Future Combat Power (4)

The three of them sat down and had a good talk.

Luo Sheng said: "The man who came to me to make the wand of life and death is called Vito."

Michaelica had never been told the man's name, but she had seen it once, and it was a name that she saw everywhere.

But Inger suddenly thought of someone, and he asked, "The Holy Archbishop?"

Luo Sheng nodded: "He is one of the three great bishops."

Michaelica's eyes widened.

Luo Sheng smiled at Michaelica: "Don't look at me like that. He didn't say anything about hiding his whereabouts. It's just that no one else asked, so I won't say anything."

Inger then asked, "Does he know where the Tree of Life and Death is?"

Luo Sheng smiled: "He came to me with all the materials he had gathered. I have seen so many precious materials, but I have never actually obtained the Tree of Life and Death. The condition I set for making the magic wand was that he tell me where the Tree of Life and Death is."

Inger narrowed his eyes.

It takes no effort to get it.

Luo Sheng spread his hands: "In exchange for an equal value, I can tell you where the Life and Death Tree is, but you also have to tell me how to obtain the South China Sea Immortal Bird Flower."

Inger thought for a moment and said, "I can tell you now."

Luo Sheng said: "That's refreshing."

Michaelica was very interested, said hello and went out to wait.

"Go to the Harunga territory in the South China Sea. The Phoenix Flower is actually one of the flowers called Fire Lily in the local area. The condition for it to bloom is the high temperature of the land after burning..."

Inger described their search process in detail, omitting the mention of crinoids.

Luo Sheng was stunned for a moment after hearing this: "You are really lucky to have encountered a big fire."

Inger smiled sheepishly: "For some reason, we were the ones who started that fire, on an uninhabited island."

Luo Sheng's jaw dropped.

Although this guy doesn't look like it, could he be a lunatic?

Luo Sheng digested it for a while and said, "It's my turn."

"The Tree of Life and Death is in the western territory of the Duke of Mond. There is an ancient tree in the courtyard of the Duke of Mond's mansion. It lives up to its name, with half of it withered and dead, and the other half full of flowers."

"Half of it is like an ordinary dead tree, lifeless, and the other half will grow and wither like an ordinary tree, and continue next year. Calculating the time, April and May will be the time when the living part of the dead wood blooms. The dead wood does not bear fruit, so when it blooms, it is also the moment when its vitality is the strongest. The conflict between life and death reaches its peak. If you break off a half-living and half-dead branch at the junction, that will be the material you need."

"It was transplanted into the courtyard by the deceased former Duke for the former Duchess. If you want to obtain it, you must obtain the consent of the four people from the Red Lion family."

The images of the Mond family flashed through Inger's mind. The current Duke and his younger brothers and sisters appeared more frequently in the comics.

When he was reviewing the territory's character data, he also supplemented a lot of information about this family.

The recent history of this family is very interesting.

If the Neka family is the most trusted and relied upon family by the Chune royal family, then the Mond family in the west is the most feared family by the royal family.

They have the strongest cavalry and infantry forces in Cune, and can also be called the strongest cavalry regiment.

They are currently so powerful that they can overthrow the Qiu Ni royal family and become emperor themselves if they rebel.

The current emperor is a spineless man, but he also values ​​his own life and power. On the surface, he is respectful to the Duke of Mond, but on the other hand, he secretly tries every means to weaken the Duke of Mond's military power.

But the Dukes of Mond in every generation were well-known loyal subjects, and every previous generation of Dukes had accompanied the emperor through life and death on the battlefield.

The previous Duke Lahong also fought against Emperor Livil together with the previous Emperor Alan. He was seriously injured when he returned. Four years later, his health deteriorated and he died.

The Duke's eldest son was only 11 years old when he died.

At that time, the situation in the two western countries was turbulent, and ambitious people in the western territory were eyeing the young son's dukedom.

No one could have imagined at that time that an 18-year-old girl would support the Dukedom of Mond.

Danshu Mond can be said to be the core figure in the creation of the current Mond family.

Whenever you want to deal with the Mond family, you can't get around her.

The historical books that record the family's history have mixed reviews of her.

In the past, she was known as the Iron-Blooded Hong Danshu.

Now, she is called the Tamer of the Red Lion.

