Sword of Dawn

Page 228

"It's probably some kind of novel magic toy." In the banquet hall, a young nobleman wearing a dark brown coat was discussing in a low voice with his partner next to him, "After all, Mr. Hermiel is famous for playing with novel things. "

"I heard it was brought out by him from the 'Imperial Manufacturing Association'," the partner next to him responded, "That eccentric old magician got very close to Mr. Hermiel recently..."

"That eccentric old magician? Is there such a person in the Craft Association?"

"Oh, that's a famous person—it is said that Ms. Windsor personally vouched for it. I heard that he used to be a high-ranking member of the Royal Wizards Association. He had already retired, but this time he was invited by His Majesty's recruitment order. ..."

The low-pitched discussion among the guests did not last long. As the sound of the music gradually became soothing and low-pitched, everyone's eyes turned to the entrance of the hall in unison. The attendants in dark red jackets opened the heavy and gorgeous door. , and wearing a loose dark coat, wearing a monocle, the tall and thin Viscount Hermiel appeared at the door.

This Mr. Viscount, who is less than 30 years old, has a happy smile on his face-he is always so beaming, and there is an atmosphere that good things will happen at any time around him, and behind Mr. Viscount, there are two strangers .

One of them was wearing a black mage robe, with an old appearance and a gloomy demeanor. At first glance, he looked like an old-school mage with a strange temper and difficult to get along with. The hunchbacked middle-aged man with a tense expression on his face, even though he was wearing a brand new and decent woolen coat, shrank like an inferior person. He followed Viscount Hermiel and Behind the black-robed mage, the expression on his face was tense, as if he was about to faint at any moment.

The unfamiliar faces aroused the curiosity of the guests, but no one was rude to ask hastily. They just glanced at the two guests behind Viscount Hermiel with aristocratic reserve, and then turned their attention back to the host of the banquet. body.

The visitors are all friends of Viscount Hemiel, so naturally they will not be so restrained. Some people raised their glasses of wine and greeted the host with a big smile: "Viscount Hemiel—thank you for your fine wine and food. Impressive, especially the decorations on site - my friend, why don't you come and introduce your new toy to everyone?"

"This is not a toy, Viscount Dewey," Viscount Hermiel said with a bright smile on his face. He strolled towards the center of the hall, came to the weird machine, and then turned to face the guests he had invited, stretching his arms Pointing to the machine behind him with an exaggerated gesture, "This is a new era!"

"You really like this kind of exaggerated words more and more recently," a lady wearing a veil couldn't help but shook her head with a smile, "you said the same thing when you introduced a 'machine that can write' to us last time , but unfortunately it only shreds the paper..."

Hermiel immediately raised his head, and said seriously: "I'm already improving that machine, and I'm sure I can get rid of its annoying little gears—as for the machine in front of me, please rest assured, it will definitely not be like that. It has the same problem as last time, it is already a practical creation!"

Then he turned his body slightly and beckoned the middle-aged man in a wool coat with a tense face to come forward: "Mr. Martin, please come forward and demonstrate this incredible thing to my friends."

It turns out that this person who seems to have gone to the wrong place is here to help the Viscount demonstrate the machine?

The guests looked at the middle-aged man named "Mr. Martin" coming to the machine with a hint of wonder, watching him busy back and forth checking the parts of the machine, calibrating the gears, injecting grease into the gaps of the parts—— After touching the machine, the nervousness of the middle-aged man seemed to disappear at once. Like a skilled old craftsman, he completed all the preparations with dazzling movements, and then started the machine under the instruction of Viscount Hermiel. machine.

Accompanied by the weak magic fluctuations at the bottom of the machine, a weird creaking sound came from between its gears and connecting rods, and then... This complex engineering creation made an amazing things:

It is weaving!

The machine creaked and ran for a few minutes, and then stopped under the control of "Mr. Martin", while the surrounding guests had widened their eyes.

Finally someone exclaimed: "God of knowledge, Hemir, you finally created something useful!"

Viscount Hermiel showed a reserved expression, he put his hands on his stomach, and sighed in an aria-like tone: "How I wish this miracle of engineering was done by me, but unfortunately the noble code requires me to be honest— —this machine is the work of this Mr. Martin, the fourth wisest man I have ever met, and he named it the Angley Loom. . . . "

The noble guests in the hall let out a small exclamation again, and this time, they finally took a serious look at that "Mr. Martin".

