Sword of Dawn

Page 373

In the dining room of the Autumn Palace, Gawain had dinner with Matilda and others.

"It's an unforgettable day, not a compliment, it's the truth," Matilda said, sitting dignifiedly at the long table, facing Gawain, "especially the "Foundation of Everything"...I really can't describe what it brings My sense, I never imagined, that there could be a book like this, like this... big, vast, even ambitious."

"It hasn't been finished yet," Gao Wen said, "Such a book cannot be compiled in a year or two."

"I've come to expect it when it's finished," Matilda said sincerely, "and... if you don't mind, I even have an offensive request: I'd like a copy of it— —and when it is done, I wish to bring it to Typhon."

Gawain looked into Matilda's eyes, paused for two or three seconds before speaking: "Of course, there is no problem - I am happy to see the dissemination of knowledge, which is one of the purposes of the "Foundation of Everything" project at the beginning .When it's finished, I'll send you a full copy—just as a gift to celebrate the arrival of the new era."

Matilda showed a hint of joy: "Thank you very much."

Chapter 0799 Achievement

Night is falling, but before the darkness completely covers the land, artificial lights have been lit in the city, dispelling the darkness that has just arrived.

The street lamps stretching along the city roads and the bright lights of every household are shining in this forest made of steel and concrete, like stars falling into the world, shining brightly.

There may be no night in this city.

On a terrace somewhere in the Autumn Palace, Earl Dürer looked at the distance of this strange city, and couldn't help but sigh in a low voice: "Even the most remote urban areas have the same number of street lights... This is not a small sum. expenses."

Matilda's voice came from not far away: "But it improves law and order and makes the city safer. In the long run, the crime rate will decrease, and the cost of maintaining the law will also decrease."

"...The aristocratic council in Aldernan is not good at thinking from a 'long-term' perspective, and this really needs to be changed." Earl Durer turned around and bowed to Matilda, "Are you also here to see the scenery? "

"Walk around," Matilda said lightly, "Count Durer, what do you think of what you have seen and heard today?"

"...This is indeed a different place from Typhon. To be honest, some aspects are frighteningly disordered, but some aspects show...surprising order," Earl Dürer shook his head , "I still prefer Aldernan, for its solemnity and solemnity."

"Obviously, our understanding of 'order' is different from that of Emperor Gawain," Matilda said casually, and then asked, "Earl Durer, what do you think of that set of "Foundation of Everything"?" Do you have an opinion? You also read the original manuscript and some of its content.”

"To be honest, my first feeling was a little disappointing," Earl Dürer thought for a while, and said bluntly, "When I knew how much the Cecils spent to compile it, and that Gawain Cecil When the Emperor placed high hopes on it, I thought I would see some great books that recorded difficult magical mysteries, condensed profound wisdom of philosophers, and shone with brilliant grammar, but I didn't expect the content in it to be so superficial... . . . the language is vulgar. But it is truly amazing in its size and content."

Matilda looked at Earl Durer for a while, and said unhurriedly: "But there are also things you don't understand, such as typhoid and miscellaneous diseases, such as mechanical technology, and the unfinished agricultural volume... Just like its name, it is "The Foundation of Everything", and it records the basic common sense to maintain the operation of a society, not the profound knowledge that only a few people can delve into.

"And more importantly, Emperor Cecil intends to spread this kind of thing to the entire empire and regard it as the 'knowledge benchmark' of the people. Earl Durer, can you imagine what this means?"

Earl Dürer's words were accompanied by thoughts: "Yes, I can imagine...so after the first feeling of disappointment, I understand your feelings after seeing those original manuscripts, and I also understand your request to His Majesty Gawain. Require……"

Matilda looked into Earl Durer's eyes: "Then Earl Durer, what do you think? Do you think Typhon needs the "Foundation of Everything"?"

