Sword of Dawn

Page 296

Then he noticed that the surrounding pedestrians suddenly ran away, and a large group of security guards in black uniforms, equipped with weapons and shield devices had appeared at various nearby crossings at some point, and quickly gathered towards this side.

The thin and pale man's first reaction was to reach out to touch his waist—a short sword for self-defense was worn there, but after noticing the number of security guards and the weapons and equipment in their hands, he stopped wisely.

A tall magistrate stepped forward, and the solid magic shield shimmered around the magistrate: "Sir, put down your weapon and raise your hands above your head! You are under arrest for violating the Extraordinary Control Act!"

While announcing loudly, the sheriff also quickly looked at the man in front of him out of professional instinct:

Wearing an old-fashioned traditional tunic, a lace-up cloth belt, hand-sewn boots, and what appears to be wide-leg trousers under the tunic...an obvious outlander, and he should have just arrived in the South.

In the southern border, changes in labor tools and working methods have caused changes in all aspects—due to the safe operation requirements of various machinery and equipment, and due to the factory’s dress code, new clothing that is closed, light, easy to move, beautiful and practical has gradually become the mainstream. , tunics of all kinds, wide-leg trousers, wide-brimmed long-sleeved coats, and coats with belted belts were gradually being replaced by tight-fitting dresses and light work clothes, as well as everyday variations of such clothing, although some scholars believe that this " The change of "machine determines man" is a kind of bondage and a retrogression of traditional customs, but it is undeniable that 90.00% of the laborers in the southern border are accepting such changes, and those who still maintain the old-fashioned clothes... are either more conservative people, or foreigners.

In this fortress city at the gateway to the south, the odds of the latter are higher.

The middle-aged man surrounded by security guards was obviously still in astonishment and surprise, but he still understood the meaning of the security officer, untied the dagger and short staff from his waist, put them on the ground, and raised his hands above his head.

The sheriff nodded: "Very well, sir, active cooperation is a good start—your name?"

The middle-aged man vigilantly observed the security guards around him. He was silent for two seconds, but finally he said cooperatively, "Bud...Bud Wendell."

"Mr. Budbud?"

The middle-aged man's face trembled slightly: "No, it's Bud Wendell. There is only one Bud."

The sheriff still maintained a serious face: "Okay, Mr. Wendell, you need to go with us next - whether you can be released depends on your performance."

"Why did you arrest me?" The middle-aged man finally couldn't help but said, "I didn't hurt anyone..."

"We've detected unauthorized spellcasting," the sheriff said, staring at Bard. "Times have changed, Mr. Wendell, where's your spellcasting license?"

Bud was stunned: "...Spellcasting Permit? What is that?"

The magistrate shrugged: "Okay, then it seems that you still sneaked in. This time, I'm afraid you will really be locked up."

The corners of Bud's eyes twitched, but after a brief moment of hesitant thinking, he finally sighed.

"It doesn't matter now...it doesn't matter," he sighed, "whatever you want, I won't resist."

Chapter 0663

In the east, the Baisha hilly area.

An engineering team arrived at the mining area with a train a few days ago. The destroyed mine facilities are currently being rebuilt. The Baisha Hills are immersed in a busy and orderly atmosphere. Lifting equipment, engineering vehicles, construction Frames and isolation nets are everywhere, and in all construction areas, there is one place that is the most special:

Located near the Baishui River, the large-scale "God Meteorite Skycrater".

Where the artificial god fell, the huge sinkhole has been closely monitored by the Cecil Legion. Several temporary sentry towers and fortifications are on the edge to monitor all movements inside and outside the pit, and the "residual bones" at the bottom of the pit "Nearby, a small research station has been built.

At this moment, only an incomplete skeleton remains of the terrifying man-made god. The twisted and mutated bone fragments stand on the ground in a formidable posture, and a small part is buried among the gravel and soil at the bottom of the pit. There are a large number of flesh and blood remnants scattered nearby, and those desecrated biological tissues seem to still have a trace of vitality, and they still maintain a little activity, and they continue to emit strong magical reactions.

These incredible remnants are undoubtedly valuable research samples.

Accompanied by several apprentices, soldiers, and officers, Pittman walked slowly among the huge bone fragments. The old druid had his hands behind his back, his back slightly bent, and his eyes were on the disturbing wreckage nearby. Sweeping upwards, some metal frames support these crumbling skeletons. In several areas divided by the metal frames, some signs inserted into the ground mark such as "sampled", "not sampled", "cleaned" and so on. typeface.

Pittman stopped in his tracks, quietly staring at the bone structure in front of him. Some remnants of flesh and blood slowly squirmed between the bones, making some disgusting tiny sounds, and twitched from time to time—as if this part of biological tissue Still experiencing the phantom pain of fighting.

