Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland.

Chapter 560: The Great Pass (Combined Chapter)
Upon hearing this, Woman swallowed all the swear words he had prepared, and didn't know where to start.

He actually recognized this man - together with Huo Buyang, he was one of the high-ranking people leading the Cult of Embers this time, the "Paladin" Griffin.

He is called a "Paladin" because he is wearing a full set of knight armor with a sacred breastplate - it is said that this set is the original set worn by the founder of the Order of Embers and their grand master when he killed the Flying Bull in the town of Scone.

Of course, it was later restored.

Griffin himself is also quite powerful. After joining the Order of Embers, he became responsible for the daily armed security work, mainly escorting refugees to Scone... and in the tough and sturdy kingdom of Shek, if the Huang brothers encountered any troubles that could not be solved, he would be the one to take action.

For a while, he won a lot of respect among the Shak warriors.

Because the fighting ability he displayed was the same as Lu Meng when he left Scone Town, and his attire was even more similar, some believers once suspected that Griffin was the Grand Master in disguise - Griffin himself firmly denied this, and now that the news from the swamp had spread, the rumor was completely dispelled and did not cause much stir.

After arriving in the Land of Flash, Griffin cooperated with the Skeleton Corps and other armed forces to defeat the beaked beast disaster coming from the east, among which there was even a lost elder-level giant beast... Such a record can definitely be considered remarkable.

But there is a secret that is not a secret.

This kind of Griffin was born in the Holy Kingdom and was once a member of the Holy Kingdom Army...but his position was just an ordinary sentry.

This is obviously not in line with its strength.

Wurman had heard of him before.

One can probably guess the reason: as an Oaklander, Griffin is not very devout about their state religion and is even full of doubts about it.

In the holy country where politics and religion are combined, if this is exposed, it will be considered a serious crime. It is already good enough not to be exiled to rebirth, not to mention any channels for upward mobility.

One of the evidences.

Griffin saw that the bee people around him, such as himself and the wolf riders, did not have any resistance or hostility, and were even able to fight side by side with the Shak people... This undoubtedly completely violated the teachings of the Oakland Holy Church and was an unforgivable crime.

However, according to him, he is not a cynical unbeliever.

I just believe in the true revelation.

How could a country that views technology as the devil and a scourge, where people's living standards stagnate and where priests extort money and impose heavy taxes in the name of religion be the paradise promised by God in prophecy?

That’s why Griffin’s words sometimes sound a bit mysterious, but more importantly, he really believes in everything he says:
The world is blinded by darkness.

And the first fire allows us to open our first eye.

"So, you are the head of the engineering department, the future city builder promised by the Grand Master... Mr. Woman?" The black-armored knight held the bee man's hand. "Your skills simply amaze me - if the defense line conceived by Lord Chuhuo is a creation of the Kingdom of God, then although it is perfect, no one can know it, and your job is to bring it to the world so that we, the ignorant and unimaginative believers, can also see it. This is an achievement second only to God's creation of the world..."

Woman was stunned by the opponent.

I thought to myself, that’s not what you just said.

The expression on his face before... was clearly full of disgust... What's more, as an Aucklander, even without talking about the famous Holy Base in the Holy Kingdom, he came from the town of Scone and witnessed such a majestic military town. So isn't this earth wall a piece of cake for him?

But the determination in Griffin's eyes at this moment and the disgust just now... were not fake.

“Ahem…” The bee man cleared his throat. “Just call me Woman. I don’t recognize any of the names you mentioned… Besides, I know the quality of the Red Wall.”

The main feature of the Beehive Tribe's skills is the large quantity, fast speed and low price...but correspondingly, it is also synonymous with shoddy workmanship.

For example, he had heard of the teachings of the Order of Embers: believers' admiration for mechanical prosthetics had reached a fanatical level, on the grounds that these steel creations could greatly enhance their own capabilities and overcome the inherent weakness of flesh and blood... However, Worman thought to himself, that's because you haven't seen the prosthetics of our Hive Clan.

In the hive, craftsmen dismantle useful parts from discarded machinery collected from all over the world, especially various broken prosthetic limbs, and then reassemble them.

If you're lucky, you can piece together a complete prosthetic limb, which you can then put on the shelf and sell for a good price using the bee trader's eloquence, which can make stones produce flowers.

Most of the time, an arm or leg is missing some key parts...then the craftsman will give full play to his creativity and replace it with some other parts found in the garbage dump.

