In Alder's South East End, one of the deepest alleys in the city, the lights are dim.

This is the darkest and most secluded area of the entire imperial capital, a place that seems to have been forgotten by the upper classes, and the sprawling Aldenan is like a hill stacked on top of it, with magnificent buildings on the upper floors and hidden in the dark depths like festering wounds on the bottom. Advanced magic technology, thriving new commerce, an increasingly glamorous burgher class, all these things have nothing to do with the deepest alleys of Aldersouth's East End—

It's only half a city away from the Obsidian Palace, but it seems to be further away from civilization than the more distant mountain cities.

And in the alley, far from Aldernan's official eyeline, a man with a messy beard, sunken eye sockets, and a shabby coat hurried past the doors of low, dilapidated houses.

The sound of hurried and undisguised footsteps sounded, and some prying eyes peeked through the doors and windows of the houses, and in this hour of night, those who dared to walk alone in the deepest part of the Eastern End always attracted the prying eyes of the curious, but those who were attracted by the footsteps and looked into the street were soon in doubt.

Because they didn't see anything, and in their eyes, the streets were empty.

But the footsteps were there.

The sight of those hiding behind the doors and windows gradually became nervous and frightened, and the superstitious inhabitants remembered the horrific legends of ghosts and dark wizards after dark, and quickly withdrew their gaze one by one, closing the already closed doors and windows more tightly.

The man walked through the streets and alleys in this way, and came to the door of No. 14 Black Iron Lane.

He stood still in front of the dark door, pressed his hand on the door, sensed the movement inside a little, and made sure that there was nothing unusual in the room before turning the key and silently pushing the door open.

He saw the room lit up with warm light, and a black-robed figure with a blurred face sat in a chair with a furnished face as if it had already arrived, a roaring bonfire burning in the corner of the room, and the polished floor, tables and chairs were spotlessly clean.

The man hurried into the room, closed the door, and bowed before the blurred figure: "Greetings, Bishop Daniel. ”

"No need to be polite, Grando," Daniel, who was dressed in black robes and had a blurred face, waved his hand, and the voice sounded directly in the ears of the man named Grando, "This place is safe, we can talk with confidence." ”

"Yes, Your Excellency." Grando bowed his head deeply.

"What I asked you to investigate, how is the investigation?" Daniel asked quietly.

"Yes, the subordinate has completed the preliminary investigation," the Eternal Sleeper disciple named Grando immediately replied respectfully, "As of last week, several of the lower-level cultists you asked me to contact and inquire about have sent feedback, and they have all said that they have not sent any distress signals on the Internet, nor have they lost any memories - at least, they don't remember these themselves. ”

Daniel nodded: "That's all?" ”

"No, there's more," Grando replied hurriedly, "and his subordinates were also suspicious of the feedback from these lower-level disciples, so they secretly contacted and hypnotized the people around them when conditions permitted, and obtained different information from them...... According to the recollections of those people, most of the above-mentioned followers have experienced mental trance, prolonged slumber, and even temporary personality changes in the past period. ”

"Personality mutation?" Daniel immediately noticed the key word, "Is there a possibility of mental substitution or mental parasitism?" ”

"The subordinates have confirmed that there is no such possibility," Grando shook his head, "I have contacted those disciples several times since then, and have observed their minds in various states such as awake and hypnotic, and their minds are still their own, their consciousness is intact, and there is no sign of the subconscious being assembled or cut. ”

A hoarse and low voice came from under Daniel's hood: "Everything is normal? ”

"Yes, everything is fine." Grando said respectfully.

"Everything is normal, it is the greatest ......abnormality," Daniel's voice was low, "the trance, the prolonged slumber and the sudden change in personality are in themselves evidence of the mental impact, and they will definitely leave traces in a short time, in which case their mind appears to be normal, then it is ......"

He paused suddenly, and the Eternal Sleeper named Grando couldn't help but ask with curiosity and a hint of nervousness, "Your ......, Lord Bishop?"

