While the northern region was still freezing cold, the central plains of the mainland had already entered a warm spring.

And in the palace of the Bair Empire, the old emperor is waiting for his visitors in the garden.

Oros of the Bayer Empire. Moss Every. Saint. Milan is a kind silver-haired old man, not tall, not loud speakers, and there are some learned people in the slow manners between the journeys, and he seems to be an old scholar who is very easy to deal with, but in China, he has the "reputation" of the fox and scorpion emperor, which refers to his poisonous methods both inside and outside.

Is it difficult to understand both internal and external poison? "As long as the result is good, whatever the means are acceptable" is his life motto, and he has always done so.

In order to consolidate centralized power, he used murder, division, blame, and fraud internally, and for the sake of national interests, externally, he tore up various covenants and agreements several times, and took the initiative to provoke wars several times, so that he gained the nickname of "the untrustworthy", and also made the current Bayer Empire lose all its allies.

But there are losses, there are gains, he let the reputation of the Bayer Empire accumulated countless years of credibility ruined, but the Bayer Empire's national strength has also reached the highest peak in history, within half a century, there are seventeen small and medium-sized countries annexed by it, the territory has been greatly expanded, and the population has also increased significantly.

"Since the day I took the throne, the war has not stopped."

This exclamation was originally about his own helplessness, but in the middle and late stages, it was a kind of pride of a consecutive winner.

On the other hand, successive victories in foreign wars also increased the prestige of the royal family, and the great nobles at home were also extremely deferential to the royal family, in fact. All the great nobles gave heavy gifts every year to make a birthday for the old emperor. The heirs of the various feudal lords also moved closer to the royal family in the capital (acting as hostages).

Well. Those who refused to deliver hostages and were openly disrespectful were already dead, and the country had long been at peace, and I am afraid that in the last three thousand years, the authority of the royal family of Bair had reached the highest point in history.

This is only the achievement he made when he first succeeded to the throne in middle age, but in his later years, it was even more remarkable, and he spent more than thirty years doing a hundred-year plan:

"Establish a military united front work department to command military affairs throughout the country in a unified manner. All feudal nobles were required to perform regular military service. Death to those who evade military service, death to those who owe taxes. ”

"The government controls the unified sales of salt, grain, steel and other important daily life and production supplies, and those who smuggle commodities and sell materials without authorization are sentenced to death."

"The official control of the idle forces of the people, the registration of all fighting professions, the local adventurers' associations and adventurers must owe allegiance to the royal family, and all adventurers are the wealth of the state, and they are unconditionally mobilized by the state in times of emergency. Independent adventurers are not allowed to save zài, including mages! Unlicensed mages are to be executed in public. ”

I have to say that Oros has a very strong wrist, and he took over at the time of the most turmoil in the country. But it took a lifetime of hard work to run the entire country to the highest peak in history. Although he has a bad reputation, he has no faith or integrity to speak of.

Countless people at home and abroad are looking forward to his death, and the Assassins who sign in on time every month, all year round, can make a duty schedule...... Although he is hated by others, even the people who hate him the most have to admit that he is indeed the famous king who made the country strong.

It is indeed hateful to monopolize the sales of important materials and compete with the people for profit, but at this time, the abundance of the national treasury of Baier has far exceeded ordinary people's imagination, and the annual military expenditure is three times that of the accumulation of surrounding countries, but the national treasury is not tense at all, and at the same time, Baier has not had a large-scale famine due to a disaster year for decades, and the prosperity of the population and towns is also the highest peak in history.

And the relatively neutral adventurers, mercenary country property, although at the beginning caused a huge backlash, but with the royal power and the army as the backing, a generation has passed, the original waves have calmed down, and now the new adventurers have taken the service of the country as a matter of course, and even scarce professions such as mages have consciously run to register and become a member of the government.

Undoubtedly, this is tantamount to a declaration of war on the old management, which has aroused the dissatisfaction of many neutral forces such as adventurers, mercenaries, mage guilds, and churches of gods. Protests and assassinations were commonplace, and he never let him down with his formidable bodyguards from nowhere, even the demigod Assassins fell to him, and he was never afraid of any enemy provocation.

