Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1091: Chapter 1090: The Presentation

Dragons descended from the sky, their wings sweeping through the air like banners that blocked out the sun.

These creatures are the subjects of legends and myths; ever since the mortal nations began recording history, discussions about dragons have always been an important part of various tales and even myths. Yet they are more than mere stories—numerous eyewitness accounts of dubious authenticity and inexplicable ”dragon traces” left all over the world seem to indicate that these mighty creatures truly exist and have always been hovering at the edges of the known world, watching its development with some purpose.

Thus, from esteemed Masters of Mysticism to bards singing tales on the streets, from analyzing absurd folklore to studying ancient scrolls recorded by royals day and night, various people from different backgrounds are researching the secrets behind these rulers of the skies through their own perspectives and methods. They try to find tangible evidence of the existence of the Dragonkin, even attempting to communicate with these powerful and mysterious beings for their own reasons—but these efforts have ultimately failed.

The truth is, since the dawn of civilization, no power has ever truly contacted these dragons, and no one has publicly proven their existence.

Until today, the dragons have truly arrived.

And they are here specifically for a meeting...

The situation is so bizarre that even those bards who specialize in crafting dragon stories could not have imagined it. This scenario might even be deemed too outlandish for the most exaggerated playwrights to present on stage. Yet it is all happening right before everyone’s eyes, causing such an impact that the delegates present are momentarily uncertain whether to exclaim in shock or to applaud in welcome, unsure if the scene is heart-rending or absurdly comical—and in this bewildered state, they missed the opportunity to stand and applaud. The descending herd of dragons had already landed in the open space outside the Oath Stone Circle.

Amidst interlacing curtains of distorted light and shadows, the dragons transformed into human form, walking toward the empty seat beneath the stone pillar before the wide-eyed representatives. The silence was eerie, so much so that the first applause rang oddly within the stone circle, but people gradually started to comprehend, and the sound of welcoming applause began to resonate through the meeting.

Venna Baizhi snapped out of her astonishment, looking first at the dragons now in human form, then at the varied expressions of the different national delegates around her. After some thought, she softly said to her friend beside her, ”It seems many people’s plans have been disrupted... Now, aside from the three Empires, there’s no longer any initiative.”

”Let’s see how the situation unfolds...” Camilla too finally shook herself from her daze, the leader of the beastmen tribe nodded, ”It’s actually dragons... The situation has changed beyond my understanding.”

Venna nodded lightly, then sensed fluctuations of magic rising from all around the stone pillars—a nearly transparent energy shield formed between the pillars and quickly closed overhead the venue, blocking the wilderness winds outside the barrier while a warm, comfortable airflow gently circulated within the stone circle.

Everyone quickly understood: with the arrival of the final delegate, the next proceedings had begun, and regardless of their curiosity towards the dragons who had suddenly come to the meeting, this matter had to be put aside for now.

A moment later, the voice of Gawain indeed rang out in the venue, assisted by the magic effect that surrounded the stone circle. His voice was clear and powerful, spreading to every corner: ”Welcome to our farthest guests who have come here—also welcome each friend sitting here at this moment. Now that everyone is present, our meeting officially begins.”

Applause arose and quickly subsided. What followed was a brief and somewhat uninspiring opening speech—being the initial initiator of this conference, Gawain used simple language to introduce the background of the meeting, the state of the participating nations, and the main topics of the meeting. These procedural introductions were already known by everyone on site; now it’s just a formality.

Once this essential formality was over, Gawain suddenly paused, and his gaze swept across the floor. Everyone’s focus quickly centralized, and after a few seconds, Gawain broke the silence once again: ”I imagine many of you have noticed one thing, that our meeting venue is somewhat special this time. We are not in the safe and comfortable urban area but on this desolate wilderness. Perhaps some might feel uneasy because of this, or perhaps some might have already guessed my intentions behind this arrangement. I’ll stop beating around the bush here.

”The decision to arrange the venue in the wilderness was mine, and the purpose is straightforward: I just wish for you all to take a good look at this place.”

As his words fell, a low humming sound suddenly emerged from the venue surroundings, and in the somewhat startled eyes of the delegates, the surfaces of those towering ancient stone pillars began to glow brightly. One by one, curtains of light slanted down from the tops of these stone pillars. Amid the play of light and shadow, large-scale holographic projections lit up one after another, instantly filling the space between every pillar surrounding the Oath Stone Circle—the entire meeting venue was suddenly enveloped by a Magic Illusion, leaving only the sky above maintaining the appearance of the real world. The holographic projections displayed scenes that made everyone feel an oppressive weight, scenes of a landscape riddled with scars.

The twisted, rotting and mutated dense forests, the darkened compact earth of decomposed land, the filthy clouds swirling in the sky, the howling radioactive storms, aberration giants lingering in the distance, and ruins that faintly showed signs of once being buildings but now had become bony structures...

Many people rose in shock, looking around, while some forced themselves calm and stayed in their seats, yet couldn’t help but furrow their brows as they viewed those images. More people soon regained composure, appearing thoughtful, until Gawain’s voice once again echoed through the venue: ”For representatives from the four kingdoms and those situated around the wasteland, these scenes might not seem too unfamiliar, but for those living at the edge of the continent, these things might resemble more of a nightmare woven by illusionists. They look hellish—yet unfortunately, this is the world we live in. It is the things surrounding us.”

Part of the holographic projections on the edge of the venue faded, presenting at the end of the opened view between the stone pillars the direction of the Gondor wasteland where the great walls stood.