Twenty years ago, many people thought that she would kill her three children and seize the dukedom. Even if the succession law did not allow it, she might still use a puppet to take the throne.

But after stabilizing the situation in the western territory, Lady Danshu handed the title of Duke to the eldest son of the Duke's family.

The three children lost their father and mother at a young age and were raised by this stepmother, and they respected and loved her very much.

Under her care, the three cubs grew into mighty red lions. Each of them was a first-rate talent, bringing the Dukedom of Mond to its peak.

In the previous life, they played an irreplaceable role in the all-out war with Levitra in the west.

In the war against the demons, they were not part of the protagonist's team, but they were the only duke family that survived intact to the end.

In the comics, Alex does not have a close relationship with the Mond family, but they are the only family worthy of Alex's trust in handing over the West.

In the war against the demons, he also served as a shield to protect the people without hesitation, and is a very reliable force.

Although he wants to obtain the Tree of Life and Death, he must do so without destroying his relationship with the Mond family.

Especially the Duchess of Mondstadt must not be touched. She is the only rebellious scale of the Red Lions.

You can give up depending on the situation and put the overall situation first.

Luo Sheng also talked about some other details about the Tree of Life and Death.

He finally asked, "I have said so much, do you remember everything clearly?"

Inger laughed and said, "It's impossible to forget it."

Finally, he stood up and looked towards the fire room. He thought to himself: "You still forge swords here?"

Luo Sheng leaned back and said calmly, "It's not amazing, but our craftsmanship is quite unique. We are currently researching how to incorporate rare magical materials into the sword body. So, you want to forge a sword?"

Inger pulled up his hood. "There's a man who needs a sword. We'll talk then."

Luo Sheng stopped him, "Should I contact Michaelica?"

He was very perceptive and knew that Inger wanted to hide his identity, so he didn't ask.

Inger said, "No, I don't know her well. Please send the letter directly to the Duke of Neckar's Palace in Nantes. My name is Inger Neckar. Please don't let anyone know that I've been here."

The Neka family has two sons. The eldest son assists in government affairs in the palace, and the other is the younger son who is beloved by the Duke.

Duke Neka is famous throughout the country for the dozens of magic stone mines in his hands.

Luo Sheng stood up at once and said, "I'll take you there."

Inger took out his wand, drew a circle on the ground, and the spell unfolded brilliantly.

The body disappeared in the platinum light in an instant.

Luo Sheng stood there in amazement. His hand on the table trembled and a white ceramic bowl fell to the ground.

***

When they returned to the hotel room where they were staying, Alex was already sitting at the head of the bed.

"Oh, you're finally back, how are you?"

"We have found the wand maker and the clue. The Tree of Life and Death is in the territory of the Duke of Mond in the west, which is our next stop."

"It's just on the way!"

Inger asked, "How about you? How is it?"

"I'll tell you more about that later." Alex took out the clam shell in his hand, opened it and found more than twenty full and round pearls inside.

"You went to buy pearl oysters? It was a good harvest."

Alex raised his lips and said, "Thanks to your good memory, you just bought it yourself. Have you forgotten it?"

Inger picked up a pearl. Under the sunset glow, the pearl was of excellent quality. The surface of the flawless white pearl was coated with a layer of warm orange light. "Did you meet the man who opened the pearl oyster?"

"He said you didn't have time to open the pearl oysters, so he opened them for you. Seeing that there were a lot of pearls inside, he wanted to find you. In the process of looking for you, he met his wife and son walking back. His wife and son were selling seafood on the beach and were also affected by the whale explosion. They just returned after being treated. The three of them were looking for you everywhere, and I happened to see them, so I came back with this."

Inger looked at the joy in Alex's eyes and didn't want to say anything to spoil his mood, so he smiled faintly and picked out the most eye-catching blue pearl with his fingers.

It was a slightly black blue pearl with a duller color.

But it is said that this kind of pearl is much more valuable than ordinary white pearls.

He would not believe that his luck was so good that it would be against the will of heaven. Even if he won the prize once, there was no guarantee that it would be the same next time.

These pearls have been taken out of the clams and washed clean. They are beautiful and exquisite. Although they vary in size, they are all pure natural pearls.

