Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 390 - 389: The Blood of the King

Gawain was not a hot-blooded young man, nor did he hold naive and simple ideas about the impending war—so even aware of the Oblivion Association’s actions, he did not harbor any passionate calls for peace.

Once he understood the cause and effect of the situation, Gawain realized that although this civil war was something the Oblivion Association anticipated, it was by no means something that such an evil-cult group could push forward single-handedly—it was the inevitable product of historical trends, much like the inevitable outbreak of war between Anzu and Typhon.

Francis II fell, killed by a high-rank bishop of the Oblivion Association, and orchestrated by his son, yet the old king did not merely fall at the hands of these two individuals; his death was the result of a power game and promotion by multiple forces.

Edmund needed him dead, not just to have a reason to spark a civil war, but also because the prince wanted to eliminate the royal family’s biggest ”compromiser” and use the king’s death to maximally arouse domestic aristocratic indignation, to gain the authority to raise an army in the shortest time;

The Duke of the East needed him dead because the duke’s allegiance was never to the king, but to Prince Edmund, or rather to a ”Moen Royal Family” that could return to the era of the First Dynasty;

The Typhon Emperor also needed him dead because Typhon needed Anzu to erupt into civil war. Gawain was almost certain that Typhon would quietly observe Anzu’s domestic war until this ancient kingdom completely disintegrated;

The northern Wilder Clan, Duchess Victoria Wilder, did she also need the king to die? Francis II was the most difficult king to control since the establishment of the Second Dynasty. Although this king seemed tolerant and compromising, beneath that tolerance was extreme resilience and cunning. Over the past forty years, he gradually broke free from the control of the Wilder Clan. Perhaps the Wilder Clan had long wanted to replace him with a more obedient king, like Wales Moen...

Many daggers were stabbed into Francis II, and the Oblivion Association only slightly pushed the king towards those daggers.

So Anzu’s second civil war, like the Anzu-Typhon war, was historically inevitable. However, unlike the latter which had been postponed, the former became a foregone conclusion the moment Francis II fell.

The blood of the king must be repaid with the blood of the entire kingdom; any plea, call, effort, or revelation of the truth was powerless. Even Gawain, as the ”ancient ancestor,” couldn’t make anyone listen at this point, and indeed, even if some did listen, they would pretend not to hear.

In the Shadow Testing Grounds, the personnel remaining there were still conducting some finishing work.

Tiel retracted her Sea Demon Form and summoned a large water ball, starting to slowly clean up the disgusting remnants left behind after Clement’s death, while Soldrin, with his Steel Cavalry Squadron members, began setting up lighting in various places in the Shadow Testing Grounds—these warriors had been through the mental shock brought by Tiel’s Sea Demon Form, each undergoing more than three SAN checks, now all with full SAN points, energized and full of fighting spirit, even their work efficiency was more than doubled...

Gawain, along with Amber, came to the center of the Shadow Testing Grounds, looking at the circular pit on the platform. Gawain pondered thoughtfully: ”So, at the corresponding location in the shadow realm, there is an unstable rift here. When someone activates the Ring of Shadow Seal in the real world, that unstable rift will open a space channel in the real world and summon the Shadow Inhabitants over?”

”That’s how I judge it,” Amber nodded. ”But that spatial rift is evidently very unstable. It’s manageable for the Shadow Inhabitants to pass through, but when people from the real world pass through, it will cause the channel to collapse rapidly.”

”...The Ring of Shadow Seal is a relic of the ancient Gondor Empire, and this Shadow Testing Ground is also a creation of the Gondor Empire. There must be a connection between them...” Gawain looked around the huge cavern thoughtfully, ”Even in Gondor’s time, human research on the shadow realm wasn’t very deep; at best, they achieved creating a small ’Otherworld Storage’ in the shadow realm to store some important items. But regarding the essence of the shadow realm and the reasons for its formation, scholars never had a definite conclusion.”

”This should be where they studied the essence of the shadow realm in those days,” Amber shook her head, ”This pit was a fixed portal built back then, and the Ring of Shadow Seal was the tool the researchers used to ’open the door’?”

”Perhaps... But I’m more curious about why these studies were conducted within the ’defied Fortress,’” Gawain voiced his doubts, ”The purpose of this fortress is to find a way for humans in the chaotic wave, does it mean... the scholars of Gondor back then believed that one of the paths was through the shadow realm?”

Amber blinked her eyes and thought, shaking her head: ”I don’t know about that—as much as I venture into the shadow realm, I don’t know if it’s affected by the chaotic wave.”

”Can you communicate with the Shadow Inhabitants?” Gawain looked curiously into Amber’s eyes.

Amber spread her hands: ”If you consider two people talking in their sleep as ’communication,’ then I guess I can communicate with them.”

