The protagonist of "Blood" is Morgan Black (Note 1), a bearded Scottish man who lived in the late 16th century, a member of the Knights Hospitaller, and the only Black who has actually seen the Fountain of Youth; the protagonist of "Ice" is John Black, Morgan's grandson; the protagonist of "Steel" is Emilia Black, John's granddaughter. The point is that Morgan once drank from the Fountain of Youth, and this person lived until Emilia's time!

The Fountain of Youth can neither make people immortal nor keep them young forever, but it does have the ability to extend lifespan: when Morgan appears in the third act, he is already an old man with white hair and beard who needs a cane to walk. Almost two hundred years have passed between Morgan's time and Emilia's time. Considering that Morgan was already middle-aged when he drank the fountain water, the Fountain of Youth can almost extend the lifespan of humans to nearly three hundred years.

Judging from this alone, it seems that the Fountain of Youth is just so effective. There are many ways to prolong life in the Warhammer world. Even if you want to be immortal, it is not impossible - it will only cost a "small" price. However, the advantage of the Fountain of Youth is that it has a large output! In the plot, the output of the Fountain of Youth is so large that it can form a lake called Moon Lake. There are schools of perch living in the lake. I don't know if they can live for 300 years.

The Fountain of Youth in a narrow sense refers specifically to this natural fountain, while the Fountain of Youth in a broad sense refers to a stone mountain rising from the lake, with the fountain located on the top of the stone mountain, and there are also artificial paths and arches leading to the fountain on the stone mountain. The magical spring water gushes out and accumulates into a clear pool of water at the top of the stone mountain, while the excess spring water flows down along the rocky mountain and merges into the Moon Lake, which is shaped like a crescent moon.

"…Although the Fountain of Youth is unique to the campaign, I can get it," Chen Jianjun said as he smoked a wrinkled cigarette, "I have been keeping this secret from that old monster."

An Jiyue thought about it for a moment before realizing that the "old monster" was referring to Drachenfels.

"I can hand over the Fountain of Youth," Chen Jianjun took the last puff of his cigarette reluctantly. This thing was one of the few personal belongings that came with him to this world, "but I want the right to freely choose the martial arts!"

The governor looked at the middle-aged man with the three characters "reluctant" written on his face, then he took out a pack of unopened soft Zhonghua cigarettes from somewhere and handed it to him in front of the man's surprised expression: "This is for you."

While the middle-aged office worker was busy unpacking his cigarette, the Taoist girl said, "As a professional, I sincerely advise you not to apply the knowledge you get from online novels to reality. Remember, Chen Dalang, among the many elements of cultivation, the method is only the least important. 'Obtained the peerless method and then cultivated the peerless magic' is a routine that only appears in the mouths of storytellers. The fact is that the resources needed for cultivation are the most important."

As he spoke, An Jiyue turned his head and glanced at Jin Zhifan, and the deputy captain immediately took out a thread-bound book with a blue cover and placed it on the table. Chen Jianjun took the book and found six big characters written on the cover: "General Outline of the Mysterious Dao of the National Dynasty".

"If you just want to practice and don't pursue magical powers, just reading this book is enough," said the girl who was a direct disciple of the Southern Heavenly Master's Mansion but unfortunately had no false memories and lacked intuitive cognition. "Turn to the last page."

Chen Jianjun did as he was told doubtfully, only to see two lines of small characters on the lower left corner of the last page of the book. One line read "Weijing Zhuji Printing Bureau" and the other read "Two Hundred Coins".

"Two hundred coins is two hundred coins. Under my command, a soldier's monthly salary is six strings of coins, or six thousand coins. This is a very high income for ordinary people," the girl continued. "First, martial arts are the least valuable. They can even be sold publicly in bookstores. Second, there is no distinction between high and low martial arts. Only cultivators are divided into high and low."

