Shijie is connected, and even more so between things. Just as the wind blows the grass, the red deer migrate from water to grass. This is especially true of the behavior of life, where there is no such thing as an action without a cause. Either by following instinct, or by thought, the higher the life, the more it is because of it.

Therefore, it was impossible for Sauron to remove Sine from his position and issue a wanted warrant for no reason. Behind this news, there must be a larger truth hidden. Zero-sum Yafidi's inference is logical and close to the truth. Although they didn't know how Zoro did it, only with a high-level combat force in their hands that could rival the Seagod Order, Zoro would dare to make a move against a captain.

Putting aside the reason why Sauron dealt with Sine, the existence of this high-level combat force alone was enough to wake up Zero's spirit. All along, the advantage of the Zero Party is that there are obviously many more high-level abilities than the Pope's Chamber. If this advantage is leveled or even surpassed, then the Poseidon Group will undoubtedly be at a disadvantage.

Zero couldn't help but be glad that his decision to raid Rock City this time was a good bet, not only to take the important cities in the Northland, but also because he began to approach the hinterland of the Pope's Hall, he could easily receive a lot of important news. It's not good news, but it's still time to prepare.

It is conceivable that once the winter is over, the city of Rome will surely march south with a large army and a high-level group. At that time, there will be a series of battles in Rock City. Until then, Zero still has time to prepare.

Under the influence of Pope Paul's metaphor, the hostility of the inhabitants of Rock City towards the Poseidon has greatly diminished, allowing Zero's orders to be carried out with certainty. Zero sends a Trident warrior back to Canon, and Franklin transfers Mr. X, Mamiro, and the mechs first. As for the ordinary soldiers of Franklin and the Poseidon Order, they rushed north after the winter snow melted, but before the legion arrived, Rock City would be put to the test by the flames of war.

Zero must hold the city, otherwise everything is empty talk.

Taking advantage of the fact that there were still more than two months before winter, Zero began to recruit a large number of soldiers in the city and about three towns. All eligible recruits receive a salary of 5 gold coins per month, which is doubled if they graduate from the boot camp. It is no exaggeration to say that the zero salary is far more than the knights of the Papal Hall, which makes the men moved.

Although the conscription was certainly for war, the cost of appeasement was enough to make people abandon their concerns. Soon, Rock City recruited nearly 4,000 recruits, and Zero gave Su and Froman the task of training the recruits, and asked them to train them according to the standards of the regular army. It's harsh, but if you don't meet these standards, these people will only increase casualties if they rush into battle.

After the conscription, Zero began to replan the city. The inhabitants of the outskirts of Rock City were evacuated to the city, retaining the buildings used for street fighting on the outskirts, while adding bunkers and fortifications. The defense was carried out not only inside the city, but also outside the city. Trenches were dug out, and semi-bunkers and fortifications were to focus on protecting the northern side of the city.

However, if the enemy forces go around the north and attack from other places, they will find that under the seemingly flat road, there is a minefield. There are not only mines, but also deep pits that have hollowed out nearly five meters of ground. Detonators have been planted around the pit. Once an enemy gets into a pit and detonates the detonator, the people inside will either be killed or buried alive.

Increased firepower points on the city wall, and this time Zero transferred the mecha troops at the same time, and also asked Mr. X and them to transport a batch of war materials. Among them were hundreds of anti-aircraft machine guns, which were supplied by Ishtar. In addition to this, there are such things as infantry missiles, plasma mines, etc. When the fortifications and war materials are in place, Zoro will find that the Rock City is armed to the teeth, and even if Zuihou can take it, it will be very costly.

Just as Rock City began to dig trenches and build fortifications, a caravan arrived in Rock City, and they brought in the war materials that Zero needed most. In addition to regular supplies such as guns and bullets, they even have several heavy guns that can be detached and combined, as well as two special mechs. This aroused great interest from Zero and received representatives of this caravan at the town hall.

represents surprisingly young, a beautiful woman under the age of thirty. The young woman named Ishabel had long brown hair, a white face, and ocean-blue eyes reminiscent of the ocean of the old days. The faint smile on his face seems to be kind, but in fact, it is an invisible distance from people. When he saw her, Zero knew that this was a woman who had been in a high position for a long time.

The kind of self-confidence that is calm and unhurried, and everything is under control, this kind of temperament will not appear in an ordinary person who works all day long.

It's just that Zero is curious, and on this continent, in addition to the Pope's Hall and Ishtar, there seems to be a third unknown Shili. Only shili or organizations like the two giants in front of them will be able to get the war materials they have brought. In particular, those two mechs, which Zero has already seen, can be considered as improved models of paladin mechs. It retains the heavy firepower of paladin mechs, but optimizes their mobility. In this way, these two mechs are almost like a shaved version of the Knights of the Round Table.

