Sword of Dawn

"It's really boring to do nothing all day," Amon said, with a holy radiance flowing around his body, "'Consultant'... I haven't done it, but I can try it."

"Very well, now the Theocratic Council has ushered in two special 'members'," Gao Wen finally exhaled softly, he smiled from the bottom of his heart, and then moved his eyes to the standby state not far away. "Then I will arrange for Naritil to unblock the network of this magic net terminal... It will open some new functions to prepare for our next move."

Mir Mina reacted immediately: "You mean...the neural network? Next you plan to let us contact the outside world?!"

"Indirect contact," Gao Wen reminded, "We will establish a limited and controllable security network, all connections will be protected by an anti-divine barrier, and all incoming and outgoing data will be first detected and filtered by Naritil , but it doesn’t really affect the effect of use—you will actually get in touch with the outside world, you can hear the news from the outside, and you can also send some things to the outside world. Establishing communication ... it's just that it will all be established within a tight security framework."

"Ah, I've been looking forward to this for a long time." Mirmina couldn't help but bring a hint of joy in her tone, "The 'magic net' and the neural network based on the magic net that you created are amazing. I still remember the novelty and touch it brought me... It's a pity that my first experience using the Internet was not so pleasant, but fortunately now I have the opportunity to make up for the regret..."

When Gao Wen heard this, he couldn't help but glanced at Mir Mina, and reminded the other party: "Then you should also pay attention to propriety, Naritil is the general administrator of the entire neural network, and her job is not just to expel intruders. The gods of the Internet also include banning and kicking off users who violate the usage agreement..."

Mirmina quickly cooled down from her anticipation of the magic net, and only then did she remember to ask: "By the way, I heard you mention this name just now, the Naritel you mentioned..."

"The one with eight legs."

Mirmina immediately fell silent, and Amoen at the side finally found a chance to speak: "You mentioned just now that you want to put an extra magic net terminal here..."

"Of course, I still remember," Gao Wen couldn't help but said with a smile, "the new equipment will arrive soon."

The atmosphere in the disobedient courtyard thus became harmonious and pleasant—this might even be one of the few happy moments between Amorn and Mirmina in the thousands of years or even longer.The two old gods who had left their positions were discussing about the neural network and the theocratic council, looking forward to everything in the future, while Gao Wen suddenly coughed slightly after participating in a few sentences, and looked at Amoen direction: "Also, there is something else I want to tell you."

Amoen is in a very good mood at the moment, which has never been better in 3000 years. He responded happily: "What's the matter?"

"I arranged a meeting for you," Gao Wen said, "This is also an important part of promoting the role of the Theocratic Council."

"A meeting?" Amorn said with doubts in his tone, "With whom? Have you dug up the technical personnel who disobeyed the plan from some ancient ruins or ruins of the order?"

Gawain coughed a few times at Amorne's statement, and he wanted to say that it sounded like a Veronica/Ophelia wrapped in oil paper was dug out from the sewers of the Gondor Empire—but unfortunately What's more, no one in this world can understand memes of this level, so he can only suppress the complaints in his heart, and force his face to become serious: "It's the queen of the silver elves, Belsetia Morningstar."

The entire disobedient courtyard fell silent in an instant.

After half a minute, Amon's exclamation sounded in Gao Wen's mind: "Who are you talking about?!"

Gawain repeated it solemnly: "Silver Queen, Belsetia Morningstar."

"I hear you clearly, I hear you clearly—but are you serious?" Amon's eyes became very serious, staring at Gawain, "I can't re-establish contact with the society of the silver elves, especially It's...the Silver Queen. Do you know what the Silver Queen means? She symbolizes the supreme leader of the Druid sect and is the priestess of the God of Nature. You let her..."

"She doesn't believe in you." Gao Wen said quietly.

Chapter 1114 Revisiting the Age of Mythology

Gao Wen's voice fell, and the disobedient courtyard became quiet again.

Amoen suddenly felt that there seemed to be too many cold scenes in his small courtyard today.

But this cold spot didn't last too long. Amoen quickly understood something deeper from Gao Wen's words. He gradually realized that the holy radiance covering his whole body flowed like water, and the tone of his voice With a sigh: "Ah, yes, she doesn't believe in me, that's right..."

