Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 881 - 880: Not a Bad Thing

The feeling of being watched originating from the soul and the faint warning gradually faded away, but Melita and Nuoletta only caught their breaths fully after several minutes—at this moment, even a mighty dragon would realize an undeniable fact: Even though dragons are the lords of the sky in mortal eyes, legendary transcendent beings in stories, essentially, dragons... are just another mortal race.

”So this is... a direct warning from God...” Nuoletta bit her lip with a particularly grim expression, her brows tightly knitted as she spoke, ”It’s different from soul punishment, but just as distressing...”

”This is just the lightest degree of ’reminder,’” the Speaker’s voice echoed from the Throne of the Mind, sounding even older, ”Children, you don’t want to face the true ’warning’ from the gods.”

After a few seconds of silence and hesitation, Melita couldn’t help but speak: ”...What exactly was that signal? Why was it something we shouldn’t have heard?”

Speaker Andar cast a deep gaze at this young blue dragon.

Melita, she was one of the more outstanding and bolder ones among the younger generation. Her years of activity in the human world had fostered a personality somewhat different from other dragons, even making her dare to ask one more question in such circumstances.

However, the Dragonkin needed such a younger generation.

”In this world, every race only has one chance to look up at the starry sky,” the aged Speaker lowered his head, gazing at the two young dragons, his tone low and profound, ”Once missed, it’s missed forever.”

...

Heragor bowed his head respectfully and humbly, the dragon priest appearing as a middle-aged man stood beside the deity with golden hair flowing to the ground, tightly pressing his lips together, seemingly not daring to utter another word.

And the resplendent deity stood at the end of the palace balcony, standing in the twilight sky, gazing over the realm ruled by dragons, her eyes seemingly not focused on anything specific, yet Heragor, who could feel the divine power, knew that in an instant earlier, an unknown number of transcendent, mortal incomprehensible ”eyes” were gazing towards the Mithril Vault and Council Headquarters—such a gaze had not occurred for many years.

”My Lord,” Heragor maintained his humble posture, finally speaking in a low voice after a long while, ”Perhaps it was just a reckless act by some young clan members...”

The air was filled with suffocating silence, Heragor seemed to be able to hear his own heartbeat, but after a few seconds of silence, the golden-haired figure at the end of the balcony finally spoke, the tone sounding gentle, unhurried: ”No need to be nervous, I can distinguish between intentional offense and unintended mistake.

”What just happened was just a little accident, a young dragon returned from outside, but she didn’t know what she brought back—this mistake should not be punished.”

Listening to the other’s faint response, Heragor finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, but he did not see that the golden-haired figure at the end of the balcony turned her back on him with a complex and indescribable smile after the words fell, a smile seemingly full of helplessness.

”He” raised His head, looking at the distant sky, and seemed to cast His gaze through clouds and atmosphere towards the depths of the stars.

”A signal, huh...” The Dragon God mused as if speaking to herself, but her words gradually made the recently relieved Heragor tense up again, ”The human civilization on the opposite continent... has indeed brought some surprises. It’s called the Cecil Empire, right, Heragor—their ruler, a human hero who resurrected?”

”Yes, my Lord,” Heragor immediately responded by bowing his head, ”Called Gawain Cecil, active in the northern part of the Loren Continent seven hundred years ago, resurrected a few years ago.”

”Heh... resurrected, how could a mortal undergo that level of resurrection so easily?” The Dragon God chuckled, shaking her head, ”He... might be an interesting person, I’m beginning to feel curious about him.”

...

Sitting at his most familiar desk, a warm summer breeze blew into the room through the open window, this summer afternoon was leisurely and relatively peaceful, yet Gawain suddenly shivered for no reason.

Aunt Heidi, who was sitting next to him organizing some documents, noticed this scene and immediately asked with some concern: ”Ancestor, what’s wrong?”

”It’s nothing,” Gawain shook his head, but his face carried a puzzled expression, ”Just suddenly felt a chill, like being stared at by something... strange.”

Gawain’s tone was casual, yet Aunt Heidi immediately became serious, looking at Gawain with a solemn expression: ”Legendary strong intuition? Did you sense a malicious gaze?”

