Sword of Dawn

Page 403

"But you can't seek revenge from an empire—especially after suffering heavy losses," Gao Wen said unhurriedly, "What's more, as time goes by, the new generation of believers who came in are getting more and more powerful. Many, the Order of the Eternal Sleepers will eventually forget everything that happened in Orlande, and the Augustus family will also think that there are no survivors when the entire city collapses. They should not be able to examine the depths of the earth in detail - this terrible and potentially staining incident on the royal family will be buried, all will forget it, and even if anyone remembers it, it will never be acknowledged.

"On the other hand, the later facts also proved that Emperor Typhon's judgment was actually very accurate-after only 200 years, you group of 'researchers' who are not bound by laws and morals have come up with a The second 'divine disaster', this time the divine disaster is even a god made by you yourself.

"If I hadn't shown up, what disaster would the Upper Narrator have caused?

"I believe that the scale of the disaster is definitely worthy of the royal family of Typhon sending their mage group to smash the entire Orlandle region and all of you with the Wound of Oblivion."

Megal III's starry body shrank, and his tone was full of helplessness: "...It's extremely ironic and cannot be refuted."

"So it can be summed up in one word—" Gao Wen sighed softly, "Yes."

Magall: "..."

"Let's not discuss this topic anymore," Gao Wen shook his head, uncovering this paragraph, "Now there is evidence to prove that your work of destroying the Eye of God did not seem to be completely successful - the spiritual pollution of the gods remained, Augustus The curse of the Du family is the proof."

"We suspect that the Eye of God escaped at the last moment of being destroyed, but after all, it suffered heavy injuries. It was unable to return to the gods, so it parasitized in the blood of Augustus' family," Megaul III replied, "For 200 years, this curse has continued without strengthening or weakening. Some of our archbishops who have extended their lives and experienced the events of the year even think that this is the price paid after the Augustus family's 'betrayal'... Of course, in' After the incident of the upper-level narrator, the mentality of these archbishops should undergo some changes, after all, the blow was too great."

Gao Wen now understands why the archbishop group of the Eternal Sleepers will follow Cecil so resolutely - the deterrence of his "outer-territory wanderer" is only one of the reasons, and the remaining factors are obviously the same as those of Orlandle 200 years ago. about a disaster.

In addition, what he is most concerned about at the moment is the curse of the Augustus family.

"Do you think that the 'God's Eye' can recover and escape after entering the blood of the Augustus family?" He frowned and asked in a serious voice.

"The possibility is very low," Megal III replied, "We have been paying attention to the curse of the Augustus family, and the curse has apparently become a pure thing, similar to the sequelae of mental pollution, and as generations of With the dilution and transformation of bloodlines, the "divine part" in this curse can only become weaker and weaker. After all, the soul status of mortals is far lower than that of gods. The power of gods has been parasitic in the souls of mortals for a long time, and it is destined to continue to decline Go on. Of course, what is declining is only the 'divinity' in the curse, the strength of the curse itself...it doesn't seem to have weakened in the past 200 years."

"Is that so..." Gao Wen stroked his chin, as if talking to himself, "Can things related to God really die so easily..."

Chapter 0853 Progress

Gawain finally knew the truth about the curse of the Augustus family.

This truth is even more tortuous and bizarre than he expected.

As an insider of related events, Megal III believed that the "God's Eye" who escaped back then had fallen in personality after entering the blood of the Augustus family. Spiritual pollution without divinity—but Gao Wen didn't dare to be so optimistic.

After all, he knew about the war against gods in ancient times, that the gods had returned to the world in different forms time and time again, and that the power of the gods was actually the projection of the collective will of mortals. The "God's Eye" of the family blood will disappear so easily.

It's just that he can't verify anything now - even if there is a member of the Augustus family standing here, with the current technical conditions, Gawain doesn't know how to confirm the status of the "God's Eye", so he can't confirm it. Can only think about it.

Megal III did not hear Gawain's last whisper to himself. Recalling the Orlandelle incident 200 years ago, the pope, who is no longer human, could not help but fall into sighs. After half a minute of silence, His voice came again from the undulating starlight aggregate: "Your Majesty, that's all I know about the curse of the Augustus family."

Gao Wen also woke up from his thoughts. He looked at the former Pope in front of him and nodded slightly: "It's all very important information, very valuable."

Then he paused, and then said: "It's really a miracle that you survived from Orlandle back then."