Iron barrels, coils, wine bottles...there is nothing that cannot be done, and no materials that cannot be used.

In the end, it always magically works.

They call it the [Economy] series.

However... if I were to wear a prosthetic limb like this, let alone enhance my abilities, it would be good enough if I could just move around without being a hindrance - in the literal sense.

If Lu Meng had replaced Huang Jie with an economical arm instead of the skeleton arm purchased from the technology hunter, his swordsmanship would not have improved so much. When he was used as an example to demonstrate his abilities, the missionary effectiveness of the Order of Ashes would have been greatly reduced.

Bud couldn't even blow it if he wanted to.

However, having prosthetic limbs is better than having none. As conflicts continue, many disabled soldiers appear in the military no matter where they are. External injuries are easy to heal, but broken limbs are lost forever... How to help them stand up again and fight, or at least resume normal life, is also a problem that needs to be considered.

In addition, there are some ordinary people who have lost their limbs due to accidents, congenital diseases, injuries... Before their problems are solved, the demand for improved mechanical ascension of the Ashes Order is destined to be unmet.

On the one hand, the Department of Medicine is studying whether it is possible to regenerate severed limbs, but the progress of interpreting the core of artificial intelligence has stagnated, and they have only just got some clues and are unable to put them into practice.

On the other hand, Lu Meng also approached Woman to see if he could establish cooperation with a certain hive to introduce a production line for economical mechanical prostheses or at least purchase them in large quantities. After all, although their quality is questionable, the fact is that the Hive Clan is already the only manufacturer in the world that still has the ability to "manufacture" mechanical prostheses. Like other high-quality prostheses, they are all scavenged by technology hunters from ancient ruins. They are almost non-renewable resources, making it difficult to meet large-scale needs and the cost is also very high.

But even if the requirement is lowered so low.

Also encountered problems.

Although Woman, Cangcui, Yinying and others are bee people, they are all bee people who have left the nest. They are wanderers in the tribe and the excluded ones.

Their antennae can no longer receive collective information from the hive. Being fellow bees does not provide any communication advantage; instead, it only makes them viewed as aliens by the hive.

They are called "homeless people".
As for other alien races, the beehive can still deal with you, do trade and cheat you out of money... but for those who have no nest to return to, they have nothing to talk about.

traitor.

On the other hand, it is also quite difficult to find partners for the Hive... With the outbreak of the dead bees and the invasion of the fog people many years ago, the Western Hive Clan, the largest and most productive tribe in the entire continent, has lost contact with the outside world.

The Valley of Vanity was dead silent except for the sounds of gnawing. The only remaining things were some Hive Traveler Villages scattered across the continent... Their production capacity was rather worrying, and almost all of them were within the influence of the United Cities.

After all, before Shaq implemented the Queen's new policy.

Among the three great kingdoms, only the United Cities does not exclude foreigners...they only exclude the poor.

As for the Southern Hive Tribe...

They are no less dangerous than the fog people.

Faced with such a situation, Warman, as one of the invited bee consultants, could only express his helplessness to the Red King.

They have indeed established a firm foothold in the two major regions of the Swamp and the Land of Shem. However, at a time when the world situation has been divided up, it is not so easy to rise from the cracks.

To solve.

I'm afraid it is still within the scope of diplomacy and war.

As for myself...I can only build walls.

However, Woman was actually not satisfied with the Red Wall that had performed great service in front of him - if it were not reinforced by the magical power of the Red King, these earth walls built with the technology of the Beehive Clan would not be able to stop the beast disaster at all and would be flattened in just a few steps.

Therefore, from the perspective of professional ethics and professional pursuit, it is impossible for this wall-loving worker bee to accept Griffin's praise and flattery calmly.

He broke free from the black-armored knight's tightly grasped hand, shook his head and said, "I don't deny the Red King's contribution, but to me, it's really not the best wall I've ever built, nor is it a successful work..."

Even in the swamp.

He had long since abandoned the Hive Tribe craftsmanship and had learned and used modern human engineering technology, so he could make better stone, wooden, and iron fences.

The current red barrier...

What's the difference between this and what is built by fellow citizens within the Hive Clan, who work tirelessly to serve the Queen whom they have never met?
Griffin looked at him and suddenly closed his eyes.

"What are you doing?" As a worker bee, Warman spoke directly and asked curiously.

