Spring Arrival

The holy city is located in the north. In winter, the whole city is covered with ice and snow. The icy road surface reflects the bright luster in the sunlight. Every household clears the snow in front of the door, piling it into thick snow hills.

Children in cotton-padded clothes were running and playing on the road. If anyone accidentally fell on his back, his companions would laugh at him. The child who fell would get up in frustration, and soon put the incident behind him, and continue to chase and play excitedly.

However, even the naughtiest children would stop and hold their breath in front of the church. Snow piled up on the branches in front of the temple. The children looked inside the door with longing and curiosity, and just happened to see the silver-haired Son of God walking through the corridor and looking over here.

Translucent flower vines entwine the young man, as obedient and docile as a pet. The young man has a handsome face, heterochromatic eyes that are as blue as the sky and as black as the night, and he looks holy and cold.

"Saint, Saint Son!"

The children were startled and stuttered to greet him. The silver-haired young man walked towards them, and when they got closer, they saw that he had changed into new clothes.

"What are you doing here?"

The children suddenly became a little nervous. The power of Heaven permeated their bodies, bringing a warm feeling, making them feel a little tipsy and not wanting to leave.

"We are playing... Sorry, did we disturb you?"

"It's okay." The silver-haired young man shook his head and noticed their red cheeks. He reached out and brushed the children's hair, and a warm current surged up, making the children warm all over.

I am so lucky today! I have received the blessing of His Majesty the Son of God! The children looked at Canaan with shining eyes, and couldn't wait to go back and show off. They also looked forward to talking to each other for a few more words.

The Holy Son is so kind. He preaches to the citizens, patiently answers everyone's questions, and cures many patients. Everyone likes the Holy Son very much and is proud to talk to him! !

The silver-haired young man didn't say anything else. He withdrew his hand and simply said, "It's cold outside, go home early." Then he turned and left under the reluctant gazes of the children.

The profiteers' marketing plan has achieved excellent results. The Holy City is a city of faith. In the long-term publicity and achievements, the northern people's recognition of Canaan has increased.

In addition, Canaan had stayed here for too long. As time went by, more and more people were influenced by the [Kingdom of Heaven] and developed a strong belief in it.

Everyone bowed their heads to him, everyone cheered, and all the clergy bowed and cast wild glances at him. Wherever the silver-haired young man went, it was as if the Holy Spirit had come in person. If they had not tried their best to restrain themselves, I'm afraid anyone in this city would kneel down and kiss the tip of his shoe.

This troubled the silver-haired young man for a while. Fortunately, before the situation got out of control, the Noble Association helped the church. The chairman of the parliament secretly ordered all families to cooperate in the propaganda, so that Canaan's influence spread smoothly to all parts of the human territory and received sufficient recognition.

The young man quickly put this little episode behind him. This time he had more important things to do. He walked towards the church and met almost no one on the way. The few clergymen were also dressed in formal attire and looked solemn.

The entire corridor seemed quiet and solemn, with only the sound of Canaan's footsteps echoing in the corridor. There were several familiar figures standing in front of the church. In the past period of time, Canaan had recognized them all.

These are all bishops of the same level as Santo, all of whom have received the grace of the Lord of All Things and are the backbone of the church. They only gather in front of the church when something big happens.

Snowflakes fell from the sky like angel feathers. Gold and white marble bricks outlined a magnificent and dazzling outline, and holy hymns echoed in their ears. The silver-haired Son of God walked past them and entered the church. Santo's eyes fell on his back like a physical object, and he was particularly pleased.

Canaan raised his eyes and looked at the Pope standing in front of the statue. A faint golden thread appeared in his sight.

"You're here."

The Pope spoke in a gentle tone, and Canaan could hear a hint of fatigue in it. However, no one except him seemed to notice it. The Pope walked down the platform and came to his side, motioning Canaan to stand under the statue.

"Once you enter the second stage, you will be dormant for a long time. Don't worry, this is normal."

