Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 846 - 845: A Grand-Scale Plan

Narrator Neural Network—this is the name Gawain has thought of for the future Cecil Mind Network. It will be an enormously extensive project with far-reaching influence, naturally involving much more than just providing research assistance.

According to Gawain’s plan, the Narrator Neural Network will cover several fields such as research, communication, education, and public entertainment. It can provide computational support for numerous research projects and become an indispensable part of people’s daily lives, possibly even one day transforming into a gigantic wetware main frame, encompassing the entire Cecil Empire via its constantly connected nodes of tens of thousands of human brains.

The distributed devices connected to the Narrator Neural Network will become the interactive terminals of the wetware main frame, illuminating an unprecedented informational technology line through the abundant computing power of countless human brains. A vast number of ordinary people can contribute computing power to the Empire in a safe manner, enriching the spiritual life of citizens along the way, all originating from this Imperial Computing Center.

This is how Gawain intends to open the next tier of the technology tree in a world with physical laws vastly different from planet Earth, also marking an important step in the harmless redesign of the Eternal Sleepers’ technology.

Wendy is excitedly describing what she saw in the ”Illusionary Realm,” and the Archbishops around her seem quite interested in her descriptions—frankly, the current Cecil ”Narrator Neural Network” is actually very primitive, and the ”entertainment projects” it can present are not vastly superior to those dream cities created by the Eternal Sleepers, which served as idyllic ”Perfect Sanctuaries.” In Gawain’s view, their allure doesn’t pale beside any magic film clips or some ”entertainment scenes,” perhaps even surpassing them.

However, what the Narrator Neural Network presents is vastly different from the dream city: it has a developmental ceiling far beyond the latter’s reach and can be flexibly adjusted at any time to customize countless ”new contents.” After the realization of the Neural Thorn Technique, this customization process can even be completed by ordinary people, whereas the dream city...

The Eternal Sleepers created the dream city mainly to serve as a ”Mind Nexus,” facilitating the aggregation of computational power. The extremely high Divine Arts threshold means only bishops or higher-level priests could modify its contents, and in reality, bishops and archbishops don’t usually bother to change it.

Thus, no matter how perfect, the dream city is merely a rigid bonsai—its final form is determined from the day of its creation. The limitations of traditional Divine Arts dictate that even if it’s remodeled, it can only be a new bonsai accessible to a few powerful priests.

The archbishops present are not foolish; they can immediately perceive the differences here and naturally also understand the impact once this enters the lives of ”ordinary people.”

Transcendence into the mundane... from the time they set foot on Cecil’s land to now, it’s the first time they’ve truly grasped the meaning of this ”slogan” in their familiar domain.

”For ordinary people, this is basically harmless—though, of course, extended connection can lead to fatigue, and excessive immersion may result in some psychological issues, but these dangers are negligible compared to the old neural modifications or ’Brain Servant’ technology,” Gawain said with a hint of a smile, patting the Immersion Capsule lid beside him, ”Currently, its limitation is mostly related to the difficulty in producing the Immersion Capsule and the very demanding craftsmanship required to construct the Mind Nexus. Only a few factories in the Empire can produce qualified components, and training workers is very slow.”

Immersion Capsules and the Narrator Neural Network are undoubtedly epoch-defining, their advantages over traditional communication, entertainment, and media are evident. However, this doesn’t mean Cecil will enter the information age tomorrow, nor does it mean the country’s newspapers and Magic Web broadcasts will soon be replaced by new technology—this all takes time.

Experts from Cecil Mechanical Manufacturing Facility and the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute have struggled for a long time to solve the mass production problem of the Immersion Capsule, allowing it to be factory-produced instead of individually crafted in labs. And now they have to find a way to tackle the challenge of mass-producing Mind Nexuses. Furthermore, technicians skilled in assembly and personnel capable of maintaining computing centers are even more scarce; it may take an unknown amount of time to cultivate them on a large scale—therefore, for a foreseeable long period, the Narrator Neural Network will be in a developmental stage, and traditional communication, entertainment, and media will coexist with it long-term.

Gawain explained some concepts about industrial production and societal promotion to Yuri and others, not elaborately but clearly enough to leave them contemplating for a long time.

This was all beyond their consideration for many years.

”...We really have buried ourselves underground for too long,” Magnan said with self-mockery, shaking his head, ”our eyes and ears clogged with soil.”

A tall, slender, and relatively young-looking archbishop glanced at Magnan: ”But fortunately, we still have some chances for remedy...”

”You’re right; thankfully, you still have chances for remedy,” Gawain looked deeply at the people before him, ”I’m glad to see all archbishops and a significant number of bishop-level priests have chosen Cecil, and even gladder that the person in charge at the White Sand Dunes reported to me you brought over a large number of Brain Servants to the best of your abilities—during this long journey of escape, you ensured the survival of all Brain Servants, proving your dedication.

”Those Brain Servants will receive careful care, and the Druid Research Association will spare no effort in searching for ways to heal and awaken them, whereas you will become members of the Empire’s technology departments, doing things you are more adept at.

”I’ve already prepared projects for you.”

”Projects?” Yuri subconsciously repeated the word.

”I hope the name of the project won’t scare you,” Gawain smiled, ”The computing center you are in is part of it—its name is ’Narrator Neural Network,’ yes, exactly like the ’Supreme Narrator’ you are familiar with...”

As soon as Gawain finished speaking, the color on the archbishops’ faces visibly paled, and Wendy, standing in the front, even instinctively took half a step back, fearfully touching her neck as if someone might jab a needle there in the next second.

”Forgive me for asking, Your Majesty,” Semyr hesitated repeatedly but finally couldn’t help but speak, ”this name... is hopefully just a name...”

