The boundless Northern Great Plains were like an immense painting, spreading across the entire north of the Terra Kingdom. Endless fields lay quiet and magnificent, while rolling waves of wheat shimmered with golden light beneath the sun.
At the northernmost edge of the plains, at the end of the Monster Mountain Range, stood a grand and imposing castle.
The entire castle had been built against the mountains. The southeastern terrain was highest and extended toward both sides, with the Monster Mountain Range to the west and Mount Modo to the east. The long, narrow city lay quietly between the two mountain ranges like a crouching beast. Thirty-meter-high walls wound around it, leaving no blind spots.
On the vast plains beyond the city, fertile land stretched everywhere. Streams flowed slowly down from the Monster Mountain Range, with some forming the moat while the rest irrigated the fields, providing an inexhaustible source of water.
This was the world-renowned Fortress of Radiance. Located on the border of the Terra Kingdom, it was humanity's first line of defense against the Orcs.
More than a hundred years had passed since the Fortress of Radiance was established. Though it had been breached by the Orcs four times, every reconstruction made its defenses stronger. By now, the entire fortress resembled a war machine, with endless killing intent hidden in every corner.
The dozens of towering arrow towers standing between the front, middle, and rear walls alone were enough to drive all invaders to despair. The city gates were as solid as rock and an astonishing two meters thick. There were no labor-saving devices such as winches; each opening required dozens of Advanced Warriors working together.
The winding, rugged roads inside the fortress, like tunnels, along with the houses built from Black Steel Rock on both sides, made any commander reluctant to engage in a brutal street battle there.
Even though the entire Fortress of Radiance now had only three thousand defenders, the Orcs across from it had not launched even a single charge against her for a long time. Countless lives and rivers of blood had not only brought endless grief to the Orcs, but also boundless glory to the fortress's masters.
With this fortress, the Solomon Family had risen in just over a hundred years from obscure barons to hereditary marquises of the kingdom, ruling the three counties of Roland, Copper Mountain, and Talei. Even among the human nations of the Saint Nor Continent, it could be called a miracle.
The Solomon Family was affectionately known by the people of Terra as Terra's Iron Wall. Together with the Modo Mega Fortress, one in the east and one in the west, they guarded the kingdom's Northern Great Plains.
At this moment, two old horses with somewhat rough hides, seemingly weathered by countless hardships, slowly pulled an unmarked carriage along the road south of the Fortress of Radiance.
On either side of the carriage rode a small squad of cavalrymen on tall horses, holding spears and wearing black armor. They seemed rather out of place beside the shabby carriage.
Only an elderly man in plain clothes sat atop the simple carriage, gently waving a leather whip as he urged the two old horses along the flat, broad road. He was extremely cautious, as though afraid that any excessive movement might agitate the clearly failing horses.
The carriage compartment was cramped and narrow, piled full of books to the point that there was nowhere to set one's feet. Thus, a young man inside could only curl up in a secluded corner, enduring the jolting carriage ride.
The young man had thick golden hair casually tied behind his head. His skin was fair and smooth, and his features were delicate, still carrying a trace of youthful immaturity. His blue eyes, the color of clear rippling water, resembled a calm lake, though a hint of heart-wrenching weariness lay deep within them.
Through a gap in the carriage window, the young man looked at the endless fertile fields on both sides of the road. A hidden trace of confusion and unease crossed his face.
As a transmigrator, Roland was fortunate. In this life, he had a noble father, and one of no small rank at that, so he did not need to struggle bitterly at the bottom of society.
Yet compared to his status as a noble's descendant, he was unfortunate as well, because he was an illegitimate son—an illegitimate son who had never received his father's attention.
Though Solomon Family blood flowed through his veins, he was also someone unworthy even of bearing a surname.
A failed magic experiment had exhausted the previous owner's Mental Power and killed him outright, allowing the transmigrated Roland to take his place.
For three days, Roland had silently absorbed the previous owner's memories while continuously observing this world.
Fortunately, perhaps because of his childhood experiences, the previous owner had been somewhat withdrawn and had not gotten along particularly well with those around him.
Coupled with his year-round obsession with potion-making, the Roland who had replaced him had not revealed any obvious flaws.
Still, these three days had not been easy for Roland. They had even been agonizing.
As the illegitimate son of Junot Solomon, the head of the Solomon Family, the humiliation he had suffered in childhood and the coldness he had received from his father had tormented him at every moment. Over time, the obsession accumulating within his heart had nearly driven him mad.
Furthermore, he had already graduated and was about to return to the family that terrified him like a nightmare. Left with no choice, he had risked conducting a magic experiment far beyond his level. Unfortunately, it had ultimately failed, causing his soul to perish.
The transmigrated Roland had been forced to struggle against the lingering obsession left behind by the previous owner for three whole days. Even now, strange thoughts would occasionally spring up in his mind, declaring their ownership over this body.
