When Victoria returned to her room on the upper floor of Silver Castle, snowflakes were falling from the window.
The snow this winter... comes one after another, especially after entering the last half of the cold month, the snow almost never stops.
Appropriate snowfall can bring good harvests in the coming year, but it will also make the cold months more difficult. After this snowfall, many people may die in the villages and towns outside the royal capital. Well...
The cold wind from the north hovered over this ancient royal capital, stirring the snowflakes falling from the sky into a hazy curtain. Maggie, the black-haired maid, closed the wooden window panels on the inside of the window. , isolating the bleak scene of the cold outside the window, the fireplace is burning in a corner of the room, keeping this gorgeous room warm and comfortable - the ice and snow outside the castle seems to be another world. < /p>
"There are too many mediocre people sitting in those chairs - everyone is as short-sighted as a snow rat." Victoria shook her head. "What's worse is that I can't bring them to justice." Get out."
Maggie hung the cloak on the shelf next to her and said softly: "After all, this country still relies on them to run."
Victoria looked at this person. With a glance at the maid who is also a friend, she knows that although Maggie is nominally her maid, she has considerable knowledge and extraordinary power. This "Northern Butler" is one of her most trusted people. When two people are alone, most topics can be discussed.
"A country does not necessarily have to rely on those stale aristocrats to function," the duchess said calmly, "You have seen it with your own eyes."
Maggie raised her eyelids, He glanced at Victoria: "Yes, but the cost of doing so is high. There is also a very important point - you are also one of them, and you are still an inseparable one."
Victoria was silent for a moment.
Yeah, she can't go that way.
"Don't think about that anymore, there is one more important thing," Maggie's words woke Victoria up from her brief thoughts. The black-haired maid picked up a bottle sealed with fire paint from the nearby table. The letterbox was handed to the duchess, "A letter for you, from the Grand Duke of the South, sent by the White-feathered Griffon."
Victoria's eyes widened in shock, and she said while taking the letterbox: " Duke Cecil?"
She instinctively smelled something disturbing in this letter - not long after she returned to the royal capital, the Duke of the South hurriedly wrote to her. A handwritten letter, and a letter sent by gryphon messenger in this coldest month. What is so urgent?
She quickly opened the mailbox, took out the handwritten letter inside and unfolded it. After seeing the content above, she frowned.got up.
Maggie stood quietly and did not ask about the content of the letter: although her relationship with Victoria was close, it did not go beyond that.
"Maggie," Victoria asked immediately after quickly reading the content of the letter, "when did the astrologers from the Mages Association report that the red stripe at the bottom of the sun shifted?"
The black-haired maid recalled: "It should be the 10th of the Cold Month."
"The 10th of the Cold Month...the same day..." Victoria lowered her head and looked at the The content of the letter, "It can't be a coincidence..."
Then she noticed Maggie's slightly curious gaze, took a slight breath, and took the initiative to mention the content of the letter: "Sisi Duke Cecil sent a warning that the Magnificent Wall had an abnormal movement on the 10th of the Cold Month, causing a large-scale overload. The overload lasted for three full days. By the time the letter was sent, although the Magnificent Wall had returned to calm, Duke Cecil It is believed that the barrier has been permanently damaged during the overload process..."
The black-haired maid's eyes slowly widened, her shock unreserved.
"It seems that I need to summon the royal mages and royal scholars," the duchess said solemnly, "In addition... there will be a new round of noble meetings."
In When she mentioned the word "noble meeting", Victoria couldn't help but feel a little tired in her tone.
However, she is familiar with Ansu's system and knows that no matter what she wants to do - even if she is Ansu's queen - she cannot avoid the nobles.
"What a quagmire."
......
The light blue runes flicker on and off between the layers of overlapping rune substrates. Then, the surging arcane energy struck out crackling arcs, bursting out from between the energy contacts and gears. On the experimental bench built specifically for testing large equipment, the heavy and complex power mechanism was slowly being driven by magic. It slowly started to run, and the sound of the steel meshing and rotating was like a roar from weak to strong, making the entire experimental platform tremble slightly.
On the monitoring platform, which is more than twenty meters away from the experimental platform and separated by two layers of magic shields, Rebecca and Kamel are standing between the technicians, paying close attention. They were watching the operation of the machine in the distance and the various magic devices around it. Beside them, each magic technician was also paying attention to the monitoring unit he was responsible for.
