In the Name of the Queen

"Steamed shrimps with coriander and mushrooms? It's a very common dish. I used to like it too."

Elf Sif said softly.

She pointed to the valley beyond Huawai in the distance, "There is Coriander there. Do you want to see it?"

Roland smiled and shook his head. He was not that curious.

Wild vegetables like Coriander can survive in the wild in winter. Their vitality is as tenacious as wild grasses. It is nothing if they are not extinct.

In this era, there were no scholars who specialized in studying biology. Only naturalists who liked biology devoted their energy to research.

If it is not discovered, it will be extinct by default, and deviations are also common.

Roland hadn't been to Dreamland for a long time, so he just mentioned Coriander casually, not wanting to get to the bottom of it.

This kind of dish was a common condiment when the elves were at their peak, and the elf Sif would not pay special attention to it.

Compared with this, Roland's story about the Samaritan attracted her more.

“These Samaritans remind me of the spirits of the earth that we once were.”

"They are also so greedy, but they always claim to be an intelligent race. They are obviously no match for our race, but they dare to die fearlessly. Is this considered wisdom?"

Although countless years have passed and she has experienced three deaths, Elf Sif's hatred for the earth spirits is engraved deep in her mind.

She mercilessly complained about the earth spirit.

Perhaps because she felt that she had vented too much, she shook her head with a smile and stopped continuing the topic.

"This is a rare time for you to come and tell some interesting stories."

Roland cheered up, thought for a moment, and talked about the sea monster attacking humans.

"Sirens attack humans?"

Elf Sif was a little surprised. She thought of some past events and reminded her softly:

"The Sirens are the race under the command of the Sea Queen. After so many years, I don't know if the descendants of the Sea Queen are still there, but you'd better be careful."

Elf Sif looked at Roland's dark circles, patted the flowers beside her, and said with a smile:

"Sit down, my friend. The sea of ​​flowers can help you get rid of fatigue, and it will just tell you the story of the ocean in the third era."

Roland sat down in the sea of ​​flowers as he was told.

As soon as he sat down, before he could speak, sleepiness came over him. He lay facelessly on his side in the sea of ​​flowers and fell asleep.

Although it was absurd to fall asleep in a dream, he did fall asleep, and it was a deep sleep.

Passing by Roland's handsome profile, Elf Sif's eyes drifted into the distance.

She stood up and walked to the edge of the sea of ​​flowers, where she found dense cilantro in the valley.

"Although Coriander is not a rare thing, it only grows in the cool valleys within two hundred miles of the sea of ​​flowers. It cannot survive without the sea of ​​flowers."

Elf Sif murmured to herself.

After a moment, she smiled and shook her head.

She must be overthinking.

The sea of ​​flowers has long been destroyed.

It is now the sixth era, and even the continental plates are completely different from those of the past. Coriander is so tenacious that it is normal for it to mutate.

Not all beings are as stubborn as elves, unwilling to change for hundreds of millions of years.

In the morning, Roland opened his eyes.

Slept well last night.

Not in bed, but in a dream, in the sea of ​​flowers.

He forgot whether the elf Sif told him a story, but he slept well.

It's as if every cell is sleeping.

This is the deepest sleep short of death, and only takes two hours to fully restore your energy.

When he got up and looked in the mirror, he was a little surprised when he looked at the red face in the mirror. Wasn't his sleep effect so good?

After staying up late, I must go to the sea of ​​flowers and lie down for a while.

After getting dressed, Roland came to the square in front of the Governor's Palace, preparing to join the army.

In the square he saw the Queen and the Count.

Today Sif is playing the Count again.

The army received the notice last night and assembled quickly.

The general leading the team was an old acquaintance, Dai Long.

Roland was a little surprised that the adjutant leading the team was actually the cavalry major Jess who had escorted them to Port Dowall last time.

Isn't he from the imperial garrison? Why is he here overseas?

He must have been sent by the Minister of War to keep an eye on him.

Roland nodded in response to Jace and didn't ask any more questions.

Jace has already pledged his allegiance to the Queen, and the Minister of War's arrangement is just to send men to the Queen.

This young army major has excellent military qualities and is worthy of training.

Now that you're here, don't leave and be loyal to the Queen.

After the entire army lined up, Roland, who was wearing the governor's uniform, galloped in from the side of the square on a white horse, dismounted gracefully in front of the reviewing stand, and reported to the Queen.

Because his family has a father who is a stubborn traditional knight, he received professional knight training since he was a child, and his riding skills are quite solid.

