Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1029: Chapter 1028: Tacit Understanding

Afterwards, there was a brief silence. Gawain focused intently on observing the intricate patterns on the cups before him, while Emperor Rosetta fell into a short contemplation, and Beltira seemed somewhat lost in thought—gazing at the distant sky’s transfiguring symbols and geometric structures, squinting slightly as if calculating something.

”Actually, I’ve pondered before when we might have an opportunity like today to converse face-to-face openly, what you might discuss with me,” Emperor Rosetta suddenly broke the silence, looking at Gawain, his sunken eyes appearing as deep waters, ”Frankly, I never imagined the ’Outland Wanderer’ would talk to me about... ideals and the future.”

”If we dare not discuss ideals and the future in the Mind Image World, then this world truly has no future,” Gawain smiled, raising his teacup slightly in gesture to Emperor Rosetta, ”Actually, I am not an idealist; I believe more in real-world experience and natural principles, in concrete benefits and things that can be measured rationally, but precisely because of that, when I discuss ideals, I am absolutely serious.”

Emperor Rosetta glanced at the teacup before him, the liquid reflecting a clear blue sky, everything seeming flawless like the real world. He casually replied, ”Then for the sake of the great shared ideal, will the Cecil Clan withdraw unconditionally?”

”No,” Gawain said calmly, ”and I will demand a good price for it.”

”Ah, that puts me at ease,” Emperor Rosetta’s typically gloomy face showed a hint of relaxation, as he picked up his teacup, ”Then we can continue all this at the negotiation table later.”

Gawain responded with a smile, the two finally reaching an understanding at a balanced point recognized by both. Emperor Rosetta then exhaled slightly, seeming more at ease, clearly showing interest in this incredible space. He looked around curiously, saying, ”It’s truly an incredible place... although I’m concerned about what happens outside while we are here talking?”

”I’ve locally accelerated this space; as of now, only half a minute has passed in the real world outside,” Gawain said, ”Don’t worry, everything is under control—such an opportunity for dialogue is rare; I less than you want to mess it up.”

”How did you... bring me to this place?” Emperor Rosetta asked seriously, ”Is it related to that floating machine with a brain that I saw at the end?”

”That wasn’t the machine growing a brain; rather, the brain was aboard the machine,” Beltira, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly broke the silence, ”We indeed established the connection through it.”

”That thing was... surprising,” Emperor Rosetta chose somewhat neutral words, ”Honestly, when I first saw what was inside, I almost instinctively attacked; it didn’t seem like normal armament, more like the product of some dark magic...”

”I agree with this point, and I’m trying to seek improvements,” Gawain said helplessly, appearing to glance casually at Beltira, ”But I suggest you don’t focus too much on the appearance of that thing, because, in a certain sense... it is part of Madam Beltira.”

This time, when Emperor Rosetta looked at Beltira again, his gaze became indescribably complex.

Yet clearly, Beltira showed no interest in extending this topic further, ignoring Emperor Rosetta and instead appearing attentive as if listening, before looking at Gawain: ”It seems things outside are mostly resolved—Nariteer has sent a safety signal.”

Speaking as she stood up, her figure gradually faded into the air: ”I’ll go handle the temporary node—while the network faces an interruption, chat for a few more minutes.”

Emperor Rosetta looked at this ancestor of Augustus from seven hundred years ago, finally unable to resist asking, ”Are you now in the Cecil Clan? Will you return to Typhon?”

”...Sorry, I can’t leave,” Beltira’s tone paused slightly, then shook her head, ”Forget the name Beltira Augustus; everything is in the past.”

”I understand,” Emperor Rosetta slowly said, ”Nonetheless, thank you for your protection just now.”

”No need to worry...” Beltira’s voice slowly faded with her disappearing figure, leaving one final statement echoing through the air, ”...if it were a true God, it would be tolerable; but a mere fragment separated from God... not worthy of mutually assured destruction alongside the descendants of Augustus...”

With Beltira’s departure, only Gawain and Emperor Rosetta remained in the vast space, seated once more amidst a peculiar yet seemingly harmonious silence. They quietly savored their tea, allowing the last few minutes of conversation to gradually fade in this silence until Gawain curled his fingers, gently knocking on the table: ”One more minute.”

