This is a dark age. The light of the once glorious civilization is scattered on the ground. The iron-like theocracy and kingship bind the land and the people like chains. There are demon tides on the wasteland far away and beasts in the wilderness nearby. Survival is the key to survival. A matter of great courage and hard work.
But this is also an era of "innocence". The iron-like aristocratic order maintains the iron-like "aristocratic spirit". Morality and rules, the existence of extraordinary people established the law of "strength is better than wisdom". Years have stagnated.
Therefore, people of this era are destined to be unable to deal with an old bastard that has been hanging in the sky for tens of millions of years outside the battlefield.
Of course, Gao Wen himself thought that every one of his plans was upright...
Heidi has been following Gao Wenxue for two years, but she still can't keep up with her ancestor's thinking. She didn't turn the corner for a while: "You... are you going to do business with the Eastern Border Army and the Kingdom Army at the same time?"
"They have gold coins and resources, while we have industrial products. This is a very profitable business." Gao Wen said naturally.
Hetty was a little hesitant: "But it is very likely that the Eastern Border Legion has secretly colluded with the cultists... If we sell the potion to them, will it be tantamount to helping those cultists..."
Gao Wen looked at Hetty: "First of all, don't forget that before the outbreak of the civil war, some retailers in the Cecil Chamber of Commerce had already been in contact with the East Territory. The small-scale potion business has been doing it, but it has not expanded. Secondly... Do you think they will really benefit from selling the potion to the East Territory?"
As soon as Hetil thought about it, the faces of the last batch of "friendly trading partners" whose industrial products were dumped by Cecil appeared in his mind...
Ah, the grass on Viscount Carroll's grave should be a foot high, right? Earl Hossman's body seems to be incomplete until now...
"Broaden your horizons and broaden your thinking," Gao Wen said unhurriedly. Although Hetty in front of him is already an adult, I don't know if it's because he is called the ancestor all the time. He really likes to educate people more and more recently. "Don't stick to immediate interests, there is a lot of knowledge between gains and losses."
"I understand," Hetty nodded earnestly, "I will contact Patrick."
"Let Patrick organize a group of businessmen who are smart enough and relatively low-key to take charge of this matter. We want to do business with everyone, but some businesses can't be done with too much fanfare," Gawain nodded, "In addition, send people Go to the weapon design institute and study how to do "foreign trade weapons"... "
…
While Gawain and Hetty were discussing plans for the "foreign trade" of the Principality of Cecil, in the depths of the dense forest on the west side of Cecil City, a special team was swiftly and carefully walking through the vines and bushes. with.
In various stories, the ancient forests that have been formed for thousands of years are often full of dangers, and the deeper you go, the more this is the case. In those areas that have not been touched by human civilization, there are countless horrors that parents use to scare their children. Legend has it that bloodthirsty wolves, weird wizards, ancient trees that can move, and cruel witches seem to live in the heart of the forest, ready to devour everyone who enters it. .
Of course, the real depths of the forest will not be as absurd as described in the story, but there are indeed many dangerous factors here. In the vast shadows covered by towering ancient trees, wild animals and poisonous insects are the main residents. And in some more special areas, such as near the focus of magic power, there are even monsters and spirit creations that can make well-trained soldiers and knights afraid of them.
So you have to be extra careful when you act in it.
The soldier in black light armor stepped on thick fallen leaves and dead branches to the observation position. He pressed his hand on the side of the fully enclosed helmet and adjusted the mode of the tactical eyepiece. A moment later, the soldier spoke to his teammates behind him. Make a gesture: "Safe."
One after another, black-armored warriors came out from behind the bushes, followed by Solderin who was also wearing light armor but no helmet, and the one who came out behind Solderin was wearing Rebecca was dressed in a short mage robe that was easy to move, and held an iron staff in her hand.
"Ha..." Rebecca stood on a rock protruding from the ground, and breathed out while watching the situation in the distance, "I've never been to such a deep place..."
Solderling glanced at the Viscountess, but he didn't remind her to pay attention to safety. When he first entered the forest, he also reminded that "the mage's physique is weak, so don't leave the protection of the warriors", but after seeing the girl with his own eyes. After beating a sneak attacking Timberwolf to death with a stick, he realized that the women of the Cecil family were as tough as they were seven hundred years ago.
