Winter is over.
Deep in the peak base, in a room with closed doors and windows, a magic net terminal is running.
There was no one in the room, and the thick curtains blocked the not-so-bright skylight, making the whole room dark and inexplicable. The white noise projection of the magic network terminal was like a lamp with insufficient brightness, which was reflected in each piece of furniture and utensils. A faint light and shadow were cast on it.
On the only wooden table in the house, the printing machine connected to the magic net terminal was making a creaking sound. Sheets of white paper were pushed into the machine by the paper feeding mechanism, and then the information from afar was printed on the paper. is sent to the printout port.
At the front of the machine, a small stack of printed materials has been accumulated.
Suddenly, the materials on the table floated up, as if they were being held up by a pair of invisible hands, and the papers began to flip through.
After a while, the materials were put back on the table, and the magic net terminal that was running automatically gradually quieted down. A weak wind blew through the empty room, and the curtains not far away shook, accompanied by a little bright light , everything returned to silence.
In the center of the base, Gao Wen was flipping through the technical information from the elven magister Banner—due to the shortened construction period, the sub-tower and related facilities in charge of the Duchy of Cecil are about to be completed ahead of schedule, and the sub-tower is currently undergoing post-stage installation and debugging of magic devices , Several purification nodes have also been mostly completed. In order to ensure that this crucial project can be completed smoothly, Gao Wen dare not relax at this moment.
An invisible wind suddenly blew into the room. Gawain felt a familiar breath appearing at the window. He casually rolled up a ball of paper and threw it over. With a sound of "Oops", the next second he saw amber emerging from the air. He came out and fell off the window sill in embarrassment.
—The windows of the peak base are specially made, and the window sills are narrow and have a concave-convex sealing structure, which makes it impossible to put mouse traps. This is something that Gawain regrets very much.
"What's the matter?" Gawain raised his eyelids and glanced at the half-elf who was getting up from the ground, "It's rare for you to come here at this time."
Amber got up and patted her clothes, and came to Gao Wen's desk carelessly as if nothing had happened just now: "I just received a batch of information from the north—I feel something is wrong with a few things."
"Intel from the north..." Gao Wen put down the documents in his hand, "Tell me about it."
"Since the end of Bruma, a large-scale collection of cult members has begun in the Eastern Border Control Area. We speculated at first whether it was Prince Edmund's 'acting skills'. We guessed that he was trying to deceive people, but according to According to the latest information, so far the Eastlanders have captured hundreds of followers of the death of all things, and destroyed dozens of hidden altars that secretly held dark rituals. The intelligence personnel initially judged that those hidden altars and evidence of heresy are true .”
"...It seems that the cooperative relationship between Edmund and the Society of the End of Everything is indeed not that close..." Gao Wen frowned slightly, "But just because of a warning letter from me, isn't the Eastern Realm's reaction too big? Already? Considering that Edmund had at least a certain degree of cooperation with the Society of the End of Everything before, it is suspicious that he made such a big move immediately after receiving my warning letter... "
"What's more suspicious is yet to come," Amber said with a strange expression on his face, "Can you believe it—from last month to the present, in the royal control area of the Holy Spirit Plain confrontation zone, the aristocratic army captured the death of all things believer , The number of hidden altars destroyed is even more than that of the Eastern Realm!!"
Gao Wen blinked, and didn't react for a while. After he did, his first feeling was how could this be—
Those old aristocrats in the north are suddenly no longer worthless. Is there anything more suspicious in the world than this? !
Did my previous warning letter really have that much effect? The Ansu nobles suddenly realized the danger of the death of all things, so they decided to unite to punish rape and eliminate evil? Victoria Wilder completed the ideological transformation project of the old aristocracy in an instant
Gao Wen would rather believe that those believers who were brought out to the death of all things committed suicide!
"What's going on specifically?" Gawain looked into Amber's eyes, "I don't believe that those old nobles suddenly improved their efficiency."
Amber really had the following text: "The reason why the efficiency of the Eastern Realm and the royal family and nobles is so high is because someone reported it."
"Report?" Gao Wen frowned, "Didn't the officers of the Military Intelligence Bureau you sent report it?"
