The night has not faded and the morning has not yet arrived, but the hazy light brought by the giant sun has begun to appear on the horizon. The faint glow seems to be trying to break free from the shackles of the earth, while the stars still envelope this land sleeping in the darkness. land.
Near the Tiphon border, a tall tower with a silver-white spire and gray-white exterior walls stands quietly on the high ground next to the Shadow Swamp. Starlight shines from high in the sky, outlines a layer of brilliance on the surface of the tower. Light, the huge ring on the top of the tower floats out of thin air at the height of the tower, rotating quietly in the night sky. Starlight shines on the surface of the ring, constantly reflecting various brilliance.
A magical message came from the distance, and a series of originally dark runes on the ring suddenly lit up one after another.
The middle-aged mage who was on duty at the communication tower was awakened by a harsh sound. He quickly got rid of his meditation and stood up from the rune array in the "Listening Hall". A complex and gorgeous rune array. Wen Zheng kept lighting up on the wall in front of him, and the emblem of the Royal Mage Association was projected in front of the runes.
The mage's eyes changed, and he immediately walked quickly towards the complex magic circle painted on the wall, and pressed on the surface of a specific rune stone: "This is the Shadow Swamp Boundary Tower, please tell me."< /p>
"Order from Aldernan," a slightly distorted voice immediately reached the mage's ears, "immediately notify the border outpost to intercept..."
Listening to the distant voice The middle-aged mage frowned quickly at the sound of the coming sound. He turned around without hesitation and slapped a nearby rune stone pillar, calling another mage who was on standby on the lower floor: "Nim, come and change the shift, I want to go Outpost, Imperial City urgent order - go back and check the records yourself!"
Afterwards, without waiting for a response from the other mage on duty, he quickly walked to the window on the side of the hall and saw the robe hanging nearby! , canes, hats and other objects flew by themselves one after another, and wrapped themselves around the middle-aged mage as if they were alive. When the cane finally fell into the palm of his hand, the crystal window depicting many runes had slammed open——
The middle-aged mage jumped directly into the still dark night sky outside the tower.
Under the starlight, the mage in robes was like a bird, quickly passing over the high ground where the communication tower was located. Behind the mage, the ring on the top of the communication tower was still rotating quietly, and more symbols appeared. The Wenzai sequence lights up, and another mage on duty in the tower has taken over the magic circle. This expensive and sophisticated magical creation is humming in the night and begins to forward the orders from Aldernan to the next communication tower... …
…
The steel wheels rolled over the guide rails embedded in the ground. The repulsion runes emitted a faint light on the bottom of the car and the surfaces of the carriages on both sides. The power spine released With surging energy, the magic device hummed while running at high speed. The metal mechanical python crawled on the ground, stirring the mist on the early spring land in the dark night, and rushed towards the border at high speed.
The mechanical noise of wheels and certain bearings and levers reverberating in the quiet carriage. After the lights are turned off, the interior of the truck is dark.The tense and depressing atmosphere kept everyone awake. Yuri raised his head, and his extraordinary vision allowed him to see clearly the pairs of eyes in the darkness, as well as the worry on Wendy's face nearby.
"We have crossed the Shadow Swamp checkpoint and will arrive at the border soon," Yuri whispered. "No matter how fast Aldernan reacts, it will take time for the magic transmission to be relayed layer by layer. And this line can only reach the communication tower next to the Shadow Marsh - Typhon's communication towers are limited in number, and the end messengers can only be borne by manpower, and they can't catch up."
"I'm worried about those who stay in the country," Wendy said softly. "Informers appeared earlier than expected. I'm afraid many people have no time to move. The identities of middle- and lower-class believers can easily be exposed by reporting each other... and the empire Population registration management was implemented a few years ago. It may be difficult for compatriots who are exposed to hide for too long."
Yuri frowned and suddenly said softly: "...There may not be any compatriots who are exposed. Life is in danger."
Wendy cast a curious look: "Why do you say that?"
"If it is Rosetta Augustus..." You Li lowered his voice even more than before and said cautiously, "He is more likely to try to recruit eternal sleepers, especially those middle-level priests who master dream magic and nerve cord technology..."
