Sword of Dawn

Page 193

Then he paused, and asked unhurriedly: "Lemont's body is still in the hands of the Cecil, isn't it?"

"...The Rock Fortress did not respond to the church's request. Bishop Lemont's body is still in the southern border, and it is said that he has been cremated."

"Using flames to purify the corpse...Fortunately, at least the Cecilians did not desecrate Bishop Lemont's body, but it would be great if they were willing to return the ashes to us," the old pope sighed softly. "This way at least we can confirm the real cause of Bishop Lemont's death."

A regional bishop died in the "Noble War" in the southern border. When the news was first reported back to the Holy Light Cathedral, it caused a lot of trouble. It is an indisputable fact that the nobles of the southern border invaded Cecil’s territory on their own initiative. In addition, the Cecil family has completed de facto rule over the southern border in a short period of time, so the church has no reason or opportunity to control the situation—— When they finally freed themselves from expanding the diocese and fighting heresy, Cecil's army had already entered the Rock Fortress.

After that, the church also sent envoys to contact the southern region, but the envoys were blocked outside the gate of the Rock Fortress. They only got a letter from Grand Duke Gawain Cecil, which stated that the Church of the Holy Light was in the southern region. expressed disappointment with his actions and sent a startling message:

Although Bishop Lemont was killed during the noble war, he was not killed by the Cecils, but was attacked by the Eternal Sleepers.

The contents of this letter are only known to a few people in the church, and the Pope and Veronica are two of them.

"The situation in the southern diocese is not as optimistic as that in the east. Although Duke Gawain has not publicly expelled our priests, according to sporadic news, he has sealed off the city of Luan and banned all priests of the Holy Light from walking around and preaching in the southern border— —The reason is that it is necessary to investigate the corruption and infiltration of the church by the nobles in the south, and to maintain law and order after the war," Veronica Moen said, "He is equivalent to using the post-war control method to put the entire southern church under house arrest."

"...The southern border and the eastern border have always been tricky places, but now it's just more difficult," the old pope said calmly, "Now the royal family is mainly focusing on the rebels in the eastern border, and we want to use Their power, so they can only focus on the eastern border... Veronica, you have been in contact with that ancient duke, and now you think about it, what is his possible attitude towards the church?"

Veronica lowered her eyelids: "...he is indeed a person without belief, or the power of 'faith' is just a tool for him. I have only been in contact with him for a short time, and It was still a year ago, but based on his actions during the year, I can guess his thoughts: he doesn't really care about 'God', neither reverence nor resistance, but follows pragmatism. I have studied him The implementation of the New Deal found a rule: All his systems consider practicality first, cost and efficiency second, and legal principles and morals last, which can explain his acting style.”

"Arrogant, but he is qualified to be arrogant," Saint Ivan III closed his eyes, "but his indifference is better than Edmund Moen's hostility. Since he regards faith as a tool... it means that he at least does not would reject the tool."

Veronica raised her eyebrows slightly: "Your Majesty, you mean..."

"Wait and see what he will do to Luan City next. If the situation does not change, then we will ignore it for the time being. If the situation worsens...Veronica, you have to be ready to go and talk to that southern man. talk to your ruler."

Veronica bowed her head deeply: "I will follow your will."

"Go on, I'm a little tired," Saint Ivan III closed his eyes, and his body, which was trying to sit upright, gradually slumped. His voice was ethereal, as if part of his mind had drifted to the kingdom of the God of Light, "I want to Take a nap...to hear the voice of the Lord."

Veronica bent down and whispered in the old pope's ear: "Yes, the Lord is with you."

Saint Ivan III breathed evenly and gently, and on his face, a satisfied and indifferent smile gradually spread.

Veronica stepped down from the platform where the Pope's throne was located, and with a wave of her hand, a layer of hazy holy light enveloped the entire platform, protecting the Pope within it and isolating it from the cloud sea of ​​holy light lingering in the Great Hall of Light. .

……

Night gradually fell, and the king's capital under the stars was shrouded in silence.

Saint-Sunil City, No. [-] Crown Street, Jibri, an officer of the Military Intelligence Bureau, stood quietly on the balcony of the mansion, looking at the gorgeous but outdated buildings outside the balcony.

At No. [-] Crown Street, some buildings have become pure historical relics, but there are still many descendants of nobles living in the rest of the old houses inherited from their ancestors. Coming and going on the street, whenever a large number of carriages stay in the same area, the mansion there will be lit up all night, and the music of the lyre and tambourine will continue until the next morning. And on the next day, those carriages would take their drunken masters away and return to their manors and castles inside and outside the royal city.

