Sword of Dawn

In the years since then, several major sects that have risen rapidly among mortals have found some fragments of the slate. The pieces are regarded as holy objects and are kept in their respective holy places. Only the highest-ranking members of the church have the opportunity to touch the slate and receive enlightenment—even though the slate has been broken, there is still a lot of residual power. After that, one can comprehend the knowledge related to God, and half of the orthodox powerful churches have been able to maintain their strength for thousands of years because of these fragments of stone slabs.

According to various churches, those "sacred knowledge" have been collected by major sects, and the slate fragments are currently under the control of several powerful churches, but Gawain is very clear that what the church has collected is only the largest ones. The stone slabs are just fragments. God knows how many other small fragments are scattered in this world. Some of them are secretly collected by those small and medium-sized churches, and some small fragments fall into the hands of kings, dukes and even big collectors. It's just that the "divine grace" contained in these small fragments seems to be very little, which is far from enough to improve a person's level of divine arts or enable people to obtain complete knowledge of gods. Desperately find it back.

Gawain just didn't expect that Viscount Andrew would be so lucky (or unlucky) to find a fragment of the Eternal Slate scattered outside.

Immediately afterwards, he thought of the ancient ruins in the dark mountains, as well as the 1000-year-old experiments mentioned by Nicholas Dan, those "locally unearthed samples", and those conjectures about "divine evil".

So, that fragment of the slate was discovered by the magister group of the Gondor Empire and buried in this underground ruin?Could it be that the local excavated samples mentioned by those researchers back then were fragments of the Eternal Slate?No, probably not. Although the Eternal Slabs are precious, the Gondor Empire was at its peak back then, and several major churches did not dare to confront the authority of the empire. Gawain did not believe that His Majesty the Emperor in the Spark Era would have few pieces in his hands. If Chengwen is playing with walnuts and playing with the eternal stone slab, then the fragments of the eternal stone slab buried deep in this land may only be part of the excavated objects...

Gao Wen's thoughts changed sharply, but it was only for a moment. He looked at Viscount Andrew with just the right amount of surprise on his face: "So the cultists are eyeing the eternal slate in your hand... that's right, everything is dead. It might be from the Druid Church, they maintain distorted beliefs, and it is normal to be paranoid about these gods and objects, but how did they get this news?"

"My butler," said Viscount Andrew with a wry smile after a moment of silence, "I should have known, when he brought me all kinds of potions, and when he showed his understanding of occult knowledge, I should have known that he had He is the person who will die at the end of all things!"

Gao Wen was startled, and then remembered who the butler was - mainly because he remembered that Amber had stolen a watch from him, which was really impressive.

Amber next to her also rubbed her chin and muttered: "Then I don't need to return the watch to him."

Viscount Andrew's own talent for magic is not high, and he doesn't have any talent for extraordinary professions such as knights and wizards. However, as a nobleman, he must ensure that he has basic "extraordinary qualifications", so he has always been interested in potions and mysterious rituals. He is very interested in things that can improve the extraordinary ability of human beings, and the butler beside him has followed him for many years. He is a knowledgeable person who knows a little about occultism, and he can always get all kinds of quite effective potions on weekdays. Viscount Andrew trusted him, but who would have thought that such a butler who had not shown the slightest flaw for decades would be the minion of the Death of All Things Society?

It's a pity that this minion escaped earlier - after the cultists initially took control of the castle, the butler disappeared from everyone's sight.

Based on these sporadic information, Gao Wen guessed that the "housekeeper" might be a "peripheral personnel" specially trained by the Death of All Things Association. He does not have any extraordinary talent and has a certain amount of mystic knowledge, so he can obtain it relatively easily. Nobles trust, and they are not guarded against, and once the believers of the Death of Everything take action, such peripheral personnel will quickly evacuate, and may change their disguise to lurk beside other nobles, or may go deep into the organization...

What Gao Wen was really worried about was that this situation might not be a special case.

Viscount Andrew is not a famous family who can control the situation of the kingdom, but the Death of All Things is a behemoth that has grown to multiple countries. It is unlikely that this cult organization will specifically place a lurker next to a Viscount Ansu border for decades The only explanation is that it is normal for them to place eyes around nobles.

What kind of monster has this fallen druid order 700 years ago developed into now? !