This girl who is suspected of being a sorcerer might be able to defeat everyone in the scene except him after wearing the magic armor...
"Stay vigilant, switch the observation hand and the shield hand to be vigilant." Soldering gave instructions to the subordinates beside him, and then looked down at the amulet he was holding in his hand. This magic item from his hometown was floating on the surface. A layer of faint light showed that the team was very close to the magic focus in the forest. In this position, the chances of monsters appearing would be much higher.
Then he looked at Rebecca, the team's action today was initiated by the Viscountess, and the target of the action naturally had to be listened to by the other party.
"We're not far from the magic focus, right?" Rebecca jumped off the rock and came to Solderin's side, "Wow, your pendant is shining!"
"Strictly speaking, this is already the area of influence of the focus of magic power," Soldering nodded. "The monster you are looking for should be around here."
"Well, I also heard that it is in this area..." Rebecca nodded, and then sighed, "It's better to grow up... When I was young, my father and aunt never let me run into the depths of the forest..."
"The depths of the forest are dangerous, and it's not a place for children to come," Soldering said seriously. "Even we, the Silver Elves, don't allow children to run into the heart of the forest casually."
Rebecca curled her lips, stepped forward and continued to walk: "Anyway, my aunt made up a lot of stories to scare me, saying that there are such and such things hidden in the forest... what kind of witches, wizards?" Ah, ghosts, fallen elves and mages, trees that can run and jump, bears that are bigger than houses, etc... "
While ordering the team to move on, Solderin glanced at Rebecca who was walking beside him with a little smile. Although this descendant of a friend is a bit independent in his mind, his childhood is not much different from others. The grown-ups used ghost stories to frighten the grown-ups. As Gao Wen's old friend, when he saw Rebecca, he couldn't help showing a little love as an elder. At this moment, he couldn't help but say: " You must be terrified after hearing those stories, right?"
"Huh?" Rebecca was stunned for a moment, then shook her head, "No, I went to the forest to play after I heard it."
Solderin staggered on the spot. As a silver elf, he almost fell out after growing up in the forest: "Why?"
Rebecca took it for granted: "Think about it, so many strange people and animals live in the forest, how lively is the forest? I like to join in the fun."
Solderin walked very steadily this time, but a Steel Ranger soldier who was walking next to him staggered...
Solderin glanced at the team member who was almost tripped over by a dead branch, and then looked at Rebecca in astonishment. He found that he couldn't tell what was wrong with the girl's logic: "You... well, then After going to play in the forest?"
"I didn't run very far, and I found a few wolves. I lost a fight and was found by the knights in the castle and brought them back," Rebecca said, and couldn't help hissing. "I was really beaten that time... Later I realized that my aunt told me those stories not to tell me that the forest was lively, but to tell me that the forest was dangerous."
Solderling: "…"
I don't know whether the girl is talking about being beaten badly by the wolf or by the elders after returning to the castle, but according to the rumor...it's probably the latter.
After a while, the team reached a deeper place, and the chat between Rebecca and Solderin gradually stopped.
There was a damp smell in the air, mixed with a slight smell of soil. The Iron Ranger warrior who was observing the situation ahead cautiously made a gesture, and the whole team stopped quietly beside a dead giant tree. down.
Rebecca and Soldering moved forward cautiously for a certain distance, and then poked their heads out from behind the bushes to look at the situation on the opposite side.
In the depths of the dense forest, the perennially dark area covered by huge tree canopies, large swathes of muddy puddles and the ground covered with dead branches and rotting leaves form a hidden monster kingdom. Resting in the open space, they occasionally raised their eyelids to glance around, and the eyes as big as copper bells were filled with the brilliance of arcane magic.
No ordinary beast dared to approach this place occupied by monsters. In that vast forest clearing, apart from the dangerous demonized wild beasts, the only living creatures were a few puddles wriggling slowly in the mud and rotting leaves. The grey-brown ooze monster, a non-aggressive and weak monster, is devouring mud and rotten leaves. They are so low-level that they are almost natural phenomena, and they are obviously not worth the wild beasts to drive them away.