The former God of Nature whispered to himself, and then suddenly asked, "When was the original upper-level druid church reorganized?"

"About 1000 years ago—maybe earlier," Gawain nodded, and said the history he heard from Belsetia, "This is a gradual process. In the Silver Empire, the upper Drew The Iraqi church first lifted the privileges of a series of marginal parishes, and then gradually moved closer to the secular imperial power, and found a new self-support with the elf royal court and the upper elf council as the core. About 1000 years ago, the elf royal family The symbolic meaning of the role of High Priest of Ruys has been greater than the actual meaning, but before that, the upper druid church has actually existed in name only."

Amoen was thinking in a short silence. No one knew what the god of nature was thinking at this moment. He only put everything into a sigh at the end: "I was born in the hearts of mortals, and I should be born in the hearts of mortals." die in heart."

"But not all mortals have chosen the 'Age of Godlessness'." Gawain looked at Amorn's crystal-like eyes, "You should know that 3000 years...is not enough for the elves to complete a thorough life." Alternately, there are still a few elves who have believed in you living in this world, especially... those priest groups who have been blessed by you and have a longer lifespan. They are still alive."

Amoen looked at Gawain quietly, and said softly after a while: "That Silver Queen just wants to solve this problem, right?"

Gawain didn't answer, but only affirmed in silence - although he hasn't mentioned Belsetia's purpose of coming, but the old god has already guessed the answer, so he doesn't need to say anything more.

"I understand," the radiance flowing around Amoen gradually calmed down, and his tone was suddenly relaxed, "It's also a good thing. Let the Silver Queen come, I'm ready to see her. By the way, where is she now?"

"She is in Cecil City," Gao Wen said with a smile, "waiting for me to arrange a meeting between her and you with apprehension and nervousness."

"It seems that you have long believed that I will agree," Amon said with a smile in his tone, "Why are you so confident? Have you ever thought about what if I disagree with the meeting?" ?”

"You will definitely agree," Gawain said calmly, and his smile was as confident as the other party said, "You went to hit the space station of the Voyager 3000 years ago, not just to lie here for 3000 years, right? ?”

Amoen narrowed his eyes and stopped making any sound, while Gao Wen looked at the two gods present with a smile, and then took a step back: "Then let me leave first——I have to make arrangements .”

After Gao Wen left, Mirmina looked at the giant deer Amoen who was still lying quietly on the ground without saying a word, and it took a long time to suddenly break the silence: "What are you thinking?"

"I just suddenly remembered the Silver Queen 3000 years ago... that should be the grandmother of 'Belsetia'," Amoen said softly, "She used to talk to me at the altar of the Holy Land— — although most of the time I couldn't directly respond to her voice, she also used to offer fruit from her garden on the altar...until the day I suddenly left. Now that I think about it, I didn't even talk to her individual."

Mirmina lowered her eyelids: "Do you feel sorry?"

"I'm just sorry," Amoen closed his eyes. "My unauthorized departure has changed the fate of too many mortals. I just hope that when she leaves this world... she doesn't have too many obsessions in her heart."

Mirmina didn't speak for a while, she was thinking about her own affairs in silence, and it lasted for an unknown amount of time before she suddenly said: "You have many believers who leave a deep impression on you, and those pious ones are whispering in your ears all day Broken thoughts... I don't have any."

"Are you envious? But this is not a good thing."

"Of course it's not a good thing, so I'm not envious at all," Mirmina said casually, and at the same time glanced at the magic net terminal that was waiting not far away, "By the way, mind if I watch from the sidelines." Is it?"

"You can do whatever you want—I can't drive you away."

……

In the early morning of the next day, Belsetia woke up very early. She came to the living room next to the dormitory, and saw the first ray of sunlight today passing through the crystal glass window not far away, slanting on the on the opposite wall.

A high-ranking elf maid stood by the floor-to-ceiling window. She came from the sun, holding a silver cup in her hand, with a certain extremely solemn gesture. This high-ranking maid offered the cup to the Silver Queen— ——In the exquisite vessel made of sterling silver, there was a pale golden thin liquid, and the mellow scent slowly drifted in the air. Belsetia took it with a solemn expression, and drank it down in one gulp.

