Chapter 521
Rock Fortress.
This heavy fortress, which once belonged to the direct control of the royal family, has completely changed its appearance.
The former rock fortress was built to control the forces of the south. It has a strong southern city wall and a relatively weak north wall. The Gorgon River flows through the gap on the west side of the fortress, and the two sides of the fortress are the continuous and desolate southern border. Mountains - However, after the Cecil occupation, the entire fortress underwent a complete change.
The southern city wall was collapsed, and the Cecilians did not repair it, but expanded directly from the gap to the south, built a rock city at the foot of the fortress, and built a new city wall outside the rock city. On the contrary, the fortress The northern wall has been undergoing a series of strengthening and reconstruction works since the end of the summer, and the works are still not over.
When the gorgeous car drove under the gate of the north wall of the rock fortress, Victoria opened the cover on the side of the carriage. She looked up at the wall that was undergoing renovation, and was only shocked - on the basis of the original city wall, Sisi All the weak points of the city wall were covered with an extra layer of steel armor, and a large number of steel-made skeletons and supporting structures covered the prismatic outer walls and towers of the city wall, like some kind of hideous monster carapace. Connected together, on the top of the city wall, the metal reinforcement plate reflects the brilliance of the giant sun, and there is a faint flow of magic light flowing between the gaps in the armor. I saw a series of magic devices with straight rails lined up neatly, and the ends of the rails pointed to the direction of the Holy Spirit Plain.
It's not a city wall, it's a beast made of steel and rock, with huge magic flowing in its veins, and the Cecilians are still sharpening its fangs-anything from the plains of the Holy Spirit Anyone who has seen the construction of the northern wall of the Rock Fortress will realize this, and as a powerful spellcaster and ruler of the North, Victoria thinks more: Where did the Cecil get so much steel? Did they cast all the steel of the entire southern region on the walls of the rock fortress after they occupied the southern border? Where did they get such powerful magic power? Could there be another undiscovered focal point of magic beneath the rock fortress? How did they do it all in such a short period of time?
The convoy arrived at the foot of the north wall. With the loud bells ringing on the top of the city wall, the gate reinforced with a metal skeleton slowly rose up, and there was a clear mechanical sound from near the gate, accompanied by the flow of magic power. : Many facilities in this fortress seem to be powered by magic.
Victoria Wilder sat in the car with a calm face. As the Duchess of the North, she could condense all her emotions under that frosty face.
After all, an armed fortress is just a fortress, and a fortress cannot be moved. Gawain Cecil built such a fortress, which is undoubtedly a declaration of his force and his attitude: the southern border is too powerful to allow no one Pointing fingers, but he also has no intention of stepping into the plains of the Holy Spirit.
At least for now.
One of the purposes of Victoria Wilder's trip to the South was to find out what the founding hero's attitude towards the city of Saint-Sunil was - and if he was really not satisfied with being a duke in the South, then he How long can we wait.
The Ansu royal family, who was mired in the quagmire of civil war, really had no spare energy to open a new battlefield.
The guests from the royal capital were taken to the rock castle in the fortress - this castle has not been fully restored, the upper part of the castle that was destroyed by the calibrated beam that day is still scaffolded in several places, and you can see those shocking big holes and melting. The crystal traces left by the rocks flowing on the walls, visitors can imagine what a terrible blow was encountered at that time.
Veronica and Victoria saw the shocking damage under the castle, but in the end, they said nothing.
Cecil has already occupied and controlled the entire southern border in fact, and on the premise of being unable to change the situation, it is meaningless to mention the relationship between the royal family and the rock fortress, whether it is the guardian duke in the north of the kingdom, or has joined The royal princess of the Holy See is very clear about one thing:
Only the interests that have the opportunity to strive for are interests, and the interests that are unable to obtain will become shame when they are brought up.
In the long hall of the castle, Victoria and Veronica were received by a commander in white armor with some kind of magical sword on his waist - he was the new commander of the rock fortress, Wald Perridge .
This old knight from the Kant region has never imagined in the past half of his life that he would have such a bizarre experience as he is today: at a young age, he became the commander of the fortress guarding the border of the duchy, and also represented the guardian duke. Having received another duke and the princess of this country, I am afraid this will become a bragging capital for his descendants in the rest of his life, but at this moment, he must do his part to ensure that he does not lose etiquette or make Duke Cecil was disgraced.
"Welcome to the Rock Fortress, welcome to the land of the South, the current Rock Commander, Wald Peric, salutes His Royal Highness the Princess and the Duke," Wald Peric, dressed in military uniform, stood in front of the guests, with no expression. The discerning etiquette and attitude said, "Please rest here for a while - the reception banquet has been set, and I hope the heating of the castle can dispel the chills accumulated during your journey."