Earl Dürer blinked and fell into a short thought. After a moment of silence, he spoke with a somewhat complicated tone: "To be honest, in my opinion, if it is to be extended to the entire society, then what is said in "The Foundation of Everything" Stuff... but it's a bit too much."

……

In a room in the Cecil Palace, Amber stared at Gao Wen in surprise: "Then you decided to give Typhon the complete version of "Foundation of Everything"?"

"That's right," Gao Wen said frankly, "and I plan to send a hardcover edition - I signed it myself."

"Aren't you afraid to play it off?!" Amber's eyes widened, "That's... how to say it, in your terms, it's the 'basis for the operation of modern society', which is used to improve the competitiveness of an entire generation. If you don’t want to hand things over to the Typhon people casually, won’t there be any accidents?”

"First of all, when the "Foundation of Everything" is completed, mass-printed on printing presses, distributed nationwide, and everyone can buy it, who can make it impossible for them to flow into Typhon? The new printed publication is not Classical magic books, unless we ban them vigorously, their flow will be unstoppable," Gao Wen glanced at Amber, and said with a half-smile, "Second point...do you think "The Foundation of Everything" has reached Typhon Will it be the same as it was at Cecil?"

Amber frowned slightly, showing a thoughtful expression.

Gawain shook his head lightly.

"No, because Typhon's nobles have become new factory owners, because their council is essentially a mixture of capital and nobles, a group that is more greedy and selfish than pure traditional nobles, even if they They have built a factory system similar to ours. Even though their industrial machines have already started, they are not the same as us in their bones.

"Compiling a set of "Foundations of Everything" only requires hundreds of scholars, experts, assistants and an office with overall planning capabilities. We can do it, and so can Typhon.

"However, to spread this set of "Foundations of Everything" to the entire society requires a powerful supreme government office, tens of thousands of grassroots clerks, an army capable of smashing the old aristocrats, and countless buildings like liberal arts colleges and Institutions like Imperial College, countless night schools, teachers, and literacy teams.

"These Typhons don't have any, and in their eyes, our "Foundation of Everything"...talks too much."

Amber couldn't help frowning: "Then what's the point of you giving Matilda a set?"

"Spreading knowledge is just for the sake of spreading knowledge," Gao Wen laughed, "I don't have any other intentions, and I don't have any conspiracy. I just hope that knowledge can be spread as widely as possible. "The Foundation of Everything" may Being placed in the study of Rosetta Augustus, perhaps entering the noble council, perhaps entering their Imperial Craft Association and Mages Association, no matter what, it is a good thing. And if it really happened, it would be very One of the possibilities is that Rosetta Augustus and his council decided to disseminate the subvolumes including general social studies and continental history... It is also a good thing."

Amber once again showed a thoughtful look, while Gao Wen looked at her and couldn't help asking curiously.

"Speaking of it... You have paid more and more attention to these complicated things recently, and you can even discuss them with me for a long time-were you not the most impatient to think about these things before?"

Amber was stunned for a moment, and quickly waved her hands: "I'm impatient, but the salary you give is really too much..."

Gao Wen was dumbfounded, and after a while he couldn't help but shook his head with a smile: "Then let's take it that way."

After Amber left the room, Gawain stood up from the high-back chair and came to the large French windows facing the dark mountains.

The bright magic spar lights shone behind, dispelling the darkness that had spread over the mountains, and above the magnificent and ancient dark mountains, bright stars were rising.

The familiar mental fluctuations suddenly surged in the depths of consciousness, which was Daniel's request for communication.

Gao Wen recognized the imprint in the mental fluctuations, and did not enter the deep dream, but directly connected to the spiritual communication with Daniel in the shallow consciousness.

"My lord," the old mage's respectful voice sounded in Gao Wen's heart, "I have received information that Pope Megaul III will agree to your conditions."

Gao Wen was a little curious: "While I was leaving, the archbishops held another meeting?"

"It was not a formal meeting, but a tacit agreement was reached between King Megal III and some archbishops in advance," Daniel Hui reported. "If there is no accident, this will be the final result of the meeting..."

