At sunset, the Monamolin Mountains remain snow-capped in autumn. Viewed from the air, it resembles a winding wall of ice on the western edge of the Federation. It was a sight that Weiss had experienced from almost the same height at the end of the last war, and it would be an unforgettable memory to look back at the terrifying journey he had just made to this plane.

Today, he sits in the cabin of the USS St. Patrick, a Confederate military transport, and follows the Confederate delegation westward. After crossing the Monamolin Mountains into foreign territory, flying over the small central states, it reached the borders of the Norman Empire.

After a long trade-off, Weiss finally joined the journey. From the perspective of the ego, he should have held an attitude of not getting out, his wife and children are hot on the kang, seeking stability, but from the perspective of the ego, his special skills are unmatched.

In fact, after some in-depth communication, Professor Xiao Yang no longer rejected his idea of going to the Norman Empire with an official delegation, after all, this is not a war journey, but a journey of exploration and discovery. There is a risk, but the risk is low. Moreover, an understanding of the Norman Empire helped the Federation to be well prepared, and the better prepared it was, the stronger the deterrent to potential enemies, and it was possible to eventually achieve peace through a military equilibrium.

This ice-breaking trip, initiated by the Federation, is under the responsibility of the Minister of Security, Mullen. Weiss's last and only trip to the Norman Empire happened to be led by this older generation of war heroes, and he had to sigh at the wonder of fate. Mullen did not travel with the delegation himself, but was headed by First Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Cáceres, while the real "important gentleman" was the President's Special Envoy and Special Adviser, General Van Loe. When he learned that his old headmaster would be accompanying him as the central figure of the delegation, Weiss was overjoyed. Although he had only dealt with Van Lowe a few times during his time at the Barston Military Academy, he was extremely impressed, and felt that he was the kind of old-timer full of true wisdom. During the war, he rubbed shoulders with his old headmaster several times, regretting that he could not join hands on the battlefield against the enemy. Although it is not a military operation today, its significance is not inferior to that of a conventional battle, and it is a great honor to be able to fight side by side.

In addition to the old headmaster Van Luo, there were many old acquaintances on this transport ship, including the big star Gunnevere, a household name in the Federation, who was confirmed only two days before the departure of the delegation. She traveled with the group, perhaps to bring that beautiful singing voice to the Normans, to purify the Normans with a tearful stargazing - these were Weiss's speculations. As for how the Federation thought about it, he didn't have to speculate too much. He was accompanied by a governor, General Evans of Niederwell. Together with representatives of all walks of life, as well as high-ranking personnel of the intelligence and security services, a huge delegation of nearly 200 people was formed.

After the transport flew over the Monamolin Mountains, it was getting dark. On this clear night, the sky is full of bright stars, giving people a dreamlike feeling, and the road ahead is no longer a special journey full of thorns and death, which is a very different situation.

After a round of cards with the gentlemen, Weiss found a relatively quiet corner and watched through the porthole. At night, the mountains and rivers of the Norman Empire become hazy, and their outlines are faintly discernible to the naked eye. Every once in a while, Weiss had to squint his eyes and use his special vision to observe the military and industrial distribution of the enemy. The Normans would never have imagined that there would be a special human radar on this transport ship. Although it is not enough to fully grasp all kinds of information about the Norman Empire in one flight, one more piece of information means one more layer of security.

"You've just left, and you're starting to miss it?" A sound like a silver bell came, and Weiss didn't have to look up to know it was Gunnevere. Although they are old friends, as a basic etiquette, they should stand up and give each other a friendly smile.

It's not too cold this season, and Gunniville wears a simple little dress and a lady's hat, which is casual and decent. If you don't know her identity, it is difficult to connect with the identity of a big star at first glance.

"Thinking about something. Well, things that have nothing to do with life can be considered business! Weiss responded to her question.

"You've been to the Norman Empire with Octavier, you've had an adventure of a lifetime, and you're traveling west again, how does it feel now?" Gunnevere has probably been interviewed by media reporters a lot, and this question seems to be asked by reporters.

"The night I went to the Norman Empire was about the same time as now, and it happened to be this kind of weather, how did you feel...... Probably about the same! Weiss replied vaguely.

