In the Name of the Queen

Although it was just a guess, Roland felt that it was very close to the truth. He even thought that the fourth line of the prophecy poem referred to this latent God's Punishment Army.

Unlike Christine's wishful thinking, Roland's speculation was well-founded.

Although Christine thought she was devout in her faith, there were many people who were more devout than her. The fanatic track was the most lucrative road in this era, and there was no need to add one.

Roland thought of the world before he crossed over. Even if there were no gods, there were still people who gave everything for their faith.

There really were gods in the Theia plane, and Christine was afraid of the real fanatics.

"In the temple, devout believers sang epics" The prophecy may not correspond to Christine.

Roland didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, but he knew that if the devout believer in the prophecy was not Christine, her psychological defense would definitely collapse.

He had to know the answer first.

Then let's determine the location of the God's Punishment Army first.

Roland and Lisa left the Ogaden region, headed south, crossed the Oga River, and entered the real southern continent.

This is the territory of the centaurs.

Although Roland had seen this magical and deformed race in the foreign legion of the Golden Kite Kingdom, and had seen their heroic figures running on the plains, compared with the centaurs born and raised in the southern continent, the centaurs of the Golden Kite Kingdom still seemed too civilized.

As soon as he entered the southern continent, Roland encountered centaurs blocking the road.

Hundreds of centaurs roared in, trampling the knee-high grassland and shaking the earth.

Roland and Lisa curiously poked their heads out of the carriage to observe these reckless guys.

Of course, they didn't care about these guys, they were just curious about the marching method of the native centaurs.

After a little observation, Roland revised his evaluation of them as "disorderly" and changed it to "wild beauty".

They didn't maintain the cavalry formation when running at high speed, more like a group of wildebeests running on the grassland.

Messy but not colliding with each other, loose but not affecting speed.

They achieved the best effect with the most chaotic formation.

Full of the wild beauty of nature.

Roland secretly sighed. If we use an inappropriate example, the Centaurs raised by the Golden Kite Kingdom are like domesticated large dogs. They have amazing combat power, but they cannot survive in the wild.

If the Centaurs of the Golden Kite Kingdom were sent back to the vast grasslands of the southern continent, they would not be able to survive.

They have become accustomed to human life. Just returning to a barbaric lifestyle of eating half-cooked food can make those urbanized Centaurs miserable.

There is no fireplace in winter and no pool to escape the heat in summer, which is simply killing them.

These Centaurs are different. They only wear simple linen and fur to cover their bodies. The high-ranking Centaurs wear a set of tattered mail armor that they don’t know where to find.

Compared with urbanized Centaurs, their equipment is as shabby as beggars.

But Roland vaguely feels that the same number of urbanized Centaurs is no match for these wild Centaurs.

The wild tribe loses its biggest feature when it loses its wildness.

Roland observed them curiously, and Lisa was also looking at these guys.

The centaur leader raised his hoof and was about to launch a fatal charge, but suddenly saw the unicorns on the heads of the four white horses.

He was stunned for a moment, and suddenly retracted his four hooves, and at the same time stopped the tribesmen who were charging.

Although he didn't recognize the unicorn, his intuition told him that these horned white horses were not easy to mess with.

White horses are not easy to mess with, and the northern humans who can control white horses are even more difficult to mess with.

The centaur leader raised his hand to stop the tribesmen, hesitated for a moment, and quickly approached the Garden of Eden.

He raised his empty hands and let out a long and powerful cry, indicating that he had no hostility.

Roland was a little surprised. The original plan of these guys was obviously to intercept, but they suddenly changed their minds. What was the reason?

It must not be to give him and Lisa face.

In the eyes of these wild tribes, the lone humans who strayed into the territory were fat sheep delivered to their doorsteps, and there was no reason not to rob them.

The only thing that can make the barbarians learn civilization is power.

"It seems to be the unicorn's fault." He murmured in a low voice, and suddenly realized.

Bloodline suppression is engraved in the bones of life.

A big dog will be afraid of a little tiger, probably.

The IQ of ordinary centaurs is between that of humans and animals, but the leader centaurs often have wisdom close to that of humans.

They are not fully civilized, but under the leadership of the wise men of the tribe, they can barely reach the edge of human civilization.

The centaur leader laughed and tried to shout to Roland.

Unfortunately, Roland only understood a little bit of the centaur language, which was not up to the standard of communication.

Seeing that communication was blocked, Roland suddenly had an idea and shouted loudly in the Golden Kite language.

"Friend, can you understand what I say?"

The smile of the centaur leader froze on his face. Obviously, he understood, but the Golden Kite language touched his sore spot.

In a flash, many images flashed through Roland's mind.

Many special tribes raised by the Golden Kite Kingdom came from outside the Rodinia continent, such as the centaurs.

Roland read the notes left by Mr. Carlo, Alina's father, and there was only a brief mention of the taming of centaurs, without a detailed process.

These simple records inadvertently revealed many conflicts of interest and blood and tears between the lines.

Being a dog is a step down for humans, but it is a leap in status for wolves.

