The melody of wheels and engines shattered the peace of the wilderness as the magic guide car with the Imperial emblem crushed the unsoftened frozen soil of the Far North, and the vehicles laden with men and supplies drove along the Imperial Boulevard, winding into a black-brown stream of iron on the newly renovated road.

The outlines of the mountains in the north became clearer on the horizon, and the clear blue sky shone like a curtain behind the mountains, shining in the light of the great sun.

Byron's gaze looked out the window at the landscape that was so different from the south, at the snow-covered mountains, and the Duke of Victoria sat across from him, quiet as an ice sculpture.

Byron was ordered to go north to build the empire's coastline on that land in the far north of the continent, and at the same time to greet guests from the Duchy of the Holy Dragon as a representative of the empire, while Duke Victoria completed her debriefing in the imperial capital and was about to return to the north, and the two happened to be on the same road.

The clearer and clearer scenery of a foreign land caught his eye, and Byron, a man with a rough character, could not help but sigh: "I never thought that I would one day visit the northernmost part of this country - and as a general...... Fate is really unpredictable. ”

Victoria, who was sitting opposite, looked over when he heard this: "I heard that you used to be a mercenary who traveled from south to north, General Byron. ”

"Go south and north......," Byron smiled and shook his head, "At that time, dealing with some thieves and beasts in the mountains and valleys around a town was considered to be a battle-hardened, and after going to two or three cities, it could be claimed to be a trip to the north and south, and the most outrageous things that a group of mercenaries bragged about in the tavern could not surpass the Peibo-Cecil railway line today, and the people of that time ...... Hi. ”

This mercenary knight, who is nearly half a hundred years old and has experienced from the lowest level of society to the top of the empire in his life, said with a hint of self-deprecation, but his face couldn't help but bring a trace of memory: "But then again, I did know a lot of interesting guys in the ten years I was a mercenary. I remember when I had a small mercenary group, and there was a swordsman in the group, named Eliza or Elaina...... Like a man, she is a northerner, and she says that her home is in a place called Kazaborough...... For us at that time, it was almost a world away. ”

"It's Kazabray," Victoria corrected, "near Wintercastle." It's not close to the south, how did your friend get to the south? ”

"It is said that when he was a child, he traveled with his parents on a business trip, and the family's caravan encountered robbers near Pompeii...... Or maybe she met the lord's black gloves, and the whole family didn't survive, leaving her and an old servant, and then the old servant also died, and she wandered to the south...... That's probably what happened, but no one knows if it's true or not. Mercenaries like to fabricate bizarre origins and experiences for themselves, which is a source of bragging and showing their 'uniqueness', but in reality they are probably just scoundrels from a nearby village, and the sword in their hands was bought from some down-and-out veteran. ”

Perhaps having never heard of such a story from the "bottom", or perhaps having some interest in the "mercenary" profession, which has been gradually declining in the past two years, and the stories behind them, Victoria actually showed some curiosity: "You later became a knight, what about your companions back then?" Has the swordswoman returned to the North? ”

Byron was silent for a moment and shook his head: "No, and there is no chance to go back." Twenty years ago, the North was too far for the average person. ”

Victoria looked at Byron with her ice-like eyes for two seconds, then calmly withdrew her gaze, she looked out the window again, looking in the direction of the north, as if casually saying: "After spring, the advance speed of the north-south railway artery will be further accelerated, and when the magic train runs on this wilderness, no corner of the empire will be far away." ”

"That's a good thing," Byron laughed, "I've been dangling in the Wizard Car for so long, and my bones are starting to hurt - of course, I don't have a problem with the quality of the Imperial Avenue, but for long journeys, it's obviously better to have a more stable and comfortable train." ”

"The Gurgon River will not rise until the middle of the recovery, and the most waterway can reach Saint-Sunil," said Victoria unhurriedly, "but it may be a better choice if the 'air line' envisaged by His Majesty had been launched sooner rather than later: it would have been faster than trains and ships." ”

“…… I don't think I'm ready to embrace the sky," Byron said after a moment's thought, a little embarrassed, "I've experienced griffon flight...... It's a pity that I didn't have a good experience with those flying machines made of steel and crystal...... More than a griffin makes me feel uneasy. ”

"But the sky will eventually become part of the battlefield of the future, General Byron," Victoria said earnestly, "even on the old battlefield, mages with the ability to fly have shown their ability to turn the tide of battle more than once, and if it weren't for the limitations of technology and cost in the past, what country wouldn't want to control the blue sky?" ”

"Of course, of course, I understand the reason," Byron said quickly, his expression rather helpless - he suddenly felt that the Victorian Archduchess and Philip seemed to be a little similar, both of them had serious personalities and suddenly more serious problems when joking, but he could rely on eloquence to deal with Philip, but he could only nod his head at this time as a top-level nobleman with formal logical education and eloquent training, "In fact, I even considered whether the future ship could carry small dragoon flying machines, It's used to scout the sea conditions from high altitudes and find safe routes, but I personally have a bit of a ...... about flying."

"Carrying a flying machine on a ship?" Victoria didn't care about Byron's words, her eyes lit up, and there was obvious curiosity on her expressionless face, "This is your idea for building an 'Imperial Navy'?" Is that your vision for the seafaring ship of the future? ”

Byron was stunned for a moment, and realized again that he must pay attention to his words when chatting with a person who may be more serious at any time - he just pulled a new technology over with a twitch of his head and pressed it into the topic to avoid embarrassment, how could the female archduchess in front of him still take it seriously?

