Sword of Dawn

Gao Wen: "..."

He also thought that Amber had mastered a vocabulary that he had never taught her without a teacher, but it turned out to be so rote.

"She's still here," Gawain shook his head. "This giant tree is her. It's the mutation result of her forceful confrontation with the power of the false god. And if you mean the human body she mimicked... she Going to a deeper layer, it is a collapsed layer that we cannot enter."

"It sounds weird..." Amber scratched her hair, "The collapsed floor doesn't sound like a good place. What was she doing there?"

Gao Wen looked not far away, and looked at the secret room behind Bertila. The secret room was once full of human remains, all of which were transported by Bertila from various parts of the underground palace in a daze. The remains, but now... it's empty inside.

"She went to a funeral—with my permission. After all, even cultists who were burned to death were allowed to be buried."

Amber blinked, and noticed that Gao Wen was holding a large black book she didn't recognize in his hand - this book had never appeared before: "What is this?"

"...An ancient artifact that may hide a huge secret is now damaged, but I think it still has research value," Gao Wen said casually, then looked at the action team members standing near him, and pointed to the hall The map in "This is the current structure map of this underground palace, which should be accurate. Future exploration work will be carried out using this map as a reference, and the things in the gray-white marked room will be transferred to the surface first. For now, let's go back to On the surface, there is still a lot of work to be arranged."

After waiting on the surface for a long time, the female knights Margarita and Pittman finally saw Gawain leading the team out of the dark passage.

Although they have been able to contact the following action team through the magic network terminal, Gao Wen and the weird "female head teacher" talked alone for a long time in the middle. During this time, everyone was very nervous, but fortunately everything It's safe, Margarita couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty," the female knight greeted her, "Next..."

"The situation is more complicated. We will talk about it in detail after we return to the camp," Gao Wen said, and looked around in surprise—a large number of fallen leaves with beautiful magic patterns were scattered on the lush grass and bushes. From the canopy of the giant tree above his head, he looked at the female knight, "What's going on? Why are there so many fallen leaves all of a sudden?"

When talking with Bertila below, everything seemed normal, so Gawain was a little concerned about these suddenly falling leaves.

"I don't know," Margarita shook her head. "It fell suddenly about an hour ago, but other than that, nothing unusual happened."

Gao Wen blinked, rubbed his chin: "...Probably because it's too cold, it's a plant after all."

It can't be that the leaves she loves have fallen... Bertila said she didn't care.

A gust of invisible wind suddenly blew up around, and the grass and trees swayed and made rustling noises. Gao Wen, who was about to leave here, stopped with a feeling. He looked in the direction of the trunk of the giant tree and saw a large number of flowers wrapped The flower vine suddenly grew out, twisted and stretched, and Bertila's figure emerged from it.

If it weren't for the many vines behind him, and the roots under his feet connected to the ground, Bertila who emerged from the flower vines would look almost the same as a normal person.

The vigilant soldiers around raised their weapons in an instant, and Margarita also pressed her hand on the hilt of the melting sword at her waist, but Gawain waved his hand to stop everyone from moving, and he looked at Beltira: "Your matter Busy working?"

"It's all over," Bertila said lightly, and glanced at the vigilant eyes around her—even though she could see everything within the range of the giant tree without turning the eyes of this mimic body, she still used This body made such human movements, and revealed a sigh, "It's really unwelcome... Is this really good?"

"There's nothing wrong," Gawain said calmly. "The empire urgently needs to recuperate. This land urgently needs to be healed. You can take root here and heal here. You have the ability. Let those who were displaced by the disaster you caused return to their homes." It is the most perfect arrangement to make your homeland and fill your belly, and let the flesh and blood of you and your fellow citizens become the nourishment of this land, far better than creating a new pile of ashes on the plain."

"I don't have the ability to heal the entire Holy Spirit Plain, my coverage is limited to the Thorin area..."

"Then heal the Solin area, our reconstruction project needs a bridgehead," Gao Wen nodded, then paused, "I will withdraw half of the camps here, but I will keep the barracks on the Solinburg side and the southern ones." Sentry. You know what I mean."

Bertila slowly revealed a smile: "Necessary caution and necessary kindness, brother Gawain."

……

The weather is getting colder, and the footsteps of winter are approaching. In this country located in the northern part of the mainland, the cold air always comes earlier than other places, but in the relatively warm southern region, the warmth brought by the huge sun is still attached to the earth.

