Cecil and Typhon have always taken different technological routes - the former has opened a new route of magical technology, while the latter is advancing the potential and application of the transcendent to a higher level, and in the short term, the advantages of the two are still inseparable, and Gawain never imagined that there would be a day when these two technological routes would intersect.

Unfortunately, making a fuss about the talents of the transcendental, trying to select the "weakly gifted" from the common people, and using potions, rituals, and training to catalyze them into the narrowly applied but genuine transcendental, has always been Typhon's specialty, but Cecil has had zero research in this area.

The Order of the Sleepers has always been active in Typhon, so when faced with the dilemma of the lack of quality of the Psionic Singer's adapters, Wendy immediately thought of Typhon's alchemical potions and catalytic technology, but when it came to the real details of these technologies...... Apparently there was no way she could have known.

"These things are military secrets, the potions are in the hands of the Typhon royal family and several major military nobles, and the specific catalytic technology is the same, and even if these things are mastered, there must be a matching training method, otherwise the tester is extremely dangerous," Yuri was more or less born in the Typhon nobility, although he had left that aristocratic circle when Typhon's mass production transcendent technology was mature, but after all, he had connections, and he obviously knew some inside information better than Wendy," I don't think we'll be able to get this anytime soon......"

Gawain's expression became serious, he rubbed his chin, and Hetty, who was next to him, whispered, "What do you think of the ...... on the twenty-five?"

Gawain thought for a moment and shook his head slowly.

He did immediately think of Daniel, who had already broken into Typhon's top echelons - as the most successful spy in Cecil's spy system at the moment, Daniel was indeed entitled to access many unimaginable secrets, but it was precisely because of this that the information he could find out would also be extremely domain-specific, and he would bear a higher risk of exposure. Daniel's current involvement in the fields is basically under the name of Typhon's "Imperial Engineers' Association", and at most he relies on his personal connections to inquire about rumors between some high-ranking nobles and mages and scholars, and it is normal that he is unlikely to have access to mass-produced supernatural technology that has nothing to do with his field of study.

Of course, it is also possible to take some risks and let Daniel steal this information, but Gawain thinks that the danger of doing so is too great - Typhon's Wanderer agent is not an idiot, that Rosetta Augustus is more of a cautious person, and with the recent tension in Aldenan, there have been many spies working for Cecil, and even the liaison officer who entered the "Trajectory" plan was captured by Typhon's authorities, and Amber even had to cut off several intelligence lines because of this, in such a tense situation, Gawain couldn't let an irreplaceable agent like Daniel risk his life to steal a recipe.

In the midst of his thoughts, Hetty suddenly thought of something: "By the way, I think of a person ......"

"You say our 'guest' is visiting at Fort Solin?" Gawain raised an eyebrow, "I don't think she's willing to cooperate with us in this kind of thing. Surrendering for the sake of justice and betraying one's country are two different concepts. ”

“…… Or her father? Hetty thought again, "Bard used to be ...... too"

"Let me interject," Yuri said, "First of all, the Wendell family is indeed the most important military nobles of Typhon, and the head of the family and the heir of the family must have access to this part of the secret, but I don't think Bard can help - he left Typhon more than ten years ago, and at that time, the technology of mass production of transcendents was far from mature, and for many years afterward, Bard was locked up in a biochemical laboratory by the Society of the End of Everything, and he should not have access to this information......"

"Let's talk about this later," Gao Wen thought for a moment and shook his head, "This topic is far away—we should focus more on the normal research route." Hetty, you can try to get someone to reach out to Wendell and his daughter, but be careful not to backfire. Before that, Wendy and Yuri, you still follow the previous plan, first select some matches from the mages to train, wartime, our mental protection units must be put into use as soon as possible, even if only a small number of elites can be invested, it can also improve the chances of survival of the front-line soldiers. ”

With things in order, Gawain didn't stay in the lab long - he had to preside over a council of consuls before evening.

Leaving the research facility, Gawain and Hetty were walking on their way to the parking lot, when a cold wind blew, causing Hetty, who had not turned on the breeze shield, to subconsciously shrink his neck.