"The blessed land with beautiful scenery, the magical instruments that protect the soul, the miraculous elixirs with different functions, and the teacher who is familiar with the various key points on the path of cultivation and can give you guidance at any time, these are the truly important things. Your imagination of holding a secret book, then squatting in a secret and quiet place, practicing for a while and achieving great success, and then going out to kill people everywhere and shock the world - all of this is just hysteria!"

"Let's put it another way. Cultivation techniques are indeed widely available. You can just go to a regular bookstore and buy them. But it's not the same with spells. Aside from small tricks like the [Eternal Light], the truly powerful spells are all monopolized by the imperial court and various sects. Especially the imperial court. Remember this: the imperial court is the most powerful sect in the world!"

"Because the imperial court has the most and best resources for cultivation?" asked Chen Jianjun, who finally came to his senses.

"It seems that you are not that stupid," An Jiyue looked at the man approvingly, "It's a pity that you can't be an alchemist. And considering your age, it's hard for you to achieve anything decent as a martial artist."

Chen Jianjun frowned and said, "You didn't even teach me, so you concluded that I can't be an alchemist?"

"Being an alchemist requires a special talent. The imperial court calls it 'Xuan Yi', and the Westerners call it 'Second Sight'. Simply put, you must be born with the ability to sense the existence of Taixu Yuanli," An Jiuyue shook her head. "This talent is innate and cannot be forced. Although there are ways to cast spells without Xuan Yi, it is purely relying on external objects."

"I don't have 'Xuan Yi'?"

"No. Besides, you are into everything from alcohol to sex to money to anger. If you embark on the path of cultivation, it will be just a pile of karma and inner demons... You might as well become a martial artist. Martial artists don't have as many rules and regulations as we do."

"Then," Chen Jianjun's expression was not very good, "what if I must become a Taoist priest?"

"I have a secret technique that can turn you into another race and allow you to gain the mysterious power through artificial intervention," An Jiyue replied, "but in this way, your life and death will really be completely in my hands. Also, don't even think about trying to find someone else to make a deal, unless you surrender to Taixu. Otherwise, no matter who you find, the Fountain of Youth will still fall into my hands in the end."

"…You read my mind?!"

"I don't need to read your mind to deal with you. Besides, I almost never use it," especially not on a greasy middle-aged man like you. "The Fountain of Youth is a valuable bargaining chip, but apart from us, you can't convince others of its effectiveness or even its existence. Think about it carefully, Chen Dalang."

Chen Jianjun said nothing. In the end, the middle-aged man left the Aurora Embassy with a heavy heart, and when he left, he did not forget to take the book "General Outline of the Mysterious Dao of the National Dynasty" with him. And just after he left, another person was brought in.

"Welcome, Ms. Bella," An Jiuyue said, "Or should I call you Mirmidia?"

The Tyrell beauty with golden light in her eyes walked in and sat down in front of the head of the Outer Gods calmly: "Please feel free, sir. For you and me, there is no need to be so formal about addressing each other."

As soon as Mirmidia (Note 2), the daughter of Morr, the god of death, and Verena, the goddess of justice, and the god of war and victory, sat down, An Jiyue suddenly asked, "Excuse me, how is Mr. Chen Jianjun's 'technology'?"

"...Bella is my chosen one," the goddess of war's expression almost froze, "I am not possessed by her all the time. And don't you think that your words just now were too offensive to an unmarried lady?"

"It's okay, I'm not married." An Jiyue waved her hand, "Tell me, what do you want from me?"

"Ishamara, why did your NATO exclude Estalia?" Mirmidia asked. "I understand why you didn't look for the Bretonnians. My believers reported some rumors to me... Although it sounds incredible, it is indeed something Lilith can do."

"It seems that Cawl is very efficient. The correct name has finally been spread." An Jiyue did not answer the other party's question immediately, but talked about another matter first. "As for your question, NATO is not a makeshift team, and it cannot become a makeshift team. Tyrell is at least unified in name, but what about Estalia?"