According to the ancient etiquette, sacramentalists should wake up with the sun on holy days, and drink honey wine symbolizing "natural pure blood" in the sun to cleanse their souls.

The personal maid Elaine came from the side, serving the Silver Queen, and put on a classic and exquisite costume for a priestess. This costume has a complicated and delicate structure and is based on pure white. , with exquisite green patterns on it, symbolizing the lush green forest and a part of "life" in the natural cycle, and black patterns near the edge of the skirt and collar, which symbolizes the "death" in the natural cycle "A ring.

After putting on the costumes, there is a series of ceremonies of incense, combing, and application of holy oil, all of which have ancient symbolic meanings and strict regulations. High-ranking maids—they also have the status of druid deacons ——Helping the Silver Queen with these sacred preparations in an incomparably skillful way, Belsetia, who is the core of the ceremony, stood quietly among these busy maids, waiting for the process to end.

What kind of mood would the priests 3000 years ago have when they performed these sacred ceremonies?Heartfelt reverence?Really moved?Or both?Belsetia, who lived in the godless era, was dreaming in her heart, but she couldn't experience the emotions of her predecessors from her heart... because for her, all this was just the duty she had to perform as the Silver Queen, and it was her job , is an indispensable "decoration" for her to maintain the majesty of the royal family, after all, she has been here since she was a child.

It's just that she still has some different feelings in her heart today. This feeling stems from what she is going to do today-in 3000 years, she will become the first silver elf to talk to the gods again. It seemed that there was some meaning suddenly again, but before realizing these meanings, the biggest feeling in her heart... was still uneasy and restless.

When all the preparations were over, Belsetia exhaled lightly, and she stretched out her hands to rub her tense cheeks. This less solemn movement broke the heavy oppressive feeling brought about by the priestly costume, and then continued The door in the distance opened, and an elf maid appeared in front of her: "Your Majesty, His Majesty Gawain Cecil is already waiting outside."

"I see," Belsetia nodded, and then glanced at Elaine, who almost never left her side, "Elaine, I have to go alone—you wait here for me to come back."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

In the corridor, the Silver Queen in a gorgeous dress came before Gawain. This gorgeous elf-style dress made Gawain blink a little unexpectedly: "This is the first time I have seen the most orthodox religious costumes of the classical Druid sect. —better looking than I imagined.”

"The highest priest's robes are only allowed to be worn in the grandest and most special 'sacraments', and similar things are hardly open to foreigners. It's normal that you haven't seen it before," Belsetia revealed. Smiling, after seeing Gao Wen, her accumulated tension seemed to ease a little, but at the same time she showed a worried look, "Should I not make these ritualized preparations? According to you, we should avoid To connect with the gods, especially today..."

"Don't worry, since I agreed to do this, I was prepared - the anti-divine barrier has already started to operate, and everything you did today is also a part of the experimental project," Gao Wen said, his expression became slightly pale Solemnly, "And on the other hand, the effect of these rituals is actually not as great as you imagine. If there is no "pointing" in the mind, no matter how solemn the ritual itself is, it is just a ritual. It is said that the most intelligent monkeys in the ancestral forest Know how to imitate the actions of the priests on the sacrificial field, and even baptize themselves with holy water like a human being—but have you ever heard of a monkey that has received divine grace and mastered divine power?"

Belsetia thought for a while, then suddenly laughed: "...That's true. But the example you gave, Uncle Gawain, is really not very good."

……

In the deepest part of the fortress of disobedience, footsteps sounded in the corridor leading to the gate of the inner court. The magic net rune and the prefabricated rune substrate flowed a quiet stream of light. The modern magic spar lamp was built with ancient Gondor technology. On the walls, the radiance dispelled the darkness that should have been covering this place for a long time, and also allowed the visitors who went deep into it to be at ease in the light.

Belsetia was three-pointed anxious and seven-pointed curious, and walked forward beside Gao Wen while looking at the rooms passing by from time to time—this ancient facility has been transformed to a certain extent by modern means. and trimming, but most of its areas still maintain the ancient appearance. Those Gondor-era texts and remaining magic devices seem to her to be somewhat dislocated in time and space.