A dazzling spark suddenly appeared at the top of a tower-like device in the corner of the experimental platform.
"Amplifier No. 1 is overloaded!!"
"Amplifier No. 2 and No. 3 are out of balance - the protective tiles may have melted down!"
"The core is heating up, and the amplifier groups are interfering with each other——"
"Stop it immediately!" Rebecca's eyes widened and she hurriedly shouted, "Stop it immediately, stop it!!"
A magic technician quickly stood up and pulled a lever on the side of the console. However, due to too much force, the lever reversed.Stuck between the running and emergency stop gears, a strange buzzing sound came from under the control console. On the experimental platform more than 20 meters away, the electric light condensed by arcane energy began to emit from each symbol. The surface of the text device bursts out.
"Leave me alone!!" Rebecca yelled at this critical moment, then picked up the iron staff that she never left behind, rounded it up and smashed it on the control table, with her own hands Having designed the entire console, she knew very well where to hit it at this time - although according to the normal process, there should not be any "smashing" operation at all - with a loud bang, part of the console was completely dented, and the bottom part was completely dented. The magic connection was immediately interrupted.
The arcane sparks shooting out on the experimental platform quickly weakened and disappeared, and the entire unit gradually stopped after a continuous low hum. In the corner of the experimental platform, a two-meter-high However, thick smoke billowed from the top of the tower-like device - most of the entire device was saved, but the rest was obviously seriously damaged.
As soon as the device stopped, the staff who had been waiting nearby rushed forward. They rushed to the tower-like device, raised their arms and pointed at the alloy tower that was still emitting billowing heat waves. It was used for engineering. The magic terminal immediately released a large area of weakened ice cone technique. With the impact of ice and snow containing magic, the temperature of the entire tower began to drop rapidly.
Rebecca craned her neck to pay attention to the situation near the experimental table. Camel’s voice came from behind her: “How is the situation?”
“Don’t think about it. , just make a new one..." Rebecca said with a sad face, "Aunt Hetty will beat me to death... Last time I reported the budget for the restoration laboratory to her, her eyes were red..."
"...I'll report it," Kamel said after a brief silence. "Accidents and failures are inevitable situations when doing research."
"But eight days burned in six days It's different with an amplifier and two large magic engines..." Rebecca still had a frown on her face. She raised her head and looked at this large "laboratory" temporarily built with steel brackets and prefabricated panels. , I feel a dull pain in my head.
This is a newly built laboratory according to the instructions of our ancestors. It is located on the outskirts of the city, far away from residential areas, and implements a safety isolation system and new operating procedures. Facts have proved that this arrangement has indeed greatly improved the safety factor of the experiment, but the experiment The success rate... doesn't seem to have changed at all.
"Why on earth," Rebecca said to herself, "Why do I always get stuck on overload and interference..."
A senior magic technician Looking at the data recorded recently, he said: "According to tests, densely arranging Magic Network units and overlapping them in multiple layers can indeed greatly increase the output, and the volume can also be stuffed into the front of the car, but it will also bring about an increase. The device group and the repulsion mechanism are frequently overloaded and interfere with each other - the magic power output by multiple overlapping layers of magic network is very problematic in terms of stability and purity."
"It seems that we want to make multiple layers of magic network. To be practical, we must first find a way to solve the problems of each layer of magic network."In addition, too much pressure at the start of the power mechanism is also a problem. We need to find ways to redesign the transmission and transmission mechanisms to reduce the starting speed and at the same time reduce the instantaneous pressure of the magic engine - —The previous two magic engines were mechanically damaged due to excessive instantaneous pressure. "
"It seems that mechanical transmission is not suitable for a behemoth like the 'Magic Train'. The transmission device cannot withstand such a huge impact." Rebecca shook her head, "It really doesn't work... ...We can try the 'hydraulic transmission' that our ancestors mentioned once. "
While she was talking, she frowned because she thought of another question: "But just reducing the instantaneous pressure of the magic engine is not enough... The mechanical pressure can be reduced and increased. The magic pressure on the device and magic net still cannot be solved. "
"The magic power of the rune array is rigid...it is really difficult to handle," Kamel said hummingly, "Even if the load on the magic engine is reduced when it starts, it still needs to keep it running. It is also a big challenge for the amplifier. ”
This is a common problem faced by most magic machines: no matter how sophisticated the magic machines are and how complex their functions are, their core essence is still a “magic circle”.
p>Since it is a "magic circle", the magic power consumed by each magic circle is fixed. The "efficacy" of this spell may be affected by the casting materials and the environment, but the mana it consumes But it is a fixed value.
