Chapter 1657 The Mysterious "Princess"
Chapter 202 Alberton Award
"You are honored, Mr. Dean, all thanks to the careful guidance of my mentor, Professor Moriarty..."
Joan originally wanted to go through the process of flattering and being polite, but as soon as the mentor's name was mentioned, the old man Franklin's face darkened, and he immediately realized that he had accidentally said something wrong, so he quickly stopped and forcibly changed his words.
"Uh, of course, I can make some small progress, and I should thank Mr. Dean for his kind care."
"Come on, stop flattering you kid! As long as you don't mention your foolish mentor, I will thank you!" Dean Franklin complained angrily.
Joan heard that Mr. Dean had a lot of resentment towards Professor Moriarty, so he stuck out his tongue secretly, and quickly brought the topic back on track.
"Mr. Dean, what is the good news you mentioned just now?"
"Oh! Look at my brain. I'm getting older and my memory is getting worse, but I'm mainly annoyed by that bastard Trophim!" Dean Franklin patted his forehead. "Last night, I received a message from Tennyson. Letter from the editor-in-chief, my old classmate thinks highly of you kid, and recommends you to participate in this year's 'Ebdon Award', how is it going, are you surprised or not?"
Joan was stunned for a long time before recovering. "Shock" was really surprised, but "Hi" was not at all.
The "Alberton Award" is an annual award that is established and named by Mr. Albert Weinstein and is selected and presented by the Weinstein Family Foundation.
Similar to the "Rising Star Award", the "Ebdon Award" aims to reward young people who have made outstanding contributions to the academic circle of Austrian Law, but the scope of selection is broader than the "Rising Star Award", no longer limited to school students, 30 years old The following young scholars can participate in the selection, and the prize money is ten times that of the "Rising Star Award", up to 100,000 Gold Duga!
Joan now has a net worth of millions and has basically achieved financial freedom. The bonus of 100,000 Gold Duga is not enough to scare him, but he deeply doubts whether he is eligible to appear on the list of contenders for this award.
The age of 30 is a threshold for participating in the "Ebdon Award". Most of the past winners are lecturers and associate professors who have received appointment letters from prestigious universities after graduating with a Ph.D. figure.
Qiao An is only 15 years old this year, and it has been less than a semester since he had the title of "Doctor" in front of his surname. Such qualifications are mixed with a group of professors from prestigious universities to participate in the "Ebdon Award". The style of painting is obviously wrong!
Dean Franklin saw Joan's lack of self-confidence, and patted him on the shoulder with a smile.
"Dr. Vader, relax, you are more competitive than you think!"
"Thinking back to this time last year, when you learned that you were included in the selection list for the 'Rising Star Award', weren't you also very surprised, and even suspected that it was just a prank?"
Joan nodded embarrassingly.
"But what happened later? You won the 'Rising Star Award' with an undisputed advantage. As long as you look through the papers you have published, everyone has to admit that you are worthy of that honor. Age and qualifications are not a problem. The key is Must have excellent grades!"
"Dr. Vader, the three high-scoring articles you published on the "Ofa Communication" this year are your greatest confidence in competing for the 'Ebdon Award'. As far as I know, most of your competitors can't show it. With the same number and weight of articles, it is not you who should lack confidence, but them!"
"Thank you for your encouragement, Mr. Franklin, maybe I'm still too young and immature...I will adjust my mentality and treat the final selection results calmly." Joan replied in a low voice.
Dean Franklin nodded, patted Joan on the shoulder, and his face became serious again.
"Dr. Vader, I know you've been very busy during this period. You have to do academic research and take care of military work, but I still hope you can find time to take care of Trophim. That guy has become more and more shameless recently. Already!"
"That...Mr. Dean, if I understand correctly, you mean Trofim Moriarty?" Joan asked tentatively.
"Besides him, who else can cause me headaches all day long?!" The old man Franklin waved his hand angrily, barely restraining his anger and said to Joan: "Dr. The bigger it is, you can't patronize your own studies and work, you have to discipline your tutor well!"
Joan was stunned, and it took a long time before he spoke weakly: "But, Mr. Dean, it's not appropriate for you to ask me to 'discipline' my tutor? Normally speaking, it should be the tutor who disciplines me as a student. That's right..."
