The world is connected, especially between things. Just as the wind blows and the grass moves, the red deer migrates after the water and grass. The behavior of life is even more so, there is no action without a reason. Or follow instinct, or out of consideration, the more advanced the life is, the more it is from this.
Therefore, it is impossible for Sauron to remove Signe from his post and issue a wanted warrant for no reason. Behind this news, there must be a greater truth hidden. Zero and Yafidi's inference is logical and close to the truth. Even though they didn't know how Sauron did it, Sauron dared to go to war against a leader only if he had a high-level combat force in his hands that could rival the Sea God Squad.
Leaving aside Sauron's reason for dealing with Signe, the existence of this high-level combat force alone is enough to wake up Ling Da. All along, Zero One's advantage is that there are significantly more high-level ability users than the Pope's Hall. If this advantage is equalized or even surpassed, then the Sea God Group will undoubtedly be at a disadvantage.
Zero couldn't help but rejoice that his decision to raid Panshi City was the right bet. Not only did he take down an important city in the Northland, but also because he began to approach the hinterland of the Pope's Hall, he was able to receive many important news easily. Although this is not good news, it still leaves zero time to prepare.
It is conceivable that once the winter is over, the city of Rome will definitely mobilize a large army, with the high-level group as the blade to come south. At that time, there will be a series of battles in Panshi City. Before that, Zero still has time to prepare.
Under the influence of Pope Paul's oracle, the residents of Rock City have greatly reduced their hostility towards the Poseidon Corps, enabling Zero's various orders to be accurately implemented. Zero sent a Trident warrior back to Canon, and Franklin called Mr. X, Mamelo and the mecha troops over first. As for Franklin and the ordinary soldiers of the Poseidon regiment, they headed north urgently after the winter snow melted, but before the legion arrived, Rock City would be tested by the flames of war.
Zero must defend the city, otherwise everything is empty talk.
Taking advantage of the fact that there are still more than two months before winter, there are still a large number of recruits in the three towns of Yueqi in the city. All eligible recruits receive a monthly salary of 5 gold coins, which can be doubled if they graduate from the boot camp. It is no exaggeration to say that Zero's military pay has far exceeded that of the Knights of the Pope's Hall, which moved the men.
Although there must be war behind the conscription, the zero appeasement fee is enough to make people abandon their concerns. So soon, Panshi City recruited nearly 4,000 recruits, and Zero handed over the task of training recruits to Su and Froman, and asked them to train these recruits according to the standards of regular troops. This is very harsh, but if these standards are not met, these people will only increase casualties if they rush to the battlefield.
After conscription, Zero began to redesign the city. All the residents on the edge of Panshi City evacuated into the city, keeping the buildings used for street fighting in the edge area, and increasing bunkers and fortifications at the same time. The defense work was carried out not only in the city, but also outside the city. A series of trenches have been dug out, half bunkers and fortifications will focus on protecting the north of the city.
However, if the enemy army bypasses the north and attacks from other places, they will find that the landmine area is located under the seemingly smooth road. There are not only landmines here, but also deep pits that have been hollowed out by nearly five meters of ground. The surrounding area of the deep pit has been buried with guns. Once an enemy falls into the pit and detonates the gun, the people inside will either be killed or buried alive.
Increase the firepower on the city wall. This time, when Zero transferred the mech troops, he also asked Mr. X to bring over a batch of war supplies. Among them are hundreds of anti-aircraft machine guns, which are provided by Istar. In addition, there are things such as infantry missiles and plasma mines. When the fortifications and war materials are in place, Sauron will find that the Rock City has been armed to the teeth, and even if it can be captured in the end, it will have to pay a huge price.
Just when Panshi City began to dig trenches and build fortifications, a caravan came to Panshi City, and they brought the most needed war materials. In addition to conventional supplies such as firearms and bullets, they even have several detachable heavy artillery pieces and two special mechs. This aroused great interest in Zero, and received representatives of the caravan at the town hall.
Represents surprisingly young, a beautiful woman in her thirties. The young woman named Isabel has long brown hair, a fair face, and sea-blue eyes reminiscent of the oceans of old times. The faint smile on that face seemed friendly, but in fact it created an invisible distance from people. When he saw her, Zero knew that this was a woman who had always been in a high position.
The kind of calm, self-confidence that everything is under control, this kind of temperament will not appear in an ordinary person who is busy all day long.
It's just that Zero is very curious. On this continent, besides the Pope's Hall and Istar, there seems to be a third unknown force. Only forces or organizations like the two giants in front of them can produce the war supplies they brought. Especially those two mechas, Zero has already seen them, they can be regarded as improved models of paladin mechas. It retains the heavy firepower of the paladin mechs, but optimizes their mobility. In this way, these two mechas are like a simplified version of the Knights of the Round Table.
