Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1275: Chapter 1274: Arrival at Winterhold Castle

The direct commander of the First Legion, the highest commander of the Empire’s land forces, experienced in a series of large-scale battles such as the Southern Borders War, the Crystal Cluster War, the God Hunt Campaign, is considered the most outstanding young general in the northern continent over the past century—Sir Philip, once unknown in remote areas, has now become one of the most sought-after figures in the Empire.

Yet he still remains active on the Empire’s ”frontline”—whether facing gathered noble armies, twisted berserk creatures, mad gods, or the corrupted unknown wastelands.

Compared to a few years ago, Philip, now over thirty, appears much more composed and reserved. The increase in experience and the rise in status have exposed him to various kinds of people, making him no longer as simple-minded as when he first left the lands of the Cecil Clan, no longer just filled with passion and rigid knightly doctrines. But when he sees the ”Advancing Corps” industriously building on the fringe of the wastelands, far from the comfort of ”civilized territories,” he still displays a sincere smile as always, unreserved with his praise: ”Mr. Gordon, you’ve accomplished a great work—the Empire and its people will not forget this accomplishment.”

”You flatter me, General,” Grand Architect Gordon replied with a smile, the wind blowing from the wastelands through the filtered fortress barrier tousling his unkempt hair, ”Moreover, our work is not yet complete—reaching the base of the great walls and securing a foothold here is just the first step. Our next challenge is to truly penetrate that barrier and establish ourselves within the wastelands.”

Philip nodded gently, then turned towards the direction of the base: ”Let’s talk as we walk.”

The group walked towards the exit of the armed platform, leaving the majestic armored train ”General Winter” behind them, still undergoing maintenance by the technical sergeants. As they were about to descend the steps, Gordon couldn’t help but glance back at the massive armored train, a look of admiration in his eyes: ”What a magnificent beast... it’s my first time seeing an armored train up close.”

”It’s prepared specifically for this counter-offensive against the wastelands,” the silver-haired young man following Philip nodded and said, ”And it’s only the first. Once the second railway is operational, a second heavy armored train and three ’Iron Scepter’ light armored trains will arrive here in succession—these robust machines are our key reliance as we advance into the wastelands.”

”Yes, we’ve already received the corresponding construction tasks, and Blues and I are overseeing them personally,” Gordon nodded, walking down the main road leading deeper into the base as he spoke, ”Everything is progressing smoothly.”

”Looks like our situation here is not bad,” Philip nodded with satisfaction, then paused before saying, ”The Forward Base from Typhon’s side has also been built up to the base of the great walls. Have you heard any news from them recently?”

”Yes, General,” Gordon immediately replied, ”According to our joint action agreement, the Typhons sent an envoy the day they advanced to the great walls—it was personally sent by the Wolf General. Now we’re setting up relay sites on the eastern hill to enable remote communication between the fortresses as soon as possible...”

”Andresha Wendell...” upon hearing the name ”Wolf General,” Philip wore an expression mixed with contemplation and sentiment, ”I’ve heard that the Typhons are adjusting their border deployments to cooperate with this counter-offensive into the wastelands, but I didn’t expect her to personally come here... Now we are allies supporting each other; it’s unpredictable how things turn out.”

”...Are you concerned that past tensions between the two nations might affect the cooperation between the Wolf General and us?” Gordon asked curiously, ”I heard she lost an eye in the previous war...”

”No, I’m not worried about that. Although she was once a formidable enemy, she will become a reliable ally when national interests require it,” Philip shook his head, knowing some insider information and having met that ”little wolf” personally, making him a more accurate judge, ”She is a soldier worthy of respect.”

Philip held a thought in his heart that he did not voice: The ”tensions” between Andresha and Cecil (or Old Anzu) are even less of a concern. Old misunderstandings have long been resolved; her father is now living a peaceful life working at the Sorin Plains research institute, clocking in and out daily and squabbling over meals in the cafeteria with colleagues...

He shook his head to dismiss irrelevant matters from his mind, then asked more seriously, ”Earlier you mentioned relay sites... what is the current design of our communication system between our camps? Not just between us and the Typhon camps, but also including our own satellite outposts and remote sentinel towers.”

