of the corridor before was still working normally, and the bright and constant light dispelled the darkness in the corridor, which made Solderin feel a little relieved.

The magic spar lamp installed in front of the shadow experiment field is not only for lighting, but also as a "detection device" - this magic spar lamp is powered by a set of special magic net units, which have detection For runes with abnormally surging magic power, as long as the surrounding magic power concentration suddenly changes, the magic net unit will be burned immediately, and the lights will be extinguished accordingly. It shows that during the two days when Solderin and others left, there was no abnormal surge of magic power in this area.

When exploring in ancient and mysterious ruins, the most fearful thing is to encounter ancient magic mechanisms that are still in operation, or mana creatures wandering in the ruins. Solderin's caution is completely summed up by countless adventurers with their lives. lessons learned.

"The situation is normal, and there is no abnormal magic power." A Iron Ranger soldier confirmed the safety of the area beyond the lights with the detection eyepiece, and reported to Soldering.

Soldering nodded: "Set up an emergency defense point and prepare to open the door."

Some fighters immediately pushed the several large boxes they had brought all the way to the isolation door—these large boxes contained runes for reducing weight, and inside there were magic capacitors specially used to power the runes for reducing weight. The special "transfer box" used to transport heavy materials in the manufacture-after opening the box, the accessories to be assembled and some strange equipment inside are immediately presented to everyone.

Soldering bent over the box, his fingers brushing lightly over one of the large pieces of equipment.

It is a strange device with a handle. Its main body is made of two "U"-shaped metal rails installed opposite each other. At the back of the metal rails is a sealed steel "box". Where it is connected, you can see the slightly glowing magic runes. The handle of the device is located in the middle of the metal rail. At the front and rear ends, you can also see the handshake and shoulder rest for assisting stability.

Soldering knew that, unlike Cecil's current standard equipment following the "mass-produced, cheap, and simple" route, what he saw was a weapon manufactured at almost no cost. This weapon was manufactured by the best craftsmen in the territory. The master and the ancient magister jointly built it by themselves, using the highest quality substrate that the rune foundry can provide at present, and even using the "energy box" at the back of the guide rail, which is still in the testing stage and only a small amount of production The second-generation magic capacitor, even the acceleration array on the guide rail, is also a product of special design, and all of this is to meet a requirement: to create an orbital accelerator that can be carried by a single person.

But Soldering also knows another thing - every piece of cheap mass-produced standard equipment starts from such an expensive experimental model.