Longwind Stronghold defense line, No. 3 Railway Junction.
Accompanied by the crisp sound of a bell on the platform, a huge and majestic black steel train slowly drove into the junction station and steadily stopped at the side of the platform.
A barrier rose near the platform and integrated with the barrier of the track itself to block the cold wind blowing from the plains. Some of the bright and dark stripes projected on the surface of the shield with interference effect also blocked the possible Eagle Eye in the distance.
At the end of the platform, there were soldiers guarding the tall sentry towers. In the hidden bunkers at the same level as the platform, the muzzles of the orbital accelerator guns and the firing ports of the scorching rays poked out. There were also fully armed soldiers patrolling everywhere. Hidden sentries were everywhere inside and outside the platform, either overtly or covertly turning the entire junction station into a frontline fortification armed to the teeth.
"Iron Throne — Python in the Mortal World," Maryland stood on the platform and watched the fully armed black train stop beside the platform. Many technicians came forward to check the condition of the train and revealed a faint smile. "With the second armored train replenishing this line of defense, the defense of Changfeng Stronghold can finally be relieved."
"Iron Throne, No.0 also has a chance to be repaired," beside Maryland, Philip, who had short blond hair and was wearing the Knight's armor, also smiled. "It has not been completely repaired from the overload damage last year. Every time it accelerates, the No. 2 Armory section at the tail shakes as if it is going to jump out of the track."
After that, he paused and continued, "After these two standard armored trains are delivered, the heavy-duty factories at the rear will temporarily focus on the production of civilian trains. The second-tier factories in Kant and Gelan will be responsible for the production of the 'degraded armored trains' you mentioned before. Their production speed should be much faster than Iron Throne.
"In addition, the superiors have already finalized this type of light armored train to correspond with Iron Throne. They are named 'Iron Scepter'. Since the number of Iron Scepters will definitely be much more than Iron Throne, and it is easier for various modifications and variants to appear, unless there are special circumstances, they will probably only be given a number and will not be named. "
Maryland nodded as he listened. The construction of the Longwind Defense Line had been progressing smoothly, and this greatly relieved the pressure on this middle-aged Knight. However, while the pressure was relieved, he had no choice but to face the other side of the border and the changes that had happened to Winter Wolf Fort since last winter.
The "Wolf General" who had been forced to retreat and called back to Oldenheim for questioning had long since returned. Not only had she returned, she didn't seem to have suffered any blow from the previous loss. She was still firmly in control of the Winterwolf Army and the entire defensive line. Furthermore, she was actively increasing the strength of Winterwolf Fort.
"That Wolf General... is more troublesome than I thought." Maryland frowned. "The last time she returned to Oldenheim, she must have brought back a lot of critical information and obtained a lot of support. Now, more and more magic-powered vehicles and all kinds of advanced machinery have begun to appear in Winterwolf Fort. The people of Typhon are using them to build fortresses and strengthen the defense line. Moreover, that Wolf General seems to intend to use these new technologies to improve her troops. She has never seen a tank, but she must have read about it. With the magic foundation of Typhon and the sharp mind of that Wolf General, they will find a replacement for the tank sooner or later. "
"Technological progress is the general trend." Philip shook his head. "According to His Majesty, the people of Typhon have been preparing for the industrial explosion for more than a decade. Their pyrotechnic acid plant was five years ahead of our alchemy factory, their literate workers were seven years ahead of us, and their agricultural reform was ten years ahead of us. Under these circumstances, it is already a miracle that we can catch up with them by relying on magic-powered technology and the government office system in less than four years. At this time, it is easier to expect the people of Typhon to be slow and stupid than to expect their emperor to suddenly die tomorrow."
Maryland looked at the supreme commander of the army with some surprise. "... It is rare to see you joking."
"I am not joking." Philip was stunned for a moment before he said seriously, "I heard that the royal family of Typhon has a family disease, and most of them die of madness in their later years. Now that Rosetta Augustus is already middle-aged, the probability of him suddenly dying tomorrow is higher than millions of Typhon people suddenly having their intelligence lowered..."