Gordon thought for a moment, then seriously answered, ”It’s still using the previously established mature solution. For shorter distances, we use Magic Web Terminals for wireless communication. For longer distances, we rely on the information chain of the great walls to relay signals—the specific method involves building relay stations to transmit signals to sentinel towers and using the communication channels between sentinel towers to transmit signals to another relay station at a distant point. This approach can save nearly half the cost, and the technique of the silver elves is mature and reliable. The radiation power of those ancient towers is sufficient for us to directly call the Advancing Corps of the Typhon Base from here.”

Philip listened carefully, but his expression gradually became increasingly serious, which made Gordon feel slightly uneasy.

”General, is there anything inappropriate with that?” the Grand Architect asked, unable to hold back, noticing Philip’s change in expression.

”When it comes to technical matters, I trust your judgment and the experts in communication, but as a soldier, I always have some extra concerns,” Philip said slowly, deep in thought, ”I’ve witnessed the out-of-control Crystal Cluster Army on the Plains of the Holy Spirits, seen out-of-control troops and hijacked communications on the front lines of Bitter Winter Castle. Experience tells me that many things in this world are not that reliable, especially things as ancient and mysterious as the great walls...let alone things we cannot fully control.”

Gordon’s expression also gradually became serious, ”You mean...”

”The great walls have had issues before, letting a large number of aberrations in. You experienced that period and should remember it clearly. We later repaired it in cooperation with multiple countries, but frankly, it was only patching the loopholes and reinforcing the wall. The ’reason’ causing the high wall issues wasn’t entirely resolved, which you also know,” Philip said, looking into Gordon’s eyes, ”Grand Architect, have you considered what to do if the wall has problems again?”

Gordon’s heart skipped a beat.

”Aside from communication channels based on the great walls, we need to establish a backup channel...at least one,” the Grand Architect, who personally experienced the repair efforts of the great walls, pondered as he spoke, ”This requires more relay stations and mobile communication centers, especially between our base and the Typhon Base...we may also need one or two extra garrisons to ensure channel security...”

”Don’t worry about the cost,” Philip said solemnly, ”The King has already given us enough authority to do this.”

Gordon lowered his head, ”Yes, General.”

Philip nodded, then turned to look at the silver-haired young man following him, ”Fendil, you are the commander of the communication units, from today, you need to lead your soldiers to quickly familiarize themselves with the system here—this includes those relay stations out in the wild. Doing this in the wasteland is not like doing it at the Imperial Academy; I hope you quickly understand this.”

The young heir from the northern parts straightened his back immediately and responded promptly, ”Yes, General Philip!”

...

Andresha Wendell retracted her gaze from the distant ancient tower.

The magnificent energy barrier of the great walls stood like a cascade filled with micro-light, towering to the southwest of this Forward Base. No matter from which direction you looked at the base, its impact would not diminish even by a tiny bit.

Sometimes it’s really hard to imagine... seven hundred years ago, the Silver Empire could create such a magnificent miracle, and this magnificent miracle simultaneously reminds everyone who sees it, reminding them just how dangerous the wasteland within the barrier is.

Andresha gently exhaled, retracting those musings about ancient history. She left the window of the command room and returned to her tactical table, her gaze sweeping over several maps and documents awaiting confirmation.

This Forward Base, built by thousands of engineering mages working day and night, had stabilized itself on the edge of this wasteland. But for the grand re-conquest plan initiated by Typhon, Cecil Clan, and the Silver Empire, this was just the beginning. More troops would gather at these bases, more supplies would be transported from the home front to the frontline, and the engineering forces would cross that energy barrier, and, after seven hundred years, reignite the flame of civilization on that wasteland — and to achieve these inspiring goals, she had a lot of work to handle.

Andresha sat down in her chair, and at that moment, a rhythmic knocking sound suddenly came. After receiving permission, the door opened, and a rather short female deputy stepped in.

She had slightly dark skin, showcasing the features of a minority group from the southern part of the Empire. Her silver hair draped over her shoulders, her eyes were calm and reserved, with slightly golden pupils indicating a trace of mixed blood from an ancestral night elf.

