In the north, cold wind hills.
There are continuous camps, with military flags flying, and the military camp built of heavy and strong northern stone camphor wood stretches along the mountain, as if a dark ravine has been plowed on the snow. Running, like busy worker ants, reinforced the newly established camp.
And above the camp, a shimmering magic shield is gradually taking shape, and the magisters from Icewind Dale are working overtime to set up enchantment pillars around the camp, trying to complete the magic before the snowstorm comes barrier.
This is the elite army of the six northern provinces, the northern legion that the empire is most proud of. Until half a month ago, it was a strong barrier to the north of Dragon, blocking the empire from the Gorgon Abyss in the extreme north. However, at this moment they set up a new camp far away from their original line of defense, with their swords pointing to the direction, preparing to launch an attack on the imperial capital.
A figure wearing a heavy black steel armor came to the hillside, looking down at the barracks below and the busy officers and soldiers in the barracks. Although this figure in the armor was imposing and tall, but the figure in that suit was based on the body of the wearer. The specially made armor still made the commander's limbs much slender than that of ordinary male soldiers, and the rose lace adorning his cloak seemed to imply the true gender of the man wearing the armor.
The creaking sound of stepping on the snow came from behind, and a gray-haired old general also came to the hillside. The old general looked like a lion, and his arms were bare in the wind and snow. Doubting whether he has barbarian blood, he stopped behind the black armored figure, and said in a respectful tone, "Your Highness, you should go back and rest, a blizzard is coming soon."
The black-armored figure didn't turn his head back. From under the dark helmet came a low but obviously feminine voice: "Grand Duke Owen, what do you think of this war?"
The old general looked into the distance, which was the direction of the imperial capital: "From the day when the Northern Legion became an army, we only had these two missions, to block the Gorgon Abyss, and to complete the change of the era - His Majesty entrusted us with this mission, you lead We accomplish this mission, and this is what the Legion of the North is all about."
Constance Dragon shook her head, and the armor made a friction sound: "Aside from the sense of mission, what do you think of this war itself? Our victory or defeat, the future of the empire, and... the consequences of this war .”
"The warriors of the north can fight against the erosion of the Gorgon Abyss in ice and fire. We don't have those mechanical swords, and we don't have ancient inheritance. We only rely on the will and bravery that have been tempered, and the generals have not been completely frozen. brains," the old general known as Grand Duke Owen laughed, "I think the Northern Legion is strong enough to fight against the Black Sword Knights, and we also have your Broken Sword Knights, the chance of victory is already on our side .As for the consequences of this war..."
The old general was silent for a moment: "Your Highness, many things are destined."
There was a slight sigh from under Constance's visor, and she looked up, looking the other way.
On the northern horizon, a faint red line jumps between the sky and the earth. The sky around the red line shows faint signs of distortion, as if there is a powerful force entrenched there, waiting to invade this world. world.
"The Gorgon Abyss has responded to us. It will be silent for two years. Within two years, we must end this war."
"The warriors of the North will not let you down, Your Royal Highness."
Constance nodded slightly, and slightly looked back at the Gorgon Abyss. She saw that a new snowstorm was gradually taking shape on the edge of the Cold Wind Hills.
She took off her helmet, and her long black hair flew up in the wind and snow in the north. The oncoming snowflakes and cold wind made this princess with a firm face and deep eyes squint her eyes, and her heart reverberated. An old and hollow voice resounded:
"The dynasty has no eternity, the gods will die, the holy spirit will die, the sages and the dragon will die too, we don't know the beginning of all this, but we can see the bleak future, in that future, the world sinks in the eternal night , everything turned to ashes in the smoldering, all great souls can only witness this end in powerless wailing, and are torn apart with the whole world. Those who are ignorant of this are lucky, in their limited life and In cognition, the world is full of light and peace, except for those born in troubled years, most people can enjoy a lifetime of peace, but the immortals have to bear the pain of facing the truth, this is the price of eternal life.”
Constance took a step towards the direction of the camp.
"Father, please wait for a while, I will inherit your throne right now."
…
Some changes have indeed taken place in the black pine forest - but depending on the observer, the so-called changes may just reveal the truth.
The convoy is advancing on a forest road that no one has ever stepped on. The neat petrified lampposts on both sides and the seemingly endless black pine trees keep retreating as the vehicles drive. At this moment, the three caravans have switched their forms. After the board is lowered, it becomes a circle of low bunkers, and the crew sit inside the bunker to observe the outside world, which is more helpful to have a panoramic view of all the wind and grass in the woods—anyway, these three vehicles rely on shield generators to provide protection Yes, lowering the carriage will not affect much of the protective performance.