Dogs are wolves with training, and wolves are dogs waiting to go ashore.

This is reality.

Human writers who eat too much always like to sing the beauty of wildness, but they don't know that what wild and intelligent life most hopes for is to have a full meal and sleep well every night.

A proud lone wolf will never be a dog unless he is fed with egg yolk pies.

Centaurs are smarter than wolves and are more eager for a better life.

If the centaurs who went to the Golden Kite Kingdom to enjoy the good life have the opportunity to return home, they will definitely show off the sturdy armor, food and wine they got from their masters.

They naturally have to cover up the scars caused by being severely whipped on the buttocks because they did not meet the master's requirements.

In this place where information exchange is basically based on roaring, a returning horse often receives the envious eyes of the local horses in the hometown.

On a quiet night by the river, there will even be mares who worship them and throw themselves into their arms.

Centaurs are also intelligent life, and the famous scenes that happen in human society will also be staged.

Roland quickly completed a bloody TV series "Grassland Horses in Golden Kite" in his mind, and it was not surprising to see the attitude of the centaur leader.

He smiled and greeted the centaur leader.

"Chiron friends, we are just passing by. I learned the Golden Kite language just now when I was traveling in the north. Please forgive me if it offends you."

Chiron friends?

This title made the Centaur leader's face slightly relieved.

Although they also have hooves, in addition to hooves, they also have slightly rough hands that are different from cattle and horses.

These hands are also the qualification for them to obtain the threshold of human certification.

As high-level horses that have escaped from cattle and horses, they are most taboo to be called Centaurs.

Chiron is a respectful title for Centaur heroes in mythology and legends.

Calling Centaurs Chiron is almost equivalent to calling humans the Son of God.

No one can resist nice words, and Centaurs are no exception.

The Centaur leader's expression was obviously relieved, and he smiled and responded to Roland in poor Golden Kite language.

"Dear northern traveler, I am Ironhoof Thorson of the Thorson tribe. Welcome to the Thorson grassland."

"Human traveler, you are bathed in the light of wisdom. It is our honor if you can come to visit the tribe."

Thorson grassland is the front line adjacent to Ogaden, and it is also the place where northern civilization can be most exposed.

Although the mainstream civilization area generally divides the southern continent into two regions along the Ogaden River, the southern continent south of Ogaden is a very vast area, and its area is not smaller than that of the western Rodinia continent.

There are also differences between barbarians. The closer to the Ogaden line, the higher the degree of civilization.

Thorson centaurs are obviously a group with a higher degree of civilization. The ability of the leading centaur leader to observe words and expressions is very close to that of humans in the civilized world.

Being able to make accurate judgments at the moment of seeing the unicorn, "pulling back from the brink" before making unforgivable mistakes, and strangling the idea of ​​crime in the cradle, even among humans in the civilized world, is quite excellent.

Since Mr. Tieti invited him, Roland had no reason to refuse.

Even if there were 10,000 centaurs, they would not be able to hurt him with the support of Eden Garden. It was a rare opportunity to understand the true situation of the centaurs, so he certainly could not miss it.

Tieti led the way in front, and Eden Garden, disguised as a carriage, followed behind. They continued to move forward for more than 30 miles, and finally arrived at Tolson Township?

Although Mr. Tieti proudly called his home the Tolson Metropolis, in Roland's opinion, it was barely qualified as a township.

In Sussex or Golden Kite, a township of this level would only have a sheriff and an administrator, and even no permanent tax office and post office, and no direct access to the road.

A township of this level is a small city, a township of the second type is between a village and a city, and a township of the third type is a large village.

After hearing the name of Tolson Metropolis, Lisa suddenly shrank back into the car, threw down a soundproof barrier, and finally couldn't help laughing.

Falling behind is not terrible, what is terrible is falling behind without knowing it.

Lisa rarely laughs at others, but this time is an exception.

Roland did not laugh out loud like Lisa did. He took the initiative to get off the carriage and admired the Centaur architecture with interest under the introduction of Captain Ironhoof.

To be fair, it was very rough, but Roland's eyes were full of praise.

This is a large village built by the Thorson Centaur with his own ability. Together with the surrounding satellite villages, tens of thousands of people live there. It is indeed a metropolis in the Centaur society.

This "metropolis" has an architectural style that is completely different from the northern human civilization.

Although it is not as prosperous as the Centaur Autonomous Territory of the Golden Kite Kingdom, it is built according to human aesthetics, while this is a standard Centaur aesthetic.

There are still traces of human thinking in many places when humans design cities for Centaur, but Centaur self-built cities are completely different.

Centaur certainly don't have to consider human aesthetics, they just need to satisfy themselves.

First of all, residential construction.

The Ogaden Line is located in the tropics, where the temperature is high all year round, and the coldest temperature is 7 or 8 degrees above zero. It is frost-free all year round. Although it is difficult to develop agriculture efficiently due to the different periods of rain and heat, as long as potatoes and sweet potatoes are planted in spring, there will be endless roots and rhizomes to eat in autumn.

