Sword of Dawn

Not long after Hetty left, Amber's figure emerged from the nearby air.

Gawain brushed all the valuables on the table in front of him with ease, then raised his eyelids and looked at the half-elf thief: "How about it, did the two mercenaries you captured cooperate?"

"I haven't cooperated yet. After all, you don't allow prisoners to be abused, so those two people are still wasting time with the soldiers." Amber came to Gao Wen's desk unsteadily, and curled her lips when she found that she couldn't do anything, "I said You really don't think about tying those two mercenaries who don't speak up to a pillar and whipping them a few times? This kind of mercenary is actually easy to deal with, don't think they can be fierce in front of refugees, but as long as you are tough, they Immediately, you will sell your employer obediently, and now they are silent because you neither beat them with a whip nor bought them with money..."

"The one you mentioned is that you can steal chickens and dogs for a few silver coins, and the members are basically mercenaries at the armed militia level." Gawain glanced at the half-elf, "but the two we caught...you didn't Did you find it? A knight who has reached the third level, a second-level arcane mage, and the low-level knight and mage who were shot to death before. Although these people are all low-level professionals, but in the southern border Any gangster can become an army commander or a mystic consultant for a certain lord. If he goes to the east to make some military exploits and then curry favor with Silas Lauren's family, he can even join the noble class and become a baron or viscount. But they are willing to work as mercenaries in such a remote place, why do you think?"

Amber thought about it hard: "Is it for the ideal? You see, I am such a powerful shadow master, and I still dig graves..."

Gao Wen didn't expect any serious answer from the shame of all things, and after hearing Hu Po's nonsense, he continued to himself: "There are indeed powerful professionals among the mercenaries, but this kind of mercenary group usually has Activities in places close to the Holy Dragon Principality in the north or Typhon Empire in the east, because these places are full of dangers and opportunities, and the wealth that can be harvested in the process of taking risks or completing commissions is enough for professionals to choose this not very respectable path, but The South has been in peace for a long time, and the mercenary groups operating in this area are usually not very strong and financially rich, and those mercenaries with several professionals sitting in the town and wearing extraordinary weapons usually have only one explanation—— —They are a 'black hand team' dedicated to serving one or a few nobles."

Speaking of this, Gao Wen smiled: "This kind of mercenary has a strong psychological quality, and most of them have some reason or hostage in the hands of the nobles, so they are not afraid of torture. Ordinary whipping is useless."

Amber looked at Gao Wen curiously: "Then how do you pry their mouths open?"

"Pittman said he has a solution, but he needs to prepare some special ointments and rituals, so I'm not in a hurry." Gao Wen glanced at Amber with a smile, "And I don't believe you didn't learn from those two mercenaries. Find something on your body, I know your character, usually you can drink half a bottle of ink on the way if you are asked to help you go to the warehouse..."

Amber blushed immediately: "When did I ever drink ink!"

"I'm just making a metaphor, do you understand the metaphor?"

"Tch," Amber expressed her dissatisfaction by expressing her dissatisfaction by squeezing some air between her teeth, and then she started to touch her body with a tangled expression, "I'm telling you, this is my trophy, look I'll give it back later..."

"What's the return? The rules I just made prohibit looting on the battlefield. You forgot that the loot is handed over to the public and credited?" Gao Wen said while holding the various odds and ends that Amber took out before his eyes, "Don't pout. , you are my exclusive guard, you still want to take the lead in breaking the rules? And it's not that I won't give you compensation, there are rewards for meritorious service... Heh, there are a lot of things? No wonder the soldiers came to report that the two captives I didn't find any valuable belongings on my body...you got them all here?"

The corners of Amber's eyes twitched, as if bleeding from distress, she felt a little better after hearing Gao Wen's promise of compensation.

But Gawain's eyes were suddenly attracted by a dagger among those trivial items.

On the handle of the dagger, there was a mark that looked like the coat of arms of a noble family.