The silver-haired young man stepped onto the stairs, and with every step he took, the golden threads in his sight became clearer. The faceless statue entangled in chains was submerged in the golden ocean, and the young man's sight fell on the crack at the edge. He didn't know if it was his illusion, but this crack was bigger than when he first saw it.

This thought flashed through his mind, and Canaan felt a strong sense of being watched and a sense of familiarity. A faint realization rose in his heart: the Lord of all things and all powers was watching him.

In the eyes of the gods, the young man's body became hazy and transparent. The golden threads throughout the hall were vaguely visible. [Heaven] spread, decomposed, and turned into the same white threads, densely intertwined with them. With the silver-haired young man as the center, they wove a peaceful bed.

Endless voices echoed in the void, calling out the name of Canaan, those who sang his name, those who lived by his grace.

The little girl's voice rang out in the hospital: "Thank you for saving my family! Lord Canaan!"

A Westerner's voice rang out: "Thank you for helping us find the enemy, Mr. Canaan."

The believers in the north prayed devoutly: "May everything go well for you, Holy Son."

"Those who rise here are those who have made great contributions to the world."

Many sounds mix together to form a huge sound wave that flows higher.

"Savior, Sanctifier, Protector."

"You have carved your name in destiny, and you have left your mark on the world."

More, more, more.

More sounds came from all directions, and the mark on the young man's body was faintly burning, echoing with the divine power of the Lord of All Things and All Powers. It was like returning to the tranquility in his mother's cradle.

The silver-haired young man closed his eyes, and his body gradually merged with the cocoon. As his flesh and blood became transparent, someone suddenly said "eh", but no one else in the huge space heard the sound.

Bang, bang, bang.

He watched the changes in the cocoon. The strange thing wrapped in this body became clearer and clearer, and gradually, a regular heartbeat sounded inside the cocoon. Strange power poured into the cocoon along with people's prayers, and began to reconstruct this body in a more complex and mysterious way.

Mason withdrew his consciousness from the vest, and could no longer control Canaan's vest until he completed his promotion.

The church members had already left when the golden thread appeared. It would be disrespectful to the gods to stand by and watch.

The Pope faced the closed temple door, wondering what he was thinking. He said nothing, and none of the priests behind him spoke.

They respected this His Majesty from the bottom of their hearts. Although he looked young, he was actually a leader who had guided the church through many ups and downs, and every decision he made had never been wrong.

After a long while, the Pope finally spoke: "The Noble Association helped us a lot this time. The President of the Parliament secretly helped us spread the news. If it weren't for him, the Son of God would have been slower to enter the second stage."

A priest said: "In that case, we should be grateful to them."

"He is not being kind-hearted. He is waiting for us to help him attack the Black Mist. Only the Church and the Noble Association can convince the Mechanical City to participate. Those cyborgs have lost their human empathy. The only things that can move them are profit and knowledge."

The Pope sighed undetectably. If there were any other options, he really didn't want the church to join the Black Mist counterattack plan.

It was a naked meat grinder that would crush all the lives thrown into it. But he had no choice. The words of the chairman of the parliament weighed heavily on his mind, causing him to feel a strong sense of uneasiness.

He and the other party have been friends for many years and know each other's nature. In their time, the previous speaker of the parliament did not hesitate to choose Rui as his successor from dozens of candidates. Facts have proved that the old man was right. Rui was born to be the speaker of the parliament.

He never wavers in fulfilling his duties, and everything he does is for the continuation of mankind. Therefore, whether it is justice or evil, it is meaningless to Rui. He has only one goal, which is to maintain the continuation of mankind.

They haven't seen each other for a long time since the last Black Mist counterattack plan failed and Rui was seriously injured. Now that the other party has recovered from his injuries, it should be a happy thing, but he always feels a little uneasy.

If there is anyone you can trust on this path, it can only be the Speaker of the Parliament. His bloodline [Judge] can judge good, judge evil, and judge everything. There is only one premise, which is that you must not deviate from your original belief.

