Chapter 597: Life extension
Star Dragon Empire, the imperial capital Saint-Saunière.
On the day of the annual March volley, the Dragon God Statue area near the Grand Palace gathers the largest number of fanatical believers in the year.
Similarly, this is also the most tense time of the year for the Saint-Saunière garrison and the Forbidden Army.
All units have entered a state of combat readiness, all available mobile monitoring equipment has been put online, and the highest-level military channels near the Grand Palace have even rarely entered a high-pressure state.
The Imperial Guards with live ammunition, the various armored vehicles behind them, and the HCP with electromagnetic machine guns loaded with anti-personnel shotguns, all looked seriously on guard against the fanatical crowd outside the blockade.
However, they are not worried that these fanatical believers will attack the military police, the National Church or the Grand Palace - after all, these fanatical believers are also the most loyal citizens of the Star Dragon Empire.
What they worry about is that believers from different parishes will fight with each other to get a better viewing position or because of some doctrinal interpretation issues, which will eventually turn into a large-scale brawl.
In the core area near the Grand Palace, this kind of brawl involving hundreds of thousands of people is obviously very risky. Therefore, the main task of the garrison and a small number of forbidden troops present is actually to closely monitor all areas and prevent any Any signs of a fight that might lead to a fight were snuffed out at the first opportunity.
Of course, this method of 'strangling' is obviously not so elegant and humane.
As the three moons hanging high in the sky reached the highest point of the day, all units with anti-aircraft capabilities near the Grand Palace also detected a small shuttle that was falling from high altitude.
As the identification codes silently interacted in the night sky, a large number of fixed anti-aircraft weapons groups arranged in the dark also unlocked the fire control radar.
In a Forbidden Forces HCP standing behind the cordon, the pilot looked at the approaching unit frame at the top of the screen. After it turned into a blue logo representing 'important friendly units', he also looked at the fire control interface. The activation of the charged particle cannon has been deactivated.
The omnidirectional sensor above the tall HCP also rotated slightly as the pilot raised his head, and finally watched the small shuttle enter terminal deceleration and land on the apron behind the Grand Palace.
Although the target recognition frame does not show the unit to which the shuttle belongs due to permission issues, its pure black paint with gold thread embellishments, coupled with the highly recognizable 'Discharge Star Dragon' logo, The pilot still recognized where it belonged.
"The Ship of the Silent."
As the shuttle shook slightly, Magnussen, the chief royal silencer, emperor's inner guard, and sixth-level psyker, slowly opened his eyes.
On a small virtual screen on the right, the words 'Landed in the target area' were flashing, and at the same time, the pilot in the front cockpit of the shuttle also opened the door of the shuttle.
The biting cold wind at night in Saint-Saunière couldn't wait to get into the interior of the shuttle, and then hit an invisible wall in front of Magnussen.
After confirming that there was no abnormality in the storage box locked with his right hand, Magnuson quickly used the boarding ladder to reach the ground.
The inner tarmac of the Grand Palace was deserted tonight.
All ground staff and other staff were temporarily centralized during the shuttle's landing.
Therefore, in Magnussen's view, the internal apron at this moment also presents a sense of "quietness" that is difficult to associate with an "airport".
But he didn't care about this, and walked towards the interior of the Grand Palace ahead without looking back.
As an area commonly used by the royal family for daily travel, this apron was built directly in the core area of the Grand Palace, so it did not take Magnussen long to reach the destination of his trip - to the bottom of the emperor's palace Elevators in the underground core area.
In front of the elevator, the only responder arranged to wait here, Cormac, a fifth-level psyker who is also a member of the Royal Silencers, immediately came over to meet the chief after seeing him.
A gust of evening wind blew through the corridor of the Grand Palace, blowing up Magnussen's robe and the empty sleeve on his left side.
Cormac, who came forward, visibly paused after seeing this. He raised his hand and quickly typed out a series of sign language that only the Royal Silencers could understand.
