It was a wonderful and interesting journey.
At least so far.
Matilda sat in a comfortable and wide seat with an impeccable and dignified posture, and watched the mountains of the Cecil Empire gradually receding out of the window. The snow had weakened a lot, and the scenery outside began to change. It has to be wide and clear, and the interior of the car is surrounded by soothing music, beautiful scenery, music released by some magic device, the right temperature environment, and the abundant food stored on the train, which together make this long-distance trip in the winter. Be extra comfortable.
Even comfortable people will forget that they are sitting in the body of a steel giant, forgetting that they are galloping far faster than galloping horses in the cold winter wilderness of Cecil.
A young man with short blond hair, a young face, but a particularly mature temperament, was sitting opposite Matilda. He noticed that the exotic princess in front of him seemed to be in good spirits, and showed a slight smile, with a little pride in his tone. : "What is the experience of traveling on the Magic Train?"
Matilda looked back out the window and looked at the young man across.
This young man named Philip has a surprising identity. He is so young, but actually one of the military commanders of the Cecil Empire. He commands the most powerful ground legion of the Cecil Empire. The main force of the legion ... is now on the long wind defense line.
The ambassador led by such an important military commander to greet and "escorted" Queen Tifeng was of equal identity and fully in line with etiquette.
Matilda smiled.
"Great experience," she said with a smile, "and we also saw the best scenery."
Philip laughed.
Under the proper arrangements of the reliable General Maryland and the efforts of units at all levels in the Changfeng area, the Highness of the princess had only seen the scenery from the moment he entered the territory of Cecil to the present.
"Frankly, this level of travel experience is not new to me," Matilda continued. "The novelty is that all this is achieved by magical machines. In the past, relying on the power of the mage, It is not difficult to make such a huge vehicle quickly pass through the wilderness, or to maintain a comfortable travel environment in harsh environments, but magic technology can use lifeless steel to achieve these should be controlled by the mage The power of this is something I never imagined.
"In Tifeng, most aristocrats agree with the power of the magic machine and welcome the new magic trains and various factories, but there are still some old mages who don't like these things-they always say that the machine It lacks soul to function. "
"This is different from us," Philip laughed. "We feel that there is another soul in the machine. It is hidden in rotating gears and moving pistons. It only needs lubricating grease and surging magic energy. It is human loyal friend. "
"... So magic technology first appeared in Cecil, and it is also the fastest developing in this land," Matilda said with a touch of emotion, "I have always been interested in magic technology, I love it Even more than traditional spells, unfortunately Tifeng still has a long way to go in this regard. "
This was a procedural, modest rhetoric, and Philip knew this, so he just smiled lightly and didn't respond positively.
After all, business talk is not his area of expertise ...
A black-haired middle-aged male aristocrat sitting in a seat next to Matilda also joined the topic: "I am also concerned about magic technology, and frankly, I am even investing in it and studying it, which is really a cost This is a great cause, and from this point, I admire the Cecilians-you are the ones who dare to pay the price to gain benefits and are adventurous. "
Matilda glanced at the male aristocrat-Count Dürer was one of Aldnan's most "advanced nobles" in the field of magic technology. He owned the largest plantation in the north and also invested in several A large-scale textile mill and spinning mill, his role in the ambassador actually represents, to a certain extent, those of Aldernan who are concerned about magic technology and try to find more commercial value from magic technology. Aristocracy.
Thinking of this, the Princess Tifeng nodded in agreement: "It does cost a lot to build factories and develop machines, but the returns are really amazing-so it can attract more and more nobles and businessmen to become investors. This, in Is Cecil the same? "
"... Of course." Philip smiled and nodded.
The train ran in the wilderness. Outside the window, the undulating ridge line was almost over, and it seemed that the front was about to enter the plain.
Mattilda couldn't help but remember the last "of course" that Philip had answered to herself. For some reason, she always instinctively felt that the word contained more profound meaning, but could not grasp the root cause for a while.
At this moment, the train finally rushed out of the mountains. After the huge rock wall flashed, there was a boundless plain ahead, and the scene outside the car window suddenly widened.
At the junction of the plain and the end of the mountains, on a natural high ground, a huge stone monument stands beside the railway line. There seems to be a fence around the stone monument. The vicinity seems to be the maintenance and monitoring station of the railway line.
As soon as Matilda noticed the unusual building, wondering why there was something so eye-catching in the wilderness, she suddenly heard a loud and loud flute sounding from the top of the carriage, echoing on the vast plain.
This made her suddenly startled: Why did she suddenly whistle? Are there any stops or staggered trains here?
As confusion rushed into her mind, she and the surrounding Tifeng messengers were surprised to see that the Cecilians in the carriage stood up in unison, even including the young army commander, these noble knights and generals. At the same time, they turned out of the car window and looked at the huge stele standing at the end of the mountain, solemn and solemn, as if saluting.
The Tiffon messengers were startled when the surrounding Cecilians stood up at the same time, even a moment of nervousness, but at this moment there was only blankness. Those solemn faces made them wonder whether they should ask or not, but remained confused. After waiting for ten seconds, until Philip and others sat down, Matilda couldn't help asking: "General Philip, may I ask ..."
"Did you notice the stele?" Philip asked calmly, looking at Matilda.
"Yes, I noticed-and just wanted to ask."
