After the small-scale chaos and pitfalls caused by inexperience, the sudden increase in the number of visitors, the lack of consideration and other reasons, the carnival had now entered a very orderly state.
Despite the astonishing scale of the event, it was guaranteed that there wouldn't be a single fatal accident (though there was no end to the little troublesome incidents. Thank you, gentlemen of the Neighbourhood Committee and Town Security). That wasn't something that could be guaranteed by the Empire's army. As the organizer of the festival, Xi Weis had the most credit, and the hard work of the volunteers from various worlds was undeniable.
Every day, millions of visitors would travel between their own worlds and the Shadow Realm through the Dimensional Hub. Celebrations of unprecedented scale were held at the three venues, with the cultures and objects of thousands of worlds being displayed and exchanged on the most open platform in history. Countless new thoughts would spark in such exchanges, with brand-new knowledge and cultural concepts as well as rare and unusual treasures of various worlds leaving every reveller immersed in the wondrous sensations as if they were Alice in Wonderland. All of that combined to form a grand and bizarre painting, and if an ambitious painter could create a realistic painting like Along the River during the Qingming Festival …
Yep, probably from the age of six and a half to death.
In the first few days, me, Shallow Shallow, and the rest of the Revellers were enjoying being the hands-off boss, leaving the troublesome matters of organizing the event to Xi Weis, the Town Security to maintain order, and the various practical operations to the volunteer teams of several major subsidiary worlds. Meanwhile, the true leaders of the Empire who were supposed to be the organizers of the event were wandering around aimlessly, either taking pictures with the various otherworld visitors or going on a shopping spree under the enthusiasm of a certain Lord of Time. Either way, they were swindling and scamming the world, and I must say that the first four or five days of the carnival were truly joyous.
But — damn it, there's another 'but'!
Even so, the days of joy were always fleeting, and the heavy responsibility would always fall on our shoulders. Speechless, why couldn't we just have fun until the end of the festival?
"Ahem, Ah Jun, be more solemn and dignified."
Due to his serious absent-mindedness, he had a slight facial paralysis. When his elder sister poked him in the waist, he immediately quivered and continued to hold his face, imagining that he was a terracotta soldier that traveled through time and space.
The air in Tirisfal Woodland was as fermented as always.
I sniffled and felt that I should get Cirvanas to bring up the greening of the Tirisfal region. Although the Forsaken didn't need fresh air, you had to leave a way out for the other races who came here to play. Last time, I heard that the envoy from Stormwind City got acute appendicitis because of the "fresh air" here. Speaking of which, that bastard breathed through his duodenum? If you want to hurry back to the country, just say so!
Under my elder sister's reminder, Shallow Shallow, who had been slacking off for who knows how long, adjusted our expressions and tried our best to put on a dignified and solemn expression. Although we couldn't match up to Sandora's natural majesty, at the very least, if we were to be thrown into the terracotta army, we would still be at the level of porcelain.
The faint rustling of the withered trees in Tirisfal Woodland in the cold wind could be heard. The specially equipped royal patrol ship beneath us didn't make a single sound as it floated in the air. If I didn't know that the ship had already started moving, I might have even thought that I had landed.
Even though it wasn't the first time I had experienced such a scene, I still felt extremely awkward as I stood together with everyone at the edge of the observation platform at the bow of this majestic and majestic battleship, receiving the scorching gazes of the orderly formation of infantry on the ground below.
This was one of the few events that were officially organized by the Empire during the carnival. The first event was naturally the opening ceremony of the carnival and the recruitment advertisement after the opening ceremony. The second event was right now, the military parade that was held in the World of Azeroth on the fifth day of the carnival.
Yep, the military parade was held on the fifth day, a rather strange timing. When I first learned of Sandora's decision, I was exceptionally puzzled. It wasn't the opening ceremony nor the finale, but the military parade that was supposed to be a major event was held on the fifth day of the carnival. Such a situation wouldn't occur in normal festivals held by humans. Furthermore, a military parade was extremely important to the Shiring Apostles who promoted extreme war ideology. Even if it was a military parade with their subsidiary races as the main characters, they should still take it seriously.
