Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1453 Rome, the Forest King, and Meteorological Engineering
"Ah," Shangluo said as he sat behind the dinner table in the evening, "It's said that I'm going to have a holiday, but it seems that I haven't had a holiday at all. I didn't look for a job, but the job came to me at school. I'm really busy, but it's good to be busy."

[Because you are now at the center of the contradiction. You can no longer get rid of these problems.] Apollonia also discovered this -

Shangluo was now tied up with a lot of troubles. The threads were completely entangled around him, making it impossible for him to rest for even half a day.

"Wait." He suddenly remembered, "Victoria, didn't you tell me that being the King of Rome would..."

Victoria swallowed the soup in her mouth and wiped her mouth before speaking: "Yes, you have discovered it too. As the King of Rome, you have been entangled in the cause and effect of the world."

"Then I can't cultivate immortality like this? Oh, that's right! Do I still have to go to Wudang Mountain to learn swordsmanship?"

[You have never been free to go. I planned to take half a day off today, but Elder Wen came to visit me.]

"But why is this? Is it really because of magic?"

[No magic can work on the emperor - in the East, perhaps it is auspicious to say that 'the emperor himself is immune to all evil'. But in Rome, the emperor is naturally greater than all mysteries, because the building of mystery is built on secrecy. The Roman emperor is shrouded in many mysteries. Magicians cannot cast spells on a target that is more mysterious than themselves unless they find the root of the target's evil. ]

"For example, for me, it's the Golden Bough?"

[Yes. Your throne comes from the Forest King, that is, the Roman King in the monarchy era. You and Victoria have the same rank, because when the country was first established, Greece and Rome had an agreement in advance, and the Greeks and Romans were equal, so there are two such supreme authorities. Before the golden branch was pulled out, you can also block all magic attacks like Victoria. ]

"To be precise, you can't be targeted." Victoria added, "In other words, if the target is not you, it is still possible to hit you through area damage."

"The premise is that the golden branch is not pulled out?"

"Yes, that's the premise."

"Damn it, I was planning to clean up the golden branch, but I haven't gone yet? Everything is blocking me, and I can't even recover such a critical place. What will happen if it is pulled out?"

"Someone might come with the golden branch and a sword to challenge you." Victoria replied, "It could be a backstab or a face-to-face challenge. As long as he has the golden branch, he can hurt you as the King of Rome - but you still have the magic power from Zhendan, so even if he can hurt you as the King of Rome, I'm afraid he can't hurt you as the Heavenly Sovereign."

"That being said, I would like to further ensure my safety - can I move that tree?"

"Are you sure? If you move a tree, it will die. If you move it, something terrible will happen."

"I think I have to give it a try." Shangluo pondered for a moment, "After all, my safety is more important."

"That's fine." Victoria did not object. "Indeed, considering your safety, it can be moved. But because it is the throne of Rome, it cannot be moved outside of Rome."

"Then let's do the opposite." Shangluo slapped his thigh, "Build the headquarters of the Night Shift Bureau on top. Is that okay?"

"I think this is great." Although it is not realistic to move the golden bough tree, it is entirely possible to transform Lake Nemi into a fortress. Because the direct jurisdiction of the Roman king was originally there, the Roman king certainly had the power to decide how his territory should be built.

Shangluo thought for a moment and said, "In addition, we have to make this matter public. You know, the best secret is to keep it semi-public and hide the truth you really want to hide behind it. So we can announce this: Anyone who picks the branch can initiate the Golden Bough ceremony against the King of Rome and become the new king."

"Eh???" Victoria was shocked, "Wasn't this leaked?"

"I hid a key element - that there was no need for a ceremony, anyone could challenge me just by taking it off. That would be quite disturbing to me."

He had seen the King of the Forest before. Just as described in the book, the King of the Forest at that time was like a ghost. He was hunched over, using his sword as a scepter, and wandering endlessly under the tree, in circles.

That is not the life a king should lead. That is simply being a prisoner.

Even prisoners have time to go out for some fresh air, but the forest king at that time imprisoned himself under the tree forever. Because the situation was very clear at that time - if he took even one step away from the tree, Shangluo or anyone else who participated in the ceremony could pick the golden branch at any time and stab his immortal body with a knife.

The Forest King did die from Shangluo's sword. As long as he got the golden branch, he would be gone with one sword.

"So Victoria, let me ask you, why was Achilles shot to death by an arrow?"

"That's because Achilles' entire body was soaked in the water of the Styx, which made him a dead man. Only his heels were not soaked, so he was alive. If his heels were shot by an arrow, he would really die!" Victoria also reacted:

"You're better than him, right?"

"So you see, there is an essential difference between him and me - I am stronger than him. Achilles died when his vitals were breached, that was because he was too weak. The Forest King died immediately when his vitals were breached, that was also because he was too weak. The reason they look strong is because their mechanisms are strong. Strong mechanisms are fake, only strong numbers are real. My numbers are far above theirs."

Even if Shangluo's immortality from the Forest King can be broken, it doesn't matter at all. He still has the immortality of a celestial being, and a lot of active and passive defense mechanisms. After one layer of mechanical shield is destroyed, he still has several layers of mechanical shields and numerical shields. This is very important.

"So why do we do this?" Shangluo explained, "There is only a thief who can steal for a thousand days, but there is no such thing as being on guard against thieves for a thousand days. I think the old forest king is standing by day after day because he is afraid that someone will raid his house. He can't trust anyone for this job, because even the person he trusts the most may covet power and pluck a branch to stab him in the back."