Maryland was speechless.
After being stunned for a few seconds, Maryland, who felt that he could not continue the current topic, could only shake his head and forcefully change the topic to another direction. "According to the scheduled plan, Tiphon's diplomatic group will arrive at the Contract Castle in two days … Do you have any other arrangements for this?"
"Everything will go according to the plan," Philip said casually. "Prepare the reception, receive the diplomatic corps, and escort them safely to the vehicles. Pay attention to driving the two Iron Thrones to Palamel and the Northern Hills in advance, and do a good job of keeping the military area confidential."
As he spoke, the young army commander turned his head and looked into Maryland's eyes.
He smiled. "Typhon and Cecil are rivals, and the more so, the more we have to show our Knight's demeanor. We will receive them politely and send them off politely. And your task is to make sure they don't see anything in the process."
...
In the Cecil Palace, Gwen received a secret message from Daniel.
The Eternal Sleeper had finally completed a series of preparations. He had completed the reinforcement of the sandbox and the analysis and sorting out of the previous exploration report of the "Phantom Town". Today, they would begin the second exploration of the mysterious uninhabited town!
After arranging things in the real world, Gwen did not waste any time. He settled his mind and connected to the mental network of the Eternal Sleeper.
As the creator of the security system of the Eternal Sleeper's mental network and the biggest loophole maker, he was already familiar with the entire process.
After the chaotic changes of light and shadow, Gwen arrived at the city of dreams that was always in a perfect state. He followed the address left by Daniel and led him to the gathering place of the Eternal Sleeper.
It was still the circular square surrounded by fallen leaves and decorative columns. The three main figures in the square were still familiar Daniel, Yuri, and Selena Geer, the three archbishops. Their appearances were respectively an elegant middle-aged mage, a gentle young man, and a soft-looking lady in a white dress with a lantern in her hand. In addition to the three of them, Gwen also saw an unfamiliar face this time.
An exceptionally tall man stood beside Daniel. He looked about 30 years old, wore a black robe with complicated patterns, and had short red hair. He looked quite imposing.
His name showed that he was Archbishop Magnum, the peak of the higher order, and his location was in the Typhon.
Gwen glanced at the red-haired archbishop and quickly matched him with the information provided by Daniel. This was one of the more senior archbishops among the Eternal Sleepers. He was said to be quite grumpy and had unique insights in the realm of consciousness.
Gwen could not tell if he was grumpy or not, but the name sounded quite impressive...
After complaining about the archbishop's name in his heart, Gwen could not help but look at the man's height. The red-haired archbishop was almost the same height as Gwen, and when he stood in the square, the red-haired archbishop was very eye-catching. But this giant figure was wearing a spellcaster's robe, which made Gwen subconsciously think of Wright in a priest's robe.
This figure really didn't look like a spellcaster. However, the several Eternal Sleepers standing in the square at this moment should be using the images in the mental network. It was unknown what this archbishop with such a big name looked like in reality.
Gwen's mind wandered for a moment, and his eyes swept across the high-level tools wearing owl masks behind the four archbishops. Compared to the last time, the Eternal Sleepers' exploration operation was obviously more serious and cautious. Not only had the number of masked priests increased to six, but their robes were also embroidered with eye-catching patterns — each of them had a different pattern.
Was this to avoid the situation of "extra people" like last time?
But relying on this pattern... in an environment like Phantom Town that could affect judgment and tamper with thinking, would it really work?
Some doubts flashed in Gwen's mind, and in the short few seconds he observed and pondered, the ten-man exploration team in front of him had also completed the pre-departure preparations and negotiations.
Just like last time, Archbishop Yuri was responsible for opening the "passage" to Phantom Town. He opened his hands, and pale golden runes outlined a complicated circular magic circle on the square ground. Daniel and the others stood in the center of the magic circle, and the red-haired Archbishop Magnum said, "This time, be more vigilant. No one should trust their first impression too much."
