Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1198: Chapter 1197: Winterhold Castle Construction

The first batch of alliance teams sent to support Talronde will continue their year-long task on the northern continent until the next batch takes over. But before that, the military personnel responsible for escorting and initial handover have completed their mission and returned today to Northport, located at the northern border of the Cecil Empire—after being away for so many days, setting foot back on imperial land made even someone as rough and bold as Byron Kirk couldn’t help but feel sentimental.

Since seven hundred years ago, when human nations lost the protection of the Church of Storms and were sealed on this continent by the Endless Sea, mortal vessels finally truly challenged this boundless sea once more. Having crossed the icy oceans and visited continents far beyond human civilization territories before safely returning home, this feat will surely be recorded in history.

”Following His Majesty all these years, I’ve really encountered nothing but events bound to be recorded in history,” standing at the edge of the upper deck, Byron couldn’t help but shake his head, ”I’m a bit curious about what it would be like to see my name in school textbooks...”

”Rest assured, students studying history will surely curse you whenever they see you,” the voice of his adjutant came from beside him, a navy-uniformed imperial officer with a joyous smile on his face, ”because they have to memorize word-for-word not only how many days you spent enjoying the sea breeze on the wastelands of Talronde— but also the vast array of historical events you participated in elsewhere.”

Byron turned his head to glance at this guy who had followed him from the southern borders all the way to now, raising his eyebrows: ”Attention! About-turn!”

The adjutant reflexively stood up straight and turned around, only for Byron to immediately kick him on the butt: ”Stop wasting time with nonsense and get on with the landing handover!!”

The adjutant twisted his body, only allowing Byron’s toe to graze the edge of his uniform before he shouted, ”Yes, sir,” laughingly running off from the deck while Byron indifferently curled his lips, retracting his leg and looking up at the sky—the Red Armored Giant Dragon hovering high in the sky was gradually lowering altitude, the whistling sound of its enormous wings cutting through the air reaching the ears of the Winter’s crew. After a series of deceleration and aiming maneuvers, she finally descended towards the upper deck of the warship, uttering a low roar when she was still tens of meters away from the vessel, her entire body shrouded in a layer of ever-changing radiance.

With a ”bang,” the silhouette of the red-haired Dragonbranded Witch emerged from the radiance, landing not far behind Byron with a very graceful and agile one-knee position, and slowly stood up, the heat wave generated by the magic dissipating from around her, etching out Asharena’s tall and slightly wild silhouette in the subtly distorted heat haze.

Byron frowned as he watched this scene unfold, finally unable to hold back his murmur after Asharena stood up: ”Can’t you jump down a bit closer next time you land? You jump down dozens of meters every time...”

”Are you underestimating the physique of a Dragonborn?” Asharena nonchalantly waved her hand as she walked out of the heat haze, ”Even a supernatural knight like you wouldn’t get hurt from this height, let alone me. I used to jump from higher places when I was a kid.”

”No, I’m saying don’t go damaging my deck,” Byron looked troubled as he gazed at the spot where Asharena had just landed, ”Do you know how much it would cost if you made a dent, and never mind that I have to write a report explaining it...”

Asharena: ”...”

”What does that look mean?” Byron looked at Asharena, inexplicably feeling a bit pressured by her gaze, ”I’m not saying you’d pay for it—it’s mainly that I don’t want to write a report explaining why there’s a footprint on the deck...”

”There’s a reason you’ve stayed unmarried for so many years,” the Dragonbranded Witch rolled her eyes subtly, waved her hand, and headed towards the ladder at the edge of the deck, ”It’s not entirely because you look rugged and don’t shave.”

Byron paused for a moment, then saw the red-haired Dragonborn lady already stepping past him to the deck’s edge. He finally reacted, instantly protesting as he walked toward that side: ”You say I look rugged, I’ll admit, it’s actually a plus, but when you comment on my beard, that’s where you’re wrong. Do you know how much effort I put into grooming these whiskers... Hey, don’t walk so fast, do you know the way?”

