In the brightly lit R&D room, the prototype of the Steel Wings was disassembled into components and placed on platforms and stands.

On the lower edge of the massive pair of metal wings, the fractured and twisted metal structure stands out.

With a clanging sound, Rebecca emerged from under one of the giant wing structures, grease on her face and a freshly removed part in her hand.

"A magic capacitor used to balance the load burned out, and it should have been the main cause of the imbalance of the whole device," Rebecca said to the technician next to her, holding up the parts in her hand, "and all the other mechanical failures and deformations of the parts were caused by the crash." ”

Maggie stepped forward curiously and looked at the cake-shaped part in Rebecca's hand: "Why?" Why is it overloaded all of a sudden? ”

"If I'm not mistaken...... It should be that you accelerated too fast and caused too much waste energy to be released in time, and then you happened to make a big maneuver, such as a large angle tumbling or something, and you just burst the magic capacitor," Rebecca frowned, "We really didn't think about it...... Humans can't do this kind of operation at all, the body can't bear it, and we still don't know enough about dragons......"

Rebecca was still muttering, but Maggie's expression was already embarrassed, and she lowered her head with a hint of shame: "Yes...... It's my fault......"

Rebecca immediately shook her head: "No, the occurrence of this kind of failure during the flight itself is a design problem - the mana capacitor has a limited load, and we should have added restrictions at the beginning." In fact, it is good news - at least the fault is in the design, and redesign and re-testing can be solved little by little, if it is a hard flaw in the strength of the material, then it is a big trouble. ”

Maggie wasn't an expert in magic techniques, but having been a tester with Rebecca's research team for so long, she was no stranger to the technical terms and concepts, and she knew that everything was exactly as they said - design gaps could be corrected, and it was easier to break through than material difficulties.

It's just that there is still a trace of shame in her heart, because after all, this crash was caused by herself.

The feeling of hugging the blue sky was too enchanting for the young Dragonborn to control herself, and she knew that she was too intoxicated with that feeling to neglect to keep an eye on the Steelwings' work—there must have been some signs before the mana capacitor overloaded, and if she hadn't been indulging in that feeling of flying freely, she wouldn't have let things get to the point of crashing.

Although Rebecca is not usually very good at speculating on people's hearts, at least she can guess what Maggie is thinking at this time, and she waved her hand vigorously: "Don't think too much, the tester is supposed to test all kinds of limit data of the prototype, and there will inevitably be equipment damage in the process." It is better to find a problem during a test flight than to cause an accident after the prototype is mass-produced in the future. ”

Speaking of this, this Cecil steel ball seemed to suddenly remember something, touched his chin and turned around: "And compared to my side, you should think about how to apologize to Tyr when you go back......"

Maggie was stunned, her face full of confusion: "Miss Tyr? ”

"When I went back to dinner yesterday, I saw Tyre arching up and down the hallway, telling people everywhere that she had been stabbed to death by an iron jaw that fell from the sky - this should be the second time you've hit her, the last time you smashed it with a dragoon prototype......"

Maggie: "......"

……

The afterglow of the setting sun shone among the mountains of the north, the pale golden light splashed down on the undulating ridgeline, and the majestic Winter Castle stood on the top of the snow and rocks, overlooking the icy mountains and rivers - this is a completely different scenery from the south, less prosperous and warm, but more magnificent and vast to the marrow.

Byron, who visited this northern city for the first time, stood on the terrace that could overlook most of the city, his eyes were filled with this magnificent scenery from the north, and he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion, wanting to sigh at the vastness and magnificence of the empire-

“…… This mountain is really TM a lot. ”

After searching his stomach and finding that he only had this one sentence, and couldn't think of a few reliable words at all, Byron scratched his chin a little embarrassed, and suddenly felt that Philip's usual persuasion to read more books might also make sense—at least he could have a few more words to describe when encountering such a landscape......