After Sandora's explanation, I realized that the number five had a special meaning to the Shiring Apostles.
In the early days of civilization, when the Empire was still far from standing at the pinnacle of the multiverse, the Shiring Apostles had also experienced difficult development on their home planet, evolving in twists and turns and contradictions. War, internal strife, conflict, heresy, these deep-rooted bad habits that plagued most of the "mortal" races had also shrouded over the Schilling Civilization in ancient times, and the history of this great civilization was divided into distinct generations. The fifth generation, was believed to be the generation where the Shiring Apostles crushed the mortal race's weaknesses and sublimated the entire race into a "perfect" generation.
In this generation, the Schilling Civilization experienced a rebirth from the ashes.
Charging out of their home planet, conquering the Milky Way, merging tribes, establishing a system of authority, confirming the Emperor's authority, completely stripping away the imprint of the race's ideology, emotional imperfections, and a race culture where efficiency was paramount … The Shiring Apostles miraculously completed all the challenges that a mortal civilization could possibly experience through twists and turns and exploration, sublimating, fusing, and transforming themselves into a brand new life form through inconceivable cohesion and innumerable racial sacrifices. In this generation, the Empire conquered the universe for the first time, and it was also in this generation that the Empire encountered the Abyss for the first time.
When the Schilling Civilization finally staggered out of the cradle of the world and stood up again after a near-destructive counterattack from the Abyss, the name "Xiling Empire" became a truly revered symbol.
From that day onwards, the number five became a symbol that held a special meaning in the hearts of the Shiring Apostles. It was the end of the ancient era, and it was also the first year of the modern era where the "Shiring Apostles" were born. A civilization was split into two based on this number. On one side were the mortals who staggered through the multiverse, and on the other side were the Gods.
Recalling the things that Sandora had explained to me, I couldn't help but sigh in my heart.
Even the Shiring Apostles, who had finally reached the realm of Gods, had actually experienced countless hardships and twists before they finally achieved their final success. Other than the rich second generation like the Gods of the Star Region, I'm afraid that any civilization would have to pay the same amount of sacrifice and hard work if they wanted to continue existing. However, even after experiencing so many challenges, an incomparably powerful Empire would still collapse one day. The affairs of the world are unpredictable.
At this moment, the Royal Patrol Ship suddenly shook slightly. The bow of the ship turned towards the direction of the military parade, and the scene in front of us also changed. Sylvanas, who was standing beside us as a member of the entourage, interrupted my thoughts. Pointing to the warped horizon in the distance, the Dark Queen said in a low voice, "Over there is the Great Rift. As you can see, it has already been more than a year, but there are still no signs of it closing up. It is said that it may continue to exist for millions of years. That place has already stabilized, and has become the holy land of arcane researchers and astrologers."
Following the direction of her finger, I also saw the scene in the sky that left one tongue-tied.
The horizon was warped and cracked. The earth that was made up of boulders and soil gradually rose from the two sides, curling into a strange arc. It looked as though there were countless bony, withered claws that were trying to grab something in the sky. Above these monstrous claws, at a place that was a few kilometers above the ground, the air was abnormally distorted. Huge black cracks filled the area with a radius of one kilometer. Dark blue clouds formed by highly concentrated psionic energy permeated from those huge spatial cracks, rendering the web-like cracks into a sinister appearance. Dazzling blue lightning danced in the dense clouds, constantly releasing and neutralizing energy.
Slightly further away from the area that seemed extremely dangerous, gigantic boulders and even floating islands were scattered in the sky due to the disorder of gravity, blocking the light from the sun. The gigantic black figure was constantly tumbling under the high altitude airflow, but due to some kind of subtle balance, it maintained a drift of no more than twenty meters. With my strengthened vision, I could clearly see that there were many new man-made buildings on the largest floating islands. It was an extremely reckless construction method.
