After a simple but decent dinner, the visitors from Cecil visited the Typhon camp, the barracks, towers, and walls made of magic, the 'sub-tower' that was under construction, and the rather large mage zone. After the reception, the sun behind the clouds was approaching the horizon, and before night fell, Gwen and the others were led to the 'guest room' in Rosetta Palace.
The so-called guest room was also made of magic-shaped stones, and the gray material was no different from the other buildings in the base. But the owner of the place had obviously found a way to enhance the taste and comfort of the guest room with additional decorations. Typhon style tapestries, plush carpets, and large oil paintings offset the cold texture of the 'man-made stone house'. In his own room, Gwen also saw a set of exquisite wooden furniture, gold-inlaid porcelain, silver lampstands, and a collection of books to pass the time. As a base adjacent to the wastelands of Gondor, having such a room was already considered luxurious.
After the waiter announced the time and place for dinner, Gwen closed the door and came to the bookshelf on the west side of the room. Amber's figure appeared beside him.
The half-elf was at least doing her duty. "No surveillance items, and the Shadow power nearby is very calm."
"Of course not. Rosetta? Augustus would not be so reckless. It's not that easy to spy on a Legend, "Gwen said casually, his eyes sweeping across the bookshelf." … 'A Chronicle of the Changes of Heraldry in the Northern Continent' … If I have to rely on this to pass the time, I'm afraid I'll be even more bored. "
Amber looked at Gwen from head to toe. After pondering for a long time, she could not help but say, "To be honest, I don't really understand you today …"
"What do you not understand?" Gwen had already expected that the half-elf would have a lot of questions, and that she would not be able to hold them back. He smiled and said.
Hu Po opened her mouth as if she was about to ask, but at the last second before she opened her mouth, she bit down hard on her lips and looked around quickly. In the end, she puffed up her face and said, "I won't ask!"
Gwen paused for a moment before the smile on his face suddenly turned into a hint of gratification. "Very good."
Never underestimate others, never let your guard down in an unfamiliar environment, and keep your last secret no matter how many times you investigate. As it turned out, this half-elf was definitely not stupid if she was willing to use her brain.
After casually praising Amber, Gwen turned his attention away from the books that did not pique his interest, and asked casually, "What do you think about this camp?"
He knew that Amber must have seen most of the camp, whether Typhon's people showed her around or not, and she must have remembered more details than others. This fellow's fighting ability was not that great, but when it came to being a seeker, she was still very useful.
After this, he would not talk to Amber about long-term plans or secrets, and he would not have to worry about being eavesdropped.
Amber thought for a moment, and said straightforwardly, "In my opinion, Typhon's people are too rich, too rich!!"
"Oh?"
"You should be able to tell that this camp is almost entirely built using magic. I've checked the situation of their camp and the sorcerer's area. I've confirmed that they have gathered at least eight hundred low-level to mid-level sorcerers here. These Extraordinaires' mission here is to 'build houses,'" Amber said with a serious expression. "With these sorcerers, the construction speed of this base shouldn't be slower than our base. The efficiency in all aspects isn't inferior to ours, and it might even be more efficient."
"Typhon began to implement systematic and professional management of the Extraordinary more than a decade ago, and used all kinds of supernatural powers for production and development. They also imitated the newborn screening system of the Kingdom of Gondor, and actively cultivated Extraordinary from the whole population, from the babies, which led to the overall number of Extraordinary almost double that of the Ansu. They also have an extremely advanced management system to ensure that all Extraordinary are registered and have their own duties," Gwen said unhurriedly. "Most of the mages you see here should be called 'engineering mages'. They have been specifically trained from the moment they came into contact with magical power, and the spells they have mastered are almost all related to construction. Within Typhon, there are tens of thousands of such 'professional mages'."
Amber's eyes widened, and she was speechless for a moment. "…"
Gwen looked at her, amused. "What are you thinking?"
"Do you think they will take me in if I betray the country now?"
"Why don't you try?"
Amber shrunk her neck. "No, I'm afraid of being beaten to death."
Gwen smiled, and did not take the little joke to heart. He casually commented, "As you can see, Typhon is indeed very strong, but on the other hand … they are not very smart."
Amber blinked, and more or less guessed Gwen's meaning. "You think they are wasteful, right?"
"Yes, a huge waste — they actually used the researchers on the construction site." Gwen shook his head with a look of pity. "Mages are researchers, people who invent and create, how can they be wasted on the construction site?! If you ask me, they should not be used as combat force on the battlefield, nor should they be used as labor in the production process, but all of them should be sent to the laboratory!
"You see eight hundred mages here. The speed at which they build a base is no slower than our mechanization. In fact, they're even faster than us. But if it were up to me, I would turn all eight hundred mages into researchers and have them research even more advanced arcanotech devices, more advanced alchemical materials, and research technologies that can widely replicate their high-efficiency spells. Then, I would spread these technologies to the eight hundred thousand ordinary workers and have every single one of them perform as efficiently as an 'engineering mage.' That is the correct way to use knowledge."
Amber blinked. In Gwen's short vision and description, she finally intuitively felt where the real power of the 'arcanotech industry' manifested.
Gwen sighed, and after a righteous speech, he could not help but shake his head. "But there is a problem, a very real problem that is troubling us …"
"What problem?"
