After the announcement, everyone took the oath of office as per Roland's request.
It was the first time for the officials to see such a process, but they still did it meticulously. Many of them even puffed out their chests.
There was nothing special in the oath itself. "To be faithful to the King, and to do his duty," was what every courtier used to say. But when it was uttered in such a formal place, in the presence of all, it seemed to take on a form, and to take on a meaning that could not be ignored.
Roland knew that they were gradually becoming one.
"Now that you've passed the inauguration ceremony, it's time to get to work." He stood up from the main seat and patted the big map on the wall behind him. "Eliminate the demons from the Fertile Plains, ensure the safety of the northwest of Neverwinter, and lay the foundation for humans to return to the hinterland of the continent — this is the main goal of Graycastle next year!"
The two defeats in the Battle of Divine Will had forced them into a desperate situation. Behind them was the sea, and there was no way out. Whether it was in terms of survival resources or strategic significance, advancing westward was the only way out.
If they wanted to gain a foothold on the vast plains, they had to pull out the nail that was Taquila — without the God's Stone mine, the demons could not erect the obelisk, and Graycastle could truly have a safe frontline territory. After that, whether it was to concentrate on development or wait for an opportunity to counterattack, the initiative would be in their hands.
After all, humans did not need to rely on the Red Mist to move.
When the technological power reached a qualitative change, the attack range of weapons would also be greatly improved.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" the officials said in unison.
After the meeting, Roland returned to his office. Nightingale had already made a cup of black tea and placed it on his desk.
"Thank you for your hard work."
She still looked relaxed, and the dried fish trembling at the corner of her mouth showed that she was in a good mood.
"Ah... thank you." Roland picked up the fragrant teacup and suddenly thought of what Anna had said last night. He could not help but look at her again.
As for what the agreement was, Anna had never explained in detail. However, Nightingale had been with everyone during the coronation ceremony in the morning and the wedding banquet in the evening, so it didn't look like she could fulfill the "agreement".
This riddle was really hard for him to understand.
Moreover, Roland faintly felt that if he asked them directly, neither of them would give him the real answer.
"What happened?" Just then, Nightingale's voice suddenly sounded in his ear, "Do I look good today?"
"No … uh …" He quickly took a sip of tea to hide his absent-mindedness. "I mean, you're right …"
"So is it 'yes' or 'no'?" The latter bent down and put her face in front of his. Roland could even smell the fragrance coming from her hair. "Your heart is in a mess."
Before he could reply, Nightingale had already left in a flash. She leaned back on the recliner and began to happily chew on the dried fish.
Realizing that she was teasing him, Roland shook his head helplessly, but at the same time, he felt lucky.
Anyway, at least he was sure of one thing.
She was still the Nightingale that he was familiar with.
*****
Western Region, above the Wild Snowfield.
"What's the current speed?"
There was no answer.
Lightning's ears were filled with the howling of the wind. It was very difficult to even open her mouth. If she spoke against the wind, her tongue would probably be torn apart by the knife-like turbulence. She had to operate her magic and activate "Synchronization".
In an instant, the bone-chilling coldness disappeared from her face and the noise of the wind dropped to a bearable level.
"Maggie, what's the current speed?" She asked again.
"Let me see, coo!" The latter poked half of her head out from the collar under her neck. "Almost twice as fast as a gray eagle, coo."
Probably related to the instinct of a beast, Maggie had an excellent sense of speed. Compared to estimating speed based on magic consumption, it was obviously more convenient to fly with her.
"Three hundred kilometers per hour?" Lightning sighed slightly. When a gray eagle swooped down from a high altitude, its speed could reach up to 150 kilometers per hour. Few targets could escape such an attack. Now she had far surpassed the gray eagle, but in her heart, she was somewhat not happy.
Three hundred kilometers … This was already the limit of flying without relying on synchronization.
Since the evolution of her ability, she spent a lot of time familiarizing herself with her new ability and mastered the active control of magic synchronization. In other words, as long as she could endure the various discomforts of high-speed flying, she could always keep the consumption to a minimum.
In this regard, His Majesty also updated her with a full set of equipment, such as a circular mirror windshield, a double-layer thermal insulation lining, and a close-fitting backpack with less resistance. It could be said that the limit of weight had been achieved to the extreme.
This series of measures allowed her to continuously break her own flying record, but the limitations of her body still existed. Now it seemed that three hundred kilometers per hour might be an insurmountable hurdle.
Once he used Synchronization, the rate at which he consumed his mana would increase dramatically.
Lightning could not help but envy the strong body of an Extraordinary.
Of course, the ability had been determined the moment it was awakened, and the only thing she could rely on was hard work.
Perhaps after returning to Neverwinter, she could ask Lorgar for advice on how to train a stronger body.
"Watch out, coo!" Maggie suddenly shouted in her arms. "We're less than 100 kilometers away from the Taquila Ruins!"
"I see …" Lightning closed her eyes and carefully felt the storage of magic in her body. Then she curled up the corner of her mouth and said, "Then let's give the demons a surprise."
After mastering the new ability, His Majesty finally agreed to her search for game … no, to investigate. Even at the lowest cruising speed, she was far faster than those clumsy Devilbeasts. As long as she planned her magic well, the possibility of encountering danger was very small.
However, Lightning was not satisfied with this. She still remembered the embarrassing scene three years ago when she first explored the Barbarian Land and was scared out of her wits by the demon ice sculpture in the Stone Tower Ruins. As an explorer, he had actually lost to his guts. Such humiliation had to be compensated!
Fear came from the unknown. For her, the demons were no longer scary monsters.
"Lightning, go all out!"
Hearing this, the pigeon immediately shrank its head into its collar.
The little girl began to increase her speed. Even with the protection of Synchronicity, she could feel the sharp increase in the sound of the wind, which turned from a sharp screech to a deep roar. The white land seemed to have turned into a pool of sticky milk. Not only did the outline of the land become blurred, but it also became more and more obvious that the land was flowing backward.
Until the moment came —
With a loud noise, everything fell silent.
She seemed to have broken free from the shackles of the world. The wind and snow were left behind, and she could swim freely in the whole sky.
In His Majesty's words, she had become the guide of sound.
No matter how many times she repeated it, Lightning would not feel tired.
She even felt that she was born for this moment.
A few minutes later, the Taquila Ruins appeared at the end of the horizon.
However, to her surprise, the land around the ruins suddenly changed color. At first glance, it looked like the muddy soil after the snow had melted. But when she took a closer look, she found that it was a mixture of flesh and blood! The dark demonic beasts pressed down on the Taquila Ruins from the end of her sight, like a tide hitting the demons' defense line.
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