"Nice to meet you, Sir Perich." Veronica said with a smile, the princess did not know the specific title of the commander in front of her, but according to the traditional law of Ansu, the commander of such a key fortress was in After taking office, you will automatically obtain the non-hereditary title of "Sir". This title is independent of general titles and enjoys equal rights to dialogue with most nobles. It reflects Ansu's respect for brave nobles, and it is also to ensure that if there is a lower status but Soldiers with outstanding ability took charge of the fortress and could immediately have enough prestige and legal basis to command the noble commanders of all levels in the fortress.
Victoria Wilder, who was beside Veronica, recalled the incredible magical devices she saw after entering the fortress, as well as the impressive north wall of the fortress. Duke Searle has done a miracle here."
"Trust me, you will be even more amazed when you see Cecil City," Wald Perridge said with a smile, and led the two guests to the inner court of the castle, "The Duke already knows about the arrival of the two, tomorrow There will be a special team coming to meet you.”
Victoria didn't care about the "reception team" in the old knight's mouth. She thought it was just a part of common etiquette: when important guests visited the territory, the local ruler would naturally send a team to greet them.
This indifferent thought continued until the next day, until she saw those steel-cast magic machines cross the avenue and park neatly on the open ground in front of the castle.
Even though she tried her best to maintain her expression, Victoria couldn't help but look surprised at the magical devices that looked like cars but not cars: "This is... your car?!"
"Magic 475 series magic car, the model is the 'pioneer generation', the creation of magic technology," Wald Perich introduced to the Duchess with a proud look - although this was the first time he saw it. To the actual magic car, but he was well prepared and used to seeing new technology products from the country, so at the moment he was very calm and indifferent. He was like an old driver who had been driving for many years and recited it the night before. He gave his introductory words, and tried not to let his smile deviate in the slightest—he was in front of him after all the guardian duke of the kingdom and the famous virgin princess, and he didn’t want his smile to make the other party feel any offense. It's a new thing, and I'm sure the ride will make you forget the carriage."
"Magic technology..." Victoria repeated the word softly, linking it with all the information she had collected about the Southland in the past year.
The rapid rise of the Cecil family in the South... seems to be related to this rumored "magic technology".
It is said that this technology was brought by Gawain Cecil after the resurrection, and it is a variant of the lost ancient Gondor Empire magic technology.
However, as a spellcaster who specializes in magic and has read a lot of books, Victoria Wilder has not seen a single word related to "magic technology" in any ancient books about the Gondor Empire... Instead, it is in those who spread from the south. On the sporadic information about the magic net that came out, she saw a trace of the extremely optimized modern magic formation...
Her eyes fell on those magic vehicles with tough lines and peculiar shapes-the appearance of these "magic technology creations" did not match the elegant and refined style that the northern aristocrats had admired in recent years. The tough lines and the complex mechanical texture of steel in the details have an indescribable beauty: "I have heard of magic technology... So can they be made into such incredible magic devices?"
"That's what's so fascinating about it—and, of course, it's expensive to make a magic device like this," says Wald Perich, who isn't lying: the magic car's factory assembly line is still there. During the construction, the magic vehicles in front of me were all made by Nicholas Egg, a master mechanic and craftsman (although the master did not have any hands). , but its cost is far beyond the comparison of mass products.
"It's a lot of money..." Victoria's eyes didn't change, she just repeated the words in a low voice, and then nodded, "Since it's Duke Cecil's kindness, I'm happy to accept it, and I'm also grateful for this. I am very interested in the incredible 'magic technology'."
"Please get in the car, and - please allow the entourage we arranged to ride with you," said Wald Perich, and as his voice fell, a gallant young female knight came by. , "Margarita is a knight trusted by the Duke. She will tell you the story of the magic car and serve as your guide along the way to ensure that your trip will not be boring."
Victoria wanted to refuse when she heard the word entourage - she was not used to riding in the same car with anyone, and at most she would be with the black-haired maid Maggie on weekdays. After Ritchie's words, and seeing the female knight named Margarita, she still nodded.
She might be able to learn something useful from the young knight, and this Miss Margarita seemed to be a neat person, and she didn't mind allowing such a person to be close to her.
"Margarita Crete, salute the kingdom's northern guardian."
The female knight Margarita saluted, and Victoria was satisfied with the slight nervousness and good manners she showed: this is exactly what a qualified young knight should behave, and it seems that even in this remote southern border, There are also excellent people.
