Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

Yes, there's no distance limit at night. Even the speedster Dai Zong's ability to shrink the earth requires nighttime travel. Mithraic temples across Rome are underground, a tradition inherited from the crypt-style temples of ancient Greece. All temples share the same layout, from the furnishings to the murals. The temples are connected by sympathetic magic, and as long as the furnishings remain unchanged, the connection remains intact. In theory, they can quickly travel through the sacrificial site, entering and then swapping places to reach other sympathetically linked temples. However, factoring in the preparation rituals and commuting time, it's not much faster than flying. It's also quite cumbersome.

"Then can't the Xudela troops be teleported here instantly?"

That's impossible. There are no Mithraic shrines in Zhendan, unless they dug a crypt inside the embassy, which is illegal. But I heard they recently developed a 'portable temple' with a bonfire built right in place.

"Learning magic is quite convenient. Aside from the fact that many things need to remain 'secret,' it seems quite practical. But I always feel... I always feel something is a little weird."

Chapter 105 Insider

【where? 】

"I always feel that their magic is very similar to the gameplay of certain games. For example, the Hydra troops can accumulate experience and trial and error through infinite resurrection, and they can teleport between similar sacrificial sites. Are they playing some video game?"

【Hmm?】Apollonia paused:

I searched for 'video games' and it's really similar. It's incredibly similar. However, humans are limited in the material forms and materials they can access, and the basic patterns they can understand are generally limited, so the things they create always repeat certain features. But there's one thing that strikes me as particularly similar. You know, the Romans' "informed" were actually limited.

"Do they have player limits?"

"Yes. 6666 to be exact. All of these individuals are listed in the Golden Book of Constantinople, and they are also members of the Senate. They are the ones who hold the lights in the night, drink the blood of the Hydra, undergo the trials and join the Inner Guard, and perform all the rituals. So this is what surprised me the most: you received the Old Bough, which means they are willing to accept you into the Trial of the Golden Bough."

"Is that a ceremony that requires complete secrecy?"

"Yes, this is because magic is connected to 'night', which requires mystery and darkness. If too many people know about it, it will lose its effectiveness. Therefore, the sacrificial site is located in a remote area, as moving it is not cost-effective. This is different from your 'sun', whose light shines upon the earth. The court also hopes that everyone can eat the immortal root."

"It seems to be about the same number as the Qigong practitioners?"

Indeed, they were similar. In some respects, the two sides maintained a balance of power, though the methods employed differed. For example, the Qigong practitioners would openly suppress the enemy with fighter jets, while the Romans were much more shady. This occasionally put them at a disadvantage on the battlefield. But if we look at it from a perspective spanning decades or centuries, their suppression of the technological barbarians can be said to have been just right. They preserved the world's symbolic richness while preventing them from threatening the Empire's rule.

"It's true. I still feel like the other half of the world is immersed in a fog."

"Ha, that's too terrifying. If it really gets to that point, the mystery will probably be out of control. Moonlight is also light, and human civilization must ultimately unfold in light, not in shadow."

"Will that kind of thing happen? A thick fog covering the world, with monsters wreaking havoc in invisible places?"

Apollonia was silent for a moment.

"I don't know. I only know that humanity owns and deserves this world. There has never been a lack of brave men among humanity. If disaster strikes, the Hydra troops and the rest of the Interior Guard will not be left behind, and there is no lack of brave men among the Romans. As long as Cathay and Rome exist, the light of civilization will not be swallowed up by barbarism or anything else."

After lunch, Shangluo, who had taken a leave of absence, waited at the school gate. However, before Lu Huaiyang and the military vehicle arrived, an acquaintance was already waiting there.

"Hmm? Wen Yuan, did you take a leave this afternoon as well?"

"Yes, my master said there are field services. After finding your fleet to maintain the vehicles, my job has become much easier. I'm in a lot of trouble right now. I have to go to school and do my internship at the Jinyiwei. Tsk, I guess if I really get into the Imperial College, I'll have even more work. By the way, did you run into the Ripper last night?"

