Old South East District, in a street in the deepest part of the city, the lights are dim.
This is the darkest and secluded area in the entire imperial capital, a place that seems to have been forgotten by the upper class. The huge Alder South is like a hill piled up layer by layer, with a magnificent upper layer. building, but the bottom floor is hidden in the depths of darkness like a festering wound. Advanced magical technology, prosperous new businesses, and an increasingly bright citizen class, all of these things have nothing to do with the deepest streets of Alder's South East District——
This place is only half a mile away from the Obsidian Palace. It is only a city away, but it seems to be further away from civilized society than the more distant mountainous cities.
In this street far away from the various official eyes in Alder South, a man with a messy beard, sunken eyes, and a shabby coat was hurriedly walking past the low and dilapidated houses. in front of the door.
Rapid and undisguised footsteps sounded, and some prying eyes were revealed from the doors and windows of those houses. At this time of night, those who dared to walk alone in the deepest part of the East District could always attract attention. Curious people pried, but those who were attracted by the footsteps and looked towards the street soon fell into doubt.
Because they saw nothing, in their eyes, the streets were empty.
But the footsteps did indeed appear.
The sights of those hiding behind doors and windows gradually became tense and fearful. The superstitious residents remembered the terrifying legends about ghosts wandering around after dark and dark wizards, and quickly withdrew their gazes one by one. The closed doors and windows were closed a little tighter.
The man walked through the entire street openly and came to the door of No. 14 Heitie Lane.
He stood in front of the dark door, pressed his hand on the door panel, briefly sensed the movement inside, and after confirming that there was nothing abnormal in the room, he turned the key and pushed the door open silently.
He saw warm lights lighting up in the room. A figure wearing a black robe with a vague face was sitting on a back chair in the room as if he had arrived a long time ago. A blazing bonfire was burning in the corner of the room, which was bright and clean. The floors and furnishings of tables and chairs were spotless.
The man quickly entered the room, closed the door, and bowed in front of the vague figure: "Salute to you, Bishop Daniel."
"No need to be polite, Grant. "Du," Daniel, who was wearing a black robe and had a blurry face, waved his hand, and the words rang directly in the ears of the man named Grando, "This place is safe, we can talk safely."
"Yes, Bishop." Sir." Grando bowed his head deeply.
"How is the investigation going on what I asked you to investigate?" Daniel asked quietly.
"Yes, my subordinates have completed the preliminary investigation," the Eternal Sleeper cultist named Grando immediately replied respectfully, "As of last week, several lower-level cultists you ordered me to contact and inquire about have been Sent feedback, they all said that they had never sent any distress signals on the Internet, nor had they lost any memories - at leastCode, they themselves don’t remember these. ”
Daniel nodded: “That’s all?” "
"No, there are more," Grando replied hurriedly. "My subordinates were also suspicious of the feedback from these lower-level believers, so they secretly contacted and hypnotized them when conditions permitted. The people around them got different information from it... According to the memories of those people, the above-mentioned believers had basically experienced trances, long periods of sleep, and even brief personality changes in the past period. ”
“Personality mutation? Daniel immediately noticed this keyword, "Is there the possibility of mind replacement or mind parasitism?" "
"My subordinates have confirmed that there is no such possibility," Grando shook his head. "I later contacted those believers several times and observed them in various states such as awake and hypnotized. Through their minds, their minds still belong to themselves, their consciousness is intact, and their subconscious shows no signs of being spliced or cut. "
A hoarse and deep voice came from under Daniel's hood: "Is everything normal? "
"Yes, everything is fine. "Grando said respectfully.
"Everything is normal, but the biggest abnormality..." Daniel's voice was low, "Being in a trance, sleeping for a long time, and sudden changes in personality are all symptoms of the mental impact. It is clear evidence, and traces will definitely be left in a short period of time. In this case, their minds appear to be normal, so on the contrary..."
He suddenly paused, the eternal sleeper named Grando The believer couldn't help but asked with curiosity and a little nervousness: "Mr. Bishop, you..."