"...It seems that there are intricate relationships within the Order of the Eternal Sleepers, but the control of that Megoll III is obviously superior to all factions," said a person who is quite familiar with similar faction relations, internal struggles and shuffling behaviors. Gao Wen didn't show any surprise, but rather agreed with it, "He is very decisive and very wise, now is not the time for a leisurely meeting and discussion, he has to ensure that there is only one voice left in the entire sect within a short time... ... also to ensure that after the event is over, when I, the 'outside wanderer', takes over his order, the remaining members of the order are all selected by him..."

"My lord, do you need my cooperation to do something?"

"No need, just let things take their course. Megal III has accumulated 700 years of wisdom, and he will handle everything," Gao Wen said, "I only care about the technology and knowledge of the eternal sleepers. As for this How the church develops... After being transformed by me, it will naturally follow a healthy development path."

Then he paused, and asked casually: "What about you? After being invaded by me, an 'extraterritorial rogue', have you, a 'security director', encountered any trouble?"

"...I have been rewarded," Daniel's voice paused and hesitated, "Although I failed to 'stop' your 'invasion', the Pope and more than half of the archbishops think that I have at least caused you trouble, showed With the power of mortals... they think I have done something that they can't, and I have made credit."

Gao Wen: "..."

Facing Gawain's brief silence, Daniel's voice became more cautious: "My lord, do you think... there is a problem?"

Gao Wen: "...No, no problem, everything is fine."

How should I put it, just now he felt a little bit of guilt just now, and felt that he had been a little cruel to the group of eternal sleepers, but after thinking about it carefully, anyway, cultists have no human rights, so he accepted the status quo frankly.

What's more, as a wanderer outside the territory, he can't just be trapped in embarrassment in front of Daniel - this is detrimental to the image.

While talking with Daniel, Gao Wen suddenly felt something.

He laughed in his heart: "It seems that the news you said is coming, sooner than I thought."

Then the old mage's voice sounded: "Then, my lord, I will retreat first."

Daniel's mental imprint quietly left, and after erasing all traces, Gawain redirected his shallow consciousness to the spiritual network, responding to a voice that kept calling him.

Accompanied by the intuitive feeling, he looked to the side, and saw a dim and soft light suddenly appearing in the air, and then the light condensed into a classical lantern with a crystal shell.

Selina Geer, who was dressed in a long white dress and had a calm and gentle temperament, held the lantern and stood beside Gao Wen.

"Hello," Gao Wen nodded slightly to the familiar yet unfamiliar "Saint with the Lamp", "I didn't expect you to come here in person."

"Relying on dreams, I have more means of self-protection than other believers," Selina said softly, "It is very risky for us to come into contact with 'outside wanderers'."

"I can understand your concerns, although I don't think it's necessary," Gao Wen smiled, "I was still thinking, I didn't leave a 'contact information' for you, how should you contact me."

Selena looked calm: "We really can't lock your location, but we believe that as long as you call your name in the entire psychic network, you will definitely hear it—you must be listening to the psychic network."

"It doesn't sound like something to be happy about...but it's true," Gawain said, raising his eyebrows. "Then, are you here to tell me the answer from the Eternal Sleeper?"

"We can agree to your request," Selina said straight to the point, and said the answer that Gawain already knew. "Although further discussions are needed by the Supreme Bishops' Conference, we can already give you an answer."

Gao Wen was not surprised at all, he maintained a calm look: "It sounds like you are indeed in an urgent situation - very good, this choice is good for everyone."

"We still have conditions," Selena said suddenly, "or... to express our attitude in advance."

"tell me the story."

"We can pledge our allegiance to the 'Outsider Wanderers' and accept the 'incorporation' and 'transformation' you mentioned, but all of this is based on the laws and rules of the world. We will not believe in a new god. If one day, You are on the path of the gods..."

Gao Wen interrupted Selena before she finished speaking: "There won't be a day, if there is, then all our agreements will be void."