"Everyone underestimated the sturdiness of those ancient ruins. Some kind of incredible ancient technology made the core and the bottom layer almost indestructible, and the collapse of the upper layer just completely covered up the fact that the interior was intact," said Megaul III. There was a hint of emotion in the voice, "At that time, Typhon fell into chaos due to the collapse of the imperial capital and the large number of casualties of the upper-class nobles. There's no way to confirm what's going on at the bottom of Orlandle.

"As for us, we have an alternate passage, we can evacuate from the exit outside the city of Orlande, but we know that there is only a dead end to go out under the current situation - we hibernate in the underground palace, relying on the supplies in reserve and the ruins of the upper city We spent the first few months with the few supplies we could gather in the center, and then slowly began to send some people out to investigate the situation. After many years, we restored the center of the underground palace within the solid framework of the ancient facility. lower level, and built a new dome under the collapsed area ... it was really not easy."

"I can imagine," Gawain nodded, and then asked, "I'm thinking about one thing. Back then, you used the term 'evil god' to negotiate with Emperor Typhon to convince him that the people underground in Orandelle were not gods. , but the evil spirit, the other party believed it, but after that, the Augustus family will definitely not let this matter go like this-even if it is to investigate the curse they suddenly encountered, they will find a way to understand Oran The truth about the Dale incident. Do you think they finally know what's going on under Orlandle?"

Megol was silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking: "I think they should have investigated part of the truth, they probably know that the curse they suffered actually came from the gods.

"The reason is very simple. Not all the priests of the Eternal Sleeper stayed in the underground palace all the time - when the Orlandle incident happened, some priests were active outside, and it was inevitable that some of them would fall into the hands of the Augustus family in the future. When the priest When the core and high-level members of the regiment were buried underground in Orlande, these priests did not know the news that we were still alive, and lost their psychological support, and many of them would confess everything in order to survive."

Gao Wen frowned, and said in a deep voice: "That is to say, the Augustus family knew that the gods brought them the curse, and even to a certain extent—they, like you, knew that the gods were gradually going crazy, and knew the nature of the gods. In fact, it is equivalent to the doomsday that is counting down."

"Those arrested priests should tell this part of the truth, but it's hard to say how much the Augustus family chooses to believe," Megaul III replied, "They may take it as the nonsense of heretics , Of course, given the real existence of the curse and the various evidences in the Orlandelle incident, they may also have limited belief in the words of those priests."

"The main religion of the Typhon Empire is the belief in the God of War. In addition, there are also small-scale activities of the Church of the God of Commerce, the God of Blood, and the God of Death." At this moment, Amber suddenly said, "The Typhon Royal Family has no obvious restrictions The moves of these churches, but also without any kind of support and closeness."

Gao Wen couldn't help looking at Amber - he hadn't asked anything yet, but her answer was exactly what he needed.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Are any members of the Augustus family openly religious or have received any form of baptism?"

"No," Amber shook her head. "At least there is no information that can be collected—but it does not rule out the existence of secret baptized persons, although the probability is very low."

Gawain asked while thinking, "Before the Orlandle incident, were there any religious believers in the Augustus family?"

"I don't know about that," Amber shook her head. "The Military Intelligence Bureau has not specifically investigated this. But this part of the information is not confidential. You should be able to find clues from Typhon's official information..."

"I can answer," Megal III interjected suddenly, "Yes, and more than one—before the Orlandelle incident, there were members of the Augustus family who were baptized by the God of War. It is a symbol of the exchange of interests between the royal family and the church, but there are baptized people."

Gao Wen exhaled lightly.

"Then we can assume that the Augustus family no longer allowed family members to become believers after the Orlandle incident," he said softly, "As for them not cracking down on the domestic church...it's not surprising, it may be It takes into account social needs and national interests.

"After all, even today's Cecil has the Church of the Holy Light as his main faith and several other small churches."

Gawain's last sentence was just casual, but Megaul III thought of those "War Priests" who were fully armed and loyal to the emperor in the Cecil Empire, and the stars and clouds surging all over his body couldn't help shrinking.

However, Gawain couldn't see the face of Megaul III from a cloud of twinkling stars. He just subconsciously tapped his fingers on the armrest of the seat while thinking, and said softly as if talking to himself: "Things are starting to get interesting..."

……

After continuing to exchange some sporadic issues, Megal III left.

In the spacious study room, only Gao Wen was sitting in front of the desk, and Amber was standing in front of Gao Wen.