Chapter 0165 What Happened in Kant Territory

It was a very well-made dagger. Although it was not an enchanted weapon, the material was mixed with a small amount of fine gold and purple steel—this made it reflect a unique lavender color under the light. Weapons don't bring any superpower bonuses, but if you want to deal with enchanted armor and protective gear, it will often have a good effect.

On the handle of the dagger, Gawain found a mark that looked like a brown bear's head, and there was a wreath around the mark.

In this era, many emblems are not allowed to be used indiscriminately - a considerable part of beasts and flowers are regarded as the "private symbols" of nobles, and the combination of beasts and flowers means that a certain family's identity in many cases. According to Gao Wen's heraldry and Ansu noble law, the mark on this dagger is obviously a family mark from its structure.

For 700 years, the family imprint of these nobles still follows ancient traditions.

This dagger should be "gifted" by a certain noble. As far as Gao Wen knows, nobles are very strict when bestowing weapons to others: only the king has the right to bestow such weapons as battle axes, war hammers, and halberds. , and will only be given to nobles with military exploits; various types of swords (mainly long swords) are more common gifts, any noble can give others a sword for any reason, but the recipient must also be A nobleman must at least reach the rank of knights; weapons such as daggers, knives, and short bows are considered "not on the table", and nobles will give such things to their favorite "common people", and the target is usually An excellent guardian, entourage, or... hawk dog.

"It seems to be the same as I judged. Those mercenaries were 'domesticated' by noble families," Gao Wen picked up the dagger and looked at it carefully. "It's just that they are loyal to one family or several at the same time. family……"

"Do you recognize the mark on it?" Amber leaned over curiously, "Ah, I just thought this thing looked good from the beginning..."

"I don't know," Gao Wen carefully identified, and finally shook his head, "This family probably didn't show up when I was alive. You go and call Heidi, she should know the nobles in the southern border better."

Soon, Hetty came to Gawain's tent.

After carefully identifying the mark on the dagger, she said with certainty: "This is the emblem of the Kant family."

"The Kant family?" Gawain recalled with a frown, and finally found the source of the name in the recent common sense. "The viscount to the north of the Leslie family?"

"Yes, across the wild mountains and forests in the north of the Baishui River, just further north to the place where you brought back those refugees before, is the territory of the Kant family," Hetty began to introduce the simple situation of the Kant family, "It was a family in 300 The family that rose up years ago was entrusted here because of their military achievements. When the Cecil family had an 'accident', they happened to be loyal to the current royal family, so they escaped the purge of the southern border. They are currently one of the few in this land in the south. One of the families with a history of more than a hundred years."

Gao Wen asked casually, "How is their relationship with the Cecil family?"

"It's not far away, and it's not close," Hetty replied. "During the purge of the southern border 100 years ago, they neither helped nor disturbed the situation. They always remained neutral. It was a relatively mysterious family. They communicated with the outside world There is not much communication, and family members rarely appear in the upper-level social circle—although the upper-level social circle on the southern border itself is very loose, the Kant family still appears the least."

"What is their main industry? Fields? Mines? Pastures?"

"Lord Kant mainly produces food, as well as various high-quality herbal medicines, including potions, but there are no mines."

"Then there is a problem, a big problem..." Gao Wen knocked on the table, "A nobleman who does not have a mine and mainly relies on fields, what is he going to do to capture a large group of slaves before winter? And judging from this dagger , This group of mercenaries is dedicated to helping the Kant family, and it is certainly not the first time they have captured slaves in the wilderness—what are so many slaves sent to the Kant Territory?"

"This..." Hetty also realized the weirdness of the problem, and suddenly remembered another thing, "It is strange to say that the main output of Kantland has always been food, and herbs and potions are just Side business, but in recent years, the quantity of herbs and potions sold there has been increasing year by year, especially potions. Not only has the output doubled, but the quality is also getting better and better, faintly surpassing their food output , has become the main pillar of the Kant family. But from the law of magic power distribution, this situation is difficult to explain..."

