Sword of Daybreaker

In the early morning, the cool morning breeze blew into the room through the open window. The wind brought the sound of the garrison soldiers gathering and training on the courtyard square. Hetty walked briskly across the corridor and walked into Gawain’s study. The report was delivered to Gao Wen.

"Ancestors, the Theocracy document-the test project numbered EC-27 was successfully completed. This is the relevant data and summary records."

Gao Wen looked away from the information in front of him, took the document handed over by Heidi, and quickly flipped through his eyes. Some key information quickly entered his eyes: "...During the test, Project G-1 vs. Project G-2 The'miracle' influence exerted did pass through the barriers of space and reality, and directly acted on the body...There was no pollution in the divine realm, and no form of'overflow' phenomenon was observed...For Project G- 1 Follow-up monitoring and testing showed that its divine part showed no signs of recovery, nor did it have a spiritual connection with any mind in the real world...

"...To sum up, the practicality of non-directional thoughts has achieved substantial results, and its effects are not limited to passive ‘isolation’, but also active, controllable and targeted protection...

"It is also added that Project G-1 showed extremely high cooperation in this test, and he won the respect of all members of the project team..."

"The tests done on Patty and Ammon were successful," a few minutes later, Gawain put down the file and raised his head and said to Hetty, "Without any interference or hints from outside will, their cross-border contact did not produce Pollution-the non-directional thoughts pervading the bottom of the neural network are effective. Now we can not only create a'protection field' in the fortress of disobedience, but as long as the neural network covers the place, the anti-divine barrier can be used. Play a role."

Heidi smiled: "Now with the'broadcast device', even if a certain **** suddenly falls into madness, we don't have to worry that the people will be directly converted into fanatics, let alone that they will become a source of power for the mad gods. ..."

"Not only that," Gawain smiled, and tapped his finger on the file on the table. "The'bridge' that connects the gods and the real world is rooted in the mapping relationship in the trend of thought, and now we have gradually integrated this This kind of mapping relationship becomes controllable-at least disturbable. According to the latest theory, as long as the anti-divine barrier is strong enough and the broadcasting device is dense enough, we can even directly interrupt the arrival of the mad **** in the real world. process."

"...This is the ultimate insurance," Heidi looked serious and said in a low tone, "Although we must try our best to prevent the gods from reaching the stage of'crazy gods', once this stage comes, we will finally have an effective and The assassin of its confrontation...I hope this technology can mature as soon as possible, and the tragic scene on the battlefield of Winterhold will not be repeated."

Thinking of what he had witnessed on the battlefield of Winterhold, Gao Wen nodded solemnly, and then said thoughtfully: "Next... is to do our best to make the neural network scale up quickly. We have signed with the Silver Empire. The information interface agreement and the negotiation with the “Communication Tower Management Association” of Typhon are also very smooth. A large-scale magic net has been laid in the territory of the Ogure tribe, and the progress of the Holy Dragon Principality is also very fast... but the biggest problem Sure enough, the group of'hermits' in the north..."

Heidi frowned slightly, and quickly reacted: "You mean... the Violet Kingdom?"

"Yes, the Violet Kingdom, the kingdom of hermit-like wizards," Gawain nodded with a headache, rubbing his eyebrows with his index finger. "There is only a strait between them and the mainland of Loren, but the distance between them and us. But it is farther away than the Silver Empire across the entire Gondor Wasteland. They once again refused the invitation to merge into the Alliance Communication Agreement... and this time it was a direct reply from the City of Thousand Towers."

Hitillo recalled: "But I heard they didn't reject it completely?"

"Yes, theoretically, the negotiations have made some progress," Gao Wen sighed helplessly. "They agreed to set up alliance communication stations in several major coastal cities to facilitate businessmen and businessmen and The adventurers contacted the alliance, but they refused to establish an interface between the "Violet Network" and the alliance communication network. No interface would work. They also refused to introduce key equipment such as immersion cabins and neural network nodes."