"I heard the big secret tonight." After there was no one else present, Amber stretched her long waist without any scruples, muttering while stretching, "It seems that the Augustus family and Eternal Sleep The two are really... entangled."

"Reality is always so bizarre, it is beyond your imagination than the bard's story," Gao Wen said indifferently, "In this way, at this moment, Rosetta Augustus accepts the eternal sleepers in China on a large scale... It just got more dramatic."

"After all, the Orlandle incident happened 200 years ago," Amber blinked, "For most ordinary human beings, it is already 'ancient'—an ancient story buried deep in the file, yes It can only be a story for the modern Emperor Typhon and the Priest of the Sleeping Ones."

"You speak more and more like me now." Gao Wen couldn't help smiling and glanced at Amber.

Amber immediately bared her teeth, but she didn't utter a lot of flirtatious words in an instant like usual, but said thoughtfully after a short thought: "Speaking of... according to the information brought by Megal III Information, the relationship between the Reverse Tide Empire and the gods in ancient times may be more complicated than we imagined at first."

"Having the ability to build advanced devices capable of containing and controlling the power of the gods, but using this technology to build altars to welcome the gods..." Gao Wen's expression was slightly serious, "Melita Purnia once said that there is no breakthrough to the gods The shackles of the shackles have mastered the ultra-high technology in advance, and only disasters have been brought about. I have been thinking about the deep meaning of her words, and the ruins in the underground of Orlanda... seem to have answered part of my questions."

"It's a pity that the ruins are really gone this time," Amber muttered regretfully. "The Eternal Sleepers blew it up again from the inside before evacuating, and those secrets will never be known."

"Maybe one day we will have other ways to dig out those secrets," Gawain shook his head, "but now, at least those eternal sleepers have brought a lot of information, and there will always be some valuable things in it."

……

After a night of rest and a whole morning of final weighing, Sir Gorosh and his advisory group came before Gawain Cecil again.

Gawain sat on his favorite high-backed chair, watching the dragon descendants take their seats opposite, the clerk and assistant officer were ready at the side, with a calm and indifferent expression.

The information given by Megal III last night brought him a lot of thinking and deduction about the future, but what he has to pay attention to is not only one "eye" of Typhon and the God of Dreams, now, he let himself My mood calmed down, and I was ready to continue the unfinished negotiations with these powerful dragon descendants from the extreme northern mountains in front of me.

Sir Golosh first saluted Gawain, then cleared his throat, and said in a candid and polite tone: "Your Majesty, first of all thank you for your reception again.

"We have carefully considered the many projects and ideas about the future that you proposed yesterday. In terms of conclusions... please forgive my impoliteness, I personally prefer to speak frankly and honestly—

"The Principality of the Holy Dragon is not yet ready for a full-scale commercial contact with Cecil, especially in terms of mine development, joint venture colleges, and infrastructure construction. The dragon descendants have no intention."

Gao Wen's eyebrows were raised slightly in an undetectable range.

Sir Golosh said that he was straightforward and honest, but in fact what he said was quite euphemistic-but no matter how euphemistic the language was, it could not change the meaning of his words.

Everyone at the scene heard it very clearly: the dragon descendants rejected more than 70.00% of the terms of the many projects proposed by Gao Wen yesterday.

And it seems that their attitude is very firm. This is the result of their deliberation. It may even be a decision made after contacting the Dragon Blood Grand Duke through some method. It cannot be changed or reversed with a few words.

But driven by curiosity, Gao Wen still couldn't help asking: "I want to hear the specific reason."

Sir Gorosh exchanged glances with Azarena who was beside him, then turned his head, and met Gawain's gaze seriously and calmly: "Your Majesty, the Dragonborn has a sincere and frank attitude towards this exchange, and I believe that And so are you.

"We are all looking for new friends in this vast world, for a common and bright future for both parties.

"There is a saying in the Principality of the Holy Dragon: Climbers alone have courage, and those who climb together have both courage and wisdom-Dragon descendants are not as closed and exclusive as the outside world imagines. In fact, we are happy to make friends, but we make friends. The best are friends who can climb the peak together, advancing together and retreating together.

"Your Majesty, in the past thousands of years, dragon descendants have rarely stepped out of the mountains in the north, because everything that happened on this continent failed to arouse our interest, but now that we have opened the door, this We opened the door on our own initiative—we opened the door to find an ally, and the Dragonborn hope that all of this can be based on equality, respect, mutual benefit, and honesty.”

