"You've agreed to Tarlonde's invitation?!"
In Gawain's study, Heidi, who had just learned of the situation, widened her eyes in shock and helplessness as she looked at the smiling ancestor in front of her.
"That's right." Gwen knew that Heti would react this way. He smiled and nodded. "Of course, not now. At least, we have to wait until the matter of the Goddess of Magic has completely subsided, and the domestic affairs have been arranged properly."
The astonished expression on Heidi's face had not completely faded away. However, when she looked at the ancestor's smiling face and listened to his indifferent response, she had already realized that this was not a whim of the ancestor. Perhaps the ancestor had made this decision after careful consideration. However, this decision... was a little out of her expectation. It really made her feel at a loss.
"Speaking of which, it seems that I should have discussed this with you." Gwen looked at Heti, suddenly patted his forehead, and said apologetically, "This is no longer my matter. My decision is a little hasty."
"No, I didn't mean that." Heti quickly shook her head. "I'm just too surprised. Since you have made this decision, you must have your own reasons. "" There are many reasons.
The Dragons are a powerful and mysterious force. For a mortal kingdom, it is a rare opportunity to have contact with such a force. Tarlonde has too many mysteries. I speculate that their civilization level is likely to be far higher than the Lolun Continent. This needs to be observed and understood. The Dragons are a civilization that has survived many magic waves. This information is very valuable to us, "Gwen said clearly and finally shook his head." But for me personally, these reasons are not the most important. The most important thing is … they have a god who has descended to the mortal world, and this god seems to have something to say to me. "
"You mean that 'Dragon God' …" Heti frowned slightly. "You mentioned this to us. So, do you think this god is friendly? "
"I'm not sure, but at least I'm sure that he can communicate with reason and intelligence," Gwen said. "So far, we have not come into contact with any 'normal' gods who can communicate with reason. Those are either false gods created by the cultists, special 'new gods' like Naretil, or the 'old gods' like Amoun who have left the divine throne and whose divinity has mostly declined. They certainly have great reference and communication value, but the communication value of the Dragon God is obviously more special and irreplaceable."
Heti nodded gently. Obviously, she had to agree with Gwen's view in this regard, but the worry in her eyes did not fade away. "… You're right, but it's still very risky, especially now … You'll face too many unpredictable variables if you go to Tarlonde in person. We still can't be sure what the purpose of the Dragon God is, but the danger is real."
As she said, she could not help but shake her head. "If only we could follow the normal diplomatic process and communicate with Tarlonde at the ambassadorial level first …"
"Unfortunately, this is not a normal 'diplomatic act,'" Gwen said. "In the other party's view, this is just a personal invitation to me, and it's us who want to get more benefits from this invitation. Don't think about sending ambassadors to each other, at least not now. It means nothing to the 'god', and he's not interested. "
Then he looked at Heti who seemed to be in a dilemma (the chief steward of Cecil always seemed to be in a dilemma for various reasons), smiled, and comforted her. "I've considered all kinds of unexpected situations, including malice on Tarlonde's side and the possibility of the Dragon God setting a trap. I agreed to this invitation with great confidence and weighing the pros and cons."
"You're confident?" Heti said subconsciously. She looked at her ancestor who seemed to always have a card up his sleeve and always gave people a sense of reliability. For a moment, she wanted to ask him, as a mortal, how could he have the confidence to face a god whose attitude was unclear at such a close distance. But she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
She suddenly thought of the various' differences' her ancestor showed after he came back from the dead. She thought of the strong resistance and even suppression he showed when facing the knowledge of the gods and even the remains of the gods. She thought of his far-sighted plans and incredible knowledge. Her ancestor once explained that some of the knowledge came from the Age of Gondor, and some came from historical fragments he saw when he was a soul. However, she could not find any corresponding clues from the ancient books of human history, not even the slightest clue that corresponded to that knowledge.
"I understand." She bowed her head. "I'll arrange everything as soon as possible. During your temporary absence, this place will continue to operate in an orderly manner."
Her ancestor who came back from the dead might not be just a 'human' anymore. She had vaguely sensed this from a long time ago. But no matter how many secrets he had, the past few years had at least proved one thing: for this land and its people, Gwen Cecil was indeed a reliable and trustworthy mountain.
For Heti herself, she only knew her ancestor who came back from the dead after 700 years — and that was enough.
"I won't be away for too long. This will be a short 'visit.'" Gwen nodded. He could not see Heti's expression after she bowed her head, but the years of getting along had allowed him to sense the ups and downs of her emotions. He could not help but smile and said gently, "Don't worry, I'll come back safely — as soon as possible."
Then he waved his hand and skipped the topic for the time being. "Let's not talk about this first. You're here so early. Do you have something to report? "
"Yes." Thinking of the original purpose of her coming early this morning, Heti quickly sorted out her thoughts. "I brought the latest monitoring report from Sorin's main hub … The mysterious signal that appeared before appeared again in the early hours of this morning!"
Gwen was startled for a moment, and then he remembered what the 'mysterious signal' Heti mentioned was. He was shocked. "It appeared again!?"
"Yes … and it's very similar to the previous situation. It continued to play for several cycles, interspersed with short high-frequency oscillations and repetitive waveforms, and then mysteriously disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. We still haven't been able to capture the signal source, and there's no progress in cracking it."
Gwen frowned and said in a low voice, "So … this signal has nothing to do with the Goddess of Magic …"
They were talking about the mysterious signal that Sorin's main hub and Winter's Hub in the North had received. Its source was unknown, and its meaning was unknown. It was like a ghost that suddenly appeared at the monitoring boundary of the Magic Net terminal, and after a period of noise and ripples, it mysteriously disappeared. This signal left all the technicians confused. To investigate it, Gwen even specifically contacted the Dragons, sirens, and elves, but still could not figure out its source.
