The Red Moon Festival in the early years of the Magic Calendar was unsurprisingly damp and stuffy, as if even the wind had grown old and could no longer move.
It was a gloomy, overcast day, with no sunlight visible.
This is the day they will fight the Lord of the Abyss.
When Yun Wei and Isaac arrived at the plaza in the Ninth Heaven, Catherine was already standing there.
Unusually, this usually busy monarch was now quietly lost in thought.
The other party is the commander-in-chief in charge of today's battle.
Behind her stood Ferrer and Allen, who were talking in hushed tones, while Richard and Xie Mulang stood by the railing not far away, gazing at the sea.
Yun Wei was unsure whether he should go up and disturb them. He looked at Isaac, who smiled and nodded.
He quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty."
"The robe is nice." Catherine snapped out of her reverie, looked him up and down, and commented.
She continued, "Everything's fine here for now. You can go and start up the magic cannon; it'll be about time."
The mage robe Yun Wei is wearing today was personally sewn by Master Sid. The dark blue robe, back, and sleeves are covered with intricate magical patterns embroidered with mithril thread, mostly amplification and defense magic arrays.
A dazzling display of light, like shooting stars crossing the moon.
Yun Wei nodded in agreement and headed towards the lower level of the Seventh Heaven.
Isaac was about to follow, but Catherine stopped him.
So the magician smiled and waved his hand, "I'll be right back, Issa, why don't you keep His Majesty company for a while?"
Regarding the magic cannon, here's the situation:
Although Sid did not come here in person, he provided a large number of alchemical weapons. For example, crossbows enchanted with wind element, spears enchanted with light element, and shields enchanted with earth element.
It is likely that only the workshops in Alchemy City, working day and night, could deliver such a large batch of standard weapons in half a year.
In addition to the above, there were also the cores of thirteen magic-powered turrets. They installed these ancient weapons, which had already survived several interdimensional wars, on the eastern platform of the Seventh Heaven.
Sid personally handed the key to Yun Wei.
The alchemist, who had his own ideas, didn't say much, but only instructed his little Yunwei, "This is a token of the Liujin family. Remember to return it to me after you're done using it."
“And…” Sid pushed up his glasses, but his gaze fell on the shadows behind the curtain, “Never mind. We’ll talk about the rest after the Red Moon Festival.”
That's why Catherine had Yunwei warm up the machine ahead of time.
As for the reason for Sid's change of attitude, it is likely inseparable from His Majesty's negotiations and maneuvering after the final meeting. In fact, it wasn't just Jin Yun; Hexoe also provided a sufficient number of soldiers and strategic materials.
However, recently, the last trace of the Abyss Apostle has appeared outside the Reflection Marsh, and Alejo and Vivian are busy dealing with it personally, so they can't come in time.
In response to this unexpected situation, Yun Wei offered all the assistance he could. For example, he examined and eliminated possibilities from the tetrahedron die that recorded the apostle's name, and then attached a letter with the apostle's real name.
Yun Wei boarded the takeoff and landing machine at the hub. As the hinges slid down, the suspended ladder descended, and the situation of the several heavens below came into view.
Barricades, sandbags, quivers, water tanks... all sorts of things that only appear on a battlefield can be seen everywhere.
The mage sat in meditation at the core of the temporary array, surrounded by guards patrolling with swords, while archers stood silently watching by the firing ports.
Everything was orderly, solemn, and quiet.
The Seventh Heaven is primarily the stronghold of Raphael's mage corps and wood elf archers. Professional battle mages monitor the elemental concentration and stability in real time to prevent a repeat of the Red Moon City debacle.
Compared to the initial low morale and lax discipline, the situation is much better now.
At least in Yun Wei's eyes, their gazes were alert and resolute.
Because Catherine redefined the territory of the Red Moon Kingdom, which had been stripped away at the end of last year, and created a large number of new titles.
To earn these titles, one needs battle merits. And achieving outstanding performance in today's battle is undoubtedly the best shortcut.
