"Secret Knight?" This is the first time Amber has heard this statement - after all, she has only roughly straightened out the apparent aristocratic structure of the old kingdom. For those obviously more secret and special titles and The knight was confused, "What are you for? A stalker with the same skills as you?"
"...That's not the case," Dark Crow had only had actual contact with this new boss for a few days. It was quite difficult to adapt to the other party's speaking rhythm. He was stunned for a moment before responding, "The Hidden Knight is the collective name for the non-public secret nobles - the royal shadow guards who have made special achievements, the extraordinary people who have stains but are protected by the king. There are always some "hidden hands" who are directly loyal to the king. They work secretly for the king and are trusted by the king, but their identities cannot be disclosed due to various reasons. These people are called "hidden knights". /p>
“The king will give these people surnames to recognize their merit and loyalty, but these surnames will not be recorded in the normal heraldic directory and noble genealogy, only direct royal members and a small number of Only those responsible for managing the directory will know of their existence. Generally speaking, more than half of the Hidden Knights are Royal Shadow Guards - the reason is self-evident. ”
At the end of the sentence, there was a hint of pride on Dark Crow’s face. There is no doubt that he is also a “secret noble” with a “secret surname”.
However, Amber was very dissatisfied with his pride: "The royal family of Ansu... does not work hard on production development and national systems, but works hard in these shady areas. It's exactly what Old Zongzi said. It's been seven hundred years, and you must have new tricks based on the Royal Shadow Guard. "
"Old Zongzi? "Dark Crow heard this novel word for the first time, and subconsciously repeated it, "What does it mean?" "
"Secret code, don't use it casually. If you use it wrongly, you will be beaten to death." Amber waved his hand carelessly, then looked at Dark Crow up and down, "Let's not talk about this. It seems that you are too. A secret knight? It's quite surprising...that someone like you can be a hidden knight? "
The doubts in these words were obvious. Dark Crow's face was slightly embarrassed. However, he really couldn't explain to a "master" who kicked him out of the shadow world three times in a row that he was actually a shadow. A master of the art of shadow - this half-elf lady's shadow talent is really unreasonable. In front of her, I, a stalker who ranks among the top ranks of the royal shadow guards, is like a new apprentice.
It seems that as long as this half-elf lady continues to be his boss, he will not be able to get ahead on the path of shadow... If it doesn't work out, consider the suggestion that Duke Gawain Cecil once made and go back to practice. Two-handed swordsmanship?
Amber didn’t know what was going through Dark Crow’s mind at that moment, but she was obviously very dissatisfied with the other party’s daze: “What are you stunned for? I'm talking to you! "
"Ah, yes, I... am also a secret knight, because when I was loyal to the royal family, I was more or less a knight."I have done some credit," Dark Crow said hurriedly, and quickly skipped the topic, "If the person you are looking for has a noble surname but is not on the list of normal noble pedigrees, then he may also be a secret knight. "
"I think he made up his last name...but what if..." Amber smacked her lips and looked up at Dark Crow, "You have a directory over there, right? Why don't you find it quickly? "
"Yes! "Dark Crow immediately accepted the order and left quickly.
After the former Royal Shadow Guard left, Amber took a look at the shelves full of books and files around him, as well as the subordinates and subordinates who were busy between the bookshelves. The scholars smacked their lips, their ears drooped slightly, and they seemed to be worried, but they didn't say a word.
"Director..." A nearby Military Intelligence Bureau officer came over cautiously. "Then...should we continue looking? "
"Of course, keep looking! Amber glanced at the subordinate angrily, "Who knows if there are any clues in the 'Secret Knight's' directory? If not, why don't we still look here?" ”
The Military Intelligence Bureau officer quickly returned to work, and Dark Crow, who went to get the directory, did not keep Amber waiting for too long.
After just ten minutes, the former The royal shadow guard returned to the archives with several heavy and thick volumes.
"These are the lists of hidden knights who have been secretly canonized by the royal family in the past few decades, as well as some of their information. "Dark Crow said while placing the large old and new books on the table next to Amber, "The earlier files are stored in another archives, and if it is the information before the civil strife in Wuyue... it will be even more difficult. It's easy to find, but there are a lot of confusions and errors. That may take some time and manpower to sort out slowly if you need to. "
"No need for the time being, he is just an ordinary human being. A few decades...a few decades will be enough," Amber looked at the thick books, and his always confident tone suddenly seemed hesitant. She got up, as if she had a premonition. Looking at the black covers, she seemed to see a bearded and decadent face that was somewhat vague in her memory, "Look here first, look here first." ...You guys, forget about those bookshelves for now! Come and help me find it! "
Several subordinates responded immediately: "Yes, Director. "
"Be careful not to break the pages. Some of the books are very old," Amber warned while distributing the books to his subordinates. "Remember, Sally Randolph. ”
Soon, there was only the sound of slight and careful turning of books in the archives.
Amber climbed onto a high chair and slowly turned the pages. Looking at the book in front of her, she confirmed the names that appeared on it and the portraits attached to the pages word by word. She almost held her breath, but after an hour, she still found nothing.
But there was one person. The Military Intelligence Bureau officer suddenly shouted: "Director! I found it! ! ”
"Bring it to me and see!"
Amber took the roster handed over by her subordinates. Before the words "Sari Randolph" came into view, the first thing she saw was a picture. Attached between the pages of the book is a lifelike portrait drawn using recording magic - it is of a young man less than thirty years old, with black hair neatly combed behind his head, wearing a dress, and his appearance is not outstanding, but his eyes are There seems to be a hint of cynicism.
