When Gawain glanced at Noretta quickly and covertly, the high-ranking agent from the Mithril Treasury who temporarily replaced Merita Pernia also looked at Gawain twice—she did have some curiosity about this human being, resurrected from the dead, a legendary pioneer hero, overthrowing a kingdom and establishing a new order...... In Noretta's long life, she has met many people who can be called "legends" in the human world, and Gawain is quite a special one even among these people.

She controlled her gaze and expression, with a faint smile: "So, what kind of things do you want to consult?" ”

"Strictly speaking, it's not a consultation, it's to confirm something with the 'dragons' behind the Mithril Vault," Gawain waved his hand, showing a serious look, "That's right, not long ago, a large magic device we set up in the Holy Spirit Plains captured some mysterious signals, and after many comparisons, humans, elves, and even krakens couldn't figure out the source of these signals, so now I suspect that these signals are from the dragons."

"Considering the development of magic technology, I think it is necessary to ...... with you in order to avoid any misunderstandings between humans and dragons in the future. Check it out. ”

"Mysterious signal?" The woman in the white dress who called herself Norretta raised her eyebrows, and her expression immediately became more serious, "Yes...... What's the content? ”

"We haven't cracked it yet, it's a series of very short tremors and echoes, the structure of which has never been seen before, leaving scholars confused, but we have recorded a copy of it with a magic crystal." As he spoke, Gawain casually made a gesture to the side, and a pale blue crystal flake the size of a palm, which had been placed on the disposal shelf not far away, flew silently into his hand.

This is a modified recording medium by Carmel, and its prototype is the engram commonly used by traditional mages - after optimizing the etching structure within the crystal and performing more advanced standardized production, similar recording media is increasingly being used on equipment such as magic web terminals and immersion chambers.

"It's here," Gawain said, "but I don't know what device you dragons usually use to read something like that, it may take some transformation ......"

"No, I can sense its magical structure." Norreta interrupted Gawain's words, she reached out to take the crystal flake, her fingers gently stroked the fine rune notch on one side, and a pair of light-colored eyes immediately appeared like a star's light, in this brief moment, Gawain felt that the magic around the agent in front of him suddenly became extremely active and complex, as if an extremely high-level magic was compressed between square inches, and completed in an instant.

In just a few moments, Noretta finished reading and recording the storage media, and she handed the thin crystal slice that emitted a slight heat to Gawain: "I have recorded it, and I will hand it over to my superiors for further analysis and processing." Thank you very much for your prompt information and sincerity, which is really beneficial for both of us to maintain a good relationship. ”

Gawain took the crystal slice and couldn't help but look deeply at the woman in the white dress in front of him: "The excellent magic technique - Melita has not been shown in front of me. ”

"Actually, she's not good at that," Noretta smiled slightly, "I'm usually in charge of handling paperwork in the rear or doing command and support work, which are just some of the 'little tricks' that I use in some jobs. ”

"It seems that the Mithril Treasury has a complex and effective job structure, and I'm a little curious about it," Gawain said casually with a smile, "So, I can just wait for news later?" ”

"I won't keep you waiting," Noretta nodded, "and we'll finish analyzing and comparing the signals as soon as possible." Also, while I can't give you a definitive answer right now, just from what I've just read...... Most of this stuff didn't come from Tallund. ”

“…… Isn't it a dragon? ”

"We use another communication technology, and it doesn't produce signals with this characteristic," Noretta nodded, "but this world is very vast, and there are many corners and secrets that even the dragons don't know much about, and there are some things that only my superiors know, so I still have to report it, maybe the Grand Treasurer and the High Councilors of the Mithril Treasury can find out where this thing came from." ”

"Thank you very much."

……

The Spirit has been on this barren and bleak coast for almost a week.

With the exception of a few beasts that are not common on land and are not very afraid of humans, there are only lush vegetation, humid and warm sea breezes, and the ruins of towns covered in shrubs and vines.

Earl Owen Dyson stood on a reef on the shore, and when the glorious sun was halfway up, he took out his gold-plated mechanical watch from his bosom and opened the lid to look at it.

At about the same moment, several swaying figures appeared in a path on the coast leading to the depths of the island, and several sailors emerged from the path covered with shrubs and tall grass.

"Half an hour later than the scheduled meeting time," said Earl Owen calmly when the sailors came to him, "in trouble?" ”

A sailor wrapped in a red turban stood up straight, gave a military salute, and reported meticulously: "Report to the captain, on the way back, I encountered a huge python, which may have mutated in a magical environment, but it has been resolved." ”

"Well," Earl Owen nodded, "did you find anything then?" ”

"There's only one abandoned manor, like the town in the center, with signs of a second restoration," said the sailor, feeling something out of his bosom, "and besides, we found this in the manor." ”

Earl Owen took the sailor's hand, and he saw that it was a badly worn amulet, the logo on the front of the amulet was completely illegible, but judging by the material, it should have been a magical item - Owen Dyson had seen something similar not long ago.

"Left by the Children of the Storm...... It must have been more than a decade since it was thrown in this place," the Typhon nobleman quickly determined when the amulet had been abandoned, "It seems that at least a dozen years ago, the Stormchildren occupied these islands near the boundary between the near and far seas, but then they abandoned these strongholds close to the human world and went to the deeper seas......"