Although everyone can see that being the Forest King is not easy, if there is a chance, no mortal can resist the temptation. Because the Forest King is immortal after all. An immortal with flaws is still immortal.

The previous forest king did not keep up with the changes of the times and did not find a suitable way to protect himself, so he turned himself into a living dead. The forest king was indeed a real living man, but his life was more uncomfortable than that of a dead man, and it was simply worse than death. Even if the later ones did not have Shangluo's power, they might be able to do something. In Shangluo's hands, the golden branch ceremony of the forest king became truly indestructible, because even if he got the golden branch, he could not defeat him.

"So," Shangluo emphasized, "the key is not who gets it, but when. If you get it right under my nose and then challenge me openly after getting it, then let's have a duel - I think the whole ceremony should be completely public, making it a symbol of glory, and making glory an essential element of the ceremony. This can even become a celebration, a battle for the throne."

[Hey, hey, hey, you're talking about the Aztecs. The Aztecs fought the War of the Crown. And their ritualized war was to gather sacrifices. What's yours?]

"In order to prevent people from bothering me - in order to prevent them from bothering me at any time of the year, I decided to give them one day in the year to bother me. This is called blocking is worse than easing."

"That's brilliant," Victoria nodded. "Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?"

[Even if anyone in the past thought about it, it would be difficult for them to be as fearless as him. But in this way, the Forest King will become the King of Competition or the King of Heroes. ]

Shangluo made a decision: "This ceremony should be changed from beginning to end - let's not make it a secret ceremony, we should make it a festival. Once a year, a tournament will be held in the Colosseum. The final winner will pluck the golden branch alive and challenge my power. I will kill him personally in front of everyone."

"Wow!!!!" Victoria was shocked. "You are so Roman! Romans should call Rome! I, the Roman emperor, look like a Greek in front of you! No, I am a Greek."

Although they can be collectively called Romans in politics, the Romans and Greeks have different cultural concepts. Victoria, who is closer to the Greeks in culture, thinks this ceremony is so cool that it can make the entire Roman Empire boil.

"Shangluo." She said in astonishment, "Perhaps you are the most suitable person to rule the Roman Empire. You have brought Rome back to the monarchy era."

[Let me explain. The Roman monarchy era refers to the tribal era. Shangluo directly kicked the Roman culture back to the tribal era.]

"I think it's good - I understand that Rome's fate cannot be avoided."

There is no way to avoid this unstoppable fate. But as long as you face the difficulties head-on, it is the difficulties that will crush you.

"So what about your vacation?" Victoria asked.

"I think the problem is here - I don't actually need a separate vacation. As long as my rule is stable enough, then 'ruling' itself doesn't require me to spend too much energy, just as natural as eating and drinking. I don't feel tired from eating and drinking, nor do I feel that I need to rest when I'm tired from eating one day. I have to eat every day, and I can't give up the authority of ruling for a day. I feel that I don't have enough time because I'm not strong enough and haven't been able to further compress my time. The Forest King is a counterexample."

The forest king was too weak, so he was occupied with "ruling" all his time, even wasting himself into a living dead. 365 days a year, he spent every day in the pain of ruling and murder.

But Shangluo was very strong, so he decided to concentrate the murders on one day and then rule the remaining 355 days. In this way, he would have a day off every day.

"Now that I think about it, my senior brother might have already given me the answer."

[Indeed]

Zhu Xianxi is actually like this. Although refining the elixir every morning sounds painful at first glance, Zhu Xianxi treats refining the elixir as opening a treasure chest in the morning, and there are new surprises every day. He is very strong in the way of elixir, so this matter only takes up a small part of his energy, but makes him gain a whole day of happiness, which is completely worth it.

"So," Shangluo said to Victoria, "I think our merger can officially begin - you see, we have many projects to cooperate on. Meteorological engineering, the Colosseum, the Night Shift Bureau, and so on. I think we can establish an operations center in Rome, a city that represents a new era. This city should be an extension of the old Rome, and its center should be the Golden Bough Colosseum. That is where warriors from all over the empire duel and initiate the Golden Bough ceremony against me."

The whole situation suddenly became lively. When Shangluo took the initiative to stand up and bear the weight of the forest king, he immediately found that this thing only looked heavy. This throne can only crush the weak, not the strong.

"Speaking of which," Shangluo suddenly thought, "Since the king on the Roman side's troubles are caused by the Golden Branch, then where is the trouble for your throne?"

Victoria glanced at him and said, "You are asking even though you already know the answer. You are the Son of God."

The Golden Branch King inherited the throne by force, but Victoria's throne was inherited by blood. Many people told him this, and Emperor Agasocles also emphasized it to him.

"Oh sorry, sorry, I almost forgot."

"Just take care of yourself and don't worry about me." These words had two meanings, and Shangluo understood them all.

"Well, I'll prepare it."

"Huh? You really want to prepare? But I'm not ready yet."

[What kind of pun are you two making? Ms. Agatha is not here. You don't have to be so secretive.]

"Well, what I mean is, this can't be rushed. Rome wasn't built in a day, right? Only the weak are trapped by their own misfortunes. I'm strong, I can handle this. As long as I'm well prepared."

"Okay." Victoria took a sip of soup. "Ah, it's safer here. I don't have to worry about anything. Anyway, no matter which throne it is, you are the one who decides. Just be prepared."

"Well, let's not talk about your side. The arena at Lake Nemi will be built soon, right?"

"Wait a moment. Ms. Agatha will ask for me. If we can get the full support of Syracuse this time, it may not be impossible to revive Rome. Of course, the old Rome is destined to sink below the sea, but you can customize a new Rome of your own."

(End of this chapter)