"Hmph! The problem is that you are a very abnormal pair of teachers and students! Joan, your abnormality is mainly reflected in being too good. Of course, this is not a bad thing, but do you think Trophim has the slightest appearance of being a teacher?"
Old man Franklin was pacing back and forth in the office with his hands behind his back.
"Joan, you, a student, are much more reliable than him, a tutor who doesn't do business every day, can't catch his shadow all over the campus, and doesn't even bother to attend classes. That bastard Trophim, you might as well put him I've given you the professorship!"
Qiao An was really frightened by this, and hurriedly defended the tutor.
"Mr. Dean, Professor Moriarty was obsessed with speculative securities business some time ago, and it was true that he missed his work, but now he is fine. He has made a lot of money and lost interest in the securities business."
"I know that bastard Trophim made a lot of money from speculation, so has he lost interest in teaching? Anyway, teaching doesn't make much money, does it?"
"Absolutely not!" Qiao An hurriedly assured the tutor.
"Then why is he absent from work every three days and refuses to recruit new students?" Dean Franklin asked angrily.
Joan scratched his head and could only forcefully explain.
"The mentor is not feeling well these days and needs to recuperate. In addition, he has recently made two new girlfriends, so the housework is also very busy."
The professor's so-called "housework" means having a lot of money in his pocket to squander, frequenting high-end restaurants, luxury stores, prom salons and resorts, hugging left and right, enjoying the beauty.
"Have you made 'two' new girlfriends? Ha! It's true that 'men turn bad when they have money'! Hasn't Trophim, a bastard, considered finding a decent woman to marry and have children?"
"The mentor said that he wanted to enjoy life more while he was young, and he didn't want to put himself in the 'cold tomb of marriage and family' prematurely."
Joan truthfully relayed the tutor's concept of marriage, but the old dean roared again.
Realizing that his defense for his mentor seemed to have had the opposite effect, Qiao An wished he could slap himself twice, so he quickly found an excuse and fled the dean's office in a hurry.
(Missed a chapter, merged together)
Chapter 203 The Mysterious "Princess"
The "Battle of Lake Aosta" that broke out at the end of May 1622 caused heavy casualties to both sides.
More than a month after the end of the Battle of Lake Aosta, both sides in the war had a tacit understanding to avoid another frontal conflict, and intensively replenished troops and prepared for war. A larger-scale decisive battle is coming.
During this period of truce, Joann had regular contact with Todd Fang, an undercover agent stationed in the enemy camp, and learned from Todd about the various preparations made by the Fizen military to turn defeat into victory.
General Thomas Cornwallis, who led the remnant troops back to Linyuan Fort, regained some vitality after reuniting with the 1,000 officers and soldiers staying at Linyuan Fort.
In order to defend Linyuan Castle, General Cornwallis sent a letter to Earl Winthrop, governor of the Jotunheim Colony in Fiji, requesting Governor Winthrop to send troops to reinforce Linyuan Castle.
Governor Winthrop did not publicly blame General Cornwallis for losing the battle, and vigorously supported the frontline troops in terms of logistical support and supply of troops.
On the one hand, militias were urgently recruited in various villages and towns in Jotunheim, and sent to Linyuan Castle after reorganization and training; Send generals.
At the same time, Governor Winthrop also recalled the mercenary captain Borson from the front line, and sent him back to Calydon Island to find Queen Huaia to rescue the soldiers.
According to Todd, the queen of Huaia was shocked by the tragic casualties suffered by the hill giant mercenary group in the Battle of Lake Aosta, angrily reprimanded Bolsson for being unfavorable in command, and decided to lead the team to save face.
At present, Todd is not clear how many troops Queen Huaia plans to bring to Linyuan Castle to participate in the battle, but one thing is certain, she will definitely bring the secret weapon "Princess" inherited from the Calydon tribe!
So, what is this "secret weapon"?
At present, Todd has only found out that the princess is a huge construct, which is said to be a mythical weapon born in the era of ancient giants. He has no way of knowing more details, and with Todd's simple and dull image, he should not have cared about it. These are details that have nothing to do with him personally.