"These cultists have been in possession of the property that belongs to the Empire, and have made the facilities on these islands their own," the first mate of the Spirit muttered in disgust behind Owen Dyson, "They left their delirious graffiti all over town and just walked away." I wish they were swallowed by the deep sea, and let them be sacrificed to the monsters of the deep sea by their fanatical deeds. ”

"I don't care about the fate of the cultists," Earl Owen said casually, as he put away his amulet and looked at the first mate, "How's the situation with the Courage?" ”

"We've fixed the anti-magic shell, the shield set, and the two magic engines, but there are still some issues with the drivetrain connected to the engines, and the mechanics say the big guys need the harbor's expertise to fix it completely, and they can only 'heal one leg' on this beach where there is nothing."

"To what extent can you cultivate exactly? Can I sail? ”

"It's no problem to set sail, but the speed is only about two-thirds of the previous one, and once you encounter the same level of 'disorderly turbulence' as before, the entire propeller shaft will break," the first mate said frankly, and finally emphasized again, as if to strengthen the persuasion, "it will break 100 percent." ”

"Since this is already the result of the best efforts of the technicians, we have to accept it, and we have to go back. I'm sure the Spirit will overcome this difficulty, and we shouldn't be lucky enough to encounter two chaotic turbulences in the offshore waters," said Earl Owen, glancing back at the Spirit docked not far from the sea—the beautiful and advanced magical ship lying quietly between the gentle waves, the hull covered in magic metal and the high-powered magnetic storm crystal on the bow glittering in the light of the sun, and after a brief staring, the Count withdrew his gaze, "Inform the mechanical team to make the final adjustments to the engine, We set sail three hours later. ”

The first mate nodded, and casually took out a short staff inlaid with many gems from his waist, and as the gems on the staff lit up one by one, he unleashed the teleportation technique, conveying the captain's orders to the personnel on duty on the Courage.

After watching the first mate do all this, Earl Owen nodded and looked in the direction of the depths of the island: "Bring a few people, let's go to that town again." ”

The first mate glanced at the Earl and didn't ask anything, he quickly ordered the slick sailor and set out with the Count on the path that led to the center of the island.

Walking on the old stone paved road with obvious signs of repair but has been abandoned again, Owen Dyson walked into the depths of this former imperial territory. The sailors who had previously explored the path had cleared the bushes and vines that stood in their way with spells and swords, and the whole island of Tassos itself was not very large, and he soon crossed the path hidden by the trees to the edge of a silent and lifeless town.

It is the largest human complex on the island of Tassos, and seven hundred years ago it was also the first springboard for the Empire's offshore waters. In that prosperous and short-lived period, countless industrious builders, ambitious captains and merchants, and dream-seeking adventurers gathered here, and spices, gold, precious minerals from the open sea, and rare curiosities on land, all of which made this humble island of Thasos a "land of gold" at that time.

And after the end of that short golden age, it ushered in an even longer downfall—the former protectors of the sea became the mad and depraved cultists, the land of flowing gold became the domain of the children of the storm, the wealth of the empire became the nourishment of the cultists, and finally those who did not have time to evacuate......

Earl Owen looked up, his gaze scanning the ruined houses and towers, the obscure runes of the Stormchildren were everywhere in the former homes, and the original Typhon or Dyson family insignia were long gone.

At the end of the road, in a small square, Earl Owen saw a pile of ashes still emitting a slight smoke, and in the ash pile could faintly see some fragments of broken sculptures and ritual utensils - the relics of the dark sect that the sailors had searched from all over the town, and the cultists who had once entrenched here had evacuated, and the sailors could only burn what they had left behind.

Earl Owen bypassed the pile of ashes, bypassed the small square, and came to the town hall.

On the steps in front of the hall, a tattered dark blue flag was thrown to the ground, with a twisted emblem depicting storms and lightning.

Owen glanced down at the flag, and stepped forward—he and the sailors stepped up the steps, through the open main entrance of the hall, to the empty assembly hall, and at last he stopped in front of the deepest wall of the assembly hall, which had only two empty hooks and a little moss growing along the wall.

The Count looked up for a moment, lowered his head and groped in his bosom, and soon he pulled out a neatly folded piece of cloth from his bosom and carefully unfolded it.

It was a very old, even faded flag, but it was still intact after seven hundred years due to the fabric mixed with magical threads and the care it had been kept, and the emblems of the shield and crown were still visible on the solemn black background, though dull in color.

After scrutinizing it, the Count raised his hand and solemnly re-hung Typhon's banner in the town hall on the island of Tassos.

Then he untied something else from his belt—a sword that had been passed down from generation to generation in his family.

The hilt of the saber is engraved with a pale gold harpoon, the coat of arms given to the first Earl of Dyson by the founding king of Typhon 700 years ago, which represents the legacy of the Dyson family and the glory of the first builders of Thasos.

Swords and flags, these are the things that the ancestor of the family took from here when he evacuated from Tassos - the ancestor did not leave any last words to bring these things back to Tassos, because he was buried at sea when he organized the second evacuation, but after that, the relics left by the ancestors became the long-term responsibility of the descendants of Dyson.

After placing the saber under the banner, Earl Owen finally breathed a sigh of relief, and he returned to the sailors, turned around, and watched the sword and banner on the wall with everyone, just as the people in this hall had done seven hundred years ago.

A few minutes later, they left the town hall and set out on their way back to the Spirit.

The light of the sun shone on the ruined towns, unknown birds and beasts roared in the nearby forests, lush plants continued to grow quietly on the land, and in the distant direction of the coast, the loud and melodious flute of the Spirit urging the crew to return to the beach was ringing.

……

Aldenan, in the study room of the Obsidian Palace, Rosetta Augustus the Great put down the Chinese piece in his hand, looked up at the two mages sitting opposite, and a smile appeared on his face:

"After all the hardships, the good news has finally come from the side of the 'Spirit' that we have successfully set foot on the island of Tassos – today is a day to celebrate, two masters."