Wasteland Echoer

When "Future" and Lorca stepped within a straight line distance of less than 20 meters from the country house, the surrounding environment and the air began to ripple heavily, like a huge boulder falling into the strangely calm surface of the deep sea.

Suddenly, Luo Ka stretched out his hand and found that the rain that had been pouring had stopped. Looking up, the sky became brighter.

Closing their eyes tightly, Luo Ka and "Future" took a deep breath. They discovered that the limited area around this country house seemed to have formed some kind of limited alien world in an alien plane.

In front of the left side of this country house is the windmill. With the gentle wave of hot air, it starts to rotate. The sky is occupied by pure white clouds of different shapes, adding to the extremely rare blue sky in the wasteland world. With many fairy tale embellishments.

The sun that shines on all things is hanging high in the sky at this moment, spreading its light freely, letting the clouds reflect it, and reflecting the golden and red brilliance at the far end.

Continuing a few steps forward, as if he had already predicted the arrival of the two young men, "Future"'s fingers just bent, trying to knock on the two-person tall door painted in white with a slight arch structure. , but it was opened directly with a soft "squeak" sound.

"Come in, young man. Although you did not come here because of fate. However, if you have a pure enough heart and are pious to the gods, you will definitely not be contaminated with any atmosphere of corruption."

A slightly old hand opened the door and invited the two people into the room with a rich and slightly hoarse tone.

A few seconds after walking in, due to the large difference in light and darkness between the inside and outside, it took Lorca and "Future" a while to barely adapt to the dim light from the interior of the room, which was dominated by the dim yellow of gas lights.

Standing slightly awkwardly by the door, "Future" subconsciously protected Roca behind him and carefully observed the "human" in front of him.

The "human" who invited the two people in was about two meters tall, with a strong build, and looked about fifty years old. Wearing a Krusted palace costume, the upper body of the costume is based on cyan, but the fabrics have many patterns, trivial lines, and the embroidered patterns are rich in imagery. Most of them use golden lines to outline sunflowers and peacocks, showing a sense of grace and elegance.

Even the waistband at the bottom of the top was made of purple fabric that was rare in the Second Era, and the huge button in the middle was engraved with Crusted's holy weapon, the Ice Chanting Pestle.

Although the lower body is mainly made of blue and black trousers, there is a sword hanging on the waist that can only be held by nobles. Even the strong, muscular face, big beard, and pointed hat above the blue eyes are also Peacock feathers are added as a status symbol.

Taking steady and heavy steps that almost made the ground tremble, the "human" walked to the center of the left side of the room, near the burning hanging fireplace, and said in Kruse German with a slightly old accent:

"Don't be afraid of me, boys. What is in front of you is just a soul that should have died in the battlefield or followed the rightful owner long ago. However, because of the complex magnetic field in the 'Bitter Relics', I was able to avoid entering the haunted place. It’s just a hell for those weak and hateful ghosts.”

"Are you the royal family of the old Crusted Empire?" Lorca asked tentatively, staring at the ground, not daring to look up at all.

After a heavy sigh, "human" responded:

"Old Empire? Could it be said that time has passed the final moment set by the 'Millennium and Ten Thousand Kings' plan? Haha, sure enough, His Majesty the Great Emperor's hysterical plot failed to retain our power that has been passed down for thousands of years.

"Oh, by the way, I forgot to introduce myself to you. I am the Marshal of the Crusad Empire and, of course, a member of the royal family. My full name is Augustus Ivanoka Vladimir Rurik. Back then, King Nos I, the father of Ivan XXII, personally granted me the position.

"In order to protect his admirable body, I voluntarily gave up my body and existed in this plane isolated from the world, waiting for the 'time of judgment' to come."

"Your Excellency Augustus..." "Future" asked very cautiously:

"I once used a kind of magic called 'forbidden' in the past to bring my consciousness to this place. That time, when I was lucky enough to peek here, my body's reaction to the energy told me that this should be the place where dragons are. The state of being imprisoned is the 'Dragon Realm'.

"Why, just over a month later, when we actually entered here, we didn't see any dragons?"

"Dragon clan?" Augustus smiled subtly:

"They have long since completely become history. As the rulers of the world, as a noble race that can easily communicate with the gods and obtain their blessings and guidance, they have long been completely abandoned and become eternal history.

"In 713 AD, that is, 21 years after Ivan XXII assumed the position of emperor, he also searched for the so-called dragon clan. Going north, he arrived at the only land at the top of the endless ice ocean, which was named 'Future 'Island, searching for the ancient dragon clan of the Ice Vein family.