"They should not be excluded from NATO. They are also members of the Order camp and deserve protection and help," Mirmidia said. "The Estalia people are by no means dispensable. They just need a great hero to lead them. Try to give them a chance, okay?"

"Then why don't you first let the Myrmidia Church in Tyrell and the Myrmidia Church in Estalia reconcile and reunite," An Jiyue complained, "I heard that the relationship between these two groups is almost like that of enemies."

"The church's split is not their fault. There are too many tragedies in this world that shouldn't have happened... Fortunately, the dawn of unity has appeared," Mirmidia said solemnly in a low voice, "Chen's appearance is just right."

An Jiyue suddenly realized that she had never asked Chen Jianjun which country his Age of Empires 3 system belonged to. Thinking of this, she used her mind to connect to the chat group and found Aiwen who was doing something unknown.

[Group leader #An Jiyue: @艾雯o德o利塞留#Which country is Chen Jianjun's Age of Empires 3? ]

A moment later, the Elector's reply came.

[Ewen de Richelieu: I remember it was Spain.]

Spain.

"Yes," the Outer God Leader heard her voice and said, "It is indeed just right."

……

Note 1: I specifically checked and found that this person's name and Sister Wang's name are the same word, oh my god.

Note 2: It is actually Warhammer Athena. The background setting, priesthood and authority are almost copied.

The author says:

Author's words: This is the first update, and it also makes up for yesterday's update. To describe yesterday's situation in the simplest terms, that scumbag is here again, and he has changed his tactics. I didn't care at all when he was throwing a tantrum, and instead I looked for someone to mediate and let others persuade me to be "magnanimous".

Also, the picture at the end of the chapter is the Fountain of Youth.

Chapter 501: Sogard

An Jiyue's conversation with Mirmidia did not last long.

Even a one in a million God-chosen champion cannot withstand the [coming] of the gods for a long time, even if it is only a trace of the will of the gods. The two sides reached a verbal agreement in this brief conversation. Chen Jianjun still has to go to Kewang Castle to serve as the logistics captain for five years. After the expiration of his term, he will lead his system army to launch the Estalia Unification War with the explicit or implicit support of Mirmidia and the Lords of the Holy Scripture.

Given the status of the Myrmidian faith in the southern countries, as long as this middle-aged man didn't get killed accidentally, he was destined to become the first king in Warhammer's history to unify all the city-states. As for Chen Jianjun's identity as a Chinese and his unclear origins, it was nothing in front of theocracy. Huameis de Lyonesse's ancestors were all farmers, but it didn't prevent this Warhammer Jeanne from becoming a powerful duke who ruled a principality.

After the conversation, the golden light disappeared from Bella's eyes, and the mortal woman regained control of her body. She stood up hurriedly and saluted An Jiyue respectfully, even though the governor was not the god she served.

"So," An Jiyue looked the other person up and down, "you are the queen that Mirmidia prepared for him?"

"If this is what our Lord decides." Bella said with her head lowered.

"Great, the king and queen are not from Estalia... although this is very normal in the old world," An Jiyue said, waving her hand, "Go away. Remember, you haven't been here today."

Bella saluted again with impeccable movements, then backed out of the room.

"Just say whatever you want to say," An Jiyue glanced at her maid after Bella left, "Don't hold it in."

"This woman has been married before, and is no longer a virgin," said Nishikori Shigeru, "Is she worthy of being the mother of the country?"

"Westerners don't care about this. Besides, even we didn't have such a particular idea from the beginning," the governor shook his head disapprovingly, "The King of Zhou married not only wives of other people, but also women from the Hu tribe!"

As she spoke, the silver-haired, red-eyed alchemist girl stretched lazily. "Well, that's all for today. I have to visit Thorgrim again tomorrow. Calculating the date, the representatives of the Norse dwarves should be here soon."

