Mount Nissière is like a tall soldier standing on a desolate ice field, and even the blizzard that obscures the sky and the earth cannot hide its form.

In front of this towering snow-capped mountain, there is a cedar forest that stretches to the end of the horizon, and the desolate ice fields have finally been given some breath of life after years of careful cultivation by the Winter Castle Academy, and between the pine forests, there is a conspicuous palm print lake, and the glow of magic is reflected from the magic crystal veins at the bottom of the lake, which looks beautiful and dazzling.

Widening the horizon and looking at the mountainside, travelers who have been here a few years ago will be amazed, because the original craggy and steep mountain of the snow-capped mountain has changed dramatically compared to before, crisscrossing rock ditches filled with mud, and a smooth rock road leads to the top of the mountain.

And in the middle of the mountainside, a solemn building came into the eyes of all visitors, most of it was submerged in the mountain, and a small half was exposed, as if it was embedded in the mountain.

When you come here, you can feel the magical aura that is many times stronger than the outside world, because of its special geographical location, as well as the fine-tuned mountain structure carefully tuned by humans, the Nissière Snow Mountain has long become the magic gathering point of the entire Far North Ice Field, and any learned magician can easily see that a huge vortex formed by magic is slowly rotating around the mountain, gathering all the magic power within thousands of kilometers.

Starfall 836, December 15, Northern Empire Northlands, Nissière Snow Mountain, Wintercastle Academy.

"Rumbling ......"

The sound of earth and rocks surging sounded somewhere on the mountainside of the Nissière Snow Mountain, it was the sound of rock shattering and steel rubbing, it was a blizzard at this time, pale snowflakes danced, as long as the distance was more than ten meters, it was difficult for even the best hunter in the mountains to see things clearly, but where the sound sounded, there was a huge figure dozens of meters high that was slowly moving, even the blizzard could not hide its whereabouts.

"Hatsura, I remember you were a little bit taller than me—about seven or eight heads...... How did it suddenly become so tall now? ”

The huge figure walked in the mountains, accompanied by a strong surge of energy, so that rows of regular magic patterns appeared on the surface of its body, and the surrounding rugged mountain paths began to move violently and deform because of this force, the earth and rocks changed their shape like flowing water, and the various trace metal minerals in the rocks seemed to be attracted by something, like moths to the fire to the huge steel humanoid called the first number.

At the side of the huge iron figure, two maidens and a ball accompanied it, one with silver hair and glow-green eyes, and the other with a black-haired dragon horn with a glowing ball of light on its head.

"At that time, I can still sit on your shoulder."

Following in the footsteps of the first number, walking among the heavy snow, Hotaru said to the steel figure who was helping the Winter Castle Academy level the snowy mountains of Nissière, and she gestured out of thin air, signaling the size of the original number and hers: "Now you can't even reach your toes!" ”

"Hmph, I'm still in the growth period, and when I really reach adulthood, I will definitely be older than you!"

Hei was in the light, she raised her head, looked at the huge body of the first number, and made a voice of envy and feigned disdain: "The master said, as long as I am an adult, I will be ridden in the next battle!" ”

"No, Black, think carefully about the adult time of the ancient dragon......"

"Zizi."

Hearing the words of the two girls beside his feet, the first number paused for a moment, it stopped the power of the steel elemental to naturally manipulate earth and stone, and then slowly bent down and handed his huge palm, which was like the roof of an ordinary house, in front of Hotaru and Hei.

Hotaru was stunned for a moment, but then, happily pulling the black and standing on the palm of the first number, the two of them were placed on its shoulders by the first number, and sat and watched the iron giant continue to level the mountain.

"That's how comfortable it is...... Although the owner said that he wanted us to come and help you with the work, it seems that there is nothing you need to help at all. ”

Looking down at the surrounding forests and snowfields, Hotaru seemed to suddenly remember something, so she frowned and said, "Speaking of which, Hatsuno, I remember you can talk, right?" Last time the master told us, you should be able to speak the human language. ”

While sitting on the shoulders of the steel element, watching the other party manipulate the rocks, soil, and metal minerals in the surrounding land to smooth out the rugged mountain, Hotaru said a little strangely, "Why do you always use Zizi to express your thoughts?" It's hard for anyone other than the host to understand what you're saying. ”

"Jingle bell!"

And just after Hotaru said this, she and Hei, who was holding the ball of light in her hand for warmth, suddenly shook their bodies, because the chest cavity of the first number, suddenly emitted a dull mechanical movement and the sound of electricity, just when the two girls were shocked, a synthetic human voice with a strong electromagnetic murmur appeared in the ears of the two: "Zizi...... Because of this, it is very troublesome to speak. ”

"My body, there is no articulation, the voice organ is electrical, and the magnetic communication is my voice, and if I want to be one with people, I need to reshape the structure of my body...... Adults don't listen to my voices, but directly interpret my electromagnetic signals. ”

At first, the voice of the first trumpet was cold and dull, with a harsh cacophony, and the sentence breaks were very stiff, but the further back on, the harsh voice became more and more gentle, and the sentence breaks became smoother and smoother, until at last, the voice of the first trumpet had completely changed to a calm human tone with a hint of echo.