Gawain looked up and saw that the sky had fallen for some time, and the thick lead-colored clouds were enveloping the earth, and the clouds were flowing with a turbulent cold wind, and some crystal clear snowflakes were fluttering down between the winding air currents.

"It's snowing...... Hetty also raised her head, the snowflakes falling from the sky were reflected in her clear eyes, she stretched out her hand, a snowflake touched her fingertips, but turned into a drop of water in a few seconds, "The first snow in the south this year is really late......

"It snowed on the Plains of the Whitsunday last week," Gawain said, "and the Astronomical Research Bureau has compared the pattern of rain, snow and temperature changes over the years, and believes that there may be a cold winter this year...... It's colder than every winter in the last two decades. ”

"The textile trade with Typhon has been suspended by the impact of the war, and at least until the war is over, we will not be able to get cheap textiles from the East," Hetty said seriously, "but fortunately, we have accumulated enough stocks of cotton yarn production from last year's large purchases and the cotton production that has always been maintained in the western part of the plains, and we will not have to worry about the supply of cotton clothes this winter." Of course, if the war drags on like this, we'll have to think about expanding cotton production – this year's baby boom has brought a large number of newborns, which will require additional supplies of textiles, medicine and food. In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture is already working on corresponding plans. ”

“…… Are the effects already starting to be felt...... The Typhonians shouldn't be much better off this winter, many of their railroad lines are not yet able to operate on their own, and a large number of factories are waiting for our finished parts," Gawain shook his head, "This will be a test of the new international rules, and the first test of the two settlement districts." The Typhonians will find a way to maintain their markets in the southern part of the continent, and our trade with the western part of the continent must continue as usual. By this time the news of the war should have spread throughout the country, and a steady and normal trade activity would boost the confidence of our allies – and ease the pressure on us. ”

Hetty bowed her head: "I understand, Ancestor. ”

……

While the first snow of the winter was falling in Cecil, another snow was coming to Aldenan in a foreign country sooner or later.

Compared to the more northerly city of Cecil, the snow in Aldernan seemed to be gentler, and the scattered snowflakes fell on the ground in the gloomy sky and thin mist, and with a kind of unhurried disposition, it took a long time to spread a thin layer of white on the wet city floor.

Ferdinand Wendell stepped out of the porch and stood in the snow of the courtyard, looking with some fascination at the magnificent but unusually empty and desolate courtyard, where his attendants and maids stood not far away, and he felt that he was alone.

A year ago, Andesa was standing here to see a snowfall with him, a dozen years ago, with Bud and his daughter-in-law, who was not dead at the time, and twenty years ago, under the swing frame not far away, next to the beautiful fountain, sat his always smiling wife — and this year, he was the only one here.

There was a cold wind blowing through the bones, Pei Dinan felt as if his arms and knees had been penetrated by the cold wind, and he finally couldn't help but hold up the breath protection barrier, blocking the cold wind from the north, dispersing the snowflakes fluttering on his body and around him, and couldn't help but smile bitterly in the wind - no matter how intimidating the wolf general is, there will be a day when he will grow old, but when he was young, he never thought that his old self would stand so lonely in the courtyard in the wind and snow.

Andessa, who is far away in Cecil, should be fine...... The people of Cecil should not be harsh on a general who took the initiative to lay down his arms, and in such a cold winter, would anyone accompany her?

A voice came from the side, interrupting Pei Dinan's thoughts: "My lord, the wind is getting stronger, you better go back to the house and rest." ”

Pei Dinan turned his head and saw that the butler who had accompanied him for many years was standing in the snow, and a lot of snowflakes had fallen on the other party's shoulders, but he was still standing straight in the wind, meticulously like a sculpture.

The time of nostalgia was over, and Ferdinand's expression became serious again, and he was once again the formidable knight lord, nodded with majesty, and turned towards the porch, while the butler raised his leg accurately after half a step behind, while quietly dusting off the snowflakes from his shoulders.