"These things are still twitching," an accompanying officer couldn't help but whispered, "It's a terrible creation..."

"The tail of the blue-tailed swamp lizard still twitches and even bounces a week after it is cut off. Nature has created these incredible life wonders, and it is not uncommon in itself..." Pittman said casually, "This The thing is scary only because it's extraordinarily large."

Then he turned to his apprentice: "Collect a sample from this location—it should be close to its nerve center. Perhaps the remaining samples here can tell us whether it has a structure like a 'nerve center'."

Several apprentices boldly approached the still twitching and wriggling flesh, and activated the cutting tools they carried—melting swords, cutting beams, and high-power saw blades. These powerful and reliable tools are the best choice for scientific researchers. Buddies - With bursts of piercing noise, sparks fly from the sampling location.

The seemingly soft flesh and fragile bones are actually terribly strong, and it is impossible to cut them without some "professional tools".

A rustling sound of crawling came from nearby, and Till in the shape of a sea snake came to the side of Pittman and the others. The siren girl raised her head, looked at the scene where the druid apprentices were collecting samples, and lightly opened the door. Lips, drooling all over the floor.

Then she commented: "Let me tell you, this position has the best taste, it is the rare chewy part of this pile of artificial meat, and it doesn't clog your teeth..."

The officer next to Pittman suddenly looked weird, and said helplessly: "Miss Till, didn't you say not to eat in the unsampled area? Although the superior has given instructions and agreed to eat here, at least don't interfere with our research work……"

Till immediately waved his hands: "It's okay, it's okay, I just tasted a small amount, and it certainly won't affect your work, right Pittman?"

"As long as you don't eat in front of us - it will be harmful to the mental health of my apprentices," Pittman glanced at the deep-sea salted fish, then turned back and continued to stare at the huge fish Bones and twitching biological tissue, "...it's really hard to imagine, how on earth did they make this..."

"We found the place where this giant deer first appeared, and found large-scale rifts and caves in the western part of Solinburg. They lead to deep underground, where there seems to be an ancient underground complex. This monster It should have come to the surface from there," said the accompanying officer, "but the underground situation is too complicated and dangerous to continue exploring for a while."

Pittman pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly and said: "...The lair of the Doom Society is indeed located underground, but it is an older and more complex place than the Rebellious Fortress. You are right not to explore rashly."

As a member of the Death of Everything Society, he actually knew the existence of this underground facility—but only knew that it existed.

That mysterious underground complex is a product of ancient times. It may be as old as the Rebellious Fortress, but no one knows its true origin and function. In addition, they set up countless traps and hidden doors in the underground palace to resist possible invasions—and all of this is the same as the magic key to enter the underground palace , is constantly changing.

That piece of underground facilities may have suffered serious damage after Julu lost control, but there must still be a large number of traps left.

Pittman has been away from the End of Everything for too long, and the information he has is already outdated, so he dare not take anyone to explore there.

"Report the relevant information, this matter should not be decided by us."

The accompanying officer lowered his head: "Yes, Master Pittman."

……

Jenny raised her head slightly, the wide brim of the sun hat blocked the too strong sunlight around noon, and the breeze blew, making her white hair flutter by her ears.

Under the bright sky, the classical and majestic city walls and towers of Saint-Sunil shine brightly in her sight, the fluttering flags are flying above the city, the mighty soldiers are standing on their posts, and the quaint and Ansu-style streets are Extending under the sun, the streets are lined with old and uneven houses, and the streets are full of pedestrians in a hurry.

The city didn't seem to have changed much compared to when she left that year, but it seemed to have changed a lot. A feeling of both familiarity and strangeness welled up in her heart, which inevitably complicated the eyes of Cecil's chief rune master.

An accompanying officer came to Jenny, stood at attention and saluted: "Master Jenny, do you want to go directly to Silver Fort to report?"

In Cecil, all senior technology researchers and great craftsmen have the title of "Master", and Jenny is one of the first to receive this title.

"I want to go to a place first." Jenny looked at the officer with the knight's insignia and smiled gently. "You can take the others to the castle first."

"Yes, master - I will arrange your escort team."

Jenny froze for a moment, then subconsciously waved her hand: "Guard? No need, I'm familiar with the situation here, I'll just go by myself..."

The officer showed a look of embarrassment: "Master, this is an order from the superior. This city has not lifted the special status. Your actions here need the protection of the military..."

Jenny looked at the Mr. Knight who accompanied her all the way from the southern border to the capital. Her meek nature and dislike of causing trouble prevented her from sticking to her point of view. She nodded: "Then... I'll be hard on you guys." , Mister Knight."

A few minutes later, two black magic vehicles with Cecil's emblem left the southern city of Saint-Sunil, and drove towards the mage area in the inner city along the centuries-old Iron Cross Street.