”Regrettably, it will indeed have certain connections with the ’Supreme Narrator’,” Gawain slowly retracted his smile, speaking with a serious tone, ”Be prepared; we will be dealing with ’God’ for quite some time.”

Yuri and Magnan exchanged looks, Wendy and Semyr seemed thoughtful, while Gawain exhaled lightly, slowly spreading his hands—

”Then, let me say it one last time: Welcome to Cecil, welcome... to the defied Plan.”

...

The giant sun gradually approached the western horizon, its magnificent corona releasing the last light and heat of the day beneath the clouds. The orange-red glow spread over the rolling hills and plains, finally halting at the jagged ridges at the edge of Throat of Orlandeau, forming sawtooth-like, golden shining outlines.

Hadrian Augustus, with slightly curled black hair and a tall, upright figure, stood on a hill near the Throat of Orlandeau, overlooking the massive collapsed ravine and the cracked fissures at its bottom that were still emitting faint smoke and dust. The wind blowing from the plains stirred his cape, making the royal emblem on it sparkle brightly in the sunlight.

The loyal Obsidian Imperial Guard stood behind Hadrian, and several high-level knights looked somewhat worriedly at the prince before them – as an Augustine descendant, Hadrian had stayed too long in this cursed place of Throat of Orlandeau.

This was where the old imperial capital collapsed, marking the beginning of the curse on the Augustus family. Some power beyond human understanding might still be lurking on this land; existing experience and lessons proved it. Being too close to the Throat of Orlandeau is hazardous to the Augustus family members, possibly causing their already unstable mental state to deteriorate rapidly or triggering the curse to erupt prematurely. Thus, the royal family of Typhon avoids this place as much as possible, even trying not to touch the ”information” sent back from Throat of Orlandeau to the imperial capital.

However, Hadrian Augustus had already stayed in this region for half a day.

”Your Highness,” a high-level knight officer finally couldn’t help but step forward, ”The wind in the wilderness is harmful to health, and you can go back to rest first...”

”It’s not the wind in the wilderness that’s harmful to health,” Hadrian turned around, smiling as he glanced at the knight, ”Rest assured, I am monitoring my mental state, as I am a person who cherishes life.”

The knight opened his mouth but ultimately retreated helplessly, while Hadrian turned back and continued gazing in the direction of the Throat of Orlandeau.

He could vaguely hear some whispering coming from that direction, feel a certain ancient and indescribable power still slowly flowing in the depth of that heavy, cold, dark earth and stone. It’s actually very weak, so weak that ordinary people couldn’t even perceive it, but as an Augustus... he could still vaguely sense its existence.

That power seemed to be luring him forward, but the willpower training he received since childhood allowed Hadrian to easily restrain his impulses, keeping a safe distance from that force and those whispers.

He was curious about what that thing actually was, but he also knew that dealing with some indescribable things often makes ”curiosity” the most lethal and harmful thing.

After waiting for another moment, a well-armed knight squad carrying precious talismans finally emerged from the direction of the ravine of Throat of Orlandeau.

”The exploration team is back!” said the officer on the hill happily.

Those sent out to investigate quickly gathered with the pioneering knights led by Hadrian, and a gray-haired knight, the leader of the exploration team, came before Hadrian. After removing his helmet, he saluted and said, ”Your Highness, we discovered some passages and ruins of a city below, but the road leading deeper has completely collapsed, and it looks like it was recently blasted. Furthermore, the structure of the central area of the ravine is very dangerous, with constant small-scale collapses. We suspect there was originally a supported space below, which has most likely collapsed now.”

”... The local sheriff said people heard a series of noises louder than thunder from the direction of the ravine on the 45th day of last month, and they sounded underground,” a knight standing behind Hadrian said, ”We also found some secret bases around here, all completely destroyed.”

”Regrettable,” Hadrian slowly shook his head, ”Those ’Eternal Sleepers’... it seems they evacuated very decisively and with clear purpose. Even if we dig open those collapsed underground caves, there probably won’t be anything valuable inside.”

”Fortunately, news came from Aldernon that some Eternal Sleepers have started contacting the royal family for sanctuary, including some strong individuals at the bishop level and specialized technical personnel, bringing with them numerous technical materials,” the knight officer comforted, ”After all, they couldn’t take everything with them.”

”More will fall into the hands of the Cecil Clan... but that’s unavoidable,” Hadrian said regretfully. He took one last look at the direction of the ravine and sighed softly, ”It’s time to go back. Get ready, let’s leave—don’t forget to pay the local guides for their help and convey our gratitude to the sheriff.”

”Yes, Your Highness.”

The knights immediately began packing, preparing to leave this cursed place, while the commander beside Hadrian said, ”Matilda has returned to Aldernon, and her trip to the Cecil Clan should have been quite fruitful.”

”I’m already looking forward to what gift she’ll bring me,” Hadrian couldn’t help but smile upon hearing this, ”Hopefully, it’s not something with a strange taste or a magic item that gives a fright—as the ’Jewel’ of the Empire, she certainly doesn’t hold back when dealing with her brother.”

The knights weren’t sure how to respond to this topic, so they pretended not to hear anything and continued their work. Hadrian, feeling somewhat bored with no one to talk to, shrugged and walked toward the Magic-guided Vehicle parked on the open ground not far away. But before getting in, he turned to glance at the direction of the Throat of Orlandeau once more.

The sunset was almost entirely sinking beyond the horizon, with only a faint layer of red glow remaining at the horizon. In the rapidly vanishing twilight, the undulating ridges of the Throat of Orlandeau became illusionary.

”Curse...”

Hadrian said softly.