Chapter 49: .Journey to the past

The non-stop subzero ice wind in the polar regions can almost freeze and freeze the warm blood flowing in the body. For travelers, this is definitely not a place to stay for a long time.
The weather on Saturday was gloomy and it seemed to be mingled with some thin invisible snowflakes. Over the vast ice field of Turner, the medium airship Will was flying fast to the east. This is an old-fashioned Grusen-type airship whose name comes from the designer himself-a talented engineer from the Keoni family more than three hundred years ago.
The entire airship is constructed of light and strong pumice wood, coated with protective paint, and the outer layer is wrapped with a flocculent hollow layer for heat preservation, and then equipped with a thin layer of alloy armor, which is sufficient to protect most unexpected encounters. Accidental collision.
The conical hull has a total length of more than 40 meters. The front is pointed and the rear is round. A thick leather airbag is hung on the top to provide buoyancy. On both sides of the ship's side are diagonally erected steel-framed glass baffles to block severe convection in the sky. Under the metal deck, in the order of front and back, they are the command room, crew compartment, cargo compartment, and the energy room and maintenance compartment at the stern. Medium-sized ships have not many crews, and most of them are used for commercial transportation and small tour groups.
The command room that is slightly recessed inward at the front end of the airship is warm and pleasant. The large amount of heat generated by the magic converter is fully utilized by the heating pipes of the hull, which is enough to maintain the temperature in a suitable range without making the air too dry. Cause static electricity trouble.
Behind the innermost arc podium, Rhea was dressed in a snow-white short-pile fur robe, her long hair was carefully gathered into a bunch, only a handful of bangs hung on her forehead, dotted with her heroic sword eyebrows. There were piles of various documents on the table. There was only a small light in the room, dim and faint, but it was enough for her to read the words on the paper. She flipped through the documents on her hand page by page, or picked up a pen to make some notes, or hummed disdainfully and threw it aside, not fast, trying to read every small word carefully.
She had only just succeeded to the position of lord, and she was completely unfamiliar with politics, so she could only learn and do at a glance. Fortunately, the population of the Turner tribe is the smallest among the northern regions, and there are not many things that need to be arranged at ordinary times, so that she can make time to do what she wants to do-mercenary missions.
Mercenary mission... Rhea got a headache when she thought of the frequent investigation missions in this situation, and a sense of powerlessness emerged from the bottom of her heart. She had planned the personnel arrangement, but when she rushed to Rock City to report, she was told about the mission. Someone had already taken it, and she was so angry that she almost had an attack on the spot.
Tomorrow morning, she booked a quota for the guild. According to the process, she only needs to determine the personnel and draw up the plan, and then she can successfully take over the task. How could she be listed first?
Faced with repeated doubts about her pressure and anger, the receptionist lady who maintained a professional smile couldn't help but smile and explain embarrassingly, because there were orders from the upper-level bigwigs to directly set the quota and terminate the task release. They were indeed powerless. Can only be conveyed on behalf of.
Just when Rhea was unwilling to compromise and wanted to continue to figure out who was taking the mission, the female alchemist's crisp chuckle came from behind. She turned her head and saw the girl raised her nose and hands on her hips, with a proud expression of "see what you can do to me". Why didn't she know who was the one who caused it?
This must-have girl... She looked at the girl pretending to be angry and it was both funny and helpless. What else could she do to face this malicious competitor who couldn't be beaten? Although she was unwilling to take the frail alchemist to the unpredictable ruins of the fortress, the situation was better than others, and she could not give up this opportunity, so she had to accept the reality.
This incident made Rhea still depressed until now, she thought that she had no patience here, she threw the documents in her hand on the table casually, leaning on the back of the chair and planning to take a rest, there happened to be a few knocks outside the door. hit.
Rhea didn't want to let people see her unruly appearance, she immediately sat down with a serious face, stacked the files neatly, and replied with a solemn voice of "please come in."