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from behind him, interrupting Byron's emotion and greatly increasing his embarrassment: "General Byron, what were you talking about just now?" ”

Byron turned his head a little stiffly, and saw that the Duchess of Victoria, who was dressed in a white dress, had come to the terrace at some point, and looked at this side suspiciously, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he scratched his face in a very unnatural manner, and smiled dryly: "Aha...... It's just talking to myself. ”

Victoria glanced at Byron twice, and didn't seem to doubt it, but nodded slightly: "The banquet hall is ready, it's time for you, the imperial general, to show up." ”

Byron's expression suddenly stiffened, and he seemed a little helpless, but in the end he didn't say anything, and walked to follow Victoria.

The envoy from the Principality of the Holy Dragon has not yet arrived, and tonight's banquet is for the purpose of making initial contact with the upper class of society in the north.

A general from the southern part of the empire led a construction corps to the north to build a northern port and a series of facilities on the northern coastline, which was undoubtedly a big deal, and the existing nobles and new government officials in the north obviously wanted to see who the general from the imperial capital was, and for Byron, this kind of "conformist upper class socialization" was not a pleasant thing.

In the brightly lit halls of Wintercastle, feasts have been set, long tables are filled with precious drinks and fine food, bands play upbeat music in the corners of the hall, and aristocrats and government officials in various dresses are randomly distributed in the hall, talking about strangers from the south and about the upcoming North Port project.

Byron was led to the hall by Victoria, where he mingled with these strange but influential men in the north.

Everyone greeted the "Spokesmen of the Emperor's Will" with a smile, politeness, and just the right amount of gentleness and cordiality.

Dressed in a dark blue Imperial general's uniform with gold tassels and ribbons, Byron walked down the hall accompanied by Victoria.

As a mercenary-turned-knight, he is not good at this kind of "high society" life, but as a soldier, he can maintain an indifferent personality with a straight face throughout the whole process and will not be said to be lacking in etiquette.

Similarly, as a mercenary-turned-knight, he is very good at reading words and emotions in various situations.

He could clearly feel that most of the people here were on the lookout for him, a "foreigner", and this did not surprise him in the slightest.

After talking to the Earl of XX, who did not know the first number, Byron temporarily left the scene on the grounds that he was feeling depressed in the hall, and went to the balcony to breathe and rest his brain by the way.

Undisguised footsteps came from the direction of the ballroom, and Byron turned to see Victoria Wilde walking in this direction.

He shook the wine glass in his hand to greet the northern duke, and then turned his head back to look at the distant mountains that had gradually submerged in darkness, and continued to sigh in his heart that there were so many mountains in this place.

Duchess Victoria's voice came from the side: "General Byron, you seem to be interested in the scenery of the north?" ”

"This side of the mountain...... It's a little more than the South," Byron smiled, "and they're all tall and majestic, impressive." ”

"The northern part of the country is so mountainous that there are very few flatlands or even hills, and the cold climate makes it not as suitable for living as it is in the south," Victoria said lightly. From the time of the founding of Ansu, this land was not very rich, it was not a grain production area, nor a commercial center, it was only a snow-capped mountain defense line used to protect the northern gate of the kingdom - the relatively difficult living environment and the centuries-old 'northern barrier' position made the people of the north more courageous and resolute than the people of other regions, but also more difficult to deal with. ”

Byron didn't know the Duchess's intention to suddenly mention this, but he had already unconsciously thought of the people in the banquet hall, so he showed a thoughtful look, but forgot to respond to the Duchess's words.

Victoria herself didn't care, but continued: "General Byron, you are on the orders of Your Majesty to build the North Port, which is not only to deal with the cold wind and frozen soil, but also to deal with the people of this bitter cold land, do you want to hear my thoughts?" ”

"Of course," Byron gathered his thoughts, "I'm going to start the North Harbor project soon, and I'm sure I'm going to listen to your advice." ”

"The North Port is a gateway, not only the gateway to the Empire, but also the North, and for this cold and barren land, such a gateway is enough to make a huge difference," Duchess Victoria said calmly, her eyes deep and her tone sincere, "If the Northern Ring Continental Route is successfully activated, a large part of the trade between the Empire and the Holy Dragon Duchy, the Augurai Tribal State, the Dwarven Kingdom and other countries will be completed through the North Port, which will change the current situation of isolation and poverty in the North." Thanks to His Majesty's Age of Magic, new technologies and new businesses can bring prosperity to an unlivable land like the North, but unfortunately, many northerners are unaware of this in the early days - this is something you must think about. ”