”No, it’s not that serious...” Gawain couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head when he saw Aunt Heidi’s serious demeanor, ”Probably just daydreaming a bit, I didn’t feel any gaze, let alone malice.”

”It’s still good to be cautious,” Aunt Heidi, however, remained serious, ”A legendary strong person like you often has an extremely strong intuitive prediction, when it involves one’s own safety this intuition is even close to the legendary ’premonition’—the country has just gotten back on track not long ago, all key projects and plans are at a critical juncture, who knows how many enemies are lurking in the dark seeking opportunities to sabotage. I suggest strengthening the security of the imperial capital in the near future, check the personnel entering and leaving, and guard against assassination.”

”Isn’t that a bit much...” Gawain looked at his xN-great-granddaughter in front of him with a helpless smile, ”How can you make such a fuss just because I shivered—and there’s already Amber and her Intelligence Agency agents, plus Soldrin’s Steel Cavalry, nothing to worry about security.”

Aunt Heidi thought for a bit, possibly realizing that her reaction was a bit excessive: ”What you said also makes sense. But it wouldn’t hurt for you to be a bit more vigilant personally these days.”

”Alright, alright, I’ll be careful, I’ll be careful,” Gawain waved his hand, suddenly feeling like an elder being nagged and urged by the younger generation. Amidst his helplessness, he saw Aunt Heidi seemed to want to say something, so he immediately interjected, ”You’re not young anymore...”

All of Heidi’s words were instantly choked back.

”We can discuss security issues later,” Gawain decided to leave it at that, shaking his head with a smile, ”Let’s talk about the matter at hand. We’ve received messages from the Typhon side; our neighbors... are likely about to discover the function of the Inversion Circle. It shouldn’t be long before they make breakthroughs in communication technology and other technologies requiring the use of divine-arcane hybrid energy.”

Gawain spoke lightly, but Heidi’s eyes widened instantly: ”Inversion Circle?! The Typhons are deciphering the Inversion Circle?”

”No need to be so surprised,” Gawain glanced at Heidi, calmly saying, ”Although the Inversion Circle is a technology from ancient Gondor, it is only advanced in concept; the technology itself and its implementation are not complex. We have many devices using Inversion Circles, some of which will inevitably fall into the hands of the Typhons. Additionally, after the Supreme Narrator incident, the Typhons are also harvesting Eternal Sleepers’ technology. They will inevitably encounter compatibility issues between theurgy runes and other magic symbols, and naturally realize that the Cecil Clan has solved this problem. They will suspect there’s some ’conversion technology’ behind this and will definitely begin researching it.”

At this point, Gawain paused and shook his head with a smile, ”After all—smart people do not all reside in the Cecil Clan; Typhon also has its own talent pool. And from the perspective of accumulated heritage, they probably have more talents than we do.”

”...but this is too fast,” Heidi said with a frown, struggling to accept, ”Even though the technology of the Inversion Circle is simple, the key is the concept... If a concept isn’t clear, it’s possible for a project to be delayed for years. How could the Typhons possibly pinpoint the key issue in such a short time, and even start targeted actions... Ah! Damn it, it’s those defected bishops!”

Heidi suddenly realized something, a hint of anger appearing on her face: she thought of those Eternal Sleepers’ bishops who chose Typhon, and of the high-levels in technical fields among them.

The corresponding authority allowed those bishops to possess a vast collection of technical data. Amidst the inevitable chaos during the initial evacuation of the Eternal Sleepers, those bishops who had long intended to join Typhon had the chance to inquire about Cecil’s information through various channels—they might not have learned the core secrets, but technicians are always skilled at deducing the underlying concepts from external information. They might have guessed some principles of Cecil’s Magic Web Communication, and these things were the gifts those Eternal Sleepers’ bishops staying in Typhon offered to Emperor Rosetta Augustus.

These things Gawain had certainly considered, but his attitude remained calm, even with a smile: ”No need to be so angry, this was a situation we should have expected long ago.

