Andesa leaned on the railing of the terrace, squinting her eyes in the breeze, looking at the outer edge of the giant tree of Thorin, in fact, she could vaguely see the scene of the plain of the Holy Spirit - there seemed to be a long, narrow curtain illuminated by the skylight, stretching along the horizon into the distance, the background of the curtain was pure white, it should be the snow of the plains, right?

She didn't look back, and broke the silence softly, "I know it's not easy for you to say this in front of me—from your point of view, you must think that this matter is indeed beneficial to both Cecil and Typhon, right?" ”

"The fact that the biggest threat we have right now is the Divine Disaster, and the soldiers who can fight the Divine Disaster are the key to the outcome of the war, and the most important thing is to overcome the crisis when two countries face the same threat." ”

"And what about after the crisis?" Andesa turned her head and looked at Bud quietly with her only remaining eye, "Will Cecil and Typhon become eternal comrades and partners, and from now on, they will work together in close harmony, regardless of their previous suspicions, and everyone will live together in peace and happiness?" ”

“…… No," Bud said calmly after a few seconds as he looked at his daughter, "From my point of view, even if this crisis ends safely, and the two countries form some kind of balance or covenant relationship after the war, this balance and covenant will be temporary. Competition can go on forever and become a danger of war again when one side has an Achilles' heel. There are no eternal comrades-in-arms and partners in the world, especially at the national level. ”

"The mass production of transcendent technology is one of the fundamentals of Typhon, and I dare not say what the future holds, at least at this stage, this is the guarantee of our military strength. Perhaps the Cecils really just wanted to train a group of soldiers to fight against the gods...... But will they just think that after the catastrophe is over? With mass-produced transcendents and mass-produced war machines, what did Typhon use against this power at that time? Andesa shook her head, "I'm a narrow-minded and inflexible person - that Gawain Cecil may really stand on the level of all mankind, and His Majesty Rosetta may also stand on this level, but I'm not."

"I'm only in my place, so in my opinion, this matter is non-negotiable.

"Maybe I'm not qualified to say that in my current capacity, but I still have to say - why do all good things fall into the hands of Cecil?"

Bard looked at Andesa quietly, and after a long time, he slowly showed a smile: "Your grandfather raised you very well. ”

Andesa didn't respond, she just quietly looked at the scenery in the distance, and after a long silence, she suddenly whispered: "In terms of the overall situation, it is the most correct choice for Cecil and Typhon to fully unite to resist this disaster, right?" ”

"It would be much easier if things were that simple," Bard laughed, "but it's a pity that even two heroes can't simply 'pinch' two countries together like pinching mud." ”

"So, whether the Cecils want Typhon's technology, they want to exchange their own technology, or what more thorough cooperation and exchange between the two countries...... None of this should be a breakthrough from me," Andesa said slowly, "As a soldier, no matter what the reason for righteousness is unjust, it would be treason for me to hand over those things - there are some things that our Majesty can do, and I can't. ”

Bud was silent for a few seconds before he said with a hint of exclamation: "Andessa, you have really grown up......"

"Your exclamation is many years late," Andesa said with a slight smile on her father's always straight face, and then she took a deep breath in the wholesome breeze of the Thorin region, "I've been out for too long, and I'd better go back to my room until Sister Marianne takes coercive measures." ”

Bud subconsciously stepped forward half a step: "Do you want me to send you back?" ”

"No, I'm not that weak." Andesa waved her hand, then slowly turned around, moving a little uncomfortably towards the exit of the terrace.

