This was a dark age. The once glorious light of civilization had fallen to the ground. Divine authority and royal authority were like iron chains that bound the land and the people. Far away, there was a demon wave in the wastelands. Nearby, there were ferocious beasts in the wilderness. Survival was something that required great courage and hard work.
But this was also an age of 'innocence'. The iron-like aristocratic order maintained the iron-like 'aristocratic spirit'. The rule-makers were intoxicated with their own 'glory' and 'orthodoxy' and stubbornly carried out those dogmatic morals and rules. The existence of the Extraordinary had established the law of 'strength over wisdom'. Everyone was used to fighting on the battlefield with strength. Outside of that, trickery had become shallow and stagnant for thousands of years.
So the people of this era were destined to be no match for an old b * tch who had been hanging in the sky for millions of years outside of the battlefield.
Of course, Gawain himself thought that all of his plans were upright and upright.
Heti had been learning from Gwen for two years, but she still could not keep up with the old man's thinking. She did not get it for a while. "You … You want to do business with the Army of the East and the Royal Army at the same time?"
"They have gold and resources, and we have industrial products. This is a very profitable business." Gwen said matter-of-factly.
Heti was a little hesitant. "But the Army of the East is very likely to have secretly colluded with the cultists. If we sell the potion to them, won't it be the same as helping the Apocalypse cult?"
Gwen looked at Heti. "First of all, don't forget that before the civil war broke out, some of the retailers of Cecil's Chamber of Commerce had been in contact with the East. They had been doing a small business with the potion all along. It's just that they did not expand. Secondly … Do you think that the East will really benefit from us selling the potion to them?"
Heti thought for a moment. The faces of the last batch of 'friendly trading partners' who had been dumped by Cecil's industrial products came to her mind.
Ah, the grass on Viscount Calor's grave should be a foot tall, right? Count Hoffman's body had not been fully pieced together yet.
"Broaden your horizons and broaden your thinking," Gawain said unhurriedly. Although Heidi was already an adult, Gawain had become more and more fond of educating people recently. Perhaps it was because he was always called ancestor. "Don't stick to the interests in front of you. There's a lot to be learned between gains and losses."
"I see." Heidi nodded repeatedly with a serious look. "I'll contact Padrick."
"Let Padrick organize a group of smart and relatively low-key businessmen to be in charge of this. We want to do business with everyone, but some business can't be done with too much fanfare." Gwen nodded. "Also, send someone to the weapons design institute to study how to make 'foreign trade weapons' …"
…
While Gwen and Heti were discussing a plan for the 'foreign trade' of Cecil's Principality, in the depths of the dense forest on the west side of Cecil City, a special team was moving swiftly and cautiously through the vines and bushes.
In all kinds of stories, the ancient forest, which had been formed for thousands of years, was often full of dangers. The deeper one went, the more dangerous it was. In the areas that had not been touched by human civilization, there were countless terrible legends that parents used to scare their children. There were bloodthirsty wolf beasts, weird wizards, moving ancient trees, and cruel witches. It seemed that everything that could frighten ordinary people would live in the hinterland of the forest and be ready to devour everyone who entered at any time.
Of course, the real depths of the forest were not as absurd as described in the stories, but there were indeed many dangerous factors here. In the vast shadow of the towering ancient trees, the most important residents were wild beasts and poisonous insects. In some more special areas, such as near the magic focus, there were even monsters and spiritual creatures that could scare even well-trained soldiers and Knight.
So they had to be extra careful when moving in the forest.
A warrior in black light armor stepped on thick leaves and dead branches to the observation position. He pressed his hand on the side of his fully enclosed helmet and adjusted the mode of his tactical eyepiece. After a while, the warrior gestured to his teammates behind him. "Clear."
One by one, the black-armored warriors walked out from behind the bushes. Next was Solderlin, who was also wearing light armor but not a helmet. Behind Solderlin was Rebecca, who was wearing a short robe that made it easier for her to move around. She held an iron staff in her hand.