"This is troublesome," Herty understood Gawain's distress, and the expression on her face became serious. "Rejecting these key things means that the neural network can't be connected at all — to establish a few demons in the border city. It is meaningless to be able to obelisk. The key to the anti-divine barrier lies in the coverage of neural networks..."

Speaking of this, she paused, and couldn't help asking again: "Don't they know the threat of the divine disaster? Or don't they believe the things we have announced?"

"No, judging from the response of the city of a thousand towers, they know and believe that they even expressed their respect and blessings to the whole world," Gao Wen opened his hands, "but they don't care."

Heidi was stunned: "...this...isn't this really some kind of provocation?"

"I have doubted this for a long time, but now I can only be sure that they really don't care," Gawain said with a headache. "The mysterious'tower hermits' in the city of a thousand towers... they seem to really treat themselves Exiled from this world, I don’t care about the survival of the world, the continuation of the entire mortal civilization, or even whether I will die in the next divine disaster and demonic wave. Seriously, I can’t understand their thinking... It’s not like a species living in one world."

"It's really rare to see you showing such an annoyed look," Heidi looked at such a Gawain, but couldn't help showing a smile on her face, but she quickly reduced the smile and her tone Restored seriousness, "Ancestor, frankly speaking, I have always had an extra concern for the Violet Kingdom, and my impression of this Kingdom... Maybe you are interested in hearing it.

"You know, I am also a mage myself, and any mage knows that there are two peaks in the magical mystery in this world. One is the'Astrologer Association' established and led by the elves in the Silver Empire. They There is no doubt about the profound magical background, but due to differences in the nervous system, the magic system of the elves is not compatible with other races, so this'magic peak' has never been open to foreigners. And the other peak... is the violet The Kingdom’s "Secret Society".

"The Violet Kingdom is a hermit-like country of mages, but its'peripheral' part is like a kind of'transitional zone' and is not completely blocked. This kingdom still establishes communication with the mainland of Loren, and its coastal cities also have special treatments. An institution opened by businessmen and travelers. The Violet citizens living there also have a lifestyle similar to ours. Anyone who has been to the Violet Kingdom knows that the people living there are actually just like us and ordinary.

"However, as long as you cross the edge of the giant island and walk a little deeper into it, the situation will be very different. It is said that there is a magic city with a style different from that of the mainland of Loren. Standing like a jungle, magic power infiltrates and transforms the environment in the hinterland of the kingdom, and the boundaries between reality and reality have become blurred, and even the people living in those areas... seem mysterious and weird.

"There are people who have entered that area of'Hinterland', and their consistent description when they come back is as if they have walked into some kind of'exotic land.' An inexplicable'weird' envelopes that area, and they may even feel that they are in it for a long time. I am being assimilated by the strange environment there, and I gradually forget what the “normal life” looks like in the outside world...Of course, this last part of the description often proves to be exaggerated, but since there are such rumors everywhere, It shows that the core area of ​​the Violet Kingdom is indeed weird."

Gao Wen listened carefully to Hetty’s narration. This was something he had hardly seen in his previous reports—these contents were mixed with Hety’s personal tales and history and her impression of the Violet Kingdom as a mage. The accuracy of this information may not be high, but it was enough to open up some brand new ideas for him.

"From your description... it's as if the kingdom is divided into layers from the outside to the inside," Gawain touched the tip of his nose, and said while thinking. There is a completely different environment...It doesn't feel like a mortal country built, it's more like a'secret realm' used to seal and suppress something."

"It's not that there is such a saying," Heidi stretched his hands. "Some scholars describe the Violet Kingdom like this. They say that the country is a huge secret realm-half of the entire island is a lie, and half is phantom."

Gawain did not respond to this weird story that sounds too absurd. Instead, he showed a thoughtful expression and said slowly as he pondered: "You mentioned the'Secret Society' of the Violet Kingdom... There is an impression. The founder of the magic net, the unknown wild mage... he was expelled by the secret society, and as far as I know, some members of the secret society leave the Violet Kingdom every year, in the northern part of Loren mainland travel……"

"Yes, there are such traveling wizards. Sometimes they even accept employment in northern countries as magical advisors to certain lords or kings, but these wizards rarely mention their own country." Heidi nodded. "When they leave the Violet Kingdom, they all seem to accept some kind of'memory reshaping', sealing off many memories about the Violet hinterland, especially about the city of a thousand towers. This phenomenon has increased the Violet Kingdom in Loren. Mystery in the eyes of all races."