"I see what you mean," Byron nodded, "the development of Northport will bring prosperity here, but until real money is seen, the locals will only think that there is a bunch of outsiders messing around on their land and dictating their lives - indeed, that's a problem." ”

"But Your Majesty still chooses to send a southerner like you to build the North Harbor instead of appointing a person in charge from among the local consuls in the north." Victoria looked at Byron and said slowly.

Byron listened to the other party's words, and after two seconds of silence, he suddenly smiled: "North Port is not just a civilian port. ”

“…… Some people have commented that you are a rude person who has not read a book, but now I don't look like that's the case. ”

Byron raised his eyebrows: "I haven't read many books, but the cunning and vision of mercenaries are not tempered through books." ”

“…… Your Majesty's choice to send you is well thought out," Victoria seemed to smile, but her tone remained flat, "You are one of the first soldiers created by the Cecil Order, and you are typical of the new style of officers—you are strictly disciplined and defend the interests of the Empire, and you give priority to orders over aristocratic traditions, and the same principles are followed by the Production and Construction Corps you brought with you. The North Harbor must be built by people like you, not any Northern Archon, not even me—so that the North Harbor belongs to the Empire, not to the North. ”

"But you don't seem to be interested in that." Byron glanced at Victoria and said curiously.

"Your Majesty's choice is very correct, and I ...... It wasn't on impulse that the Cecil order was chosen," Victoria replied calmly, "The old forces entrenched throughout the empire are thorns that are hard to pull out, and there are many parts of the country that have not been completely reorganized except for the south, and there are so many old nobles who still retain their influence, and it will take a long time to completely eliminate this influence. Archduke Bertwin and I both know this, and have decided to fully support His Majesty's efforts to transform the country, which is why we will send our respective heirs to the imperial capital and respond to the Cross Artery Railway project as soon as possible.

"General Byron, I am telling you this today so that you can concentrate on completing your mission - the North Harbor is an imperial project, and the Wild family will support it in their best efforts. Our family has lived on this land for hundreds of years, and its influence on the North is very far-reaching, which I cannot deny, and from this day forward, all the people of the North under the influence of the Wild family will not be an obstacle to the North Port project, I can assure you. ”

Byron gave Victoria a deep look and said with a smirk, "...... So in other words, after the start of construction in Beigang, there are still local forces that obstruct it...... None of them are from the North. ”

"In the bitter cold and remote places, it is normal for the rogue to harass the construction corps, and the construction corps is also a duty to strangle the bandits, and the Wild family will fully support these righteous deeds," Victoria said lightly, she turned around and looked calmly in the direction of the banquet hall, "Please rest assured, those who secretly engage in small actions will never dare to step onto the stage, and the rogue will always be a rogue coward." After a few beatings, the restless ones will be quiet. ”

Byron couldn't help but shake his head: "I'm afraid that before the North Port is built, there will be many people who will secretly say that you have betrayed the people of the north." ”

"After the completion of the North Port, they will be the ones who will praise and support the North Port with all their might," said Victoria, with a blank face, "and they will soon be shocked by the staggering scale of the cross-border trade and the power of the Empire in the process, and these people will basically have no position in the face of interests." ”

"At that time, it will be a matter for you, the archon, to consider," Byron said casually, "I am only a soldier, and I will only carry out orders from His Majesty, and my mission is the North Harbor and the fleet, and on this basis, I will not go beyond it." ”

Victoria nodded, and said, "Also, although my reminder may be a bit redundant, as the Duke of the North, there are some things I still have to say - I hope you will be careful, some of the people who disturb the order may just be civilians who have been instigated." ”

"Duchess Victoria, I am a soldier," Byron said earnestly, looking into Victoria's eyes, "and it is my most basic duty to distinguish who is an enemy and who is a friend. ”

"Then I don't have any worries."