The future admiral's eyes fluttered subconsciously and glanced at the horizon outside the car window.

It is still a few hours' drive from Xiongguan in the north.

So...... What's next?

……

The wind whistled and swirled between the gray-white walls of Longlin Fort and the steep boulder cliffs between the rocks, as if covering everything with a hazy curtain, and between the wind and snow, the shield used to protect the city also became blurred, becoming an inconspicuous background color between the curtains.

Sir Gorosh Sickel looked up at the top of the mountain that had been hidden in the snow, as if he could still feel the sight that pierced through the curtain of the snowstorm, which seemed to fall on him from the palace at the highest point of Dragon's Castle.

The earth dragon beast under its body shook its neck a little irritably, and the pack beast unique to the extreme north seemed to sense some of its master's thoughts, and began to rub its front hooves on the ground slightly, and from time to time it let out a faint grunt sound from its throat.

Although there is a root word for "dragon" in the name, the "Earth Dragon Beast" of the Holy Dragon Principality actually has nothing to do with "dragon", they are just a gentle herbivore creature domesticated by the dragonborn, but in this land ruled by the dragonborn, many animals and plants that have nothing to do with dragons will be named the root of "dragon".

It's a kind of paranoia that outsiders can't understand, but the Dragonborns are used to it.

After a long time, Sir Gorosh turned his head, glanced at the group following him, and nodded to the red-haired shawl woman beside him, who was also riding on the back of the Earth Drakemon, "Lady Azarena, let's go." ”

"We should have left long ago, many days ago," the red-haired woman known as Lady Azalena frowned and grumbled, "the councillors and elders who have their heads stuffed with ice and stones...... Their nervousness about the 'outside world' is simply laughable, I don't know why even His Majesty Baloger was influenced by those guys to suddenly order us to stand by the day before the mission departed, and waited so long......"

Sir Gorosh glanced at the red-haired Azarena, he knew that the dragon seal witch had always been open-mouthed, and the sudden postponement of the mission was indeed not quite like the previous style of the dragon-blooded Grand Duke, but he still said in a gentle tone: "Your Majesty has his own considerations, and it is not only us and the Grand Duke who maintain the operation of the Holy Dragon Duchy, but also the councillors and elders who you call 'their heads full of ice and stones', and their opinions must be considered. ”

Listening to Sir Golosh's words, Azarena shrugged her shoulders indifferently: "In short, let those members of parliament who are full of nervousness and worry continue to worry, may the ice, snow and stones in the mountains effectively protect their hearts, livers, spleens, stomachs and kidneys, which are fragile because of their worries for the country and the people—we will have the opportunity to witness the outside world, and we will surely be the only ones who will go down in history in the future, not them." ”

The corners of Sir Golosh's mouth turned up slightly, and then the whole team under his leadership began to set out on the road to the south, gradually leaving the high mountain where Dragon's Landing Castle sits.

Before he was about to cross the last hurdle at the foot of the mountain, Sir Gorosh could not resist looking back at the snow-shrouded summit one last time.

Although he used words to enlighten and appease the Dragon Seal Witch, the doubts in his heart were actually no less than those of the witch.

Many days ago, the Principality of the Holy Dragon had made the decision to send a mission to Cecil, and even the personnel and supplies of the mission had been assembled, and he was ready to lead the team to set off, but the entire operation was suddenly ordered to be suspended, and the entire team was inexplicably on standby to this day.

For this reason, the Holy Dragon Principality even had to send a special letter to the Cecil Empire to explain the situation, adding unnecessary links.

It was the Dragon-Blood Grand Duke who ordered the mission to be dispatched, and it was also the Dragon-Blood Grand Duke who suddenly ordered the mission to be put on standby, and the reason given by the Grand Duke for the second order was that the visit needed to be more evaluated and considered, taking into account the advice of the conservative members on the part of the Parliament.

But Sir Gorosh knew Baloger, and it was rare for the Grand Duke to change an order that had been issued for such a reason - it would undoubtedly undermine the authority of the Archduke of Dragonblood, and it would also make many people wonder.

Although this small influence was nothing to the Grand Duke, he would not have suddenly done such a meaningless thing without sufficient reasons.

So...... What was the reason for the sudden change of orders?

Gorosh withdrew his gaze from Longlin, suppressed all doubts in his heart, and turned his gaze back to the south.

……

A blazing brazier dispelled the chill of the Far North mountains, and in the rugged, boulder-strewn palace, the Dragon's Blood Grand Duke Baloger left the terrace overlooking the foot of the mountain and walked alone to his grand, yet lonely throne.

The entire throne hall was empty.

All the courtiers had dispersed, and all the attendants and guards had been sent outside by him earlier—everyone knew that the Grand Duke of Dragonblood often liked to be alone in the halls, and that he needed a quiet environment to think about things, and everyone in the palace was surprised by this.

The silence lasted for a moment before Baloger exhaled softly, curling his fingers and tapping lightly on the armrest of his wide throne.

With a crisp tapping sound, the prohibition of the entire hall was quietly activated, and an invisible barrier enveloped the entire space.

Baloger's calm and solemn voice broke the silence:

"Code AZ-689, Leavers Call Omega."

The pale golden communication interface quickly opened in front of the throne of the Grand Duke of Dragonblood, and the image of a ring with trembling edges appeared in front of Balogar.