Others that aroused her interest were the "staff" that she occasionally saw on the road.

In the rebellious fortress located in the material world, she has seen many humans coming and going in those corridors and rooms, busy, the entire mountain fortress is a busy large base, and the frequency of people shuttling is no less than that of a city However, she did not expect to see the staff stationed in this rebellious fortress in the Shadow Realm—although the number of them was much smaller, she still saw some people along the way. Some of the rooms are brightly lit, and there are researchers in white uniforms busy inside, while others are hurrying past in the outer corridors, holding folders or crystal plates storing video data in their hands.

The Silver Queen's face was full of surprise.

This change of expression did not hide from Gao Wen's eyes, he turned his head to look at the blonde woman beside him who was looking around, and a smile appeared on his face: "It seems that you are a little bit interested in the 'popularity' here. Accident?"

"I thought this place should be a more... lifeless place," Belsetia thought for a while, and said her thoughts frankly, "After all, I heard that this place was a 'restricted area' not long ago, and even the rebellious fortress outside Most of the area is also in a state of blockade...but now it seems that this place has been developed into a formal research facility by you?"

"Actually, it happened not long ago," Gao Wen nodded and said, "We have restarted many research projects in the rebellion plan of the Gondor era, and the rebellion fortress and rebellion fortress are the most suitable research facilities, which have a unique 'geographical advantage' And some of the safeguards that are still functioning to this day, so we moved in people and equipment."

"Is this the so-called 'analysis of the gods'?" Belcetia couldn't help but whispered, "Such a large-scale participation, such a natural action...is completely different from my previous guess."

Gao Wen couldn't help asking curiously, "What was your original guess?"

"...Just like what my father did, in an extremely confidential place, a very small number of people conduct extremely confidential research. Unexplained orders and ambiguous answers."

"What's the point of doing that?" Gawain stopped, looking at Belsetia with a half-smile, "This is not even comparable to the rebellious plan of the Gondor era."

He shook his head, looked away, looked towards the end of the corridor, and continued as if talking to himself: "It doesn't make sense...but many people are doing things similar to you, like those dark sects, like mentioning The royal family of Feng...the attitude of being cautious is indeed correct, but it is far from enough.

"You should not maintain awe of God while analyzing God. On this daring road, only when God is not God, can we get closer to the truth of God.

"Bersetia, we have arrived—this is the last gate. Behind the gate is the 'small courtyard' of the old god."

At this moment, Belsetia realized that the corridor had come to an end, and an alloy gate engraved with many ancient runes was blocking her. There were no moving technicians around, and eye-catching eyes could be seen on the walls on both sides. The illuminated warning signs remind visitors in large letters:

There are gods in front of you, please don't approach them.

As Gao Wen's voice fell, the alloy gate creaked open under the push of a series of mechanical structures, but the corridor was not directly exposed to the external space: a translucent energy barrier appeared there, as the "mortal world" It was the last safety barrier between God and God. Belsetia saw through this barrier, and she saw a mountain of light rising from the darkness in the distance.

It was the mythical age lost by the elves for 3000 years.

Chapter 1115

Standing in front of that seemingly weak energy shield, Belsetia suddenly found herself as if she had returned to many, many years ago, back to the first time she sat on the throne of domination, the first time she used her nervous system to connect to the stars. The AI ​​cluster in the temple, listening to those noisy and chaotic moments when the souls of machines that exceeded the limit of ordinary people's understanding suddenly burst in their minds, was equally at a loss, as if the self-confidence that had been built for a long time was suddenly shaken. An unpredictable future remains.

She remembered that she fell into a semi-comatose state directly on the seat of dominion, and sank for hours in negotiating, learning, and adapting to those ancient AIs, although the record officials later said that she had already performed well in the past generations. The best "ruler", but she still doesn't want to recall the state of being completely unable to control herself.

Belsetia shook her head, expelling those inexplicable memories and distracting thoughts from her mind, and at the same time stepped forward, crossing the thin energy shield, the boundless, dark and sunken Shadow Realm Come on.

This is a world of... abnormal perception.