Even though this country is in a civil war, even if soldiers die every day on the eastern front of the Holy Spirit Plain, even if the refugees displaced by the war are about to spread to the giant wooden crossing, the nobles of this country have not reduced the frequency of their banquets and scale.

Jibri was tired of this already.

Fortunately, today is a rare quiet day: no banquets were held in the nearest few houses, it is said that it was because the Earl of Bahrain held a bigger banquet in the south of the city, and half of the nobles in Crown Street had received invitations. A chance for Jibri to enjoy the night.

The sound of the wheels of the carriage rolling over the cobblestone road sounded in this silent night.

Jibri looked away, and she saw a carriage with magic spar lamps parked in front of the mansion, so she quickly left the balcony and returned to the study.

A moment later, Pierce appeared in front of her, tall and thin, wearing a knight's casual clothes.

"Traveling at night is becoming more and more difficult," Pierce said while taking off his coat, "The banquets of the nobles are becoming more and more frequent, and the curfew in the artisan district and merchant district is becoming stricter and stricter. Mark, I'm afraid I won't be back at all tonight."

"After all, there have been rumors in the city recently," Jibri nodded and said, "The situation in the east of the plain is not good."

Pierce smiled. After scanning the room, he calmly came to the window. He closed the window, and then activated the magic rune under the window sill.

A small soundproof barrier then covered the entire room.

"An order came from the headquarters," the officer of the Military Intelligence Bureau said succinctly, "We are preparing to evacuate."

"Evacuate?" Jibri opened her eyes wide. "Is the situation getting worse?"

"The Duke has laid down the Rock Fortress, and the southern border has become the Principality of Cecil. The Ansu royal family will soon respond to this—no matter what the reaction is, we will receive more attention in the capital," Pierce spoke quickly. He explained, "We have been active here for a long time, and you have been in contact with the mage circle many times. It is no longer suitable for us to continue to be stationed here."

Jibri couldn't help frowning slightly: "Then what about this stronghold?

"There will be a new working group to replace us—but they will remain lurking in the dark," Pierce explained, "The lord still needs information about the capital, but we have to evacuate early as we can no longer hide and disguise. "

Jibri was taken aback for a moment, and then exhaled with some emotion: "Is it... It seems that we really have to leave."

"It's also a good thing - it is said that the local side is developing very fast. The newcomers in the headquarters are much more advanced than ours in terms of skills and equipment. We can hurry up and make up for the lessons when we go back. Otherwise... I'm afraid after going back Just can't keep up with those novices," Pierce said with a smile, and glanced at Jibri, "By the way... don't you still miss this place?"

"Nostalgia? I don't miss this place," Jibri said with a sarcasm smile, "Compared to the stinky streets here, the wind by the Baishui River is fresher."

……

The night breeze of the Baishui River is very refreshing. Since a long time ago, Gao Wen liked to come to the high platform by the river bank, blowing the cold wind to watch the scenery by the river bank, or thinking about the future, or recalling the past, or simply doing nothing. If you don't want to, just enjoy the scenery.

The landscape here is changing all the time.

When I first came here, there was only a barren beach beside the Baishui River. Eight hundred refugees set up simple tents on the barren beach. The camp guards used braziers and simple fences to protect the safety of the land. At that time, as soon as the sun sets, people must return to the camp immediately, because there are hungry beasts hidden in the dense forest and barren mountains outside the camp, and people can only spend the night anxiously in tents...

Then the tent became a wooden house, the wooden house became a brick house, the fence became a city wall, a sentry tower was built on the city wall, and the wooden bridge on the Baishui River became a mechanical bridge driven by a giant repulsion mechanism. The temporary pier has become a permanent pier made of cement, and even the most desolate north bank of the Baishui River has now become a busy "North City New District"...

After nightfall, the brilliance of the magic spar lamp will shine on both sides of the river, as if the bright stars are sprinkled on the earth.

All this in less than two years.

As the person who built all these with his own hands, Gao Wen can feel the greatest sense of accomplishment from these changes.

He knew that the speed of development of this city was a miracle, even on the earth. The reason why the Cecils were able to achieve this kind of miracle, apart from the huge power emanating from the suddenly liberated productivity In addition, there is the development of magic technology.

"Magic technology..."

