High Above

Terra 775, May 18, Xiahui City.

The Victory Square, decorated with lights, was full of residents and tourists who came here to visit. Because the groundbreaking ceremony was approaching on June 1, pieces of colorful curtains like rays of light had been hung on the streets. The vendors setting up stalls along the streets enthusiastically Promote your own delicious snacks.

The hygiene of most of these roadside stalls is not very up to standard, but the tantalizing aroma and lively atmosphere really make people unable to control their hands.

A fleet of horse-drawn carriages that looked unremarkable in appearance, without even the slightest extra decoration, came to the city checkpoint. Although Xiahui City did not have a city wall, there was still a management office on the avenue to review the fleet.

After passing the review, the delegation from Huaiguang Church arrived at Xiahui City in such an ordinary carriage.

"It seems that the lord already knows that we are coming."

The Oath-sworn Archbishop is a 'girl' wearing a red and black ceremonial robe.

The robes on her body were layered, and the obsidian and light blue blended together, making it look complicated and magnificent. Her appearance looked like fourteen or fifteen years old at most. Her long hair was dancing in the wind like black flames, but her eyes were dead. General ice blue.

And if you look closely, you can see a pair of panther-like animal ears in the hair of the sworn archbishop. She is a film-maker.

Traveling with him was a bald man who looked a bit like a Melian man. He closed his eyes, but there was light coming out of his eyes, and he could vaguely see the bright golden eyes under his eyelids.

Archbishop Tianyan nodded slightly: "I noticed that this city is shrouded in an invisible force that I cannot capture. It is probably some kind of psychic magic lock, or a superior inscription array."

"The Prophet and the Mountain King are waiting for us on the other side of Silver Peak."

Turning his head, Archbishop Swearing, although expressionless, said to all the members of the envoy in a soft tone: "You can move freely first. Tian Yan and I will go over and visit - the banquet can be eaten, but there is no need to make such a big show of it."

Silver Peak is the cliff peak where the Lord's Mansion is located. Although it is only one or two hundred meters high, it is high enough to overlook the whole city. The Lord's Mansion at the top of the cliff is brightly lit, and someone is even hanging a 'Warmly Welcome Huaiguang Church' The envoys' banners have been prepared for the banquet.

Obviously, the Huaiguang side did not notify them in advance, but the prophet did know that they would arrive today.

Everyone responded, and the two archbishops turned into light and disappeared.

The seven people who were allowed to move freely were divided into two groups. They looked at each other with smiles, made a few gestures, and then split up.

"It's hard to imagine that this is the former Le'an City..."

Among the three-person team, the white-haired dragon nun stared at the city in front of her in amazement. Yingguang was not a fussy person. Rather, she was very calm, even when faced with things that could scare people. The remains of the alien god won’t change their expressions.

But for some things, the more contrast there is, the stronger the feeling.

Sister Yingguang still remembers that when she first came to Laian City to investigate the disappearance of the caravan, it was just a small town with a population of tens of thousands. The city was surrounded by Xiahui grass. The whole city revealed a quiet and harmonious atmosphere, but there was a vague Somewhat gloomy and dead atmosphere.

Ying Guang dared to say that even if Baron Ryan didn't secretly rob the population for biological experiments, the atmosphere in Ryan City would not be sunny - after all, this is a city in the mountains surrounded by mountains and forests, and the people's character is also different because of Ryan. An Ling deliberately "high welfare" and appears lazy.

It is the protective layer used by Baron Ryan to disguise himself. Naturally, there cannot be any internal vitality.

but now……

The Dragonite Sister raised her head involuntarily and looked at the huge chimneys erected on the west side of the city.

Unlike the chimneys of the alchemy workshops she had seen in the past, the chimneys here did not emit gray-black or colorful 'rays'. In contrast, in this city named after Xia Hui, the color of the chimneys is as pale as snow.

The Huaiguang Church has done this before, and they know that this is the practical result of the lord's "reuse of alchemy techniques".

Ian Yinfeng invented this genius technique when he first arrived in the Imperial Capital and passed the alchemy test. Although it is not suitable for high-end alchemy, a slight improvement is the best way to prevent pollution.

The chimney that seemed to be towering into the clouds was puffing out white mist, faintly integrated with the flowing clouds in the sky, and when Ying Guang was watching those clouds and mist, a shadow passed across the sky, covering the city and streets.

Those were dragons - the Dragonite nun saw two real dragons flying slowly towards them.

The real dragons landed on a mountain peak in the northwest of Xiahui Territory, and then two rays of light went straight into the lord's mansion. They must be the mountain king of Nanling and his child, the spiritual dragon Xio.