The silver elf's keen perception system made a judgment immediately, Belsetia sniffed subconsciously, a kind of "empty breath" made her frown, she stepped on the hard ground, feeling the size Gravity, lukewarm temperature, looking at every detail around her clearly in the darkness, everything she touches seems to have no problem, but after feeling it carefully, Belsetia starts from this so-called The place called "Shadow Realm" felt extremely huge...a void, and the orderly laws she was familiar with from the material world had undergone a certain change here, but what kind of change...She couldn't tell clearly .

After that, the Silver Queen began to notice the desolate and chaotic environment of the Shadow Realm, as well as the weird and fragmented state of the distant land.

"This is really a... bleak place," she couldn't help but say, "is our god living here?"

"It's actually inappropriate to say 'stay', but that's the only way I can think of it," Gawain said beside her, and at the same time pushed her lightly from behind, "Let's go forward——the anti-divinity barrier is already operating at full power , you don’t have to worry about being spiritually polluted by the gods here. But we still can’t stay too long, this system is still in the testing period, and the server in the background can only run stably for a while.”

Belsetia realized that behind this meeting, countless people and equipment were working hard at the same time. Behind the cutting-edge technology here was a lot of manpower and material resources. She nodded immediately, and then walked forward together with Gao Wen.

The holy radiance rising like a hill was getting closer and closer, Belsetia felt her heart pounding, and she finally began to see some details from the radiance—that huge figure, those criss-crossing What looked like wreckage, a large number of magical devices installed around... She finally reached a sufficient position, and stood here, looking up at the holy and glorious figure.

The pure white giant deer, lying prone on the fragmented earth, is as breathtaking, beautiful and majestic as described in all the sacred books. However, the difference from the sacred books is that there is not a single plant called "Reincarnation" here. There is no city called "life" and a large tomb called "death"—there are only countless shocking wreckage around the god of nature, and those twisted alloys and crystals even penetrated the giant deer's body. The torso, like huge nails nailing this holy and powerful creature to the ground, looks even frightening.

Belsetia's eyes widened in an instant, and the unexpected scene made her gasp. She had imagined countless times how the God of Nature would appear in front of her, but she never thought it would be like this In the scene, she subconsciously took half a step forward, but before she could speak, the holy giant deer suddenly opened its eyes, and the eyes, which were clearer than any jewel in the world, emitted a soft white light, making Belsetia All movement and sound came to a standstill.

"Hello, little guy," Amon's voice sounded out of nowhere, even as if it sounded directly in his mind, "Welcome to my small courtyard."

Belsetia opened her mouth, and she felt Gawain's hand gently pat her shoulder. This small movement revived her somewhat stuck nerves, and she finally spoke: "You...you are the one of nature. God?"

Terrible opening - all the drafting and preparation of the previous days were all wasted.

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, the Silver Queen felt annoyed from the bottom of her heart. She had imagined how she would conduct this first "conversation between man and God" in a leisurely manner, but in the end she almost messed up the situation. Her expectation even seemed a little stupid, but for some reason, she felt that the holy giant deer in front of her smiled after she spoke.

This is actually impossible—the giant deer didn’t make any other movements other than opening its eyes, and there was no change in expression, and there was no way to talk about a smile, but Belsetia had such a feeling, she felt I saw the other person's smile.

Amorn is indeed smiling, the smile is hidden in his heart, he can see that the queen is a little confused, but this is within his expectation—not everyone is Gawain Cecil or the ancient rebel, It is actually a miracle that ordinary mortals can keep standing when they come in front of themselves for the first time. This kind of shock has nothing to do with spiritual pollution, and naturally it cannot be shielded by the "anti-divine barrier".

And there is a more important point: Belsetia is a silver elf. Although she may have gotten rid of her belief in the God of Nature, the imprint on her race has not completely dissipated. As a long-lived elf, The impact of this brand on her is far greater than that of humans who are also bound by the mind stamp, and this kind of influence from the inside out... cannot be offset by the anti-divine barrier.

"Don't be nervous," Amon's voice sounded again, becoming more gentle, "Try to relax yourself, stop thinking about your identity and my identity...be an ordinary guest, so that we can have a good talk."

