The night has not faded away, and the early 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 **** of the earth, and the stars are still covering the land sleeping in the darkness.
Near the border of Tifeng, a tall tower with silver-white spires and off-white walls stands quietly on the high ground next to the shadow swamp. Xinghui sprinkles from the sky and outlines a layer of glow on the surface of the tower. The ring floats out of the sky at the height of the tower and quietly rotates in the night sky. Star light shines on the surface of the ring, constantly reflecting various brilliance.
A magical message came from afar, and a series of originally dim runes on the ring suddenly lighted.
The middle-aged mage guarding the messaging tower was awakened by a harsh noise, he quickly got rid of meditation, stood up from the rune formations in the "Listening Hall", and a complex and gorgeous rune was on the wall in front of him. Constantly lit, the emblem of the Royal Mage Association projected in front of the runes.
The mage's eyes changed, and he quickly walked towards the complex law circle depicted on the wall, and then pressed on the specific one of the rune stones: "Here is the Shadow Marsh Boundary Tower, please speak."
"Order from Aldernan," a slightly distorted voice passed into the mage's ears. "Notify the border post immediately, intercept ..."
Listening to the voice from afar, the middle-aged mage's brows quickly frowned. Without hesitation, he turned around and slaps a nearby rune stone pillar, calling another mage who was standing by on the lower floor: "Nim, to change shifts , I'm going to the outpost, and the imperial order is urgent-go back and check the records yourself! "
After waiting for a response from another guardian mage, he hastily walked towards the window on the side of the hall and hung nearby robes, canes, hats, etc., all flying by themselves. If there is life, it is usually set on the middle-aged mage. When the cane finally fell into the palm, the crystal window depicting many runes had slammed open--
The middle-aged mage jumped forward and flew towards the still dark sky outside the tower.
Under the starlight, the mage in a robe, like a bird, quickly swept over the high ground where the tower was located. Behind the mage, the ring on the top of the tower was still spinning quietly, and more runes were lit in order. Another on-duty mage has taken over the circle, and this expensive and sophisticated magical creation buzzes in the night, and begins to forward orders from Aldernan to the next messaging tower ...
...
Steel wheels rolled over the guide rails embedded in the ground, repulsive runes emitted a faint light on the bottom of the car and the surface of the sides of the carriages, the power ridges released surging energy, and the magic guidance device buzzed during high-speed operation , The mechanical python made of metal gnawed on the ground, stirred the mist on the ground in the early spring in the dark night, and rushed towards the border at high speed.
The mechanical noise during the operation of the wheels, certain bearings and levers echoed in the quiet compartment. The dark, tense atmosphere in the compartment of the truck after the lights went out kept everyone in a tight and sober state, Yuri raised his head The vision of the transcendent made him see the pair of eyes in the dark, and the worry on Wendy's face nearby.
"We've crossed the Shadow Marsh checkpoint and will soon reach the border," whispered Yuri. "Even if Aldernan responds quickly, the magical messenger will take time to transfer, and most of this line will also It can only be transmitted to the messenger tower next to Shadow Marsh-Tifeng's messenger tower is limited, and the end messenger can only be undertaken by manpower, and they cannot keep up. "
"I'm worried about the people who stay in the country," Wendy said softly. "The whistleblower appeared earlier than expected, and many people are probably too late to transfer. The identity of the lower-middle class believers can easily be revealed by mutual reports ... and the empire. The population registration management began several years ago, and it is difficult for compatriots who have been exposed to hide for too long. "
Yuri frowned, and suddenly said softly, "... the exposed compatriots are not necessarily life-threatening."
Wendy caught a curious look when he heard the words: "Why do you say that?"
"If it's Rosetta Augustus ..." Yuri lowered his voice even more than before, saying cautiously, "He's more likely to try to attract those who never sleep, especially those who have mastered the technology of dreamland and nerve cord technology. Middle priest ... "
Wendy's eyes changed slightly, and she heard Yuri continue to say, "The Royal Mage Association is fully loyal to him. The great magicians should have found a way to disconnect the everlasting person from the spiritual network, the whistleblower who broke away from the spiritual network. 'It's evidence, and the everlasting person out of the mind network ... will become a technician controlled by the Augustus family.'
