Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1225: Chapter 1224: Nightfall Over Talronde

Listening to Koleta’s story, Maji raised her slender neck, gazing at the beacons flickering regularly under the stars in the extreme night on the distant wilderness—the war-torn wasteland extended under the night sky, cold starlight illuminating the wrinkled crustal layers and uneven craters, polar winds howling across the land carrying the unique scent of something contaminant leaking, and these beacons shone amidst the ruins, relying on small energy modules and rudimentary protection, forming a thin yet unbroken ”border” in the wilderness.

The beacon lights stretched to the horizon, and compared to the endless lights that once shone on the land of Talronde, this faint glow was like fireflies. Yet these fireflies were the safe territories that the dragons ”carved out” after repeated battles on this harsh land. Beyond these lights lay an abyss of survival, while within was the dragons’ remaining homeland.

Just like every Dragonborn who has had the chance to step onto Talronde, upon seeing this wasteland and the efforts the dragons made for survival, all the imaginations Maji had about the ”Homeland of the Dragons” slowly collapsed into reality. This reality isn’t very pleasant, but at least it’s visible and tangible.

Koleta stood beside Maji, raising a wing to point into the distance: ”This is the boundary of the Orange Zone—according to the current division, the Orange Zone also belongs to the ’safe zone’, at least for Transcendents and Dragonkin with some self-preservation abilities, these areas are still habitable. On the other side of the lights is the Red Zone, see those places that are relatively brighter? Those are rest stations in the Red Zone, warriors use these stations as nodes to gradually clear pollution and rifts in the Red Zone...”

”What about beyond the Red Zone?” Maji suddenly asked, ”Are there other areas beyond the Red Zone?”

”Yes, the Black Zone, a general term for all unknown regions, also those explored but extremely dangerous and beyond current means to handle. In fact, the Black Zone represents most of Talronde’s current state—including the Red Zone, explored regions take up less than one-tenth of the entire continent,” Koleta slowly stated, ”Exploring the Black Zone is highly risky, only the most elite warrior Dragonkin can bear this responsibility. But we must explore those places; there lie resources we urgently need, possibly factories that are still operational or worth repairing, and perhaps dragon eggs, or fellow kin trapped in darkness waiting for rescue...”

Maji carefully listened to Koleta’s account, with a thoughtful expression accompanying her. After Koleta finished speaking, she remained silent for a moment before suddenly saying, ”Can the information on advancing and construction in the wasteland...be made public?”

”Public?” Koleta paused, but soon pondered and nodded lightly, ”There’s nothing confidential about it, the Five Kings Council is even considering compiling this information into booklets to distribute to aid teams and adventurers from Loren for reference—why, are you interested in these things?”

”Not me, it’s our King—by that I mean His Majesty Cecil,” Maji immediately said, ”We are planning a counterattack on the Gondor wasteland, you should know that place—it is a land ravaged by the chaotic wave, haunted by aberrations and other dangerous mutated creatures. Although quite different from Talronde, our challenges are similar—your experiences on this land could help us immensely.”

Koleta blinked; evidently, she hadn’t thought in this direction before, but soon she understood Maji’s idea, grinning broadly with eighteen fangs showing: ”Ah, that’s certainly positive news, I will report this to the leader right away, he’ll likely also be very willing to provide these materials to the alliance—since the war ended, Talronde has been receiving help from the Loren Countries, dragons are not a race accustomed to owing favors.”

Maji slightly bent her neck, tilting her head lightly from side to side, a gesture she just learned from other dragons. In the tradition of Pureblood Great Dragons, this gesture signifies friendliness and gratitude.

Koleta returned the courtesy and her attention was quickly diverted elsewhere—her eyes fell upon the intricately structured yet rugged mechanical armor on Maji. This ”duel dragon girl,” who once dominated the Extreme Arena, had been intrigued by Maji’s mechanical armor from the start. But now, with their relationship slightly acquainted, she finally couldn’t help but ask, ”This ’armor’ on you...is that the ’Wings of Steel’ the Dragonborn from Coastal Shire mentioned?”

