"Is this the fragment of the Eternal Slate?"
Looking at the palm-sized metal fragment in front of him, Gawain couldn't help but look surprised.
"Yes, the Eternal Slate - I didn't expect it to be like this." Viscount Andrew shook his head weakly, "The fragments of the Eternal Slate are secretly enshrined by major sects, and others can take them. The forces or individuals who found the fragment were determined not to display it casually, so I had no idea what it was that was unearthed at first, but soon my people found the remaining text descriptions in the ruins, and I dared to be sure. A metal plate protected by numerous magic devices turned out to be fragments of the legendary eternal slate..." At this point, Viscount Andrew couldn't help but shook his head and sighed: "Many of the magic devices in the ruins have stopped. Operation, but only for protecting this slate fragment... Those mechanisms are still functioning today. In order to get it, I paid a lot of money, but I didn't expect that after holding it in my hand, the even greater price would begin... ..."
Gawain couldn't help but think of a saying on earth in his previous life: A common man is not guilty, but he who possesses a treasure is guilty.
He picked up the "slab fragment" (can this thing really be called a "slate"?) and made sure that it was really made of metal. This light golden metal was not It belongs to any kind of magic material or conventional material he knows, but more like some unknown alloy. Its front is extremely smooth, as if covered with a thin layer of enamel, while underneath the "enamel" is complex and fine There are some invisible grooves on the back, some of which are inlaid with small crystals.
On the edge of the metal plate, there are neat fractures. The fractures are like some kind of connecting teeth, turning the whole fragment into a complex geometry. Rather than saying that it comes from a certain It was "broken" as a whole, and Gawain even suspected that the so-called eternal stone slab itself was made up of a large number of these geometric bodies, like some kind of puzzle...
It's really interesting.
He looked at the fragment over and over and said thoughtfully: "It is said that mortals will receive revelation from the gods after touching the eternal stone. Why does it have no effect at all when I hold it?"
“Mere contact is useless, you also need to communicate with them mentally,” Viscount Andrew said slowly, “But my strength is low, even if I communicate, I can only hear some vague whispers. , but if it were you... maybe it would be possible to gain power directly."
Gawain nodded, but did not use his own mental power to communicate. mean.
In fact, he was deeply afraid of this thing.
The Eternal Slate is a legendary object that brings the faith of gods to the world. The first generation of mortal sages created so many religions and gained use because of their contact with the Eternal Slate. The power of divine magic may be a gift to ordinary people in this world, but Gawain couldn't help but wonder whether this thing was a gift.Does he have some kind of mind control, brainwashing and indoctrination power? What if he fails to communicate well and is directly occupied by the spirits of those gods? Even if it doesn't occupy your mind, it won't work if you have the problem of hearing the gods whispering in your mind every now and then!
"Please take this piece of slate away," Viscount Andrew suddenly said, "Whether you want to keep it for yourself, give it to the king, or give it to someone you believe in and want to be friends with. "You are sure?" Gawain raised his eyebrows, "You should know the value of this thing, even if you dare not keep it, you can hand it to the king or The church can also get a lot of benefits."
"I don't want to have anything to do with this thing anymore," Viscount Andrew burst out with strength and shook his head vigorously, "Even if I hand it over. I don’t want to hand it over with my hands - and if it weren’t for you today, I wouldn’t have survived at all, so just think of this as a gift.”
Gawain smiled half-heartedly. : "I can't tell whether this is a gift or a god of plague..."
But despite saying this, he still put away the fragments of the eternal slate without hesitation.
This thing is indeed a time bomb. It can even allow a dark organization like the Society for the Death of All Things to take risks against a kingdom’s nobles. However, this thing is also a treasure. It may contain the secrets of the gods, and even It may give Gawain a little glimpse of the truth of this world. No matter what, Gawain cannot turn a blind eye to this thing.
In the case that the Death Meeting of All Things had just failed once, he could confirm that no one would come up with this idea for the time being, and it would take time for the news to spread, and it would be difficult for outsiders to know in time. The fragment of slate was already in his hands. In this safer time, Gawain wants to study this mysterious fragment.
His status as a "nominal legend" is also a strong guarantee for keeping this piece of slate: Although Cecil is currently a weaker leader, in this era, the reputation of a legendary strongman is often better than that of a powerful one. The powerful aristocracy is more intimidating, and Gawain doesn't mind taking advantage of this.
Of course, he also considered the hidden dangers of doing so, so if the situation was really critical, he would not mind giving this thing to the king or the church - the knowledge of the gods is indeed valuable to some people, but It may not necessarily be converted into the productivity he needs. When the time comes to exchange such a sample for other benefits, as long as the benefits are sufficient, it will be worthwhile. But this is definitely an option only available under the most pressing circumstances.