His words stopped abruptly before he finished speaking, and his eyes fell into a brief daze. The moment his vision lost focus, the warm light in the room, the burning fireplace in the corner of the room, the neat furniture and other things also disappeared in an instant.
The room was completely dark, without even a candle. There was no burning fireplace. In fact, there was no furniture except for a chair by the window.
The man named Grando stood quietly in this empty dark room. , stood at the door, staring blankly for two minutes.
Two minutes later, his eyes blinked, and the room instantly returned to its previous warm and bright appearance. Bishop Daniel in black robes also reappeared on the armchair in front of him.
A chill ran down his spine, and Grando shivered instantly. He realized that he had just accepted the man in front of him. After a detailed "examination" by the powerful Bishop of the Everlasting Sleeper, he couldn't help but said nervously and fearfully: "Sir, I..."
"Your memory has been modified," Daniel said bluntly, " The investigation of this matter ends here, you should not go any further. "
"...Yes," Grando said with a drop of cold sweat dripping from his ears, full of fear, "Thank you for the reminder. "
"Yes," Daniel nodded, "In addition, recentlyTry not to connect to the spiritual network for a long time. If you must connect, keep the connection shallow and not deep.
"Finally, the Archbishop of the Supreme Episcopal Conference may contact you in the near future and ask you about your recent investigation behavior. You don't need to hide it for me when the time comes, just tell him frankly."
Grando couldn't help showing an expression of astonishment, and instantly realized the truth that his memory had been modified, and blurted out: "Sir, could it be that the people who modified my memory and concealed the truth were the archbishops..."
He just spoke Halfway through, he closed his mouth vigilantly and continued to ask in a low voice: "Sir, what happened to the psychic network recently?"
"Don't ask too many questions," Daniel interrupted calmly. He said, "Knowing too much is not a good thing."
Another chill hit him. Grando couldn't help but swallowed his saliva and cautiously stopped talking.
Then, various things in his field of vision suddenly shook.
The lights disappeared, the fireplace disappeared, and the furniture and furnishings disappeared. No. 14 Black Iron Lane turned into a dark and empty room again. The man named Grando blinked and woke up completely. He found that He was standing at the door of the room, reaching behind him with one hand, still closing the door casually.
The powerful and mysterious Bishop of the Everlasting Sleeper has left, leaving Grando's mind.
......
In a brightly lit and well-decorated villa in the Alder South Mage District, Daniel was sitting on an easy chair in the study, holding a book in his hand and flipping through it casually. One page.
The artificial nerve cord behind him stayed quietly and snugly, with only the end protruding from the hem of his clothes and swinging slightly near the back of the chair.
"...It's time to consider how to respond to a certain Archbishop's inquiry," the old mage sighed silently and said to himself, "I just don't know which one I will face... ”
The Supreme Council of Bishops is indeed trying to hide some huge secret, and this secret is definitely very involved and has a huge impact. They are closely watching the flow of all intelligence related to this secret.
Daniel felt a sense of joy.
Fortunately, he has been strictly following his master's instructions, controlling the scope of his investigation, and carefully handling the details of his actions. Although he was investigating matters related to fluctuations in the psychic network, his performance was not Not so abnormal, but more like a loyal believer who cares about the operation of the spiritual network and proactively troubleshoots problems after discovering abnormalities.
An excellent, enthusiastic and proactive safety manager.
Except for a little overstepping his authority, he is simply loyal.
......
In the Obsidian Palace, Rosetta Augustus was sitting behind his large desk, and Duke Ferdinand Wendell was sitting diagonally opposite him. .
Looking at His Majesty the Emperor who was bowing his head at the letter, Pei Dinan suddenly felt a little emotional.
It seems that since Cecil’s rise, since the situation suddenlyTurning in a direction that no one expected, the Typhon ruler who was plagued by a spiritual curse suddenly got rid of his family's curse and became energetic and high-spirited. And he himself was more frequent than usual. Summoned by His Majesty the Emperor, I came to the Obsidian Palace more frequently.