Due to the existence of various supernatural powers, the "medicinal plants" in this world are divided into two types. In addition to herbs with general effects, there are also "potions" that can be used in various magical rituals or directly as spell-casting materials. In other words, under normal circumstances, the growth of potions is very limited by the local magic environment, and its production will naturally have an upper limit. If the magic environment is not good, then no matter how intensive cultivation or seed improvement is, it is impossible to increase the production of potions—— Simply increasing the quantity may lead to a decrease in the magic power contained in the medicinal materials.

However, the production of potions in Kantland is increasing year by year.

In this era of lack of statistics on everything, except for businessmen who specialize in business, nobles are rarely aware of the fluctuations in crop output in surrounding territories (in fact, they may not even know the crop output in their own territory, which is It is something that the consultant and the manager are concerned about), but Hetty, as a magician and a magician from a poor family, usually pays close attention to the changes in the surrounding potion market, so she is keen to discover this abnormal phenomenon.

Amber was just listening in boredly, but at this moment, her sharp ears trembled suddenly, and her face was full of horror: "Oh my god! Could it be that the Kant family used living people as fertilizer to grow medicinal materials? !"

"...Although I think they can really think of such a thing with the moral views of some nobles, it is still impossible to actually do it." Gao Wen twitched his eyes and waved his hands, "The fields where potions are grown are usually not hidden. , outsiders can see it at a glance, and living people can't increase the concentration of magic power in the environment... What kind of black magic is this?"

While Gawain was talking, suddenly Betty's voice came from outside the tent: "Master! Master! Pittman is here to find you!"

Gawain was startled, recalling the task he had given to the Druid just now, he couldn't help but smile: "It seems that his 'special medicine' has already worked."

Because it had been expected that ordinary torture would not have any effect on those mercenaries, Gawain asked Pittman to find a way to deal with the two captured "captives" from the very beginning.

Druids are not a profession that is good at "torturing" information. Their spells are far inferior to those of blood god believers or those necromancers who specialize in torture and pain. But as long as you change your mind, obtaining information is not necessary There is only one method of "torture".

At least in Gawain Cecil's memory, there were many methods of using druid potions and rituals to extract information from the enemy. These methods are still effective even after 700 years.

In a hut that was temporarily used as a prison, Gawain saw two captured mercenaries who had been poured with potion, smeared with ointment on their foreheads, and ritually incensed for an entire hour.

The two of them were already unconscious at this time.

Pittman was still standing next to him showing off, "I'll tell you, my potions and rituals are very effective, especially this incense, no matter how strong a person is, he will lose himself in its magic power..."

Indeed, as the little old man said, at this moment the whole room was filled with a strong and almost nauseating smell of incense. Even after Pittman's ceremony was over and the incense no longer had the magical power to interfere with the mind, Gawain still Frowning from the smell, even Amber next to him yelled, "Wow—old man, are you making bacon?"

"According to your fumigation method, most people will be recruited even if you don't need to pour potion." Gao Wen had to add a breath protection effect to himself before he dared to stand still in the room. "I even suspect that your ceremony is It just stuns people, it has nothing to do with magic..."

Pittman nodded with a smile on the side: "You really got the point—in fact, I thought about improving this spell many years ago. I think it would work even if you don't use potions, just smoke the target directly—it's a pity that As soon as I came up with this idea, I was beaten up by my mentor, and I had to give up. But you reminded me this time, maybe..."

"Do you dare to try it out?!" Gawain immediately glared at the little old man when he heard this, "You really smoked these two people for an hour, even if they were willing to recruit me, I wouldn't ask!"

Pittman immediately shrank his neck, looked carefully at Gawain's tendons, and preliminarily judged that the unearthed legend in front of him could beat at least twenty of his mentors, so he decided to abandon his bold "improvement ceremony" plan.