Martin stood tensely under the gazes of the nobles, his hands clenched and relaxed unconsciously, he was so terrified, but also so excited-his machine that was ridiculed by others was finally recognized and given a chance, A respectable nobleman even held a banquet for the occasion to demonstrate his invention, without any intention of infringing on his reputation.

"Gentlemen and ladies, you can ask Mr. Martin for details about this machine—please don't frighten him, he is my honored guest," Viscount Hermiel said loudly with a smile, "and if someone If you want to buy this machine and do something with it, please come see me after the banquet - I have been honored to be the first investor in Angre's Looms and I am looking forward to it anytime Having friends with me to start a great business."

Afterwards, the Viscount left the venue. He left the banquet hall to the Angre loom and its inventor, and he returned to the lounge next to the banquet hall with the old mage Daniel.

"Master Daniel, it's a really pleasant day," Viscount Hermiel said happily as soon as he entered the lounge, "Do you know? My favorite thing is to come up with something new and enjoy everyone's surprised expressions..."

The old mage Daniel nodded: "Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Viscount."

Although he has a strange personality, he still understands the basic etiquette, and now in order to complete the task of the master, he must also establish a good relationship with every "target" as much as possible.

"Don't be so polite, master," Viscount Hermiel said quickly, "Ms. Windsor once pointed me out, and I count myself as her half-disciple, and you are her mentor, so you can solve your problems. My pleasure."

Daniel glanced at the young nobleman: "You do have some mage talent."

"Ah, I know this talent myself. I probably won't be able to go very far on the road of magic, and I'm still a person who can't bear hardships." Viscount Hermiel waved his hand, "That's why I prefer to focus on On "Wonderful Object"——Fate has been kind to me, and finally let me find such a valuable "Wonderful Object", and I also met a master with unique vision and transcendent wisdom like you. To be honest, although I can see that Angre The loom is of great value, but without your enlightenment and guidance, I am afraid that I would never have imagined its true power in my life..."

Daniel accepted the Viscount's compliment frankly, and then asked insincerely, "Mr. Viscount, do you think your friends will be interested in Angre's loom?"

"Ah, they are all a group of people who are as interested in new things as I am, but not everyone has the same courage to invest as I do. You know, many aristocrats lost their land and lost their remaining assets It is so precious that even the banquets are only held twice a month," Viscount Hemir sat on the soft bed in the lounge, leaned over to pick up a fruit from the fruit plate next to him, and said while smelling the aroma of the fruit, "But there are still two... oh, three people, who should have both vision and courage, and they will join the group."

"That's good," Daniel nodded, "The more people participate, the faster our scale will expand, and the more obvious the publicity effect will be. Angrei Loom has completed registration with the Manufacturing Association, and you will not only You can open a factory, or you can sell the authorization of the loom, and its income can far exceed the annuity."

"To be honest, I can't wait," Viscount Hermiel put the fruit aside, "but to be honest...Although the Angrei loom is very useful, it needs enough yarn supply to be able to use it to its fullest potential." Value, Mr. Martin... can we really design a new type of spinning machine before the end of the cold moon?"

"He will succeed, don't worry, after all, the structure of the spinning machine is much simpler than that of the loom, and there is also the water spinning machine invented by the Herits in 714 as a reference," Daniel smiled, although That smile was not so much a comfort, but a creepy feeling, "Besides, I will help him, I know a little about mechanics..."

Viscount Hermiel breathed a long sigh of relief: "That's good, as long as the spinning machine is in place, I have nothing to worry about."

"No, there is actually one more thing that should be worried about in advance." Daniel shook his head and reminded in time, "Mr. Viscount, don't you think that if the spinning machine and the loom are started at the same time, we will need a lot of... cotton Is it?"

"...I've really thought about this." Hearing what Daniel said, the expression on Viscount Hermiel's face became a little serious, "People near the imperial capital mostly grow grains and beans, and the main planting areas of cotton are a little further south. Even in the south, their cotton production should not keep up with the consumption of the machine—the efficiency of the machine is really amazing.”

"Why don't we think of a way to persuade those farmers who grow grains and beans to also grow a little cotton? Anyway, cotton can have a good harvest in the central region," Daniel recalled the master's teachings in his mind, and slowly guided, his face showing A more obvious smile - that smile still has a creepy taste, but in the eyes of Viscount Hermiel, this smile is full of sincerity and friendliness, "The farmers will get great benefits, and the factories that buy cotton The price is much higher than their income from selling grain..."

"Then... what if they don't want to?" Viscount Hemil hesitated, "Many farmers are very stubborn, and now there are imperial laws protecting them, and I can't forcefully change the things in their fields..."

