From Prisoner to Si Chen..

Chapter 429 Promotion
At the breakfast banquet, both parties successfully reached a cooperation intention. After half a day of negotiation, a preliminary charter was drawn up and everyone was happy.

The Bremen envoys finally ended their visit and are about to return. According to the charter, Bremen will send a professional technical team to provide guidance and help, and work with the Iron Blood Royal Court to build a "water transfer terminal" and lay water pipelines.

But these are all things for later.

The departure time was set for the next morning, when they would be seen off personally by Foreign Minister Doroteo. The envoys would be sent to the border in a carriage arranged by the royal court, and then take a train across the desert back to the Bremen Empire.

That night.

Gillan was invited again to the Duke of Hawkes's territory to enjoy dinner in his manor villa.

Duke Hawkes was the first high-ranking official in the royal court that Gillan met when he first arrived. During this visit, he also provided a lot of support and help.

In view of the other party's goodwill, Jilan was naturally willing to continue his friendship with him.

At the dinner, both parties tacitly did not talk about work, but instead chatted about their lives and hobbies like ordinary friends.

The Duke of Hawkes, who was over fifty years old, was quite surprised to learn that Gilan's life was like that of an ascetic, with work and practice all the time.

As a great noble of Stuttgart and an elder of the royal court who holds real power, he is quite familiar with enjoying this matter.

This young and outstanding Bremen Foreign Minister has no interest in enjoying himself!

"Your pursuit and realm are far higher than an old fellow like me, haha... No wonder you are able to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the Bremen Empire at such a young age and possess awe-inspiring power."

Duke Hawkes picked up the golden cup and exclaimed sincerely.

"Here's to you, Mr. Gillan."

"Your Excellency the Duke, thank you for your compliment."

Jilan also raised his glass in response and said with a smile:

"It's just that everyone has their own pursuits, there's no distinction between high and low... Speaking of hobbies, I actually quite like watching movies."

"Oh?" Duke Hawkes was a little surprised.

He was also quite familiar with the situation in Bremen, and knew that "movies" were contraband in that land at this stage. But the Duke was also a man with a very high emotional intelligence, and did not mention this, but smiled and said:

"Coincidentally, I also like movies."

"Twenty years ago, when I was still young, movies were all the rage in Bremen. This newfangled thing was introduced to Stuttgart and gradually became popular."

As he spoke, his expression was somewhat sentimental, as if he was reminiscing.

"It's a pity that with some policy changes in Bremen, many films have disappeared..."

"Mr. Gillan, I have set up a small collection exhibition hall on the third floor, which houses some out-of-print film reels. Are you interested in going up to take a look?"

Hearing this, Ji Lan raised his eyebrows.

"Of course, Your Majesty the Duke."

"Come with me."

Hawkes put down his glass, smiled and stood up.

Gillan followed closely behind and went upstairs together.

"I wonder if Duke Hawkes has any real film..."

He thought to himself.

Following the Duke all the way up to the third floor, at the innermost side of the corridor, there was a double-opening carved wooden door with a circular relief decoration inlaid on it.

There are hollow glass windows on both sides, through which you can see the warm orange light inside, as well as some display cabinets containing various precious jewelry and pottery.

Hawkes stopped at the door with Gillan, took out a key ring from his waist, and inserted one of the silver-plated keys into the center hole of the circular relief.

Click.

The double wooden doors made a slight sound and then opened.

"Please feel free to visit, Mr. Gillan."

Duke Hawkes turned sideways with an upright posture, raised his hand and waved with a smile on his face.

"If there is anything you like, feel free to take it back. It will be considered as a parting gift from me on behalf of the Barbaroche family."

"You are very polite, Duke."

Gilan smiled and walked in slowly.

He looked around at the collections in the exhibition room and uttered words of admiration, which pleased Duke Hawkes greatly.

The warm light from the wall shines down, making the collections in the glass cabinets dazzling, including gold-plated black cat statues, sterling silver knight statues, five-color jewelry music boxes, diamond crowns, pearl necklaces, snake eye ruby ​​rings, and so on.

Each one is of great value and has a historical story behind it, which is recorded on parchment attached to the side of the display case.

"This scepter was used by Queen Martinez at an awarding ceremony a hundred years ago..."

Duke Hawkes came over and introduced the collections in the display case to Gillan.

Jilan nodded and praised repeatedly.