Chapter 0800 The Beginning

Selena stared at Gawain for a long time, as if she wanted to see through this "extraterrestrial wanderer" from an unknown realm in a human shell.

But she can't see through anything.

Because she was just a visual phantom projected by Gawain who actively let go of part of his superficial consciousness. She could only see what Gawain wanted her to see, and could only hear what Gawain wanted her to hear. Yes, just like the dilemma of the Order of the Eternal Sleepers at the moment:

He has no choice but is under the control of others. Even if he talks about "conditions" at this moment, it is at best just showing his attitude.

At this moment, the wanderer outside the territory promises that he will not walk the path of gods in the future, and promises that if he breaks his promise one day, the covenant will be voided, but Selina herself knows that no one can witness this verbal promise, neither can humans, nor can gods .

All she and her compatriots can trust is the credibility of the "human" of the extraterrestrial rogue.

Gawain didn't know exactly what Selena was thinking, but he could probably guess one or two, and after a moment of depressing silence, he shook his head: "You don't have to be so wary of me, you are all too nervous. I may come from a place you don't know, from an ethnic group you don't know, but during this journey, I am just an ordinary traveler.

"I hope to establish cooperation with you because I think the upper-level narrators are a threat, and your Order of the Eternal Sleepers... is more or less worth being pulled.

"So just relax and treat this as a human-to-human collaboration, and your nervousness will be much better."

Speaking of this, he deliberately paused for a moment, and then said as if he mentioned it casually: "Besides, you came to see me in person today. Apart from conveying such a piece of news, there should be other things you want to tell me, right?"

Selena's expression didn't seem to change, but the eyes she looked at Gao Wen suddenly became deeper. After a short consideration, she nodded as expected: "I have some questions, and I hope I can get answers from you."

"Ask, if I know."

"You said that you came to this world to fulfill a promise," Selina asked very seriously, "Is this promise... related to Gawain Cecil 700 years ago?"

"Yes." Gao Wen nodded calmly.

"This promise... is to help Gawain Cecil save the kingdom he once established? Is it to help all beings get rid of the shackles of the gods? Is it to lead mortals through the tide of magic?"

Gawain met Selena's scrutinizing eyes, he thought about it, but finally shook his head: "I'm not sure."

Selena's eyes widened immediately: "Are you not sure?"

"I'm not sure." On this issue, in front of Selena, Gao Wen did not fabricate a lie that would be difficult to make up in the future, but chose to guide the topic on the premise of telling the truth, "I seem to have forgotten some key points. memory, maybe some sort of protection... but I know, I made a deal with Gawain Cecil, he traded his soul for me to come into this world, so here I am—

"After waking up, I saw that the world was in chaos, the ancient land was sinking in the chaos, people were threatened by threats from inside and outside the borders of civilization, and the kingdom was dying, and all these were very detrimental to me enjoying life safely, so I became myself Want to do - I do exactly what you describe.

"I'm not sure whether these things are the content of the deal back then, but recently I have a growing feeling...what I'm doing should be what I promised back then, or...Gauvin Cecil is doing the deal I knew then that I would do it.”

Selena looked at Gao Wen fixedly, there was some surprise in those eyes, and there was also some inexplicable sense of relaxation, and finally she blinked: "You are more... straightforward and honest than I imagined."

"Otherwise? What should a wanderer outside the territory look like in your mind?" Gawain smiled. "Is it with some kind of divinity? Hard and cold like steel and stone, lacking in emotion?"

"Almost," Selena seemed to have a hint of a smile, "So, you have forgotten the details of that 'transaction' with Gawain Cecil, and you don't remember why he made that transaction with you." deal'?"

"I don't remember it in general, but some vague fragments have surfaced recently," Gao Wen said, his eyes falling on Selena, "For example... I know you are related to it."

Selena's eyes were calm, and she met Gao Wen's gaze calmly.