"To the south, the 'search team' he sent crossed swamps and deserts, passed through the territory of the Zine people, and arrived at the central lake where the alien beasts were extremely active in ancient times, and even sneaked into it. To the west, we arrived at the 'Far Island' , only one step away from crossing the dark storm and touching the obstacles set by the ancient gods. To the east, during the honeymoon period with the Khitan Reese, the 'Survey Team' under the 'Eastern Legion' had traveled to every place in the East. Big cities, and even climbed to the "ice-dwelling peak" known as the "top of the continent" to explore the dragon people who may have been abandoned.

"However, the results were disappointing. Even though the Khitanris had launched large-scale celebrations and military parades, as well as the so-called opening of the Dragon Realm and lifting of bans, they even summoned the 'Floating Divine Realm' that was almost forgotten by the world. Appeared in the human world. However, except for the 'half-dragons' who have lost most of their strength and 'wisdom', nothing happened. Of course, this does not include the disaster that almost destroyed the Khitanris people."

"I heard that there was once a dragon...'half-dragon' boy named Adaloni, who was imprisoned in the Sener prison underground in the old empire for a thousand years. If you really want to study the power of dragons If so, why don’t you go find him?”

"What do you think is the purpose of our search for the Dragon Clan?" Augustus asked.

"Isn't it for the so-called supreme power?" Lorca asked doubtfully, looking at Augustus' broad face that was somewhat lost.

"This is very narrow-minded." Augustus criticized in a tone of lecturing his subordinates:

"A real emperor who wants to break through his human identity and stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods will never perceive the world with a stupid greedy attitude. The ultimate predatory thinking is the talent of the dirty businessmen in Ptoya who call themselves gentlemen. Uphold.

"For a man who is trying to break through the shackles of continents and planets, reach the other side of the depths of the universe, and try to contact the great Creator who created everything, this power is not enough to tempt him. In his mind, he almost has it. In half the world, the power of dragons is nothing more than extreme destructive power, long-lasting endurance, powerful magic power, and quick thinking.

"These can be solved through the technological products produced. Crusted's aerospace army and even rockets are enough to surpass the flying speed of the dragons and reach the suffocating universe. The energy provided by steam and oil can make machines Run until it is scrapped. The electronic computer model, which is several generations ahead of the difference engine, is larger than the dragon family and its calculation speed is even faster. It can calculate more than ten thousand times in just one second.

"These are enough to eclipse the power of any dragon clan. What's more, the constantly improving 'Fire of Heaven's Punishment' gives us the ability to destroy any dragon clan, and even the world."

"Then why are you still looking for the Dragon Clan?" Luo Ka asked.

"A fact," Augustus replied shortly.

"What fact?"

"Facts about gods." Augustus said, and after making an invitation gesture to Lorca and "Future", he sat directly and heavily on the noble and elegant red leather sofa, and continued:

"Ivan XXII wants to confirm whether pure human power can completely surpass the great dragon clan that has ruled the world for thousands of years. Can the power of technology completely replace the magic that has been respected for thousands of years, that is, Magic source power. After all, the real future world will be a world where technology dominates everything.

"After crossing the electrical age and the information age, the extraordinary power brought by human use of technology will no longer depend on talent, or whether it can resonate spiritually with the magic power created by the Creator. By then, everyone will have it. Opportunity to manipulate extraordinary powers for happiness.

"Human beings... will no longer need to value talent, nor will they need to be bound by origin and understanding. From the moment we have independent consciousness, we can continue to create our own world, just like the sleeping Creator."

"But, Ivan XXII still hasn't been proven, right?" "Future" said with a bitter smile:

"Today's world is still a world of extraordinary power and evil spirits. 'Heartless people' eat the fragile bodies of human beings without restraint, and the lost wander around the edge of the world suffering pain and confusion. Those who are trying to end the chaos Human beings have always been subject to various shackles and have to face the ending of failure. However, now it is really no longer necessary to look at talent and origin. After all, everyone has to participate in the war with their eyes open or closed. "

"This is just a painful process. As long as this process is over, everything will be fine." Augustus said.

"Process?" "Future" suddenly became vigilant, and immediately "taken out" the conjecture in his heart, Diai asked:

"Could it be said that the formation of the wasteland world is really inseparable from Ivan 22?"

Hearing this, Augustus raised his head suddenly and glanced at "Future" with surprised eyes. Immediately, an irrepressible smile appeared on his face.

Then, he waved his hand lightly on the table, and two cups of oriental tea exuding a refreshing aroma appeared in front of several people.

Augustus picked up the porcelain tea cup with his hand, blew lightly, took a few sips of tea, and said:

"In other words, you are the 'new humans' transformed by the 'Ivanov virus'. I can see your lively bodies and feel the energy in your bodies. It seems that the 'future bomb' has already been activated. , your arrival indeed proves that the 'World Transformation Plan' has made absolute progress."

"What does this mean?" "Future" stood up suddenly, took out the pistol from Lorca's waist, put it against Augustus' head, and ordered the former marshal of the empire in a very humiliating way:

"Tell me the truth!"