The restoration of the Iron Throne was complete.
This news made Gawain heave a sigh of relief.
Currently, the armored train was the Cecil Empire's most powerful military force on land. The special properties of the armored train allowed it to quickly move to the areas covered by the railway lines. Without any additional support, it could single-handedly support a relatively strong defensive line. Its powerful firepower and shield system were not inferior to an additional border fortress in this era. What the Cecil Empire lacked the most right now was such a border fortress.
There were all kinds of news coming back from Longwind Stronghold every day. The Typhon Empire's reinforcement had risen to a blatant level. Although the peace agreement between the Ansu and the Typhon had not been torn apart, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the binding force on the two countries was actually weaker than a few knives and guns. Just as Gwen had expected from the beginning, the peace between countries was never maintained by a gentleman's agreement.
In this case, the value of the Iron Throne was self-evident.
"Where is the railway line now?" He raised his head and looked at Heidi.
"It has already passed through the Eastern Region and is now near the Kalon Valley. A newly assembled engineering train is moving forward along with the railway line. The project will be shortened to 20 days." Heti nodded. "After the completion, the Iron Throne can be deployed to the Palamel Highlands near Longwind Stronghold. The artillery can cover the entire Longwind Stronghold, and the other military trains can quickly transport the subsequent armored troops to the border."
Gwen nodded as he listened. After Heti finished reporting about the Iron Throne and the railway in the Eastern Region, he asked, "How is the clean-up of the contaminated area in the Holy Spirit Plains going?"
"At present, the cleansing area has been pushed into the Fertile Woodland, and the progress will be further accelerated." Heti smiled. "After the fall of the 'artificial god', all the crystal cluster giants have undergone a drastic decline. Not only have their strength weakened, but their mobility has also decreased. They have also lost the ability to spread the plague. Now the cleansing team is carefully inspecting the contaminated areas in the Holy Spirit Plains, and there are no signs of a counterattack."
After the death of the freak created by the Universal Endgame, the crystal cluster giant army immediately fell into a state of decline. This was the same as what the military staff and the scholars in Cecil City had estimated.
The crystal cluster giants had a special organizational structure. Their subordinate units were controlled by their superiors, and even the thinking ability of the subordinate units was given by their superiors. This organizational structure allowed them to have a far superior mobility and communication ability, and even a certain degree of telepathy. But its weakness was that once the superior node was destroyed, all the subordinate nodes would immediately collapse. Originally, the crystal cluster army was controlled by a large number of bishops in the Universal Endgame, and the destruction of a node would only lead to a problem in a branch of the army. This weakness was not fatal. But after the 'artificial god' went out of control, all the superior nodes were concentrated on the 'god', and this weakness was fatal.
The fall of the artificial god directly caused the crystal cluster army to become a group of weak and loose beasts, and this greatly reduced the pressure of the cleansing of the Holy Spirit Plains. Otherwise, there would still be nearly a million monsters left in the plains, and with the severely lacking military strength of the Empire after the war, it would not be so easy to completely clean them up.
"A decaying tree has fallen, and leaves are scattered all over the ground … It's going to take some effort to clean it up." Gawain sighed softly. He then looked up and said to the three Grand Senators, "The Doomsday Order has a huge structure, and has been operating in this country for a long time. Many lesser nobles, merchants, and clergy have been bewitched and corrupted by them. Now that the main branch of the Order has fallen, there are bound to be a lot of branches left. It's not just the monsters on the Holy Plains that we have to clean up."
Victoria lowered her head and said in a cold voice, "Yes, we understand."
"No, you only understand part of it." Gwen shook his head. "The remnants of the cultists must be uprooted, but we must be wary of the process turning into extreme violence like how the Holy Church burned the heretics. The Empire has just been established, and we are promoting a new order of justice and rule of law. This is not the time to be old-fashioned, not to slap ourselves in the face, and not to stir up panic and chaos."