The iron door of the command room was carefully pushed and walked into a tall and thin middle-aged man. He is probably in his fifties, his skeleton is very wide, but he seems to have some disease, he is thin and thin, and his face is dark and gray. He was wearing a thick blue-and-white cotton coat, draped in a large fur cover, and his bright bald head flashed a ray of light even under the weak magic lamp in the room.
"Captain Casa, what's the matter?" Rhea's expression was soothed when he saw this person, with a smile on the corner of her mouth. The old captain is a partner who has known her father since childhood, and his character is still trustworthy. The personality is a bit restrained and he doesn't like to talk.
"Everything is business as usual, Your Highness, I'm just here to see what you need..." The captain took a few steps forward cautiously, staring at the new young lord from afar and looking directly at him, "You are still number one. This boat is indeed old this time. I don’t know if you are not used to it..." Although he didn’t know why the lord chose to take such an old-fashioned airship, he still performed his responsibilities in fear and fear. Incurred dissatisfaction with His Highness.
"Very good, just like you, it's so stable..." Rhea smiled and said a pun, and went forward to invite him to take a seat, "I haven't seen you in a long time. If you don't mind, please accompany me. I will sit for a while."
The captain hurriedly responded, and tightened Qiupao and sat down on the chair on her right. Seeing that the lord seemed to be in a good mood at this moment and Yan Yue, he couldn't help but relieved. Although he was old friends with the old general who had passed away, since the storm, the young girl in front of him has gone away from home and lost the news. Until a week ago, she came back to the ice city with the prestige of successful trials. An ominous declaration of his succession to the lord surprised everyone.
The subsequent development was even more jaw-dropping. As soon as the new lord took office, he used thunder to dispose of the former envoys who conspired to usurp power, triggering a chaotic and hasty coup of force, but in the extreme cold she inherited from her ancestors Under the deterrence of divine power, this farce-like conspiracy ended dismal. Most of the martial arts tribes were willing to obey her power, and a few conservatives were still afraid of the lord who had adopted an iron-fist policy and seemed to be uncomfortable, and Captain Casa was one of them.
Rhea looked at the seemingly ill, but hidden captain beside her, still smiling, chatting and asking in a homely manner: "How has your business been in the past few years? Is it going well?"
"Hey... it's not easy to do." Kasa stroked his head, sighed and complained to her, "It is a natural disaster and a man-made disaster. The output of Shahua spar is also declining year by year. The magic ship The cost of the company is getting higher and higher, which makes us short-distance businessmen dare not take orders easily..."
"Are you still dealing in specialized fur and specialty products?"
"Hey, there are only a few regular customers who place orders all the year round. At most, I will make a few trips to the country...This ship is much older than me, and I dare not go too far. "
"So... I have an idea, I don't know if you want to try..." Rhea quietly listened and groaned, then pulled out a document from the table and handed it to the captain to indicate, "I plan to open the Trade network...In recent years, the mercenary guild has developed rapidly, and the floating population in Yancheng has become the highest in the West. The labor force there is low, the materials are abundant, the demand is very large, not to worry about political disputes, it is really excellent. Trading partner."
Kasa picked up the file, but didn't open it, frowning and questioning: "I haven't been to Rock City. It is said that there is a lot of chaos there, I'm afraid there will be someone..."
"Don't worry about this at all..." Rhea interrupted him with a smile, "I will arrange manpower in the city to help you take care of it, and guards will be stationed on the ship. You only need to be responsible for delivering the goods. "
"That's pretty good... It's just that my ship is very old. If I often run long-distance transportation, I am afraid it will not be enough..." The captain looked through the documents hastily, still a little worried.
"I can ask someone to renovate it for you first. You may not know that I have some friendship with Carlo Workshop..."
"Carol Workshop? That thing is too expensive, you know them?" The captain immediately closed the document in his hand, his eyes widened, seemingly incredibly unbelievable. The Turner family has always been unable to produce alchemists. All equipment and equipment must be bought from Keoni and Olesia. They have a natural sense of awe for the magical alchemy field.
"So don't worry about it, I will arrange it for you. Make sure to make this commercial road run smoothly. If it develops well, you can be replaced by a large commercial ship in the future..." Rhea still smiled and tossed Out of the final bait.
