The cold wind over the sea whistled past the shield as the sky and sea receded in their vision. The outline of the land was getting closer and closer, and the communication with the North Harbor Hub became clearer.
Melita had obviously sped up.
"Maybe it's just the Mithril Ring that's broken," Gwen said casually to the Giant Dragon even though he was worried about the change in the situation between Cecil and Typhon. "Tarlonde's technology may be advanced, but it's not to the point where everything is immortal."
"Probably." Melita seemed a little absent-minded. "Anyway, we have to hurry … Something big is going to happen this time."
Gwen did not respond. He just turned his head and looked in the direction of the North Harbor Coastline. He did not say a word for a long time.
Not far from him, Veronica, who was resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes. The "Saintess Princess" stood up and looked thoughtfully in the direction of the land. A trace of confusion appeared on her face.
However, her expression did not last long. After a few seconds, she withdrew her gaze and returned to her usual gentle but inhumane appearance.
…
Deep in the wasteland, the impact crater formed by the explosion of the Ancient Empire city was surrounded by trees.
A bluish-white beam of light that seemed to be able to penetrate the heavens and the earth gushed out from the center of the impact crater. The bright light illuminated the dark and dirty land, and in the large "forest" that grew around the impact crater, similar bluish-white streams of light were constantly jumping and flowing among the branches and vines that were close to each other, intertwining, and fusing together. Countless strange-looking "plants" were like the synapses of some kind of giant organism that had intertwined into a huge aggregate, and with the capital of the Ancient Empire as the center, the stolen energy was like chemical substances and electrical signals that were transmitted between the synapses, flowing over and over again in this huge and entangled system.
But all of a sudden, this intense and busy 'flow' came to an abrupt halt. The light that was rapidly leaping between the branches and vines instantly froze and flickered a few times as if it was in bad contact. In just a few seconds, the entire massive 'forest' dimmed down in patches and turned back into the appearance of a black forest.
At the center of the forest, in the buffer zone connected to the edge of the ancient crater, large plumes of thick smoke rose together with several violent flashes. More than ten thick vines were blown off and flew back into the forest like elastic ropes that were quickly retracting. Seeing this scene, the great patriarch Borken, who was controlling these vines, roared furiously, "Gemini! What are you doing?! "
A gust of wind blew, and Firna and Rayna appeared in front of Borken. Their hands were still entangled in the afterglow of magic power. The two elves said at the same time, "We're saving your life, Grand Hierarch."
On the inner wall of the crater not far away, the remnants of the plant structure that had been blown off had turned into ashes, and a huge energy pipe was turning from dark to bright again.
Borken's branches rustled as his wrinkled face emerged from the bark. "What happened?"
"The operating efficiency of the Ophelia Matrix is recovering. She has begun to scan and reset the various energy pipes. My dear great patriarch —" Rayna said the first half of the sentence, and Firna immediately finished the second half without delay. "It seems that she is' back. 'If we don't want to fight the Ironmen now, we'd better leave this place immediately."
"What …" Borken was taken aback, and then a look of anger appeared on his face. "Damn it, damn it … Why is it so early … Just a little bit more, the catalytic process is just a little bit more …"
His branches shook angrily, and so did the whole twisted 'Black Forest'. A terrifying rustling sound came from all directions as if the whole forest was roaring. But Borken did not lose his judgment. After realizing that his anger was futile, he decisively gave the order to evacuate. The twisted plants began to pull out their roots and spread out the intertwined vines and branches. The whole Black Forest instantly disintegrated into countless pieces and began to evacuate quickly to all parts of the wasteland.
"Be optimistic, Grand Hierarch." Rayna looked at Borken, who was angrily commanding the evacuation with an indifferent look on her face. "We didn't even expect to be able to extract so much energy from the pipe. The catalytic process is not complete, but we have completed most of the work. The subsequent transformation can be done slowly. Before that, safety is the most important thing. "
Borken turned his face and looked at Rayna and Firna with his tawny eyes embedded in the mottled bark. After a moment, he nodded and said, "You have a point."
The evacuation of the Black Forest was proceeding in an orderly manner. Borken, the Grand Hierarch, and several other important hierarchs quickly left, but Rayna and Firna did not immediately follow. The pair of elven twins just stood quietly at the edge of the crater, looking at the crater in the distance that sunk like the crater of a volcano, and the huge crystal vertebrae and the blue-white energy beams at the bottom of the crater.
They could feel that the 'inhuman soul' in the depths of the crystal vertebrae was gradually waking up. It was not fully awake yet, but one of its eyes had opened.
"Has she found us?" Rayna suddenly said as if she was talking to herself.
"Probably not. The direct detection module of the Ophelia Matrix has been permanently damaged hundreds of years ago. Now, other than the most basic damage detection system, she can only rely on the Ironmen to understand the situation around the crater," Firna also replied as if she was talking to herself. "We are very cautious. We have always been in the blind spot of the Ironmen and the detection system."
"… How sad." Rayna looked at the crystal vertebrae in the distance with a hint of sarcasm and self-deprecation. "What a glorious star of the stars, the most beautiful and the most intelligent pearl of the empire … Now, she is just a ghost trapped in the ruins and the grave, unwilling to die."
"That's how disobedient people are, unwilling to bow down and unwilling to die," Feyerna said quietly. Then, Leona spoke as well. They sighed in unison. "… How sad."
A gust of wind blew, and withered leaves were swept into the air. After the wind and leaves had dispersed, the elven twins had disappeared at the edge of the crater.
…
The solemn triple spire covered the spacious council hall. In this magnificent room, members of the aristocracy, the mages, the scholars, and the wealthy merchants were sitting in rows of fan-shaped chairs.