To be able to manufacture these mechas, the mecha technology mastered by Isabel* is not under the Pope's Hall. Even Istar's laboratory can't produce such things. In this way, the origin of Isabel can be interesting.
"Welcome, beautiful Miss Isabel."
In the city hall, Zero received her in the reception room. In addition to the caravan representative Isabel, there were five guards and an old man accompanying him. The old man is nearly seventy years old, and the wrinkles on his face are reminiscent of the bark of an old tree. But his eyes are very bright, judging by Isabel's attitude, this person's status is not low.
The five guards are all ability users, the lowest being level 4, and the captain of the guard is a warrior of level 7.
A team of seventh-level and four ability users with an average level of around fifth-level is enough to cross the wilderness. The strength is not weak. Of course, with Isabel's physical strength, such a guard can only be called a middle-range one.
Seeing everything in his eyes, Zero remained calm, and the host and guest sat down and said: "Miss Isabel, the supplies sent by your caravan are exactly what we need urgently. The rare thing is that the price you offered is not only fair, but also It is a great discount for us. I really appreciate your kindness in sending charcoal in such a timely manner, but I am very curious. Now the whole continent should know that I and Sauron are at war, but you sent this batch of supplies to me at this time Are you not afraid of offending the city of Rome?"
Isabel's sea-blue eyes were full of smiles, and he said: "Mr. Ling is really a person who thinks about others everywhere. If it were someone else, he wouldn't care much. To tell you the truth, I, or my boss Not afraid of anyone, including Sauron."
"Oh?" Zero smiled.
Isabel's words were full of confidence. Apart from showing that they were not afraid of Sauron, they also implied that they would not be afraid of the Sea God Group and Zero either. Zero believes that she didn't exaggerate on purpose, that confidence, and the pride in her eyes don't seem to be pretending at all.
"So Mr. Ling can rest assured to trade with us. Besides, this transaction is just the beginning. I believe we will have many opportunities to cooperate in the future." Isabel laughed.
Zero asked lightly: "For example?"
"For example, we can help you bring down Sauron."
"Miss Isabel, you might as well be more specific."
Isabel looked around at several trident fighters, and gave them a wink without understanding. So the warriors withdrew and closed the gates for those inside. Lingcai said: "Okay, there are no outsiders here now, if you have anything to say, you can just say it."
"Mr. Zero is really refreshing." Isabel stood up and walked towards Zero.
She walked to Zero and bent down, so that she could almost see the beautiful scenery inside from the loose neckline. Isabel didn't seem to care at all, but the captain of the guard suddenly showed an unnatural look in his eyes, and then turned his head away. Zero pretended not to see it, and at this moment Isabel whispered in his ear: "Mr. Zero should not have heard of the Dark Brotherhood?"
"Dark Brotherhood?" Ling Yizheng shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I haven't heard of this organization."
"That's normal. There are very few people who know us. Only those with great strength are qualified to know our existence, such as... Mr. Zero." Isabel walked away from Zero. The captain breathed a sigh of relief.
Zero smiled and said, "That's really my honor."
"You don't have to be humble, you can rival the Pope's Hall, and the man who broke into the Rock City, your strength is beyond doubt." Isabel showed a beautiful smile and said: "Our existence can be traced back to the Middle Ages of the old age, is An existence that is far older than you can imagine. Mr. Zero, we guard the ancient mysteries and jointly protect the supreme wisdom that can promote the advancement of the times. We hide in the dark, and the world does not know our existence. But In every significant episode of history, our shadows are everywhere...”
Isabel's face was full of pride: "We are the greatest hiders and the promoters of the times. Whenever the times stand still, we will appear."
"Like now?"
"Just like now!" Isabel said with a chuckle: "Fifteen years ago, we picked Sauron. Because he showed the power to advance the times, and the facts proved that we were right. Under the promotion of Sauron, The mainland has the pattern of human prosperity today. But now, Sauron is trying to get rid of us, and more importantly. If he is left alone, he will destroy the cornerstone of prosperity that we have worked so hard to build."
"So you chose me?" Zero asked rhetorically.
"No, the times chose you, we just follow its voice." Isabel said: "Mr. Zero's achievements are eye-catching, but with your current strength alone, it will take a long time to bring down Sauron. distance. We can shorten that distance for you…”
"What about the price?" Zero asked: "There is always a price for everything, I don't think you will help me for no reason?"
"Of course not, but what to pay depends on what Mr. Ling himself wants."
"Appreciate further details."
Isabel sat back in his seat and said: "It's very simple. If Mr. Zero only needs us to provide ordinary supplies and weapons, then the cooperation between us can be carried out in the form of commercial trade. But if we need more For further support, such as providing troops, technology or even ability users, then there is only one way."
"what way?"
