Aricchia, an ordinary and extraordinary Roman town. Rome was sparsely populated, even in its core. Like other Roman towns, there are only about 200 permanent residents in the town and there are several crossroads.
However, the infrastructure is all available. A grocery store, gas station, bakery, Orthodox church and bank face each other at the central crossroads. There is a specialized cheese shop that sells nearly a hundred kinds of cheese, including local Italian Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and ricotta cheese, from Ireland to the Caucasus. In addition to fresh meat, the butcher shop also offers sausages from various parts of the Western Hemisphere such as Parma ham and salami.
There are dazzling products in every small store. Whether it’s a cheese shop, a ham shop or a hotel, the variety is as rich as a specialized museum. Even the wine cellar in Berlin of one of the technological barbarians, the Commander-in-Chief of the Alemannic United Emirates, is nothing more than this.
This is Rome, one of the six capitals of the overlords of the Western Hemisphere. Unlike the orderly tribute order in the Eastern Hemisphere, the racial composition in Rome was as complex as a color palette.
The town of Aricea is located in the heart of Rome, with half the world at your fingertips. They carefully screened all the past items, retained the products that were most suitable for the local service industry, and displayed them in small and inconspicuous shops on the street. As long as the residents of this small town are willing to go out once a day, the richness of their diet can be as rich as that of the commander-in-chief of the United Arab Emirates.
But now, the town has been cleared of all tourists, leaving only the people of this town. This is an operation that needs to be carried out every ten years. In fact, it will not be so hasty. The town just stops accepting foreign visitors a long time in advance.
Although there are no tourists, almost everyone in the town is living as usual. Because their "job" during this period is to live as usual, their status in this ceremony is that of "locals." This is important.
When the jeep that Shangluo and his party were traveling in arrived at the edge of the town, a small truck was parked there. There won't be any tourists coming at this time, and those who come are mostly "those people who should come."
The mayor, wearing a narrow dress, stepped out of the truck. His eyes wandered among the crowd, looking for the person destined to join him.
"Here." Titus, who was parking the car, waved out and confirmed his identity to the other party in the ceremony.
"They are really strangers this time." Looking at these strange Cathayans, the mayor straightened his collar.
"Welcome to the pearl of Lake Nemi, Aliciya Town. Dear guests, please find a seat and sit wherever you like." He pointed to the small truck behind him and motioned for Shangluo and his party to get on it.
This was a line that he had prepared a long time ago and he had practiced it for a long time. This is not the first time that he has cooperated with the ceremony. Every mayor will be told to cooperate with the ceremony when he takes office. Although most people are only told to play along, not the whole truth. But this one knows.
Because this ceremony is different from the past. Even at the risk of mysterious leaks, no mistakes can be made in the process. The roles of foreigners and locals must be played well.
After getting out of the car, Titus also extended his hand to introduce the person in front of him:
"This is Mr. Kailus Kelso, the current mayor of Alicia Town. He is the only insider in the town."
"What about the other people in the town?" Shangluo asked.
"Other people in the town will receive special allowances from the Senate during this period. They just need to live as usual. It was announced that they were going to conduct military exercises, so personnel control was implemented - there is indeed an artillery group in the south. Deployment, it is true that people cannot come in here casually, and we have not deceived the citizens here at all."
"And if we don't succeed"
"Well, this is what I want to emphasize in a moment. Although your lives are very important, although we have the last resort to perish anyway, such as physically smoothing the sacred forest. But for the equipment that was exploded, for Rome's Order, please do your best.”
Before officially entering, Titus bowed to Shangluo. If he could do it by himself, he would definitely challenge the Forest King by himself without any hesitation. But now, the only hope lies with these students in front of them.
"So, I want to ask what kind of damage will the last resort cause?" Shangluo asked.
"If you all fail, we will have to mobilize artillery groups to bombard for 72 hours, completely razing the entire sacred grove, including Diana's temple. Opening artillery next to the city of Rome will inevitably lead to the Senate's accountability to the internal guards—— Of course, this is not important. What is important is that an important foundation will be removed from the magic building, and the order of the entire world will inevitably be shaken. Of course, from an adult perspective, I still hope that you will take care of yourself. But in On the premise of taking care of yourselves, please work harder. Our thank you gifts will definitely be more than golden branches. You will receive the heartfelt gratitude of Rome and the rewards that match your achievements. And..."
He looked at the north and said slowly: "Actually, we can also provide you with backup. The information alone will be very rich. The danger of this mission is not great, otherwise Lu Qianhu would not agree to let it go. Come on, everyone. Therefore, although bombing by artillery groups is the last resort, we will also activate some backup plans before things get out of hand."
"Then why not give it to us now?"
"The backup plan is called a backup plan, of course because it is an 'unconventional measure'. For example, we have prepared dragon tooth soldiers as a backup. You can also apply for them when needed. However, it is quite troublesome to recover the dragon tooth soldiers and the danger is even higher. It’s larger than the Golden Bough Ceremony itself, so it’s better not to use it until it’s critical. The difficulty of this mission, well, is generally not that big.”
He thought for a moment and nodded to confirm:
"The danger is indeed not great. Although I have never participated in it myself, the branch-breaking ceremony has always been done by apprentices of similar age to you. This time we have made a series of backup plans, all to ensure that nothing goes wrong. I can do it too Let me tell you, the historical casualty rate of the Golden Bough Ceremony is less than 0.5%, and it is a fairly safe ceremony."
[What he said was not a lie. The Golden Bough Ceremony is indeed very safe, but you are the only one who got the qualification this time. I always feel that it was prepared for you? Hmm, it seems like too much of a coincidence. ] Apollonia reminded.
Similar to Apollonia's reminder, Titus also made a rigorous speech at the end that was close to a "disclaimer":
"Of course, it is indeed very safe in history. But anything can happen in the dark, and unexpected things are indeed possible. If everyone is sure, then please get in the car. Get in the car in Alicia Town , the ceremony will begin."
(End of chapter)