Soon, the two walked to a display cabinet in the corner. The collection was an old-fashioned projector. According to the description on the parchment, it was the first generation of projectors sold publicly in the Bremen Empire.

Duke Hawkes maintained it very well. According to him, if the corresponding first edition battery could be obtained, the projector would still work properly.

"…These are the film reels I collected, but they are all black and white movies, and they are silent."

The Duke pointed to another display case nearby and chuckled.

This glass display case is divided by partitions and contains large film reels with a diameter of 5 to 60 cm.

Gillan glanced at them calmly, but was quite disappointed because these were not real films.

“…Oh, and this.”

Duke Hawkes seemed to suddenly remember something, and he used the key to open the drawer under the display case and took out a box.

With a click, he unlocked the metal lock of the box, opened the wooden lid, and showed Gillan what was inside.

"This is a film reel that I collected accidentally. As far as I know, it has never been circulated in the market. It seems to be an unpublished master tape... Unfortunately, it was damaged and only such a small part is left."

Duke Hawkes explained to Gillan in a low voice.

Jillan's pupils shrank when he looked at the scattered tapes in the wooden box.

His eyes flickered, and the "Guide" immediately described the incomplete film:
"Curtain Call (Incomplete #4)."

"Part of a major biographical film, created by the 'director' of the month of February, to record a person, a life and a promise."

"…(the rest is unknown)"

Jilan looked at the crooked colored words and was shocked.

He said silently:

'I have never seen such a description as an "important film". This real film may be very special... Unfortunately, it is incomplete.'

"Mr. Gillan, do you know the origin of this film?"

At this time, Duke Hawkes, who was standing aside, asked.

Gilan withdrew his thoughts and shook his head.

"Not sure." He pointed at the wooden box and asked, "Can I take a look at it?"

"Of course, go ahead." Duke Hawkes smiled and gestured indifferently.

Gillan thanked him, took the scattered film in his hand and examined it carefully.

He found that the film was completely black, and even when he looked at it against the wall lamp, he could not see the unique reverse color outline of the film.

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary roll of black tape, the kind that is not enough to tie up miscellaneous items.

"If Mr. Gillan is interested, you may take it back with you."

Duke Hawkes smiled upon seeing this.

Gillan thought for a moment and tipped his hat to him. "I am indeed quite curious about this film... In that case, I will take it."

"What other collections are there?" Hawkes waved his hand, not really paying attention. He pointed to the display cabinet in the room and asked with a smile, "Please take your pick, sir."

"Thank you for your kindness, Duke. This torn film is enough..."

In response to the Duke's enthusiasm, Gillan just smiled and declined.

"Okay." Hawkes shook his head, seeming to be quite regretful. "But as long as Mr. Gillan likes it."

...

...

Bang bang, bang bang.

The next day, the train traveled through the endless desert.

The wind blew in through the open car window, lifting the gradient hair on Jilan's forehead.

He was sitting by the window of the VIP compartment, looking very focused, playing with the film in his hands. He had reorganized the scattered tape into a palm-sized disc, and was examining it carefully in his palm.

"Whose story is this real film telling that the 'director' takes it so seriously..."

He looked thoughtful.

'The name of this film is "Curtain Call", does it have any special meaning?'

Gillan shook his head and had to put the incomplete film away temporarily.

At this moment, the sound of crisp footsteps of high heels making a clicking sound came from the aisle behind me.

The secretary, Lanis, who was wearing a uniform and glasses, came forward, bowed her head and said to Gillan:
"Sir, Mr. Moody and I have just called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and conveyed the progress of this diplomatic visit in the form of a briefing."

"Yeah, good. Thank you for your hard work."

Gillan turned and smiled at the secretary.

"The return journey will take a few days, so you should have a good rest."

"Yes, sir." Lanis adjusted her glasses and said, "You should also rest more."

After that, she turned and left.

Jilan adjusted his sitting posture, leaned back on the soft leather seat, and slowly closed his eyes.

Taking advantage of the boring time on the return journey, he planned to enter a dream and devour the two kingdom seals obtained on this trip.

As his consciousness sank, the black he perceived became deeper and deeper, until the whistling wind, the clanking of wheels, and the whispers of the members of the envoy group in his ears all faded away.

Gilan descended into the Kingdom of the Mind once again.

