The guests from the royal capital finally arrived.
Everyone in Cecil City—from the officials at the Government Affairs Department to every civilian in the city—is fully prepared.
As early as half a month ago, the news that the Duke of the North and the Saint Princess would visit the Cecil Territory at the same time appeared in newspapers and spread throughout the South. For those who had just completed the unification war and established the new order, For the Principality of Cecil, this is a huge event.
Ordinary people may not be able to figure out the political significance or interest entanglements behind this, but at least they can understand the legal justice of the Principality and the orthodoxy of the Cecil surname in this land—— Although Gawain didn't pay much attention to this, people of this era were still used to believing this.
So this has become a big event, and we have been preparing for half a month according to the standards of a big event. On this increasingly cold winter day, a grand welcome ceremony is waiting for those who come from afar in Cecil City. of guests.
A team of seven magic vehicles drove on the North-South Avenue - this was the first modern highway built on the "cross axis" carefully built by Gawain and centered on Kande City - smooth. The open concrete road made the new magic vehicle drive more smoothly, and the open winter wilderness on both sides soothed the mood of everyone in the car. Grand Duchess Victoria was sitting in the second car, looking through the crystal window on the door. She looked quietly at the end of the wide road.
The road is paved with some kind of man-made material, much like the "petrified mud" created by the alchemists in the north, but it must be cheaper, otherwise the Cecil people would not use it to pave the road. .
There are neatly arranged magic crystal lamps on both sides of the road, which shows that Cecil's avenue is also passable at night, but the street lights in the wilderness are far away from the city... How did the Cecil people give these magic crystals Is the stone lantern rechargeable? Is it related to the legendary magic network?
Almost 80% of the entire road from Rock Fortress to Cecil City is this kind of open road with uniform specifications, and only a few areas are old gravel roads or stone roads. , and those old roads were obviously in a state of construction - indicating that the ambitious founding hero was preparing to use such roads to connect his entire principality.
The Duchess thought of the "Cross Avenue" (Kingdom Avenue) that Anzu built before the Brumaire Civil War and ran through the Holy Spirit Plain from east to west, north and south. Although in the later period of the Brumaire Civil War, rebels from various places passed through the Cross Avenue. The long march led directly to the siege of Saint-Sunil, but other than that, it proved that such a transportation system with uniform specifications that connected the entire territory could play a surprisingly huge role in the development of the kingdom.
As long as the rulers can maintain centralization of power, smooth roads will only help the kingdom's development. However, the authority of the Second Dynasty plummeted, and the kingdom's avenues were cut by seven feudal lords. It was all in pieces, but in this southern border... Cecil had risen. No one could resist the authority of the Cecil family, and their "Principal Avenue" quickly spread across the wilderness...
likeIf the royal authority can be restored, the first priority should be to reorganize the kingdom's roads. Even if force is used, the behavior of lords from various places cutting roads must be ended. The duchess looked to the south, but what was on her mind was the Holy Spirit Plains.
"We are almost there." The female knight Margarita said softly, interrupting the duchess's thinking.
She raised her head and saw an unfinished city wall extending in the wilderness ahead. The road pointed straight to the outpost in front of the city wall. In several gaps where the city wall was not closed, you could see To large tracts of houses and buildings.
"Is that Cecil City?" She looked into the distance, "It is indeed very large..."
"No, that's just the new city on the North Shore - and there is no "The completed part," Margarita shook her head slightly, "We have to pass through this area and cross the Mechanical Bridge to reach the Riverside Plaza in Cecil City."
Victoria's eyes. There was a flash of doubt, but she didn't ask anything - she felt that she had raised enough questions along the way, and no matter what she saw next, it was better to judge it with her own eyes.
The convoy passed the outpost and drove into Cecil’s North Shore New City. As soon as they entered the city, Victoria saw the huge banners hanging on both sides of the road:
Welcome to Cecil.
This novel welcome method amused her, and soon, this novel and interesting feeling turned into surprise.
The huge banners were fixed on the three floors on both sides of the road, spanning the entire street, and were connected by many magic crystal lamps wrapped in colorful curtains, extending forward along the road. Neat buildings line the roadside like guards, and in the open space between those buildings and the road, countless people have gathered - thousands of people wearing warm winter clothes on this cold winter day. Healthy and energetic people gather on both sides of the road!
When setting off from the royal capital, Victoria never imagined that she would see such a welcoming scene—even after seeing the majestic rock fortress and the vibrant city of Carroll. When she was in Kande City, she never thought she would see such a welcoming scene.
This is winter! !
However, there were really more and more people on the roadside. The magic convoy drove into the city, and the leading vehicle sounded its horn - it was using some kind of air bag and copper pipe device The loud flute sounded - the people gathered on the roadside cheered loudly when the flute sounded, and they didn't know whether they were cheering for the guests or the cars.
At the same time as the car whistle sounded, bursts of rapid and neat horse hooves also came from the paths on both sides. Several teams of cavalry with bright armor appeared from both sides of the road. They wore uniform uniforms. White armor, wearing robes with Cecil's emblem, holding flags in their hands, quickly moved to both sides of the convoy, and trotted forward together with the convoy that had slowed down.
Victoria looked at the scene on the road outside in surprise.She looked like an elephant, but her almost instinctive reserve and etiquette allowed her to make the most appropriate response - she opened the car window according to the method taught by Margarita, and nodded slightly to the knights and citizens outside the window.
The convoy arrived at the riverside neighborhood. People who had already prepared appeared on the buildings on both sides of the road. Flower petals fell from high in the sky, like winter snowflakes, on the convoy and on the escort convoy. On the cavalry, and at the end of the front, Victoria has seen the mechanical bridge that is gradually lowering——
Is that a bridge made of steel?
