The cold wind blows from the direction of the sea, rolling the imperial flag flying high on the coast. Under the sword and plow emblem with blue background and gold pattern, soldiers and technical craftsmen are placing the third flag of the day. The fixed piles are welded together with the steel frame - the unencapsulated magic network runes are shining slightly on the ground not far away, and the sparks flying when the thermal energy beam sweeps through the steel fall on the ground that has just been hardened not long ago. , inside the metal frame that is more than ten meters high, some copper pipes and thermal fins have been fixed in specific positions, just waiting to be connected to the rest of the heat pipes.
This huge device is part of the "Waste Heat Recovery Center". Through the alchemical solution circulating in the pipeline, this device will combine several nearby facilities - including an alchemical reaction tower and a rune melting and casting factory. As well as an ooze waste incineration center - the waste heat released is collected and distributed to the camp's heating system through high-efficiency heat exchangers to heat parts of the west side of the coast.
To survive for a long time in the cold northern region, similar technology is essential. It is much cleaner and more efficient than cutting down the slow-growing boreal trees at the foot of the mountain for fires, and it can also maximize the In order to avoid affecting the lives of local residents, these facilities can even be used to heat nearby residential areas one day in the future - of course, that will be a long time in the future.
Farther away, on the open flat ground near the coast of Beigang, large and small simple houses, military tents, towers and some newly built brick houses have been scattered, and materials are stacked Materials on the site are piled up like a mountain, and large-scale construction machinery that has recently arrived at the construction site is busy. A temporary trestle extending toward the sea has been built. Near the trestle is a large area planned to be used for the construction of dry docks in the future.
The temporary trestle was not fixed on the offshore seabed with fixed piles or the like, nor did it use pontoons. Instead, it relied on several huge ice piles, which were as thick as bell towers. , frozen from the bottom of the sea and extending all the way to the sea surface, with a large number of branched icicles piercing deeply into the bottom of the sea, and the whole is extremely strong.
Byron stood on a big rock near the temporary trestle, smiling happily in the sea breeze. He couldn't help but said to the Grand Consul of Victoria next to him: "Your ice spell is really good." Amazing - I have heard that the Wilder family has studied the art of ice magic to the extreme, but I never thought it could be so powerful... When you raise twelve ice 'giant pillars' in the ocean. At that time, that scene was almost like art."
"You are so complimentary. This is just a crude use of magic." Victoria shook her head indifferently. In the cold wind, this The "Queen of the North" is still wearing a long dress, and the flying fine ice and snow are like a barrier to protect her, "And I never thought that one day I would use these magic skills to... build things. This is a very novel experience. , I'm glad I didn't screw up on my first try."
"Magic is a convenience.It is far more cost-effective to use it to improve life or advance technological development than to waste the energy of mages on the battlefield. This is not what I said, but what your Majesty said," Byron said with a smile, "Although I I don’t know much about things in the magic field, but I have always highly recognized what Your Majesty said, because at least after Princess Rebecca used her power in the laboratory, the number of inexplicable explosions and fire accidents in other places has been much reduced... ..."
Victoria thought for a moment and said seriously: "But in my opinion, Her Royal Highness Rebecca's magical talent is actually far higher than everyone imagined - she shaped the fireball into His Majesty The ability to create life-size sculptures is the real 'magic art'. It's just that I can't understand the principle... If there is a chance, I would like to study the mysteries of the field of energy shaping with her..."
This Snow and Ice Duke will always appear in strange ways. The place became serious, and Byron was already used to it. He did not let this weird (and seemingly suspected of slandering the royal family) topic continue, but casually mentioned another thing: "As the ruler of the North, you come every once in a while. Is it really okay to stay in Beigang? "
"The rulers of the North are the Government Affairs Departments of the northern provinces. The authority of the Grand Consul is only part of the Government Affairs Department," Victoria said lightly, "As for Beigang... Beigang is currently the entire One of the most important projects in the northern region, the eyes from the imperial capital are always watching here, and I often show up here... also to express the Wilder family's attitude on this matter. "
Byron shook his head: "I hope those families in the north will one day understand your good intentions - you are doing your best to prevent them from being included in the 'list'. ”
Victoria didn’t speak. She just stood there quietly, her cold eyes slowly scanning the entire coastline and the rolling mountains in the distance.