"I will let Pitman compile the method of identifying the dark Druil's activities and magic characteristics into a booklet, and distribute it to clergy and official Druil. If any cultists of the clergy are found, they will be punished according to the law. But if they are just ordinary people who have been bewitched, or low-level cultists with shallow beliefs, try to deal with them through labor and ideological reform. The collective burning of heretics must be banned."
Victoria blinked. "What if such a gentle method does not effectively deter the cultists? Those who have been bewitched by the cultists are often deeply rooted, and difficult to correct in a short time … "
The Duchess, who had captured the cultists in the north and dealt with many heretics, obviously knew those who had fallen into the wrong path.
"First of all, you should have confidence in the Cecil -style labor and ideological reform project. We have used the same method to reform many people, and I have also prepared special spiritual food for the believers of the All Things Will Die Order." Gwen smiled and said patiently. "I plan to show them the video of the hunt of the Manmade God repeatedly, from the capture of the brave to the meal of the sirens. The video will be broadcasted without any cuts, and I will arrange for someone to explain the knowledge of the Manmade God. The video will be broadcasted once a day in the morning, at noon, and at night. During the rest day, we can also show the documentary of cutting the bones of the false gods and processing the skull thrones.
"Secondly, if there are really such stubborn people as you said, and I believe there must be such people, it's okay. The Empire now has many mines that lack manpower. If those people can't be reformed in one year, we will reform them for two years, ten years, twenty years. If they can't be reformed in a lifetime, we will award them medals after they die, thanking them for their outstanding contributions to the Empire's industrial construction."
Bai Dewen? Duke Franklin listened to Gwen in a daze. When he heard the first half of Gwen's words, his eyes widened. When he heard the second half, he exclaimed with an exaggerated expression, "If we really use the spiritual food you mentioned, I'm afraid no one can last more than two years, unless they are not only blind but also stupid."
"Sometimes, people brainwashed by cults are not much better than idiots." Victoria shook her head. "But I also think that Your Majesty's plan will be very effective."
Gwen smiled and then looked at Heti. "Heti, about the 'nest' under Solin Castle, is there any new progress?"
He was referring to the Doomsday Association's lair in the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Flatlands. After the Manmade God was killed, the search party found a huge rift near Solin Fortress. According to the information provided by Pitman, the Doomsday Association's base camp should be under the rift. The size of the base could be close to the Defiant Fortress, and part of its structure could even extend to the Eastern Region, where countless secrets were buried.
"We have cleared out the surface and the shallow caves and passages, but we have not gone too deep." Heti shook her head gently. "The structure below is too complicated. Currently, the scholars are trying to decipher the magic traps and mechanisms. Before that, the team dares not to go too deep. Also, Rebecca has suggested that the experts throw bombs to disarm the traps. Don't worry, we have already done that. "
Gwen was speechless.
"Ahem, I know." Gwen coughed a few seconds later. "This is indeed something that Rebecca would do. But she is a grown-up after all. We still have to take her pride into consideration when we talk …"
"Yes, Ancestor." Heti nodded with a serious face. The two Great Senators, Victoria and Bai Dewen, looked at each other with tacit understanding in their eyes.
Seeing that Victoria, who was usually expressionless, had her lips curled up, Gwen knew that Rebecca's deeds had probably spread in the Saint Sunil … Well, if that girl had not caused so much trouble, Heti, who was such a steady person, would not have so much resentment as to ask the Ancestor to pay attention to the mischievous behavior of the naughty child …
However, it was awkward to say that when Heti mentioned that there were many mechanisms and traps in the underground nest, Gwen had also thought of the idea of using explosives to clear the obstacles. However, what he thought of was high-precision explosives, while the fireball in Rebecca's head might be bigger than the city gate …
"Rebecca …" Gwen could not help but sigh with a helpless smile. He then turned his head and looked in the direction of the window.
The autumn wind blew past the tower of the castle, circling between the complicated spires and walls, bringing with it the autumn leaves and the cold air from the North. Unknowingly, this was already his Gwen? It had been four years since his identity as Cecil had awakened, and it was also four years since he had met people like Rebecca and Heti.