Wendy's Her eyes changed slightly, and she heard Yuri continue: "The Royal Mage Association is completely loyal to him. The great magicians should have found a way to disconnect the eternal sleeper from the spiritual network. The 'informer' who broke away from the spiritual network is the evidence. , and the Eternal Sleepers who are separated from the spiritual network... will become technicians controlled by the Augustus family."
Wendy opened her mouth subconsciously: "You..."
" I used to live in Aldernan, and..." Yuri suddenly showed a complicated smile, "I have a certain understanding of Rosetta Augustus, and as a former noble, I also know What kind of thoughts will the ruler of a country have when faced with things that help rule... The royal family will soon issue an order to appease the Order of the Eternal Sleepers, and Rosetta Augustus will arrange a meeting for this purpose. A series of high-sounding reasons to eliminate people's resistance to the dark sect, and the noble council will fully support him - we will have some priests becoming secret advisers and staff to various families in Aldernan, and others will join the Royal Mage Association or the Workers' Association. It won’t take long to build an association.”
Wendy looked at Yuri quietly.
She doesn’t understand the aristocracy, but she knows that Yuri was once one of them, and what the other party said should not be lies. These... seem to be what the upper-level power groups in the empire follow. rules, and the inevitable results of the operation of this set of rules.
"You thought of this before?"
"You thought of it before the evacuation started," Yuri said softly, "And I believe a few others also thought of it. , but we all tacitly understandThey didn't say it out loud - some people did it to prevent people from being shaken, and some people... They were probably already waiting for Aldernan's invitation. "
Wendy couldn't help biting her lip: "...I thought the deterrence of the extraterrestrial wanderers was enough..."
"The extraterrestrial wanderers need the spiritual network to extend His power, and the spiritual network is not enough to carry this power now - the middle-level priests and above understand technology, they know this, and they also know the strength of the Royal Mage Association... Even if the risk is huge, there are still people who are willing to take risks, "Yuri said slowly and shook his head helplessly, "There are too many speculators, and staying in Typhon is very attractive to many people - especially those who are destined not to be accepted by the 'Cecil Order' . "
Wendy fell silent for a moment. In the darkness and silence, she heard a sigh in Yuri's voice——
"Split is inevitable, Wendy Madam, especially since we have overextended ourselves... It is as good as it gets, at least there are no mutineers among the Archbishops. "
"I once thought that the spiritual network connected us all..." Wendy sighed softly, "But we have reached this situation today. ”
Yuri did not speak.
A few rays of light passed through the narrow air holes on the side of the carriage, tearing bright lines in the dark freight carriage.
A few figures swayed between the crates, a few eyes were fixed in front of the air holes, and a bishop muttered not far away: "It's dawn outside..."
Yuri approached the gap behind him and put his eyes on the narrow gap. He saw the morning sun rising from the end of the wilderness, and the brilliant corona was lighting up the entire plain and the mountains at the end of the plain. The mosaic of lakes and rivers glowed with fine golden light, and the nearby vegetation quickly receded beside the railway, forming a blur.
The mist had been dispersed by the sun at some point.
p>"We are approaching the border," Yuri immediately reminded, "Pay attention, there is a checkpoint here-"
A sudden shaking came, and the sound of steel wheels rubbing against the rails was heard from the bottom of the carriage. There was a harsh sound, and at the same time, there was an obvious tremor from both sides of the car. Outside the walls on both sides, the "click" sound of some kind of mechanical device was heard instantly.
The braking device was heard. The wheels are being pressurized, and the repulsion mechanism outside the carriage is adjusting the polarity one by one - this train is slowing down.
"Don't be nervous," Wendy immediately turned back and said, "We are approaching the border post. It's a normal stop. "
"I'm going to check the situation of the car in front," Yuri stood up gently and whispered, "It's close to the connecting section, so you must be extra careful. "
......
The sun shines on the outpost near the Typhon-Cecil border. A slightly cold wind blows from the direction of the plain. Several fully armed soldiers The Typhon soldiers were waiting on the high platform, watching the car coming from the direction of Butterfield County.The freight train gradually slowed down and steadily approached the stop indicator line in the inspection area. The commander of the small station squinted his eyes, forcibly controlled the urge to yawn in this cold morning, and directed the soldiers to step forward to conduct routine inspections of the train. .
