Shaman Minnie held out her hand and motioned for Randall to move on, and she said as she backed away and closed the door, "Young man, remember my words. Everything we see and think before God is no longer a secret. ”

Randall looked at the black dragon in the empty square, swallowed nervously, and walked forward with trembling steps.

The black dragon's golden pupils looked at the humans below, and the first words he uttered surprised Randall: "Come closer, don't be afraid, I won't eat you again." ”

Randall smiled, he stood under the black dragon, looked up and said, "You saved me from a battlefield full of gunsmoke and artillery fire, if it was only for food, it would be too wasteful. ”

The black dragon stared at Randall's cheeks, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he spoke, "Answer my question." ”

Randall nodded and said, "You saved my life, as long as it is not involved in betrayal and conspiracy, I will do my best to answer your questions." ”

The black dragon's originally high head lowered a little, and while carefully observing Randall's every move, he asked, "You had a chance to leave the dead place in Lone Rock City, why did you choose to stay in the end?"

Randall opened his mouth, just about to speak.

The black dragon then said: "You don't need to tell me the reasons to buy time and wait for reinforcements, you should know in your heart that those are just excuses to cover up. ”

Randall froze in place, bowing his head in deep thought.

The black dragon said slowly in a rather strange tone, "You and your mother were expelled from Lone Rock City in the first place. The inhabitants of the city have done some very bad things to you because of your alien status, and it stands to reason that you should hate that city and all the people there. Why? Why stay and help them?"

Randall recalled the harrowing images and sounds of the past, his face pale and shaky.

"When I was a child, my mother once took me to the circus once......" Randall said in a trembling voice, "I saw there a behemoth from the South—elephants." They were so tall and so strong, but the trainers were able to tie them to one place with just a stake and a twine, and forbid them from escaping. ”

"I used to ask my mother at the time, these elephants have so great strength, why don't they roll up their stakes with their noses and run out of the circus?" Randall shook his head and said, "My mother told me that they tried when they were young and failed. Eventually, instead of escaping, they were beaten and starved. ”

"When they grew up, they thought about trying to escape again. But the bitter memories of the past have prompted these elephants to choose the most conservative and safest way to stay where they are. ”

After saying these words, Randall let out a long breath: "When I was in Lone Rock City, I think the biggest reason I stayed was probably to prove that pulling out a stake is not a terrible thing. ”

The black dragon looked at Randall and said calmly, "However, while you pulled out the stake, you also paid a heavy price. ”

Randall hung his head, speechless for a long time.

The black dragon asked again: "If you had known earlier that the price of pulling out the stake was the life of your loved one, would you have made the same choice?"

Randall's face showed hesitation and struggle: "I...... I do not know. ”

The black dragon paused for a moment and spoke again: "Randall, recuperate in Froststone City, those things you care about will have a result." ”

Randall looked up at the black dragon, bowed in displeasure, and disappeared into the gate at the end.

Evie, the Valkyrie, dressed in leather armor and carrying a short sword at her waist, stepped out of the woods at the back of the square, stood beside the black dragon, and asked, "He still looks confused, do you really think that young man can take on this responsibility?"

"It's not just him, it's the nature of all human beings. The black dragon waved its claws and condensed some light blue particles in the air into his hands: "How to reconcile the balance between xenomorphs and humans, Randall may not be the best choice, but at least it is a starting point. ”

"Todd, I have a question. ”

The black dragon looked down at Evie and asked, "What?"

"What are you going to do with Dusk West?"

Todd looked at Evie for a moment of silence, then whispered, "I see what you mean. ”

Evie continued, "Twilight City and Froststone City are like two carriages driving on different roads, and as the roads fork, they are getting farther and farther apart. Have you ever thought about driving them back together?"

Todd shook his head: "In the short term, I won't go out of my way to change the state of these two cities, you can think of them as two different experimental ......"

Evie approached Todd, stroked the scales, and asked, "One more thing...... It's about you. ”

Todd guessed what the other party was going to say next, and said helplessly: "Evie, as I said before, although I have the means to turn into a human form in a short period of time, my own body fluids have completely escaped the category of human beings, they may be highly poisonous, may cause unpredictable consequences, and if they are hastily combined, they may cause harm to their partners." ”

"I don't care. Evie craned her neck and said, "Throughout the history of the gods, gods often took human form and interacted with other races to give birth to offspring......"

Todd said with a headache: "That's myths and legends, and you don't know what the real consequences are." Well, I'll ask someone who knows the inside story when I have the chance, and I'll tell you when I have the answer. ”

After saying this, Todd ignored Evie and directly opened the soul space, pulling the officials at all levels in Twilight City into the conference room of the research institute.

In the soul space, Todd, who appeared in human form, sat at the conference table, looked at the table full of officials in Twilight City, and said, "Following on from the last topic, let's talk about the follow-up of the Lone Rock City War. ”

Emerson took a stack of manuscripts and said to Todd, "In accordance with your majesty's instructions, we have transported a group of craftsmen and laborers into the ruins of Lone Rock City and began to rebuild the city defenses and fortifications. The residents of Guyan City, who had fled their homes, also returned to the city and began to help rebuild the city. ”

Putting down the manuscript in his hand, Emerson rubbed his eyebrows and said, "But there are a few thorny issues that need to be solved urgently. First of all, the eleven-year-old queen of Lone Rock City, what should we do with her? I would like to warn you in advance that if this matter is not handled well, it may cause criticism from other countries. ”

Todd turned his gaze to the other attendees, "What do you see?"

Terrence proposed, "After all, the queen is here to take refuge, why don't you find a place in the city to settle her down, and then return to Lone Rock when she is an adult?"

I don't know why, Cumberland, who was not in a good mood, snorted twice: "There are few living people in Lone Rock City, if you want me to say, let that queen not go back, eat and drink well, and the Twilight West Knights will directly garrison Lone Rock City! If any bastard has an opinion, let him lead his troops to resist the southerners next time!"

Emerson tugged at the corner of Cumberland's coat under the table and motioned for him to shut his mouth.

The old knight's anger made all the officials present show embarrassed looks, and no one spoke again.

Todd glanced at the faces of the people around him and proposed, "In this way, let the queen of Lone Rock City live in Dusk West City for the time being." Wait for the situation in Lone Rock to stabilize before asking her opinion. ”

Emerson nodded, and then said, "Regarding Lone Rock City, the second thing has to do with armaments. In this battle, the Knights of Twilight captured a large number of muskets and artillery, and also captured some enemy logistics personnel, which greatly contributed to the development and utilization of firearms and equipment in Twilight City. But it needs to invest a lot of money and manpower, I wonder if Your Majesty agrees with the relevant research and development work?"

"Muskets and artillery are useful to us, but they also require a lot of troops to be effective. Compared to the South, Twilight City has a small population and fewer troops to fight, and our most important task now is to effectively protect every soldier who fights. Therefore, the research and development and production of firearms can be carried out in a controlled manner, but in order to control the investment within a certain range, the Kingdom's resources should still be prioritized for the development of heterogeneous protective equipment and capabilities. ”

Emerson took Todd's order, cleared his throat, and continued, "Your Majesty, I have one more thing to do about this war in Lone Rock. ”

Say. ”

Emerson took a deep breath and said calmly, "I propose to remove the current Prime Minister of Twilight City and re-elect him. ”