Cecil's people had a powerful warship. It was equipped with the Iridescent Device, which had the longest range and the most destructive power that humans had ever built. After charging, it could launch a lethal beam of light at a target on land from far away. It was said that it was also equipped with live ammunition that was equally powerful. It could launch a similarly lethal cross-border attack from a longer distance.
On the battlefield of the deicide, it was a warship like this that launched the final attack on the God of War.
After the war ended, the Cecil's warship did not leave the place it was patrolling. What made many Typhon soldiers uneasy was that the warship named "Winter" was still active in the eastern coastal area. Every time the weather was clear, the sentries on the mountain could even see the steel monster floating on the sea, its raised wings glistening under the sun.
"Yes, Your Majesty. It's still there," Ferdinand's expression became serious, and he said with a hint of worry, "We thought that Cecil's people would at least let that ship return to its home port to resupply before the end of winter. But now it seems that the ship's endurance on the sea is far beyond our imagination … It's still active in the eastern coastal area, but it hasn't come close to land."
"… The Empire's property doesn't just include land. The sea is also very important." Rosetta looked into Ferdinand's eyes. "Where's our ship?"
"Braveheart and the Red Knight that just launched have already reached the vicinity of that ship, but … we can only watch from afar." Ferdinand's expression was a little unpleasant. "The Cecil's ship is a real warship, just like their mobile fortress on land. When the Winter was first built, it was designed with the goal of being fully armed. Our ship is no match for it in terms of military force. All Earl Owen Dyson can do now is monitor it. On the other hand, it's impossible for us to build a warship that can rival the Winter in a short period of time. "
He then paused, and continued, "Cecil's people obviously know this. They didn't react to our surveillance and only maintained their anchor at the coastal area. Theoretically, that area doesn't belong to our territorial waters, but the Winter's weapons can still cover the mountains to the east of Winter Castle."
"… So, this is a form of deterrence." Rosetta sighed. "An absolute deterrence … That's really Gwen Cecil's style."
Mathilda sat quietly at the side. When Rosetta and Ferdinand were conversing, she only listened quietly without saying a word. It was only when her father had quietened down that she cautiously voiced her thoughts. "Did the Cecil people park the 'Winter' near our coastline just to intimidate us with their military might?"
Rosetta glanced at his daughter in surprise. "You seem to have an opinion?"
"I'm just worried … Cecil's people stopped the ship at the same spot to prepare for the upcoming negotiations," Mathilda said with a frown. "After all, we were the ones who started this' war 'in theory. Even if there's a hidden agenda behind this, Cecil's people will definitely demand an explanation from Typhon. But no matter what conditions they raise, I'm afraid it'll be difficult for us to accept them."
"So, they need to further strengthen their 'right to speak.'" Rosetta looked at Mathilda approvingly, but then shook his head slightly. "Unfortunately, with Typhon's current situation, maintaining a stable situation is already at its limit. There's actually very little we can do."
"If we can know the intentions of Cecil's people in advance, we can at least maintain an initiative," Mathilda immediately said. "How much we can get at the negotiation table depends on how much effort we put in outside the negotiation table."
Hearing the conversation between the Emperor and the Princess, Grand Duke Ferdinand finally broke the silence again after a short moment of thought. "Winterwolf Fort and the surrounding areas are still in the hands of Cecil's people. They show no signs of retreating."
"You're saying that Cecil's people intend to take over Winterwolf Fort and the surrounding areas?" Mathilda looked at Grand Duke Ferdinand, and then shook her head gently. "… Although this is possible, I have a feeling that Gwen Cecil's plan won't be so simple and crude …"
The room fell silent for a moment. Rosetta subconsciously rubbed the ruby ring on his left hand with his right hand. After a long while, he said thoughtfully, "No matter what, there's only a week left before the conference begins."
…
In the deepest part of the Obsidian Palace, there was a staircase that led to the underground of the palace. A brass door protected by layers of magic runes stood quietly at the end of the staircase.
This was not the location of the royal treasury, nor did it involve the top secrets of the royal family. However, it was still a restricted area. Apart from a few elites of the Royal Association of Mages and members of the Augustus Family, no one was allowed to approach the brass door. Even the guards guarding the staircase and the door were sophisticated and expensive magic puppets and mechanical devices. These soulless magic machines were loyal and reliable, and would never leak secrets.
There was only one reason for such tight security: one of the secrets of the Typhon Empire's magical technology that far surpassed the other countries for hundreds of years lay in the depths of the brass door.
Behind the door, a large square hall was brightly lit. Complex and mysterious magic runes covered the walls and the roof of the hall. A large number of buzzing, faintly glowing magic devices were arranged around the hall. Countless magic-conducting metals and rune chains extended from those magic devices and converged along the grooves on the ground to the center of the hall. At the focal point where these chains and metal rails converged, a low buzzing sound was emitting from an operating table made of alloy, covered with runes and intricate crystals.
The president of the Royal Association of Mages, Windsor Mappel, was busy at the operating table. The head maid of the Obsidian Palace, Diana, was lying quietly on the operating table. The black-haired lady's eyes were closed as if she had fallen asleep. Her usual black maid uniform had been replaced by a wide white overcoat. There was a hole in the belly of the overcoat, and what was exposed under the hole was not human skin, but a bionic skin and an alloy cover.
Under the alloy cover, where a normal human's abdominal cavity was, a large number of sophisticated components were operating in an orderly manner. The small magic mechanism's surface was flashing with runes, and a copper core was trembling slightly above the bionic spine. Although it had been operating for 700 years, its surface still looked as clean as new.
On the rest of Diana's body, there were many pipes and thin chains extending out from the parts covered by the overcoat. They were connected to the corresponding interfaces on the edge of the operating table, or directly to some grooves and pipes on the ground.