Of course, it's just a title.
Ever since Empress Catherine heard about the Qin Dynasty's "prefecture-county system" from Elder Xie of Bili City, she has carried out a series of sweeping reforms.
Although the details still need to be improved, the principles have been clearly defined.
Apart from the Washio Territory, located in the vicinity of Moonflower, and the Ice Sparrow Territory, a remote area in the Hokuriku, there will never again be a lord who possesses a fiefdom on the lands of the Crimson Moon Kingdom.
Similarly, monasteries and sanctuaries cannot have special privileges with His Majesty.
When Master Sid pointed out that Alchemy City was facing a predicament where its reserves of copper and iron ore were insufficient to deliver weapons on time, Catherine demanded that every four monasteries and churches hand over three bells.
There are many similar decrees.
Even though he was initially pessimistic, he was shocked to learn of the subtle changes that had taken place in the Southern Lands.
Yun Wei was quite impressed, marveling at Catherine's boundless energy.
The other party had unwittingly taught him and Isaac another lesson—
It all depends on human effort.
No matter how chaotic and complex the situation, as long as the main aspects of the principal contradiction are clarified and efforts are made to bring them to fruition with patience, the rest will be easily resolved.
...
With the gilded family ring in hand, activating the magic cannon went quite smoothly.
The shimmering blue circuits flowed slowly like liquid magic. When they converged and connected, a golden dark light emanated from the core of the magic cannon, as if it had been lit up.
Sid specifically modified the energy circuit of the magic cannon, ensuring that the accident that occurred in the Alchemy City would not happen again. Yun Wei stayed there for a while longer, reminding the gunners of some necessary precautions.
"Young Master Yun."
He had just stopped to rest when the sound of babbling brooks rang out behind him.
Yun Wei quickly turned around and saw Nangong Ning looking at him with a smile. He quickly bowed and said, "Miss Ning."
The other person was also dressed in military uniform today, but he was carrying a nine-foot-long broadsword on his shoulder, which really surprised him...
I admire you very much.
Yun Wei couldn't help but take another look.
He noticed that the blade's lines were slightly more graceful than those of a typical broadsword, and the serrations at the edges resembled willow leaves.
As if sensing Yun Wei's gaze, Nangong Ning smiled and said, "Compared to a sword, I still feel that a knife is more handy. This is the 'Forest Knife' of our Bili City, specially made in memory of Yongxu."
Yun Wei blinked blankly, completely failing to understand the meaning behind the other person's words.
He knew the story of "Yongxu" (咏絮), after all, it was mentioned in his first year of junior high school, in two passages from "A New Account of Tales of the World" (世说新语).
"Scattering salt in the air is a fitting analogy—"
"It is better to let the willow catkins rise with the wind."
However, Yun Wei was naturally unaware of the story of Xie Daoyun wielding a knife to defend herself against enemies and personally killing her adversaries.
So Nangong Ning gave him a brief explanation, and Yun Wei also learned the idiom "the spirit of the forest".
"I've really had an eye-opening day today," Yun Wei said with a smile, cupping his hands in greeting. "It's getting late, Miss Ning. I'll be going upstairs now. Please give my regards to Mr. Zhong Ming."
Nangong Ning leaned on the hilt of her sword, looking quite dashing. "Alright, alright, go ahead and get busy. I still owe you a drink, I'll personally visit Reston another day."
There are many Bili people like Nangong Ning who stayed in the city, most of them being elderly.
They couldn't bear to leave their homeland, so they chose to stay in the city, continue running their shops and making a living, striving to live the same life as before.
...
All of the above are fragments from before the official start of the Abyss War.
Not long after Yun Wei returned to the Nine Heavens, everyone learned the same fact.
He came.
It's unclear when it started, and it seems like it has no end.
Everything that runs on land, swims in water, or flies in the sky, without exception, regardless of life or death—
They were all under His gaze.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com