High Above

"Knight, what's your name?"

"Hilliard Lessie. Your Majesty."

"A surname I've never heard of."

"I am from the country, Your Majesty."

"Hilliard, I have just succeeded to the throne, and I lack some team members. You have a clean background and excellent talent. Are you willing to pledge your allegiance to me?"

"I am your knight."

"Think carefully, I just succeeded to the throne, and I can't promise anything, but with your strength, the Grand Duke of Northwest can take care of your future ether armament, drink strong wine every night, and even get a manor as a food town. From then on Then he has his own property and is no longer a country knight."

"I am a royal knight, my lord. I am your knight."

"I'm very moved, but I don't believe it. Hilliard, loyalty is not without reason. I have been on the throne for less than a day, and you witnessed my two elder brothers trying to kill their father and being burned at the stake, and I am just a bastard—" —Please tell me why, I am willing to believe you."

"..."

"knight?"

"I stand for stability. The struggle between the two archdukes will bring civil strife in the empire. No matter who wins or loses, the empire will be weakened and divided, and Terra will be set on fire. Only you will become the true emperor, maintain unity, and continue Only a strong country can prevent my hometown from being invaded by war."

"You have your own wishes...that's exactly what I want.

Hilliard——On the continent of Terra, monsters are raging, alien ghosts and ghosts walk in the world at night, the people are poor, and they have no clothes to cover their bodies and food to eat. You should know all of this. "

So, you serve me, there will be no wine beauties, no fief slaves, for I am determined to abolish slavery, and ban most of the wineries until food is abundant. But I promise you, I swear to bring prosperity and peace to this land. Human status may not be equal, but everyone should have the same human rights. Nobles must not be acquitted after killing civilians. "

"His Majesty?!"

"Why, have you never seen the emperor swear to the knight?"

"...No. Besides, what you said...is too much like a dream, and fairy tales can't be so beautiful."

"Haha, I am indeed dreaming, but someone has to do it and turn it into reality. Your power is the first step."

"...I am your knight."

...

"The continent of Terra is full of waste, and the most important thing to rule a country is two things, one is to feed the people, and the other is to give the people hope.

"Hope is too illusory, but as long as my emperor's arrogance is still standing here, at least the people know who to scold when they are suffering, and who to rebel against when the rebels rebel. Then there is hope. What we need to do now is to let everyone eat full."

"It's difficult."

"There are also traces of difficulties. We are short of food, mainly because of a serious shortage of arable land. Although it occupies the great plain in the center of Terra, it lacks water conservancy and is harassed by many warcraft and alien lairs. There is too little available arable land."

"I don't know about water conservancy, but I can lead a team to clear the nest."

"I will also personally conquer. Everyone should see the determination of the royal family, and they can also show force to the two grand dukes, as well as the Yuanyan Land and the Heavenly Royal Court on the border of Chen Jun."

"Your Majesty, this is too dangerous!"

"And I believe in you."

...

"Your Majesty, there are too many assassinations."

"It's only seventeen times, and there will be more and more in the future."

"The strength will also become stronger and stronger. There are already sublimators of the third energy level taking action, and it is only a matter of time before the emergence of the fourth energy level, which is very incredible."

"Aren't they all blocked by you? How incredible."

"No, Your Majesty, what I mean is, why would someone hinder our actions? We just wiped out the lairs of monsters, built water conservancy, and tried to feed everyone... This will not harm anyone's interests!"

"When a man is full, he will not sell himself to a nobleman as a slave."

"Just, that's it?!"

"It's more important than you think. When some people are full, they don't allow others to be like themselves, just so despicable."

"How is it possible that such a nonsense thing can happen..."

"There are too many things in this world that don't make sense. Either adapt or transform. Hilliard, transforming this world is our business."

"...It is imperative, Your Majesty."

...

"Your Majesty, twenty years have passed by in a hurry."

