The long and cold winter is finally over.
The fog that lasted all winter finally began to recede from all parts of the Old South Plains. The whole world seemed to become clearer with the arrival of spring. The daily wind was still cold, but it had It was not as bitterly cold as the previous days. The snow began to melt, and the solid ice turned into flowing water. The thin streams formed by the melted snow and ice flowed down from the black roofs and spiers of Alder South, covering the entire The city is immersed in water vapor - thanks to the new drainage system built more than ten years ago, the melted snow water can smoothly enter the underground sewers, and people do not have to worry that these extra "streams" will damage the buildings. Therefore, the melting of urban snow is no longer an annoying thing, but has become an alternative scenery.
The black carriage with the emblem of the Wendel family driving through the Imperial Capital Avenue, the wheels making a creaking sound on the wet stone pavement, Archduke Ferdinand Wendel sat in the carriage and looked through the window cover. Openings in the panels look out onto the road.
It is early in the morning, and the sun has just illuminated the street. In the past, almost no pedestrians were seen walking on the street at this hour, but in Duke Ferdinand’s sight, many groups of people appeared. Civilians - they were wearing dusty thick clothes and felt hats or woolen hats, walking forward in one direction. In the cold wind of early spring, these people were shivering slightly, but they were still walking in a hurry, without any trace of emotion. Stay.
"A worker in a textile factory..." Duke Ferdinand muttered in a low voice, "Going out so early."
The butler who had followed him for many years sat on the seat opposite the carriage. This loyal old friend explained: "In order to encourage new factories, His Majesty issued a grace decree. Vehicles transporting cotton can enter the city in the early morning without collecting taxes, so the textile factories start work very early."
"Just to start work an hour earlier..."
The old Duke muttered and couldn't help but look out the window again.
He saw more textile factory workers coming out of their homes and walking towards the factory. He also saw vehicles with the emblem of the Empire and the emblem of the Industrial Association hurriedly passing by. They were transporting goods. A large cart of Magic Network parts...
On Platinum Avenue, he saw that an old warehouse had been razed to the ground. That building belonged to Viscount Mori, and the Viscount had decided to build the original warehouse. A spinning factory was built on the land he occupied; on Iron Lily Street, he saw a tall chimney emitting thick smoke. It was the newly built rock-fired acidification plant that was processing rich dust that could be used as fertilizer. ...
You can almost smell the burnt smoke coming out of the chimneys of the Burning Stone Acidification Plant - of course, Duke Ferdinand knew that this was just his illusion.
The chimney is a hundred meters high, and the smoke it emits will only dissipate into the sky, but will not affect the ground.
But the old Duke couldn't help but frown.
Factories, magic nets, boilers, tall chimneys, the bustling "investment era"… It’s like it came out overnight, and suddenly it’s everywhere, and everyone seems to be participating, and everyone seems to be in high spirits.
The old Duke, who has been in the core circle of the empire for most of his life, has never seen anything develop suddenly with such turmoil. He considers himself not a conservative, but these new things that have emerged with such turmoil have Things... always give him a very uncomfortable feeling.
"Recently, the things discussed all day long in the Parliament of Nobles have turned into the construction of factories and the cotton bill," Archduke Ferdinand said, shaking his head. "The textile factory run by Viscount Hermel has failed. A lot of people are investing in it."
"After all, the new textile mills produce a lot of good fabrics," the housekeeper said. "I heard that Mrs. Mira also wants to open a textile factory, but buying There is no machine - the machine is simply not enough."
"I have seen the cloth they woven," Duke Ferdinand said with some disdain. "It is quite strong, but it is very rough. There is no taste."
The butler spread his hands: "...but for ordinary people, that is very good cloth, sir."
Duke Ferdinand frowned. , after a short silence, he could only sigh slightly: "Maybe it's because I'm old."
"You are still an important pillar of this country," the steward said, "His Majesty the Emperor needs you just now. "
Pei Dinan did not respond to the butler's words. He just looked ahead. The towering walls of the Obsidian Palace were already in front of him.
It is said that several special envoys came to the imperial capital. These envoys brought news about the southern part of the mainland, and they were of high status. His Majesty the Emperor suddenly summoned himself to the palace in a hurry, probably for this reason.
The empire is prospering day by day, and everything seems to be developing rapidly.
However, for some reason, Pedinan Wendell always felt a faint sense of uneasiness.
Obsidian Palace.
This majestic palace stands there as always, standing in the center of the empire. Although it was only built two hundred years ago as the "New Palace", the palace's deep tones, solemnity and calmness The style still carries a sense of solemnity that seems to have stood for thousands of years. After entering this palace, Pei Dinan's originally gloomy and uneasy mood gradually calmed down.
He walked towards the drawing room where the emperor was sitting, his boots made a crisp knock on the marble slab, and when he passed the "Nightingale Hall", his footsteps stopped.
An old magician wearing a black robe and a gloomy expression walked over from the opposite side. An unpleasant rustling or squirming sound accompanied the old magician's footsteps, and a look The young female mage, who was only in her early twenties, followed the old mage.