And soon, Gao Wen knew the reason why the cultists controlled Viscount Andrew and issued the martial law.

"I told him that I have ordered the Eternal Tablet to be dedicated to the king, and I have already arranged for people to transport it out of the castle," Viscount Andrew said slowly, with a happy smile on his face, "His magic can control my limbs." , can control my tongue, but not my mind, he can make me speak according to the lines he arranges, but he can't make me say what I know in my heart-so he has no idea that I hide the slate in Somewhere, the whole city can only be under martial law, and then use my name to search from house to house, and before the search finds something, he dare not let me die..."

That's it... Gawain nodded clearly. The fallen druids do have the magic to control people's words and deeds, but it is not the mind control technique of the necromancer faction, but the more superficial nerve control technique of the limbs. The druid spell "Animal Domination" has been distorted and transformed. Facing this kind of spell, as long as you have a tenacious mind to fight against it, you will not be forced to speak out by the cultists.

Gao Wen just didn't expect that Viscount Andrew, who looked like a sick child after taking too many drugs, would have such a tenacious mind.

"That's why the cultist buried the people in the castle in the atrium to extract their thoughts, in order to torture the whereabouts of the slab fragments..." Amber also reacted at this time, looking at the weak Viscount in surprise, "But they don't know about the fragments at all. Where is this, only you know about it, that is to say... Could it be that you didn't send that thing out at all?"

"Of course I didn't send it out." Viscount Andrew laughed hard, and although he was weak, he still tried his best to hold his head up. "I am the heir of the Leslie family. May succumb to a cultist!"

Although he felt the sentence pattern was slightly familiar, Gao Wen still looked at this weak traditional nobleman with some admiration—this is the nobleman of this era. A foolish move, but at the same time he also has a so-called "aristocratic spirit", which supports an almost unreasonable pride, and this kind of pride makes him not bow to the cultists even if he dies.

"Then where did you hide the fragments of the Eternal Slate?" Gawain asked curiously.

"Ha...haha..." Viscount Andrew laughed happily, even coughing violently, "It's always under that guy's nose! Right under his nose!"

While speaking, the Viscount struggled to get up from the chair, and then lifted the thick cushion.

"That idiot opened my treasury, rummaged through my magic material room, searched my bedroom and attic, broke open every locked chest and chest in the castle, but he would never, never imagine that I Just sit it under your ass!!”

After the thick cushion was lifted, Gao Wen saw it.

It lay quietly on the seat, it was only the size of a palm, and its thickness was less than half a centimeter by visual inspection. What was even more different from what Gawain had guessed was that this so-called eternal "slate" was not a slate.

It is a pale golden metal plate with an extremely flat and smooth surface and mysterious lines.

Chapter 0132 Earnings

"This is the fragment of the eternal stone?"

Looking at the metal shard the size of a palm in front of him, Gao Wen couldn't help showing a look of surprise.

"Yes, the Eternal Slate—I didn't expect it to be like this," Viscount Andrew shook his head weakly, "The fragments of the Eternal Slate are secretly enshrined by various sects, and other forces or individuals who can obtain the fragments also I decided not to show it casually, so I didn't know what I dug up at first, but soon my people found the remaining text descriptions in the ruins, and I was sure that this piece was protected by many magical devices The metal plate turned out to be the legendary fragment of the eternal stone..."

Speaking of this, Viscount Andrew couldn't help but shook his head and sighed: "Many magical devices in the ruins have stopped working, but only the ones used to protect this piece of slab... those organs have been working so far. In order to get it, I went in It's a big price, but I didn't expect that after holding it in my hand, it will be the beginning of a bigger price..."

Gao Wen couldn't help but think of a sentence from his previous life on Earth: An ordinary man is innocent, but a pregnant woman is guilty.

He picked up the "stone slab fragment" (by the way, can this thing really be called a "stone" slab?), and confirmed that it was really made of metal. This light golden metal did not belong to any other kind he knew. It is not a kind of magical material or conventional material, but more like some unknown alloy. Its front is extremely smooth, as if covered with a thin layer of enamel, while under the "enamel" are complex and fine lines, and on the back there are some visible patterns. The grooves that don't work, some of which are still embedded with small pieces of crystals.