The third caravan, which was originally at the end of the line, was now switched to the front of the line and became the lead car.
Lia lay on the front of the caravan, staring at this wonderful forest with wide eyes. The fog and chaotic time and space in the forest were meaningless in front of her eyes, and this forest was presenting its truest side.
"I am sure that what we are walking on now is the real black pine forest road, and it should be like this—and the forks and wide roads you know that have been explored by explorers are illusions," Hao Ren said to Charlemagne and Ai Wenna, "I can also make a bold guess. Over the years, explorers have only circled in the gap between the virtual and the real outside the black pine forest. People think they have passed through the black pine forest through the forest road, but In fact, it may have passed through some kind of space passage, or it may have been deeply hypnotized while walking around the periphery of the forest—the real scene inside the forest has never been seen by anyone.”
Ai Wenna was so surprised at this moment that she didn't know what to say. She stared at the surroundings, and then looked at Leah who was lying in front of the car: "This hypothesis is really shocking... Who is this little girl? Why are you so confident?" ?”
Liya yelled without looking back: "Don't call me a little girl, I'm older than you!"
"Her identity is a bit complicated to explain, but she has a magical ability to see who... um, no, to see through everything," Hao Ren explained perfunctorily, "She can see through all illusions in the world, so it is because of her In the team, we can go into this area that no one has set foot before."
"Your World Tree Temple... What kind of organization is it?" Charlemagne hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't help asking.
Hao Ren thought for a while: "Basically, it's about saving the world."
"Well, I overstepped, please don't mind."
"...I mean it!"
Here, Hao Ren was emphasizing that he was an honest person, when Lily next to him suddenly poked his arm again: "Landlord, look over there—it appeared again."
Hao Ren looked in the direction of Lily's finger, and suddenly saw a few blurred figures condensed in the mist behind the side of the convoy. Those figures shook twice, and then became no different from real people—that was A few "phantoms" in civilian attire, with golden-red pupils, silver-colored hair, and a height of two meters, they are both male and female, just like ordinary people walking in the forest, leisurely, chatting and talking slowly. Slowly walking into the mist in the distance, and the voice of their conversation came faintly:
"The army has been mobilized frequently recently." "I heard that there is a war on the border..." "The headmaster often goes to the Great Temple recently, will it be..." "The meeting of the seven kings is about to be held, I really don't want any troubles at this time .”
Those phantoms disappeared, and Vivienne frowned slightly: "This is the seventh time, and this time there is a meeting of seven kings."
From the moment the convoy headed deep into the black pine forest, those phantoms had appeared more than once.
And their content also varies.
The first time, Hao Ren and the others saw the soldiers who had an encounter with the pollution monster on the road. The second time, they saw a group of scarred refugees retreating under the cover of soldiers. The third time, they saw a group of The prisoners were escorted into the depths of the forest, but for the fourth time they saw a group of simply dressed craftsmen gathering at the intersection, pointing at the forest, as if they were planning some kind of construction project...
Up to now, it is the seventh time.
The appearance of phantoms is irregular, and it does not seem to be arranged according to the timeline. Sometimes they appear as refugees in times of national crisis, and sometimes they appear as pioneers in pioneering and building in the wilderness.
Leah had just guessed that these phantoms were "another possibility that the world has never been realized", but now this guess has been basically rejected, and Hao Ren suspected that what appeared in the black pine forest was actually a part of the "old world". History, and it was a history that even Leah had never seen.
It was supposed to be the memory of the old days, but it became a "false world" for some unknown reason. Hao Ren speculated that this so-called unknown reason was the destruction and rebirth that Laherien had experienced.
There is only one thing that can’t be explained—this world was reborn under the influence of Leah’s dream, which link went wrong during this process, which led to the preservation of such a piece of "reverberation of the old world", and it was painted in black. The form of the pine forest in this world
Looking at the dark forest around her, Aiwenna felt a little uneasy: "Are we... really on the right path?"
As if to respond to her, Liya, who was lying in front of the car, suddenly patted the cover of the car, and pointed to the fork in front: "Ahead, go left."
"Trust her judgment," Hao Ren said with a smile, "her intuition and true vision can lead us to find the truth of this forest."
Evanna was about to cry: "But we don't want to find out the truth about this forest—we want to get out quickly..."
Hao Ren didn't change his face: "Oh, then her intuition and real vision can lead us out of this forest."
Aiwenna suddenly felt ashamed, and felt that the group of chattering guys in front of her probably didn't plan to go out...
And at this moment, Vivienne suddenly raised her head and shrugged her nose: "I seem to smell... bloody smell."