Pittman and the two knights who went to the atrium to rescue people also returned to the meeting hall later.
"The power of the cultists has begun to fade away from the castle. It is not difficult to remove the magic from those poor people." The old druid explained how he was able to defeat the large-scale evil so quickly. The reason is, "Two knights and I rescued some people, and then asked the rescued people who were in better condition to help rescue them, plus throughBy controlling plants, it was possible to dig out all the people buried in the ground - but there were still many people who lost their lives, one third of whom were no longer saved, and many of the remaining people who were alive were sane. After being seriously injured, some can recover, while others may remain confused forever. "
"This is really a heavy loss. "Gawain glanced at Viscount Andrew with some sympathy.
Andrew could only shake his head with a wry smile: "I'm afraid I have to spend a lot of money to deal with the aftermath...but I am still alive and can always recover. What I am most fortunate about now is that my two sons went to collect rent in the territory a few days ago. Their procrastination saved their own lives. But my little daughter..."
"Your daughter is still alive," Knight Philip said, "but the poor girl has been severely mentally damaged and is now in a state of madness. Perhaps only the gods Only then did she know whether there was any possibility of her recovery. "
"Just live, just live..." Viscount Andrew said with a complicated expression. This once elegant, confident, and proud nobleman had aged at least twenty years that night. His current His voice was not only tired, but also exhausted. Although there were many things that could be said to be good news, they could not support his severely exhausted body and spirit. However, he still tried to raise his head and looked at Gawain standing next to him. "In any case, I want to thank you for your rescue. The Leslie family owes you and your knights a great favor - if you need anything, please feel free to ask. "
Obviously, he himself also knew that there was something wrong with giving that hot piece of slate as a gift...
"Watching and helping each other is what Charlie and I set out to do seven hundred years ago. The rules set by Noble Su, today I am just fulfilling what I said back then," Gowent said righteously, "I will not take advantage of this opportunity to take advantage of the situation. But now that we have a chance to talk, maybe we can strengthen our cooperation. ”
“Cooperation? "Viscount Andrew repeated the word.
"You should know that the New Cecil Territory is under construction. We are short of all kinds of materials, and most of the materials are purchased from Tanzanian Town," Gao Wen laughed, "What we are most lacking at the moment is magic storage crystals and various magic materials, and there are large-scale crystal veins in the Tanzanian mines. "
Seeing that Viscount Andrew's expression was a little stiff, Gawain continued: "Don't be nervous, I have to spend money to buy it - I just hope that I can purchase large quantities of various products from Tanzanian Town at preferential prices in the future. Crystal-like magic materials, we don't require quality, even the lowest-level magic storage crystals are fine, we only require sufficient quantity. You don’t have to worry about losing anything. You must know that our material gap is huge. The purchase volume of New Cecil Territory can definitely swallow up a large batch of your crystal output. Even if the price is lower, the profit you will earn will exceed The cost of transporting those crystals to other territories in pieces, and then finding sales by yourself. If you agree, then I will send someone to discuss the specific price after you have calmed down a bit.”
Viscount Andrew relaxed and nodded slightly while listening: he began to recognize that this was a win-win idea. The Cecil Territory could get a large amount of cheap magic materials, while the Tanzanian Town did not have to worry. The sales of crystals can also quickly raise money to repair the castle and deal with the aftermath of the incident.
As for how the Cecil family, which was impoverished not long ago, suddenly became rich, and recently started to become wealthy. Coinage... Viscount Andrew doesn't want to know at all
Whether they discovered a gold mine in the Dark Mountains or the ancestor dug up his true coffin book seven hundred years ago, that doesn't matter. It has nothing to do with him. As a border viscount with flexible thinking, Andrew Leslie has always been very open-minded and can grasp the parts that are really beneficial to him.
In fact, he guessed part of it: Gawain. He did dig out the coffin book, but what he dug out was the coffin book of the entire Ansu Kingdom...
Seeing Viscount Andrew nodding, Gawain continued: "Second, population. I hope you can help me spread the news about the refugee shelter in Cecil Territory. If you have refugees here and you don’t want them, you can also send them to me. All in all, I want any kind of surplus population as long as they are not criminals. I won't ask for a specific amount in this regard, just do what you can. ”
This time Viscount Andrew nodded even more cheerfully: He didn’t think there was any problem in transporting the population to the Cecil Territory. In fact, this was even a way for him to clear out the “useless population” in the territory. It’s a good opportunity, after all, there are too many homeless people piled up in the slums, and they can’t produce any value.
“One more thing,” Gawain smiled, “I hope to hire. Some people who can read, read, and understand mathematics and science, no, no, not at the level of scholars, their apprentices can do it - I want a group of such people, whether they are recorders or scribes, whatever is required It means literacy, numeracy, and plenty of patience. ”