It wasn't until her figure completely disappeared into the doorway that Bard's gaze slowly closed, and a small voice rang out from a crack in the nearby wall bricks: "You really don't look like a conversation between father and daughter—it's more like two officers discussing the war situation with serious faces. ”

Bard squinted at his feet and saw a small bud swaying in the wind between the cracks in the wall tiles, and he raised his eyebrows: "Didn't you say you wanted to avoid it?" Getting into a corner and eavesdropping is your way of avoiding it? ”

As soon as he finished speaking, a large number of flowers and vines poured out of thin air at the edge of the terrace, and the figure of Bertila was condensed from it, and the latter walked steadily from mid-air to the terrace, with no expression on his slightly wooden face: "I did avoid it, ceremonial avoidance - all of you stand on my body, how can I avoid it?" I've got all the bricks in the cracks. ”

Bard felt his brow jump: "...... How come I haven't found out that you are such a quibble woman in the past ten years? This change is also a credit to the 'brain' you created for yourself? ”

But, however, Bertila glanced in the direction in which Andesa had left, and said seemingly casually, "Looks like there's nothing to talk about—I thought what your 'father' said would shake the eldest lady." ”

Bard sighed, "It's a pity that Andesa is more able to stand her ground than we thought, and His Majesty Gawain seems to be going to be disappointed." ”

"This result is probably what he expected......" Beltila didn't have any regrets, she just sighed a little, "Andessa...... Your daughter is actually a very sober person, and although much intelligence and the subjective judgment of third-party personnel say that the contemporary General Wolf is a cold, stubborn, inflexible warmonger, and blindly hostile to Cecil, it seems to me that she is perhaps more aware of the changes in the world and the relations between nations than many of the rhetorical politicians in the mansion.

"It's just that she remembers her duty as a soldier more."

"It's not easy to get such a high opinion from you," Bard glanced at Bertila, "but let's focus on the special forces...... The fighting on the front lines of Winterwolf Castle is getting more and more intense, the army of the Typhonians is now full of carriers of spiritual pollution, and every day our soldiers have to fight against those things, and the neural network has begun to detect the presence of the god of war's tainted information in the front line nodes - if no effective means of defense can be found, the line of defense must shrink. ”

"I examined the bodies of the Typhon battle mages in the POW camp—in the name of medical examinations," Bertila said casually, "and the vast majority of them did rely on alchemical potions and constant external stimulation to alter their neural structures...... Truth be told, this kind of alchemical potion that can forcibly activate magical talents is not uncommon elsewhere, but basically all have serious side effects, either weakening the physique, or permanently damaging the nervous system, and the best can also cause the spell talent to lock in for life, but the catalytic technology that Typhon is using has apparently solved these after-effects......

"The body of those battle mages is very healthy, and even their personal strength can be improved to a limited extent by relying on normal learning and training, except for the relatively low upper limit and the difficulty of growing in the later stage, they are basically not much different from real mages.

"I isolated blood samples from these people and scanned their neural structures, hoping to reverse-engineer their transformation process, but I had no clue...... It's obviously not that simple. ”

"In other words, this path is not going to work," Bard frowned, and that was what he thought was the meaning of Bertila's string of technical narratives, distilled into it...... I don't know if His Majesty will try to contact Aldenand, but in this situation, it is unlikely that the two countries will be at war and establish a channel for technical exchanges......"

"So, I'm thinking of other solutions here......" Berthira said unhurriedly.

"Other solutions?" Bard was stunned for a moment, then looked at the former imam in front of him in surprise, "Have you thought of a way?" ”

"A different technological route may be possible to enhance the ability of ordinary people to adapt and control magic in other ways, such as an additional set of nervous system ...... Naretir told me a little bit about neural networks, and there's an interesting concept called 'Wet Piece Compute Nodes'......"

Bard looked at Bertila and suddenly felt a chill for no reason, and despite the fact that the Solin region was full of spring seasons, he subconsciously rubbed his arm: "Damn...... Don't do any more bloody experiments, I'll be the first to report you. ”

Bertila glanced at him, "Of course not, my every move is under the monitoring of the magic web, not to mention that I myself have long lost interest in those stupid experiments - I will apply and report to Minister Rebecca according to the normal process." ”

……

Aldernan.

The snow that had been falling for days had finally stopped, but the fog that followed had once again enveloped the imperial capital of the plains, and the sky over Aldernan was still gloomy, but compared to the previous days of wind and snow, there was finally a hint of sunshine and warmth here.

