Blood tax

Chapter 208 Roland's World (Part [-]) - Riddle Kingdom

Roland led his guests to a covered pier.There, everyone saw an ugly and amazing flat-bottomed boat.

"Although we just met, Griffith has already become our valued customer in Qiming Town." Roland poked Griffith's sore spot, "You should still have 3 or 4 sous left in your pocket." with?"

"3 sous and 2 centimes." Griffith answered angrily.

Everyone looked over in surprise.Galadia began to move her wrist, ready to speak for him according to the situation.

"This fully demonstrates the attractiveness of our products in Qiming Town!" Before being beaten, Roland hurriedly pointed to the flat-bottomed boat, "Ladies and gentlemen, here are epoch-making products that you must not miss no matter what."

As the focus of the topic, the flat-bottomed boat parked on the bank was similar to those running on the river. The gray hull should be made of cement, dull and flat.Griffith looked at it and suddenly found a problem.

The ship was the same as before, without sails, oars, let alone expensive dust crystal drives.It might do just fine downstream, but how does it do it upstream?

There is also a large waterwheel-like wheel on each side of the stern, but it is not clear how it works.

Roland led everyone to board the stern, and asked everyone to watch a huge metal device in the cabin.The object was extremely ugly, with no traces of magic or psychic ripples, and it was trembling and moaning.Metal moves up and down in heavy vats, snake-like pipes take on twisted shapes, criss-crossing cranks and flywheels.There are obvious burn marks between the pipes of the device and the metal cylinder, where the metal melted into lumps and then glued and spliced ​​together.

Some sailors have already prepared in the cabin.They kept filling a furnace with coal.

"This?" Sonia looked at this thing curiously, and even took a closer look at the structure without being too dirty. "Is your device going to generate steam by boiling water?"

"Presumably yes, there is a gas nozzle in the sealed structure, and the whole device can be rotated through the gas injection?" Galadia's eyes quickly swept across the complex structure, "But steam injection requires high pressure, there is no magic To what extent can it be achieved with the assistance of special materials?"

Roland sighed appreciatively: "You guys are really amazing. The higher education of Bayeran really shouldn't be underestimated. However, this is not steam injection, which is too advanced for me. The gas produced by boiling water enters the cylinder from the pipe, Pushing the piston inside to move up and down can provide a stable output.”

Galadia looked at the humming machine and noticed the difficulty: "Then these structures must be smooth, and the processing cost is high, right?"

Griffith touched his breastplate and understood the difficulty of processing it.The plate armor pressed by a hydraulic forging machine needs to be heated, and then hammered with a hammer to repair the shape, and then bolts are used to connect the shoulders and other components. The seams need to be polished. Armored men pose a danger.

Everyone present can understand that boiling steam can generate thrust, but the difficulty is to combine the metal components so that the piston and cylinder can operate smoothly, and the pipeline will not leak.

The difficulty is not the principle, but sufficient processing technology. Roland not only made it, but also equipped a large number of cement ships with this thing, which is very powerful.

Sonia felt that she wanted to understand something, and she continued to ask: "There are no sails and magic drives on your ship. Are these devices used to drive the wheels on both sides of the cargo ship? The reciprocating motion of the piston has no displacement. How to make the ship move?" stand up?"

"It's easy to talk to smart people," Roland said, pointing to the crankshaft of the device. "This is the unique feature of our Qiming Town. The crank drive converts the linear motion of the piston into rotational motion, which can make the steam for boiling water Turn the wheel and move the sailless ship."

At this time, the sailors shouted: "Ready, Comrade Chairman of the People's Committee!"

Roland regained his energy, he jumped onto the bow and waved his hand, "Enterprise, move forward four!"

Although he didn't know what his forward four meant, the cement boat under his feet suddenly moved.Instead of using sails, it was driven by a steam device to turn paddle wheels on both sides of the ship's side.

"Oh—!" Griffith exclaimed with everyone.A new door has opened.Both the Flying Leaf and the yacht they were on could rely on dust crystals to assist in propulsion, but they could not completely leave the sails, let alone use coal, a cheap fuel, to move the ship.

"It's amazing!" Sonia exclaimed, "This is really an invention that can change the world!"