Gao Wen frowned and looked at the two confused mercenary prisoners in front of him. They stared at the ground in front of them with dull eyes. The power of magic potions, ointments and incense had already Drag them into a state between reality and dream. In this state, they can no longer tell whether they are answering questions in reality or reading their memories in dreams. Before the magic power fades from their bodies, they will Almost all questions will be answered.

"It's the one from the Kant family..." Gao Wenfa asked, but he suddenly forgot the name of the current ruler of the Kant family, so he turned his head a little embarrassed, "Hetty, who is in power in the Kant family now? "

Hetty turned her head slightly: "Victor Kant, Viscount, is an elderly Viscount."

"Yes, Victor Kant," Gawain turned to the two mercenaries, "he sent you to capture the slaves?"

The mage among the two mercenaries seemed to have some resistance, but the mercenary leader spoke first: "Yes... Viscount Victor Kant sent us to capture the refugees in the wilderness for him...but not as a slave."

"Not as a slave?" Gawain frowned, "What is that for?"

"Help him..." The mercenary leader replied with dull eyes at the beginning, but suddenly raised his head in the second half of the sentence, staring at Gawain with a strange smile on his face, "Dream , Your Excellency Gawain Cecil."

Chapter 0166 The Eternal Sleeper

In Kant Territory in the north, the ancient castle where the Kant family lived for generations, the aging Viscount Victor was receiving representatives from the Chamber of Commerce in the territory.

Many lights were lit in the reception hall, but the bright and constant light from the magic spar lamp still couldn't dispel the darkness and gloom that occupied the castle all the year round. In the rectangular hall, apart from the Viscount himself and several chamber of commerce representatives, there were only A few scattered servants, everyone's shadow was reflected on the ground by the light from the magic spar lamp, stretched long, crooked, and hazy.

However, everyone standing in the hall is unaware of the eerieness and horror here. In the eyes of the representatives of the chamber of commerce, today's lord is still as kind and elegant as ever, and he magnanimously promises benefits to both merchants and citizens things.

"The last batch of herbs and potions have been harvested this year, and the food has also had a good harvest," a representative of the chamber of commerce bowed and said, "We have found buyers for potions, but the sales of herbs are not good this year."

"Don't worry, Mr. Pyrex," Viscount Victor smiled gently, comforting the big businessman in his territory, "the caravan from the Holy Spirit Plain will come soon, and Frostwood Castle will come to buy a large amount of medicinal materials Yes, everyone's hard work for a year will not be in vain."

The aging viscount smiled very gently, and his eyes were always full of kindness. Few nobles would communicate with non-noble people with such an attitude—although their etiquette standards made them feel uncomfortable when talking to inferior people. They will use impeccable polite words, but their eyes and expressions cannot be so "in place", Viscount Victor is an exception.

He is well-known as a good old man who is "kind, friendly, fair and tolerant to the common people". Although he lives reclusively in the circle of nobles, every commoner in the territory loves and admires his old lord.

"Master Viscount, thank you for running for the people in the territory," another Chamber of Commerce representative said sincerely, "Please also pay attention to your body."

"Don't worry, my old bones are still strong," Viscount Victor laughed, "My useless son is about to return from his travels in the Holy Spirit Plain, and when he takes over the family business, I won't rest anymore Not too late."

Afterwards, the viscount began to ask the big merchants about the entry and exit of merchants in the territory this year and the purchase of cotton and ore. His inquiries were detailed and professional, which is really rare among contemporary nobles.

But suddenly, a faint gust of wind blew through the halls of the castle.

Obviously, there are bright magic spar lamps that will not be blown by the wind in all directions, but the light in the hall suddenly flickers and dims like candlelight encountering air currents.

The big merchants still didn't notice the changes in the hall, and the servants standing around did not show any abnormalities, but Victor Kant suddenly stood up from his chair, he looked up at the dark ceiling of the castle, his eyes For a moment, a lavender magic halo like starlight flashed.