"Yes, it is very dangerous. The aftermath of your power is still surging in that space, and I'm afraid that it will continue to surge for millions of years. Even the smallest energy lightning is enough to destroy the strongest arcane shield that an archmage can create. Once those spatial cracks burst open, it is enough to cut the entire Tirisfal into pieces. But for the Arcanists and Warlocks stationed on the land, being able to feel and study the mysteries of psionic energy and space at such a close distance is an unimaginably generous condition. Even if we send people to chase them away, as long as there is a chance, they will once again approach the 'Great Rift'. After this repeated a few times, the leaders of the various factions have acquiesced to this risky research. After all, the people up there are the most outstanding scholars in Azeroth. Even the king doesn't dare to be too rude to them. "
"And I'm afraid that you are also sharing the results of their research, right?"
I tilted my head slightly and said with a smile.
Sylvanas admitted readily, "That's right, we are indeed studying what happened there. Even the Empire can't provide us with such a research opportunity. A remnant of Emperor Schilling's power was perfectly bound by a large continuous spatial crack, turning it into the best research sample. Of course, you don't care about this, but our scholars are ecstatic. They have never seen such a large amount of energy that can be bound together so securely. They are trying to find a shortcut to use arcane magic to bind psionic energy, and this kind of research has already achieved initial results. "
"Oh …" I looked at the spatial crack in the distance that had completely changed the environment of Tirisfal. I felt that it was a little unreal.
If this happened on Earth, how many environmentalists would be worried to death!
That area had been classified as an absolute danger zone, but countless Arcanists had been willing to risk their lives to study it. It was the place where the final battle of the Azeroth Salvation War broke out. The Fallen Apostle General Savy died there, and in the annihilation reaction of the Singularity, he became the primordial energy of another dimension. After everything had settled, the shockwaves from the Singularity's explosion did not immediately dissipate. In the next half an hour, it left an eternal scar on Planet Azeroth: a spatial storm with a radius of one kilometer, a crack in the crust that was dozens of kilometers wide and deep into the magma belt, and an energy ring that had a radiation range of hundreds of kilometers. The shockwaves from the Singularity's explosion even caused the Undercity, which was less than 20 kilometers away from the final battlefield, to be renamed the Great Dark Canyon. Cirvanas had no choice but to dig a new pit in the western part of Tirisfal, far away from the old capital. Speaking of which, why was the obsession of the Forsaken with cave dwellings so strong?
The former battlefield had now become the most famous research holy land in the world of Azeroth. Scholars from Dalaran, Cenarion, Silvermoon, and other places, as well as obscure mages who popped out from god knows where, led their followers to build their own mage towers or research outposts on the floating island in the sky above the Great Breach and on the precipice of the endless abyss flowing with magma below. With a fearless spirit, they fought to the death against the various unimaginable miracles there. This kind of crazy research was not hot-blooded. Just as Sylvanas said, it was rare to see a Xi Ling Emperor personally take action. Furthermore, the situation where the energy chain reaction that was triggered after taking action was even more miraculous. To the Xi Ling Apostles who had already mastered the more advanced energy theory, this kind of miraculous scene might only have a novel aesthetic value. However, to the people of Azeroth who had just come into contact with the higher level of civilization knowledge and were stumbling in the field of psionic energy and higher dimensional space technology, this place was enough for them to research for more than half a year.
That was why people said that scientists were the scariest. Those scholars who did not care about their lives were not doing useless work. Driven by the enthusiasm of research that even Tawil was amazed by, the Great Rift Research Group could produce a new academic paper every 24 hours. In just a year, the number of new arcane phenomena that the scholars discovered from the Great Rift was twice as many as the number of new arcane phenomena discovered in Azeroth in the past few hundred years. Now, there was a popular saying in the research field in the World of Azeroth: A long time ago, I was doing research in the Great Rift like you, until I took an arrow in the knee …
This saying was used by those poor mages who could not apply for a research spot to mock themselves.
How should I put it? Today, more than a year later, I came to Azeroth again. Now that I saw what was happening here, I once again deeply felt the impact that the Imperial Army's actions had on the ordinary world. For example, the huge spatial storm in the distance and the shattered earth, as well as the orderly formation of warriors of various races below us.
