While the northern regions are still freezing, the Central Plains of the mainland has entered a warm spring.
In the palace of the Baier Empire, the old emperor was waiting for his visitors in the garden.
Oros Moss Ivory St. Milan of the Baier Empire is a kind-hearted silver-haired old man. He is not tall, and he does not speak loudly. There are some learned people's slowness between the marches. He seems to be a good old man to deal with. Scholar, but in the country, he has the "reputation" of the fox scorpion emperor, which refers to his means of poisoning both inside and outside.
Is it hard to understand both inside and outside? "As long as the result is good, whatever the means is acceptable" is his life motto, and he has always done so.
In order to consolidate the centralization, he used murder, division, blame, and fraud internally. For the interests of the country, he tore up various covenants and agreements several times, and provoked wars several times, so that he won the "unbeliever". The nickname also made the current Bayer Empire lose all its allies.
But if there is loss, there is gain. While he has destroyed the reputation of the Bayer Empire that has accumulated countless years, the national strength of the Bayer Empire has also reached the highest peak in history. Within half a century, it was annexed by it. There are 17 small and medium-sized countries in China, and the territory and territory have been greatly expanded, and the population has also increased significantly.
"The war has not stopped since the day I took the throne."
This sigh was originally about his own helplessness, but in the middle and late stages, it was a kind of pride for the consecutive victors.
On the other hand, successive victories in foreign wars have also enhanced the prestige of the royal family, and the great aristocrats in the country are also extremely obedient to the royal family. In fact, all the great aristocrats send heavy gifts to the old emperor every year, and the heirs of the feudal lords are also in the capital. Move closer to the royal family and learn (as a hostage).
Well, those who refused to hand over the hostages and those who were disrespectful on the surface are already dead, and the country has long been at peace. I am afraid that in the last three thousand years, the authority of the Baier royal family has reached the highest peak in history.
This is just an achievement he just succeeded to in his middle-aged years, but in his later years, it was even more remarkable. He spent more than 30 years making a hundred-year plan:
"Establish the Military United Front Work Department to uniformly command the country's military affairs. All the enfeoffed nobles must perform military service on a regular basis. Those who desert military service die, and those who default on taxes die."
"The government controls the unified sales of salt, grain, steel and other important living and production supplies, and those who smuggle commodities and sell materials without authorization are executed."
"Official control of civilian idle forces, all combat occupations must be registered, adventurer associations and adventurers from all over the world must be loyal to the royal family, all adventurers are the wealth of the country, and unconditionally accept the mobilization of the country in a state of emergency. Independent adventure is not allowed. Those who exist, including mages! Unlicensed mages will be put to death in public."
I have to say that Oros has a very powerful skill. He took over when the country was in the most turbulent time, but he spent his life trying to manage the entire country to the highest level in history. Although he is notorious and has no faith and integrity at all.
Countless people at home and abroad are looking forward to his death. Assassins who sign in on time every month throughout the year can list a duty list... Although they are very hated, even those who hate him the most have to admit that he does It is the famous monarch who made this country prosperous.
Monopolizing the sales of important materials and competing with the people for profit is indeed very annoying, but at this time, the abundance of Bayer's treasury is far beyond ordinary people's imagination. The annual military expenditure is tripled by the accumulation of the surrounding countries, but the treasury is not at all. Nervous, at the same time, Bayer has not experienced widespread famine in the disaster year for decades, and the population and urban prosperity are also at an all-time high.
And the propertyization of relatively neutral adventurers and mercenary countries, although there was a huge backlash at the beginning, but with the backing of the kingship and the army, a generation has passed, the original waves have calmed down, and now the new adventurers They have already taken serving the country as a matter of course, and even rare professions such as mage have consciously rushed to register and become a member of the official.