But on the other side of the high-pressure rule, there are really a lot of domestic grievances, countless people expect him to die early, and there are many people who expect the Bayer Empire to return to the past, and in the eyes of those who care, this seemingly powerful country is actually not firmly rooted, and it is only a matter of time before it crumbles in the wind and rain, and it is only a matter of time before it falls apart.

The biggest and most fundamental problem is that Oros XIII has no descendants.

Maybe he was injured in the early years of the campaign, or maybe the so-called Yin De theory really played an effect, anyway, although he had countless harems, he never gave birth to a child, but two concubines were pregnant, and he was dragged to feed the dogs the next day, and for a while, rumors that the Bayer Empire was destined to have no queen spread all over the streets.

Of course, in order to solve this problem, he has also made efforts, such as accepting a lot of righteous sons and daughters, and after going through ups and downs, these thirty or forty righteous sons and righteous daughters have survived to this day, and there are probably more than 20 people, and Ioros's suspicious character and too strong ability are all out early, but it is basically unrealistic to find out the heir who is accepted by all forces.

The eldest prince, Karostan, was in his fifties, but he looked older than the emperor, and the prince had survived only because he was incompetent enough to be as ambitious as his brother, nor did he have the luxury of ascending to the throne in his lifetime.

"Anyway, he's over seventy, and he doesn't have many days left, wait for him to die, and ...... then"

There is an unspoken rule in the main plane, the king of the short-lived species must be the short-lived species, and the gods will not allow the immortal king to survive, if the kingship is still cherished in a hundred years, then the divine punishment will come unexpectedly.

The careerist sharpens his teeth in the dark night, waiting for the old lion king to die in old age, and among them there are not only foreign wolves. And the same crumbling old lion. His brothers and princes, who are still alive, have been waiting for him to die for a long time. The lion king has fallen, and the fat territory will naturally usher in a new round of competition.

"It's not far, it's not far, he hasn't practiced any martial arts and magic, and now he's just relying on the medicine jar to hold it, maybe he'll fall back tomorrow."

And today, this old king, who seems to be coming to an end, has ushered in a long-awaited date. It was a visitor in a black cloak, led by the royal guard, into the old emperor's garden.

"Esso the Great, your personal presence is the glory of our entire empire. Unfortunately, it is not yet appropriate to make our relationship public, and we cannot set up a feast for you. ”

The old king put down the dignity of the king, and hurriedly got up to greet the visitor who came with the night in person, just because the black-robed person in front of him was an immortal king who was far older and more noble than him.

Welcome in the face of Oros. Esso the Great had no intention of remaining in this plane. Every point was torment for him, and he didn't hesitate to get straight to the point.

"Okay, we never care about those false names, the only thing that can let me come is only real benefits, so, young king, have you made a decision? Whether or not to finally decide to embrace death, become one of us, and attain true immortality. ”

A sudden gust of wind blew, revealing the true face under the hood of the robe, or, rather, no face, but the burning green flame in the skull had already explained it.

The undead who can be called the Great Emperor is probably the legendary Undead Emperor, and in front of these ancient emperors who originated from the plane of death, even the gods of modern times are only backward juniors.

Countless shackles and seals were densely covered on the body of Emperor Esso, but just the power of death that leaked out made the black wind roll in the royal garden, a large number of plants died in an instant, the land began to wither, and under the ground, there were faint white bones returning to the world.

Faced with this terrifying power that could make the brave fearful, Oros, who was just a mortal, laughed.

"Back then, everyone knew that I, Oros, were the most trustworthy, from the moment you saved me thirty years ago, from the day that the ancient contract was concluded, our agreement was destined to be valid forever."

Oros XIII also opened his fine clothes, revealing his upper body, only to see that a piece of the abdominal cavity was missing, where it should have been the heart, but the pitch-black bones and the rotten rotten flesh were pushed together, and the expensive silver rose perfume could not hide the stench of the accumulated corpse.