"Mr. Viscount, this requires you to work hard in the parliament - to attract more people to the textile factory, as long as everyone becomes our investor, the congressmen will naturally realize the importance of cotton... ..."

"Ah, Master Daniel, do you still understand the operating rules of the noble council?"

"A little bit."

Looking at the old mage with unique vision and outstanding wisdom, Viscount Hermiel finally couldn't help but show a look of admiration: "Master Daniel, let me be frank - you should have returned to the imperial capital earlier, your knowledge Your vision and vision are so outstanding, if you had returned to the imperial capital two years earlier, you would have already become a man of the hour here."

"No, Mr. Viscount, this is the age of young people," Daniel said unhurriedly, "Keep looking forward, you are about to become a man of the age."

Viscount Hemir laughed loudly. He stood up, took down the wine glass and red wine from the wine rack not far away, poured a glass for himself and Daniel, and then handed a glass to the old mage in front of him: "Let us Celebrate it, Master."

Daniel took the wine glass and raised it slightly: "To this beautiful era."

"To this beautiful age."

Chapter 0536 Dangerous Signal

cold moon.

Anzu's coldest months are here.

The giant sun rises majestically and slowly into the sky, and there are yellow-brown stripes like wood grain floating on the huge sun disk with a cloud-like halo. The changes in those colored stripes indicate one thing: the largest cooling after winter Coming soon.

The sun, the largest celestial body in the sky, is also the celestial body most closely related to people's lives. Experienced farmers can speculate on the approximate cooling date and extent of cooling based on the changes in the stripes on the solar disc, while scholars can use the changes in the solar disc The method used to deduce the overall climate of the second year has been formulated - the observation of giant sun has always been a very important part of the daily life of people in this world.

City of Saint-Sunil, in the Mage District.

Accompanied by a slight friction sound, the "Sunsun Platform" on the upper floor of the Astrologer Tower opened its thick and huge skylight, and the lifting platform driven by magic power also stopped firmly on the top of the channel in the center of the Sunsun Platform. Morgan Hugo He and his assistants walked down the lifting platform, came to the position for observing the sun wheel, and prepared to start the routine observation work.

"Open Filter Panel - Filter Mode III."

The old royal mage gave instructions to the assistants on the side, and at the same time waved to the bookshelf not far away, quills, parchment, ink bottles and other things flew over immediately, hovering steadily in front of him, and the person who received the order The assistant ran to a control node not far away and began to inject magic power into the rune pillar.

Seeing the assistant's reckless actions, Morgan couldn't help shouting: "Be careful! The runes here are priceless!"

The assistant hastily controlled the extent of the magic power injection, and as the rune pillars around the Sun Chasing Platform brightened up, a thin layer of light floated on the skylight used to observe the sun wheel.

After a while, the magic radiance condensed into a layer of light crystals like a substance, filtering the sunlight outside the skylight into a mode more suitable for human observation with the naked eye. Morgan Hugo nodded slightly: This set of magic that was built 100 years ago The device is still useful today, and as the most qualified astrologer in this astronomy tower, the privilege of using this magical device has always been the thing he is most proud of.

The old mage stood still under the filter plate formed by the condensed magic light, raised his head and carefully observed the sun disk outside the skylight, observing the changes of every colored stripe on its surface, while the quill and parchment were suspended in his Beside him, he kept writing rapidly, recording all the data and patterns.

Other assistants also came to the observation position, recording the data they were responsible for, and a quiet and solemn atmosphere enveloped the top of the astronomy tower.

However, the atmosphere didn't last long, and an assistant exclaimed suspiciously in a low voice, breaking the calm on the observation platform: "The red streak at the bottom shifts eastward by three degrees?"

Morgan Hugo immediately glared at his assistant: "What nonsense?"

"It's true! Teacher!" The assistant said quickly, and then took out the last observation record while handing over what he had recorded to the instructor. "Look, this is the last record—you confirmed it yourself."

Morgan Hugo took the few pages handed by his assistant, and glanced over them quickly. He froze for a moment, then looked at it more carefully, then raised his head again, his eyes unblinking Stare at the giant sun in the sky.

"It's impossible..." the old astrologer muttered to himself. He waved his hand and summoned the illusion spell for calibrating the coordinates, and set a large area of ​​reference marks around the solar disk image on the filter plate. As a result, his shock continued unabated, "No...impossible...such a large-scale displacement...this has never been seen..."

"Teacher, should we report it to Silver Castle?" the assistant asked cautiously, "This is an obvious astronomical anomaly."