Just after noon, just the right amount of sunshine was shining on the open land in the eastern suburbs of Cecil City. The warm sunshine dispelled the chill brought by the north wind. Maggie sat on the crate next to the test site and looked up. The brilliant sun disc of the giant sun narrowed its eyes slightly.

In Shenglong Principality, there is no such warm sunshine, there will always be a world of ice and snow, and the howling wind will always rule the mountains and forests. All Maggie's memories of her hometown are built on the snow, cold wind, mountains and those ancient On the huge stone building that looks like a tomb.

In the following years, her memory was associated with the mountains in the northern border of Ansu.

There are warm fires in Cold Winter Castle, but outside Cold Winter Castle, there are still mountains, snow and ice, and endless cold air... But even so, she still likes that place, very much.

And here, the southern border of the empire...

The warmth here is different from other places, and the vitality here is also very different from the rough and enthusiastic life of the northern mountain people.

This novel place feels pretty good.

She smiled and looked towards the center of the test field.

The magicians are busy around a huge machine with weird shape. The machine has a main structure like a short and thick cone or a spinning top. A large metal ring engraved with runes is floating below it. On the other hand, there are two half-moon-shaped wide wings. On the upper part of the "top", you can also see a simple cockpit made of metal and crystal glass. On both sides of the cockpit, there are dragon wings, which are supported by mechanical structures and steel skeletons. Another pair of wings, whose shape is so strange that any well-informed archmage and naturalist coming here will probably not associate with anything known, nor guess its function.

But this strange thing is the treasure in the eyes of everyone here - those highly respected magicians are busy sweating profusely around the machine, while Rebecca, who is the chief designer and chief commander, controls the overall situation , Maggie even saw the siren lady named "Tyre" next to her, this always lazy and lack of energy siren even came to the test field, and now she is on the ground with the tip of her tail Copying sonnets to combat the sun-drowsiness while squinting at Cecil's "mechanical novelty."

As a visitor from a high-level civilization, Tire is not only a spectator on the test field, but also a small half of an advisor.Although the technology trees of the two races are very different, Tire can't comment on the field of magic patterns, but at least she can make some suggestions on some parts of the same technology—such as mechanical structure and mechanics.

The technicians appear to have finished the final tuning.

Rebecca was clapping her hands, and then the imperial princess turned around to look at where Maggie was sitting.

"Maggie! It's ok! Let's fly again today!! This time it will definitely work!!"

Maggie smiled a little, jumped off the crate, and walked over to the big, monstrous machine.

Rebecca's chirping voice came from the side: "...the last crash was caused by the vibration of the servo wing, we have adjusted its connection method this time, it will definitely work...

"You just relax and it works like normal, nothing has changed in terms of controls, those joysticks are perfect.

"This time we will definitely fly, this time it will definitely fly!"

Rebecca clenched her fist, waved it vigorously twice, and then added the last sentence with a bright smile:

"And it will land smoothly... at least head-on."

Chapter 0719 Sky

Rebecca's chirping and cheerful voice was still ringing nearby, but Maggie just smiled and lowered her head to check the joysticks with different functions, the slightly crude instruments and rune disks.

These joysticks and instrument panels have been firmly memorized by her these days, and she is so familiar with them that even with her eyes closed, she can accurately find any button and lever in front of the driver's seat.

Tyre, who had been fighting against the Sandman next to him for a long time, also arched over at this time. Miss Kraken saw that this side was finally ready to take off, and seemed to boost her spirits. She raised her head and looked at the plane sitting in the cockpit Maggie poked the tip of her tail on the ground next to her: "Don't forget to take pictures after you go up—of course, if you crash all of a sudden, you should protect yourself first..."

Before he finished speaking, several technicians rushed forward and dragged the speechless sea monster aside.

Maggie watched all this with a smile.

She felt the rune module and mechanical device under her body trembling slightly, and she could feel that this huge and complex machine was waking up little by little.

Steel, crystal, magic materials, leather, wood, cloth... These inanimate substances are combined into a complex shell in the skillful hands of humans. A dragon that cannot take off sits in this complex shell, ready to use It flies into the sky.

The shell should be something that brings people a sense of security, but this layer of "shell" has only shown danger in the experiments so far, just like the state of most new technologies in the experimental stage: it is unstable, full of defects, and full of dangers. Problems that technicians can't predict, it's not safe at all.

When it was still a small-scale prototype, the anti-gravity ring of this "aircraft" lost control more than once. Those proof-type anti-gravity rings damaged the walls and roof of the laboratory, and burned the runes on the test bench. Substrate, and as the project progressed to the later stage, the small-scale verification model became a large-scale test machine, and the entire project was transferred to the "special laboratory" in the suburbs, and tested on this open field.

