Rock Fortress.
This heavy fortress once under the direct control of the royal family has completely changed its appearance.
The former Rock Fortress was built to control the southern forces. It had a strong southern wall and a relatively weak northern wall. The Gorgon River ran through the gap on the west side of the fortress, and the two sides of the fortress were continuous and desolate southern borders. The mountains However, after the Cecils occupied here, the whole fortress underwent a radical change.
The southern city wall was blown down, and the Cecilians did not repair it, but directly expanded from the gap to the south, built the Rock City at the foot of the fortress, and built a new city wall outside the Rock City, opposite to it, the fortress A series of strengthening and reconstruction works have been going on at the northern city wall since the end of summer, and the work is still in progress.
When the gorgeous car passed under the gate of the north wall of the Rock Fortress, Victoria opened the cover on one side of the car. She looked up at the wall that was being remodeled, and she was only shocked. On the basis of the original city wall, the Cecilians All the weak points of the city wall are covered with an additional layer of steel armor, and a large number of skeletons and supporting structures made of steel are covered on the prismatic outer walls and towers of the city wall, like some kind of hideous and terrifying monster carapace. One piece, on the top of the city wall, the metal reinforcement plate reflects the brilliance of the giant sun, and there is a faint flow of magic light flowing between the gaps in the armor. Those magic powers gather on the top of the city wall, where you can see Magic devices with straight guide rails are lined up neatly, and the ends of the guide rails point far away in the direction of the Holy Spirit Plain.
That's not a city wall, it's a ferocious beast made of steel and rock, with huge magic power flowing in its veins, and the Cecilians are still sharpening its fangs. Anyone who has seen it from the Holy Spirit Plain Everyone who works on the northern wall of Rock Fortress will be aware of this, but as a powerful spellcaster and ruler of the northern border, Victoria thinks more: Where did the Cecils get so much steel? Did they pour all the steel in the entire southern region onto the walls of the Rock Fortress after they occupied the southern border? Where did they get such powerful magic power? Could it be that there is another undiscovered magical focus underground in the Rock Fortress? How did they do all this in such a short period of time
The convoy arrived at the foot of the north wall, and with the ringing of bells ringing from the top of the city wall, the gate reinforced with a metal frame slowly rose upwards, and there was an obvious sound of mechanical operation coming from the vicinity of the gate, accompanied by the flow of magic power : Many facilities in this fortress seem to be powered by magic.
Victoria Wilde sat in the car with a calm expression. As the Duchess of the North, she could restrain all her emotions under that frosty face.
An armed fortress is only a fortress after all, and a fortress cannot be moved. Gawain Cecil built such a fortress, which is undoubtedly to declare his own force and his attitude: the southern border is so powerful that no one can dictate , but he also has no intention of stepping into the Holy Spirit Plain.
At least for now.
One of the purposes of Victoria Wilde's trip to the south was to find out what the founding hero's attitude was towards the city of Saint-Sunil and if he was really not satisfied with being a duke in the south, then he could still wait. how long.
The Ansu royal family, which is deeply mired in the quagmire of civil war, really has no spare energy to start a new battlefield.
The guests from the royal capital were taken to the rock castle in the fortress. The castle has not been fully restored. The upper level of the castle that was destroyed by the calibration beam that day is still covered with scaffolding in several places. You can see those shocking big holes and molten rock From the traces of crystallization left on the wall, visitors can imagine how terrible the blow was.
Veronica and Victoria saw the horrific damage beneath the castle, but in the end, they said nothing.
Cecil has actually occupied and controlled the entire southern border. Under the premise that he is unable to change this situation, it is meaningless to mention the relationship between the royal family and the Rock Fortress. The royal princess of the Holy See is very clear about one thing:
Only the interests that have the opportunity to fight for are interests, and the interests that cannot be won will become a shame.
In the long hall of the castle, Victoria and Veronica are received by a commander in white armor with some kind of magical sword slung around his waist. He is the new commander of Rock Fortress, Valdeperic.
This old knight from the Kant region never imagined that he would have such a bizarre experience in the past half of his life: he became the commander of the fortress guarding the border of the principality at an age that was no longer young, and also represented the guardian of the duke. Receiving another Duke and Her Royal Highness the Princess of this country, this may become his bragging capital for the next half of his life, but at this moment, he must do his job well to ensure that he does not lose his etiquette and does not make people feel uncomfortable. Duke Cecil was ashamed.
"Welcome to the Rock Fortress, and welcome to the land of the southern border. The current commander of the Rock, Valdperic, pays tribute to Her Royal Highness and Your Excellency the Duke," said Valdperic in military uniform, standing in front of the guests with impeccable etiquette. He said with an attitude, "Please rest here for a while. The reception banquet has been set. I hope the heating in the castle can dispel the chill accumulated during your journey."