"You should be able to see that I have inherited a lot of Gawain Cecil's memories, and in one of the memories, there is his experience of going to sea in the Dragon Fjord. In that special memory, I sense your strength.

"So I am sure that you have been involved in that matter, you know that transaction, so you should have known my existence, and today's conversation between us has made me more and more confirmed this.

"You said that you have some questions and hope to get answers from me. It just so happens that I also have some questions now-can you answer them?"

Gawain showed a gentle smile, and asked calmly and cordially as if he were an old friend.

He had already demonstrated enough majesty of the "Outsider Wanderer" in the last meeting, but it was mainly for the unknowing Eternal Sleepers, and Selina Geerfen in front of him was half The insider, in front of her, Gao Wen decided to show his "humanity" a little bit, so as to weaken the vigilance of the "insider", so as to avoid unexpected troubles.

The starlight and lights outside the window were intertwined, and the magic spar lamp behind her exuded a warm and bright light. Standing beside Gao Wen, Selena was bathed in this intertwined light, seemingly lost in thought, and seemed to be remembering, for a long time, She broke the silence.

"Everything changed at the Ancestor's Peak. It was the beginning of everything, the beginning of the three sects falling into darkness, and the beginning of that voyage..."

"The Peak of the Ancestors?" Gawain heard the words that surprised him, "You mean, Gawain Cecil's voyage back then was related to the Peak of the Ancestors?"

Selena nodded slightly: "Since you have inherited his memory, you must be very familiar with the ceremony held by the Church of Dreamland, Church of Storms, and Holy Spirit Druids on the Ancestor Peak, right?"

"I know that it was the attempt to communicate with the gods that caused the three churches to be polluted by the gods, and thus gave birth to the three major dark sects - this conclusion is partly derived from the memory I inherited, and partly from my The result of the long-term investigation since I woke up.”

Selena nodded again, she did not dwell on the known history of the two, but continued: "That incident destroyed the beliefs of the three orthodox gods, and it also affected other churches and the unsteady foothold at that time. The several human kingdoms of the world have caused a huge impact.

"The three major sects that were polluted at that time fell apart, and the witnesses at the Ancestor's Peak either fell into madness or died on the spot. The only survivors were the priests of other churches who were at a loss and did not establish a faith connection, and those who were located at the Ancestor's Peak. On the outskirts of the peak, there were no personnel directly involved in the ceremony. No one could tell the outside world what happened at that time, and no one knew what caused the terrible pollution and collective frenzy.

"After that, in order to calm people's hearts, and also to explain the phenomenon of lost and regained magic, other sects have announced the so-called "oracles", claiming that the gods returned to the mortals and issued new sacred laws, including dreams. The three sects, including the church, were exiled and fell into darkness because they refused the oracle, but this is a calming statement after all. It cannot convince everyone, let alone hide it from those who are more familiar with the high-level church and the operation of the sect. People who know better...

"Many people became curious about what happened on the Ancestor's Peak and launched investigations again and again, including Gawain Cecil."

Having said that, Selina turned her head and looked into Gawain's eyes quietly, while the latter was lost in memories. After retrieving some key memories, Gawain said thoughtfully: "I have the impression that in Shortly after that incident, 'I' went there, but 'I' only saw the abandoned ritual field, where the frantic priests destroyed everything, leaving no clues..."

He has habitually equated himself with "Gawain Cecil" in his conversations, and would call himself the latter from time to time. Selena obviously noticed this, but she didn't say anything about it, just asked He said: "Did you really find nothing? Did you really only see the abandoned ceremony ground there?"

"I remember..." Gawain flipped through the inherited memory images in his mind, recalling how Gawain Cecil went to the Ancestor Peak to investigate the truth 700 years ago, and slowly, he frowned, "No , I'm not sure, there are some frames that are not continuous."

It wasn't until this time that Gao Wen realized that he still had memory loss that he hadn't noticed!

He looked at Selena subconsciously: "Is this memory your hands and feet?"