On the edge of the metal plate, there are neat fractures. The fractures are like some kind of connecting teeth, making the whole fragment into a geometric body with a complex structure, rather than saying that it is "fragmented" from a certain whole. Yes, Gao Wen even suspects that the so-called Eternal Slate itself is composed of a large number of such geometrical bodies, like some kind of jigsaw puzzle...

It's really interesting.

He looked at the piece over and over again, and said thoughtfully: "It is said that mortals will get enlightenment from the gods after touching the Eternal Slate. Why doesn't it work at all when I hold it?"

"Mere contact is useless, and spiritual power is needed to communicate with it," Viscount Andrew said slowly, "But my strength is low, and even if I communicate, I can only hear some vague whispers, and I can't get any knowledge at all. .But if it's you...perhaps it's possible to gain power directly."

Gao Wen nodded, but he didn't intend to use his mental power to communicate.

In fact, he was deeply afraid of this thing.

The Eternal Slate, a legendary thing that brought the belief of the gods to the world, the first generation of mortal sages created so many religions because of contact with the Eternal Slate, and gained the power to use divine magic. In the eyes of ordinary people in the world, this may be a kind of gift, but Gao Wen couldn't help but wonder if this thing has some kind of power of mind control, brainwashing and indoctrination. What about the mind that takes over the mind?Even if you don't occupy your mind, it's okay to hear the gods whispering BB in your mind every now and then!

"Please take this fragment of the slate away," Viscount Andrew said suddenly. "You can keep it for yourself, present it to the king, or give it to a church you believe in and want to make friends with."

"Are you sure?" Gawain raised his eyebrows. "You should know the value of this thing. Even if you don't dare to keep it, you can get a lot of benefits by handing it over to the king or the church."

"I don't want to have anything to do with this thing anymore," Viscount Andrew shook his head vigorously, "Even if I hand it over, I don't want to hand it over through my hands—and if it wasn't for you today, It is impossible for me to survive, so you can take this as a gift."

Gao Wen smiled, "It's really hard to say whether this is a gift or a plague god..."

But despite saying so, he still put away the fragments of the eternal slate without hesitation.

This thing is indeed a time bomb, it can even make a dark organization like the Doom Society take risks against a kingdom noble, but this thing is also a treasure, it may contain the secrets of the gods, and it may even give Gawain a glimpse of this A sliver of truth in the world, no matter what, Gao Wen couldn't turn a blind eye to this thing.

In the case that the Doom Society has just failed once, he can confirm that no one will come up with the idea of ​​this thing for the time being, and it will take time for the news to spread. It is difficult for outsiders to know in time that the fragment of the stone slab has arrived hands.During this relatively safe time, Gao Wen wanted to study this mysterious fragment.

His status as a "nominal legend" is also a strong guarantee for keeping this piece of slate: Although the leader of Cecil is weaker now, the title of a legendary strong man in this era is often more deterrent than a powerful noble leader. Gawain didn't mind taking advantage of this strength.

Of course, he has also considered the hidden dangers of doing so, so if the situation is really critical, he doesn't mind giving this thing to the king or the church-the knowledge of the gods is indeed valuable to some people, but it may not be transformed into what he needs Productivity, when the time comes to exchange such a sample for other benefits, as long as the benefits are sufficient, it is worthwhile.However, this is definitely an option only in the most desperate situation.

Pittman and the two knights who went to the atrium to save people also returned to the chamber later.

"The power of the cultists has begun to fade from the castle, and it is not difficult to dispel the magic on those poor people." The old druid explained the reason why he managed the large-scale sorcery so quickly, "I and two The knight rescued some people, and then asked those who were rescued to be in better condition to help save them. In addition, by controlling the plants, they dug out all the people who were buried in the ground—but those who lost their lives There are still quite a few people, one third of them are hopeless, and among the remaining living people, there are quite a few people whose minds have been seriously damaged, some of them can recover, and some of them will probably remain in a daze forever."

"This is really a heavy loss." Gao Wen looked at Viscount Andrew with some sympathy.

Andrew could only smile wryly and shook his head: "I'm afraid I'll have to spend a lot of money to deal with the aftermath... But I'm still alive, and I can always recover. What I'm most grateful for now is that my two sons went to the territory a few days ago The rent is gone, and their procrastination has saved their own lives. But my youngest daughter..."

