feiniaonovel Chapter 780 - 779: Second Exploration
Chapter 780 - 779: Second Exploration
Longwind Fortress Defense Line, No.3 Railway Hub.
Accompanied by a crisp ringing sound on the platform, a massive, majestic iron-black steel train slowly pulled into the hub station and smoothly stopped beside the platform.
The barrier near the platform rose, merging with the barrier of the tracks themselves, blocking the cold wind blowing across the plains. Some light and dark stripes playfully dancing on the barrier’s surface also obstructed any possible bird’s eye peering from afar.
At the ends of the platform, soldiers guarded the high sentinel towers. Hidden forts flush with the station revealed the barrels of rail-mounted acceleration cannons and Scorching Ray stations, while heavily armed soldiers patrolled everywhere. Hidden outposts dotted inside and outside the hub, turning the entire station into a frontline fortification armed to the teeth.
"Iron Throne - Mundane Python," Maryland stood on the platform, watching the fully armed black train stop beside it, as many technicians approached to check the train’s condition, showing a slight smile, "With a second armored train added to this defense line, Longwind Fortress’s defenses can finally breathe a sigh of relief."
"Iron Throne-Zero also gets a chance for maintenance," said Sir Philip, a knight with short blonde hair standing beside Maryland, also smiling. "Its overload damage from last year still hasn’t been fully repaired. Every time it accelerates, its tail end, the second arsenal section, shakes like it’s going to jump off the tracks."
He paused before continuing, "After the delivery of these two standard armored trains, the heavy factories at the rear will temporarily focus their main energy on the production of civilian trains. The second-line factories in Kant and Gran Region will be responsible for producing those ’downgraded armored trains’ you mentioned before. Their production speed should be much faster than the Iron Throne.
"Additionally, the higher-ups have finalized the design for these light armored trains. They are named ’Iron Scepter’ to correspond with the Iron Throne. Given that Iron Scepters will definitely be more numerous than Iron Thrones and more prone to various modifications and variants, unless in special circumstances, they will likely be assigned numbers without additional names."
Maryland nodded while listening. The construction of the Longwind Defense Line had been progressing smoothly, greatly reducing the pressure in this middle-aged knight’s heart. However, as the pressure eased on one side, he had to face the changes on the other side of the border line, at Winterwolf Fortress since last winter.
The "Wolf General" who had been forced to retreat and called back to Aldernon for accountability had long returned. And not only had she returned, it seemed she hadn’t suffered any setback from her previous defeat. She still held a firm grip on the Winterwolf Legion, controlling the entire defense line, and more actively strengthening Winterwolf Fortress.
"That Young Wolf General... is more troublesome than I imagined," Maryland frowned, "She definitely brought back crucial intelligence when she returned to Aldernon and sought a lot of support. Now more and more magic vehicles and various advanced machinery are appearing on the Winterwolf Fortress’s side. The Typhon Empire is using them to build fortresses and strengthen their defense lines. Moreover, that Wolf General seems intent on leveraging these new technologies to improve her troops—she might not have seen a tank, but she must have seen information about them. With the magical foundation of the Typhon Empire, combined with that Wolf General’s keen mind, they are bound to find tank alternatives sooner or later."
"Technological progress is an inevitable trend," Sir Philip shook his head, "According to His Majesty, the Typhon Empire began preparing for industrial explosive growth more than a decade ago. Their Pyrostone Acid Plant was built five years earlier than our Alchemy Factory, their educated worker reserve preceded ours by seven years, and their agricultural reform was ten years ahead. Under such circumstances, for us to catch up so much in just under four years with Mage Guide Technology and the Administrative Office system is already a miracle. At this point, hoping for the Typhon Empire to be slow-witted is far from realistic; it’s better to hope their emperor suddenly dies tomorrow."
Maryland looked a bit surprised at the highest commander of the army before him: "...It’s rare to see you joking."