"Have you sent your servants to the market in the morning," asked Peddinand casually under the porch, "how is order over there?" ”

"Prices have stabilized, and the panic has improved a lot," replied the steward at once, "and people are still a little nervous, but there is no longer that dazed fear – they are more worried about whether the price of food will rise again, and when the war will come to an end." ”

"How many people are discussing the church?"

"There are discussions everywhere, but it's rare to see anyone who questions the Knights of the Protector or the Obsidian Praetorian Army, or who is radically supportive of the church—at least not in public," the butler continued, "The public purification rituals and detailed reports and pictures of the contaminated altars and rooms in the church have a great deterrent effect on ordinary people, even the devout believers will say that the evil spirits have defiled the church, and no longer insist that the Church of the God of War is clean and immaculate......"

Pei Dinan nodded slightly, and the serious expression on his face seemed to relax slightly.

The atmosphere in the city was improving—and although some of the nobility were now restless, some speculative merchants were restless, and the upper classes were a little more nervous, the order of Aldernan as a whole was rapidly and miraculously stabilized, and the functioning of the key departments was improving to a visible extent.

The supply of food, medicine and other key materials has been stabilized, several premeditated price hikes and withholding of supplies have been forcefully suppressed, and some of the God of War priests have tried to resist the blockade by arms, but before they can act, the Obsidian Janissaries and the Knights of the Protector have suppressed and disintegrated all rebellions - in fact, as early as a month ago, the Church of the God of War across the country has been closely monitored by the army loyal to the royal family, although some of the troops have accidentally lost control, But on the whole, everything is still not out of the control of the Obsidian Palace.

There were fears that the temporary closure of the Parliament would cause a long and difficult chaos for the entire Empire, but Rosetta Augustus and his Imperial Cabinet and Emergency Advisory Council proved with great efficiency and resolute execution that things are now starting to turn in a good direction.

At least for now.

The old duke subconsciously pressed his chest, and he touched a hard object the size of a pocket watch—there was a special talisman, and the power of the talisman was slowly circulating at the moment, infiltrating and protecting himself. The talisman made him feel a sense of relief, but it also made him realize that some things were far from over.

……

Since the beginning of the war, a steady stream of information from the front lines has been transmitted through the teleportation towers scattered throughout the empire, converging on Aldenan, and converging on Rosetta Augustus's bookcase.

The war itself may be something that many people don't want to see, but some of the "gains" of the war are real, and for the rulers of the empire, the biggest gain is intelligence—about the enemy, but also about themselves.

Rosetta's gaze slowly moved over a document, and Matilda stood quietly beside him.

In this document, many details are mentioned about the Cecil's "magic mechanized forces", including the various and self-running war machines, the equipment and combat methods of Cecil's infantry, the enemy's tactical thinking, macro layout speculation, and a summary of Typhon's own army.

Every life on the battlefield has been turned into experience and reflection on these thin sheets of paper—for both Cecil and Typhon, this is the first time in history that an opponent of equal strength has engaged in such a broad and deep confrontation with himself on a frontal battlefield.

As both sides of the war learned from their experiences, Rosetta looked at the information in his hand, believing that there must be something similar on Gawain Cecil's bookcase.

"You're right, Matilda," Rosetta raised her gaze to look at her eldest daughter beside her, "We have to go one step further and introduce magic technology into the military realm, it's not enough to just let the soldiers sit in magic carts or use factories to produce some weapons. The Cecils have a very large potential for war - although they are currently in a stalemate with us, they will sooner or later outgrow us over time, and the gap between them is their magic technology on the one hand, and their ...... on the other Mindset. ”

"Andesa once told me that she had been worried about us and the Cecils in an ongoing war - their war machines had short production cycles, their soldiers trained quickly, everything could afford to lose, and our Legion of Transcendents, though much better than the traditional troops, could not keep up with the Cecil's pace...... The long war is very bad for us. ”

“…… time, so we need time," Rosetta said slowly, "and hopefully we still have enough time." ”