Gawain muttered in a low voice, and raised his hand under the light of the stars and the lights on both sides of the bank, and a hazy brilliance appeared in his palm immediately.

This is not a knight's combat technique or spell, but just a luminous phenomenon after the free magic power in the air is stimulated. It always reminds Gawain: magic power is everywhere.

"A pervasive, seemingly endless energy..."

Waving his hand to disperse the accumulated magic power, Gao Wen couldn't help but frown slightly.

There was a sudden rushing sound in the river not far away, which interrupted Gawain's thinking. The latter raised his head and saw a ball of water splashing on the river surface, and Tyre's head floated up from the water splash .

"Yo—Lord, are you here to be lazy too?"

Chapter 0464 Black Trap

To be honest, Gawain was taken aback when Tyr suddenly emerged from the water—creatures like sea monsters seem to be essentially elemental bodies. He didn't have any breath at all, this guy popped up all of a sudden, if Gao Wen had a brick in his hand, he should have already yelled up by now...

After gathering his mind, Gawain looked at Tyre who was swimming in the water: "What are you doing in the river so late?"

"I'm not in the river, am I on the shore?" Tyre responded confidently, "I'm a siren, a water element."

"...That makes sense..." Gao Wen stroked his chin, and suddenly felt something was wrong, "Wait, if I remember correctly, you should be instructing the workers at the shipyard right now?"

Till has now become a ship technical consultant in the territory. Although she will still try to catch up on sleep, according to reports from her subordinates, this sea caterpillar was indeed in the shipyard when she was in the shipyard. Serious work.

Like most of the factories in the territory, the shipyard also implemented a three-shift rotation system. The craftsmen worked overtime to repair the ships seized from the nobles of the southern border to cope with the increasing pressure on river transportation during the large-scale construction of the southern border after the war. At the same time, under the guidance of Tire, he worked hard to learn the technology of the Kraken's aircraft, and studied how to manufacture new ships-and at this time, if Gawain remembered correctly, Tire should be staying in the shipyard...

"Aha...the work scheduled for today is all over, and now they are testing the strength of several materials, I don't need to watch from the side, and I'm not familiar with the materials used by you people on land," Till swam to the shore As she said, Xinghui sprinkled her wet long hair with a strange brilliance, "Then I came out early..."

Gao Wen was a little speechless for a while: "Isn't this still slipping out..."

"No one noticed." Tyr shook his head indifferently, "I secretly flowed out of the drain..."

Gao Wen: "..."

Did this sea caterpillar really not realize that he was facing the biggest boss?This guy told him about his sneaking experience without any psychological pressure at all...

Gao Wen couldn't help but have a strong curiosity about the social form and customs of the sea monsters. He squatted down and looked at Tyre, who was soaking in the water leisurely: "Aren't all of you sea monsters as heartless as you?" What? Do you usually... have anything to worry about?"

"Heartless? I don't think so...but it probably looks like this in your eyes," Tire slapped his tail vigorously in the water, jumped out of the water with a splash, and slapped beside Gawain like a salted fish Then he patted his tail and said, "Our race... can live for a long time and have experienced many things. I have seen too much, so it seems a little different from yours. .Compared to sea monsters, even your so-called longevity elves are a fairly young race... Oh my god, it's finally over."

Gawain glanced at the salted fish who had been slapping on the shore for a long time before turning over. He really couldn't see the background and temperament of the so-called "deep-sea ancient race" from such a funny person, but he knew that what Tyre was talking about was Fact: As an ancient race that has witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations on land season after season, this group of deep-sea salted fish has sufficient qualifications to regard any species on land as a "child".

At this point, I am afraid that only the satellite essence of his body can compete with the deep-sea salted fish.

But he didn't intend to discuss the topic of ancient qualifications with Tire, but turned his attention to the banks of the Baishui River illuminated by the brilliance of the magic spar lamp. After a moment of silence, he asked: "I have lived here for a long time. What do you think of this place?"

"The development is fast, the order is good, and there are many weird things. Although it is not advanced, your technical route can still give me some inspiration." Till propped up his body with his fish tail, and commented very pertinently, " It’s just that there are many hidden dangers, which are basically brought about by too fast development.”

Gawain looked at Tyre with great interest: "What's the specifics?"