"Your daughter is still alive," Cavalier Philip said, "but that poor girl suffered severe mental damage and is now in a state of insanity. Perhaps only the gods know whether she has the possibility of recovery."

"It's good to be alive, it's good to be alive..." Viscount Andrew said with a complex expression. This once elegant, confident, and proud nobleman aged at least 20 years old this night. His current voice is exhausted except for exhaustion. There are many things that can be called good news, but they can't support his severely exhausted body and spirit, but he still tries to raise his head and look at Gao Wen who is standing beside him, "In any case, I have to thank you For your help, the Leslie family owes you and your knights a great debt—if you need anything, please ask.”

Apparently, he himself knew that there was something wrong with giving away that hot slate shard as a gift...

"Standing and helping each other is the rule that Charlie and I set for the Ansu nobles 700 years ago, and today I am only fulfilling what I said back then," Govent said righteously, "I won't take advantage of it." I took advantage of this opportunity to loot. But since we have the opportunity to talk, maybe we can strengthen our cooperation."

"Cooperation?" Viscount Andrew repeated the word.

"You should know that the New Cecil Territory is under construction, and we are short of all kinds of materials, and most of them are purchased from Tanzania Town," Gawain laughed. "At present, what we lack most is the magic storage crystal. There are also various magic materials, and there are large-scale crystal veins in the Tanzania mine."

Seeing that Viscount Andrew's expression was a bit stiff, Gawain continued: "Don't be nervous, I'm going to spend money to buy it—I just hope that in the future, I can purchase a large number of crystal-like magic materials from Tanzania Town at a favorable price. Quality is required, even the lowest-level magic storage crystals are fine, we only require a sufficient quantity. You don’t have to worry about losing money, you know, we have a huge shortage of supplies, and the purchase volume of the New Cecil collar can definitely swallow up a lot of your money. Batch crystal output, even if the price is lower, the profit you earn will exceed the cost of transporting those crystals to other territories and finding a market for yourself. If you agree, then I will wait for you for the specific price Send someone to talk after you've calmed down a bit."

Viscount Andrew relaxed, and nodded slightly while listening: He began to recognize that this is a win-win idea. Cecil Territory can get a lot of cheap magic materials, while Tanzania Town does not have to worry about the sale of crystals, and can quickly raise funds. Money to repair the castle and the aftermath of the incident.

And as for how the Cecil family, which was poor not long ago, suddenly became rich, and recently started minting coins... Viscount Andrew didn't want to know at all.

Whether they discovered a gold mine in the Dark Mountains, or the ancestor dug up his real coffin 700 years ago, it has nothing to do with him. As a border viscount with flexible thinking, Andrew Leslie I have always thought very openly, and I am able to grasp the part that is really beneficial to me.

In fact, he guessed partly correctly: Gao Wen did dig out the coffin book, but what he dug out was the coffin book of the entire Ansu Kingdom...

Seeing Viscount Andrew nodding, Gawain continued, "Second, population. I hope you can help me spread the news that Cecil Territory is taking in refugees. If you have refugees on your side and you don't want them, you can. Send them to my side. All in all, regardless of any form of surplus population, as long as they are not criminals, I want them there. I will not ask for a specific number in this regard, you can do what you can."

This time, Viscount Andrew nodded even more happily: he didn't think there was any problem in sending the population to Cecil Territory. In fact, this was even a good opportunity for him to clear the "useless population" in the territory. After all, there were too many of them. of homeless people piled up in the slums, and they produced little value.

"One more thing," Gao Wen smiled, "I hope to hire some people who can read, write, and understand mathematics and science, no, no, not at the level of scholars, their apprentices are fine--I want a batch Such a person, whether as a recorder or a scribe, is required to know how to read and write, and to have enough patience.”

Chapter 0133

Regarding Gao Wen's third request, Viscount Andrew also readily agreed.

Although he didn't know why Gao Wen wanted so many people who could read and write to go to the territory, he was not interested in it. In his mind, this was the most insignificant part of the three things: although the people who could read and write were a minority, But for the bustling town of Tanzania, it is not too difficult to find such a group of educated people who live in poverty. It is easy to attract a group of such people from the chamber of commerce and the church.