Belsetia finally felt that her condition had improved a bit, as if with the passage of time and these two simple conversations, her soul had gradually "adapted" to some kind of "pressure". She took a deep breath, feeling the pressure of her body and Mentally calm, then raised his head and smiled awkwardly: "Sorry, I lost my composure."

As soon as she finished speaking, a gentle and pleasant female voice suddenly came from a height with the same majesty and sacredness as Amoen: "Actually, you have performed quite well, even better than what I bet with Amoen. "

Belsetia was taken aback for an instant. She subconsciously looked up at the direction of the sound, and then noticed that another huge figure had descended in front of her at some point. This figure was as tall as a bell tower, as if A lady wearing a complicated court dress, but her lower body is in a misty hazy state - this lady is looking down at herself, her upper body shows a clear female posture, but her face seems to be covered with a layer of Under the thin veil, one can only vaguely see an astonishingly beautiful face and a pair of eyes full of arcane brilliance.

Belsetia was taken aback, but for some reason, when facing this lady who appeared suddenly and possessed a godly posture, she didn't have the confusion and turbulence of her soul like she did when she faced Amon. She was just extremely astonished, but it didn't affect herself Ask aloud: "You... who are you?!"

"Ah, you can just call me Mir Mina - you can add 'Miss' after it," the former goddess of magic said with a smile in her tone, "Hello, little guy of the Silver Elf."

"Mirmina?!" Belsetia was stunned for a moment, and quickly realized the identity behind the name. She looked at the lady in a godly posture in shock, and blurted out what she thought in her heart, "Goddess of magic? The fallen one Goddess of Magic?!"

Suddenly, she thought of what just happened last year, the grand "funeral" jointly held by the Cecil Empire and the Typhon Empire, the memorial speeches widely circulated in many mortal kingdoms, and those commemorative activities... She reacted, suddenly Turning his head to look beside him, he saw Gao Wen's half-smile.

"This part of the information will be made public in the high-authority documents of the Theocratic Council in the near future, and the main leaders of all countries will know the truth," Gao Wen spread his hands, "As for the current stage, keep it secret."

"So... the Goddess of Magic is actually still alive, and the so-called 'falling' is just a cover," Belsetia was dumbfounded. "This is another experiment to get her out of the divine position... the Theocratic Council?"

"Don't be so busy guessing so much, although your guess is generally good," Mirmina's voice came from high above, interrupting Belsetia's words, "That funeral was indeed to further cut me off from the mortal world connection, but the whole move to break away from the Godhead was my own plan—with a little cooperation from Gawain Cecil."

Belsetia listened and nodded slowly. Although she was still full of doubts, she vaguely understood many things.Then she looked up at Mirmina again, and after some hesitation, she still couldn't help asking: "Then... what are you doing here? Could it be that... as long as the gods are safely out of the gods, they will gather here ?”

"There is no such rule," Mirmina said casually, her huge body suddenly descended—her lower body shrunk, and her posture seemed to be squatting aside, but she was still so tall after squatting. Others have to look up, "As for me...you don't have to worry about it, I'm here to watch the excitement."

Belsetia: "...?!"

The Silver Queen felt that her brain was a little overwhelmed for a while.

In this mysterious disobedient courtyard, at the scene of communication between mortals and gods, a goddess came uninvited, and just squatted aside, saying that she was here to watch the excitement... This kind of painting style made Belset Ya fell into a stuck state, and the shock it brought was no less than the sudden face-to-face with the gods just now, so that even Gao Wen who was next to her was suddenly a little worried-shouldn't she wake up Belsetia more?

But fortunately, this weird and awkward atmosphere didn't last long. The Silver Queen's tenacious will quickly came into play, forcibly containing the scene of falling into sanity.She forcibly turned her attention back to the giant deer Amoen, took a deep breath and said, "I...what should I call you now?"

She didn't address the other party as "Lord" - as the titular Druid High Priestess, she should have done so without hesitation.

This inquiry is already explaining his position.

Amoen was very satisfied with this, and his voice sounded very happy: "Just call me by my name, little guy... Belsetia, just call me by my name. Ah, you can add Go to 'Mr.'."