Before he could finish his words, his eyes fell into a brief blankness, and the moment his vision lost focus, the warm light in the room, the burning fireplace in the corner of the room, the neat furniture and other things disappeared in an instant.

The room was pitch black, there wasn't even a candle, there wasn't a burning fireplace, and in fact there wasn't even any furniture except for a chair by the window.

The man named Grando stood silently in the empty dark room, standing in the doorway, staring blankly for two minutes.

It was two minutes before his eyes blinked, and the room instantly returned to its previous warm and bright appearance, and Bishop Daniel, dressed in black robes, reappeared in the chair in front of him.

A chill flowed through his spine, and Grando shivered instantly, realizing that he had just received a detailed "examination" from the powerful Eternal Sleeper Bishop in front of him, and couldn't help but speak nervously and fearfully: "My lord, I ......"

"Your memory has been altered," Daniel said bluntly, "and this is the end of the investigation of this matter, so don't go any further." ”

“…… Yes," Grando said with a cold sweat dripping from his ear, with utter trepidation, "thanks for the reminder." ”

"Well," Daniel nodded, "In addition, try not to connect to the psychic network for a long time in the near future, and if you have to connect, keep it shallow, not deep."

"Finally, the archbishop of the Supreme Bishopric may contact you in the near future to inquire about your recent investigation, so you don't have to hide it for me at that time, just tell me calmly."

Grando couldn't help but show a shocked expression, and instantly realized the truth that his memory had been modified, and blurted out: "My lord, could it be the archbi......shops who modified my memory and covered up the truth?"

As soon as he was halfway through his words, he closed his mouth vigilantly and continued to ask in a low voice, "My lord, what has happened to the Psychic Network recently?" ”

"Don't ask too much," Daniel interrupted him indifferently, "It's not a good thing to know too much. ”

Another chill hit, and Grando couldn't help but swallow his saliva and cautiously stopped talking.

Then, the various things in his field of vision suddenly shook for a moment.

The lights were gone, the fireplace was gone, the furniture was gone, and 14 Black Iron Lane was once again a dark and empty room, and the man named Grando blinked, fully conscious, and found himself standing in the doorway of the room, with one hand reaching behind him, still closing the door.

The powerful, mysterious Bishop of the Eternal Sleeper had left, out of Grando's mind.

……

In Aldenand's mage district, in a brightly lit and well-decorated villa, Daniel was sitting in an easy chair in his study, scroll in hand, flipping through a page.

The artificial nerve cord behind him sat quietly, conformingly, except for the end peeking out from the hem of his shirt and swaying slightly near the back of his chair.

“…… It's time to think about what to do with an archbishop's inquiry," the old mage sighed silently, and said to himself, "but I don't know which ...... I will face."

The Supreme Bishopric is really trying to hide some huge secret, and this secret is definitely very wide-ranging and huge, and they are keeping an eye on all the information flows related to this secret.

Daniel felt a pang of relief.

Fortunately, he has been strictly following his master's instructions, controlling the magnitude of his investigation, carefully handling the details of his actions, although he is investigating the fluctuation of the psychic network, he is not so abnormal, but more like a loyal cultist who cares about the operation of the psychic network and actively investigates the malfunction after discovering the anomaly.

An excellent, enthusiastic and motivated safety supervisor.

Except for a little overstepping, it's simply loyal.

……

In the Obsidian Palace, Rosetta Augustus was sitting behind his large desk, and Duke Ferdinand Wendell was sitting diagonally across from him.

Looking at His Majesty the Emperor, who was looking down to read the letter, Pei Dinan suddenly felt a little emotional.

It seems that since the rise of Cecil, since the situation suddenly turned in a direction that no one had expected, the ruler of Typhon, who had been plagued by spiritual curses, suddenly escaped from the curse of his family, became energetic and combative, and himself, summoned by His Majesty the Emperor, came to the obsidian palace more often than usual.