Bye The "Northern Construction Corps" led by Lun has been stationed on this cold coastline for a month. For more than sixty days, engineering equipment has been working day and night, and a steady stream of supplies has been sent from the rear. Under the influence of magic and modern industry, Under the dual promotion, the prototype of a large-scale seaport is rapidly taking shape, which is undoubtedly exciting.
But the massive construction activities and the large-scale construction corps have also unsurprisingly attracted many. Many sights.
This is the north, the cold and stubborn north, far away from every civil war in the kingdom, far away from every political reshuffle, far away from the magic industry, in this frozen land. Deep in the mountains, the ancient families and the bravery and stubbornness in their blood remain the same as they did centuries ago.
They instinctively refuse to let anyone live on the land where they have lived for generations." "Make action", even if these people are here to help them build this land, even if the traditional rulers of this land have publicly stated their attitude and issued warnings, there are still many people who secretly resist the Beigang project.
People here have not yet produced ""The empire is a whole" concept, it is useless to tell them what national planning is.
Although Victoria once expressed her position to Byron, she made it clear that she would support the construction of North Port and would not mind doing this. "Knocking" those local families who are ignorant of current affairs, but in the final analysis, she does not want to see too many people hung on flagpoles outside North Port - too many flagpoles in one port are not "beautiful" to the entire northern border. .
So she, the "Grand Duke of the North," could only choose to show up here a few times in the early stages of the North Port project. At least... the majesty of the Wilder family still works in this land.
p>
Byron looked towards the distant sea - on this clear and cloudless day, a transcendent person could look very far away. His sight crossed the slightly undulating sea. Beyond the foam that shimmered in the sun, the "Sea Peninsula" of the Holy Dragon Principality and part of the border of the Violet Kingdom could be vaguely seen, but further away, there was only a vast expanse of white.
That is a distance that even the eyes of an extraordinary person cannot reach - you need to rely on powerful magic props or additional spell effects to see that far.
"The direction of the storm circle... ..." Victoria noticed the direction Byron was looking at, and she nodded slightly, "On rare days, when the weather is clear enough and the storm has just expanded in size, it can be observed visually, but during this period It should be invisible - the storm circle off the northern coast shrinks in summer, and the outermost cloud wall is further away from the land than usual, making it impossible to observe with the naked eye under normal circumstances. However, Winterkeep has a large mage's eye device, which can see the opposite side of the peninsula into the sea in any season. I occasionally use it to observe the storm. "
Byron glanced at Victoria curiously: "Did you observe anything special? "
"Except for confirming that it really will not dissipate, and confirming its cycle of changes, there is no discovery." Victoria shook her head, "That ocean is not calm, and it has reached a point where humans cannot set foot. In the area, legendary strong men will also be buried in the sea outside the storm circle - no one knows how that layer of storm is formed, let alone confirming its internal structure. "
"Your Majesty seems to think that it is one of the defense systems of the dragon country 'Tallond'. Beyond the storm is the dragon's territory," Byron said casually, "If you ask me, he can Talk directly to the dragon lady who often comes to visit... I think her name is Meili or something. Talk to the dragon lady, maybe you can find out something. "
Victoria said expressionlessly: "...There are many legends about the Dragon Clan in the northern region, most of which come from the Holy Dragon Principality. From our point of view, the Dragon Clan is not an easy character to deal with. "
Byron gave a noncommittal hey, and then said slowly and thoughtfully while looking at the sea: "It's not easy to deal with... But according to this trend, when we step out of this land , after sending ships to the distant sea, sooner or later what kind ofThe clan has to deal with..."