”I haven’t peacefully sipped a cup of tea like this for decades; this tranquility is truly... nostalgic, almost to the point where I find it difficult to adapt,” Emperor Rosetta remarked with a touch of wistfulness, setting his teacup down, ”Thank you for your hospitality—even if only in the ’dreams.’

”You’re welcome,” Gawain nodded, then glanced curiously at the other, ”I suddenly want to ask you a question—when the War God was breaking free in the final phase, you seemed prepared to reverse the magic polarity of the entire Winterhold to bring mutual destruction with the opponent. Was that truly your last card? Were you genuinely ready to end it all with your own death?”

”To be honest, that was indeed my last card—don’t doubt it, I’m serious. I was prepared for mutual destruction with the War God; no matter how later generations document it, my death today would decisively end it all,” Emperor Rosetta said calmly but then shook his head, unexpectedly shifting tone, ”But starting today, I likely won’t make such choices again.”

”Why?” Gawain asked curiously.

”Because of those things you showed me,” Emperor Rosetta slowly said, ”For Typhon, you are too terrifying—no matter what great ideal you have, you are first and foremost a formidable opponent, so as long as you live, I dare not die.”

”...That is quite a compliment,” Gawain was taken aback, helplessly smiling and shaking his head, ”Then possibly I will live for many, many years, and you may have a high likelihood of not outliving me.”

Emperor Rosetta, expressionless, stood up, and within a few seconds suddenly smiled: ”I’ll do my best.”

A faint dizziness suddenly struck; the surrounding scenery began to shake and fade. Emperor Rosetta sensed his connection to this wondrous space rapidly weakening while gradually hearing sounds from the real world. He realized the ”time limit” Beltira mentioned before leaving was nearing. Before completely detaching from this world, he looked once more at Gawain and asked solemnly: ”You showed me that vast land... beyond the sea outside, how much larger is the world?”

The scene before him rapidly collapsed, as the infinite sky and the vast mirror-like water surface disappeared into chaotic light and shadow. Sensations from the real world abruptly returned, the whistling wind in his ears, and the cold air on his face strongly indicating this dream-like ”contact” had ended. In the last remnant of connection from this mind’s image, he faintly heard Gawain’s answer: ”Very vast...”

”Is that so, that sounds really nice...”

Feeling grounded returned, suddenly Emperor Rosetta opened his eyes, hearing a voice from nearby: ”Your Majesty! Your Majesty, are you alright? Your Majesty?”

He turned his head upon hearing the voice, and saw Palin Winterhold and several high-ranked Battle Mages rush into the hall. They ran towards him with tense expressions on their faces, and Count Winterhold’s face showed not only tension but also a hint of apology.

”I deeply apologize for defying your orders,” Count Winterhold said rapidly as soon as he reached Emperor Rosetta, ”You ordered no one to approach the Hall of Mysteries—yet we just saw a flying machine suddenly crash through the hall’s walls, and out of concern for your safety, we...”

”No problem,” Emperor Rosetta interrupted the other’s words, ”I won’t hold this matter against you.”

While speaking, he raised his eyes to scan the vast hall, yet besides Count Winterhold and several Combat Mages, no other figure was present—The Eye of the God had disappeared, and neither the gigantic spider legs nor the ’brain aircraft’ that crashed through the wall were visible. The hall was left in disarray, with broken bricks scattered across the floor, and a large hole in the wall not far away. The whistling cold wind blowing through the hole served as a reminder that everything that had just happened was no illusion.

”Where did that aircraft go?” he casually asked.

”It flew away right in front of everyone,” Count Winterhold said with a hint of embarrassment and frustration. ”We intended to intercept it, however, all the sentinel towers were either drained of energy or severely damaged and unable to initiate attacks. Some Battle Mages who attempted to take to the skies to intercept were engaged by those bizarre flying soldiers—they use mental attacks that are difficult to defend against. Besides, it seems there’s a powerful interference field around those flying machines, and the weary Battle Mages were quickly defeated...”