The bright light from the magic crystal lamps shone down from the dome and shone on the faces in the council hall. Perhaps it was the light, but the faces of these big shots looked paler than usual. Against the black suits favored by the council members, these pale faces were like pebbles shaking in the black mud, blind and meaningless.
A tense and depressing atmosphere shrouded the place. Although it was depressing most of the time, the depressing atmosphere today was more than ever.
There was a constant buzzing sound in the hall, which was the sound of the council members whispering to each other. Some small groups familiar with each other were discussing some sensational news. But more of the council members were paying attention to the most special seat at the front of the hall, which was reserved for the royal representatives. Now, there was no one except for two fully armed Knight and several attendants standing not far behind the seat.
Count Dulles sat in his seat, turning a luxurious ring with a huge gem on it irritably. He turned the side with the gem to his palm and held it tightly until he felt a slight sting. He turned the gem to one side and then turned it back again. He was doing such a meaningless thing, and all he could hear was pessimism and frustration, or blind confidence and enthusiasm.
The Empire and Cecil had suddenly entered a state of war. It seemed that there were traitors hiding among the nobles. The Church of the God of War had been infiltrated by blasphemers. Pope Malcolm Dumont's death was very suspicious. The army seemed to be going through a purge, or perhaps a purge had already begun.
Dark clouds hung over Oldenheim. The ignorant people at the bottom did not know the truth behind the recent depressing atmosphere in the city, while the nobles and representatives of the wealthy citizens in the upper class had access to more insider information. But in Count Dulles' eyes, these people who were whispering nervously around him were not much better than the civilians.
At this moment, a voice came from a few seats away. "Count Dulles, do you know that the Knight Protector Regiment entered the inner city yesterday?"
Count Dulles frowned subconsciously, but before he turned his head, he adjusted his expression. He looked toward the source of the voice and saw a fat, bald man smiling at him. The man was wearing a tight suit, with a thin gold watch chain hanging out of his chest pocket, and a pair of golden spectacles hanging from another thin chain. The spectacles were on the man's nose, or rather, embedded in the fat on his face.
"Of course, this news has spread among the councilors." Count Dulles nodded at the fat man and spoke with a neutral attitude.
"Something big is going to happen, Count Dulles." The fat man shook his head, and the flesh around his neck shook. "The last time the Knight Protector Regiment entered the inner city was more than a decade ago."
Count Dulles maintained a polite smile and casually agreed, but in his heart, he did not take it seriously.
Pohlberg, an opportunist merchant, had merely borrowed the popularity of the arcanotech industry to multiply his value in the past two years. Apart from his father who was also a rather successful merchant, such a person did not have a single family legacy that he could bring up from his grandfather. And yet, such a person could appear beneath the Triple Spire of the Council …
Count Dulles would not question the emperor's decree. He knew that such a special "seat" was needed in the council, but he still did not like speculative businessmen like Boelberg. Money had inflated their ego too much.
Such a speculative businessman did not even address a noble like Count Dulles as "sir" but directly addressed him as "sir." In the eyes of any upper-class person who respected tradition and etiquette, this was obviously a violation of good order.
But even with such thoughts in his mind, Count Dulles still maintained decent etiquette. He casually chatted with Boelberg about some trivial things. Half of the reason was to be polite as a noble, and the other half was because the cotton plantation and several factories in Count Dulles' hands still needed to do business with Boelberg.
Fortunately, the conversation did not last long. In the corner of Count Dulles' eyes, he suddenly saw a golden door at the front of the hall being opened.
The councilors immediately quieted down, and the buzzing in the hall stopped abruptly.
Princess Mathilda, who was wearing a black palace dress and had long black hair that reached her waist, walked out of the door with a dignified and elegant bearing. She glanced sideways at the hall and then walked straight to her seat.
Some of the guards and soldiers followed behind the princess and entered the room.
Many people's eyes fell on Mathilda. They watched the pearl of the empire walk forward, but Count Dulles' eyes quickly fell on the soldiers who appeared with the princess. After seeing the appearance of those soldiers, the noble of Typhon's eyes instantly changed slightly.
They were in pitch-black armor, with obsidian crystals inlaid on their breastplates to amplify magic power. Their helmets had the emblem of the royal family, and at their waists were enchanted longswords and magic spheres.
The Obsidian Imperial Guards!
This was the first time Count Dulles saw the Obsidian Imperial Guards step into this place since he became a noble councilor!
He immediately instinctively looked at the golden door and saw the Obsidian Imperial Guards enter the hall one after another, quietly replacing the guards who were originally standing guard in the hall. And after the last Imperial Guard entered, he saw a handsome black-haired young man walk in as if he had expected.
Prince Hardion.
Count Dulles saw the prince, who was the commander of the Obsidian Imperial Guards, walk into the hall and then stop there as if he was guarding the door. He glanced around the hall as if he was counting the number of people in the hall.
The hall, which had fallen into silence, seemed to be even quieter at this moment. And at this time, there seemed to be something else in the silence.
Count Dulles suddenly remembered what the speculator said when he talked to him just now.
This time … it seemed that something big was going to happen.
The next moment, Mathilda sat down in her seat. She gently knocked on the table in front of her, and all eyes in the hall instantly fell on her.
"Councilors." She cleared her throat and looked calmly at the faces in the hall that appeared paler under the light and the black robes. "Today, we need to discuss a major proposal that concerns the future of the empire.
"According to His Majesty's order, according to our sacred and just laws, according to the vital interests of all the citizens of the empire, considering the current state of war the empire is facing and the various disturbing changes in the noble system and the church system, I now propose the following proposal on behalf of the Royal Family of Typhon.
"Use the Emperor's supreme power and temporarily close the Imperial Parliament."
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