"Ha —" Rebecca stood on a rock protruding from the ground. She sighed while looking at the situation in the distance. "I have never been so deep …"
Solderlin glanced at the viscountess but did not remind her to be careful. When they first entered the forest, he reminded her that "Mages are weak, so don't leave the protection of the warriors." But after seeing this girl kill a forest wolf with a stick, he realized that the woman in Cecil's family was still as strong as she was seven hundred years ago.
This girl, who seemed to be a mage, could probably defeat everyone here except for him after putting on her enchanted armor.
"Stay alert. Switch to the observer. Shield bearers, stay alert." Solderlin gave orders to his subordinates and then looked down at the amulet in his hand. This magical item from his hometown was floating with a faint glow, which meant that the team was very close to the magic focus in the forest. In this position, the chances of monsters appearing would be much higher.
Then he looked at Rebecca. Today's operation was initiated by the viscountess, so they naturally had to listen to her.
"We're not far from the magic focus, right?" Rebecca jumped down from the rock and came to Solderlin's side. "Wow — your pendant is glowing!"
"Strictly speaking, this is the area affected by the magic focus." Solderlin nodded. "The monster you're looking for should be nearby."
"Well, I heard that it's in this area …" Rebecca nodded and then sighed. "It's good to grow up … When I was young, my father and aunt never let me go deep into the forest …"
"The forest is very dangerous. It's not a place for children," Solderlin said seriously. "Even us Silver Elves don't allow children to go into the forest."
Rebecca pursed her lips and continued to walk forward. "Anyway, my aunt made up a lot of stories to scare me. She said that there were all kinds of things hidden in the forest … witches, wizards, ghosts, fallen elves and mages, trees that could run and jump, bears that were bigger than houses, and so on …"
Solderlin ordered the team to move forward while looking at Rebecca with a smile. Although this descendant of his friend was a little unconventional, her childhood was not much different from others. When she was young, she was also frightened by ghost stories. As an old friend of Gwen, when he saw Rebecca, he could not help but care for her as an elder. At this moment, he could not help but say, "You must be scared after hearing those stories, right?"
"Ah?" Rebecca froze for a moment and then shook her head. "No — after listening to them, I ran into the forest to play."
Solderlin staggered. As a Silver Elf who grew up in the forest, he almost fell down. "Why?"
Rebecca said matter-of-factly. "Think about it. With so many strange people and animals living in the forest, how lively would the forest be? I love to join in the fun."
Solderin walked steadily this time, but one of the Steel Rangers beside him stumbled.
Solderlin looked at the Ranger who almost tripped over a dead branch and then looked at Rebecca in shock. He found that he could not tell what was wrong with this girl's logic. "You … Okay, what happened after you went to play in the forest?"
"I didn't run far before I found a few wolves. I fought with them and lost. After that, the Knight in the castle found me and brought me back," Rebecca said. She could not help but gasp. "I was really beaten up … Later, I found out that my aunt told me those stories not to tell me that the forest was lively, but to tell me that the forest was dangerous."
Solderlin was speechless.
He did not know if the girl was talking about being beaten up by the wolves or being beaten up by the elders in the castle, but according to the rumors … it was most likely the latter.
After a while, the group reached deeper into the forest. Rebecca and Solderlin's conversation gradually stopped.
There was a damp smell in the air, mixed with the smell of mud. The Steel Ranger who was observing the situation cautiously made a gesture, and the group stopped next to a dead giant tree.
Rebecca and Solderlin cautiously moved forward a distance, then poked their heads out from behind the bushes and looked at the situation on the opposite side.
In the depths of the dense forest, under the cover of the gigantic canopy, large swathes of muddy puddles and withered leaves formed a hidden kingdom of magical creatures. Several gigantic black beasts that resembled lions and tigers were resting in the open space. They would occasionally lift their eyelids and glance around, their bell-sized eyes filled with the radiance of arcane magic.
No ordinary beast dared to approach this place occupied by monsters. In the vast open space in the forest, other than the dangerous demonized beasts, the only living creatures were a few grayish-brown Oozes that were slowly wriggling in the mud and rotten leaves. These weak monsters were not aggressive at all and were devouring the mud and rotten leaves. They were so low-level that they were almost a natural phenomenon. Obviously, they were not worth the attention of the beasts.