Later, the Walder knight arranged another female knight as an entourage for Veronica - the always approachable princess accepted this arrangement and thanked Walder for her kindness.
Victoria Wilder got into the magic car, and she saw a young man in uniform sitting in the front row of the car—she had seen someone in the car just now, but she only noticed the young man now Various controls around.
Is this the mage who controls this magic device?
The "chauffeur" who drives the car is not outside the car, but sits in the car with the passengers. If it is seen by some serious and old-fashioned people, this may be a big inappropriate, but Victoria did not care about this - compared to From this "etiquette" issue, she was more concerned about how this magic car was made.
She and Margarita sat in the back of the car, and the black-haired maid Maggie was in the front, next to the driver.
A part of the entourage got into the other magic vehicles, and they would set off for Cecil City with Victoria and Veronica, while the rest of the entourage would continue to ride on those that crossed from the royal capital all the way. The carriage that came from the plains drove slowly behind—this was the arrangement that Wald suggested after considering the speed difference between the magic carriage and the carriage.
The whistle blew and the convoy set off.
The first time to ride this incredible magical device brought a novel experience to Victoria, and she had not had this mixed feeling of curiosity and confusion for many years, and she felt that this complex magical vehicle was gradually Acceleration - there is a mechanical vibration from the bottom of the car, but the overall driving process of the car is much smoother than that of a carriage, and the "mage" who controls the car is using a disc, some joysticks and pedals To control the operation of this magical creature... he did not use magic.
The duchess from the north watched all this curiously, but she didn't want to be too frivolous, so she began to think of a way to divert her attention-soon, she noticed that the female knight beside her Sword in hand.
It was a sword with magical runes, it was obviously a supernatural weapon, and the commander of the fortress seemed to have an almost identical rune sword.
Extraordinary weapons are powerful equipment created by magicians and runemasters with great effort and cost. Only people with certain status and financial resources can tailor such equipment for themselves, so it is rare to see two extraordinary weapons. Exactly the same, yet in Cecil... it seems that many supernatural objects based on magical powers look exactly the same.
From small sabres, to huge "magic carts" and magical devices on the city walls that are apparently some kind of weapons, the exact same supernatural objects can be seen almost everywhere.
Victoria knew what that meant, and it meant that the Cecil were capable of mass-producing these magical items, at least to some extent.
Magic items are precious and cannot be mass-produced - this concept is deeply rooted in the hearts of most Ansu people, and due to technical limitations, it is indeed a fact at this stage, but this does not mean that the rulers of the kingdom are aware of it Less than the significance of mass production of extraordinary items.
"Miss Margarita, this sword is beautiful."
Complimenting a knight's sword is a very common and etiquette opening remark, especially when the superior is willing to take the initiative to open up the topic. This kind of praise has the meaning of the superior's evaluation, and gives enough respect to the lower party. , Victoria is familiar with the etiquette between these words.
The young female knight really showed a reserved smile. She touched the hilt of the rune sword with the back of her hand, and said with a little pride: "This is the saber bestowed by the duke - it is my pride."
"It seems to be an extraordinary weapon?"
"Yes, it's a rune sword," Margarita smiled, "but I can't show it to you here - once activated, the blade of this sword can easily cut through the casing of a car, it's too dangerous ."
Victoria couldn't help showing a look of admiration - no matter how polite this admiration look was, Margarita introduced it: "... Of course, this sword is not only powerful, it is also made by the best The master swordsmith has adjusted the weight of the blade, it is very comfortable and flexible when swiping with one hand, and it is also powerful when holding it temporarily with both hands. A single dose of therapeutic medicine, in other words, as long as the sword does not leave the body, even if other materials are lost, the soldiers will have at least one chance to save their lives..."
Victoria listened carefully to Margarita's introduction, and she did get some useful information as she wished... But for some reason, she always felt that the familiar words and phrases of the female knight when introducing the sword seemed to be specially memorized. of……
After Margarita introduced her saber, she succeeded in making the Duke of the North interested in the white commander's magic armor she was wearing.
The magical energy between the gaps in the armor and the runes in the details made Victoria realize that this is also an extraordinary weapon.
"This armor was also given by the duke - it protected me through the most dangerous battlefields (watching the artillery fire on the city walls outside the rock fortress), and kept me unscathed in the face of five times the enemy (taken prisoners). time), I just wore it to enter the gate of the rock fortress (actually I walked in, because when the second corps entered the city, let alone the gate, the city walls were blown up), this is a trustworthy armor - And you see, it also has a unique pattern..."
Victoria nodded subconsciously: "...It's really...beautiful..."
The young female knight in front of her was surprisingly chatty.
It looks like this trip really won't be boring anymore.