The elegantly decorated hall is filled with the familiar scent of "night" incense, the pale gold pillars are hung with the Wendell family's "Wolf of the Armature" emblem, and the near-noon sun shines into the hall through the colored crystal windows on the south side, illuminating the Tyrians hanging on the walls. Portrait of Wendell, the eternal majestic and powerful grandfather in memory is standing quietly in front of the portrait of the patriarch of the family, with his back to the door, as if he is in a trance.

The attendant on the side wanted to come forward to report, but Andessa stopped the attendant, she walked into the hall alone, and stopped a few meters behind Duke Ferdinand, Aldenand's soft sunlight shone on the air between them, and there were fine dust flying in the sunlight, like an elf in the atmosphere.

"Grandfather, I'm back."

"Seven hundred years ago, Tyrian? Wendell was the same age as you when he completely defeated the Western Front Aberrant Legion," Peddinand said slowly, "It was a winter, and the knights fought on the snowy fields, united and brave like wolves, fighting fiercely for three days and nights, annihilating five times as many enemies, and after the victory, the Founding Father named Tyrion in the name of the wolf?" Wendell was the first Duke of Wolf. ”

This is the history that every Wendell descendant knows, and Andesa bowed her head: "I always remember the glory of my ancestors. ”

"Ancestors are glorious," Ferdinand finally turned, his still majestic face a little older than Andesa remembered, "Or is it true that every Pioneer is equally glorious, and that glory requires the ability to match it—including Tyrian?" Wendell, naturally including Gawain? Cecil.

"The Cecil's Wizard Legion is led by Gawain? Cecil personally formed and trained, and compared to the other 'Legions of Glory', the most powerful thing about that legion is that they are the 'first generation', and as a young commander, you are qualified to fight such an enemy without being defeated. ”

Andesa calmly met her grandfather's gaze, and in the gaze of those eyes, she knew there was a follow-up.

Duke Peridinand continued: "However, as the supreme general of the Winter Wolf Legion and the first commander of the Imperial Defense Line, the moment you went to the Palmel Heights, you were already unqualified. ”

Andesa took a breath and straightened up in front of her grandfather as if she had been a child.

Pei Dinan looked into Andersa's eyes: "Regarding the Changfeng Fortress, what is the order that His Majesty gave you?" ”

Androsa immediately replied: "Maintain continuous monitoring, confirm the actual strength and deployment of the Changfeng defense line at any time, if there are no loopholes, you can't take the initiative to attack, if you find an opportunity, you can choose your own opportunity and attack immediately." ”

"That's right," Peddinand nodded, "So from a purely commanding point of view, you have no problem doing it, and Your Majesty will not take any punishment for the failure of your action, but when you carry out this order, are you really 'just carrying out the order'?" ”

Andessa's face tensed, and it wasn't until a few seconds later that she nodded under Ferdinand's gaze, "Yes." ”

"When you're nervous, your eyes always habitually look at the lower left corner," Duke Peridinand shook his head, turned around, and looked at the colored crystal window that was pouring in sunlight, "You didn't send spies to conduct camouflage reconnaissance, but chose to take the knights directly to the Palmel Heights, and after discovering that the Cecil's position was fake, you sent the signal without further searching and confirming the surrounding environment of the battlefield, and all this happened in the case of rain, obstructed vision, and reduced reconnaissance efficiency...... This shouldn't happen to you. ”

“…… I have nothing to say. ”

"Hatred, you have temporarily lost your judgment, you have waited for this opportunity for many years, I understand your urgency at that time, but you are not a lone knight, but a commander, and more importantly, as a general of Your Majesty, your personal feelings must be placed after the emperor's orders and the interests of the country - you must firmly remember that even if the Cecil people kill me in front of you today, as long as Your Majesty orders you to establish peaceful relations with Cecil, you must live in peace with them on the border, This is your duty when you pick up that knight's sword. ”

Andesa was silent for a moment, then finally took a deep breath, and her eyes became firm again: "Yes, I understand. ”

"You will do it, because your surname is Wendell," Peddinand nodded slowly, "I am most pleased that at least some of the choices you made were timely and accurate, and these choices allowed you to successfully withdraw to Winterwolf Castle with the Knights - not being left behind on the Palamel Heights is your greatest success, which prevents the Empire from becoming passive in the general sense, and also prevents you from becoming a victim of negotiations and bearing all the infamy in your own name." ”

Grandfather's preaching was as merciless as she remembered, and Andesa found that she couldn't refute it as she remembered, she lowered her head and accepted everything, until her grandfather's tone suddenly changed: "The time for preaching is over, and I should give you some compliments - you have successfully brought back direct information about Cecil's Wizard Legion, which is more valuable than anything else." ”

The old duke paused at this point, and then asked, "What does that thing look like?" What weapons are there? How to fight? ”

Andesa immediately sorted out her sentences, revealing a serious expression:

"It is made of a large amount of steel, similar in form and size to the 'train' you described in your letter, and is equipped with extremely powerful magical weapons......

"It was hidden behind woods and rocks at the time, but due to its large scale and the fact that its orbit had striking runic markings and large raised structures, it was easy to observe from the air, and I thought it was a weapon that was not suitable for concealment, and its main role should have been to storm and serve as a mobile fortress......

"It should be able to accommodate a large number of soldiers and supplies, and can fight for long periods of time away from strongholds......

“…… It didn't fight, but I'm pretty sure it had some kind of shield......

"If there is a need for engagement, breaking its orbit in advance should be a top priority, and its ranged attacks are ferocious and focused, and when confronted, it should be treated as a group of mages who are protected within the walls and can move at any time......