The King of the Mountain was originally responsible for guarding the treasure of Qiang Steel Dragon and waiting for the successor to appear. After Ian Yinfeng became the Dragon God's envoy and fully inherited the legacy of Qiang Steel Dragon, he should return to Dragon Island and wait for the next action.

But maybe it's because of the relationship between Mahdi and Dragon Island, or maybe Ian himself is the target of Dragon Island... In short, the King of the Mountain who was supposed to leave not only didn't leave, but even directly participated in the former Dragon God's faith , the construction of the "Frost Sky Dome", the new holy land of Chongling Sect.

At this point, even some nobles in the imperial capital kept mumbling, saying, "How can the Silver Peak Territory without the fourth level be worthy of the honor of being the first earl of Nanling?" How could a twenty-year-old young man control so much? Large areas of territory' are of no use anymore.

Because there are really fourth-level dragons living on this land.

The appearance of the dragon did not cause disorder among the people on the street. They all just stopped, silently saluted, and then continued to laugh and do whatever they were supposed to do.

"strangeness……"

The Milos man on the side, Shouguang, muttered: "It's not that you won't be afraid of something like Longwei after seeing it too much. It's an instinctive reaction of the spirit and blood. How can these Yinfeng people be so calm?"

"I'm afraid it's because these Yinfeng people are unusual."

The White People's Priest Huijian smiled slightly. He scanned the streets in front of him, the 'fluorescence' in each person's body, and then looked towards the north of the city.

Different from the lively and noisy southeastern city, the western part of Xiahui City is a densely packed alchemy park. It is heavily guarded and the atmosphere is as hard and cold as steel being tempered. There is nothing else except the sound of the workshop.

To the north is another extreme - it is a group of towers flashing with endless thunder, like a lightning storm... This is the energy center of Xiahui Territory. From time to time, one or two electric sparks explode in the void between the high-voltage electricity towers. .

The magnetic storm coils, light prism towers and another brand new, constantly rotating octagonal prism tower scattered throughout the city all rely on the energy supply here.

The energy pipelines here are buried deep underground. Although they have been hidden, it can be clearly seen that the main structure of this place, that is, the core of the power furnace is located underground.

[The pipeline leads directly to Xiahui Lake...Have you actually built an energy furnace core using the 'Sky Drop Relic'...]

Pure white spiritual radiance flashed in Huijian's eyes, and he thought thoughtfully: [Ian's ability once again exceeded our expectations. Maybe there was a reason why he took the initiative to choose Xiahui Territory as his territory... ...According to deduction, his choice should be to return to Harrison Port, use some means to get rid of Viscount Grant, and seek to seize that port and the South China Sea Labyrinth]

[But looking at it now, he still has information that we don’t know either]

"Want to go directly to the Lord's Mansion?"

Shouguang noticed the performance of his companion and said with some surprise: "The archbishop will tell you when he comes back later."

"Yeah. No rush."

Huijian responded with a smile. He motioned to Redemption and Yingguang: "Let's take a look at this city first."

The city is lively and prosperous, and Xiahui City now has the atmosphere of a big city. The renovated commercial street is wide and lively, with bright lights, and no vehicles are allowed to pass - this is a pedestrian street, with merchants' storefronts on both sides of the street, and many Less mobile hot dog and kebab joints.

"It's only been a year since the food crisis, right? Can they eat meat like this?"

Redemption Guang opened her mouth widely, not because of surprise, but because she was hungry. The Milos female paladin touched the corner of her head, swallowed and said: "And they use too many spices. They Are the spices free of charge?”

"It's just chicken and duck meat. Breeding is fast."

Huijian noticed that today's Xiahuiling meat is still mainly chicken, fish, duck and other rapidly farmed poultry.

As for spices, Canaan Moore, who cooperates with Xiahui Ling, is the origin of spices. The Jindeng family directly controls many spice plains, not to mention that most of the knight estates in the Golden Plains also grow spices. As long as they reach a cooperation agreement , there is definitely no shortage in this aspect.

"Is the main priority the supply of civilian supplies?" The only thing that made Huijian thoughtful was Ian's attitude. Obviously, this lord did not seem to intend to turn the territory into his own testing ground or sublimation supply point—— If that were the case, he wouldn't build any chicken and duck breeding factories or agricultural buildings, but would let everyone go dig in the mountains.

Now, what Ian does is mainly to make ordinary people eat well... Although it is indeed a good thing, what is the purpose?