Obviously the flesh is disgusting and scary, Oros's smile is still the same, and it seems to be painless at all, but as long as the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes make him look a little depressed.

"I've been the living dead for over thirty years, and from that day on, do I have any other choice?" ――

Unlike the south, which has long daylight, the northern regions tend to get dark early in winter, especially at the end of winter, when it is only six o'clock in the afternoon, and the whole of Difender is already completely night.

The latest product of Magic Mechanics, the Magic Lamp, has been distributed to every household as a daily product, but most families are still living in the same habit as before, eating dinner early and lying down in the warm bedding to prepare for tomorrow's early rise.

There were no pedestrians on the streets that were still hot a few hours ago, and pedestrians either hid in their warm homes or got drunk in bars and hotels, after all, even if it was the end of winter, the cold at night was still deadly, and drunks froze to death on the streets or something, although it was a pity, but it also happened from time to time.

While the whole city seems to be quiet, there is a place on the outskirts of the southern part of the city, where there is a closed area of three-storey bungalows, where there is no late night and day, and there is always light and noise all day long.

"Boom!" The most, there are all kinds of explosions, judging from the goblin engineer or alchemist flying in the sky, you can know that there is the alchemy room, and there is the engineering room.

In the blacksmith shop in a corner of that enclosed area, the sound of banging and banging never stopped, day and night.

At this time, I am also here, checking the progress of an important task.

"Orange Head, what's going on? What is the quality of these ores. Can it meet the demand? ”

"This batch of demonic iron ore is in good condition, and our pits can produce this kind of high-grade goods. I guess you bought it from Oran. ”

Seeing that I nodded silently, old Hoyle continued with satisfaction.

"If the materials can keep up, the progress is still very smooth. But it's too late. Words within three days. I'll probably be able to get a sample. You can run, you can jump, you can see, but you definitely can't fight. ”

"Just look good."

To show new equipment, the important thing is the design ideas and the new technology in it, anyway, those invited guests may not know the goods, as long as they fool the past, with orders and funds, I will start the production line substantively.

“…….”

The cold winter wind froze the dwarves' rosacea noses red, but the dwarves poured their wines with a sad face. didn't answer, and he was dissatisfied with rushing to make inferior products, as a senior armor master.

"Is it worth it? In order to find me, he also turned all the flower streets upside down. ”

"Hmph, don't be too presumptuous, it's just by the way. If you work here obediently, it will save me a lot of trouble. Guess what I'd do to you if I told your brothers that they were locked up because of you. ”

"Those unconscionable bastards are going to tear me up. A cunning, tall, lanky human who specializes in picking on old Hoyle's underbelly. Be careful that your daughter doesn't grow a beard. ”

Taking a puff on his pipe, the dwarf muttered a dwarven-style expletive, then continued to pick up the hammer and continue to clank.

Hoyle, the Grey Dwarf, the Grand Blacksmith Master of Armor, nicknamed Orange Head, a member of the Gentlemen's Alliance, and my most trusted Master Blacksmith, has taken his skills one step further in his cooperation with the Goblins, and if he were to rate his current armor forging ability, he would probably have surpassed the boundaries of mortal masters and reached the realm of legends.

The advancement of the life class is far more difficult than the combat class, the legendary war class has its own soul emblem and has its own unique path, while the legendary blacksmith also has its own path.

And his path is so special, so special that it is the only one in the world, and it is so special that it really can't be without him.

In the blacksmith shop, what was beaten by old Hoyle was a goblin mecha, which is not very unusual, the goblin harvester and the mechanical giant are already very mature engineering products, but the strange thing is the size of this mechanical mecha.

With a height of two meters and four meters, the mecha itself probably weighs more than one hundred and fifty kilograms, and if it weren't for the energy engine composed of the "Olivia's Box" behind it that was working and exerting its own power, even orcs would not be able to wear such armor.

