It was said that it was snowing heavily on the plains outside, and Maple City and Boulder City to the west were dyed white by the snow.
Andesha held onto the railing and slowly walked to the edge of the balcony. She stood at the top of Sorin Castle and looked at the distant horizon.
It should be snowing at Winterwolf Fort, right? And Longbranch Manor … The scholars predicted that the northern part of the continent would be cold this year, and this war … would bring about an even colder winter.
She raised her head, but could not see the snowflakes falling from the sky. All she could see was the endless greenery, and the scattered towns and outposts between the vines, treetops, flowers, and green grass. All sorts of artificial lights flickered on the ground like stars, and strange fluorescent plants filled the dimly lit areas.
Unknown birds darted in and out of the treetops of the giant trees, occasionally flapping their wings in the sky, or plucking up their courage to land on the top of the castle towers and the mottled walls.
Andesha looked towards the source of the sound and saw a small beast with bright red fur that was slightly bigger than a squirrel climbing onto the balcony from somewhere. The little beast held a rose-red fruit in its mouth, and when it saw Andesha, it actually raised the fruit with its front paws in a very human-like manner, and even rubbed the fruit with its paws.
Andesha was stunned for a moment, and after looking at the little beast for a few seconds, she hesitantly reached out to take the fruit. This was a fruit that she had never seen anywhere else. The bright red skin of the fruit shone like a gemstone, and it even emitted a strange sweet smell. It was very tempting.
She remembered the name of this fruit: Sorin Tree Fruit. It was the fruit of the giant Sorin Tree, and was a 'crop' unique to this region. At the same time, it was also the source of food for many cities in the eastern part of the Holy Plains. This was perhaps the strangest and most miraculous fruit she had ever heard of in her life, but under the miraculous Sorin Tree, what else was unimaginable?
Andesha took a bite of the fruit, and as the sweet flesh stimulated her taste buds, a faint voice suddenly came from the side. "I hope you like it. After all, I don't have much to serve guests here."
Andesha curiously searched for the source of the sound, and finally found a small flower swaying in the wind near the brick where the little beast was standing. The faint voice that sounded distorted actually came from the flower bud.
"Madam Bertilla," Andesha greeted Rosebud with a strange expression, "… Thank you for your hospitality."
This seemingly weak flower bud was actually an extension of the Thorin Tree. The voice that came from the flower bud was the will of the Thorin Tree. Andesha did not know much about this powerful being. She only knew that everyone here, including her father, addressed her as Madam Bertilla, a powerful ancient Druil.
The Great Tree of Solin was the final product of the Divine Calamity of the Ansu Empire. As a commander of the Typhon Empire who paid close attention to the Ansu Empire, Andesha had naturally investigated this matter, but her investigation did not allow her to obtain too many details.
What kind of changes did humans with flesh and blood have to go through to form this miracle that covered the entire area? What was the origin of this powerful Madam Bertilla? Andesha was very curious, but she did not know who to ask.
Perhaps her father knew something. After all, all of this was related to the Dark Cult that had disappeared in the river of history …
The flower bud in the cracks of the wall swayed, and small vines gathered around it. Finally, the vines condensed into the figure of a woman. Bertila stood there, sizing up Andesha's appearance. Even though her face was expressionless and her eyes were dull, the way she looked at Andesha from head to toe made Andesha feel uncomfortable.
"Excuse me …" Andesha could not help but break the silence. "Is there anything wrong with my body?"
"Nothing, it's just that I haven't paid attention to someone like you from the Typhon Empire for a long time …" Bertilla shook her head. "Especially after becoming a plant, it's even harder for me to move around."
Andesha did not know why this powerful ancient Druil was suddenly so emotional. She only felt that the other party's words were a little strange. She lowered her eyes and did not know how to answer: "Is that so … Then I'm a little embarrassed to let you see a Typhon Empire in such a sorry state."
"Sorry state? Being injured on the battlefield is not a sorry state. Compared to you, my current state is the real sorry state. "Bertilla smiled and said something that Andesha did not understand. Just as Andesha was about to ask something, she suddenly looked at the direction of the balcony's entrance." Ah, it seems like someone is here to visit you … Perhaps I should leave for a moment. "
Andesha wanted to stop the other party, but before she could open her mouth, the woman in front of her suddenly turned into flower petals and vines and quickly left the balcony. Andesha could only frown and look back at the balcony's entrance. She saw her father there, pushing the door open and walking towards her.
Not long ago, this was a scene that she could not even imagine in her dreams, but today it appeared so naturally in front of her.
"Your body has just recovered a little, try not to move for too long." Bard looked at his daughter and could not help but ask with concern, "How do you feel today?"
"Much better," Andesha replied. "I'll get up and move around according to my physical condition."
After a simple question and answer, the father and daughter fell silent at the same time, maintaining an awkward silence on the balcony.
Reality proved that more than ten years of separation was not so easy to completely resolve, especially when both of them had experienced too many things in the past ten years, and had gone through unimaginable paths in their lives. When they first met, Andesha and Bard had talked about many things, but after that, they would inevitably fall into this kind of awkwardness every time they met. They did not know what to say, and they did not know what to ask. They had already inquired about what was going on on the first day, and after that … they were two strangers.
But both father and daughter were trying to change this situation.