"Good morning, Lord Duke."
The old mage stopped not far away and bowed his head slightly in greeting. His voice was hoarse, as if even his vocal cords were attached. It's all starting to corrode.
Pei DinanThe Duke nodded slightly with the restraint and pride that a top-level noble should have, and said politely according to the courtesy that the great magician in front of him should receive: "Master Daniel, good morning."
The two of them are about to make a mistake. He passed by, but Pedinan suddenly spoke again: "Master Daniel, I am very happy to see that you are willing to return to this place - Ms. Windsor Mapel must be the same."
"I am very happy too. Happy."
The old magician and his student walked away. Duke Ferdinand looked at their backs disappearing deep into the corridor and couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
Ms. Windsor Mapel’s mentor, a former member of the Royal Mage Association, the Archmage Daniel Fred, was once a talented high-level mage, but was frustrated in his research and failed in promotion. However, his temperament changed drastically and he went into self-exile. No one could have imagined that such a person who left the highest magic institution in the empire would one day come back. In recent times, this great magician has become a man of the hour in the imperial capital. He became famous in the Manufacturing Association and became the guests of many nobles. Those people seemed to have forgotten the miserable and embarrassed appearance of Daniel Fred when he left the imperial capital many years ago. Just because they saw the astonishing profits of the textile factory, they They all swarmed around.
Duke Ferdinand lamented the ugly appearance of those small nobles when faced with interests, and then walked through the corridor and came to the emperor's reception room.
After the announcement, the door to the reception room opened, and Ferdinand Wendell walked into the room. He first saw Rosetta Augustus sitting on the main seat, and then his eyes fell on On those slim and tall aliens.
Blonde hair, pointed ears, and facial features that are more slender and soft than humans.
It is an elf, an elf from the Southern Silver Empire.
Sure enough, just like what I heard before, the empire has ushered in a group of special "envoys", but why did these elves come?
It is not easy for them to come to Typhon - it is half a continent away!
Although there were some questions in his mind, Duke Ferdinand still did not show any surprise - he kept all his thoughts in his heart, nodded politely to the elves, and then came In front of Emperor Rosetta: "Your Majesty, I have come in response to your summons."
"Sit down, Lord Ferdinand," Rosetta Augustus nodded slightly, "As you asked. See, we have some guests—these elves brought very important news.”
Pedinan looked at the elves—each of them was extremely handsome. To be honest, the blind humans saw it. When meeting elves, it was not even easy to tell whether they were men or women. Pei Dinan could only judge that the elf sitting opposite him was a woman based on her clothes: "Madam, it's a pleasure to meet you - I am Pei Dinan? Wendel, the emperor’s advisor.”
“Shiva Farstrider, the messenger of Silver Queen Belsetia,” the beautiful elf spoke——Thank God, it’s really a lady. “We have an important mission: the Silver Empire conveys the most urgent warning to all human nations that the Great Wall is in bad shape.”
Pedinan Wendell’s eyes flashed for an instant. Congeal.
After a brief conversation, Pei Dinan learned the purpose of these elves and their current situation.
These elves came to warn the human nations. They kept the covenant made seven hundred years ago - although it was already a long time ago for humans - and brought about the magnificent story. The latest news about the wall, according to them, the deterioration of the magnificent wall has reached an extremely serious situation, even beyond the level that the Silver Empire can handle, and the disturbing movement in the winter... is just a series of disasters in the future** It's just the beginning of the story.
As the top nobleman of Typhon, Petinan certainly knew about the change in the barrier in winter - any country with a border connected to the Great Wall could observe that change, which lasted for three full days. The flashes and sounds made people on the border very nervous. The western region of the empire even entered a state of martial law for a time. The Winter Wolf Legion also sent a troop to the western border to monitor the movements in the wasteland, but fortunately all this happened. It was a false alarm, the worst didn't happen.
Now emissaries from the elves have arrived, bearing the most disturbing truth of all: it was no false alarm.
“We paid a huge price—the elves sacrificed twelve magisters and nearly a hundred ranger warriors, and the Kingdom of Gaoling sacrificed one-third of its full mountain regiment before we successfully restarted "The Tower of Sentinels," Elf Shiva said in a calm tone, "But if it is damaged again, I'm afraid no amount of lives will be enough."
That's not a false alarm, that's a false alarm. A real disaster.
Bad things have happened - it just didn't happen to the Typhons.
Pedinan Wendell suddenly felt tremendous pressure, but he knew that the elf lady in front of him had no intention of being alarmist or exerting pressure. According to his understanding of the elf, the other party should just state the facts. : This fact is disturbing enough without any exaggeration.
He thought for a moment, glanced at Emperor Rosetta again, and then looked at the elf: "Then...what can we do?"
"We have no ability to rebuild the grandeur. wall, so the best way is to strengthen the barrier before it is completely extinguished, set up additional protection, and reduce the pressure on the core systems of the Sentinel Tower to prevent them from being completely damaged," Shiva said, "And this requires surrounding the barrier Cooperation and help from every country.”