She clearly saw the huge gear and lever structure operating under the bridge. Some kind of powerful mechanical device pushed the bridge body to gradually lower and close together, and the two bridge decks were tightly toothed together. The convoy did not slow down at all during the march. When the bridge mechanism was closed, it drove right onto the bridge - the cavalry teams on both sides of the convoy also always moved forward at a constant speed, and even the pace of each horse was not confused at all.
How long have these soldiers been training? How many soldiers of this caliber did Cecil have?
The Duchess felt the mechanical vibrations coming from the magic car under her body. She watched the city on the other side of the river that was powered by magic power getting closer and closer. She heard loud music coming from the front. came, it was a loud sound released by some kind of amplification magic, but the music was not like the palace-style music she had heard at any welcoming ceremony. The tune was rapid and melodic, a bit like the march of an army. During the process, the beat played by the drum and trumpeters was more majestic and powerful.
Margarita's voice came from the side: "This is the 'March of the Phalanx Soldiers.' I hope you like this impassioned tune."
This is the person What are the preferences of the founding hero? Does this reflect the martial spirit?
Victoria nodded as reservedly as possible, expressing her admiration and satisfaction appropriately. At this moment, the motorcade had already driven off the mechanical bridge, and in front of the motorcade, there were welcoming slogans and a large crowd gathered.
Victoria was used to these large crowds of citizens gathering in winter.
She kept an almost nonchalant smile and showed the most decent look to the people outside the car window - then she suddenly saw some people waiting on the roadside, using strange, supposed to be magic devices. The thing was facing him, and the expression on his face suddenly stiffened.
However, she stopped her instinctive urge to cast spells because she noticed that there were knights and soldiers wearing Cecil armor standing next to those people - she guessed that those magic devices should also be welcome. As part of the ceremony, he adjusted his expression in an instant and continued to face everything with a calm expression with a slight sense of alienation.
The next second, accompanied by a series of loud explosions, light cyan air masses suddenly rushed into the sky from the block in front, and exploded into large swaths of brilliant fireworks in the sky.
The entourage from the royal capital in the motorcade raised their heads one after another, looking through the open windows of the car in surprise. Even Victoria alsoCouldn't help but look a little surprised for a moment.
But she quickly returned to her normal state.
Those should be the fireworks released by Cecil's mages to heat up the atmosphere - Victoria thought - this kind of fireworks is not uncommon for the nobles, and is used at the banquets of the upper class. , the mages' fireworks show has always been an indispensable item, and she shouldn't make a fuss about it.
Although the fireworks released by Cecil's mages are indeed a bit different from others - how did they make the fireball spell make such a big noise? And how many mages did they organize to create such large-scale fireworks?
“What a grand welcome ceremony – I almost forgot it was a cold winter,” the duchess praised sincerely, “I think I felt the enthusiasm and enthusiasm of Duke Gawain Cecil. Sincerity, this welcome ceremony must be expensive."
Beside her, the female knight Margarita smiled and nodded: "Important guests should be given a grand welcome."
p>"Welcoming those two people really cost a lot of money," Hetty stood next to Gawain in the newly decorated riverside square and whispered with some distress, "It's almost enough to build a new talisman. Wen Foundry..."
"Important customers should be given a grand welcome," Gawain smiled and glanced at Hetty, who was worried about the budget, then turned his head and looked at the person standing next to him. Rebecca on the side said, "The fireworks are well designed."
Today, Rebecca finally put on the clothes of a decent noble lady. The Cecil heir wore a light blue palace dress. Wearing a long skirt, she tried her best to maintain a quiet and steady appearance next to her ancestor, but after hearing Gawain's words, she couldn't help but mutter: "Actually, I want to set off a few fireballs myself - the howitzer is definitely not as good as mine." The fireball is so big..."
Gawain sighed: "We want to welcome the guests, not kill them."
"I'll throw it into the sky..."
"That's what you said before you blew up the yard wall last time."
"Wow——"
Hetty had to cough softly to remind herself A pair of grandparents nearby said: "Ancestors, they are coming."
The motorcade arrived at the square.
Victoria and Veronica witnessed Cecil’s prosperity along the way, saw cheering crowds, and extremely grand fireworks. They and their entourage crossed the mechanical bridge over the Whitewater River, After passing through the wide and neat riverside avenue, escorted by the cavalry and countless flowers, this team from Saint-Sunil finally came to Gawain Cecil.
I have seen everything that needs to be seen, and I must have felt everything that needs to be felt.
The military band in the square once again played the impressive phalanx march, and the flying petals - a by-product of the daily teaching of the Druid and Alchemy Department of General College - flew over the square After getting up, the magic vehicle stopped steadily in the center of the square, escorted and supported by the heroic knights., Victoria and Veronica stepped out of the car.
"An impressive journey," the ruler of the North, Victoria Wilder, bowed in front of Gawain as a junior meeting an elder, and then raised the question in accordance with the rules for meeting nobles of the same level. "Cecile always welcomes visitors, especially after old friends," Gawain smiled and nodded, accepting the other party's full set of etiquette, and then he looked towards Veronica on the side said, "This is the second time we have met in this place, Princess Veronica."
"It's completely different from the last time," said the saintly princess wearing a priest's robe. With a soft smile and a melodious voice, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that a city could grow like this in two years."
"It's all just to survive in this barren land—— In order to survive, human beings are capable of anything." Gawain turned sideways and opened his hands, "Welcome to Cecil - it is ready to welcome you."