Even if the starting pressure of the magic engine is reduced to the minimum, the magic power required for its operation will be 100% faithfully reflected in the amplifier and magic network unit that powers it. As many repulsion runes as there are, mana will be consumed without any discount.
The result is that the mechanical structure of the magic engine may be able to withstand it, but the runes in the energy supply part should be burned out. It will still burn out, just like today.
Problems come one after another. Before each problem is solved, a series of new problems seem to arise, such as mechanical structure, material strength, and magic interference. The load of the device...all the obstacles are piled up, and it is almost impossible to figure out.
Rebecca looked at the arcane master in front of her. Suddenly I couldn't help but ask: "Master Kamel, what was the transportation system of the Gondor Empire back then? Logically speaking... such a huge empire must also need large-scale transportation vehicles similar to magic trains, right? "
Hearing Rebecca's question, Kamel couldn't help but reveal the color of memories: "Back then... we didn't use mechanical magical transportation, but borrowed large elemental summons. To transport goods, such as summoning hurricane messengers and wave messengers, their power is so powerful that they can move mountains and transport seas..."
Rebecca was stunned for a while after hearing this: "This... is so... Can high-level elemental creatures also be summoned and controlled? How did you get them to help? ”
“It’s very simple, conclude it onceThe summoning contract gives half a ton of dark blue magic crystal..."
"Okay, you don't need to say anything. "
Dark blue magic crystal! Half a ton!! Not to mention the hurricane messenger, I am afraid that a wind element lord could kneel down and deliver goods to you Gondor people, right?
Rui Beca marveled at the rich deeds of the Gondor Empire in the past, but soon, the various problems encountered by the magic train project in front of her filled her mind.
Miss Marquis covered her head: "My head hurts. ..."
Kammel looked at this talented but somewhat childish girl and couldn't help but want to comfort him, but before he could speak, Rebecca suddenly raised her head. : "Actually, I think... Is there something wrong with the idea we are facing? Or...can we change the direction? "
"What do you mean..."
"Concentrating power on the front of the car seems simple and crude, but it is too difficult to achieve. These powerful things are forced into Being together is very unstable," Rebecca said while thinking, her wonderful mind started to work rapidly, "Master Kamel, do you still remember that we also had a plan at that time, which was to use a high-power front If it couldn't be built, several smaller-power magic engines were dispersed into several carriages of the entire train to make power carriages..."
"I remember that this plan encountered various power sources. "The problem of synchronization and coordination in the carriage," Kamel said while thinking, "Do you think...synchronization and coordination will be simpler than the problems we currently encounter on the front of the car?" "
"What if? "Rebecca said, "Anyway, we have planned both sets of plans, and now the key components of the front device have been burned and must be rebuilt. So why not just build an additional experimental platform and use the power dispersion plan as well. Come out and give it a try? Of course, we will not give up on the power concentration scheme at the front of the car, and we can continue to work hard. Maybe the two schemes can complement each other and find a breakthrough! "
As she spoke, the girl began to think again: "In addition... I have been thinking recently whether I can use a continuously operating weight-reduction array to reduce the load of the entire train... But weight reduction The spell is a range-effect spell. How to control its effective area and prevent the train from being unbalanced when turning needs to be carefully considered... But I think these may be the direction of breakthrough. ”
This is really an optimistic thought.
However, looking at Rebecca’s passionate eyes, Kamal found that he was also infected - maybe there is some truth?< /p>
"Okay," the ancient arcane master nodded, "make the plan tonight, and we will go to Ms. Hetty to apply for funds together tomorrow. "
"...Huh? Aren't you going? "
"Let's go together," Kamel said hummingly, "You are the director of the entire Magic Energy Technology Department. Major changes in the project require you to go in person. ”
What the Great Magister said is reasonable and righteous.
Rebecca has to believe it even if she doesn’t believe it..