"Only the first few times were reported by our operators, but after the end of the Frost Moon, the number of reports suddenly increased, and clues of cultists were sent to the local lords almost every day. It took a long time for the operators to find out The identities of those whistleblowers — guess who?"
A strange thought suddenly appeared in Gao Wen's mind: "...Isn't it that all things will die by themselves?"
"That's right, it's really them themselves—and the situation is extremely weird!! Those who were reported were all on the scene after the dark ceremony had been held, and all the believers who participated in the ceremony had committed suicide during the ceremony, so strictly speaking , no matter whether it is the royal family or the East Territory, after receiving the clues, the only ones 'caught' are the corpses of the cultists who have already performed rituals... "
Before Amber finished speaking, Gao Wen's eyebrows suddenly trembled.
How could this really be suicide...
Then immediately he realized that there was something deeply unsettling about this absurd situation—
This is very similar to some kind of secret, continuous, large-scale sacrificial ceremony! Those cultists are sacrificing themselves on a large scale!
Undoubtedly, Amber, who often deals with all kinds of information, can also think of this level, and this half-elf also showed a serious expression on his face: "It's like a large-scale sacrifice, isn't it—the cultists in the Holy Spirit Plain used to In the past two months, at least hundreds of dark rituals requiring participants to commit suicide have been held, and there may be as many as thousands of perishing believers who have completed the sacrifices!"
"That's right, a sacrifice, it's undoubtedly a sacrifice." Gao Wen's brows were already furrowed unconsciously, and he couldn't help pressing the table with his hands, his voice was low and serious, "But why did they report... After the sacrifice is over, take the initiative to expose the altars and strongholds that were finally built secretly... unless it is required for a ceremony... Wait, it doesn't have to be a ceremony!"
A bright light seemed to flash across Gao Wen's mind. He suddenly raised his head and stared into Amber's eyes: "Have all the discovered corpses been burned?"
"Only a part of it was burned—two-thirds were burned by people from the eastern border, and less than one-third were probably burned by the royal family and nobles, and most of the rest were directly thrown into mass graves, or even thrown into the wild. Although their respective high-ranking lords have issued orders that all corpses must be burned and all altars must be purified with holy water, you should know how poorly the execution efficiency of those lower-ranking knights and noble soldiers is." Amber already guessed that Gao Wen was talking. Thoughts, "Do you think those cultists are using the dead bodies after the sacrificial ceremony as a source of pollution?"
"Dark druids are very good at spreading the plague with flesh and blood..." Gawain said quickly, "but no, there are still problems... This still doesn't explain why they have to 'report' after the sacrifice... This will make Some of the corpses that could have been a source of pollution were incinerated and purified!"
Gao Wen had already stood up from behind the desk. He walked slowly behind the desk while frowning and thinking, guessing that the cultists must disclose the remains, altars, and strongholds after the sacrifice, and was thinking hard. , He suddenly thought of one thing: He thought that both Victoria Weld and Edmund Moen were "wise men" among the traditional aristocrats, and he thought of the orders they might give after getting the information from the cultists—
"After discovering the cultist information, do the local lords and their guard knights have to go to the scene in person?!"
"Yes, this is an order from the Duchess of Victoria. Edmund Moen also has a similar order. This is to prevent the lower nobles and knights from being perfunctory, and to ensure that they can at least come to the scene..." Amber said. Then, the speed of speech suddenly slowed down, and the subsequent words finally converged into an exclamation, "... oh my god..."
Gawain took a breath slowly: "A big event is about to happen—when the cult members take the initiative to expose the altars and strongholds they have operated for many years, it means that their ritual has reached the final stage."
He cursed secretly in his heart: Damn, everyone just fell into the pit! !
Who would have thought that the last step of the sacrificial ceremony held by those lunatics who talked about the end of all things would be to report themselves? !
"It's probably too late to remind the duchess and the prince now. At least half of the noble lords and knights in the eastern conflict zone of the Holy Spirit Plain may have been infected by something," Amber also realized the horror of the situation, and her tone became hasty. , "But do you think Duchess Victoria and Prince Edmund have realized that something is wrong? They are not stupid..."