The surrounding technicians had already retreated. Maggie closed the lid of the cockpit, and then pressed down the main joystick in front of her. The power ridge that had completed preheating and charging began to release magic power to the anti-gravity ring, and a stronger tremor was transmitted from her body. Come.

After the relocation of the test site, the project has no threat to unrelated personnel around, but the risks faced by those involved in the test are still very high, especially the test flight personnel.

The verified anti-gravity device and the "Dragon Wing" device that has been explored are very unstable, and the combination of the two is even more so. For human beings without wings, handing themselves over to a test machine, using these It is a great but too risky move to challenge the blue sky with simple equipment.

Of course, testers can choose mages who have mastered the flying technique, so that at least when the machine crashes, they still have a chance to return to the ground safely with their own strength, but as a test machine, the problems faced by this aircraft are far more than just crashing. Simple—explosions in the air, out-of-control maneuvers, rampant magic power and other problems will put the mage who mastered the flying technique in danger of life.

Maggie believed that Rebecca and the technical team she led would be fearless even in the face of these challenges, but she still volunteered to stand up as a test pilot.

As a giant dragon, her body is very strong, and she has a high resistance to all kinds of magic damage. Even if the aircraft explodes, she still has a chance to survive. As for falling in the air—although she cannot take off on the ground with her own strength , but she was at least able to land in dragon glide during the fall.Without a doubt, she was the most suitable test pilot for Cecil.

In the past few test flights, she has "crashed" three times in this way - once seriously injured.If it wasn't a giant humanoid dragon like her that was tested at that time but an ordinary human being, then this project has claimed at least three lives by now.

Maggie took a deep breath to calm down her slightly nervous mood, then held the main joystick located in the center of the console and pulled it up slightly.

Under the inverted cone-shaped anti-gravity aircraft, countless runes on the surface of the metal anti-gravity ring suddenly lit up, and a low humming sound came from the ring and the inside of the aircraft's cone, accompanied by some gravel and gravel near the machine. As it rose to mid-air, the aircraft temporarily named "Dragon Cavalry" broke away from the ground little by little, and began to rise slowly with a steady attitude.

"The output of the anti-gravity ring is stable, the state of the power ridge is stable, the dragon wing device is stable, and the magic wing is normal." Maggie glanced at the console, reported the situation familiarly, and continued to pull up the lever, "I want to start accelerating It levitated."

The flying speed of the aircraft began to gradually increase, and the half-moon-shaped magic energy wings on both sides of it were slowly unfolded under the action of the mechanical device, stretching to both sides to form a plane, while the "dragon wings" on both sides of the cockpit stretched out at the same time, The light blue dragon wing runes lit up one after another, flickering faintly.

It will work this time - it will be smoother than ever.

Out of the corner of Maggie's eyes, she saw the "Dragon Wing" device on both sides of the cockpit. Suddenly, she felt that the metal wings imitating the wings of a giant dragon seemed to be an extension of her body. She held the joystick tightly. , seemed to be able to feel the heartbeat of this machine, she felt the air flowing outside, felt the wings stretching against the wind, she felt... the sky was calling her.

She took off, flying higher and higher.

The ground reference objects on both sides of the cockpit are sinking, and the observation window at the front and bottom of the cockpit has been opened, and she sees that the huge marks on the test site are moving away from her, so she gently pushes the joystick, and everything in the field of vision starts to move backward go.

Maggie laughed happily.

Rebecca raised her head and saw some shimmering particles escaping from the wings on both sides of the "Dragon Cavalry", and then the heavy machine speeded across the sky like a light bird.

She still remembered that the aircraft crashed at this step during the last test - the dragon wing structure produced fatal tremors when changing the propulsion mode, the body tore, the power ridge was out of balance, and it plummeted from a height of hundreds of meters, Maggie was thrilled It turned into a dragon-shaped gliding landing in mid-air, and the wreckage of the aircraft fell into the open space on the edge of the test site, smashing a magic monitoring tower.

By the way, he killed Tyre, who was basking in the sun and sleeping late under the tower.

The scene at that time was really shocking-especially when many technicians on the scene did not know that the race of sea monsters could be resurrected, it really caused a lot of trouble.

"It's flying..." Rebecca raised her head, muttering softly as she had some random thoughts in her mind.

"And it doesn't look like it will fall..." Till also raised his head, poking the tip of his tail on the ground one after another, "I was really surprised last time. I was falling asleep when I heard 'Kang Dang' 'There was a loud noise, and as soon as I opened my eyes, I was soaking in the Baishui River..."