Then he showed an apologetic smile to the business representatives in front of him: "Sorry, gentlemen, I am afraid that today's meeting has to end. I suddenly remembered that there is one more important thing to do..."

At the same time, in a hidden cave near the eastern border of Ansu, intertwined vines grew windingly, entangled on the boulder in the center of the cave, forming a shape like a huge sac, and suddenly, the sac opened, and a A beautiful but strange female figure emerges from it.

She has long dark green hair, fair skin and a pretty face, but under the hem of the dress that looks like a priest's robe, what is exposed is a terrifying limb like a tree root.

Bertila, the headmistress of the Death of All Things Society, has been dormant in this hidden stronghold near the front line of the Eastern Territory since she left the extreme southern region last time, observing the changes in the entire eastern region through the ubiquitous plants. But a sudden message through a secret channel "woke up" her from the state of symbiosis with plants.

The headmistress frowned, and her long dark green hair squirmed slightly as if alive: "A bishop-level eternal sleeper... successfully approached and invaded the spiritual world of Gawain Cecil?!"

……

Gawain walked in the darkness.

He still clearly remembered what happened before: the suspicious mercenary leader suddenly raised his head, smiled strangely at himself, and called out his name in a strange tone that seemed to be mixed with many human voices.

Then he was brought into this dark, chaotic and weird space by some kind of force.

He was absolutely sure that he had been swayed by a certain powerful force, but this kind of power should not have come from the mercenary leader—the other party's physical fitness and breath strength were undoubtedly just a low-level knight, And at the moment when the mercenary leader suddenly raised his head, Gawain still remembered that he sensed a powerful and chaotic force suddenly emerged from the aura of the knight leader, and the process was like "falling", so he guessed The mercenary leader should be just a medium, he may be some kind of victim, used to send this powerful force to him, Gawain Cecil.

After the panic at the beginning, Gao Wen has calmed down now.

He walked around in the dark for a while, but he couldn't feel the slightest loss of physical strength, which indicated that this place was most likely not the physical world, but just some kind of "imaginary space" existing in his mind. He suspected that he was trapped in the In a certain mental cage, but as a soul that has been trapped in a satellite for at least a few hundred thousand years (or maybe a few million years, after all, he will not count the years at all), he has actually mutated. There is not even an iota of tension about being trapped.

No matter how powerful the strong man in this world is, can he compare his operating life with the satellites in the sky?

My old man was hanging in the sky to watch you learn to walk upright!

It was because of the arrogance and calmness of a satellite in his heart that Gao Wen had no fear of the situation in front of him. After confirming that he could not leave the current space by walking, he simply stood still and looked at the situation in front of him quietly. of darkness.

It's like looking down on the unchanging ocean and land back then.

He believed that the existence that pulled him into this dark space definitely had some kind of purpose, and the other party might be quietly observing him somewhere, and with the vast majority—or all carbon in this world— Judging from the patience of the base creature, the other party can't exhaust himself.

Ta will definitely not be able to bear it and jump out on his own initiative.

To say that Gao Wen's only worry now is to hope that this "imaginary space" can be the same as the settings in most stories, and the flow of time is different from the outside world, otherwise it will be bad if Hetty and others outside think that they are dead again It's done—the two eldest granddaughters may bury themselves again, and Amber will dig out all the contents of the grave when she is buried again...

Damn, it's scary just thinking about it.

Gao Wen had various thoughts in his mind, and he didn't know how long the time in this imaginary space had passed. Then he suddenly saw an illusory glimmer of light emerging from the darkness in front of him.

It seemed that the "existence" who was watching quietly couldn't bear it anymore.

Gawain smiled, watching the ray of light in front of him become more and more solid, getting closer and closer, and finally turned into a figure in a white robe, with a smooth white mask on his face, no male or female, he heard From under the mask came a deep voice that was also indistinguishable from male to female: "Duke Gawain Cecil, you are more patient and calm than I imagined. You are indeed a great hero 700 years ago. This kind of heart is something I have never seen in other people.”