Gawain looked into Sir Gorosh's eyes quietly, and two seconds later, he suddenly laughed.

"Of course," he said very pleasantly and easily, "then let's discuss a plan again."

His attitude was very calm, as if he had expected everything.

Chapter 0854 Big Project

Looking at the calm and smiling Emperor Cecil in front of him, Sir Gorosh was a little surprised.

He found that the attitude of the ruler of the empire was far calmer than he had imagined, as if he had expected the Dragonborn's answer today—or in other words, no matter what answer the Dragonborn would give, he seemed to have made enough plans.

"Sir, although Cecil and the Principality of the Holy Dragon live next to each other, in the past hundreds of years, the two countries have not communicated very well. It is inevitable that there will be insufficient understanding or even misunderstanding between us," Gao Wen noticed Golosh's short-term stunned, he just smiled, "Based on this, it is normal for us to encounter some problems and overthrow some plans during the contact process, we should be fully prepared for this, and Always believe in our mutual will for peace—isn't it?"

Gorosh lowered his head: "...I agree with this."

Afterwards, the dragon descendants expressed their views on the exchanges between the two countries, and put forward specific responses to Gao Wen's previous proposals. Regarding the opening of business channels, study abroad programs, technical exchanges, and many proposals from the resident ambassadors were accepted one by one. Throw it out, and then either reach a consensus, or temporarily shelve it, or produce a specific modification plan... Time passes unconsciously.

Gao Wen finally withdrew all the plans involving resource development, basic engineering holdings, and education output, while the Principality of Shenglong agreed to most of the regular commercial projects and normal diplomatic projects, and most importantly—they were willing to Accept the Cecil SGD as the settlement currency for commercial activities between the two countries.

At the beginning, this kind of settlement was just a kind of experiment and observation, but as long as he took this step, Gao Wen was satisfied.

He can already announce that the Holy Dragon Principality is already a member of Cecil's settlement area.

Of course, what Gao Wen and Golosh held today was just a closed-door meeting. They will personally formulate a large framework, and there are countless details in the details of this framework that need to be deliberated and drawn up-this part will be After being fully discussed in a larger meeting for several consecutive days, Cecil's diplomats, the think tank of the government affairs hall, and the Dragonborn's advisory group will be the protagonists of the follow-up meeting.

But at that time, it wasn't Gao Wen who personally asked about all the details - Hetty, as the resident Grand Consul in the imperial capital, would take over the follow-up affairs.

This long and extraordinarily exhausting meeting was drawing to a close.

The proposals prepared in advance have been fully communicated, thick documents and shorthand materials are piled up on the desk of the clerk, the magic net terminal used to record images and sounds has been replaced with crystals twice, and the Dragonborn and Cecil Everyone got a relatively satisfactory answer.

After directly canceling some of the proposals, and with the utmost patience and sincerity from both parties, everything progressed faster than Gao Wen expected.

In the end, when the huge sun was approaching the horizon, Sir Gorosh let out a sigh of relief, then he looked at Gawain, and brought up the last topic of the day——

"Your Majesty," the dragonborn ambassador said seriously, "I want to talk to you...about the Iron Wings."

"Ah, I was just about to bring up this topic." Gao Wen was stunned for a moment, and then smiled, "Then what do you think about this cutting-edge engineering product of Cecil?"

"...it is an incredible creation. I think any dragonborn has to admit this. It allows us to really contact and understand the potential and prospects of the so-called 'magic technology', as well as the possible impact on the dragonborn. Potential impact," Sir Golosh did not hesitate to praise, and frankly expressed his high evaluation, but then he changed the topic, "However, there is one thing, I don't know if you are clear--in St. In the Duchy of Dragons, dragonborn are forbidden by law and tradition to fly, and this taboo is very... important in dragonborn society.

"We don't touch the blue sky, not only because our wings are not as complete and strong as real dragons, but also because our traditions don't allow it-it may be difficult for outsiders to understand this taboo, and you may even find it inexplicable, but One thing you have to understand, at least in the eyes of dragonborn, this is an unchangeable fact."

Gawain listened calmly to Sir Golosh's words, and then raised his eyebrows: "That is to say, the dragonborn will not accept this technology—not only will the government not accept it, but it will also prohibit any civil society from accepting it." People bring it to the Holy Dragon Principality through any channel."

Golosh nodded lightly: "Exactly—it will soon be listed as a contraband, and its import, sale, and use will be banned, and our Dragon Blood Parliament will introduce clear laws in a short time."