Wendy opened her mouth subconsciously: "You ..."
"I used to live in Aldernan, and ..." Yuri suddenly gave a complicated smile, "I have a certain understanding of Rosetta Augustus, and as a former nobleman, I also Know what the rulers of a country will think of when it comes to things that help rule ... the royal family will soon issue an order to soothe the Sleepers, and Rosetta Augustus will arrange for it A series of sounding reasons to eliminate people's resistance to the Dark Sect. The aristocratic council will fully support him-we will have some priests become secret advisers and aides to the various families in Aldernan, others will join the Royal Mage Association or This will not take long for the Industry Association. "
Wendy looked at Yuri quietly.
She didn't understand the nobility, but she knew that Yuri was once a member of them, and what the other party said should not be false, these ... it seems that the rules of the upper empire's power group follow and how this set of rules operates The inevitable result below.
"Have you thought of this before?"
"I thought about it before the evacuation operation started," Yuri said softly. "And I believe a few other people also thought about it, but we didn't say it all in tacit understanding-some people were to prevent shaking, some People ... they're already waiting for Aldernan's invitation. "
Wendy couldn't help but bit her lip: "... I thought the deterrence of a rogue outside was enough ..."
"The extravagant wanderer needs the spiritual network to extend his power, and the spiritual network is not enough to carry this power now-the priests at the middle level and above know the technology, they know this, and they also know the strength of the Royal Mage Association ... even this The intermediate risk is huge, and some people are willing to take the risk, "Yuri said slowly, shaking his head helplessly," there are too many speculators, and staying in Tifeng is very attractive to many people-especially those destined to be unable to be People accepted by the 'Cecil Order'. "
Wendy was silent for a moment, and in the darkness and stillness, she heard Yury's voice with a sigh--
"Split is a necessity, Ms. Wendy, especially when we are over-inflated ... now is the best situation, at least there are no rebels in the archbishop."
"I thought that the spiritual network connected us all ..." Wendy sighed softly, "but it's where it is today."
Yuri didn't say anything.
Several glimmers of light passed through the narrow air holes on the side of the carriage, tearing a bright line in the dark freight carriage.
There were several figures shaking between the crates, and several eyes were in front of the air holes. A bishop muttered in a low voice not far away: "It's dawn outside ..."
Yuri approached the gap behind him and stuck his eyes to the narrow gap. He saw the rising sun rising from the end of the wilderness, and the brilliant corona was illuminating the entire plain and the mountains at the end of the plain, and the lake inlaid on the plain. There was a shatter of golden light with the river, and the nearby vegetation quickly retreated back by the railway, forming a phantom.
The mist did not know when it had been scattered by the sun.
"We are close to the border," Yuri immediately reminded, "note, there are cards here—"
There was a sudden shaking, from the bottom of the compartment sounded the squeaking noise of the friction between steel wheels and rails. At the same time, there was a significant tremor on both sides of the compartment. Outside the walls, there was a "click" of certain mechanical devices. The sound rang instantly.
The brakes are pressurizing the wheels, and the repulsion mechanism outside the carriage is adjusting the polarity one by one-the train is decelerating.
"Don't be nervous," Wendy said immediately, "We are approaching the border post and are docking normally."
"I'm going to check the condition of the car in front," Yuri said slightly, and whispered, "There's a lot of caution when you're near the connection."
...
The sun shone on the outpost near the Tiffon-Cecil border, and a bit of cold wind was blowing from the plain. Several heavily armed Tiffon soldiers waited on the platform, watching the car from Butterfield The freight train coming in the direction gradually slowed down, and approached the docking line of the inspection area steadily. The commander of the small station narrowed his eyes, forcibly controlled the urge to yawn in the cold early morning, and instructed the soldiers to step forward to the train. Perform a routine check.
