Netizen uploaded 084, He Lie Shan

  This sentence was once asked by Ammon to Maria, and today Maria asks him the same thing. The meaning is very complicated, perhaps only the two of them can understand it, and it has become just a simple greeting.

  Amon replied: "I'm doing great, I've never been so relaxed, but I'm also waiting all the time."

  Maria's eyes were so calm and quiet, looking at him like that: "What are you waiting for?"

  Amon also looked at her, his eyes so natural: "I am waiting for your summons, and I am also waiting to ask you. I once said that I will return to Duketown and lead my people back home."

  Mary nodded slightly: "I remember, you said you had something to attend to, how much longer?"

  Amun: "There's still more than two months."

  Maria: "In a month, I will send you on a mission to infiltrate the area around Duke Town, which is surrounded by swamps. Investigate the terrain and report back every detail of any changes. You are the most familiar with that place and the most suitable person for this task."

  Ammon: "Thank you, I will definitely complete this task."

  Maria said with a worried tone, "I must remind you that after the flood, many ferocious beasts appeared in the mountains, plains, swamps and deserts. This journey is fraught with danger."

  Ammon was slightly surprised: "I just passed by there last year and didn't meet you?"

  "Where are you from and where are you going?" Maria asked.

  Amun: "I am from inland lake in the south, through the desert to reach Syria city-state."

  Maria explained: "The main location of the monster's appearance is in the northwest direction of the inland lake. With the retreat of the flood, it has appeared in large numbers in the past half year, and now there are many poisonous scorpions in the desert as well... Do you need to send enough divine technicians for protection? However, it is impossible to enter with a large team, and this is a cross-border operation that cannot be done openly."

  Ammon shook his head and said, "No need to, I grew up there since childhood, it's more convenient for me to go myself. As for danger, I've been through too much and am not afraid. Whether there is danger or not, whether it's a mission or not, I'm going anyway. Now that I hear many strange beasts have appeared in that area, I want to investigate even more."

  Maria let out a soft sigh: "The path that people can choose may not be the only one, in the central mainland, there is a vast and fertile land where monsters roam, it will be the place where countless heroes make their mark, but also the place of strife and bloodshed between kingdoms. Do you have to lead your people back home? In Egu, living like ordinary people, getting married and starting a family, maybe life would be better."

  She was obviously advising Amun, and she must have also read the document "The Land of Marduk", knowing that the situation in that place would be very complicated. Amun replied sincerely: "I made a promise to the departed spirits and the guardian gods, I must find the descendants of Duke Town and guide them back home. Unless they are unwilling, I will do my best to fulfill my promise."

  Maria seemed hesitant, but finally spoke up: "That day at the Blessing Ceremony, you discovered the assassin and not only threw a spear to block that arrow. I saw it clearly from the high platform, and then you rushed towards where the assassin appeared. I was very worried at the time, fortunately the assassin escaped faster than you chased him, otherwise you would have been in danger of your life. It was Gabriel who finally caught that arrow, and later she told me privately that she wasn't a match for that person either."

  "Thank you for your concern, but that's what I should do. Warriors charge towards the enemy on the battlefield, with their lives at risk at all times. Should they turn around and run away?"

  Maria's tone was somewhat sentimental: "I should thank you, and I should also offer to help with your affairs, but I don't know how much I can actually assist. There is still a month before departure for the mission, and I will send you to inspect a place. Once you arrive there, you will understand what I want to tell you."

  The Holy Maiden not only sent Amun to the area around Duketown for reconnaissance, but also had him patrol a place before departure, with profound meaning in her words. Amun did not ask further and stood up to bid farewell: "Thank you for your arrangement."

  Looking at Maria's appearance also wants to stand up, finally still sitting on the chair waving her hand: "No need to thank me, when you arrive at the place you will understand, I'm very sorry that I couldn't help you more."

  The conversation between the two was brief, and Saint Maria didn't have more time to see a small captain of the guard alone. From start to finish, Amun's attitude was respectful, the only difference from others being that their eyes were locked on each other all along. When Amun turned around at the door to leave, Maria suddenly said: "Amun, take this, I think you should read these classics more."

  Amon turned around again, seeing Maria also stood up, holding a piece of paper in her hand. He quickly walked back, took the paper with both hands, and their fingertips accidentally touched for an instant. This was an overstepping behavior, he couldn't touch the Saint's body, nor could he directly deliver objects to the Saint, even if he was the captain of the guard, the lightest punishment would be cutting off this finger.

  It's really ridiculous, this is the second time Amun has faced such punishment, but the Holy Maiden didn't blame him or summon a servant to punish Amun. With a light wave of her hand, she let Amun take the paper. Then calmly said: "I forgot to tell the servants to pass this paper to you, just pretend I put it on the table and you took it yourself."

  This sentence was a reminder, she didn't have to say it, but in the end, she still said it. Armand realized his own overstepping and hastily apologized, but his fingertips still carried a soft feeling, which made him feel ashamed. Maria shook her head and said: "It's just an unintentional mistake, it's not your fault, why apologize?... When you set off in a month, I will summon you again."