"Don't worry, Hilliard, our career will consume our whole life, maybe we can't finish it in a lifetime, but at least now, the canals and weirs are all over the country, and we have indeed fed the people of the entire empire, That's success."

"No, that's not what I mean, Your Majesty. I mean, what should we do next?"

"read."

"read?"

"Let everyone read. We must develop the wisdom of the people. Without the wisdom of the people, the subjects will always be subjects. It is impossible to become engineers, philosophers, mathematicians, biologists, alchemists and stargazers. I want all Everyone is literate, learns knowledge, has their own strengths, and understands that they are not here for survival, but for a bigger dream."

"……This is impossible!"

"Twenty years ago, it was impossible to feed everyone."

"But it's different. Knowledge is so precious, but spread to civilians... Even if I hope so, those forces that originally supported you will turn against you!"

"It's man-made, Hilliard, I know all this, so please continue to help me, I need your strength."

"I am your knight, always have been."

...

"Hilliard, go, take me to a place."

"Okay. Wait, you're going to the far south border? Harrison Creek in the coastal mountains...that's too dangerous!"

"With your protection, where is the dangerous place? Let's go."

"...There is no difference here, except that the sea water is light green and very clear, and there are many coconut trees and redwood trees along the coast, there is nothing special about it."

"The things you said are already beautiful, learn to appreciate them. Hilliard, look, is there any huge and deep shadow outline on the seabed in the distance? With your power, you should be able to see it more clearly than me. "

"Yes, indeed there is. The outline is square and majestic, like a toppled sky pillar... Wait, is that a man-made thing? Is that a relic of the civilization of the previous era?!"

"Yes, this is the ruins of the 'orbital space elevator' and 'equatorial orbital accelerator' built by the Terra civilization in the previous era. They were the starting point for human beings to reach the high heavens in the past, but now they are all Sunk in the sea, leaving only decayed wreckage, which became the nest of all creatures in the sea."

"It's unbelievable... Humans can actually create such a magnificent building, and the tower of the imperial capital is not one ten-thousandth of it..."

"Hilliard."

"His Majesty?"

"From here, we will open up the frontier of mankind again... from here, from this barren land, we will return to the sky!"

"... Is this your real wish, Your Majesty?"

"The reconstruction of space orbital elevators and accelerators requires a complete high-level industrial system, a set of related research institutes, the most advanced materials science laboratory, and a big government that can coordinate all departments. It requires countless well-fed citizens to contribute their wealth to this end , It requires millions of high-level intellectuals to contribute their minds, and tens of thousands of different supporting manufacturers supply the best parts."

"It needs too much... In short, only a great civilization can complete it."

"Only such a great civilization can step into the void!"

"Your Majesty, you are crying."

"I'm just delighted ... Hilliard, finally, finally, we ... finally took the first step."

Also the last step.

"Because we failed."

In scorching July, on a scorching summer night, a full moon hangs high, but there are not many stars in the sky. Most of the originally bright galaxy is now missing, and the vast sea of ​​stars is covered by a layer of pitch-black mist.

But the scorching wind quickly came from the desert of Flame Land, igniting this starless night, perhaps because there was no starlight, the moonlight was brighter than ever, just like another sun.

The knight covered in dust and blood walked out of the jungle, panting from the deep darkness to the moonlit lake.

He was exhausted, his chapped lips were black with blood scabs, and his face was scarred and almost desperate.

The man with slightly brown eyes looked very strong, and his long black hair showed no signs of falling off. This was the symbol of a man's most ambitious and powerful.

But he was devastated, and he just held his breath, so he didn't kneel down and let others slaughter him.

From the heart of the empire, he fled all the way to the mountainous area along the southern coast. He experienced countless times of attacks and killings on the way. Life is not long.

The breeze blew the surface of the lake, causing the sparkling waves to sway, and the eyes of the shadow reflected in the lake were gray, and he smiled dejectedly.

For ten years, we have wiped out monsters in the wilderness with knives to deter foreign enemies.