"I’m not joking," Sir Philip paused and said quite seriously, "I’ve heard the Typhon Royal Family has a hereditary disease, where most die in madness through late life. Emperor Rosetta Augustus is already middle-aged, and statistically, the chances of him suddenly dying tomorrow are indeed higher than the intelligence of millions of Typhon citizens suddenly dropping..."
Maryland: "..."
After being stunned for several seconds, feeling the current topic was unable to continue, Maryland had to shake his head and forcibly shift the topic to another direction: "As per the planned schedule, in two days, the Typhon delegation will arrive at Winterhold Castle... Do you have any additional arrangements for this?"
"Everything can proceed according to the previous plan," Sir Philip said casually, "Ensure proper reception, escort the delegation safely onto the train—take care to move the two Iron Thrones to Palamere and the northern hills beforehand, ensuring confidentiality of military areas."
While speaking, this young army commander turned to look at Maryland in the eyes.
He smiled, "Typhon and the Cecil Clan are rivals, and precisely because of that, we must maintain our knightly demeanor—We’ll politely receive them, and politely send them away. Your task is to make sure they see nothing during this process."
...
Cecil Palace, Gawain received a secret message from Daniel.
The Eternal Sleepers had finally completed a series of preparations, solidifying the Sandbox and analyzing and organizing last time’s "Illusion Town" exploration report. Today, they will embark on the second exploration of that mysterious projection of an unmanned town!
After handling matters in the real world, Gawain wasted no time in settling his mind and connecting to the Eternal Sleepers’ mental network.
—As the creator of the Eternal Sleepers’ mental network security system and the greatest loophole maker, he was already familiar with the entire process like the back of his hand.
After the chaotic changes of light and shadow, Gawain arrived at the ever-perfect dream city and followed the address left by Daniel to the congregation of the Eternal Sleepers.
Still the same circular plaza surrounded by falling leaves and decorative columns as last time, the plaza’s main three figures were familiar: Daniel, Yuri, and Archbishop Selena Gerfen. Their images were respectively a genteel middle-aged mage, a refined young man, and a lady holding a portable lamp with a soft face and white robe. Besides them, Gawain saw a new face this time:
A man exceptionally tall stood beside Daniel. He appeared to be in his thirties, wearing a black robe with intricate patterns, with short red hair, exuding an impressive presence.
His name displayed as Archbishop Magnan, powerful Peak, located within the Typhon borders.
Gawain glanced twice at the red-haired Eternal Sleepers Archbishop and quickly matched him with the intelligence submitted by Daniel—this was one of the older Archbishops within the Eternal Sleepers, reportedly quite irritable and with unique insights in the realm of consciousness.
Gawain couldn’t tell if the person was irritable or not, but the name sounded quite formidable...
Criticizing the name in his mind, Gawain couldn’t help but glance at the person’s height—a tall figure nearly matching Gawain’s own made the red-haired Archbishop particularly noticeable in the square. However, this giant-like physique was draped in a spellcaster’s robe, which subconsciously reminded Gawain of Wright in a cleric’s robe—
Such a build hardly seemed like that of a spellcaster, but the figures standing on the square on this occasion were all using their images from the mental network. Indeed, he wondered what the real appearance of this grand-titled Archbishop was in reality.
Gawain’s thoughts wandered for a moment, his gaze sweeping past the owl-mask-wearing advanced tools behind the four Archbishops—compared to last time, the Eternal Sleepers’ exploration this time was evidently more solemn and cautious. Not only had the number of masked priests increased to six, but their robes all bore distinctive symbols—each symbol was different.
Is this to avoid the "extra person" situation from last time?
But relying on these symbols... in a place like Illusion Town, which can affect judgment and alter thoughts, is it really helpful?
Doubt flickered through Gawain’s mind, and during the few seconds he was observing and thinking, the ten-member exploration team completed their preparations and negotiations before setting off.