Undoubtedly, this is tantamount to declaring war on the old management, which has aroused the dissatisfaction of many neutral forces such as adventurers, mercenaries, the Mage Association, and the Church of the Gods. Assassinations are already commonplace, his powerful guards who came from nowhere have never let him down, even demigod-level assassins have fallen into his hands, and he has never been afraid of any enemy's provocation.
But on the other side of the high-pressure rule, the domestic grievances are not small. There are countless people who expect him to die early, and there are many who expect the Bayer Empire to return to the past. In the eyes of people with a heart, this seemingly strong country, In fact, the foundation is not strong, and it is always crumbling in the wind and rain, and it is only a matter of time before it falls apart.
The biggest and most fundamental problem is that Oros XIII has no descendants.
Maybe he was injured in the war in his early years, or maybe the so-called Yinde theory really worked. Anyway, although he had countless harems, he could never give birth to a child, but two concubines were pregnant, and he was killed by him the next day. It was dragged to feed the dogs, and for a while, the rumor that the Bayer Empire was doomed spread all over the streets.
Of course, in order to solve this problem, he has also made great efforts. For example, he has received a lot of adopted sons and righteous daughters. After the wind and rain, there are probably more than 20 people who have survived to this day. , And Ioros' suspicious character, the ability is too strong, but they are out early, but it is basically unrealistic to find the heir that all the forces will accept.
The oldest righteous prince, Caro Stan, is over fifty, but he looks older than the emperor. The prince can live to this day only because he is incompetent, has no ambition like their elder brother, and has no extravagant hope to be able to climb the ranks in his lifetime. Take the throne.
"Anyway, he's in his seventies, and he doesn't have much time left. Just wait for him to die. Then..."
There is an unspoken unspoken rule on the main plane. The king of the short-lived species must be the short-lived species. The gods will not allow the existence of the immortal king. If you still miss the kingship after a hundred years, then the divine punishment will come unexpectedly.
The ambitious man sharpened his teeth in the dark night, waiting for the old lion king to die in old age. Among them were not only the wealthy wolf from the foreign race, but also the old lion who was also crumbling. The princes and brothers who are still alive have been waiting for him to die for a long time. The lion king has fallen, and the plump territory will naturally usher in a new round of competition.
"It's not too far, it's not too far away, he doesn't practice any martial arts or magic, and now he just relies on the medicine jar to hold it up, maybe he will fall down tomorrow."
Today, the old king who seems to be coming to an end, has ushered in a long-awaited date. It is a visitor in a black cloak. Under the leadership of the royal guard, he entered the old emperor's house. garden.
"Esso the Great, your personal arrival is the glory of our entire empire. Unfortunately, it is not suitable for us to disclose the relationship between us now, and we cannot put a feast to entertain you."
The old king put down the dignity of the king, got up quickly, and personally greeted the visitor who came with the night, just because the black robe in front of him was an immortal king far older than him.
Facing the welcome of Oros, Emperor Esso had no intention of being polite, staying in this plane, every minute was a torment for him, he went straight to the theme without hesitation.
"Well, we never care about those false names. The only thing that can let me come is only real interests. So, young king, have you made a decision? Do you still decide to embrace death and become one of us? Get true immortality."
A sudden gust of wind blew through, revealing the real face under the hood of the robe, or, should be said, no face, but the flaming green flames in the skull have already explained everything.
The only undead who can be called the great emperor is probably the legendary undead emperor. In front of these ancient emperors who originated from the plane of death, the modern gods are only the younger generation.
Countless shackles and seals were densely covered on the body of Emperor Esso, but only the power of death leaked out, making the royal gardens black and windy, a large number of plants died instantly, the land began to wither, and under the ground, faintly There are bones returning to the world.
In the face of this terrifying power that can make the hero timid, Oros, who is just a mortal, smiled.
"At that time, everyone knew that I, Oros, were the most trustworthy. From the moment you saved me thirty years ago, from the day the ancient contract was concluded, our agreement was destined to be valid forever."