This mysterious signal had stirred the nerves of many people.
And after the Goddess of Magic's invasion and escape through the Magic Net, many technicians of the Empire, including Gwen himself, subconsciously linked the two incidents together.
Gwen once suspected that the Goddess of Magic was the source of the two mysterious signals received by Sorin Castle and Winter Fort. He even suspected that the strange signals were caused by the Goddess of Magic when she tested the Magic Net before carrying out her escape plan. Although there was no sufficient evidence, this speculation was very reasonable, so many people thought so.
But now … the Goddess of Magic had been confirmed to have completely escaped and left the human world, and the traces she left in the Magic Net had been completely wiped out by Naretil and Duarte, but the strange mysterious signal had appeared again!
"Only Sorin's main hub heard it?" Gwen frowned. "Did the other hubs receive similar reports?"
"Not so far. The signal is unstable, sometimes strong and sometimes weak. It seems that it only appears occasionally and is captured by our Magic Net crystal." Heti shook her head. "But the other hubs are currently checking all the monitoring records from midnight to early morning to see if there are any missed clues. If the signal they received is too weak and short, it is very likely that the personnel on duty at that time would have missed it, but there may be some traces left in the buffer crystal array."
"Hmm …" Gwen nodded slowly. "Let them check carefully. This signal … I am very concerned. It is very unusual. The Goddess of Magic has already messed up our Magic Net once. Now that this signal has appeared again, I am afraid that the Goddess of Magic is not the only one who wants to mess with us. "
Heti lowered her head and bowed. "Yes, Ancestor."
After Heti left, Gwen fell into deep thought behind the desk. Then he looked up and saw Amber slowly forming in the air beside him.
The half-elf lady blinked her eyes, her face was full of surprise and confusion. "I thought the signal was over after the Goddess of Magic ran away …"
"I thought so too. All of us thought that the signal received by Sorin Fort and Winter Fort was made by the Goddess of Magic." Gwen frowned. "But now it seems that these are probably two unrelated events …"
"If only Naretil had succeeded in making the Goddess of Magic stay," Amber said subconsciously. "Then we can directly confirm with her. Even if the signal was not made by her, maybe she knows something. After all, she is more or less a god, she should know more than mortals."
Listening to Amber's muttering, Gwen just shook his head and said nothing.
…
Two days later.
The cold wind of late autumn blew across the vast Plains of the Holy Spirit. Looking up at the sky from Sorin Fort, one could only see the sky was clear and open.
The season of frequent precipitation and even snowfall was coming, and such clear days would be less and less in the next few months.
As the autumn wind blew, a series of rustling noises came from the huge canopy of Thorin. Countless branches made noises in the depths of the canopy, as if some structures were moving and reorganizing. There were also continuous sounds of friction and rolling, as if something was moving in the depths of the canopy, leaving behind sounds along the way.
At the top of Sorin's giant tree, at the top of the canopy, an extremely dense wooden structure and heterogenized leaves overlapped to form a plane as stable as steel. This' green ground ', the size of a city square, was fixed with a series of man-made facilities. There were fences to prevent people from falling, street lights for illumination, and small weather observation and collection devices. And the largest of them was a huge crystal array in the center of all the facilities, fixed and supported by a large number of metal frames and intertwined vines: Sorin's Main Hub Array.
This was the highest point in the entire Plains of the Holy Spirit, and also one of the most important facilities in Sorin Fort. Around the huge crystal array, there were dozens of fully armed large treants. They were all 'guards' that grew out of Sorin's giant tree, responsible for guarding the giant tree and a large number of precious devices on the giant tree. These treants were equipped with heavy alloy armor, and their backs and waists were fixed with large magic net energy packs that humans could not afford, and they were also equipped with powerful Gorgon cannons. Each of them looked majestic and terrifying.
And the defense of Sorin's Main Hub was not limited to just them.
A little further away from the crystal array, at the edge of the canopy, there were many abnormally thick and sturdy wooden structures growing out from between the branches. The end of these wooden structures that looked like giant arms were 'holding' fortress-class railguns or large bomb launchers. These powerful defensive firepower was another safeguard for Sorin's Main Hub.
The Magic Net's Main Hub was an extremely important strategic facility of the Empire. Not only here in Sorin's giant tree, but also in other hubs, there were similar level of defenses.
After a series of clattering noises, a crack suddenly appeared on the "ground" near the crystal array. The leaves that were originally used to cover the "ground" opened to both sides, forming a structure that looked like a cluster of petals. A "cage" that was naturally made of vines rose from the crack.
The cage stopped steadily, and the vines on the side opened up layer by layer. Marguarita and a few technicians came out from within.
The shield that shrouded the entire treetop platform isolated the cold wind from the high altitude. The only thing that welcomed visitors was the magnificent and open scenery at the top of the tree. Marguarita took a deep breath and could not help but sigh. "No matter how many times I come up here, the scenery here is always so amazing …"
A rustling sound came from the side as the vines that separated from the cage wriggled and gathered together. After a while, they merged and transformed into Bertilla's appearance. The former matriarch of the Apocalypse nodded to Marguarita. "It is indeed a very different feeling to look around from such a high place. If you need, I can also build a higher lookout tower on top of the tree."
"No, no, thank you for your kindness, Madam Bertilla," Marguarita quickly said. She then looked at the crystal array not far away. "His Majesty is very concerned about the reappearance of the signal. Have you found anything new here?"
"The tracking attempt has failed. The signal source has completely disappeared, and I can't find any clues within the range of my senses." Bertilla shook her head. "But when I tried to analyze the recorded signals, I seem to have found something."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