We talked about this in the Fetion group this morning. Shangluo also just turned over the page.

The Fetion group chat was brief, so Shangluo recounted what happened last night in more detail.

"Oh, I'm so envious."

"What's there to envy?"

"That's the Ripper, that's an urban legend! Ah, I wish I could see it too."

"Aren't you a Jinyiwei? Don't you know what an urban legend is?"

"Tsk, the news always says wild boars are running into the streets. You'd want to see what a wild boar looks like, wouldn't you? That's a ripper, a wild boar, not pork you see every day. You shouldn't have reported it to Jin. Next time, just come to me directly! Maybe I can catch it on the spot."

"Can I call you out directly? Where is your home?"

"Of course it was in Wuyi Lane, just a few alleys away. If you had called me at that time, I would have rushed out of the house immediately."

"Alright, alright, I'll call you next time. But why are you in such a hurry?"

"Hey, I want to try to make a pill like that~"

"You want to eat people, right?"

"Keep your voice down. How can this be called cannibalism? It's a rational use of extraordinary resources. That's a wild boar. The radishes grown at home aren't strong enough, and the bananas grown by Lan Fang aren't very useful either. But this Ripper, I think he has something. Maybe he can refine some kind of elixir from it."

"It really can be refined. The blood of the Hydra can be refined. Of course, you have to find the original body." Apollonia reminded her. "So it does look like game. That's the super game the Romans hunted from the Hydra."

"How about it?" Wen Yuan suggested, "How about next time."

"Does this conform to Zhou Li?"

"What's the point of talking about rituals? What we kill is ours. If a wild boar is driven into our woods, it's ours to kill it. I don't know why we told the Romans. Why don't we just kill it and stew it ourselves?"

"Because that's not an ordinary wild boar!" Lu Huaiyang's voice suddenly appeared from behind, actually coming out from the school gate. Shangluo was startled, and Wen Yuan hurriedly turned back to explain:

"Ah! Master, that's not what I meant. I was..."

"I'm warning you, don't try to catch that wild boar. It's very dangerous, so I've called in professionals to handle it. You, get in the car. Shangluo, you get in too. We have to leave now. It's getting late."

"Are we in a hurry? Where are we going?"

"First, go to Daxiaochang Airport, then take the conveyor to Pudong Airport. It's a diplomatic mission, but it also concerns you. The Roman Interior Guard has dispatched a Hydra unit to deal with the 'Wild Boar' incident. They've offered to apologize and give you some personal gifts, including some follow-up cleanup work. Since it's a gift, I didn't refuse it for you. Do you want to meet them? If not, we'll continue our Defense Against the Occult class this afternoon."

"Can I ask the Internal Guard to teach me how to defend myself against the Ripper?"

"Hmm?" Lu Huaiyang thought for a moment. "Okay. And you seem to have some questions of your own. If it's not a big deal, then we'll arrange a meeting. You don't have to report the content of the meeting. Cultivators can keep some small secrets. If he's willing to give you some gifts during the meeting, you might as well accept them."

Today's other updates will be released at noon

Chapter 106: Hydra Force

Pudong Airport, apron.

Three people had just disembarked from a conveyor—a twin-engine conveyor specifically used to transport important Imperial Guard personnel, and numerous were deployed at Yujing's Daxiaochang Airport. These aircraft were essentially reconnaissance planes, and though they weren't exactly comfortable, they could take off and land in many locations. If there was one thing they had over passenger planes, it was the view. The outward-sloping, reconnaissance-style cockpit allowed the crew to overlook the ground, a truly unique experience.

This plane also gave him a push-back feeling when taking off, but after his last experience with the Lan Fang rocket plane, he was no longer afraid of anything.

This time, the Lan Fang rocket plane descended upon the airfield with the same majestic presence as before. A resounding hum could be heard from afar, even more oppressive from the airfield than from within. Like a swan with its neck stretched out, the "Ninghe No. 2" spitted flames with a thud, landing. Smoke rose from the friction of its tires, and the air twisted and rose with the burning heat.