"They are indeed not stupid, but if the cultists started their operations from the grassroots villages and towns without entering the big cities in the middle, bypassing all the royal family's direct and second-level fiefdoms, then in just one and a half to two months, there is no news from all parties. It won't go to Victoria and Edmund."
Amber's eyes widened: "Why?"
Gawain looked at her and paused every word: "Because 'my vassal's vassal is not my vassal'."
Then he returned to the desk and quickly pulled out a piece of letter paper: "Whether it's too late or not, please remind the north—you can send this letter directly to the Rock Fortress, and let them send it to The Kingdom Army and the Eastern Border Legion. In addition, withdraw all the officers of the Military Intelligence Bureau who are active in the conflict zone, first withdraw to the Rock Fortress, temporarily isolate, and conduct a full set of inspections on magic, curses, and diseases before entering the city. The chamber of commerce The same arrangements are made for the staff. Starting today, the Rock Fortress and Glenn Pass are all closed, and the sensitivity of all the magic sensor towers in the border area is opened to the highest."
While talking, he quickly wrote down the urgent letter, and then continued while stamping his own seal: "I must return to Cecil City—you and I will go back together."
Amber blinked: "Then what about the project here?"
"The project here is nearing completion, and Bruce Panshi and Magister Banner will ensure its smooth completion," Gao Wen said, "The most important thing at the moment is to ensure the stability of the southern border and find a way to grasp the situation in the northern region. There is a problem in the southern border … and there is no project.”
After finishing speaking, Gawain thought about it again, looking for whether he had missed something, and finally added: "Sonia please send them to the western camp. If the situation in the north really deteriorates, Duke Baldwin Franklin There was also a problem there, so we took over the project of the western camp."
He was thinking of those cultists hiding in the wasteland, worried that the situation in the northern region was just a smoke screen for the end of all things, and worried that their real purpose was to destroy the barrier.
…
At the same time, the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain, the area controlled by the royal family, and a small town.
The winter snow is gradually melting, and this year’s recovery month seems to be warmer than in previous years. The patter of snow drips down the roofs and towers, and almost all the roads in the town become wet because of this, hiding in houses Residents of Yidong took to the streets one after another. In this month that symbolizes hope, they put a wheat ear preserved from last year on the door of their houses-in Ansu folklore, it means to have a full stomach for the year. prayers.
A pair of elf sisters who look almost identical walk the streets of a small town.
They have beautiful appearances and gorgeous dresses. Whether it is their outstanding appearance or elf status, they don't seem to be characters that would appear in such a remote town. However, they are like acquaintances in the town, wandering on the wet streets. walk in the courtyard.
Some of the pedestrians coming and going seemed to ignore the pair of striking elves, while others would stop and greet them with a smile.
"The season of recovery is so good," the elf sisters said in unison as they walked and watched, and they didn't know whether they were telling each other or their unique "self-talking", "As soon as the cold days are over, the sprouts will soon will grow."
A man in a soldier's armor passed by them. Hearing this, he stopped slightly and bowed slightly like a gentleman: "Yes, new shoots are about to grow."
"Your new armor is beautiful."
The elf sisters laughed and said, walking briskly across the street.
On both sides of the street, there are young women sorting the ears of wheat on the door, some men are repairing farm tools, some craftsmen are drinking and chatting, and some apprentices are yawning and walking out of the house. Say hello to the elf sisters passing by.
"Good morning, Miss Reina."
"Good morning, Miss Ferna."
"Good morning, Uncle Sam - you have a great beard."
"Good morning, Aunt Poppy, what a beautiful day today."
The smiles on the faces of the Elf sisters were bright and brilliant. The peasant woman they called Aunt Bobby stopped working with the ears of wheat and straightened up with a little confusion, but then smiled in the next second: "Yes, today What a beautiful day."
"Seeing the sun on the first day of the recovery month means that the next year will be full," the elf sister said with a bright smile, "is it?"
The peasant woman's smile became brighter and brighter: "Yes, it will fill my stomach..."
Everyone laughed brightly.
Men, women, craftsmen, apprentices, soldiers, civilians, people on the street laughed one after another.
They grinned, and under their lips, neat crystals shone brightly.
(emmmmm... Ask for a monthly pass!!!)