A tall, thin man dressed in a black earl's coat with ribbons and sigils walked through the deep corridors of the Obsidian Palace, his face tinged with coldness, a high nose, and slender eyes—the typical Typhon northerner's face.

Led by the maid, he walked through the corridors of the Obsidian Palace to the reception room where Rosetta Augustus used to live, and when he pushed open the heavy oak door with intricate coats of arms in gold lines, he stepped into it, and Rosetta Augustus was sitting in a high-backed chair by the fireplace, looking up from his book at the sound of the doorway.

"Count Clemmont Dart," Rosetta nodded slightly as she looked at the tall thin man who appeared at the door, "you arrived on time. ”

"Punctuality is a tradition of the Dart family." The man known as Cremont walked up to Rosetta, the door of the reception room closed behind him, and as the wooden door closed with a sound, he bent down to the Imperial ruler in front of him, "In accordance with the law, I have come to bid you farewell." ”

His manners are impeccable, his words are standard, but they are all mechanical—precise, but devoid of emotion and warmth.

But Rosetta clearly didn't care.

"Tomorrow morning, you will be on your way to the front with the first train," he nodded, "and I wish you all the best, and I wish you courage and honor." ”

Clemmont Dart straightened up, his slender eyes staring at Rosetta the Great, which lasted for a few seconds before he withdrew his gaze and said lightly, "Thank you for your blessings." ”

At this point, all due etiquette has been fulfilled.

He took a half-step back, ready to leave, but before he could speak, Rosetta suddenly asked, "Nothing else to say?" We probably won't have a chance to talk like that again. ”

Cremont stared at Rosetta for a long time before he spoke, "Are you shaken now?" ”

"I'm steadfast."

"Well, I see," Crémont nodded, turning to look at the door of the reception room, "then I'll watch you in the dirt of Winterwolf, and I'll keep watching until you actually live up to the prosperity you depicted in the first place—or sink into the abyss." ”

With that, the Typhon nobleman took a step forward and left the reception room without a moment's pause.

In the large room, Rosetta Augustus sat quietly in a chair, and when the door closed again, he glanced up at the mechanical clock not far away.

"It took two minutes, and it wasn't bad."

He whispered to himself, playing with a small gem about the size of his thumb, shaped like an eye, and its whole body was pitch black, but there seemed to be a glimmer of light flickering and hovering on the black surface, as if it had sealed an illusory starry sky.

The "starlight" gem tumbled lightly in Rosetta's hand for a long time, and the latter suddenly stopped the movement in his hand, and the faint starlight on the surface of the gem shook as if with some kind of inertia, and with the light of the stars gradually re-stabilized and solidified, a little thing gradually emerged from the dark depths of the gem.

Little by little, it became clearer, and finally the details appeared—it was the face of Malm Dunit, the face of the dull and ungodly.

Rosetta Augustus stared blankly at the faces emerging from the surface of the gem, and only after a long time did he smile slightly: "Are you pretending to be an empty shell of the mind?" ”

The sluggish and godless Malm Dunit in the gem suddenly "came to life", he looked at Rosetta viciously, and his sarcastic voice shook the air around the gem: "You are trapped only by an avatar!" The true self has long since become one with the glory of the Lord, and you will never be able to comprehend the realm of greatness beyond the intellect - continue to rejoice here, as a mortal, you are not even qualified to be on the opposite side of the Lord - this war itself will consume you and your pathetic family! ”

Rosetta quietly looked at the face emerging from the gem, he did not have the slightest irritation, and his voice was as calm as ever: "Yes...... There is some truth in what you say, as a mortal, it is really difficult to come into contact with the gods high above...... Solving such a problem is a lot of fun. ”

With a slight pressure on his fingers, a powerful magic power poured into the gem, and with a slight crunch and a vague roar, the gem and the spirit trapped in it instantly disappeared.