Chapter 670 Two New Witches
Entering March of 1447, the temperature in Black Snake Bay was increasing exponentially almost every day. By the middle of the month, even wearing the thinnest linen shirt would feel hot.
After unbuttoning his collar, Horn leaned against the pavilion pillar like a bear against a tree, using the simple snake-like patterns on the pillar to tickle his back, without caring at all that there were several ladies present.
Located on a hill beside the Ibe River, the hexagonal pavilion casts a long shadow under the blazing sun.
There were four witches sitting in the shady pavilion, five if Horn was included.
The roof of the simple pavilion is covered with thick green turf and dark red moss, and the air is filled with the moist scent of wood and the fishy smell of river water.
Except for a few witches who cannot leave the battlefield, the remaining important witches in the central county are all in this small pavilion at the moment, sitting around the round table for an outing.
Picking up the tea cup and drinking coffee, Horn looked around at the witches in front of him.
I have to say that the physiques of witches are really outrageous. There are four witches here, and each of them has a completely different style of beauty. Even in modern times, they can compare with many female stars.
After entering the central county, Horne did not meet all the witches in the Witch Council. They were either unable to escape from the front line or refused to meet with Horne.
The only two new witches that can really be seen are Otatira and Novia.
Looking past Lulesi, who was sitting obediently on the stone bench with her knees in her arms, smoking a pipe and sipping coffee, the witch beside her who looked about sixteen years old, but was actually in her fifties, was Novia.
Her hair was half pink and half black. At first, Horn thought that her hair was blond like Jeanne's, which was caused by magic.
However, in fact, it was dyed, and the black upper part was just new hair growing out.
At this moment, she was studying a small orichalcum barrel, and even put her fingers into the gears to fiddle with it. It made Horn frightened, but she didn't care.
When she was annoyed by Horn's words, she would hide away and secretly talk to Horn, the mechanical soul in the clockwork chamber.
This witch has a very special ability, which is to manipulate metals, change their shape, or control their movement.
Unfortunately, this manipulation requires actual physical contact and cannot be applied to metals that are too dense or bulky.
As for her flying ability, it comes from a special magical mithril armor.
In other words, Novia is not flying by herself, but is controlling the Mithril Armor to fly, and she is just putting herself in it.
Of course, there is only one mithril armor, and the mana that drives it is only Novia.
But no matter what, being able to fly with your left foot stepping on your right foot is incredible enough.
Sitting directly opposite Horn was Jeanne, with her back to Horn, holding a lookout glass, still observing the new army training under the mound.
Amidst the sounds of orders and the clash of weapons that could be heard on the mound, the soldiers of the Black Snake Bay Divine Punishment Chapter were running in unsteady lines along the river, carrying stones on their backs.
Passing by the soldiers in front of them, and beyond the forests and river bends further away, thick yellow-green smoke and vague screams could be seen rising.
However, the roar of the Griffin Cannon in the distance did not affect Otadira's mood in reading "Pravda" at all.
This bookish witch held her chin in one hand while the other hand kept scratching over the words of the newspaper.
The Speaker of the Witch Council has always been mysterious. Cheka found out that she is a physical witch, but almost no one has seen her use magic. She is a quite mysterious witch.
This Otatila was a person with general knowledge. After a meeting with Horn and Lulesi, she quickly changed her mentality and joined the Sacred Axis.
His attitude changed so quickly and things progressed so smoothly that Horn was caught off guard.
I just don't know why, but every time Otadila looks at Horn, there is a hint of weirdness and curiosity in her eyes. Seemingly because she saw Horn staring at her from the corner of her eye, Ottatila pulled back her long hair on her temples, pointed to the article above and asked: "I have read these issues of Pravda, in case I There is an error in understanding, can I confirm it with you? ”
Horn poked his head around and saw that the article Otadira was pointing at was the front-page article of the new issue of Pravda: "Why can only the Sacred Axis be called a country?"
The basic content of this article is probably what the system of the Imperial Kingdom is like, what its essence is, what the Thousand River Valley and the Sacred Axis are like, why it is advanced in this way, and why the people of the Empire have no freedom...
This article seems to be popularizing science, but in fact it is implicitly denouncing the empire as unfree and unequal, using propaganda to secretly increase support for the war, and at the same time shaping the national consensus within the Sacred Axis.
And this is Horn’s propaganda campaign to build an imaginary community. Unfortunately, the imaginary community is not about me first and then you, but about you first and then me.
If there is no "imaginary enemy" to distinguish the differences, then there will be no internal cohesion.
After the winter ideological innovation of "Pravda" and its popularization during this period, the people of Qianhe Valley have gradually condensed some "common sense" of modern countries.
Together, these common senses form the public’s imagination of the country and their positioning of themselves.
Bureaucrats alone cannot rule a modern country.
After listening to Horn's explanation, Otatila asked lightly: "Then can I understand that the people of the Holy Axis are actually considered to be the true chosen people of the Holy Father?"
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Horn was stunned for a moment, then looked Otadila up and down: "You are smarter than I thought."
Otadira was just about to say something modest and polite when she heard footsteps coming from the pavilion.
She raised her head and saw Mormont, who was saluting Horn.
"Your Majesty, have you summoned me?"
Smiling and turning sideways, Horn examined Mormont in front of him: "What is the effect of the bombardment?"
Mormont straightened his back and spoke forcefully: "The effect is very good. Part of the outer wall of the castle has collapsed, and the fortress on the east bank has lost the ability to counterattack out of the city.
But I have to say that the power of the Griffin Cannon is too strong. Each shell will raise the stern of the boat, causing the hull to shake violently. Fortunately, the water flow here is stable. If it were in turbulence, there would be a risk of capsizing. ”
Horn frowned slightly and whispered to himself: "The recoil..."
It must be said that these wooden gunboats were temporarily modified from barges and were indeed unbearable.
He had thought about building a temporary mortar gunboat before, but he didn't know if the steel frame reserves were sufficient. If not, he could use oak to replace it.
"I will submit the question to the Academy of Engineering." Nodding, Horn continued to ask: "What is the situation of the Double-Headed Snake Fortress? Can our fleet pass through it on a large scale?"
Mormont's heart suddenly trembled, but he still answered truthfully: "Although the fortress is still standing, it has lost its ability to counterattack. The fleet can completely pass through on a large scale."
"Well, okay." After hearing this, Horn pondered for a moment and then said softly: "I have a day off tomorrow."
Mormont's heart sank suddenly when he heard the word "holiday". He raised his head, hesitated for a moment, and finally summoned the courage to ask: "Your Majesty...are we going south?"
Horn smiled slightly and said in an unhurried tone: "Except for Aisena and others, Ms. Phoenix has signed the Black Snake Bay Joint Declaration.
I can basically officially announce now that the future Black Snake Bay Federation will be a part of the Sacred Axis.
However, you also know that the establishment of a country cannot be without bloodshed, so before that, we must first expel and judge those greedy devils in southern counties. ”
(End of chapter)