"I'm looking at your expression." Griffin said with his eyes closed. "When I was in the Holy Kingdom, I hardly saw other aliens except on the battlefield... and I never saw their expressions except anger and fear. This made us think that in the world, except for the Oaklanders, all other creatures could not laugh or feel sad."

"Over time, I also lost the ability to judge their expressions... This caused me a lot of inconvenience after I came to Scone."

"Later, I learned not to see with my eyes." Griffin turned his head and looked at the wide-eyed Warman. The Oakland man closed his eyes, but it seemed that he was really looking at him. "The gods will tell me how they feel. This is a revelation... because we are all the same."

"So I know how you feel."

"They are right indeed..." Woman sneered.

This human being is indeed a little weird.

He didn't care much at first, but the other party's next sentence attracted his attention -

"I think I should ask a question: Mr. Wurman, what do you think the 'wall' is used for?"

"To protect from the wind and rain? Or to defend against foreign enemies..." The worker bee said casually. He hadn't thought too much about it, but when the other party mentioned the wall, he couldn't help but answer with interest, "Just like in the Hive Clan, we all want to protect the queen and her offspring..."

Bee people love rain, so the most important thing is to protect the tribe and prevent their compatriots from being killed.

"So, did you finish the walls you built before?" Griffin opened his eyes and smiled: "How much did you finish?"

Woman was stunned.

Granted, he had been a renowned engineer in the past after leaving the nest, which was why he was hired by the Red King...but before that, apart from helping to repair the stone walls of Rotten Town, he had built the magnificent mansions of the chieftains, which were used to block the prying eyes of the servants and show off their wealth.

We also need to guard against thieves and mobs.

Griffin didn't look at him again. Instead, he looked at the long red ramparts and said to himself, "As a sentinel, I have seen many great passes during the Holy Kingdom's shifts. Some of them have stood since ancient times, while others have long since become ruins."

"Without exception, the people who built them all said that they wanted to protect our homes and families, so that everyone would not be invaded by darkness and could live a peaceful and happy life... So, countless people, including me, followed the call of the Holy Fire and set foot on the battlefield and headed for the Holy Base."

"I am loyal to High Inquisitor Seta... I am heading to the defense line against the Mistmen."

"Yeah." Warman responded.

But I felt a chill in my heart.

As a member of the Hive Clan, he could better empathize with the horror of his zombified compatriots.

Not to mention facing the monsters surging like a blue tide on the front line...even the paladins wearing heavy armor would be overwhelmed.

"The process of suppressing the infestation of the dead bees was difficult but also smooth. We spent three years advancing step by step to the edge of the mist island..." Griffin recalled, "There is no need to be modest to say that I also made many contributions during this process... Even though the priests of our pastoral district did not like me, they had to admit in the end that the 'Griffin boy' was qualified to be conferred as a paladin under the holy fire."

"It was at this time that the fog on Kirishima receded, and visibility reached an unprecedented high. The range of activities of the fog people was also restricted... The legion I was in recaptured a key abandoned sacred base. The Holy Nation army could use it as an outpost and take the opportunity to advance into Kirishima in one fell swoop."

"Congratulations," said Werman.

Obviously, the military operation of the Holy Kingdom was unsuccessful, and Griffin was not appointed as a Paladin... He just didn't expect that the Holy Kingdom would actually achieve such results and chances of victory - if it was successful, the scope of the dead bee infestation would at least be strictly controlled within the inner circle of Kirishima.

But he didn't expect that -

"Later, we withdrew our troops. We didn't engage in battle or move forward... Instead, we gave the sacred base to the fog people, along with a dozen farms that had just moved back their population." Griffin leaned on his long sword, his eyes as sharp as the blade on it, "My high-ranking paladin commander usually likes to drink alcohol against the rules. That day, he was drunk and mistook a pillar for a prostitute he loved... Later, I heard the truth: Inquisitor Varnat won a great victory on the eastern front and was preparing to return to Shuipao Villa to accept the Lord's praise, and also to take the opportunity to gain a reward; but the government of the country has been divided up by two high-ranking inquisitors, and you benefit while I suffer, and one gains while the other loses. If Seta is delayed because of the march to the fog island and cannot return to the court for confrontation, then there may be proposals in the court that are unfavorable to him - and this is the most important thing."

The Black-Armored Knight did not say anything more about the internal affairs of the Holy Land. Instead, he took out a thick book and handed it to Woman:

"In contrast, this wall you built...at least it won't retreat."

(End of this chapter)