Almost every time he encountered something about the Cecil Empire or the domestic magic industry, His Majesty would summon him. This made Duke Ferdinand even want to apply and simply reserve a room for himself in the Obsidian Palace. , he just lives here.
“Cecil has agreed to our idea of sending overseas students and has expressed its willingness to deepen ties with us and create international relations that are more in line with this new era.” Rosetta Augustus A voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting Grand Duke Petinan's thinking.
Pedinan raised his head, with a somewhat complicated expression on his face: "Did Gawain Cecil really agree directly..."
"Yes, he is better than we thought. More courageous..." Rosetta Augustus said, shaking her head slightly, flicking her wrist, and threw the letter with the royal emblem of the Cecil Empire in front of Duke Ferdinand, "You You can take a look."
Duke Ferdinand took the letter and read it carefully, frowning slightly: "...Sending envoys to each other for long-term communication to build 'embassies'?"
p>"Yes, this is also in line with the development of the situation," Rosetta nodded. "We cannot rely on this kind of letters and waves of messengers forever to maintain communication."
Pedinan Continue reading: "...open more business channels, increase the scale of existing orders, add new order categories, including more magic parts, synthetic crystals, handicrafts, and open private merchants to both sides. Legal, limited investment behavior..."
"There are many things worthy of discussion and analysis in this part. Make a copy and send it to the Parliament and the Royal Advisory Group to complete the risk assessment and discussion as soon as possible. "
"I understand."
Pei Dinan lowered his head and said, after reading the last content of the letter, he looked at Rosetta: "Your Majesty, regarding the matter of sending overseas students, what are the candidates? Finalized?"
"Let's not rush this. We should send a special envoy to Cecil first. Just like when we decided to introduce the magic train, someone should go and see the situation there with their own eyes - this It is also the necessary etiquette and solemn attitude for an empire to interact with another empire."
"Special envoy..." Pei Dinan looked at Rosetta's rarely changed face, "You already have someone selected. Yes?"
"Let Matilda lead the team," Rosetta said lightly, "She always has a good eye."
"Mattie. Your Highness Erda... is indeed the most suitable candidate."
...
The far north of the continent, beyond the mountains and wilderness of the northern border of the Cecil Empire, and the other side. There is a country in the ice and snow, lying quietlyThe top of the mountains.
The majestic and towering city buildings are among the mountains. The cold wind whistles day after day through the mountain walls, city walls and mountain streams. In the monotonous colors based on ice and snow, the gray-white stone buildings seem to Integrated with the mountains, facing the north, it exudes a heavy atmosphere of arrogance, ancientness and desolation.
The people who call themselves Dragonborn have lived in this frozen country for countless years.
This is a closed country. The dragonborn, who are proud but feel guilty, have closed their mountains and wilderness, and almost never pay attention to the changes in this continent, but even if they are closed The country is not eternal and will never communicate with the outside world.
Folk merchants can still visit this mysterious "Holy Dragon Principality", and the latter does not reject merchants and adventurers from humans - as long as they can endure the harsh climate of the Far North. .
The dragonborn are happy to interact with those "brave people" who can challenge the cold winter in the far north.
It’s just that in most of the past years, there were only a few people who could challenge the extreme cold in the north. Those who were qualified to visit the Holy Dragon Principality were basically only awe-inspiring extraordinary people and ordinary civilians. It is impossible for a businessman... to have the ability to walk in the far north.
But this situation has changed recently.
A new "Cecil Empire" replaced the old Kingdom of Ansu. Many brave and well-equipped Cecil merchants began to appear frequently at the borders of the Holy Dragon Principality. In the past, they could make most of them The cold climate that daunts ordinary people, and even daunts the mountain people in the north of Ansu, cannot stop those Cecil merchants - they wear thick warm clothes and drive magic vehicles that can withstand wind, snow and cold. The ground was filled with frost resistance potions, bringing countless new things said to be from the "Magic Age".
Changes, centered on the Cecil Empire, are quietly spreading to those once closed areas...