"But the mood must be different!" Gunevere asked in the affirmative.

Weiss looked at her good-looking face with a little powder, and quipped, "Yes, that trip, with Octavier's protection, I was more steady." This trip to protect you, but the mood is a little nervous. ”

Gunevere covered her mouth and laughed: "You are no longer a soldier, but the governor of Lorraine." We're all the same, we're all ordinary members of the mission, and the security is in charge of the soldiers, so you don't have to deal with that much psychological pressure unless you have an extra secret mission. ”

Weiss shrugged: "You're right, I'm not the same as before. My colleagues should be in charge of the security, and I don't have to do anything so risky until I have to, and that's not the case on this trip. ”

"Minister Mullen has repeatedly assured me that the trip will be absolutely safe." Gunnevere said.

"There are no absolutes in the world!" Weiss responded, "In my judgment, there is a high probability that there will be no surprises on this trip. But it's the Norman Empire after all, and we'd better be vigilant enough at all times in case something else doesn't seem so dangerous happens. ”

"You're confusing me." "What's something that's not directly dangerous and happens after the fact?" Will the enemy still put chronic poison in our food and wait until we return to the Federation? ”

Weiss nodded: "That's the truth!" It's just that the enemy is not necessarily poison, but it may be something ideological, similar to poison, which gradually corrodes our will...... Of course, this is just a vigilant idea, and it may not be true, after all, this is an official diplomatic visit, and it is announced to the outside world, and even if they have an eye, they will not go too far. ”

Gunevere didn't seem to listen to what Weiss was saying, or to understand what it really meant. She looked out the window and said, "I don't know much about the Norman Empire, and you must have studied him in detail because of the previous operation, so tell me about it briefly!" ”

Weiss pondered for a moment: "In general, the Norman Empire, as the second largest country on the planet in terms of area and population, has a very strong industrial and military power. From what we have come across, fanaticism is only for the upper nobility, officials, and the military, and the common people are not much different from our civilians - they do not like war, nor are they arrogant and bloodthirsty, which we can observe in the rest of our trip. ”

"Hmm...... The territory of the Norman Empire can be divided into four parts, one is the eastern part of the area dominated by agriculture and forestry, the second part is the industrial zone around the capital in the center and the north of the country, the third part is the mountainous desert and icy coastline in the west, and the fourth part is only the central and southern lakes, swamps, wetlands and humid coastlines. The political, economic, and military center is Odejar, which is located slightly north in the middle of the country, which is what they call the 'heart of the empire' and the 'city of jewels'. This city is inhabited by about 20 million people and is the second largest metropolis on our planet after Liberty City. Our first stop, though, is the capital of their eastern region, which is simply called the East City. The city has a population of 8 million and is also quite a large city, equivalent to thirty or forty masons. As for the rest, I don't know much. In fact, a lot of the information we had before we left for the Norman hinterland was outdated. That's why the top brass pushed for this icebreaker and reflected on how little we know about the enemy. ”

"I know most of what you're talking about. Even if you don't know, you're not very interested. Actually, I'm curious. Are the fashion and jewelry of the Norman Empire as fascinating as it is rumored, after all, it is a monarchy with an upper class society that is more extravagant than we can imagine...... I'm not saying this for personal enjoyment, but for the sake of stage performance. ”

Weiss nodded slightly, with a "I understand" expression. In fact, the poison he mentioned before, that is, the psychedelic effect of the Norman monarchy, especially for young people, through extraordinary efforts, it is indeed extremely attractive to break through the limitations of class in a short period of time and live a good life, and it can even be regarded as a motivation for struggle, but from the perspective of life outlook and values, this kind of thinking is radical and selfish. People who are truly valuable should have the society in mind and the public in mind, rather than only seeing their own status and wealth. In the Norman Empire, the reason why armies were strong and became a popular destination for young people was because they were able to bring everything they could only dream of – provided that they were expansionist, invaded, and plundered. It was difficult for Weiss to lecture to Gunnevere like a philosophy or psychology teacher.

Just as he was thinking about this, the old headmaster Van Luo came over, and his kind smile always brought warmth to Weiss's soul.