"It's the same with light, it speaks in a way similar to an electromagnetic signal, except that it makes a sound like a jingle bell."

"Jingle jingle bell!"

The ball of light made a sound of approval.

Hearing this, Hotaru and Hei nodded thoughtfully, it is true, there is not only one race of humans in this world, and there is no doubt that life that does not communicate with sound also exists, and there are quite a few.

Why do you have to talk like a human being if you are not human in the first place?

The reason why the first horn is only explained in human language now is just to take care of himself and others.

But these are all small things, and the most important thing is to complete the work assigned by Joshua.

Because the Great Demon Tide has become more and more intense in recent times, and the magic that permeates the heavens and the earth has become more and more intense, this must be a good thing for the holders of various supernatural powers, and for ordinary people, it is also a way to change their fate - unlike the Great Demon Tide, because the magic power that is too thick is accumulated in the earth and absorbed by all kinds of grains and livestock, and the humans who eat these foods will have more or less some magical power.

In other words, all the beings on the Mycrof continent now, as long as they are not born with magic and are invasive, will have a little magic energy in their bodies, and they can use and control all kinds of magic energy facilities that were originally only available to spellcasters.

Ordinary people are already like this, not to mention the caster organizations and magic academies that were originally built on the magic hubs in various places, the magic concentration in these places is rising rapidly every day, but too strong magic is not a good thing for the spellcaster, living in a place with too much magic concentration, it is very likely to be infected with 'magic addiction', as long as the caster with this symptom goes to a place where the magic concentration is not enough, he will fall into an extreme hunger for energy, and may even go crazy, leading to all kinds of accidents and disasters.

In order to avoid this situation, the Mage Academy, which originally aimed to gather as much magic as possible, naturally began to evacuate some of the excess magic power, and the first number received the task of Wintercastle Academy, using his own power to fine-tune the mountain, changing the natural ability of Nissière Snow Mountain to gather magic power, making it slightly weaker.

Now the first number, living in a mountain not far from the Nissière Snow Mountain, Wintercastle Academy originally planned to build a huge building for it, but it chose to dig a nest in the mountain to live in, it seems that because it has lived with the dwarves for a long time, it now seems to be addicted to burrowing, and now it has used its natural ability to dig several mountains of earth and rock in the ground of the ice field, and no one knows where it is now.

This ability is almost as good as twenty heavily armed dwarven construction brigades when used to level terrain, and it turns out that this is not an exaggeration at all.

Now, at the end of Starfall 836, it is not only the North Nissière Snow Mountains that are carrying out various projects, including Moldavia, so that the entire North Land, the Empire, and even the entire Microf continent are in full swing with various large-scale projects.

With the magic technology that has gradually begun to spread, many cities that have not changed for hundreds of years have begun to tear down their original walls and begin to expand on a large scale, and the various fortresses of order on the edge of the Black Forest have also undergone several large-scale renovations from the inside out.

The dwarves dug a huge vertical gully into the depths of the earth's crust in the western mountains, directly connecting the scorching fire power of the center of the earth to maintain the energy needs of the entire group, the mages of the eastern plains began to carry out large-scale resource mobilization, on the calm coast of Gem Bay, the prototype of a floating city is gradually taking shape, and the Church of the Seven announced to all believers around the world that they will build a giant lighthouse with the holy light as the base, within the scope of the lighthouse light, Any believer can teleport between churches and shrines with the Holy Light.

Magnificent and magical wonders, majestic and spectacular buildings, one by one in the wave of extraordinary power, and not only.

According to the statistics of the Mage Weekly, in the two years after the end of the Dragon Calamity, the construction funds of the countries on the mainland in terms of people's livelihood were 15.7 times higher than during the war, and the funds originally used for armaments were diverted to research and infrastructure construction of cutting-edge technology.

In just two years, the whole world seems to have changed - castles and villages with the atmosphere of the feudal era have now become towns and cities, and the rock fortress has been renovated many times, and now it has become a metal fortress covered in runic steel armor.

Under the secret promotion of the powerful people who really control this world, the core prosperous areas of the entire world have almost completely entered the era of magic energy industrialization, and only some cities and villages in remote areas are left, which still maintain the same appearance as hundreds of years ago.

And the Northern Empire,It's also going on a huge project.,Joshua has been invited by Israel to do some research on materials and alloys recently.,Although he left a large group of people in his family to stay in the Northland.,He occasionally uses communication magic to communicate with Hotaru and No. 3 and others.,Every time you communicate,Hotaru noticed that his master's expression was very excited.,It seems to be very satisfied with the huge project of the empire's secret construction.。

"It's definitely a big step ahead of the world."

In the midst of the light curtain, Joshua said, "I can't tell you about this project, but there is no doubt that I am witnessing a new history—a history that has never appeared before, and that I have made because of me!" ”

Hotaru sat on Hatsura's shoulder, recalling what Joshua had said at that time. A warrior rarely boasts so arrogantly, and although he is occasionally arrogant, it is only aimed at the enemy, and it is based on absolute self-confidence in his heart, but this kind of thing has never been heard of by Hotaru—the history made by him? Does the owner feel that he can change the whole world?