If Joan instructs Todd to ask Huaia and Bolsson about this issue, it will inevitably give people an impression of abnormal behavior, which may arouse the suspicion of Huaia and Bolsson, leading to the exposure of his undercover identity.
Joan didn't want to lose this valuable insider, and would rather suppress her curiosity and wait patiently for the opportunity than to let Todd engage in any risky actions that might lead to his identity being exposed.
In fact, according to the available information, Joan has already lifted half of the mystery of the "princess".
"Legacy of the Giants", "Giant Construct", "Born in the Era of Ancient Giants", "Mythical Weapons"... Extracting these key words, Joan naturally thinks of the battle to defend Elk Town last year Among them, the mythical ice giant that I encountered!
When that gigantic colossus appeared on the battlefield, the temperature in the surrounding several miles dropped rapidly below freezing point, and midsummer turned into midwinter.
Qiao An has traveled north and south over the years and experienced many bitter battles. However, none of the other powerful enemies he has encountered is as strong as the ice colossus and cannot be confronted head-on.
In fact, Joan and the others still failed to keep Elk Town in the end.
The brave Asa warriors fought side by side with the officers and soldiers of the elite reconnaissance company of the Colonial Corps. Relying on the moat and solid walls, Elk Town was like a military fortress. The ice colossus appeared on the horizon, and all their previous efforts and sacrifices were in vain, and they had to abandon the town and retreat urgently.
That day, Joan held on until the last moment before evacuating Elk Town. He witnessed the solid city defense measures being easily crushed by the ice giant statue. Frankly speaking, his heart was full of despair at that time.
Over the past year, the Ice Colossus and Elk Town, which was razed to ruins by the colossus, often appeared in Joan's memory like nightmares. The sense of crisis prompted him to collect documents, study mythical colossi, and think hard about fighting against such ancient weapons of war. strategy.
Now he has a relatively deep understanding of the mythical colossus, but unfortunately he has not yet found a stable and effective strategy to restrain the colossus.
The ice giant of Winterhold is not isolated. As far as the New World is concerned, the reason why the existing powerful giant tribes can survive tens of thousands of years is mostly due to the precious heritage left by their ancestors.
There are thousands of islands off the coast of Jotunheim, among which there are no less than a hundred islands settled by hill giants. Calydon Island is just one of the larger islands. Why can the islands be unified? It has been firmly established for many years. Holding the throne of the leader of the Jotunheim Hill Giant Tribal Alliance?
Joan has reason to believe that the biggest advantage of the Calydon tribe over other hill giant tribes is that they have a mythical colossus!
Unsurprisingly, this mythical colossus named "Princess" will follow Queen Huaia to Linyuan Castle in the near future, and become a "trump card" for General Kang Huali to invade the south again.
What material is the mythical colossus of the Calydon tribe made of, and is it stronger or weaker than the ice colossus of Winterhold?
These details need to be further investigated by Todd. The only thing Joan can confirm now is that the colossus "Princess" of the Calydonian tribe must also have a "myth-oriented anti-magic field".
This extremely perverted mythical ability is standard for all colossi, just like golems have the same "magic immunity" ability.
Joan has now figured out a set of tactics to deal with golems. In the Battle of Lake Aosta not long ago, he also verified this tactic on the flesh and blood golem guards in Bolsom, and it proved to be very effective.
It's a pity that the experience of dealing with golems cannot be simply transferred to the colossus.
As long as he enters the radiation circle of the "mythical directional anti-magic field", Joan will lose the ability to cast arcane spells, and all the magic devices worn and carried on his body will also be invalid. The two artifacts of the "spirit collar" can be used normally, but relying on these chips alone, it is pure nonsense to fight against the mythical colossus, Queen Huaia and her giant guard.
Fortunately, apart from these bad news, Joan also received some good news one after another during the truce.
Midgard is also actively preparing for the battle.
At least half of the credit for the victory at the Battle of Lake Aosta should go to the Asa people.
If it weren't for the Volsunger regiment led by Logan to drag down the hill giant mercenaries regardless of the cost of casualties, Baron Laval's colonial regiment would have no chance to fight with General Cornwallis' troops to the last moment. The hill giant collapsed under the attack from both sides.
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