Victoria glanced at Byron and opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but before she spoke, a faint commotion came from the south of the camp. Stopping what she wanted to say
Looking around, she saw that a large group of people had gathered near the checkpoint in the south of the camp. The people outside the isolation line were all wearing civilian clothes. The soldiers at the checkpoint had already gone to maintain order, and noisy voices came from over there, mixed with strong northern dialects.
Victoria's brows immediately frowned, and she vaguely guessed. When she arrived at what was happening over there, the ice and snow surrounding her condensed instantly, circling and flying in the air like cold ice knives. Her tone was as cold as winter: "I am here, and there are still people..."
Before the Duchess finished speaking, Byron suddenly raised his hand to interrupt her. The mercenary-turned-empire general just glanced over there and knew what was going on, with a strange look on his face. Smile: "Don't be too excited, Grand Archon, those are just civilians, and they are some familiar faces - you have missed something recently, but I know what it is, and it is not a small problem as you think. "
As he spoke, Byron jumped to the ground and walked towards the checkpoint. At the same time, he said to Victoria who was following him: "Don't show your face later, they may be too nervous—— Just watch me handle it. ”
Victoria nodded in confusion, and released the curved light force field to cover her body. She and Byron came to the checkpoint in the south of the camp, and nearly a hundred civilians gathered here had already The soldiers at the checkpoint stood in two distinct rows.
"The general is coming..." "The general is coming..."
Someone saw Byron in the crowd. Whispered reminders came one after another, and the soldiers made way for a passage, while the civilians who gathered neatly took two steps back.
Victoria immediately used the curved light force field to hide her figure. Focus on the civilians - they are wearing old coarse clothes, but the clothes are clean and warm. Judging from their expressions, these are mountain people who live nearby and work all year round. The most interesting thing is that There were not only strong men among these people, but also women and children - all brought here by their families.
When Victoria wondered in her mind which family the gathered civilians were instigated. , Byron had already reached the crowd in a few steps.
Those people in coarse linen clothes looked at the tall and majestic imperial general in front of them in awe, but they did not retreat any further.
< p>Byron glanced at them and said casually: "What do you want to do when you gather here? ”The tone was calm and natural, as if he had been used to it for a long time.
A few men in the crowd stood up. They glanced back subconsciously, and then they boldly came to pay homage. In front of Lun: "General, we have something to say..."
Byron raised his eyebrows: "Is it still the same as before?"
"Yes," several men nodded, then took a breath and shouted with a voice like a broken gong. , "Southerners, don't touch our land! You are digging our mineral veins and water sources!!"
The civilians gathered behind them also shouted, and the sparse shouting lasted for a few seconds. The bells all stopped.
The leading man looked at Byron with a hint of expectation, and the latter curled his lips and waved his hand: "You heard it - arrest these people, and send the man to dig drainage ditches in the West District. , the woman went to process the potatoes and dried meat, and the children also went to the kitchen to help, and then they had to take a literacy class for an hour... Who brought this one who looked less than five years old!"
One? A tall and thin man emerged from the crowd with an awkward smile: "I am my son...he is so smart! And he is actually almost seven years old, but he looks thin..."
"I'm not blind yet. If he is five and a half years old, I will treat him as your son!" Byron glared at the tall and thin man, then waved his hand angrily, "Go in, watch the child carefully, no tomorrow. "Bring it."
A group of civilians in front of the checkpoint immediately walked forward with joy, accepted the inspection and body search by the soldiers very cooperatively, and then walked into the camp under the leadership of several soldiers. , the man who took the lead paused for a moment when he passed by Byron, and smiled flatteringly: "General, it's still Rijie, right?"
"What else?" Byron glared at the other person, "The soldiers of the empire will never deceive the people and say that the sun knot is the sun knot!"
"Okay, that's good..."
The man nodded happily and quickly followed. He joined the team that was almost gone and entered the camp.
Victoria looked on stunned.