"You were injured and lost a hand."
"It's not important."
Magnussen shook his head. Since his only right hand was holding the storage box, it was rare that he could only use his spiritual power to directly say in the mind of his companions:
"The important thing is that I got back what His Majesty and the Archbishop need. Is there anything unusual in the Grand Palace during this time?"
"Everything is normal, don't worry."
During Magnussen's absence, Cormac took over his duties, responsible for the Emperor's personal protection and coordinating the security of the core area of the Grand Palace.
However, he thought that he still couldn't be as flawless as the chief, so he was relieved to see Magnussen back.
But he never expected that this man who stood at the pinnacle of human combat power would actually lose a hand in this secret mission
Soon, Magnussen stood on the elevator leading underground, while Cormac stood at the entrance. After all, he would not be able to participate in the next process due to his authority.
The core area underground of the Grand Palace has a height difference of almost 900 meters from the entrance. The entire core area is hidden inside the mountain where the Grand Palace is located.
As the elevator continued to descend at a constant speed, Magnuson also felt that he had entered the interior of the mountain. The thinnest areas here were covered with hundreds of meters of rock mass.
When the elevator reached the 'final floor', Magnuson passed through several tightly guarded checkpoints - here, the guards were no longer garrisons and forbidden troops, but were all replaced by 'martyrs' of the church. 'force.
These church troops, composed of fanatics and ascetics, were more loyal to the old emperor Frederico, who combined royal and divine power than the imperial army and the garrison.
This is why the Imperial Military Department, which has been relatively thoroughly infiltrated by the forces of the Regent and Princess, has been opposing the expansion request of the ‘Imperial National Religion Guards Corps’
After all, the Imperial Guards in history have all had precedents of being incited to rebel, but it is very difficult for this kind of church army to be instigated.
The core area of the final floor is an independent hemispherical room in the center.
Here, Magnussen finally met Frederico, the current emperor of the Star Dragon Empire, who was lying in the life-support cabin, and Jules Mazarin, the archbishop of the empire's state church.
As speculated by the outside world, the old emperor Frederico was indeed in a critical state, but it was not because of his old age, but because of some extremely rare genetic defect, which accelerated his aging and made him almost It was the end of life that came to an end overnight.
The last hope is all placed on the 'Experiment No. 92' that is still active in the Forerunner Research Institute.
Magnussen strode forward to the life-support module, then knelt down on one knee and placed the storage box in front of him.
The storage box where the experimental products were stored had already been unlocked by the method assigned to him, so as he pressed a certain switch on the box, there was first a heavy unlocking sound, and then a burst of low-temperature gas flowed out of the gap in the box. , eventually turning into a burst of white mist flowing close to the ground. "This is the 'eternal cell'."
Archbishop Jules' whisper of exclamation came to Magnussen's ears. At the same time, he also felt that the archbishop moved a step forward. At the same time, a small camera also hovered near the storage box, and the pictures in the camera were synchronized. on the virtual screen above the life support cabin.
"Magnussen. You did a great job."
An old voice sounded directly in the head of the royal silencer.
This was the voice of the old Emperor Frederico.
As a sixth-level psyker, and having been trained in 'anti-psionic' and 'psionic shielding' since childhood, Magnussen can theoretically block psychic interference from psykers of the same level and lower levels - for example, directly through The spirit speaks in the mind.
The emperor of the Star Dragon Empire is not a 'hidden master' who hides deeply, so the ability to speak in Magnussen's mind at this moment is not brought to him by his spiritual power.
But it comes from the innate ability brought to them by the mysterious "Star Dragon Bloodline" flowing in the bodies of the imperial royal family - Dragon Power.
This is why, in Magnussen’s perception, Frederico’s voice is a ‘multiple’ coming from different directions.
Magnussen did not speak, but lowered his head a little lower. As a personal guard, he rarely communicated directly with Frederico. In most cases, he guarded silently in the dark.