”Besides, the term ’defection’ is inaccurate. Strictly speaking, with Archbishops relocating to the Cecil Clan, it is the Eternal Sleepers that are ’defecting’. For those remaining in Typhon... their actions might even be considered ’turning towards the light’.”

”Ancestors,” Heidi couldn’t help but turn to Gawain, ”At times like this, you still have the mind to joke?”

”Is this such a critical moment?” Gawain shook his head, ”Relax, Heidi, you’re good in many ways, but this overly tense attitude of yours needs change; it will only make you more exhausted. When the Eternal Sleepers’ inner division occurred, with technical personnel migrating to both the Cecil Clan and Typhon, we anticipated today’s situation—many research talents and ready-made technological achievements fell into Typhon’s hands, and the latter is an old empire with a deep heritage and numerous talents. This kind of sudden technological breakthrough is to be expected.

”On the other hand, the situation is not as severe as you think—though communication technology is indeed significant and will greatly enhance Typhon’s overall strength, the distance for technology to travel from the laboratory to society... is far.”

Heidi blinked, looking into Gawain’s eyes.

Gawain nodded and continued slowly, ”Our Magic Web Communication was realized not solely relying on the Eternal Sleepers’ magic symbol group and a simple Inversion Circle. It also involved numerous engineering fields, mechanical processing, material fields, and rune logic, along with the system adaptation and countless related fields of interest interference. Each one of these problems presents a challenge to Typhon. For example... Typhon once invested heavily in manpower, resources, and time to establish a communication system based on communication Towers between major cities and military hubs. Do you know what this means?”

Heidi gradually showed a pensive expression.

Without waiting for her response, Gawain continued, ”It means hundreds, if not thousands, of families have invested in those communication Towers. It means tens of thousands of merchants, nobles, and Transcendents share the profits from those towers. The main managers and operators of those towers are the Typhon Royal Mage Association, and Mages are not lofty beings untainted by the world—Magic research requires vast sums of money. The Intelligence Agency mentioned in a report last year that nearly a third of the annual income of the entire Typhon Royal Mage Association comes from the communication Towers they control...”

Heidi’s brow furrowed slightly: ”Are you saying...”

”The newer Magic Web Communication is indeed more advanced than the Towers, but until the Typhons completely solve the cost problem, the gap between them is not yet enough for the former to completely replace the latter. Magic Web Communication is effective, but Towers have already been deployed on all major lines, and they’re still usable... This is the biggest contradiction,” Gawain smiled, ”We conquered this land, abolished all the privileges of the old aristocracy, and built the Magic Web Communication from scratch. We don’t have to face this contradiction, but Emperor Rosetta Augustus is promoting ’peaceful reform’—the national communication system of Typhon is neither entirely royal, nor entirely aristocratic, nor entirely the Mages’; it’s a shared cake among all powers, which complicates matters greatly.”

Heidi’s mouth twitched slightly, and she said slowly, ”It seems that Emperor Rosetta will have a headache watching his parliament bicker under the trifold spire again.”

But soon, Heidi couldn’t help but shake her head again, ”But no matter what, the Typhons have still mastered a new technology. Their bickering is temporary, but progress is inevitable—and the Typhons are no fools, Emperor Rosetta Augustus especially knows what’s truly important.”

”Indeed, Typhon will progress,” Gawain nodded, then paused slightly before continuing, ”But it’s not necessarily a bad thing...”

...

In the depths of the Lu An City cathedral, within the grand library housing countless precious tomes, the humble white-robed Archbishop Sevin Terry moved slowly between the towering, ancient bookshelves. Around him, treasury clerks and attendants, clad in plain short robes, were busily cataloging, recording, and moving the ancient scrolls with great care. Special clerks set up tables in the open spaces between the bookshelves, engaged in the tense and busy work of registration, transcription, and classification.

Classifying, organizing, preserving, and restoring ancient books is a long, complex, and demanding task, testing patience but remaining unnoticed. The former progressive Priest of Lu An City, Sevin Terry, was here conducting the organization and restoration work of the church’s collection.

Since receiving the order from the Cecil Clan, he had been working on this task for two whole years.