”These images were captured in reality, collected at great risk by the border sentinels of Cecil, Typhon, and the Silver Empire. Some of them are distant views from within the Gondor wasteland, while others are scenes from around the foot of the great walls, theoretically considered ’safe areas,’ but have actually been severely corroded over the past several centuries. Before formally starting discussions on the benefits of joining the alliance, before considering how to divide the interests, before debating our seats, markets, traditions, and contradictions, we need to take a good look at these things, to better understand what kind of world we truly live in. Only then can we all remain clear-headed and make the right decisions from a state of clarity.

”The great walls, a barrier erected seven centuries ago with the Silver Empire leading and the cooperation of the continental nations. Many among us might have forgotten its existence with the passage of time, might have forgotten the tremendous cost we paid when building this wall. Many of us reside in safe zones far from the wasteland, and if not for attending this conference, some might never have come here in their lifetime—but the wasteland will not disappear due to forgetfulness. Those threats to mortal survival are part of the natural order of this world, constantly waiting for when we might lower our guard.

”Even more troubling is that the threats to our survival in this world extend far beyond this one Gondor wasteland, far beyond another chaotic wave.”

As Gawain’s voice fell, the holographic projections surrounding the Oath Stone Circle began to change. No longer displaying just the scenes of the wasteland, people saw river gunboats battling on the Gorgon River, the Crystal Cluster Army rampaging along the riverbanks, cities and villages in ruins between the plains and valleys, and the standoff between the Typhon and Cecil’s army in the snowstorm... These images were presented vividly and without reserve, enough to instill genuine fear in the viewers, because they were all real footage.

These were ”materials” Gawain had been accumulating for a long time, valuable first-hand data of various catastrophic events. He deliberately avoided processing these images, knowing that the representatives attending the meeting needed a bit of sensory ”stimulation”.

Finally, all these changing holographic projections stayed on a single scene.

It was the most shocking aerial footage from the Bitter Winter Castle front line: the plains turned to scorched earth with billowing smoke, flames, and lava spreading vigorously, the destroyed human defenses burning layer upon layer, twisted steel wreckage and human remains entangled together, and bloodthirsty aberration Giants scaling the mountains at the edge of the battlefield. At the feet of the giants, there was nothing but blood and fire.

This was the scene right before the Winter entered the battlefield, the exact moment when the War God lost control. Undoubtedly, its impact exceeded all the previous images. Even though the War God had fallen and the accompanying divine influence no longer existed, the scene—mixed with frenzied divinity, humanity, death, and survival—still left many breathless.

Venna’s heart pounded wildly. She, the leader of the gray elves, felt immense pressure before these images. Simultaneously, she heard a low voice beside her, and turning to look, she saw that Camilla, at some unknown point, had stood up. The brave and battle-savvy beastmen queen was staring fixedly at the holographic projection, her vertical pupils filled with vigilance, and her back arched, with her tail raised like an iron rod.

This was the beastmen’s instinctive alertness, stimulating the combat factors in her bloodline.

But fortunately, the images did not last long—following Gawain’s voice, the holographic projections around the Oath Stone Circle dimmed and disappeared one by one, and the desolate wilderness once again appeared in the representatives’ line of sight, visibly causing many to heave a sigh of relief.

Camilla slowly sat down, a low growl escaping her throat, followed by a muttered complaint: ”I never realized... this stark wilderness looks kind of cute.”

”Are you alright?” Venna couldn’t help but ask concernedly, ”You were all bristled just now.”

”I’m fine...”

Gawain was highly satisfied with the impact of these visual materials.

Thanks to the structure of the round meeting arena, he could observe the reactions of everyone present. Many representatives, true to their stature, remained composed even when confronted with the shocking disaster scenes at such close range. Despite this calm, there was still a serious contemplation in their eyes, which sufficed.

Gawain was not there to intimidate anyone or create an atmosphere of fear. He simply wanted people to face the facts and focus their attention together.

”This is what I want everyone to see—I’m sorry; they are not beautiful scenes nor are they pretty promotions for our alliance’s future; these are some bloody facts,” Gawain said slowly, ”and this is the primary rationale for calling this meeting.

”Before discussing interests, we are firstly gathered here to survive in this dangerous world, to prevent similar disasters from destroying our civilization, to make this world safer. Perhaps many of us never realized how close we were to the wasteland until today, never understood how close we were to devastating wars and uncontrollable supernatural threats—but after today, we must face this reality:

”Our world is not safe.

”So, to survive in this unsafe world, to allow our descendants to also live long-term in this world, should we establish a watching and helping alliance now? Should we collectively resist natural disasters, go through crises together, while also reducing disputes among the nations, reducing internal strife among mortals—should we establish such an organization? Even if everything does not develop ideally, should we strive towards this ideal?”

There was a slight stir among the representatives, with some exchanging glances, many believing it was already time to vote, while some were considering whether to raise ”questions” beforehand to seize more opportunities to speak. But Gawain’s voice promptly sounded: ”Esteemed representatives, please hold on a moment, it’s not yet time for voting. Before we officially conclude on establishing the alliance, let’s first hear from Miss Melita Ponia, the ambassador from Talronde—she brings us some news from beyond our current civilized domain.”

The dragon is going to speak?

The representatives suddenly became alert, and numerous curious gazes immediately focused under the red banner with gold patterns. Under these gazes, Melita stood up solemnly; she surveyed the room with a calm air and then spoke in a low, grave voice: ”We killed our own gods—all the gods.”

This explosive statement instantly heightened the representatives’ attention, even more than before...