Buying large quantities of magic materials at low prices for a long time, convening the population, and recruiting middle- and low-level intellectuals. After finishing the three most important things, Gao Wen seemed to mention those ancient magic materials dug out by Viscount Andrew under his own territory as if casually. remains.

"I'm afraid I know the ruins you mentioned." Gao Wen didn't mention the existence of the same ruins in the Dark Mountains, but directly used his "identity as an ancient person" to open the topic, "You know, I was active 700 years ago— —That was when the Gondor Empire was still flourishing. According to the history of the empire I have, the relics that appeared in this area are very likely to be the "outpost research stations" left by the Gondor Empire during the Starfire era, and most of them were in the middle and late Starfire era of."

Viscount Andrew is obviously not an ignorant person (in fact, apart from Rebecca, there are few nobles in the kingdom with a bad history), he immediately showed a surprised expression: "Isn't it about a thousand years ago? ?! Those ancient magic mechanisms are still functioning!"

"That's right, the magic devices inside the ancient ruins 1000 years ago can still be used. This is not unimaginable for the Gondor Empire. Compared with those magic mechanisms, the eternal stone fragments sealed in the ruins That's what people care about." Gawain shook his head, "Even the Gondor Empire cared a lot about the Eternal Slate, and they wouldn't throw such an important 'sacred object' in the abandoned research institute for no reason."

Viscount Andrew's brows were gradually furrowed. He had heard the deep meaning in Gao Wen's words, and he said after a long time: "I thought I found a treasure, but now I realize that the Leslie family has been sitting in a treasure for generations. On the volcano..."

Then he looked up at Gawain with an extremely serious expression: "I know what you mean, and I also know that you are the person who knows the Gondor Empire best—I am afraid that no scholar in this era can surpass you in this respect." Knowledge. So I hope to get your guidance on the matter of that underground ruin."

Gao Wen smiled slightly: This is really a wise decision, the viscount was obviously not dazzled by the possible "treasure"—or he was dazzled once, but after experiencing such a great change and knowing the ruins After the truth, he has completely calmed down.

An eternal stone slab has made the place very restless, and there may be something more dangerous and terrifying than the eternal stone slab sealed in the ruins. Needless to say, everyone standing here at this moment can probably imagine it.

Oh, maybe Amber standing next to her couldn't have imagined that she was looking at the ceiling in a daze at this time, wondering what she was thinking about, and it probably had something to do with dinner.

"I suggest that you explore those underground palaces and corridors more cautiously, but no matter what you find that you don't know, you'd better come to me and discuss it," Gao Wen nodded and said, "Of course, you can also stop working on this aspect temporarily. This is a safer option. All in all, those things are in your territory, and you can do whatever you want.”

It was getting late now, and the group simply stayed in the castle, which was gradually getting rid of the evil magic. In the early morning of the next day, Gawain bid farewell to Viscount Andrew and left the place with his people.

Gawain was slightly relieved when he saw the orderlies who were running around the streets of the town and loudly announcing new orders from the lord's castle.

In the foreseeable next period of time, that Viscount Andrew may be extremely busy.Under the influence of cultists, just a few days is enough to accumulate unimaginable chaos, and it is not easy to deal with these chaos. Martial law will be lifted, big businessmen and mine owners need to be appeased, and those who died in this crisis will also A burial is required...but then you don't have to worry about it yourself.

The group left Tanzania Town and looked back at the re-opened town gate. Amber couldn't help turning her head and looked at Gao Wen curiously: "Speaking of which, you are quite decent, that Viscount Andrew is at his weakest moment, And you were holding his life just now, to be honest, if the most insidious nobleman took the opportunity to annex the Leslie family's property at this time, you didn't take advantage of it?"

Gao Wen glanced at Amber, and smiled meaningfully: "No, you don't understand, I have already robbed."

Amber frowned and looked Gao Wen up and down for a long time: "You didn't sleep well last night, did you? Are you talking nonsense?"

Gao Wen just smiled and didn't explain in detail.

"Let's go back to Goring's Mill first," he pointed to the southeast, "and take that little mute with him. He is the one who saved the life of Knight Byron."

Knight Byron looked at Gao Wen slightly moved: "Thank you for your kindness. But the child is probably the 'property' of a wealthy businessman in Tanzania Town, so we will take it away..."