"Both of them happen to be there." After sitting down, he said in a calm and cordial tone, "Minister Mullen told me that this delegation has two of the brightest stars of the Federation, one on the stage and the other on the political stage. Coincidentally, I have a deep relationship with both of them. Miss Grumman, your sister is my proud student, and you and I have grown up watching from childhood. As for you, Chief Clumber Haysen, you are the student who has surprised me the most and is one of the most successful. Both of you are here, just in time to tell you what Minister Mullen has asked me to do. ”

Weiss thought that the old headmaster Van Luo was going to take lessons with them, telling them not to be corrupted by the enemy's sugar-coated shells, and not to be attracted by the drunken gold fans of the Norman Empire, but this was not what the old headmaster was talking about.

"You two are excellent representatives of the young generation of the Federation, and you can also be said to be role models. Miss Grumman's graceful singing voice soothed the hearts of countless war-wounded people and gave hope to countless people who were sad and desperate, and Clumber-Haysom is an example of how young men have forged a path to success through tireless struggle, and is an example to learn from and emulate. We want to show them that the Confederation is not just freedom, but also another arena for dreams, and that there is no single way to achieve success militarily as preached by the Norman powers. Even in peacetime, even in the non-military field, there is still a way to realize the dream, and it is also possible to achieve a certain degree of success at a young age. These signals were to be sent to the Normans, especially their younger generation, to see that there were other opportunities to realize their dreams besides killing and conquest. ”

Listening to what the old principal Vano said about this, Weiss was deeply recognized. Heroism is not so narrowly pursuing the position of prince and general, or plundering wealth through war, but can be recognized by everyone through their own efforts, and this recognition has nothing to do with age. In retrospect, it is no wonder that Minister Mullen was very enthusiastic about his participation in the trip, giving approval almost as quickly as possible, and trying to get the very busy Gunnevere to participate in the visit. Speaking of which, it took a lot of thought to make these arrangements.

The first stop of the visit, Eastside, the capital of the Eastern Region of the Norman Empire, arrived early in the morning of the second day. The sky was just dawning, and the vision was not particularly clear. Weiss wasn't quite sure what the timing of the trip had in mind. At this time, if the big city has not yet woken up, everything is quiet. The transport ship flew over the city, and he was engrossed in observation. I was impressed by the huge buildings, including the super-large airport and the huge hexagonal anti-aircraft batteries. In his special vision, these unusually large anti-aircraft batteries have extremely strong protection capabilities, and their attack power is also amazing. The semicircular bodies on those anti-aircraft turrets were obviously turrets cast of steel, with pairs of thick and long barrels, containing extremely powerful firepower......

Although in the last war, the Norman Empire was hardly attacked by its opponents, but these well-established defensive measures all reflected their long-planned war intentions. Today, these batteries are still in operation, and the troops are still stationed inside, indicating that they have never let go of their desire to fight.

In the center of the city there are old city walls, and many old buildings scattered in greenery, some of which seem to be used for religious purposes and some owned by nobles, but beyond the old city walls, the new industrial city is divided by neat streets, as if magnifying the game of Go many times. Such a pattern is usually not due to the designer's obsessive compulsion to strive for perfection, but because of the convenience brought by the open and flat terrain. Think about it, if the terrain is undulating, and even has many hills, it is difficult for the best urban designer to turn such a huge city into horizontal and vertical grid lines.

In fact, the entire eastern part of the Norman Empire was covered by this unsafe open terrain. According to historical texts, the political situation in the eastern part of the Norman Empire has always been in a state of extreme instability, with frequent regime changes, and it can be said that it was the land of four wars. So much so that although it is suitable for growing crops and grazing, it is difficult to become a solid place to live. After the Norman Empire formed its current territory, it also realized that such terrain could not be firmly defended, so it adopted an aggressive expansion policy to try to divert the defensive pressure through an offensive strategy.

During the ship's landing, Weiss also noticed that the sprawling city had no chimneys in the center, but rather a lot of parks and sports fields, which was more modern than most cities in the Federation. On the outskirts of the city, on the grey horizon, dense chimneys form a spectacular man-made forest, highlighting the city's power!