The mecha that can build these, the mecha Jishu in the background of Isabel is not under the Pope's Hall. Even Ishtar's lab couldn't come up with anything like that. In this way, Isabelle's origin is interesting.

"Welcome, beautiful Miss Ishabel. ”

In the town hall, Zero received her in the reception room. In addition to Isabelle, the representative of the caravan, he was accompanied by five guards and an old man. The old man is very old, and the wrinkles on his face are reminiscent of the bark of an old tree. But his eyes are very bright, and looking at Isabelle's attitude, this person's status is not low.

The five guards are all capable ones, the lowest is a fourth-order, and the captain of the guard is a seventh-order warrior.

A seventh-order and four powerhouse squads with an average of around the fifth order were enough to traverse the wilderness. The strength is not weak, of course, with Isabelle's backstage Liliang, such an escort can only be called a mid-gauge mid-range.

Seeing everything in his eyes, he sat down and said, "Miss Isabelle, the supplies sent by your caravan are exactly what we urgently need. What is rare is that the price you offer is not only fair, but also a great discount for us. I really appreciate your kindness, but I'm curious. Now the whole continent should know that Sauron and I are at war, but you are not afraid of offending the city of Rome by sending this batch of supplies to me at this time?"

Isabel's sea-blue eyes were full of smiles, and he said, "Mr. Zero is really a person who thinks about people everywhere, and he will get a lot out of it if he is replaced by others." To tell you the truth, I, or my boss, am not afraid of anyone, including Zoro. ”

"Oh?" Zero smiled.

Isabelle's words were full of confidence, and in addition to showing that his side was not afraid of Sauron, it also implied that they would not be afraid of the Poseidon and Zero either. Zero believed that she didn't mean to exaggerate, that confidence, and that pride in her eyes didn't seem to be disguised at all.

"So Mr. Zero can rest assured that he will trade with us, not to mention, this transaction is just the beginning, and I believe that we will have many opportunities to cooperate in the future. Isabel laughed.

Zero asked faintly, "For example?"

"For example, we can help you take down Sauron. ”

"Miss Ishabel, you might as well be more detailed. ”

Isabel looked at the several Trident warriors around him, and he didn't realize it, and glanced at them. So the warriors withdrew, and closed the gates for those inside. Ling Cai said: "Okay, now there are no outsiders here, Miss can say anything if she has anything." ”

"Mr. Zero is really refreshing. Isabel stood up and walked towards Zero.

She walked over to Zero and leaned down, so that she could almost see the beautiful scenery inside from the loose neckline. Isabel didn't seem to care at all, but the captain of the guard suddenly had an unnatural look in his eyes, and then turned his head away. Zero pretended not to see it, and then heard Isabel whisper in his ear, "Mr. Zero shouldn't have heard of the Dark Brotherhood, right?"

"Dark Brotherhood?" Zero Yizheng shook his head, "I'm sorry, I haven't heard of this organization. ”

"That's normal, there are very few people who know about us. Only those who possess great power are qualified to know of our existence, such as ...... Mr. Zero you. Isabel walked away from Zero, and her gesture relieved the captain again.

Zero smiled, "That's really my pleasure." ”

"You don't have to be humble to rival the Papal Chamber, and the men who have entered Rock City are unquestionably powerful. Isabel smiled beautifully and said, "Our existence dates back to the old Middle Ages, and we are far older than you can imagine." Mr. Zero, we guard the mysteries of the ancients, and together we protect the supreme wisdom that can move the times forward. We are hidden in the dark, and the world does not know that we exist. But in every important piece of history, our shadow is everywhere......"

Isabelle's face was filled with pride: "We are the greatest hidden ones and the movers of the times. Whenever times stand still, we appear. ”

"Like now?"

"Just like now!" Isabel chuckled, "Fifteen years ago, we picked Sauron. Because he showed Liliang who could move the times, and it turned out that we were right. Under the impetus of Sauron, the continent has the pattern of human prosperity today. But now, Sauron is trying to get rid of us, and more importantly. If left unchecked, he will undermine the foundation of our prosperity that we have worked so hard to build. ”

"So you picked me?" asked Zero.

"No, the times have chosen you, and we just follow its voice. Isabel said, "Mr. Zero's achievements are impressive, but with your current strength, there is still a long way to go before you can defeat Sauron. We can shorten that distance for you......"

"What about the cost?" Zero asked, "There is always a price to everything, and I don't think you will help me for nothing, right?"

"Of course not, but what to pay depends on Mr. Zero's own meaning. ”

"I want to hear about it. ”

Ishabel sat back in his seat and said, "It's very simple, if Mr. Zero only needs us to provide ordinary supplies and weapons, then the cooperation between us can be carried out in the form of commercial trade. But if we need further support, such as providing armies, technology, or even capabilities, then there is only one way. ”

"How?"