Speaking of which, the loyal border Count hurriedly added: ”But rest assured, I just notified the combat Mage regiments nearby, ready to launch air intercept...”

”No need,” Emperor Rosetta immediately interrupted him, ”The Cecil Clan at this moment are not our enemies.”

”...They just crashed into the floor where you were,” Count Winterhold couldn’t help but remind, ”Was it a misunderstanding?”

Emperor Rosetta paused for a moment and slowly said, ”...This was Cecil Style support. In any case, don’t bother with those aircraft, let them leave freely.”

...

Gawain slowly opened his eyes, the bustling scene within the Winterwolf Fortress Command greeted him.

Sir Philip quickly approached his side: ”Your Majesty, the Psychic Singer and wetware servo have begun their return journey—the Typhon troops did not intercept them.”

Gawain nodded slightly: ”Hmm, as expected.”

He believed that even now, when the Typhon army was extremely weak and exhausted, if they truly intended to execute an interception, they could still muster several Mage squads to take to the skies and block the ’Psychic Choir’ teams that had revealed their movements. Since they chose to remain inactive at this moment, it was likely due to Emperor Rosetta’s orders...this was also a normal condition.

After all, the ’seniority’ of those wetware servos might far exceed that of Rosetta by many generations...

”Don’t pay too much attention to the Typhon forces’ movements for now,” Gawain glanced at the battle map hanging nearby, then turned to Sir Philip and said, ”Although the battle has ended, there is still much work to be done. Deploy more search units to the areas where the War God’s Remains fell and retrieve anything that looks unusual—remember to remind the soldiers to take proper precautions.”

At this, he paused and then added: ”You might encounter Typhon’s search teams—they don’t possess mind protection technology of the same level as ours, but they do have basic sea demons Runes, so they’re definitely attempting to retrieve remnants of the War God’s fragments. Order the frontline soldiers, if you are near our controlled zone, retrieve the remnants first, if you are near their controlled zone...if you don’t encounter anyone, retrieve the fragments first, if you do encounter people, just say we’re searching for pilots who bailed out during the air battle, anyway try to avoid conflicts with Typhon’s people.”

”Yes, Your Majesty.”

Gawain thought for a moment and casually asked: ”Has Tiel awoken?”

”Miss Tiel woke half an hour ago, and upon learning that things have settled, she seemed a bit disappointed, she probably hasn’t fallen asleep yet.”

”The direction near the Shadow Marsh to the south is the main area where fragments fell, let her act together with the search team in that direction,” Gawain said leisurely, ”She might help us find more valuable War God samples...but make sure to keep a close watch, to prevent her from eating too much.”

After Sir Philip left, Amber’s figure gradually emerged from the air.

”Where did you go just now?” Gawain asked without raising his head.

”I’ve been keeping an eye on that ’Lady Diana’, but she appears quite calm, and hasn’t made any moves even now,” Amber said casually, then looked at Gawain, ”Did you have a chat with ’the other side’?”

”It was a rare opportunity,” Gawain nodded, ”I didn’t want to waste the opportunity Beltira created.”

Amber looked at Gawain seriously for a long time before slowly saying, ”It seems...we won’t be attacking Aldernon.”

”Originally this plan wasn’t listed as a priority choice; it was merely a possibility in the event of the situation getting out of control,” Gawain said, his expression appearing somewhat grave, ”Typhon...it ultimately isn’t the hopeless Old Anzu, attacking Aldernon wouldn’t benefit either country.”

”Ah—I understand your meaning, you’re considering the chaotic wave and divine disasters, and the overall survival chances of mortals in the face of disasters,” Amber shrugged. She had been by Gawain’s side the longest and evidently understood his thinking best, ”Yet you still let Sir Philip send more search teams to compete for the ’remnants of the gods’ scattered on the battlefield with the Typhon people?”

”I hope to establish an order where mortals advance and retreat together, but this doesn’t mean we will slow down or wait for anyone,” Gawain glanced at Amber, ”Moreover, Typhon is still far from being Cecil’s ’ally’—what happened on this battlefield is just a positive beginning, but there is still a long way to go until we achieve the order I envisioned.”