Rebecca: "..."

Maggie's heart was racing, but her hands were more steady than ever.

She held the joystick tightly—the fluctuation of the airflow, the attitude adjustment of the aircraft, the subtle touch feedback from the dragon wings, these incredible feelings were transmitted through the metal, through the conduction of these joysticks, and finally passed to her hands, allowing her Gradually there is a real sense of embracing the sky.

Although there is still a shell made of steel and other materials between this real feeling, she is already satisfied like never before.

She saw farmland passing far, far below her, and saw the small model-like pinnacles and houses receding in view, and there was no longer any doubt in her heart about what Rebecca had promised.

Dragons, after all, yearn for the sky.

But the dragons of the Holy Dragon Principality were not allowed to fly from birth—even if a few of them "slightly deformed" had relatively healthy wings, they were forbidden to approach the sky.

Because the genetic defect is a great sin, and the exiles have to pay for it life after life. The deformed wings are not worthy of embracing the sky, which is a blasphemy against the sky.

But how can a creature born with wings resist the urge to fly?

Almost every year, young dragons who can’t hold back challenge the taboo. Even if their deformed wings can’t take off, they are willing to use gliding to take off for a short time. , some other dragons will be captured by the patrolling cavalry of the Grand Duke of Dragon Blood, some will be seriously injured after the terrible gliding due to inexperience, and some...

He will choose to flap his wings with all his strength, glide from Longyue Cliff all the way to the outside of the border, and fly into the human world.

Maggie smiled happily, pulled the lever hard, and flew towards the sky.

If there is a chance to go back, definitely persuade those friends to try this.

Countless times more fun than gliding!

Maggie can't help but look forward to that other "sky-hugging thing" that Rebecca promised.

Iron Wings... what would it be like?

……

Gawain, who returned to Cecil City, immediately attracted Veronica/Ophelia who happened to be visiting the magic weapon factory in the city.

Bright sunlight poured into the spacious study room. Veronica, holding a platinum scepter, walked into the room with a calm expression. The sunlight shone on her pale golden hair, and the radiance rippled slightly, making it difficult to distinguish the light from the light. Is the halo the holy light lingering around her?

In front of Gao Wen, this ancient rebel slightly lowered his head: "Your Majesty, did you summon me?"

Gao Wen hummed, and the first time he raised his head, he noticed the platinum scepter in Veronica's hand.

Before getting down to business, he couldn't help but think of another thing he mentioned when talking with Bertila:

The bridge between man and God, the "chain" phenomenon caused by the belief in the same goal.

Platinum scepter, another name is "the bridge between man and god".

Gawain knew this name a long time ago, but he didn't realize that this "bridge" had another possible meaning until he talked with Beltira.

"...Does that scepter really establish a connection between humans and gods?" He asked in a deep voice.

Veronica lowered her eyelids slightly: "Yes, of course."

"...It shouldn't be easy to control this 'chain'."

Veronica raised her head in surprise, she looked at Gawain's deep gaze, and seemed to have a smile: "It seems that you have a deeper understanding of the gods."

"In the eastern region of the Holy Spirit Plain, the lair of the End of All Things Society, the contest between the power of false gods and the power of mortals gave birth to a huge plant. My old acquaintance, Beltira," Gawain said unhurriedly, "from her, I learned something about rebels and gods."

"...the rewards are often unexpected."

"Indeed," Gawain nodded, "Do you have any impression of the names Fierna Baishuang and Leierna Baishuang?"

Veronica's tranquil expression was obviously still for a moment.

Then, she said leisurely: "It's really a long-lost name... Did you also hear it from that Bertila?"

"Now that you know, it seems that this information is correct - in the past hundreds of years, the two elves, Fierna Baishuang and Leierna Baishuang, have been important members of the Death of All Things Society. If I'm not wrong, they should be the ones we discussed..."

"The 'ghosts' who disobey the plan..." Veronica said softly, "Yes, the twins of Baishuang are rebels, I know them, but I really didn't expect them to hide in the meeting of the end of all things for so many years , are actually active in human society.”

"Tell me about them," Gawain nodded, "If my information is accurate, then these elf sisters are probably still alive. Destroyed, they are likely to continue their activities and become a threat."

"...First of all, I want to emphasize one point," Veronica collected her thoughts, and said softly, "Strictly speaking, the Baishuang twins should be said to be 'two sisters at one time', but now they...in fact, they should be counted as sisters. as an individual."

Chapter 0720

Veronica's statement made Gawain a little confused.