He made some tentative attempts in the secret room of the Nobles Association and was convinced that the other party was still holding on to its bottom line. In this case, the Pope thought about it and still could not find the answer to the sense of crisis. In the end, he could only sigh and say, "Send someone to contact the Nobles Association."

The old priest in charge of the Bloodline asked respectfully, "Your Majesty, how many people are we going to send this time?"

"Hundreds of years ago, when the Son of God was still alive, the Noble Association withstood the attack of the Monster Lord for our sake."

"Decades ago, during the Black Mist Counterattack Plan, we assisted the Nobles Association in going deep into the Black Mist and lost countless devout believers."

"The struggle for power among humans is endless, but if we can't stand together in the face of death, who will save us?"

The Pope spoke calmly, and before his eyes appeared a series of bloody and tearful stories of mankind. He asked in return: "When have we not lived and died together?"

The whole room was silent. The old priest bowed deeply and left to arrange the troops.

......

The war would begin in early spring, but preparations had already begun when the parliament issued the notice.

The snow in the south is damp and cold, penetrating deep into the bones; the snow in the north is freezing, with a chilly wind that makes your face hurt.

The snow in the west is black, and when it falls on the skin it turns into a circle of stains, causing a slight stinging sensation.

Oleus walked out of the teleportation array, and Rex, wrapped up like a bear, came to greet him. Seeing that the young man was still wearing thin clothes, he felt envious.

"Aren't you afraid of the cold?"

“It’s not cold.”

The red-haired young man happily let him touch his arm, and his body was warm as a big stove. People with vigorous blood and vitality are amazing. Rex tightened his clothes with a sour heart and took Oleus to the carriage.

"Let's go back and meet the Duke first. Duke Maildane belongs to the Shasha family and is a strict but kind bloodline. He leads the most powerful Black Mist expedition team in the West and knows the internal situation of Black Mist best."

This description seemed familiar, and Orelius asked hesitantly, "Could this be the most powerful Black Mist expedition team in the West, the one you're in?"

Ricks was extremely surprised: "You even know this?"

Oreius: “….”

He was very polite: "Go on."

"After that, you will stay and train with us until you adapt to the complex environment at the edge of the Black Mist and remember all the existing intelligence. These skills will come in handy when you enter the depths of the Black Mist."

Of course, there was no problem with Oleus, as he came here for training. The carriage stopped while the two were talking. Rex opened the door and said, "We don't live here. After we meet the Duke, I'll take you back to the team training site."

Under his leadership, Oreius met the Duke of Meldan, a fifty-year-old veteran with bright eyes, who worked efficiently and neatly, full of western style.

He briefly learned about Oleus's situation and gave the training to Rex. It can be seen that the two have a good relationship. Rex is very well-behaved in front of the Duke, and the serious Duke inadvertently reveals a little affection in his words, and it seems that he values ​​each other very much.

After leaving the Duke's Mansion, Rex brought Oleus to a remote and spacious courtyard. As soon as they entered the door, they could see the vast training ground, where several bloodline warriors were training and sweating profusely. When they saw Rex coming back, they put down their work and came to greet him.

"These are my companions. You have met them before." Rex coughed and reminded them implicitly. "The Puppet Worm Queen and the Blue Mist Tree."

Oreius matched these faces with the people he had rescued and greeted them in a friendly manner. They got to know each other and there was no doubt that these were his future sparring partners.

The rules of survival in the West are completely different from those in other regions. Only the strong are accepted here, and Oreius happened to be not weak.

After absorbing some of the power of the [Green Mist Tree], the vest's mind became clearer and less susceptible to the curse. He seemed to have found a good way to alleviate the curse, but the process was a bit life-threatening.

As winter passed, Oreius was busy adapting to the west. He often saw a lot of supplies and people being transported from the border, mysteriously sent to unknown places.

The red-haired young man found an opportunity to ask, and Rex was amused, and said with a chuckle: "You still don't know how to implement this plan?"