Almost every time he encountered something about the Cecil Empire or the domestic magic industry, His Majesty would summon him, which made Duke Ferdinand even want to apply and simply reserve a room for himself in the Obsidian Palace, and he lived here.

"Cecil has agreed with our idea of sending students to study abroad and expressed his willingness to deepen ties with us and build international relations that are more in line with this new era." Rosetta Augustus's voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting Archduke Ferdinand's thoughts.

Ferdinand raised his head, and the expression on his face was somewhat complicated: "Did that Gawain Cecil really agree directly......

"Yes, he's more powerful than we thought......" Rosetta Augustus said, shaking her head slightly, flicking her wrist, and threw the letter with the royal insignia of the Cecil Empire in front of Duke Ferdinand, "You can take a look." ”

Duke Ferdinand took the letter, looked at it carefully, and frowned slightly: "...... Sending envoys in both countries for long-term contact and building 'embassies'? ”

"That's right, that's in line with the development of the situation," Rosetta nodded, "and we can't rely on this kind of correspondence and waves of messengers forever to maintain communication. ”

Peddinand continued to look down: "...... Open up more commercial channels, increase the scale of existing orders, add new order categories, including more magic parts, synthetic crystals, handicrafts, and open up the legal and limited investment behavior of private businessmen in the territory of both sides......"

"There is a lot to be explored and analysed in this part, and a copy will be transcribed and sent to the Parliament and the Royal Advisory Panel to complete the risk assessment and discussion as soon as possible."

"I understand."

Peddinand bowed his head and said, after reading the last content of the letter, he looked at Rosetta: "Your Majesty, how to finalize the selection of students to send students?" ”

"There is no hurry, we should send an envoy to Cecil first, just as we did when we decided to introduce the magic train, and someone should go and see the situation there with their own eyes - this is also the necessary etiquette and solemnity when dealing with another empire as an empire."

"Envoy ......" Ferdinand looked at Rosetta's face with little change in expression, "you already have a candidate, right?" ”

"Let Matilda lead the team," Rosetta said lightly, "and she always has a good eye." ”

"Her Highness Matilda...... Indeed the most suitable person. ”

……

In the far north of the continent, beyond the mountains and plains of the northern borders of the Cecil Empire, there is another kingdom in the midst of ice and snow, lying on the top of the mountains.

The majestic and towering city buildings are between the mountains, and the cold wind blows through the mountain walls, walls and mountain streams day after day, and in the monotonous colors of ice and snow, the gray-white stone buildings seem to merge with the mountains, facing the north, exuding a heavy atmosphere of arrogance, antiquity, and desolation.

The self-proclaimed Dragonborn have lived in this frozen land for an unknown number of years.

It's a closed country, the proud but sinful Dragonborn close their mountains and plains, and almost never pay attention to the changes in the continent, but even the closed country is not eternal and never communicates with the outside world.

Folk merchants can still visit the mysterious "Principality of the Holy Dragon", and the latter does not turn away traders and adventurers from humans - as long as they can endure the harsh climate of the Far North.

The Dragonborns are happy to deal with the brave ones who can brave the cold winter of the Far North.

It's just that in most of the past years, there are only a few people who can challenge the extreme cold of the north, and those who are qualified to visit the Holy Dragon Principality are basically only awe-inspiring transcendents and ordinary ordinary merchants...... It is impossible to walk in the far north.

But that has changed recently.

A new "Cecil Empire" replaced the old kingdom of Ansu, and many brave and well-equipped Cecil merchants began to appear frequently on the borders of the Holy Dragon Principality, and the cold climate that could discourage most ordinary people in the past, and even the mountain people in the north of Ansu, could not stop those Cecil merchants - they wore thick warm clothes, drove magical vehicles that could withstand the wind and snow, and suddenly poured frost resistance potions, bringing what is said to be from the "Wizard Era" of countless new things.

Change is creeping around the Cecil Empire to those areas that were once closed......