"Be one of us. Isabel pointed to himself and said, "Assuming that Mr. Zero becomes a core member like me, then we will unconditionally open all Liliang to Mr. Zero, and we also hope to have such a strong person as Mr. Zero as a companion." ”

"The conditions are fair. Zero said calmly, and asked, "Suppose, suppose we end up bringing down Sauron together." But the mainland needs a manager, and I asked myself if I was the right person. What do you think?"

"Mr. Zero asked, is there already a candidate in mind?" Isabel asked, it can be seen that she is also a quick-thinking person, and she can deduce a thing or two from Zero's tone.

"Perhaps, Pope Paul is good. "Zero temptation.

Isabel showed a slightly surprised expression and said, "It turns out that there is indeed a cooperative relationship between Mr. Zero and the Pope, and it doesn't hurt to tell you now, the Pope and Ishtar are actually supported by us behind our backs." Of course, they won't be aware of our presence, and this is a pawn for us to contain Sauron. However, although His Highness Paul is capable, he is still too young, and it is difficult to say now whether he will be able to become a qualified administrator. ”

"What if he's not qualified?"

"Instead. Ishabel said as a matter of course.

Zero nodded and said, "I understand, noon is coming, so please come to the restaurant for dinner." I've asked you to arrange your accommodation, and after lunch, you can go to your accommodation. If there's anything you need, just say it's it. As for the way of cooperation, I still need time to think about it, and I can't answer Miss Ishabel for the time being. ”

"I understand, so thank you Mr. Zero for your careful arrangement. Isabel replied politely.

Afterwards, Zero had lunch with them before escorting them out of the town hall, and the others led Isabel and his party to the chamber of commerce's residence. Zero returned to his office, stood in front of the plasma plate, and silently drew another circle outside the territory of the Western Continent, with the number "Brotherhood" written on it. Then he sat back in his chair, thought for a moment, and sent an encrypted email with his brain.

The mail will be delivered to Ista asking for a meeting with Paul, and as for the reason, Zero will leave only a simple line: This morning, the Dark Brotherhood has contacted me.

A small number, but zero is believed to be enough to get Paul's attention.

Led by one of the Trident's warriors, Isabel and his party arrived at a residence not far from the town hall. The accommodation itself is small and not necessarily luxuriously decorated, but its location is just to the left of the town hall, which used to be basically a wealthy area. Even if the decoration is simple, it has its own connotation.

One of the connotations is a status symbol, and now, arranging for a caravan to stay here is also a sign of Zero's respect for them.

Isabel understood, and the old man, who had not spoken, seemed to understand, but the guards had a problem with it. It's just that it's not their turn to interfere in these matters, but the captain of the guard, who is a seventh-order warrior himself, walked next to Isabel and said dissatisfiedly: "My lord, that house called Zero has such a shabby arrangement as our residence, and his subordinates think that he clearly looks down on us, and even the brotherhood that the adult represents. ”

"Rex, do you really think so?" Isabel asked with a chuckle.

"Yes, sir!"

The woman's face suddenly turned cold, and she said, "So your gaze can only end here, do you know that you have been with me for three years and are still a captain of the guard?" Don't think I don't know what you're thinking, since you joined the Brotherhood, you just wanted to get me. But you don't look at yourself in a mirror, just because you're a mere seventh-order who want me to take a fancy to you?"

"It's a joke, if there were a man like zero. Without leaving the captain of his own guard in the slightest, Isabel sneered at him, and led the old man straight into the house.

The two of them came to the study on the west side, closed the door, and the old man spoke, "This is not appropriate for the captain of his bodyguard, miss." ”

"It's okay, I'm already going to replace him anyway. Isabel stood in front of the window and looked coldly at the guards outside. Then he turned around, removed the frost from his face and asked, "Mr. Gangdo, what do you think of that zero?"

"Very good, but I don't think the Dark Brotherhood will be able to handle him. The old man said lightly.

"Oh?" Isabel didn't seem surprised, she smiled, "It's a natural thing, every strong man is a difficult character to control. And it shouldn't be harnessed, all we have to do is guide them and guide them in the direction we want. That's it. ”

"Guide?" the old man nodded, "Yes, but this man, I don't think it is easy to change his will. ”

"You mean, his ambitions are so great that they don't move us?"

"No, no......" the old man shook his head and sighed lightly, "I kept looking at him when you were talking. From his eyes, all I could see was calm, tranquility. This is not the look that a person with great ambition should have, and he gives me the feeling that he does not seem to have great ambition. On the contrary, he seems to have no ambitions. Or rather, his ambitions are not on this continent. ”

"It's not on this continent, where is it?" Isabel chuckled, but seeing that the old man didn't mean to laugh at all, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Isn't that really the case?" he wanted...... Is it the whole shijie?"

"I don't know, I just feel that his vision is far-reaching. It's so far-reaching that we can't reach it. As if that were ...... Shijie's end!"