Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1347: Chapter 1346: Capture

In the face of the endless starlight and colors, Bertrum felt his consciousness gradually disintegrating, while some ”things” that should not belong to him were rapidly pouring into his soul, eroding and replacing it swiftly—the moment he still remembered his own name, but the next moment, all perceptions of himself were submerged in a vast ocean of information, and another moment later, he realized that the body he had only just occupied had begun to slip out of his control.

He sprouted new organs, and where his body had turned wooden years ago, traces of flesh and blood reappeared. He opened eye after eye, each seemingly backed by an independent consciousness—countless voices clamored in his mind, ultimately turning into a grand yet chaotic roar, and in this roar, he saw a figure as huge as a lighthouse descending.

The figure stood before a hill, bending down towards him. She reached out and grabbed the earth, like a giant picking up a pebble by the roadside. Bertrum’s last thought was to run, but his body voluntarily threw itself into that hand shrouded in purple mist, and then... he could no longer sustain his mind, temporarily losing consciousness as if embracing a gift.

Milmina reached out and picked up the creature that was like both a treant and a human, curiously observing its body. The odd form of this thing intrigued her, but she knew she couldn’t keep the entity in her laboratory—according to the neural network information, this was the dark priest who had escaped Beltira’s ”predation”—as an important source of intelligence, it was the Empire’s property.

Thus, the Dominator of All Magic could only sigh regretfully. Her towering body stood amidst swirling clouds and mists, now beginning to swiftly shrink and fade. Subsequently, a grand array of magic symbols unfolded behind her, and through a series of complex transformations, the symbols reconnected into chains and circles, suppressing and sealing back the kind of power that could drive mortals mad. A mere ten seconds later, the gigantic figure standing in the vortex of clouds disappeared, leaving only a Milmina barely over two meters tall standing at the mansion’s entrance, with Bertrum, now unrecognizable, at her feet.

The former dark hierarch now resembled a cylindrical object pieced together with vines, wooden blocks, and soft, decaying flesh, a gruesome face embedded at its top, with a second and third face in the middle section.

”...Was just a glance necessary for this...” Milmina muttered with some resentment, then casually sketched a few symbols in the air, connecting to a Magic Web Terminal set up in the mansion, ”Hello? Hello... Yes, this is Frontline Researcher Mina, I just caught the dark priest who was escaping... Yes, yes, the one who ran away from Beltira, tell her not to pursue. Huh? The previous fluctuation of the Anti-Divine Barrier here? It was during the capture... Yes, I confirmed beforehand, no leak. I know, I know, I’ll write the report later, I’ve already confirmed the process...”

...

Roaring heat waves rose in the forest, the ”path of purification” created by the magic cannon and heavy incinerator stretched from Falm Fortress all the way to the northern end of the forest barrier. Accompanied by the creaking and clattering sounds made by the movement of massive wooden limbs, the Elite Treant Guard, clad in heavy armor and wielding powerful weapons, strode out of the forest. They continued to pour devastating firepower on to the aberrations and biochemical monsters scurrying in the scorched earth while steadily advancing the frontline.

”Boom!!”

A bright orb streaked across the sky, followed by an especially deafening explosion from afar. The arcane star summoned by Elf Queen Belsetia personally fell on the horizon of the forest border, destroying the last aberration artillery position still launching energy projectiles. With the heavy long-range firepower of the enemy completely silenced, the armored treant guards also firmly held their ground at the forefront of the line.

They spread their crown-surrounding branches, lowered petal-like alloy armor, and a multitude of heavily armed ranger warriors rappelled down the hanging vines from above, beginning to clear the remaining enemies on the scorched earth while covering the engineering units at the rear as they hastily constructed fortifications and built ramparts.

A particularly large treant guard, carrying various auxiliary combat equipment and clad in extra-thick armor, strode to the middle of the position. This awe-inspiring guardian opened the alloy plates around its crown, and a petite silhouette emerged from within—she had long golden hair and almost translucent pale skin, with numerous esoteric magic symbols glimmering across her body. The glow of magic danced across her skin as she gazed at the ground, seeing Belsetia standing among several adamantine golems. A bright smile appeared on her face: ”Your Majesty! Did we do well?”