Gao Wen waved his hand: "I have already mentioned this matter to Viscount Andrew, he will go to find the owner of the child and help us redeem the child's free body. These are trivial matters, so don't worry about them."

In the dilapidated and abandoned Goring Mill, they met the dumb child again.

The mute child fully remembered what Gawain told him before he left, and stayed in the mill all day and night waiting for them to come back. In the open space in front of the mill, a small bonfire was raised, earnestly roasting a handful of unknown dried fruits picked from the forest.

Seeing that Gawain and his party had returned safely, the dumb boy let out a cheer, and then ran up happily. He stretched out his hand in front of Knight Byron, holding a handful of freshly baked dried fruit in his hand.

"It seems that he likes you very much." Amber glanced at the middle-aged knight with a smile, "and even left you something to eat."

"I've never been a person who pleases children." Byron took the dried fruit and scratched his hair with the other hand in embarrassment. "I don't know what's going on."

Cavalier Philip thought for a while, and asked Byron seriously: "I remember you don't have a family, right?"

"What's the matter if you don't have a family?" Byron glanced at Philip, "I'm different from someone like you who has a bunch of girls posting here..."

"It's not a sin to be ugly, don't worry about it," Philip comforted Byron honestly and earnestly, and said before the other party jumped up, "Why don't you adopt this child and make him your heir?"

Byron was stunned on the spot: "Huh?"

"It's quite reasonable," Philip said with a serious face. "First of all, he saved your life. As a knight, you can't live up to this kindness. Secondly, this boy has many good qualities-he is brave, kind, He is upright and has a certain degree of wisdom. Although he is very thin now, his physical strength can be compensated through acquired training. Of course, his disability is a problem, and now regeneration magic has no effect on him, so he will have to Entering the aristocratic circle probably..."

"Okay, please don't say it, don't say it," Byron interrupted Philip in the middle of his long speech, "I didn't say no. And when you didn't come... actually, I thought about this gone."

While talking, he smiled self-deprecatingly: "At that time, I thought that if I could survive this time, I would bring this child back to the territory—but at the time, I really didn't expect that I really survived. "

After speaking, he turned to Gawain with a serious expression, ready to apply to his lord and take the oath again in accordance with the general procedure for knights to adopt adopted sons, but before he could speak, Gawain nodded with a smile: " I've given my permission. You might as well ask the boy what he thinks."

"Did you hear what we said just now?" Byron lowered his head, trying to adjust his expression to an approachable state with a little awkwardness, and said to the mute child with a smile, "I am willing to adopt you, are you willing?"

The mute child raised his head, looked around at these adults a little bit in a daze, then lowered his head, and nodded slowly.

……

Gawain and his party returned to New Cecil Territory, which was located in the lower reaches of the Whitewater River, after riding on the fast horses that had been tied near the mill.

Heidi and Rebecca finally let go of the hanging heart.

Rebecca was extremely thorough - in fact, Gao Wen even suspected that this silly girl hadn't worried about him at all.After hearing the news of the ancestor's return, the first thing the girl rushed over was to pull herself to tell her the story of the adventure in the castle and the fight against the heretics, and Hetty was standing next to her at that time, and her aunt was staring at her. She was about to convulse, but she didn't even feel it—it can only be said that the silly roe deer's head just flicked, and he would never be aware of the atmosphere before he was beaten.

However, Gawain just smiled knowingly at Rebecca's escape: probably in this girl's heart, her legendary ancestor who was resurrected from 700 years ago is really omnipotent. Worry.

What's more, her super powerful ancestor still brought her proud crystal grenade to the battle.

Speaking of the crystal grenade, Gao Wen felt that he still had to boast about the stupid roe deer, so after returning to his camp, the first thing he did was to pat Rebecca on the head with a smile: "Your crystal grenade is indeed very powerful. great effect."

"Really?!" Rebecca's eyes were about to shine, "Have you used that thing?!"

Gawain smiled: "Only one was used—but that one directly blew up an arm of the cultist. That's a level five fallen druid."

Of course, there are many specific factors in this, such as the cultist was injured at the time, such as he did not have time to cast a more powerful protective spell, such as he held the explosive by himself... But in any case, there is one fact that is not will change: