Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 448 - 447: Prospects

”Glorious citizens of Cecil, good afternoon. I am your leader.”

The voice of Duke Cecil resonated with authority and depth across the square, and the entire square fell silent.

Everyone was wide-mouthed and wide-eyed, staring at the enormous holographic image in the center of the square, as if witnessing a miracle descending from the heavens.

Even the soldiers standing in the center of the square, stationed beside the communicators, showed a hint of excitement: despite the visual angle issue of the projection, which allowed them to see only a chaotic light patch and a portion of the clear image, they understood clearly that the content of this image was happening at this very moment. Their leader was standing in Cecil Castle, yet his figure and voice were being transmitted here.

Governor Daedalus also raised his head slightly moved, murmuring softly to himself, ”Indeed...unbelievable...”

The voice that echoed across the square continued after a brief pause:

”...Citizens, I am proud and honored to tell you that the rocky ridges Fortress has been captured by the brave and loyal Cecil Combat Corps, and the rebellious remnants of the aristocracy hiding in the fortress have all been captured...

”...This land is safe now, at least for the moment.

”Citizens, this glory belongs to every Cecil Clan member - not only those by the White River but also to those gathered before the holographic projection, including those who cannot attend the gathering but continue to work diligently at their posts, and every person living on this southern land, whether you are farmers, mercenaries, merchants, knights, officials, serfs, or even slaves. No matter where you came from, now you all share in this glory. You are the foundation and pillars of the Cecil Principality. Your hard work and wisdom will make this land stronger and greater...

”But safety is not eternal; there are still enemies eyeing us with greed: the rebel Duke of the East attempting to overthrow the kingdoms, the Second Royal House rendered obsolete by the Protectorate Duke, Typhon beyond the kingdom’s borders, evil cult followers lurking in the shadows, and even within our Principality...our enemies are ever-present.

”Let us remain vigilant and ready to confront these threats at any moment, let us stay strong and fearless in the face of these challenges...

”And before these challenges arrive, before peace is broken, citizens, actively build and fully enjoy this great era—for what I promised you will remain valid: immigrants will receive land, hard-working serfs will obtain freedom and their own property, factory workers will be rewarded according to their labor, and those who actively bear children, study diligently, join the army, farm, or trade effectively will all receive their respective rewards.

”And I will take pride in you.”

The images and voices ended, yet the silence in the square continued for a long time, until several minutes later, someone in the crowd began to cheer, followed by a second, and then a third person joined in.

Then the entire square erupted in cheers.

In reality, more than half of the people were only following along with the cheering; they hadn’t fully understood what had happened before their eyes or comprehended the meaning of every word spoken by the leader. They only knew this was a thrilling moment and were swept up by the surrounding atmosphere into a kind of blind enthusiasm, but what did it matter?

For commoners with hardly any entertainment and very little news exposure in their lifetimes, seeing this unbelievable magical miracle, witnessing the leader in the giant projection, hearing the leader’s speech, learning of the victory on the frontlines, and even being greatly encouraged themselves—this was of course worth cheering!

So the people cheered, regardless of whether they understood or not; they cheered along and even felt a vague sense of pride amidst the cheers. Though these people belonging to the former Count Hosman’s Territory had never encountered the full concepts of ’Labor is honorable’ and ’Diligently build the new era,’ the leader had said he was proud of them...thus it was glorious.

In the central area of the square where the administrative officials stood, a young female official was somewhat moved upon hearing the cheers resounding throughout the square and seeing the collective passion of so many people. She muttered to herself, ”Is this what the leader meant by... the power of the people?”

”No, this is just the blind people,” the mayor of Hosman City, Governor Daedalus shook his head and said, ”As Tutor Heidi would put it, these are ’populace easily stirred by atmosphere and words without thinking,’ far from being truly awakened citizens who passionately labor through their own awareness. Those are the true ’Cecil citizens.’

”Blindly stirred...” The young female official was a little surprised, but she was evidently among the apprentices taught by Heidi, so she quickly nodded thoughtfully, ”Yes, indeed...things here are still in the initial stages...”

”It’s okay, even temporarily enthusiastic citizens are good, far better than their former stagnant, lifeless demeanor,” Daedalus said softly. ”The leader once said another thing, which is ’even inefficient labor is better than no labor.’ Places like Hosman are different from the original developing Cecil territory, the people here face much less pressure and have their own way of life, so to evoke their enthusiasm for construction, sometimes we need such ’incentives.’ We don’t need them to be effective long-term—just temporarily effective.”

The two administrative officials concluded their conversation, and the cheers and clamor in the square gradually subsided. Daedalus then stepped forward, and with the aid of amplifying magic, his voice echoed across the square:

”Citizens of Hosman City, what you just witnessed were images and scenes transmitted by a large-scale Magic Web Communicator. In the coming month, we will set up the same public broadcasting devices in three other locations in the city...

”In addition to this, ’civilian communication points’ for the general public will also be opened soon. You can learn about the usage of the Magic Web Communicator by listening to the soldiers’ explanations, reading aloud, or consulting the relevant content on bulletin boards and newspapers.

”Let us thank everyone who has worked diligently on the Magic Web Communication project, and thank its inventors and builders.”

...

In the temporary ”broadcasting hall” set up inside the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute in Cecil Castle.

The first broadcast of the era of Magic Web Communication had ended, but to be honest, Gawain never anticipated that the content of its first broadcast would be his own ’speech’.

Frankly, what he spoke about was not what he most wanted to say.

But he also understood that what he conveyed was the most effective at this time.

Publicity needs to consider the audience, consider their worldview, and consider their understanding capacity and thought patterns. In this half-test, half-official broadcast, the coverage of the Magic Web Communication system spans the western Hosman region, the northern rocky ridges-Carol-Kant line, and extends eastward to the Gran Territory. Although it still falls short of covering the entire southern borders, it is already a sizeable area, and within this range, ninety percent of the audience has only just become Cecil residents.

Unlike the people of Cecil Castle, these ’new citizens’ haven’t received modern general education, nor have they been exposed to a Magic-Industrial Society, and many of them cannot even recognize characters. What they can understand remains the old order under aristocratic rule. If you talk to them about something too advanced or too progressive, they might not only fail to understand but might start questioning the new leader.

So, it’s better to motivate and encourage them, at least to give these ’new citizens’ some drive to build a new life.

Gawain left the platform where he gave his speech, and Rebecca, who was monitoring a pile of flickering rune triggers not far away, immediately stepped forward. ”Ancestor! You were really imposing just now!”

Gawain casually ruffled Rebecca’s hair. ”How was the signal situation everywhere?”

”Feedback has already come back, and only the signal near the rocky ridges Fortress is very poor. It’s suspected that the relay tower temporarily set up during the war is ineffective, or that the magic turbulence resulting from the collapse of the large magic shield at the rocky ridges Fortress is still affecting the local magical power field. I’ve already informed Knight Wald in the fortress to send a group of Mage Technicians to gather the data from the nearby magical power field, and I’ll research it after they return. Apart from that, the signal is good everywhere else.”

”Good,” Gawain nodded with satisfaction, then looked at Kamel, who was floating nearby. ”Kamel, this time you’ve worked hard.”

Thanks to this ancient Arcane Master’s overtime adjustments to the entire Magic Web Communication network, and leading a team of technical personnel to hurriedly create a primitive ’broadcasting hall’ at the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute, Gawain and Rebecca were able to conduct this time-sensitive broadcast immediately upon returning to the territory.

”It’s my duty,” Kamel slightly bowed, then looked at the magic-guided communication terminal in the center of the hall, his tone filled with emotion. ”Signal broadcasting... I never thought I’d see it again in this era...”

”Not only will you see it, but soon you’ll see it everywhere,” Gawain chuckled. He wasn’t satisfied with turning such a useful Magic Web Communication system into merely a ’leader’s amplifying tool for speeches’. Since it’s been proven through experimentation that the concept of ’full-range broadcasting’ is feasible, he plans to use this setup to achieve many good things he encountered in his previous life.

Although the current communication devices are still primitive, and traditional audio-visual recording spells have yet to be industrialized in the magical industry, perhaps it’s already time to consider setting up ’broadcast magic-vision networks’ in some southern regions...

Of course, this idea might be a bit premature, as even the Magic Web Communication Bureau in the Administrative Office has only just established a framework. The administrative staff who have recently taken over this project are still researching the various characteristics of this new entity and have neither the personnel nor the energy for the next step of work. However, since the technological aspect has already been achieved, Gawain believes that achieving regular, practical information broadcasting within the territory is just a matter of time.

Meanwhile, as Gawain, Rebecca, and Kamel enthusiastically researched the communicators at the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute, Nicholas Egg at the mechanical research station in the eastern part of the city finally completed a new work.

A sleek cylinder, engraved with numerous magic symbols on its side, floated in front of him.

”Oh my... finally finished...” came a delighted throbbing sound from within the metal-ball alien. ”The new alloy materials weren’t so hard to handle after all...”