"Your patience is far worse than I imagined," Gao Wen said lightly, "I thought you would spend a hundred and eighty years here with me."

"Please don't be resentful. The way I invited you may be a little rough, but my fundamental purpose is just to have a good talk with you—maybe you will be more comfortable in a different conversation environment?"

The white-robed man wearing a white mask waved his hand casually while talking, and countless colors and lines appeared in the surrounding dark space in an instant, and these color lines were combined into various things in an instant ——Gao Wen found himself standing in a vibrant garden, surrounded by dense flowers and low shrubs, and some servants with vaguely recognizable faces were busy walking around in the garden, and not far from the side, Then you can see the tall main building of the castle.

It all looked familiar.

Gao Wen thought for a while before finding the corresponding image from the memory of the original owner of the body. He glanced suspiciously at the white-robed man in front of him: "What do you mean?"

"Could it be that I didn't restore it properly?" The white-robed man pretended to be surprised, "I have tried my best to restore this place according to those ancient memory fragments. Look, those servants, don't you know their faces? Most of the scenes of this castle are extracted from their memories, look at those plants, and those buildings...is there any difference from Cecil Castle in your memory?"

Before Gao Wen could answer, the white-robed man continued on his own: "Ah, the memory extracted from the dream may indeed be distorted, and such a castle that does not conform to the facts may make you feel unhappy. What about the environment?"

As the white-robed man finished speaking, the scene in front of Gawain changed again. Cecil Castle and gardens 700 years ago disappeared, replaced by a high-altitude platform with exquisite and luxurious round tables and There are various snacks and tea on the round table, and outside the platform, you can overlook a magnificent city.

There are countless gorgeous white buildings in that city. Towering mage towers and floating crystals are dotted all over the city. The blue light flow filled with magical brilliance flows between the buildings, embellishing the whole city like a paradise on earth. The city In the sky, one could vaguely see a huge translucent shield with countless runes floating on it, and farther away, one could see a blue beam of light connecting the sky and the earth coming from outside the city From here, it goes straight into the sky like the Tower of Babel in the legend of the earth...

The ancient capital of Gondor, and... the Deep Blue Well? !

"Would you like this scene better?" The man in white robe sat down at the round table, with no expression on his pure white smooth mask, but a smile in his voice, "After all, you also experienced the glorious period of Gondor. characters, perhaps you would prefer to recall the magnificent scene of the heyday of the human empire?"

"Sorry, when the Gondor Empire was in its heyday, I was just an apprentice knight on the northern border of the empire. I don't know what the bustling imperial capital looks like," Gawain sat down at the round table, opposite the white-robed man, " But the scenery is really good, and I can still see what the Deep Blue Well looked like back then."

"Then I'm relieved," the white-robed man said happily. "Then, the Eternal Sleeper has already paid tribute to you. Next, it's time for you to show your cooperation."

Chapter 0167

Sleeper.

When Gao Wen heard these three words, he was not too surprised.

He had thought about who or what force would deal with him, and adopted this "unconventional" method - the nobles of the royal capital with ulterior motives only dared to make small tricks secretly, while the royal family has not yet had anything to do with it. It is necessary to fight against oneself, and other than that, the Cecil family has no interest disputes with any forces in the world at present-except for those cultists who are naturally at odds with everyone.

Among the most important cult forces, the Eternal Sleepers are the most weird and unpredictable, and they are also the best at spiritual magic.

Gawain looked around the surrounding scene again out of curiosity. He had to marvel at the superb skill of this "illusion". Everything in his sight seemed real, whether it was those towering magic towers or the giant energy that shrouded the imperial capital. The shield, or the light beam of the deep blue well next to the imperial capital, can't see the slightest illusion flaws, and there is a real sense of touch here, the round table in front of you and the chair under your body give people a real feeling, Gawain even had reason to believe that the refreshments on the table would have a taste when they were eaten.

This is really a world that is easy to sink into.