Looking at Roland's superb equestrian skills, even though some people secretly criticized him as a pretty boy, they had to admit that he was a pretty capable boy.

The Queen's voice echoed over the square, boosting morale.

"Qing Luo Lan, this special operation is the governor-general's first cross-border operation. Please be sure to complete the mission and not insult the national prestige."

"As you command, Your Majesty!"

The cold voice of the Mirror Queen came, "Luo Lanqing, you are not familiar with diplomatic etiquette. I will arrange a deputy for you."

Roland felt something was wrong in his heart.

This line doesn’t seem right. Was this the arrangement last night?

When he saw Sif's sly smile, he immediately knew what was going on.

This guy wants to go too.

The Governor and the Lieutenant Governor are both not at home. What if something happens?

In front of everyone, Roland couldn't say anything to her. He could only listen to the puppet named Queen assigning Sif to him as his deputy.

What else could Roland say?

You can only "accept it gladly".

Sif put on the knight's mail armor, with the white rose emblem engraved on her chest, which was full of heroic spirit.

Even Roland, who was tricked, couldn't help but sigh that a beautiful person looks good in anything.

The queen returned to the palace surrounded by maids.

The troops boarded the ship one after another in sequence, and the people in the square gradually sparse.

Sif carefully came to Roland with the reins in her hand. Before Roland could speak, she pulled up the visor and smiled.

Roland wanted to say something, but he forgot it when he saw her smile.

"You are right. This operation is not only a military operation, but also various factors must be considered. I feel much more relaxed when you are around."

"Hey, don't you blame me?" Sif asked softly.

"You are the monarch and I am the subject. How can I blame you?" Roland said in a flat tone.

Sif bowed her head slightly and said softly, "I'm sorry. I only felt that I should go with you after I left the palace. There is nothing important in the Governor's Mansion for the time being. Even if there is something, Magic Mirror and they can handle it."

"I always feel that going to Lake Val will not go smoothly. I want to help you."

Roland's only trace of resentment disappeared.

Facing Sif's eyes as clear as the blue sky, what temper can he have?

"Then let's go, get on board!"

Roland and Sif's flagship is the destroyer [Mary Rose].

There is not much difference between destroyers and cruisers in this era.

If you can't go to the battle line and fight passionately, then wander around the periphery as a cruiser destroyer.

Mary Rose has a displacement of 1,200 tons and is equipped with 32 18-pound and 12-pound guns. It is easy to take over small boats or armed merchant ships of the same level.

The nearly 200 sailors on board can also ensure that they have enough combat power in boarding battles.

Although not as powerful as battleships, it is enough to deal with the mere Val city-state.

Despite being well prepared, Roland still dared not neglect it.

The Val city-state was not the problem, the problem was the Golden Kite.

These people were fugitives from the Golden Kite.

Because they advocated freedom and republic, the authorities could not kill them all, but they would never allow them to fall into the hands of hostile countries.

Sussex and the Golden Kite had fought countless battles in the past thousand years. Although the relationship was still good now, they were not friendly countries.

The place that the Golden Kite least wanted to see these people go to was probably Sussex or Vladimir.

In short, they could not be taken lightly.

The fleet maintained its formation and sailed on the vast Rodinia River at a speed of about eight knots.

At this speed, after a night's rest on the way, they could reach the border between the Province of Serin and the Val city-state at noon the next day.

Roland did not urge the fleet to speed up.

After all, the main force of this fleet was transport ships, and it was difficult for such flat-bottomed boats to speed up.

Eight knots was the lower limit of warships, but it was their limit.

Standing on the top of the deck, Roland raised a telescope to observe the territory.

The Rodinia River is not the longest river on the continent, but it is the busiest river for water transportation, without a doubt.

The three overseas provinces of Sussex, the Kingdom of Golden Kite, the Weimar Federation, the Kingdom of Pledden, and many independent small states and principalities all rely on the Rodinia River for development.

This golden waterway also makes the basin the most prosperous area in the entire continent.

This is also the main reason why the empire would rather spend a lot of money to maintain the three provinces.

The three overseas provinces are very rich. If they operate normally, they can match the economy of ten provinces on the mainland.

It's a pity that it's a pity for this if.

The empire has occupied this place for more than a hundred years, but it still cannot localize it.

Every year, it spends huge amounts of money to maintain this territory, and even does not hesitate to make enemies with neighboring countries, making the conservatives of the empire hate it.