Because it is not cold and the wind is not strong, there is no high demand for wind shelter, and all walls except load-bearing walls can be disassembled.

Because centaurs have four legs, going up and down stairs is a torture for them, so they go to the second floor not by stairs, but by a spiral ramp.

Watching the centaurs chasing and playing on the spiral ramp with a smile, Roland thought of a toy called a carousel.

If this kind of rotating ramp were placed in human society, it would be a killer of old, weak, women and children. In winter, it is mainly a slippery slope. This is the difference between human architecture and centaur architecture.

This difference is reflected in all aspects.

Roland admired the centaur's wisdom while visiting.

Their IQs may not be as high as those of ordinary humans, they may have no education, no carpentry or bricklayers, and even saws are rare items, but they just used the most primitive method to build a building.

metropolis!

After seeing the public toilets and sewer system, Roland recognized the title.

Being willing to polish the invisible details carefully is civilization.

Roland recalled the scene of inspections in remote areas of the Golden Kite Kingdom and the Sussex Kingdom.

bathroom? What toilet? Isn’t it possible to solve the problem of defecation and defecation?

Thinking of the small town of Jinyuan, where water flooded the city after a heavy rainstorm, and people had to swim first if they fell into the water. Roland's evaluation was that they were not even as classy as centaurs.

Reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles are all ways to gain knowledge.

Without a visit in person, Roland would have never imagined that south of the Ogaden Line, there is a group of "four-hoofed barbarians" who are creating civilization in their own way.

Ethnic groups that aspire to civilization are qualified to reap a better tomorrow.

As Roland and Ironhoof talked, the name Chiron became more of a habit than a compliment.

Mr. Iron Hoof was very good at observing people's emotions. He could feel Roland's emotional changes. Although he was proud, he rubbed his big hands in embarrassment and said with a modest smile:

"Traveler from the north, this is a joke for you. You have been to big cities such as Sussex City, Cité de la Cité, and Fort Saint-Liuric. You must feel that our rural place is backward."

Roland looked serious and said seriously: "Mr. Iron Hoof, humans can't even light a fire to cook when they walk down from the trees. No one is born civilized. In my opinion, this city deserves to be called a metropolis. "

"The Chiron tribe is fully qualified to stand in the civilized world."

Roland did not compliment him, but Tiedho blushed, smiled awkwardly, scratched his head sheepishly, and quickly apologized to Roland while the atmosphere was harmonious.

"Dear traveler, in fact, I just wanted to collect tolls, but I gave up my foolish idea because I saw that you are very capable. Please forgive me for being rude, Mr. Traveler."

He believed that Roland could see their initial malice and simply spoke out.

Some words are said just to look at each other and smile, but if they are not said, it is a thorn in the heart.

Roland looked at Iron Hoof with admiration.

Tolls? It was obviously a robbery, but to be able to use such a high-end term was worthy of being an official assigned to deal with external affairs.

But he wasn't angry.

It seems like no one has ever done such a thing as robbery.

The overseas territories of the Sussex Empire spanning more than 20 time zones are not given by recharging, they are all snatched from the local indigenous people.

Roland was more fond of Tie He. He smiled and said: "Since it is a borrowed road, it is reasonable to charge some tolls. I am a little curious, how much did you originally plan to charge?"

Old Tietho's face turned slightly red, and he said with a smile: "Your carriage is of great value, so I originally planned to charge 100 Nubian dinars or 50 Soviet pounds."

That was really a bit dark, but Roland couldn't say anything.

Compared to killing and stealing, the Tolson tribe has a certain bottom line.

"I can give you 100 Soviet pounds, but I want to know where your money is spent? I just saw that only a few elderly people with high status and women with children in the ethnic group have clothes to wear. The others are wearing hooded clothes. Fur hides shame.”

Roland's eyes fell on Tietho, and his meaning was obvious. Even he, the official responsible for external affairs, was in ragged clothes, which showed that their life was quite poor.

"Pot, iron pot. Pots are very expensive, but you can't live without them. In addition, there is salt. These things are really expensive."

Tietho smiled sheepishly and explained quickly.

Roland suddenly realized that iron pots and salt were indeed necessities of life, and they were beyond the scope of these primitive social conditions.

With an iron pot and salt, you can cook cooked food stably. Only by being able to obtain high-quality protein can the brain continue to develop and have a future.

As for why the pot is so expensive, it’s naturally because there are middlemen who make the difference.

Roland thought for a moment and said solemnly: "If you have iron ore, I can smelt it on site and make you three thousand large pots and more small pots."

"How many, how much?" Tie Hoo's hooves were so frightened that he couldn't believe this number.

His breathing was a little messy.

Roland smiled and shook his head, "I think your tribe has at least fifty or sixty thousand people, and three thousand cauldrons is even a little less."

"That's enough!"

Iron Shoe suddenly stretched out its limbs, and the four hooves and the fifth foot covered by the leather coat touched the ground at the same time.

This is the highest level of etiquette for a centaur, to bow to the ground. (End of chapter)