”I saw everything clearly from up there, at least the structure of the deck,” Asharena said as she suddenly stopped, turning to look at the middle-aged knight who nearly bumped into her because he couldn’t stop in time. ”Instead of discussing this, why don’t you tell me your plans next? Are you going to rest here for a while? Or return directly to your home in the southern boundaries?”

Byron paused, thought for a bit, then spoke: ”The orders for the deployment are already in. The arrangements for Northport and the follow-ups for Winter have long been settled, with the rotating captain and second officer taking over here. I’m planning to return directly to the southern borders.”

Asharena looked at him: ”How are you planning to go back? By Magic Train? Or the ’Cloud Bottom’ Transporter?”

”Uh... the train still suits me better—it’s quick enough,” Byron scratched his head, ”I’m not much into aircraft, plus honestly, it’s just not as comfortable as a spacious train... but why do you ask?”

”Oh? Merely ’not interested’ in aircraft?” Asharena seemed to overlook Byron’s last question, only slightly raising an eyebrow, a look of interest appearing on her face, ”Would you like to try a more convenient mode of transport than your current trains and aircraft?”

Byron didn’t catch on at first, still pondering what could be more convenient than the ’Cloud Bottom’ Transporter and Magic Train in this place, but soon he noticed the strange grin on the Dragonborn lady’s face and her now dark red slit eyes. He jolted and quickly waved his hands: ”No, no, I think I’ll stick with the traditional modes of transportation...”

”A newly sophisticated thing like the Magic Train can’t be considered traditional,” Asharena patted Byron on the shoulder with the strength of a Dragonborn, ”Come on, relax, ’Leader’—once you try the flying experience, you’ll get the hang of it... ”

...

The wind of late autumn was already quite bone-chilling, especially in the barren wilderness of the northern parts of the mountain range. This cold wind whipped across the unshielded plains and over the remains of withered grass and twigs, making it even more apparent that the flourishing summer days had long gone, the desolate autumn and soon advancing winter were hastening their approach upon this world.

At the northern border between the Typhon Empire and the Cecil Empire, in the traditional ”buffer zone” between the two nations, a magnificent castle stands on a rocky highland. Its walls, having endured little of the ravages of time, remain as orderly and bright as they were a few years ago when they were first erected. The cold wind from the plains stirs up dust and fallen leaves, slapping against Winterhold Castle’s gray-white exterior walls, and causing the three flags fluttering atop the castle to flap vigorously in the wind.

Cecil, Typhon, and the Alliance, three flags representing the role this castle built under the name of ”peace” now plays, and beneath these flags lies a gathering of large engineering convoys, supply vehicles, technical personnel, logistics units, and high-level technical bureaucrats from the two major human empires.

Windsor Maple stood on the walls of the main gate of Winterhold Castle, her gaze directed towards the open wilderness outside the castle. On the land once traversed by representatives of the two countries, large temporary camps have sprung up. Engineers from Typhon and mechanized construction teams from Cecil have both showcased their utmost efficiency, erecting barracks and walls at a competitive pace, and constructing temporary hardened roads between various facilities. Further out, two wide roads extend towards the east and west — one pointing towards Longwind Fortress, the other towards the distant Winterwolf Fortress.

Retracting her gaze, the president of the Royal Mage Association heard a series of approaching footsteps on the nearby wall. She looked up, a slight smile forming on her face.

A robed old mage approached at a leisurely pace, his bent and aged figure still steady in the wind, while a young black-haired female mage followed closely behind him, like a fledgling.

”Mentor,” Windsor Maple stepped forward, as she always did, never considering her current position as president or status as a legendary powerhouse before her teaching mentor, ”What brings you to the walls personally?”

”I’m not a frail old man who needs to be sheltered in a warm room,” the old mage Daniel said calmly, ”His Majesty sent me here to ensure the progress of the project with you, not to have me drinking tea and reading the paper all day in a room.”

”You’re right,” Windsor Maple smiled, and although her mentor’s tone remained quite calm, it was evident that this everyday-like conversation was a significant improvement from the cold hostility when the mentor and apprentice had a falling out. She was quite pleased with this progress, ”His Majesty attaches great importance to this joint project, and having you seated here personally reassures everyone greatly.”