While waiting for the train to open, the outpost commander took a deep breath of icy air from the plain, looking up while looking up-two battle mage towers stood on both sides of the railway, and the mage tower The huge arcane focused crystals glowed brightly in the sun, while several lower combat mages and knights stood in nearby sentries, watching the train stop.
His sight continued to move farther, across the fence, across an open field, across the border wall and the blockade on the other side, and finally landed on another outpost-the Cecil border post, Several square houses were built on the concrete platform. The magic crystal device floated in the middle of the open space. Several weapons called "railguns" were placed on the top of the fence. The muzzle pointed to the high sky.
Officer Tiffon glanced at the soldier who had begun the inspection task, then turned back, took out a small dagger from his waist, and reflected the blade on the edge of the sun, shaking the Cecil post twice.
A few seconds later, a similar light flew over his eyes.
The young officer grinned, then put away his dagger and walked towards the train.
A man with a beard and a blue uniform leaned out of the carriage. He was the captain of the train, a Tiefon.
"Full of textiles and alchemy materials," the bearded man said to the young officer with a smile, "go and exchange some gold for our emperor Huang Chengcheng."
The young officer held out his hand: "Show me the list."
"Given the soldier just now ..."
The officer frowned. "I haven't seen it yet."
The bearded man had no choice but to find the documents that he had with him and handed them to the officer in front of him: "Oh, okay, here you are."
The officer took the list, then turned around and walked towards the carriages not far away.
The bearded captain seemed to casually glance not far away. Suddenly, a faint black spot appeared in the eastern sky and flew towards this side like a flying bird.
The captain's eyes changed, and he immediately turned to the officer who was carrying 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 Tiefon officer looked at the soldier next to him: "Have you checked?"
"Checked it, sir," the soldier replied immediately, "it fits the list."
Officer Tifeng glanced down at the list in his hand and gave a glance at the bearded man next to him, then grabbed the handrail at the door of the compartment, stepped on the door pedal with one leg, and probed his upper body inward.
The shadow on the horizon is getting closer and closer, and even the human-shaped outline can be blurred.
"Mr. Knight," the bearded man stepped forward, smiling flatteringly, "there are alchemy materials ..."
Officer Tifeng's eyes swept slowly across the carriage. In the dark freight carriage, a large number of crates were piled up, but nothing else.
It would obviously be a waste of time to count those crates again.
The captain stood outside the carriage with a smile, but stared at the officer's movements without blinking.
He did not dare to bribe the other party, nor did he dare to make any verbal inducement, because these two actions would immediately cause suspicion-the guards here are the reserve knights of the Black Steel Knights. The target soldiers are different from other places and are very alert.
"Mr. Knight, we will have to undergo an inspection on the Cecil side ..."
Officer Tifeng finally retracted his body from the door of the carriage, and his boots fell on the ground with a click.
"To be honest, this way of crossing the border just to have to stop and check twice is a bit unreasonable," the officer said casually. "What do you think?"
"I dare not say this," the bearded man hurriedly waved his hand. "The rules for designing the big man above definitely make sense. We just follow the rules ..."
"Sooner or later, optimization is needed," the officer grinned, "after all, everything just started ..."
"Who knows ..." The bearded man spread his hand. "Anyway, for me, the big guy behind me is already dizzying."
"Let's go," the officer seemed to think it was a waste of time to discuss these matters with the people in front of him, and finally waved his hand. "Pass the verification, the docking time is almost the same, let go!"
The bearded man smiled suddenly, bowed like a gentleman, then turned and climbed up the handrail of the carriage, and within a second, the signal bell inside the train rang.
This large and complex steel machine began to accelerate slowly, and gradually left Tifeng's outpost, crossed the fence and low wall, crossed the wide buffer zone, and sailed smoothly towards Cecil ...
It was not until the train crossed the border that a middle-aged mage in a black robe finally landed on the Tifeng post.