Windsor Mappel carefully checked the working of these devices and slightly adjusted the status of some parts as needed. From time to time, she would straighten up and record something in the notebook floating in the air, or use the magic device next to the operating table to perform some complicated operations. Her movements were smooth and it was obvious that she had done this work more than once.
After a long time, the president of the association finally finished what she was doing. She bent down and carefully adjusted the delicate structure of Diana's abdomen. She closed the cover and the bionic skin again. After confirming that the bionic skin closed and grew on its own, she got up and nodded to the head maid on the platform. "The maintenance is done, Miss Diana."
The black-haired maid lying on the platform opened her eyes in an instant. Lines of data were quickly refreshed in the depths of her clear eyes. After a few continuous buzzing sounds and the sound of mechanical devices in her body, she sat up and tore off the tubes connected to her body. She smiled at Windsor Mappel and said, "Thank you for your maintenance, Miss Mappel. I feel much more relaxed now."
"It's good that it's useful." Windsor Mappel also smiled back. "After all, what I can do now is only some limited adjustments. The more core structure is beyond my understanding and beyond the processing technology of this era."
"You've helped a lot. After all, I can't debug my own magic mechanism and mind core in a dormant state." Diana sat on the cold platform and moved her hands and feet to confirm the work of the body joints and the corresponding bionic muscle fibers. She nodded with satisfaction. "Very good. The strength of the left limb has improved. This problem has been bothering me for several years."
Windsor Mappel looked at the 'iron woman' from the ancient Kingdom of Gondor. Although it was not the first time she helped her with hardware maintenance, and it was not the first time she came into contact with the technical knowledge of the Gondor era, she could not help but be impressed by the incredible ancient technology embodied in Diana. At the same time, she yearned for the history of the Kingdom of Gondor. It was not until Diana finished checking her physical condition and walked down the platform that the president of the Association of Mages woke up from her daze. She looked at Diana and asked casually, "By the way, Miss Diana, do you know that you have recently … 'painted' something again?"
"Recently?" Diana was slightly stunned. She immediately understood what Windsor Mappel meant. The glimmer in her eyes dimmed a little, and then she frowned. "I've been doodling again recently …"
"Yes, on the wall of your room, and on the clothes of a passing mage apprentice." Windsor Mappel nodded. "The content is the same as before. Those weird dots and lines … It seems that you don't remember."
"I really don't remember." Diana could not help but knock on her forehead. Although her mind core was not in her head, this action was a 'personality behavior' that was set in her hundreds of years ago. It had become one of her habits. "Sorry … Anyway, please apologize to the mage apprentice for me. My reckless behavior must have caused him a lot of trouble."
"Trouble … Not really. The mage apprentice looked quite happy. He seemed to have wanted your 'doodles' for a long time … Sigh, young man." Windsor Mappel shook her head with a strange expression. She then looked at Diana from head to toe. "But then again, you still can't remember the meaning behind those doodles? No impression at all? "
"No impression." Diana shook her head. "The relevant memory is blank. I don't even remember the doodles themselves. If I hadn't seen the evidence from others, I wouldn't have known the existence of those patterns."
"Unfortunately." Windsor sighed. "We have checked your mind core and memory device several times. At least on the surface, there is no sign of damage or impact. We have also tried to use different external stimuli to awaken your damaged memory, but except for a few experimental accidents, there was no result."
Diana did not speak again. She just stood quietly by the console. On the delicate and flawless face created by ancient technology, there was only calmness.
…
In the City of Cecil, deep in the renovated and expanded Basilica of Holy Light, Veronica, holding a platinum scepter in her hand, smiled as she sent away the last high-ranking priest who was seeking guidance. The holy light around her gradually calmed down and turned into a thin glimmer. The holy and ethereal sound in the church also subsided.
A soft chewing sound came from beside her. Veronica looked in the direction of the sound and saw a small head floating in the air. Emily's spiritual body was formed in the holy light around her, and she was focused on eating the thin and calm light.
Veronica smiled and reached out to stroke Emily's hair. The spiritual body that ordinary people could not touch seemed to materialize in Veronica's hands. The little girl formed from holy light raised her head and smiled brightly at Veronica. Then, she lowered her head and continued to focus on eating.
The next moment, Wright's voice came into Veronica's ears. "Sorry, this child has become more and more naughty recently."
"Good morning, Grand Patriarch." Veronica looked up and nodded to Wright who had just walked into the prayer hall with a gentle smile on her face. "It's okay, Emily didn't cause me any trouble. Besides, she didn't eat much."
"As long as she doesn't eat the blessings I use for meditation." Wright looked helplessly at Emily who was swimming in the floating holy light around her like a fish. He sighed and said, "She can't distinguish the difference and effect of various holy light spells. When she's hungry, she will eat the holy light around her …"
"This just proves our research theory. All forms of holy light are essentially different forms of shaping and guiding the same kind of energy. This is a technical concept, not a theological one. So in Emily's eyes, all forms of holy light are essentially the same. As long as the energy level is still within the scope of her digestion, she can eat it …"
Veronica had a smile on her face as she discussed Emily and the nature of Holy Light with Wright. However, Wright and Emily weren't the only ones in her field of vision.
At the bottom of her field of vision, a blank area was floating with constantly refreshing words and data.
"Second traversal roll call has ended.
"Internal security system – normal; Internal energy system – normal; Internal production facilities – normal; Internal controllable units – normal;
"External security system – normal; External energy system – loss of 1%; External controllable units – offline;
"Traversal of external security forces and roll call again …
"65 nodes offline. No failure or damage reports found.
"Alert level has been raised …"
(End of Chapter)
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