While waiting for the train to open, the outpost commander took a deep breath of the cold air on the plains and looked towards the two battle mage towers not far away while boosting his spirits. Standing on both sides of the railway, the huge arcane focusing crystal on the mage tower shone brightly in the sun, while several lower-level battle mages and knights stood guard at nearby sentries, watching the train stop.
His eyes continued to move into the distance, past the fence, across an open field, past the low wall on the border and the blockade on the other side, and finally landed on another outpost - that was the Seoul At the Xier people's border checkpoint, several square houses were built on cement platforms, magic crystal devices floated in the middle of the open space, and several weapons called "rail guns" were placed on the top of the wall, with the muzzles pointed at High in the sky.
Officer Typhon glanced at the soldiers who had already begun the inspection mission, then turned back, pulled out a small dagger from his waist, and pointed it at the Cecil outpost with the sunlight reflecting on the blade. It shook twice.
A few seconds later, a similar reflection swept across his eyes.
The young officer grinned, then put away the dagger and walked towards the direction of the train.
A man with a big beard and a blue uniform leaned outside the carriage. He was the conductor of this train, a Typhon.
"Full of textiles and alchemical materials," the bearded man said to the young officer with a smile, "go and exchange for some yellow gold for our Emperor."
The young officer stretched out his hand: "Let me see the list."
"I just gave it to the soldiers..."
The officer frowned: "I haven't read it yet."< /p>
The bearded man had no choice but to find the documents he had with him and handed them to the officer in front of him: "Hey, okay, here you go."
The officer took the list and turned it over He turned around and walked towards the several carriages not far away.
The bearded commander glanced not far away seemingly casually. Suddenly, a faint black spot appeared in the eastern sky, and flew towards the car like a flying bird. Flying over here.
The commander's eyes changed, and he immediately turned around and walked towards the officer who was leading the soldiers to inspect the carriages one by one, with a smile on his face: "Mr. Knight, these carriages have been inspected just now."
The young Typhon officer looked at the soldier beside him: "Has it been checked?"
"It has been checked, sir," the soldier replied immediately, "it matches the list."< /p>
Officer Typhon glanced down at the list in his hand, briefly glanced at the bearded man next to him, then grabbed the armrest at the door of the carriage next to him, stepped on the door pedal with one leg, and slowly moved his upper body The probe looked inside.
The dark shadow on the horizon is getting closer and closer, and the outline of a human figure can even be vaguely seen.
"Mr. Knight," the bearded man stepped forward and smiled flatteringly, "There are alchemy materials in here..."
Officer Typhon's eyes slowly moved in the carriage. Sweeping through, inside the dark freight car, a large number of crates were piled up, and there was nothing else.
It would be a waste of time to count all those crates again.
The captain stood outside the carriage, smiling, but staring at the officer's movements without blinking.
He did not dare to bribe the other party, nor did he dare to make any verbal inducements, because both actions would immediately arouse suspicion-the people guarding this place were reserve knights of the Black Steel Knights, who had noble blood. And the soldiers who target the Black Steel Knights are very vigilant unlike other places.
"Mr. Knight, we have to undergo an inspection at the Cecil people later..."
Officer Typhon finally withdrew from the carriage door and his military boots fell to the ground. on, making a clicking sound.
“To be honest, it’s a bit unreasonable to have to stop and check twice on both sides of the border,” the officer said casually, “What do you think?”
“ I dare not say that," the bearded man waved his hands quickly, "The big shots above must have made sense in designing this set of rules. We just follow them..."
"Sooner or later it will need to be optimized. ," the officer chuckled, "After all, everything has just begun..."
"Who knows..." The bearded man spread his hands, "Anyway, for me, just understanding it... This big guy behind me is already making people dizzy."
"Okay," the officer seemed to think that discussing these things with the person in front of him was a waste of time, and finally waved his hand, "Verification passed. It’s almost time to stop, let’s go!”
The bearded man smiled and bowed like a gentleman, then turned around and climbed onto the armrest of the carriage. The next second, the signal bell rang inside the train. stand up.
This huge and complex steel machine began to accelerate slowly, gradually leaving the Typhon outpost, crossing the fence and low wall, crossing the wide buffer zone, and driving steadily towards the territory of Cecil... …
It wasn’t until the train crossed the border that a middle-aged mage in black robes finally landed at the Typhon outpost.