This was Andresha’s new aide, personally selected by her after rejoining the military-political system — following the god-hunting campaign that changed everyone’s fate, countless old faces vanished, and countless new faces emerged. This mixed-race individual from the Empire’s southern part was one of those new faces.

”Koleya,” said the young Wolf General, glancing at her new aide and nodding slightly, ”it seems the messengers sent to the Cecil Base have returned.”

”Yes, I just finished the handover with them,” the silver-haired woman named Koleya nodded and said, her voice low and gentle. She took a step forward and placed a small flower frozen in ice crystal on Andresha’s desk, ”This is for you.”

”...A flower? Where did it come from?” Andresha looked at the small flower in ice crystal with surprise, still maintaining the look of just being picked. Its vibrant state starkly contrasted with the wasteland scenery outside of the base, obviously not from the local wilderness. This quickly made her frown, ”Could it be some idiot material officer transported it from the rear? If that’s the case, the person should be arrested — we’ve only stood firm here for two days!”

”Of course not,” Koleya shook her head, ”The returning messengers brought this — picked from near the Cecil Clan’s base.”

Andresha was even more surprised upon hearing this: ”Near the Cecil Clan’s base? Their base... isn’t it also within the wasteland radiation zone? How could there be...”

”The messengers were also surprised. They said near the Cecil Clan’s base, there is a piece of land flourishing with plants, almost like a miracle — the Cecil Clan explained that it was because underground biomass pipelines and nutrient grids were affecting it, but we couldn’t know the specific details.”

”...Another ’mysterious technology’ of the Cecil Clan... alright, I should get used to it. After all, they even have a giant tree that can cover a city,” Andresha rubbed her forehead, her gaze returning to the flower in ice crystal, a trace of a smile emerging on her lips, ”Then leave it here, it’s beautiful. Thank the messengers for me.”

The deputy nodded to take the order, while Andresha casually asked after a brief thought: ”Any new messages from Winterwolf Fortress?”

”Lord Ferdinand sent word that all is well in Winterwolf Fortress, so you need not worry.”

”Everything is well with grandfather...” Andresha whispered, but couldn’t help feeling nostalgic.

The elderly grandfather returned to the border fortress he had once commanded for half his life, and the border Knights were temporarily reformed from several fragmented corps under his hand, smoothly taking over the defenses of Winterwolf Fortress. Meanwhile, she led the fully structured Winterwolf Legion to the frontline of the wasteland, coordinating with the Cecil Clan and silver elves to plan the re-conquest of the wasteland.

While the deployment appears smooth and rational, behind the scenes lies the harsh reality of the Empire’s depleted vitality after the great war. Although everything is improving now, and the economy and livelihood conditions are rapidly recovering and even growing with the launch of the circumnavigational route, some things can’t be ”accelerated” — experienced and capable generals can’t just grow from the ground overnight.

Retired elders were also brought out from their homes to command the border corps...

Andresha suddenly shook her head, shoving aside those slightly pessimistic thoughts.

Things will eventually get better; momentary hardships shouldn’t affect her state here.

...

While the generals beneath the great walls were actively preparing for the re-conquest of the wasteland, Gawain and Amber’s party finally left the Talronde Continent under the shroud of eternal night and returned to the long-missed Loren.

Instead of returning to Cecil Castle, they headed directly to the Winterhold Castle where the ”Gate” project was located.

The castle named ”Winterhold” rose high in the center of the plains, with its surrounding wasteland undergoing a dramatic transformation due to the extensive efforts of engineering teams. Three energy towers distributed in a trident shape stood around the castle, the turquoise flames soaring skyward, almost grilling the clouds in the sky. From a high altitude, one could see a neatly planned series of roads, networks, and power rails between the facilities. The entire area resembled a large, complex, mysterious engineering component embedded in the land, even a dragon coming from Talronde would be amazed upon witnessing this.

”You’ve really created something incredible here...” Melita Ponia emerged from the clouds, marveling as she took in the sight of Winterhold Castle’s surroundings.