"This railway line under your feet was an emergency extension and construction of the original Baisha Mining Railway after the cluster war," Philip said slowly. "In order to send food and security forces to the east in a timely manner To prevent the subsequent effects of the cluster war from creating large-scale famine and chaos in the east, the construction period of this line must be compressed until the end of winter.
"In order to quickly pass through the most complicated Baisel mountain range, the Third Construction Corps used large-scale geological shaping spells, including a wizard group that was urgently transferred from the old kings, and large construction machinery capable of releasing fossils into mud.
"When breaking through the Carin Pass, a hidden mana focus caused the spell to get out of control and the mountain wall collapsed.
"Thirty-seven people were buried below, including seven mages and twenty workers."
Matilda opened her eyes slightly, and Count Dürer said subconsciously: "So that's in memory of the sacrifice mages ..."
"It is in memory of all the sacrifices," Philip looked at Count Dowler's eyes. "The collapsed rock wall swallowed up the victims, and the aftermath of the spell caused human flesh and stones to merge together. We could not tell them at all. We merged those The boulder of flesh and blood flew out of the pass, forming a monument, placed at the end of the Carin Pass where they had tried to break but failed-facing away from the Baisel Mountains and staring at the eastern plains.
"It is the habit of this line for trains to honk after passing the Carin Pass, and for soldiers to pay tribute as they pass the monument."
Matilda listened quietly and carefully, and her expression didn't seem to change much.
The messengers from Tifeng all listened quietly, some seemed to be confused, some seemed to be thinking.
The great investment aristocrat from Aldernan, Count Drew with black hair and black beard couldn't help looking out the window, looking at the direction of the monument, in the sound of car whistle still lingering in his ears, he couldn't help muttering stand up:
"So big a monument ... even if the mage took the shot, it wouldn't be easy to build."
Maybe enough to build another textile mill.
Matilda listened to Count Dürer to herself and watched Cecil's plains recede quickly outside the train.
A foreign country ...
...
The wind from the extremely north sea blew through the towering mountains, rolling the snow between the mountains, the flag of the dragon descending high on the thick spire of Longlin Fortress, with the end of the flag facing south, wandering endlessly.
"The candidates for the messenger group have already been decided and will set off in the near future," said Grand Duke Baloger, standing on the wide stone terrace of Longlin Fort, overlooking the snow-capped kingdom, and told his courtiers next to him. "Golo Sir Shi, led by you must be foolproof. "
"Definitely fulfill my mission, Your Majesty," Sir Goros said, his head lowering in a deep voice.
Balroger nodded, his voice relaxed: "We have indeed been closed in this bitter cold mountain for too long, and the world outside the mountains is also worth a look.
"Just take the eyes of the Duchy and take a good look at the Cecil Empire to see what is extraordinary about them.
"Also counted as 'exiles' ... we did not disappoint Tarlond."
"Tallrond ..." Sir Gorosh's eyes changed slightly. "How long are we waiting ..."
"From the beginning, this was a near-permanent wait," said Archbishop Barlower, unhurriedly. "Keep hope with hopelessness, and our patience will last."
"... Yes, Your Majesty."
Balroger was silent for a moment, retracted his gaze, looked at the trusted courtier beside him, and suddenly smiled slightly: "Speaking of it, you and your daughter haven't seen each other for a long time, have you?"
"... I saw it from a distance five years ago," Sir Goros said in a helpless and somewhat awkward manner. "A noisy child ... she's out of order in the human world."
"Young people, it's normal to be reckless or rebellious. Didn't you also jump over Longyue Cliff when you were young?" Grand Daddy Barogel shook his head with a smile, "Just as a short journey in the human world, travel It's been decades or hundreds of years, and maybe you're back after you've played enough. "
Sir Goros was silent for a moment, and sighed: "... I hope so."
...
The cold wind blew, and Maggie, who was walking beside the flight test site, could not help but sneeze, feeling a strange chill in her heart.
Rebecca walking next to him looked at the dragon-born friend curiously: "Hey? What's wrong? A cold?"
"No ... it shouldn't," Maggie rubbed her nose hard, a little strangely in her heart. "It just felt a little cold, and I couldn't help sneezing."
"Isn't it really cold?"
"Surely not," Maggie shook her head with certainty, "Dragon's body is very strong, especially not afraid of the cold. I grew up in a place colder than here, and we even wore it in the coldest winter It's a cold sport to play 'ice speeding' alone. "
Rebecca's eyes flickered and she became very interested: "Iceway speeds? What is it?"
"Ah, it's a small game that is prevalent among dragon children." Probably because of the fun of childhood, Maggie couldn't help laughing, "The main gameplay is to stuff yourself into a strong vat. From the top of the mountain, roll down the pre-drilled ice track, and at the foot of the mountain, see who stands up first-yes, if you spit, you will be disqualified, even if you are the first to stand up. "
Rebecca: "... wow!"
Sonia, who was walking on the other side, stared, staring at Maggie with a strange look: "You people in the Duchy of the Holy Dragon ... have played this stuff since childhood?"
Maggie thought about it and shook her head: "Of course not all children play like this."
Sonia was relieved: "I said ..."
"Girls are the kind of play I said-boys don't use buckets."
Sonia: "?"
This is really a custom in a foreign country ... It's hard to imagine.