Chapter 1253 The Divine Beast that Protects the Country

After the welcome ceremony on the airship platform, the subsequent welcome banquet began in the Golden Rose Palace. The nobles and nobles of this ancient kingdom gathered together to enjoy fine wines and delicacies in the "Eagle Hall" hung with crystal lamps and gold silk curtains. They exchanged glasses with each other with enthusiasm and etiquette during the banquet. Those dignitaries who can bring more benefits to themselves add emotions, and every nobleman present is always paying attention to the royal valet wearing blue and red uniforms standing at the end of the long hall. Whenever the valet reads As soon as a family name is given, at least one noble will stand up and come to the high platform to pay respects to Her Royal Highness the Princess who has returned in triumph and those knights who have made great achievements in battles - they raise their wine glasses high above their heads, again and again Veronica's titles were recited one at a time, and everyone smiled, as if they were truly happy for the knight princess's safe return.

The defeat in the west of the kingdom seemed to be forgotten, and no one mentioned the crumbling defense line in the Shadow Jungle. The nobles unanimously used "triumph" to describe today's grand occasion, although from a certain perspective, leading the knights through the entire Several feats in the Land of Chaos, bringing crucial frontline intelligence from the depths of darkness, and assisting the Western Fortress in repelling the monster army are indeed commendable, but is this glory what the knight princess wants? , it is unknown.

Hao Ren was not used to this kind of banquet that seemed lively but was actually cold from the beginning, so after watching for a while and realizing that he had nothing to do, he asked to go outside the hall to get some fresh air. Rudolf III obviously thought that this was A guardian from a thousand years ago was not very adaptable to this strange environment a thousand years later, so he happily agreed: Originally, today's banquet was mainly to welcome Veronica and the Knights, and the "ancient guardian" was an accident. His Majesty the King was already troubled by the problem of poor hospitality to this ancient warrior. At this moment, he was certainly happy to see that the guardian was not interested in these noble orders.

The silver-embedded oak door of the Eagle Hall closed behind him, and the surrounding area suddenly became quiet. Hao Ren was guided by the guards to the terrace and took a deep breath of the clean air of the Land of Order - Baicheng is located in the center of the Great Plains, coming from the south. The hot and humid air and the cold wind in the north are blocked by the mountains and forests, so the climate in the hinterland of the plain is quite pleasant. The night breeze is slightly cool, with just the right amount of water vapor, and a deep breath is refreshing.

The city was still brightly lit, and the bustling Baicheng had the richest nightlife on the continent. Hao Ren saw several larger firework fairs in the main city below, and some places seemed to still be continuing the unfinished celebrations during the day. He withdrew his gaze, and his eyes fell on the exquisite white stone pillars beside him: these ancient elf-style stone pillars supported a circle of stone ring beams above the terrace, and the ring beams were entangled with blooming roses and some unknown strange creature. world plants. As far as he could see, what he could see were either crowds celebrating in peace or exquisite and luxurious decorations. These things were in sharp contrast to his experience in the Land of Chaos.

This makes it difficult to imagine that this world has been sinking in an endless spiral of war for ten thousand years - this world of Koro is different from every "doomsday solitude" he has ever seen. The reason for this difference seems at first glance It seemed to be a short-sighted dream, but thinking about what the old knight Morian said on the airship, Hao Ren felt that it was not entirely like this.

Footsteps came from behind.

Hao Ren turned his head and saw the purple-haired Veronica - the princess finally changed out of her blood-stained knight armor and put on a gorgeous light blue princess dress with long hair. They were carefully combed by the maid into the hairstyle commonly used by noble girls, and it seemed that the whole person had a different style. But when he saw the momentum of the princess walking this way, Hao Ren knew that the other party's style of painting had not changed at all: Veronica strode this way, and the gorgeous and complicated long dress looked like a She was kicking him around like a cumbersome rag. She was probably the only one who could walk out of a hasty march wearing such gorgeous clothes.

"Lord Guardian," Veronica came to Hao Ren vigorously and said casually, "Why are you out?"

"It's a bit boring," Hao Ren smiled, "Come out and get some air. Why are you coming out too?"

"Disgusting." Veronica showed an exaggerated expression. "After they finished flattering me, I quickly found an opportunity to sneak out. This damn dress is driving me crazy. I really don't know how my sister can do this." Those who walk around wearing this kind of clothing every day - it is more difficult to deal with than the scale armor of the Everwinter Frost Guards."