If you want to go on an expedition to the Norscan Peninsula to search for Shenzhu's whereabouts, the help of the Norse Dwarves is indispensable. Since the first invasion of Chaos into the mortal world, the Mountain Kingdom has severed contact with these northern relatives, and it has been nearly seven thousand years. Until two hundred years ago, Thorgrim, who was not yet the High King, followed the former High King Alexon to fight under the city of Kislev with other Order coalition forces to fight against the Chaos army of the former Everchosen Esava Kul.

Thorgrim himself disappeared in the battle, and the other dwarves thought he had died on the battlefield. Since Alexon had no son or other suitable heir (Thorgrin was Alexon's nephew), the High King, who was not well-known for his stinginess, decided that the person who made the greatest achievements within the specified period would become the new High King.

Because of this decision, the Butcher King Argrim almost became the High King. The reason why it is "almost" is that Thorgrim returned at this time and brought an ambassador from Dulong City: after disappearing on the battlefield against Chaos, Thorgrim accidentally ran to the Norsca Peninsula and found his long-lost relatives.

Even without considering that Thorgrim is Alexon's nephew, his claim to power is strong, and his achievement in reestablishing contact with the Norse Dwarves is enough to surpass the Butcher King. In the end, Thorgrim succeeded to the throne as the new High King.

Although the Norse Dwarves have reestablished contact with the Mountain Kingdom, they have not returned to the Mountain Kingdom. The long separation has allowed these dwarves to develop their own unique culture, and even the language they use has produced significant differences. They call themselves Norse Dwarves to distinguish themselves from their southern relatives. Although they still respect the ancestral gods, the Norse Dwarves do not recognize the status of the High King as the supreme leader of the dwarves and refuse to swear allegiance to the High King.

Whether in legal terms or in actual operation, the Norse Dwarves are an independent force. They have four strongholds, namely Dulong City, Thunder Castle, Raven's Roost City and Eagle Peak Castle. Dulong City and Eagle Peak Castle both appear on the large map of the eighth edition of the Dwarf Military Book, and both are still in the hands of the Norse Dwarves.

Among the four Norse Dwarf strongholds, Dulong is both the most powerful and the richest. Its current king is Thorgard Koromson. Thorgard himself is also the supreme leader of the Norse Dwarves. Similar to the High-King, the Norse Dwarf leaders of all generations, represented by Thorgard, also have their own special title, called the Great-King (Note 1).

For various reasons, although the Mountain Kingdom was quite dissatisfied with the Norse Dwarves' refusal to pledge allegiance, it did not take any further action. After all, the Norse Dwarves still believed in the ancestral gods, which was much better than some bastards who didn't care about their ancestors.

After deciding on the grand strategy of the expedition to the Norsca Peninsula, An Jiyue contacted Dulong City through the channel of Eternal Peak. Although the relationship between the Mountain Kingdom and the Norse dwarves is a bit subtle, the dwarves on both sides actually communicate quite a lot. For example, the butchers like to run north. After all, the Norsca Peninsula may have nothing else, but there are really many messy monsters.

Considering her relationship with the dwarves, especially with the ancestral gods, An Jiyue felt that the Norse dwarves would not shut her out. At least providing supplies to the expeditionary force should not be a problem.

"Hello, lady. I am Thorgard Koromson, the Lord of Dulong City and the King of the Norse Dwarves," a dwarf with a puffed chest and a protruding belly introduced himself in Thorgrim's tent. "I have been looking forward to meeting you today since I first received your letter."

The time was the day after the meeting with Mirmidia, and the location was the dwarf camp outside Kislev. An Jiyue heard that the representatives of the Norse dwarves had arrived, so she brought Jin Zhishi and a group of followers to the dwarf camp outside the city.

"...I thought I would meet an ambassador," An Jiyue, who had extensive experience in dealing with dwarves, blinked and said bluntly, "Sogard, I have heard of your name. Why did you come here in person?"

"They say you can communicate directly with the ancestors," Thorgard said, his eyes sparkling. "Is this true?"