For twenty years, we have used the plow to fill the stomachs of our countrymen and hide wealth among the people.

In the past 30 years, we have used countless documents and textbooks to revive the country that was on the verge of collapse, and to make the former ignorant children grow into pillars.

At this point, civilization and order will once again be restored to the center of Terra, and we have lit the torch.

If we say that the torch that illuminates all living beings needs fuel, then there must be our bone marrow and blood in it.

To establish order and rebuild barrenness and decay into a rejuvenated country requires many people to give their all, work hard to build and fight for thirty years.

We are weak, we are miserable, we are exhausted, we squeeze all our lives and passions out of ourselves, we make countless sacrifices.

But after the final achievement, we know that all this is worth it - we finally made the world peaceful, my children can play with laughter and laughter, and don't have to worry about whether there will be sand in the food tomorrow.

"But we failed."

The knight whispered to himself, as if mocking himself.

Such a feat.

It only takes a moment of obsession to destroy it.

A night without stars.

The Cavaliers will always remember this day.

At the time of the blood moon, the sky is starless, the imperial capital is soaked in fog, the palace is filled with noisy voices, and the fluctuation of spiritual energy shakes the center of the empire. Everyone knows that a shock that is about to spread to the entire continent will erupt from this point.

Enemies of unknown origin are almost everywhere. They are well-equipped and powerful. They guarded every main route of the palace. The knights fought bloody all the way and almost demolished half of the imperial capital before reaching the center of the battlefield.

But it was too late.

Close his eyes, as long as he closes his eyes, he can still recall the scene that crushed all his dreams and strength——

"Go, Hilliard."

On the throne, although the man had no scars on the outside, his originally bright eyes with halos were completely dimmed, like a starless night sky, which was the manifestation of a psychic who had suffered fatal injuries.

His voice was weak, but very strong, and there were many corpses with bleeding from the mouth and nose under his feet. There were many familiar faces of knights, and even the prince of the empire... was among them.

After seeing the knight rushing into the hall, he straightened up with the last of his strength and shouted: "Get out of here!"

The knight was tall and straight, and he raised his sword to protect his lord, like a towering mountain: "I'm not going anywhere, Your Majesty."

"I was hit by the ashes of the ice prison, and I will definitely die. At this moment, it is time to die for righteousness."

"Hilliard..." The person on the throne was slightly taken aback, but still insisted: "You can live with it."

After finishing speaking, he took out a tiny chip from his pocket and stared at the palm of his hand. The man's eyes seemed to be staring at hope: "You must have been wondering why I have so much extraordinary knowledge, and why do I have so much knowledge? Why can I become the current emperor from a useless bastard..."

"This is the source. Hilliard, whether you use it yourself or hide it, it's best to find a successor, but don't let it fall into the hands of these crazy people... Go!"

A light blue ripple gushed out from the fingertips and poured on the knight's forehead. In just a moment, the terrifying plague that had swept through the whole body was suppressed.

But before the knight was excited and surprised by this, on the throne, the man's head drooped, only the outstretched hand remained straight.

The silver chips are glowing.

And the emperor died.

Before he could tell more, the soul-destroying pressure of the psychic battle completely crushed his mind. The body on the throne was still breathing, but it was already a walking corpse.

...

Open your eyes and break away from the distant memory.

Leaning on the wet rock above the cliff, the old man raised his right arm, lowered his eyes, and stared at the small silver chip in his palm.

And a boy named Bai Zhimin who was slowly recovering his sanity and his breathing gradually stabilized.

The dark night without light seems to completely cover everything. In this night without stars and moon, in this night with only lonely wind, everything is too similar.

There is only one difference...

That was this time, and he had no regrets.

Time and space seemed to intersect, and the old man stared at them, as if staring at hope.

"Your Majesty, you have indeed left."

The knight named Hilliard Lexi whispered to himself, he clenched his fists and held hope in his palm: "But I am your knight."

"Always will be."