  Amon got up and lifted his head, with only a table between them. He met Maria's gaze once again, and suddenly felt an urge in his heart, remembering that unfinished kiss. Good heavens! In this instant, he really wanted to kiss her! This impulse made Amon lower his head, no longer meeting her gaze, and backed out of the study room.

  The temple of Isis is not only a group of buildings in the city of Dreamflight, but also includes large pastures and farms, as well as groups of slaves. The place where Maria sent Amun to inspect is located near the city-state of Herak, south of Dreamflight, about two hundred miles west of the Roni River. It is far from the river valley, with a dry climate, semi-arid region, with many tall stone mountains.

  At the foot of the mountain, sparse grass grows, and in the stone crevices between the mountains, there are only some very drought-tolerant shrubs. From a distance, the earth is yellowish-brown, and the mountain ranges are deep brown. At the foot of the mountain, there are continuous buildings made of rough-hewn stones. This place is very important to the Temple of Dreamflight, as it is one of the main production areas for divine stones in Lower Erebo, known as Mount He Lie.

  Amon was the envoy who came to inspect Mount Helei, and he was also responsible for escorting the season's output of divine stones back to Mofengsi. In Mount Helei, he received a very warm welcome, and the person in charge here was a sixth-level divine technique master and high-ranking priest named Branka. The environment here is quite harsh, and living conditions are far from comparable to those in Mofengsi City, but there is one advantage - the pay is very good, don't forget that Mount Helei produces divine stones.

  Although located in a desolate area, Lord Blanca is quite connoisseur of enjoyment. The courtyard where he resides is very luxurious, and even uses the environment to set up a divine array, making the entire yard cool and humid. The water he uses every day is transported from the Roni River and purified through a special process. He can also eat fresh vegetables brought from the city-state of Herak, not to mention cattle, sheep and fine wines.

  It's a big difference to come here for inspection, let alone Amun this time is the saint girl's personal appointment, naturally also has subtle differences with the special envoy in the past. Blanca was very nervous in her heart, she knew that the saint girl had just taken power and was afraid that she would be caught out if she had any problems, so as soon as Amun arrived, she sent a thick gift.

  Blanca's worries were unnecessary, Amun did not intend to find fault or extort him. He saw Blanca's surprise, smiled and accepted the gift, checked the account without error, then counted the divine stones in storage again, and ordered that this season's goods be loaded onto the carriage bound for the Isis Temple. Blanca finally breathed a sigh of relief.

  Armon didn't care about the hospitality of Blanca, nor did he deliberately pick on his faults. In the first few days after arriving at Mount Helei, most of the time was spent reading books in his own room. The paper that Maria gave him had several volume numbers written on it, Armon borrowed them from the archives and brought them with him to read whenever he had a chance.

  Not all the documents in the Isis Temple Archives were written in divine script, and as a warrior, Amun could also apply to borrow some volumes recorded in secular characters. However, during this period, Amun hadn't read any of them, let alone those esoteric scriptures written in divine script, until Maria gave him this book list.

  Armon hadn't expected that Maria would show him a military strategy book, which contained information on how to march, how to integrate logistics, how to arrange battle formations, how to manage different types of troops, and how to command an army in battle. Armon was a warrior with six levels of achievement at a young age, and he might become a great warrior in the future. Was Maria expecting him to become a general by reading these classics?

  Reading military books alone will not make one a great general, but it is very useful. The proportion of literate people on the continent of Tianxu is extremely small, and those who can understand military strategy are even fewer. The classics that Maria let Armon study were very complete and systematic, and basically mentioned how to deal with various situations in battle, at least giving him a starting capital.

  If he becomes a great warrior and systematically learns the art of war, he will definitely have the qualifications to become a leader in the army. Is this a kind of hint from Maria? Ah Meng studied very seriously and silently deduced various battle scenes mentioned in the book, from Dream Flying City to He Lie Mountain, and memorized all the contents of the book in his heart.

  The account reconciliation is complete, and the divine stones to be transported have also been packaged. However, Armon did not leave immediately because he still had a patrol mission. On the third day of arriving at He Lie Shan, Armon made a request to Branka to go to the mine's production site to take a look and observe the entire process of mining the divine stones. Since Maria sent him here, she must have had a purpose, so Armon naturally wanted to inspect every place.

  Blanca advised at the wine table: "Your Excellency, you don't have to go to that kind of place in person. If you really want to inspect, just take a look at the scene where the divine technicians extract the mine core, and I will praise your excellency for being meticulous in my report."

  Amun smiled to himself, it seemed that the people here didn't know his background, he was indeed a genuine miner, having grown up in a house with a workshop in the backyard. He explained with a smile: "You don't have to call me sir, although I'm an envoy, my identity is still that of a commoner. The Holy Maiden ordered me to inspect the mine, so naturally I must be loyal and guard it, going everywhere, even to places where high-ranking people find inconvenient, I should also go."