"...If you want to say this, I am more and more interested in this country," Gao Wen muttered, rubbing his chin gently with his fingers, "I even used the method of'memory reshaping'. , Then it seems that the secrets hidden in this country are not small."

Heidi didn’t speak for a while, as if she was reminiscing something. After a while, she suddenly said: "Ancestor, if talking about the connection with the Violet Kingdom, I suddenly remembered one thing... Do you know? One of the people familiar with it has dealt with the Violet Kingdom, and it is a very deep deal-she has even entered the city of a thousand towers."

"Anyone who has entered the city of a thousand towers?" Gawain suddenly widened his eyes in surprise, "There is another one? Who is it?"

"Grand Duke of the North, Grand Archon Ms. Victoria," Heti said with a serious face, "She used to ‘learn’ in the city of a thousand towers when she was a girl!"

Gao Wen was stunned, and after two seconds he suddenly reacted: "Ah, I remember, what I have heard of... Victoria, in the Anzu era, was the most outstanding magic genius in the entire northern region. There are records. Said that her talent was favored by the Violet Kingdom, and was even fortunate to be invited to study in the City of Thousand Towers... I never thought of it!

"This is normal, because I am afraid that there is not much information to dig behind this incident," Heidi nodded, "Like all the people who left from the Violet Hinterland, Ms. Victoria doesn't remember her incredible'study Time'-related memories have been sealed, so she almost never mentions this matter to the outside world. Of course, it is harder for others to discuss the personal affairs of an upper-class nobleman frequently."

Gao Wenqu unconsciously tapped the file on the table with his fingers, and while tapping, he seemed to say to himself: "The heir of the Duke of the North...he will have such an experience, indeed, it is truly a garden of sword and magic. Times'. But anyway, this has aroused my interest-Connecting Winter Castle, I want to talk to Victoria."

"Understood," Heidi nodded immediately, "I will call."

The magic net terminal set next to the desk was activated, an internal line quickly issued a call, and Winter Castle, thousands of miles away, responded within a few seconds-luckily, Victoria, the busy north The manager happened to be in his castle today, and she soon appeared in front of Gao Wen.

"We are discussing about the Violet Kingdom," Gao Wen said straightforwardly, "I heard that you have been to the city of a thousand towers, and you were selected because of your outstanding talents. This experience is very interesting."

Victoria did not expect that Gawain suddenly called herself because of this. She seemed a little surprised, but she reacted quickly and shook her head a little embarrassingly: "There is nothing to hide, but... I don't actually remember that I was there. The specific experience of studying in the City of Thousand Towers... You know, the Violet Kingdom strictly controls its secrets. Even the Violet citizens in the Secret Society must undergo memory reshaping to leave the City of Thousand Towers..."

"I know this, Heidi told me just now," Gawain nodded, "So what I am interested in is the memory of you before entering the city of a thousand towers... How did they choose qualified trainees, trainees How did you get to the Violet Kingdom on the other side of the sea, what can you see and hear on the way from the border area to the city of a thousand towers... Do you remember these things?"

Victoria listened carefully and nodded slowly: "Of course, I still remember most of these experiences-since you are interested, I can tell you about it."

"This is a very'mage-style' experience, it sums it up like this: talented young people were picked up by the mysterious kingdom of magic, received the education and guidance of arcane truth, and after half a year it seemed like the world has evaporated. After his disappearance, he returned to human society and no longer remembered his specific experience in the past six months, because the mysterious kingdom of magic needs to continue to maintain its mystery—the only thing that can prove the true existence of that period of'study' experience is more and more The magical power of diligence, as well as the knowledge and spell models that seem to appear out of thin air in my mind..."