Ninghe 2 completed its first flight of the week and slowly drove onto the apron.

Since there was no need to go through passenger transport procedures, the parking process was completed quickly. This rocket aircraft was completely operated by Lanfang Airlines, and the ramp vehicle was also a dedicated aircraft - after all, they even had rockets in stock, so there was no need to worry about having a few more vehicles.

When the cabin door opened, the Roman Hydra troops appeared before them: black action uniforms, black tactical vests, and black helmets. Their black cloaks obscured their figures, and their hoods draped over their helmets blurred their silhouettes.

Their faces were also covered by gas mask respirators, which had tubes connected to the back. It seemed that two gas cylinders were stored under the robes.

Their figures and faces were all concealed, leaving only the badges on their chests to identify them. There were three of them.

A Hydra, representing the Hydra Corps. A VI Badge, representing the VIth Squadron of the Hydra Corps. And a Raven Badge, representing the Captain.

Holding onto the gangway, Raven stepped down step by step. The other five also followed suit, one after another. They were all dressed identically to the Raven in the foreground, their only difference being the third badge identifying them. Besides Raven, there were also Lion, Snail, Dog, and others.

Six people stood in a row under the gangway, their steps heavy and powerful, and the same heavy breathing sounds came from their masks.

They stood facing Lu Huaiyang, raised their right hands to their left chests, and put their five fingers together to form a knife hand.

"Io Triumphe (For victory)!"

This was the cry used during the Dionysus festival. Dionysus also symbolized victory and glory, so it was also used in Roman military salutes.

Lu Huaiyang returned the salute with the same military salute, and both sides simultaneously stood still, their swords extended to the right. This was the "sword-swinging salute," a common practice in both empires, and could be performed with a gun, a sword, or barehanded. It was often the first step in a meeting between two sides.

After the salute, Raven's body suddenly hunched over as if a string had broken.

"Feel sorry!"

He raised his hand and waved towards Lu Huaiyang as an apology, then the six of them turned around and bent down to pull off their masks:

yue~~~~~

Pizza, pasta, caviar, capers, everything was vomited all over the floor.

"Oops, sorry, sorry." Captain Lin trotted out of the cabin, carrying a clipboard. "Why are you leaving in such a hurry? Come on, which passenger can give us a rating?"

The lion at the end of the team pointed forward to the raven at the head of the team.

"Sir, please tick here to rate our service. Oral feedback is also acceptable."

"Hurry!" The raven didn't look up, but just raised his thumb forward.

This is so fast, even faster than walking to the sacrificial site.

"Thank you for your evaluation of this service. See you next time!" Captain Lin had a formal smile on his face, bowed slightly to his customers, and then gave himself a bunch of "A"s on the writing board.

"Hey! Captain Lu, and Brother Shangluo, we meet again!"

After both sides greeted each other, Captain Lin suddenly reached into his pocket.

He took out a bag of jelly and said, "Come here, Shangluo. You didn't get to try this jelly last time. This grape jelly is delicious. It's delicious because of its texture. After you gave us your review last time, we went back to Pontianak and got some jelly with a new recipe. Now it won't break when shaken. Come and try it."

"Uh" Shangluo took the jelly. The jelly was indeed intact, but the six passengers behind it were obviously not doing well at all.

"Raven, do you know what I'm regretting?" Lion took a breath in between vomiting. "I might as well die! This is worse than death! I'm almost shaken to death! Are the pilots of Zhendan all monsters? How come they're not hurt at all?"

This flight had already refreshed his understanding. He had witnessed so much on his Hero's Pilgrimage: he had watched the brave man break off the Golden Bough at the sacrificial site of Lake Nemi, and he had sailed the Mediterranean with Odysseus. He had witnessed the Dragon Tooth Soldiers build the city of Thebes, and he had witnessed Achilles' death in Troy. But he had never been tied to a chair, shaken violently like sifting corn, while traversing the entire World Island at twice the speed of sound.