Outside the car window, the old and mottled residential buildings kept receding, and the wheels crushed the uneven stone pavement. The slight bumps seemed to be stirring Jenny's thoughts that were difficult to calm down. She leaned against the window, her eyes following The vehicle moved forward and slowly swept across the familiar streets, buildings, and people who still had some impressions.

The number of pedestrians on the street was less than what I remembered. They were still wearing burlap clothes with patches and monotonous colors. With a long neck and an open mouth, he stared blankly, but soon lowered his head in awe, as if he did not dare to look at these "magic monsters" made of steel.

The streets in the civilian area are very narrow, and there will be congestion even if there are not many pedestrians. The mechanic driving the car will occasionally sound the horn, and many passers-by will shrink their necks and bend down - they are facing this strange-sounding steel machine They bowed so much that some people even forgot to give way, and the soldiers had to poke their heads out of the car windows, loudly reminding passers-by to get out of the way.

In order to prevent injury to passers-by, the car drove very slowly. Some children curiously approached the magical car and pointed at the machines on the side of the road, but they were soon slapped by adults and dragged home by their ears. go.

"Although we have been in the city for half a month, everyone is still very uncomfortable with these new things," said a female magic warrior sitting next to Jenny with a little embarrassment. One of the soldiers who took over Saint-Sunil was assigned to Jenny's guard at the moment. On the one hand, he protected Jenny personally, and on the other hand, he acted as a guide for other soldiers. "The situation is much better now... There were even civilians on the first day. Kneel down in front of the magic guide car, and kiss the ground."

Jenny sighed softly: "This needs to change...we've all been through this period."

"Yeah, we've all been through it - when the first magical water pump was installed in the village, my father even forbade us from going near the fields for fear that it would eat people, but after only a year, he wanted to share with the neighbors We pooled together money to buy a threshing machine, because the machines at the agricultural machinery management station are never enough, and the queues always take a long time, and this year’s grain threshing may be so much that manpower cannot handle it at all,” the soldier laughed, looking Full of respect when she said to Jenny, "It's all thanks to a master like you."

Jenny didn't know how to answer for a while. She was introverted and always obsessed with the research room. She was not good at facing such direct compliments and salutes. She had to lower her head and whispered: "Thank you...but you are better than me. There are more people."

While speaking, they had already passed through the civilian area of ​​the outer city and entered the richer and more prosperous part of the inner city.

The narrow street suddenly became wider, and the surrounding houses looked neater and taller. Well-dressed citizens began to appear on the side of the road, walking with their heads up. At the end of the street, some tall spiers and floating The shining runes above the street have caught Jenny's eyes.

She took a light breath.

San Sunil's Mage Quarter has arrived.

The two vehicles passed through the streets of the wealthy area and entered the mage area. The guards in the entire area have been taken over by the Cecil Legion, and the magic vehicles with military markings were not hindered in the mage area.

Under Jenny's guidance, the car finally stopped in front of a mage tower with a lavender spire, off-white exterior walls, and about four or five stories high.

This is a typical traditional magic tower. The overall building is built on a solid stone base. There are faint magic patterns on the surface of the gray-white outer wall. The heavy and luxurious oak door is blocked by a magic barrier. Above the steeple, There are also floating crystals and metal structures slowly rotating around the spire—those crystals and structures have many functions such as surveillance, early warning, and combat, and Jenny knows them very well.

A small group of soldiers got out of the car and followed Jenny to the front of the magic tower. The surface of the oak door blocked by runes flickered a few times, and then the runes dispersed, and the door slowly opened.

No need to knock on the door - the artificial intelligence (Taling) controlling the magic tower will automatically identify visitors and alert the guards.

After waiting quietly for a while, Jenny saw an apprentice wearing a dark gray robe coming out of the dark doorway.

His name was Mark, and he was one of the mentor's apprentices.

Not slave apprentices, real apprentices.

Jenny's impression of him wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either—he was a young man with average talent, but at least he was worth more than a slave, and that was all Jenny's impression of him.

Mark came out with his head down, and he raised his head slightly until he came to Jenny. He quickly saw the appearance of the person in front of him, with a surprised expression on his face, and then he noticed the person behind Jenny. That team of heavily armed soldiers, and two magic vehicles parked not far away.

The young man's expression was a little astonished, and then he shrank his neck, and his tone was complicated and awkward: "Jenny, are you...is it really you?"

"It's me. Go tell the mentor that I'm back."

Chapter 0664

Hearing Jenny's words, Mark seemed to be in a daze for a moment, as if he hadn't been able to figure out the situation in front of him—or it might be that the heavily armed Cecil soldiers made this cowardly and timid young man too nervous. As for forgetting what to say for a while, Jenny didn't get angry because of it, but repeated it patiently: "Go and tell the instructor, I'm back."