"It must be in the temple of the ancestor god, or other places with special significance." An Jiuyue nodded. Anyway, these things had already spread throughout the Mountain Kingdom and even all the dwarf settlements in the entire Old World.

"So," the king swallowed, "the armor thing is true? Granni really gave you a set of armor made by Him personally? Oh, sorry, I mean, can I see it?"

"Sogard," the owner of the tent couldn't help but say, "Calm down!"

"The Eternal Armor is not with me now. I was originally planning to wear it after the NATO founding conference is over and when I go to Dulong City," An Jiyue said, glancing at Thorgrin, "You will have a chance to see it."

"My fortress welcomes you at any time, lady," said Thorgard. "Everyone can't wait to welcome the most distinguished guest of the Norse dwarves since the recovery of Dulong City."

"It's my honor." An Jiuyue nodded modestly.

……

Note 1: "Zun Wang" is my own translation. Otherwise, you can't call him Da Wang, right? Da Wang sounds too weird.

The author says:

Author's Note: Second update. Thank you for your concern. I'm definitely not stupid enough to believe such nonsense.

Answer to reader "Yuanyuan":

The spellcasting principles of the An Zhendan alchemists are quite special. Their spells form their own system that other magicians cannot learn.

Chapter 502: The Beginning of the Conference

The city of Kislev now attracts the attention of the entire Old World.

Under the invitation sent by An Jiyue in the name of the Heavenly Court, except for a few who could not come in person and could only send a full-power representative, the most powerful figures in the Old World gathered in this northern city. Politicians, military commanders, diplomats and spies, people with various missions came and went in the capital of the Ice and Snow Kingdom, and the intricate interests were woven into a dense network. Meetings and negotiations were going on almost every moment.

In addition to the forces that were invited on the surface, many uninvited guys came uninvited: the black ratmen of Clan Eshin, the Kane assassins of Druzy, the vampires of Family Lahmia, the cultists who believed in evil gods...all kinds of monsters came one after another, trying to achieve some goal in this event.

The Cheka agents were already overloaded and still had trouble coping with such a complicated situation. Fortunately, An Jiyue had never counted on the Kislevites from the beginning. When the bigwigs invited to attend the NATO founding conference had not yet set off, teams of Jinyiwei arrived in the Ice and Snow Kingdom in various identities. Now was the time for them to show their skills.

After observing secretly for a while, the Jinyiwei field agents began to deal with these arrogant bastards one by one - in contrast to the order camps in the old world, both the official Zhendan and the An Zhendan were very good at this kind of confrontation in the shadows, and the power of true Qi just eliminated the innate gap between humans and certain races.

Even the most powerful vampires could only die in the face of the Jinyiwei. After all, the Jinyiwei field agents who were sent to perform such tasks must be warriors with true Qi power. As extraordinary beings, when the witch hunters of the empire had to rely on numbers, tactics, traps, sacrifices, and sometimes luck to kill one or two inferior vampires, the warriors of Anshi Zhendan were enough to kill these inhuman creatures with their hard power alone.

It only took a few days for the arrogant monsters to retreat back to their nests, preparing to come out and stir up trouble again after the storm had passed. Unfortunately, it was too late. The Jinyiwei had already collected enough information, and then the Aurora people and the Kislevites launched a joint arrest operation...

It was called a joint operation, but in fact it was just a face-saving measure for the host. The prison at the Cheka headquarters was soon overcrowded, even though the Jinyiwei had tried their best to use heavy hands during the operation. Fortunately, this was not a problem for the Kislevites, and the Cheka agents immediately solved the problem by simplifying the interrogation and sentencing process.

By October of that year, except for a few guys who were hiding too deeply, the entire underground world of Kislev had been cleansed repeatedly. Not to mention the real dangers, even ordinary gang members were killed or arrested. For a while, the city's law and order improved greatly.

October 10th, 5: a.m., on the outskirts of Kislev.