The streamlined armor is inlaid with obsidian shields, a special protective force used to strengthen the chariot far beyond the armor of the knights, and even small-caliber goblin artillery can only leave a trace.

Yes, this is not a mechanical war puppet, but pure armor, and there will be warriors in armor in it, not pilots operating mechs.

"Although this design idea is good, but the problem is also in front of you, if you don't have the ability to control the elements, you can't start its magic circuit, even if you have my special magic parts, if the magic power is insufficient, it's just a piece of scrap metal."

"Don't worry, I have a lot of elemental control abilities. I will give the highest priority to your funds and materials, finalize them as much as possible, and then strive to start mass production next year. I'll look for some big names as sponsors and realizers, so you can be bold and innovative. Those 'well-wishers' will use their lives to give feedback on the various counts of your work. ”

I nodded in satisfaction as I watched the old dwarf, who had fallen silent in a working state, and touched the sturdy shield and steel of the heavy armor.

"With this, my Four Spirit Sword Envoy will be able to exert at least three times the combat power... Is it to be painted red and install a ramming angle? ”

Deciding how far a career can go depends not only on its strengths, but also on its weaknesses.

The worst of the Four Spirit Sword Envoys is probably the defensive ability of the mortal body that is still the flesh, a mature Four Spirit Sword Envoy, not only to sharpen their magic swordsmanship, but also to work hard to train the ability to control the elements, specializing in sword seals and magic martial arts, expecting them to have the same hand-to-hand combat ability as ordinary knights and warriors without counting their magic power, which is extremely unrealistic in itself.

And the fragility of the body and the need for the use of magic power also make them have to go to the battlefield in light armor, which is in stark contrast to those muscle sticks who can still move freely in dozens of pounds of heavy armor.

But on the battlefield, weak defense is the deadliest, bows and arrows are always the most cost-effective killing weapons, bows and arrows flying all over the sky can be encountered every time, and the magic swordsman who has worked hard to train is too cost-effective to be killed by a stray arrow or gravel.

"The first batch of mechas, the hand-to-hand combat capability model 'Sith Warrior' with high protection, high strength amplification, and short-range explosive ability, are all supplied to the Silver Cross Combat Group (Four Spirit Sword Messengers), and the second batch of mechas, which are mainly based on high mobility, medium protection, and high sustained combat capabilities, are all supplied to magic catapult shooters and top hunters."

In my long-term blueprint, the future ironclad army has formed a battle array, between the mecha demon dragon and the giant metal war statue, countless mecha warriors act as the main force, they accompany me all the way to slay demons and slaughter gods, easily drive the demons back to the abyss, and kick the undead emperors back to the plane of death.

"Firepower special type 'Minotaur Machine Gunner', Juggernaut special type 'Force Master', haha, I can conceive the perfect upgrade version now."

When the magic steel army of the new era is formed, I will let these old antiques who are still alive in the Middle Ages deeply understand what it means to "advanced technology is combat effectiveness" and "backwardness is to be beaten", and just when I was thinking about it, a voice full of malice pulled me back to reality.

"Don't dream, this thing has a lot of parts that are extremely demanding, now only I can build it, your local craftsman will even break a kitchen knife, even if I work hard for you, one in three months is fast, besides, even if I can keep up with the progress, can your mineral materials keep up? Just rely on the open-pit loose mines of the barbarian tribes, even if you don't have enough materials for ten years. ”

"Also, you can still buy pig iron ore, but the production of magic ore is too small, if you can't get high-grade magic ore, your mecha army will be the target of thunderstorm spells."

Hearing this, I couldn't help frowning, although it was very unpleasant to be interrupted from my dream, but what he said was also the truth.

The matter of opening a mine there on the spot has already begun, but the battle situation here has involved all my energy, coupled with the cold weather and the lack of large equipment, it is already the limit to obtain some open-pit minerals by simply and crudely bombing ore, and the deep excavation has not yet begun.

"It seems that we have to go there again, and one mining area is not safe, so we have to prepare a few more. Or ....... go to the church and knock more. (To be continued......)