"Really!" The legendary brave man turned around, stared at the steam engine with eyes full of admiration and enthusiasm, and then looked at his guests, "Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce to you, after years of research and development and perfection, After that, the epoch-making product finally appeared in the world - the 'Roland' steam engine.

"In order to express my eternal respect and friendship to Canaan, Lamour House and Chalon House, I decided to present one to each of you..."

……

That night, Roland invited everyone to have dinner together.He put out the famous mutton hot pot to entertain everyone.Sonia was particularly fascinated by the steam engine she saw during the day, and even hoped to install one on the expedition team's boat so that she could study it carefully.

Seeing that his product was so popular, Roland happily took out a particularly nasty potato brandy for everyone to taste.

"Then, let's tell a story about the adventure of the brave Roland!" The host of the banquet became a little drunk after drinking a few more glasses, "Let's say that my battle with the Dark Lord has reached the most critical moment..."

"I've heard it, I've heard it," Fiona began to protest, "Swordsman Qi Peilin threw his holy sword to you, and shouted, 'Take it, Roland, this is my last psychic ripple!'"

"Hey, have you heard it? Then," a smile flashed across Roland's face, "Today I will tell you a fairy tale that you don't know."

Everyone present sat up straight, waiting to hear interesting adventure stories.

Roland began to tell his fairy tale, which was completely unexpected.

kingdom of riddles
Long, long ago, there was a kingdom of riddles.The people living there never speak well when they meet each other, and everyone communicates with strange metaphors.

If you want to say why, it is that in the past that was longer than a long, long time, a demon king came there.It controls terrifying giant beasts, uses living people as sacrifices, and especially likes beautiful maidens as food.Some brave souls tried to fight it, without success.Even so, the rebels have mastered some of the demon king's weaknesses.

The rebels told their descendants about these weaknesses, let them prepare secretly, and wait for the day when the time is right.

The devil was aware of everyone's intentions, and he knew that it would only bring about his own destruction, so he made an evil law, forbidding everyone to disclose information that aroused his suspicion during the conversation.If anyone spoke these words, the listener could only hear some scrambled and incomprehensible syllables; if anyone wrote forbidden words, his handwriting could not be read.

Generations of warriors stood up to challenge the tyrannical devil. Some came back, but some didn't. The devil and its law are still there.Some rebels returned to their ordinary lives to leave offspring, and some fell into a deep sleep that could not be awakened.

After many, many years, the kingdom has become such a kingdom where everyone does not talk well when they meet.Even the descendants of the rebels began to gradually forget the true meaning of the riddle.They continued to speak riddles, sometimes just for fun, or they had an unspeakable preference for riddles in their hearts.

One day, the devil chose another girl and wanted to eat her.The brave man who loves the girl stood up, and he was determined to challenge the Demon King like his predecessors.Before leaving, he deliberately found an elder and asked him for prophecy and help.

The elder said: "Although the devil king is not invincible, he cannot be eliminated."

"Please tell me in detail."

The elder gave the warrior some life lessons, of course, telling him in vague riddles.

The power of the Demon King comes from a giant beast called "Leviathan".This giant beast has a thousand mouths, a thousand throats, a thousand pairs of eyes, and a thousand tentacles. Its roar echoes in the brain, and just seeing a part of its huge body can make people tremble with fear.

It is everywhere, all the time.If you look at a grass and a flower, there may be Leviathan's body hidden in the stamen and grass core.Leviathan is also watching you, which is why everyone in the Kingdom of Riddles is not talking well.

"It's so scary, so how do I deal with it?" the warrior asked.

The elder said, "Let the tentacles catch you, and run with them among a thousand tentacles, and then the tentacles will get entangled and hinder each other. The thousand mouths will come and bite you, and let them bite each other. Once you've done that, you can stab it, or let it bite itself to death."

"That's it?"

"That's it, the premise is that you are not eaten before they entangle or bite on their own. You must have a wide field of vision, move quickly, and pay attention to the trajectory of the tentacles; in addition, you have to pay attention, there are many tentacles, even if they are entangled with each other. There's still a chance it could draw you in and kill you. You can't get too close to the Leviathan."

"Understood, elder. Are your words not prohibited by the law?"