"Like you said just now, Typhon is too rich, too rich … Money, people, resources …" Gwen sighed. "We can use the technology of eight hundred mages to 'arm' eight hundred thousand workers, and Typhon … I'm afraid they can really pull out eight hundred thousand engineering mages …"
Amber was speechless.
Gawain sighed. "This is called the ability to make money."
Amber was dumbfounded. "Money power … Can it be described like that …"
The word 'money' did not exist in this world. Gwen directly used the word 'money' and the word 'skill' to create the word 'money power'. Obviously, Amber understood what it meant.
So, after understanding the true source of power of the arcanotech industry, Amber also understood why Gwen still regarded Typhon as the most powerful and terrifying enemy, even if he had control of the arcanotech industry.
She glanced at Gwen and vaguely realized something.
No matter what business this man from the coffin wanted to do with the Emperor of Typhon, no matter if he wanted to take the initiative to accept Typhon's cotton dumping, or to help the Typhon build the railway, his only purpose was …
It was to deal with Typhon's' money power '.
…
Winter snow was flying, and the coldest season of the year had descended on this land.
In the Plains of the Holy Spirit, in an unnamed village half a day's ride from White Pine Town, the snow had already reached their feet. But this snowfall was just the beginning, and snowflakes were still fluttering in the air.
This pure white heavenly gift covered everything indiscriminately, blurring the ridges and ravines, blurring the roads and wastelands, and also blurring the boundary between heaven and earth. The unnamed village was like a pile of stones in the snow, and the man-made buildings were being wrapped in a silvery-white color bit by bit in the falling snow. In this dangerously cold day, every family closed their doors and windows, and sealed every hole in the dilapidated walls to prevent the precious heat from dissipating. People hid indoors that could block the wind and snow, conserving their strength and heat while hoping for a safe winter. At the same time, they worriedly listened to every strange creaking sound from the roof.
The village in the snow was silent.
But under the snow, in the cellar of a certain longhouse, a secret meeting was being held.
Cheap and inferior candles were placed on a long, mottled table, and the swaying candlelight made the entire cellar look dim. On the long table were clay pots, daggers, stone pieces, and other items. There was also some kind of red paint that painted strange and eerie magic symbols and distorted images on the table. Around the long table, a dozen figures in tattered clothes were solemnly sitting in a circle under the candlelight, and a dozen pairs of eyes that contained a hint of fanaticism stared at the two figures at the long table.
The two figures were quite tall, and they wore tattered grayish-black robes. There was also an iron talisman of the Grim Reaper around their necks, and they were dressed like corpse carriers.
"Brothers and sisters, the day of freedom from suffering is coming …"
One of the corpse carriers opened his hands and said as if he was giving a sermon.
"Those who are suffering, accept this gift!"
The other corpse carrier bent down, and while praying devoutly, he picked up a clay pot that contained some kind of liquid from the table.
The people around the long table stood up one after another, and with some kind of expectation and fanaticism, they came to the table one by one, and let the person in the grayish-black robe who was holding the clay pot smear the dark red liquid on their foreheads.
"After receiving this gift … we can escape from this suffering. We don't have to wait for death, and we don't have to wait for the next life. The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth is just around the corner …"
"The days of suffering of the escapees …"
"The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth …"
"The day is just around the corner …"
Chanting and praying sounds echoed in this secret cellar. Above the cellar, in the longhouse that stood tall in the wind and snow, a few pairs of cold and vigilant eyes were closely glued to the narrow window slits, staring at the world in the wind and snow.
In the surrounding houses, in almost every house in the village, the same cold and vigilant eyes were glued to every window.
…
East of the Holy Spirit Plains, Solin Castle.
Snowflakes were also drifting down from the sky.
A team of Knight entered the city in the afternoon. Their armor was bright, and they were well-equipped. Even their warhorses were wearing the best steel chain armor and necklaces that could calm the mind and enhance endurance. They rode on their horses from the widest main road. Everyone along the way, including the patrolling soldiers, chose to retreat in awe when they saw the insignia on the Knight's body.
The insignia had the image of a crossed black longsword. It was the Duke of the Eastern Region, Silas Loren. The mark of Silas Loren.
The leader of the team, the young Marquis Belk, was wearing full armor. Lorren controlled the speed of his beloved horse, and at the same time, he also controlled the speed of the entire team to prevent his rude subordinates from hurting the pedestrians on the street (although there were almost no pedestrians on the street on this snowy day). At the same time, he raised his head and looked at the towering castle on the high ground not far away.
After staying in the safety of the rear for so long, either dealing with the annoying local nobles or watching the Cecil army bomb the White Sand Hills (Belk suspected that the Cecil army was planning to bomb the place into a White Sand Mine), Belk felt that his patience and sharpness would be worn down sooner or later. Fortunately, he finally received the order to return to Sorin Castle.
The young Marquis straightened his back and greeted everyone with the most impeccable posture of a Knight, even if there were no people around him. He looked at the street in the winter and thought about what he should report after meeting his father and Prince Edmund.
The situation in the White Sand Hills must be reported at all times. Cecil's people wanted to build a new road, and this must be reported to the prince in time. In addition, he also had to report the situation of the two territories being suppressed. In addition, he also had to report the situation of the lower nobles not seriously implementing the "Freedom of Serfs Law" and the "Land Replacement Law".
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