"Of course." The golden runes in Archbishop Yuri's hand flickered. This man with a gentle temperament smiled and swept his gaze across the ten-man exploration team. "Not only will we be on high alert, but this time, the surveillance team at the rear will also be more active and effective in tracking and monitoring. There won't be any extra people mixed in with us."
The Eternal Sleepers have updated their monitoring technology this time?
Gwen still remembered the "extra people" from last time, and he felt that it was very strange. At this time, when he heard Archbishop Yuri's words, he was more or less relieved. He walked into the range of the runes with a smile and stood in the position of the eleventh person.
When the light of the teleportation began to flicker, Gwen's eyes turned slightly and fell on Selena Geer's clone.
The Saintess with the lamp with a quiet temperament just stood there quietly, holding the lamp in her hand and looking ahead quietly. She did not sense the gaze of the outside world.
Gwen's mind was in turmoil. Was Selena Geer really involved in the mysterious voyage 700 years ago? If she was really involved, how much does she know about what happened back then? If she even knows about Gwen Cecil's "deal," then does she know the truth about the "extraterrestrial wanderers"?
If she already knew that the "extraterrestrial wanderers" had occupied Gwen Cecil's body, then what is she waiting for?
The scene in front of Gwen blurred, and when the chaotic light and shadows stabilized again, the empty phantom town appeared in front of him.
He and the other ten Eternal Sleepers stood in the square in the center of the town, which was the place where they had left last time.
Turbid dark clouds shrouded the entire town as usual, and a strange fog rose and fell in the distance. The huge town was empty, without any residents or lights.
There was no bell in the town, and there was no church in the square. The last change seemed to have completely disappeared, and the town looked like when they first visited it.
"There is indeed a very strange atmosphere." Archbishop Magnum looked around and nodded. His voice was very loud, and when it suddenly exploded in this empty and quiet place, it had a frightening effect. "An empty dream... In a psychological sense, does this represent some kind of escape? Or extreme loneliness? "
Everybody seemed to be used to Archbishop Magnum's voice. Hearing that, Archbishop Yuri simply frowned and said, "If this is the dream of a certain 'mind', perhaps it can be explained by psychological analysis, but this may be the mental projection of countless people in Sandbox No. 1. So, it's hard to say."
"That is group psychology." Archbishop Magnum waved his hand indifferently. "In the final analysis, there are only a few points of this tendency in the dream: fear, escape, strong desire, or extreme rejection of something."
"It's still too early to analyze this. So far, we have only come into contact with one mind related to Sandbox No. 1, which is the weird and suspected malicious old priest. We can't be sure that the operation of Sandbox No. 1 conforms to the various psychological laws of the real world." Selina shook her head. "But what happened in this town should reflect the reality to some extent. According to the report of the sandbox management team, the legend that if you don't dodge in time on the day when the bell rings should correspond to the timer reset operation in the early days of Sandbox No. 1."
Gwen immediately became interested in the new term mentioned by Selena.
"Timer reset?" After exchanging glances with Gwen, Daniel showed a puzzled look. "What is that?"
Considering that Daniel had only recently been promoted to archbishop, it was understandable that he did not know something about the early days of Project Zero. Yuri did not suspect anything. He casually explained, "In the early days of the project, Sandbox No. 1 was not perfect. It needed to be partially reset every ten days to delete the virtual residents generated in the sandbox, leaving only the 'world' in the sandbox.
"We suspect that some memory fragments of the virtual residents were left behind after being deleted and were stored in the brains of some of the Brain Servants until today. These memory fragments have affected the collective subconscious of Sandbox No. 1, leading to the strange custom of 'the day when the bell rings' in the sandbox world."
Daniel nodded and said, "So that's how it is."
On the other hand, Gawain seemed to be in deep thought after hearing the content.
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