He ran straight to the cross sword bonfire in the open-air stone temple and took out two colorful kingdom seals.

They all originated from the top of the "White Dove Tower", namely "The Farmer", one of the former "Three Fables", and "Winter Snake", one of the current "Three Fables".

A level 6 "traitor" and a level 5 "illusion".

"This is my first time to devour a 6th-order original kingdom mark. I don't know how much improvement it will have..."

Gillan murmured.

Then, with great anticipation, he threw the two kingdom seals in his hand into the bonfire.

Bear! !

Suddenly, the fire raged!
The fire column shot up into the sky, forming a spiral fireball like a canopy in the air. The intense light and heat instantly illuminated the entire island.

Jilan looked up and saw countless twisted phantoms, howling and struggling in the flames.

They spun with the flow of the flames, and were gradually burned to ashes, disappearing without a trace.

And wave after wave of invisible power surged from Jilan's heart, giving him a strong feeling of heat.

'Feedback is coming...'

Ji Lan secretly thought.

Click, click, click! !

The open-air stone hall expanded once more, new carved stone slabs emerging from the dirt at the edges and joining themselves together.

And at the top of the "thumb" stone pillar, the mad king sitting on the throne also underwent new changes.

His body began to shrink continuously, from the original three meters in height to gradually becoming the same height and shape as Jilan's original body.

However, after this "concentration", the Mad King's momentum increased instead of decreased, and a strong sense of oppression filled the area around him.

There were also some distorted ghost shadows on the translucent scarlet cloak behind him, which exuded a deep black aura at all times.

This aura seemed to have the effect of causing hallucinations and blinding perception... Obviously, it was a new ability generated after devouring the two kingdom seals.

As for the wild sheep standing beside the throne, it also shrank to the size of a normal horse. At the same time, its body gradually became translucent, and black flames were emitted from its body.

'The strength of the Kingdom of the Heart has increased again, and the Mad King has been greatly enhanced... Although the Wild Sheep has lost its physical body, if it descends into the mortal world again, it will not be restricted by physical damage. At the same time, it can ignore gravity and run in the air.'

Gillan felt the changes and showed joy on his face.

However, the two kingdom imprints were of high rank, and the remaining power was not completely absorbed by him. The overflowing part was divided into four parts and transmitted to the other four members of the "Hand of Dawn" through a method that Jilan did not understand.

At this moment.

The Black Snipe, the Gray Stork, the White Gull and the Red Sparrow, who were in various parts of the empire, all felt a powerful force bursting out from the bottom of their hearts.

“This feeling comes again…”

The four of them stopped what they were doing at the same time, feeling surprised.

And this time, the infusion of power is far greater than ever before!

In an instant, the four people who had already visited the God's Homeland, Toyalan, and formed the "God's Homeland Mark", almost without any obstacles, came into contact with the 4th-order essence they were trying to pursue...

boom!
They immediately closed their eyes with strong anticipation and uncontrollably entered the kingdom of the mind.

Gillan looked up.

Four beams of light fell, landing on the stone pillar seats of the index finger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger respectively.

The spiral fireball in the night sky has not disappeared yet and is still emitting light and heat.

At this moment, the open-air stone hall seemed to be holding a mysterious ceremony. The four people sitting at the seats closed their eyes, slowly raised their heads, and smiled with joy on their faces.

soon.

The four "Hands of Dawn" exude a powerful aura.

They were promoted almost at the same time!

Crossing the stage of spiritual mystics, they officially enter the stage of long-lived beings. Their natural life span is extended to 150 years, and their body, spiritual awareness, and spirituality have undergone qualitative changes!
The black snipe went from being a "beggar" to a "patient", and its plump and rosy cheeks became thin and pale at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The gray stork climbed from "private soldier" to "flag bearer", his windbreaker rustling and a sense of majesty between his brows.

The white gull became "Whisper" and the red sparrow became "Matchstick". The appearance of the two ladies did not change much, but their temperament became more restrained and elegant.

The four of them opened their eyes and stood up in tacit understanding.

They all bowed to the purple-eyed young man standing by the campfire below.

"Meet Mr. Gillan."

"You have all become long-lived people now. This is really good news... and the overall strength of the 'Hand of Dawn' has also risen to a higher level."

Gillan put his hands behind his back and smiled.

"From now on, we will definitely realize our original ideals and live well in this chaotic world!"

(End of this chapter)