"If you don't find it harsh, I'll tell you," Tyr patted his tail indifferently, "You are so far ahead that only a few people have really kept up with you. The ruling body you formed More than half of the people in the middle school only know what to do, but don't know why to do it; your population and territory expand too fast, and the order in the remote areas is bound to be chaotic. There is no solution; your army is strong but lacks real tempering, they haven’t seen enough blood, and they need more battle tests; your territory is developing extremely fast, but it will always slow down one day, once it slows down , Those industries that rely on the dividends brought by rapid development will go wrong-as far as I can see, there are already so many."

Gawain looked at Tire with a little surprise: "I didn't expect you to observe so much..."

"I'm just lazy, not blind, and I usually read newspapers—although it's a bit troublesome to keep the newspapers wet," Till said, looking at Gawain, "but then again... actually You know these hidden dangers yourself."

"Why don't you know?" Gawain smiled helplessly, and frankly admitted Tyre's statement, "But if there are hidden dangers, we must develop, and stagnation is not a problem of facing hidden dangers—it will ruin the country and the family. of."

"Anyway, you have already built the rock fortress, so you have the foundation to make up for these hidden dangers. As long as you develop and digest in a safe and stable manner, these shortcomings will be gradually repaired."

Gao Wen didn't expect that this deep-sea salted fish would analyze a matter so seriously, and discuss it with himself so seriously, but he also knew that this was Tyre's way of showing "sincerity"—— Recently, this deep-sea salted fish has been going to several research departments almost every day. For this reason, she even greatly reduced her sleep time. Obviously, the arcane energy control technology behind the "Rainbow Cannon" is falling into a trap. It is really important for the Krakens with technical bottlenecks. In the face of racial interests, even Tire, who is lazy and almost died on the spot, will become reliable.

"It would be nice to have this time to digest," Gawain couldn't help muttering softly, and then asked a question curiously, "Actually, there is one thing I've always been curious about—during the long years when you sea monsters observed land civilizations, The life and death of civilizations season after season, is it true that no civilization can resist the tide of demons?"

This question is really important, Gao Wen really wants to confirm one thing: Is the magic tide really incomprehensible to mortals?

From the sea monster's observation of the land to the present, there have been more than ten seasons of civilization rise and fall, and countless intelligent or brave races have been active on this land. Could it be that they were all destroyed by the demon tide?

Facing the question raised by Gao Wen, Tyre showed a rare look of hesitation and entanglement.

Gawain caught the slight change in Tyre's expression: "Is there something hidden?"

"It's not really a secret, but there's something we can't prove yet," Till patted the rock under his body with his fishtail, "I believe you are a rational and calm person—so I plan to talk to you Tell me about a phenomenon we have discovered."

Gawain's expression became solemn, and he quietly listened to Tyre's narration.

And Tyre's first sentence made him look surprised: "...Actually, not all civilizations were destroyed by the demonic tide—some were destroyed by themselves for various reasons before the demonic tide broke out, while some The ones...disappeared suddenly after overcoming the demonic tide. I mean the real big demonic tide."

According to Tyre, there are two kinds of demonic tides. The demonic tide experienced by the Gondor Empire 700 years ago can only be said to be a small-scale "ripple". The world is going to turn upside down, and that's what's truly irresistible.

So Gao Wen was immediately surprised: "Is there anyone who has successfully overcome the great demon tide?"

"Yes, and there are more than one," Tyr nodded seriously, "They have found a protective technology that can resist the magic tide, or they have found the law of the magic tide, built a safety zone in advance, and there is even a race that can resist the magic tide. Completed the transformation of the life form of the whole family, they all survived the arrival of the great evil tide, we used to think that those civilizations were probably okay... But in the end, they suddenly died after the evil tide ended perished."

"Sudden death?" Gawain heard the deep meaning from Tyre's words, "That is to say, you don't know the reason?"

"It seems that a large-scale war broke out suddenly, but we can't tell who it is fighting with. Our observers also went ashore to investigate the situation, but found that the storage data of land civilizations were basically destroyed. Even if some data were found, the above There are only insane lunatics talking wildly. In addition, we have also observed large-scale mass suicides and burials... It is completely unclear."

Gao Wen frowned tightly. This situation was something he had never thought of before, but he still vaguely remembered... When he was hanging in the sky as a satellite spirit, he did observe the flames of war spreading across the entire continent, and even the A war capable of destroying all countries on the continent...

Although his observations had been severely interrupted at that time, and it was impossible to piece together a complete development process from those messy pictures, the existence of those pictures was enough to prove that what Tyre said was true.

It wasn't just the demon tide that destroyed the civilization on the mainland.