He picked up a branch and drew a map on the ground.

"After the death of the Blue Mist Tree, the monsters began to attack each other. Bringing a large army directly in would arouse the monsters' hostility, causing the monsters that were originally fighting together to pay attention to us again."

"How much do you know about the Mechanical City?"

Aurelius shook his head.

It's not that he doesn't want to, it's that he has never had the time. The Machine City store in Partington is only used for sales. The real Machine City people usually stay at the laboratory and are rarely seen.

Ricks said proudly: "First of all, the army will be divided into two parts. One part will gather at the western border, and the other part will raid the enemy's core. This time we will use the latest technology developed by the Mechanical City, which is divided into two parts: anchor points and teleportation arrays."

He drew a big circle on the ground: "This is Partington's teleportation array, the largest teleportation device ever built by mankind. It is enough to support the flow of people from the southeast, northwest and other regions to Partington, and it can also support this teleportation."

"The bloodlines in charge of the raid will follow the unified arrangements of the Noble Association and gather in Partington. Enter the black mist through the teleportation array."

The red-haired young man was no longer an ignorant boy: "Wasn't the black fog a serious interference to the teleportation array?"

"That's right, so the Western Army will attract the monsters' attention and make their inner defenses empty. But before that, there is a more important task, which is the most important core of this plan."

Ricks pointed at him, then at himself.

"The Black Mist Exploration Team must enter the Black Mist with anchor points in advance, find the appropriate landing position, and set the guidance coordinates. This way, the internal and external forces can work together to maximize the results of the battle."

Oleus felt like an illiterate, and he didn't know where Rex got all the confidential information from: "What is the anchor point?"

"That is the latest research result of the Mechanical City, developed by the Mechanical City S-level researcher Mond Haze. He will go to Partington in person in the spring to carry out the transformation of the teleportation array. You came too early, otherwise you would have encountered it again."

According to records, the Mechanical City is a very unique force, different from the Noble Association and the Church.

They value knowledge, and especially respect researchers. All S-level researchers have made significant contributions, but only a few remain.

Mond Hazel studied teleportation technology. When he was young, he worked with other researchers to create the most universal teleportation device. All current teleportation devices and related researchers are from his work.

Aurelius shrugged. "It sounds too complicated. I don't like it."

"Okay, that's your personality." Ricks approached slyly. "Tell me the truth, how did it feel to defeat the Blue Mist Tree? Did you gain any benefits from it?"

"The benefits... besides a clearer mind, I also planted a tree at home."

"...ha?"

Looking at Rex's confused expression, the red-haired young man smiled without saying a word, and finally regained a sense of accomplishment.

Winter goes and spring comes.

The profiteer took out the black ball device from the body and destroyed it, and Mason had no more worries. The edelweiss flowers in Xinzhen were harvested and sent to Ya'an City to be made into medicines by pharmacists. Mason personally led the team and communicated with them for several days. When he left, every pharmacist was reluctant to leave, beating his chest and stamping his feet, wishing he could go back with him.

But it was just for show. If they really wanted to, they would have been sitting in his car. After all, the territory was too small, and these pharmacists didn't think the new town could provide what they wanted.

The two sides were talking and listening, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious. Mason had already learned some tricks from his experience as a profiteer, and he had fooled these simple pharmacists so that they couldn't find their way home. He earned a lot of money and exchanged it for seeds and tools for spring ploughing.

Under his call, the people of Xinzhen paid attention to agriculture for the first time and carried out secondary expansion based on the original town planning.

The original residence was only designed to cope with winter, and the overall layout was flawed. Mason drew a map imitating the urban planning of later generations and improved the planning of infrastructure such as sewers. He separated the residential area, office area, commercial area and entertainment area, leaving space for emergency situations.

After buying the seeds of the contaminated plants, Mason gave all the remaining money to the profiteers. In addition, he emptied the private treasury of Oreius. If Canaan was not rising, he would have made the church bleed as well.