Daniel waved his hand casually then raised his head to look around the construction site outside the castle, asking offhandedly, ”How is the progress?”

”All the planned engineering teams are on site, including those from both Typhon and Cecil. Ninety percent of the technical personnel are in place, supplies are abundant, the camps are connected by clear roads to the rear, and basic communication, living, and storage facilities have been established,” Windsor nodded, feeling good, ”Next, Cecil will establish a total of eight large energy stations around Winterhold Castle using their most advanced Stacked Mana Web to ensure the massive energy supply during the portal opening process. The connection between the energy stations and the main facility will be conducted through both wireless mana obelisks and physical energy tracks to maximize the safety and stability of the energy supply.

”As for our side, the outside facilities are primarily for remote monitoring. Our main engineering project lies within the castle. As planned, we will set up the focusing device and restraining rings necessary for the portal in the main hall of Winterhold Castle, and some of the existing walls will need to be demolished to accommodate the overwhelmingly large cooling and waste energy release devices. To ensure that the strength of the main building is not compromised, the engineering teams will concurrently need to build some new supporting structures and walls.

”Mages are also required to conduct extensive enchantment work on the entire facility; the enchantment includes three main parts. One part is to enhance the facility’s strength, which goes without saying; the second part is to purify the elemental environment to minimize the interference of natural magic power with ’pure arcane energy’, which is a request from Cecil’s technicians, and very reasonable. We will fully cooperate; the third part is to set up ’Mind Protection Runes’ near the main hall—you should have seen them in the materials. It’s said to be the blessed power from the deep sea, a gift from the sea demons to the Alliance, which His Majesty highly acknowledges...”

Listening to Windsor’s meticulous and earnest narration, Daniel couldn’t help but smile: ”Yes, I’ve certainly seen them, they’re incredible things, highly effective against mind pollution originating from the gods.”

”Exactly. According to one of the pre-plans, if pollution backflow during the portal opening actually occurs, the rune system set up on-site combined with the ’Anti-Divine Barrier’ brought by the Cecil people will immediately take effect, suppressing and sealing the pollution, and at least buying us time to evacuate the site and destroy the portal,” Windsor nodded, ”This entire enchantment project will be conducted in tandem with the construction of the main device, requiring us to establish over ten thousand enchantment nodes...”

”Doesn’t sound easy,” Daniel stated calmly.

”Indeed, the difficulty is quite high—this isn’t about enchanting swords or armors, nor creating a magic chamber. This time, we are enchanting an entire castle to transform it into a veritable ’magical artifact’, unprecedented in scale,” Windsor said solemnly, finishing with a confident smile, ”But I’m quite confident. The entire system is my design, having been simulated numerous times, and the Cecil side has also validated it with their ’Neural Network Calculation’ technology, confirming an effectiveness rate of over ninety-eight percent. According to previous academic validations, as long as the effectiveness rate of the enchantment system exceeds ninety percent, it can provide adequate protection for the entire process...”

Windsor described her design with considerable pride, momentarily reminding Daniel of scenes from the past, recalling the times years ago when this exceptionally gifted apprentice of his would eagerly show him each of her advancements and ideas in the magic realm... She always managed to produce things that amazed those around her, and in almost a few years, what she produced had reached a level that was difficult for him to control...

Years ago, it was his greatest obstacle in his heart.

”Windsor, you indeed have a great talent in this aspect.” Daniel said with an expression of calm.

Windsor finally stopped, feeling a bit awkward and embarrassed: ”Uh, sorry, Mentor, I just...”

”It’s a good thing,” Daniel laughed, ”We do need your talent now.”

Windsor watched Daniel unexpectedly, yet the old mage had already shifted his attention elsewhere. He looked towards the castle courtyard within the walls, his eyes falling under a Cecil flag, seemingly casually asking, ”Is that the Cecil side’s Chief Technology Officer?”

”Yes, the Chief Technology Officer from Cecil arrived a few days later than us; he just arrived at Winterhold Castle today,” Windsor Maple nodded, ”We should go visit.”

”Indeed,” Daniel chuckled, ”We should pay a visit.”