Unsurprisingly, unfortunately.

Several government officials at the scene and even Gao Wen himself did not hide the disappointment on their faces.

But soon, Hetty, who was sitting next to Gawain, read something from Sir Golosh's expression—as a careful and sensitive person, she found some hesitation in Sir Golosh's eyes, as if he still have something to say.

"Sir," Hetty said, "Should you have something to say about Iron Wings?"

"It's not hidden from your eyes, ma'am," Gorosh smiled and said slowly, "The laws and taboos I mentioned above do exist, but... the laws of dragonborn can only take effect in the land of dragonborn , the door of the Holy Dragon Principality is about to open, and it is difficult for us to restrain the behavior of those dragon descendants who have stepped out of the door, and it is even more impossible to prohibit what happened in other countries..."

Hetty couldn't help raising her eyebrows: "That is to say..."

"If those dragon descendants who come to Cecil to study or do business are interested in 'Steel Wings', and they have enough financial resources to buy them, then the Dragon Blood Council has nothing to do with it, and will not Those dragon descendants will investigate after they return home," Sir Gorosh said slowly, but his tone was a bit weird, as if these contents were not his own thoughts, "I mean, as long as they don't bring the Iron Wings to the north... ..."

Gao Wen was stunned. He understood what the other party meant, but he was a little surprised—he knew that these dragonborn envoys must have a way to contact their home country, because the magic monitoring device in Cecil City had captured several times last night. The unrecognizable magic power fluctuation in the extreme north is the ironclad evidence of ultra-long-distance communication, so he can be sure that no matter whose idea Sir Golosh said at the beginning, he must have got the dragon's blood in the end. The Grand Duke, and even the acquiescence of the Dragon Blood Council said it.

Because Gorosh is the "ambassador" representing all dragon descendants here, every word he voluntarily utters here is actually equivalent to the will actively expressed by the Holy Dragon Principality.

This is interesting.

Theoretically, the Dragon Blood Grand Duke should be the strongest and strictest, and the Dragon Blood Council, which should protect the traditions and laws of the dragon descendants the most, they tacitly allow the dragon descendants to take advantage of this loophole.

In this case, acquiescence is almost equal to encouragement when it comes to "flying".

They don't really mind dragonborn flying - they just forbid dragonborn to fly in the Holy Dragon Duchy, or more precisely, they forbid dragonborn to fly over the northernmost tip of the continent...

The reason for this may be a secret for the time being, but Gao Wen is naturally happy to see the matter itself come to fruition.

He only needs to allow the dragon descendants to use the steel wings in the south of the Holy Dragon Principality and fly freely without worrying about the opinions of the Holy Dragon Principality. As for whether they can fly in the north... as Cecil ruler, he didn't care about it.

"I think I understand what you mean," Gawain nodded, "Then we will control the flow of Steel Wings - it will not flow to the Holy Dragon Principality, we can even legislate to prohibit this, and you can also crack down on those With regard to the smuggling of Steel Wings, the two countries can reach cooperation in this regard."

"This is the best way—of course, we will have to discuss the details of restricting the use of Iron Wings in the northern region later, because there will definitely be too 'brave' Dragonborn who will find ways to further challenge the tradition," Sir Gorosh said, with a tone Suddenly there was a little helplessness in the middle, "You should understand that young people... and young dragon descendants will more or less...rebel."

"I understand very well," Gao Wen laughed when he heard the words, and then suddenly changed the subject and his expression became serious, "Since we have already talked about this topic, I would like to say a few more words."

"Please speak."

"The wings of steel can make the dragonborn fly like a giant dragon—and the flying dragon itself means a huge force," Gawain said with extra seriousness, "About this..."

Sir Golosh immediately understood what Gawain meant, and he immediately said: "The dragon descendants in Cecil naturally have to abide by Cecil's laws. I think that since you can create steel wings, you must also be able to control those equipments. Otherwise, your country probably wouldn’t have brought this kind of thing to the market.”

Gao Wen nodded lightly: "I want to say two things, and what you mentioned is one of them."

"Oh?" Sir Gorosh showed a curious look, "Then your second thing is..."

"I just want to confirm," Gawain showed a slight smile, "As far as I know, the laws of the Holy Dragon Principality should not prohibit dragon descendants from becoming mercenaries of other countries..."

The eyes of Gorosh and several consultants at the scene all fell on Azalena, who shrugged and said helplessly: "That's a personal behavior."