Who would have thought that the warriors of Azeroth, who were once incompatible with each other, would stand in the same camp and accept the inspection with the same sense of glory?
The scarred and harsh environment of the Tirisfal Woodlands was not a suitable place to hold a celebration, but its special significance as the final battlefield of the War of Salvation was why we finally chose this place for the military parade. Warriors from various races, including rare races such as the Bearfolk and the Elemental Creatures, had already lined up neatly on the man-made plains below us. Among these millions of warriors of the Salvation Army, half of them were veterans who had survived the War of Salvation and had recovered their health. The rest were the best of the new recruits who had recently been recruited. They wore Azeroth's style, but the material was obviously far superior to the super-alloy armor of this era. Standing proudly under the dim morning sun, the hundreds of phalanxes were like hundreds of breathing steel plates, exuding a deep aura that was second only to that of the Empire's phalanxes.
Among these phalanxes, some of the newly formed battle groups were particularly eye-catching.
Shrouded in giant red mobile armor, there were Tauren Gunners who carried heavy machine cannons like killing gods (they could easily enter into a buff state by staring at their breastplates for 10 seconds), there were Blood Elf Mages who wore light enclosed space armor (they carried a Lightning Axe and a limited edition Heart of the Rising Sun), there were Human Templars who spat out sharp Psionic Blades in their hands, and their entire body was covered in spiritual shields that rippled like water. (their secondary weapon was a C-10M type shotgun that shot out Psionic Crystal Dust) …
These were the fierce special forces that we had created after the fusion of technology. They were the most ferocious fellows among the servant armies of the various subsidiary worlds.
It wasn't just Azeroth. In fact, in the other major worlds, similar types of troops had already appeared. It was just that only these phalanxes in front of us had been used in actual combat.
"It's time," Cirvanas said softly.
Cirvanas said in a low voice. As her voice trailed off, the thick clouds above the Tirisfal Woodlands were pushed away by a powerful force at the same time. The morning sun that had been fighting against the heavily polluted upper atmosphere of this godforsaken place for almost half an hour finally broke through the thick fog and shone on the phalanx of the army below, causing the armor of these soldiers who had been standing silently for an hour to reflect a cold brilliance. As the royal cruiser began to move slowly in the air, impassioned military music resounded in the silent world of Tirisfal.
"Battle! Glory! Victory! "
Every time the cruiser flew past a phalanx, a deafening battle cry would resound through the clouds. Even I couldn't help but feel my blood boil in this atmosphere …
The inspection of the Salvation Army in the World of Azeroth was only a high-level exchange between the officials of the Empire and Azeroth. However, the scene would still be broadcasted to a limited extent to the ordinary citizens. Thus, when the gigantic royal cruiser slowly moved across the sky and inspected the phalanxes below, this exciting scene was simultaneously projected in the air at the three meeting places. The citizens of the macro world looked at this scene with astonished or shocked gazes. Perhaps they had a new understanding of the subsidiary worlds of the Empire … In fact, I felt that the main purpose of broadcasting this military inspection was to save the moral integrity that the heroes of the World of Azeroth had lost in that d * mned Snow White War Chronicles. You've lost so much, you have to get it back, don't you?
Cough cough, after the military inspection … Don't look at me like that. Do you expect a person like me, who only knows how to eat and wait for death, to have a deep impression of the military inspection! Although the process was impassioned, in reality, today's military inspection might be the highlight of Sandora's show, but to me, it was just something that happened in passing. The reason why we came here today was to discuss something with Cirvanas.
"Subsidiary World Military Department?"
In the lounge of the royal cruiser, I said such a term to the leaders of the various races of Azeroth present.
"That's right, subsidiary world military department. Err, I just randomly came up with this name, so let's call it that for now. To be more specific, it is a military department specially set up for the subsidiary worlds of the Empire. The administrative authority is on the side of the Empire, but it requires the participation of the military commanders of each world …"
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