Looking out the window, Roland let out a soft sigh. He knew he could not delay any longer. If this continued, the previous owner's lingering obsession would drag him down sooner or later and leave him mentally fractured.
Under the witness of the mysterious and eternal Goddess of Magic Misra, I will inherit your hatred, fulfill your wish, take revenge on the Solomon Family, and make your lofty father lower his proud head and repent for the mistakes he made in the past.
A breeze swept across the endless wheat fields, causing delicate ripples like those spreading across a calm lake. When Roland's silent whisper ended, nothing unusual happened around him.
After a long while, just as a trace of disappointment appeared on Roland's face, an almost transparent soul slowly emerged from the depths of his mind. It looked exactly like the body Roland had inherited.
There was no hatred, no distortion. Its eyes, so faint they were nearly invisible, gazed deeply at Roland's youthful face. A trace of attachment flickered within them, but there was far more relief.
This bizarre sight made Roland shudder slightly. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, the soul before him, already illusionary to the extreme, drifted away in the wind and vanished without a trace.
At the instant that soul dispersed, Roland suddenly felt a long-lost lightness flow through his body. He felt comfortable all over, clear-headed and refreshed.
The Roland who had been repressed for three days could not help letting out a relieved groan from his throat.
He knew that from this moment onward, this body belonged wholly and completely to him alone. Everything from the previous owner had completely vanished, including his obsession.
"Young Master Roland, are you all right?"
The sound Roland had just made immediately alerted the old man seated outside the carriage.
Hearing the old man's concern, Roland casually replied, "Grandpa Nob, I'm fine."
"That's good, that's good. Young Master, hold on a little longer. We're almost there." Perhaps due to his age, the old man was somewhat talkative, but his tone carried deep concern.
"Grandpa Nob, there's no need to hurry. Let's take it slow."
"Yes, Young Master."
Feeling as though he had been reborn, Roland dealt with the old man outside the carriage before looking at his fair, delicate hands and feeling the vitality within this body. At last, a smile appeared on his face—a smile of surviving disaster and finally setting down a heavy burden.
Beep!
System activated!
Suddenly, a mechanical voice sounding from within his mind instantly reached Roland's heart.
A system essential for transmigrators? Roland was immediately filled with delight.
But before joy could appear on his face,
the voice in his mind sounded again.
The Third Generation Nuwa Semi-Intelligent Chip is at your service!
???
Roland froze, then scratched his golden hair in irritation.
"So it's the intelligent chip from my previous life. I got excited for nothing. But how can this chip still function?" Roland's lips first curled downward before shock appeared on his face.
As the crystallization of technology and intelligence from his previous life, the Third Generation Nuwa Semi-Intelligent Chip had benefited all of humanity on Blue Planet.
The Third Generation Nuwa Semi-Intelligent Chip could be implanted directly into the brain and connected to the Federal Government's central superprocessor, providing every human with three functions: storage, analysis, and scanning.
Those three functions could be said to have completely freed humanity's hands.
Most matters in daily life could be handled with the chip's assistance. Even studying and work could be carried out by the Nuwa Semi-Intelligent Chip.
However, as a researcher in his previous life, Roland knew that the power of the Third Generation Nuwa Semi-Intelligent Chip was built upon the Federal Government's central superprocessor.
The central superprocessor, known to the outside world as Tiangong, had been created only after the entire Federal Government gathered countless scientists and spent a full ten years developing it.
Its terrifying computational power and intelligence had reduced Blue Planet's resource consumption by thirty percent as soon as it was unveiled. It had even directly taken over the world's satellites and quantum computers, ensuring that humanity left no corner of Blue Planet unmonitored in the true sense.
Therefore, the fact that the Third Generation Nuwa Semi-Intelligent Chip could still function after being separated from the Tiangong processor left Roland deeply suspicious.
"Report your current status." Roland tentatively issued an order in his mind.
Beep! Due to unknown interference, connection to the central processor has failed. Computing power has decreased. Current maximum computing power: 3.4 GHz.
Beep! Due to unknown interference, internal storage has been cleared.
Beep! Connection to the central processor has failed. Ninety-one percent of all functions have been lost.
Each beep brought almost no good news, causing Roland to frown slightly.
Its computing power had fallen to such a level that it was inferior even to an ordinary laptop from his previous life.
The chip's internal storage being wiped was especially troubling. That meant he could not reproduce the technological achievements of Blue Planet in this life at all.
Perhaps, relying on the knowledge in his mind, he could explore and develop some technological creations on this unfamiliar continent.
But based on the previous owner's memories and experiences that Roland had initially grasped over the past three days since transmigrating, he knew that some low-level technological products from his previous life were simply not worth mentioning in this world.
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