This time, Mark finally reacted: "Ah, ah, okay...but..."

He suddenly hesitated, and the following words were organized several times before he could say: "But the teacher's current state is not very good..."

"Just take me to see him."

"Okay... Jenny."

Mark looked up at the soldiers behind Jenny with some fear, and then moved aside, leaving a door leading to the interior of the magic tower.

Jenny stepped inward, followed by the guarding soldiers. The sound of uniform metal collisions of the magic armor made the young man standing at the door shrink back. He seemed to want to say something, but he swallowed it went back.

Inside the mage tower, the classic and solemn furnishings are as in memory. A fireplace made with long-lasting illusion is burning in the hall on the first floor. The flame is pale and snowy, reminiscent of ice and snow. The breeze swirls in the hall, dispelling the heat of this season. A shelf made of black-grained wood stands quietly by the wall, and two servants are cleaning the dust on the shelf.

A planetarium was placed in the center of the hall. Driven by magic power, this lightweight and expensive instrument was running automatically, simulating the projection of many stars that were invisible during the day in a small area.

An arc-shaped staircase is located on the opposite side of the hall, extending upwards along the wall. At the same time, there is a half-moon-shaped platform with railings floating inside the staircase, which is moving back and forth driven by magic.

"...The instructor finally finished the floating device?" Jenny turned her head slightly and asked Mark who followed.

"Yes," Mark seemed to finally get used to it, and his speech became smoother, "It was done last year, and it took a lot of precious materials."

Jenny nodded, but said nothing more.

She just remembered that at this time Rebecca should still be leading her research team to try to reconstruct the anti-gravity spell on the basis of elf technology—to use a steel plate and a few kilograms of cheap copper for that expensive and precise spell. The artificial magic crystal has been realized, and it can operate independently on a small-scale energy supply device. Last time Rebecca said in the magic network communication that she accidentally embedded the experimental product in the ceiling, but they have successfully made the device flew up.

Although it seems that the "flying" is not so stable...

She shook her head, ignored the elevator that was running automatically, but walked towards the familiar stairs according to her familiar memory.

Many of the same familiar faces bowed their heads respectfully as she passed.

These people don't necessarily know Jenny's current identity, or even know the servant apprentice who was not very popular in the past and was thrown out casually to deal with the royal errands, but they at least know the soldiers of the Cecil Legion and their People with a little judgment can tell that a person who is closely guarded by an entire team of soldiers and can come and go in and out of this area at will must be a big shot in the empire.

Mark followed Jenny. After climbing to the third floor of the Mage Tower, the young man whispered, "The mentor is at the magic hub..."

"Hmm." Jenny nodded slightly, and walked towards the secret room where the magic hub was located.

Before the familiar black wooden door, she hesitated for a few seconds, but finally pushed the door open.

In the spacious secret room, the shimmer of magic power rippling between the walls, condensed into a substantial texture like water, poured into the magic pool sunken in the center of the room, a faint magic circle covered the entire floor of the room , densely packed and neatly arranged runes extend from the edge of the magic circle, extending from the wall to the ceiling, and in the center of the entire room, at the focal point of the magic circle, a dry body is leaning against the edge of the magic pool, half One body was soaked in the pool water, and half of the body was prostrate on the ground.

It was almost a mummified corpse, as if thin flesh covered a skeleton, a piece of pale hair was disheveled, and the face exposed under the hair was completely unfamiliar to Jenny—only the raised eyes , fairly familiar.

Jenny walked slowly towards the shriveled body.

Humans are really complex creatures.

The knights who stood firm on the city wall were also oppressing the serfs on weekdays;

The earls and viscounts who fought to the death also took the last bit of grain and land from the peasants;

Those who donated all their belongings to support the front line, those who sent all their children to the city wall, those who ran out of oil and died at the nodes of the shield...

They were also masters of the land, masters of serfs, masters of wealth, and... masters of apprentices.

William Borken, a member of the royal mage group, was responsible for guarding the shield nodes of the Western Wall Fortress. On the fifth day of the city defense battle, he drove all the lower-level mages out of the node hall and tied himself to the node crystal.

Now, he is dying.

Jenny stopped beside the body, bent down slowly, squatted down, and sat on the ground—the ground in this mage tower had been her seat and chair for many years in her life. bed.

The shriveled head sensed the breath, and he moved slightly. In a trembling, he slowly opened his eyes and made a hoarse and low voice: "Ah...Jenny...you are here..."

Jenny looked at him quietly: "Mentor, long time no see."

The hoarse voice sounded again, calmer than Jenny expected: "Yeah, long time no see... what are you doing now?"