"This...How embarrassing..." Kasa's gloomy cheeks were flushed, and he rubbed his hands and didn't know how to reply. He didn't expect that when he was too old, such a big pie would fall from the sky, making his head dizzy.
"Of course, everything depends on the results of your own operations... You may wish to discuss with everyone first, if there are other merchant ships willing to join, you can also set up your own fixed caravan."
"Okay, okay! I'm going to ask." The captain was overjoyed, stood up impatiently, and jumped out the door without even saying hello. He didn't look weak.
Rhea waited until the sound of his footsteps disappeared, and then reduced her smile, leaning back in the chair with a relaxed sigh. The reason why she has to spend her great efforts to persuade Captain Casa is also meant to buy bones. Although the family seems to be calm at the moment, in the past eight years, because the dragons have no heads and the tribes have their own affairs, the flourishing specialty trade in the past has gradually shown signs of decline. The Arctic glacier is still moving south, and the pressure of survival is getting heavier, forcing her to think of another idea and cast her attention to the mercenary city at the other end of the desert.
She has been in Rock City for these years, and knows all the rules of this chaotic place. Now that she has this foundation, why not use it to find a new way out for her people? That's why she had the previous conversation. She just wanted to use this medium-sized old ship as an example to attract more people to participate in her plan, and finally create a golden business road to regain the glory of the northern white bear clan.
What's more, the environment of Yancheng's martial arts has no obstacles to the almost all-inhabited Turner. After the commerce is opened, the tribesmen can also participate in various mercenary tasks, hone their martial skills, earn points, gain prestige, and drive more trade exchanges. Once this virtuous circle is formed, it is absolutely profitable and harmless, and it is also her ultimate goal.
Of course, it is too early to think about this at this moment. The most important thing at the moment is to successfully complete this S-level mission. This is not only to find the truth about the death of her father, but also to declare that she has officially inherited the position of lord.
Over the past eight years, due to the fall of the Arcadina fortress, the Turner family has encountered unfair accusations and ostracism within the Federation. Although there is no official official statement, the people have complained in private. If this mission succeeds, it will not only wash away the shame of the clan, but also declare to everyone that he does have the power to lead the clan to regain glory, so that any small conspiracy will have nowhere to stand.
Only succeed, not fail! She sat alone in this small command room, meditating a firm declaration in her heart, but suddenly thinking about the list of participants that Gloria had shown herself, the power of conviction instantly reduced by a fraction of a half and turned into a faint Worry.
To take two 16-year-old teenagers to the unpredictable monster lair, even with the man who has never failed to be called the God of War, she can't help but feel uneasy, and there is no certainty. However, she had already lost her choice at this moment, and the personnel had already been determined, so she could only add countless times of caution, and be fully prepared before setting off.
I hope that the little girl of the ghost spirit will not give herself any "surprises"... She sighed as if discouraged, and immediately cheered up, quietly continuing to look through the pile of files on the table.
Before long, there were a few soft knocks outside the door, and a young man's voice followed: "Your Highness, you will be arriving soon, please be prepared."
"Got it." Rhea replied without lifting her head, and she pressed the black switch on the edge of the podium. With a husky and rapid rubbing sound, the shielding metal plate behind her rose automatically, brightly. Sunlight shines into the room through the glass protective window, sweeping away the darkness and dullness in an instant.
With floating dust in the golden light, Rhea finished reading the document in her hand and stuffed it into the lowest level. She cast her eyes down and turned her head. Under the clear blue sky outside the window, a giant floating castle appeared in front of her. The flash came from the tightly shielded glass mask on the outer layer of the castle. From a distance, it seemed as if a golden hemisphere protruded above the cone-shaped rock formation.
Saran Riel... She got up and walked slowly to the window, looking at the golden castle, her expression was subtle for a while, as if expecting, as if nostalgia, and as if hesitating, but in the end all disappeared, only the deep black eyes remained. Indelible persistence, and questions still to be solved:
Yuno, are you... ready?