As before, Archbishop Yuri was responsible for opening the "channel" to Illusion Town. Spreading his hands, golden magic symbols traced a complex circular magic array on the ground, with Daniel and others standing in the center. The red-haired Archbishop Magnan then spoke, "This time, stay vigilant, trust no one’s first impression too much."
"Of course," Archbishop Yuri’s golden symbol glowed in his hand as he offered a gentle smile, his gaze sweeping over the ten-member team, "Not only us, but the monitoring group at the rear will also conduct more active and effective tracking and surveillance, so there will be no more unexpected intruders among us."
The Eternal Sleepers updated their monitoring technology this time?
Gawain vividly remembered the "extra person" from last time and found it unsettling. Hearing Archbishop Yuri’s words offered him some reassurance, so he stepped into the rune-marked area with a smile, taking the position of the eleventh person.
As the transport light began to flicker, Gawain’s gaze shifted and landed on Selena Gerfen.
This calmly poised Lantern Saintess merely stood there quietly, holding her lantern and staring ahead, indifferent to external attention.
Thoughts churned in Gawain’s mind—did Selena Gerfen really participate in that mysterious voyage seven hundred years ago? If she did, how much did she know about what happened back then? If she even knew about Gawain Cecil’s "deal," then did she know the truth behind the "Wanderers from Outer Realm"?
If she was aware that the "Wanderers from Outer Realm" occupied Gawain Cecil’s body, what has she been waiting for in silence until now...
The scene blurred, and as the chaotic lights stabilized again, the empty Illusion Town appeared before Gawain.
He and the other ten Eternal Sleepers stood in the central square of the town, the exact spot where they had departed last time.
The murky, dark clouds still enveloped the entire town, with the eerie mist undulating in the distance. The expansive town was desolate, devoid of any residents or lights.
There was no sound of clock chimes in the town, and no church could be seen in the square. The anomaly from last time seemed to have completely vanished, returning the town to its initial appearance when first visited.
"There certainly is a very eerie atmosphere," Archbishop Magnan looked around, nodding as he spoke in a booming voice that startled in this vast, silent place, "An empty, deserted dream... in psychological symbolism, this represents a form of escape? Or extreme loneliness?"
Everyone seemed accustomed to Archbishop Magnan’s loud voice, and upon hearing his words, Archbishop Yuri merely furrowed his brow: "If this is the dream of one individual’s mind, psychological analysis might provide explanations, but this is likely a collective projection formed by countless minds in Sandbox One, making it harder to define."
"Then it’s group psychology," Archbishop Magnan shrugged indifferently, "Ultimately, such tendencies encompass only a few points: fear, avoidance, intense desire, or extreme aversion to certain things."
"It’s still too early to analyze this, until now we’ve only encountered one mind related to Sandbox One, which is that eerie and possibly malicious elderly priest, and we cannot conclude that the operations of Sandbox One adhere to the psychological patterns of the real world," Selena shook her head, "However, what happens in this town certainly reflects reality to some extent. According to reports from the sandbox management team, the legend of being ’deleted’ if not hidden on the day the chimes ring should correspond to the scheduled reset operation during the early running of Sandbox One..."
Gawain immediately showed interest in the new term Selena mentioned.
"Scheduled reset?" Daniel exchanged a look with Gawain, and then appropriately displayed a puzzled expression, "What’s that?"
Considering Daniel had recently been promoted to Archbishop and was understandably unaware of some early matters regarding the Zero Project, Yuri didn’t become suspicious and casually explained: "In the early stages of the project, Sandbox One was still incomplete, necessitating partial reset every ten days; deleting virtual residents generated inside the sandbox, retaining only the ’world’ within it.
"We suspect that after being deleted, some memory fragments of those virtual residents remained and have been preserved in certain Brain Servants’ minds until today. These memory fragments influenced the collective subconscious of Sandbox One, leading to the peculiar custom of ’the day the chimes ring.’"
Daniel nodded, appearing enlightened and said, "I see."
Meanwhile, Gawain, hearing this content, showed a thoughtful expression.