Hubo looked at the portrait quietly for a moment and whispered to himself: "Ah...it turns out you were young once..."
"Is it him? "A subordinate came over and asked cautiously.
Everyone can tell that the person who appears in the royal family’s secret information must be related to their director.
"It's him, my adoptive father." Amber murmured in a low voice, and his eyes quickly scanned the relevant information of "Sarri Randolph" - this young man was mentioned in it He mentioned his family members and some resumes. The information was very brief and had become worthless over time. However, Amber still looked at it very carefully until she noticed a black letter at the end of the information. A heraldic stamp, followed by the words: Defection or disappearance, removed.
"What does this mean?" Amber pointed at the seal and text, and looked up at Dark Crow.
Dark Crow glanced over and frowned slightly, seeming to hesitate, but still said: "This stamp shows that he was once a royal shadow guard, and he defected or disappeared... that's the literal meaning. . But for the Royal Shadow Guard, disappearance will be regarded as defection - we know so many secrets that as long as we lose contact and cannot prove that we are indeed dead, we will be regarded as a 'hidden danger'."
"Defected... He is a defected Royal Shadow Guard?" Amber muttered to himself, "But why did he defect..."
Dark Crow looked at the person in front of Amber. After looking at the list for a while, he suddenly said: "If it is the action record corresponding to this list... it should be there. I have seen it. Please wait a moment, I will look for it."
This time, He returned even faster than before. In just a few minutes, he returned here with a file that was obviously quite old.
"Here is the record of Surrey Randolph's last mission before he disappeared - thank God, it did not involve any palace struggle and was not destroyed." Dark Crow handed the information to Amber and pointed with his finger. The above line of handwriting that was already a bit blurry said, and the latter immediately took it and read out the above content in a low voice:
"...In 690...went to the Dark Mountains to look for the Gondor legacy, but did not return. . No evidence of death was found, suspected of defection."
This is the entire description of Surrey Randolph's last mission as a Royal Shadow Guard.
"Dark Mountain...He went to the Dark Mountain and then did not return to the royal capital, so he was considered a suspected defector?" Amber frowned, and her mind changed sharply, "No...if according to the Royal Shadow GuardsAccording to the principles, he really defected... In 690, he lived incognito in the south for more than twenty years..."
She turned over all the memories about her adoptive father in her mind, trying to A clearer outline was drawn in those memories to explain the life trajectory of the adoptive father and the choices he had made——
A royal shadow guard who was deeply trusted by the king and was even granted an unusual secret. A royal shadow guard with a noble title, went to the Dark Mountains to search for the Gondor inheritance, and then defected without warning. He lived incognito in the South for more than 20 years, adopted a half-elf adopted daughter, and cheated and abducted with a druid with a bad style. In the end, he was accidentally caught because he went to the church to steal books, and was executed by the local nobles and bishops. His death was meaningless, just like a bad little thief...
The turning point of everything seemed to happen in the "darkness" Mountains".
Sari Randolph went there in search of the Gondor legacy, and now Amber knows very clearly - there really is a Gondor legacy there!
There is A disobedient fortress!
Did Surrey Randolph find something in the fortress? Or was it because he failed in his mission that he had to go south? To live in seclusion?
Judging from logic, Amber feels that the second possibility is not very likely. A royal shadow guard who can be specially appointed by the king cannot defect for such a reason, and the first possibility is ...
According to the information obtained by Amber, Cecil's explorers have been operating in the Disobedience Fortress so far and have not found any traces of third-party invasion. Apart from the Cecil people, no one else has entered.
But this conclusion is not 100% reliable - because the Disobedience Fortress is too big, and many areas are hidden or inaccessible for various reasons. , so far, the commanders of the exploration team dare not say that they have mastered half of the areas of the Disobedient Fortress. Even Kamel, the "disobedient", does not know how many divisions and how many different project teams there are in that fortress. In the different laboratories occupied, many attempts were made to disobey the gods and fight against the demonic tide.
Amber shook his head vigorously, suppressed all the complicated thoughts, and then grabbed the table. He jumped down from the high chair and ran towards the door of the archives room.
Dark Crow couldn't help shouting from behind: "Where are you going?" "
"I'm going to find Old Zongzi! "
After saying these words, Amber's figure had already disappeared outside the door.
Dark Crow scratched his hair, with a blank look on his face - so "Old Zongzi" What does this code mean?
At the same time, in the study room of Silver Castle, Veronica/Ophelia was reporting to Gawain on some progress in rebuilding the church's administrative structure.
“We have spread the oracle, and believers in the middle and lower classes firmly believe in the oracle, and have not reacted to various restructuring measures.Measures raised too many questions...
"The upper-level priests are a little sensitive, and the right to interpret the classics touches their interests, but the situation is within control.
"Stopping the heresy trials will help It will help to ease the relationship between the Holy Light Church and other sects and help restore domestic order. However, there is also the possibility that the oppressed Apostle God believers will be prejudiced and resentful towards the restructured Holy Light Church. For this, we need the support of the Government Affairs Department. Propaganda support...
"The Patriarch is working on the reorganization and reorganization of the original Knights of the Holy See, because these Knights have been severely reduced in number and are in urgent need of reorganization and reconstruction, so the process is going very smoothly."
“Let’s stop here for the report on the church,” Gawain said after Veronica’s report came to an end, “Let’s talk about something else.”
Veronica Kawhi maintained a calm and gentle expression: "What do you want to talk about?"
"Talk about you, Miss Ophelia," Gawain said with a smile, "and the treacherous plan you know - —I think it’s time we delved deeper into this topic.”