"Report to Silver Castle immediately!!"

……

In the Dark Mountains, in the No. [-] Astronomical Observatory, the young mage who was in charge of recording the changes of the sun wheel also put down the recording board in his hand in astonishment.

"Could it be that there is a storm blowing on the surface of the sun?" The young mage muttered to himself. He took a closer look at the data and patterns on the record board, then raised his head and looked through the large filter lens on the roof of the observatory. Looking at the image of the sun disc, his face is incredible.

The companion on the side looked over curiously: "Could it be that the historical records are wrong?"

"No, all the data is observed and recorded in duplicate," the young mage stood up while talking, and walked towards the entrance of the observatory. "I'll go outside to have a look, and you continue to record inside!"

He walked out of the observation station and came to the platform connected to the site. The cold north wind hovered over the dark mountains, rolled through the forests and canyons, and blew on the site that was just built a few months ago. The young mage who came out of the warm room couldn't help but tremble all over.

The young mage propped up the shield to isolate the cold mountain wind, then took out the portable filter lens, and carefully observed the huge sun in the sky through the lens.

These astronomical observatories set up in the dark mountains are subsidiary products of the "Essence of Magic" project hosted by Kamel, with the purpose of studying the connection between the giant sun cycle and the magic changes in nature.

For a long time, Kamel believed that the magic power of nature comes from the huge sun in the sky, but since the whole world itself is shrouded by a layer of powerful magic power environment, it is also difficult to observe the external magic power changes in this "shrouded environment". It became very difficult. In order to reduce interference as much as possible and improve the accuracy of observations, Kamel presided over the construction of a series of observation stations in the dark mountains.

"No. [-] Astronomical Observatory" is one of them.

These observatories have the functions of detecting changes in magic power and observing changes in celestial phenomena at the same time, and because they are built on the heights of the dark mountains, they even have the function of monitoring the magnificent wall.

Being able to stay in such an observation station, the young mage is naturally the best among Kamel's many apprentices and assistants. However, at this moment, this outstanding young man fell into great consternation.

The gigantic sun still hangs quietly in the sky, providing light and heat to the world as always. In the eyes of ordinary people, I am afraid that there is no change in it. However, for this young man, the sun in the sky has become Very strange.

The young mage looked up for a long time without blinking his eyes. Even with the protection of filter lenses, his eyes soon became painful. He had to lower his head and use spells to relieve the pain in his eyes, and then began to look carefully. Carefully check the parameters on the scoreboard in the opponent's hand.

At this moment, a strange low voice entered the ears of the young mage.

The sound seemed to come from far, far away. It sounded like a hurricane engulfing thunder. It traveled so far that it seemed blurred when it reached the ears. The young man was surrounded by this weird noise. Looking up, after seeing the source of the voice, his expression became dull.

He looked across the ridge of the dark mountains, across the dark forest at the foot of the mountain on the other side, and across the corrupted plains destroyed by the corruption of the magic tide. At the end of his sight, on the southern horizon, the entire majestic wall was shining brighter than ever Multiple times the light.

The muffled sound of wind and thunder came from that majestic wall.

"...Goddess of Magic..." The young mage exclaimed in a low voice, then turned and rushed towards the observation station, "Notify Master Kamel! Notify the lord!!"

……

On the far southern horizon, the light from the majestic wall is like an aurora falling to the ground. The light that is several times stronger than usual is floating there, with a breathtaking sense of magnificence, and that kind of shocking The uneasy wind and thunder still continued to come—but it was much smaller than it was at the beginning.

Gawain stood on the observation platform of the Dark Mountain Range, looking at the distant scene without saying a word for a long time.

In his mind, the alarm from the satellite monitoring system is still echoing:

"...Warning, the activity of the giant planet is abnormally increasing, warning, the activity of the giant planet is abnormally increasing..."

The change of magic power in the natural world is closely related to the activities of the giant sun, and according to what happened 700 years ago, the change of the giant sun is very likely to indicate the approach of the magic tide. The various observation records of the Krakens also confirm this point: When the magic tide rises, the first thing to react abnormally must be the sun in the sky.

Is time running out... Or, time has come?

Gawain turned off the alarm message in his mind, and turned to look at the young mage beside him—except for himself, a "satellite spirit", who immediately noticed the change of the sun with the help of satellite alarm, this young man was the first in the territory. A person who discovered the abnormality and sent back the alarm, and the abnormal situation of the magnificent wall was also reported by this young man in time.

"How long has it been since the sound and light of the Great Wall?"