"…It's not too late to sign the agreement now, girl. With just a little bit of gold, which is insignificant to the Heavenly Court, my palace can be a ready-made meeting place," Boris Bokaha, riding on the back of the white bear Erskine, chattered in his final effort, "Anyway, it's not you who pays, does the Heavenly Court still need this little bit of funding?"

In front of the Red Tsar, armies from all over the Old World surrounded their leader and formed square formations of varying sizes with flags flying on a cleared and leveled open space. The suburbs of Kislev were originally full of farms and manors, providing the city with all kinds of agricultural products necessary to maintain its operation. With the help of Prince Belov's connections, An Jiyue quietly bought several neighboring farms and then sent people to flatten everything on them.

Participants of the NATO founding conference were informed early on that the meeting would be held outside the city, not in the city. Many people thought they would witness the birth of this unprecedented military alliance in a tent, but only a few people felt that things were not that simple, and that the Aurora people might be preparing to give them a "surprise".

The local host held the third view: the Red Tsar believed that the Aurora people were just playing tricks, and that they would have to rent the Bokaha Palace from him to hold the meeting. For this reason, Boris Bokaha prepared a "generous" offer early on, even though it was strongly opposed by Katalin.

The 11-year-old little girl thought that her father's plot would definitely fail. After all, she had never seen Boris take advantage of Sister Ann. Rather than being embarrassed, it would be better to cooperate honestly. Anyway, the establishment of NATO itself has benefited Kislev a lot.

While the Red Tsar was annoyed by his little girl's attitude of turning his elbow outward, he confidently managed to settle the various factions within the Ice and Snow Kingdom, ensuring that all facilities in Kislev that could be used to hold a meeting would never reach any agreement with the Zhendan people. In order to deal with the most difficult Ugor people, he was even forced to make concessions on Katarin and Yuri's affairs, promising not to interfere in the affairs of young people and let them develop freely.

As for whether Boris Bockaha will keep his promise, all we can say is that swearing is like farting and it is a tradition of the Russians, no matter which world they are from.

"As a native of Aurora, I will never understand where your inexplicable self-confidence comes from," An Jiyue glanced at the smug Red Tsar and said in standard Gospada, "It's almost time. It's not the right way to treat guests by keeping them waiting... Ah Ran!"

Krupp Yin Siran, former deputy governor of Anxi Army and current governor of Beiting Army, heard her boss' call and hurriedly stuffed a half-eaten cake into her arms. She reached out to take the object handed to her by An Jiyue with telekinesis, a fortress model that looked extremely delicate. She rode her Pixiu mount and flew to a position about 200 meters away from the army formation.

The next moment, the one-time earth-controlling technique built into the [Pocket Fortress] was activated, the ground deformed violently, the soil and stones rolled and were pushed away, and then countless blue bricks extended from the inside to the outside, turning into a square Zhendan-style fortress.

The scene was completely silent. Boris Bokaha stared at the fortress that appeared out of nowhere in amazement. His anger at having his plan go awry was completely overshadowed by his shock. He stared blankly at the main gate of the fortress slowly opening outwards. Teams of people, still immersed in shock, were led into the fortress by the Aurora people and took their respective positions.

"Ersun!" the Red Tsar shouted in a way that was almost like a roar, "You built a fortress at the gate of my city?!"

"In order to control costs, the transformation of [Pocket Fortress] is one-time. But the one in front of you is specially made and can be transformed back into a model," An Jiyue said while instigating the unicorn under her. "What are you still standing there for? Follow me."

The Anxi Army Jiedushi rarely rode a mount, as she trusted her magic more than her mount. But if necessary, she would sometimes ride a mechanical horse or the unicorn given by Morgan.

It took some time to settle the troops, and the walls of the square fortress were soon filled with warriors with very different clothing and equipment. Afterwards, the big men who could really decide the fate of the old world, along with their guards and followers, were invited to a mansion in the center of the fortress that also served as a defensive fortification.

The meeting started.

Chapter 503 Basic Framework (Part 1)

"Before the meeting officially begins, I must first state one thing."