”An exceedingly astonishing firepower advance, this forest is now once again in our hands,” Belsetia did not hesitate to offer her praise as she looked at the ”Sorin Expedition Army Commander” who was riding on the treant guard—this was the public identity of Belna in the southern allied army, ”Do you need a break? You’ve been commanding this large army all by yourself...”

”No need, my energy is quite abundant,” Belna replied with a radiant smile, waving her seemingly slender fist, ”This body of mine is specially ’manufactured’, usually requiring almost no rest except for necessary ’rejuvenation’.”

”That’s good,” Belsetia nodded and said, then her gaze involuntarily drifted over the treant guard’s body to the majestic shadow lying between the mountains and the plains not far away, ”Finally... we have returned here...”

”Here...” Belna also turned around, looking in the direction of the elven queen’s gaze. She too saw that majestic shadow, witnessed the fractured and collapsed ”mountain body”, the toppled palace buildings in the valley, and the fortress keel pointing at the sky like the remains of a colossal beast. The remains of the Sacred Stars Temple were mirrored in the little elf’s eyes like a broken mountain range, making this girl, who had been away from home for years, suddenly a little dazed, ”The last time I saw it, it was still floating so magnificently in the sky...”

”History must always turn to the next page, and what we can do is keep civilization from being tarnished in the process, and the ancestors from being shamed,” Belsetia listened to the little elf’s lament and spoke calmly with a serene expression, ”Moreover, although the Sacred Stars Temple has fallen, it still guards our civilization—next, based on the main wreckage of the Sacred Stars Temple, we will build a new ’forward fortress’ on the wasteland border.

”The alloy walls and keels of the temple will support our walls and towers, and usable structures in the collapse zone will be melted and recast. Valendian has already begun arranging domestic production facilities to work overtime to manufacture components of the purification devices. When the allied army stands firm in the wreckage zone of the Sacred Stars Temple, we will begin building the first ’Purification Tower’ of the barrier wall.”

Belna quietly listened to the Silver Empress talk about future plans, her mind seemed to already envisage the allied warriors re-entering the wreckage of the fallen temple, clearing those collapsed ruins, reigniting extinguished lights, transforming sagging corridors, and building new walls at the ruins’ edges. A now somewhat unfamiliar thrill gradually resuscitated within her heart; it took her a long while to slowly recall this feeling—this was the excitement and anticipation she felt hundreds of years ago when she first crossed the Homeward Long Bridge, faced the unknown northern world for the first time, setting off on an adventure.

She thought she would never feel this way again, but now it seems... a promising life appears to have just begun.

...

”Lady Milmina has captured the dark priest known as ’Bertrum,’” Gawain said from behind his desk in the Supreme Administration Office of the Cecil Clan, addressing Aunt Heidi who had just stepped into his office. ”He’s now been sent to Sir Philip’s base.”

”Caught by Lady Milmina?” Aunt Heidi was momentarily stunned upon hearing this. She quickly pictured the rough map of the wide frontlines in the southern region of the Living Forest, a strange look coming over her face. ”Wasn’t it said that the dark priest escaped from Beltira’s ’predatory zone’? That place is quite a distance from our Frontline Laboratory, how did Lady Milmina manage to capture him?”

”...Perhaps it’s astonishing luck combined with exceptional pathfinding skills,” Gawain thought for a long time before he could give this answer. ”And he even witnessed Lady Milmina’s mythic form—with no protective measures in place. From the situation reported from the frontlines, it seems we don’t have to worry about that guy escaping this time. Now we only have to see how much useful information Beltira can extract from that guy’s cognitive organ...”

Aunt Heidi’s expression turned even more nuanced, and after holding it in for a while, she muttered under her breath, ”I really don’t want to know what that unlucky guy looks like now...”

She shook her head as she spoke, placing several documents on Gawain’s desk while adding, ”We’ve just received news from the eastern and southern battlefields—along the eastern front, the Typhon Empire’s Mage Corps and National Knights have successfully cleared out the aberration legion near the Dark Hills. Wolf General Andresha is establishing a large-scale forward base there. They’re preparing to start constructing a barrier wall running laterally across the wastelands starting from that point.”

”...Emperor Rosetta Augustus has started fulfilling his promise,” Gawain said in a deep voice. ”What about the southern front?”