”I see...” Gawain shook his head with a wry smile. ”But speaking of which, what exactly are the Shadow Inhabitants? Do they have a society of their own? Are they ’elemental creatures’ of the Shadow Gods?”

Many researchers in shadow manipulation are aware of the existence of Shadow Inhabitants, even someone like Gawain Cecil, who is not a Mage, knows some secrets about them due to his extensive knowledge. But as Gawain knows, what people are aware of are merely ”secrets.” Shadow Inhabitants, peculiar beings with humanoid forms that are evidently distinct from humans, remain a mystery to all scholars. Due to their formidable aggression and the eerie nature of the shadow realm itself, no one has ever successfully established communication with the Shadow Inhabitants, and because Shadow Inhabitants cannot remain stably in the real world for long, no one has ever successfully ”captured” them.

Upon hearing Gawain’s question, Amber put her hand under her chin and pondered, then shook her head: ”I don’t know, but I suspect they at least have a civilization—they’re all wearing clothes!”

Gawain couldn’t help but glance at Amber hearing this answer: ”That’s a reasonable point, yet it tells me nothing—aren’t you the so-called master of shadows? I thought you at least knew more about the shadow realm than I do.”

Amber put her hands on her hips, speaking righteously: ”That’s why it’s called ’so-called’!”

Gawain: ”...”

Is it true that this disgrace to elves acts shamelessly while admitting things like this?

Seeing Amber looking not ashamed but rather proud, Gawain could only shrug, then looked the half-elf before him up and down: ”Speaking of which... have you ever thought about whether you might have some connection to this Shadow Testing Grounds?”

When the topic of her lineage came up, Amber withdrew her playful expression. She quietly glanced at the round pit: ”I don’t know... although when I saw that spatial rift, when I saw Francis II use the Ring of Shadow Seal to open the spatial rift, I thought about stuff in this regard... but I have no clue. After all, those parents I never even met only left me a ring, who knows what that ring means, is it really related to my lineage? Or is it just to let whoever found me give me a meal out of respect for the ring? Maybe... maybe my parents were just two small-time thieves, and the ring was something they stole, picked up, and casually left with me. After all, the ring doesn’t look worth much when it’s not activated...”

”Your foster father, and Pittman, do they not know at all about your origins?”

”Where would they learn about it,” Amber laughed, seemingly relaxed, ”my foster father is just a thief, claiming to be the strongest stealth user in the southern borders, yet he spent his whole life doing nothing more than petty thievery, as for Uncle Pittman... no need to mention, you already know, though he has some skills, his head is full of trickery and deceit...”

”Pittman, huh...” Thinking of that fellow in the territory who lazes around all day but actually not only cracked the secret of the divine-power inversion circle, but also led the establishment of the entire alchemical industry project, and possibly has quite a bit of knowledge in mysticism, Gawain shook his head, ”he’s not simple.”

”Leader, the light points have been set up—we can only set up this many, the Magic Web Units we brought aren’t enough.”

Soldrin’s report interrupted Gawain and Amber’s conversation. Though in private this high-ranked ranger and Gawain referred to each other as old friends, when it came down to business, Soldrin insisted on calling him ”leader.”

Gawain glanced around the massive cavern, noting that lighting had been set up all the way from the cave entrance to the central platform, and temporary magic crystal lamps had been installed in some of the drier areas. He nodded slightly: ”Let’s withdraw for now, we’ll organize separate scouting teams to thoroughly inspect the cavern later. Everyone return.”

The next day, the pre-war mobilization meeting of the Cecil Clan was held as scheduled.

Seeing the heads of various departments standing before him, Gawain made no secret of it, spoke directly: ”Everyone, Anzu is facing a war—the King, Francis II, was assassinated last night.”

He had hesitated about whether to reveal this shocking news so early, but he made up his mind before the meeting began.

This was a meeting only attended by the Administrative Office heads, each of whom had control over a critical part of the Cecil society’s functions, both emotionally and rationally they deserved to know this intelligence. Furthermore, Gawain had tasked Aunt Heidi to convene the meeting in advance because he saw the great fire from Longwind Fortress and heard the news Amber brought the previous night; he gathered these people knowing of the king’s assassination. Lastly, Gawain also thought it was time for everyone to clearly understand the future direction.

Even though almost all the high-ranking officials in the Administrative Office knew that the grand social machinery of the Cecil would not remain idle at the foot of the Dark Mountain Range, it was necessary to break through this veil.

As expected, Gawain’s words immediately stirred a huge wave in the meeting hall.

Even Byron Kirk and Sir Philip, who had known of the situation since last night, showed grave expressions.

Because until this moment, they finally dared believe it was true.

”I know what you’re all wondering,” Gawain raised a hand, and the room quickly fell silent, he continued, ”it wasn’t the Typhon who did this—it was evil cult followers from the Oblivion Association, and Prince Edmund who colluded with the evil cult followers. And I have ample reason to believe the Duke of the East is also involved!”