Solderlin counted the number of beasts and was slightly relieved. This magic focal point was formed recently, and the monsters gathered there were not very difficult to deal with.
Stealthily, the Steel Rangers raised their weapons — high-power heat ray guns, arcane missile launchers, and small howitzers. These deadly weapons were aimed at the monsters in the distance. The monsters, who were not known for their perception, were still oblivious to all this.
"Be careful. Only kill the beasts. Don't spread the shockwaves," Rebecca said in a low voice. "Don't use the howitzers."
The warrior who used the howitzer regretfully put away his weapon and replaced it with a regular heat ray gun. Solderlin, on the other hand, understood Rebecca's words. Not using weapons that were too powerful was obviously to prevent destroying the natural mana focal point. Although Rebecca only knew how to make large fireballs, she was still a mage and had a need for mana focal points.
It seemed that the viscount's target today was not only the beasts, but also the magic focal point here. What had she been studying recently?
Solderlin decided to ask after the mission was over. But now … he had to deal with the beasts first.
After a short and low command to fire, the Steel Rangers launched their attack.
The sound of heat rays and arcane missiles piercing through the air suddenly broke the silence of the dense forest. Then, the angry roars of the demonized beasts and the wails of their dying breaths rang out.
The battle lasted for only a minute — maybe less than a minute.
The beasts were indeed dangerous monsters, but that was only to the ordinary soldiers and the unprepared low-grade Knight. For the Steel Rangers who were armed to the teeth, using arcane weapons, and using sneak attacks, these powerful but slow-moving monsters only needed one or two rounds of concentrated fire.
The intense battle had come to an end, and the sound of weapons firing gradually calmed down. The last dying beast struggled and fell to the ground. An enchanted arrow quickly flew over and pierced through its head, ending all the slaughter. Solderlin held his short bow (he was still used to using this weapon that had accompanied him for many years) and led the warriors out of the natural cover and into the open space in the forest. Rebecca followed closely behind.
There was a rustling sound in the surroundings. Solderlin looked in the direction of the sound. The frightened Ooze were trying to escape, but judging by their wriggling speed, it would take them a long time to get out of the warriors' sight.
"Wow! You guys are good." Rebecca looked at the results of the battle and praised with satisfaction. "You guys killed them all!"
"My warriors are well-trained." Solderlin smiled reservedly. "Should we collect samples?"
"Ah, yes." Rebecca nodded. The warriors immediately came to the beasts and prepared to strip the samples. But then, Rebecca waved her hand. "Go and catch those Ooze."
"Go and …" Solderlin repeated the word and froze. "Ah?"
"Catch the Ooze!" Rebecca blinked. "What are you waiting for?"
Solderlin was confused, but he still ordered the Steel Rangers who were also confused to catch the Ooze that were still wriggling slowly into the distance. After giving the order, he looked at Rebecca in confusion. "You brought us here … to catch those Ooze?"
Rebecca nodded quickly. "That's right."
For the first time, Solderlin felt that his brain was not working properly. "What's the use of catching them?"
"As long as we use them properly, even a Ooze has its own value," Rebecca said mysteriously. Her eyes fell on the Steel Rangers in the distance. They had easily caught the low-grade monsters that were wriggling in the mud, but they were covered in mud. "In your eyes, the Ooze is just a pile of moving mud. But in my eyes … they may be industrial raw materials."
"Industrial raw materials, huh …" Solderlin could not connect the useless slimes with the magical arcanum industry, but when he looked into Rebecca's sparkling eyes, he felt an inexplicable sense of determination, so much so that he did not question her further. "Alright, I look forward to your results. But we have caught the Ooze. What about the beasts? "
Rebecca looked around at the dead beasts (they were very fierce, but they died unjustly) and thought for a while. "Can they be eaten?"
"… Although I have never eaten them, but it is said that the ribs of the beasts are delicious, and the bone soup is very nourishing."
"Then cut some of them and bring them back." Rebecca clapped her hands. "I want to make soup for the ancestors!"
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