- And so on.

Thinking back to this, the silver-haired girl's face was slightly stunned.

It seems like...... The owner seems to have really changed the world, and it's not just a world!

"So, what exactly is the project......

Unconsciously, Hotaru began to look forward to it, she reached out and touched the ball of light held in her arms, and in the sound of the other party's 'jingle bell', the silver-haired girl looked down on the world in the snow.

And at this moment, in the Great Ajax Mountains not far away, there was a sudden violent fluctuation of magic power.

Including the first number and the black, all the existences of the entire Winter Castle Academy with strength above the gold level moved their eyes, and they sensed violent space-time fluctuations, as if something was coming across half the continent, shuttling through space.

"This breath ......"

Before Hotaru could finish muttering to herself, Hei on the side suddenly widened her eyes, she held the ball of light in her hand, and said with some surprise: "Isn't it just those two old men who have to cheat when they play cards!" ”

"It's Barnier and Mr. William—black, don't keep talking from your master! And these words must not be said in person! ”

"Oh."

It was indeed Barnier and William, the two legendary mages, who were familiar to all the faculty and students as they occasionally taught at Wintercastle Academy, and after a moment of commotion, the Nissière Mountains calmed down again, but Hotaru patted the first on the shoulder, causing the giant to stop what he was doing.

And in the next moment, the two legendary mages appeared in front of the girl and the others together.

"You're Joshua's head maid, and his mount!"

Just as Hotaru thought, the two legendary mages came directly to them, and the two of them looked very excited, their faces were flushed, and the leader Barnier helped his eyes, and he said to everyone in a rather kind tone, "Do you know where Joshua is? We have an urgent matter with Barbarossa to find him, it is very important, it is related to the power of the ancient dragon, and he must be interested! ”

"It's definitely a great discovery that will go down in history!" William added, his face intoxicated, as if he was pleased with the results of the past few days.

"It's a pity that the master has not been in Moldavia lately, he was invited by the imperial family to participate in a big project, and he hasn't been back for almost a month."

For the two legendary mages who did not hide their feelings, Hotaru showed a completely different posture from in front of her acquaintances, she stood up, smiled on the shoulder of the first number, and said politely to Barnier and William: "But don't worry, I have the means to contact the master at any time, if the two of you really need it, you can go to the Winterhold Academy with us, and I can contact the master for the two there." ”

"Then I'll leave it to you." The two legendary mages nodded in unison, they were not surprised that Joshua was not in their territory, it seemed that they had even been mentally prepared to fight in the air.

And just as Hotaru and Black entered the Winter Castle Academy with two legendary mages, ready to contact Joshua.

In the mountains of the western part of the Northern Empire, somewhere under a flat plateau.

This is a huge underground cave that is nearly ten kilometers long, it seems to be naturally formed by the erosion of magical power, but it can also be seen that there are traces of human magic reinforcement everywhere, and the entire cave is now occupied by all kinds of huge steel rune machinery, and everywhere in the cave, there are spiral spires that shimmer with blue-green magic fluorescence, which condenses majestic magical energy.

If someone familiar with magical equipment came here, then he would definitely be shocked by the huge amount of work - if it were not for the help of legendary powerhouses, there would never be any force in this world that could create such a scene, not even the power of the country, this is almost a city of steel and machinery, countless intricate rune lines connect each machine and spire, and amazing magic surges in it.

And in the depths of this underground cavern, at the edge of a long corridor, Joshua stood side by side with Israel and Nostradamus, and the three of them looked through the corridor window at the center of the cave with solemn expressions.

In the center of the city, which is made of countless steel machines, there is a huge depression like a dockyard harbor mooring, and in the center of this depression is a behemoth that is more than three kilometers long alone—it is suspended in the turquoise magical positions radiated by spiral spires, as if it is stationary, and one by one flying mages are busy controlling the magic circle on their sides, testing and maintaining every detail of this behemoth.

But the three legendary powerhouses were not staring at this huge magical energy creation that seemed to be the prototype of some huge ship, they were looking at this hollow like a shipyard, and a steel rune track that was still under construction, as if it was about to break through the top of the cave.

"That's what you're all about, Israel?"

After staring at it for a long time, Joshua, who used the power of steel to create a creature and made most of the magical energy equipment with his own hands, said softly, "Use this thing to deal with those nobles? Are you going to use an entire line of Void warships to fight mosquitoes? ”

"I doubt you intend to conquer the world." He said solemnly.

"Of course not, Radcliffe, the nobles are just a small obstacle to my actions, and their presence will hinder the future I want."

Beside the warrior, the Emperor and his teacher looked at each other and smiled, and Israel said slowly, "Thank you for your help, if it weren't for your steel, I might not have been able to build this base even in decades...... But now, all three legends have joined forces for this, just one world, so how can that be enough?"

The more he spoke, the more happy the smile on his face became: "I said it a long time ago." ”

"My pursuit is far above the sky and the stars."