”Yes,” Maji raised her head, flaunting her wings and tail with a hint of pride, the steel structure at the connection points issuing clanking sounds in the night. Yet, her words remained humble, ”Compared to Talronde’s technology, this is likely nothing much.”

”That was the tech of the former Talronde—the current Talronde cannot produce comprehensive implants or power armor,” Koleta looked at Maji’s armor with a hint of envy, ”And beyond that... I prefer the style of your gear, this rugged steel structure, the fusion of machinery and magic symbols... To be honest, this stuff is beautiful! Especially the device at your chin...what is it? A ram?”

”Actually, it’s just part of the head armor,” Maji couldn’t help but laugh, shaking her head vigorously. For so long, this was the first time she received a compliment on her ’iron jaw’ from someone other than Rebecca, which made her feel her aesthetic sense was still normal, ”Of course, should the situation require it, you can use it as a ram—it’s mixed with purple steel and Adamantite, incredibly sturdy...”

”I love this!” Koleta’s eyes lit up, her sprawling wings restless as the ”duelist” seemed to recall her exhilarating days in the Extreme Arena, ”The fusion of primitive and advanced...why didn’t I think of this idea when designing my battle accessories in the arena? If I had this during my last battle...if I had this... Well, maybe it still wouldn’t have prevented a sneak attack from behind...”

Koleta’s latter words carried a hint of resentment, while Maji had previously heard of the Extreme Arena concept from her. The Dragonborn couldn’t resist imagining what an imposing image a true Pureblood Great Dragon would have equipped with steel armor. She shook her head with joy, saying, ”This armor might not have much practical meaning on a Pureblood Great Dragon, but wearing such uniquely styled gear to your mentioned arena and fighting would surely intimidate the contestants...”

As she spoke, she stretched out her tongue to lick her lips: ”After all, this could...”

Maji’s words abruptly stopped, her tongue adhered to her iron jaw, and the remaining syllables transformed into a series of muffled murmurs: ”Ugh...Mmm...Ugh...”

Koleta just a moment ago immersed in the sentimental reminiscing, turned her head and was startled, quickly reminding her, ”Hey! You’re stuck! Burn it a bit, burn it a bit, quickly get some fire out!”

Maji finally reacted, bright sparks ignited in her throat in an instant, subsequently transforming into a stream of flames erupting from her mouth—she urgently controlled the power of Dragon Breath, fortunately not burning Koleta standing beside her, and under the higher temperature, her tongue finally broke free from the iron jaw.

The hilltop fell silent, Koleta cautiously glanced at her seemingly somewhat affected new friend, holding back for a while before finally asking, ”Are you alright?”

”I was careless...” Maji’s voice sounded muted and slightly hoarse, uncertain if her tongue was injured or if it was a psychological wound, ”I forgot I wear something... but it shouldn’t have stuck so firmly...”

Koleta sighed, ”You licked iron at the North Pole in winter—there’s nothing peculiar about that.”

Maji’s mouth seemed to twitch, but it wasn’t easy to see under the iron jaw, ”Alright, you’re right...this really is messed up, I recall not doing such foolish things often since adulthood...”

Koleta regarded her new friend with a silent gaze, then shook her head: ”Take it easy; you’re not the only one to do this. After the Great Shield of Talronde vanished, many dragons who had lived in a ’greenhouse’ encountered true polar climates for the first time. We had to learn everything from scratch—a ruined factory with toxins and roaming elemental creatures isn’t everything dragons face. We also face fellow kin overly curious about licking iron railings at the North Pole...”

Maji listened in shock, clearly something any serious scholar wouldn’t mention in a proper ”Dragon Treatise,” but gradually, she couldn’t help but laugh, and even Koleta beside her started laughing along.

On the Gondor wasteland covered with starlight, the laughter of two dragons echoed.

...

Two hours later, Koleta returned to Modir’s Adventurer’s Cabin, and Victoria Wilder had temporarily left the place.

”She said she’ll be back soon,” Modir said to the Black Dragon Girl in front of him, his tone seemingly carrying a hint of helplessness, ”She has to arrange some things and find help from the Adventurer Camp’s managers—by the sound of it, she’s planning to live near me. Honestly, I understand her feelings, but I think it’s really unnecessary...”