King Oros XIII also opened his costumes, revealing his upper body, only to see that there was a missing piece in the abdominal cavity, which should have been the heart, but was pushed together by pitch-black bones and putrid rotten flesh, expensive and expensive. The silver rose perfume could not cover up the stench of the stagnant corpse.
Obviously the body is disgusting and scary, but Oros' smile still seems to be painless, but as long as the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes make him look a little depressed.
"I have been a living dead for more than 30 years, from that day on, do I have any other choices?"
…
Different from the south where there are long days, the northern area in winter tends to get dark earlier, especially in the late winter, when it is only after 6 pm, the entire Defende is completely dark.
The magic lamp, the latest product of Magic Mechanics, has been distributed to every household as a daily item, but most families still have the usual living habits of eating dinner early, lying in the warm bedding, Get ready tomorrow morning.
There were no pedestrians on the streets that were still in full swing a few hours ago. Pedestrians either hid in their warm homes or got drunk in bars and hotels. After all, even at the end of winter, the cold at night was still deadly, and the drunkards were freezing. It's a pity to die on the street or something, but it happens from time to time.
When the whole city seems to have fallen into tranquility, there is a place on the outskirts of the south of the city, where there is a closed three-story house area, where there is no distinction between night and day, it is always bright all night, and there is always constant noise.
"Boom!" The loudest sounds were all kinds of explosions. From whether the goblin engineer or the alchemist was flying in the sky, you could tell that there was an alchemy laboratory and an engineering laboratory.
In the blacksmith shop in the corner of the enclosed area, the sound of beating and beating never stopped, day or night.
At this time, I am also here, checking the progress of an important work.
"Orange head, how is it? What is the quality of these ore. Can it meet the demand?"
"This batch of demonic iron ore is in good condition. Our mines can produce this kind of special grade. You should have bought it from Oran."
Seeing me nodding silently, Old Hoyle continued with satisfaction.
"If the materials can keep up, the progress will be smooth, but the time is too fast. If it is within three days, it will probably be able to produce a good product. You can run, jump, and watch, but you can't fight."
"It's good enough."
To display new equipment, the most important thing is the design ideas and the new technologies in it. Anyway, those invited guests may not know the goods. Just fooling around is enough. With the order and funds, I will actually start the production line.
"… "
The cold wind of winter made the dwarf's lees nose turn red, but the dwarf took a sip of wine with a displeased face and did not answer. As a senior armor master, he was also dissatisfied with the poor quality products.
"Is it worth it? In order to find me, I turned all the flower streets upside down."
"Hmph, don't be too self-righteous, just by the way. If you work here obediently, you will save me a lot of trouble. Guess what would happen to those brothers if I told you that they were locked in because of you. you."
"That group of unscrupulous bastards will just tear me apart, sly, tall and thin people who specifically pick on old Hoyle's weakness, be careful that your daughter doesn't grow a beard."
After taking a puff of his pipe, the dwarf muttered a dwarf-style swear word, then continued to pick up the hammer and tinkle.
Hoyle, the gray dwarf, the master blacksmith specializing in armor, nicknamed Orange Head, a member of the Gentlemen's League, and my most trusted blacksmith master. In cooperation with goblins, his skills have gone a step further. If you want to give him his current The armor forging ability is rated one level, I am afraid that it has surpassed the boundaries of mortal masters and reached the realm of legend.
The advancement of the life department is far more difficult than the battle department. The legendary battle class has its own soul emblem and its own unique path, while the legendary blacksmith also has its own path.
But his path is so special, so special that it is unique in the world, so special that it really can't be done without him.
In the blacksmith shop, what was beaten by old Hoyle was a goblin mecha. 's head.
With a height of 2.4 meters, the mecha itself probably weighs more than 150 kilograms. If the energy engine composed of the "Olivia's Box" behind it is not functioning and exerting its own power, even the orcs Can't wear such armor.