"I was talking to Madam Bertilla just now," Andesha finally broke the silence after thinking hard for a long time. "She gave me this …"
She showed him the half-eaten fruit in her hand, and Bard's face showed a strange expression after a glance. "She recently started to like giving people fruits again … Well, it's not a bad habit. But Andesha, you still have to be careful. Bertilla, she … It's best if you hold back when interacting with her. "
"Why do you say that? You don't have a good relationship with Madam Bertilla? "Andesha asked subconsciously.
Bard quickly waved his hand and said, "No, at least we have a good relationship now. But she's far more powerful than you think. She's a person with a very complicated past."
"… In my opinion, to be able to grow into a giant tree that covers the plains is already amazing enough. What's more complicated and bizarre than that?" Andesha smiled. She could see that her father did not want to talk about the secrets behind Madam Bertilla, so she quickly changed the topic with a joking attitude. "Compared to Madam Bertilla's life, I'm more curious about your life these past few years."
The conversation continued, and at least this conversation did not seem so awkward. This is a good start, both Andesha and Bard thought at the same time.
"I thought you wouldn't want to listen to me after I told you about my experience of joining the Dark Cult," Bard said with a self-deprecating smile. "It's not a good story."
"I was so shocked that I didn't think of anything to ask. But anyway, it's all in the past," Andesha looked at her father with a serious look in her remaining eye. "Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to talk about it …"
"There's nothing to be unwilling about. Like you said, it's all in the past. It's just some old stories now," Bard waved his hand, his attitude was very carefree. "And they're all boring old stories. I spent the first few years in the laboratory. I showed you the traces of the modifications, the artificial heart and so on … These things continued my life, but also completely separated me from the God of War. And after that, I basically moved around as a dark priest, mainly in Ansu. You know about the evil deeds of the Dark Cult, I've done almost all of them.
"I have no intention of defending myself, and I don't think that the good deeds I did after that can offset those terrible deeds … I was led by fanaticism during that time. Now that I think about it, if I were to be judged for all my crimes, I would have been hanged several times."
Andesha listened to her father's indifferent attitude and finally could not help but interrupt him. "What happened after that? After you left the Dark Cult and worked for Cecil's people … How did you survive? "
"… It wasn't that long. It was very short compared to the dark days of more than a decade, but it was incredible." Bard smiled. "I became a researcher. Sometimes I participated in the research, sometimes I was the only dark priest to be studied. Other than that, I spent my free time … doing math problems."
Andesha was surprised. "Math problems?"
"It's about mathematics, runes, and arcanotech devices. When people have nothing else to do, they will always find something to do. That's why I'm interested in them," Bard said, and suddenly looked at Andesha, "Are you interested in them?"
Andesha was a little embarrassed. She recalled the books Mathilda gave her and some of the classic "problems" that Mathilda mentioned in the letters. Her eyes wandered. "I …"
"You should give it a try, Andesha. It's not just a matter of interest for you," Bard continued. "You should understand that these things will be very useful in the future. Even if you don't consider it from a personal point of view, as a general, you must have enough knowledge to be competent. In the past, knowledge might only be knowledge of marching and fighting, combat experience, how to organize an army, and how to issue and execute all kinds of orders. But now, you need to know more than that …"
Andesha listened and could not help but feel a little embarrassed. She actually agreed with her father's teachings. She was not an ignorant and slow person. She knew that the changes in the era, new weapons, and new tactics were a challenge to contemporary commanders. But people could not be lumped together. She remembered that when she was a child, she was extremely angry and challenged her father to solve a math problem. After she did not solve it for a day, she became even angrier.
She was still angry when she thought about it.
Bard did not seem to notice the subtle changes in his daughter's eyes. Perhaps he had finally found a topic to talk to his daughter, so he was immersed in it. He began to talk about math and runes enthusiastically. He also talked about the interesting problems he faced as a "researcher" here. Of course, this was excluding the secret projects.
Andesha stood opposite him. She was at a loss at the beginning, but gradually, she became thoughtful.
She looked at her father, and the faded memories in her mind gradually overlapped with the scene in front of her. Was father a person who liked to preach?
She did not remember.
Bard finally finished his long lecture on the spur of the moment. He woke up from his incessant rambling and looked at his daughter awkwardly. "I seem to have said something very boring in your eyes."
"It is indeed very boring," Andesha immediately said without mercy. "But seeing that you are living a good life here, I feel a little relieved."
"… It's okay, it's okay," Bard said dryly. He then looked at Andesha and suddenly hesitated.
Andesha noticed this and asked, "What do you want to say to me?"
"… There is indeed another thing that I came to you for today," Bard said as he organized his words. He knew that what he was about to say would be difficult for his daughter to accept. "Listen, this matter may go against your current principles, so you can reject it from the beginning. But I think you still need to consider it carefully because it is very important to Typhon and Cecil."
Andesha seemed to have a premonition. She looked at Bard seriously and said, "If you want to persuade me to completely side with Cecil, then you don't have to say it. I know that your position today is the result of more than ten years of hardships, and I understand that. But I … I still want to return to Typhon. "
"I knew you would say that." Bard shook his head. "Don't worry, no one will force you. But His Majesty Gwen wants me to convey a message to you."
"He?" Andesha frowned. "What does he want?"
"Cecil is trying to train a special kind of soldiers that can resist the mental corruption of the gods. These soldiers are very important to the current disaster caused by the gods. For this … he wants to obtain Typhon's technology to mass-produce extraordinary individuals."
A gust of wind happened to blow, and a soft rustling sound came from the crown of the giant tree. Andesha was stunned for a few seconds when she heard the rustling of leaves on the branches. She opened her mouth slightly and said, "Ah???"
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