"Nice to meet you, Sir Perici." Veronica said with a smile. The saint princess did not know the specific title of the commander in front of her, but according to Anzu's traditional law, the commander of such a key fortress is in the After taking office, he will automatically obtain the non-hereditary "Jazz" title. This title is independent of the general title and enjoys the right to have equal dialogue with most nobles. It reflects Ansu's respect for the brave nobles. Soldiers with outstanding abilities are in charge of the fortress, and they can immediately have enough prestige and legal basis to command the noble commanders at all levels in the fortress.
Victoria Wilde, who was beside Veronica, recalled the incredible magic devices she saw after entering the fortress, as well as the impressive north wall of the fortress, and her tone was full of admiration: "Cersi The Duke of Seoul has performed a miracle here."
"Believe me, you will be even more amazed after seeing the city of Cecil," Valdeperic said with a smile, and led the two guests to the inner court of the castle. There will be a special convoy coming to meet them."
Victoria didn't care about the "receiving convoy" that the old knight said. She thought it was just a part of common etiquette: when important guests visited the territory, the local ruler would naturally send a team to greet them.
This indifferent thought lasted until the next day, until she saw those iron-cast magic machines crossing the avenue and parked neatly on the open ground in front of the castle.
Even though she tried her best to maintain her expression, Victoria couldn't help but look surprised at those magical devices that looked like cars but not cars: "This is... your car?!"
"Magic 475 series magic car, the model is 'Pioneer Generation', a creation of magic technology," Valdperic introduced to the Duchess with a proud look, even though this was the first time he saw magic The real car, but he had prepared it long ago, and he was used to seeing those new technology products from the local area, so he behaved quite calmly at the moment, like an old driver who has been driving for many years, reciting the introduction he just memorized the night before , and try not to make the slightest deviation in his smile. After all, the guardian duke of the kingdom and the famous saint princess in front of him, he does not want his smile to make the other party feel any offense, "This is a new thing, I believe It's a ride that will make you forget about a carriage."
"Magic technology..." Victoria repeated the word softly, linking it with all the information she had collected about the southern border in the past year.
The rapid rise of the Cecil family in the southern border... seems to be related to this rumored "magic technology".
It is said that this technology was brought after the resurrection of Gawain Cecil, and it is a variant of the lost magic technology of the ancient Gondor Empire.
However, as a spellcaster who specializes in magic and has read many books, Victoria Wilde has not seen a single word related to "magic technology" in any ancient books about the Gondor Empire... Instead, it is in those handed down from the south From the sporadic information about the magic net, she saw a trace of the extremely optimized modern magic formation...
Her eyes fell on those magical vehicles with tough lines and strange shapes. The complex steel mechanical texture in the lines and details has a certain indescribable beauty: "I have heard of magic technology... so they can be made into such an incredible magic device?"
"This is exactly what makes it so fascinating. Of course, it would cost a lot to manufacture such a magical device." Valdperic said, he did not lie: the factory assembly line of the magic vehicle is still under construction, These magical vehicles in front of me were all made by the master of mechanics and craftsman, Mr. Nicholas Dan (although the master did not have hands). The master craftsman's own hands made these cars have satisfactory reliability, but the cost But it is far from being comparable to mass products.
"Is the price expensive..." Victoria's eyes did not change, she just repeated these words in a low voice, and then nodded, "Since it is Duke Cecil's kindness, I am willing to accept it, and I am also inconceivable I am very interested in the 'Magic Technology'."
"Please get in the car, and please allow the entourage we arranged to ride with you," Valdperic said, and as his words fell, a heroic young female knight came from the side, "Ma Greta is a knight trusted by the Duke, she will explain the story of the magic car to you, and act as your guide along the way to ensure that your trip will not be boring."
When Victoria heard the word entourage, she wanted to refuse. She was not used to riding with anyone in the same car. She would only be with the black-haired maid Maggie when she traveled on weekdays, but after hearing Valdeperic After seeing the female knight named Margarita, she still nodded.
She might be able to get some useful information from this young female knight, and this Miss Margarita also seems to be a neat person, and she doesn't mind allowing such a person to get closer to herself.
"Margarita Crete, Hail to the Northern Guardian of the Kingdom."
The female knight Margarita saluted. The slight nervousness and good manners she showed made Victoria very satisfied: this is exactly what a qualified young knight should do. It seems that even in this remote southern border, There are also good people.
Later, Knight Walder arranged another female knight for Veronica as an entourage. The always approachable princess accepted the arrangement and thanked Walder for his kindness.