"It's already been four years … This child should have learned more about the basics by now, right?"
The autumn wind blew past the courtyard of the castle, the tall and straight Dragon Leaf Trees, the neatly trimmed shrubs, and the flower beds. A withered yellow leaf spun down from the sky and was gently caught by a slightly slender hand.
The black-haired maid Maggie looked at the withered leaf in her palm. This leaf had a special asymmetry. Its shape was narrow on one side and wide on the other, as well as the jagged edges, made people inevitably think of the legendary wings of the Giant Dragon. She still vaguely remembered that in her hometown, when autumn came, the streets and alleys would be covered with such leaves.
The Dragon Leaf Trees, which were more expensive in Ansu, were extremely common in the Kingdom of Holy Dragon.
Maggie gently clenched her fingers, and the withered yellow leaf glowed faintly between her fingers. When she opened her palm again, the leaf had already turned into an illusory bird made of fine dust, lightly flying into the sky.
"It flies so well …" She murmured softly.
Suddenly, a sound of footsteps came from behind. Maggie immediately collected her thoughts and restored her usual shrewd and capable appearance. She turned around and saw the person walking towards her.
Was it the Empire's Princess — Rebecca? Cecil.
"Your Highness." After Rebecca walked to a certain distance, Maggie just happened to bend down and respectfully greeted her.
There were many rules in the upper class. In addition to the written rules and etiquette, there were also numerous unwritten etiquettes, so that a qualified maid had to bow down at the right time. When a noble person other than the master walked towards her, although the servant didn't have to greet him, she had to salute him in time. However, if she bowed too early, it would be an offense, as if she was urging the other party to respond to her quickly. If she bowed too late, it would be a sign of uneducated and slow reaction. It was hard to say how many rules there were.
Although Victoria had said that sooner or later these cumbersome rules would disappear or be simplified with the old nobility, for Maggie, this kind of action had long become a habit of hers, and there was no need to deliberately maintain it.
"Oh, don't bother, don't bother," Rebecca hurriedly waved her hand. She didn't understand the hidden details of these rules. The maid she usually met most often was the dull Betty, but the latter was a girl who would only tremble after a thunder in the sky. So, Rebecca didn't know that there were a lot of tricks behind Maggie's bow. "I'm still not used to it …"
Maggie showed a gentle smile and said, "You're a member of the royal family. You have to get used to it."
"Don't mention it. I'm still a little dizzy now. How did my ancestor go out to fight a war and come back with a different title …" Rebecca scratched her hair, and the confusion on her face was not fake at all. "Let's not talk about this first. I finally found a chance to talk to you. I didn't see you at the banquet before, and you usually don't come out. This time I asked the guards and found out that you were in the yard!"
Maggie frowned slightly. She had almost no contact with Rebecca, so she had no idea what this maverick princess was thinking. "What do you want from me?"
Rebecca thought for a moment, and slowly bloomed a very bright and pleasant smile. She approached and said, "That … I heard from my ancestor that you are actually a dragon, right?"
Maggie was stunned for a moment, and her expression seemed to change a little. But in the end, she sighed softly and lowered her head slightly. "Yes."
She did not want to make her identity public, and had always been guarding her true identity like keeping a secret. But in the previous war, her true identity had been exposed to many people in the Cecil Legion. Considering that so far, the people in Cecil Legion had not treated her differently because of her special identity, and Rebecca was usually a very likable and lively girl, the humanoid dragon let go of the knot in her heart and admitted it frankly.
"Oh, oh, that's good, that's good!" Rebecca nodded, and then opened her mouth, thinking about what to say next.
She still remembered that her ancestor had told her to be polite and try not to offend Maggie's self-esteem as there seemed to be something in the black dragon's bloodline that was difficult to say, so she had to be tactful when speaking in this regard.
So Rebecca thought for a while in her heart, and then said with a smile, "Then show me!"
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