Hao Ren also knew the temperament of this princess. Anyway, none of the princesses he had met had a normal style, so he just laughed it off and said, "It seems you don't like those nobles."

"They said I returned in triumph," Veronica frowned, "but I know what happened at the border. An entire legion was almost eliminated. I heard that the scattered soldiers who returned were less than two after reorganization. Team, that is obviously a defeat.”

"In the war with Chaos, as long as you come back alive, you will be considered a victory. If you come back alive without letting Chaos cross the barrier of order, it will be considered a great victory." Hao Ren recalled what Sir Morian said to him, He replied using the common saying of this world, "'Whenever you return home, you will be victorious.' Don't you all say that?"

"I know," Veronica sighed, "And I also know those nobles... In fact, they are not stupid. Of course they know what is happening and what they are doing. This is their duty. They must maintain An upward atmosphere makes the people believe that our kingdom is still strong. Even if the walls really collapse one day, they have the responsibility to ensure that everyone dies after eating their last meal. As the Kord people say: good wine It’s better to drink it in your belly than spill it on the ground.”

Hao Ren smiled: "That makes sense."

Veronica shrugged: "Yeah, it makes sense, but unfortunately I don't like this theory. I feel like I'm more like a soldier. Only when soldiers win a war is it worth celebrating, rather than escaping in disgrace."

"It's really not like what a princess should say."

"Your tone really sounds like my father." Veronica turned her head and looked at the cloudy and starless night sky, "But that's right, you are an ancient person from a thousand years ago."

Hao Ren suddenly coughed violently...

After finally stopping his coughing, he quickly took out a few pieces of paper from his pocket and handed them to Veronica: "I have already told your father, and he agreed to use the power of the kingdom to help me find someone, let me Just give these materials to you, take them and take a look."

Veronica immediately took the pieces of paper. She had already been extremely curious about who the "old friend" mentioned by the "Ancient Guardian" was who was still active in this world, and she was extremely positive at this time. . She knew very well that the friend of the ancient guardian was naturally another guardian - a warrior who could survive from the previous generation to this day. In any case, he would not be an ordinary person. If such a powerful person really lived in seclusion in the kingdom, Then it would undoubtedly be great news to be able to invite him out of the mountain in the name of the ancient guardian.

But after she unfolded the pieces of paper, she was a little stunned.

Several pieces of paper are printed with exquisite portraits of people - such exquisite portraits are not unusual. The gadgets made by alchemists can print similar things, but the people on the portraits are a bit inexplicable. The first piece of paper Above is a girl with short black hair and a bright smile, sitting on the sofa eating melon. The girl does not have the temperament of an "ancient warrior" at all, but more like a quirky girl next door; secondly It still seems to be her on the paper, but the back of her head has turned into long silver hair, with a pair of triangular wolf-like ears on her head, and a furry tail behind her. She is standing in an unknown wilderness. , is staring at the full moon in the sky with a detached temperament.

If the changes in the second picture are still imaginable, then the third picture is a bit unbelievable. On the third picture...

It was a huge wolf... or maybe a dog, because Veronica had never seen a wolf smile like this.

Although it was a bit rude to say it, Veronica was stunned to see a silly expression from the bottom of her heart on the face of a canine creature...

"These..." Her Royal Highness the Princess raised her head and looked at Hao Ren with searching eyes.

Hao Ren nodded: "She is all in the three paintings - I don't know what image she will appear in front of you, so I have to list her three forms. Oh, by the way, there is a reference missing in the third picture. Please tell me, the height of the big white dog...the wolf is roughly equivalent to the height from here to the small balcony below."

Veronica was stunned: "...Three forms?!"

Then she glanced at the balcony below and exclaimed: "It's so huge!!"

"Well," Hao Ren nodded, "She has three forms. Facing different enemies, she can exert five to ten times her normal strength, but only in the first two forms can she have the ability to communicate with people. .”

"Could she lose her mind in the third form?" Veronica's expression was particularly confusing. She didn't even know how she accepted the three forms and could follow this logic and ask, "This is ...Complete animal transformation?”

Hao Ren tried hard to be serious: "It's not like she lost her mind. It's just that in the third form, she can't speak human language, and communication basically relies on barking... You'd better find someone who is good at dog training to negotiate with her to prevent misunderstandings. In a fight, to be honest, you knights alone may not be able to beat her with a punch."

"Is she a divine beast that protects the country from ancient times?" Veronica murmured to herself with a dull expression. She added another sentence without waiting for Hao Ren to answer, "The secret skills of ancient times... are so wonderful."

Hao Ren: "..."