Victoria Wilde got on the magic guide car, and she saw a young man in uniform sitting in the front seat of the car. She had seen someone in the car just now, but at this moment she noticed the various things around the young man. kind of control device.
Is this the mage who controls this magic device
The "driver" who drives the car is not outside the carriage, but sits in the carriage with the passengers. If this is seen by some strict and rigid people, it may be very inappropriate, but Victoria does not care about these things compared to this. As for the "etiquette" issue, she cared more about how this magical vehicle was built.
She sat in the back of the car with Margarita, and Maggie, the black-haired maid, sat in the front next to the driver.
A part of the team boarded several other magical vehicles, and they would set off for Cecil City with Victoria and Veronica, while the rest of the entourage would continue to take the vehicles that crossed from the capital all the way. The horse-drawn carriage coming from the plains is slowly driving behind. This is the arrangement suggested by Wald after considering the speed difference between the magical carriage and the carriage.
The whistle sounded and the convoy set off.
Riding this incredible magical device for the first time brought a novel experience to Victoria, and she hadn't had this feeling of curiosity and confusion for many years. She felt that this magical vehicle with a complex structure was gradually The vibration of mechanical operation came from under the car under the acceleration, but the overall driving process of the car was much smoother than that of a horse-drawn carriage, and the "mage" who controlled the car was using a disc, some joysticks and pedals to control The workings of this magical creation... he didn't use magic.
The duchess from the north looked at all this curiously, but she didn't want to show herself too frivolously, so she began to think of ways to divert her attention. Soon, she noticed that the female knight next to her was holding saber.
It was a saber with magic runes. It was obviously an extraordinary weapon, and there seemed to be an almost identical rune sword on the commander of the fortress.
Extraordinary armaments are powerful equipment created by magicians and rune masters with great painstaking effort and cost. Only those with certain status and financial resources can tailor such equipment for themselves, so it is rare to see two extraordinary armaments look like Exactly the same, yet in Cecil... it seems that many otherworldly items based on magical powers look exactly the same.
From the small saber, to the huge "magic vehicle", as well as the magic devices on the city wall that were obviously some kind of weapon, identical extraordinary items could be seen almost everywhere.
Victoria knew what that meant, and it meant that the Cecilians were capable of mass-producing these magical items, at least to some degree.
The concept that magic items are precious and cannot be mass-produced is deeply rooted in the hearts of most Ansu people, and due to technical limitations, it is indeed a fact at this stage, but this does not mean that the rulers of the kingdom are not aware of The meaning of mass production of extraordinary items.
"Miss Margarita, this sword is very beautiful."
Complimenting a knight's sword is a very common and ceremonial opening speech, especially when the superior is willing to open the topic. This kind of praise has the meaning of the superior's criticism, and it also gives enough respect to the lower-status party , Victoria is very familiar with the etiquette between words.
The young female knight really showed a reserved smile. She touched the hilt of the rune sword with the back of her hand, and said with a little pride in her tone, "This is the sword bestowed by the Duke. It is my pride."
"It seems to be an extraordinary weapon?"
"Yes, this is a rune sword," Margarita smiled, "but I can't demonstrate to you here that once it is activated, the blade of this sword can easily cut through the car's shell, which is too dangerous."
Victoria couldn't help showing a look of admiration. No matter how polite the admiration was, Margarita introduced it along the way: "...of course, this sword is not only powerful, it is also made of the best swords. The master has adjusted the weight balance of the blade. It is very comfortable and flexible when wielding it with one hand, and it is also full of power when holding it with both hands temporarily. Its hilt is also specially made. After the end is unscrewed, there is a single-shot A dose of healing potion, in other words, as long as the sword stays with you, even if other supplies are lost, the soldiers will have at least one chance to save their lives... "
Victoria listened carefully to Margarita's introduction, and she did get some useful information as she wished... But for some reason, she always felt that the female knight's familiar words and phrases when introducing the saber seemed to have been specially memorized …
And after Margarita finished introducing her saber, she managed to get the Duke of the North interested in the set of white commander's magic armor she was wearing.
The magical energy in the gaps of the armor and the runes in the details made Victoria realize that this is also an extraordinary armor.
"This armor was also given by the Duke. It protected me through the most dangerous battlefield (watching the artillerymen firing on the wall outside the Rock Fortress), and made me unscathed in front of five times the enemy (when receiving prisoners) , I broke into the gate of the Rock Fortress in it (actually walked in, because when the Second Corps entered the city, let alone the gate, the city walls were blown up), this is a trustworthy piece of armor and you Look, it also has a unique pattern... "
Victoria nodded subconsciously: "... indeed... very beautiful..."
The young female knight in front of her was surprisingly talkative.
Looks like this trip really won't be boring.