”The involvement of the ’Sorin Expedition Army’ has stabilized the situation on the southern front. The southern allied forces are now able to spare troops to fortify their northwest border. The aberration legion advancing south from the tribal country of Augari has been halted north of Fort Greta, though the fighting there is still intense. On another front, the Silver Empire’s Thousand Years Legion is gradually reclaiming the land north of the forest barrier with fire support from the ’Sorin Expedition Army.’ They have currently advanced to the area where the Sacred Stars Temple crashed. According to news from Elf Queen Belsetia, her next step is to reclaim the ruins of the Sacred Stars Temple and use it as a base to construct a forward base, which will be the starting point for the southern section of the barrier wall.”

”The ’Sorin Expedition Army,’ huh...” Gawain murmured as he repeated the term. ”Well, Beltira was right. That little elf and her ’bodyguards’ seem to have exceeded expectations. But it sounds like the situation there still hasn’t fully stabilized. The aberrations advancing south from the Augari area are only temporarily held at the Highmountain Kingdom’s northwest border. The southern allied forces haven’t managed to completely annihilate those monsters...”

Trailing off, he shook his head, ”What about the western front? Has any news come from Duke Baldwin?”

”The western front has numerous fallen areas, and all tribes have suffered significant damage. The original border barriers of the tribal country of Augari have been almost completely destroyed by the aberration legion, and the long border needs to be defended everywhere. The expeditionary army led by Baldwin and Jinna has been held up,” Aunt Heidi spoke seriously. ”They’ve just sealed the breach in the mountain barrier, but many out-of-control aberrations are still active in the forests, instinctively moving toward inland cities of Augari. The place is now swarming with refugees, and many gathering areas lack protection. Even a ’sanctuary’ fenced with wood could suffer significant losses against a lone aberration... the situation is very complicated.”

”It’s turned into a long-term ’marauder suppression’ war, huh...” Gawain’s brow gradually furrowed, ”Baldwin should be able to handle this situation, but the key is that we can’t wait... The barrier wall needs to be built quickly. The part spanning the wastelands can’t rely solely on the Typhon Empire. The pressure and risks are too high... What is Rebecca doing over there?”

”She’s building more supercritical accelerators for the ’Dawn of the mortal world’ and assembling plants for Purgatory Incendiaries,” Aunt Heidi’s tone turned a bit stiff as she talked about this, perhaps the aftereffects of repeatedly signing the budget with a trembling hand. ”Working day and night.”

”Excellent,” Gawain smiled immediately. ”That’s exactly her specialty, and it’s exactly what the western front urgently needs—if we can’t quickly establish a ’western forward point’ on the ground, then blasting a path through the western wastelands from the sky is also a strategy. It will make it much easier to construct the western barrier wall later on.”

He then exhaled softly, leaning back in his chair with a thoughtful expression. ”Next, we’ll see how much useful information Beltira can extract from her ’former comrade’s’ head... If we can grasp the specifics of the dark priests’ deployments and the true targets of the sentinels, the scales might finally have a chance to tip entirely in our favor...”

...

In a garden covered with countless pure white small flowers, a middle-aged man dressed in a gray-white robe with an ordinary face suddenly opened his eyes.

In an instant, a torrent of abstract, chaotic, fragmented impressions flooded into his mind, overwhelming his spirit. He could recall nothing specific from the fragmented information, yet an overwhelmingly deep-seated terror ’impression’ swept over him like a tidal wave. It felt as if he had forgotten some horrific facts, but the ’fear’ itself had seared itself deeply into his soul.

This terrifying feeling, akin to a long-lasting torment, even if it only lasted a few seconds, was enough to make the middle-aged man clutch his head and let out a series of muffled and painful cries. He rolled in the flower field, as if feeling his mind being gradually melted by a strong acid. It wasn’t until the rustle of footsteps suddenly approached from nearby, and the pain in his head abruptly vanished, that he stopped with convulsive movements and raised his head with a vacant gaze, looking at the figure approaching him.

Beltira, in a light green long dress, stopped in the center of the garden.

She looked down at the middle-aged man curled up on the ground.

”Long time no see, Bertrum.”

”Welcome to your resting place.”