"Go back and have a good rest. There is no need to worry about my safety here. Remember to go to the Royal College of Medicine tomorrow. Their chief human modification officer will replace you with a brand new prosthetic leg."
Frederico's words were slow and firm, with an unmistakable meaning.
As a personal bodyguard, Magnussen dedicated all his loyalty to the emperor without saying anything and quickly stood up and left.
After the old emperor and the archbishop were left alone in the core room, the latter slowly said:
"If this 'eternal cell' is really as effective as that adult said, then the completion of the 'Star Dragon Body' is only a matter of time."
Having said this, Archbishop Jules Mazarin hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Frederico who was soaking in the nutrient solution of the life-support cabin.
"Your Majesty, do you really want to use this 'experiment'? Or do you really believe what the forerunner said before he died?"
"Do I have any other choice?"
This time, Frederico's voice sounded in the Archbishop's head.
"Do you want me to watch the empire be destroyed like this? Or do you think that Norton II and my dear daughter will not attack your church without me?"
The old emperor's words made Archbishop Jules Mazarin fall into silence, especially the latter sentence.
Although the Archbishop preaches in the National Church near the Dragon God Statue all year round, this does not mean that he is ignorant of what is happening in other parts of the empire.
All the parish, middle-level and grassroots church personnel were actually his eyes and ears, which also made him very clear that the regent and the imperial princess were actually very dissatisfied with the church for a long time and wanted to deal with it quickly.
Therefore, no matter which faction between them finally takes over, the Imperial State Church may still exist, but it is unknown how many church personnel, including him, the archbishop, will remain.
"It seems you know this very well, Jules."
Seeing that the archbishop didn't speak for a long time, Frederico's voice continued to ring in his mind:
"We don't have so much time to waste anymore. Jules, I have a hunch that as long as we can complete the 'Star Dragon Body', all problems will be solved. By then, the empire will also regain its former glory, whether it is the Federation or those Elves, no one can stop our rise"
As Archbishop Jules Mazarin left the room, the words of Frederico were still echoing in his mind.
He must admit that the supreme ruler of the Star Dragon Empire was right. If the Imperial State Church, or church members like him, did not want to be liquidated in the future, they must closely follow the old emperor.
This also means that he must put aside his thoughts about various risks and "extend his life" for the old emperor.
Jules Mazarin, holding the scepter representing the archbishop's power in one hand and a storage box in the other, quietly walked towards the main personnel transport elevator in the underground core area.
Along the way, the armed forces from the church, whether they were fanatical believers or respected ascetics, all bowed their heads respectfully to show respect for the usually majestic and inviolable archbishop.
But today, Jules Mazarin's heart was filled with an unprecedented heaviness, which made him turn a blind eye to everything around him. He just nodded slightly and walked straight into the elevator.
After the elevator door closed again, Jules Mazarin let out a breath and said:
"Command: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇"
The next second, a mechanical female voice also sounded: "Verification passed - welcome, the Archbishop is heading to the 'Final Dogma Area'."
The elevator began to operate again, but continued to move downwards. Under the 'Final Level' on the control panel, a 'Final Dogma Area' appeared in red.
There are not many high-level officials in the empire who know about the underground area below the Grand Palace. After the old emperor Frederico moved here, some information about this area has been semi-disclosed to the outside world.
In addition to the 'final level' where Frederico is located, there are also some secret agencies and psychic research institutes and other facilities above that are not open to the public.
But there are not many people who know about the 'Final Dogma Zone', which is deeper underground than the 'Final Level'.
Apart from Frederico and Jules Mazarin, there are only five insiders who are still alive in this world.
This area, built under the leadership of the founding emperor of the empire, was closely protected from the noise and light of the outside world.
After Jules Mazarin left the elevator and passed through several security doors made of high-strength alloys and composite identification technology, the imperial archbishop finally arrived at the core of this mysterious space—a huge freezer.
(End of chapter)