Soldering counted the number of those wild beasts and heaved a sigh of relief: This magic power focus was formed recently, and the gathered monsters were not very troublesome.
The Iron Ranger soldiers quietly raised their weapons, high-power thermal ray guns, arcane missile launchers, and small individual howitzers. These lethal weapons pointed at the monsters in the distance, and those who did not have the ability to perceive The reckless beast is still ignorant of all this.
"Be careful, only kill the beast, and don't spread it to the side," Rebecca said in a low voice, "Don't use the howitzer."
The soldiers who used the howitzers regrettably put away their weapons and replaced them with conventional heat ray guns, while Solderin understood Rebecca's words: Do not use too powerful weapons, obviously to prevent damage to this place. Being a natural focus of magic power, although Rebecca can only make big fireballs, she is more or less a mage and needs a focus of magic power.
It seems that the Viscountess's target today should not only be the beasts, but also the magic focus here. What is she researching recently
Solderin decided to ask after the mission was over, and now...the first thing to do is to get rid of those beasts.
After a short, murmured command to fire, the Iron Rangers attacked.
The sound of thermal energy rays and arcane missiles piercing the air suddenly broke the tranquility of this dense forest, followed by the angry roars of demonized wild beasts and the dying cries that followed.
The battle lasted only a minute or less.
Brutal beasts are indeed dangerous monsters, but that is for ordinary old-fashioned soldiers and low-level knights who are not prepared. For Iron Ranger fighters who are armed to the teeth, use magic weapons, and use sneak attack tactics, these powerful but mobile Slow monsters only need one or two rounds of focus fire.
The fierce and near-miss battle was over, the sound of weapon shooting gradually calmed down, and finally a dying beast struggled and fell to the ground, a fast flying enchanted feathered arrow pierced its head, ending all kill. Holding the shortbow (he was still accustomed to using this weapon that had been with him for many years), Soldering led the soldiers out of the natural cover and walked towards the clearing in the forest, followed by Rebecca.
A rustling sound resounded around, and Soldering looked in the direction of the sound. The frightened ooze monsters were trying to escape from this place, but judging by the speed at which they squirmed, it would take a long time before they left the sight of the soldiers. .
"Wow, you guys are amazing," Rebecca looked at the results of the battle, and praised with satisfaction, "We killed them all!"
"My soldiers are well-trained," Soldering smiled reservedly, "is it time to collect samples?"
"Ah, yes," Rebecca nodded, and the surrounding warriors immediately came to those beasts, ready to strip the samples according to the instructions, but then Rebecca waved her hand, "Go and catch those ooze monsters!" .”
"Go..." Soldering was stunned just after repeating a word, "Huh?"
"Catch the slime!" Rebecca blinked, "Why are you still standing there?"
Soldering was bewildered, but at least he ordered the steel rangers who were also bewildered to quickly execute the order to catch the ooze monsters that were still slowly moving towards the distance, while he himself finished After ordering, he looked at Rebecca in confusion: "You brought us here... just to catch those ooze monsters?"
Rebecca nodded, "Yes."
For the first time, Solderling felt that his brain was not enough: "What's the use of grabbing that thing?"
"As long as you use it properly, even an ooze monster has its own value," Rebecca said mysteriously, her eyes fell on the Iron Ranger soldiers in the distance, and they easily caught them A low-level monster that crawls around in the mud, but it looks quite embarrassed because it is covered in mud. "In your eyes, the ooze monster is just a pool of moving mud, but in my eyes... they say Maybe it’s an industrial raw material.”
"Industrial raw materials..." Solderin couldn't connect the useless slime monster with the magical magic industry, but looking at Rebecca's shining eyes, he felt inexplicably I felt a kind of persistent power, so that I didn't say any more doubts, "Well, I look forward to your results. But the slime monster caught it... What about these beasts?"
Rebecca looked around at the dead ferocious monsters (although they were super fierce, but they died unjustly), and thought for a while: "Can I eat it?"
"...Although I haven't eaten it, it is said that the ribs of the beast are delicious, and the bone soup is very nourishing."
"Then cut a part and take it back," Rebecca slapped her hands, "I'm going to make soup for the ancestors!"