  He wasn't a noble? Branca had already counted on that, but John, the captain of the guard at Mount Heilong, showed a look of surprise and disdain. John came from a large aristocratic family in Dreamflight City and was also a sixth-level warrior like Amun. He was brutal in nature and had injured people in conflicts, which is why he was transferred to Mount Heilong as captain of the guard, a kind of punishment.

  John was naturally arrogant, and having been stationed in this bird-less place for a long time, he had grievances in his heart. Now, a special envoy came, who was said to be favored by the Holy Girl, and happened to have made several achievements, and was unexpectedly promoted to the position of Guard Captain as a civilian. In comparison with his own experience, John felt very depressed, and also looked down on Amun, which inadvertently revealed itself at the wine table.

  Amon knew John's emotions, but pretended not to see them and said with a smile: "Your Excellency Blanca doesn't have to worry about me, nor does she need to accompany me personally to those smoky places. Send a few subordinates to guide the way, I'll take a look around and complete the task that Saint Girl has completed."

  The range of the He Lie Shan mine is very large, not only producing divine stones, but also producing materials for building temples and pharaohs' pyramids. Amun went to the mine on the first day, as if he had returned to his hometown. The scale of the mine here is much larger than that outside Du Ke Town, with a guard maintaining order, craftsmen directing, and most of the mining work being done by slaves, who are working extremely hard.

  The next day, he inspected several mines that produced divine stones, accompanied by engineers in charge, and observed the entire process of excavating and mining the ore cores. He even saw some ore cores being mined out, feeling very intimate. He walked around several mines and found that the distribution range of the mines here was much larger than that of Duketown, with more than ten times the number of miners, but the output of divine stones was less than one-tenth of that of Duketown.

  On the third day, Amun inspected the final step of the divine stone mining process in a very large and clean stone house. There were dozens of low-ranking divine artisans using staffs to open the mine core and extract the divine stones. These divine artisans were sent by the Isis Temple and rotated every quarter, it was a training task. They all had separate workspaces with slaves serving them at any time.

  Amun saw the number of divine artisans and the speed at which they opened the mineral cores, then compared it to the total amount of divine stones collected this season. After a brief calculation in his mind, he discovered that something was off. He asked the divine officer accompanying him on the inspection tour: "The divine stones mined by these divine artisans, based on my calculations for this morning alone, if converted into quarterly production, only account for about 60% of the divine stones submitted this time. Is the recent output declining?"

  The responsible official hastily explained: "It's not like that, there is another group of people mining nuclear cores, but their identities are lowly and the place they work is more crowded. Anyway, what needs to be seen has been seen, Mr. Amun doesn't need to go again."

  Amon was stunned, and indeed there was a situation here. The final step in mining the mineral core was to be completed by the divine technician, so how could there still be people of low status? He immediately said: "I've already entered the mine, let alone the workshop that opens the mineral core? Since I'm here, of course, I'll inspect all the places. Take me there."

  The officer said somewhat reluctantly: "It's already noon, let's finish lunch before patrolling."

  At noon, there was fine wine and several attendants who accompanied the tour constantly persuaded Amun to drink. Amun also drank a lot, but he didn't get drunk, and after finishing his meal, he urged his entourage to go and inspect the remaining places. The official in charge had no choice but to take Amun to a group of stone houses guarded by the Imperial Guard.

  It looks like an independent village, surrounded by some low and simple houses. In the middle of the stone house group, there is a very large hall. The roof of the hall is not high, the door is narrow, and there are armed guards on duty in front of the door.

  Amun hadn't even entered the door when he heard a loud scolding from inside: "You filthy miner, do you want to die? You dare to damage the divine stone!... The envoy of the Isis Temple has arrived here and ordered that enough divine stones be mined this season, but you can't finish the task. No one will have a good ending, he is an example!"

  As the angry roar and the sharp wind brought by the whip, Amun was walking in, hearing this sentence, he darted in with a swift step!

  The hall was very large, with workbenches arranged around the perimeter. Dozens of miners in coarse clothing were working, holding large hammers, and on the anvil were the extracted ore cores, only one step away from extracting the divine stone. Behind a workbench near the door, there was a frail young man holding a heavy mining hammer. The ore core in front of him had been reduced to powder, and it was clear that he had not controlled his strength perfectly when striking, damaging the divine stone along with it.

  Amon recognized the young man at a glance, his features were so familiar, but now he had become dark and thin, it was Moses, the son of the mayor of Dast town!

  The captain of the guard, John, was furious and swung his whip at Moses. His eyes blurred for a moment, and the whip landed squarely on someone's back, tearing their clothes and leaving a bloody mark. The person slowly turned around, their chest heaving violently as they struggled to suppress a rising anger, and to everyone's surprise, it was Amun, the inspector sent by the Isis temple.

  John was also startled and quickly put down the whip, saying: "Mr. Armon, why did you suddenly rush in? I couldn't stop this whip once it was swung out, I'm very sorry to have hurt you, it was really an accident!"

  The attendants were also shocked and surrounded him, asking one after another: "Mr. Amun, are you seriously injured? Don't blame Lord John, he didn't do it on purpose. Let us help you back to apply medicine, the inspection will stop here, and you should rest well after getting hurt..."

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