"Its main weapon is huge, it was pointed at the Changfeng Plains at the time, and judging from its deployment position, its range is at least ten kilometers or more, which is far beyond the scope of traditional spells......"

Andessa said one by one, Duke Ferdinand nodded from time to time, and when Andrisa finally finished speaking, the old duke thought for a moment and broke the silence with a little sigh: "...... Luckily for you, the Cecils are not yet proficient in it, just as they were when we first formed the Knights of the Iron River a few years ago, and the Cecilians were not mature enough to match the tactics of the new weapons. ”

"Immature?" Andesa was a little surprised.

"If it's ripe, you won't be able to come back," Petdinand glanced at her, "Do you think it's just the right rain to keep your Knights evacuated alive?" ”

Seeing Andresa's thoughtful expression, Duke Ferdinand nodded slightly, and then walked towards the exit of the hall: "Your Majesty is in the Obsidian Palace, come with me to meet him." ”

Andesa woke up from her thoughts, and immediately turned to follow the old duke's footsteps: "Yes, grandfather. ”

Duke Ferdinand snorted, but when he was about to enter the corridor, he suddenly stopped, looking at Andessa, who also stopped and had a puzzled expression on her face, the old man nodded lightly: "I forgot to say just now - welcome home." ”

After a moment of stunned thought, Andesa reacted, and finally a smile appeared on her face.

In front of the portico of the Duke's Palace, Andesa saw not the carriage she was familiar with, but a strange-looking carriage with four wheels and an iron shell parked under the steps.

"This is the magic car I mentioned to you in my last letter," Duke Ferdinand explained before Andrisa asked, "and it's the third—half of the parts are hand-made by craftsmen." Your uncle has built a factory on Golden Shell Street and is trying to make the skeleton and shell of the Magic Guide Car with machines, so if you have time this time, you can check it out.

"You have been away from the imperial capital for too long, there have been many changes here, and some new things cannot be described clearly in the letters, you have to see more, these insights are useful to you."

"The Cecil have similar things there," said Andessa, "and they have recently appeared near the Stronghold of the Wind Fortress, using larger magic carts to transport supplies. ”

"The Magic Guide was originally born in Cecil, and our craftsmen and scholars copied it. As you've already seen - the Cecil people first created the magic guide and have already gone far in this technology, and we are now catching up, which makes many imperial nobles who are used to the pride very uncomfortable, but that's the way it is," Peddinand walked towards the magic guide car, and said as he went, "The 'war machine' you mentioned is obviously also the creation of magic technology - we have created a powerful army of transcendents, but the Cecil people are using magic technology to erase the gap in this area, if you don't want to fall into disadvantage, We must abandon meaningless pride and start catching up now. ”

Andessa sat in the car, observing everything in sight with irrepressible curiosity and delight, her fingers brushed over the inner wall of the door, after seeing the Cecil's war machine with her own eyes, it inevitably looked rudimentary, but when the tremor of the machine came from underneath her, she couldn't help but sigh softly: "...... This is the ...... we made."

"Yes, this is what we have made, and we owe a debt of gratitude to every scholar, mage, and craftsman of the Imperial Engineers' Association, especially Master Daniel, the leader of this project, although I don't like the overly gloomy temperament of the Grand Magior, his wisdom and talent are admirable," said Duke Ferdinand, "Don't envy the tools used by the Cecil to transport supplies, Winterwolf Castle will soon be used, your uncle has been instructed by Master Daniel, and when his factory is officially up and running, We no longer have to rely on the craftsman's hammer to make the shell of the magic car. ”

With the tremor of the mechanism, the magic guide car was activated, and this incredible machine drove out of the Duke's Palace, in the direction of the Obsidian Palace, meeting a few pedestrians along the way, they all stopped to watch, but Andesa was now completely distracted from the street outside: "We can make this thing, the train ......"

"Train...... Trains are another concept," Duke Peerinan shook his head with a wry smile, "I know what you're thinking, I'm thinking about it, Your Majesty is thinking about it, our scholars, craftsmen and mages are thinking about it, but I must admit that we can't build it yet...... At least now you can't build anything on the same level as Cecil's Magic Train. As far as I know, there is a group of craftsmen who are trying to build simple, small rail cars, and hopefully they will succeed. ”

Listening to her grandfather's words, Andesa slowly gathered her mood, she raised her head, looked out the car window at the road that kept retreating, watched the afternoon sun dispel the mist on the streets of Aldernan, watched the pedestrians who were much rarer than she remembered hurriedly walking on the streets, her heart tied to the Winterwolf Castle and tied to the front line finally slowly returned here.

The car drove through the intersection, passing a mother and daughter who were walking, and through the open window, Andesa heard a vague voice in the wind:

"Mom, there are so few people on the road...... Where has everyone gone? ”

"They ...... in the factory"

Times are changing, and the city is really a bit strange.

But this is her home after all.

……

In the Obsidian Palace, a squire walked into Rosetta? Augustus's room, bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, Ferdinand?" Archduke Wendell and Andresa? General Wendell has arrived. ”

Rosetta, who was reviewing a document, looked up from her work: "Let them in." ”

The patriarch and heir of the Wendell family entered the room and saluted according to etiquette, and after Rosetta returned the salute, her eyes fell on Andessa.

The young wolf general stood up straight, calmly meeting the Emperor's gaze, and after that deep gaze finally withdrew a little, she heard a question:

"Andessa, what is our army lacking now?"