"Let's go to a nearby store and ask someone to make a necklace for me. I want to take it back to my mother."

"Um!"

Inger glanced at Alex and said in amazement, "You are sitting on the bed when it is so dirty. Go wash it again."

Alex went into the bathroom, smiling.

When he came out, his head was wet again.

Inger looked at him for a while, then stretched out his hand, "Water, take it away."

Alex immediately said, "Ah, another pronunciation I don't know."

Water droplets floated out from Alex's head, gathered into a large ball of water, swaying in Inger's hands, like water in a state of weightlessness in space.

Alex's hair immediately became as dry as before.

"Wow, goddess, can it be used like this? Magic is amazing!" Alex poked the water ball.

Inger threw it out of the window.

"Who is it! You're splashing water upstairs! Get down here!"

“…”

“Hahahahahahahahahaha…” Alex fell on the bed laughing.

Inger hooked his finger and the window closed by itself, as if nothing had happened.

The angry curses outside haven't stopped yet.

Alex sat up and wiped away tears of laughter.

Inger snapped his fingers, and a unilateral soundproof barrier appeared.

Alex was stunned.

Inger said impatiently, "Never mind, let's get down to business."

Alex hesitated to speak, then took out two maps from his pocket and spread them on the table.

"This is a coastal defense map. This is a coastal topographic map. Xuelin gave it to me because I am a prince of this country. The copies are one-time use. They will be automatically burned after 30 minutes after opening."

"It doesn't matter. I'll remember everything." Inger looked at the two drawings attentively.

He also observed the magic mark of delayed burning and memorized it.

In just a few moments, he had already engraved both pictures in his mind.

Inger held his chin and asked, "What is the current combat capability of the East China Sea coast?"

Alex traced the outline of the east coast with his finger. "We are more than capable of fighting the two great empires' navies. We haven't seen a naval battle for a long time, but the troops here are well-trained."

Inger immediately understood what he meant: "But it is not enough to deal with the war against the demons."

Alex said in a deep voice: "Yes."

Inger's mind emerged a large cross-page picture from the comic book, which magnificently displayed the huge number of demons, starting from hundreds of thousands.

Inger habitually took out a piece of draft paper and wrote something on it: "First of all, the combat power here is far from enough. We need to draw troops from other inland territories before the war."

Alex nodded. "It is feasible to transfer the territorial troops of the six dukes and the troops that can be mobilized by the central government to the east to build a defense line. The total number will probably be more than 300,000 at most."

Inger looked at the map calmly, and questions popped up in his mind one after another. "How can we get them to send troops? How can we make them believe that the demons are coming? How can we know in advance that the demons are coming? How can we minimize human casualties? How can we deal with the powerful demons?"

Alex also said: "The future I know is that the demons invaded in 1900, but I can't guarantee that it will be the same this time."

Inger organized his thoughts and quickly filled in the answers one by one.

"Christine."

Alex suddenly realized, but hesitated and said, "Can't she only foresee what will happen three days later?"

Three days were not enough to mobilize such a large army.

Inger took out a shell from the side and said, "What if it's not three days, but three months?"

Alex's pupils shrank slightly. The two were silent for a while. Then he said, "Let's check it when we get back."

Alex thought about it for a moment, then frowned in confusion again.

Inger seemed to read his thoughts: "If she had predicted something last time, no one believed her and you had never met her. This time is different. We can observe her reaction and she will help us."

Alex tapped the table. "What if she really only has a three-day prediction?"

Inger pointed his finger at the center of the Sea of ​​Repetition. "Send out ships to investigate the gaps in the Wall of Isolation. There will be signs before it collapses. We knew about this in advance, so we have time to prepare."

Alex circled the coastal area and said, "This area will be the first battlefield."

An area is a harbor, beach, village and population center.

Inger looked at it for a moment, then suddenly said something else: "In a chess game, when two sides are trapped, would you choose to save the one with fewer pieces or the one with more pieces?"

Alex immediately understood what he meant and said with a smile: "In a chess game, I would choose the one with more pieces. Because it's just a game, but on a battlefield, I would choose to save everyone."

Inger said calmly: "This is an unrealistic choice, but I won't deny you."

Their eyes met, and at that moment, they both knew that they had the same plan in mind.