They reached the destination that had taken Alexander the Great 10 years to complete in just 4 hours. Four and a half hours, 4 seconds, and he regretted every second of that.

"I should have gone to Lake Nemi to replace Team 7." Raven cleaned his face and mouth with a kettle, then put on his mask again.

"Sorry, Captain Lu, we lost our composure a little." He greeted Lu Huaiyang in fluent Jinling Mandarin.

It's not surprising that the Romans knew Chinese. This is because there are only two languages worth learning in the world. Ming and Rome each knew their own language, and they only needed to learn the other's common language to travel around the world.

"It's okay, it's okay. It's normal the first time you sit on it. You'll get used to it next time."

"Will there be a next time??? Can you please take a normal plane next time?"

"Uh..." Captain Lin was embarrassed. He leaned over to Lu Huaiyang's ear and said, "I thought the Roma defender was at least in the Qi training stage, so I drove a little faster."

"The inner guards are strong in other areas, not in their physique. Their physique is still a long way from the Qi training stage."

"Then I'll leave. The person has been sent to you. You're welcome to come again next time."

Captain Lin returned with the message board.

"So Captain Lu, next time."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely change it next time, I'll definitely change it," Lu Huaiyang said casually. There were four Ninghe planes anyway, so it didn't matter which one we took.

He lowered his head and flipped through the log of the Feixin card:

"Well, everyone, there will be afternoon tea later. According to the schedule, the afternoon tea will be held on the Silver Dragon, which you are about to visit. Please follow me."

"Thank you. But please wait a moment, who is Shangluo? We need to see him. This is him, right? Old Branch, did you get it?"

Chapter 107 Old Branch

"Old Branch, did you get it?"

He stepped aside and whispered to Shangluo. His voice sounded the same, but the mask remained motionless as he spoke.

"I'm using magic, and no one else can hear it. This is not against your will. You can have some of your own little secrets. This is allowed by your Emperor."

Shangluo had indeed heard this. And speaking in public, without anyone else's knowledge, especially to an outsider, seemed somewhat impolite—and it could even be more impolite.

However, Lu Huaiyang had said before that he could have some "little secrets" as well. This was a small amount of trust the court had in the Jinyiwei. When the problem was not serious, he could exercise discretion.

Despite this, he still glanced at Lu Huaiyang and formally informed him of the situation. Lu Huaiyang was a little surprised at first, but he understood immediately. He nodded to Shangluo, indicating that they could chat privately from then on.

After getting confirmation, Shangluo picked up the phone and also did not speak.

"Then let's begin." The voice came over.

"Huh???" Raven was stunned. "You took the initiative to transmit your voice to me? Why did the voice appear on my intercom? This thing is powered by phlogiston."

"Because I don't really like people reading my mind, I'm taking the initiative to send you a message."

In fact, in addition to not liking it, he also had to leave the channel of "in-brain conversation" to Apollonia, otherwise the two sides would easily compete for words.

"I understand. This is a very good habit," he suggested to Shangluo. "Then let's continue this kind of conversation. Just don't make it public."

Raven actually felt a little sorry. Perhaps because he was constantly dealing with himself, he realized that he sometimes had trouble distinguishing the boundaries between people.

Sending messages directly into someone's head is extremely rude, especially when it comes to diplomacy between the world's only two "fully sovereign" nations. While this is done to maintain the "veil" of mystery, the "veil" is in the sky, while Aurora is right before our eyes. It's simply not worth offending someone right here for something in the sky.

"Then, what's your name?" Shangluo asked.

"Hydra Force Sixth Squadron, Titus. So, Brother Shangluo, now that you've learned how to communicate using phlogiston and have entered the forest of Lake Nemi—then, we only have one last thing to confirm. Have you seen through the Holy Deception?"

"You mean, because you drank the Hydra's blood, all six of you are."