Even Huijian couldn't figure this out for a while. According to what is currently known about Terra, after the people are fed, they will slack off in their work... or even give up thinking.

Although it sounds a bit unpleasant to say, it is the fact that some elves in the remote areas of Canaan Moore still live in wooden houses. Isn't it because life in the coastal jungle is too simple, and there is no need to worry about eating enough?

Instead, they lived in the mountains, plains, and even underground spaces. Those elves who had to work hard to fill their stomachs began to develop and expand very early, and evolved into the prototype of today's Canaan Moore.

Unless Ian finds another way that allows ordinary people to still have 'desires' after eating.

And while Huijian was thinking about it and Shuguang had already spent money to buy Xiahuiling's specialty grilled stone shrimp sausage, Yingguang discovered another novelty on the side of the street.

"Vending machine?"

She was quite curious and came to a huge square glass storage cabinet. There was a special terminal on the left side of the vending machine. There, some locals from Xia Hui led them to use the terminal to buy something.

After some manipulation, the vending machine automatically pushed a product into the vending port, and the buyer took it and left. It was very smooth from beginning to end.

"How can it still be like this..."

Yingguang had learned a lot: "Is there no thief in Xiahui's area? Such a big container is placed here, no one is watching, wouldn't it be stolen all at once?"

With such doubts, Yingguang went to a passerby to ask this question.

"That's going to jail! And no one can escape!"

The passerby's answer was very simple: "In the first two weeks, there were idiots stealing things from the vending machines every day, but everyone who stole things would be caught, and it was useless no matter how much they hid."

"The first time was only three days of criticism and education, the second time was to work in the West Swamp to open up wasteland and reform for a month, and the third time... I have never seen such a stupid fool. He dared to do such a thing three times. , it’s time to die.”

"But don't say it yet." The passerby seemed to have thought of something. The mountain man with gray-black hair said: "I actually know a 'thief' who has stolen three times - he is not a thief, but he is short-sighted and wants to Let’s see what happens if we steal three times.”

"A few days ago, he came back from the laboratory. He has become more upright, and his speech is no longer confusing. I almost don't recognize the silly boy before - he even calls me uncle instead of 'old man'. Something’s gone!”

Hearing this, Ying Guang frowned slightly.

The laws of Xiahui Territory are not strict at all. It is normal for thieves who steal "government property" arranged by the city hall to have their hands chopped off in other noble territories in the empire. The second time they do it, they will be beheaded. .

As for the third time, it is obviously hopeless. Even the kindest lord has to hang this kind of person - let this hell place of Terra be content with being hanged. Some people will die worse than life. Law.

But in the end, the third...the third punishment, what happened?

This reminded Yingguang of the one among the three children led by Ryan who could manipulate memory... His psychic powers seemed to have a similar effect?

There were some doubts in his heart, but Yingguang didn't think much about it. After all, there were very few people who would really steal official things three times when they would be caught every time.

Not to mention, how could a kind and reliable knight like Ian use the same terrifying tactics as Baron Ryan?

The only strange thing is how Xia Hui Ling can catch everyone who steals.

Could it be a prophet?

No, no, no, it is not advisable to rely on the prophet for everything...

And just when Yingguang was comforting herself, she suddenly saw a person running out of the vending machine not far away.

This man was holding a oscillating fan in his hand and was sweating profusely complaining that it was too hot inside the vending machine. Pedestrians passing by also made fun of him.

"Ah? Artificial?"

Seeing this scene, Sister Yingguang was dumbfounded. She had maintained a good demeanor as a clergyman and suddenly turned into a country girl. Not only her, but also Shouguang took a bite of shrimp grilled sausage in shock: "I thought it was a real automated system, but I didn't expect it to be human!"

Now it's completely clear why every thief gets caught.

But Huijian raised his eyebrows.

He noticed that the man's clothes did not look like a vending machine operator, but more like an engineer... He seemed to be a repairman?

Vending machines may actually operate automatically. If this is the case, then Xiahui Leader must have the means to monitor the entire city, and that is the 'Monitoring Circle' and 'Psychic Mystery Lock' mentioned by Archbishop Swearing and Archbishop Tianyan.

"Or is it a network program from a pre-era civilization?"

He was thinking.

And just when the Huaiguang Church team was moving freely in Xiahui City.

At the Lord's Mansion, Ian has already met with the two archbishops.

"This time, we are here on behalf of Huaiguang Holy Mountain, and we want to reach a 'natural disaster mutual aid cooperation' with Nanling with the Chongling Sect."