"What I said was a riddle, it doesn't matter."

"Then please continue."

The elder thought for a while, and then said: "Leviathan's lair is very hidden, and mortals cannot find it. You need a princess."

"What do I want a princess for?"

"Leviathan likes a beautiful and intelligent girl. Devouring her can not only relieve hunger, but also satisfy its thousand hearts. You challenge the devil to protect your own girl, so you can only sacrifice the princess Isn't it? Then the Leviathan will show itself."

"This is not the behavior of a brave man!"

"That's right," the elder nodded. "Then you can dress up as a princess. As long as you dress up beautifully, Leviathan will appear and try to devour you."

"That's a good idea! Understood, elder. Isn't what you said just now not prohibited by the law?"

"What I said was a riddle, it doesn't matter."

The brave man nodded, he understood some things, but there were still some things that he didn't quite understand.He asked the elder: "Why can the devil king be defeated but not destroyed?"

"That's the crux of the riddle I'm about to tell you," said the elder. "During the short time Leviathan is defeated, the Demon Lord will be weak, and you can kill him, imprison him, dress him in women's clothes, Anything goes."

"Anything is fine?"

"Anything is fine. He will even beg to give you the throne, but you must not agree."

"That's natural."

The elder's eyes looked into the distance, as if he was looking at the distant past and the untouchable future: "When the devil king dies, our kingdom will have a short period of peace, and you can also protect your girl.

"However, even if the Leviathan is killed, it will begin to regenerate soon after, appearing in the world in a new form. From the perspective of mortals, it is immortal.

"Shortly after your victory, the Leviathan will come back to life. As long as it exists, the Demon Lord will come back to life or break free. You can try to kill the Leviathan again.

"Come back here if you tire. Tell your riddle to those who come after you?"

This answer made the brave man not very satisfied.He asked sadly: "Isn't that going to be endless? Elder, I think the key is to stop Leviathan from being resurrected. Is there any way?"

"Yes, and no."

"How to say?"

"You need 1000 people to cut off its tentacles, 1000 people to poke its eyes blindly, and 1000 people to shut its mouth to stop its depraved whispers."

"This is really a huge battle!" The brave man exclaimed, "Where can I find these three thousand warriors?"

"I haven't finished yet, idiot, listen to me," the elder scolded, "You need another 3000 people to supervise the 3000 people who did it, and then 3000 people to supervise those supervisors, and you can't let them mess up." hand or foot or become an ally with the Leviathan."

"This..." The brave man was taken aback for a moment, "How can this be done?"

The elder sneered at his doubts: "This can't be done, it's all about whether you are willing to do it or not."

"Understood, elder. Are your words not prohibited by the law?"

"What I said was a riddle, it doesn't matter."

The brave man did as the elder said, defeated the devil, and let his own people continue to kill Leviathan.In this way, the Demon King and Leviathan fell into an unprecedented crisis, and they were really about to be destroyed.

The desperate Demon King said to the hero:
"Don't be complacent, this is my end and a new beginning,
"When you and your friends grow old, my disciples and grandchildren will sneak into your temple, put on your armor, and destroy your creed. They will distort your code and destroy your inheritance, and my Leviathan will Will be resurrected! What I cannot achieve now will finally be achieved."

The brave man asked, "Is this your prophecy, Demon King?"

The devil said: "No, it's not a prophecy, it's not such an ambiguous thing."

……

Roland finished his fairy tale and looked at everyone smiling.

Griffith looked sternly, and found that the casual expressions of all the people present had become dignified.Everyone felt that Roland was using a fairy tale as a metaphor for what happened to him.

"That's what the bad guys in the story say," Fiona muttered, "It's really annoying to be endless? Is that why you stopped being a hero, knight?"

"hey-hey."

Sonia thought for a while: "There will be new brave men who will stand up, Your Excellency Roland, and countless descendants will inherit your will."

No, no, Roland didn't mean that.Griffith sensed some unspoken meaning, and he raised his head, meeting Roland's gaze.

"The answer to this question is left for everyone to think about," Roland said with a smile, "We will continue this story when everyone returns from the ruins."

　Almost all of the worldview of this book is in this chapter.Stories from the Riddle Kingdom to my little fat bear.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)