"Become one of us." Isabel pointed to himself: "Assuming that Mr. Zero becomes a core member like me, then we will unconditionally open up all our power to Mr. Zero, and we also hope to have such a Mr. Zero." Those who excel in force become companions."
"The conditions are fair." Ling calmly said, and asked again: "Then suppose, suppose we finally brought down Sauron together. But the mainland needs a manager, and I ask myself that I am not the right person. What do you think?"
"Mr. Ling asks this, is there someone in mind?" Isabel asked, which shows that she is also a quick-witted person, and she can infer one or two from Zero's tone.
"Perhaps, Pope Paul is good." Zero temptation.
Isabel showed a slightly surprised expression, and said: "It turns out that there is indeed a cooperative relationship between Mr. Zero and the Pope. It's okay to tell you now. The Pope and Istar are actually supported by us behind the scenes. Of course, they It will not be aware of our existence, and this is also a pawn for us to contain Sauron. However, although His Royal Highness Paul is capable, he is still too young, and it is difficult to say whether he can become a qualified manager now."
"What if he doesn't qualify?"
"Replace it." Isabel said naturally.
Zero nodded, and said: "I understand. It's almost noon, so please go to the restaurant for dinner. I have arranged for everyone's residence. After lunch, you can go to the residence to rest. If you need anything, just say That's right. As for the way of cooperation, I still need time to think about it, so I can't answer Miss Isabel right now."
"I understand, so thank you Mr. Zero for your careful arrangement." Isabel replied politely.
Afterwards, Zero had lunch with them before sending them out of the city hall, and the others led Isabel and his party to the chamber of commerce residence. Zero returned to the office, stood in front of the plasma panel, and silently drew another circle outside the territory of the Western Continent, with the number "Brotherhood" written inside. Then he sat back on the chair, thought for a while, and sent an encrypted email with his brain.
The mail will be delivered to Istar, and the content is to request a meeting with Paul. As for the reason, Zero only left a simple line: This morning, the Dark Brotherhood has contacted me.
A small number, but zero is believed to be enough to attract Paul's attention.
Led by one of the Trident fighters, Isabel and his party came to a residence not far from the city hall. The residence itself is not big, and the decoration is not necessarily luxurious, but its location is near the city hall, and this area was basically a wealthy area in the past. Even a residence with simple decoration has its own connotation.
One of the connotations is a status symbol, and now, arranging the caravan to stay here also shows the respect Ling conveys to them.
Isabel understood, and the old man who had been silent seemed to understand too, but the guards had a lot of opinions on this. It’s just that it’s not their turn to interfere with these matters, but the captain of the guard insisted that he was a seventh-level warrior, and walked beside Isabel and said dissatisfiedly: “My lord, that shabby house named Zero has been arranged as our residence. To think he clearly despises us, even the fraternity your lord represents."
"Rex, do you really think so?" Isabel asked with a chuckle.
"Yes, my lord!"
The woman's face turned cold suddenly, and she said: "So your eyes can only stop here, do you know why you have been with me for three years and are still a guard captain? It is because you can't take a longer-term view, and you are always on the sidelines." On the trivial matters. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. Ever since you joined the fraternity, you just wanted me. But you don’t take a mirror to look at yourself, just because you are a mere 7th level. on you?"
"It's a joke. A man like Zero would be more or less the same." The captain of the guard didn't show any sympathy, and after a sneer, Isabel led the old man into the house.
The two came to the west study room, closed the door, and the old man said: "It's not right for my guard captain, miss."
"It's okay, anyway, I'm already planning to replace him." Isabel stood in front of the window, and looked coldly at the guards outside through the window. Then he turned around, removed the frost from his face and asked, "Mr. Gondo, what do you think of that zero?"
"Very good, but I don't think the Dark Brotherhood can control him." The old man said lightly.
"Oh?" Isabel didn't seem to be surprised, she smiled and said, "This is a natural thing, every strong person is a character that is difficult to control. And it shouldn't be controlled, all we have to do is guide, Steering them in the direction we want them to go. That's it."
"Guide?" The old man nodded and said, "That's right, but this man, I don't think it's easy to change his will."
"You mean, his ambition is so big that we won't be moved by him?"
"No, no..." The old man shook his head and sighed softly, "I kept looking at him while you were talking. From his eyes, all I saw was calm and tranquility. This shouldn't be someone with great ambitions at all. The eyes he deserves, he gives me the feeling that he doesn’t seem to have great ambitions. On the contrary, he seems to have no ambitions. Or, his ambitions are not on this continent.”
"Not on this continent, where is it? The whole world?" Isabel chuckled, but seeing that the old man didn't mean to laugh at all, she couldn't help but exclaimed: "Isn't it true? What he wanted ... the whole world?"
"I don't know, I just feel that his eyes are very far-reaching. So far-reaching that we can't reach it. It seems that it is... the end of the world!"