”...Lady Victoria has her own arrangements.” Koleta didn’t know about Modir’s deteriorating condition, but she knew Victoria Wilder’s identity, so after a brief hesitation, she could only say so.

”I know, I’m just casually saying,” Modir said with a slight smile, then suddenly put on a mysterious look, leaned close to Koleta’s ear, and whispered, ”By the way, you know, my descendant... might be a big shot.”

Koleta was stunned, she didn’t know how to respond to this Great Adventurer, only managed a perfunctory reply: ”Ah, a big shot? What kind of big shot?”

”She says she’s an administrative official at the Administrative Office, an ordinary administrative official,” Modir said slowly, sitting in his rocking chair but soon shook his head gently, ”But I know she wasn’t being truthful.”

Koleta: ”...Ah?”

”My memory isn’t good, my mind a bit unstable, but I’m not stupid—plus I have good eyes,” the old man said with a smile, raising his hand to point at his brain and eyes, speaking leisurely, ”She’s a big shot, definitely not some minor official. Minor officials don’t have her demeanor, and minor officials wouldn’t alarm the upper echelon of Talronde, nor use such a calm tone to discuss the Empire’s ruler... She’s not good at lying, of course, perhaps she isn’t good at it in front of me.”

Listening to the old man’s words, Koleta suddenly felt a bit tense: ”So you...”

”I’ve come up with a few guesses, but I don’t dare to think deeply about them, nor even dare to think about the critical words in my mind,” Modir’s rocking chair gently swayed, the wood making creaking noises, ”I’ve also given myself a few mental suggestions to prevent uncontrolled thoughts—don’t worry, girl, this old man is sensible, having encountered many bizarre situations in my life, naturally I’ve got some coping techniques.”

”...You’ve worked hard.”

”This is hardly what you’d call hard work,” Modir said with a smile, waving his hand, then tilted his head back, gazing somewhat pensively at the starry night sky, ”I’m just afraid I might accidentally forget again... Lord Heragor has tested me, certain key information stimulation can cause my memory to become confused for a period of time, or even reset my whole consciousness. Sometimes it only resets a small segment, but who knows, next time I might forget as much as a whole day’s events—I’ve barely met my descendant, what if she comes to see me again tomorrow but I don’t recognize her, wouldn’t that be a bit awkward?”

Koleta suddenly realized she didn’t know how to respond, so she could only silently stand beside the old Mage, listening to this slightly chatty old man’s mumblings.

”I never thought I’d still have family, even though this family is separated from me by nearly six hundred years...” Modir said slowly, ”In the few memories I have, I’ve just been wandering around, going to many places, meeting many people, recording many things, but none of these people or things could form a stable connection with me, over time, I even forgot ’time’ itself, dazed and confused day after day, until today, it seems I’ve reacted—some people and things I remember, those were even from the First Dynasty of Anzu...”

”You have family, and your family hasn’t forgotten you,” Koleta couldn’t help but say, ”Even if you’ve already forgotten them, they’ve always...”

Her words trailed off because a steady, gentle snoring sound was already coming from the direction of the old Mage.

Modir had fallen asleep, in the dragon city under this polar night, basking in the ”sun of his heart” as he drifted into slumber, but this time, his mouth curved into a slight smile, and that monochrome world didn’t come knocking, he slept soundly.

...

Upon returning to her temporary residence in New Argondale, Victoria met Maji, who had returned from the outskirts of the city.

”Modir Wilder’s condition is really bad, I suspect he’s being pursued by ancient gods’ power—and this power has already begun to affect the real world,” she said rapidly to Maji, ”I need you to return to Loren as soon as possible, report the matter to His Majesty, and also bring back a ’sample’.”

”Understood, I can depart at any time.” Maji immediately nodded, though her voice sounded somewhat hoarse and odd.

Victoria’s face suddenly displayed curiosity: ”What’s with your throat?”

Maji’s face showed a trace of embarrassment, before her friend’s inquiry, she could only unnaturally turn her head aside: ”Nothing, just hurt my throat from hiccups.”

”Hiccups?”

”Yes, hiccups.”