But this is a dispute within the empire, and Roland doesn't care.

In his view, this is his territory, and it is also a bridgehead for expanding the interests of the continent.

His eyes are never satisfied with just three provinces.

Taking the telescope handed over by Roland, Sif observed the distance through the tube, and her curiosity made her keep asking Roland questions.

Roland quickly flipped through the encyclopedia in his mind and answered.

"Roland, you are awesome, just like an encyclopedia!" Sif praised with a smile.

Roland smiled and said nothing.

Not just like, he is a walking encyclopedia.

Sif's curiosity became more active after seeing several tall chimneys.

"Roland, what is that?"

"That's the chimney of the steel plant." Roland explained patiently.

"Great." Sif murmured to herself.

"Great?"

"Of course, without steel, how can we arm the army?" Sif's eyes were firm, and she didn't stay in the farmland and windmills for long, but kept looking at the factory.

Unexpectedly, she actually had the thinking of the industrial party. Roland was very pleased and quickly introduced her to the comparison of steel and coal production of the major powers on the continent.

Finally, he concluded, "my country ranks first in the world in steel production, highway mileage, and industrial capacity. This is the foundation of our invincibility."

Sif wanted to ask if steel could stop Sophia, but she shrank back when the words came to her lips.

It was her responsibility to stop Sophia, not ordinary soldiers and workers.

As long as she thought of Sophia, the good mood of the whole day disappeared instantly.

Sif handed the telescope to Roland and said softly, "I'm a little tired. I'll go to rest first. I'll leave it to you."

Roland knew what Sif was melancholy about.

Schrodinger's confidence now turned to depression.

He didn't say anything, but took the telescope and continued to observe.

This was also a great opportunity for him to understand the situation of the territory.

The Rodinia River is not only a golden waterway, but its abundant water also nourishes the land on both sides.

Although it is winter now and there are no crops in the farmland, looking at the neat farmland and the dense windmills around, you can tell that agriculture is developed here.

On the riverside road, he also saw several steam cars.

The masters of the imperial capital do not allow this kind of bulky and noisy iron lump to enter the city.

The reason is simple, what if this thing scares their horses?

The carriage is much more comfortable than this thing.

Not only the imperial capital, but also the empire itself has few steam cars.

Don't ask, asking is the ancestral law.

As the three overseas provinces that worship the imperial capital to the extreme, steam cars are not allowed to enter the city. This is also a rare opportunity for Roland to observe steam cars up close.

Through the telescope, he saw these cars that were jokingly called "the fastest moving kettles".

In a world without fossil energy, the stupid and black steam power is the cornerstone of industry.

Seeing the driver choked by the steam and soot blown by the wind, and had to pull over, Roland couldn't help shaking his head.

The workmanship is too crude.

Not to mention that the masters of the imperial capital don't like it, he doesn't want to ride it either.

The future is promising, so let's talk about it in the future.

Supporting the development of steam cars doesn't mean you have to ride them now.

At least wait until the riding experience is better.

After watching for more than half an hour, Roland felt a little bored and prepared to go back to the cabin to accompany Sif.

At this moment, a ship suddenly lost control on the wide channel and headed towards the fleet.

"Be prepared to open fire!"

Before Roland could speak, Bridges had already issued an order.

He would not allow any threat to the fleet to exist.

The queen who played the role of the earl was still on the ship.

He raised the telescope and looked at the out-of-control ship nervously, and he breathed a sigh of relief after a moment.

It was a false alarm.

The out-of-control ship had no intention of hitting the fleet.

Unfortunately, the ship still hit another sailboat.

The two ships had similar displacements and collided hard.

Dozens of passengers and sailors fell into the water.

Bridges had a cold face and was indifferent.

Everyone has his own destiny, and he would never slow down the fleet to save people.

Just as he was about to ignore it, the ship in front of the flagship lowered the lifeboat.

Bridges frowned slightly and saw the young knight Jace rowing the lifeboat towards the farthest person who fell into the water.

Boring sympathy.

Forget it, as long as it does not affect the speed of the fleet, let him go.

Just as Bridges was silently complaining, Jace's lifeboat came back.

It did not dock with the ship in front, but approached the Mary Rose.

"General, this is the bishop and entourage of the Holy Temple of Light. They are also going to the city-state of Val."

Bridges frowned, a little unhappy.

Just as he was about to refute, Roland's voice came from the upper deck.

"If you are so eager to get on board, it would be impolite of us not to welcome you. Please come on board."