The streamlined armor is inlaid with obsidian protective plates. This special protective defense used to strengthen the chariot far exceeds the plate armor of the knights. Even the small-caliber goblin artillery can only leave a trace.
Yes, this is not a mechanical battle puppet, but pure armor, and there will be warriors wearing armor in it, not the driver who operates the mecha.
"Although this design idea is good, there are also problems in front of it. If there is no element control ability, it will not be able to activate its magic power circuit. Even if there are my special magic power parts, if the magic power is insufficient, it is just a piece of scrap iron."
"Don't worry, there are quite a few of my subordinates who have the ability to control elements. I will give you the highest priority to supply your funds and materials, finalize the design as soon as possible, and then strive to start mass production next year. I will find some bigwigs as sponsors and experimenters, you Just be bold and innovative. Those 'good-hearted people' will use their lives to feed back the data of your work."
Watching this old dwarf who had fallen into a working state and became silent, touched the sturdy protective plate and steel body of the heavy armor, I nodded in satisfaction.
"With this, my Four Spirit Swordsmen can at least triple their combat power... Should I paint it red and install a ram?"
How far a career can go depends not only on his strengths, but also his weaknesses.
The worst of the four spirit swordsmen is probably the defensive ability of the mortal body. A mature swordsman of the four spirits must not only sharpen his magic sword skills, but also work hard to train the ability to control the elements, specializing in sword marks. It is extremely unrealistic to expect them to have the same hand-to-hand combat ability as ordinary knights and warriors without counting magic power.
The fragility of the flesh and the need to use magic also made them wear light armor on the battlefield, which was in stark contrast to those muscle sticks who were still able to move freely in heavy armor of dozens of pounds.
But on the battlefield, weak defense is the most deadly. Bows and arrows are always the most cost-effective killing weapons. Bows and arrows are flying all over the sky. You can encounter them every time. Too bad.
"The first batch of mechas, the hand-to-hand combat models 'Sith Warriors' with high protection, high strength enhancement, and short-range explosive capabilities, are all supplied to the Silver Cross Chapter (Four Spirit Swordsmen), and the second batch of mechas are High mobility, medium protection, and high sustained combat capability are the 'star machine gunners', all of which are supplied to magic bullet shooters and top hunters."
In my long-term blueprint, the iron armored army in the future has formed a battle formation. Between the mecha dragon and the giant metal war statue, countless mecha warriors act as the main force. They accompany me all the way to slay demons and slaughter gods. Song drove the demons back into the abyss and kicked the undead emperors back to the plane of death.
"The special firepower type 'Tauren Machine Gunner', the special type 'Force Master' for the Juggernaut, haha, I can imagine the perfect upgraded version now."
When the magic steel army of the new era takes shape, I will let these old antiques who are still alive in the Middle Ages deeply understand what is meant by "advanced technology is combat effectiveness" and "lagging behind is being beaten." The sound brought me back to reality.
"Stop dreaming, many parts of this thing are very demanding, and now only I can build it, your local craftsman will break even with a kitchen knife, even if I work hard for you, three months is fast. Besides, even if I can keep up with the progress, can your mineral materials keep up? Just relying on the open-pit mines of the barbarian tribe, even if you don’t have enough materials for ten years.”
"Also, you can still buy pig iron ore, but the output of magic ore is too small. If you can't get high-grade magic ore, your mecha army is the target of thunderstorm spells."
Hearing this, I couldn't help frowning. Although it was very unpleasant to be interrupted, what he said was the truth.
The matter of mining there on the spot has already begun, but the battle situation here has involved all my energy. In addition to the lack of large-scale equipment in the cold weather, it is already the limit to obtain some open-pit minerals only by simple and crude blasting, and deep excavation has not yet Expand.
"It seems that I have to go there again. It's not safe for a mining area, so I need to prepare a few more. Or... I'll ask the Holy Church to knock a little more."