As soon as they met, the leader, Archbishop Swearing, said directly without any greetings: "Because there is a prophet in Nanling, and you are a very influential prophet lord. The Holy Mountain cannot predict any disasters around Nanling. Even if it is predicted, we cannot be sure whether the intelligence is distorted."

"Fortunately, Earl Yinfeng, you happen to be a crisis prophet, so we want to sign a prophetic agreement with you on behalf of Huaiguang Holy Mountain - as long as there are signs of large-scale disasters or crises. , please notify us immediately and we will dispatch relevant personnel to cooperate with you to deal with all possible natural disasters on the mainland."

Although Archbishop Swearing is petite and has a young and beautiful appearance, one can clearly see her seniority by looking at Archbishop Tianyan's lowered eyebrows and a follower's posture... This posture is not just because of her strength.

Demihumans remain very young until some time before their death, and so apparently does the Sworn Archbishop.

As for the Archbishop's proposal, Ian's thought was 'of course I agree'.

Huaiguang Holy Mountain must have reached cooperation and communication with all prophetic forces in terms of natural disasters to avoid unpredictable disasters with great impact in a certain territory.

This is also the reason why the continent of Terra respects the prophets very much. They can indeed ensure the survival of most people on the continent from multiple dimensions.

But there is only one thing that worries Ian.

(I know too many natural disasters?)

Ian thought in his mind: (Is it better to tell them all to nip them in the bud, or to talk about them one by one? I always feel like I don’t know how to talk about it...)

After Ian was distressed and Archbishop Swearing finished talking about the most critical matters, Archbishop Tianyan spoke.

He slowly talked about another key cooperation: "In addition, the existence of Chongling Sect has been recognized by us and other four major orthodox religions. Later, before June 1, envoys from other orthodox religions will also arrive in Xiahui Leader, we will publicly certify Chongling Sect at the time you want...and as a requirement, you must be very clear about it."

"I must have a regular team of psychic priests."

After coming back to his senses, Ian took over Archbishop Tianyan's words and said with a smile: "The core goal of this team is not to simply fight, but to be able to go deep into the virtual realm - it is about demons. Are you right?"

"It seems that there are many things that we don't need to talk about."

Archbishop Swearing raised his brows, and Tian Yan smiled. The burly former knight said calmly: "That's right. You already know a lot, and you have even mastered the technology of artificial psykers... But in order to avoid misunderstandings, We still have to inform you of the relevant details."

Having said this, he raised his finger and said seriously: "And - please don't get me wrong!"

"In order to ensure our cooperation in the future, the clergy troops on the Chongling Religion side may need to undergo our training... This is not to seize power, nor to contain, nor to force a hand, but the clergy troops are in great need Only by observing some rules can we survive better, so we may send some instructors to teach..."

"marvelous!"

Ian was too lazy to listen to the subsequent words of Huaiguang Church's self-certification. He directly clapped his hands and praised: "When will we send someone to teach our clergy? Of course, you also know that our clergy are currently not large in number. There are only two young people in office..."

"it's the same."

Archbishop Tianyan obviously didn't expect Ian to be so insensitive, or... to believe in Huaiguang so much.

So after a pause, he nodded with a smile and said: "According to our judgment, Chongling Sect will have a long period of development, so our instructors will be stationed in Xiahui Territory for a long time."

"As for the candidate...you should also know Count Yinfeng."

"They are moving freely in the city now and will respond to the call later."

At this moment, the Yingguang trio had arrived at the foot of Silver Peak.

The manor next to Yafeng has long been vacant.

There is only a huge battleship model located there now.

"What it is……"

Shouguang, who didn't know much about this aspect, murmured to herself. She raised her head and looked at the exquisite battleship model in front of her, and said with some hesitation: "When I went to the World Tree Capital, I felt like I had seen a similar structure. , but the capital of the world tree is vertical, and this battleship..."

"It should be the capital of World Tree."

Huijian raised his head and said: "According to our information, Ian Yinfeng received a thank-you gift from World Tree Capital, and this model is probably one of them - could it be that World Tree Capital also shared its own with Ian? Structure? Then what on earth did he do to deserve this kind of reward? "

"I think it might not be that complicated."

Ying Guang raised her head thoughtfully and said, "I think Ian might like this model quite a lot - it should be a hobby. This model should be just a miniature model, isn't it?" What kind of miniature airship can really fly?”

"How can it be."

Shouguang didn't care about his junior sister's naive idea: "People like Count Yinfeng have a purpose in everything they do. How can such a big model be purely for hobby?"

"Too."

Yingguang thought about it and felt that it was right: "Earl Yinfeng's idea is definitely not that simple."

"We have to think more."