"It's been four hours now, my lord," the young mage said a little nervously, "but I can only confirm that the strange sound came from four hours ago, and I'm not sure when the brightness changed—we are in Been recording something else for hours before that, not looking at the Wall of Magnificence."

Gao Wen nodded. From the young mage's report, he heard the rigor unique to researchers.

Behind Gawain, Hetty and the others who followed were all worried, and Amber was the first one who couldn't help it: "I said... that wall will collapse soon, right?!"

Gao Wen really wanted to give a clear answer, but after a few seconds of thinking, he could only shake his head: "...I don't know."

Hetty and Rebecca said in unison: "You don't know either?"

"I can only confirm one thing: the current strange sound and the increase in the brightness of the energy barrier are all manifestations of a surge in the load of the Great Wall. It is under a lot of pressure at the moment, but the barrier has not yet broken, which means that the pressure has not exceeded the threshold. , according to the original design, as long as there is no new impact, it will repair itself-but I am not sure whether the safety system of the barrier can survive this test after 700 years of wind and rain."

Rebecca swallowed, "What if...you can't make it through?"

"The Dark Mountains may be able to hold back the first onslaught of the Fel Tide, but the Aberrations will soon start trying to overcome this barrier, and at best the Chaos Fel in the Gondor Wastes has waned considerably over the past 700 years , become no longer have the power to directly destroy the human world, then the southern border will return to the situation when Ansu just founded the country 700 years ago-continuously fighting the monsters rushing out of the demon tide, engaging in a never-ending tug-of-war, Gao Wen shook his head, "The good news is that we now have magic cannons and rainbow light devices. The bad news is that in other places in the southern border, there are no longer Cecil wolf cavalry, and there are no longer priests who regard death as home." Stormtroopers and Noble Death Squads."

Behind Hetty, an official of the government affairs office couldn't help but whispered: "So we better hope it survives this time..."

"It's hard to say whether prayer will work or not, but at least we can't just wait like this," Gao Wen turned around and looked at Hetty, "The government affairs department has entered a state of emergency and is ready to call in strategic supplies at any time... A large protective shield has been installed Shield's town is used as a reserve refuge...increased monitoring to the south of the Dark Mountains, and all observation points are turned to the magnificent wall...be prepared for publicity, the security team is on standby at any time, and no place can be chaotic..."

Following Gao Wen's instructions one by one, everyone at the scene realized the seriousness of the matter more clearly, and besides, they also felt a little relieved.

It is better to have instructions and arrangements than to be at a loss.

Chapter 0537 The Elves

On the continent of Loren, the Principality of Cecil is not the only one paying attention to the change of the Great Wall.

Across the vast and boundless wasteland of Gondor, those dark and twisted jungles and corrupted and mutated lands, in the southern part of the continent, on the warm land covered by mountains and boundless forests, the impact of the change of the magnificent wall is particularly impressive. disturbed.

Because there is no natural barrier like a dark mountain between the Gaoling Kingdom and the wasteland of Gondor.

This kingdom located in the southern part of the mainland was established by exiles from the south of the former Gondor Empire. With the help of the elves, the exiles established a new kingdom among the mountains, and in the following 700 years, they were deeply influenced by elf culture. influences.After a long period of running-in, adaptation, trade and marriage, the relationship between this country and the silver empire in the south has become extremely close, and due to the actual influence of the magnificent wall, the border area of ​​the northern part of the Gaoling Kingdom near the wasteland of Gondor is essentially It is jointly controlled by elves and humans, and the two races have worked together to build an endless "forest line of defense" here to resist the threat posed by the wasteland.

Here, centuries of interdependence and a real threat from the wasteland have bound the two kingdoms together.

In the No. [-] Forest Guard Tower of the Linhai Defense Line, the Ranger General Lomar stood in front of the oval window, looking at the northern front line of the barrier——the endless green forest stretched in his field of vision, and the towering ancient trees with magical power were invisible. Its branches and leaves are swaying in the magical wind, making the forest sea seem to be floating with a layer of emerald green waves, and at the end of the far horizon, the energy barrier of the magnificent wall is shining with a disturbing brightness. The low rolling sound of wind and thunder passed through Lin Hai and reached the ears of the Ranger General.

He turned around and looked at the main console in the hall: "How is the situation ahead?"

The hall is oval-shaped, and the main console is located in the center of this oval-shaped room. A row of silver-white light alloy columns are neatly arranged on both sides of the main console, projecting various holographic images outward. An elf controller was busy between those alloy columns.