The black-robed merchant gladly accepted the chips and took one last walk around the town before leaving.

With his footsteps, golden light spread like fireflies, filling every corner of the new town.

A mysterious aura emanated from every inch of soil. Mason had taken out all the spores he had accumulated in advance, and the profiteer had transformed them one by one and buried them in the soil of the new town according to certain specific rules.

Finally, he took out a small and exquisite broken gem. The sapling sealed in the center was emerald green and exuded vitality.

It is interesting that the thing left behind by the [Green Mist Tree] is actually a sapling. The unscrupulous merchant waved his hand and threw it out. The light of the gem flashed and disappeared, and a tree suddenly appeared in the center of the square.

It is exactly like the seedling in the gem, full of vitality. With it as the core, the spores buried underground are closely connected together, enclosing the entire new town.

The black-robed merchant chuckled, and the paint on his pale mask slowly flowed down, outlining the shape of a scale.

He stroked his chest with his hand and spoke in a soothing tone, like a host at a banquet, gracefully greeting his guests.

"Please bear witness to this. Before you is a legendary trader, a gambler of fate, a profiteer of miracles and disasters."

"I have made a bet with the devil and have the power to make deals. For a sufficient price, I will give you all the goods! Power, wealth, might, or a—"

"A living town."

The sound of treasures falling to the ground was endless, and the illusory contract burned out. The breeze blowing in the face seemed to respond to the host's invitation and shyly responded. The spores buried deep underground broke out of the soil, and in an instant they grew snow-white and slender branches, climbing up the nearby wall.

The hub was constructed with the divinity of the Green Mist Tree as the core.

Using a large amount of treasure as a price, the contaminated spores provided by the entity are activated, and then used as a hub to connect the entire town to the hub.

The hub has a strong ability to absorb pollution and can send pollution to polluted plants in every corner to help them grow. This requires that the transit hub must be served by the companion organisms produced by plant lineages, such as the spores produced by masons. Only in this way can most of the pollution be stored in a solid form and replaced after the companion organisms die naturally.

Last but not least, add a little sincere prayer to create the overall form of the town.

What kind of city did he want?

Mason thought for a long time, and finally, he remembered the first time he came into contact with a Western fantasy online game in his previous life.

Those bizarre, vivid and dazzling settings are dazzling. He likes to play an elf archer in group battles, even though he is always called a cunning old man because he is too lazy. He never misses any expansion pack pv in the game. He gets excited when he sees the latest dragon mount. He stays up all night with his friends. He sheds blood and tears for the elves' racial missions, scolds the dwarves for asking too much, and looks for devil merchants everywhere in the abyss...

Those memories are still vivid today and bring him joy every time he thinks of them. He misses that happy world, the good old days before the fog.

He wanted the town to survive.

It was just like the fantasy game he had played in his previous life. There was a unique city in the world, and everyone who came here would feel the magic.

The small tree that served as the center of the town rustled and swayed, releasing a wisp of vitality. It catalyzed the growth of colorful flowers. Spores climbed up the buildings and gradually merged with them. The townspeople who had just woken up yawned and walked out of their houses, and were stunned when they saw the town had changed so much.

The air is very fresh, and there are lush plants everywhere. Flowers and plants live in harmony with humans, and occasionally you can hear a faint laughter.

They rubbed their eyes and found that what they saw was not an illusion. The milky white roots hanging from the roofs wove into a thin curtain, and through the gaps they could vaguely see the sun rising in the distance. The town seemed to have just woken up from sleep and stretched lazily. Every wisp of wind that blew past was greeting them.

The profiteer walked quietly through the street without alarming anyone. Bai and Ziluo stood at the gate of the new town waiting for him. The black-robed merchant took a last look at the town and snapped his fingers briskly.

When others come here, there is no trace of the door. There is only the breeze, the snow is melting, and everything is coming back to life.

Spring has arrived happily.