"Our ability to observe on land is limited, because we will also be affected by the magic tide to a certain extent-the sea monster will not die when the magic tide arrives, but our equipment will be greatly disturbed, and the ocean itself will become It is very dangerous and difficult to control, so we don't know what happened before and after the demon tide. There is only one thing that can be determined: it seems that as long as the civilization on land develops to a certain level, it will inevitably encounter extinction. There is a bottleneck Waiting there, and this bottleneck... should appear after the end of the demon tide."

A bottleneck, an invisible bottleneck, or... a trap.

"It's like a trap, isn't it?" Tyre's voice came from the side, hitting what Gawain was thinking. The siren lady propped herself up on her fish tail, and looked up at the night sky full of stars, " Civilizations seem to be sailing in a dark ocean. We sea monsters watched from afar, watching their lights flickering in the dark sea. Some of them were swallowed by the storm, and some were extinguished before the storm came. And those who were lucky enough to pass through the storm area... before we went to congratulate them, they also suddenly went out. This is really a terrifying world. It seems that there is a maelstrom invisible to the naked eye in the dark ocean , will suddenly engulf the careless voyager, so we have a name for this mysterious and terrible phenomenon——

"We call it the 'black trap', a trap in the dark sea."

Chapter 0465 Battle Against the Tide

Frankly speaking, hearing about the "black trap" phenomenon from Tire's mouth suddenly added indescribable pressure to Gao Wen's heart.

Outside of the demonic tide... There may be other threats in this world, threats that are big enough to cause the extinction of civilization, and what is more terrifying than the demonic tide is the intangibility and quality of this threat—even if you have experienced more than a dozen The sea monsters who have observed this world for countless years have not been able to understand the nature of this threat.

This is undoubtedly an extremely disturbing fact.

Gawain's face was serious and gloomy, he pinched his chin without saying a word and fell into deep thought, Tire waited quietly by the side, until Gawain exhaled suddenly, the sea monster calmly Said: "Is it suddenly a little desperate?"

Gao Wen's answer was only one short word: "No."

"You don't have to hold on, it's normal to have a lot of pressure in this situation," Till flicked his tail and slapped the rocks on the shore, "After all, you have been The biggest crisis imaginable is the demon tide, and now I suddenly know that the crisis is not just the demon tide, who can be calm..."

"You're right, I do feel the pressure, but my mentality hasn't collapsed, let alone despair." Gao Wen let out a long breath, his expression softening slightly, "The 'black trap' phenomenon you mentioned... Maybe it does exist, but for me, the magic tide is still ranked first. If I can't even resist the magic tide, it will be a waste of effort to think about the "black trap" that is not clear at all. There is no need to lose fighting spirit for this illusory disaster."

Tire looked at Gawain quietly for a moment, and suddenly laughed exaggeratedly: "You...you are really interesting...haha...how come I didn't realize it before...no wonder you and our sea monsters can get along well. Speaking of it...you must be a very popular guy in our siren society."

Gawain looked at Tire's laugh that almost threw him into the river, and he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed: "As for such an exaggeration?"

"Your mentality is very good——" Tire barely stopped laughing, and hopped his tail vigorously to Gawain's side, looking at the expression on the latter's face, "Are you really not afraid? Even if you really If you found a way to survive the demon tide, you may also have to face future challenges, are you really not afraid?"

"Man is a creature that is afraid of death, but few people will give up their lives because they are afraid of death. People will only strive to survive because of fear of death," Gao Wen said frankly, "For us, no matter whether it is the magic tide or the 'black Trap', they are all similar things—the same unknown, the same deadly, and the same seemingly unsolvable, but we have made up our minds to survive when the tide of magic comes, so we can only go to the dark on this road. "

Speaking of this, Gawain raised his head, looking at the starry night sky with some ecstasy.

"Calm down and think about it, I realized that even if the 'black trap' exists, for us, the problem to be solved has changed from one to two. What's so scary?"

Hearing Gawain's words, Tire suddenly sighed again: "...if you live in the Kraken society, you will definitely be a very popular person."

"Why do you say that?"

"The sea monster is also a very self-comforting race. We are optimistic and persistent. You are very similar to us in this regard," Tyre said seriously. "To be honest, most sea monsters don't like land people very much— In our eyes, land people are a kind of creature that develops very quickly but always kills itself very quickly. You lack vision, are keen on short-term profits, and do not value commitment, but I must admit...you are full of passion And the society of hope is also fascinating."